accomplishedDay 22, Month 8, 2 After the Night of Fire (ANoF)
The scenario opens in the village of Keveli, where the villagers and the players characters discuss the news of the Warlander tribe in the area, and what is to be done. There is talk of making Keveli more defensible, reclaiming various parts of the ruined sections of the village, using the newly discovered cave system, and even enhancing and speeding up the training of the force of arms of the village. In the end, no consensus is reached.
Later on during the morning hours, while going about his duties, Phedrin Mor is approached by Huuvek Krecz, the Mongrel Master of the Hunt. He informs Phedrin that he will be leading a hunting expedition to teach the youngsters of the village who are ready for it the ways of the hunt and survival. He is to take Krenai Denshawni along with him, as well as Sandor Frecks, a hunter of his and Krenai's acquaintance. They will take ten (10) of the more mature children, 7 older ones and 3 younger ones, into the forested hills of the Saravin Mountains. He tells Phedrin that they are not to return until they bring back in excess of 300 lbs. of meat for the villagers. Furthermore, he is told that he is the leader of this expedition, and that he is responsible for the safety of the children in his care.
Phedrin goes in search of Krenai, and upon finding her tells her what job they've been assigned. Krenai says this is her punishment for the business with the Warlander scouts, and she and Phedrin argue about the way this previous patrol assignment was handled, and the business with the Warlander patrol. They are interrupted by Sandor Frecks who has come in search of them. He asks what they are arguing about, saying that almost everyone can hear them. Phedrin tells Sandor what's going on, and about his being assigned to help him with the hunting and training session with the kids. Sandor says he's not pleased about the assignment, but tells Phedrin that one must pass the knowledge on, and then adds he is glad the responsibility is on Phedrin's head. They make their plans to depart as soon as possible.
When Phedrin goes to the common hall to meet the children, Krenai and Sandor tackle the job of seeing what kinds of equipment they can grab up. They are told there are no medicine kits available, as these need to be made up by the village healer, Chadria Kensome. They are told that they will be using their own waterskins, and that each of the children will provide their own. Insofar as weapons are concerned, while the children have their own knives, Phedrin will be teaching them to make weapons, so they are not to take any extra spears along. With that, Krenai and Sandor head for the common meeting hall.
At the common hall, Phedrin Mor enters to find Huuvek Krecz and Verek of Keveli, the village leader, talking to the ten children in question. At Phedrin's entrance, they all mob him. They react to Phedrin in different ways, and to their first hunter's training in the "outlands". While he adjusts to the personalities of the children, the two Mongrels depart. He is saved from the ongoing barrage of questions by the arrival of Sandor and Krenai. Sava, the littlest of the children at age 8, takes an instant liking to Sandor, and rushes over to be with him. Krenai takes nominal charge, and tells the children they are to gather up their supplies for the trip as they'll be leaving the village shortly. She says they have five minutes to gather what they need and return to the common hall. She proceeds with Sandor and Phedrin to gather their own belongings.
Once the kids return to the common hall, Phedrin, Krenai, and Sandor make sure the kids are all outfitted the best they can be. Krenai notices that Ana, the oldest girl of 14, seems to have an admirer in Sandor, and she appears to return the feelings. Phedrin decides that they will start by going west out of the village, and make for the Salvation River, then travel north along it to the Saravin Mountains. The other two agree to this plan.
The group departs with the children, Phedrin and Sandor giving them some information about orientation and orienteering in the wilderness, and it is clear that Phedrin is losing his cool dealing with the children's questions. The children are somewhat unruly during the mile trip too the river, slowing the group down, and the player characters have an encounter with a fang rabbit. Phedrin tries to deal with the creature while Sandor and Krenai round up the panicked, frightened children. The fang rabbit bites into Phedrin's arm, giving him a nasty fang bite (2L wounds worth), but he manages to kill it. Once the children return with Sandor and Krenai, the characters experience the reluctance of several of the children to kill the fang rabbit and skin it for food, but two of the children are pretty...eager to do so.
Krenai and Sandor get the group moving once more for the river, and explain the concept of "kill or be killed" to the children as they travel. As the player characters travel onwards and begin to near the river, one of the children, Patrick (who is somewhat mischievous and cruel, as evidence his behaviour with Sava during the fang rabbit business), spots an animal near the river, and rushes towards it but finds that it's dead and dangling into the river. He attempts to touch it, but is stopped in time by Phedrin who had chased after him.
Meanwhile, another of the children, Tom, falls out of a tree while trying to climb it, as he claims there is some sort of animal up there. Krenai reaches up and carefully extricates a small, 4-foot long river snake. She and Sandor explain to the children about water snakes, and Sandor says they are good eating. He gestures to Krenai to show them how to kill the river snake and she does, and then several of the braver kids touch the dead snake. Just as Sandor is about to instruct two of the children on skinning the snake, Phedrin returns with Patrick, and Sandor explains to Patrick why it would have been dangerous to touch the dead animal.
Both Tammy and
spross had a pretty good game of it, although spross is tired of the whole "amazing" monicker that he's been hit with due to his spear skill, and got really annoyed and frustrated at the barrage of questions I had the kids throwing at him (Tammy was adding to this by playing some of the kids as well), but he managed to hold out pretty well. He doesn't like the fact that his character's a) in charge of this expedition, and b) responsible for the kids' lives, but this is the first time I've gotten to put the leadership role directly on his shoulders, so that's good. It was exhausting for me to run, having to play the ten children as well as Sandor (although Tammy does handle him for bits of stuff), but the rest of the adventure should go really well, methinks. If spross lives that long, and his character doesn't go stark raving mad. <g>