The Green Woman of the Erin

[Longman]

Anna does not object. Talin's in charge. She isn't that freaked out because she's up for adventure! Ysa has seen and heard nothing.

You next move is into E05. You find nothing. The forest here is thick and ancient.

The final EP of the day is spent moving into D04. Again, nothing. You make camp. Nothing happens overnight.

The hag rock is visible in the distance to the north-west. It sits beside the river, to the south of it.

Now what?

[Woe]

Talin calls the other rangers over (and Anna and Kilian) shortly after breakfast.

"Looking at the map, Hag Rock is here (D04). However, Anna's premonitions want to steer us here (I04). If we head east, I want all of you comfortable with the decision. This will be almost the furthest that we've gone into Boldenwald, and we've never been this far north before. The only stories I've heard about the Erin is about the hag, and I didn't pay much attention to them. Now, I wish I had.

I want us to pool our knowledge, talk about all of the rumors we've heard. While some will be stories that drunkards tell to scare their children, others will be true. You've heard about the wyverns..."

"Dragons." interrupts Kilian.

"Small, wyvern-like dragons that we encountered last month. Up until then, I thought those to be a myth. I no longer think that. So let's hear the stories of what everyone has heard about the Erin, both here at Hag Rock as well as up by the source."

Talin has two goals here: one is information fishing (both from the rangers and from you!) and the other checking the rangers' morale. It is two days to I04 and two days back. That's a significantly longer trip than "head north and kill a hag" and he wants to ensure the patrol is up for it. Also, how are provisions? We didn't really stock up before leaving.

[Longman]

Rations: remember that 4 of you are rangers and therefore require no food rations in this terrain. Anna has 10 days worth of rations, but it is assumed everyone else is using self-sufficiency.

Info: The rangers know the same as you. Ancient stories tell of creatures in the woods, like female ogres, who would enslave whole villages with their magic. For the last 20 years it has been assumed that there was one living up the river Erin, because girls kept going missing in the place where the river tumbles from the hills to meet the plain. The Hag Rock is that place. It does not necessarily mean the hag is there. You could check, though.

Morale: rangers are good to go. Searching along the Erin was actually the mission you were expecting. You just don't know how far you will have to go.

[Woe]

Now that //Lieutenant// Talin has done the 'inspire the troops' thing, time to roll out.

Talin proposes that the group starts at Hag Rock and proceed upriver until they reach the source. As they go, they'll map the river to see whether they'll be able to return via rafts instead of hiking back. Short hikes with rafts/canoes would be fine, but no long hauls overland.

Standard marching order, unless we have another Geredd bumbling about:
Talin (R4), Coll (R3), Fido (Dg4)
30' back
Anna (T4), Ysa (R1), Kilian (F4), Caradoc (R3), Corsa (Dg1?)

D04 -> (follow the Erin, which isn't on the map)

If Caradoc and Coll want to switch, works for me. Whoever is sneakiest. Anna gets the receiving end of the very important "stay out of close quarter combat" request/plea/lecture from Talin, not because he has feeling for her (which Kilian flutters his eyes behind Talin's back when Talin mentions it) but because she's the only one who has so far seen these rare beings, and that could be a Clue somehow.

As for the pace, would a bunch of rangers (and a crusty dwarf) adequately spot interesting aspects at a 2EP/hex rate? I'm trading off "more better eyes" with "faster pace" to get the original 3EP/hex inspection rate at a faster move rate. If I have to choose between speed and thoroughness, they'll go with the 3EP rate -- no stone left unturned.

Kilian isn't self-sufficient unless I've forgotten to put down a Belt of Endless Ale and Sausage.

[Longman]

Heh. I keep forgetting Kilian is here. He's normally so loud. He has 10 days rations, too.

You push on in the morning to reach Hag Rock (C04). A large tower of rock stands to the south side of the river, and a smaller one on the north side. Rapids tumble between them. It's picturesque. You are at the south side of the river, which flows into D03.

Oddly enough it's the apprentice female ranger Ysa who spots something in the area.

"These berries look like they've been picked," she says. "Look here. The crowberries. All along this place. Not browsed by an animal. Picked clean. See?"

Only Coll sees what she means. The rest of you can't see it, and think she's just making stuff up to get respect.

2 EP in the hex. Do you want to look around more or head into D03?

[Woe]

OOC: We went whitewater kayaking this weekend, so I know exactly what Ysa means. There are young boys in these parts, and if the party heads downstream, they'll find a bunch of boys giggling on overturned kayaks while stuffing their faces with berries.

Let's look around more, even if it means losing some time. This group has no idea what they're getting into or what they'll encounter, so the more they know the better.

PS Talin warns the other rangers to not hunt (the Luchan species that he was warned aboutl I don't think hare and deer was on the list but definitely not mice nor anything else that Roddy/Arfyl/Abigall mentioned might be Lucha. He'll also tell stories of wild trees and stirges (yes they're real) and gumps and everything else. Not to scare anyone, but more to help the rangers understand the types of monsters they may encounter in the next week.

[Longman]

After another EP, you have now explored both sides of the river. You have seen some old graffitti from when kids used to come to the rapids, but nothing else.

Talin is of the firm belief that there is nothing to find here, and so is Caradoc.

Ysa is convinced that there is a person living around here, and Coll agrees. Not a goblin, and definitely not anything like an ogre. A human. But someone who is extremely careful to hide their tracks.

Time's a ticking. The weather is good today, but that may change. It looks like rain tomorrow.

3 EP down. What do you do?

[Woe]

"Alright boys*, we have a lurker abouts. I'll buy a beer to da one who flushes 'im out first. An' if it's me who finds 'im, you all buy me a beer. Each." declares Kilian, ending the discussion between the rangers.

Let's find this hermit!

* meant completely gender-neutral, not that Kilian would care at all whether Anna and Ysa were offended by 'boys' instead of 'boys and girls'

[Longman]

After another EP of searching (4 down), there is still some debate about whether what you are seeing is actually tracks or not...

Then, more definite evidence emerges at the base of the smaller rock pinnacle (the one on the north bank of the river).

Several people notice a few spots where it looks like someone has recently climbed the pinnacle, on the south face - i.e. the face with the rapids immediately below.

The climb would be a difficult one - the pinnacle is about 200 feet high in total and quite sheer. From your vantage below, you can't see any obvious destination up there. A lot of birds are nesting on the rock faces, but that's about it.

[Woe]

"The only person going up there is a bird man." notes Ysa.

"Hmpf." grunts Kilian. "Anna, ye be dah climber expert. 'ow ken ye get up there? Ye dink ye ken attack from dee off side?" Anna takes a minute first to figure out what the dwarf is trying to say, and then understands.

Rather than going straight up the face, will she be able to get a head start from either side and then climb down the face (opposed to up)? It should be much easier to tie down when climbing down not up. Otherwise, we're gonna 'ave some rolls fur Kilian to do dah engineerin' scaffoldin' ding.