Expedition: Halfpint: Mapping the Forest - 12 Oct 2021

[onlyme]

Halfpint asks the others to determine the safest spot to sleep, but first she wants to try something.
She casually clicks her boots 3 times together.

[Spearmint]

Thedla climbs a nearby tree to look over the hedge after praying over the Halfling Fairfax

Halfpint though activates her boots to gain height and rise above the bramble hedgerow. The others watch as she ascends the barrier and tries to use the boughs of the overhanging trees to walk across the top of the bushes before she descend the other side to look around. Strangely though, walking on top of the hedge is not as easy as you would think. For you find no physical resistance or purchase to step on. While others may watch you walk on the hedge, Halfpint finds herself looking down on top of an illusion. The hedgerow has all the visual and audio effects of a barrier but no actual physical structure. Realising it is an illusion you have no problem to descend and see the party through the visual effect while they stare at the barrier, not seeing you on the other side.

next actions please. I will interrupt the posts as Halfpints actions and revelation may change your current plans.

[onlyme]

Halfpint will look around (look not walk) and then attempt to walk out of the illusion to her party to have them walk back through.

[Bluetongue]

Fairfax Socrates

The Halfling rogue thanks Thedla for his administrations of healing. He prepares a camp as others climb trees and go over the hedgerow. When Halfpint walks back through he is amazed. He feels a bit of a fool for not recognising the illusion for what is was, a trick, a distraction. He tries to train his mind to 'disbelieve' what he is seeing.

We could still camp 'this side' of the hedge, if the creators are watching us or we could play a trick on them. I am happy to progress deeper into the woodland beyond the hedge if Halfpint prefers. Maybe the Pixie's will welcome us?

[Zhym]

"How do you draw the power to do that, my friend? Are you so attuned to the gods, that they bless your touch?"

"Beith speaks; I listen," answers Thedla, as if that explains everything.

"This doesn't look like a welcome," he says of the fake hedge. "It looks like 'keep out.' Maybe staying out, for now, is the best way to make friends?"

He crouches low to the ground and looks for any rodents—mice, rats, squirrels, etc.—who he might ask about the creatures that abide in this place.

[Spearmint]

Thedla. There are a few squirrels about which nervously watch your progress from behind tree trunks and high branches.

[Bluetongue]

Fairfax Socrates

I will give the squirrels a miss but using your skills to talk o them before we progress beyond the barrier is a good thing. He passes over a bag of preserved fruits and nuts for Thedla to use in attempting communication. He plays a little 'now you see me, now you don't', moving in and out of the hedgerow illusion.

[rossik]

Berta just waits the others. She tries to understand the nature of all of this

[Spearmint]

The Bramble Hedge

Halfpint makes startling discovery that the thick hedgerow is not actually a physical barrier at all but an illusion. Staring in disbelief at the audio and visual effect, the party can discern the hallucinatory effect and it dissipates before your eyes, like a mist evaporating with the sunlight. The hedge must have stretched at least a hundred yards in either direction, so a considerable feat to establish though Halfpint may be familiar with Pixie lore and their spell craft ability.

Thedla coaxes some squirrels to feast from her outstretched hand. Fairfax quits playing and leads the pony and cart across the threshold of the spell. Amishona scouts a little ahead, looking for tracks and prints that might indicate people nearby. Laila and Berta bring up the rearguard.

I need an action decision on if you press onwards or make camp. And Thedla may converse with the squirrels in 'rodent' chit chat chittering.

Date: 12 October 2021, 5:40pm
Light: Torch held by Laila. Headlamp spotlight worn by Halfpint.
Effects: None
Injuries: Fairfax (moderately injured),
Weather: Slight breeze and wind chill, shower of rain.

[onlyme]

Halfpint requests they move in a bit from the barrier itself.
She would prefer to find a safer spot that would protect them if the barrier was removed.
Hopefully one more hour at most.

[rossik]

Sounds a great plan

[Zhym]

Thedla will ask any conversant rodents he can find: who lives here? What do they usually see around here? Knowing that squirrels tend to spend most of the day thinking about finding nuts, burying nuts, and remembering where they buried their nuts, he tries to steer the conversation as much as possible toward—well, not necessarily non-nut topics, because squirrels aren't terribly attentive to non-nut matters, but at least to other things in the area that might have caught the squirrels' attention. For example, maybe they don't look for nuts in a certain place because of dangers. Or they might know where predators are.

Sorry I'm not more detailed. It's partly from a lack of time, but I also want to leave it open enough to get whatever info about the area there is to be had.

[Spearmint]

Camp beyond the hedge

Thedla chitters with the squirrels. A large grey, bushy of tail and full of cheek nibbles crusts and hazelnuts from the druid's outstretched hand.

"The trees are ours, we scurry above all these in the high branches. Usually safe from the predators. Big birds that have heads that turn all around, silent hunters at night. Best to be under cover 'snoodling'. On the ground come 'sniffer beasts', sun coloured fur and mangy. They dig burrows under the tree roots. Sometimes they run fast. Fast, fast as the horsemen chase their skins for sport. Intruders come and go. Most stay beyond the thick hedge the fey folk plant. They sing and point and the hedge grows quicker than from seedlings. I don't forage beyond the hedge much. Hedge comes with the wind, one moon here, one moon gone. You cannot nest in hedge and it has no tasty berries. Eat every one you see and still stay hungry. Blah, hedge only good to hide away from other side. Follow hedge long ways around. Pass fey nests. The arch of water trees is strange. When you pass through you don't come back. safer here. The fey stay out of sight but ever looking. Pull my tail and pull jokes. They chase and catch but let go, wicked ones come and catch and never let go."

The grey nibbles and natters, you pick up the minor information. Some of it clearly translatable but other bits are vague or strange. As to the Pixies, the squirrel says they live among the big oaks with the tasty acorns but that is outside her territory.

Amishona scouts ahead, disappearing into the bushes to check on likely camp spots. Within a couple of turns she appears again. A spot behind a large fallen tree looks good. It has a small hollow behind and a lot of cover. Defensible if you need to shoot arrows over a log and a small fire would not shed to much exposure.


Date: 12 October 2021, 6:00pm
Light: Torch held by Laila. Headlamp spotlight worn by Halfpint.
Effects: None
Injuries: Fairfax (moderately injured),
Weather: Slight breeze and wind chill, shower of rain.

[onlyme]

Halfpint agrees that the campsite sounds workable and requests they move there to set up. She looks around for the pixies, hoping to catch one make a careless mistake in their secretive recon.

[Bluetongue]

Fairfax Socrates

Leads his pony Griff to the potential campsite. He unties him from the cart and ties him off to a nearby tree or the fallen log, preferably in the hollow away from view. Contentedly, the pony will graze away on the grass and shrubs. He will bind up and change he dressing on his lacerations and go about assisting he ranger to make camp and make a good meal. As the squirrels assisted us he feels bad wanting to put one in a pie or beneath a crust of bread so satisfies himself with some of the fresh rations bought in town. He will try to spot any edible fungi growing on the trees that he can add to the team pot.

[Spearmint]

Camp beyond the Hedge

The party ranger scouts out a good and secure looking place to camp for the night. It is in a protected hollow with a fallen curved Ash tree acting as a strong defensive barrier on two sides. Surrounding trees provide a thick canopy sheltering those below from rain and probably those above from detection. Nothing seems out of the ordinary though and the biggest 'threat' so far appears to be behind you at the logging camp. The team set about duties, arranging the camp to their liking and prepare a night watch to be on the look out for nocturnal predators. Griff is loosely tied to a tree to graze among the grass.

Fairfax looks about and upon the surrounding trees he spots some large bracchius fungi which drip streaky stains of red sap like tears. The thick semi-spherical fungi are very tough to tear, they have a grainy interior like sinewy meat but are nutritious to roast. Almost 'buckler shield' in size, the fungi increase in juiciness and tenderness the higher up the trees they grow. Passing a climb walls test, he gathers enough to supplement dinner rations.

The daylight is over, the sun down and the forest fills with only faint rays of moonlight. Thedla can identify the occasional sounds of hooting that flit by as owls hunting though none are seen. if you wanted to ask any more specific squirrel questions I will retrospectively answer those also here

Laila can admire her trophies from the orc scout. With him in mind you think how deep in the forest the northern tribes might trespass. Berta and Amishona remain vigilant and busy in camp with personal stuff. Halfpint tries to spot the invisible, but until one reveals themselves purposely or makes a mistake in their sneaking, you are unsure of their exact whereabouts.

Date: 12 October 2021, 7:00pm
Light: Torch held by Laila. Headlamp spotlight worn by Halfpint. Small Campfire.
Effects: None
Injuries: Fairfax (moderately injured),
Weather: Slight breeze and wind chill, shower of rain.

give me any specific actionsyou take during the evening and night and I will roll for possible encounters and / or a good nights sleep.

[rossik]

Berta calls for first watch. She will try to learn more about the group, tightening bounds

[onlyme]

Halfpint will take whatever watch is needed, knowing some of the party may need uninterrupted sleep.

[Zhym]

Thedla applies another poultice to Fairfax's wounds. The second application is less effective than the first, however.

CLW: [1d6+1] = 1+1 = 2

I'm currently at a complete loss for what else we might want to know from the squirrels. Any thoughts, anyone?

[onlyme]

Thedla applies another poultice to Fairfax's wounds. The second application is less effective than the first, however.

CLW: [1d6+1] = 1+1 = 2

I'm currently at a complete loss for what else we might want to know from the squirrels. Any thoughts, anyone?

maybe how many/often horsemen come? what do they look like?
do they know where the fey nests are?
are there any camps or other man-made sites near here?