Guyver deactivated all non-essential functions, entering resting mode.
He remained vigilant though throughout the night.

Santio had arrived back late:  with the camp having settled for sleep.
Quietly, he buried the deer corpse in the snow, to keep it as fresh as possible ... and he'd done so where Guyver could see any intrusion drawn by its presence.

Santio hadn't bothered Guyver in his 'sleep state', but (having heard what the ... being ... had said about not actually being asleep), he'd nodded to Guyver, by way of acknowledgement, before bedding down himself.

***********'

The next morning, Santio was up and suitably refreshed.  Ready to go.

He showed the others the deer corpse that he'd brought back.   "I don't know how far we have to go.  If its some way, I can carve this up for meat* and supplies.  But if we are close, I suggest we use it as a gift offering at the gates of our destination".
                   * fresh meat always being preferable to travel rations, of course.
As always, Santio seemed to lack some confidence when talking.   It wasn't something he'd spent a lot of time doing, and it was far from the strength he offered this entourage.   Between his small, wiry physique and his soft demeanour and voice, he lacked any force of personality, really.


Also, he said (mostly to Nutcracker), "Would you like me to attempt control of the dogs and sled today?"
He'd be much more comfortable out front, scouting ahead as he had been yesterday, but knew it only fair to take turns at the more undesirable tasks of the journey.

This message was deleted by the player at 23:37, Sat 13 Aug 2022.

OOC: In the future, folks, please wait until I post whether or not your rest was interrupted before posting about waking up. Fortunately, this night was a peaceful one.

Everyone gets enough sleep for their particular needs, though thanks to the blizzard and the problems controlling the dogs, you find that not only have you woken up a few hours later than planned, but after consulting the maps, you are only half a days travel (that is, four hours) closer to your destination. If you experience no further delays, you'll arrive at sunset tonight.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:19, Mon 15 Aug 2022.

The next morning, Santio was up and suitably refreshed.  Ready to go.

He showed the others the deer corpse that he'd brought back.   "I suggest we use it as a gift offering at the gates of our destination".
                   * fresh meat always being preferable to travel rations, of course.
As always, Santio seemed to lack some confidence when talking.   It wasn't something he'd spent a lot of time doing, and it was far from the strength he offered this entourage.   Between his small, wiry physique and his soft demeanour and voice, he lacked any force of personality, really.


Also, he said (mostly to Nutcracker), "Would you like me to attempt control of the dogs and sled today?"
He'd be much more comfortable out front, scouting ahead as he had been yesterday, but knew it only fair to take turns at the more undesirable tasks of the journey.

OOC: Opps, I misunderstood the OOC chat above, my mistake.

"That is clever, demonstrate quickly that we know what we are doing out here."

She said to Santio, nodding along.

"We will make... and interesting entrance, that much at least is clear. Disorder is something I can manage."

Where Santio gave the impression perhaps of faltering confidence with his words, she was simply bursting with her. Though, with how mesmerizing her voice was, it was not hard to understand why. "Goldentongue," she had named herself, and it did not seem an idle boast. She spoke as if she could charm the teeth out of mouths of the whole tribe, and in truth, she might very well be able to.

Guyver had reactivated himself and quietly gathered his gear.
It was hard to guess what was going on in his mind from the limited range of facial expression he possessed.

Bloody meat to appease the barbarians seems fitting.

With the dawn came packing up camp and making ready to set out again. Nutcracker accepted Santio's offer to drive the sled today. Apparently he had gotten off to a bad start with the dogs and they resented his barking. Who is to say. He could still manage covering up any trail and other wilderness things as well as trekking on foot. These were areas he was more comfortable.

The group sets out once again. Santio directs the cart past the ogre's den, but not before Nutcracker confirms that it remains uninhabited... for now. As expected, the totems marking Swift Tusk territory come into view just before sunset. Do you press on, or camp outside the territory, to make your approach in the morning?

"I say we get torches up, so we don't look like we're trying to sneak in, and head in. We don't want to be out here without setting a watch, and we don't want to offend them setting one."

Kiara said as the totems first came into view.

"I wish I'd learned the drums, or hadn't left my Yarting at home."

She pantomimed strumming an instrument, a 'Yarting' she had called it?  Evidently it was some sort of lute or mandolin, from the gesture she made.

"Have you a boast prepared, Santio? After I have offered them their gift, you will need to make it."

Santio nodded, when Kiara suggested they move forward, with polite warning, this evening.
He felt that was a sound decision.

Then ... she suggested that he ... boast?
"Um ..." he stuttered, while turning somewhat a shade similar to the snow around them.
She wanted him to ... speak?   To all those unknown, and possible hostile, folk?    Publicly?   Assertively??

Kiara sighed, as she had suspected that this was the case, but there was still compassion in her face and voice.

"When you agreed to face their champion, you agreed to do more than fight."

She said gently.

"When we meet the Swift Tusk tribe, I will speak to them in their own tongue, and offer them the gifts that we have brought. You will then have to boast of your greatest martial accomplishment, so that they know which of us seeks to fight their champion. If I try and speak for you, they will think I am the one challenging them. I can carry my own in a fight, but I'll admit a strong preference to my foes being over there, and not in my face trying to bash my skull in."

She laughed, and the sound was magical.

"So, have you defeated one of the Red Foot's champions, or some fearsome beast, or do we need to come up with a lie?"

Santio looked uncertain, and uncomfortable.
"I, um, fought in the war that took Burning Stag", he ventured, and
"And I hunted this tiger", he said, puling gout a large tiger skull from the sack that he'd been carrying on the side of his backpack, "by myself".   The skull had been cleaned meticulously, and Santio had almost finished painting it with a forest scene which included a white tiger crouched across the top of the skull.
"Does any of that count?", he asked, lacking confidence.

Kiara read his uncertainty, reaching out a gloved hand to place it on top of the skull.

"Did you personally kill any of their Chieftains or Lieutenants? Anyone with a name that the Orcs would know?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:32, Sun 28 Aug 2022.

Santio shrugged, “I didn’t know the names of anyone there.
There are people I fought WITH that I still don’t know the names of”.

A dead end then, as far as she knew. She'd only heard a few stories about the raid. It had been a long shot that Santio had slain someone of renown.

"How did you kill the Snow Cat?"

She asked, hoping for an angle there.

Again, Santio shrugged.  He really wasn't good at this self-propaganda!
"I hunted it through a blizzard, then killed it with one arrow, and one blade thrust through its heart", unsure if this was what the woman was fishing for.

He wasn't sure what to tell her ... other than, he'd offered himself to her for this mission, and would do what was necessary to protect her.  Including fight in any challenge she asked him to.
"Maybe ...", he offered, "Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut, and we all present that I am voiceless while we are here?  You can spin whatever li...tales you like of me?"

She put a comforting hand upon his shoulder. With her other hand she reached over to his quiver, and plucked all but a single arrow out.

"Santio, hear me."

She said, and her voice was poetry in a silent glade, full of smoke and honey.

"You are he who felled the great Snow Cat with a single arrow, and a single thrust of your sword. What need have you for pretty words?"

She leaned in close, helping him understand that he already had the words there, he just needed to learn to fashion them.

"Against any champion they dare send against you, you do not need armor or shield. A single arrow, and a single thrust of your sword is all you will require."

She looked up, fully a head shorter than most others, and met his eyes. He could see that the onyx gemstone was indeed embedded in her forehead somehow, the skin depressed around it. However it had been done, it was been done ages ago, for there was no redness that would suggest it was new.

"Those are you words, speak them to the Orcs when it is time."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:02, Mon 29 Aug 2022.

Santio kinda nodded, but it didn't seem very convincing.
He couldn't help but think that any boast he made would be any more convincing, however.

OOC: Heading to the village!

"Think of it this way."

Kiara said as she clambered up onto the sleigh.

"The best way you can protect all of us, is by making sure they see you as the challenge. You're not trying to cow them, or even beat them into submission. You're quiet? Good, you can be quiet, but speak volumes with your quietness."

She gestured to his mostly empty quiver.

"Sometimes a little says a lot."

Santio took in her words, and looked at the 'mostly empty quiver' that she'd left him.
Was she testing him?

Reluctantly, he part-nodded, part-bowed.
He wasn't sure he could pull this off:   while his confidence in his skills, and among the trees was strong, he was not so in attempting to impress others.
But Santio had promised the woman his aid ... and if this is what she needed from him ...
he would try.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:08, Tue 30 Aug 2022.

"Tell them their champion is not worth the spit you need to utter a boast", Guyver offered:"That should get a fight started pretty quickly without the need for a long speech. How sturdy are you?", he asked Santio, looking him over. He ruffled Santio's hair and offered as a positive note: "You should consider shaving this, it's a combat hazard".
This message was last edited by the player at 11:27, Tue 30 Aug 2022.

A loud commotion is heard through the brush from your left and right. As the noise nears, you see a trio of orcs, each mounted in the saddle on a giant boar. One blocks the road ahead of you, two move behind you, one on each side of the path. The orc in front of you speaks, "I see the banner of Smith's Gambit. You are welcome to visit our village. Have you brought meat for Margul the Ancient?"

^Orcish"I see you, Swift Tusk Tribe!"

Kiara called out in Orcish, the guttural words still miraculously melodious and soothing on her tongue. Her surname might have seemed a little odd at first, but she moved and spoke with a confidence that inspired. It was well deserved.

^Orcish"We pay honor to the Tribe and most especially the Chieftain's strength, skill, and bravery with this gift!"


She patted the chest next to her.

^Orcish"In it, Margul the Ancient will find a taste of what is to be gained from trade with our people."

She opened it wide, stepping away and inviting them to come and see what was inside.  As she did, she glanced to Santio, speaking plainly in common. She could have whispered so that the Orcs could not hear her, but that was not her way. She spoke in the common tongue, but her words crafted in such a way that any Orc who overheard and understood her would find no offense in what she said.

"Remember, Santio, only an honorless fool would ever belittle the warriors of the Swift Tusk Tribe, speak only of your strength and skill. They will show you first hand their own."

Then she turned back to face them all.

^Orcish"Blood calls to blood, and warriors to warriors. Hear now the words of he who hunted within the heart of the storm in the dark of night to bring this bounty."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:09, Sun 11 Sept 2022.

The lead orc interrupts, "All in its time. I will escort you to the village, and you may present your gifts to Margul himself. You can tell the tribe of your strength and skill. Then you can show us." His mouth twisted into what was either a mischievous grin, or an excited one. His tusks and the odd shape of his lips made it difficult to tell. He brought you into the village, past many small mud-and-wattle huts, to a larger wooden hut. He shouts from outside the hut. [Language unknown: "Haulno! Oerrom-histhi ec Meniat Forlatate ne som underahisers. Ati ioss caivne roheis!" ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:02, Sun 11 Sept 2022.