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Author Topic: Back Tracking  (Read 2365 times)

willhoff

Back Tracking
« on: December 10, 2014, 03:14:28 pm »
*With a two-day old trail there is some haste in this old dwarf's gate.  He passes the elder elf's clothing and personals to Blizzard and Katrina for the wolf and Quenton's panther to smell.  Zigruum offers a few barks and belts out a long howl as Blizzard dashes off through the gate wense the elf had come through. Quenton as well bends down caressing his feline friend and after a brief conversation, mostly purring and meowing, the large cat heads out the gate right behind Blizzard.  Zig then leans on his wood staff and knocks back a tankard of good dwarf ale smiling to Quenton.  He waves his mug to the others in the group, Acacea, Iri, Plenarius, Griff and Sehky looking for their imput.*"Der on de trail if der still be one.  Folks wanna ask around te de gaurds and others bout de old elf's comin' and goin's now be de toime.  We set out on de pointy eared ones backtrail as soon as ye tidy up ye investigations er' but nae be idle on eht.  We stay te much longer Griff gonna get his axe out."*He chuckles to Griff and then smiles to the others offering a respectful nod to Plen*  
 
The following users thanked this post: mixafix, swoop, Acacea, Ravemore, davidhoff

Acacea

Acacea nods after saying
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2014, 03:27:49 pm »

Acacea nods after saying goodbye to all the animal friends, tugs a little on one of Plen's wings, and disappears to make some rounds through the locals.

 

davidhoff

*Griff had mounted his
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2014, 05:18:41 am »

*Griff had mounted his warpony, Passion, as he waited for the tracking wolves and cats to be prep'd for their quarry.  As usual, he is in shiny mithril plate with red accents and Voraxian insignias on his shield, armor and warpony.  He smiles brightly as the animals fight to smell the old-elf's clothes because they know what this means and are eager to get on the trail.  He leans to one side and carefully spits some  mouth-brewed Wolfswood onto the grass where it lands with its brothers in a small puddle.  Gives a sarcastic wave of his axe toward the Aragenite Temple and gives Passion a bit of his boot heal.  He's happy to leave the stench of cowardess emitting from the area and get on with something productive.  He'll follow the tracking animals on his warpony keeping weary of his surrounds and also looking for signs of where the old elf might have come from.*

//Before the animals were released Griff also tried to speak with castle guards and other people who might have seen the old elf come into Bydell.  He'd give special attention to any dwarves he encountered.  Griff has a fairly good persuade check.

 

mixafix

Zigruum hears something large
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2014, 01:43:10 pm »

Zigruum hears something large flapping behind him. Blizzard has turned but has already shown an  indifference to whatever is descending. By the time the Dwarven Druid has turned round there is only a lone human emerging from the treeline. A slightly windswept and bedraggled Foresta greets him. "You are a difficult Dwarf to find Druid, have I missed anything? I have been down in the deep you know."

 

Dorganath

// Just to let everyone know,
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2014, 10:56:41 pm »

// Just to let everyone know, we'll be responding to people shortly on this effort now that the US Thanksgiving holiday week has passed. Thanks for your patience so far.

 

swoop

//Sorry a bit late to this...
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2014, 07:57:26 pm »

//Sorry a bit late to this... Holiday and all... 

*Quenton lets Katrina sniff the old elf's belongings for a while along with Blizzard and sends her off.* 

*Speaking to the gate guards:* So! What do ya know?! How's things? Hope you guys are getting all the good watch shifts and all that! Did the old elf say anything, or did he just wander up stumbling and what not? What da ya guys think of them stars? I like blackberry pie the best... what's your favorite? Oh wait nevermind... Which way did he come from?

*After they respond he mounts Horace the mighty semi-war pony along with Zig and sets out after Katrina and Blizzard looking for tracks or signs along the way.*

 

willhoff

*Zig hobbles along at a
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2014, 08:07:26 pm »

*Zig hobbles along at a steady pace and flashes a glance back to Foresta as if he already knew who it was and keeps on the track* 

 

"De Deep? Well maybe we end up der wit ye soon enough!  We on a two ole' day back track of n' ancient pointy ear dat wandered inte de castle n' fizzled out loike.  Some claim he may a come from der abouts.  Ye de some gud by help'n us foind de hole he crawled out of!"

 

 

mixafix

Foresta slowly catches up
« Reply #7 on: December 06, 2014, 05:18:23 am »

Foresta slowly catches up with the others news as if she was paid by the word,  and then opts to help with the tracking, drifting in and out of various shapes often without a by your leave. She flies on ahead, digs deep down on the forest floor, and consults with nature's keener observers as she goes along. 

 

Dorganath

Your combined tracking and
« Reply #8 on: December 06, 2014, 11:59:29 pm »

Your combined tracking and investigating efforts yield the following results. Working backwards, the elf known as Era was taken into care by the Aragenites at Bydell Castle shortly after arriving. Guards and other people who saw or encountered him described him as being visibly unwell, to the point where some were even hesitant to come near him for fear of catching whatever it was. Era did not really speak to anyone beyond weak pleas for help and some broken babbling in Common and elvish much like the group experienced earlier during Era's final moments. Answers to any questions he was asked were of the same, broken and semi-incoherent manner.

The castle guards and watch only became aware of him specifically when he was within a hundred meters of the castle gate. Terrain and usual ground traffic into and out of the castle meant that anything particularly unusual about Era or his approach went unnoticed until he stood out in some way. In this case, his staggering walk first caught their attention, followed by his general appearance once he was close enough to see well. Beyond the fact that Era entered through the eastern gate, the guard and watch cannot offer much information on Era's path.

Picking up his trail through the immediate surrounding area of Bydell Castle proves pretty much impossible, given the amount of traffic common to the area and the inability for anyone to identify any footprints specifically as Era's. However, once out on the periphery and with the help of animals who can pick up his scent, a faint but trackable trail can at last be found. At least initially, the footprints and signs of passage reflect the description of Era's staggering approach. Footsteps are spaced unevenly, there are signs of dragging of feet and even what looks like a stumble here and there.

Backtracking the trail leads you generally in an easterly direction, though sometimes the trail veers significantly north or south for a time as if Era could not maintain his course without correction. This is apparently not due to any terrain variations or blockages, and this path also indicates he did not always walk with his eyes forward but more likely focused on the ground just in front of him. Such alterations in his path seem to become less frequent the farther away from Bydell you get, and also, his footfalls and stride show signs of becoming more regular, though never quite becoming steady and consistent.

Assuming you track him this far, once you get into the Taur'en hills, his trail becomes difficult to follow, even for the animals following his scent and slowing your progress. Eventually, you lose the trail completely. Circling outward from the point where the trail is lost to pick it up again yields no conclusive results. There is no obvious cause of this loss of trail beyond time and terrain.

Charting the course back toward your starting point, you find yourselves almost due east of Bydell Castle. It is reasonable to assume such a trend would continue if the trail itself continued. Two other things about his path stand out. First, he seemed to make no camps along the way nor really stop for any reason except you were able to note a few instances where he seemed to have collapsed and possibly rested in place for a time before continuing. There may have been more than this, but terrain and/or weather may have erased or hidden these signs from you. The second thing is that his path did not seem to take villages, towns or other places where people and/or shelter might be found. For example, though his path took him relatively close to Greywatch Tower, he neither approached nor avoided it in (apparent) favor of maintaining his westward path.

 

mixafix

"Seems all about time here
« Reply #9 on: December 08, 2014, 08:07:45 am »

"Seems all about time here Zig don't you think. Time will catch us all if we keep tracking east." She leans heavily on her runed staff, rolling a grass stalk around her mouth apparently deep in thought, or perhaps just short on words.

"Something in the sky lead him west? A pretty desperate walk for sure. I'm pretty desperate myself too, I mean look here, how important is it to keep following this trail east, just hoping to stumble upoin something now ?"She stubs her staff in the ground a few times shaking her head and looking at the others for where they stand on this.

 

willhoff

*Zig rubs his beard in
« Reply #10 on: December 08, 2014, 07:36:53 pm »

*Zig rubs his beard in contemplation while he watches the large wolf and panther circle the perimiter for the umpteenth time.  He stares East and then looks around with his gaze stopping at Foresta and her chewing.*

"Aye eht appears de old elfs trail grow stale.  He was determined te foind de castle eht seems.  Since we're close maybe we see de kin under de Hills loike Tyra suggested."

*He ponders Eastly again pointing the top of his staff*

"Milara be as far East as he coulda gone on foot but under his condition and judgin' by his zig zaggin' he nae would made it. Unless...de bugger got dropped off loike round abouts here."

*He howls in Blizzard and offers the wolf some dried giant ear to munch on while they talk*

 

twidget658

*Wolfswood rangers report
« Reply #11 on: December 08, 2014, 09:00:13 pm »

*Wolfswood rangers report back to the main camp that there is a small party looking for someone of importance. A small band of rangers are are dispatched to assist in the search and to send messenges to rangers still out in the field requesting any information about this person of interest.*

 

davidhoff

*Griff nods acutely to the
« Reply #12 on: December 09, 2014, 12:46:56 am »

*Griff nods acutely to the Wolfswood Rangers in thanks.  He sniffs the air as his eyes span the Tauren Hills.  He sighs, but with a small twinkle of appreciation, as he watches the tracking animals covering old ground*

"Ye folk keep up ye watch, ye done good tah get us dis far.  Since we're here Oi'm gona have a looksee n dis 'ere ole gold cave tah see if der anyting unusual loike."

*With that Griff heads into the old gold mine cave to look for tracks or signs of unusual activity.  He's hopeful to maybe speak with any dwarven miners that might be out for ore and follow what unknown leads may come his way*

 

Acacea

Once the town and its sources
« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2014, 09:28:54 am »

Once the town and its sources of information have been left behind, Acacea seems more a tagalong than one offering much in the way of tracking. It's clear she's rather directionally challenged, and while perhaps surprisingly able to help in sweeping areas for signs now and again under direction, it's not exactly her strong point. She's easily distracted by shiny rocks or a friendly animal...

Seeing no need for stealth (if ever she could be called stealthy), she's often making some kind of music or another and has a knack for picking the person in the party most likely to be irritated by being followed around to ... well, follow around, bells chiming, asking what they're doing and if they've found anything yet. 

"Did you know your token magical person isn't very magical, at the moment? Sorry! Anyone sniff a portallation or anything else? I've been trying but I'm just underwater." She looks hopefully around for Plen to see if he's on the ground. "Also, does anyone have a map? You should mark the areas east and west that would be in his wobbly course area! Also again, do you think he really was headed for the castle, or the castle was in the way?"

 

 

Gulnyr

"Yeah! Look!"Iri sits down
« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2014, 10:54:27 pm »

"Yeah! Look!"

Iri sits down and takes out a little map from a scroll case, spreading it over a small patch of ground atop the hill, and then pointing at various places across it even if no one is nearby to look.

"See? There's Bydell! And the tower we saw, after we went around the lake! And I think we might be on this hill! There's a town that way..." She points northeast without looking. "And a cave system that way, which is probably the gold cave he was talking about! Neat!" She points north. "Farther east is just plains and a lake and a river and then a big ocean bay, with Fort of Kings on the coast! Across that, there's a canyon in the mountains and then Milala's house, if this cartographer isn't one to make geographical jokes!

"The other way..." She drags her finger back across the map... "is just a swamp, with a swampy cave! But the cave is farther south than Bydell Castle, so if he meant to go there, he turned too far north after going around the lake! I think he was guided! Was he Aragenite?

"Hey! If we quit trying to stumble upon something new here, where should we try to stumble upon something new next?"

 

mixafix

Foresta continues to lean on
« Reply #15 on: December 10, 2014, 04:07:48 am »

Foresta continues to lean on her staff. She looks down at the map as if interested but does not commit to moving closer to properly study it. She tilts her head slightly in apparent understanding offers a brief smile and a wave of the hand in acknowledgement to some point. Which point is uncertain. She looks around at the group and considers some more.

 

willhoff

*Zig nudges past Foresta to
« Reply #16 on: December 10, 2014, 03:13:40 pm »

*Zig nudges past Foresta to look over Iri's map and smiles to Iri*

Aye ye was so busy scouting Oi nae know dat ye was scoutin' but seems ye got tings strait!  Not sure were Nature takes us from er' but maybe Oi go see if anyting is lingerin' dat be magical loike around de last tracks.

*Zig offers a smile to Acacea and heads over to the last known track or sign of the elf and sits down indian style closing his eyes.  He gathers his senses and the surrounding nature and tries to feal for any lingerings of magic possibly made from a magical portal or something similar.*

//pm will be sent regarding the portal finding attempt

//also apologies to Iri in not including her in the initial thread...edit made!

 

mixafix

Foresta watches Zigruum
« Reply #17 on: December 11, 2014, 12:25:35 pm »

Foresta watches Zigruum prepare his research with a bemused inactivity that suggests she does not see anything happening soon that will produce results. This is against the background of their very long walk so far. After a time she offers the following consideration. "He has stumbled and walked a distance far beyond any normal effort that's a fact. I'm just thinking the seasons have changed since he was last through here. " She rakes the undergrowth for effect before adding. "I think we could send on word all the way to the Bloody Gate, and nearer to Erilyn to see if his journey has been recorded anywhere by anyone useful. You never know one of those Wolfswood rangers might even turn up something too. Other than that I think we should return to see what's what at his destination, he sure made an effort there alright. What do you think ?" She stands tall eying the sky longingly, hoping for a quicker return journey.

 

Acacea

She furrows her brow in
« Reply #18 on: December 11, 2014, 12:56:19 pm »

She furrows her brow in question. You mean at the castle, if that was his destination? We came from there, yoa? He's gone. The thing that confuses me is how far he came. I would have loved to guess right off at darkness, "Ah! He came for surely from tea with Milsy!" but I could not imagine how long that would have taken or if he was addled at the start or only by the end.

Either way, why wouldn't we also check for magic on the way or at the last sign? Kind of a silly thing to leave even if the chance is slim... like checking silly caves.

In any case! If the castle you meant, there is nothing for me there. I will have to think of something else.

She seems tired but not unsurprised at the events so far, like someone who has just hoped for a miracle without actually expecting one to fall from the sky.

 

willhoff

*After a while Zig opens his
« Reply #19 on: December 11, 2014, 08:04:09 pm »

*After a while Zig opens his eyes and pours himself some ale looking around to see if anyone is still there.  He gets up and aproaches the group offering a simple smile though his now beer frosted beard.*

Well far as Oi can tell der nae been any quirky magics used er' besoides de ones ye all been doin'.  Oi nae tink dis is de end of de Elf's trail either but were de bassard went from here is anyones guess.  Oi did notice what looked loike woild geese tracks were Oi was meditatin' though.

*He offers a smug grin and continues trying look more serious*

Oi'm runnin' outa ale and dat nae a gud ting.  Oi still got questions loike, were de elf came from, why de bugger went zig  zaggin' cross country te Bydell only te fissle out, why he nae ever make camp or stop if he was growin' toired...*grumbles* and why Oi'm still outa ale!

 

 

anything