Episode 2

Maeriks continues to fight for his life as Thorn tries to keep him alive.

Optional Action, Thorn: Send R3 Medicine check. Identify strategy, counter death marks or restore life marks?

Sizhen's Ryhim's shot sails out at high velocity, and with amazing accuracy despite the distance and movement of the target. The stone snaps against the edimmu head with a crack.

Hit

"HHHAAAAAAAHHHKKKKKKKKKKK!" it buzzes in surprise and pain.

It falters in flight, nearly crashing to the ground before recovering enough to change directions and flutter away.

The wretched creature continues its clamor as it retreats to save distance and higher elevation, "STTTINNNGGGZZZ!!! AAHHKK!! LUUUURRKERRR!!!!"

It banks out wide to flap back, heavily injured, to the wood line.

After the shot, Ryhim is already moving forward against towards the archer.

Movement complete. 30 feet closer to wood line.
Hide in effect. DC 20 for detection.

Breathing heavy from the sprint and the rush of adrenaline, Sizhen strives to keep his fears from getting the best of him. Rushing closer to the archer is a troubling proposition, but he knows that the alternative to doing so would only invite more danger.

Summoning his last reserves of courage, stamina, and speed, Sizhen surges forward again, scanning desperately to avoid incoming arrows.

Action: Dash
Bonus Action: Dodge

Kray has last Action remaining this round.

Kray and Sizhen do their best to continue the arduous task of crossing the flood plain.
Ryhim catches up after his cast against the bat head.
Thorn struggles desperately to keep Maeriks from slipping away.

It is difficult for them to keep eyes on the shooter. Sizhen alerts that it looks like the horse is on the move.

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The horse huffs and tilts into the bridle. Simush is gathering him in, but he beast is side stepping and inching up the hill, still swinging his head outward.

What is its anxiety?

The edimmu flier's voice buzzes from a distances. It is clamoring and barking its discontent as it returns from its pass over the flood field, but Simush cannot focus on that just yet. The horse has to be stilled.

Finally it is perhaps. It neighs and comes to heel. Now it is only stomping a bit as it continues to edge up the hill and west. Simush turns it to confirm control.

When the roar rolls through the trees on the hill, the horse rears up on its hind legs in terror and breaks into a run downhill.

Simush holds briefly, but feels the horse unravel into primal fear - beyond control.

This horse is going buck wild. Choose 1:
Optional Action, Simush: DC 16 Animal Handling to remain on the horse and regain control
Optional Action, Simush: DC 10 Acrobatics to ditch the horse and dive roll to the ground without damage

In the sudden confusion of the moment, Simush's mind lead straight to conclusion.

The roar. A great cat.

There is only one of two that it could be.

And either one ...

They are here.

Previously note="jabes.plays.rpg"]A roar of a great cat must be either ...
Zabu: ancient species tiger
Winter: white lion.

The masters of these cats are the current top authority Hechesi tribal leaders in the Jara-Hili.

Atraharsis.
Babati.

Sons of Shamash-Nasir, legendary Hechesi Patriarch, martyr, the most famous and celebrated Hechesi icon of the last 3 generations, the most infamous thorn in the side of the Nasi power network in Gelshemish, who was executed under public spectacle - for insurgency against the Sar and defiance of the Dasnishiat religious orders, or for speaking truth to power in righteous indignation - depending on who you ask.

Babati and Atraharsis, as brothers, are the most well known, most important, most admired Hechesi leaders today among the Hechesi themselves. The Dasnishiat and those empowered by the Sar would call these men rebels, insurgency leaders, or at least rabble rousers. They are the pinnacles of legitimacy among The Forest People, and outlaws to the public authorities in Gelshemish.

As an outsider, Simush has always avoided them, though he is Hechesi as well.

Now one of them must be here, or at least nearby.

But Simush has yet to even see the cat. The roar came from uphill, but it is close.
[/note]

From the trees - a roar.

A loud roar. Surely a predator, and by the sound of it, a large one.

Sizhen, Kray, and Ryhim hear it coming from the forest.

The neigh of a horse follows.

They cannot see the shooter nor the horse. They are hidden by the trees.

Sizhen looks questioningly at Kray.

Simush pulls on the reigns and stops the horse just before it dives into descent down a last dip that bottoms out into the flood plain at the end of the tree line.

With his heightened senses, his awareness of the woods, he can probably feel it coming before he sees it.

But just then his attention is torn to the image of the edimmu flier. It blurts out a gargled cough in the air overhead, then it crashes down through the branches of the trees and lands with a thud as it knocks into a tree base. Its tentacles and wings do not even flap. An arrow is impaled through the center of its face. It rolls to a stop lifeless on the forest floor.

And now Simush sees the white lion leap up atop of a log up hill. It stands up and roars again.

Winter. The White Lion of Babati.

When the horse rears and goes to leap the edge of the descending slope ridge, Zabu is already in full stride approaching from the west.

Simush can see it happening, but there is no way to stop it.

When the great cat leaps and strikes, the horse is thrown over, tumbling down the short slant that tilts to the flood plain.

Simush's reflexes are quick enough, barely. He leaps out of the saddle and tumbles to landing without injury, though he stumbles down to a knee only just in time before sliding to the bottom of the ridge slope himself.

The horse does not fair so well. It rolls end over in, thrashing the entire way. It lands on its back at the marshy ground below, its heavy weight smearing across thin grass and pressing it into the mud. Driven into survival mode by the attack, the prey animal bends and spins wildly to get back to its feet. It stomps and chops wildly with its hooves trying to stand - a fatal mistake. Its front hooves are soon stuck in the mud. The left leg cracks once it pushes its weight up onto its rear legs.

Simush sees and hears this in a wild glance. His senses as well are turning on to survival mode.

Both of the great cats are closing in, baring their teeth.

Winter is at least 500 pounds of muscle. Zabu time and a half that. And their size is only outmatched by their speed and ferocity.

There is no way to escape these super predators.

Frozen in place facing the tiger and the lion, Simush sees the Hechesi descending the hill and closing in both east and west along the bottom edge of the wood line ridge.

Spears and javelins in hand. Some carrying bows with arrows knocked.

Hechesi tribesmen. Within seconds, dozens of them. All with weapons trained on Simush.



Simush is surrounded.

From the flood plain, Kray, Ryhim, and Sizhen hear another roar, then see the horse tumble out from the foliage of the wood line.

It descends down the hill, further west (left) now than where they had originally seen it. The beast is soon stuck by its own weight in the mire of the soft ground.

Then the movement of the Hechesi warriors. Like swarming wasps, they reveal themselves, flying through the forest and along the edge of the flood plain now.

Most of them swarm inward toward the horse.

"There," Sizhen shouts and points. "At the top of the low ridge, behind that shrubbery. Our shooter."

It is difficult to see the detail. Perhaps the Alijanian is right, but it is not entirely clear that it is the same man. There is now a flood of movement, troops in motion.

A few of the warriors, carrying spears and bows, are already moving out to the edge of the flood plain and looking outward.

Over to the west as well, in the reed fields, they are moving there as well, a few emerging out to face inward towards the low wetland field.

One thing is sure, the crossing group is spotted.

Various distances. Some as close as 30 yards.

Maeriks' skin is pale. Thorn checks for breathing. He's not sure if he feels anything.

He puts his ear down to the big Danneins chest, he listens for a heartbeat. He hears nothing at first. But the other noises - the water splashing. It's too loud.

Thorn tries to still himself entirely so he can hear. He listens again, hoping for anything.

Faint. A slow thump.

The chest rises and falls, but barely. Maeriks' breaths are so shallow.