Hacha will continue to lope forward, javelins in hand. He'll aim to climb up on top of the mound of rocks.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:37, Wed 11 Sept 2013.

MR 1

On the Northern side of the Tamarisk rocks, the mighty Stoneskin thunders along to the sound of the whirling  bull roarer, which is heard by all of the patrol wherever they are.

Greeshar gets to the end of his charge and wheels for another go, and is rewarded by several large Jackrabbits bounding out of the rocks where he'd seen movement, scattering in every direction but the Tamarisk rocks.

It's whilst he trots back, wary of ambush, that he spies behind two boulders, a small cave, in the Northern side of the Tamarisk rocks. His sister Amara is well within range to point this out, it being hidden from her by a skull bush.

A back entrance or a separate cave?

Hacha Lor meanwhile clambers quickly up the boulders, reaching a handy bush which provides ample handholds over a particularly difficult part. It's while he's catching his breath and perhaps waving to Fireborn below, that the brave discovers a hole between the rocks where he sits. It leads straight down, is wide enough for him to squeeze through if he so wished and....is covered with black soot. Evidence that someone in the past has had a fire below. It's old though, seasons or possibly even years old.

Fireborn following his friend and the Jack Rabbit tracks, sees that the ones heading around the northern part of the rocks vanish under a boulder, from where he is it looks like he could easily squeeze under there if he wanted too...The other tracks continue around the South in the direction of the Tamarisk trees.

And finally, before the Tamarisk trees, advance Melock, Kobal and Kaonu Windspeaker, the first of possibly many charms taking effect: Kobal's skin becoming hard and mimicking his own beast's tough hide and Melock's missile weapons glowing ever so slightly....lips move readying other charms of binding and sharpening as the three edge their beasts closer.....

Beyond the rocks Greeshar's bullroarer ceases its thunderous drone and they each see Hacha Lor crest the rise above them, stopping to bend and examine something at his feet and then  Kobal sees it....

A flicker of movement, on the edge of the darkness, under the rocks, between the two trees.

And then it's gone, moving back deep into the shadows.

It was big....

Kobal calls out for all to hear "There's a cave over here.  I saw something large move inside!  Someone light a fire - we'll flush it out!"

He gets off Black Hoof, puts away his javelin, grabs his lance to use as a spear, one handed.  Looking this time on the death rune on his vambrace, he focuses his spirit on the rune, whispering "Waha, guide my hand."  Then, hooping and hollering to try to provoke the beast, he moves in to attack.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:18, Wed 11 Sept 2013.

In reply to Kobal (msg # 173):

Melock will hang back a bit incase Kobal manages to draw it out of the cave  but if he doesnt Melock will dismount and aproach the cave, lance in one hand shield on the other

Hearing Kobals cry, Amara nudged Thunderfoot in the direction the Bison rider was calling out to. She winced as she saw the cave. "There is no charging down there. Even lances are not appropriate weapons. It means dirty work against an angry killer, unless we can smoke him out." she said as she approached the others.

Fireborn begins to collect small branches and brush start a fire...most of you would have noticed Fireborns unnaturally good luck at firestarting at some point.

Once he has a handful, at least enough to get the fire started he makes his way to the cave opening and starts a fire.

Hacha will signal to the others that he has found an entrance. He'll stow his javelins and begin climbing down the hole. He'll do this as carefully and quietly as possible, and he'll pause to listen every so often on the way down.

Fireborn calls out to Hacha Lor..."Be wary of the smoke from my fire!"

He does indeed drop to his knees inbetween the two trees and begins to build his fire to smoke out the cave. A hole in the top might serve as an exit for whatever they are smoking out so that will need to be watched.

In reply to Fireborn (msg # 178):

Seeing Fireborn starting a fire by the entrance, Melock will dismount and stand near enough to him to defend him if the bear comes out this way.
Once dismounted he will switch to 1h spear(lance) and shield

Kobal drops his lance and unsheathes his sword.  The creature has not come out as he'd hoped, and using a lance in the cave would be too difficult.

Although the sword has the sheen of a magicked blade, it won't light his passage.  He takes just a few steps into the darkness beyond the mouth of the cave.  Plunging headlong into the darkness seems too much like suicide.

"Fireborn, can you give me a thick branch as a torch?" he says, sparing a quick look at his brother, and returning to watch the darkness for any tell tale sign of movement.  He keeps his sword in front of him to ward off any sudden attack.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:13, Wed 11 Sept 2013.

MR 5

The fire starts without a hitch, Fireborn living up to his name and producing a small but smoky conflagration between the two Tamarisk trees, their bushy branches almost touching the ground and forming an area of shade before the darkness of the cave.

It'll need more wood though, if smoking out whatever is in the cave is the red headed brave's objective....

Melock and Kobal, eyes adjusting to the gloom, can see several spear lengths down an unevenly roofed tunnel, it's sandy floor churned up by the passage of the Leaping Bear.

A rank smell wafts out, of death, blood and animal.

Behind, the Bisons bellow, and Amara's rhino stamps his massive feet.

In reply to GM (msg # 181):

While Kobal is near Fireborn, Melock will look close by for anything burnable for the fire, the greener the better for a smokey fire. He will stay within 3 bison lengths to start with and use his left hand for carrying the fire wood so he still has his lance ready but not his shield

Greeshar laughs as the jackrabbits bound away, breaking his tension. Circling the mighty Stoneskin about, he stows his bullroarer and happens to note the second cave.

Hearing Kobal's shout, Greeshar nods affirmatively as Amara rounds the outcropping to join the others. Raising his voice, he calls out, loud enough to carry to all.

“There is another cave mouth here. I will catch the beast if you drive it out this way!” Greeshar moves the mighty Stoneskin into position to prevent the beast's escape, planning to lance it as it runs out. His anticipation mounting, the young man checks his gear, concentrates on a rune, and invokes a charm to make his lance bite deep!

Kobal reaches down and grabs the largest branch in the fire he can see, using his shield hand.

Hearing Greeshar's words, he shouts a battle cry and advances through the cave, hoping to push the leaping bear towards the rhino rider.  He steps quickly to the edge of the lit cave, then walks more warily forward into the darkness, branch held forward to light his passage and search for any side passages, and sword forward to protect himself should the creature attack.

He yells and hollers, hoping both to flush out the leaping bear with his cries, and to give Greeshar an idea of his approach.

Amara rolled her eyes at her brother finally saying that he saw a cave. Why had he said nothing while letting her go to join the others. She looked to the others standing near the cave entrance with fire. "Am I needed here or should I assist he who has no sense at the other entrance?"

The fire is the right way to do. But there are three entrances, and only one warrior at two of them. Amara, you'd better go help your brother: if the smoke drives the leaping bear out of the cave, it may come out the nothern entrance.
Shouting : Acha, do you thing a leaping bear could go throuh the shaft you're exploring ? Is there any rock atop which you may throw on whatever wants to come out from there ? If this is an entrance to the caves, Acha should see smoke coming though it If I were a Leaping Bear, which I'm fortunately not, I would go out this exit, dominating all my foes"
I'm a bit worrying seeing most of my clan mates on foot: we'd better wait until the bear comes out the cave : we are better on open ground, caves are for the Uz. "Kobal, don't you want to wait a bit to see if the bear comes out ?"
All this while helping Melock gathering wood, sitting on Yellow Wing's back, cutting branches directly from the trees: I stay ready to rush to help whoever needs it.

In reply to Amara Brightsky (msg # 185):

Melock will smile at Amara's comment I think Kaonu is right the bear is more likely to come out the entrance with the least of us there

Three Shamans ride side by side, deep within the migrating Prairie Thunder herd.

"Has anyone heard word of Long Grass?" asks one, wreathed in shadow.

"No word...Still at  Condor Crags, sulking no doubt..." replies his neighbour, cloud tattoos bunched across his broad shoulders.

"Was it wise to send them out?  With Tripanandar's children pursuing our herd?" asks the other, trailing a plume of acrid smoke.

"If the spirits are to be believed they must face the dangers..." replies the first.

"They could be wrong" questions the second"

"No, you are right, they must prove themselves....The rivals must unite and..." adds the third.

Causing all three to intone "Walk the walk and talk the talk"

Their sudden laughter rings loud and true, mingling with the herd as it thunders across the Wastes....

MR 6,7,8

Kobal has entered the tunnel, his voice booming in challenge to the hidden foe. Sword and shield held ready, his fiery brand driving back the shadows. It's dry and cool and his voice fills the space.

The fire, under Fireborn's control, suddenly flares, sending up a plume of white smoke, which caught by the wind blows down the tunnel and after the vanishing Brave.

It's almost as if it's being sucked in.

Kaonu is atop his Bison, voicing his concerns and pulling fresh branches from the Tamarisk trees, prayers to Askuwhetu, the Tamarisk Man on his lips, asking for forgiveness and thanking the spirit for his gift.

On the other side of the rocks Greeshar atop his Rhino, hears Kobal's challenge and Kaonu's muffled voice. Then out of the cave rushes a great thick, cloud of choking smoke, engulfing the area about the cave mouth.



MR 6,7,8

Kobal moves down the tunnel, eyes flitting this way and that, picking up a small side passage to his right as he edges into a large space beneath the rocks. The ceiling is made of massive boulders piled up on top of each other, skull bush roots pushing their way through the gaps, some hanging all the way to the ground.

The smoke from the fire follows him in and suddenly is whipped off to the northern end of the room, picked up by a gust of wind coming from his left.

Another passage!

And that's when it hits....

A lithe, angry form, erupts out at the hapless brave, dropping down from the left. Kobal instinctively tries to dive out of the way, but the beast is thrown off course as a paw entangles itself on a thick tendril of root, giving the young man time to turn and slash out with his charmed sword.

Time slows down.

Kobal's blade slices into the creature's front leg, just as a snarling, tooth filled maw shoots upwards at his face, meeting instead the same blade brought up in a perfect parry, splitting flesh open and spraying blood across the rocks.

Another stab, but this time the Bison brave misses...Giving time for the creature to reassess the situation and back away for a brief moment.

And then the room fills with smoke again, blanking out everything, with acrid, cough inducing smoke....




From within the cave comes the sound of shouting, roaring and combat.

In reply to GM (msg # 189):

on hearing Kobal fighting, Melock will drop any fire wood he is carrying and his lance and draw his sword and run in to the cave to help Kobal. if Kobal is still standing when he gets there he will attack the bear as well, if Kobal is down he will try to drive the bear away so he can help Kobal

Once he realises this cave system isn't straight forward, Kobal calls out to his fellow braves, "there's another passage in here!".

After his sword connects with flesh for the second time, he snarls "Come on you bastard!  Come on!" trying to keep the tremor from his voice.  His successful cuts have filled him with battle lust, but at the same time, the beast's roars carry the promise of death in them.  Waha show me the path.  Three hyenas charging at him had been intimidating enough.  But that had been in the open plains.  Here, he's in claustrophobic passage under the Earth, an alien place to a young brave of Prax.  In the blackness, the torch throws flickering shadows in all directions and smoke swirls around...

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to charge in here before the smoke.  But he'd hoped the cave was simple, and to outrun the smoke, catching up with the leaping bear before then, or at least forcing it to Greeshar's end.  And he knew the effect of his charms would have dissipated in due course.

Kobal pushes forward in the direction that the attack came from.  He has no desire to walk dumbly into the jaws to the creature, but at the same time, he needs to try to stay in front of the smoke.  A sudden inhale of smoke stops him, body wracking with coughs, but he manages to regain his composure, and continues forward.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:17, Thu 12 Sept 2013.

Amara moved swiftly to where her brother was. He needed to talk more and stop trying to do everything on his own. She dropped off the side of Thunderfoot as her rhino passed her brother to stand at his side, lance and shield ready for anything trying to come out. "The fire and smoke was a good idea. Whoever went inside after the fire started..." her voice trailed off as she settled down with her lance.

Greeshar sat impatiently, waiting for something to happen. He noted his sister Amara's return with surprise, but was pleased to see her. She slid off her rhino, causing him a bit of astonishment, but he let that pass.

"I'm glad you've chosen to fight with me, instead of with the bison people," he said openly. "After all, we were trained to use the same tactics," he added, diverting the conversation away from what he really felt.

Shouting out, he called, "Ohe! Drive the beast out!"

He took another quick look around, to make sure there weren't more foes approaching.

In reply to Melock (msg # 190):

On his way in he will mutter the charm of mouse skin and the charm of  cats bite. Then he will take a deep breath of fresh air before he enters the smoke

Fireborn, take care of our bisons. I'm going to help Melecok getting Kobal out of there.

I dismount, take my spear and my shiled strapped in the back and follow Melock, while casting my magic.