Fate favor's @ Constantina on her inaugural hunt. Snowfall ceases for the first time in weeks, and what clouds are in the sky are wisps from an artist's dry brush, unable to block the sun. The usual winds that dance along the frozen hinterland fields rattle local frostfern, the shimmy inspired by the brisk touch causing them to chime melodically for any passerby. Due to the clear weather, the flag posts that jut up from the snowy passage back to the Greenlands are easily visible. Their tired banners flap and wave at the few equines who make the trek this day, but for once this "road" is rather vacant. Perhaps, because word of the wolf has spread...

Mraz is known for the danger found in the wilds, both from the local beasts and the weather, but predators striking on the roads? The very safety of Mrazen people, and visitors, are in Constantina's hooves. The 10th flag marker in from Hearthstone is where the woman claimed she had her encounters. Travelling there would be the bet start for this fledgling hunter. Perhaps there will be a clue?

Once arrived, the hunt begins. Despite the serenity of the atmosphere surrounding the snapping flag post, there are some disturbances leading from the main road; old tracks, but still there. The snow hasn't devoured them yet, and the day is young. Best get a move on before the trail runs cold.

Welcome to your hunt, Constantina! You may proceed with the given clues and environment however you like. Please tag Mraz Official in all replies to initiate the next stages of the hunt. Good luck, and happy hunting!

With apparent ease Constantina locates the wolf tracks in the snow. The crispness of the snow provides her an uncomplicated path to follow. It twists and winds at times, the lupine obviously searching through the powdery snow for something, but inevitably it returned back to its former path. Her sharp eyes and keen, focused mind lead her away from the flagposts. Perhaps the wolf had abandoned its previous ambush point? Simply tired of waiting?

The pad tracks lead her to a thick growth of frostfern. The beast slipped easily through the icy foliage, leaving few broken fronds in its wake. The deep sapphires to crystalline clear ferns glisten in the sunlight, almost blindingly so. The path is wide, and deep in some areas where the arching, crystal leaves of the plants stretch over one another. It would be difficult for any equine, even of small stature, to pass through them without disrupting the patch. A quick assessment would prove that the journey around is doable, though time consuming, but would ensure that our hunter avoided any unnecessary contact with ice wights...

While contemplating her choices, Constantina may noticed that the scent of the wolf lingers on the nearest deep blue frostfern, even a stray grey hair or two caught in the glass-like arms of the plant.

Roll: 18
Modifiers: N/A
Total: 18

@ Constantina is on the track! Her prioritization of the hunt led her easily to the first obstacle in her path. Will she choose to traverse through the frostfern and perhaps find additional clues left behind on the fronds, or not risk the potential of angering ice wights and skirt around the field?

Our fledgling dives into the frostfern without fear, unwilling to pass up what clues may sit amongst the crystalline fronds. As she proceeds through, the icy growths that do come in contact with her shatter and collapse into the snow bed below, hidden by the soft down resting undisturbed beneath. It is this pristine bed of powdery white that inevitably makes the lupine's tracks so easy to trace through the grove.

Around her, pockets of thick frost fern rustle and shimmy, delicate, sparkling snow catching the fledgling’s eye if she gambles to investigate. Something moves within the crystalline fronds, but also moves unseen. Now and again, as she continues to trail the tracks of the wolf, Constantina can even hear a disapproving hiss or two…

As the rustles become more and more frequent, and the plan starts to appear ill-conceived, a speckle of red stands starkly a few feet away. A clump of grey wolf hair hangs from the remains of an arching frond, and from it dripped a few droplets of blood. The wolf’s stench is pungent, filling the air around it despite the wind. The scent is so pristine, in fact, it promises that the wolf is close - perhaps even closer than she knows.

Before her the tracks lead still through the frostfern, and from this vantage, she can easily see the opposing side where the patch ends. Dunes of snow hiss and shimmer in the daylight just beyond, tantalizing close. Best make her decision quickly, before the wights grow too impatient with her trespassing.

Roll: 16
Modifiers: N/A
Total: 16

@ Constantina braved the frostfern and it mostly paid in her favor! Her disturbance of the frostfern has riled some of the local ice wights, but could the boon found be worth the danger? The small patch of fur and droplets of blood provide a fresh sample of the wolf's scent, making it easier to track even if Constantina was to lose the tracks. She must be close now!

Successfully our fledgling reaches the opposing side of the frostfern grove. Behind her, the crystalline flora still shimmies and hisses with distrustful ice wights, stirred by the cracking and shattering of their delicate home fronds. The frozen prairie howls with a robust zephyr, the frostfern chiming behind her as the fragile leaves graze one another. Powdery snow billows up into the air and strike at Constantina's exposed hide. Frozen granules pellet at her, nipping like the prick of a needle the snowy winds buffet her. It is a sharp, quick pain, and one that not only assaults the eyes but temporarily diminishes the line of sight.

It is the very reason why Constantina loses her footing and slips down an unseen dip in the snow beyond the grove.

Below is a surprise. A wolf does startle awake from a nearby burrow, its bright eyes snapping directly to the hunter. It bolts to its paws and its lips peel back into a snarl. As the winds die down, the only utterance left in the air is the lupine's threatening display. Perhaps, if she listens close enough, Constantina can even hear her own heartbeat... If it hadn't been for the winds, perhaps our fledgling could have snuck up on her target, but fate was on not her side.

The wolf snaps its jaws, before lunging forward to strike.

Roll: 4
Modifiers: +2 for Boon
Total: 6

@ Constantina has found the targetted wolf! Unfortunately visibility was poor and she slid down into the beast's lair. She lost all possibility at an ambush or surprise, leaving only a battle to decide who will be the last one standing. Will our Fledgling prevail?

Deftly our hunter removes herself from the wolf's trajectory. It snarls in anger, snapping around to keep her in its sights. Froth collects at the corners of its peeled lips, its pupils small and maddened. The previously tumultuous zephyr dies away, leaving sparkling powder aloft in the air that may catch the eye of a daydreamer, and our predator is anything but. Hungry from the savage hinterlands it calls its home bearing little in the respect of coverage or food, the hunter will have to do well enough. With another growl, the beast lurches forward to strike again, unafraid of Constantina's dagger.

But it should have been.

The wolf yowls with regret and pain as her steel blade cuts clean through a front leg, toppling the beast and leaving barely enough time for his nails to graze her umber and gold hide. Crimson spills into the alabaster snow as the wolf shoots off to put further distance between itself and the pegasus, but its yellow eyes still keep themselves fixated on her - still maddened, if not now swirling with rage. Though she did not fell the beast, her blow was enough to hinder, as seen in the wolf's apparent limp. The wolf looses a series of barks in threat, hoping perhaps to scare away this fledgling, before shooting forward.

But the wolf stops short in a mixture of attempting to fake the hunter out, and afraid to travel too close.

Roll: 11
Modifiers: +2 for Boon
Total: 13

Something is happening! Success! @ Constantina landed her first blow without issue. Though her previous tumble may have hurt her pride more than her being, she's regained full control over this fight. The wolf appears hesitant to get too close to her, especially with such a severe slice through one of its forelegs.