[Mother Moon]

Securing The Border

Single Occurrence  Event

07/09/2018

Participation Rules

• The first set of posts [Round 1] will establish the posting order. At the end of the order the event will be advanced by a Mother Moon post.
  

By posting in this event thread, you are stating that your character will participate in this thread until the event until it is concluded.

• Once entered, you consent to subjecting your characters to any range of events, including harm. This event is not intended to turn deadly, but may become so with improper action.
  
• Members may choose to skip their turn, as long as their character is not actively involved in an event action (an attack, obstacle, or other specified challenge)
  • If you decide to skip a turn, please still make an OOC post in the thread, stating you can be skipped.
    
  • If a character needs to respond to an event action, but you are unable to make a full post, please post an OOC notice with bullet points of how your character responds to an event action.
    
• Members who fail to maintain activity/OOC check-in may become ineligible for participation prizes or event rewards. Repeated lapses in activity may result in denial of future event participation.
  

Event Specifics

Mercury has issued a decree that the pack was not allowed to return to their former den sites until the borders have been secured.  In the meantime, they stay in the communal dens in the Mother's Hills, a place dubbed "The Castle" by several members.  Knowing that this decree is rubbing the fur of the elders the wrong way, Mercury has tasked Akutan to accomplish the task.  The new Ursa Major will take a team of explorers (of any rank excluding Canis Minor) to map out the territory.  Once Akutan makes the call, the event begins.

• In this event's Round 1, Participants will meet Akutan, at the Castle.
  Keep in mind that this event will have various challenges, so characters with different strengths are encouraged!
  

You have until July 22nd to post a short introduction with your character's arrival.

You may not use an OOC reply as your opening entry for this event.

• Round 2 begins the exploration!  Each participant will begin by stating what their character does, and where they're going.
  
• Each additional round every character will receive individual prompts from Mother Moon to explain what they find, or what dangers they face.
  
• As your characters explore, the map will be revealed, unlocking actions and events.
  

• Characters will be represented on a map by their rank icon.
  
• Each character will have an area of effect, represented on the map.  Your character will be unable to act on anything outside their outlined area.
  
• There will be 3 types of Tokens your character for this event.  Evasion, Health and Influence.
  Evasion Tokens are used to dodge negative effects. Once your character runs out of Evasion Tokens, they must take damage.  Once damage is taken, these tokens reset.
  Health Tokens record damage. If your character runs out of Health Tokens, they will be Knocked Out. Health tokens are recovered through Rest.
  Influence Tokens allow your character to make actions. If your character is a member of a Guild, they are granted guild specific actions. Influence tokens are recovered through Rest.
  
• If your character is Knocked Out.  You will be unable to continue the event unless a Healer spends an Influence Token to revive you.
  
  

[Sekirei]

Akutan was standing in the Mother's Hills, preparing to start the exploration and security of the borders. As he had predicted, Byakko hadn't been happy about having to travel all the way there from their haunting grounds but he understood better than Akutan had why it had to be so. He assured his nephew that things would be fine and they would be back on their sacred grounds soon enough.  "Be careful, Aku-Aku." came the voice of Rapture. The brown and black pup with white hair had come to stand by him, her bicolored eyes looking up at him. "It'll be fine, Rapture. Just keep an eye on your siblings and your mother for me." he said, bringing his head down to nuzzle her. Rapture's tail wagged as she trotted to where the Clan was. Akutan smiled after her. Their bond had gotten strong as she grew older, which would make training her to take his place that much easier. "I'll keep them safe, Akutan. Good luck." Ticonderoga said. He was remaining behind with the Clan to give Sara, Buckshot, and Byakko a paw. Akutan nodded at him before raising his maw to the sky and letting out a howl. 


"I'm in need of volunteers to secure our ancestral home. All those able to help in this venture, gather to me!" his call rang out.

[Kastra]

    Kastra had tried to keep calm in this new land, but he felt on end the entire time. He hoped that once they truly settled that he would calm down. Right now others might call them settled, but there was tension in the air, and they were all bound to what was called the Mother Hill. Even if Kas didn’t know the X-Clan that well, he could tell that something was up with them. It wouldn’t surprise him if they had a plot of land they claimed as their own and wanted to return to. Maybe his family had one as well. There was the doubt it would make him feel more welcome in this unknown land, but it was worth a shot.

    He had been making small talk with Bintang when the call from Akutan came. "I'm in need of volunteers to secure our ancestral home. All those able to help in this venture, gather to me!" Kastra got to his paws, looking over at the tiger to see if he would join. Bintang simply turned his paw over, small cuts and tiny amounts of dried blood on his paw. Kastra got what he meant, that he had had to travel faster and with less breaks to get here. (Bintang said he blamed Aylie, but there was also some relief to the tiger that they had made it so fast). Kastra walked towards Akutan, nervous but not letting it show. “What’s the order?” That sounded very official.

[Kimster]

Raka was content to cuddle up to Byakko, roughly grooming his ruff - how the man got it so knotted was beyond her understanding. She merely flicked an ear at Aku's howl, wishing that she could go but knowing it would be useless and possibly dangerous. She gave a particularly hard tug at a knot, maybe illiciting a growl from her mate which she replied to with a glare. Yeah ok, let's be honest: she was taking out her fristration at being useless on him. And Schimmah's scuffling wasn't helping her mood either.

"Go." she said to the youngster.

"But. Um. What ifnI.."

"Just go already. You'll be helping the pack, and maybe you'll find something you like to do." She turned to the smaller blue girl and gave her a gentle shove with a paw. "Go on now, I'm fine."

Schimmah gave her a last panicky look, and then slunk up towards Akutan. There was already another male there, eh, something starting with a 'kah'? She didn't recall right now. Ok great, at least she wouldn't be alone...with two intimidating males...uuuggghhh! Taking a deep breath she scowled her fiercest scowl, tucked her head to her chest to make her ruff stick out like porcupine pines around her face and marched up to Akutan. Her tail tucked tight into her buttocks was the only sign that she was actually quivering with fear.

"Iwannavolatee." she squeaked at him, her voice betraying her too.

[Ayliyra]

She had been resting for a change when the call for volunteers jolted through her. She recognized the voice instantly and easily and wasn't too thrilled about who the owner was but they'd managed to work together, sort of anyway, exploring the caves and she had experience in securing places and protection and various skills that would likely be useful for the endeavor so..hopefully her luck would hold out. She wasn't going to count on luck for everything though at least not when she didn't have to. Everything from the scents to the sounds and volume of the call indicated that the gathering wasn't too far from where she was so she had time to try and collect herself and to brace for being around others and dealing with them. She wasn't exactly a fan of crowds even though she was well aware that they were sometimes a necessity, like now, with a meeting being called for a security detail.

When she was about as ready as she would ever be she made her way to where the call had come from and everyone was gathering. She looked to Akutan but kept quiet, there was no reason for her to say anything at present, at least she hoped, as her showing up should be indication enough that she was here to volunteer. Then she shifted her attention somewhat to glance at and take stock of the others in attendance as she wasn't the first to arrive but hoped she wouldn't be the last either as there weren't too many others here. If she did end up being the last to arrive though well..so be it. It wouldn't be the first time she had encountered a situation like this and she knew it might not be the last either. That was just the way the world worked, it wasn't always nice, it wasn't always fair and the odds weren't always in your favor.

[Tallulah]

She had been resting, her head still hurt on occasion and sometimes she felt dizzy but it would get better with time right? She was laying and watching a leaf fluttering, partly due to her breathing on it and partly because when it moved she would gingerly bat at it with a paw unable to resist the movement of it. That was when she heard the call. It was the type of call she had heard before in her old home when it was announced that the pack was at war. Her momma had gone to help..and had never returned. She had gone searching for her but had never been able to find her. Instead the pack had fallen and she had ended up in Nardir. And now Nardir seemed to be in a similar position as her old home had been in before the end.

She had assisted with the war effort as much as she could then as she had still been young and not full grown so now would be no different except that she was full grown. Not a hundred percent healthwise maybe but full grown. She moved towards where others seemed to be gathering, hopefully this was the right spot, and when she spotted the one who seemed to be presiding over the meeting, one she had met before, she nodded in an uncharacteristic solemn manner holding a subdued demeanor as well as she reflected on the past and thought about what would be in store for the future.

[Charley]

K y r a,

Oh don't you dare look back, Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back, She said shut up and dance with me

actions - “speech” - thoughts

Her father was actually... grumbling? She had never heard him grumble before, she had never before witnessed Hakan in disgruntlement. Disappointment, sadness, anger even, but... disgruntlement? Over what? A few more days before he can go back to his old spots? Its been this long, he can wait a few more days. He was really starting to show his age lately even though he was one of those super healthy spry old coots that would probably outlive his own kids. Grumbling did not fit him well. She left him to fitfully organize his dwindling stores of herbs in his new den.

Kyra shook her head to herself as she went to go see what Akutan was doing. She had been feeling a little more steady on her paws in the last few days, it was still rough. She still really couldn't stomach anything with fur lately. And her father kept shoving this strong smelling root at her constantly and these bittersweet leaves. Honestly the herbs were probably what was helping her stay upright lately if she was being honest.

Speak of the devil she was about to see, she heard her lovers voice calling for volunteers. She always loved getting into the thick of things and this was the perfect opportunity to get cracking on settling! Of course she was one of the last to arrive, what better way to make an entrance? She sidled up beside Akutan and with no qualms at all gave him a kiss on the cheek and an affectionate nuzzle. She was feeling much perkier lately and ready to tackle the venture.

"Hello, my Love. Count me in." She said in greeting and sat next to him. It was quite the group gathered around! Kyra gave Kastra a nod, they'd probably work good together. The blue one though was a little more on the tentative side, she'd seen her around tagging along behind her father but hadn't really took the time to get to know the kid. She recognized the cat and Aylie from traveling and then rescuing Adolph. She never put two and two together though about the history between Akutan and Aylie. She'd actually forgotten Aylie's name already, like she had forgotten Shimmahs and Tallulah's names.

ooc

Photo © Cedric Verstraete / coding © vixxie's codes / lyrics © Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon

[Kodiak]

#ee7f2d

The call hit his ears and he'd feel his muzzle crinkle, though only a sigh slipped out. In truth, he was rather glad that there was finally work for him to do, even if pack work was far different than the work of a dog sled team, there had to be some similarities, right?

When he arrived to the Mother Hills, there was already a small gathering of others, a brow would raise though the large wolfdog would remain quiet and more so toward the back of the ground. Blue and gold eyes inspecting everyone here, though it did little good, he didn't know a single face here. Cool, great. Tail twitching with annoyance and face looking less than pleased.

A tingling in his toes made him almost feel cagey and anxious, crowds got to him no matter how big or small, Kodi was a guy who loved his silence and space. Working was the only time he really felt at ease, his mind could wander as his body was on auto pilot. Plush coat bristled at the urgency, please just let me do stuff.

[Firebright]

V I E N N A

I may just need a little bit longer
I may just need you to be stronger
If I’m not there with you

actions - ”speech” - thoughts

Monochrome ears perked as Akutan's call rang out, calling for volunteers to help secure their home. Vienna's maw gave the barest glimmer of a grin, 'Perfect, something to do.' Vienna had been taking a short walk around the perimeter of where the pack was staying, trying to prove her usefulness after the bad start earlier. She had been contemplating going back to where Sara was and catching up with her sister and acquainting herself with the pups, but so much time alone had made Vienna much more standoffish than she ever had been and, frankly, she didn't know what she would even say.

So with the promise of adventure, Vienna made her way to the Mother's Hills. She saw the gathering of wolves immediately, a little knot of different furs around Akutan. She only recognized Akutan, Kyra, and the other wolf who had attacked her earlier, and felt a brief pang of regret for leaving so long ago; she had missed so much. She gave Akutan a silent nod before sitting down at the outskirts of the group, awaiting their orders.

ooc

base coding © vixxie's codes // edits by firebright

[Sekirei]

Akutan watched as several packmates came to his call. Kastra, Aylie (no surprise there at all), Kyra, Vienna, Kodiak, Shimmah, and Tallulah. Seven wolves (plus a cat) including him. It was a good size group, the Ursa Major decided. He returned Kyra's nuzzle with one of his own, visibly softening up, before getting back to business. "Thank you all for answering the call. Just in case you don't know me or you need a refresher, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Akutan. I used to be the Maelstrom but with our reorganization, I'm now the Ursa Major. Mercury has given me a mission and this mission involves all of us combing through our forest and rooting out potential hazards. This is especially important to me. I was born in this forest and I remember it well, even though I was just a pup when the White Demon took it from us. I know some of you weren't around then so I know this probably doesn't mean anything to you. I just want this to go off without a hitch because my main objective in completing this mission is to see my uncle...my father...home." he began.

"It's my job to see that you all stay safe so here are some ground rules before we head out. First and foremost, I'm in charge so I expect my orders to be followed. Feel free to ask questions or make suggestions on anything but be respectful. I don't need any uppity attitudes on this mission because it will make it drag longer than it has to. I don't have time for that and neither do the elders who stuck it out this long just to make it home. I won't hesitate to remove anyone who can't follow simple direction or decides to go rogue on me because I have to keep tabs on all of you as well as my own surroundings. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. That's all I ask." he said, shooting a quick look at Aylie who had a history of doing the opposite.

"When we begin, we're going to fan out and head in a south-westerly direction because that's where the bulk of the land is. Stay within howling range. If you find yourself encountering a problem you know you can't handle alone, call for help. This is why staying within howling range is critical. We'll be able to hear and assist you. Don't try to be a hero in a fight you know you can't win. We may not like each other but that shouldn't get in the way of keeping each other safe. We all have friends and families who need us to be smart and be safe. I'd rather not have any deaths on my conscience because I'm responsible for all of you. If you have need of a healer, simply howl and someone will come." he continued. 

He looked at each member in turn, his pale greens settling on Kyra. "If we're all prepared, let's get ready to move out. If you want to buddy-up, go ahead but our best bet is to go solo so we cover more ground. Stay alert and keep the chatter to a minimum. Keep notes of anything interesting like herb groves or crafting materials, or even interesting landmarks. I also have a personal request. If anyone is going towards the southern border, there is a river with a willow tree near it. Under the willow, you'll see some mounds. Do not disturb those mounds. I have family buried there and, needless to say, I will get pissed if those mounds are desecrated even by accident." he said.

"Okay, let's move out!"

[Mother Moon]

Round 1

On a Mission

Current Participants

	Akutan		Ayliyra		Kastra
	Kyra		Kodiak		Shimmah
	Tallulah		Vienna

The Map

For the purpose of this event, a map will be used to track your progress and record character movement.

At the end of each post, you will need to indicate where your character has moved (A maximum 3 squares in any combination)

How to Play

While you are free to write a description post that goes along with the game, please keep in mind that you will be unable to generate much in terms of steering the story.  The general scene will be described by Akutan and the Mother Moon account.  Events are already placed around the map, and will be revealed when they first come within a character's area of influence. Events come in two types: ( ! ) Investigation and ( ! ) Danger.

There will be both an IC and OOC element to this thread.  While IC descriptions of "and we're walking" will not always be necessary, recording your turn will be.

Recording Your Turn

Each character must check in once per round with the following form, which should be recorded after your IC post. you can seperate them by using <hr> (in brackets, of course)

The Form:

Movement: You may copy/paste the direction arrows above to indicate your character's 3 movements. This also records rest
Effects: Injury, event challenges or other situational effects on your character are recorded here.
Health: if your character loses or gains health record the +/- # value here
Evasion: if your character dodges an attack or event record the +/- # value here or record if it resets
Influence: If your character spends an influence point record the - # value here

Code:

[b]Movement:[/b]
[b]Effects:[/b]
[color=#cc3333][b]Health:[/b][/color]
[color=#3399ff][b]Evasion:[/b][/color]
[color=#ff9933][b]Influence:[/b][/color]

Executing Influence

Influence tokens are spent to overcome challenges, find out information, or otherwise put your skills to use.  Influence situations will be assigned, but you can also ask to use an influence token at any point.  If the situation will yield anything useful, Mother Moon will grant your request and tell you additional information to aid you.

In addition, any character may spend an influence token to preform First Aid (+1 to health), or spend a token and preform 2 rounds of rest to fetch a healer.

[Sekirei]

OOC: Akutan moves three spaces to the 

---

[Kastra]

    Kastra watched the others gather, and it was about what he expected. His eyes watched as Kyra, Aylie, Shimmah, Tallulah, and Vienna all made their way up. Akutan watched them all, and went on giving a speech. The plan seemed to be set, and Kastra understood it for the most part. This was a small group (not that he had much to compare it against). The mission seemed simple enough: scout the land, and make sure nothing dangerous was there. The prince watched as Akutan started to go back towards the den site, and felt confused, but shrugged it off. "I'll go north of the lake, and maybe try to meet back up once on the other side, if that's possible." It would cover more ground, that's for sure. Kastra would look at the others, seeing if anyone wanted to join with him. Regardless of if anyone did, he would start to move out.

---

Kastra takes two steps , and then one step

[Kimster]

Schimmah watched nervously as others gathered, and listened to Akutan speeching. Wow he's kinda scary in this leader role.

At least the mission was simple enough - explore. That's... Actually... Good. Yeah. Good! This  was something she was good at! Her confidence boosted, she turned and strode forwards until she saw that Kastra  was going the same way.

Ah.

Um .

OK, so FOR NOW she's following him, but maybe later their paths will split.

Movement: two sets up, one step right
Effects:
Health:
Evasion:
Influence:

[Ayliyra]

She watches as others slowly arrive which is good except well the one who had gone up to nuzzle Akutan, it wasn't something she particularly wanted to see and made her more than a little uncomfortable to be seeing and had to suppress a shudder at it. Once the speaking begins though listens as Akutan begins painting himself as a grand figure, as always, and of course she did not miss the look aimed at her when the subject of orders came up. It was a good thing she had prepared herself before coming or things might have went..considerably less well than they had with the cave exploration. As it was though, she said nothing and simply added the others who had arrived after her to the list of scents to keep track of, while wondering why the rest of the X Clan always doted on Akutan for being a genius. There was nothing genius about the orders to spread out but stay within howling distance. Howls could be heard from rather far away, providing one could howl for assistance. That wasn't always the case though, and that particular possibility hadn't been covered by their oh so grand master. There was also the question of how was he supposed to keep tabs on them if they were supposed to spread out and go solo? Did Akutan even know the meaning of the term going solo? She doubted it, especially when Akutan seemed to start heading back..towards..the dens. Really? He was going to keep track of everyone here and his own surroundings..from the dens? It would certainly make keeping track of his surroundings easier but keeping track of everyone else would essentially be impossible.

Even the spot where Adolph had fallen off of wouldn't provide the right vantage point for that and besides that there were also plenty of trees, bushes, shrubs and all other kinds of things that could and would obscure the view. She had tried to warn him in the past of that but had only gotten a 'holier than thou' sort of speech in answer and since he had already decided to single her out well..this time she would just let him land on his face. After all he'd made it quite clear he didn't want her help, didn't appreciate her help and it wasn't as if the X clan had ever really helped her so..she would watch briefly as Akutan moved off wondering if the newly returned X clan member from the meeting, Vienna, would join him given they were family by..blood. Her mind hissed the last word as she thought it but kept it from showing in her expression at all.

She had gotten more than a little tired of the obsession everyone seemed to have with blood ties, especially now that she had been exiled and spent so long searching for the missing Nardirians, including Vienna and the rest of their litter, when she had no blood ties to any of them. That wasn't likely to make a difference though..not when she was just a crazy little timber in a world of really big things who thought their size was the only size that was normal and that only their perspective of the world counted as normal. She could survive just as well as any of the Fringes or Dires and the other large ones here though. She'd done it before after all under much harder circumstances.

If others wanted to find partners so be it, Akutan had said they could, but the orders were to go alone so rather than looking to try and find someone to go with her she would simply start moving.

---

Movement:
Effects:
Health:
Evasion:
Influence:

[Tallulah]

She listened as the big wolf spoke glad there wasn't a war but it seemed it was still a call to protect the lands. The only thing was the instructions were that everyone was supposed to stay within howling distance and uh..she couldn't howl so had no idea what sort of distance that was or if that meant she was supposed to not be involved? Maybe..maybe that was what was meant by questions? The leader wolf had said questions could be asked so..maybe she should give it a go. Yeah..she probably should. "Whats howling distance? And what..what are we supposed to do if we can't howl?". At the last question she glanced at her paws and sort of shuffled them..while the reason for the moment had caused her to remember that she was a cat instead of a wolf it was still embarrassing, at least to her, that she couldn't howl like one. She would wait for the answer but figured it would probably still be a good idea to try and stick at least sort of close to others all things considered and so eventually after some thought moved off to begin exploring.

Movement:
Effects:
Health:
Evasion:
Influence:

[Kodiak]

Movement:

[Charley]

K y r a,

Oh don't you dare look back, Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back, She said shut up and dance with me

actions - “speech” - thoughts

Kyra listened to Akutan intently and then wondered if anyone else had. It seemed he had said they were going to fan out and head in a south westerly direction, but everyone seemed to be content to walk off in a North-Easterly direction. Where they even listening? And what the heck is the small Brown Girl doing heading towards The Lake wasn't that the exact opposite of what Akutan was saying?

She turned to the cat about howling, "You could probably yowl loud enough, or you can just stick to one of us. The key here is not getting too far-away from each other, and maybe no going in opposite directions." She said, hopefully loud enough to be heard across everyone's meandering patterns. Maybe they were big enough to be in separate groups, but who knew what was out here.

She walked along Akutan's route shaking her head, though she was wondering why he was heading back where they had already explored.
"Aku, you're probably going to have to repeat yourself. Welcome to leadership. I'm happy to yell at a few folks if you want me to."

She moved a little south and called for Vienna who hadn't made a move yet, "Hey Vie! You comin'?" It was nice to have an old friend back, maybe they could reacquaint themselves while on the mission, she proved she knew how to handle herself.



Movement: Two spaces West, one space South

ooc

Photo © Cedric Verstraete / coding © vixxie's codes / lyrics © Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon

[Firebright]

V I E N N A

I may just need a little bit longer
I may just need you to be stronger
If I’m not there with you

actions - ”speech” - thoughts

Vienna nodded after Akutan had given them instructions, watching to see where everyone else went before making her move. She saw most of them head mostly northward, with Akutan and Kyra going westward and Aylie going east. Kyra called over her shoulder, "Hey Vie! You comin'?" Vienna's ears twitched a little bit in acknowledgement and she moved to follow her cousin and Kyra.


Movement:
Effects:
Health:
Evasion:
Influence:

ooc

base coding © vixxie's codes // edits by firebright

[Mother Moon]

Round 2

Striking Out

Current Participants

	Akutan		Ayliyra		Kastra
	Kyra		Kodiak		Shimmah
	Tallulah		Vienna

The Map

Scene

As Akutan assembled the group, he gave his speech and they set out. Kyra quickly followed him with a shout to Vienna, who quickly decided to join them.  Despite his words, however Akutan began to walk back towards the Castle, back down along the crescent and past the honeycomb of dens where the pups and elders were relaxing.  Mercury, aloft in the den where she had first howled them home, raised a brow, but said nothing.  Did not, in fact, acknowledge the party at all.  This was Akutan's operation, and the Dark Moon was leaving it entirely up to him to complete it.

The embrace of the Mother's Hills gave an overwhelming sense of peace.  The mountains towering above them, the cliffside rising up in pillars of straight granite faces, pockmarked with holes worn by the elements.  Akutan, Kyra and Vienna walked beyond the Castle and through the small shaded grove below it, coming to the edge of the trees and seeing a small clearing.  A fresh trail was stamped through the grass from where the pack had entered the day before.

But not everyone was going to follow his orders, it seemed.  Kastra's idea was to skirt the far side of the lake, and he began executing his plan quite promptly with Shimmah on his heels.  He entered a collection of trees, the ground sloping upwards as it climbed to form the internal crescent of the Mother's Hills.  At first, it appeared Kodiak would come with him, but the silent wolfdog turned away, heading up the slope, perhaps to get a look from higher ground. From Kastra's point on the slope, he could still see the lake's edge.  The plants thinned along this ridge, and a few were snapped and broken.  Here and there, a tree had been felled, and the remnants lay scattered in a cascade of wood chips and splinters.

Tallulah, while she couldn't howl, certainly could yowl.  Once Kyra had given the suggestion, there really was nothing more to be said on the subject. Despite Kyra's invitation, and Akutan's plan, the cat did not seem interested in following his lead, and instead walked into the same trees as Kastra, Kodiak and Shimmah.  But while the Crown Prince was following the lakeside, and Kodiak had split off into another set of trees, she seemed to be heading straight up the slope.  Above her, the north crescent of the Mother's Hills rose and rose, the hills blocking her view of what lay beyond.  She would enter a narrow pass between these hills, and the cliffs closed in around her so that she could just walk down the passage without touching either wall.  A little creek flowed here and there through it, a ghost of the river that once carved this place. 

Ayliyra, to no one's surprise, decided to strike out on her own.  Perhaps it was her bitter thoughts that distracted her, but she was not as observant as she should have been. As she moved along the coast away from the others, she failed to notice the edge of the landscape.  A sharp slope with a precarious overhang had disguised itself as a wide patch of flat ground.  While it looked like there was several more feet to the edge, where a possible new vantage point would be, the underside of the hillside had been worn and scooped away, much like the caves in the Castle.  A single large boulder supported the majority of the area, but the stone the boulder was supported upon was doing so by the barest margin.  Held by the hill on the west side, the right side of the overhang supported one small sapling, already leaning towards the lake.  Without knowing it, Aylie had just stepped onto a fulcrum, and as she neared the far edge, her weight, slight as it was, was still too much for the thin layer of earth.  Suddenly, the whole area collapsed as the boulder pitched out of its seat and rolled into the lake, taking Aylie and the corner of the hillside with it.

Character Areas of Effect, and "Earshot"

A character's Area of Effect (AoE) range is 2 movement squares in any x,y direction from a character. "Earshot" extends to the full 3 movement squares around a character.

Characters are considered within earshot if they occupy adjacent movement squares. (AoE borders touch, but do not overlap) or with a single unoccupied movement square between character AoEs.  If there are 2 or more squares between AoEs, they are considered out of earshot.

If an additional Character AoE is adjacent between two characters that are out of earshot of each other, they may relay orders, give a report on the situation, or otherwise notify out of range characters, effectively "telephoning" the information between the group.

Movement Effects

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Movement: Effect: Aylyra has caused a small landslide! She, along with several small boulders, large dirt clods, and one unfortunate sapling, go sliding down the hill and into the lake!

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