Play@YSDC

"Maybe you should take him then, we both saw what a disaster it was with him on my sled. Apparently I can drive a sled with animal carcasses but not a live person." Tornuaq answered while quickly helping to prepare to take off.

As Unalaq was strapping both Thorrin and the armor into the sleds, he said, "The last time we took off, you were rushed. When you try to rush things, that is when mistakes happen. But if you are apprehensive, you drive my sled. Try to keep my dogs alive."

As there was no one bearing down on the two Inuit right at the moment, Unalaq snapped the reigns and called the commands to get the dog-team moving. He ran with the sled, pushing from behind to help the dogs get inertia.

ooc: Should I roll? Or is starting and stopping a dog sled under normal circumstances routine enough not to require a roll?

ooc - I'll only make you roll a sled roll if pressed for time and the dogs are distracted. Now the dogs are back under control so you are good to go. Tornuaq lost 2 of his 6 dogs. The first Tornuaq finds dead with an arrow sticking out of his chest. The second, got tripped up by the dead sled dog and Tornuaq ran him over, snapping his leg and neck. If you are not carrying anything, 4 dogs can pull it at a slower pace....

Sparing little time, Tornuaq and Unualq strap Thorrin to Unulaq's sled and load the armour and any other trinkets they discovered from the three Viking corpses onto Tornuaq's sled. Tornuaq still shaken from his sledding accident takes up the reins of Unulaq's fresh sled and the two brothers journey back North. Unualaq turns his head and notices the three torches from the beach coming over the rise of the hill. Neither torch seems to be moving quickly and do not give any indication of pursuit. Both brothers are certain they can't be seen from this distance in the darkness.

They travel for nearly five minutes before they hear a horn call in the distance. The horn echoes across the snowy plains and seems to be coming from all directions. Unualaq and Tornuaq are used to this sort of echoe during polar bear mating season but the sound still chills them to the bone. The Vikings are coming!

ooc - Nice fight boys....

oc - Please allow me time to look up a critical hit with an arrow and a piercing hit with an axe. Both Vikings rolled very well.

I think I forgot to tell you how much damage you took from that arrow Andrew!

You took 7...

Unalaq called over to Tornuaq over the noise of the sled dogs, "We have to get back and warn the others. These men are too dangerous. They may slaughter our wives and daughters without a second thought." He looked down at Thorrin to see if the man was still holding on.

OOC: 7 damage to the chest, got it.

Tornuaq answers back, "Agreed, it was obvious that they were not here just to talk and meet new people, the first one ran right up to me and started attacking."

"They fired at me as I rode away," Unalaq responded. "They had no interest in talking. I think they are also enchanted by the call of the knife."

Tornuaq feels a pain deep inside him at the mention of the knife and turns away from Unulaq with his own thoughts. Unualaq notices Tornuaq turn away and quickly understands why. The pain quickly subsides,however, and the two brothers continue North well on their way back to their village.

ooc - Unulaq : Spot Hidden

ooc - Tornuaq : San check 0/1

Spot Hidden (70%) (1d100=41)

Unalaq hoped they could find home in the darkness. It wouldn't be easy, but at least the snow reflected what little light was coming down from the sky to help illuminate things.

OOC: Sanity 68% (1d100=79) Sorry about the delay. I was wondering why we weren't moving along... turns out it was my fault, sorry again!

Tornuaq hated the damn knife at this point, he could actually feel his mind slowly start slipping away because of it. He couldn't wait until this was all over and he could forget about the whole damn thing... or he died, then he wouldn't have to worry about it but he really didn't want that.

Unalaq noticed the look on Tornuaq's face, and he looked down at Thorrin as well with a curious look on his face. "You know... it was almost as if he understood me. That knife ... it is a wicked, overbearing thing. For such a small weapon, it has so large an impact. And now, probably because of that knife, those Vikings will hunt this area, maybe kill everyone we know and love just to obtain it again. In fact, if we were to swim into the freezing ocean, retrieve the knife, and hand it back to them, they would probably still kill us. What a cursed blade."

He shook his head and was eager to get back home. "I wonder what had happened to Maniitok," he said loudly to change the subject.

ooc - Tornuaq and Unualq have some sled riding ahead of them. It's slow moving because Unulaq's sled (Tornuaq's sled actually) is shy two sled dogs. Do you guys want some time to discuss stuff? You escaped the Vikings so now it's "you" time. If you just want to push forward with the story, that's cool too. Let me know. Sorry that your thread slowed down. You guys are way ahead of everyone else though. Nice work boys!

OOC: I'm cool with pushing ahead but if we're that far ahead I don't want to unbalance things either.

Once some distance from the pursuing Vikings is guaranteed, Unalaq will call to stop the sleds, balance the number of dogs out, and check the wounds on Thorrin. If he doesn't look like he'll make it, Unalaq will consider trying to patch him up better.

ooc: As far as the game timing goes, I'm ok with just sitting by and letting the others catch up. What with the holidays and all... it's just convenient for me at this point in time.

Tornuaq gathers everything they took from the Vikings and examines Thorrin while Unulaq is switching the dogs. The cold is biting and it would be a good idea to rest and build a fire for a short time to warm Thorrin and the dogs. Unless thye Vikings had sled of their own, they would be hard presswed to catch them.

ooc - we should wait. Christmas is a good time to break. Check the thread from time to time for fun. Maybe I'll wake Thorrin up and you guys can learn some more Viking. I'll post what you got from the Viking with some pics too. Merry Christmas boys!!

ooc: Happy Kwanzaa! Or Hanukkah, or Merry Christmas... whatever suits ya!

Happy Chrismakwanzahanukkah!

Unalaq will fetch some wood... if there's any to fetch.

OOC: I guess that's really why Happy Holidays came around. Simplify things. So with that... Happy Holidays!

Tornuaq stops his dogs and helps Unalaq by checking on Thoriin. "This day has definietly been the most unusal day of my life. I guess I shouldn't have wished for something interesting or different to happen."

As you fled the battle you were able to take two Viking swords, two short scramasax's (knives), one long scramasax, a large double headed two handed axe and an asoortment of silver jewels inlaid with gems the likes of which neither Tornuaq and Unulaq couldn't have possible even ever imagined.

Tornuaq takes his bone sword and tosses it in the snow and replaces it with the viking's shiny, sharper blade. He saw first hand how well the knife cut through the polar bear hide and he knew that this blade would be much better than his bone sword.

Unalaq was only mildly disappointed that there were no spears or clubs in the bunch. He checked all of the weapons for symbols like what they had found on the other cursed knife, before claiming the large knife as his own. He wouldn't be using it to kill anything, but it would be very useful in cutting the meat of their hunt. He also studied the amulet curiously. "These men ... they have skills far beyond our own. I could not even imagine how they made these weapons... but we should redistribute them to our men as fast as we can. So we cannot stay here long, just long enough to warm back up from the frigid night air."

Unalaq was only mildly disappointed that there were no spears or clubs in the bunch. He checked all of the weapons for symbols like what they had found on the other cursed knife, before claiming the large knife as his own. He wouldn't be using it to kill anything, but it would be very useful in cutting the meat of their hunt. He also studied the amulet curiously. "These men ... they have skills far beyond our own. I could not even imagine how they made these weapons... but we should redistribute them to our men as fast as we can. So we cannot stay here long, just long enough to warm back up from the frigid night air."