Quest The Hunt for the Great White Dracopyr

[Cadwaladr Mikkelsson]

Cadwaladr listened intently as Ermengarde spoke, nodding his head a few times as he glanced to the Gracile Strider, his eyes widened with excitement at the mention of predators many times greater than the beasts of burden. His lips curled up into a grin at the hopes that whatever beast they were hunting would be as large as he imagined now. "I care little for what bards sing of, it doesn't matter to me. But the thrill of hunting such a dangerous beast? Now that is what I wish for, and perhaps I might wish for its hide if it is usable. And have it turned into a cloak for me to wear for many other hunts to come!" The Nordenfiir exclaimed brazenly as he continued to watch the woods.

He watched as the woodland grew thicker as they traveled on, his eyes flickering between the trees and the brush as the cart is pulled on. And as they passed by the giant mantis, Cad turned his head to look upwards directly at it. His eyes narrowing as he stared back at the oversized bug, but he paid it no mind once they had passed. He didn't think of it as a threat. And once the party had reached the clearing with the sawmill, Cadwaladr promptly vaulted from the side of the cart with his spear in hand and marched around. "Finally!" He explained, as his nose began to go to town at picking up all the scents in the area. And at some points he waved around his wolf pelt cloak to waft certain scents up into the air, making them easier to pick up.

Ermengarde Samara Asenta

 

[Samara Asenta]

Samara nodded in response to Ermengarde's confirmation of local relations. Didn't matter how far you traveled, most cultures all operated on similar principles -- largely favoring self-interest. If this camp was beneficial, it was used for that benefit. If they wanted to expand to be more beneficial, then they could do so on their own. And if a giant monster showed up they could handle that on their own too.

Her blue eyes shifted over to Cadwaladr as he continued to express how eager he was to fell such a beast. "Well, if Ermengarde has no complaints, I don't see why you can't use its hide for your cloak." The Dark Elf smiled beneath her wide-brim hat. She had no need for such a cape.

Perhaps a new pair of boots? There was sure to be enough hide for both.

As their ride stomped in on their destination, Samara slowly turned her head off to the side. Slowly the hat lifted so her eyes could behold the large mantis loitering nearby. Just the largest of beasts deciding whether they were edible and worth the trouble. If something like that was in the area and not a major problem, then what the three of them were here for would be far worse.

"One of us should scout the immediate area while the rest setup camp," Samara said as she turned her eyes forward once more. "We don't know how soon the creature may return."

Ermengarde Cadwaladr Mikkelsson

 

[Ermengarde]

Cadwaladr Mikkelsson
The air was filled in many foreign scents, so much was obvious from a region littered with unknown creatures. It was clear that the region was mostly vacant from animal life when the loggers were there and it only scantly returned after their departure. Thus many trace scents lingered there from animals passing by.
A stronger scent came from the tree canopies, slightly familiar perhaps. Another came from the tree trunks within the clearing, it was strong.
»Indeed, your pay is in coin or resources derived from the beast, might be more than you could reasonably carry back home, « especially considering they didn't need to share the resources with any other contractors.

» The logger's hut should be a safe area to stay at and house our gear, « Ermengarde nodded her head before leading the gracile strider closer to the hut. Though they and their gear may be safe in it, the strider would more likely than not end up targetted by whatever claimed this area as its own. But even that they could use to their benefit.

Samara Asenta

 

[Cadwaladr Mikkelsson]

The idea of having a cloak made out of the hide of whatever this beast was seemed to visibly excite Cadwaladr, it was all but clear that the Nordenfiir had a large passion for hunting and fighting whatever he could get his hands on, even more so hunting new strange beasts on this land. Though in the back of his mind he did hope that his sense of smell would be enough to hunt and not his hearing, being part deaf was a big downside for hunting creatures that stalk and pounce.

"I shall scout the area for any predators or for our prize if it lurks in the trees! If I find something you'll hear my signal. Good luck with setting up the camp." Cadwaladr exclaimed quite happily at Samara's comment about scouting the area, seeing as the large man was already on the move around the clearing and that he wished to investigate the stronger scents around the clearing. "Oh! And do not touch any of the tools left behind if you can help it, I may be able to pick up the scent of whichever man it ate or took with it!" He shouted back to them as he moved off to investigate the tree trunks within the clearing, they had a strong scent coming from them and they were closer than the canopies so he chose to investigate them and try to figure out what scent he was picking up.

Ermengarde Samara Asenta

 

[Samara Asenta]

"We'll do our best," Samara called out with subdued cheer with a pinch of sarcasm. Setting up camp would be so hard. The Elven women was of good disposition nonetheless. Just an opportune time for light humor.

"I don't believe I've heard of a creature with a stronger nose than that man." With the strider drawing near to the hut, Samara stood to her feet ready to disembark. "Though it should be safe to enter that building without disturbing his hunting grounds. Unless the monster's claws were deft enough to open doors in a civilized manner." The blues of her eyes peered out at the hut that remain standing. Right where they left it.

With a hop, the Elf dropped to the ground and slowly looked around at the surround for a moment. A moment to see if anything stirred at the sound of their arrival. Then Samara looked back over at Ermengarde. "Any experience in crafting traps?"

Ermengarde Cadwaladr Mikkelsson

 

[Ermengarde]

Ermengarde perked herself up as Cadwaldr went off on his own. She would normally make a fuss of people leaving, but a large Nordenfiir was a pungent beast of his own.
'Pick up scent?' 'Stronger nose than that man'

Ermengarde turned to Samara Asenta . » What do you think? The beast could have a good sniffer too. We should try to mask our scent...but Cadwaldr though...« Male nordenfiir were rather musky.
She picked up whatever tool she could with one hand and walked over to the logger's cabin. »Depends on what kind of trap. «

»What do you think of making a lookout? Might give us some idea how to tackle it.«
The cabin from the inside appeared to be emptied in a hasty retreat, though some provisions like axes and other iron tools, grindstones, saws and thin sticks were present in a decent stockpile.

---
Cadwaladr Mikkelsson

The tree trunks within the clearing were marked with two deep grooves that split the trees in three parts from one side and extended into the soil beneath it. Other trees bore deep grooves, not too unfamiliar to grizzly bear territory marks on trees. But different in some ways: they were made with three claws and much, much larger.
The scent in the canopy was different from this one.

 

[Cadwaladr Mikkelsson]

Cadwaladr wandered up to the tree trunks and gently rubbed a hand over the deep grooves for a few moments before he leaned forward towards the grooves and began to sniff them, wanting to familiarise himself with the scent in case whatever beast did this came back. He didn't want to be caught off guard by whatever creature caused these grooves. Though once he had noticed the other trees bore deep grooves as well, it caught his attention quite a bit as he was quite well familiar with how bears marked their territories and could spot the similarities and the differences. "Whatever caused these marks better be my prey, what an exciting game of bobcat and rabbit it will be! Perhaps I'll even need to use my Svalen if I wish to survive the beast's attack.. what excitement!" He'd exclaim with a slightly more hushed tone than he had used in the cart, despite his great excitement about hunting a beast clearly much larger than all three of them put together, he didn't wish to call unwanted attention to himself... yet at least.

He made a small mental note 'The beast marks its territory with trees' before he continued on towards the strange scent the canopy gave off, with his boar spear in hand the large Nordenfiir marched towards its direction, his eyes and nose working in tandem to find whatever it was as his hearing wasn't as keen as others, perhaps it was a strange fruit? Or maybe another one of those oversized insects? He didn't exactly know but was all sorts of eager to find out.

Ermengarde Samara Asenta

 

[Samara Asenta]

"At this point," Samara looked over at Ermengarde, "we cannot rule anything out. It could be extremely smart, and be watching us right now." Not that the Elf was looking over her shoulder or had her shoulders tucked in close as if she were expecting an attack. The monster might be, could be, but there was no point being paranoid until they knew it was.

"Even a simple alarm would suffice. String. Bell. Or perhaps a vine and broken shards of metal that clatter together. Perhaps later we'll consider making spike pits, or concealed rope traps." After they made sure the camp wasn't infested with vermin. They didn't need to be flanked; even a minor threat at their back could have deadly consequences in the fight at their front.

Her eyes scanned the interior once they arrived as Ermengarde mentioned a lookout. "A good idea. Elevated off the forest floor?" Normally that would make sense, but Samara wondered about the creatures loitering in the canopy.

With the hut secured, they could begin unloading some of the gear. Organize the survival supplies, take stock of consumables, and even prop an axe up near a doorway or within reach of the resting area just in case. They didn't need to empty their mount's cache completely, but they needed the essentials laid out (if for no other reason than not having the beast spooked, and everything being hauled off).

"If Cadwaladr catches its scent or finds its trail, we might even venture to find its lair and determine if it hunts during the day or at night." Better to know that about their quarry so they could plan and catch it off guard.

Cadwaladr Mikkelsson Ermengarde

 

[Ermengarde]

Cadwaladr Mikkelsson
Familiarized with the scent, it was present intensely in a certain location but absent elsewhere, only traces carried off by drifting air. Perhaps there were other such hotspots around to be found?

Coming closer to the forest with the dense canopies, the buzzing grew louder. It was akin to that of insect wings being cleaned or the flutter of such wings. Once beneath the great canopies of the opalescent trees, it was clear from where the noise came.
An entire colony of the very same giant mantises as the one from before hung upside down from the trees, blotting out any light that might have otherwise passed through the leaves. As if controlled by a hivemind their heads tracked every movement from Cadwaladr.
Currently, they seemed placid enough, but grew louder and seemingly more irate the closer the Nordenfiir came.

The scent of the creature of the clearing was not present in this area.



»You're right to be ready for anything. Hopefully, we'll get a glimpse of it soon enough. «
Ermengarde began to lay down some of the lighter supplies while readying out some space where they could rest over the night.

"A good idea. Elevated off the forest floor?"

» That's an even better idea, maybe we can rig it to a drop trap too. «

» The chemicals, « Ermengarde reminded Samara Asenta . » They're safer in here, but they're a bit too tricky for me to haul over. «

Ermengarde went out again and stood by the door, gazing over at Cadwaldr as he was seemingly done with the previous area he was inspecting. » Looks like he might be onto something... « She squinted her eyes and kept observing him.

 

[Cadwaladr Mikkelsson]

Wondered about going and checking for any other locations of that certain scent as it only stayed in one general area as he made his way over to check the canopies... and as his eyes shifted up into them he would be met with the entire colony of giant mantises hung down from the trees above, the sheer number of them blotting out any light that would've been able to slip past the leaves. His grip tightened onto his spear as he saw they all tracked his moves in unison and though he knew a spear would do very little against so many foes, he could at least shove it into one before shifting he thought to himself as he slowly took steps forward, noticing how they became louder as he grew closer..

"I am not scared by weak bugs and you're all lucky you are not my targets! You would not be safe in your trees if you were" The Nordenfiir called out, his booming low voice directed up at the canopies above as Ermengarde could clearly see as she watched on from the cabin's doorway.. though to her it must've just seemed like he was shouted at a couple stray insects. But nevertheless the large man slowly walked backwards into the clearing and away from the insects, not taking his eyes off the collective group of them as he walked backwards before then promptly turning on his heel and jogging back over to Ermengarde and Samara.

"I have discovered a few things in my scouting, first and foremost there are a large army of those oversized insects cutched away in the canopies of the forest. They do not seem all too hostile unless you grow near to them." He stated first, seeing it as the most important part of his findings, or at least he feels he should let them know of the possible close-by danger. "But that is not the point, the next thing I have discovered is whatever large beast we are hunting appears to mark it's territory much like a bear would, clawing into the trees and leaving it's scent. However the claw marks left much to my delight are giant, but strangely the scent only stays in certain spots I believe there may be more of them scattered around. Perhaps it marks places it visits and scouts for hunting regularly?" He ended off his report of what he found with a dip of his head, at this point he had placed the butt of his spear on the ground and began partially leaning on it as he observed what they were doing within the cabin.

Ermengarde Samara Asenta

 

[Samara Asenta]

The Dark Elf looked over at Ermengarde when the woman mentioned the chemicals. "I'll get them." Tricky for her to haul over? Well, Samara could lift more than most. Didn't much matter to her. After all, the worst thing that happened was their guide kept giving the hirelings all the work, which exhausted Samara faster, which caused her to sink her fangs into one of their necks. Nothing to speak of.

Seriously, Samara wasn't speaking of it.

The hat-wearing mercenary slipped outside as their guide took position at the door. As the first cache of chemicals were collected and Samara turned back to the hut, Ermengarde remarked their scout may have picked up a trail. "Long as he isn't onto a den of Giant Vipers," the Elf quipped as she hauled the first load inside the hut.

By the time she came back outside after setting the jars out of the way, Cadwaladr had made his way back to camp. The initial report did seem to have some welcome bit of news about their prey -- that being anything at all. More than 'it is big.' "Do you think you could follow the tracks or the scent back to its den?"

Interesting safety tip about those giant bugs too. Only thing Samara didn't like was that they were around at all. What if they decided to collectively relocate closer? One giant problem at a time. First order of business was trying to learn more about the thing that chased the workers off. If the Mantis had been that much of a nuisance Ermengarde would have called greater attention to them, Samara reasoned.

Ermengarde Cadwaladr Mikkelsson

 

[Ermengarde]

The duellist sprung on her feet as the nordenfiir began shouting at the untouched woodland, but thankfully no beast showed itself, and in truth, her heart returned to its rightful place when he returned and explained his little discovery.
What information he knew was always useful.
»The mantises, they tend to snap if you intrude on their territory, but are otherwise docile. Even the largest of beasts tend to stay away from them. « Perhaps she should also mention that they tend to be very delicious when cooked.
Though maybe they could utilise them as a trap?

»Sounds like this confirms it's a flyer, it lands there where the scent is most concentrated, « that's what she guessed and thus looked over at Cadwaldr to see what he thinks of the theory. »Do you think it landed there multiple times or just a single occasion? « Her eyes shifted over to Samara. »We could booby trap areas, including the den, if we find it. «
Slowly though, she realized they should probably work on concealing themselves not just from sight, but also their scent.

Cadwaladr Mikkelsson Samara Asenta

 

[Cadwaladr Mikkelsson]

"It is hard to track flying creatures when you cannot see them, they leave no tracks behind. And the scent only hangs around specific locations before it fades, it probably flies away and not walk away." He'd remark back to Samara Asenta and her question, the Nordenfiir could track land animals as easy as he could swing an axe as long as wasn't raining and he could still track them through the rain albeit a bit slower, but flying creatures are a whole different story... at least as far as Cadwaladr is concerned at least, having no real experience tracking flying creatures aside from the odd plump looking bird of prey.

Cad's attention quickly turned towards Ermengarde as the woman spoke and theorised, his head nodding long fiercely as he listened to her speak. The scent still lingers intensely... and the markings look like territory markings of a bear but bigger and with bird feet. I say it must return for hunting, if it bothers to mark territory then it must hunt within it too." He'd explain, coming to his conclusions mostly off experience hunting other territorial animals that weren't so large or monstrous.. but surely it translates to this beast right? It made perfect logic for Cadwaladr. And as he spoke the large man's foot tapped against the floor in a sort of rhythm, seemingly for no other reason than just to amuse himself a little.

Ermengarde Samara Asenta

 

[Samara Asenta]

"Either it likes this area because of those Mantises, or it really hoped your people would come back," Samara remarked as she stared out into the bright lands. The Mantises would make for a bigger meal, but it sounded as though it went after the human-like mammals before. Quite the size different given how large the monster must be. Hopefully it wasn't looking for small, bite-sized meals for its young.

"If we can't find its den, we'll just have to lay traps and stand guard for when it returns. Do either of you have some kind of... tracking equipment? A spell? A bell, perhaps?" Something they could track if it managed to escape their first attempt? "We'll also need to pick the idea place to build a net or store spears, then lure it there so we can ground it." Because ideally they wouldn't need more than one shot at this. Never hurt to be prepared though.

Ermengarde Cadwaladr Mikkelsson