[Necrogigas]

O'Connor gave the man a hard stare, "You won't give her clothes cause we got nothin' for trade, but you're willin' to feed us? What's your game old man?"

[Crossbow]

The man look back at O'Conner with a lecherous grin, "What wrong with enjoying a fine view while you eat young fella?"  then his smile becomes more natural, "Nevermind that, I'm just joshing ya, c'mon." to the ork he adds "Don't worry none, I think I got something to help." Blackeagle makes his way up into the trees by the stream and disappears over the bank.

[HydroRaven]

As soon as Blackeagle is out of sight, Clementine makes her way back towards the rest of the group and addresses O'Connor. "A healthy dose of skepticism never hurt anyone, but in this case he's got the upper hand. He got the drop on us, he knows the terrain and he's better equipped. I don't know if you guys had noticed, but the man seemed like he appeared out of nowhere. It takes a great level of skill to pull that off without anyone noticing. AND Heron's spirit friend doesn't seem to have worked against him. I think we should see where he takes us. He had plenty of time to do as he pleases with us but hasn't. Is having someone who knows the surroundings such a bad idea at the moment?"

[Necrogigas]

"Several of those are good reasons to put as much distance as possible between us and him." O'Connor sighed,  "But, yeah, I see your point." He started moving in the direction of the old man, "If we let him get too far ahead, he'll prob'ly disappear as fast as he appeared."

[RHat]

No signal yet.  Keep trying.

Though his attention was partially focused on his scan, Fionn was also giving some consideration to the group's options.  Hm...  We need to make a firm decision as a group.  With an even number of us, voting might be a bad plan.  So let's establish resources.

"Ya know, before we settle onto a course of action, should probably get a better idea of what these options are.  Anyone here got much in the way of survival skills?  Know how to purify water, build a shelter, get food, figure out what's safe to eat, and such?  Wishing I'd paid more attention to that when I was a kid..."  He paused for a moment.  "Might be supplies at the lodge, weapons, clothes - walking through the wilderness naked with a beautiful trid actress would be fun under better circumstances, but I really can't pull off the crustacean look.  Might be an uplink; could find out how much time we lost and look into what happened.  Lot of value to making it there sooner."  He paused again.  "Would you be knowing how to recognize a good spot to camp for the night if you saw one astrally, lass?  Do we want to risk being caught out here if something comes along as can see through the power of your spirits?  In my realm, at least, it is often easier to find than it is to hide.  Do we have the tools we'd need to get by for the night?"

[Thvor]

Sam sighed. "Like I told Johnny, I'm way out of my element out here. As far as I'm concerned, you purify water by filling up a glass, opening a bottle of gin, and then throwing away the glass. And as for figuring out what's safe to eat, well, stay out of the troll Hardfang's diner. Trust me on that one." He gave a rueful grin. "Somehow I don't think that's going to be useful advice any time soon."

[Novocrane]

Feeling a little foolish, Ikari lowered his hands while the woodsman spoke. What if the dogs were his? If the thought bothered him, he left it unsaid as he followed the others.

"Whether we trust this guy or not - and I don't like the way he eyes people - he's still our only known option here."

(for when we start moving again)
the silent approach (infiltration) (13d6.hits(5)=3)
keeping an eye out (perception) (14d6.hits(5)=2)

[HydroRaven]

"I hear you Con, so keep your eyes open but don't give him any reasons to draw" said Clem while still talking to O'Connor. Seeing as Ikari was moving along with them, she looked over at Heron and said "Not that I really care what you do Twiggy, but I think it would be better if everyone stayed together for the time being."

[irisheathen]

"There seems to be pros and cons to each route. If we list out the possibilities we might be able to make a better decision. First and foremost, if I understand correctly, the spirits that are hiding us disappear tonight. This seems to illustrate we need to find some sort of shelter tonight whether or not we try to make it to the cabin before sun down. I do not have any knowledge of how to survive in this forest and I would also like to point out I can't see in the dark. If we take the shortcut we might, and I'd like to stress it as only a possibility, get to this lodge quicker but we risk having to ask Ms. Delavine to check our direction and progress. If we take the path we will probably not make the lodge tonight. If we are on the path we do have the chance of rejoining our lost compatriots tonight but we also risk encountering anything else that uses that path. And seeing as someone unfriendly put us out here there is the chance that they are still around not to mention the beasts we had to deal with earlier. I will gladly follow either route because neither is perfect. " Johnny looked to each of the other three calmly. "In either case I fully support Ms. Delavine sending out watchers to locate the others and passing on our decision.

[Crossbow]

Cresting the hill, you see that Blackeagle’s invitation seemed to be an authentic one.  He sits at a campfire stirring something that looks like a stew, a coffeepot near at hand just starting to steam.

As you approach the fire the Amerind tosses his sheathed blade to Clementine.  “See if you can cut something useful from the skin over there to cover yourself and your feet, some for your friends too.”  He then points to the nearby log on which rests his staff and rifle, near a pack, “Cop a squat fellas, the kaf will be ready in a minute.”

Neatly catching the blade, Clementine looks to where Blackeagle indicated.  She sees a large ebony skin, stretched and pinned, a neat row of spikes running down the middle.

[HydroRaven]

Clementine looks perplexed. She gives an awkward smile to Blackeagle and says "Thanks a lot for the help, chummer. It's my first time cutting my own clothes, really. Any advice you can give me?"

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor glanced about the campsite, still distrustful of the man and his intentions. He took a seat on the log, near the rifle in case he needed to make a play for it. He looked the rifle over to familiarize himself with it, but his headache and busted ribs kept him from focusing on it too long. He was secretly glad for the chance to sit down. While he wasn't willing to admit it, even to himself, the trek wasn't doing his ribs any favors and he was nearing his limit. He had nothing but suspicions and accusations to throw at the old geezer, so O'Connor said nothing.

[spoiler=Perception Check]
Percption (Visual) 5 + Intuition 3 - CM 3 = Pool 5
5d6.hits(5) → [2,4,2,1,5] = (1)
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Knowledge Check: Firearm Design]
Firearm Design 3 + Logic 3 - CM 3 = Pool 3
3d6.hits(5) → [2,4,1] = (0)
[/spoiler]

[farothel]

"Let's worry about the other group later on," Sammy said, "for now, let's follow the river and see how far we get.  I hope walking will be easier in the valley then for coming down."

She started moving again, following the river towards the bridge she had found.

[Gorean]

Glancing at the skin.

Nice pelt. you get many of those things around here?

Turning to his spirit, he gives instructions to go find Sammy and the others and tell them about the camp.

[Thvor]

Sam nodded and fell into line behind the mage again. Damn, but this walking naked through the frakking forest with all these god-damned bugs is getting old, he thought to himself.