[You're in the forest! Jinx is calling Mary Anne's name!] * Fanfan keeps an eye out for skellies and/or other woodland nasties. [And give me perception rolls. Tairan normal, Fanfan +2. And not you, Jinxie.] * Tairan eyes the surrounding, trying to track MaryAnne's movements through the forest to get a bead on her. * Jinx calls out. "Mary Anne!" He then comments quietly, "I really need to demand a no running off clause for my next employer." Does she do this often? Yes. Well... no.. she's been kidnapped twice, although that's not really something she had a choice about. Oh. Curious. Are all Western women so.... * Tairan mutters. "Maybe we should invest in a leash..." * Fanfan waves her hand vaguely. * Tairan grumbles, and keeps on trackin'. [Fanfan doesn't see anything out to kill her, necessarily. She does manage to spot a pink hair ribbon, though.] * Jinx laughs and then looks over at Fanfan. "Thankfully no. At least not the worthwhile ones." * Fanfan blinks and points at a pink ribbon. "Would that be hers?" * Jinx looks at the ribbon. "I think so. Good job." * Fanfan shrugs modestly. "It merely caught my eye for a moment." * Tairan eyes the ribbon, nods, and uses that as a jumping off point for his search. "Good eye, Fanfan." Think I should go back and get Lightning? ... I've got footsteps leading out of the forest. As in more than one set. Several, even. * Jinx swears and runs for the rest of the group. More than we can handle, do you think? Get the others. Bring them and the horses back here. I'll stay so I don't lose the trail. I will stay as well. What if they come back, or send troops back to delay us further? True. Looks like it's going in the same general direction as the tracks we've been followin'... towards Hoshimoto territory. Fuckin' hell. Well, that fairly seals the question of whether these people were affiliated with the bandits. Unless it was meant to look like they were.