Session Zero Heroes - A TTRPG Actual Play Podcast
Speaker B: Jasmine, oolong, green and white. Long ago, these four teas were skilfully brewed at the blissful brew. Then everything changed when the shop's popularity threatened its existence. All Mr. Okuron, the shop's owner and tea master, could do was to recruit four teenage orphans to learn his trade and staff his shop. A year has passed since the orphans were hired, and although their skills have progressed, they still have a lot to learn before they can brew anything. But I believe that they have the potential to make the blissful brew the greatest tea shop in the world. Welcome, Traveler. It's good to see someone was able to brave the icy winds of the southern water region. What's that? Ah, yes, the legend of the Witch. A fearful creature that stops Lotham travelers in their tracks and freezes their blood, much like the icy winds themselves. Well, only fearful if that's all you know of her. But what if I told you there was far more to the story than the haunting tale that you know. Well, come and join me in my warm tent. There's a hot fire lit and ready to go. Oh, and I'm about to start a kettle of tea. While we wait, I can tell you the truth to the harrowing tale. It all started long ago. Well, not that long ago.
Speaker A: Uh uh, McTook. Come and see. You have a beautiful baby girl.
Speaker C: Beautiful doesn't begin to describe her. Inira, what name did you decide on?
Speaker A: Mika.
Speaker B: Huh?
Speaker A: Her name will be Mika.
Speaker B: Mika.
Speaker C: Get back. That Wolverine mouse looks angry.
Speaker A: Mika.
Speaker B: Mika.
Speaker C: M, are you okay?
Speaker A: Yes, Daddy. I'm okay.
Speaker C: What happened? Where did it go?
Speaker A: I made the angry monster stop and go away. Honey, I think she.
Speaker C: I know. It seems she's inherited your gift.
Speaker A: My curse?
Speaker C: Honey, it's.
Speaker A: No. We must keep it hidden away. No one in the tribe can know about this. You know what they would do. Mama, did I do something wrong? It's okay, dear. But you must never do that again, okay? Promise? Yes, Mama.
Speaker C: Took these.
Speaker D: Beast attacks are growing every year. We've lost one of our finest fishermen this month alone. And the other tribes have been reporting similar attacks. CaMPs are being ravaged. Children are going missing.
Speaker C: I know, Chief. If we could only determine what's causing it.
Speaker D: We all know exactly what's causing it. It's a spirit curse. The spirits are possessing the creatures of the land and attacking us.
Speaker C: Please, Chief. These are nothing but legends and old wives tales.
Speaker D: You say that, but we have no other explanation. The fish and game populations remain consistent. There have been no changes in the climate and conditions that would lead to predators being without food or homes, there is no natural reason for them to attack us. Except that of, uh, supernatural cause. What else would you have me believe?
Speaker C: Even if it was due to some spirit related upset, for what reason would the spirits be mad at us? We've made our regular offerings, celebrated their gifts and praised them during our festivals. Nothing has changed in how we show our appreciation for the spirits. We haven't harmed them in any way.
Speaker D: Then that only leaves one possibility. Someone in the tribe has made some sort of offense towards them. Someone is harboring some sort of secret of dark dissent. That has anchored the spirit toward our tribe.
Speaker C: Chief, what are you suggesting?
Speaker D: Perhaps there is a witch among us, someone who has taken the power of the spirits into their own hand. Perhaps someone has gone as far as to lock a spirit away in pursuit of such power. Tomorrow I will be making an announcement of this before the rest of the tribe. So all can be in lookout for whoever is causing this upset with the spirits.
Speaker C: What will happen if this person is caught?
Speaker D: We will have to commune with the spirits to decide. There is a good chance they will be put to death in order to appease them.
Speaker B: Sheep. There's another beast attacking the village.
Speaker C: A wild polar bear dog.
Speaker D: That's the ordinary polar bear dog. Look in its eyes.
Speaker C: They're glowing blue.
Speaker B: M as I suspected.
Speaker D: This beast is possessed by a spirit.
Speaker B: Be careful not to harm the beast.
Speaker D: You must find out what the spirit wants.
Speaker B: Do not anchor it any further. Maxook, look out.
Speaker C: What's going on?
Speaker A: HOw is this possible? Is this some sort of spirit magic? Hurry up and throw your nets. I can't hold this much longer.
Speaker D: She's right. Throw your nets. We must hold the beast until we can remove the spirit. Someone go and fetch the shaman. Maktuk, I want to speak with you in my tent when this is all done. Maktuk, I'm sure you can guess what this is about.
Speaker C: Yes.
Speaker D: You and your family are good people. You've both contributed much to this tribe. But after tonight, I fear your wife's secret has now become an incredible danger for the tribe. I cannot allow you to stay here.
Speaker C: Please, Chief. My daughter was born here. She's grown up in this tribe.
Speaker D: Maktuk, please. I only want the best for you and your family, especially for Mika. But it is not, uh, safe here for you. Whether or not your wife's secret is what's angering the spirits is irrelevant now. The suspicions of others will only grow. I can't protect you or your family from what they might try. I'm sorry. That's why I'm giving you this chance now to pack your things and leave in the night. Uh, I fear that word will spread by morning and it will be too late.
Speaker C: I understand. We will depart immediately.
Speaker D: Good. And Maktuk?
Speaker C: Yes?
Speaker D: Be cautious of other tribes. They too will be on the lookout for a witch once the word spreads.
Speaker B: Understood, shaman.
Speaker C: Come quick. We've captured a beast possessed by angry spirit.
Speaker E: An angry spirit, you say? Impressive that our, uh, men had the strength to take it down. How many did it take?
Speaker C: Only one, sir.
Speaker E: Only one? Pray tell, which of our illustrious meatheads managed to pull that off so I can kiss his boots when I see him.
Speaker C: Not a hymn, sir.
Speaker E: It was Enra Mactuk's wife. How did she overcome the beast?
Speaker C: Through some kind of witchcraft, sir.
Speaker B: She stopped at dead in its tracks.
Speaker C: And began manipulating its movements.
Speaker E: I see. This is exactly what I was afraid of when I told the chief the spirits were angry. It's obvious her.
Speaker C: Huh?
Speaker E: Witchery is an offense to the spirits. We must deal with this right away.
Speaker B: What did you have in mind?
Speaker E: Gather together whatever men of the tribe aRen't holding down the captured beast, and we will all go together to Maktuk's hut. Tell them to be armed. This could be a tough fight. We must end this evil once and for all.
Speaker C: Yes, sir.
Speaker A: Mika. Mika, wake up, sweetie. Mama, it's still dark out. I know, sweetie, but we need to go right away. Where are we going? On a special trip, dear. Now, quickly pack up your clothes. Make sure to bring all of your warmest coats, okay? Okay, Mama.
Speaker C: We should be able to make it to my brother's hut by morning. He will give us refuge for a few days.
Speaker A: What then?
Speaker C: I'm not sure.
Speaker A: Once word gets out, no one in the water tribe will allow us to stay with them. This is all my fault.
Speaker C: Inera, stop. Uh, this. You did the right thing. You saved my life. For that, I'll always be grateful. It's not your fault others fear your gift.
Speaker A: It's not, uh, a gift. It's a curse. It has brought angry spirits to our tribe, hurt people.
Speaker C: All I've seen it do is save others. It is not to be hated. The abilities you have, no matter how others might view them, are yours to choose how they are used. And I know that you are good. And you use the gifts you've been given to show that you are good. If others cannot see that, then we will find those who will.
Speaker A: What if no one in the southern Water tribe, or even the northern water tribe, sees it?
Speaker C: That way, then we will move to the water kingdom or even the Fire Nation.
Speaker A: Oh, please, no. Those hotheads. They'd probably see me as a weapon and have me enlisted in the military.
Speaker C: Fine. Then we will start a new tribe. We'll live off the land, fend for ourselves, raise Mika to know how to be independent and free amongst nature.
Speaker A: Mhm. We could build a beautiful cabin and start a garden. I could grow more than just sea prunes.
Speaker C: And I can hunt more than just snow leopard, caribou, and tiger seals. Think of all that new jerky I could make. I've heard of a creature called a frog squirrel. Can you imagine what Frog squirrel jerky might taste like?
Speaker A: Different than snow rat, I would hope.
Speaker B: Maktook, we know you're inside. Bring out the witch or we'll break in there. Don't make this hard on everyone.
Speaker A: I thought they were gonna let us leave.
Speaker C: The chief said he would allow us to leave tonight. I don't know why they're here.
Speaker B: You have 10 seconds before we light the whole hut on fire.
Speaker C: Get Mika and climb out the back window. I'll go talk to them and distract them while you two get away.
Speaker A: Okay.
Speaker C: Whoa. What seems to be the problem here?
Speaker E: Don't play Koi with us, Mak took. We know about your wife's dark secrets. She is the one bringing about such anger in the spirits, leading to them attacking our tribe.
Speaker C: I think you are mistaken. My wife is no witch. And my family has done nothing to anger the spirits.
Speaker E: Oh. What do you know of the spirits? I am the shaman of this tribe. And I know that your wife's unnatural powers could only be granted by an evil spirit or, uh, through the trapping and exploiting of a spirit.
Speaker C: I assure you that my wife holds no abilities that were in any way granted through evil practice by spirit. She was born with a unique gift. She's had it since she was conceived. There's no way the recent attacks have been caused by her.
Speaker E: If you're so sure of yourself, then let's take your wife into town and commune with the spirit possessing the dog that was captured tonight. It will tell us exactly what has been angering it.
Speaker C: Sure, I'll just go inside and get her, and then we can all peacefully head back into town and solve this situation without any violence. Wait.
Speaker B: She's right there. She's getting away.
Speaker E: Stop.
Speaker A: Huh?
Speaker B: Her.
Speaker C: Stop. Don't hurt her.
Speaker B: Die, witch.
Speaker A: Leave us alone.
Speaker E: The witch shows her true colors, but her powers, uh, are limited. She can only control one of us with her evil influence. Quick. Do something.
Speaker A: Mama.
Speaker B: Inara.
Speaker C: Stop.
Speaker D: What are you all doing?
Speaker B: Stopping the witch before she can escape and leave us with the spirit curse.
Speaker D: This is not the way of our tribe. We don't hunt each other down for crimes we haven't even determined between the elders.
Speaker E: The witch was fleeing. She knows the law. A, uh, convict in question caught fleeing should be considered hostile and stopped at any cost.
Speaker D: I told Maktuk to take his family and leave tonight.
Speaker E: I see. Then maybe your title as chief should be in question as well.
Speaker D: So, uh, be it. We can discuss with the elders in the morning. Leave Maktuk and his family be.
Speaker E: But the witch is still.
Speaker D: That is an order from your chief. Even the shaman cannot stand against my order.
Speaker E: We shall see about that, come tomorrow.
Speaker C: Can you hear me? It's going to be okay.
Speaker A: No, Maktuk. I can feel myself fading.
Speaker C: No, you're going to be okay. The healers will fix you right up.
Speaker A: We both know no one in the tribe will help us now.
Speaker C: No. Someone will help M Maktuk.
Speaker A: Take her daughter now. Get her away from this tribe. These people make sure she can grow up without knowing this fear.
Speaker C: I need you by my side to do that.
Speaker B: Uh.
Speaker C: Don't you give up on me.
Speaker A: You never. Mika, sweetie? Yes, Mama? I love you more than anything in this world or the next, sweetie. Never forget that, okay? Yes, Mama. Good girl. I will. Always, Mama.
Speaker C: Mika, come now. We must leave.
Speaker A: What about Mama?
Speaker C: Mama is resting. But we need to leave, sweetie.
Speaker A: Mama.
Speaker B: Mama.
Speaker C: Hold it steady, Mika. Inhale. Aim. Exhale. Release.
Speaker A: Uh. I miss again. They always jump at the last second.
Speaker C: It's okay, Mika. Frog squirrels are incredibly small targets, and they're tricky little buggers. You'll get it eventually. Look, there's another one now.
Speaker A: Got it.
Speaker C: Mika.
Speaker A: What?
Speaker C: Your ability comes from your mother. It's your gift that she gave to you. But there's a right way and a wrong way to use it. It's important that you determine what is and isn't the right way to use it. But know that using it the wrong way can lead to a lot of danger and pain for you and those around you. Your gift, although powerful, is also a dangerous one. I know your mother was fearful of her gift, but she also always knew when it was right to use it. And she did a lot of good when she did.
Speaker A: How is it wrong to use it to help us hunt? We need to eat, right?
Speaker C: Yes. But we don't need to cheat to get it. We're here to develop our archery skills. And using rebending to cheat isn't fair to yourself or that poor frog squirrel. When we do things over and over, we develop habits that grow over time. That's why you practice with the bow. But if you use your bending to help you succeed at everything, then you're developing a habit of relying on it.
Speaker A: Well, now it just sounds like you're saying I should never use my ability.
Speaker C: I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that there is a time and place.
Speaker A: You know who you sound like right now? You sound like Mom. She was always scared of her bending. Maybe if she used it more, she wouldn't be dead.
Speaker C: Let's head back home. I think we've had enough bow practice today and we have the trip up the mountain tomorrow.
Speaker A: Dad, uh, we've been up here all day. Can't we go home yet?
Speaker C: We haven't gotten anything yet, Mika. If we go back, it's just going to be potato beet stew for the next week at least.
Speaker A: Yuck.
Speaker C: Mika. Right there. An Arctic boar. Get your bow. I can taste it already.
Speaker A: Um, maybe you ought to shoot it, dad.
Speaker C: Are you sure? Could be good practice.
Speaker A: I'd rather get this done with and go home. You're the better shot.
Speaker C: All right.
Speaker A: Crap. It's on the move.
Speaker C: I can get it.
Speaker A: It's going to get too far away. Here, I'll help. Hurry up and take the shot. Dad.
Speaker C: Mika, this isn't the right way.
Speaker B: Release the beast.
Speaker A: No, I've got it. Just shoot it and go home.
Speaker C: Mika, this isn't the right way to do things.
Speaker A: I don't care, dad.
Speaker B: All right. Michaela playing Ah, you have just awoken from being trapped amidst an avalanche that took you and your dad flailing off the mountainside. Uh, you're a little discombobulated, obviously. Um, a little confused, a little, um, lost, uh, as you kind of pull yourself out of the snow that's piled up around you. Um, and you look around and you don't see your dad anywhere.
Speaker A: Well, I guess I'm going to, um, start my hands and knees. I'm going to kind of crawl through this snow. I'm pushing it. I'm going to be shouting for my dad.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, and just kind of digging through the snow where I, uh, thought he was last.
Speaker B: Sure. Um, you do that. And, uh, no matter how hard you seem to dig, no matter how deep you manage to get or where you dig, you just cannot seem to find your father. And as you call out, you hear no response. And, uh, you're wet, you're cold. Um, it's starting to get dark and you're starting to get kind of worried because obviously you can't find them and you don't really know where you are.
Speaker A: Yeah. Um, what's like in my surroundings, like, are there trees and stuff or do they all get swept away?
Speaker B: Yeah, so the mountain would be kind of obviously not too far away from you. Um, and then there's the slope of snow from where the avalanche came down. And then there's the mountain. Um, and then behind you is where the forest kind of starts up. So you see a lot of fir trees, um, kind of, uh, bushes, uh, that don't have any leaves on them anymore, just kind of like scraggly bushes or whatever the case.
Speaker A: Um, I'm going to go towards the forest and I'm going to take some of, like, a fur tree is like a Christmas tree.
Speaker B: Yeah. Okay, you're not wrong.
Speaker A: Um, so I'm going to see if I can maneuver any of those branches to kind of make some sort of a tent, a shelter. Um, and then I'm going to find any loose things and start a fire before it gets too dark.
Speaker B: Okay, so you start, um, kind of pulling down some branches and you find a few dry ones laying around. Um, and as you're doing this, you start to hear some sounds coming from not too far away from you, um, just a little ways into the forest. Um, it kind of sounds like animal sounds. Like there's a little bit of growling and then there's a little bit of like a yipping sound.
Speaker A: How far away do I think it is?
Speaker B: Um, probably like maybe five trees, if that's the best way I can think of to describe distance in a forest five trees away from you. Maybe like, um, just a little bit too much, just slightly too much shrubbery to be able to just see it from where you're at. So it's really not too far.
Speaker A: Okay. I'm going to assume from the yipping that it's not necessarily dangerous sounding. Um, I'm going to try and quietly walk over there.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, I'm going to have a ready stance of just in case I need to defend myself, I'm probably going to use my water bending.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, so I'm just going to walk over there quietly and just see if I can figure out what the noise is coming from exactly.
Speaker B: When you say that you wanted to use your water bending as like a possible have it ready, do you do something specific to prepare that?
Speaker A: Um, no, because there's snow around me, so I'm just going to, I don't know, stance as I'm walking.
Speaker B: So kind of like feeling out your water bending so that you can use the snow in some way, shape or form. Okay.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: All right, so as you kind of make your way towards it, I'm, um, going to have, and again, sometimes the, uh, bridge that I get my brain into between this game and the way it works versus dungeon, the dragon sometimes gets a little bit lost. But do a rely on your skills and training, uh, which is going to be. Oh, focus. There we go. Um, just to see how successfully you're able to kind of sneak over there. Kind of makes it sound like a.
Speaker A: Stealth check, but I got a four.
Speaker B: Um, okay, so you think, uh, you're being pretty sneaky. Um, boy, you don't realize is that your heavy footprints in the snow are really crunching and such. And the noises get a little bit hushed for a moment as you peek over a bush. And what you find is, um, a little fox dog pup, um, kind of a tiny little creature. And it's standing there. Uh, it's got one paw in the air as if it had been injured. And then nearby, they're both looking at you, which is the downside of the failed stealth, um, but also over in that area is a polar leopard. So it's just kind of like, kind of like a spotted snow leopard, if you can imagine that. Um, obviously much bigger than this fox dog pup and it's also looking over at you. Um, neither is moving. They're kind of surprised to see any, especially a human, um, just kind of walking up on them while they're obviously in some. But you can tell that they're obviously in some sort of a fight or something.
Speaker A: Um, and that's the only thing I don't see, like the fox pup's mom or anything. Um, I am going to swirl some snow, um, kind of like a snowball and get it. I'm just going to keep it in my hands or whatever in case I need to throw it at this polar bear. I'm going to aim for the eyes.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: And, um, then I'm going to shout at it to see if I can get it go away.
Speaker B: Oh, okay, well, perfect. Um, let's have you do an intimidate thing, and that's going to be with passion and see if you can kind of spook it away from the situation. It's surprised by you. Um, and it starts to kind of like walk over to the fox dog pup. So it's cautious of you and it's not going to attack you, but it's like, but I'm here for something and I'm going to accomplish that and then I'm going to leavE. And the fox dog pup seems to kind of like nervously try to. He's backing away from this thing, but you can tell that he's not going to be able to handle this thing if it comes up and just tries to finish him off.
Speaker A: Um, I'm going to put myself in between the two.
Speaker B: Oh, okay. All right.
Speaker A: Um, what is it? A. Ah, polar.
Speaker B: Polar.
Speaker A: Leopard.
Speaker B: Leopard, yeah.
Speaker A: Um, does it do anything differently as I'm putting myself in its path?
Speaker B: So you put yourself in its path and it starts to circle, not like it's trying to get around you, but it's kind of like analyzing the situation. And then it starts to kind of pace back and forth in sort of like a half circle around you and the pox dog.
Speaker A: Okay, well, he doesn't seem like he's going to attack me either, so I'm going to throw the snow that I've been holding more at its feet.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Just to try and see if I can scare it off that way.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, but after I throw it, I'm going to get another one ready just in case it then runs on me or something.
Speaker B: Okay, let's say that we're jumping into the combat approaches, so if that's the case, I would call that probably a, uh, pressure. So you're pressuring it to stay away, not do something, basically. Um, so that's going to be an advanced attack. Uh, it's going to do a defendant maneuver and it's going to seize a position. So it's going to rush towards you and try, uh, to kind of like go around you and grab the fox dog and try to just run off. It. Um, says that you can mark a fatigue to block it from doing so, though if you want, as m it rushes towards you.
Speaker A: I'll do that.
Speaker B: Okay, so you use a fatigue, you sort of like side step a little bit, really stomp into the ground, causing it to not, um, manage to get around you. So it's blocked by your leg. Um, and it kind of jumps back. And then you're going to use pressure. So that is going to be a roll with passion once it's in advance in the task.
Speaker A: 1111.
Speaker B: Wow. Okay, awesome. Um, so you got a ten plus, which gives you a couple of extra options. So you can mark one fatigue to use a learn technique. You can use a practice technique, or you can use two basic or mastered techniques. You're already using one basic technique with the pressure, but, um, you could do an additional technique as well. I think you would still use an advancement attack. So you could strike or you could smash, or you could, uh, I guess you could kind of pressure it to.
Speaker A: I have a fighting technique, sweep the leg.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Which is I attack where the enemy is weakest or most off balance.
Speaker B: Okay. So that would be a practice technique. So you could just use that instead of pressuring it or whatever the case, do the attack. Okay, so you said it sweeps a leg.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: And then how does it work again?
Speaker A: Um, I tag where the enemy is weakest or most off balance. If your foe has a total of three or more fatigue and conditions marked inflict two fatigue, if your foe has fewer than three total fatigue and conditions marked inflict two fatigue, but you must mark one fatigue as well.
Speaker B: Okay. All right, sounds good. Um, yes, you succeed. So it's going to mark two fatigue. Um, so it kind of like slides when it tries to jump around you or whatever, and then you block it. So it kind of hits the brakes real sharp and it's in snow. So it kind of like slides through the snow. And then you kind of do a kick at it as it's coming by, like, back off. Um, it hits it. It kind of knocks him back because he was already off balance since he was sliding. Anyways, um, he kind of rolls over and, uh, at this point, it is decided to give up. It's hurt. Unlike, um, a person, it doesn't have as many hit points or like a large animal. It is a larger animal than the fox dog, but it's not huge. Huge, exactly. So it's done. It runs off after this, uh, obviously to go lick his wounds and maybe think about his decisions. So that leaves you there with the fox dog pup, which kind of like, kind of cuddles up against your foot because, uh, it realizes that you just stopped something from hurting it.
Speaker A: Um, I'm going to kneel down and I'm going to stroke it.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: And as long as it reacts well, I'm going to pick it Up.
Speaker B: Okay. Yeah.
Speaker A: He's being mindful of the hurt leg.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker A: And then I'm going to carry it back to the camp that I set up.
Speaker B: Okay. Um, as you go, you notice it lets you pick it up. Um, it's a little skittish for a moment. And then you pet it for a little bit and it seems a lot more friendly. And then you pick it up and sure enough, it allows you. And as you're walking away, you notice, um, some red in the snow kind of poking out from, uh, kind of like behind a bush kind of an area. There's like a bush growing directly underneath a tree.
Speaker A: I guess I'm going to go over there and look. The fox pup doesn't have any blood on it, so it's not from.
Speaker B: I mean, it looks like it has like a cut on that foot that got injured that you could kind of tell with. Yeah, but nothing that's like, he's bleeding out or anything like that.
Speaker A: Okay, I'm going to, uh, cautiously, um.
Speaker B: Walk over there and see, um, the fox dog pup seems a little distraught as you approach that area. It seems a little like, not necessarily scared, but just like, upset. And sure enough, as you peek over there, you can see that it's presumably mom. And then maybe a couple of other pups are dead.
Speaker A: Oh, that's depressing.
Speaker B: Yeah, it's pretty sad.
Speaker A: Okay, um, then I'm m for sure going to take it back to the camp. Um, do I have a, um, backpack with me or anything from since I was hunting?
Speaker B: Yeah, I'd say that it probably stayed on your back even during the avalanche. So you have, like, maybe a handful of small tools or something, maybe in there.
Speaker A: Um, do I have any extra pieces of fabric?
Speaker B: Sure.
Speaker A: Okay. Um, so I have the ability to refresh, which means I can close wounds on a target.
Speaker B: Sure.
Speaker A: Um, so I would like to try and do that.
Speaker B: Obviously.
Speaker A: Um, I'm not a master, so if it doesn't completely heal it, then I'll still bandage whatever is left over. But.
Speaker B: Okay. Does it require like a roll or.
Speaker A: It says, mark a fatigue to heal an ally in reach who is invading and, um, observing clear, appropriate status from them and clear three fatigue or two conditions.
Speaker B: Oh, okay. So yeah, basically you would just mark a fatigue and you're able to use your sort of water bending powers. You pull some of the snow and kind of filter, uh, it, in a sense, and then make it clean and then use it to heal the fox dog pups. Um, so now its foot, uh, is all better. Um, it's able to walk again. It's very surprised. Uh, it's obviously very grateful as it kind of like, barks a little bit, um, as it kind of hops around or whatever. And you spend some time getting the rest of this little campsite that you've developed finished. And you set up a fire to keep yourself warm. It helps kind of dry you back up and things like that. Um, you probably even have maybe a spare set of clothes or even just like, um, not the warmest clothes, but something so that you can change out, dry the other ones over the fire and then, um, maybe get some rest or whatever the case.
Speaker A: Okay, I'm going to deal with that. And then, um, I'm just going to look at the fox pup. I'm going to say, um, you're more welcome to find a spot to sleep here. Um, just trying to be friendly with it. Um, and then I'm going to lay inside the makeshift tent, and then I'm going to go to sleep. My intentions are probably to try in the morning to look more for my.
Speaker B: Dad or trying to just stay close by. Yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker A: Just in case he comes looking for me or whatever.
Speaker B: Okay, sounds good. Um, you wake up the next morning, uh, the sun is starting to peek up over the mountain. Um, the rays coming down, the birds are starting to chirp and such like that. And you wake up a little disappointed because, no, dad, he's not there. You take a peek outside of the tent, he's not there. Um, the fire obviously is burnt out. You can kind of still smell a little bit of that old bonfire smell. And what you are a little bit surprised to find in a positive light is the dog stayed with you pretty much like the whole time. Um, and when you wake up, obviously he wakes up and kind of follows you out, sniffs around a little bit, doesn't, um, seem to be bothered by anything necessarily. So, um, all things consIdered, even though your dad's not there, it's a new day. So take that as you will.
Speaker A: Um, I'm going to walk back to the area where I thought I lost my dad. Um, and just kind of survey the area and see if I can find, like, if he dropped his pack somewhere or anything poking through the snow. Um, I'm assuming I probably lost my bow.
Speaker B: Yes.
Speaker A: So I'm going to see if that's poking out of the snow anywhere.
Speaker B: Sure. I'm going to say do, ah, assess the situation as you look around. So that's going to be with creativity.
Speaker A: Eight.
Speaker B: Okay, awesome. So you can ask one of the following questions. Uh, there's what here can I use to blank who or what is the biggest threat? Uh, what should I be on the lookout for? What's my best way out in or through or who or what is in the greatest danger? Um, I would also say maybe on the what should I be on the lookout for? You could interpret that as, do I see anything that might allude to your stuff or my BS or whatever the case? Yeah. Okay.
Speaker A: Um, so I'm going to ask that question.
Speaker B: So, um, you look around and you don't notice any footprints and you don't notice anything from your dad, but you do find your bow, um, sticking out. And although you don't have any arrows, the string is snapped, but I would say probably know how to repair something like that. Um, but you don't find the arrows. And, um, yeah, you don't really see any signs of your dad, but you almost wonder if because the avalanche was so big, it's possible that he might have been pushed down the mountain further away or something along those lines. Um, probably your biggest fear might be that he wasn't even pushed all the way down the mountains. Maybe he got stuck up in the mountain or something along those lines. Um, that's always a possibility as well.
Speaker A: Um, I'm just going to grab the bow.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: And, um, I think I'm going to go down the mountain in the direction of the snow because I'm just going to have the more positive thought or the more hopeful thought, I guess, of maybe he got swept further down. Okay. And then I'm going to turn to the fox pup and say, um, I'm heading this way, we'll look for something to eat. You can come with. It's my only friend at this point.
Speaker B: Well, he seems happy to come along and follow as you go. Um, so as you head along strangely, uh, enough, you actually start to smell, um, something that smells like cooked food.
Speaker A: Oh, that's exciting.
Speaker B: Yeah. Or like, kind of just a warm smell, which is strange given that it's super cold.
Speaker A: Right.
Speaker B: Um, and the dog obviously notices that too, and kind of starts to mosey that direction.
Speaker A: I am going to probably get a little bit excited, probably hurriedly follow the scent, um, in hopes that it's my dad setting up camp.
Speaker B: Sure. Yeah, no, that makes sense. Um, so you quickly follow after it. Uh, the fox dog pup picks up that you kind of have this excitement about you and stuff like that. So it's like excitedly following along as you two are running through the snow, pushing through the brush and the bushes and the shrubbery, and sort, uh, of stumble upon this little campsite. Um, unfortunately to you, it's not your dad. Um, but a smiling face does greet you as you find a large pot over a open fire and then a second fire with some, um, pans and such across it. And standing there, although you don't know him currently, is Mr. Okaron. And he is very surprised when you come bursting out of, uh, the bushes he's holding. Shoot, I can't even think of the word. A ladle. He's holding a ladle like, as if he had to defend himself from, like, a wild animal that's about to burst through the forest. And then he sees that it's you, and he goes, Whoa. Hello there.
Speaker A: Um, my expression is going to go from quickly from excitement to kind of like, dumbfoundment that he's holding a ladle against me because of.
Speaker B: Sure.
Speaker A: It just seems silly to me. Just whatever.
Speaker B: He, um, quickly puts it down. Sorry, I mean, to scare you.
Speaker A: I'm m going to say hi. Have you seen, um, an older man walking through? He may have been covered in snow, maybe injured?
Speaker B: Um, well, I'm doing all right, uh, and I think I got all the snow off of me this morniNg, but, uh, sorry, you probably mean somebody else. No, it's just me and, uh, the friendly trio of hunters that I'm traveling with here. And as he's saying that three people kind of poke their heads out, they weren't, like, into, or one of them might have been in a tent, but they didn't look like they were sleeping. Like, oh, I just woke up. They looked like they might have been like, prepping something. They were just getting their packs ready. Or, um, one of them, he peeks up. He's obviously like taking his tent down. Um, so he was just behind his tent. Uh, they all look a little bit kind of confused, especially once they see you and they see like, oh, there's a teenage girl just like walked into our camp with a little fox dog pup. Like, what in the world? Um, they all look very surprised.
Speaker A: Okay. Um, my stance is probably going to be a little bit more tense just because there's a lot more people.
Speaker B: Oh, sure.
Speaker A: And I'm not sure. Um, I mean, they don't seem to be harmful, but I'm just going to be a little bit wary just because people kind of suck sometimes.
Speaker B: Okay, well, yeah, you don't know them. They're strangers, so that's totally fair. The three other men kind of, they kind of come over to the center of the group and, uh, Mr. Oakland's like, uh, oh, well, my name's Mr. Okaron. Uh, that's what they call me. And, uh, what's your name?
Speaker A: My, uh, name's Mika.
Speaker B: Mika, okay, well, great to meet you. Are you okay? Um, I mean, there was the avalanche last night and, uh, you said you're looking for someone. I mean, is everything all right? I don't think there's any settlements anywhere near here. It's kind of a surprise to see somebody.
Speaker A: Um, yeah, I was just out hunting, um, with my dad and we got separated in the avalanche. And then I turned to the other three people and I'm going to ask them the same question of, hey, have you seen, um, a tall man, may or may not be injured, whatever.
Speaker B: Um, one of them just kind of grunts and he shakes his head as if he hasn't seen anybody. Um, one of them says, well, uh, if anyone's seen anything that suggests somebody else is out here, it's going to be Corey. And with that, uh, sorry, I should be describing these people as I go. Um, the first one that kind of just grunted and shook his head is this big, chunky, not really burly at all. He's just a very large man, kind, um, of imagine like, uh, in Avatar last Airbender when they did the, um, Earth Rumble stadium and you had hippo.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: So he kind of looks like that guy where he's just this big chunky dude. Um, and then the other guy who's, um, now responding and saying something about a guy named Corey, he, um, is kind of a short, stout kind of a guy. Lots of facial hair going on. I, um, kind of imagine Zhao from Mulan. And then Corey is kind of a scrawny looking, disheveled, uh, a little bit crookedy, a little know, maybe a bit older even. Uh, his hair is starting to gray. It's kind of like a speckled mix of gray and black. Um, and he comes forward and he says, yeah, if there was somebody out here, we would have seen the tracks, but we can take a look around.
Speaker A: Um, thanks, I would really appreciate that.
Speaker B: They're like, uh, the, uh, main guy says, my name is Zinzu. Uh, this here is, uh, this big guy right here. And he boink, boink, like bounces off his stomach as he kind of pats at is. This is Boku. And Boku just says, grunts in, uh, greeting, uh, and Zenzu says, uh, I have to ask, uh, were you out here all kind of the three of them look at each other and Mr. Okaron just kind of like stands there a little awkwardly, like, well, what does that mean? Is there animals or something? And Cory looks over and he says, yeah, there's much worse than animals out in these woods at night. And Okaron's like, well, really, I was out in these woods last night. Like, well, you are in the camp. It's safe in the camp. And then Zenzu says, some say that, uh, there's a witch in these woods that lives here. Uh, she's got some kind of dark magic. And, uh, like I said, she lives out here. She takes those that step into her. What's the word I'm looking for? Territory. And mR. M Ogren's like, oh, that sounds very know. I'm glad that I found you guys and was able to stay in this little campsite. And then, uh, Corey says, well, I mean, if it wasn't for that nice tea that you made us last night, we might not let you stay. And he's, oh, well, you guys stop, right?
Speaker A: What makes a person a witch?
Speaker B: M well, you see, uh, she's got some creepy powers. She can control people with her mind.
Speaker A: Um, at that, I'm going to get really tense.
Speaker B: Sure.
Speaker A: Um, and I'm going to ask, um, where can I find this witch?
Speaker B: Well, if we knew where she was, we would stay far away. All I know is that she lives out in these woods somewhere. People back in the various settlement we're traveling hunters and trappers, so we don't stay much in one place. But, uh, all the water tribe settlements around here all talk about it. They say she was cursed by some spirits and now she has these freaky powers, Mr. Ogren says. Well, uh, Mika, whatever the case, uh, I'm sure you're welcome to, uh, hang out with us until we can hopefully find, uh, your mom or, sorry, find your dad, um, who I'm sure is safe. Maybe he got lost or whatever the case, and, uh, we'll help you find him. Uh, again, Corey is a master tracker. Yeah, I'm a master tracker, but not that I couldn't track a man, but, uh, we're out here hunting, and, uh, this is a real inconvenience. And Mr. O'Gran says, well, look, we can continue your hunt on your way towards the Earth kingdom, uh, as we had discussed. And, uh, if we see any signs of her father's tracks or any other things that we could use to go off of, then we can investigate.
Speaker A: Yeah, if you just give me some supplies to fix my bow, I can possibly even help you shoot some stuff you're hunting for.
Speaker B: Oh. See, it's beneficial. And, uh, Zenzu kind of comes over and he offers to take the bow and take a look at it.
Speaker A: I give it to him.
Speaker B: Let me see here. Good suspension. He takes a new string out of his back pocket. Uh, and you could tell based on some of the stuff that he's got in his bag that he is a man of means when it comes to weApons. Traps. He's got traps hanging off of his stuff. He's got a handful of different bows, cross bows, and, um, a couple of other things. And you can tell this guy is very much like a weapons guy. Um, so he's definitely the right person to have around. He restrings your bow, um, real nice. And he hands it back to you and he says, yeah, uh, that ought to take care of it.
Speaker A: Wow. Thanks. This looks pretty good.
Speaker B: Yeah. You, ah, got any arrows?
Speaker A: Um, now, I could use all those, too.
Speaker B: He goes, hmm. M you got anything to trade?
Speaker A: I, um, look in my bag, seeing if there's anything about you.
Speaker B: Now, I have to come up with what that is. Um, let's see. You have some leftover jerky of some type. You have some various tools, like basic stuff, like there's probably, like a pocket knife. There might even be a filleting knife. Um, there's some frog, squirrel pelts it.
Speaker A: I'm, um, going to hand him one frog, squirrel pelt.
Speaker B: He looks at it for a second, and then he regions in his bag and he hands you one arrow.
Speaker A: Come on, this is worth more than that.
Speaker B: It's a frog. What am I supposed to make with this?
Speaker A: You can make like an ear muff.
Speaker B: I could make one ear muff. That's the problem.
Speaker A: You could cut it in half and just have cover the tips of your ears. That's the most important part. Little hats for your ears. You could be making a new fashion trend.
Speaker B: Um. Um, um, I don't know if I should do. Well, it's not really a trick. I don't know if it's a push your luck, I guess. Yeah, you could try. You could push it just for the whole general concept of trying to get more arrows out of him. You could push your luck and that's, ah, passion.
Speaker A: Yeah, I got a nine.
Speaker C: Nine.
Speaker B: Okay. He goes, okay, here you go. And he gives you a second arrow.
Speaker A: Gee, thanks.
Speaker B: I tell you what, if, uh, everything you shoot animal wise while we're out there, I'll give you five more.
Speaker A: Okay? Deal.
Speaker B: You got two to start with. You got proved that you could actually help us out.
Speaker A: Yeah, I can do that.
Speaker B: All right. So, um, over the next maybe ten minutes, 15 minutes, they are able to pack up their stuff. Um, Mr. Okaron serves some food. Eating takes maybe another 1015 minutes. So about half an hour later, you guys are on your way and Mr. Ogron's got this giant pot that he carries like a turtle on his back. Um, that's what he makes the tea in. And then he's got like some various pans and stuff hanging off of him. I mean, the dude is carrying a lot for being kind of an older, slightly chunkier dude or whatever the case. Right. Um, where do you choose to kind of walk within their little grouping? Because for the most part, they walk in like a line, um, with Corey kind of leading the group. Uh, Zenzu kind of right behind him, asking, um, him questions the whole time. Every time he looks at something or something, he's like, do you notice anything? And then if he says he does, um, Zenzu will shuffle around in his bag and get a weapon that he believes or a trap that he believes will be beneficial against what Cory thinks that he sees. Boku stands kind of near the back. Um, Mr. Okaran stands over there with Boku. Boku carries the majority of the stuff.
Speaker A: He's the one that grunts a lot.
Speaker B: Yeah, he's the big, chunky guy. Um, so he's got most of Zenzu and Corey's stuff, uh, that he's, like, hauling. That's not like something they would immediately need, like a weapon or something like that.
Speaker A: Okay, I'm going to walk probably in between Okuron and what is his name? Boku Boku? Yeah, um, but probably a little bit closer to Boku just because he doesn't seem like he talks and I'm not in a talking.
Speaker B: Um. Okay, sounds good. So you walk behind Boku and your fox dog is falling behind as well. And he just kind of looks down and he says dog. And then looks forward. And then if the dog makes any noise, he just looks at it and goes, doggo say dog stuff. And then kind of ignores it for the most part. Um, he kind of seems to like the dog a little bit. Um, when they're not moving, if they ever stop for whatever, he reaches down, he doesn't pet him. He just lets him smell his fingers or something and goes oh, dog. He just does not seem like the smartest guy. Um, Mr. Okuron, he engages in conversation with you for the most part, um, as you guys are walking or whatever the case, asking, um, you about like, uh, where are you from, Mika? Are you from one of the tribes around here?
Speaker A: Yeah, I'm from one of the tribes.
Speaker B: Oh, okay. Which one? Maybe, uh, it's one that I've visited.
Speaker A: Probably not. It's just some small rinky dink tribe.
Speaker B: Oh, okay.
Speaker A: Doesn't have a whole lot to offer. Uh, but why are you on this hunting expedition?
Speaker B: Oh, well, it's actually entirely by accident. I was just traveling alone. I had just left one of the, uh, smaller subtribes known, uh, as the Woka oak. And I had been picking up some fancy berries, uh, which are known as Peach juniper berries, uh, which I am super excited to put into one of my teas once I get back to Gao Ling and I get to the shop and everything like that. So I'm just out here to get some ingredients and I happened to stumble across this group of nice hunter men here, uh, who graciously allowed me to stay in exchange for making them, um, some tea last night.
Speaker A: Interesting.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker A: What do you think of this big guy in the back?
Speaker B: Oh, Boku? Oh, he's big and he's scary looking, but all in all, he's a nice guy. And Boku said. He turns around and he says, see what I mean? He's kind of scary and intimidating, but all in all, he's a nice guy.
Speaker A: Um, off topic, but this Boku guy sounds like the guy off of the.
Speaker B: Yeah, no, that's, that's a pretty solid comparison, I'd say. Um, as you guys are talking all of a sudden, uh, Corey says, and everybody stops and freezes and he points over and you guys see a polar leopard making its way, uh, kind of across some outcropping rocks.
Speaker A: Does it look familiar?
Speaker B: Um, as familiar as wild animal could, I suppose. Um, it doesn't seem to have spotted you guys yet, but, um, the fox dog pup immediately hides kind of behind your leg. Um, it definitely seems it's seen it and it's scared. And Cory, like, leans over to Zenzu and he whispers something and Zenzu. And so he kind of encroaches back and he says to you, he says, so you, uh, want to take the first shot?
Speaker A: You bet. I got it.
Speaker B: All right, so I'm going to have you do rely on your skill in training and see if you can snipe this snow leopard or, sorry, this, uh, polar leopard who rolls.
Speaker A: Focus.
Speaker B: Yes.
Speaker A: I don't have any added focus.
Speaker B: She doesn't have any focus.
Speaker A: I got a twelve.
Speaker B: Right into its neck. Uh, it makes no sound. It dies instantly. And Zenzu, uh, looks at you, he's got his eyes all wide. He's like, oh, okay, fair enough. And he hands you five more arrows. And, uh, Corey kind of like tips his head to you a little bit from the back. And Boku just looks down at you and he says, cat dead. And Mr. Okuron, he kind of like, comes up beside you while he's doing that. Um, Corey and Zenzu are kind of like heading over to the animal to collect it or whatever the case. And he says, wow, that was quite a shot, Mika. Very impressed.
Speaker A: Thank you. My dad taught me a lot.
Speaker B: Well, he sounds like he's a very wise and very skilled man. Uh, I hope I get to meet him. I hope we're able to find him as we go along.
Speaker A: Yeah, I have faith that we'll find him.
Speaker B: All right. Um, so you guys continue on for the rest of the day. And, um, you don't find anything else? Unfortunately, uh, no tracks for animals, no tracks for missing water tribe men. And so they start to set up the camp for the night. Um, Mr. Okran offers you his backup tent, which is a much smaller tent. Um, he mostly uses it if he has to store ingredients, if there were like rain or whatever the case. But, um, since there's no inclement weather or anything like that, he's happy to let you use it if you're comfortable with that.
Speaker A: Yeah, I'll take it.
Speaker B: Okay, sounds good. Um. Um, that night, they all sit around the fire and they've got food that Mr. O'Haran made or whatever the case. Uh, they cook up, uh, the polar and, um, how does that taste? Pretty good. Pretty good. Um, as somebody that doesn't do a lot of hunting or eat a lot of wild game, I can't really describe it, um, because I don't know a lot of that world. I mean, it's probably gameier than your typical store bought. Not that Mika would obviously know know because that's all they would eat. But anyways, uh, it's know, they seem to know what they're doing and Mr. Okaron knows what he's doing when he cooks.
Speaker A: Um, it probably doesn't have a lot of fat on.
Speaker B: That's, that's true. It'd be a very lean meat. That's right. Um, there's a little bit of a chuckle of irony as you give the fox dog pup a little bit as well. Probably like the fact that he has this look on his face like I won almost.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: Whatever the case, as you guys are sitting there, um, Zenzu or, sorry, Corey actually starts to talk and he's like, well, we were talking about that witch earlier. You guys know, uh, the legend behind the, you know, some of them are like, yeah, we know the legend behind the witch. Mr. Ogren's like, well, I don't know the legend behind the witch. Go on and tell me. And uh, Boku just. Hmm. Witch bad, no. Light Witch Inquiry's like, yeah, and for good reason. Some say that, well, you guys already know because we talked about it earlier. Some say that there was a spirit, an evil spirit, and there was a woman that was dying. And before she died during childbirth, which is the reason why she was dying, the evil spirit went into her and possessed her and she survived, but she had a dark power, but the, uh, tribe that she was living amongst, they caught on to what she was doing and this evil power that she had and so they managed to kill her. But they say that she had a daughter and her daughter got away and the spirit possessed her daughter as she fled. And so she is grown into the witch that lives within these woods and still resides here today. And as he's saying that, you hear like some movement from one of the bushes and everybody like, and they turn around and Zenzu pops out and he's got like a bunch of stuff in his hair and uh, they're like, oh, wow, that was so stupid. Or whatever. Cory's getting a chuckle out of it because obviously he was in on it. And um, Mr. Okuron's like, well, I'm still a little confused at what it is that makes this witch so dangerous. I've heard a lot about spirits and what they've done or what they can do with a person or whatever the case. Uh, I'm just a little confused. And they're like, like I said before, earlier, she's able to control you with her mind. She uses special powers and she can stop you when your tracks just freeze you there. And then she can kill you or she can snap your neck from a distance. She can do all sorts of terrifying, horrible things.
Speaker A: As they're talking about this, my body language is just going to get pretty nervous, a little bit. Scared?
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker A: Um, I'm definitely going to play it off more as like, I'm scared of the story and not of them finding out more about, um.
Speaker B: Well, it's funny you mentioned that because as you're kind of know, uh. Ah. Oh, man, that's spooky. And all this other stuff. Corey kind of like pauses for a moment and he kind of looks at you with squinted eyes a little bit and he says, you know, beast on the legend, the witch would probably be about your ogre's, like, oh, you guys. Um, but the other two guys don't seem quite as chuckly about it. They seem a little like they look over at Corey and they see his kind of like, squinted look. And since they've traveled with him and known him for a long time, they kind of feel like there might be a little bit more to what he's. Maybe. Maybe.
Speaker A: Yeah. Well, this is all just a legend, so, like, you don't even know if she's really alive or, you know, if she is a girl my age. She's probably just as scared as I was when I came to your camp looking for my dad.
Speaker B: That's exactly the kind of thing she do to trick three hunters into falling for her charm before taking them all in the night or turning them into some sort of zombie slaves or something. I don't know what she does. Kind of suspicious that you were out on your own.
Speaker A: Uh, I mean, it's not that suspicious. You guys heard of the avalanche? Um, I obviously came from somewhere that makes the most sense.
Speaker B: Um, somewhere that makes the most sense. I don't know what that means, but it sounds vague.
Speaker A: Listen, I was out hunting with my dad. We were fighting. Well, we were arguing. We were arguing about who's going to shoot the boar because my dad's a better shot. And all of a sudden there was just an avalanche that came out of nowhere. And when I woke up, he was nowhere to be found. That's when I found this fox pup. We came across, um, a polar leopard. And I was able to manage to scare it off. It ran away and I slept in a tent, hoping that my dad would find me in the morning.
Speaker B: Um, Corey leans forward a little bit and he know, they say that those who are possessed by spirits have an unnatural friendship with animals. And Mr. Okran just starts to nervously. It's Mika we're talking. I mean, she shot an animal today. I don't think somebody know close to animals would shoot an animal and kill mean we're eating it right now. That just seems a little outside of the concept. And Corey just kind of like leans back and he's, um.
Speaker A: You know, it doesn't even make sense. Well, I mean, it makes sense that the fox pup came to me because, like I said, I scared off the polar leopard. And the fox pup was hurt. He was in a fight with him. So naturally he just got attached to me. His mom and his siblings were dead. I found them dead.
Speaker B: Corey's like, how do we know that you didn't just kill him and now you're controlling the fox pup to follow you along and keep you safe?
Speaker A: Wouldn't you think if I was controlling it, I would have had him attack you guys right now? Since you're interrogating me on some legend, we don't even know if is real.
Speaker B: Well, I don't know if you're the witch. What if you've got creepier plans for us than just killing us? I'm going to turn us into your zombie slaves. And Mr. Ograja starts laughing and he's like, okay, I think this is the end of this conference. I think we're going a little bit far here with these accusatory. Accusatory. How do you say that? Is that right? Accusatory, accusatory accusations. And, uh, Zenzu says, yeah, uh, I think it's maybe the end of this. Maybe we better go to bed. And Boku says, me scared? And he says, yeah, well, if we fall asleep, we can't be scared. Boku, he's like, me go sleep. He's like, good, good. And Boku walks over and you notice that Boku has like, this massive tent compared to everybody else. And he climbs in, he has to crawl in all awkward or something. Um, and you can hear very quickly.
Speaker A: Just, oh, my goodness. He's one of those people.
Speaker B: Um, the other two, they just kind of look a little, I don't know, what's the word? Um, off. As they head to their tents, um, Mr. Okran, he's like, Mika, I'm sorry for all that. I hope it doesn't bother you. I know they're kind of suspicious, to say the least. For some reason, you seem like all right to me. And I've seen some things with spirits in my time before, but possessed in a witch? Uh, this seems a little ridiculous, so don't let him get to you, okay? Just, uh, have a good night's sleep, and, uh, we'll try to find your dad again tomorrow.
Speaker A: Thanks, Mr. Okra.
Speaker B: Yeah. Okuron. Uh, Okuron. That's all right. And he's like, I'll see you in the morning. And he heads off to bed.
Speaker A: I'm, um, going to go into my tent.
Speaker B: Mhm.
Speaker A: Um, I'm going to look, um, at the fox Puppet and say, you can sleep here. And I pat in the crook of my legs and I, um, sleep in a way where I can keep an eye on the door of my tent.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: And I'm going to have that pocket knife kind of clutched in my hand, and I'm going to tuck my hand underneath, like my sleeve.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: I'm just very wary of the situation. I don't fall asleep right away.
Speaker B: Okay, sounds good. Um, so you don't fall asleep right away. And, um, as the night starts to get a little bit later, you do eventually kind of drift off to sleep ever so slightly. Um, I would argue that she probably, having grown up out in the wilderness and her dad being very much like kind of a hunter type, she's a pretty light sleeper for the most part. Um, and with that being said, uh, there's a point at which you suddenly wake up, um, very abruptly and you feel something kind of like land on you and you find, ah, like a pack, like a backpack. And that's not yours. That's suddenly in this tent. And there's a little note on it and it says, they want to hurt you. You must escape now.
Speaker A: It's signed, Mr. O. I'm going to take the pack.
Speaker B: Okay. You can feel that there's some stuff in there. Um, you're not sure what I mean, unless you want to look now or you want to look later.
Speaker A: But whatever the case, um, I don't think I'm going to look now.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Because I have my pocket knife.
Speaker B: Um.
Speaker A: Did my fox pup wake up?
Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Speaker A: Okay.
Speaker B: He seems very alert. Or is it a she?
Speaker A: I don't remember what you decided. It's a he.
Speaker B: Okay, so he seems very alert.
Speaker A: I'm going to kind, um, of look at it and just say, let's get out of here.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, I'm going to move back the tent flap, door, whatever. Um, and just kind of peek out without poking too much of myself out, just kind of seeing if I can see anybody. Um, and if I don't, I'm going to sneak off into the trees. I'm assuming that surround us.
Speaker B: Sure. Um, so as you kind of very carefully peek out, you can see the embers are still lit on the fire, and so there's a little bit of a glow over the camp. Um, but you notice that, uh, Boku isn't sticking out of his tent anymore. Um, like he was before. You can kind of see he's got like a ponytail, right? Probably should have mentioned it before, but he has a ponytail, and you can kind of see it sticking out over, um, what you know is Zenzu's tent, not from inside, but from behind it, as if he's over there. Um, you can hear some whispering in the distance over, coming from that direction, but you don't see the other two. Um, and you don't see Mr. Okaron at the moment.
Speaker A: Okay, I'm going to walk in the opposite direction.
Speaker B: Um, like climb out of the tent and then.
Speaker A: Yeah, okay, kind of as quickly as I can, but obviously not probably as quick as I could be, just because I'm trying to be quiet.
Speaker B: Try to be extra quiet. Yeah. Okay. All right, sounds good. So you, uh, take off into the night, and you make it quite a ways away, and then all of a sudden you hear what sounds like maybe some kind of a scuffle or something, um, in the distance from where the little campsite was. And you hear the voice of Zenzu shout out, she's left the tent. We got to get after her. Corey, check for footprints. And he's like, I found. Then, you know, you can hear from a distance, things get hushed. Um, but you kind of get the feeling that they might be after you right now.
Speaker A: Okay. Um, are there any those fur tree branches laying on the ground or easily that I can rip off a tree?
Speaker B: Sure. Yeah, definitely.
Speaker A: Okay, I'm going to take one of those, and I'm going to walk carefully backwards a few steps.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, and I'm going to sweep away the footsteps that I just walked in, and then I'm going to kind of turn and stop at the base of a tree.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, my footprints are still going to be there. And then I'm going to start just running away from the voices. But as I'm running, I'm gonna have my tree branch behind me, kind of like covering up my footprints the best I can. I mean, it's obviously, you're still probably going to see somebody or something went that way, but my hopes are that it's going to obscure my trail just a little bit.
Speaker B: Okay, sounds good. Um, okay, so you can hear them from a distance again, they're not trying to be subtle, obviously. They're obviously scared of whatever the witch is, right. But they don't have the fear of I'm trying to hide from somebody. Um, I'm the hunter, I'm not the hunted kind of a mentality. So you hear, know, wherever they, they're, they're loud and they rush up to about where you started covering your tracks with the thing. And Cory, uh, says, it looks like she seems to be covering her tracks. We're going to have to split up. And then he's like, uh, I'll go this way. Zinzu, you go that way. And Boku, you go whatever direction you want. Boku, go this way. Okay. You go that way, Boku. And you hear, know, moving in different directions.
Speaker A: Um, I'm going to keep going the direction that I'm going.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, as I'm looking, is there like a cave or I guess, what do I see that I could try and hide in?
Speaker B: Um, it's prettY, like straightforward forest. So, I mean, if you wanted to hide in some bushes or if you wanted to climb a tree, those are definitely options. Uh, every once in a while, there's definitely a rock outcropping, since this is kind of like a bridge between the mountain region and the forest region. So every once in a while you'll see, like I said, a rock outcropping. So if you wanted to hide underneath this sort of, like, plateau section of this rock, you could do that as well. There are probably three options.
Speaker A: Okay, the last option sounds good.
Speaker B: So you do that. Um, as you sort of, like, slide underneath of it, you hear pretty heavy footsteps. As you kind, um, of hide amidst, uh, the rocky outcropping, you can hear what you would assume probably is Boku because they're so heavy. And you hear them say, witch. Witch, where are you at? And then all of a sudden you hear, I smell something. And he's sort of starting to move a little bit closer. You're not 100% sure if he has any idea what he smells because he hasn't really alluded to anything about him having a really good smell, apparently. Like, you just knew he was this big guy that didn't talk much. Um, but he is moving a little bit closer to you. Are you doing anything or are you just going to stay hidden.
Speaker A: Um, I'm going to. You said I'm underneath, kind of like the rock cropping. Okay. So I'm going to get, how do I want to say it? I'm going to push myself the farthest underneath that I can just to try and obscure myself. Um, I'm going to look at the fox pup and kind of just put my finger to my mouth, hoping he understands to not make a noise. Um, and I'm just going to scoop up some snow in my hand and I'm going to end up throwing it at this guy's face if he ends up finding me just to cover his eyesight for a split second.
Speaker B: Okay. Um, do a rely on your skills and training to see if you're able to kind of obscure yourself enough from his searching. So that's going to be with focus.
Speaker A: Eight.
Speaker B: Okay, so you push yourself as far back underneath this rock as you can and you push some snow up to kind of prepare yourself for it. Um, and sure enough, he doesn't seem to be fully able to figure out where you are. He kind of knows like, you're over by, he comes over to where this rock is. That's the last smell that he got, but he's smelling around and he can't seem to pick up the scent and now he's just kind of relying on his sight. So he's just looking around and moving around and stuff like that. And at one point, he crawls up onto the rock ledge and being that he's kind of a heavy guy, uh, the rock starts to kind of like bow ever so slightly. And obviously since you're underneath it, you're feeling as the pressure is starting to press against your feet and you're worried that you're about to get squashed.
Speaker A: Dang.
Speaker B: Um. Um.
Speaker A: And so you said he's on top of the rock, so he's probably directly above me, right? I can assume that anyway.
Speaker B: Yeah. Um, I mean, you can hear or feel or whatever, sense his pretty heavy footsteps. So I would say, yeah, you have a pretty good idea.
Speaker A: I'm going to, um, slowly squeeze my way through to, um, the side. I'm still going to stay, um, along the same area as I am. So the farthest back, but I'm going to be scooting to the side and I'm going to see if I can peek my head to see if I can see where he's looking in order to see if it's safe to run out from under the rock, I guess.
Speaker B: Okay. I don't know okay, so, yeah, ah, you pull yourself out, uh, moving around to try to not get squished. You peek your head out over this side to find him looking over the opposite side of the rock, um, because he heard something underneath the rock moving around, so he looked underneath. Hello, is witch here? And so all you end up seeing as you're peeking your head out is his large, uh, posterior face facing your direction.
Speaker A: Um, okay, I'm going to probably not run, but I'm going to walk in the opposite direction that he's looking.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, and while I'm doing that, I'm going to see if there's potentially another spot for me to hide.
Speaker B: Okay, I'm going to call it a trick, um, which is creativity. Since so far he's been tricked into looking under the rock while you're exiting the rock. I guess.
Speaker A: Eight.
Speaker B: Eight. Okay, um, so you get to pick one. They stumble and take plus one forward to acting against, and you get plus one forward acting against them. Uh, they act foolishly and that gives you an additional opportunity that I come up with, or they overcommit and they're deceived for some time.
Speaker A: I'm going to do the act foolishly.
Speaker B: Okay, I think I got something for that. Okay, so as you sort of start to walk away at this point, he is like crawled down like he's on all fours as he was like looking over the edge because he heard something underneath the rock. So then he crawled down on all fours and then he's crawling around near the bottom, uh, of where you were hiding, and he hears you walking away. And so his attempt to, oh, there's the witch. Goes underneath the rock and gets himself wedged under there and kind of stuck really awkwardly. And so his butt is pointing out the one end and he's reaching out the other end, trying to scramble through, and he goes, oh, I stuck. And so now he's just kind of awkwardly trapped underneath this rock by his own doing, um, which gives you an opportunity to escape.
Speaker A: Okay.
Speaker B: All right, so you're rushing back, uh, off. Well, I guess you said walking, but are you rushing at this point?
Speaker A: Yeah, I'll rush at this point.
Speaker B: Okay, so you're rushing off at this point, uh, into the darkness. Before I even tell you what it's for, I want you to do a push your luck.
Speaker A: Nine.
Speaker B: Okay, cool. Um, so as you're running off down the pathway, um, you hear the sound of. And then kind of like this weird, um, spinning, whirring sound in the air and this, I don't know if Mika would know what it was called. But it seems like three strings with balls at the end of each of them all attached to each other, come flying by and wrap themselves around a nearby tree branch, like, just missing your feet by, like, inches.
Speaker A: Oh, gosh.
Speaker B: And you hear, uh, not too far away from you. Zenzu says, I almost had her. I got you now, witcH. And you realize that, uh, Zenzu has caught up to you at this point.
Speaker A: Dang. Um, I look over my shoulder and I'm just gonna yell, I'm not a.
Speaker B: Candidate. You lying to me?
Speaker A: Don't you think I would have tried to use my body snatching skills already?
Speaker B: Your body snatching skills? And he's like, well, if you do, then I definitely know that you're a witch. And that's what I'm aiming to find out.
Speaker A: Um, I am going to try to water bend the snow to kind of act like a wave.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, to see if I can try and cover, bury his legs at least just a little bit, um, in order to slow him down and give me the room to escape. Okay, so evade and observe.
Speaker B: So you're going to evade and observe. Um, obviously, uh, he's advancing and attacking. Obviously. So he's rushing after you. Uh, he's pulling out a new weapon, uh, now that he's pulling out a second one of those things that he had before. So he's about ready to, uh, throw it. So he's going to strike. So he throws this, uh, towards you.
Speaker A: Since I slept after the, um, polar leopard attack.
Speaker B: Oh, yes. Do I get rid of your fatigue back? Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Um, okay, so he's going to strike. He's going to throw these, uh, bolas at you. So it says strike a foe and reach, uh, forcing the mark to fatigue mark your condition or shift their balance away from center. He is going to, uh, impair you, um, with what is known as Ebola, um, which wraps around your leg as you're running. So it kind of knocks you off balance and you're slowed or you kind of, like, fall into the snow. Right. Um, you, uh, can mark one fatigue to avoid taking a minus two to all physical actions.
Speaker A: I'll do that.
Speaker B: Okay, so, um, he throws the bowl as it wraps around your legs as you're following, falling. Sorry. Um, you use a little bit of your water bending to kind of create like, an icicle that you quickly snap the strings on the bolas for. So then you're able to catch yourself and keep moving. But then you turn around and you're going to use, uh, evade and observe. So, um, you get to clear one fatigue and you roll with creativity or harmony in an attempt to bolster or hinder.
Speaker A: I'm going to roll with case creativity. Not that it, I guess, matters for you, but eight.
Speaker B: Okay. Yeah, that's a success. Perfect. Um, so you impaid a nearby character. You're using kind of like a wave of, uh, waterbending to, or rather waterbending to create a wave of snow towards him, covers his feet, which you then kind of turn to an icy sludge which kind of blocks him in. So I'm assuming you're kind of like trapping him essentially.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: Um, so with trapped, um, you're completely helpless. You must mark combination of three fatigue or conditions to escape. Um, at the moment, at the very least, whether he's going to do that or not, he is stuck giving you an opportunity to run away, if that's what you're going to choose. Okay. Um, so he's very angry. You can hear him shouting in the distance. Uh, he starts pulling out another item from his bag and it's like an ice pick. And he's just ting, Tink, Tink, tink. So he is going to be taking that three fatigue to exhaustively chip himself out of this ice. And he yells off after you. He said, she does have weird powers. I knew she was a witch.
Speaker A: It's not weird, it's water bending.
Speaker B: Do you like, shout that? It's not weird, it's water bending. And you're having a hard time making out what he says after that. Um, so eventually the sound of tinking fades into the background. Like it continues. So you know that he's still working on it, but it fades because you're so far away. Um, so you're almost out of the situation when suddenly, um, you kind of stop as you hear something in the distance and you hear, let's see, I see footprints here. Yes, she went this way.
Speaker A: I don't like this guy. Um, I'm just going to continue running, okay. In the same direction that I've been running.
Speaker B: So, um, you continue to run and as you're running, you realize that you hear a second set of footprints. You can tell based on the fact that your know, you're making a certain pattern that obviously you understand and everything like that. And you hear Another set of footprints that's in a different pattern from you and, um, unfortunately sounds faster than you. And as you look, you see that Corey is actually close behind you, running after you and catching up very quickly. And he says, there you are I found you now, witch.
Speaker A: I'm not a witch.
Speaker B: What, uh, would you like to do?
Speaker A: I would like to advance an attack and do the sweep the leg thing.
Speaker B: Oh, okay. All right. He's going to do a defendant maneuver, which is to seize a position. Um, so he's just trying to get close to you.
Speaker A: Mhm.
Speaker B: Uh, if you want to mark a fatigue, you can do so to block him from getting close to you. And then you can just kind of describe to me what that looks like, how you kind of keep him from getting too close. Um, currently in his hands, you can see, is a spear, um, just very basic, traditional spear.
Speaker A: Oh, Marga fatigue.
Speaker B: Okay, sounds good. You can describe to me. So as he's running up to you, he's got a spear in his hand, he's trying to get close to you. What do you do to keep him back? Or I guess technically speaking, it could go along with your sweep the leg.
Speaker A: Yeah. So I'm going to turn around and as I'm turning, I'm just going to kick my leg out.
Speaker B: Okay, so that's going to be a roll with, um, passion.
Speaker A: Yes.
Speaker B: And we'll call it a strike.
Speaker A: Oh my goodness. Got a five.
Speaker B: Okay, so, um, he's rushing up to you. Um, you manage to sort of sidestep him to keep him from getting right up next to you and have kind of the control of the situation. But as you go to sort of trip him up with your sweep the leg, um, he nimbly jumps over your leg that swings out towards him, hits the ground, slides in the snow and turns back towards you and he says, ah, you thought you could stop me, but I've got you now. Uh, and he starts to draw back as if he's about to throw his spear. And then all of a sudden, your fox dog leaps out at full speed and jumps on top of him and just starts, you just hear him very violently, kind of attacking. This man's tearing at his clothing or whatever the case, trying, um, to stop him.
Speaker A: It's a perfect opportunity to run, but I think I'm going to run anyway.
Speaker B: All right. Um, uh, using the distraction that your fox dog creates, you run off into the forest the little way as, um, fast as you can, since he has given you the opportunity to escape from these crazed hunters. And, uh, again, eventually, the sound of the grunts and growls fade away in the background. As you rush, um, away and you find yourself in complete silence. It's dark, it's a forest. I mean, at most you might hear like an owl cat or something, hooting or whatever sound they make, um, in the trees, but otherwise it's just you alone. And um, it starts to burn a little bit in your chest. You've been running. Um, if you've ever run in cold air, it's like the most painful sensation in the world.
Speaker A: Um, my nostrils are probably sticky. Oh, absolutely, yes.
Speaker B: And so you come to a slow to take a deep breath and kind of catch your breath a little bit and hopefully warm up a little bit so that it's not stinging inside of your lungs. And as you're doing this, as you're catching your breath, you hear some, uh, of the branches and the shrubbery near you start to kind of like shake a little bit because something's there.
Speaker A: Um, I'm going to pull out my pocket knife.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, and I'm just going to stay in my crouch position.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Um, kind of slowing my breathing so it doesn't sound so like exasperated, I guess.
Speaker B: Right.
Speaker A: Trying to. Quiet. Yeah.
Speaker B: Um, as you do this, bursting out of the bushes is Mr. Okaran. And he sees you and he goes, uh, uh.
Speaker C: Mika?
Speaker B: Oh, thank goodness you're. Oh, it's okay. It's just me. I promise I'm not here to hurt you.
Speaker A: Are you sure you were with those three people?
Speaker B: Well, I mean, I was traveling with them, but uh, what they were doing is wrong. I'm not here to hurt you, I swear. I gave you the pack. I was the one. Mr. O. Trying to help you. It's okay. I assure you, I'm trying to help.
Speaker A: Um.
Speaker B: Uh, okay, there's a nearby Earth kingdom village that should be close by here that sort of bridges the water nation. And I think if we can get there, I can get you to safety.
Speaker A: Okay, I guess I'll follow you. But what about my dad?
Speaker B: That's true. Maybe the best I can offer is maybe he made it to the town as well. And maybe he's waiting there for you.
Speaker A: Okay, um. I'll go with.
Speaker B: Not. I mean, you're welcome to stay at. I have a tea shop in a small Earth kingdom town called Gao Ling. I mean, you can stay there as long as you need to. Um, and we'll put up posters or ask around or whatever the case and hopefully we can find your dad.
Speaker A: Okay, sounds good.
Speaker C: Okay.
Speaker B: Uh, where's the little fox dog?
Speaker A: I left him behind. He gave me an opportunity to escape and so I took it.
Speaker B: Well, maybe he'll catch up.
Speaker A: Yeah, I'm um, going to leave some of my jerky behind so he knows to come in his direction.
Speaker B: Sure that's a good idea? It's breadcrumbs. Yeah, I once read an old story about that. Well, actually, there was a witch involved, but it's not like that, I assure. Uh, okay. Okay, good. Uh, yes. All right. Um, let's get out of here because, uh, it might not take long before those guys might catch up.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: All right. And with that, uh, you head off with Mr. Okaron, eventually making your way to a small Earth kingdom town, uh, not too far from where you're at. And unfortunately, obviously, you don't find your father there. So you move on with him to Gao Ling, where he gives you a place to stay. And hopefully, uh, your dad finds you or you happen to get information about your dad in the meantime. And with that, that is the end of Mika's backstory. Thank, um, you all so much for listening, and we hope you enjoyed this and all of our previous prequel episodes. Although it was a lot of work, it was incredibly fun creating them and telling the stories associated with each of them. I want to say a special thank you to all of those cast members that were involved in Mika's prequel, which includes Mactook, who is voiced by Van Stein, child Mika, and the Water tribe woman, both done by Danielle, Elahoshi, Gates, the Shaman by Eric Joseph, Vo, Inera by Savvy is Happy Chief Tutanka by Scytheus One, Water tribe Man by Patrick Mackey, and of course, Teenage Mika, which was played by Michaela as usual. And all other voices, as well as the GMing was done by myself, Skyler for our amazing voice cast. You can find a variety of their links below to their various social channels and other projects so that you can support them in their amazing talents. Of course, don't forget to follow or subscribe to our podcast through whatever podcast site that you're using, such as iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, and others. Additionally, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Just look for the social media icons. Following us on social media gives you access to all news, announcements, and of course new episodes as they are released. You can check out our website, bendersoandbrews.com, which will feature all of our episodes as well as news, announcements and even cool character and player profiles. It's a great hub of information for the Benders and Brews podcast. And finally, we would be truly humbled if you would be willing to take the time to leave us a review. If your podcast site allows you to do so, such as on iTunes or in the case of YouTube, you can hit the like and subscribe button and drop us a comment. Tell us about what you thought about our podcast episodes. It sure would mean a lot to us. Avatar Legends is a tabletop role playing game created by Magpie Games, Nickelodeon, Avatar and all related titles. Logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International, Inc. All rights reserved. I also want to thank the following artists who you can find on Fiver for their amazing creative work on this podcast. Character art was done by Alicio Papa Draw, background art by Konichi, music by Joe Tims, two one five. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you on the next episode.