Squatters Rites

Well, we are two game nights behind on the blog, once again.. Must be more diligent.. The first one was short, as I failed to coordinate everyone ahead of time. I will try to sum up..

After leaving the cluster of temple offering sites the party move back to their high ground camp site. Coming into the area the encountered slaves cutting trees, and eventually found that the black clan hunting party had camped in their site. “Ola,” they said, “We found it empty, and wondered what had become of you.” Well, not quite empty. They had found an Okhíba, bellowing in the Chnéhl trap, which they had killed, to quiet it down. It was being prepared for dinner. Would they like to join? At first the party was annoyed, but, when it was pointed out that, upon their first meeting at the lower, now abandoned camp, the black clans had said this would be the general area in which they would be hunting, and Our heroes had, in fact, been the ones who moved up the hill. A surreptitious check indicated that the cave entrance had not been disturbed. Our heroes decided to wait it out. The Black clan only intended to stay one more day. But they also intended to buy the land, which they said proved to be good hunting.

Feasting that night, and discussion of the lost Chnéhl, indicated that a small clan of the beasts was living up the mountainside. So, the Black Clan agreed to take them up to the area on their final days hunt. Tracks, nothing the size of their prey, were found. But, it did present the possibility that these two, highly aggressive males, might try to take over this clan of Chnéhl. That could prove a problem..

The Black clan left the next morning, and Sanjesh sent his three Hriháyal guards to inform Mis of what they had learned, with a loosely coded message, advising she or the temple make an attempt to buy the land first. Then, the campsite to themselves again, they set to work making a more permanent stair into the caves.

In the process they discovered that the caves were now rife with Mushrooms, everywhere the water had made the rocks wet. Sanjesh, being a devotee of Hriháyal, and Suni, being a bit impulsive, ignored the more restrained Mriga and had some with dinner. As our reader can probably predict, hilarity ensued. The mushrooms were hallucinogenic, and with a hint of paranoid aggression and a piquant aftertaste. Quick thinking, and naturally a bit paranoid, Sanjesh tried to corral the two, successfully getting Sajesh into the Chnéhl trap and secure. The more lithe Suni was off into the dark, dark woods. The party, well, Mriga, and others, pursued. It was a long chase, but Suni has perfect balance, and was hard to track. And once into the dark, honestly, the Beas handlers had little incentive. Mriga did eventually find her, hanging in a tree, believing herself a Biridlú, wrapped in what was left of her blanket. She was coming down, and more manageable. They wrestled her back to the camp, where the slaves had been poking Sanjesh with sticks, while he was stoned in his cage.. Still, no one got hurt, worse than cuts and bruises.