Edith trudges (floats) up the hill and tries to talk to Mateu. Keep in mind that all these magi have the standard effect of The Gift (if any have the Gentle Gift, please correct me).
Mateu! I want to apologize for my son and nephew. They are acting like jerks. They take after their father. Look, I was only 14 when I had him, same with my sister. I know we didn't really raise them right. They spent some of their formative years adventuring around the outskirts of Asgard, from when they were about six until they were nine. The Aesir are rather uncouth and archaic in their cultural mores. Vulcanus, their father, sort of encouraged them to be reckless and perhaps somewhat obnoxious.
Just so you know, that is not where their magical ability comes from. They are not wizards either. It is a side effect of my bloodline, the Rudolphius family. It is part of a Mercere Redcap Legacy. Supposedly we are descended from ancient heroes of myth and legend. Which mythical heroes, I have no idea. The story changes depending on who tells it.
Anyway, they cannot cast spells or hexes or anything, They only have that one trick, the ability to teleport when no one is watching. My sister theorizes that it is a manifestation of Mercere blood. See, in the Order, there is a group of magi that are not wizards at all. The Redcaps hold the title of magus without the magic. Their focus is to maintain the logistics of the Order. Their original task, and this is still one of their major duties, is to facilitate communication. Kind of like a private messenger service. To that end, wizard magi would craft enchanted devices to allow ease of swift travel. Many different methods too, and some form of quick or instant transit was a common trick. Somehow, maybe through warping, the enchantment made its way into our bloodline.
That's all it is. No deviltry at play here. Just metaphysics.
No one told them to do anything such as this. Their primary goal is to facilitate the expedition and defend the magi. And Edith only sorta knows what she is doing. This is training for her just as much as it is for you.
Your warning about a possible night attack is taken seriously though, so Oscar orders Snafu to set up trip wire alarms around the perimeter of the camp.
I need some strong and solid input from the players as to a plan of action. Not just suggestions. Command decisions.
I seem to be lacking in factual information, so a (sligthly) trained hunter like the Woad has little to go on. He is patient, but not infinitely so - he also keeps his eye on the ball.
Sodales, the Woad feels we are walking around blind here. We need to sum up what we know, so we can formulate an plan of action:
Are the owlbears active during night or day?
What do they normally hunt and eat?
Do they have a history of attacking humans, do they even know what we are?
What kind of lairs or nests will they have made? In caves or deep in canyons?
The Woad wants to set bait to lure them in. Something they will want to eat. We need to find tracks so we set it in a place where they are likely to come. And then we'll follow them back to their lair. The Woad does not want to ambush them, ideally we don't make contact yet. If their senses are so sharp we can't follow them directly then well track them. If more come, then at least one must return to home.
"Wait," Marcellus says. He signals Oscar and Roger to join the magi. "I think you are the ones who know most about the owlbears. Can you answer these questions?"
Oscar looks at Roger, expecting him to know the answers. Roger ponders a bit.
uhm..., there is a lot we don't know. It was over ten years ago when they were first and last encountered. Out of all of us here, Oscar is the only one that has seen an owl-bear, and that was that once incident he mentioned earlier. It surprised an expedition, and one of the magi torched it straight away. Vocis and Vibria had confronted their creator, a magus named Featherbottom. He got himself killedin a fight with a drake, they recovered three eggs.
I can onlly guess at their activity cycle. Both owls and bears are active at night, so I presume an owl-bear would be nocturnal. And carnivorous. Or maybe omnivorous? I have no idea what their preferred food woud be, or where and how they make their habitat.
Okay, then the Woad will try to take charge:
Well, the Woad bets on nocturnal and on a meat bait then. Let’s have a grog shoot a deer. Well find a likely spot, preferably on an animal trail, ideally one where there are tracks from the owlbears.
Well hang the deer at nightfall and set a watch. They’ll scare off other predators than owlbears.
If one comes, we’ll stalk or track it back to what I assume is a cave. If there are more than one might kill the others.
This is the Woad’s best idea. He’ll sleep now, so he is rested for tonight.
Can anybody cast Eyes of the Cat?
I think we all can do that.
(OOC: For any of us as a spont, there is only a 1% chance to botch and a 50% or better chance to succeed on the first try. For expediency sake I will hand wave it. Any other plans? I will have something interesting by tonight after work.)
Oh yeah, it’s only a lvl 5.
Even though the Woad has Co 0 and An 1 he has Mu 6 and I forgot about the pumped up Stm.
Unless it’s a real Botch even a 0 will do the trick. I assume the Aura is not against us.
Easy peasy. We can see at night.
Check for more recent tracks around the camp site.
Make sure the bait is downwind from the camp so that the smell of blood hide ours, as well as making sure any owlbear that is drawn doesn't do so by travelling through our camp first.
Someone decent at Rego could Spont a Circle of Beast Warding around the camp. If the owlbears don't have Might, this would protect those in camp.
Good thinking.
The Woad can pull that off, although by spending Fatigue. As long as it’s preparation spells he should be able to get his wind back before anything happens.
Mark: Should we roll the dice to check fir botches?
How strong of a ward is it? I will need more details about it. No need to worry about Penetration for circle wards in this saga.
Naw just Ward Against Mundane Beasts to keep orninary carnivorous scavengers out.
It is still early evening. Snafu, who was taking first watch, comes running back to camp.
G! Ig-g-g! Agorg-ggg!!
Oscar gets angry. Good Lord! Just say it! What is it?
Ogre! A huge one! It stole the bait!
An ogre? Please correct the Woad if he is wrong, but ogres are both stupid and fair game, no treaties or such?
Just how big is it, and are they solitary?
The Woad thinks we should track and kill it. They are ruining our plan.
Oscar nods. Ogres are fair game. Let's go get it!
Marcellus nods. If there is time, he will offer to cast Doublet of Impenetrable Silk on anyone who needs/wants it.
"I should have done this sooner, stupid of me," he mumbles apologically.
EDIT: I am assuming simple rolls, as he knows the spell and is not in combat. Die rolls of 1, 10, 8, 6, 2, 2, 6, 7 and 4. Casting bonus is +11 before aura, so Marcellus will be at least 1 Fatigue Level down before any battle begins, perhaps up to 3. Bad strategic move, but hey, that was a stupid oversight from me.
Thank you. The Woad will gladly accept any boost.
And then the hunt is on!
Ikelos will disappear without a sound.
I need to work on a version to cover hearing and smell if I am going to hunt. Does anyone one want Wizard's sidestep?
Yes thank you to Wizard’s Sidestep. The Woad will take any boost to tip the odds in his favour against an enemy with unknown capabilities.
You have the advantage here. It is almost too easy. The ogre just snatched the bait, sat down, and started eating the thing raw. Sneaking up to visual range is easy enough, but to get closer will be tricky.