(IC) HtV STL by Night

[Bennosuke]

When Frank checks the tree trunk, it slides easily in the silt of the riverbed. In fact, he finds that there might be a track from which the tree trunk had slid through from a previous position that likely would have gone directly across from bank to bank.

But Jen speaks to Frank, he gets no reply from the mystery voice... or maybe the voice is just too far off and all Frank can hear is a desperate call drowned out by the flowing river and a gust of wind.

[Thundercracker]

Jen Gibbs

"Where are you?" Jen called out.

She motioned for Frank to stay quiet, and unslung her rifle. The expression on her face was one of extreme suspicion as she strained her ears for a reply.

[Daishain]

Frank nods, suspicious of this whole thing as well, and glad that it wasn't just the pain in his arm making him paranoid.

[Bennosuke]

Perhaps Frank's suspicion was correct about the person calling moving farther away. There was no reply when Jen called out this time, even when the stream quieted, there was no reply to Jen's calling.

[Daishain]

Frank looks to Jen and shrugs, "Either their sense of direction is terrible, or they didn't need help after all. Okay, this trunk can be moved back into position, but if it slid before, it probably will again, I'm not sure we can trust it to stay put, and I'm going to have a hard time swimming like this. I'm thinking we could take it the other way though, pull it on around and climb it to get back up the bank to where we came from. Less chance of getting even more lost that way... I think."

"We've got a fair bit of rope, I think we can probably find a branch and use that to haul up one end. Sound like a plan?"

[Thundercracker]

Jen Gibbs

“Works for me,” Jen replied, “what do you want me to do?”

[Daishain]

Frank tilts his head, "First bit would be to haul that thing the rest of the way to this side of the water. Are you comfortable climbing out a few feet to get the rope looped around the trunk?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Frank's plan, roughly speaking:
-Jen climbs out on the log just enough to be able to loop the rope around the big log.
-Use said rope, and probably a tree, Jen and Frank work together to pull the thing so its entirely on the near shore.
-roll the log into a good position near the ravine wall they fell down
-Weight the rope, toss it over an appropriately placed tree branch, then retie it around the thin end of the log
-Use the rope to haul the thin end up until its resting up against the ravine wall
-Jenn should then be able to climb up out of the ravine, using both the log and the rope.
-While at the top, she should be in a good position to help Frank do the same in spite of his arm

Of course, none of this is helpful if the ravine wall is too high for the log to reach, and/or the log is too heavy to be moved by two people even with good leverage...

Plan B would involve basically skipping to step 4, and instead using the rope to try and bodily lift one of them up without the log. Should be able to at least provide enough lift to make it much easier to climb. Easier setup, tougher actual climb...

[Thundercracker]

Jen Gibbs

"Eh, I think I can handle it," Jen replied as she attempted to visualize what Karl was suggesting and exactly how she was going to pull it off.

[Bennosuke]

Jen sets out, following Franks' instructions, struggling to bring the log onto the river bank.

(OOC: Let's keep it simple. Jen is primary and Frank is secondary. Please give me a Str + Stamina roll at -2 each. I believe the Arm Wracked Tilt applies an additional -3 modifier for Frank but I'm away from book at the moment. Any successes for Frank add more dice to Jen's pool. And don't forget about the ability to add 3d10 with a WP)

[Daishain]

Frank sets himself to pull as best he can, using his body and legs.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Str+stam-2 (4d10)[8][10][9][10](37)
ten again (4d10)[9][8][2][2](21)

[Bennosuke]

The going is slow at first, and Jen almost loses her footing as she climbs out onto the wet log. Her boot slides out from under her on the slick, almost slimy bark, and there is a moment of near instant terror where she can feel herself going over and into the river.

Fortunately, calamity is avoided and Jen is able to catch herself, before completing the task of tying the rope to the tree's spear-like end. After this, it is mostly Frank's patient instruction that gets the two through the lengthy task of pulling it out of the river and onto the muddy bank. Then they must lever the tree trunk up against the ravine wall, struggling to get the rope over a nearby overhanging branch. It takes several throws before they successfully get the rope over and taught. It's exhausting work playing tug of war to get the tree branch up against the ravine, creating a makeshift ladder, and by the time the work is complete, both Jen and Frank are exhausted, stained with sweat and spattered with mud. By now all light has gone out of the sky, and the two are forced to use flashlights as their source of light. The rush of the nearby river has become comforting, a constant in the otherwise unknowable and near impenetrable darkness. Then Jen begins the laborious process of climbing up the tree trunk, going limb over limb with her weighted camping pack, till she can finally pull herself up and over onto the forest floor above the ravine.

But something changes when Jen finally makes it; the forest goes completely silent. Even the constant roar of the water on rocks goes mute. Her flashlight shines down on Frank, but he seems so so far away. Down in the ravine, Frank can see his companion standing up above, her lit flashlight creating a yellow and charcoal silhouette against the blackness. If either calls out to the other, the sound is terribly distant, and warped, like an echo bouncing off of a cave wall. Jen still has the rope and can begin the process of pulling Frank up, if she so desires.

[Thundercracker]

Jen Gibbs

"What the..." Jen thought as she pulled on the rope.
She repeated the curse like a mantra as she tried to get Frank up and out of the ravine as quickly as possible.

Something was wrong. Something was definitely very wrong. Had she accidentally been slipped some drugs or something? Was there something in the air?

[Bennosuke]

Between Jen and Frank's effort, there is no significant difficulty in pulling the man up out of the ravine. When Frank struggles to the top, he is greeted by the same eerie silence. It is near completely dark, but you realize as you look around that somehow you are not on the same bank of the ravine that you were when you first feel in. The trees here are too low and more tightly packed. The forest is almost claustrophobic here, strangling inward. But there is a trail, a narrow sort of path that might have been created by an animal or perhaps an old stream.

[Thundercracker]

Between Jen and Frank's effort, there is no significant difficulty in pulling the man up out of the ravine. When Frank struggles to the top, he is greeted by the same eerie silence. It is near completely dark, but you realize as you look around that somehow you are not on the same bank of the ravine that you were when you first feel in. The trees here are too low and more tightly packed. The forest is almost claustrophobic here, strangling inward. But there is a trail, a narrow sort of path that might have been created by an animal or perhaps an old stream.

“Weird,” Jen said, “that tree looks almost exactly like the other one. Is it me, or is it hard to hear the river from up here?”

[Daishain]

Frank shakes his head, "Not just you, this is definitely weird. All right, so we need to get our bearings again, or at least find someplace with shelter. There's a couple of distinct mountains we should be able to see from anywhere in the park given a clear view, if we can get to where they're visible, we'll be able to place ourselves on the map."

[Bennosuke]

As Frank raises his flashlight up towards the skyline looking for mountains, his beam falls upon the something tangled in one of the nearby trees. Is it bones? From afar it looks like a small figure maybe made out of tied together sticks... or something.

[Thundercracker]

Jen Gibbs

"Okay, I don't want to know what that is," Jen said, "let's just get out of here."

She ignored the figure and kept looking for mountains, or any landmark aside from the nearby trees.

[Daishain]

Frank mutters as he keeps moving, "Looks like some sorta fetish to me. More crap related to that witch of the woods thing probably."

[Bennosuke]

Jen and Frank start to move cautiously into the forest, desperate to identify any landmark that might help them navigate. But to their dismay, as they keep going, they find a second figure strung up in the trees... then a third... then a fourth. These poppets are mostly in the same form, a two pronged branch strung up in the shape of an upside down Y, crossed on it's longest limb by a single straight branch. These "fetishes" as Frank called them seemed to be appearing more frequently as the duo walked deeper into the forest, and yet nothing was appearing as familiar.

Then the voice returned, this time closer, clearer, "Hello? Are you there? Help! Please help!" There was something jarring, almost grating about the voice of this mystery person; it was high pitched, the words pronounced in a sibilant screeching voice. It made the hairs stand on end, it made one want to run as fast as possible in the opposite direction.

[Thundercracker]

Jen stopped as she heard the voice call out again.

No way was it the same person from the river... this was some kind of ambush or something.

She put her back against a tree, crouched, and just looked and listened to see if she could pick up any clues about the voice, if it was masking some other sound perhaps. The weight of the rifle was comforting in her hands, and she slowly flicked the safety off.

[Bennosuke]

Jen threw herself against the tree, moving suddenly, her body remembering the thrill of combat. Her eyes search the darkness as she plays her flashlight across the tree line. Her ears pricked to pick up the slightest of noises. She hears nothing but the sound of Frank's breathing, and maybe the rustle of his cloths. She sees nothing... until her flashlight plays on the branches immediately above her head. Strung out in on the tree's gnarled limb are multiple of these wooden fetishes. The strange strung up dolls seem to reach down for Jen, and she can feel her stomach do flips, seeming to reject what she is seeing.

As Jen casts her flashlight about the tree line, she sees that somehow they have come to a part of the forest festooned with thousands of these poppets hanging down from the branches.

[Thundercracker]

Jen Gibbs

No one person put all of these up; who knows how many people were living in the woods. Had they stumbled on some kind of weird cult? If they had, they definitely knew exactly where they were because of their flashlights.

“Hello?” Jen called, trying to get a direction on the voice, “where are you?”

[Bennosuke]

There is a long pause... silence. Then the strange voice, "Hello? Over here! Please help!" Jen had the mad thought, that it was like someone had taught a goat to speak. The consonants and syllables were all there, but it was as if the sounds had no meaning to the speaker! Jen was fairly certain she could point in the direction the voice had come from.

[Thundercracker]

There is a long pause... silence. Then the strange voice, "Hello? Over here! Please help!" Jen had the mad thought, that it was like someone had taught a goat to speak. The consonants and syllables were all there, but it was as if the sounds had no meaning to the speaker! Jen was fairly certain she could point in the direction the voice had come from.

“Ok, I’m coming, don’t worry!” Jen called.

She looked up, was there any moonlight or ambient light they could see by?

[Bennosuke]

The night was somehow pitch black. The trees were not so close together that they should be blocking out the sky, but there was nothing beyond the trees other than a black, lightless, hungry void.

[Thundercracker]

The night was somehow pitch black. The trees were not so close together that they should be blocking out the sky, but there was nothing beyond the trees other than a black, lightless, hungry void.

Jen Gibbs

Jen moved to where Frank was and looked around for a good spot to sit and wait in the dark, maybe some undergrowth or something they could hide in.

"Feels like an ambush," Jen whispered, "Long as we're using flashlights, they'll be able to see us from a mile away. On three we turn off the lights and head over to those bushes, quiet as we can. We'll wait there until our eyes adjust and see if there's enough light to see well enough to get out of here without turning them on. OK?"

[Daishain]

Frank nods, really not liking the idea of hiding in the dark right now, but trusting Jenn's instincts. She was the soldier here after all.

[Bennosuke]

The two move away from the voice, crouching low till they can find what maybe feels like a safe place. No other sounds can be appreciated in the dark as the two move, taking shelter under another tree. The ground here is damp, the soil soft, but dotted with what feels like hundreds of quarter sized slick rubbery prominences. It takes a moment to realize that the forest floor here seems to be covered... no littered with mushrooms.

After several very very long moments, the voice comes again. It's the same voice, but this time it seems to come from somewhere else, "Hello? Please come! I need help!" Another long moment and the voice comes again, but this time from some other part of the forest and this time much closer, much louder, "Please help. Help me!" Impossibly, there were no other sounds in the forest; no crunching of leaves, no foot falls, no sound of someone breathing right behind you, hands reaching out for your neck!

As the two stay still, the voices continue to come, each time from a different direction and a different proximity. Still no sign of anyone else in the forest, other than the voice. But as the chorus comes, first from this way, then that, it becomes harder to remember which way the two came from. Which way was the ravine?

It slowly becomes easier to see, though that means maybe being able to see shapes on the ground immediately around you, and dark shapes up to five feet away. Trees surround the two, and it is clear that most of them are strung up like candelabras with the strange stick figures.

[Thundercracker]

Jen stuffed some of the mushrooms into her pack. Maybe they were trippy mushrooms and she was actually hallucinating. Then she grit her teeth and stayed quiet, hoping that if she wasn’t hallucinating, whatever was out there would move away. If it knew where they were, it would have closed in by now. If it didn’t, turning on their flashlights would give away their location instantly. She strained her ears to hear footfalls amid the calls for help.

[Bennosuke]

In between the please for help, Anna can hear nothing. No foot falls, no breathing, no wind, no animal sounds; NOTHING.