As the other group trots off, the few of you decide to confer with the farmer first; after all, this is his land, and he may be able to help. The group of you head in and find the old man in the dining room, smoking a pipe. He looks at the four of you, removes the pipe and sighs. He can already tell something is amiss. The farmer fixes GAIL with a knowing look - she and LILA were usually the leaders in matters of the group - and asks, "Where are the others?"
You do the best to explain about the cardinal. Initially, the farmer is very displeased by the notion of entering the forest at all, but a quick look out the window at the broken fields that show that more than half the group have already made it to the forest. Were you his kid, no doubt the farmer would have a lot more to say, but he just allows his farmstead as a room to play. He can't punish you.
With a sense of urgency, he hands you and your friends each a flashlight, as well as laying out three extra items: some rope, a lighter and a hand-drawn map of the forest. He tells you about where the cardinals nest, pointing to it on the map, explaining where it is via markers. There's no guarantee the cardinal went there, and he advises caution since there's a cave network beneath it, but it's somewhere to start.
You and your friends head into the forest towards the first marker -- a lake. It's dark as heck and icy cold, but that lake doesn't really look...completely solid. You can't be sure, but with each sweep of your flashlight, you swear you see shadows moving. You have to get around the lake to continue on the path towards the cardinals, but do you go over the ice confidently or should you be more careful and go around it instead?
(( Roll a 1d20 with your response. There are four of you, but three of you may grab one of the three items ICly; if they are grabbed, they will come with you. If they are left, they cannot be used again. You have until 9:00am PST/12:00pm EST to reply or you'll be out! ))
MissiePanda
shyanimegrl
OrionDeltaOmega
thyPOPE
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 9:11 am
SORRY!
Either you weren't interested in chasing the cardinal, or you just weren't paying attention to the groups splitting up -- either way, you're behind, and may not be able to catch up to your friends...
(( You did not reply in the time given, and you are out! You might have a chance to return later. ))
Either caught up in the moment or just simply knowing you don't need the word of an adult, you and your friends decided to chase the cardinal before it was out of sight.
The run is brisk, lungs filling with the chilly air, each child leaving their own line of passage in the snow, disrupting the clean and unblemished fields of white. It doesn't take too long to reach the line of the forest, where the cardinal has disappeared. Undaunted, you follow your prey that you've made the decision to follow to the bitter end, and it takes only a handful of minutes until you and your group have lost sight of the cardinal, the forest so dense that the sun can barely trickle through the boughs at all.
Though you're pretty sure it's just the group of you that's awake and moving in the forest, there is a creaking and groaning in the air as snow shifts on the heavy trees, the crunch of snow and dead foliage at your feet, and...hey, did one them just whisper? You all look at each other. No one has said anything, but...there's a whisper. It's inaudible and barely snatched in the icy air, but there's definitely something making noise.
You can't stay here forever. Forward is too dense for the cardinal to have flown through, and back is out of the question. You confer with your group. Do you go left, which is just as dark as where you are and possibly opening up to a path in the distance, or do you go right, where it seems the whispers get just a little louder...?
(( Roll a 1d20 with your response. You have until 9:00am PST/12:00pm EST to reply or you'll be out! ))
Curiosity frequently takes the better of little Conchita, she decides that whispers lead to magic and wonder! She moves right without any real forethought other than "I bet there's elves and fairies in this place!"
Never one to shy away from a mystery, especially one as interesting as this, Tessa decides to go RIGHT, the cardinal now only a distant memory as she draws closer to the whispers. Her pace, however, is much slower than it had been when she first broke through the forest's edge. She's more cautious this time, eyes narrowed; wary of the dangers such a dark wood could present. Was it worse, she wondered, to continue on despite knowing of the dangers? Or to be like some of the younger children, blissfully unaware? Either way, the fearless girl continued.
Miller looked left, then looked right. Neither path looked fun. He began to sweat. The whispers creeped him out. He wanted to show he was brave, but he wasn't that brave. Miller darted to the left.
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 11:01 am
Joe had a pretty good memory and thus with that confidence he did not opt for taking the map offered. When they reached the lake the farmer had indicated, the boy swept his lit flashlight over the icy lake and made his decision. Voicing his thoughts unaware that he was doing so, he muttered to himself, "Looks like we gotta get to the other side of the lake to keep going. I'm going around it." And with that, he set off to do just that, flashlight checking ahead and beside him so that he stays away from the frozen water and lighter in his pocket despite him taking it more due to curiosity at seeing the item than anything else.
Lila paused as she listened to the whisper. It was dark, and certainly a bit creepy, but she was certain if she followed the sound she'd find the cardinal. She went right, her steps getting a little quicker as the sound grew louder.
Liz glanced haughtily at the others that had decided to make a detour by the farmhouse, but soon kept running. She knew she had to pace herself, otherwise she would tire out and fall behind. She didn't want to be ahead or behind – everybody knew the best part of the group was the middle.
She didn't want to admit that the woods were creepy, or that she was anxious about whether her escape would be found out. Liz rarely admitted anything of the sort.
She slowed with the group. Honestly, she didn't like the look – or sound – of either path, but what could she do? She couldn't not continue. Hmmm... Darkness or whispering? ”I say we go Left” she said. In truth, she was a little wary of the whispers...
"X marks the spot! For candy?!" Sugarplum squealed as she clutched the map and followed along with the group. Soon, the group was face to face with an intimidating icy lake and it didn't take her long to decide that falling in was far too scary, even for the prospect of candy. She confidently began to skip around the lake, holding tightly onto the map as if it was her very own treasure.
"Candy, candy, candy," she sang in high-pitched squeaks to keep the group's spirits up.
MissiePanda
Demonic Fatcat
Offline
Aric Val rolled 1 20-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-20)
Aric Val Vice Captain
Mega Cub
Offline
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 2:12 pm
Rae huffed, plopping her damp skirt down as she looked around where she was with her group. If she had only worn a shorter dress while playing, she would have caught up to the cardinal, she was sure of it! A brow lifted on her child-like features, looking to the right-- she didn't want to admit it but-- these sounds were.. unnerving. And not one to follow scary voices or whispers, she decided to go left. Already the kids were splitting up without much word.
"Everyone's already gone somewhere, but no one should go down a path alone." She stated cooly though there was a little tremor to her voice. She wasn't really afraid of the dark but this forest did play with her imagination a lot..
And along with some children, she started walking to the left, perhaps she can get out of this forest--or luckily enough, see a glimpse of the cardinal again.
Life was hard when you had a reputation, Gail thought, and she shrugged in reply to the farmer's questions. She watched as Joe grabbed the lighter and Sugarplum the map - the rope she was glad to have to herself, with a sullen glare directed at Waffle as she selected it. She could certainly look over Sugarplum's shoulder as they went - well, that was, she could've done so, if Sugarplum hadn't been skipping - and she didn't need to set fires.
"Let's not dawdle, then," she nodded, and proceeded to bring up the rear of the group, although she had to wait a bit to do it, and paused herself as they approached the lake.
Gail wasn't scared of shadows, she told herself. But the rope would serve her better from above the lake, and heading across the lake might not be the most efficient entry to the cave system. So she, too, tailed the group as they curved around the lake.
Joe's muttering she could deal with, but Sugarplum's optimism was tiring at the best of times.
Petri stopped to catch his breath a little behind the main group. At the first stirring of whispers, under the heavy boughs of the forest, he frowned and steadfastly decided to ignore it. Nope, this would be easy. He'd find the cardinal no problem.
As he stopped through the snow, the other children were already starting to break apart. Left or right? Left was the way to go! "Hey, wait up!" He hurried his steps, coming up alongside a girl.
"You can stick by me, okay?"
Sara Draconia rolled 1 20-sided dice:
20Total: 20 (1-20)
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 11:11 pm
Melody watched the others quietly before following the group that went to the left. There were at least a few others so she could hide behind someone if anything in the woods popped out. She twisted her braid nervously with her hands as she walked with the others, wondering if this was a good or bad idea.
"I hope we can find our way back once we find that birdie..."
Waffle couldn't understand how the farmer wouldn't go with them and had instead sent them out on their own with just a hand drawn map, some lighters, and a few items to help. Some adult...
Feeling nervous, the small boy followed after the group and squinted at the lake nervously. He'd heard of kids falling in the water and it icing over before they could get back out. With this in mind, and the other kids opting to go around the lake, he decided to play it safe and walk around the lake to get to the other side.
