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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 18, 2022 5:32:26 GMT -5
<thinking> At least it was easier coming back out of this thicket than it was going in to - OUCH!
I quickly brush off the front side of my body from chest to about knee level as I rise up from my crouched position while listening to the avian knight. "Two marcs are nearby with a third one farther away? I think we can eliminate the marc that isn't nearby so there are two clear choices. Of course, that means one of them is wrong.".
<thinking> I have to figure out a way to decide which one to choose.
"As far as what Alla is doing here. We literally just bumped into each other on the way. She told me she was called here to help the new things come about. She believed we were being used to create a new country." I explain to the knight.
"I felt a sting as I left the thicket. I assumed some sort of thorn pricked me or a sharp break on a branch dug into my neck. Does it look bad?".
Before he is able to answer I exclaim, "I have an idea on how to proceed. Let's go to the marc between the trees but slightly off a direct path. We can look for signs of disturbance in the dirt and leaves. That will point to recent travel along the path. That should mean that Alla went that way. If we can't find any signs of foot traffic, then we can go to the other marc. Sound reasonable?".
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Post by hengest on Apr 18, 2022 9:13:55 GMT -5
The knight listens very carefully, without any of his now-familiar tweeting or ribbing when you explain your acquaintance with Alla and her belief about your purpose there.
"Calling the Lady by her name!" her says to himself under his breath, but as he is seated on your shoulder, you can hear him clearly. "High favor!"
He hops a bit, perhaps a little surprised by your plan to track Alla. You get the sense that he would not have thought of this himself. "Yes...that sounds...like good rede, I guess!"
You feel him crane over to get a better look at your neck and you hear a kind of gurgle from him. It may be a hesitation sound. "It looks a little ugly! But you don't have any feathers, so that makes it look worse. What do you men do with these things? Wash them?"
[If you attempt your tracking plan next, say roughly what you are looking for. If someone approached it directly from the forest edge where you and Alla came from, though at different times, they might likely take a more-or-less open "path" that you can imagine. If you imagine that "line," you can see a way to move alongside it, with more difficulty, but without disturbing potential tracks.]
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 18, 2022 9:50:28 GMT -5
I chuckle at the knightly bird before explaining, "Alla explained to me that she is a common woman in her world. She did admit that she does have the appearance of a Noble.".
<thinking> Maybe she just "has the look" or maybe she is hiding something...
"Yes, we wash wounds and usually dress them. Might put some sort of ointment or salve on them." I answer to the knight.
"Let's try those two trees first. See where it looks like a rough walking path right there?" I point to the ground and move my hand in a forward motion showing one possible path. "We're going to follow this path but a step or a little more off to the side. We are going to go slow and look for hints that someone has come this way. We are looking for leaves that aren't just lying on the forest floor but have been crushed by feet walking on them, broken pieces from small branches, dirt that's been disturbed, boot prints, maybe even some fabric that was torn away. Got it?".
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Post by hengest on Apr 18, 2022 10:03:16 GMT -5
His attitude has changed now that you have involved him with a task instead of simply asking question. He tweets his agreement and moves to the ground, hopping along with you as you check.
Now that you are paying attention, you see that there is a fair bit of debris on the ground here. In the dirty little dust of the somewhat dry earth, you note some tiny marks, confused and moving in various directions. One is from some sort of small bird, you are sure. Another couple tracks might belong to a larger creature, perhaps half the size of the snurfler, you guess. But the creatures that passed here were not headed to the doubletree or moving along this "path" as a path at all, simply moving about in this part of the wood and leaving these tracks where the earth and dust took them.
Of obvious signs that a human passed this way, you see none. The knight offers several possible signs, but you can tell he does not fully understand what you are looking for.
She might have passed this way, but if so, you see no special sign of it.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 18, 2022 10:48:42 GMT -5
<thinking> He seems to enjoy helping more than just answering questions.
I stop and glance around before saying, "Something passed this way, but it appears to have been much smaller than Alla. I don't think it would be wise to pass between the trees unless we checked the area leading up to the steps the other way.".
I turn and start to walk the other direction but stop to ask, "If I pass between the trees is there anything stopping me from turning around coming back immediately? Could I cross and take a quick look in the immediate area and turn around and come back?".
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Post by hengest on Apr 18, 2022 15:06:04 GMT -5
"That I don't know! We haven't had a lot of visitors around here, nor call to pass through and return!" He hops a few feet in the direction of the doubletree, but lands facing you. His puffy body is starting to look familiar and "homey."
"I can't promise you'll find what you're looking for! If you pass through...may the Lady help you find her!" He bobs his head unevenly in a way that you take for a wink.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 18, 2022 15:46:17 GMT -5
I stand in thought for a moment weighing the information the knight just gave to me with the choices I face.
<thinking> I think I've figured out what I must do.
"After some thought..." I pause to look at the bird and continue, "following my instincts has worked so far. I'm going to go between the trees and see if I can spot Alla. If not, I will return immediately.".
I look around with resolve and ask, "Do you mind waiting just a few moments to see if we return?" as I step towards the double trees.
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Post by hengest on Apr 18, 2022 16:06:12 GMT -5
He hops over to near the doubletree and looks at you. "I can wait a bit unless my duty calls! The Lady and you are a pair!" That seems to mean something to him.
[If you attempt to walk through, please draw a card from a regular deck of 52 (ignore jokers) and let me know what it is.]
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Post by hengest on Apr 18, 2022 16:15:48 GMT -5
[Or just use an online deck or whatever.]
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 18, 2022 16:23:37 GMT -5
"Understood. I would not have you ignore your duty. Here I go.".
***I drew a 9 of Spades***
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Post by hengest on Apr 18, 2022 17:26:01 GMT -5
You approach the opening and the trunks seem to part before you. It is not nearly as tight as you expected, not at all. As you begin to step through, however, it feels like the length of your sword pulls away from your back as if someone is holding it. Then the sensation passes and you almost stumble forward.
Your ears pop as if a storm is coming, but the weather seems unchanged. Everything you see seems more vivid, if not brighter. You notice more, such as the many mushrooms growing from the forest floor. The air has a touch of tanginess to it that you feel in your nose.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 19, 2022 16:00:28 GMT -5
<thinking> I've never felt anything similar to passing through the trees.
I take a long look from my left to right to see if I can spot Alla. Afterwards; I examine the mushrooms to see if they resembles the one given to me by the snurfler.
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Post by hengest on Apr 19, 2022 17:18:25 GMT -5
You do not spot Alla as you scan the area. It feels lively, as if someone is here. But you see no one.
Crouching down, you inspect some of the mushrooms growing nearby. Checking those closest to you first, you find them unlike the one the snurfler gave you: these have thin, but sturdy stalks, and their caps are dark brown with light spots. They seem somehow more stately than the mushrooms you know from home.
But just a few feet away, some very similar to the gift-mushroom catch your eye. Most of them are significantly larger, the largest of them the length of a man's hand and nearly as wide. They look well-rooted in the ground. The one the snurfler gave you is blue-gray; these appear to have been blue-gray with richer spots of brighter colors coming in unevenly. The largest one that you inspect is about half blue-gray and half other colors, but not divided evenly down the middle; rather, the brighter colors are "ripening" into sight in different patches around the "fir tree" shape. The ripest and largest patch has a deep and juicy-looking red at its center that blends into a rich purple before yielding to the apparently basic blue-gray. Looking closer, you see that the very center of the red patch has a orange-clear appearance.
The smaller ones look likely to be walking the same path as their "big brother."
There is a clarity to this place, as if it welcomes you, or at least accepts you without fanfare.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 19, 2022 21:18:08 GMT -5
<thinking> I was hoping Alla would be in plain sight.
I give it a moment of thought and decide to call out her name in hopes of an answer. If she answers, we can join back up. If not, then I will turn around and attempt to return back through the trees to the knight.
<thinking> Sure are a lot of mushrooms around here.
I inhale a breath and shout, "Alla! Are you here?".
I wait for an answer to decide my next course of action.
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Post by hengest on Apr 19, 2022 21:25:42 GMT -5
You hear no voice in reply, although you sense a degree of response, coming from all around. As if many tiny and invisible eyes turned to look in your direction, although you see no actual movement or any eyes at all.
A warm and twisting wind begins to move about you from the direction you are facing.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 20, 2022 19:49:10 GMT -5
<thinking> I guess I picked the wrong path but...
I look around me in all directions.
<thinking> Although I do feel like I got a reply...of sorts.
"I can't see anyone, but I feel like you are there. I feel this wind before me. Are you trying to talk to me?" I say to no one in particular but to whomever or whatever may be there.
<thinking> Maybe I am just hoping more than I should?
I look around before me again.
<thinking> Just a moment or two more without a response then I'm going to return to the knight.
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Post by hengest on Apr 20, 2022 21:25:27 GMT -5
The wind gusts up a touch and fades away again. Perhaps it is only wind. But you do sense something.
Your senses are on alert, since you have a goal here. What you feel is not danger, but a kind of silent and alien welcome. Perhaps you would need to stay more than a few seconds to make proper contact with whatever, or whoever, dwells here. In any case, you hear no formal response, and you do not see Alla, nor any sign of her.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 22, 2022 10:39:54 GMT -5
<thinking> I do feel like something is here but...
I look around from left to right.
<thinking> ...if I stay here too long, I might miss out on finding Alla.
I take a quick scan of the area again.
<thinking> I need to check the other option and decide which way to proceed.
I turn around and go back to find the avian knight.
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Post by hengest on Apr 22, 2022 10:56:10 GMT -5
The place seems very intriguing and worth exploring, even with this short "visit." But since there is no sign of the one you came for...
You attempt to step back through the space between the trees...and, feeling a bit of a push from behind, as if your sword leaned into you a bit, you find yourself "back" in the similar forest that now seems a little unlovely by comparison.
The knight is eating something, then hops up to turn to look at you. "Thought you might not come back!" He pecks again at something and gobbles it down. "No sign of the Lady?"
Even the knight's voice sounds a little harsh in your ears. You feel a bit down.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 22, 2022 13:32:48 GMT -5
<thinking> I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to the feeling of travelling between these places like that.
"No sign of Alla." I say as I shake my head left and right before continuing, "Or anybody else. I think. Maybe.".
I pause for a brief moment and put my finger up in a "wait a second gesture" while I gather my thoughts.
"I felt like...something was there but nothing I could see with my eyes...in a conventional sense. That other place had a different feel to it as well. I'm not sure how to describe it but it felt almost abnormally welcoming, if that makes sense?'.
I pause for a moment to point towards the steps that are assumed to lead to the other cross-marc and say, "I need to see if Alla is in there so I can decide what to do.".
I walk towards the steps to discover where the cross-marc entrance may be.
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Post by hengest on Apr 22, 2022 13:43:35 GMT -5
The knight hops and flies along with you, clearly interested in your project. "Welcoming! I'm sure a Man like you would be very welcome and happy to cross a marc like that! I can't say as I have so many memories of those like you...but I am a little surprised you came back! Loyalty!"
You see three stones that almost look like they were placed there for something: wide and flat, should be easy enough to hop from one to the other. But there are only three and they do not appear to lead anywhere. However, you would have noticed them, looking around the area with any interest, even if no one had mentioned them to you.
You can tell there are many places to explore here. Now that you have returned from...wherever, you see this place, drab as it still feels, in a different way. Formerly you were focused on this "forest edge" area. But now you can feel that there may be plenty of places to go in here, should you wish to explore. If Alla were here, it would be easy to make any number of plans.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 22, 2022 16:13:28 GMT -5
"Yes! She's been most helpful on this journey, and I don't want to just give up looking for her." I explain to the bird.
<thinking> There's a lot more to this place than I originally thought.
Looking at the bird I say, "I'm going to try hollering one more time in here and then I will decide whether to explore some more or use the cross-marc.".
"Alla! Are you here?" I say as loudly as I can. I will wait a few brief moments and take a closer look in this area and then decide whether to explore here or this cross-marc.
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Post by hengest on Apr 22, 2022 16:20:11 GMT -5
You hear the crunchy dart of some tiny beast startled by your shout, but nothing like the awareness you sensed while you were in that "other" place. The song you were so intrigued by before stops and then resumes, hesitant at first.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 22, 2022 19:47:01 GMT -5
On a whim I decide to whistle back in response doing my best to do some sort of imitation of the song I hear.
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Post by hengest on Apr 22, 2022 20:28:32 GMT -5
You do your best.
You hear another pause and then the song restarts, this time, a kind of variation on the original tune.
The knight is staring up at you.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 22, 2022 21:22:52 GMT -5
I pause to listen to the new tune as I notice the knight staring at me.
I ask him, "Did you hear the song that time?".
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Post by hengest on Apr 22, 2022 22:13:42 GMT -5
He flaps his wings in displeasure, for a moment looking less like an owl and more like a chicken. "Hear what song? I heard your mouth-sneezing, if that's all you mean!"
The song goes on without your participation as you talk to your feathered guide.
You hear what is unmistakably the brief sound of a human, not you, moving. You turn your head and look back to where you just came from, the doubletree, and see a man peering out from the "doorway." His eyes meet yours for a moment and he ducks back, vanishing. You just got a glimpse, but you saw ragged hair around his head, a short beard, and a kind of wood-and-leaf colored tunic or something of the kind.
You are alone again with the knight and the song.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 23, 2022 8:11:40 GMT -5
"Wait!" I exclaim as the man ducks back through the doubletree.
I immediately run towards the doubletree telling the knight, "Forget that song. That man is the only possible lead I've gotten. If you're staying then you better get off my shoulder.".
I run with the intention of leaping between the doubletree.
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Post by hengest on Apr 24, 2022 18:51:06 GMT -5
[The knight was not on your shoulder at this time, although that could have been clearer on the ref's part.]
You dash back at the doubletree without waiting for a reply. Again, it seems to open to receive you, and you move through without slowing down. Again your sword seems to get hung up on something for a moment and then is released. The combination of the change in environment and the sword "bumping" into you when you did not prepare for it sends you into an extended stumble as you find yourself where you were before. You almost fall to the ground but manage to stop safely, though you can tell this was nearly a fall that could have resulted in a sprain or something.
Catching your breath, you hear relatively quiet crashing off to your right. Sure enough, you see the back of what must be the same man moving rapidly off through the wood.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 24, 2022 19:10:27 GMT -5
[No worries. I was in a hurry to get it posted before softball. What Ethan said was way more important than whether the bird was on my shoulder or not so no harm, no foul or FOWL.]
I immediately rush after the man and proclaim, "Wait! I just want to ask you some questions.". I continue to run after him while staying aware so I can stop quickly if he does so also.
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