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#Post#: 88--------------------------------------------------
Into The Woods... (Not A Musical!)
DIR By: High Captain Song
Date: July 7, 2023, 8:22 pm
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-=The Western Region=-
An undisclosed location, traveling somewhere through the western
regions of Gor
I set out before dawn the next morning, after acquiring a room
at someplace somewhat cleaner than The White Sleen. I switch out
the cloaks from my travel pack, replacing the oil-skin one I use
when I am at sea with a weathered cloak of brown and dark green,
Up close, it looks rather patchy. From a distance, however, it
should obscure my movements in the misty forests from a
distance. I also double check all my weapons and gear. The 42
inch double-edged rapier I call Mercy. The 12 inch bowie knife
of no particular name. The two three-inch blades I keep sheathed
up my sleeves. The two other three-inch blades I keep tucked in
my boots. There is also one vial I keep on my belt, which
contains a rather strong perfume. It will do nothing to help me
in the forest, save stun the ability of any animal tracking me
by scent by overwhelming them. Hopefully I will not need that,
for it is a most desperate gambit and will likely attract human
predators for this scent cannot be mistaken as natural.
My purpose in coming here is simple. Find the forester Martin
Longbow or some sign of him. I had encountered the ranger many
times in my travels through the Northern Forest, before I headed
south to seek stories and become a proper SKald. There were few
I counted friend, but he was one of the more reliable
acquittances I had made back when I was simply Frode of no Fixed
Abode and not yet the famed Skald of Kassau or the infamous
Captain Song. Today, however, I look like any other hunter or
outlaw who might roam these woods, no sign of the drum or
cittern with which I usually ply my main trade.
(At this point, a Panther, who shall remain nameless, posted
something rather naughty intended for another but aimed at
Frode. She was quick to apologize, but I kept going.)
For a brief moment, I am treated to the most heavenly of
visions. A passing sensation that somewhere, a pale-skinned
woman with with dark hair and toned body is stripping herself
before me, displaying herself for my apparent approval. The
moment passes quickly, however, and I am soon returned to the
reality of the Northern Forests. Clearly I have been away from
my slaves and Mate for far too long. I shake my head to clear it
before pressing on deeper into the woods.
t takes roughly two ahn after dawn for old memories to kick back
into place. Though I've spent most of the past half year at sea
and mastering the Captain's trade, I am, like most Northmen, a
man of many castes. While the city men of the South may limit
themselves to a single trade, in the North there is a greater
distance between settlements on the frontier and no guarantee a
village might have a full Physician or a Scribe.
In my youth I learned the basics of building, healing, sailing,
combat, slaving and (thanks to a merchant father who managed the
trading post in the village of Morrow) a bit of the merchant's
trade. But it was hunting and woodcraft I excelled at the most -
a fact that kept me alive when I first set out from my village,
inspired by the stories and songs of a wandering skald. Funny, I
don't remember the old man's name now.... at least, he seemed so
old to me then, when I was a lad of 15 summers. How long had it
been since then? Ah, it didn't matter. The point is that I can
spot a trail marker better than most, despite having spent a
fair amount of time in the cities. More, I know the marks Martin
used the last time we hunted together some three years earlier.
I doubt he would go more than a day's journey from the village.
Not unless he had found something. And if he had found
something, he would have surely come back to get
reinforcements.... if he were able to come back.
I dismiss the unpleasant thought and move on. He was alive, at
least several ahn ago. If he is otherwise when I find him, it
will be a bad day for whoever is responsible.
Three ahn later and the midday sun is high indeed. A sudden cry
like that of a raven to my right, startles me. I stop dead in my
tracks before I hear a soft chuckle. "You've been out of the
forest too long, Stormcrow. Time once was you'd have heard me
approach before I gave a bird call."
I glower at the shrubbery behind which I see a carefully
camouflaged hunter's blind. I move a step closer and kneel down
beside it, my voice dropping to a whisper.
"It has also been too long since any called me Stormcrow,
Longbow." I reply. "It is good to see that you are not dead or
haven't had your head shaved and been tied to a frame at the
trading post. I take it you've had no luck finding your elusive
arsonist panther?"
"None," he whispers in response. "But scoff as you may, I've
more proof. You recall the three arrows I found after the first
fire? I found the same tag after the second. What's more there's
a merchant I came through here who said that he had someone
shoot three arrows with purple fletching into the side of his
wagon as he was camped over night."
I nod. "Okay, so clearly someone is putting on a show. What's
the point? They aren't raiding, as near as I can tell. All this
is doing is making people nervous."
"That wouldn't be profit enough for outlaws. No, it has to be
Panthers. Asserting their territory. Saying they will not
tolerate anyone encroaching on their forests. And now they're
claiming the whole forests."
I sigh. "Any other news?"
"Just that these Panthers may be on the move. There was a trader
who came through here the day before I left. He came from the
Vegvisir with a tale about someone setting the animal pens on
fire. Seems a bit of a coincidence."
I shake my head. "No, I think you are right. Clearly someone is
trying to deliver a message, but they're being damned vague
about what it is. But as luck would have it, I was on my way to
the Vegvisir with my Mate's father before I came this way. I
think perhaps our answers might lie there."
There is a pause before Longbow responds. "You can go to the
Vegvisir if you want. I still have this place to protect and I
don't think they would have gone that far."
I nod. "Unless you have a band of Panthers split up. But you are
right. If they have divided to conquer, we must do the same. You
hold your position here and I'll see what I can find. If we are
right, I don't think we'll have much challenge finding allies to
deal with them. One way or the other."
"Farewell, Stormcrow."
I do not reply until I am some distance away, responding with my
own honking impression of a raven's cry. I move on where I hear
the same, returning to the village and my Mate's father ship.
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