Wary Berries

**Khalvin** · Jun 4th, 2011 12:02 PM

Yui waited until it was night.

Only then could he get through to the Trod Gate without being obvious to everyone. Even if your not sure what your seeing, a person carrying a duffle bag, a bow, and a quiver is pretty suspicious.

He makes for the gate as fast as his equipment allows, Activating it with a thrill of excitement dripping with shame. The Glamour caresses the Gate, daring it to open. Once done, Yui slips into the Hedge.

Once in the Hedge. Yui searches for the Nevernips Kaito reported.
Doing so is highly dangerous.
Who knows what could be near them during the night?

Yui re-adjusts his bag and clenches his bow tighter. His wicked dagger visible on his hip.

**Forn Clakes** · Jun 4th, 2011 03:25 PM

Just need to confirm that Yui is either spending 1 Glamour or rolling Wyrd to open the Trod gate....

**Rust Mane** · Jun 5th, 2011 12:26 AM

Spent Glamour

**Forn Clakes** · Jun 5th, 2011 02:47 AM

Slipping through the open gate, the surroundings hange only slightly. Behind him, the War Memorial still stands but seems to loom over the Winter Beast. Could it possibly be more intimidating from this side? Maybe. Perhaps it is part of the gate's security, to keep away the dangers approaching the only known Trod within the Freehold. In the end, who knows? That question could be kept for aother day, or night as the case may be.

What Yui really does not want to do is lose focus.

The path is wide near the gate and leads away in a fairly straight line, and Yui could guess that even Swilla could stretch out his mighty arms and still not touch the Briars that lined each side. Speaking of which; its dark, quiet and foreboding with a few bits of litter that have fluttered from the park and caught to the thorns.

Just the type of nighttime exploration Yui was hoping for except for the fact there was no moon visable overhead. Clear sky, plenty of stars but it seemed the moon had been swallowed whole.

**Khalvin** · Jun 6th, 2011 01:24 AM

Swallowed up as if it was never there.

Yui finds himself gazing down that wide road. How far was it, really?
He pulls himself towards the Trod-side looking for whatever it was Nevernips looked like. Were they bright red ruby colored or oozing black licorice sweet and tangy on the tongue?

His goal was simple. Collect some berries before Summer burnt the bushes away. They might make a delicious poison.
The second part was worse, wait a time to see if the Gardner came by to tend the plant. A highly dangerous task.

Yui thanked fate's hand that he can do this service without being known. Who knew how many Kaito has told about her project and how many eyes watch her movements.

If Kaito is to live up to her blessing of Winter, she will have to beat Yui at Winter's most basic task. Watching.

Yui moves slowly now as he searches for the bush. It is imperative he is not seen.

Is there a Stealth bonus for the lack of Moon light?
Investigation or Perception to find this bush?

**Forn Clakes** · Jun 8th, 2011 02:20 AM

Stealth bonus of +1 but all PER checks are at -2. The darkness isn't just sight, it seems to be affecting all of Yui's senses tonight...

**Khalvin** · Jun 9th, 2011 01:03 AM

In the deep darkness, Yui slinks along with hardly a sound. So great is his ability to hide, he loses track of himself.
This is bad. Which way was that Gate?

He tries to see, he tires to hear, he even tries to feel his way along. Pupils dilated to the extreme. The darkness around him is deep and so thick Yui feels it dragging around him in subtle eddies of night. The sense that this is going to end badly for Yui begins to gnaw at his mind.
And the question of which way the Gate lies along the Trod deepens these grooves of doubt

Stealth 5, Per 3

**Forn Clakes** · Jun 9th, 2011 03:29 PM

Slowly and carefully making his way along the Trod, keeping the city within sight, the darkness around Yui is like walking through a heavy velvet curtain. It stiffles his sound but does its hardest to muffle his senses.

Something catches his eye.....Yes! There, up ahead, not 15 feet away.....dead centre on the path......Its a......Its.....

A polished white human-shaped skull facing the Beast of Winter.

**Khalvin** · Jun 10th, 2011 12:19 AM

Yui stops mid-stride, muscles tightening painfully, ready for release to either dart forward, or roll out of the way.

Was the bush farther ahead? Or was it a lie?
Had crazy Kaito lied about it to look strong for Katrin?

Fuck Kaito and fuck that skull. Yui takes a cautious step forward, then slinks ten yards up. Again he freezes, now only five yards away, eyes trained on the skull. Did it move? Yui feels his tiny knuckles caress his pocket where he kept his wooden die. What was fate?
Like an addict in a bad way, the Gleener mulls over the consequences of knowing. To know and flee was to be proved coward, to go and not know was to be proved fool.

Winter was neither Fool or Coward. Winter was necessity in all things.

The skull seemed a warning. Was it really directed at Yui? At the freehold in general?
What enemy was taking this Trod from them?

What began as a foolish bid for prestige and childish prank evolves into a mission to seek out the truth. Yui steps again, eyes trained on the polished skull ahead of him. His knife hand ready to fly in a bid for survival.

**Forn Clakes** · Jun 10th, 2011 04:41 PM

How is it that the longer a person stares at an object, the more paranoid they get.

Yui was wathing the skull closely, very closely. Did it wink? No, that's ridiculous. For one thing, it had no eyelids, quite a neccessity for winking. It had appeared to wink though, at least a shadow passed over one of the empty sockets.

Oh, and it twitched. The skull twitched.