[Day 6, LE, The Deep Forest] Predatory Nature

[Whisper]

He'd been in the city for days. Even worse, Hush had been there for weeks. Sigil was an adequate home. It allowed for some comfort and security, especially with the League. But, the pair needed to run free through the wilds. They needed to feel the natural world surround and envelope them. They needed to hunt.

Years ago, Whisper had searched for the forest he grew up in. He and Hush had explored many places attuned strongly to nature. Through Tir na Og and the House of Nature they'd found the Deep Forest. It wasn't their forest, but it was the closets they had come to anything like it. Ancient trees cast dark and inescapable shadows, beneath a thick unbreaking canopy high above. If there was a sun above them, it was rarely seen. There were no settlements here, no buildings of any kind. Great beasts dwelt here.

Predators and prey.

[Flession]

The weather was just as beautiful as it was in the morning, before all the mud got flung around. The dark times of the Outlands were slowly coming, with the sun barely shining thru the trees as you enter in from the portal. Within the Deep Forest, time seems to move in its own rhythm, unhurried and attuned to the ageless growth and decay of its inhabitants. Towering trees stretch their limbs toward the heavens, their branches laden with secrets whispered by the wind itself. Magical glades appear and vanish at whim, offering glimpses into worlds beyond the mundane, where fey creatures flit like fleeting dreams.

The heart of this realm beats with the pulse of the natural world, as creatures of both mundane and extraordinary nature find their homes within its depths. It is no wonder that Silvanus, the deity of wild places, patron of druids, and guardian of the untamed essence chooses to make this place his home. The sounds of nature envelop you, instead of the crowds and chants of the big city.

This was calm, natural bliss; a reminder of a home since left, but not forgotten.

The sounds of the forest envelop you as nature responds to your entry by the rustling beyond the thick of it. Hush responds in kind by sniffing the ground and lying near the small encampment by the portal, its flame still lit thru some magical means beyond your understanding, offering you a light source in the area as well as a beacon to find your way back in the darkness that was soon coming.

[Whisper]

"Alright old man, I'm going to see what's out there." He knelt beside Hush. "Try not to stray too far from the portal. One of us should avoid getting lost."

Whisper and Hush didn't hunt together. They were far too competitive for that.

"If anyone else we know comes through, send them my way."

The ranger took a moment to check his gear, then he set off into the forest.

[Thaddeus]

Slightly tardy, Thaddeus arrives at the portal with no sign of Whisper. Bet he's already gone through. Thad thought to himself before entering the portal without any hesitation.

This was his second jaunt through a portal this week and he was looking forward to what Whisper would show him. The fresh air hit him a bit more than even the air in Candlekeep.

After taking a moment to regain his composure, the satyr looks around to confirm what he saw when he first came through, Whisper's beasty Hush sitting there watching him with what Thad could only guess was a comical look on his face. "Hey boy, where's the old master at? Did he already find some game?"

[Whisper]

Thaddeus wasn't too far behind.

"This way!"

Whisper's voice came from down a narrow path. He'd be found quickly enough, though it seemed like the darkness clung to and obscured him, even with the satyr's keen vision.

[Thaddeus]

Hearing the answer from the genasi in question, Thaddeus bounds quickly but quietly through the dense forest to catch up to Whisper. Living up to his name, it took more than a moment for Thad to zero in on his exact location.

"This place really is somethin' else."

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D6, LE, Predatory Nature, Fluff (for now) Stealth | 1d20+7 ⇒ 17

[Whisper]

Whisper was easy enough to find, once Thaddeus was close.

"Glad to see you." he smiled. "As it gets darker, you may have trouble keeping track of me. So, it's best we stick together. What is your preferred method of hunting?"

- - -
[Day 6, LE, The Deep Forest] Predatory Nature, Stealth | 1d20+6 ⇒ 16

[Thaddeus]

"Well, to be honest, most of my hunting involves plying them with drinks and whispered words." Thad answers with a smirk on his face.

"As for how I'd attack my prey," he pulls out his Rod of the Pact Master, "I rely mostly on magics of various sorts to handle that. I'll be deferring to your expertise here. Not a lot of free-range big game loose in the Cage. What is your preferred method?"

[Whisper]

"I'm an ambush hunter." he explained. "I have a bow, but I prefer to be up close. It should be easy enough to find a game trail, then we can look at our options. Is there anything in particular you'd like to find?"

[Thaddeus]

"An ambush, I like it. I've got a spell for just such an occasion. After your first strike, I can turn the ground to sharp spikes and thorns. Really tears up anyone that sticks around, and I have ways of making them stick around and making sure they keep movin' in the area.

I'm open to anything we come 'cross. The more... unique and exotic, the happier I'll be, but that's us to what the forest provides right."