Hak'ing the game

Rhikiaahaahk (Hak) has joined the expedition and seeks to join the other scouting team.

Rhikiaahaahk (Hak) joined the expedition was quickly assigned to work with Danoll and Woosaa with the scouting team. Much of the work was simply patrolling beyond where the guards felt comfortable (ie a nice walled enclosure or a short walk to the next walled enclosure).


After coming in from a particularly grueling day, due to the heat and an unpleasant hit and run encounter with some of the Darklings you go to bed immediately after eating, exhausted. In the morning you wake and soon hear the news that Jax and Klim, who lead the other scouting team are back. This excites you as you know their team does more exploration. Asking around you find that they got in yesterday afternoon with a new batch of recruits for their team and have already headed out. You arrived on base after they had left and were waiting for them to return so you could transfer to their team. After breakfast Danoll gathers his team to head out into the swam to check the north river and check in with the gripli later in the day.

Rhikiaahaahk wakes up in base camp feeling well rested after his team's last grueling encounter with Darklings during their patrol the day before. Before leaving his bedroll, he takes care to reach into the secured pocket inside his pack, to briefly touch his most prized possession, and then, feeling refreshed and ready for the day heads out, after making sure his pack is securely closed and on his back.

He takes the opportunity before breakfast to resupply, refreshing his quiver of arrows and making sure his waterskin is full. While chatting with the supply officer, he found out that Jax and Klim's team had made it back to camp, but headed out again yesterday early this morning with some new recruits.

*Kaaaw* "(expletive deleted) Their team gets to see more of the area than Danoll's team does! *Chiiiirp* "That'd be the team where I could really stretch my wings!" *Triilll* He tilts his head and steps much closer to the officer to add emphasis to his next question.

*Chiirp* "Do you know where Jax and them were heading off to?" *Sqwaak* "And when they are next scheduled to make it to base camp?"

The supply officer discretely takes a step back, opening up some space between himself and the short Aarokocra before answering his questions.After finishing their conversation, Rhikiaahaahk flies off to the mess for morning eats, hoping for a few words with Woosaa prior to the patrol heading to the north river and their regular meeting with the Grippli that afternoon.

The supply officer is a bit upset by the flustered Aarakocra and tells him to check with the gate guards.

After breakfast Hak checks with the gate guard who says the other scouts logged their plans as to investigate the giant on the western edge of the swamp. Hak had heard of this giant from the Grippli. It has recently hired several bugbears and been using them to search the area.

Rhikiaahaahk thanks the supply officer for the information, and rushes off to the mess area for food and to find Woosaa before their patrol heads off.

Upon arriving at the mess, he notices that the ground has become quite thrashed over the past few days. It looks like a table or two had been upended at some point, and although they had since been put to rights, the ground the troops were tromping around through was quite muddy and sticky looking.

Rhikiaahaahk finds an opening and literally flies through the food line snagging his morning rations. The mess crew, being fairly used to this behavior from the bird man, give him half-hearted curses as the wind from his passage loosens some of their caps and throws a few loosely held trays to the ground.

Finding the table his crew is at, Rhikiaahaahk hovers briefly after setting his food down, grabs his Immovable Rod and activates it, landing on it as a perch instead of standing in the mud to eat his breakfast. (Also, since the table is taller than he is, the perch serves dual purposes, since he is too proud to ask for a high chair.)

After filling his belly, the Aarakocra salutes the crew's second in command, Woosa.

*Kaaaa* "Sir, Woosaa! Requesting permission to speak freely!" *Chiirp*

Rhikiaahaahk salutes the senior officer respectfully and stands as close as he can to Dannol without leaving his perch.

*Triil* "It has been an honor to serve with you sir, but as you may have heard" *Kaaaaw* " Jax and Klim's scouting team just went out this morning." *sqwaaak* "I would like to respectfully request, again, to transfer to their team, sir, as I believe I would be more of an asset to a forward scouting mission, sir." *Chiirp*

Hak bobs his head with excitement, and fluffs his crest feathers. Poker players among the Aarakocra would recognize this as a means of displaying strong emphasis.

*Cheep* "The supply officer said the gate guards should know where their team was bound. *Tweeet*

Taking a slow drink he looks at you then says in a languid manor I don't know.
It's been awful nice having an avian around. I've kind of gotten used to it. Hmmmmm and he leans back looking at you thoughtfully.
A sudden snort of annoyance from Woosa id follows by the young tiefling joining the conversation Ignore the old man. He's had the papers signed since you made the request. He just forgot to get Jax to countersign last night when they talked. It isn't technically official until that happens. Sorry. and she looks at you apologetically as of it was her fault.
Dannol laughs at this and continues talking Tell you what, we'll head over that way and if you spot then in trouble then I can temporarily dispatch you over to assist. Klim will likely be on that flying broom they have so they shouldn't be too hard to for you to spot. And as they are going looking for trouble, from what I hear, it should be a don't deal once you do. But I am afraid I can't let you just fly off to look for them. Seeing as we are about done here you go gather the boys and meet me at the gate on 5 and we can head out.. He stuffs the last bit of food on his plate in his mouth and washes it down with his drink.

Rhikiaahaahk listened to the first few comments Dannol made, and an expert in avian facial expressions would have noticed the bird man's exasperation being made manifest, but Woosa's interruption calms down the young Aarakocra almost instantly.

Dannol's final comments are what Hak was hoping to hear.

*Sqwaak* "Aye Aye, Cap'n!"

Hak salutes smartly, and performs his somewhat acrobatic ritual of falling off his Immovable Rod as he deactivates it, grabbing it in his hand as he flies off to gather the rest of the scouting team, chivvying them to hurry up.

*Kaaaa* "Dannol wants us at the gate in 5 minutes! *Triiiil* "Hurry up you! Don't forget your pack, there!" *chiiirp*

Hak stows his Immovable Rod as he makes sure the team is gathering by the gate as requested.

He takes a quick fly by around the immediate area surrounding the gate, making sure it is clear before landing on the gate itself to count heads as the crew arrives.

At this time, Hak learns from the gate guards that the other team went in search of the giant that he has heard described by his friend Guflis, the grippli shaman. Hak spends a few moments silently refreshing his memory of what he had learned of this giant from Guflis.

Dannol and the rest set out following the, by now, well with path. As slow as Hak feels the pitiful landbound teammates are he is sure the other team is even slower. Dannol insisted he not fly through the dream until he could walk nearly as well as Woosa could on the cursedly tricky ground of the swamp. If not for his cleansing stone he may have picked himself bald after a single day in the muck.
After almost an hour they get close to the western edge of the swamp. Dannol had everyone take a short break, in preparation of leaving the trail for the north edge. He suggest to Hak that now wild be a good time to look for the other scoring team

Rhikiaahaahk nods his acceptance of Dannol's suggestion. He launches himself well above the tree line, and looks around for potential threats while gaining his altitude. Upon reaching an elevation that would allow for better distance viewing, he looks specifically to the south and southwest for startled birds, a flying broom, or any other indication that there is a team of mostly land bound scouts patrolling.

He will soar southward in a westerly direction for a couple of minutes in order to verify any observations he makes, before returning to report to Dannol.

Most trees in the area are about 30' tall but so scattered that they do not make a solid canopy until further south. Hak soars up to 50' and begins searching to the south and almost immediately spots a figure flying on a broom several hundred feet SSW. The figure leads Hak's gaze and he soon spies others including a couple of white cat men. From what he has been told Jax is a white Leonin well over 7' tall.

Hak flies down to Dannol to report what he observed.

Danoll ponders for a moment then says Sound like them alaright. The dwarf on the broom would be Klim and one of those cats has to be Jax. Well it looks like they are heading where we expected them to go.
Why don't you take them a message for me? You can return when Jax dismisses you if it is within the half hour. After that we will be to far for you to find quickly so you had best stay with them till they get back to base. With that he pulls out a water tight scroll case and hands it to Hak. Very well, be off. Just dont get shot trying to introduce yourself. That jax is a bit overly aggressive. he says with a grimace

*Sqwaaak* "Yes, sir!"

Hak salutes again before stowing the message scroll in his pack and taking off. He takes a few moments to visually scan the area around them all (once a scout, always a scout) before heading off at full speed to meet up with Klim on the broom.

Rhikiaahaahk flies about a dozen feet higher than the broom appears to be, and once within hailing range will slow his flight to maintain his distance and announce his presence.

*Kaaaaw* "Message for Jax and Klim from Danoll of the scouts! *Chiiirp* "May I approach?"

Hak will fly slower, matching the speed of the broom, while awaiting the group's decision. Keeping an eye out for incoming arrows and readying his