IC: The Sun Never Sets, IC thread for The Sun Never Sets Options

[Tecumseh]

The work goes well. Ellesar easily finds enough dried moss and underbrush to form the foundation of a fire. He uses his tomahawk to divide up a few larger pieces of deadfall, providing more that enough fuel to keep a fire going throughout the night. He uses some branches to sweep away the rocks and pebbles littering the floor of your cave. He quickly assembles a windbreak to shelter the mouth of cave while still providing good views of the approach to the cave and the valley below. It's a very defensible position.

Stogie and Jake set off on a hunt but Smohalla steals some of their glory by swooping out of a tree and bagging a fat grouse. It's not enough for dinner and breakfast both, so Stogie continues his hunt. Before long Jake catches the scent of a deer. The trail is relatively fresh but it seems to lead over the ridge and out of sight. He looks back to Stogie, unsure of whether to follow it further or to pursue smaller prey, like squirrels, which seem plentiful.

Berry season has long since passed but there are plenty of winter mushrooms available, despite the recent dry spell. There are bellybutton hedgehogs, spreader hedgehogs, yellowfoot chanterelles, and black trumpets. Perhaps best of all are the candy cap mushrooms, which are sweet, almost maple-like. Less experienced woodsmen often confuse them with the deadly galerina, but those woodsmen are all dead due to the mistake so that's obviously not you. The candy caps will make a fine dessert and will be even more appetizing at breakfast once they've dried out a bit, concentrating the maple flavor.

[pbangarth]

Yeah, stay close today, Jake. We don't wanna end up half a night's walk away from the rest, with a deer to carry.

The squirrels seem awfully wary, almost as if they know what's going on. Stogie wonders for a moment, then shakes it off as paranoia. He does manage to gather some edible plants and fungi. As they return to the cave, Smohalla's find of a grouse is a welcome sight. "Hey, that bird looks good. We'll have a proper feast tonight, as long as 'feast' doesn't mean filling your belly to bursting."

He sets about preparing a fie and supper. "Cave looks good, too. Comfy and warm!"

Jake curls up by the front of the cave. His loud stomach grumble catches Stogie's attention. "Don't worry, boy. You'll get some of my share, and a bit of the trail bar, too."

[pbangarth]

"So. What do you guys make of the wolves and the Sisters? I hear a different story from the shapeshifter from the one our employer gave us."

[AtroposReborn]

Ellesar glances casually over at Jake, "That's to be expected. I see no point in assuming things about these sisters unless we see it ourselves. Everyone has thier own preconceived notions of others that won't get us anywhere."

[phlapjack77]

Smohalla's capture of the prey is simplicity itself. The birds in this area aren't used to being hunted, apparently.

After scouting for a little bit, he returns with the news.

There does not seem to be water close by. I will take a container and return with some for drinking.

Gone momentarily clutching a water bottle in his talons, he returns with the full bottle and shifts into human form.

As the group settles in to their campsite, he joins the discussion about the Sisters.

I have found that the words of men are often not to be trusted.

Animals, plants, not one of Mother Earth's creatures lie. Except man - only man does this.

I wish to learn the truth of this, and will not have a clouded mind when I meet these Sisters.

But there is much more to this than a lie or not lie.

[pbangarth]

"It may be that we will have to find a way that meets our employer's requirements, and accommodates whatever the Sisters are on about. This could turn out to require some tricky negotiation."

[phlapjack77]

And if the Sisters are as our employer says...they must be destroyed.

Any and all who aid them also.

Smohalla looks meaningfully outside at the wolves, dimly visible as shadows amongst the trees.

[AtroposReborn]

"Yes, well this may not yet be the time for that. We must rest up if we hope to have the strength to do much of anything."

[pbangarth]

"Well, personally I would rather not destroy if we don't have to. And as far as the wolves go, they seem like innocent tools, rather than partners. Tools with very sharp teeth, mind you."

[phlapjack77]

We must be prepared tomorrow. As you say Warrior, we should rest.

Smohalla curls up with one arm over his head and closes his eyes.

Meanwhile in the astral, a small eagle settles on a branch outside, with an unobstructed view of the cave mouth and entryway.

[Tecumseh]

Smohalla is the shaman but it turns out that, in the kitchen, Stogie is the wizard. His dinner is a revelation, and his grouse is just as good as the canard à la rouennaise at Tour d'Argent on the Left Bank. He cleans and dresses the bird, turning the bones and collected mushrooms (plus some water collected by Smohalla) into quick stock that soon becomes a savory velouté. He sears the breasts and legs, finishing them by poaching them in the prepared sauce, then crumbles his trail bar across the top. Shockingly, it adds a pleasing textural contrast to the minced mushrooms, plus a tone of sweetness that compliments the candy cap mushrooms. It's not from any recipe and it can probably never be duplicated, but you'll laugh telling stories about it for as long as you live, which is hopefully longer than tomorrow.

On that note, Smohalla conjures a strong spirit to watch over you. It looks capable and vigilant, and you feel that you could probably get away without rotating through shifts on watch overnight. As it is, the temperature is dropping and nobody really wants to move away from the fire. Elessar has is crackling, warming and illuminating the cave. The wind whips around outside but the windbreak does its job. There's even enough moss and underbrush to serve as some makeshift bedding. Under the watchful eye of the spirit, you're sure that the fire won't throw off any accidental sparks. Jake curls up against Stogie, his ears peeled but not hearing anything other than the sounds of the forest at night.

[pbangarth]

Thoroughly pleased with himself over the success of the meal, Stogie cleans up, then curls up with Jake, whose warmth is welcome in the evening chill. Absent-mindedly he picks a bit of meat from between two troublesome teeth. I really should get those fixed.

"I've been thinking. Who knows what the Sisters are going to tell us tomorrow, but I bet there will be some story justifying what they have done. Out and out taking them on tomorrow might be a bad idea, seeing as the wolves will likely be around, along with their alpha, and the Sisters, who will be expecting us, will likely have spirits of their own to protect them. If we take the time to check out their story, we may be able to find a way to stop their crusade, or whatever it is, without full warfare. At least, having checked out their base of operations, we may be able to make a plan that is a little smarter than 'draw weapons and start shooting'.

"Does that make sense to you guys?"

[phlapjack77]

Smohalla's arm shifts, revealing his eyes gleaming in the firelight.

As ever Shepherd, your wisdom is greater than your years.

We would not win that fight that you describe.

They will know that we will sense their auras, if they are Defilers.

My friends, I will not lie to them about our information...or our intentions.

[pbangarth]

"Yeah, I've given up on getting you to even consider lying, Smohalla." Stogie chuckles at that. "Not that we could get away with it with three Sisters all of whom are likely to be able to read auras.

"Seems to me a useful tack might be to let the Sisters know people are getting pissed at their behaviour, and that maybe there's a way we can figure out how to remove the need for them to act the way they do, rather than removing them. Early on it should be made clear that if we disappear, something stronger will likely come in our place. Something less likely to be interested in talking. Be sort of ambassadors of trouble shooting, rather than terminators. Hell, they may have a legitimate beef for all we know.

"Having said that, I also believe we should be loaded for bear if things go wrong. The Sisters may not be the negotiating kind."

[phlapjack77]

Smohalla nods.

For that, I can ask a powerful spirit to aid us in being prepared for conflict.

When we meet, I will tell the Sisters some of what I learned from the Cascade Orks.

The Ork shaman tells a tale that is similar to our employer's.

Smohalla pauses.

But they do not have to know everything the shaman told me.

I will not lie to them, but nor will I provoke them unless there is no other way.

[pbangarth]

Stogie sits up at that. "I've been thinking what you told us about what the Cascade Ork shaman said. Did he elaborate about where the logging and the mining were happening? Or who the companies might be? If we have Matrix access here, maybe we could find out more about those operations. I'm sure Jeff is up to that.

"That might be our key to avoiding a showdown with the Sisters. Find out exactly what about those industries is torquing them off, and deal with that. Though the idea that the Sisters murdered someone and his family is hard to swallow. I'd like to be sure they don't just keep terrorizing people. Terrorizing corps, now...." He sits back, letting that idea trail off.

[phlapjack77]

If there is more information to this incident concerning Paul Longshanks in Cle Elum, I do not have it yet.

I will not take issue with the Sisters defending Mother Earth.

Only with what means they use in the defense.

If they are not Defilers, we must wonder about our employer.

How does he gain by having us investigate the Sisters?

[pbangarth]

"Always wonder about the employer. And now that I think of it, we didn't do much investigation about him before we shot off into the woods. I hope we don't pay for that haste. But didn't your shaman friend give much the same description of the Sisters' behavour as our employer?"

[phlapjack77]

Yes...yes he did. And I trust him much more than our employer.

[pbangarth]

"So, if it turns out the Sisters are twisted, and we can't work something out, we are going to have to tread carefully around them. One hint that we are not 'with them' means we are 'against them'. And it looks like that can be a fatal place to be."

[phlapjack77]

So it is settled.

We will hold palaver with these Sisters, nothing more.

If we determine they must be destroyed, we must do so at a later time.

If we determine them to be different than we have heard...

Then we must turn to understanding why our employer AND the Cascade Orks would say this.

[pbangarth]

"Sounds like a plan to me." Stogie settles in and tickles Jake's chin, eliciting a grunt of pleasure from the dog.

[AtroposReborn]

Halfway through the conversation Ellesar had gotten up and walked to the pile of sticks set aside for kindling. Selecting a few of the smaller ones from the pile, he returned to leaning against the shelter wall.

Slowly and with precision he sharpens the sticks, all the while listening to the conversation between Smohalla and Stogie. Finished sharpening the sticks on both ends he puts them into his backpack and lays down.

"A bad plan is better than no plan at all."

[Tecumseh]

You put your heads together to discuss what you know. The shifter said that the Sisters are "a long walk" from here. That's maddeningly ambiguous: will you be hiking for days or is "long" a relative term, simply implying farther than the shifter usually travels in a day? You decide that since you didn't start walking right away, and instead are staying the night, then it must be someplace you could walk to within a day. But then there's the complication of who exactly is the measure for how far someone can walk in a day. Is it the shifter, who will presumably travel on four legs and will thus move quite a bit quicker than you do, or did he take into account the bipeds will be moving rather slowly in comparison? Oh, and over what type of terrain? Will you be going up and down hillsides, or walking up relatively gentle valleys? You could have a brutal day in front of you. (Well, for those of you who can't fly, that is.)

Just to give yourself someplace to start, you decide that a long day of walking could potentially cover 30 kilometers if the terrain isn't too intense. Your commlinks don't receive a signal where you are but they do have the maps of the area in their active memory. Looking around in a circle, 30km to the west would put you back in the Seattle Metroplex. Every other direction can be described as "mostly mountains". Mount Rainier - what's left of it after it erupted back in 2017 - is about 20km to the south, but there are no known settlements that way. It is, however, in the direction of the fire lookout that was burned, killing a student.

The only town within walking distance is Lester, which you know was also attacked. (More accurately, it was the airstrip outside of town that was attacked.) It is about 10km to the northeast of your current position, which, given the terrain, could qualify as a "long" walk. The Green River runs through the town, so that would be a ready supply of fresh water for anyone living nearby.

As for tactics, you're in a tough spot. You won't have the element of surprise, you'll be on their turf, and they'll likely have defenses in place - spirits seem like a good guess. If they're smart they'll disarm you before granting an audience. Even if they don't disarm you, you can't throw a stone around here without hitting a tree. If you meet outdoors then there will be ample opportunity for them to take cover and little opportunity for you to take a clean shot. And, you know, they're magicians. All they have to do is see you to send an evil thought your way. Then there are the wolves who will be escorting you. It doesn't take long to decide that the best strategy is "don't piss off the Sisters". It's an entrenched position and all the advantages are theirs.

[phlapjack77]

Smohalla listens intently to everything that Ellesar has to say.

Warrior, Shepherd. It seems we must tread cautiously when we meet these Sisters.

But I have just had a thought.

If we believe the Sisters to have a logical purpose in their destruction, then what have they destroyed?

An airstrip, a fire outlook, and a town.

They have also killed a mine overseer, his family, and a university student.

Why did they kill no-one when they destroyed the town?

Why destroy the town in one place, and only the airstrip in another?

I would like to answer these questions when we have our meeting.