Beruga Going Down

Oct 25, 2023 1:02 am
[ +- ] Beruga
Beruga sighed again as she ran a brush through her fur, again. The lowland heat was making her shed even more than usuall and a naggling dread of going bald kept teasing here. Luckily she seemed to be loosing 80% of the inner fur and only 50% of her longer outer fur. Still the daily ritual was becoming tiring. At home you helped each other with this. Another sigh.

The high mountains were long gone and Beruga had seen several new types of people. Her current camp had a nice view of a small village. She knew it was built by people, the question was what kind and would they recognize her as people. Some seemed to think you had to be bald to be true people. Still she had come down for a reason and sitting here watching the village wake up was not it.
OOC:
@avylazyboy Welcome to the Story :)
We wil geth you through a couple of simple scenes before moving your story along and into the main setting. Le me know if you have questions either here, in the Q&A or in your personal thread.
Oct 25, 2023 2:29 am
Beruga lowered her nose to the ground once more and sniffed, more to procrastinate than to catch a scent. She knew that the person she had been following was right here in the village before her. She just couldn't fathom what a visiting hiker would want with all of the poisonous mushrooms that had been freshly picked along the trail.

Perhaps her younger self would have given a stranger the benefit of the doubt and approached immediately to intervene, assuming they didn't know what they were about to eat. But now her daughter had to come first. Always. And she had heard terrifying stories of how some bald men could be cruel and deceptive. Still, the few that she had encountered didn't behave in any such way, and there was a good chance someone could use her help. It was time to make her presence known. She paced forward a few steps and called out a greeting in her native tongue.
Quote:
CHIIIIIRP!
OOC:
Thanks for the warm welcome! I took the liberty to insert a little narrative background, but lmk if it doesn't fit into the greater context. (Now or in the future) Looking forward to see where this goes!
Oct 25, 2023 4:56 am
OOC:
I welcome the interactive story creation so Nattate on!
As the chirp pierces the morning air Beruga sees some motion down below. Focusing she determines the inhabitants as halflings. Which kind she can not yet say... Duende, Hin, Gnome, or some of the smaller beast folk? Soon a group break out from the village and heads Beruga's way. As they get nearer she realizes with a bit of a shock they are little bugs. Or rather bugkin? They walk on 2 or 4 legs with their middle limbs alternately acting as arms. The upper arms are smaller and more delicate. Antennae move as they advance and their large compound eyes are set wide on their rounded faces.

bugkin
Soon the group of 5 stops several yards away looking up at the large furry foreigner. One of them steps forwards and gives a slight bow while spreading their upper arms wide. The other watch cautiously with weapons in hand but not held in a threatening manner. Greetings? You speak?
Oct 25, 2023 5:16 am
Beruga pipes up in a muffled high-pitch tone: Hello! I do. Might you have cool fresh water for a wary traveler?

bugkin

Psybermagi

Oct 25, 2023 11:36 am
bugkin
The spokesbug twitches it's antenae and Beruga can hear the fantest of clicking acompanies by a high pitch hum and whistile, almost like someon is playing a tiny marmonica with a set of small pips while draggins a wooden spoon over a washboard. The other bugs twitch and more clicks and whistiling hums can be heard. The local language?

There is a smal stream that is quite clean just to the west of our village.
You will excuse us but you are quite lagre and our village is small, not built for one of your statuer. What brings one such as you to our lands? We have heard tales of people likeyou but not seenany in a great many years.
Oct 25, 2023 6:29 pm
Not wanting to immediately divulge her knowledge of the poisonous mushrooms would they even be poisonous to these creatures?, Beruga decides to play dumb. I confess, I have been lost for days on end. I had set out from my home, hoping to gather food for the winter, but must have turned myself around. Last night I caught the distant scent of another traveller, which led me here. Now, if you will pardon me, I must have a drink before continuing this conversation.

Beruga bounds to the west and laps up water from the river with more excitement than necessary before returning back to the greeting party with a big smile on her face.
OOC:
regarding skill checks, should I roll if I think one is necessary? Or wait until asked? I'll include one here for deception just in case.

Rolls

Deception - (2d6)

(53)

Oct 25, 2023 6:37 pm
OOC:
In play by post I encourage players to fill at they see fit. It speeds the game along as ignoring unneeded rolls is quick and easy and asking for more only delays the story.

That was an appropriate roll
A couple of the bugkin tailed behind, just to keep her in sight, but otherwise they waited patiently
Oct 25, 2023 7:16 pm
Thank you for your patience. And where are my manners? My name is Beruga. It is a pleasure to meet you!

bugkin

Psybermagi

Oct 26, 2023 1:21 am
bugkin
We welcome you.
Our names are unprounaouncalbe by the other races, but you may call me Speaker.

You say you followed the traces of another traveler that came this way?
They did not make themselves known to us. They must have moved on. Or perhaps you followed one or out hunting teams retuining from their rovings.

But that is not a large matter. We have heard the hight moutains are harsh lands. If you wish to gather foods a few of our hunter can show you fields where the herd beast feed and areas where wild plants can be harvested.
Speaker pays attention to you the entire time by the other seem to be taking turns watching you, and the surrounding area with vigilance. Occasional quiet burst of their speech can be heard occasionally.
Oct 26, 2023 4:06 am
I would love to meet a hunter of your village! Of course, my kind has not acquired a taste for game, but I'm sure they could teach me much about the local flora! Beruga then thinks for a moment and asks: Are you not hunters yourselves? Sorry to pry, I assumed that was what your weapons are for.

Following Speaker's lead, Beruga uses her powerful nose to try to sense if the scent of poisonous mushrooms is close.

bugkin

Psybermagi

Oct 26, 2023 12:39 pm
bugkin
Yes the others are hunters. I am the "Speaker" Looking your large form over he asks You . . . . do not hunt? Or eat mmeat? Do you farm then. We can show you much of the area. I assume your food stuffs mostly grow in daylight?

With a guesture for you to follow the Speaker begins to move to cirle the village. As you move Speaker points out the plants and animals, often confering with the other bugkin. He seems to be asking your knowledge of each as much as explaining their own knowledge. You note that he talks about plants that certain animals eat and never mentions what they eat themselves.

Beruga sniffs the air and catches a hint of the mushmoom wafting up from the village.
Oct 26, 2023 8:43 pm
Beruga stiffens and jumps to her hind legs. It's time to push for some answers. Do you smell that? I sense a toxic stench! Hard to tell where it is coming from though... Do you have any idea what it could be?

Beruga focuses on Speaker's reaction to her outburst, as well as the hunters in the corner of her eye. Do they appear defensive? Are they genuinely curious?

Rolls

Perception - (2d6)

(62)

Deception (if necessary) - (2d6)

(42)

bugkin

Psybermagi

Oct 27, 2023 4:02 am
bugkin
Speaker waves their antennae for a moment I am unsure what you are commenting on. I know we "smell" different than you do. I detect traces of our crops, the processing of plant and animal flesh for food and crafting but do not detect any poisons. I could bring you some of the crops we grow and materials we graft wish. You can identify then if any have the poisonous scent. I would not want to harm you accidentally.

With a bit of conversation in their language one of the hunter rushes off to the village retuning a few minutes later with several parcels. Wood, bone, meat, water, a wine or other alcoholic liquid, and a basket filled with a variety of fungi, one of which carried the traces of toxins you were tracking.
Oct 27, 2023 6:09 am
Beruga gently prods the poisonous fungi with the tip of her nose. You eat this? Quite fascinating. It is lethal to our kind, and we often have to warn foreigners lest they poison themselves. But this one- gesturing to another fungi -is an absolute delicacy where I live! And is this (alcohal) some sort of crafting material? Surely it is much too potent to be a drink!

Beruga is also sure to get a good whiff of all the parcels, particularly the meat and bone, which she will try to identify.
OOC:
using disadvantage since Berugas exposure to dead flesh is rather minimal
Assuming the "poisonous" mushrooms are part of their diet and the meat isn't recognizably Pika, Beruga will relax and spend time indulging Speaker's curiosity.

Rolls

Perception (to identify meat + bone) - (1d6)

(1)

bugkin

Psybermagi

Oct 27, 2023 7:20 pm
bugkin
Oh yes, we have trouble growing these in the caves. The bulk of our diet is mushroom and these are considered a delicacy. Meats and other plants are used primarily for seasonings.

You chat for a bit and a pair of hunters takes over guiding you through the area with Speaker helping to translate when the hunters have difficulty. The bugkin seem self sufficient and other than paying for wild mushroom delicacies and some metal or an occasional trade with wanderers like yourself do not have many dealings with outsiders.

Mindful that you said you were hunting or working to support your family Speaker direct you to the south east where there are ruins. There is a tower our hunter use to weather heavy storm when they are traveling far in that direction. To the south of the tower another half day are the remnants of a city from before the Shattering. Though we have little use for the things found there I understand that many find them interesting and will pay for items recovered that are from the Dawn Age.
Oct 30, 2023 12:02 pm
The meat has been cut to a handy size for the smaller bugkin hands and the bone is an indeterminate piece about 1/2 inch wide and 3 inches long so it must be from a larger animal. Beyond thay neither reveal much about their origin.
Oct 31, 2023 7:22 am
Beruga's eyes widen at the mention of the Shattering. Growing up, she had only heard of this monumental event through folklore. A lullaby that her mother would sing to her. Ancient battered relics of the Dawn War that no longer served a functional purpose. Stories of crimson floods that were said to run from the blood of the slain Deity.

To her people with a 7-year average lifespan and little in the way of written history, the Shattering may as well have predated the mountains themselves. But that was not the case with everyone. Less than one month ago, Beruga had taken a contract to escort a stocky, old, bald mountaineer to the top of Grujin's Pass. Her companion was slow and navigated the terrain with difficulty. Beruga worried for his safety, since on the other side of Grujin's pass lies a Realmic Border that is especially susceptible to harsh storms. For days, Beruga would voice her concern and he would reassure her that he knew what he was doing. Only on the last day, when they parted ways at the pass, did he reveal the reason for his journey.

His name was Theodore Grujin, and as a young man he himself fought in the final battles of the Dawn War. Back then, an army of abominations brought forth by the elemental Titan Ahonai threatened to swarm into the land from the north, He and his uncle, Syvas Grujin, led a small legion to defend the mountain pass for as long as possible. It was a suicide mission, but for 24 hours they prevailed. Exhausted and bloodied, Theodore and his uncle stood petrified as the stony face of Ahonai pierced the thick clouds, gazing straight at them from hundreds of feet up. Theodore ran without a second thought. A minute later, strong tremors made him lose his footing. He fell and turned around to see his uncle Syvas, still standing strong on the mountain pass. Ahonai was poised above Syvas preparing to crush him like a bug. It was then that the Shattering reached their corner of the world. A blinding wall of lightning was the last thing he remembered before waking up days later in a dried river bed, miles from the pass.

As the new age of Strife commenced, Syvas' final resting place was commemorated with the name Grujin's Pass to commemorate his stand-off with the Dawn Age Titan.

Beruga had become so enchanted by the old man's story over the next several weeks that when Speaker described the city to the south, she knew she couldn't resist exploring. Her eyes light up and she asks Speaker: How long is the journey to this tower? If I can get there by nightfall, I must be on my way!
Oct 31, 2023 4:36 pm
[ +- ] beastfolk aging
Speaker gives detailed directions to the tower, it should be reachable by Beruga well before sunset as with her size and familiarity of traveling over rough terrain she can cover ground much better than a bugkin hunter. One of the hunters how knows the common language better than most offers to accompany and gude Beruga for as long as possible. Speaker explains the hunters can move at great speed when needed and he will simply hunt on his way back making the excursion a part of their regular long range patrols.

Filling your waterskin and getting a parcel of dried fruit and a larger one of sliced mushrooms that your recognize you are sent on your way with your guide. Though not able to keep up with your longer strides in a run the hunter seems quite capable of jogging effortlessly for hours on end. As you travel you take turns pointing out new plants and tracks of animals exchanging what you know about them.

You pause for a short rest a bit after noon and notice the hunter east a few slices of the mushroom they gave you but also drinks from a waterskin that contains something more like honey. Beruga learns it is a substance some of their kind can make and it is used to feed the young. It is high in energy and is given to hunters and warrior for when they do not have time to eat. After some thought he offers a bit he places on a leaf.

bugkin
Setting off again after eating you travel for another hour before the hunter speaks up. Warblight and warborn near. Use care. They hunt and kill. Many to south. Some wander here near tower.The hunter is nearly noiseless and seems impressed at the little your massive form make as you slow and listen more to the woods around you.

Blue Terror
Your caution prove to be well founded as you move deeper into the woods and notice signs of larger animals, both hunter and prey. As you near the tower the hunter holds up a hand and his antennae twitch in a manor you learned is similar to pointing before both swivel and point to the back and side but otherwise he does not react or speak. Beruga continues walking and as she passes a tree turns to look to the side but darts a glance to the rear. A brief flash of blue reveals you are being stalked. The creature is about 4 feet tall but almost 8 feet long. It is covered in feathers but its mouth and limbs remind you more of lizards. The hunter quietly murmurs Blue Terror
Nov 1, 2023 8:31 am
OOC:
Yay, I get to live longer! That works for me, and I don't think anything needs to change because there would still be several generations between the Shattering and Beruga's birth.
Beruga whispers to the hunter, "You recognize this creature? Will it hunt us? And can it climb or fly?" Regardless of the answer, Beruga positions herself on the opposite side of the nearest tree and begins to climb, looking back to see if the hunter is following.
Nov 1, 2023 1:48 pm
bugkin
It hunts us. Pack hunter, but some solo. Run fast, jump far. Bite and claws
The hunter warns as he pulls to small but sharp looking darts into two of his arms and readies a spear in 2 more. By the twitching of the antennae and deliberate movements you can tell the hunter is looking about for other creatures. Along I think. I leave so it attack. Then I return to help? is suggests in question to Beruga

Blue Terror
The Blue Terror is a bit more than 50 paces behind the pair of you but seems to be moving closer while maintaining cover.
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