Beltane 2023 - The Great Hunt

[Anya de la Rose]

Winter clings longer in the Deep Wilds, where the shadows protect snow drifts well into May. By Beltane, only the most determined spring blooms have broken through the frozen crust of mud in the spots warmed by shafts of weak sunlight.



Through those dim rays of light, herds of mule deer move. Hunters and trappers that travel between the sparse settlements report bucks antlered well beyond normal spring growth. These bands of deer sharpen the tines of their horns against the trees they pass, leaving gouges in thaw-softened bark and tangling themselves in strings of mildew. Motes of the fungal growth they've collected are visible, rising from their bodies when they pass through sunbeams.



The herds move Southwest, towards RhyDin city, bringing with them the creeping ruin of mold that settles where they shed spores. At their head, a monstrous stag cuts their path. The buck, dubbed Aktaion by the wildlings, calls his herd to him with a bugle cry that shakes the ground. They answer with shorter calls of their own and the thunder of hooves.

Attempts to turn the herd have met with failure. Similar efforts to claim Aktaion or his companions' antlers as trophies have met with death. The progress of the herd and the blight remain steady.



((The hunt is scheduled for 9 PM ET on Thursday, May 4th in #the-deep-wilds.

Once the herd appears, participants can play out their attempted attacks and roll a d20 by sending ?roll 1d20 to the green room. A roll of 10 or more counts as a success.

The herd will fight back! Players running the hunt will announce targets in their posts and roll in the green room. 10 or more on a d20 counts as a success, but the players participating in the hunt can determine what happens to their character. A success could mean anything from a damaging blow to the target being turned aside or disarmed. Whatever the player decides!

Furthermore, characters can choose to cleanse the blight. To roll against the blight instead of the herd or Aktaion, players can declare it in their action and roll the standard d20. If the blight is cleared before the herd dies, reroll potions will no longer have a chance of failure. All rerolls will be allowed to proceed.

Characters who register in this thread or post in the green room by 8:30 PM ET will earn 3 reroll attempts. These rerolls are granted by potions distributed at the start of the fight. But this year, the mold has gotten into them. In order to use a reroll, the play must first roll a d10 ( ?roll 1d10 in the green room). On a 1 or 2, the potion has gone bad and the reroll is lost. How drinking the spoiled potion affects the character is up to their player.))

[Death Knell]

Ettyn spent the days leading up to the hunt in preparation. She went to her preferred fletcher for new arrows, heavy and serrated, meant to crack bones and sever tendons more than slice through arteries and organs, for she was not sure that stopping the heart was enough to kill these deer. She fitted two boar spears with different braces, suited to the bodies of a great stag and his lesser followers, the better to pierce them and hold them at bay. She picked two swords as her backup weapons, Cantroed with its withering ice-fire and keen-edged Abetydd, and made sure that they would fit across her back with her other weapons.

And she filled two bandoliers with flasks of antifungal acid (with help from Anya and Parvan) that could be applied to weapons or poured directly over concentrations of blight.

But the bulk of her preparation was watching and listening. She studied the herd's trail of destruction, and spoke to hunters who had been the closest to their passing. She relied on her reputation and old connections to reach reclusive grugach elves and firbolg on either side of the Veil, and traded knowledge of navigating the Ways for everything they had heard about Aktaion.

[Eregor]

It had been a few lifetimes since Eregor had participated in a Great Hunt, when he was a resident of Faerie, before Serina's withering left him bereft. So much time had passed since then, yet when he'd heard rumors of Aktaion, he felt an old excitement. So now he was making preparations. Through Rhi's family he had familiarized himself with several horses over the years, and selected a hunting steed from among them, a chestnut mare named Woodrunner, spending much of his free time with her to build a rapport.

As the day of the Hunt approached, Eregor selected his weapons and gear. He would be protected by leather armor, bracers, and greaves, all enchanted to strengthen against antler and hoof. Woodrunner likewise had similarly enspelled leather barding to guard her flanks from goring. A short bow, suitable for use while riding, would serve as his primary weapon, and he made sure it was properly strung with two quivers of fresh arrows, one to be slung across his back and the other at his saddle. Should he be forced to fight in close, a pair of falchions would be close at hand.

The rumors of fungus infesting the herd presented a difficulty he'd not experienced on any of his Hunts past. This "Blight" was an unknown, but he prepared several glass vials of general anti-fungal solutions that would hopefully be effective in combating it.

Now all that remained was the call to gather, and begin the Hunt.

[Herne The Huntsman]

Impaled upon the corkboard with a crudely fashioned hunting knife was a grainy photograph of what appeared to be the huntsman Herne, wading through the tall grass and brambles of some anonymous forest as if they were parting water. In the corner of the photograph, an "X" was embossed into the margins.

[Goldglo]

Matt and the other RASG squadron leaders had spent the better part of three days planning the mission and accompanying sorties.

Although several members of the 209th Kestrels had flown recon passes in preparation for the Hunt, the 301st Firebees Atmospheric Defense Squadron would take point during the Hunt itself, supported by an SWACS from the 209th.

The pilots in the air were to receive ground support from a TechnoMage named Sinah Bruvanthul. As part of the hunting party, Sinah's job was to deliver coordinates and optimal attack vectors to the 301st pilots. In addition to more traditional armaments, the 301st craft also carried canisters filled with what everyone hoped were Blight-repellant gel that they could drop into the forest like bombs.

Pre-mission checks of their craft were currently underway by the participating pilots and a final briefing was scheduled to begin within the hour.

[Dillon T Jones]

Sitting somewhere nearby to the bulletin board with all the posts would be a very nicely done scrap book. On the cover it would read "Hunting with Dillon!" with smaller script underneath reading 'Treasured memories'.

If one opened it, they would find dozens and dozens of pictures of Dillon and them having a great time hunting. No one would remember actually, going on whatever hunt the pictures came from. And yes, if someone else picked it up, the pictures were now of -that- person hunting with Dillon. So on and so forth, ad infinitum.

Apparently Dillon will be there as well. Or already has.

[Droet the Bold]

Droet the Bold decided he would answer the call for the Hunt. He prepared his weapons, his bow and arrows, his sidearms, his magical blades. He chose what he would be wearing, the dark green camouflaged pattern with its many pockets. He signed up for the potions that should help him, enjoying the idea of an extra advantage.