Year 487 Summer Campaign

[Arne]

Arne cursed under his breath using the broadest spectrum of vulgarities.  Even the damned miserable squawking birds seemed to mock him.  Reaching out a hand to rub his horse's neck, he muttered, "Just a flock of stupid birds, friend.  Nothing to worry about.  But we have to work together, you and I . . . how will it look if we come back empty-handed, eh?"


OOC:  Still no luck with that die rolling site.  I've tried 3 different browsers at home, and they all give me the same BS message and won't let me proceed.  Bleahh.

[Cedwyn]

Cedwyn saw the spoor of his quarry. He urged 'his' dogs onwards, exulting in the thrill of the hunt.

[Hunting Roll: 5 (vs. 11). Success.]

[Valka]

Valka hunting 3
1d20 <= 3
18 ... failure

[Geoffrey]

Rodric had been making progress when suddenly his trail went cold.  There was some disappointment, but it would also prove a learning experience for the knight.  Hunting had never been his strong suit and this was a chance to work on his skills.

[OOC: Hunting roll 3 result 19 vs skill 10, failure.]

[GM Craig]

The next hour does not do well for most of the Salisbury crew.

Arne finds himself bogged down in thick brush and has the devil's own time getting clear. He still hasn't managed to find a trail, and the dogs don't seem to be much help.

Valka hears a growl of some description in the forest nearby, but has trouble determining the direction. The dogs are no help, and Valka spends time chasing down false trails.

Rodric, hot on the trail of his quarry, unexpectedly encounters a fallen tree blocking the path. With no small amount of skill, Rodric manages to urge his horse into clearing the tree in a clean leap, and stays hot on the trail, neither gaining nor loosing ground.

Sir Cedwyn, however, is clearly closing with his quarry. The dogs begin baying, and the chase is on. Cedwyn can occasionally catch glimpses of something brown and furry ahead.

[I need new hunting rolls for everyone please. Valka is at -5 on her hunting skill for this round. I've already rolled hunting for Valka and Arne.]

The hunting day is about half over.

Arne	Cedwyn	Rodric	Valka
*	-	-	*
-	-	*	-
-	*	-	-
-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-

[Cedwyn]

Cedwyn spurred his horse onwards. He could see something ahead. His spear at the ready, Cedwyn knew he needed only a little bit more to reach his quarry. He ducked under a branch rushing at him and knew he could take a slight tack to gain a little more ground.

[Hunting: 3 (vs. 11). Success.]

[Arne]

Arne kept whispering words of encouragement to Jarl, all the while giving the horse reassuring pats.  "Damned brush, damned hounds that are only good for sniffing each other's arses, and most of all, damn me for being blind to game tracks!"  He laughed at himself, and gently nudged Jarl forward in search of a trail.  "What say you, Jarl?  Do you think we could catch some fish and call them hunting prizes?"  Jarl snorted in reply, and trudged forward.

[Geoffrey]

OOC: Hunting roll result 13 vs skill 10, failure.

[GM Craig]

Valka, as she continues searching for her quarry, finds herself mired in thick brush, which slows her down greatly. She still has a trail, but she is a long way behind. it is unlikely she could catch it before sunset. Still, she might get lucky.

Arne breaks out of the brush, and his dogs suddenly go crazy. Fortune smiles on him, and he breaks into a gallop. However, he turns a bend in the trail and almost runs into a fallen tree. He saws the reins, but his gorse is quicker and Arne is vaulted over the head to land with a hard smack on his back. Shaken and bruised, he gets back intot he saddle. With only a couple of hours left of daylight, Arne is unlikely to find anything before it grows too dark to hunt unless fortune favours him greatly.

Sir Rodric, on the trail still, is surprised by a flock fo birds bursting out of the underbrush as he passes. It takes him a few seconds to get his horse under control, but even after that the horse is skittish and takes extra concentration to control.

Sir Cedwyn continues to close, and spots a nice, large red deer running through the trees. A fine kill, if he can catch it.

[I need new hunting rolls for everyone please. Rodric is -5 on hunting skill for this round due to his skittish horse. I've already rolled hunting for Valka and Arne.]

Hour four is done. 2 hours of daylight left.

Arne	Cedwyn	Rodric	Valka
*	-	-	*
-	-	*	-
-	-	-	-
-	*	-	-
-	-	-	-

[Geoffrey]

OOC: Hunting roll result 15 vs modified skill of 5, failure.

[Arne]

Arne got shakily to his feet and walked over to where his horse was waiting and watching with a placid eye.  He stood in front of Jarl and muttered, "If I didn't know better, Jarl, I'd say that this was your revenge for that run to Sarum last winter."  Jarl merely blew his breath out through his nostrils in reply, and Arne snorted and remounted.  He eyed the sky with a scowl, and again sought the spoor of whatever had excited the dogs a little while ago.  "We should have went fishing, Jarl . . ."

[Cedwyn]

Cedwyn kept going thinking to try and cut the deer off.

[hunting: 15 (vs. 11). Failure..]

[GM Craig]

Cedwyn: Thick brush: Make a Horsemanship roll; if you fail, move your pursuit marker back one square and return to Step 3.
Rodric: Birds flushed underfoot: Make a Horsemanship roll or suffer a ?5 modifier on the next Awareness roll made during this hunt.

The dogs continue forward, and Arne is hard pressed to keep pace with them. Then, as he breaks into some thick brush, he finds himself almost upon another down tree. he cannot react in time, and both he and the horse are tossed feet over head. He hits the ground hard, smashing through brush as he does so. His horse fares a little better, avoiding anything worse than a few scratches.

Valka continues to be hampered in thick brush, and makes no progress. The dogs still scent a trail, but Valka must be far behind now. Only luck will let her find her quarry before sunset.

Cedwyn is racing after the red deer, but the beast dips into a patch of thick brush. Cedwyn tries to give chase, but becomes bogged down, and looses sight of his prey.

Rodric accidentally flushes a flock of birds, which startles his horse, but Sir Rodric manages to keep the beast calm, and presses forward.

[Actions?]

Hour five is done. 1 hour of daylight left. This will be your last rolls.

Due to a failed Horsemanship roll, Cedwyn is -5 on his hunting skill for the final round.

At this point, the only way anyone is catching something is with a critical success.

Arne (-8hp)	Cedwyn	Rodric	Valka
*	-	-	*
-	-	*	-
-	*	-	-
-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-

[Arne]

Arne rose painfully to his feet, and checked himself over.  It seemed that his entire body was scourged by the brush, and he had to spend some time pulling small pieces of bark and thorns from his skin.  Growling a foul string of curses, he eyed his horse with concern and was pleased to see that Jarl has fared far better than he did.

Making sure that he'd lost nothing in the fall - besides his dignity and common sense - he gingerly mounted his horse and snarled, "A pox on this Loki-accursed hunting trip!  I've taken less wounds against a pack of Saxons!  Come, Jarl, let's head back before it's too dark, eh?"

OOC:  Arne's done.  Between his horrid skill level and the rolls, he'll be lucky to live through the day if he continues to try and hunt.   

[Cedwyn]

Cedwyn cursed. He lost his quarry and got rangled in bramble. Now the trail went cold.

[Hunting: 27 vs. 6 (11-5).  Failure.]