1629, Earth Season, Illusion Week, Windsday into Fireday Eve
Context
In Prax, after leaving New Pavis. On the hunt for the Straw Weaver Clan. Follows after session 6-9, Mud, Glorious Mud, Thin Air, The Dark Details, Don’t Doubt Humakt, and “No, you shut up!”. The party hunts for a safe place to camp out.
Events
As the afternoon progresses, Varanis continues to ride. She even pulls some jerky out of one of her saddle bags and nibbles a little.
Berra takes some time to pull herself together. Followed ambles around the group as they walk, and Berra sits with her knees pulled up and her arms around them sometimes, or flops boredly over the saddle, or walks alongside. Sometimes she looks a little like she is hiding emotion. It takes until Yelm is starting to redden before she pulls her shoulders back, takes a deep breath, and entirely fails to get Followed to move closer to the group. Finally, the little Humakti leads the plodding animal closer, mounting when she is properly in earshot.
Xenofos rides in silence. He is mainly keeping eye on Varanis, but the surroundings get cursory attention, and it is perhaps obvious that he is seeing how Berra is keeping up.
Berra has her old mask of calm on. She gives Xenofos a slow, polite nod. For once, it seems she is letting Kolyey do the work of being on guard.
The Vingan acknowledges them both with small nods. She is in the world, rather than lost in grief just now. She still looks frightful.
“We’re going to stop once we find somewhere the ground’s a bit higher. Probably another day of riding and then we just wait and see which bisons come along first,” Berra tells people. “But we want to be up a bit.”
“That makes sense, I guess. Unless their trail is more southerly or even more to the north…” Xenofos strokes his beard. “Riding fast without detailed knowledge of the trail they take this year is not more likely to reach them. But I do confess just waiting for them when we are so close is trying.”
“Yes.” Berra’s voice is measured. “The impalas that said to Maalira they’d keep an ear out sent their best guesses with the warriors. We should remember never to tell impalas anything we do not wish to be shared. Fortunately, bison herds are big.”
Xenofos nods. “I said it makes sense. But this time I am the impatient one, finding it hard to stay still.”
Berra falls silent, riding onward, looking only a little withdrawn.
“The highest ground we can find please, Berra,” Varanis says, as if finally catching up. “I know it might not be much, but I’ll accept what there is.”
“We’ll look for that as we go.” The Humakti is too calm to be described as professional, but her mien has a certain inevitability to it.
“And I’ll take my usual watch,” Varanis tells her, matching the calm.
Berra counts up on her fingers, and nods. “Very well.” She finally settles properly onto her bison. “We can start looking for the high ground from about now. I don’t want to be surprised by crocodiles in flood water.”
The landscape has gentle rises and falls, but not much that looks like a hill in the immediate vicinity.
Berra gestures up the rises now, so that they can look at little further. Hills fail to jump out at them. Except the one across the unfriendly looking river.
“It’s flat as Voria’s chest,” Berra complains.
“We keep riding then,” Varanid replies.
“Yeah. We got an and an… ran out of words.” Her precision has deserted Berra. “An hour an’ maybe more.”
The Vingan nods and falls silent again.1Roll a POWx3 to see if we get to high ground? Other GM: It’s over, Berra! I have the high ground! V: *sighs* 69 is good for giggles for some, but is not a POW*3. BM: Not on or under, huh?
The best they can do that evening is one of the low ripples of ground, picked out in half shadow as Yelm dies. Unhappy, Varanis picks at her food but does not complain.
Berra and Varanis have a talk, and then Varanis borrows Berra’s iron sword for a while, apparently talking to that as well, as the light dims down. The Vingan settles down to meditate by the fire afterwards, staring into the flames. Meanwhile, Xenofos and Berra had a quiet conversation.
That night, even the White Lady is asked to take a turn on watch so that the watch can be managed in pairs. The only thing to trouble them is their dreams.
- 1Roll a POWx3 to see if we get to high ground? Other GM: It’s over, Berra! I have the high ground! V: *sighs* 69 is good for giggles for some, but is not a POW*3. BM: Not on or under, huh?
