RED OAK: ARCHIVE

[Woe]

Talin pulls Caradoc aside for a quick discussion. "Looks like there's not much else to learn from this area. We are heading east from here. What are your plans? East with us, south among the other tracks, or back to Red Oak?" He takes a quick glance at Geredd. "Might be a good idea to take Geredd home before he does something rash."

[Woe]

We will take the mirror, lantern, flint&steel, oil, rope, signaling book. I'll distribute the items later tonight. If Caradoc decides to head back home, he should take the banjo to Emlin. Maybe he can deduce something of it.

As for the signaling book, Talin and Freya will read it during down time.

[Longman]

Caradoc and the others will head back from here and leave you with 3EP remaining in the day.

In the map thread you'll now see a southern hex map to adjoin to the normal one, as well as an area map showing a few other small towns. Red Oak is the biggest by far.

The rangers are pretty concerned about people going into the woods and getting killed. Caradoc will report to Emlin with banjo evidence and see about scouting the area with some dogs to find a trail. That is, after he has carried the half-eaten body out.

The signalling book is designed for to send messages with a lantern or a mirror flash, and is like a primitive morse with a lot of the consonants missing. Some of the older rangers would know about such a system.

[Woe]

The party will follow the middle Swell fork until the mountains. First they have to get there. E14, F14, G14. They won't follow the tracks, so if they should take a different path, that's fine too. It's the 1EU "walk through" pace right now. They are trying to get to H14 for the night, but will run out of time before getting there. Tents up if rain is expected.

Now that the party has two lanterns, they'll practice signaling with the lanterns. They make a game of it, but most of the interest is with Talin and Freya. Kilian keeps missing his cue due to vigilant checking of the terrain, and Tiana is distracted by her mapping of the area.

No howling from bear-like creatures, correct?

[Longman]

You all move into E14, a totally new hex, and push through it at a cracking pace. No bear noises or the like, just a few eagles keeping an eye on you from a safe distance.

You aren't lost. Hopefully.

F14 is also a new hex and once again you push through towards the river.

You do get to the river, how do you intend to cross it? It's about 25' wide here, but you could look for a narrow place.

No signs of any tracks around here, just animals. But Tiana has had the feeling something has been following you, or is watching you.

This could just be because you do not normally move so fast. She isn't sure. Just a vibe.

[Woe]

If there's no easy fording here, follow the river downstream into G14 looking for a better spot. As part of the fording finding, the party will widely circle back on their path. When they do, Talin will look for tracks that aren't theirs.

When did Tiana first notice her vibe? Is it when the eagles appeared, or when they entered F14, or when they got closer to the river?

[Longman]

The 'being followed' vibe came on close to the river.

I think you think you are in F13, but you actually said you went into 'F14', which is an unmarked hex almost off the map. I followed that instruction.

If you follow the river south from there it will be into F15, not G14.

Anyway, you circle around in F14 for a while, to figure out what is following you, if anything.

No idea, sorry. Tiana admits it could have been a false vibe.

No rain coming, 2 EP left. You still haven't crossed the river, or found a place to ford it. You going south or north from here?

[Woe]

South|upstream, but if they don't find a ford soon they will spend an extra hour exploring the hex and cross in the morning.

Usual watches, usual routine.

[Longman]

You move south into F15, onto the new map. This contains a river, not shown on the new map so far, I will update at some point soon.

You find a place to cross, quite handy, with 1ep remaining for the day. You'll need to drag a few logs across, though, to make a little footbridge between two rocks, a gap of about 10'. Is that OK? Or you could rope it, and leave no trace behind. The dwarf almost certainly can't jump it.

The 'being followed' vibe fades as the day grows long.

Can I ask why you are being particular about crossings in this mission? Is it Fido? I figured he could at least paddle a bit.

[Woe]

It's actually more speed, and maybe a bit of dwarf. Since we are exploring, might as well explore to find easy fording areas. No point stringing lines every time, and it is a hassle to swim across with this much gear. I didn't mean to seem particular. Once across, the party will use any remaining EP to explore the hex.

Fido can dogpaddle.