Alright. Lets get back to our roots to unwind, get closer to the locals, and extablish a reputation as a capable if not badass outdoorsman.
Let some of the townsfolk know you are looking to spend a day hunting, and would rather not do so alone. Ask Alaya if she would be willing to spread the word as well.
Continue to be helpful around town and do scribe work where needed, and try to look into the identity of crazy squid man.
So one crazy guy is raving about squid, and the place is suffering disappearances and fear.
I sure hope this world doesn't have Illithids.
We might want to investigate that pendant. Show it to Alaya, ask if she recognises the symbol?
On an impulse, you draw the pendant from your pocket and ask Alaya if she recognizes the symbol. After a close look, she shakes her head. With a gesture of resignation, you return the amulet to your pocket.
An idea strikes you, and a plan begins to form. You shift the conversation's gears without bothering to use the clutch and ask Alaya if any hunting parties are leaving tomorrow. You learn that a few men regularly go hunting when deer are plentiful, since the lord of the land doesn't bother enforcing claims to the animals. After a bit more talking, she agrees to let them know you'll be coming along tomorrow.
You meet up with the hunters shortly before dawn. From the small amount of light on the horizon, you can tell that the sun will be fully up in less than an half an hour. Introductions are made, and you recognize a few of the people you'd helped out the previous day. All of them recognize you as the scribe; you can tell from their thinly veiled condescension that they already have certain expectations of what the scrawny, thin-armed scribes of the south would act like.
They obviously don't know you very well.
When asked if you have hunting equipment, you nod and state that you have your knife. The condescension coalesces into full-blown derision. You smile slightly at the change, and the group heads out after you refuse their offer of a bow and arrows.
You trek through the forest behind the other men. In the dim, half-lit dawn, the only sounds are of the wind rustling branches and twigs snapping underfoot. Something nags at you, though. You can't put your finger on it, but something is... off. You glance behind you and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
"Everyone. Stop." The panic creeping into your voice gets through to the other men immediately. In any other circumstance, they most likely would have jeered at the easily scared scribe, but they quickly react to your command. You take a few deep breathes to calm yourself and carefully examine your surroundings.
Something shifts.
You snap your head towards the movement, eliciting a slight jump from the others. Narrowing your eyes, you focus carefully on the spot you saw it.
You wait.
And wait.
And wait.
As the others start to relax and move again, you remain still. Your survival senses are in full force. You feel something moving...
THERE!
You catch sight of the movement. A small shadow, the whisper of a branch moving, the grass rustling in it's wake. That's all you catch. The men call out for you to hurry up and rejoin the group, and you reluctantly follow. The feeling of panic regresses.
[redacted due to sucky drawing skills]
That afternoon, the party returns to Beriac. With nothing more than your knife, your wits, and a well-made trap the others didn't know about, you took down a young doe. The rest of the hunting party was suitably impressed. This scribe was full of surprises.
The fear of that morning is nothing but a memory, now. In fact, most of the group has probably forgotten about it. Already a few of the hunters are talking to friends from the village about how the scribe just went out on his own with a knife and came back with a deer, which boosts your ego considerably. After negotiating a price from the butcher, you return to the inn to deal with your bloodstained cloak, where you find Alaya again. She smiles as you enter the inn.
"I heard you caught a deer in a footrace and fought it to the death with your bare hands." You shrug.
"Eh, I'll take that story over my version of it." Her eyes sparkle.
"How did you really catch it?" "Well, you know us crazy northern barbarians. We have a few tricks up our sleeves." You've made a bit of a name for yourself and seen something menacing. Wat do?
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Topic: Teki Silova: Loremaster (An Illustrated Suggestion Adventure) (Read 2770 times)