The rest of the night passes by uneventfully. At some point during Sandra's watch, the odd talisman Kadebor constructed disappeared; one moment it was hanging from the branch, she looked away, and then it was gone...
You continue your exploration of this stretch of the Narlmarches. The day is brisk and breezy, the spring sunlight dappled on the shaded woodland paths before you. All is peaceful and well, until you hear a sound you were subconsciously dreading: the mechanical snap of a bear trap. Unseen in a small cluster of ferns, Sandra's horse steps in the trap, nearly throwing its rider and screaming in pain. Acting quickly, Sergei and Kadebor are able to pry the trap open and free Sandra's horse. No bones were broken, and the horse is able to continue on with a slight limp.
Again, towards the end of the day, Sergei discovers another unmarked bear trap hidden behind a log. He marks its location, increasingly appalled at the laziness or callous indifference of the trapper who laid them.
As you make camp for the night, another incident transpires with the campfire. As the fire begins to burn, suddenly it starts to smoke; and smoke, and smoke. A cloud of foul black smoke billows out from the fire, filling the camp with itching, choking fumes. Although the smoke dissipates after a few minutes, you all end up choking and coughing, with tears welling in your eyes. The horses and Shash are likewise irritated by the smoke, and after the smoke clears the whole fire has gone out! Sergei gets another fire going, swearing the wood he found was dry and perfectly normal.
Once Tallamor gets his breath back, however, the elf has his own theory as to what transpired...
As you settle in for the night, Tallamor's familiar, Mirli, gives the elf a sense of suspicion and alarm through their empathic link. The hawk flies up into the darkening branches above, but returns after a few minutes, relaying a feeling of disappointment or shame, like some prey had escaped. Clearly, the hawk was able to spot something the rest of the party could not, but if it was the fey that's pranking you, it managed to slip away.
In the morning as you pack up camp, you discover that Sandra's horse has been... vandalized? All along one side of the horse (the side that was facing away from the camp most of the night) there are now stripes, dots, and crude drawings painted on the animal's fur with mud, berry juice, and other impromptu pigments. It looks like the chaotic scribblings of a toddler. There is a message written in crude Common: I wish my rider wuz moer kareful my hooof hurts
The fey graffiti is washed away easily enough with some water. With no sign of the prankster anywhere, you continue to explore the trapped glade. Over the course of the day, you discover three more bear traps, thankfully before anybody can step on them. With the traps flagged or sprung, you conclude the day much as you did the last one, approaching the evening lighting of the camp fire with some trepidation. Nothing amiss occurs, however, so Sergei catches a pair of rabbits for dinner.
Once the rabbits are well-roasted on the spit, you divide the portions of meat on skewers and set to eating. However, just as Tallamor is about to take a bite, the skewer slips from his fingers. He picks it up again, only to have it slip out once more. Examining the skewer closely, he notices the skewer has been coated in grease; specifically, the kind of grease created by a grease spell. It wears off after a few minutes, but you can swear you hear the softest of snickers from somewhere in the branches above as you finish your meal.
That evening, the party sets their own traps of sorts, waiting for the unseen fey to take the bait... but despite vigilant watches and a certain sense of suspense, nothing happens. Kadebor's talisman remains unclaimed, and nothing so much as touches Sandra's bag of berries.
As the night goes on, it gets quite cold, and by morning, the dew has turned into a rime of frost, coating the branches, tree trunks, and forest floor in delicate ice crystals. Your breath steams from your mouths and the snouts of your mounts. While you're comfortable enough by the camp fire, Sergei and Kadebor both know that should you decide to continue your exploration today, you'll be putting your fortitude against the cold.
IC Thread 1: Ch. 1, Stolen Land
