An Unknown Future

It was the storied wisdom of the Sky Stone Tribe that had always acted as a means for The Foxes to find their way through the world to plentiful food and comfortable homes. So, while the words of wisdom from the Sky Stone Tribe struck many a fox as an endeavor that was strange and their time better spent making rafts for which to catch more fish or explore the Ocean Forest, The Foxes ended up following their words of wisdom none the less.

Then the storms came.

Clouds blew in from the direction of the Mist, intent on strangling the all light out of the sky, only to return it with bursts so bright sudden that they would temporarily blind any fox who witnessed them and deafen those who did not. Even worse was the rain. Water poured and poured from the sky in a never ending torrent, and it was all the foxes could do to stop their small and weak little shelters from caving in from the constant onslaught of water. Many days the rain fell so hard as to force the fishers off the water, and even in the calmest of days none dared to go outside the bay lest a vicious storm come and take them by surprise.

As the conditions worsened, Foxes began to turn to each other and ask who was to blame, what had brought on this seeming wrath from the sky? The elders claimed that the new stories told were disrespectful of the sky, that this was it showing its displeasure for them not including its greatness in the stories they told. The young responded by claiming that it was brought down upon them because they had too many stories devoted to frivolous things, that the Sky Stone Tribe had meant for them to simply stop telling those stories and tell new ones instead. A few whispered that the seers were fakes.

With no fox able to reach the Sky Stone Tribe, the local Stone Seer could be seen running around and searching for what rocks she could to perform half remembered Seeing methods in a desperate hope to find a solution, or even identify the calamity's true nature. Once again it was the constant downpour of rain that proved problematic, having hidden much of the stone beneath piles of mud, and constantly threatening that which was left with collapses that would bury a fox alive.

In a last ditch effort to find stones that could show her how to handle the situation, the Stone Seer had led an expedition to acquire a significant amount of the new rock inland of the Ocean Forest. While this had not resulted in the hoped for solution, it had ended up with having the nice side effect of giving the Foxes enough excess stone to create a surplus of tools.

For now.

With the storms refusing to cease their constant pounding of The Foxes' camp, many were getting desperate and talks of trying to find their own solution to the dilemma came about. Before that happened and they did something foolish, however, The Foxes finally heard from Sky Stone Camp!

Sky Stone Camp was gone!

After much screaming and claims of the world coming to an end, the nominal Guide, who had actually never been to Sky Stone Camp, listened to the story of the travelers that claimed to be from Sky Stone Camp, but not Sky Stone Camp.

Night Skies was something of a prodigy, it seemed. When she was young she had looked into the sky at night and noticed many patterns similar to those found when breaking stones. It was through studying these that she noticed that a great calamity was on the horizon and tried to warn Sky Stone Camp. Unfortunately they didn't listen to her, since her method of reading was yet to be proven, and they paid the price.

When the storms started coming, Night Skies knew that the time was near and, fearing the survival of the Stone Seeing ways, she took the few that would listen to her and fled the camp, seeking to warn The Foxes before the calamity reached them. As she was leaving, there was an immense crashing sound, like when one dropped a stone, only much louder, to the point where even the river shook. When she looked again at the sacred mountain, it was gone, and the Sky Stone Tribe nowhere to be seen.

Night Skies, of course, did not make it in time to warn The Foxes of the impending catastrophe, but still she wished to reach her fellow foxes to make sure they were safe. She also realizes that their existence here would be a burden on the foxes that they could not afford in these trying times, and now seeks to reach the outcrop of new stone to continue the Stone Seeing tradition.

This had many foxes concerned. Night Skies obviously did not know that the new stone had little use in Stone Seeing, but then again she appeared to be a prodigy and had many of the Stone Seers on hand, so perhaps she could find secrets that their local stone seer could not? Said local stone seer was currently too in shock at hearing of her home destroyed to offer any input on the matter.

Of course, if she stayed here, then they could have the guidance of the Stone Seers on hand at all times, but would she accept that? Or perhaps they could convince her to settle down with them on the Fish Bay, but at a different camp?

The foxes had decisions to make with how to handle the last of the Sky Stone Tribe, and they still had to find a way to appease the Sky on top of that!

In regards to appeasing the Sky, The Foxes...
[][Sky] Turn one of the stories back into fanciful tales
*Value will be chosen at random*
[][Sky] Try to convince Night Skies to give them a path to follow before she leaves
[][Sky] Follow Night Skies to a new land
[][Sky] Hope the Sky will spare them

In regards to the last of the Sky Stone Tribe, The Foxes...
[][Stone] Try to convince Night Skies to lead the camp
[][Stone] Encourage them to make a camp on Fish Bay
[][Stone] Show them to the Flint Deposit
[][Stone] They are no longer the Sky Stone Tribe, they must fend for themselves

Hint: Leaders are not the same as overlords.

*WARNING* The path to the Flint Outcrop may be lost at the beginning of next turn.

QM/Note: Aw, dice. I had just started settling into the idea that you'd bail them out of every possible fire so the players would be made of nothing but kindling when ??? rolled around and the result would be a fire hot enough to melt the continent.

What am I supposed to do with all these marshmallows now? I suppose there is a fire here.

*Opens marshmallows and tries to cook them over fire.*

...

They're soggy now.

None of The Foxes knew why the storms howled the way they did. Nor could any fox know understand why the storms ravaged the land. All they knew of the mighty storms that assailed them, was that the storms were angry and vicious, that they did not seem to wish for anything other than the destruction of them and their world. That the storms, in their anger, had already done as much to the Sky Stone Tribe.

The Sky Stone Tribe. It was known by every fox for how great their wisdom and knowledge of the world were. And then there was Night Skies, the leader of the survivors. The vixen didn't seem to wish to guide The Foxes in place of the Sky Stone Tribe, however. Perhaps she was unsure of her wisdom, having grown up around the wisest of the foxes? Some considered that she may feel unwelcome here, among foxes she did not grow along side. Night Skies did seem rather keen in continuing what could be sparred of the Stone Seers. Should they lead her to the new stone they had found so she could try?

No, the foxes decided in the end.

Perhaps it was selfishness on their part, but whereas even the wise Sky Stone Tribe had not seen this calamity coming, Night Skies had. She must have an understanding of what was happening, of what they needed to do to appease the storms. And so, they pleaded with her to stay with them, to give them guidance in their time of need, to stop the storms before all was gone.

She was hesitant, of course. Ever weary of all that she had yet to learn, Night Skies was unsure of whether or not she could truly stop that which she did not understand. None the less, The Foxes believed in her and pleaded for her help.

"You told us of your watching of the skies," stated one of them, a young kit who could not remember a time when the storms did not tear apart the land, "if you were to watch them more, you could surely find out what has made them so angry."

The Foxes nodded in agreement at this, but Night Skies was still unsure, so an elder fisher told spoke to reassure her. "Do not let your doubt fool you," he said, remembering the tales of the great Sky Stone Tribe and how they led them away from the wrath of the cold winds so long ago, "you have already done what the wisest could not. If you do not help us cease the storms, then I fear what will become of all."

Night Skies did not seem to be convinced at all by their words, but nodded her head all the same. "I will try," she said.

And so, Night Skies went to the highest hill she could find near the camp and sat there, staring up at the sky to try and find what was wrong. Time went on, and The Foxes waited, hoping that she would find the answer. Winds changed, the cold winds invading the lands with their chill and the storms turned from warm rain to freezing snow, and Night Skies still sat there and watched the skies, and The Foxes still waited for her as they struggled to continue surviving.

A long time had passed, and The Foxes were beginning to wonder if Night Skies had turned to stone, sitting and staring at the sky for so long, when one day she came down from the hill and told them she had figured out how to stop the storms. They must wake the Sun.

And so all of the foxes gathered on top of the hill where Night Skies had sat and watched the skies for so long, from kit to elder. fisher to crafter, mothers and fathers, they all gathered so as to wake the Sun. And though none were sure as to how this would stop the storms, they trusted in Night Skies' wisdom. As The Foxes all gathered around looking to see just how they were to achieve their daunting task, the birds began to chitter and chatter.

"Come," said Night Skies, "we must help them, for they are far too weak and their voices too soft to achieve it on their own."

The Foxes were amazed. How had Night Skies managed to gain the help of the birds in this endeavor?

"You misunderstand," she replied, "the birds are not here to help us. The Sun has been far too tired for the last many changing of winds, too groggy to get up and go about its journey across the sky properly. The birds have been trying to encourage it to do so all this time, giving words of advice that only they understand. Their voices are too quiet, however, so we must help them with the endeavor."

Astounded, but hopeful, the foxes looked at each other and all started chattering in the strange words of the birds, hoping that their encouragements would help rise the Sun from its slumber. And as they took on the chattering of the birds, the birds returned their calls, calling louder, and many more joining in. The Foxes responded in kind, raising their voices ever higher, and before they knew it light was starting to shine on the hill. and they picked up the chitter and chatter of the birds even more. Again, the birds returned the cries, and The Foxes pressed on, knowing that they had help in their great endeavor, picking up their voices ever louder as the birds joined them until the entire hill and surrounding area were nothing but a constant chatter between the two groups as they worked to wake the Sun up from its drowsy sleep.

Before they knew it, the Sun was up high in the sky, well before any storm had come through, and Night Skies explained to them the nature of her plan, now that she knew she was right. She did not want them to laugh at her idea, after all. The Storms, she had seen, wished to keep the Sun asleep and dreary, for what reasons she did not know why, though she expected they did not like each other. The Sun, after all, seemed to be able to chase away the clouds when it was well and truly awake, warming and brightening the air and ground far too much for their cold and dark forms to survive.

This was the tale passed down among The Foxes, who now frequently joined the birds in waking the Sun when they needed the light and warmth, and though there were still the occasions when the Storms would manage to overcome the Sun, none were like the days long past, spoken of around the campfire.

And so a new generation of Foxes grew up knowing the tale of Night Skies and how she woke the Sun. With the Sun now chasing away the Storms, and the way to the Flint Rock found once more, they were eager to go and do new things.

Choose two actions from the list bellow. Use the [Action] tag to denote your choices for this and put a x2 next to any option you wish to take a second time.

• Be Creative: Encourage discussion, storytelling, whatever people can think of in order to enrich the lives of your people.
• Build Rafts: Use tools to make extra rafts to allow you to travel much farther to get far away resources and explore further, as long as it is along a waterway.
• Craft Ornaments: Create extra decorative pieces with which to adorn people and their dwellings.
• Craft Tools: Create a stockpile of tools with which to work on major projects.
• Forget Story: Some songs are best forgotten, ornaments best left buried where the next generation can't see. Make an effort to forget several traditions. (Current Targets Available: A Better Way, Together)
• Insult: Show your greatness by insulting another group and showing they can not respond to you. (Current Target Available: None)
• Meet: Sit down and talk with a group to exchange stories and gifts. (Current Target Available: None)
• Migrate: Perhaps, this land is not good for your people. Migrate to a new land. (Current Targets Available: Inland Fish Bay, Mistward Fish Bay, Flint Stone Outcrop)
• New Camp: Use tools to construct more permanent shelters so your Foxes can live more comfortably. (Target Location: Inland Fish Bay, Mistward Fish Bay, Flint Stone Outcrop)
• Raid: Someone has stuff that you want or need. Go take it. (Current Target Available: None)
• Refine Story: Discuss the true meaning of a story and how your family should interpret it. (Current Target Available: A Better Way, Together)
• Scout: Explore your surroundings to see what you can find.
• Tell New Story: Songs can be steered to teach new lessons and ornaments new meanings where they had none before.

Hint: Camps have a limit to the amount of population they can hold.