AAR: [ECR3M] "Out Fox the Foxil"

The current version of the Earthdawn West Marches Discord campaign, effective Jan 1, 2020

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Icarus-Wolfswift
Posts:82
Joined:Fri May 08, 2020 6:15 pm
AAR: [ECR3M] "Out Fox the Foxil"

Post by Icarus-Wolfswift » Sun Jun 14, 2020 8:23 pm

LFG: Out Fox the Foxil

Time: 2020-06-18@11:00[PM] GMT

GM: Hinroe

Circle: 3

Difficulty: Medium

Rumor: “Morchik Thew the VII'th” Owner of “Morchik's Exotic Animals.” has heard rumors of in the nearby settlement of Juniper Hollow, a local farmer Jim is having trouble with his food stock going missing. Locals in Juniper attribute these petty thefts to what they have come to call a Foxil, sneaky fox like creatures that have only been spotted a couple of times.

Morchik is hoping that a group of adepts will learn what they can about the Foxil of Juniper Hollow and if possible bring back a breeding pair for him at “Morchik’s Exotic Animals” in Throal. Attached to the missive is directions to the shop of Morchik and his hours of operation.

Alternate rewards Foxil and reduced training in Animal related skills.

Please respond using this.
Name: Character name
Date of Last Game Played:
Circle: Circle of your character
Discipline: Your character's Discipline(s)
Unique: What your character is bringing to the table.
Downtime: Talents and Skills that other characters can use over downtime: [Talent] [Step including +Karma Step if appropriate] ([Rank]) ([Further Details])
Last edited by Icarus-Wolfswift on Mon Jun 22, 2020 4:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

bronzemountain
Posts:606
Joined:Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:02 pm

Re: LFG [ECR3M] "Out Fox the Foxil" 2020-06-18@11:00[PM] GMT

Post by bronzemountain » Sun Jun 14, 2020 9:10 pm

Name: A'horangi Ha'hana Syrtis
ECR: 2
Discipline: Monk
Quote/Unique: "Respectfully, I must now punch you."
Notable Abilities: Very polite dinosaur.
Downtime: Please Stay Tuned
Last Game Played: 2020-06-04
This is a secondary character. Please prioritize primaries.
Last edited by bronzemountain on Tue Jun 16, 2020 6:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm

Re: LFG [ECR3M] "Out Fox the Foxil" 2020-06-18@11:00[PM] GMT

Post by ChrisDDickey » Sun Jun 14, 2020 9:16 pm

Name: Mazor
Date Player last played: June 6th.
ECR: 3
Discipline: Beastmaster 3rd, Windling
Quote/Unique: The night is dark, and full of Horrors.
Notable Abilities: Claw Shape & Pet Tricks.
Downtime: None
Secondary character.

LadyDragoon
Posts:143
Joined:Wed May 27, 2020 2:11 am

Re: LFG [ECR3M] "Out Fox the Foxil" 2020-06-18@11:00[PM] GMT

Post by LadyDragoon » Sun Jun 14, 2020 11:11 pm

Name: Azurea
June 13 2020:
Circle: ECR 3
Discipline: Shadow (2)
Unique: Happy go lucky attitude (or as some may call me Chearful Sneaky Murder)
Downtime: Nothing

Lashana
Posts:167
Joined:Wed Jun 03, 2020 9:40 pm
Location:Virginia Beach, VA USA

Re: LFG [ECR3M] "Out Fox the Foxil" 2020-06-18@11:00[PM] GMT

Post by Lashana » Mon Jun 15, 2020 3:21 am

Name: LaShana Tumblesprout
Last played on: Saturday June 6/6/2020
ECR: 2 (1600LP)
Discipline: Thiefy McThieferson
Quote: That was so cool! let’s do that again!
LaShana brings enthusiasm-sooooo much enthusiasm!!!!
Notable Abilities: Stealthing with my eyes open. 😜Sometimes I *might* just amuse you with endless enthusiastic conversation. :)
Downtime: none

Reyntrannin
Posts:270
Joined:Mon Apr 23, 2018 3:59 pm

Re: LFG [ECR3M] "Out Fox the Foxil" 2020-06-18@11:00[PM] GMT

Post by Reyntrannin » Mon Jun 15, 2020 8:08 pm

Name: Langren
Last played: 5/29/2020
ECR: 4
Circle: 4
Discipline: Shaman
Quote/Unique: This land is a wonder, simply waiting for us to embrace its lessons.
Notable Abilities: Support and offensive magics, healing, good with animals, some investigative abilities.
Downtime: Animal Training (10)

Icarus-Wolfswift
Posts:82
Joined:Fri May 08, 2020 6:15 pm

AAR:

Post by Icarus-Wolfswift » Fri Jun 19, 2020 2:29 am

Out Fox the Foxel
Time: 2020-06-18@10:00PM GMT
GM: hinroe/Icarus
Circle: 3
Difficulty:Medium

Player Rewards:
Langren: 1,400 LP, 275 SP, 3 TIPs. 2 Foxel: Ozzy (Shrouded mask) and Jojo (Cloaked mask)
Mazor: 1,400 LP, 275 SP, 3 TIPs. 2 Foxel: Me-me, Le-le. Both with Stealthy mask +1
Azurea: 1,400 LP, 275 SP, 3 TIPs
A'horangi: 1,400 LP, 275 SP, 3 TIPs, Shrouded Foxel
Lashana: 1,400 lp / 275 sp / 3 TIPs. Foxel friend

Journal Rewards:
70lp 68.7
GM Reward:
Terba Stone-Singer
200lp, 150sp, 3 TIPs

Downtime Actions Available:
Character Name: [Animal training] [10]


Further Information:
The group relocated the Sneak of Foxel that were bothering Juniper Hollow to a nice farm in Throal.

ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm

Re: LFG [ECR3M] "Out Fox the Foxil" 2020-06-18@11:00[PM] GMT

Post by ChrisDDickey » Fri Jun 19, 2020 3:23 am

From the Journal of Mazor of the deep Servos.

I have been speaking with “Morchik Thew VII” Owner of “Morchik's Exotic Animals”  for a while, hoping that he can obtain a messenger bat for me. There is a shortage of the bats right now, but he told me about a situation in Juniper Hollow that might prove mutually advantageous. He received a message from a Jim Clempton that lives there, that there are some exotic animals named Foxel that have been raiding the food stores. The farmers want the animals gone. Morchik would like to see if there is a market for them as exotic Pets. 

I did some research and found Langren (shaman),  Azurea (something called a Shadow), A'horangi (T'Skrang Monk), and LaShana Tumblesprout (windling thief), to go see if we could capture the Sneak. 

Just outside of Juniper Hollow we heard a man yelling in pain, we found Timber Jones with his leg trapped beneath a tree, the leg was bleeding badly. We got the tree off of him, and patched his leg up, then hauled him back to the village on his sled.

We then talked to Jim Clempton, whom I had talked to before when something was killing the village sheep. He explained the problem to us. He said that the problem had already halfway corrected itself, in that the raids were stealing less food now, but it was still pretty bad. A whole blackberry pie had gone missing from Old Lady Gibson's window ledge just a few days before. The last raid had been just the night before on his neighbor Cleatus's food store. We went over and found Cleatus passed out drunk on the floor, so I went outside and started casting about with Rufis, trying to pick up tracks, which we did. We followed Rufis until Langren announced that five Foxel were in the bramble patch in front of us. He cast Soothe the Savage Beast, and then he and I bonded with all the Foxel. 

The Foxel all showed signs of mistreatment, neck wounds, rope marks, etc. After we bonded with these, they were happy to lead us to a camp of poachers, who fought us. We rescued 7 more foxel from their cages.  We learned that they had been working for an Ork thief in Throal by the name of Del Mon, who was trying to corner the Foxel Fur market.  

The Foxel were happy to follow us to the nice Mr. Morchik's farm outside Throal. On the way there I swung by Jim Clempton's place and told him that we were taking the foxel away. All of us except for Azurea kept at least one of the Foxel. I named the two I kept Me-me and Le-le. They seemed stealthier than the average Foxel and I am sure that we shall be great companions. 

bronzemountain
Posts:606
Joined:Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:02 pm

Field Notes of A'horangi Ha'hana Syrtis, Vol. 1

Post by bronzemountain » Fri Jun 19, 2020 3:49 am

Entry 3.

Morchik Thew VII (curious, eccentric man - good reputation for animal care, outlier, unconcerned with consensus aesthetics or propriety) desires a breeding pair of foxels, some sort of fashionable wilderness creature. Mazor, a Windling Beastmaster,and Langren, a Human Shaman, wish to help, notably to procure foxels for themselves. I know nothing of the wilderness, or of foxels, and therefore I will go and help.

We are pointed to the settlement of Juniper Hollow. Life is returning to the town after it was decimated by plague. En route, we rescue one Timber Jones from his namesake - a felled log that has broken his leg and trapped him. He believes himself a heroic figure, felling trees by himself and bringing wood to the settlement. Others in the hollow feel similarly. Seems dangerous. Must track to see if legend grows.

Other individuals of Juniper Hollow:
  • Jim Clempton. Raises sheep. Does not seem to be blessed with good luck as a farmer. Should possibly consider other lines of work.
  • Cleatus. What a strange name. Found drunk on his floor. Is it the town, or this work, that creates such despair?
  • Most Revered Pie Lady, also known as Old Lady Gibson. What passes for this settlement's Shivalahala, presumably. Elder matriarch. Did not meet her. Is known for creating food for the village. Most respectable.
Farmers complain of foxels stealing their food. In particular, Revered Pie Lady's eponymous pies, as well as more traditional food stores. Clever creatures, these foxels.

Work is simple enough. Langren is attuned to animal spirits, and Mazor to animals themselves. Between them (and Ruffis, Mazor's tracking hound; most useful), we find the foxel nest easily. Animals are calmed with magic and befriended with food and honest kindness. Animals are strangely adorable. Find myself feeling affection for these tiny mammals. Perhaps they have magic? Some sort of hypnosis? Cannot resist feeding one. It looks at me with love. I am trapped by its cuteness. I take this one home. I call her Ghost. She is a good girl. Yes she is. (doodles of foxels)

The foxels are wounded. They wish to lead us somewhere. They are clearly clever and lovely animals, so we follow. We find poachers. Note to self: Investigate one Del Mon, Ork Thief. He is attempting to monopolize fur trade. Poachers work for him, have caught several other foxels.

We deal with poachers, nothing special there. Free foxels. Bring them to Throal where they will be well cared for.

Especially Ghost. She is a good girl.

Reyntrannin
Posts:270
Joined:Mon Apr 23, 2018 3:59 pm

Re: LFG [ECR3M] "Out Fox the Foxil" 2020-06-18@11:00[PM] GMT

Post by Reyntrannin » Fri Jun 19, 2020 11:58 pm

The hamlet of Juniper Hollow has become the the center of Adept activity once again, and I, along with a few others, have heeded the call to adventure once again. We were a motley crew setting out from Throal and likely garnered more than a few second glances walking through the gates. Once again I found myself in the company of the Windling Beastmaster Mazor, whose doughty courage has proven his worth on our past undertakings. We were accompanied by another of his people, a young woman Named Lashanna Tumblesprout and her bosom friend Azurea, a Troll who followed an obscure Discipline simply called "Shadow", which I must learn a bit more about. The last Adept to join our merry band was A'Horangi who, as his Name might indicate, was T'Skrang and followed the path of the Monk. But I have left our final companions for the position of honor. In addition to Mayaa, my faithful and loyal huttawa companion, Mazor had brought along a hunting dog he had befriended, one Rufus (who is indeed a good boy, as it will be shown).

Mazor had been in contact with a local animal breeder Named Morchik, who had heard through his sources that Juniper Hollow was suffering an incursion of foxels. Since Morchik had long desired a breeding pair of these creatures (as had I, truth be told), he asked Mazor if a few Adepts might be able to procure such for him, as well as solving the foxel problems around Juniper Hollow.

The path to Juniper Hollow was much as it had been during my previous excursion, although the ruts and wear were greatly increased due to the attention it had seen of late. Perhaps fate has some greater plan for this seemingly insignificant place, no matter. We arrived in the fullness of a day's travel, and as we neared the village, we heard a voice calling out in desperation and alarm. Upon investigating, we found a Human man, greatly injured, trapped under the trunk of a tree that appeared to have been recently felled, possibly by the nearby axe. After Azurea removed the tree, and his broken leg was seen to, we found that this was indeed the case. The man called himself "Timber Joe'' and told us briefly that he had been caught as the tree fell. It was indeed the hand of Fortune that intervened in our arrival at that time, for otherwise, I truly do not think he would have survived the night in his condition. Even as we spoke with him, his strength finally gave out, and he lapsed into unconsciousness.
Using his own cart, we were able to convey him to his home where his wife could care for him, then we headed on to the farm of Jim Clemson, a farmer who had been troubled recently by the very wildlife we were there to investigate. Word of our deeds had gone before us, and Clemson greeted us with helpful cheer when we announced ourselves. (It also seems that normal customs of interaction had passed by some of my companions, who believed that the best way to open a door was to pronounce the word "orange" for some reason.) After a normal exchange of pleasantries, we asked Clemson about his foxel troubles, and he proceeded on a long harangue detailing food thefts around the village. These mostly seemed to be centered on his farm and that of another nearby farmer, but he also spoke of Old Lady Gibson, who had been having pies stolen as they cooled on her window sill (a problem which could easily have been solved by the addition of a pie chest to her home's furnishing). In a fit of mischief (possibly brought on by lingering foxel spirit?), I inquired about the nature of the pie and teased poor Clemson that the blackberries in the pie were a dread problem, only to be outdone by gooseberries. I am afraid that the only one truly susceptible to my joke was Lashanna, who seems to take all things very seriously and at face value (I must remember to temper my humor if I travel with her again).

All joking aside, we finally learned that the most recent incursion of the curious little critters had been to raid the food stores Clemson's neighbor had stockpiled, so once again set off in search of our quarry. The neighbor's name was given as Cletus, although, as it turned out, he himself was in no condition to confirm this, being passed out drunk in his cottage. After the careful application of a bucket of cold water to his head, Cletus was a bit more sensible and began answering questions (and incessantly demanding ale, which almost made me wish I had instead opted for the application of a hand to the side of his skull). Once we learned where the food stores were, Mazor and I left the others to deal with Cletus while we investigated the area, where we, or I should say Rufus, as I could never have found this on my own, discovered the lingering trail of the foxels, which lead into a nearby forest.

Once we had gathered the rest of our companions, we headed into the woods, following the trail left by our furry prey. On this occasion, my magics proved to be a useful key to the problem, for Hunter's Sense let us find the creatures before they noticed our presence and ran, giving me time to prepare a powerful Soothing spell to keep them calm while Mazor and I began the process of befriending them and inuring the creatures to our party.
I need to mention that up to this point, I had been fairly relaxed about the mission, even while hopeful of possibly bonding with a breeding pair of these animals, but what we found here began a slow burn that I think my mentor Shar'gaz would have approved of. The condition of the animals we found was appalling. They were suffering from dehydration and undernourishment along with showing some signs of their exposure to the elements. The final point that set me alight though was the injuries done to them. All had rope burns around their necks, and their bodies, while not cut or scratched showed signs of extensive trauma that had, thankfully begun healing on its own. The sweet kits, after playing and being given (or stealing, as I later found out when I checked my bags) some of our rations, began trying to lead us off in a new direction. Curious where they could be taking us, as well as concerned about what we might find, the party hastened after, letting our fuzzy and active guides lead us deeper into the forest well past the sunset.

It was full dark by the time I noticed the light of a camp in the distance. Stopping the party and pointing this out to my companions, it was decided that Azurea and Lashana, who were both stalking specialists, would go on ahead and see what was awaiting us. The ladies came back with what sounded like good news, and another strike against these poachers, for that is what they were. There five of them in total arrayed about their camp in total, and they seemed completely oblivious to our presence, allowing us to prepare a powerful ambush. In addition, it seemed that the rest of the sneak was also here, held in a crude cage and in worse shape than their brethren whom we had already befriended.

After casting my magics over my companions to increase their speed and battle prowess, I then marked the nearest of the enemies for death, which came quickly as the warriors I travelled with swarmed him before he even knew he was in danger. The spirits must also have been with me that night, for I had already commanded Mayaa to guard A'horangi, which turned out to be the best place for her as the enemies swarmed the T'skrang. Truthfully though, I'm not sure A'Horangi really needed the extra help, as she deftly defended herself with tail and fist while our Azurea and Lashana rained down hell upon our opponents from afar. Mazor, as always, used his mobility to great advantage, engaging the farthest enemy and preventing him from reinforcing his allies from behind. The battle was sharp and quick, and before I could begin delivering justice to these scum, Mazor wisely suggested that we should bind them and interrogate those that had not already succumbed to their wounds.

While the others interrogated the prisoners, I freed the remaining foxels and calmed them with the help of those that led us here. They were in bad shape, but nothing that food, water, and a bit of rest wouldn't see right (well, and a good bath, but let's face it, I wasn't equipped to try and bathe twenty foxels) After we had gained what information the malefactors had to give, my anger had cooled somewhat, so rather than the tortures I had been envisioning, I made their executions quick, far quicker than the ones they had planned for the helpless creatures they had caged.

The interrogation led to some interesting information. The poachers were in the employ of a criminal kingpin of Throal, one Del Mon, who seeks to have the foxels bred in captivity and slaughtered for their furs, a true crime that is not worthy of forgiveness. I have few contacts who can follow up on this villain, but I will surely keep my ears open for any rumors of this man, for he too must join his employees in the nether.

We finally began our trek back to Throal the next morning, having decided that the best place for these foxels to be was in the care of our employer, Morchik. Mazor assured us that Morchik had plenty of room and cared well for his beasts, so I relented and agreed to his suggestion. As we traveled, it quickly became apparent that two of the mated pairs had decided Mazor and I were to be their new family, as they began sleeping, walking, and playing with us on the journey, even joining us for meals, which has taken a bit of getting used to. Thankfully i will begin work on my new home soon, so my aunt can be rid of me and my 'furry clan' as she calls them (at least, that's what she calls them when she's in a good mood, what she she calls them at other times doesn't really translate well to Throalic, or at least isn't printable.)

Both Jojo and Ozzy have adapted well to our living situation, although Aryk still doesn't approve of their sneaky antics. Mazor's pair have similarly settled in well, from what I hear, and he has even begun training one of them to act as a scout for him in the field, something I may also do with my fearless little Ozzy. We had also instructed each of our companions in the care of the foxels on the journey back, since their hearts had all been stolen immediately by the cute antics of the sneak. I hope they remember my offer to care for their pets if they have any sickness or other problems, for I would love to see their new kits again as they grow.

A'horangi, at least, has been doing well. I've been spending some time with him, learning about his meditation techniques, which are quite different from those i was taught, and also improving my knowledge of how to use the resources available in the Library. It surprises me that an Adept's magic can actually be twisted even to the study of books and scrolls. Such wonders still manage to delight me.
Last edited by Reyntrannin on Sat Jun 20, 2020 3:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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