Siwon, Ettamri, Katya, Argen, Renault - Departure

With their trajectory set, even the appearance of the mysterious, foul object within the otherwise clear waters was insufficient to dissuading Ettamri from continuing on. Prepared to continue their journey, the group of adventurers traveled down the river, Argen given the privilege of leading the horses. It was somewhat difficult for the silver-eyed man to start with, his own swift steps out of tempo with the plodding nature of the wagon, but practice made competent, and soon enough, they were all traveling at a decent pace. In terms of distance made, it was looking less and less likely that they would be meeting their goal, but at the very least, they could go down to the frozen swamps with relatively light hearts; Argen's vigilance during the scouting mission ensured that the (merry) band could now travel without fear that they'd be immediately jumped. Katya was sitting in the back of the wagon again, singing that annoying song that never had an end, and none of them had lunch yet, but movement suppressed their hunger pangs.

Soon enough, they would settle down for the night, and when their appetite awakened then? Oh boy, even dried crackers would taste delicious.

As the gray skies above turned bluer and bluer, the temperature fell as well, cold, dry winds slicing into exposed skin. The small priest had hopped off the wagon at this point, walking with the rest of the group to encourage some warmth through movement, but even then, the novelty of winter traveling had worn thin, especially when the remaining party wasn't inclined to make conversation at all. Perhaps Oscar would have something to say. Perhaps Muu would start up shit. It was cold and it was boring, and soon enough, it was snowing as well. Fluffy flakes fell lightly at first, enough to stoke some excitement from Katya; the young girl tried catching them on the tip of her tongue, blinking furiously when they got in her eyes instead. But then it began to snow harder. And harder. And harder.

Furs gained a second, white layer, while the tracks that they left behind were swiftly becoming less and less distinct. How long had it been since they had crossed over the shallow streambeds in the swamp, following the example of the wagon tracks Argen and Renault found? How many landscapes were there, and were the tracks still there as well? Even if they left extra landmarks now, an upright stick or whatnot, could that truly be seen in the worsening visibility? The skies darkened further, the winds growing colder, the snow falling harder. Around them, it was becoming harder to see what laid ahead. By the time night truly fell, it may be too late to build a shelter, but if they pressed on, doubling their pace, perhaps they'd get into the lightly wooded areas that Ettamri's map indicated, and thus, actually have materials to work with.

---

Oscar and Muu - Returning to Nothing

The camp was empty by the time the two returned, only snowmelt and scattered ashes indicating that the wagon had once been there. Ettamri hadn't waited for them after all. It was disheartening, but, if Muu were to be believed, also perfectly normal for the heartless warrior. Nevermind that though, the tracks left behind were clear enough. Oscar wasn't even needed to follow the clear footprints left in the snow, deep trails left by heavy wagon wheels. So the two set off, down the stream, following the tracks further and further down.

Everything was still going well, everything was still going smoothly. Shadowing the wagon's trail meant that they would be avoiding any possible traps set up in the snow as well, and if push came to shove, it was much easier for two lightly-equipped adventurers to go into hiding compared to a whole wagon, horses, and a big ass rude knight. Setting a good pace, the Bladedancer and the Ranger traveled smoothly down, noted how the iced over mud formed a more solid foothold than snow, enjoyed the sight of the river spreading out into dozens of silver streams, like an unraveling rope. Snow was beginning to fall at this point, soft flakes beginning to obscure the tracks, but now Oscar could shine; his eyes were much keener than Muu's when it came to finding irregularities in the wilderness, and though light faded further as the sun fell behind the mountains, everything was still fine. They would catch up soon enough. The wagon crew would have to stop before nightfall in order to set up camp, while the two adventurers could continue to travel and catch up. This was fine.

Snow fell more. They crossed the spread-out waters, following the trail. Visibility grew poorer. One had to shield their eyes from icy flakes now, but discomfort was an old, belligerent friend to all but the newest members of the Silver Moon Army. Oscar lead the way, Muu served as a second set of eyes. There was nothing to be concerned about, nothing to be afraid of.

Until, of course, Oscar picked up two separate wagon tracks, splitting off in different directions, both accompanied by footprints that were quickly disappearing in the snowfall. It was getting colder now. They couldn't afford to explore both branches, but the swamp afforded little in terms of natural shelter as well. Visibility was worsening; even if the advance party could stoke a fire in such weather, could the two of them spot it through the heavy snow? What other choices do they have though? Life and death may be decided in what was essentially a coin flip.

But then again, the threat of death too, was simply an old, belligerent friend.

It was time to decide. What would they do?

---

Oscar approached the goblin corpse and repeated the process of retrieving, cleaning, and cutting the ears off the goblin he had killed from around 30 meters away. Admittedly it was an impressive feat itself that he got the goblin in the head from that far, but impressive feats didn't kill the second crossbow wielding one. A crying shame that is. The ranger then approached the dead elk and pulled down the part of the cloak that covered his nose and mouth. "Real sorry that those monsters desecrated your body." He said with a voice with utmost sincerity as he crouched down and laid a gloved hand on the body. He was taught during his training to show respect to the animals he hunted. It was only right to do so.

After apologizing to the dead animal, the ranger then carried the goblin corpse and tossed it straight into the river, along with the other two Muu had killed. He was sure that all three were dead but throwing their bodies into the frigid waters of the river reassured him. It was better to be safe than sorry. With that done and over with, Oscar grabs some fresh snow and cleans his gloves and boot of the foul smelling goblin blood before he followed Muu back to the camp.

---

Aaaaaand they're gone.

There was barely anything left of the camp. Only signs that their party mates were there previously. "Well ain't this a kick in the head. They left us." He said while putting his hands on his hips and pursing his lips inward as a sign of his displeasure towards the situation. "I mean the trail is obvious enough for either of us to follow, but...ouch...this is the first time my party left me behind." Shaking his head side to side, he simply shrugs off the fact that they were abandoned rather quickly. "Hope they still have my hat though." He comments just as they leave their former camp site and follow the trail their party left behind.

Their trek downstream was undisturbed by traps nor beasts. The small window of peace gave him an opportunity to notice the finer things of the surroundings. If only they weren't religiously following a trail and locating their party before nightfall, he would have chosen to stay a bit longer just that he could absorb it all. Though now was not that time as snow began to fall, beginning to obscure the trail. "Muu wait up. Snow fall is gonna make the trail harder for you to keep track, let me lead for now, okay? I promise I won't get us lost." He reassured her with a warm smile and a thumbs up before taking the lead.

With the ranger taking the lead, they followed the trail across the spread out waters just as the sun bid the two goodbye and retreated behind the mountains. The warmth was gone, the temperature plummeted. Causing the snowfall to intensify in volume and, with it, any proper visibility. As the temperature went from cold to freezing, it caused the ranger to pull up the hood of his cloak to avoid his ears from freezing off and the snow flakes from hitting his eyes as well as pulling up the front of his cloak to protect his nose and lips. Though the occasional one or ten would wind up causing him to blink away the snow from his lashes. He was far from shivering like a leaf in the wind, but all it took was a wayward blast of wind to turn the cold became an irritating but bearable discomfort to a full blown, and potentially deadly, pain in the ass.

He feels worry for the blade dancer that followed behind him. If this level of cold was irritating to him, she may be freezing her ass off...hopefully only in a metaphorical sense. She wasn't that used to the cold as he was after all. "Hey, Muu how you holding up?" He wasn't able to pay that much attention when he saw the path diverge into two sets of wagon trails that were accompanied by footprints. "Oh...two sets of cart trails and foot prints. Goody." He comments to himself sarcastically as he goes to a knee and examines the two differing trails. He begins to cross examine one from another. Which ones were older/more recent judging by how much the snow had covered the foot prints and the trail itself. A newer one would mean that it was, more likely than not, made by their party. He also examined the depth of the impressions left behind by the people. He would keep an eye out for the deeper and more defined ones. Ettamri and Argen were wearing full sets of heavy armor. That in itself would make a more defined and deeper print than any other; and this was excluding the cumbersome weapons they had as well as Ettamri's size and weight.

Not that he would ever admit it to her, or any woman on that notion, that she was heavy. It would likely save him from her ire and probably spare her heart...if she actually cared about it that is. Ehh...Oz wouldn't risk it either way.

Though, once given an idea as to which trail would be the more recent one and had the deeper and more defined footprints, Oscar would tell Muu that he had probably found their trail and head off to where the trail led to.

Ettamri Bellarence

---

Every breath she exhaled seemed to blow out a large puff of smoke in front of her. Ettamri wanted to stop, and just rest right now, but...

"Just a ways more. Camping out in the open is folly." Her voice came, in what hopefully was an encouraging tone.

Only fools dared camp in the open, with no trees to break the wind nor cover from any potential foes; the light from even a small campfire would be seen from far away once the snowstorm clears. Had they stayed near the river, the worst of the wind would carry the cold of the water to them.

As soon as they arrived in the wooded area, she barked out orders for them to set up camp on the double, Katya to look for any fallen wood she can find, Siwon on the fire, Argen on the look out for any danger while assisting Renault and Renault on setting up the actual camp. Hers was a simple and low tent from the cloaks she brought, just enough room to cover her body with perhaps a little more room to lift her hands up. Perhaps they could just bundle up with thick cloth and lay upon the ground, perhaps they may even survive the night just doing that, but that wasn't really agreeable with Ettamri, nor did she fancy their chances doing that. Within this area, the chances of their fire being spotted was lower, but it would also be a more obvious location for their ranger to head to once they caught up.

If they caught up.

Someone being late usually meant they met with trouble and survived it, or they met with trouble and ended their journey then.

Hopefully they did survive, but even then, there was no telling what sort of trouble they would bring.

She unhitched the horses from their harnesses, and brought them closer to the fire, tying them up a bit closer to the group as a whole.

"I'll take first watch when we lay down for the night. Next would be Renault, Siwon, then Argen, on the last watch. Rest and eat for now, for tomorrow we make for lost time." She exhaled, a large billow of smoke once again flying from her helm. Oddly enough, she didn't feel at all that cold. Perhaps it was her sheer size. She turned from the fire, sitting down on a small rock a little bit away from the camp, looking back towards where they came from.

---

---

Argen fished out the object and sighed as he threw it back into the water and washed his hands in the cleanest water he could find before looking back to find Renauld looking. Argen said in a just shake of his head and a sigh, "It was some waste of a killed beast floating down stream. Most likely some thing throwing the waste away from them so it doesn't attract others". As Argen goes back and finishes up the preparations before they headed out.

The walk to and from wasn't anything new nor tiring as Argen has done exercises like this plenty of times, yet it was taking it's toll on him in annoyance as it was getting dark with low visibility and control over their movement as they had this cart to worry about. Yet he did trudge on into the dark, the cold did not bother him as he had a large pelt and coat on so he is fine as they walk, but he feels for the small child and Siwon as they are smaller in size and seem to have not brought as much with them to combat the cold, but they had to wait 'till they were to setup for the night.

As they made it to a site that Ettamri felt good, they began to have order's barked at them with Argen's job being simple. All he had to do was assist in setting up camp, just simple shelters of what they had, and then make sure nothing would just come and attack as they were setting up. An easy task as it seemed that nothing came at them immediately and they should be safe with the fire from animal predators, but the smarter ones will need to be fought off with other means, watches.

As they decided the order of watch Argen was slightly worried he had last watch as he could either get good sleep and could wake up and be alert for his watch, or be woken up once or twice breaking is sleep and making his reactions dulled by grogginess, yet he would have to deal with it when the time comes. As he goes to his shelter he made for himself of a tarp overhanging him with his back to a tree and his bear cloak half on the ground to cover his body and the other half to cover himself. As he began to look through his things to bring out a pot, some ingredients, and some cooking utensils and began to make a stew, nothing spectacular but still something. As he did he began bringing out spices out for said stew. NO meat in it sadly but still there to feed the man.

"Of course." Muu said with more emotion than she had ever shown before so far. "Of course." She repeated, as if she couldn't believe what she witnessed. Nothing. That was exactly it. "This inconsiderate, rude, too-full-of-herself, narcissistic, piece of..." The brunette stopped herself there."No wonder, she likely forgot us, considering she's too stupid to even remember anyone's name." Or not. Muu shook her head. "And to think I tried to make up with her. Unbelievable." She kept shaking her head, before shrugging. "Has any party ever left you behind?" It was more rhetorical, really. "I guess there's a first time for everything." This simple act... hurt. More than any physical pain the giantess could have inflicted on Muu. And, obviously, she couldn't help but think deep down that Ettamri had done this only to hurt her.

Oscar was, simply, collateral damage.

How long had they been away anyway? NOT that long. Nonetheless, what happened, happened. Closing her eyes and taking another few seconds to calm down, Muu nodded towards the ranger once more. "Let's catch up." She could have said 'try to', but failure was not an option.

Following some loosely sort of trail, it was Muu that mainly lead the way until she did not. It didn't bother her to pass the lead to Oscar but, if anything, she wondered if they had literally taken off the second Muu and Oscar had been out of sight. After all the wagon was still not in sight!

With their pace doubled, Renauld felt the winter winds cut into him. It sure was harder to move in the winter, he thought. The bitter cold bit at his extremities, but he remained bundled up well enough to not be harmed by cold winter winds. They then reached the wooded areas; snow still covered the ground.

Even though it was cold, snow actually formed a great insulator. That's what Renauld thought, anyways? He might have been remembering things wrong. He wasn't exactly sure of the mechanics behind it, but he had the concept of igloos stuck in his head. Well, not exactly an igloo. He was more carried by a feeling of "this felt right", as though he had done it before.

For a shelter, he began to form a large pile of snow, mixing the layers of top and bottom as he done so. Really, the rate in which he moved snow was rather fast; he wasn't carried by a sense of duty, after all. No, to him, this felt like fun nostalgia, whatever that was. Eventually, his snow pile increased to a considerable size: a solid meter and a half high, with a bit over four in diameter. With the snow mixed well, packed down, and sintered, it formed a nice dome of snow from which Renauld could dig.

And dig he did. His gloves were of above average quality. Water was unable to penetrate his gloves. By power of childlike wonder and energy, he had formed a shelter out of snow.

Then, he put in the finishing touches on his shelter: a hole at the very top to act as airflow, a channel to the entrance to ensure the cold air stays down, a smooth roof to ensure that nobody is dripped on during the night, and raised snowbeds with cheap tarps on them to ensure that water doesn't permeate through to the sleeper. It was a difficult amount of labour for the sole mage to do, but finishing it before nightfall filled Renauld with a sense of pride.

And finishing it filled him with a sense of hunger that crushed his insides. His pure joy in playing around in the snow had distracted him for the time being, but he was now finished and simply wanted to eat. Into his bag he went, grabbing the semi-frozen meat, berry, and fat mix and chomped into it with glee. It sure filled him up with energy; the sweet and tart blast of flavour from the berries, the savoury meat, and the filling fat made his labours definitely worth it. But looking around, Argen's stew was rather... lacking. So, in efforts of helping make it more filling (and getting a little warm food in him), he came over to the shieldbearer.

"Here," he said to him, offering a decently sized-piece of the meaty mixture, "how about I add some of my meat in exchange for some of your stew?"

Oscar and Muu

---

"I'm fine." Muu responded to his first question. "My Master had quite a lot of advice against the cold." And even if, the night was only bound to get worse. Looking over Oscar's shoulder as he stood up, Muu could only sigh. "Not only this, but two set of tracks?" It was a good thing the girl lacked any kind of religion, as otherwise she would have clearly seen this as a bad omen.

As the ranger observed the trail, it was obvious, at least to him, that the second trail was more likely than not the trail caused by their party. It fit the bill he was looking for. An obvious wagon and horse trail accompanied by two sets of heavy footprints as well as two other sets of regular footprints. Standing up, Oscar pats away the thin layer of snow that had accumulated on his shoulders and head before he turned his head to look behind him and at the blade dancer. "The second trail is more likely the one. If we hurry, we might be able to get to them before it gets even darker."

"I'll trust you." She simply added, eyeing the footprints suspiciously. They were 7 people, no? Minus two made five. The choice seemed obvious, although... Katya had preferred to sit on the wagon all the time, did she not? But then it made four and... Muu shook her head. "Yeah, I'll trust you." She said again, more as a reconfirmation to herself than him.

"You're a professional, so you know what you're doing." She kind-of justified it further. Even if she was of a different opinion, there was no use in thinking too deep about it, nor arguing, and wasting more time. "We're going to catch them soon enough."

The ranger couldn't help but feel his pride swell when Muu said that he was a professional. Sure he was still only a month fresh from training with his mentor, but the fact that she regarded him as a professional made him happy in a way. Oscar nods and heads off to the second trail, hoping to whoever was listening that they would reach the camp. Preferably before the frigid environment gets them.

As Argen began preparing his stew he pulled out some strange mushrooms and some strange vial of something. As he was about to add some of the strange greenish liquid in he heard Renauld come over and began speaking. Argen put away the vial and faced his companion. He offered to give some meat for some stew, an offer Argen couldn't refuse as he shakes his head, "Deal".

As Argen took some of the meat and began cooking it in the stew. Hmm, actual meat what a nice thing. Especially in a stew, what a great thing indeed. All Argen has been eating was was jerky, some died potatoes, and the alcohol that can be bought in his guild. Sadly they put some other shit in it and call it a 'Hemlock', it tastes like the ass of a cow. Yet it has many benefits that are adventitious for Phalanxes finding themselves in the wild: it boosts metabolic process, helps grow the immune system, and gets you drunk. Sadly he was running out and would begin to switch to his...alternative options.

Argen wasn't thinking about that right now as all he wanted was some nice warm stew and some of his 'Hemlock' to warm up for the night before he passes out for his watch in the morning.

Exhaustion had already been settling into their bones throughout the day, but at double pace, no one was breathing well by the end of it. Pushed back against the snow, the sweat on their skin freezing over the moment they took a breather, it would be an understatement to call the group’s last spurt to the spare woodlands tiring. Ettamri felt the brunt of the fatigue, having sank the lowest into the snow; further out, the snow had turned powdery, and her feet habitually broke through the crusted ice surface. Her hunger was an obsession, stomach growling like a seething beast, the uncouth sounds drowned out by the winds of winter. The others hadn’t done all too well either. Bundled up as they were, Argen and Renault both felt the sticky coolness of having soaked through their inner clothing in the last segments of their run, while Siwon’s longcoat no longer billowed dramatically in the wind. Travelling through the many streams had dampened it, and now the bottom part was frozen over, snow accumulating over it. Katya, at least, could simply shadow Ettamri’s steps, but the priest was tired as well.

Work didn’t end just because they stopped for the night, however. Argen, having come to a stop after so much activity and being tasked only with keeping watch over the industrious mage, felt the bite of the bitter winds most sharply, tendrils of cold sneaking into his clothes to be amplified by the dampness of innerwear. Renault’s own efforts turned him into a tired lad as well, the thought of food greatly endearing. He was no beast, after all, and with no shovel in sight, constructing a domed shelter that everyone could fit in only added to his tiredness. His gloves may be of above average quality, and the same could be said for his boots, but nature always found a way. By the time he was done constructing the shelter, the brunette mage’s extremities were wrinkled underneath the fabrics that shielded them. Siwon’s own trials were suffering too. Though the Jaws of Death granted him the boon of the Hot Hunger this time around, Kur-Inuus deigned not to shield him from the fact that all the snow that clung onto his clothes had now melted due to the heat, soaking it in. With time and heat, perhaps it’d dry out, but then again…it was still snowing. And snow was still melting. What joy.

Katya was uncharacteristically(?) quiet as well, half-stumbling around the camp now that Ettamri was no longer plowing a way for her. What deadfall she found was frozen and wet, but after some general gesticulations, Ettamri was convinced to help her with simply breaking standing trees apart and dragging them over to the fireplace. Some large logs were used for stools, others were used to feed the flames, and soon enough, the party were gathered around the bubbling pot of stew. Their clothing began to steam, the humidity beginning to feel like a really cold sauna. The stew, though not finished yet, still looked thin and sorta miserable. If they were in Andeave right now, they’d probably be in a proper tavern, eating meat and bread, drinking mead and wine.

But it was alright.

Warming herself beside the fire, her eyes glittering with anticipation for a hot meal, Katya began to sing a wordless song again, slapping the sides of her log as her head swayed from side to side. It was a cheery, repetitive melody, more of an earworming jingle than a properly complex composition, but she looked at the others, as if expecting them to join in.

‘It’ll be fun’, her eyes said. And what else were they going to do while their dinner boiled down anyways? Socialize with actu-

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

Heavy footsteps sounded behind them, and as the five of them all turned, each with a different expression upon their faces, two shadows loomed out from the white curtain surrounding them. Half-frozen and burnt-out, but still very much alive, Oscar and Muu had finally caught up.

Katya was the first to smile, continuing her song as she scootched over to the side, pressing up against Ettamri as she patted the empty section of log beside her. Dramatic as Ettamri and Muu's beef may be, surely it wasn't as tasty as a soup that was more than just potato skins?

Ettamri Bellarence

---

It felt like she was burning.

How was it that she, who had trained vigorously, could have felt so tired on this mere march? Twas not a distance of a forced march, nor was it particularly rigorous, but it seemed her body was... different. Even while she plowed easily though the snow, fatigue started to set in, an odd feeling of lethargy.

But at least she was here now, by the fire, upon which a pot of stew was bubbling over. She too had opted to give a few pieces from her rations to the knight, for a bowl of the hot stew which she ate while facing away from the party. The bottle... well, the bottle was left discreetly near the fire to warm it up some.

It was not enough. It was not even her new, larger stature, for she had the feeling it was more her other side. Seeking to stave off that hunger, she took instead a piece of the hard packed and aptly named 'hardtack' from her rations. It was some sort of vile brick that was supposedly edible and could both be kept a long time and fill stomachs up. It felt like stone and tasted like wet paper. What she truly longed for was...

"Ah the sweet smell of meat~" The small red child danced in front of the fire, though it seemed she had grown a head taller since she remembered, the red horns upon her head now clearly visible through her black short hair. "Ah, mother! Ah, father! I am hungry, please bring in the maids with food!"

"Hey~" The child seemed to just appear in front of her. Ettamri had never truly noticed her eyes before, but they were black where the whites were supposed to be, with gold lenses that seemed to bore into her very soul. "You know how you can just fill your stomach right now? All you have to do is reach out and-"

Katya sat beside her just then, sending spikes of electricity running through her body. A low rumble from her stomach, as her arms flexed automatically, reaching towards Katya.

And brushed off the small blob of snow from the top of her head.

"You're late." Ettamri spoke deliberately towards the two who just arrived, as she pulled out the bottle, pouring its now warm content into her bowl. "Report."

---

Damnit...how much further until they reached the end of this trail?

Oscar was no longer smiling. Night had long fallen and, with it, the temperature. The extremely cold environment practically drained the strength out of his body. Even to the point that even he was visibly shivering underneath his cloak and frost had grown on both his eyelashes as well as his eyebrows. Breathing the dry, and practically frozen, air hurt initially. It was uncomfortable at first...but now he could taste the familiar metallic flavor of blood in his saliva. Hell, the gradually growing numbness in his hands and feet was already a tell tale sign that the cold was getting ready to take bits of him away. It seemed that they were going to die a slow death here in the wilderness, such is a common thing in Altera...that is until he spots a faint glow in the distance.

Oscar's eyes widen slightly as he lets out a dry, mirthless, and incredulous chuckle as he saw it. Like a flickering candle flame in the middle of the dark abyss. They actually found them. After what seemed like an eternity of walking in near complete darkness, they finally managed to catch up. The chuckle soon devolves into a violent coughing fit that causes the ranger to fall to a knee. Using one hand to prevent himself from falling to the ground, the ranger chooses not to speak; only opting to lift a shivering hand to point at the light source not so far away from them.

---

Relief washed over him as he saw his party mates seated around a fire with what seemed to be pot containing their dinner. A smile returned to his face as soon as he saw the small priestess smile at him and Muu. "Surprised to see us again?" The smile faltered as the tall armored knight spoke to him as if they didn't abandon them both a number of hours ago. Shaking his head slightly side to side he sets down his bow and arrows beside the cart before taking his wide brimmed hat and returning it to its rightful place upon his head. "Well, people tend to be late when you leave them behind." Oscar says as a matter of fact, before he takes a seat beside Katya and began basking in the warmth of the fire. He closed his eyes and sighed in relief as the radiant warmth of this camp fire melted away the cold feeling off his body, almost literally even. For those few moments, the feeling was beyond heavenly.

Taking off his gloves and boots, bindings and all, and placing them beside the log, he presents his reddish bare hands and feet to the fire as he continues to answer the female knight's questions. "While scouting upstream, Muu and I encountered a band of nine goblins eating an elk. I chose to engage them in combat as they were an obstacle in scouting further and a problem that needed to be dealt with if we managed to find a way through the river." Oscar paused for a moment as he flexed his fingers and toes to make sure that he could still move and feel each appendage. "We only managed to kill three, before the rest wizened up and high tailed it deeper into the forest. We let them run away." Oscar then reaches down to his utility belt and unhooks a small blood stained pouch and tosses it to the tall woman's feet. "We chose not to pursue as hunting goblins in their own territory is no task for two and would only get us both killed if we do. We collected the dead goblins' weapons and ears as proof of death. Then walked back to find that you left us. Ouch by the way. None the less, we tracked you using the trail as best we could when the snowfall doubled. Walked in the dark for gods knows how far, nearly died because of the cold, and finally reached camp. That sums it up, I suppose."

Ettamri Bellarence

---

@Searat

She listened silently to the ranger's report, biting back a retort. There was a certain edge to her anger right now that she didn't feel like crossing.

"Ah, so you found goblins you could have easily avoided, only killed some of them, let the rest escape." She took a sip from the bowl, the firewater energizing her a bit, warming her insides. "Then? What happens if they have a larger group somewhere? Surely a ranger such as yourself would know they might come back in force to get revenge, especially now that they are alerted to our presence. Not only did you ignore my direct order to not fight unless necessary, you also expected the entire party, to wait at the riverbank, exposed to the elements, while you dilly dally your way back. A slow trudging wagon with escorts could surely be overtaken by two swift people without any goods. Had we waited for you, we might not have even gotten in this grove and be forced to camp in the open with barely any wood for a campfire."

"Ah right right," she poured herself another bowl of the drink. "There's also the fact that you might be dead, in a dangerous mission involving trekking through territories that might be filled with enemies. Enemies that might now be alerted after you killed a few goblins."

"This level of competence is unacceptable." There was a sudden burst of vehemence in her voice, loud enough to be heard around the fire, but still low enough that it was just above normal levels of speech. She was classically trained after all, and did study several scripts by generals and soldiers. Her hand was shaking, the red girl was grinning, the grin from within widening ever so slightly as she tried to control her anger. "Not only did you endanger the party, and the entire mission with your recklessness, you also had the gall to push off your faults onto another."

---

@GreenGoat

The ranger let the taller soldier continue to berate and scold him. Quietly nodding and the occasional 'mhm'. "Finished? Ok." The ranger then spoke his piece. "For one." He raises his finger and points to the very severe snowfall. "Snow, especially this with this kind of weather, can, in a matter of minutes, easily render a well defined and well used trail to be covered to the point that even beasts can't follow. What more the tracks of two very light individuals. In a span of hours. Hence, near impossible to track." He raises a second finger. "Two." He points to the fire. "Last I remember at the riverbank, there was a fire being made and there was evidence that there was a fire there. So, I believe the ones waiting for us both could have waited a liiiiittle bit longer and we could have made it...or at least see you in the distance. I mean, whats an extra twenty minutes sitting around a campfire? You get to be warm. You rest your feet." Oscar shrugs. "But I suppose being in the main group along with all the supplies, including our own mind you, was infinitely more difficult as compared to having nothing but the clothes on your back and walking alone in the frigid wilderness where making the smallest mistakes would have costed your life." He raises a third finger. "Third. Even if, by some blasphemous miracle, the mud goblins manage to track us down in this kind of snow and conditions, may it be for food or loot, they primarily look for the easiest prey." He a wide sweeping gesture with his arm to all the persons present. "We are definitely not easy prey. Even more reinforced by the fact that they fled when it was only Muu and I fighting against all nine of them. I'm not being cocky, I'm only stating a fact." The ranger then raises a fourth finger. "Fourth. I'm not blaming anybody. I take full responsibility for that attack. I just said it hurt being left behind like that. It really was the first time someone abandoned me, so forgive me for being a little bitter about it...and I will not lie how hard it was to get here."

No wonder Muu hated the larger woman.

The ranger lets out a long and tired sigh after his little rant, running his significantly less numb hand down his face. He would have argued some more, but it was a waste of calories and energy. His body was too exhausted and too cold to be upset. So he lets go of the topic. He dons his gloves and boots once again as he stands and approaches the side of the cart that held his bag and procured a bag of dried fruit. Before doing anything else, he takes one out and buries it in the snow as an offering to Kur-Innus as per usual of any ranger before having a meal. He then walks back to his seat beside Katya and begins to eat his meal for the day. Offering the bag of dried strawberries to everyone in the party, even to Ettamri.

Ettamri Bellarence

---

@Searat

"You... Are you bloody retarded!? Got your rank by bloody polishing someone's knob!?" No, she was livid now, not just angry. "An entire angry goblin pack based in the area could have just as easily have the resources to do a manhunt across a large area. Your 'skills' will do nothing to a goblin if he slits your throat while you sleep or even if it just stabs you in the back while you're looking away. The river offered us no protection, had just barely enough wood for a small campfire. And even an extra twenty minutes could mean the difference between us having shelter from the wind or not. You were simply lucky there was a snowstorm tonight. Had there been none, you two with your idiocy would have left crystal clear tracks leading to us."

A fit of anger that brought out the slight bit of accent from home she had long suppressed. A hastily caught reaction, before she went over the edge of crimson, where the grinning man awaited. "Hmph. Bloody amateurs. Never underestimate any enemy, not even a goblin. I do not give out orders without reason. And to blatantly disregard it, then brazenly traipse in flaunting it..." She took another drink from the bowl, before passing out the warm bottle of alcohol, pushing away Katya's grabby hands away from it. A strong brew, that will probably knock the little priest out cold if she sipped at it. "Enough for now. There is still tomorrow to get through. You, ranger, take first watch and second, and that other idiot there can take the third and last watch. Pray nothing tries to ambush us."

---

@GreenGoat

Oscar gave the tall knight a deadpan look as both food and drink was being passed around.

"That's on the assumption of the size of the pack would be large enough and have enough supplies to conduct said manhunt in a wide range. Without anything to trail, they would be forced to only second guess where we may have gone. There is no guarantee that they are even big enough to conduct this hypothetical manhunt." Oscar pauses to eat a few more pieces of dried fruit. "There were roughly nine goblins we encountered, a considerably small hunting party even for small goblin tribes. Meaning to say that their tribe is smaller than average. A minimum of the six goblins we saw escape and a maximum of less than or equal to twenty; likely even lesser considering we killed three and severely wounded one. They may be idiotic, vengeful, and psychopathic midgets but they know when to cut their losses and just leave things be." The ranger finishes as he finishes his meal for the night and tucks away the bag of dried fruit.

Standing up from the log he opts out from speaking any further. It may only aggravate the knight to the point that he'd likely take the brunt of an armored fist. So he simply collects the bloody pouch of goblin ears and heads off to prepare for the four hour long watch. Getting the spool of fishing line from his pack he moves around a ten meter perimeter around the camp, weaving up simple trip wire alarms that would alert them if something were to come close. The device is quite similar to a snare trap but, instead of being used for capturing small game, it only produces a loud sound as the limb snaps back into place. Oscar set up four of them, one each facing: North, South, East, and West. The lines connected to each trap were approximately 2.5m long and placed near the snow, so that even small creatures can trigger the alarm. With that done and over with, Oscar returns to his bag and puts away the spool of fishing line. Finally, he finds a tree with a Y shaped trunk and quietly stays in his perch. Bow and arrow at the ready.

---

Again, Siwon was oddly silent and to himself, following orders and ignoring the various challenges the parasitic priestess had instigated against him. This was due to the fact that he seemed focused on accomplishing the tasks that were given to him. It was very odd to see Siwon working this hard, both without complaint or slack. Could it be a sense of loyalty to his party, or perhaps a sense of fear that the knightess will pummel him if he ever chose to slack off?

Nope. It's because it's too damn cold and moving around was the only way Siwon was able to keep cold.

The Fiend Knight sat by the fire with an embittered look on his face. He had already wrapped himself in his winter blanket, looking like some sort of exhausted gothic burrito. He slowly sipped at his stew as he watched the last two members of their party return, with the Ranger and the Knightess arguing about goblins upstream. It seemed that Siwon was right to worry about that particular group. On any other occasion, Siwon would quickly jump up in enthusiasm, making praises about how right he was. However, it seemed as if the Fiend Knight was going to snap from a different sort of frustration...

... ten thousand nine hundred and seven, ten thousand nine hundred and eight, ten thousand nine hundred and-

"Shut up! By The Jaws, shut up! Your rambling's driving me mad... " Siwon exclaimed suddenly, throwing his nearly empty bowl at nothing in particular. After a mere moment of exasperated sighs, the Fiend Knight himself stood up, picking up the thrown bowl and piling some snow atop the mess he had made as a means of cleaning it up.

"Forget it, I'll just take last watch. I need to wake up earlier than usual to perform my rites. If you wish to punish the late ones, just order them to catch me a nice live rabbit or something. I'm heading to bed."

And with that, Siwon collapsed by wherever the group had decided to set up their bedding at.

It was clear that Katya was regretting her decision about having Oscar and Muu sit beside her, especially when Ettamri was on the other side. As it stood, while Ettamri and Oscar tried to kill each other with words and mean looks alone, the blue-haired turnip squeezed herself as small as possible, looking downcast. Even Siwon was mad now, tossing his bowl like a petulant child with no self-control, before diving into the snow-hut, while Oscar, apparently totally done with human communication, went off by himself as well, naught but a shadow against the snow.

This certainly wasn't the happy camping adventure Katya thought it would be, and the priest wasn't happy at all about this. The stew tasted good, but it'd certainly taste better if everyone wasn't on the edge about basically everything. So much for campfire songs and roasting meat over the fire. As it stood, someone might actually end up getting stabbed to death. Father certainly had told her a whole lot about the statistics how bad party relationships ended up with dead party members and all. Maybe she should have found a merrier band of people, even at the expense of finding a big beefy warrior...

No! This was what she chose, so this was what she was going to stick with! Slapping her chubby cheeks together, Katya raised her spirit, made a silent prayer towards Alri-Qua, and turned to Ettamri, tugging at the armored woman's wrist.

"Um, Ettamri...I think you might want to, uh, be nicer? I mean, hm, Father told me that communication skills are like, pretty strong, and different party groups have different styles, so uh, if you want to be a good leader...I mean, not saying that you aren't good in the right circumstances, but that's probably not the right circumstance to be yelling? I mean, like, we're still going to all be together for another two days, and then we'll probably be travelling back together as well, so..."

Katya scrunched up her face, trying to figure out how to put her thoughts into words.

"Like, it'll basically be bad if the group exploded. Teamwork makes the dream work? Like, even if they're in the wrong, like, you don't have to try to kill them with words? Especially because you're the leader here, but only because they want you to be..."

Ettamri Belarence

There was just silence from Ettamri as the Fiend Knight had his outburst. Her opinion of the party was swiftly plummeting.

"Hmm... I see. I suppose you haven't been on many requests or been out with a party much, huh?"

She stared into the fire for a moment before replying to the small priest. "Being nice, doesn't work. Stay behind to save that one flagging teammates, and the entire party perished. Coddle them, and they might see fit to ignore orders asking you to 'trust in them', before failing and getting disastrous results. I've seen it again and again."

"For that matter, never tolerate mindless idiots who cannot think of anything but the best. Fools like those will tell you there are no evidence that this small group of goblins are connected to a larger group while ignoring there are also no concrete evidence to the contrary."

Ah but she was rambling now. It must be the alcohol.

"Hmph. Sorry if you were expecting a happier expedition. I quite despise people who will drag an entire party into needless danger for their own selfish whims. Even more so those who aren't even regretful of their actions or apologetic of it."

Finishing what was in her bowl, Ettamri stood up, going already for the first watch, careful not to look at the campfire lest her night vision be dulled.

Warm stew was exactly what he needed. He was positively exhausted; his childlike vigor had dissipated, leaving behind a cold, wet, hungry, and tired lad. What he needed was some time by the fire to try to dry out his clothes, to warm up his belly with some nice stew, and then to take a power nap for his turn at the watch. As long as the evening was nice and slow, he felt like he could regain enough energy for the next day.

Then Oscar and Muu came back.

And oh boy, did they come back.

The sheer passive-aggressiveness that came from that ranger after being left behind, alongside the aggressive-aggressiveness that Ettamri used in kind. It annoyed the hell out of Renauld. He just wanted them to hush up, eat some soup, then rest. Instead, they launched into a flurry of rage and anger at each other. Justifiably so, even. Still, Renauld completely ignored to battling of the two. It wasn't in his blood to get in between people, nor was it in his body as he was much too tired for anything.

And that wasn't just the only outburst from the group. No, Siwon did... something. It was kind of weird and confusing. To Renauld, it had seemed that he was just incredibly mad at the two's bickering and voiced his anger in a kind of bizarre way. Katya (bless her soul) actually tried to mediate the angry knight. It didn't work, Renauld thought. It was like a nun confronting a brick wall, but her efforts were appreciated.

"So, uh, I got a snow hovel." He interjected to the group, ignoring literally everything that just happened. "It should be enough for everyone, save for those on watch."

He thought of immediately going to bed, but getting a bit more dry and warm (was it even possible) was a much greater proposition. Even if it cut an hour into his nap time, he would rather be a bit tired and dry than awake and frozen.

---

---

Taking some partial amount of rations from people gave the ability for everyone to have a bit of stew, even if some gave more than others, it was still better than dry and cold food. As Argen sighed out as he took out some wooden bowls and started to get some food into the bowls he began to pass the bowls telling them to pass it on so everyone can get some food. There was a decent amount even if some didn't provide much, and Argen didn't care all too much himself as he had enough ingredients for himself to make another stew and have enough rations for the trip. The stew was hot and great to feel in his body as Argen felt at ease with this warmth breaking the cold he felt over take him as he wasn't doing much work with his overall body.

As Argen was looking at the fire as he heard the lost members announced and have return to them, good at least they seem to be in an alright state and with a small semblance of light left in their eyes. They can be fixed up by some warmth and a hot meal, and that is exactly what they could expect as now it got to the point where Argen had just enough for a bowl each of them could have .Argen waved a small gesture to them as greetings and watched as they came and sat down as he thinks, 'good at least they made it back in one piece'. He seems genuinely more at ease as everyone is back, it meant they all could rest and not worry. When they sat down he made a bowl for each and got up to give each of them a bowl.

Yet this was short lived as the Ranger began his passive-aggressive remark. This didn't seem to sit well with the large one as she became aggressive towards him and they began a back and forth that seemed to have killed the mood in everyone. As Ettamri gives out a punishment for what they did, it made Argen slightly upset with her idea. Switching from a 4 man shift of watches to a two man watch meant that those who aren't watching would get a nice long rest, but then would put the two on watch in a near minimal function state. This would be bad for their morale and even could set them in a bad way as they are also contesting with bad conditions, possible enemies, and even problem solving with a minimal energy. This sat bad with Argen as he planned to try and force himself awake to break up the cycle and at least give the others some form of rest. But it seemed he didn't need to break the whole thing as Siwon, in a strange out burst, made a large spectacle and left saying he will take last watch because he will be up anyways and doing his daily ritual. 'Good so it would be easier on myself so I don't have to stay up for so long before going back to sleep'.

Argen just began eating and taking out a water skin with a black stained cork to seal it. In this it contains his 'Hemlock' and as he opens it. It smells like death for anyone within wafting range, but to those around a foot away it smells like hard liquor and will hit them like a good helping of tabasco, anyone further will not smell it. Argen takes a good drink of it before he caps it, it takes him a moment as he tries to swallow it all, he does seem like it takes him a moment before he can get it all down, but he does without too much fuss on his face. He starts to lean forward and continues to eat and allow everyone to fight. He doesn't have enough care to stop them from this and he didn't even want to if he had the strength. They seemed to have this problem and it would be best to get through this and split off from Ettamri, she was knowledgeable for sure as she did seem confident in everything she told and did.

However she has a bad temper and could get very demanding never using politeness and respect, she seemed to have an idea about them being in an army and her being a captain. Everyone apart of the Silver Moon 'army' are homeless monster hunters, almost none here see the other as superior as everyone is in the same boat, what Argen has watched many do in parties was elect one person to be leader not because of knowledge and skill alone. They were there to inspire the group and keep everyone's morale up. Ettamri defiantly seemed to lack that skill, and if Muu's words from earlier on today held any weight, which it seems to have as Ettamri reacted in a way that seemed she had guilt, then she might also be inexperienced as a judgment maker and could get them into trouble and get them killed.

Argen won't bring any of this up though as if he did it would make more of a mess, so he just sits there finishing his meal before dunking his bowl into the snow and taking it out to brush it off before putting it back into his bag and began to check all his equipment and taking an occasional drink for his water skin trying to drink around half of what's left in it before he sleeps for a few hours so he could wake up for the watch which could anger Ettamri, if she found out. All Argen wanted tomorrow is to have strong progress and people to not be half dead because they didn't have any sleep