Oh, sorrow and woe!

[Anthr4xus]

The Witch had gone out late this morning, after everyone had had breakfast. Normally she would pick a few of her familiars to keep her company, but she told everyone that she had seen signs and portents that she must do this errand on her own. Time passed and the sun moved across the sky. After awhile, the group of you decided to go and try to find her. She had never been off by her self this long before. Trusting Bernie's nose and Broom's eyes, they found her path and were quickly following to where she had gone.

The clearing was a place the Witch had often gone before to commune with spirits and to do big, powerful magic. Some of her items, candles, herbs, a small cauldron, an atheme, were scattered around her. She lay in a pile on the ground at the center of the clearing. Her blood soaked the loamy earth around her, and you didn't need the nose of a dog or the ears of a rabbit or the eyes of bird to tell that she was dead, dead, dead. OH HORROR! She was cut and stabbed in many places and the mark of a cross had been smudged on her forehead in ash. Her eyes were burned out of her skull, and the branches of the forest sang a sad song of loss for her and her familiars. The ashy cross was a sure sign that a despicable witch hunter had killed her!

Fortunately, in her great wisdom, she had predicted this might happen and had told all of them what to do. They had to find this witch hunter and bring his eyes back to her. If they could do this before the sun set seven times, she would be revived, as if nothing bad had ever happened! Wouldn't that be a miracle? And if they don't, then not only is the Witch lost forever, but they will all go back to being normal animals.

The six of you look at each other over her body and you all know what you must do.

[Fallout_Monkey]

Elora

"Oh no oh no" Elora cries "Who did this? Let's look around see if we can't find a clue about them. We must get their eyes."

Elora will hop around the area looking for anything that might lead them to the witch hunter. Also if there are any toads or frogs about she'd like to ask if they saw anything.

 

[Civit]

"I am in charge. And I say we should search for clues, clues that will lead us to the villainous owner of the eyes we seek. Where I shall heroically pluck them from the vile ones skull and return them to our dear Mistress. Everyone do their utmost and I shall tell her how you aided me."

[ariel]

---

Broom

Clever: 2 | Fierce: 1 | Sly: 2 | Quick: 1 | Danger: 0 | Tidy, clean and mend

---

The old crow cried several times. Seven times to be precise. The first three wretched yells were to announce his utter dismay at the death of The Witch. The next two punctuated his anger at how her body was broken and ravaged. No eyes at all! The last two yells were to signal distress at how her things were scattered in disarray. Even blood not where it ought to be!

Broom flew low, gathering some of her lost herbs in his talons. He then landed near the the cauldron and looked inside. If empty, it would provide a place for him to gather her belongings. He looked at the toad and rat. How could they expect him to think about clues when there was a mess to clean?

Still, he supposed they had a point and his black eyes flicked from the cauldron to the atheme. Had she been stabbed with her own blade? And what of the fire? Had there been a fire set? He glanced at Scorch, trying for a look less than accusing. Not him, no, couldn't be. But still, some fire had burned to take her eyes and set the ash on her face.

Oh, how he fiercely wanted to clean the ash off her forehead. If not a "clue", he would. Broom nodded firmly, promising it to himself. His feathers rustled eagerly at the thought.

[BlackFinch]

TScorch

Scorch stomped his feet when they found the witch, or what was left of her. That was the only was he knew to express his mixture of disbelief, frustration, anger, fear and sadness. She couldn’t leave yet, because if she left, then who would take care of them, her beloved familiars?
Vaguely remembering the guidelines they’d been given, Scorch tried to think of a plan that made sense.
The hare started pacing around and lighting the candles around the dead witch because that was all he was really good at and it made him feel like he had some control over this situation. “Yes, we must get the eyes. But how do we do that?”There was an undertone of desperation in his voice, but he tried his best to hide it while staying focused at lighting the candles.

 

 

[Dushara]

“No, no, no …” Bernie whimpers mournfully, his powerful shoulders drooping in despair.  In desperation, and not knowing what else to do, he anxiously licks the witch, over and over in the futile hope of rousing her back to life.  But his mistress remains as unmoving and unresponsive as before, except that now she is covered in small puddles of drool.

Fortunately the rat takes charge.  Good old Asteroth—whatever would they do without him?  Thankful that there is someone here to tell him what to do, the Saint Bernard trots over to the rodent and gives him a big, grateful lick.  “Thanks Asteroth.  I forgot about the eyes.” He begins searching for clues, but then stops, confused about what he is looking for.  “Um … what should these clues smell like?”  He gazes at each of the other familiars, hoping that someone could help.    

Not wanting to disobey the rat, he tentatively resumes sniffing the ground.  “If only the forest spirits could help us!  Wait … I remember this clearing.  This is her place for big magic.  Maybe she brought one of the forest spirits here with her!”  Indeed, when casting a ritual the witch often communed with one of the thick rectangular spirits from her shelves, flipping through its pale off-white leaves for guidance.  "Oh great and wise forest spirit!  Are you here?  Please talk to usCasting his spell to make a book read itself, if one is present and tell us what to do!”

Edited November 2, 2023 by Dushara (see edit history)

[Civit]

Asteroth wipes the excess slobber from his fur.... a laborious job despite his size. Now was not the time to remind Bernie about his "no licking" policy. "If it smells human, but not witch.... that's a clue."

[Anthr4xus]

Everyone spreads out and starts looking for clues, anger and sorrow driving them to do their best. Bernie cried out to the forest spirit, yet naught but the wind moved in the branches. The forest floor was rich with smells and other markings, both from the Witch and from other things. The immediate area appears free of other creatures, even little bugs or insects.

OOC

Everyone that is looking for clues give me a Clever check (D10+Clever). this is not dangerous, and your target number is 3. Some of the clues available to be found (feel free to spread these out amongst yourselves):

1. There were both horses and other humans here.
2. They left heading east towards the next nearest village.
3. They approached from multiple directions, but left in one group.
4. There was a small fire under the cauldron but that was doused with water, as were the candles.
5. The ash mark on her forehead does not smell like the ashes of the fire.
6. Several small wooden crosses or Xs were scattered around the tree line all around the clearing. They are all very precise and identical.
7. The witches eyes burning out were part of her death curse and where you need to put the eyes when you recover them.
8. The mark on the Witch's forehead is very precise and practiced.
9. The atheme has no blood but does have some of the herbs scattered around stuck to it.

 

 

Edited November 2, 2023 by Anthr4xus (see edit history)

[Fallout_Monkey]

Elora

Elora get too focused on looking for witnesses that she misses other clues...

OOC

Rolled a 2 on my previous post.

[ariel]

---

Broom

Clever: 2 | Fierce: 1 | Sly: 2 | Quick: 1 | Danger: 0 | Tidy, clean and mend

---

Puddle? Broom's talons were wet. He turned his head almost upside down to spy under the cauldron before him.

In a gruffly warm tone, he spoke, matter-of-fact, straight to the point, as usual. "Looks like there'd been a fire under the pot... gone now, watered down. Maybe candles doused too." He looked to Scorch for confirmation. The hare was lighting things, as usual.

"Didn't tidy up though." The bird hopped over the abandoned blade. "No blood. None. Not used on our Witch. It's not clean though... herbs stuck to it. Cut herbs and lit fires... somebody started a ritual?

She or they... can't tell." Broom raised one dark wing and passed it over the atheme. The herbs fell away. He commenced to drag the now clean blade over to the cauldron, and carefully laid it next to the pot in an orderly fashion.

 

OOCPIcking clues 4 and 9 because Broom was looking at those objects in the previous post.

4. There was a small fire under the cauldron but that was doused with water, as were the candles.

9. The atheme has no blood but does have some of the herbs scattered around stuck to it.

[MysteriousMiller]

---

"Dash"

Clever: 0 | Fierce: 0 | Sly: 2 | Quick: 3 | Danger: 0 | Lock/Unlock, Open/Close

---

Like the other animals, Dash had waited as patiently as he could for the witches return, nervously tapping his feet and twitching his nose - aware of every strange noise, sight or smell that drifted into the cottage. Eventually, he accepted that there must be something wrong and they had to go out to search, but when the found his mistress' broken, defiled body he could hardly believe his eyes. What will become of us? How will my family survive? wondered the hare, whiskers twitching as panic began to set in.

Dash wasn't clever or brave, fierce or wise. But he was swift of foot and at least as sly as the foxes that hunted his family. When the others started to look for clues he threw himself frantically into the search, sprinting and leaping around the clearing, sniffing the ground and the air, ears pricked for danger. He soon found the scent of the evil swine who'd harmed his mistress.

Many, many...this way! he called excitedly

OOCPIcking clues 2 and 3 as I feel Dash's headlong frantic running would miss out on the finer details but pick up the scents of the creatures and which directions they had moved.

2. They left heading east towards the next nearest village.
3. They approached from multiple directions, but left in one group.

With a 9 rolled, I'm assuming that's a success

[Dushara]

 

---

Bernie

Cleverinteract with humans, understand them: 1 | Fiercescare, drag, push, carry, bite, scratch: 3 | Slysneak, steal, hide: 0 | Quickoutpace, climb, evade: 1 | Danger: 0 | Make book read itself out loud

---

Though disappointed that the forest spirit is silent, or simply not there, Bernie takes easy cheer from the rat’s advice.  “Human, not witch … got it!”  Eager to help, he lowers his nose to the ground and begins sniffing one way then another, zigzagging his way across the clearing while tracking a number of scent trails.  “Yes, many humans …,” the dog agrees with Dash, then perks his head up in surprise “… and horses too.  Did the horses kill our beloved witch?  Do we need to bring back all of their eyes?”

The Saint Bernard meanders over to Broom and sniffs at the atheme by the cauldron.  “Isn’t that her knife?”  As if to compare scents, he returns to sniff the witch, but seems distracted and puzzled by something on her forehead.  “Wait … ashes on witch not smell like ashes from fire.”

OOC

Discovering clues 1 & 5 because Bernie's all about the nose:

1) There were both horses and other humans here.

5) The ash mark on her forehead does not smell like the ashes of the fire.

 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Dushara (see edit history)

[Anthr4xus]

The group of you scamper about gathering what information you can. Dash picks up on the trail the witch hunter and his cronies took to leave. A wind blows through the clearing and you feel like you can almost hear the Witch's voice upon it, urging you to hurry. Gathering up, you follow the trail. The village you seek if far away and even as the sun sets you have not yet reached it. The stars begin to peek out of the night sky. Your bellies rumble and your feet and wings ache from the walking, yet you have made good time and can already smell the faint hints of large groups of humans upon the strongest of winds. If you stop and rest you think you should probably reach the village by mid-morning of the next day, elsewise you can push on through the night to try to get there as quickly as possible. How would you all proceed as the darkness falls?

OOC

As stated in the Overview this is a short duration game, so I am pushing us a long a little bit. If you are stopping, and one or more people would like to try to hunt for some food, you can make a DC 6 Sly, Quick, or Fierce roll (your pick) to try to find something good to eat. If you beat a DC 8, you find enough to share with another familiar. If someone beats a DC 10 they find enough for everyone. Failing the check will give you 1 DANGER as whatever you were hunting turns the tables on you.

Alternatively, you can push on through the night. Doing so will also give you 1 DANGER, but will save you a big chunk of time.

The group needs to come to a consensus on stopping or pressing on, but if the group decides to stop, everyone can individually decide to hunt or not.

 

[Civit]

"You can't all be tired." Asteroth says from Bernie's back. "Well I guess we CAN find some food, preferably a nice wheel of cheese."

Asteroth stands tall on Bernie's back and gives the air a sniff. Asteroth's whiskers twitch. "Oh bother, no cheese in range."

Edited November 6, 2023 by Civit (see edit history)

[MysteriousMiller]

---

"Dash"

Clever: 0 | Fierce: 0 | Sly: 2 | Quick: 3 | Danger: 0 | Lock/Unlock, Open/Close

---

With the scent of the evil ones fresh in his twitching nostrils, Dash hurried onwards and, before the beautiful moon had risen, they all started to pick up the scent of the villagers. He could see that some of the others were starting to flag a little, but the slight madness that Diana's bright orb always brought quelled his hunger and brought on a fighting spiriit in the aging hare.

"Onwards...the fight is ahead!" he called as he bounced on his hind legs and boxed with the shadows around him.

OOCnone

Edited November 6, 2023 by MysteriousMiller (see edit history)