Orcs of the endless and unconquered Forest (IC)

[Re'ozul]

In the Glade:

Stepping back through the circle, you experience the same disturbing sensations as the first time and find yourself back in the small clearing. The sama pixie (you think) as before sits about twnety feet in front of you.
As it sees you, it stands up and motions you to come with it.
"Your friend woke up a while ago. Not in the best of moods by the way. Had to bind him to one of the trees, was quite the hassle. Still, he has a good vocabulary with curses. At least he wasn't boring."

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Since Gell wasn't actually with you at the moment. I am going with you having put the circlet in a pocket or satchel away from view.

Scouting group:

Three more hours pass with you only noticing rodent prints and the occasional booted print of the pinkskins, though all of the latter simply lead into the trees and back ending in places they obviously used to relieve themselves.
With the sun starting its slow descent towards the horizon, you have nearly given up finsing anything for today when you come across multiple trails of pawed feet, gnoll prints. Unlike normally, they are not the least bit covered or hidden. It seems the furred menaces didn't think doing so would be necessary. Spreading out you also find two other sets of pawprints leading into mother forest accompanied by smatters of blood.

[Sutremaine]

"Ah, this is what I was looking for... Kusque said, covering his relief by mumbling into the ground as he knelt down and examined the blood minutely. He touched a finger to one smear, checking for any traces of moisture left in it. The day was mostly gone now, and if they weren't right behind the gnolls they'd be encountering them in the dark.

[rweird]

Grazik - Shaman

"Thank you, could you take us to him?" Grazik asks (if the pixie speaks sylvan, i'll telepathically translate like before)

[GnomeGninjas]

Who's blood is this? Mal hopes that the blood belongs to the pink skins. He understands that that would be bad for negotiations but he doesn't want more orcs to have died.

[Sutremaine]

"I don't know. If it was orc or pinkskin we'd know about it, unless it happened so recently that the news hasn't gone out yet." He got to his feet, swiped his finger on a stray leaf, and looked around. "Have you found any more kinds of tracks in the area?"

[GnomeGninjas]

Gnoll tracks and rodent tracks mostly.

[Re'ozul]

In the Glade:

The pixie looks over its shoulder at you for a moment, a puzzled expression on its face.
"Where do you think I'm taking you?"
It starts hover ahead slightly faster and you can hear it muttering to itself, something about 'clueless green-skins'.

Trackers:

A bit of a search reveals one set of tracks that has the same booted prints the pink-skins usually have. It leads slightly further into the trees, then turns back towards the edge. From the indents in the ground it appears to collect an axe at the point of stopping. The indent of the axe is slightly colored with blood.

[rweird]

Grazik - Shaman

"Thank you."

OoC:

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Sorry, i missed that part, though the post was mainly intended to show that we'd follow, though it probably was unneeded.

[Sutremaine]

Kusque bent over the bloodied indent in the ground, keeping his feet well away. He wondered what the pinkskin had been killing -- one of the gnolls whose tracks were here, or one of the animals? "Do you see any signs of a struggle around here?" he asked the others. He looked around himself, but didn't see any obvious hammocks of broken foliage and small branches.

[Winds]

"Other than the blood? Let's see..."

Gell bends down to take a closer look.

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Search: (1d20+6)[24]
Survival (1d20+12)[15]

[GnomeGninjas]

I don't see why there would be no struggle? I mean there's blood and everything, how could their not be a struggle.

[Sutremaine]

Kusque shrugged his shoulders and tucked his fingers into his belt. He'd never really learned anything about reading the marks passing creatures left on mother-forest. "Well, I don't know. Maybe it was a clean, sudden kill." He looked up at the sky. Whatever they decided to do, they probably wouldn't have long to do it.

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How long until dark now?

[GnomeGninjas]

Mal thinks for a bit before conceding the point. I see.

[Re'ozul]

In the Glade:

You arrive at the edge of the small forest and are immediately called out to by a visibly perturbed Krunnar.
"Finally you're here. You were with the group that spoke with Sorunnar in the camp, right? Did he send you after me? These fey said you were talking to some 'weavers', I guess their bosses. Did take your ruddy time. Did you have a meal and nap while you were there?"

Trackers:

There are no signs of any struggle. One of the gnoll tracks going back into the trees indicates that the creator had a limp and was dragging its left foot. Other than that, the tracks are very much straightforward without great stopping or moving about, they all go in straight lines.
The bloodied tracks are slightly deeper at the place with the axe imprint. Its likely that the tool had been stuck to the bleeding gnoll in some way and it had freed itself of it here.
Your search brings you within far sight of the edge and you can easily see that there are easily half again as many of the armored beings as usual for any stretch of the edge at this place.

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It is about 3 hours before sundown and the sun is slowly going towards the horizon.

[rweird]

Grazik - Shaman

"We are the group Sorunnar spoke with, and yes he sent us. We went into the center of the Glade to negotiate with the 'weavers', they had the Gnoll that kidnapped you, and may have wanted to read your mind next. We didn't have a meal or a nap, though the Glade is bizarre, it twists on itself, traveling through it is rather difficult, not to mention disconcerting. I'm Grazik Thurmagon."

Turning to the Pixie, he thanks them in Sylvan.

[Winds]

"It looks to me like the bloody one stopped here to pull out an axe. So, I guess a pinkskin stuck a gnoll, then came out here to retrieve the axe after the gnoll got it out."

Gell glances toward the pinkskin camp and the warriors.

"There's more of those armored ones here, too. Looks like the gnolls are harrying them."

[GnomeGninjas]

Do you think they will attack us because they think we like gnolls? Mal knows that he could probably escape if they were attacked but he wants to know if an attack is likely.

[Man on Fire]

"If it wasn't for that ruddy time we took, you would look worse than this bastard right now." Rada shaked unconcious Gnoll she was carrying over. She had a lot more to say to the ungratefull Krunnar, she could really give him a piece of her mind, but remembering how well speaking in anger worked for her so far, she decided not to.

[Sutremaine]

"I think we shouldn't give them the chance," Kusque said. "If we want to introduce ourselves directly we should do what we did with Anders' group." It was getting late now, and the whole forest was beginning to fall into shadow.

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Do you guys want to talk to the pinkskins, follow the gnoll tracks, or go back home? I'm happy to wrap up the day.

[GnomeGninjas]

Sounds fine.

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I want to follow the gnoll tracks.

[Winds]

"Better not. If the gnolls aren't attacking them, we have nothing to say, and if they are, we may be attacked."

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I agree that following the tracks is a good idea, but we should let the rest of the group catch up, at least.

[Sutremaine]

"Can you tell how fresh these tracks are? It'd be great if we could check out another gnoll band tonight, but if this gnoll is long gone then I'd rather come back with more than the four of us." He was eager for another fight, but mixed with that was knowledge of Rada's concern for him. Besides, he was quickly growing used to the feeling of wanting to vent his frustrations through violence, and suppressing that was becoming as much of a habit as suppressing the more extreme desires of the spirits.

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Guess that's one and a half votes for following the gnoll. Would the rest of the group have any reason to follow us? I mean, as far as I can tell they're still in the glade and wouldn't necessarily reach us before sundown.

But if we spend enough time away, maybe one of the casters will do a Sending or Scry or something.

@DM: how wet was the blood that Kusque touched?

[GnomeGninjas]

I think I could see how old. Mal dismounts and examines the tracks.

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Survival?: (1d20+14)[34]

[Re'ozul]

In the Glade:

"Hmpf fine, can you untie me then?"

*I'm going to assume that you do*

Rubbing the ropeburns around his wrists, Krunnar seems to calm down. He looks at you somewhat apologetic yet still prideful.

"Sorry about that. Though really, what did you talk about to these weavers that took you hours. Did Sorunnar send you to do some sort of negotiation on top of looking for me? Thanks for that again, by the way. That bastard sone of a hyena hit me from behind with something pointy that caused me to fall asleep. Barely managed to turn and look at him before I was gone. What happened afterwards? Can't imagine Sorunnar took my disappearance lightly."

After righting his clothes and equipment, Krunnar motions you to start walking away from the small forest. He seems in a restrained hurry to get away from the Pixies.

Trackers:

The tracks are maybe two days old. Indeed, from the increased armored presence and the number of tracks, these were most likely the prints of the gnolls that attacked the pink-skins, then came yammering to Sorunnar about the threat they posed.

[rweird]

Grazik - Shaman

"We weren't sent by him to commence negotiations, though we did, and learned some useful stuff, as well as not making another enemy. How much do you know of something called 'The Grey?' The Weavers told us some stuff about it, i think Sorunnar will be pleased with what we've learned.

"What happened afterwards, Sorunnar teleported away after the leader grabbed him and came back all ready for battle, though it was over once he arrived, he asked where you were, we found that you had been kidnapped, and came after you."

[Re'ozul]

"Considering the words 'the grey' mean nothing to me, I don't think I'll be able to tell you anything about it. So are those wea...
wait, you say that Sorunnar came back ready for battle but it was already over.
So there was a fight? Did we lose anyone? What happened?"

You can see him clenching his fists as he looks to you for information about his subordinates.

[Winds]

"Okay, so I don't think they're anything else to learn here. Do you want to keep patrolling, or meet back with the others?"

[GnomeGninjas]

Let's meet the others.

[Sutremaine]

"We may be able to track the rest of the band if there are any left, but I'd rather not face them in the dark and in their own territory." They wouldn't be able to get much further along the edge before night fell, and if they did resume their patrol tomorrow then this would make a fine marker.

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@DM
How far away are the tracks from the edges of the trees? A day's logging work or less?

[rweird]

Grazik - Shaman

(OoC: Correct me if i'm wrong about the losses, this is how I OoC remember something that happened in a game a few months ago, not the battle the genius was in a few hours ago, sorry if I mess something up.)

"Yes, there was a fight, the leader grabbed Sorunnar, though he teleported away and sprayed acid on him. Us and the hunters dispatched of the others, though two of the hunters fell. Then Sorunnar returned as a giant and we thought we might be under attack again until he returned to his Orc form. As for 'the Grey', it is what the pinkskins claimed to be running from, and the weavers supported the claim. We're still trying to figure out more about it."