Pinefeather bursts through the bracken from the campward trail, breath tight and slate-gray fur dusted with pine needles. Lilacsplit stays beside Moonwillow as the deputy reaches the overlook.
Pinefeather
There you are. Give me the clear report. Why has this patrol not returned to camp?
The Ravine Patrol turns from the opposing pines. Below, fresh stones still shift along the eastern shelf, and a thin Fireclan scent rides the ravine wind.
Ravine Patrol
Fresh movement is below us. Two cats crossed toward the rocks, and another call answered from the far pines. We cannot abandon this overlook.
Pinefeather
You can, and you will. Fall back to camp and reinforce the entrances. That is where the clan needs you now.
The scouts exchange wary glances but keep their bodies angled toward the ravine. Lilacsplit lowers herself beside Moonwillow, listening as distant stone clicks rise from below.
Ravine Patrol
If the attack has already begun, leaving this post opens the path straight to Wildclan’s flank. Send another patrol to camp, but we are staying here.
Pinefeather
Then we have no time for an argument. Moonwillow, Lilacsplit, tell me exactly what you heard and saw below.
“i tell him”
SUCCESS (Good Persuasion, rolled +3)
Moonwillow lifts her muzzle and sorts the ravine’s scents: two Fireclan trails cross the eastern shelf, while a third scent lingers beyond the far pines. Keen hearing catches stone shifting below and the answering call above, placing watchers on both sides.
Moonwillow
Two Fireclan cats crossed below, and another answered from the far pines. They’re waiting for our patrol to commit, then they can strike Wildclan’s flank. This is an active ambush, not a distant threat.
Pinefeather studies her, then looks over the overlook. The deputy’s ears angle toward the eastern shelf as another pebble skitters below, confirming Moonwillow’s warning in the same breath she delivers it.
Pinefeather
Clear enough. The threat is immediate, and you’ve placed it exactly. Ravine Patrol, withdraw by the high trail. Lilacsplit, take Moonwillow and mark every approach to camp.
The scouts finally turn from the ravine. Pinefeather points Moonwillow toward a narrow deer path hidden behind the overlook, a concealed route that reaches Wildclan’s eastern entrance without crossing the exposed trail.
Lilacsplit
That path will get us ahead of any movement from the shelf. Come on, Moonwillow. We’ll warn the entrance guards before the ambush closes.
✓ Quest Accepted
Coordinate the Wildclan defenders against the ambush
“i follow lilacsplit”
SUCCESS (Good Athletics, rolled +0)
Lilacsplit slips onto the concealed deer path, and Moonwillow follows close behind. Her keen senses catch each flexing root and loose stone before her paws commit, guiding her safely through the dim undergrowth.
The trail drops sharply between thornbushes. Moonwillow drives forward with strong hind legs, claws gripping the soil, but a hidden branch rakes her foreleg and leaves a hot, shallow scrape.
Lilacsplit
You’re hurt, but it’s only a scrape. Keep with me. We’re almost through the trees.
Moonwillow bears the sting and matches Lilacsplit’s pace. Pine smoke thickens ahead, while her ears separate camp sounds from the ravine’s distant answering calls.
The deer path emerges behind Wildclan’s eastern entrance. Moonwillow and Lilacsplit reach the guards’ post before any movement from the shelf can cross the open ground.
Lilacsplit
We made it. Now we warn the entrance guards and mark every approach before the ambush closes.
Lilacsplit turns toward the nearest watch position, tail high despite the hurried climb. Moonwillow stands beside her at the entrance, foreleg stinging but the route successfully secured.
““alright, lets do this!””
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +2)
Moonwillow
All right. Let’s do this!
Moonwillow and Lilacsplit move along the eastern entrance. Keen Senses catch bent grass, disturbed needles, and paw-sized gaps between thornbushes, revealing every approach from the ravine shelf.
Basic Threat Assessment sorts the signs by danger: the open ground is fastest, the deer path is concealed, and a narrow gully offers a hidden flank route. Moonwillow marks each with claw-scratches and scattered pale stones.
Eastern Entrance Guards
We see the marks. The ravine approaches are watched now, and we’ll hold the entrance against any sudden movement.
Lilacsplit checks the last trail beside the wall while Moonwillow traces the gully’s edge. Her scraped foreleg stings under the effort, but every route is plainly marked for the guards.
Lilacsplit
Done. No approach can reach this entrance unseen, and the guards know where the ambush may come from.
Behind them, Wildclan’s entrance settles into alert silence. The guards take their positions, while Lilacsplit remains beside Moonwillow, ready to carry the warning inward.
Contain the threat emerging from the ravine fissure
undefined / undefined
A deep tremor rolls beneath the eastern entrance. Thornbushes shiver, pale stones jump from Moonwillow’s markings, and a sudden gust carries hot ash from beyond the ravine.
Eastern Entrance Guards
Movement! The ground opened near the gully!
A jagged fissure splits the soil along the hidden flank route. Smoke curls from its darkness, while the open ground beyond the wall falls unnaturally silent.
Lilacsplit
That wasn’t Fireclan movement. Something beneath the ravine has broken through.
The fissure widens with a grinding crack. Moonwillow’s scraped foreleg flares as the earth bucks beneath her, and several entrance stones tumble toward the smoking gap.
Eastern Entrance Guards
Fall back from the gully! Hold the wall and watch the ravine!
Lilacsplit
Moonwillow, the entrance is still secure, but that break gives anything below a new way up.