Hilmir Enters The Wood

Hilmir sets off early in the morning. He knows it is best to get as far as possible before evening falls. Although he maintained an excellent pace for a while, as the day dragged along his body started to do the same.

While navigating a particularly rigorous passage, where the canopy was so thick that he could barely see, Hilmir stumbled over a rock and narrowly avoided hurting himself badly. Noticing a small clearing nearby, he accepted that it was time to rest. The stars look so different out here, he thought as he looked upon constellations he swore he'd never seen before.

Hilmir was woken up by angry tones in a language he didn’t recognize, and realized that four brown-colored frogmen had snuck into his makeshift camp. The closest one brandished a spear menacingly, while the three behind him cowered in fear holding large rocks. They were chattering amongst themselves.He’d never seen such creatures before. About 3’ tall and clearly quite stealthy to have made it so close before being heard. Their discussion halts abruptly when they notice Hilmir start to move. Almost in unison, they hop back a few steps and hold nervous poses while staring in his direction.EDIT: My bad, accidentally posted this first with Hilmir's name spelled wrong.

The one in front looks at the food, then Hilmir, and places the spear at their side. It nods, accepts a bite, and barks a short command.

A nervous looking frogman hurries beside Hilmir and opens up a small satchel full of various grubs and insects. There are some he's never seen before, but a few he recognizes as safe for consumption.

The other frogmen begin a heated debate, and keep gesturing towards Hilmir. He gets the impression that two are talking about how big and strong he looks, while the apparent leader is trying to get them to settle down.

The Frogmen carefully watch Hilmir’s actions, and clap when he points to himself and the wilderness.

They deliberate shortly, then the leader walks over to one of the large rocks their compatriots were holding and places it on the ground. They proceed to do this a few times, making a small pile.

The leader then points to Hilmir, and makes an exaggerated motion highlighting how much larger he is than the Frogman. Lastly, the leader points to the rocks carried, and makes the same exaggerated motion, indicating a larger size.

After Hilmir’s pantomime, the group gets very animated and exchange excited whispers.

They listen carefully to his apple barrel story, but it is clear that they don’t understand the actual words, just the overall vibe of what Hilmir was communicating.

When the introduction occurs, the leader’s demeanor becomes much more formal. They look at Hilmir and say, "Me… Korban." and tap their chest in a similar manner. Then, gesturing towards the others: "kolosa". Hilmir gets the impression that Korban is saying they’re family, possibly even siblings.

The Frogmen led Hilmir through the woods down several winding paths. It gets steep for so long that he swears they are trudging him up the side of a mountain… but The Absent Wood isn’t attached to any ranges so that doesn’t make sense...

The trek is starting to get difficult. If you want to keep going, you’ll need to roll a STR save. Roll under or equal to your STR stat, you get to the destination a bit tired but alright. If you roll over your STR stat, you get there but take 1 Fatigue.

The grub he ate must have given him a little bit of extra grit, because Hilmir makes it up to the plateau without breaking stride.

There appears to have been a rockslide recently, with several boulders of all sizes blocking a well-trodden path. It appears to lead up to some kind of lookout point above. Hilmir is a bit confused though, he didn't think there was anything at this kind of elevation in The Absent Grove.

The Frogmen point to the boulders and show that their attempts to go over or around just result in more debris filling up the path. They can handle the smaller ones, but there are several large ones in the middle they would never have a shot at.

If you want to move the larger rocks, roll 2 STR saves. If they both succeed, Hilmir clears the major obstacles from the pathway and takes 1 Fatigue. If one succeeds and one fails, Hilmir clears the path and takes 2 Fatigue. If both fail, Hilmir still clears the path but hurts his back a little in the process (nothing permanent or major, but it would be factored into how difficult things may be for the rest of the day).

Korban shows Hilmir a stance that helps keep him steady on uneven footing, which proves extremely effective. Hilmir doesn't only clear the obstacles, but manages to use the largest rocks to build a bulwark that will keep the path clear when the next rockslide occurs. The Frogmen are extremely impressed by this feat, and appear to be celebrating Hilmir's strength, flexing and cheering.Krogan takes Hilmir aside, places their hand across their chest and bows. This appears to be a gesture of their deep appreciation for the assistance offered. The Frogman then points to the freshly cleared path, and beckons Hilmir to follow him up.

Korban thinks for a moment, points to Hilmir, and then uses the stick to point to the south-west corner of the "map". The valley being in the middle, and their current position the north-west.

Korban then uses the stick to point to the south-east corner (on the other side of the valley), and draws an ‘X’. Their face turns gravely serious. That region is dangerous.

They give Hilmir the opportunity to ask any other questions about the map, and then brush it away. Krogan does the appreciation gesture once more, and chirps and order to the rest of the group.

The other Frogmen scurry over, with handfuls of pedals from a flower that grows abundantly on this mountain. Most is dumped into a satchel, but one of them comes over and presents his gatherings to Hilmir and Krogan. Krogan pops one in his mouth and chews enthusiastically, the rest appear to be a gift for Hilmir.

The pedals would take up one slot. Hilmir is being presented with about two days worth, and he gets the impression they wouldn’t last longer than that.

Korban pays close attention to the demonstration and performs the call once softly, using their hand as a makeshift instrument. The time together has been short, but Hilmir can tell Korban feels a true bond.

Korban joins the rest of the frogmen, and the group look to Hilmir one last time and make the appreciation gesture in unison. It is only a moment before a command is chirped, and they heads into the trees to the north.

Hilmir’s travels go smoothly, this area of the wood seems quite peaceful. Once it gets to the early afternoon, he comes across two sturdy clotheslines around a nice looking area where others have set up camp before. They appear to have left behind a heavily dented but perfectly useable pot, and some interesting water canteens made out of large gourds. Thus far, Hilmir has not heard anyone else in the area, only some small animals. The firepit is long cold.