Summary
Arla and Finbar crawl slowly through a mud flat near the Sea of Souls, 5 miles from a Lutin encampment. They split to survey the area ahead, a meadow where the only cover are some woods, hundreds of feet in either direction. Arla cleans her supplies and heads to the right, where she sees a man casually strolling through the forest, wearing several wolf-themed weapons and armor. A group of 10 Lutins attack from the forest, and he defeats them using their own weapons, in a matter of seconds. He grabs his bag and runs as 50 more Lutins chase him.
Arla continues to the camp, where she meets Finbar. With the stranger stirring up trouble, they both agree to return to the Keep. On the way, they find Lutin groups scattered across the ground, beaten but alive. The two struggle to keep their trail hidden, as the muddy earth is weak and crumbling. After several hours, they have made it to firm ground, but the Lutins have discovered and caught up with them. They try splitting up, but the Lutins quickly overwhelm them. They are saved by the wolf-garbed man, who flees with them towards the mountains.
After many hours, they rest in a thicket, where the man begins building a trap. He introduces himself as Drake, and Arla and Finbar help him build traps and false leads as they continue on, until they stop on a rocky hillside. As they share their dinner, Drake reveals he's not from Metamor. He is a world traveller, who has been travelling west through the Giantdowns from the mountains. He sets off to hunt some mountain goats, telling them that a fog will be rolling in near the stream, making it safe to start a fire.
Finbar and Arla discuss the man; it has felt like a long time since they've met an experienced scout so easy-going and cheerful. Drake returns with three dead mountain goats, and after smoking the meat and curing the hide, Drake offers the first watch, but Finbar takes it instead. Drake laughs and wishes them a good night.
Characters
Main characters:
- Arla: A Long Scout and border collie morph. She is disturbed yet amused by Drake's personality, and pleasantly surprised that he is used to animal morphs.
- She carries a quiver of arrows, a short sword, and four daggers, one in her boot, one in her sleeve, and two on her belt. She also carries a pack, waterproofed by oilskin cloth, in which she has arrows, a cloak, and food.
- She seems to be a Follower.
- Finbar: A Long Scout and ferret morph. He is much less trustful of Drake, and takes a no-nonsense attitude to their expedition.
- He takes his job seriously. He is silently disappointed in Arla for being delayed, and unamused by Drake's optimism and trap-setting.
- Drake: A wanderer of the world. Despite his ability to survive in the wild, he has a laid-back, innocent personality that unnerves the experienced Long Scouts. He agrees to join them at the Keep.
- He is tall and lean. He has low eyebrows and a sharp aquiline nose. He has harsh aged facial features, a trimmed gray beard, and short gray hair. He has blue eyes with yellow flecks.
- He wears a glossy black skin-tight suit with front padding, reinforced metal bracers on his shins and forearms, black leather gloves, and black leather boots with sharp claw-like points. He also wears a helmet, fashioned to closely resemble a wolf's head, with a mane that drapes his shoulders.
- He carries a black-leather satchel and a harness holding a foldable crossbow and a staff with two spearheads; one is a sharpened pike, the other shaped like a wolf's head. Over one shoulder, he carries an empty bag. On his left hip, he carries a longsword with a wolf's head on its pommel.
- For years, since he was about 18, he's been travelling the world. Some time ago, he visited Metamor, but hadn't been there in years. He spent a long time in Os-Var-Khai, getting used to the animal people living there.
- Many months ago, his ship crashed on the eastern coastline of the continent. He kept travelling west, over the mountains, and past the many Lutins in the Giantdowns.
Important mention:
- Rickkter: A mercenary at the Keep, well-known for being heavily-armed and single-handedly leveling Lutin patrols. He differs from Drake in that, where Drake is open and light-hearted, Rickkter is cold and arrogant.
Referenced:
- Nasoj: The evil wizard responsible for the Curses of Metamor. Finbar calls him a greedy sorcerer, a demon raiser, and a practitioner of the foul arts.
- Caroline: A Long Scout who was raped recently, severely affecting all the Long Scouts.
- Craig: A Long Scout who was killed recently, severely affecting all the Long Scouts.
Locations
- The Lutin encampment has been around long enough to have built wooden walls and log cabins. An estimate of over 2000 Lutins, a couple dozen giants, some humans, and a pack of moondogs.
Chronology
- No date is given in-story, but A Day Off suggests that this story happens in mid-September.
Story Connections
- Finbar and Arla recollect the death of Craig, rape of Caroline, and the subsequent Stepping Rock Raid.
- The moon is setting shortly after night has fallen. This means that it is only a few days since a new moon, possibly around September 13th.
Points of Interest
- One of the Lutins wields a crudely-shaped sickle.
- Drake initially ties down a tree branch with a tripwire for his trap. By Finbar's suggestion, he adds some of his crossbow bolts to the branch.
- Drake first bleeds the mountain goats when he kills them. He then takes them down to the firepit, where Drake puts down a tarp and skins them. Arla helps cut the meat from the bones and smokes it, and Drake scrapes off the hide, applies a tanning solution to it, and then stretches it over the fire. This way of curing the hide is quick and adequate.
