BSD Trebuchet Scouting Report

6/9/2006

11:30 AM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.

[Timewarped back to 06-08-2006, Late Night.]

Bawn: Northern Forest(#3012RA)
Dark and forboding woods stretch in all directions but the north, the trees close together as if they were soldiers closing ranks against the enemy of Man. The trees here are tall, and close off all light from above, like they were pillars in some vast cathedral to Nature. Songbirds flit between the branches and the snuffling of small animals comes from the brush if one listens close enough. The busy interstate highway to the north, though, drowns out most of the subtler sounds in that direction.
The northern edge of the bawn is marked here by the unavoidable length of Interstate 90. Near it, the sounds of traffic drown out the more natural sounds of water and wildlife. In all other directions, the traffic noise recedes into the background.
Contents:
Jacinta
Obvious exits:
Interstate 90  North  Lone Boulder  Western Bawn  Central Bawn  Eastern Bawn  

Pierces Ice paces back and forth in the area directly to the south of the trebuchet across the highway. She stays within the forest, not venturing to the highway itself, but still within sight of the scar on the land. Ever since the eerie howl, her hackles have been raised, her body more tense than even what she has been carrying these past days.

It is some time after, full of worry no doubt, that the pair of Gnawers reappear a good deal more west from where the Wendigo paces. Runner continues to lead, her form a bit blurred along the edges still, and looks watchfully over the highway before hurriedly crossing it while there are few cars. Only when they near the bawn's edge, do her gifts disperse and she stops to shake her fur off as if to try and get rid of the smell of crawling around near the BSD camp.

Leaves-None's lighter form, also a bit blurred, trails the Fostern closely as they return. She waits until her paws actually cross that invisible border onto the bawn before her gifts drop. Hackles are still somewhat raised and she shakes a hind paw distastefully back the way they came.

Pierces Ice huffs and, much like a herding dog, rounds the two and ushers them further onto the bawn in silence. Only when they are a significant distance from the highway does she back off from the pair a bit, ears flattening backward in anticiaption.

Runner follows along with the Guardian, and is the first to break the spell. Purposefully making a heavy cough to break the rite's effects, the fostern flattens her ears as far back against her head as possible. The whoosh of noises grows like a din around them. Leaves crackling, twigs cracking, bushes being wormed through, and the unnervingly odd sound of panting and thumping heartbeats all build and grow into a veritable din. Amidst it all, she adds to that a quiet, frog-throated whine.

Leaves-None pins her ears back as tightly against her skull as she can, making a slight wheezing sound as she holds back her own whine at the influx of sound. Having followed Pierces Ice this far, she stops and paws futilely at her head for a bit in an effort to make things ease up.

This cacophany draws ears, two of which belong to Kaz. She's evidently been sacked out somewhat nearby, as, a few minutes later, with leaves in her hair, she ambles towards them, blinking sleepily.

Pierces Ice winces at the din, looking as though she were facing into a strong wind. As the sound fades, she slides upward into her birth form. "What did you learn?" she asks quickly, her tone imperative and concerned.

Runner keeps her eyes quite closed until the hubbub has died off, sighing out in relief when it does. Then, with a glance to her fellow scout, the newmoon assumes a hispo form. ~We saw only two of them, north of the throwing machine.~ Even in this form, her voice is simply scraping. ~A female in homid, kicking a metis.~

Leaves-None shakes her head violently as the pent-up noises abate and straightens to a more normal posture. At the glance, she shifts up into hispo as well in case there is anything she might add and roughly makes a noise in agreement with the report.

Kaz settles into a seat nearby. "Was there, like, physical or scent evidence of others of 'em?"

Jacinta spots Kaz's arrival, and gives her a small bob of her head, then adds her questions to the Galliards. "How many did you scent? What sign of others? How many did it seem might be close?"

~We saw only two,~ Runner repeats with a glance to her partner as if to confirm. ~And maybe there was another patrolling when we left the machine. There is still a girl tied to it, and she lives, barely.~ Her hackles lift again, ears flattening with disgust. ~Sex, blood, shit. They extend north from the machine; that is where we found the pair of Black Spiral Dancers. Walking east, only had small hills and little advantage, plus houses. West also has some houses further away from the camp. They did not seem bunched together.~

Jacinta's nose wrinkles, her lips pulling back from her teeth. "I scented six. Did you see sign where the others might hide?"

Runner shakes her furred head from side to side. ~There are fewer trees to hide behind. The humans are slowly coming to settle and live. The eastern forest from the camp is only a little thicker, and the grass is thick in summer. The land rolls, but we saw nothing by way of traps. The machine is in a meadow, and we saw the pair of Spirals north of it.~

Jacinta huffs out through clenched teeth. "The others hide somewhere." She shakes her head fists balling and flexing at her sides. "You did not see anywhere for us to set ambush? No ground from which we would have advantage?"

Lowering her head a touch, Runner looks disappointed as well. ~The ground is fairly flat, but the grass is tall. Striking at night will help. The others were not seen or scented for us. But they did not see or hear us either. They did not seem very alert, those two. The one who howled was punished by the woman, but not heavily.~ Well, relatively speaking. ~There is a possibility we can draw them to one side, and strike from another.~

Kaz mutters, "Ain't anywhere near th' damn mountains, so that ain't gonna help. Well, shit."

Jacinta nods once, not really a gesture of satisfaction. Her lips twist up into a snarl and she taps a foot in a half-hearted stamp. "Ii." She looks to Kaz, mouth forming a thin line. "I think we will need a different tactic. We cannot set proper ambush, and cannot move far enough off without risking the veil, but we can use your gift." She spreads her arms out to the side. "Use your gift..." She drops suddenly into a crouch, attempting to clear an area of the forest floor.

Kaz quirks an eyebrow and sidles over to get a better look.

Runner blinks a couple of times, and then takes a step to a side to give the ahroun a chance to clear a larger area of floor. She, like her tribemates, peer over.

Jacinta marks out a rough circle, drawing an X in the middle. She adds the lines for the highway, and a square representing the farmhouse to the west. Looking up at Yi she moves her hand to the northern area of her cleared space. "The two you saw were here?"

Runner sidles back over, tongue coming out to lick her muzzle. With a scrape of her paw's claw against the ground, she notes the locale of the trebuchet. ~Here, the machine is. We moved north and east. There,~ she puts her paw on a spot to its 'east', ~the human house. Less than a few minute's run, but the forest there is larger than the one where the machine is.~

Jacinta adds in the square for the house Yi saw and then asks again, starting from the X marking the trebuchet and moving northward. "The Dancers that you saw. They were here?"

Runner takes a little longer to decide on that, ultimately placing them at a point north of the trebuchet by stopping the Wendigo's hand with her interrupting paw when she reaches it. ~There, yes. That stretch stunk more. Perhaps their main camp.~

Jacinta nods and marks the area with a small circle. Then she brings her attention to the right side of her drawing, south of the house and east of the main camp. Again she draws in the dirt, an asterisk, and looks up to Kaz. "This is where you will be. Several with you." With a wide sweep, she gestures to the west, between the marked farmhouse and the camp. "Others will wait until the Horned Serpent's Children have begun to answer your call. They will come through here. Sweep through." She drops her stick and punches fist into palm, "Crushing them between the two." Again she points at her asterisk and adds, "Those with ranged weapons will be here, so that they may attack before the Dancers can close."

Kaz chews her lip. "Yeah, works for me. I got guns I can loan people."

~The Call of the Wyrm?~ Runner looks with askance towards Kaz, then back to the plans. ~How many are going?~

"As many as will fight, and can be trusted to follow orders," the Wendigo answers quickly. "Many have been informed. Some will need to remain to guard the caern, should this be a distraction." She shakes her head, annoyance and sorrow both reading in her features. "Where is the strength of this Sept?"

Runner is quick to answer, as fierce as she can make her voice with its jackal tones, ~In the heart of her warriors and wisdom of Chimera!~

Kaz is slightly slower to answer, but no less firm. "Right here. An' right now. It's alla us together. An' we ain't lettin' the Caern down again. Period."

Jacinta snorts, some humor buried in the sound. "I was not thinking in metaphor. I meant, where are her warriors." Then she nods to Kaz and looks down at her drawing. She gestures to the south, across her lines of highway. "I would like, also, to have an umbral presence. They will come from here. We do not know if your gift will draw from across the gauntlet, or if it will even be noticed," she adds, looking again at the Galliard's face.

Kaz shrugs. "I can get you Kev and Baz and a buncha people like Grey an' them Fangs. You up for Fangs?" She also nods slightly at her new provision. "Laura an' Does Things Th' Wrong Way, mebbe. An' Aaron."

Runner is not put off by the lack of metaphor. The ragabash's lips remain a little bit lifted, as are her hackles stiff on her neck. It only dies down when she queries after Jacinta, ~You spoke of my gifts?~

Jacinta scowls when Kaz mentions the Silver Fangs. But she quickly schools her features back to neutrality and nods. "Anyone who will fight and can be trusted." Her second suggestion gets a nod. "If you can reach those in the scab, that would be helpful." Her eyes narrow as she considers Yi and she tips her head to the side before saying. "I spoke of Ears to the Ground's gifts. Do you have gifts helpful to this?"

Runner tilts her head. ~If they do not answer the call, what then? Surprise them? Lure them? They may have traps, but we newmoons know something of those too.~

Kaz says, mildly, "Well, /I/ trust people like Kenneth. I mean, to fight for the right cause, anyways. Not much further'n that."

Runner glances back towards Kaz. ~The Shadow Lord?~ She looks dubious, but her opinion is kept back with lack of familiarity. ~If his claws are on our side, then all is the better.~ Then she falls quiet, studying the layout of the drawing on the ground.

Jacinta's lips draw tight against her teeth. "If the gift fails, we will do what we will do. Ears to the Ground's force move in, draw them out as though falling for their trap. The rest will sweep in, still, as before. Newmoons, yes, in the sweeping arm, to spot the traps." A deep breath drawn in, the Ahroun continues as she sighs. "If he will fight under my orders..." she cuts herself off with a shake of her head. "We need the strength of many."

Kaz mutters, "Do love me some pincushion action," but nods. "Don't seem like there ain't a way to use this without exposin' my bunch a treat."

Kaz isn't at all arguing; merely stating.

Jacinta shakes her head again, agreeing with Kaz. "No. Without drawing them out, we fight on their terms. Our best hope is that your gift will draw them all, and that we will be able to enclose them within our forces."

Runner licks her muzzle in anticipation and no small amount of battle nervousness. ~Perhaps if we break their toy, they will anger and make mistakes.~

Jacinta repeats the head shaking. "Perhaps, but I do not think they find the trebuchet to be important. I think it is merely a means to an end."

Kaz nods, a brief, curt thing. "Ayuh. I guess I oughta go find some've these people, then, yeah?"

Jacinta's brows rise and fall at Kaz's words. "Ii, Quyana. We will make final plans soon. Tell those who you find to come quickly."

Runner dips her head at Kaz, wishing her well in a silent gaze. ~I do not like not knowing their numbers, but if they have not made their attack, then... there is a chance we can still catch them off guard.~

Jacinta scowls down at her drawing as she rises. With a foot she scuffs out her work. "You scented only the two you saw. I scented six, and twice that many human. I think we should expect that many for the battle. Ears to the Ground's gift will bring others as well, not only the Fallen."

Flattening her ears, the ragabash looks towards the direction of the city. ~The humans may have moved into the houses. Should have checked them,~ she says in retrospect.

Jacinta sighs. "Perhaps tonight we can scent out the homes. Can you taste the scent of the Horned Serpent?"

Runner lowers her head further. ~It is not a gift of the newmoons,~ she answers. ~But Cycle-Breaker knows of it.~

Jacinta's fingers touch the leather thong at her throat. "I can also tell if it is near, though I can test only one place before I need to return to the caern."

Runner shakes herself, also shaking off the tension and worry riding her shoulders. ~Soon. Tonight, maybe. I can scout the houses. If Leaves-None-Behind wishes to come, we go together. If not, we will see.~

Jacinta's head bobs in agreement. "Soon. I wish to strike before too long."

Runner glances towards the skies, making a noise of agreement, and some impatience and worry. Then with a half turn, she starts to dismiss herself. ~Now to wash the stink of those who smell worse than Bone Gnawers from me,~ she jokes darkly.

Jacinta gives a sharp nod. "Piuraa," she says, and turns to the east before sliding down into lupus.

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