Kara's Daughters: On the Trail of the Shadow Unicorn

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Ryo Sachiko, a female samurai of the Unicorn clan from Rokushima Taiyoo, has arrived in Falkovnia following legends that her clan mascot has been spotted in the Forest of Shadows. She has petitioned to Vlad Drakov for assistance in capturing such a beast alive. Drakov has approved her visit and--in Falkovnian tradition--assigned her some of Kara's Daughters as her escort for the duration of her stay. Ryo now ventures into the Forest of Shadows with sorceress Anya Duchku and Anika Amarant as her bodyguards and guides. As ranking member of the military, Anika is the leader of this expedition.

Upon meeting in Stagengrad, Anika presented the visiting samurai with a De la Mar horse as a gift. Horses bred and trained at De la Mar ranch in Dementlieu are known throughout the Land of Mists for their stamina, cunning and skill. Anika rides another such horse, while Anya rides an enchanted flying broomstick that allows her to scout ahead and see over the treeline. Using her magic, she can whisper what she sees and be heard far below by the two riders.

The three have already evaded a trio of petty gargoyles and crept quietly through the nesting area of hibernating stirges. Upon meeting a corvus regis--an intelligent "King's Raven" in service to Azalin--they were able to convince the bird they were not a war party and bargain with it for information about the shadow unicorns in the area. Now they have stopped to eat and rest and consider the bird's directions.

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The corvus told you all that a shadow unicorn claimed its territory at the base of the cliff due north. You're on a timber road that leads to some settlement where you can gather more information if you wish. Travel on the road is faster than cutting your own path, and the chance of hostile encounters is less, but the road goes northwest, so you'll have to leave it eventually.

When it comes to gathering info and getting help, locals are going to start out unfriendly or hostile because you are Falkovnians. If you can disguise yourselves, they will be indifferent or friendly, but if they find out your ruse, they'll be very hostile. Review the diplomacy rules (see link above) to help you decide how to handle them.

So your next decisions should include:
--stay on the road to the settlement, or straight to the creature's lair?
--if you go to the settlement, do you disguise yourselves or rely on diplomacy?
--what spells or weapons do you have readied, if any?

Anika is the ranking soldier on this mission, so she'll have final say.

[isignasl]

ALLLRIGHTY!! Lol

So just FYI, I thought I had converted Anika to PF format already, but apparently not...will be working on that over the next few days.

For now, Anika will ask Anya what she sees in the surrounding area from her POV. Assuming there is nothing of major interest that's not already known about, (**I also need a reminder --for the group also-- what time of day it currently is), depending on the current time, she'll decide what our next move should be. She will also be maintaining alertness for anything noteworthy. Just in case its needed, here's a Perception check of: [dice]0[/dice] +18 to see what's going down

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Noted, but there was also a decision pending. Please read the end of my last post.

[isignasl]

I said in my last post, regarding that decision, (**I also need a reminder --for the group also-- what time of day it currently is),

[isignasl]

Where we go, is going to depend on that... also, I can't currently remember as it has been a few weeks, was any information known/found out about whether the shadow unicorn is nocturnal or not? That, plus current time of day, will dictate where we go from here... Also, anyone else have a thought(s)?? Paige? Nick???

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Alright, I understand now. Your kn(nature) didn't say they were nocturnal; they probably aren't. It's around noon, and you all have stopped for lunch.

I've been shooting reminders to the others. They will join in when they can. For now, let's see how far you can get with just your decisions.

[isignasl]

We are going to head toward the area where the consort (crow) stated the unicorn could most likely be found and, at the very least, scout the area and get an idea of the terrain and observe the beast if we can find it. Anya will maintain her flying and high vantage point to scout ahead, with myself and Ryo moving together and spotting as needed.