The Adventure

Gevin gets ready as the doe turns to come in for another attack. Bit this time he's ready. Holding his axe low he sweeps it just above the grass to hit the doe in it's legs while trying to hide behind his shield.

Gevin manages to hit the doe where it hurts, though the impact spins him around and makes him dizzy for a few seconds.
That just leaves the last doe to deal with. The dizzy vision makes it hard to see what that one is doing exactly.
"I'm alright." He calls out to Etta before she has the change to ask.

This battle has been more frenetic than anticipated. Etta can imagine the chiding comments from the villagers when they hear about it.

Then again, red-eyed rabbits had mauled a group recently, so there shouldn't be much shame in getting assaulted by deer....

Though a bit out of sorts, the archer takes a deep breath to focus, notches another arrow, and sends it flying. It nails the remaining doe in the neck, causing it to tumble like the buck she shot.

With momentum now in her favor, Etta moves to end the fight....

It appears they were victorious, but just to be sure, Etta draws her dagger and does what's necessary to ensure the deer are truly dead. Their unnatural squeals and blows cease, and the forest is still, as if it's judging their actions.

After retrieving her arrows from the corpses, and wiping down both them and her dagger on the grass, she returns to Gevin's side.

"Invigorating little fight, eh? Though seeing such peaceful creatures filled with such rage...I know I'm a hunter, and have shot my share of deer, but still...."

Gevin breathes heavily. "Even though I knew this was happening, I didn't expect this." He says, still recovering from the surprise. "I understand now how the bird was able to hurt your leg."

He walks over to the doe he cut and grabs his dagger to cut off a chunk of meat. "Might as well use the meat for food tonight, right?" That's when he notices something's wrong. "Etta, come and smell this." He holds up a cut off piece of meat. "It smells off to me. Even though I just cut it. It even looks like it was left in the sun for a few days."

"What do you think?"

"The smell? You sure you didn't get bashed in the nose, Gevin?"

But after sniffing the meat, Etta wrinkles her nose and frowns. And Gevin's right: it doesn't look like meat cut from a freshly-slain deer.

"Gods...more strangeness. I think this is something new. I certainly don't remember anyone else mentioning anything similar. And we both examined the hawk that cut me. Nothing off with that meat, right?"

"Well, we're definitely not eating that for supper. But should we do anything with the corpses? Burying them will take time and energy...burning them might draw attention. Or do you want to cut 'em up even more, see if there are any more surprises?"

"You're right, I didn't notice it with the bird." Gevin agrees. "Though, I'm no expert of bird hunting." Did he really check that bird well enough. He's unsure.

"I say we leave them here for the wolves, if they're still interested in off meat." He tells Etta. It's not like they were leaving behind a friend. These are just wild animals. "Animals die all the time, right? Let's keep going."

The 2 travel onwards through the woods until they spot smoke rising up above a lower section of trees. "People!" Gevin tells Etta as he points to the smoke. "We should go and check it out."

Once they get there, they spot a camp site in a small clearing. From a hidden spot in the bushed nearby, it looks abandoned. The bonfire that had likely been roaring not long ago has already been reduced to smoldering ash, which is causing the large amounts of smoke. "It looks like whoever was here already left. Could it be hunters from a village nearby?" He asks Etta quietly, just in case. "Did you see anyone while you were out in the wilderness alone?"

"Yes, I saw hunters from the Bluff...when I was closer to our village. Now we're deep in the wilderness. No reason for anyone to be out here this far, unless they're adventurers or Ironsworn like us...but why would they set a fire during daytime? The weather isn't that cold, and smoke draws unwelcome attention...."

Leaving Gevin for the moment, Etta slips quietly through the undergrowth, keeping eyes and ears open as she circles the small clearing. She doesn't notice anything amiss for several minutes, and is about to step into the clearing and whistle for Gevin, when she hears a grunt nearby.

Dropping down on all fours, she slithers closer to the noise. Finally she glimpses three male forms through the leaves and vines: the Broken, as she can tell from their filthy appearance and feral twitchiness. She also catches a gleam of red eyes.

The three are lying in a small depression, and are almost impossible to spot unless one is dangerously close to them. They're gazing intently at the campsite, occasionally letting out quiet grunts or snarls; perhaps this counts as their language. Though Etta considers herself well-versed in the world around Rackon's Bluff, the ways of the Broken are difficult to fathom.

The Broken have a large, tattered pack on the ground nearby; it doesn't look like something the craftspeople at the Bluff would create, but rather a strange mixture of tied-together vines, leaves, and bark. For the pitiful Broken, this is likely considered expertly designed.

The pack looks filled with supplies...and indeed, as Etta watches, one of the Broken reaches inside, pulls out a gourd that apparently serves as a waterskin, and takes a long gulp. Another pulls out a handful of something (a fruit and nut mix?) and munches the snack slowly.

Straining to be even quieter, Etta crawls back to Gevin. After catching her breath and making sure she wasn't followed, she tells him what she saw.

"I think this is clearly a trap, Gevin. Those three are well-hidden, watching the campsite like hawks, and probably have enough supplies to stake out this area for days. I doubt anyone ever truly used this site; the Broken started the fire to draw the unwary, and they almost succeeded."

"Even if it was made by others, they're no longer nearby. Killed by those Broken, maybe? Or perhaps they escaped by the skin of their teeth? Doesn't really matter; we can daydream about the possibilities all day, doesn't change the fact that we gotta handle this situation somehow."

"And those red eyes...I thought that meant the person or animal was always in a rage, unable to think or plan clearly. But no...not these Broken, at least...."

"What shall we do, Gevin? It would be nice to have those supplies o' theirs...but they outnumber us by one. Maybe we could distract 'em and grab the pack, then disappear...but who knows? Maybe they're good trackers, and will pick up our trail and ambush us anyway. Killing 'em now may save us a heap o' trouble in the future...."

Gevin thinks for a minute about the information Etta has given him. "I don't want to risk fighting them head on as you say. A distraction might work." He ponders. "It's curious that they're not as feral as we thought they would be. Could that mean they will react rationally?" It's a tough choice, but Gevin feels he needs to decide as he is the one who made the initial vow.

After thinking it through some more, he continues. "Alright. I will go off east and make some noise to hopefully lure them to me. Then I will hide. Meanwhile, you grab the bag and come back here. If they're smart, they will leave 1 guard behind. I'm sure you can handle that with a well-aimed arrow. If something goes wrong, we will make Rackon's hunting sound as a sign that we need to get back together."With this plan in mind, he heads east making sure to avoid the location of the broken. Once there he finds a muddy spot and uses it to darken his face and hands in order to blend in better. He finds an easily climbable tree and gets to a higher position.

Once there he closes his eyes and quietly says "Mara of Nowhere, Goddess of Trickery, lend me your powers of deception and allow us to make this a fruitful journey. We honor you and will repay our debts with sacrifice."Then he yells out "Natasja! Can you hear me?" a few times, as if someone who is out in the forest looking for a lost person.

As Gevin finished his prayer, he gets a sudden sharp headache. Was this coincidence? Was the goddess unhappy with him? Is it the red-eyed presence that is acting in retaliation? He wasn't sure, but he knew he'd have to be extra careful without the goddess' blessing.

Etta nods as Gevin outlines his plan.

"Agreed. Be careful. You're not as stealthy as me, you know. Since we joined forces, I sometimes think I'm traveling with a mammoth, so loud are your steps."

She chuckles softly and slaps Gevin on the back. Then she drops down and starts crawling and shuffling back to the Broken.

Again she gets into position without being seen or heard...and just in time, as she hears "Natasja! Can you hear me?" only a few seconds after settling into a waiting crouch.

The Broken hear it too, and with collective growls they're on their feet, each one wielding a crude battle-axe...and all of them rush towards the noise!

Gods! They left the pack behind, but can Gevin outwit all three? I better do something to confuse 'em even more....

Ignoring the pack for now, she notches an arrow....

Etta aims carefully, her goal to send an arrow into a tree near the onrushing Broken...but not too near. She hopes a strange THUNK will confuse them just enough so Gevin can slip away unnoticed.

Unfortunately, the Broken are moving too swiftly, and the forest is thick. Her arrow doesn't track as she wishes. It THUNKS into a tree right in front of the feral men, so close she may have even grazed the cheek of one!

Now they know it's an arrow, and that it came from behind them! Reckoning that an archer is more dangerous than some random voice, they wheel around, and head back towards Etta!

Dammit! That's what I get for bragging about my stealthiness and precision....

She glances at the pack quickly, then with another curse she slips away without taking it. The extra weight and bulk would slow her down, and a stolen pack might enrage the Broken even more. And the Broken were fast; taking even a couple of seconds to secure the pack may be her undoing.

The archer manages to slip behind a large oak tree, and nestles down into some thorny undergrowth. She doesn't think the Broken saw where she went, but she's not completely sure. So she waits, wondering what will happen next. She's not confident enough to slip back to their designated meeting spot, so Gevin will hopefully wait a bit, and not do anything idiotic in a misguided attempt to save her....

Gevin is sitting up in the tree and looking out for the broken arriving. He waits for a good 2 or 3 minutes, but nothing happens. Did they not hear me? They must have! Maybe they're not easily distracted then. He thinks to himself.

After waiting another half minute, he decides to to shout again, just as he did before. "Natasja? Where are you? Tasja?" Hoping that this will do the trick.

A worrying creaking noise hits Gevin's ears. Unfortunately, before he's able to react, the branch he's perched on is already cracking and falls away beneath him. He plummets to the ground, another branch hitting his ribs on the way down. He groans as he hits the ground and clutches the left side of his chest.

If the broken show up now, he'll be in a terrible spot. He looks around for a different place to hide or an escape.