Hunting in the Snow
W02: The Light Woods
It's Kesenday, Khael 21 14:17:35 1020. The full moon isn't up. The tide is low and ebbing. Snow flurries drift silently down from the pale grey sky. The air is damp and cold, and there is little wind.
The snow is drifting down from the clouds, making the ground white and cold. Three figures walk lightly, leaving few tracks as they traverse the forest, a tall warrior being followed by a very large dire panther and a wild elf with 3 small rocks orbiting his head. The two men are holding bows and seem to be on a hunt, the tall warrior looks over at the elf and says, "You think we'll get any game in this weather? All the large animals probably are all hibernating at this point, what do you think?" The man, known as Darius, peers into the blanket of white and tries to see if there are any tracks they can follow.
Ga'Elian says, "Oh, some hibernate, yes, but not all. We might find rabbits out foraging, although several have white fur in wintertime. Then there are woodchucks, deer, opossums, racoons, coyotes, skunks, snow leopards," (he casts a grin toward Fluffy) "pheasant, squirrel, wild turkey, and more. Mostly, it's a matter of not scaring them off and of paying careful attention."
Fluffy gives Ga'Elian a baleful look and a snort as she puts her nose down, sniffing out spoor for animals for them to find, Darius chuckles and then says, "Don't worry about it Fluffy, he's only teasing you, at least I think he is..." He raises an eyebrow at the elf before he nods, "Well, be nice to at least find something, I don't relish eating rations when we camp later, be nice to actually have real meat."
As they move through among the trees, the terrain is fairy flat. The first animals to be readily noticeable are a flock of anow geese flying overhead in V-formations. Their honking isn't the serene twitter of songbirds, but is more attractive to the hunters' ears. A falling bit of guano melts through the snow just ahead of Darius.... a near miss. Ga'Elian says, "You want to take a few geese?" He takes aim at the sky, drawing back his powerful longbow.
Darius draws back his own longbow, "Might as well, might be the only thing we catch today if we're not lucky." With that, he looks up and takes aim and lets his arrow fly as soon as Ga'Elian does, Fluffy awaits the falling fowl with great interest.
Ga'Elian brings down four of the birds and is on his way to retrieve them before they hit the ground. As he quickly pulls the arrows out of them and then ties them together, he says, "I have a few beaver traps set down by at the creek, too. We might be lucky."
Darius brings down a couple himself and Fluffy bounds off to bring them back to Darius in her mouth, careful of the arrows poking out of them. Darius retrieves his own arrows and also ties a couple birds together, leaving one for Fluffy to eat as payment for retrieving them for him.
Ga'Elian asks, "So, as for camping, Erithamiel and Pendaril aren't far from here, down by the creek, actually. Erithamiel had taken a deer earlier this morning and is probably still feasting on it." In fact, as the group walks along, a thin plume of smoke can be seen off in the distance. Ga'Elian points it out and says, "Looks like Pendaril has already started a cookfi..." The elf cuts himself off as Fluffy catches a sweet scent on the breeze. A musical sound of soft giggling floats upon the air as if from a bowshot's distance. Ga'Elian whispers, "We're not alone."
Darius blinks as Fluffy stops and looks surprised and then freezes once Ga'Elian says that they're not alone. The giggles make Darius raise an eyebrow and whisper back, "I never heard anything about the woods being haunted, have you?"
Ga'Elian smiles at Darius and says, "That depends on who you ask. Some of the lumberjacks in Wilderness Pointe tell tales of spirits in the forest, but I've never seen the undead hereabouts. No, the only spirits around these woods are fey, to my knowledge. Nature spirits, some would say." He points ahead and says, "If I'm not much mistaken, I think the giggling was from a dryad. See that old oak tree yonder?"
Darius turns to look where Ga'Elain is pointing and Fluffy herself pads over to sniff the tree curious. Darius says, "A dryad? I've heard legends of those, aren't they supposed to be extremely beautiful and only be able to stay near their tree?"
Ga'Elian smiles, 'Not so very beautiful as a nymph, but yes. At least a dryad won't permanently blind you with her beauty.' As the rangers approach the oak, a dryad does indeed step into view. In a voice not unlike Aika's she says, "Shoo. Shoo." to Fluffy and makes shooing gestures to discourage the big cat from lifting his leg at her tree. Ga'Elian shakes his head in amusement. The dryad has long flowy green hair with irises that look like acorns in her big, oval eyes. Her skin is smooth and oakwood brown, and her skin-tight gown is as if of tree bark. <sylvan>
Fluffy blinks at the dryad and jumps back a step, hackles raising, and Darius puts a hand on Fluffy's head and says, "Easy there Fluffy, she's just afraid of you messing up her tree, that's all." Fluffy looks quite injured and snorts and turns around and kicks dirt at the dryad's tree in revenge before stalking off to find more fun things to do and smell. Darius shakes his head and says to Ga'Elian, "I don't understand her though, I hope you do, or this might not turn out very nice from misunderstandings."
Ga'Elian puts his 5'4" bow entirely into his 1'8" quiver and says, "Yes. I understand her. She is speaking the tongue of the wild woods, Sylvan, as it is named in Tradespeak. The dryad nods, but looks satisfied at Fluffy's retreat. Ga'Elian says, "I'll ask her how she fares, then we can move on, if you want. I think she is accustomed to keeping company more with the animals that shelter near tree than with those who, like us, walk on two feet and talk with words." He then turns to the dryad and carries on a short dialog with her. After that, he says, "She's fine. Said there are a herd of elk about two miles north of here, and warns of believing the seductive lyrics of Satyr-song."
Darius relaxes himself and then nods, "Give her my gratitude and thanks and my hopes that she will live long and prosper in these woods." With that, he gives the dryad a respectful bow and nod as he moves to head towards the north. He then mutters under his breath, "Satyr-song, what in the god's name is that?"
Ga'Elian laughs out loud and says, "Oh, satyrs are all the time playing pranks and working mischief. Favorite among their activities, though, is hooking up with dryads, nymphs, and other fairies. Their songs are frequently calculated to seduce their intended... uh, partners." He then sings a couple lines in the same Sylvan language. The tune is both enchanting and bawdy. He laughs again and adds. "If it weren't so exotic and in a language they don't understand, it would probably be some of the most popular music among the clientele of the seediest bars."
Darius relaxes himself and then nods, "Give her my gratitude and thanks and my hopes that she will live long and prosper in these woods." With that, he gives the dryad a respectful bow and nod as he moves to head towards the north. He then mutters under his breath, "Satyr-song, what in the god's name is that?"
Ga'Elian laughs out loud and says, "Oh, satyrs are all the time playing pranks and working mischief. Favorite among their activities, though, is hooking up with dryads, nymphs, and other fairies. Their songs are frequently calculated to seduce their intended... uh, partners." He then sings a couple lines in the same Sylvan language. The tune is both enchanting and bawdy. He laughs again and adds. "If it weren't so exotic and in a language they don't understand, it would probably be some of the most popular music among the clientele of the seediest bars."