Because who would join in the winter?
The first task of course, is to find this highly secretive covenant...
Wulfric had caught wind of the existence of Sinus Wodinis at some point after it came to the attention of Crintera. His sept liked to keep tabs on any news regarding the Order of Odin, and the existence of another covenant of Bjornaer magi in northern lands seemed liked a perfect opportunity. Besides which, his search for a pack of wolves to hunt with was finding no success in the lands of the Rhine, and it was about time to seek more fertile forests.
Which is how Wulfric came to find himself padding through the forest of southern Norway, seeking the covenant. He had his nose attuned to the scent of magic—there was no point passing up an opportunity to sniff out some vis while passing through unfamiliar territory—but thankfully he wasn't relying on that to find the magi. Better to just ask.
At dusk, he seeks out a hill, hopefully with a bit of a clearing at the top, and sends up a howl for the local wolves. He announces himself as a newcomer to the area, not a threat, but seeking something. He asks if any would like to talk, to let him know the lay of the land.
OOC
I'm assuming he's managed to get to Norway without incident. Let me know if you'd rather start him earlier in the journey, and I can adjust.Wulfric will just have up The Scent of Raw Magic, sustained by Until We Speak Again while he's travelling, allowing him to smell raw vis.
He did have to get to Norway by circumspect routes, as the German government is still trying to route all sea traffic through Riga, which is in the opposite direction, but the redcaps were able to provide transportation.
Circumspect routes are fine by him; Wulfric has already realised that he's unlikely to get any sort of lab work done from now until the Gathering, even if Sinus Wodinis has a lab ready for him to move into. So he's not in much of rush—though he's still not going to dawdle unnecessarily.
If he doesn't get any reply to the howl, he'll pad on a couple of leagues and find another hill to send up the same howl.
Sorry it took some time to respond to that portion of your post, I had to process some of the underlying assumptions about heartbeasts without animal ken. I'll post this under rules clarifications as well, but while in heartbeast form you will be able to communicate with your own animal species only. Now on to the story:
Wolves do not communicate such complex ideas as you would wish- visitor, moving through, seeking is about all you can express to a non-intelligent wolf, though your howl carries the extra information in hopes of reaching an intelligent wolf who can process the information.
What you get is a howl of challenge- essentially saying either move on or accept a beta role in their pack.
OOC
No worries. Sorry, I probably ought to have mentioned it, but the canon rules are on page 23 of HoH:MC; I checked before deciding not to take Animal Ken. They do allow communications as though across dialects with closely related species, but I think the criteria it gives for "closely related" won't contain many species for wolves specifically; maybe dogs.As regards intelligent wolves, will he be able to tell automatically if the wolves replying to him are intelligent?
Wulfric howls back an acceptance of their territorial claim—he will move on. And he does, padding onwards for a couple of hours. He has no desire to antagonise the locals. Once he's fairly confident he's moved beyond that pack's territory, he sends up the same howl again. He'll keep this up for at least a week if he gets nothing, moving on when challenged, sleeping during the day, and howling his intentions to each new pack of wolves by night.
Wolves travel 30 miles per day, their howl caries up to 10 miles- after you travel for 3 days you get a different response What are you seeking?
Ahh, finally. Wulfric howls back. He tries to convey that he's seeking things with strange powers (he doesn't mind whether they're wolves or humans with magic; both are things he'd like to find). If that's too difficult to convey, he's looking for humans that become animals; those'd either be Bjornaer magi, or else something worth hunting.
As he finishes his response, he begins padding in the direction of the howl he heard, hoping to talk a bit closer up.
As you are loping towards the response you get You seek the bear man clan?
Ohh, excellent. That sounded exactly like a Bjornaer covenant. Wulfric howls back an affirmative.
Come, let us talk
It sounds as if the other wolf is closer as well.
Wulfric howls another affirmative, and continues padding in the other wolf's direction.
When you arrive you find a lone wolf a half mile outside a village. "Why do you seek the man bear clan?"
Wulfric casts a hungry glance in the direction of the village as he approaches, then refocuses his attention on the lone wolf. "They have power which I want a share of."
The other wolf smiles "If you believe you can hunt them I would willingly join you, but they are quite strong, and will be a great challenge. Perhaps together we can pick them off one at a time."
"They are strong? Have you fought them?" Wulfric looks thoughtful for a moment, or at least as thoughtful as a wolf can look. "It may be possible to share of their power without hunting them, if they are too strong."
"They are very strong, they have hunted much of my family, and I have had to flee from them myself more than once. But working together, and strategically, we wolves can defeat these bears." He lets out a howl to call family as the full moon hangs in the sky above.
"Very well. I shall lead this hunt. I know well the powers of beasts like these, and have power to counter them. I will best protect your family." Wulfric shifts his stance, slipping easily into the behaviour of an alpha. His gaze meets that of the other wolf, to see if he will give any challenge.
OOC
Presence + Leadership roll on the Discord server, with the wolves speciality and the Pack Leader bonus. Total 14.The wolf does not seem to recognize the challenge, but merely nods "When the moon sets and the sun rises I will be in the form of a man, but will remain your ally. These bear-men can change their shape at any time. They know well the schedule of the moon and can anticipate what shape I will have, but I can speak to you at any time. You can scout their camp when the moon is not full, and they will not anticipate a wolf as their enemy when the moon is not right. Let me show you their territory, once my family is with us."
three other wolves join you, two cubs and an adolescent, then they head west.
Lycanthropes. That made matters easier. No beasts of the wild were these; no potential allies. These were men. Men pitiably overcome by their spirits. Any previous thoughts of negotiating a peace between Sinus Wodinis and these wolves fled Wulfric's mind. He would have no compunctions turning on these creatures; it would be a mercy to them to tear out their throats.
Odd that they could promise to remain allies in human form, though. He would have to ask the magi of the covenant about that.
But for now, he needed to play along, at least until he knew where Sinus Wodinis was. "An excellent plan; I will certainly scout their camp." He barks greetings to the newly arrived wolves, and follows alongside them to the west.