With the help of one of the laborers, Gustav heaved the last barrel of beer onto his wagon.  He thanks the man and wipes his brow, though it was only a few hours after sunrise, Gustav had been laboring since before the dawn to get the last of his supplies loaded up, and it seemed like he was finally ready.

The caravan was not overly large.  Fzoul Slovis was a young farmer, a dark skinned man with blackened teeth and seedy eyes.  He too was leading a wagon, loaded with seed and farming equipment, along with the foodstuffs for the journey, a large plow strapped to the side so that the blades hung down low near the wagon tires.  Ayun Ghannis was a middle aged man, his hair just thinned enough to show bits of his mottled head.  Ayun's skin was a pasty white with brown hair and eyes, giving the impression that his ancestors had hailed from climes much farther north.  Ayun was a goatherd and a merchant, really he was the impetus of the whole expedition.  He had hired two other men, Kiro and Tatsori to be laborers for the caravan, driving Ayun's wagon, which carried barrels of water for the animals and workers along with whatever personal items Ayun had thought to bring, for he had nothing on his person apart from the staff in his hands and the knife on his hip.  They were all there for similar reasons...  the seeming unlimited potential of the new town at Three Corners.  A new trade town with the southern border which had sprung up from the mine... a town which had yet to spring up the necessary sustainment it would require to thrive.  It was a ripe opportunity for the plucking.

Rolf too, had agreed to come along as a sort of guard and helpful hand.  Ayun had been happy for the extra help and had agreed to pay him the same going rate as the laborers, $300 for the two-week trip.  It wasn't exactly a lot, but Rolf had been drawn by that same calling of opportunity that Three Corners seemed to offer, and had been somewhat off put by a newfound, not all together positive, notoriety that his involvement in the whole Witten affair had seemed to gain him.  He wanted to lay low at least for a time, until the whole thing had washed over.

The last among them, besides the dozen or more hardings that Ayun was transporting, was the dog Kunai, who happily ran amongst the goat-like creatures, yipping and wagging his tail wildly.

Gustav checked the wagons one last time, passing his hands over his weapons belt.  He had his saber, the main-gauche, and on the other hip he carried the black sword...  Though he had intended to bundle it up and stow it happily away with his other things, he found himself pulled to keep it closer, its grip warm and welcoming in his hand.

"Are we all ready?"  Ayun asks the other five men, nudging the last of his own supplies stored in the back of his wagon.  "Daylight flees from us and opportunity beckons!  The new road to Three Corners does not wait, we move!"

OOC:  It is 0800 on 14 December, 2005.  Sorry for the monumental delay in starting the thread and thanks for the patience.  Gustav has a wagon loaded with all of his goods, which you can opt to drive or let one of the laborers, Kiro or Tatsori, do it.  Ayun is walking along with the hardings, which are goat-like creatures raised primarily for milk, although they can be eaten.  One of the laborers is driving Ayun's wagon, which has a pair of mules pulling it.  Fzoul is driving his own wagon, which is being pulled by a draft horse.

Rolf has been paid in advance for the mission, $300, which has been added to your character sheet.  Gustav, though you are probably the best fighter of the group, you aren't being paid, instead you were offered goods and services from the merchant guild (Ayun) to get your business off the ground.  If there are any last minute items you wish to add to your character sheet (or sell) please let me know.  Also do me a favor and let me know what items you have on your person.  Otherwise I'll go with what is default on your character sheets.

Gusttav quickly finds all the swords to be too much and puts the saber and Main Gauche away.
He carrys the Black sword, a knife * and a new shield. He also has his crossbow in a notch by the seat of the wagon which holds it aimed down so it won't hit any body or any animal unless it's under the wagon. Gustav plans to drive the wagon.

Rolf has done his best to lay low.  Notoriety for his role in the Witten affair is not something he is after.  Many politically powerful people might want a word with him after the explosion at the insane asylum and he would like to remain anonymous, at least as much as he can.  For his own safety, the less that know about him the better.

And that's not even counting the Mind Flayers.  Rolf is as confident as any man that he can defend himself, but against those creatures all bets are off.  He prays they are dead, but he wonders if they survived and could come after him.  Or send any number of mind controlled assassins to do their killing for them.  The thought sobers him.

When not contemplating his own demise at hands of otherworldly monsters, he spends much of his time poring over the wizards tome and adds a few new spells to his repertoire.  Many of the spells sadly he is unable to learn right now.  They require knowledge he doesn't have.  At least not yet.

But there's time.  He's young and has much to learn in general.  Despite wanting to be seen as little as possible, he takes the risk to track down his former cohort Morgalyn.  Not for a romantic rendezvous, but for training in the art of defeating locks.  She made it look so easy, though he's sure its not, that he wanted to give it a try.  Owing to his innate intelligence it didn't take him too long to get the rudiments of it down.

He also took the time to spend his money and invest in a better sword.  It drained most of his funds, but he likes his new Falchion much more than his last.

After weeks of studying, training, and fretting, when the opportunity to leave with Gustav for the Three Corners he jumped at the chance.  Getting out of the area would do him good.  Fresh air and new opportunities abound in the unsettled lands.  A man like himself could make a mark there he thinks.

And the pay on making the trip is just icing on the cake as far as he's concerned.

OOC:  Rolf is good to go.  The only thing he may want to buy is more food.  Enough for the trip, plus another weeks supply just in case.

Edit:  Rolf will keep his backpack on one of the wagons.  With himself nearby. That way he'll be carrying a smaller load.  He'll keep his crossbow at the ready, with an eye out for any trouble that may come their way.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:10, Wed 31 Mar 2021.

You can put your stuff on my wagon Rolf, keep it in the group.

Ayun grins with a yellowed smile as no one rebuts his own readiness to be gone on adventure.  "Good!  We go!"

"Ayun!"  The voice comes from a stone's throw away, to the side of the caravan.  Gustav turns his head towards the voice which he recognizes instantly.

Terri looks like shit.

Though she wears gleaming new scale armor, and her bow shines with polish, Terri has the look of someone who has taken no care for herself.  Her eyes are sunken in darkened pools and her skin has paled dramatically from the last time Gustav has seen her.  It is not any wonder to the swordsman, for he has heard that Rondald had died at the hand of brigands.

"Ayun!"  Terri shouts as she approaches the caravan from the streets.  "Is your offer still good?  Do you still need another hand for your crew?"

Ayun's eyes narrow, his yellowed teeth slowly closed by his lips as he dons the calculating look of a salesman.  "Of course not..."  Ayun simpers.  "We are readied to depart, there can be no hiring of hands at the last minute... besides, you have been replaced!  Do you think I am made of money?"

Terri's dour expression shifts into one of contempt.  "I have no need of the pittance you offer, I just wish to be rid of this place!  Do you still have room in your caravan for another or not?"

The corners of Ayun's mouth spread wide in a sort of diseased smile, his eyes squinting as his rough edges soften soften somewhat from Terri's harshness.  "I suppose if you are so adamant we can make room..."  Ayun looks about the wagons, which are all nearly full to the brim.  "Though I can't say it isn't an imposition!   You'll need to carry your own goods, though I have enough food... I think... for all of us."

Terri scoffs at the man, as she draws up level with the others.  "I need no one else to carry my things.  Get me down to Three Corners is all that I ask, and away from this place."

Ayun's nods, his expression no less afflicted.  "If you must..."  He waves generally towards the wagons.  "Tatsori!"  Ayun shouts, redirecting his attention towards his own wagon.  "We move!"

Despite the early start, the caravan's progress is slow.  Loaded down as they are, the wagons are a heavy load for the animals.  As well the road that the caravan has chosen, through the hillsides rather than down the Conn, is barely more than trodden grass.  Ayun's wagon leads for most of the way, driven by Tatsori, though the hardings are often pushed out in front by the happy dog Kunai.  Fzoul's wagon brings up the middle, with Gustav in the back.  Ayun, Kiro, Rolf, and Terri walk at intervals around the wagons, at times chatting to carry on with the time, though Rolf finds that Terri offers little conversation, resorting to one or two words in response to his questions when possible.

the whole day drags on, the hilly plains of western Megalos slowly sliding behind them.  The only thing of note is the sighting of a single rider cresting another hilltop some miles away, thought whoever it is quickly recedes backwards and out of sight.

"That seems enough for today."  Ayun offers to no one in particular as the sun begins to hang lower in the sky.  "Two more days before the town of Assa, then the wilderness really starts!"

OOC:  Ok, mostly admin still, but feel free to roleplay the first day on the road.  Rolf, you can feel free to know as much or as little as you have read in the threads about Terri, as it is easy to explain that Gustav may have told you, or else the details of the murder have been common gossip over the past few months.  I do need however a few things from each of you: a common watch list and a perception roll.  Each of the NPC's is happy to take a rotation in the watch.  The hours of darkness are from about 7:00 PM to 6:00 AM due to the late time of year.  Let me know if there are any questions outstanding.  I still owe Gustav a shield, and I'll get it to you as soon as I know which one you want.

TERRI, Put your gear on my wagon if you wish, you are welcome with us.

Rolf doesn't mind if another comes along.  The more the merrier he thinks, but she seems stressed and on the run from something...much like himself.  While he is running from literal monsters, what is Terri looking to escape?

In any event he has no idea and doesn't want to pry.  It's not his business or concern.  But he makes a mental note to ask if Gustav knows her during a quiet moment and what her story might be.

The going is slow, which suits Mr. Erikson just fine.  He keeps his crossbow handy, but unloaded.  There's hardly anywhere for a potential threat to hide and catch them napping, leaving him with plenty of time to load his weapon.

And even if he can't get it ready in time, he still has the robe and it's array of three different spells.  But he'd rather not use them if he can.  The fewer people that know what it can do the better.  Word could potentially get around about what his robe does, and that word could get back to someone, or some thing, associated with Witten.

He finds himself in agreement with Terri and he can't leave soon enough either.  Rolf may be being paranoid as Witten is in ruins and Dr. Heraldus is dead, but still, the forces at play there were powerful and may only be scattered for now.  The farther away he is the better.  It would put his mind at ease.

Though the lands they are traveling to are no picnic.  Strange creatures lurk in dark places, waiting to pounce on those foolish enough to peer into them.

The day goes smoothly and Rolf is glad to get ready to camp.  Taking his backpack out, he rummages around and pulls out a small tent.  Addressing Terri he says amicably "You are welcome to use this tonight if you'd like privacy."

OOC:  Here's my proposed common watch.  Let me know if anyone has other plans and if I missed anyone.  [Rolf, Gustav, Fzoul Slovis, Kiro, Tatsori, Ayun Ghannis, Terri]

If Terri doesn't want or need Rolf's tent he will use it.  Otherwise Rolf will bunk down in the common tent(s).

Perception roll:  13, missed by 1.
17:59, Today: Rolf Erikson rolled 13 using 3d6 with rolls of 4,5,4.  Camp perception.

Gustav tries to get Terri aside and ask what happened to Rondald and if she is OK. Whats happened to her to?
He makes it clear that she has a friend .

Gustav just shrugs... Guard duty is just a fact of life, he makes sure he knows where Fzoul sleeps.

He has the cross bow loaded and sword with shield on for his watch.
He stays alert during the whole watch.

The group halts with the setting sun, setting up camp in a wide circle just off the road with the wagons on the west side and Ayun directing Tatsori and Kiro to erect his large tent while he minds to the animals, Fzoul minding to his own horse and wagon.

The others mostly mind their own things, Rolf grabbing his pack from the Gustav's wagon, offering his tent to Terri, though the other shakes her head, patting her own pack as she lowers it down from her shoulders.  "I've got my own, thanks."

Before long, camp is made.  It is a tight circle with the wagons on the west, nestled at the bottom of an embankment.  The tents are pitched on the southern side, with the road on their east and the animals scrawling over the hilly plains to feed on what they can find of the first greens sprouting up of the rainy season.

As he hasn't been able to speak much to Terri through the march, having been on the wagon, Gustav makes his way to the woman once his own things are set.  He starts off asking of Rondald, and though he had intended to ask more, to be more consoling, her reaction cuts him off in his tracks.

Terri shakes her head vigorously, putting up a hand towards Gustav in a sort of a "stop" gesture.  After a moment, she turns her head away and closes her eyes, though Gustav thinks he sees the shimmer of a tear falling down her cheek.  "Sorry Gustav, I can't...  I..."

She rubs a forearm across her face and shakes her head again, walking away from Gustav and crouching down to crawl into her tent.  "I just can't take it anymore.  I need to get away."  Her last comment is little more than whispered, and she does not emerge to join the rest of the others for supper...

Ayun agrees to Rolf's suggestions for the watch, and after making sure everyone knows their order and who they are waking to replace them (Terri gives a throaty assent to Rolf from inside her tent), he takes up his position for the first watch of the night, tending the small fire, fed by the thin branches of a dead scrub bush.

For the first half of the night, all seems quiet...  Rolf sees nothing upon his own watch, and passes it along to Gustav, Gustav to Fzoul...  It is later when a piercing cry rings through the night.

"Brigands!"  Kunai's bark adds to the din, angry and loud... voiced from just outside the tent.

The noise pierces Rolf and Gustav awake in a moment, each of them already searching for their weapons...

OOC:  It's assumed that Rolf is sleeping in his own personal tent and that Gustav is in the big tent with Fzoul, Ayun, Tatsori, and Kiro.  Neither of you know exactly what time it is, though it is definitely late in the night.  You may assume that you are sleeping next to your weapons, and that you are sleeping in any armor that is flexible, which I think includes very little of what you guys own.  Feel free to RP that you are sleeping in less than that (it seems a little silly to sleep in your boots, but I'll allow it).  Your robe is fair game Rolf in case there was a question.  We are not quite in combat yet, though we may be there very quickly.  Give me about 10 seconds worth of action, which should include grabbing whatever weapons you want to take.  Note that if you want to don armor other than something that slips over an arm or hand, it's going to take a significant amount of time.

Gustav Rouses quickly and grabs (and puts on) sword baldric (with sword and venom knife) and shield, then the spear as he heads outside. Stepping aside just outside the tent to see what is happening.


Gustav sleeps in his boots as does most any soldier not in a safe place; Foot care is done in daylight with guards around.

OOC - An example of why you wear your foot gear was when we got to a base camp in Vietnam and I took off my boots to sleep. Had a rocket attack and had to run across 30-40 feet of crushed rock to get into the bunker. Very uncomfortable!

Rolf sets up his own tent, preparing to settle down for the night.  The day has been long and he really would like the rest.  Not a fan of camping so much as he prefers a proper bed, but at least with his tent he knows it has been carefully cleaned and won't smell too badly.

He takes off all his armor and boots, but leaves the robe on.  It's comfortable enough to sleep in and in the off chance he needs to spring to life to deal with some threat, he'd have some defense.

But he's not worried about danger.  They are not that far from civilization and their party is pretty large.  Who or what would dare take them on?  He soon drifts off to sleep after his turn on watch is finished...

sssss

With bolt Rolf springs from slumber at the call of bandits!  He rolls instantly from his sleeping pad and hurriedly puts his boots on and grabs sword and shield.

Once out of the tent he does his best to assess the threat.

OOC:  Rolf will sleep with the robe on.  He will put on boots and grab his sword and shield.  Once outside the tent, if he has time he will attach the sword scabbard to his hip so he won't have to carry the sword.  And he'll look and listen for which direction the threat is coming from.

How much light is there?  Manmade or otherwise?  The last thing Rolf wants is to have himself near a light source and the Bandits in the dark.

The moment of panic breathes fire into Gustav's veins, making him race in the darkness, gripping at his sword belt and wrapping it around his waist in haste.

All around, bodies seem to rouse from a drowsy stupor.  "What the?"  Ayun murmurs as he sees Gustav making ready for battle, but Gustav has not time for explanation!  He grabs his spear and shield and hurls himself towards the front flaps of the tent, bursting through them and into the night beyond!

Gustav halts for a moment to get his bearings.  Ahead he sees Kiro, still standing next to the fire pit, though the flames have died down to embers and give only the most meager light to the surrounds.  Two men face Kiro on the other side, each with a knife.  Kiro swipes out with his club, smacking one of them hard on the hand, and causing the man to drop his knife and scream!  But the other, seeing a moment of weakness, slashes out hard and though Kiro retreats desperately to evade the blow, the knife slashes neatly across his chest.  What's worse, Kiro's enthusiastic defense has him reeling backwards, taking another moment to recover his balance!

The man who still has the knife jumps forward with a slash, though he misses the mark, his friend nursing his hand as he stares gape-mouthed at the suddenly arriving help!

Gustav hears another tent flap open to the side of him, but he is already darting forward, looking to join the fray!

OOC:  Gustav, you join the fray first.  You have a ready spear in your right hand and your shield ready on your left.  You have also managed to put your sword belt on with both the black sword and the poison knife in their sheathes.  Please give me 3 seconds worth of action.

Rolf, you emerge from your tent slightly behind Gustav with your shield readied and your sword belt strapped around your waist, so your right hand is free.  You also have your robe on.  Please give me 2 seconds worth of action.

The light penalty is quite bad.  The sky is overcast and it does not seem like much light is making its way through the clouds.  The fire give some small bit of light, but not much.  Each of you please make 2 rolls - the first labeled "Vision" the second labeled "Hearing".

This message was last edited by the GM at 16:55, Thu 15 Apr 2021.

12:58, Today: Gustav Du Meseries rolled 8 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,3,3.  Hearing.
12:58, Today: Gustav Du Meseries rolled 9 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,4,3.  Vision.

Gustav having apprecuiated the situation as best he can lunge forward and stabs for the knife wielders vitals


13:01, Today: Gustav Du Meseries rolled 6 using 3d6 with rolls of 4,1,1.  One handed Spear thrust.

13:03, Today: Gustav Du Meseries rolled 5 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 4.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:50, Mon 12 Apr 2021.

Rolf leaves his tent as quickly as he can and does his best to look and listen for trouble.  He has no idea how many Bandits there might be and what kind of trouble they're in for.

Meager light bobs and weaves to the west of him where the camps main fire smolders.  A scuffle of men he notes are encircling the flagging embers in a deadly dance.

Drawing his sword he rushes to help.

OOC:  Round 1 Rolf will 1 hex step west and draw his sword.  Round 2 Rolf will close and defend.  Retreating dodge.

Hearing roll 13, missed by 1.  Vision roll 8, made it by 4.

16:39, Today: Rolf Erikson rolled 8 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,5,1.  Vision.
16:39, Today: Rolf Erikson rolled 13 using 3d6 with rolls of 1,6,6.  Hearing.

Gustav takes a moment to assess the situation, his senses on high alert.  Though the fire burns low, the dim light cannot mask the dull clop of a horse's hoof on the road, and it doesn't take long for Gustav to see the man a spear-throw away sitting atop a dark horse.

"There's more!"  Gustav shouts gripping his spear in his hands and rushing headfirst into the battle.

But for the moment, Kiro continues to battle two-on-one valiantly.  The man with the knife slashes forward but Kiro staggers back, the blow missing him by inches.  The other man lurches forward with his one good hand, but Kiro swats the arm away with his club as he steps back towards the others.  He rushes back, his club swinging overhead, though the man with the knife dances back nimbly back without harm.

Gustav dashes in with his spear as well, jabbing out with precision, though somehow the man twists to avoid the blow!

Then, several things happen at once.  Terri screams, Rolf sees another man dashing in just past the line of his tent!

Tw-Twang!  Twin bowstrings hum, a man's groan from Terri's direction and a shout of pain from Kiro!  Gustav looks over to see an arrow sprouting from the man's chest and Kiro stumbles backwards, though for the moment manages to keep his feet!

Rolf whips his sword from the belt, stepping back as another thug charges towards him, knife flashing.  Rolf manages to catch the blow off the edge of his shield with a thunk!

Foot beats thump from every direction as more bodies appear in the in the gloom of the dying campfire, friend and foe, weapons drawn.

Chaos!

OOC:  First thing's first... can we all just take a moment to appreciate how amazing my map skills are?  Have you ever seen copy/paste used so skillfully?  (God I'm awful).

Gustav's good rolls allowed him to see the the rider in the darkness, though he's far enough out that details are hard to determine.  Kiro has taken an arrow in the chest and does not look good, though he remains standing.  1 is disarmed and has a broken hand.  2 still has his knife and is unharmed.  3 is mounted, though no more detail is possible in the near darkness.  4 has a knife, is unharmed and is engaged with Rolf.  The character just coming out of the tent is Tatsori.

Lets to two rounds of action.

Rolf wonders what's keeping Kiro on his feet.  Despite multiple wounds the man remains standing, though likely not for much longer.

But the mage has more pressing concerns and can't dwell on his condition as a knife wielding roughneck whips his way past his tent, making a beeline straight for Rolf.  Murder in his eyes!

Rolf barely notices him in time and is just able to slip out from his knife blade as it skitters over his shield.  The battle is at hand!

Regrouping he swings his falchion, coming in low.

OOC:  Round 1 feint on #4.  Defense retreating dodge.
Round 2, if the feint was successful then normal attack targeting #4's leg and same defense as round 1.  If the feint failed then defensive attack, again targeting his leg and retreating parry defense.

This message was last edited by the player at 21:41, Thu 15 Apr 2021.

The man with the knife is the most dangerous, but the other is hardly harmless... none the less, he again stabs for the Knife wieleder's vitals, but his thrust is wide.  He keeps his shield up and ready to block any attack.

Gustav thrusts his weapon wildly at the foe ahead of him, though the blow misses.  Certainly the swordsman has faced worse odds before than two-on-one, with one of the men weaponless to boot, but he is not one to take the situation lightly.  The man with the knife dances forward, his thrust swatted away with Gustav's shield.  The other man lunges forward too, though his attack seems rash and uncoordinated.  Beside him, Kiro topples backwards, landing hard on his side and unmoving...

Meanwhile, Rolf jabs his falchion at his own foe, looking for a reaction.  The man responds, thrashing a knife high towards Rolf's face!  Rolf steps backwards, his weapon barely swiping the knife off course.... Rolf regroups himself, following his own blow up quickly, slashing low and cutting a wide ribbon of flesh through the brigands trousers.  The man screams and falls, blood spraying in a wide arc across the ground.

Meanwhile, Gustav jabs forward again with his spear, this time catching a bit of flesh at the knife wielder's side.  The man responds, slashing with his blade, though Gustav easily bats away the attack with his shield.  Gustav is unprepared however, when the other man stumbles forward, and though he stretches himself to get out of the way, the man manages to grip Gustav around the waist, pressing his shield uselessly against his chest!

"What in the hell is going on?"  Ayun's voice resounds from inside the tent.

OOC:  Battle map is essentially unchanged with the notable exception of Kiro falling unconscious.  Both of you are facing away from 5/6 Terri and Tatsori, so you don't have much information on what is happening there, but you haven't heard anything that would lead you to believe that the fight is going particularly well or poorly.  Likewise, due to the darkness, it's hard to tell what 3 is doing unless you dedicate a second and a perception roll to it.  He still appears to be standing in the same place though.

Gustav managed a minor wound to 2, though he has been grappled around the torso by 1.  Note that your spear is at -4 in close combat, and your shield's DB affects all skills negatively.

Rolf, you have dealt a crippling blow to 4, he is currently prone and facing you, though he has managed to keep a hold on his knife.

Let's do 2 more seconds.

Rolf's feint doesn't go as planned, in fact it almost gets him killed.  In any event he is determined to get his foe on the ground and hopefully not mortally wounded in the process.  Certainly a heavy enough wound will do the trick, but he plans on targeting the man's lower extremities as most can't keep their feet on one leg.  Plus in his experience many less skilled fighters generally don't handle low attacks well.

Dancing lightly on the pads of his feet he gives his opponent a healthy amount of respect, which is fortunate as the man shrugs off his diversionary swipe and his knife comes perilously close to the mage's face!  With a swipe of his falchion he barely diverts the attack away and ripostes with a low arc swing that connects solidly!

The rapscallion lay flat from the blow while sporting a grave leg wound that bleeds heavily.  Yet he is still conscious and holding his deadly blade.  Rolf brings his falchion to bear once more as he vaguely hears Arun's distinctive voice.

"BRIGANDS!" he shouts in response in hopes of bringing the slow witted man to his senses.

OOC:  Round 1: Rolf will swing for the fallen brigand's knife arm in an attempt to disarm him.  Defense retreating dodge.  Round 2:  Same as round 1 if he still holds his blade.  If the first round attack hits and he looks to be incapacitated, Rolf will reassess try to help if any of his group nearby are in trouble.  Which from the map and how things are going will likely be Gustav.  Defense retreating dodge.

Gustav would curse, except he is busy, he jerks his shield up and then slams the bottom edge back down on the fools head. hetriesto keep the spear point between him and the knife wielderas best he can, but the clod grappling him is the current effort.

The clash of blades sing out into the dark night.  Rolf screams in anger and frustration at Ayun, who somehow has not yet seemed to grasp the situation.  What in the hell are you doing?  Though the word brigands, yelled for the second time, seems to bring the man to his senses.

"Shit!"  Ayun yells as sounds of scurried fumbling begin from the vicinity of the tent.

Other screams sound out in the night as well.  Tatsori shouts, and another unknown voice from the area of the tent...

Rolf meanwhile takes his saber and slashes it down hard on the fallen man before him.  Though he struggles to roll himself out of the way, Rolf's blade bites deep into his arm just above the wrist, and Rolf hears the breaking of bone.  The man screams and drops his weapon, his face in a pained look of agony for a moment, though quickly he collapses back to the earth unmoving, blood spraying in angry pulses from his twin wounds.

Meanwhile, Gustav fights back against the two men to the best of his ability, though his movements are not quite quick enough to avoid the danger.  The man with the knife lunges in, managing to get the tip of his weapon to sink deep into Gustav's side.  Gustav sucks his teeth at the pain, though he struggles through, shoving himself away and backwards from the other man's one-armed grip.  As he manages to back away, he smashes his shield down on the man's shoulder, though the pain makes the blow flimsy and ineffective...  The other man lunges forward again, nearly striking another vicious blow - though Gustav manages to reposition his shield at the last moment, taking the blade off the rim as he staggers back, trying to regain his breath and master the pain!  The Baldric strung over his shoulder seems to pulse with heat, and Gustav wants nothing more than to rend these two men apart piece by piece!

Rolf takes the moment of relative quiet to feverishly assess the scene.  Behind him, Terri alone stands, her bow empty in her left hand and in her right is her knife, which is soaked in blood.  Tatsori and two of the brigands are down and unmoving.  On the far side of the fray, the horseman still lurks, bow in his hands which is knocked and readied, pointed straight into the melee!

OOC:  Gustav has taken a major wound to the torso and is at half move and dodge, though he is no longer grappled.  Your shock penalty applied to the previous turn, so do do not need to worry about that this round.  Terri is uninjured.  Tatsori is unconscious, as are the thugs 4, 5, and 6.  Ayun and Fzoul seem to be making a lot of noise in their effort to work their way out of the tent but have not shown up yet.

Gustav drops the spear and draws the black sword, if it's going to be a close in fight he'll use the close in weapon. He readies it and waits for either of the men to close before striking.

Rolf is concerned the wounded man could throw his knife into his unprotected backside if he were to turn his attention elsewhere.  With fury the mage sends his falchion down hard once more.

The brigand's attempt to roll away is too slow as his blade slices deep into bone and tissue alike.  His foe slumped to the ground in a widening pool of blood, Rolf spins and doesn't like what he sees.

Scattered about their camp wounded men lay motionless as Gustav bleeds heavily from a cut and does his best to fend off not one, but two men.

The action is fast and furious!

Ever wary of the bowman's next arrow he briefly considers engaging him, but his trusty companion safety comes first.  Seeing Gustav wounded, Rolf rushes to his side.

"Help Gustav!" he shouts to Terri as he moves.

OOC:  Round 1:  Close to 1 hex on one of Gustav's attackers.  Defense retreating dodge.
Round 2:  Attack torso.  Defense retreating dodge.

Gustav grits his teeth to suppress the pain, dropping his spear and drawing the black sword which seems to throb in his hand.  One of the men jumps forward with his knife, though Gustav manages to swat the blow to the side with his shield, and presses in the attack with his own weapon.

The black sword rends the man's flesh like a hot knife through butter.  Before Gustav has even attempted to pull the blade back, it has been buried to the hilt just below the brigand's solar plexus.  Gustav knows the blow is deadly, that much is clear.  The man stumbles, his own blade going awry as Gustav slicks the blade out, eager for another blow.  The hit seems to invigorate the swordsman, Gustav's pain lessens, his mind clears and sharpens as he turns his attention to the man with the broken hand.

Rolf too runs forward, his blade slashing out as well.  He slashes out with his saber at the closet foe, the one who had just been skewered through the gut by Gustav's weapon.  The blade hits well, cutting a wide swath across the man's chest that splatters blood across the campsite.  The man pitches forwards, his eyes empty as his knife falls to the ground and his face straight into the coals of the fire.

Ziiip! Gustav steps back as an arrow streaks only a few inches to his left.  He turns his attention to the horseman who is even now turning his steed in the opposite direction.

"Shit!"  The last man shouts, his eyes wide and his right hand still useless.  He turns as well, just as Terri stumbles forward, slashing her knife in a blow that crashes straight into his back!  The blade clings into his flesh, and the man pitches forward, stumbling down to the ground below.

"Where are they!"  Ayun's voice erupts from the opening of the tent as the fat merchant emerges, knife in hand, his head swinging wildly in each direction.

OOC:  Ok, 5 out of the 6 men seem to be out of the fight, with the last one (the horseman) looking like he is going to flee.  If you wish to chase him, continue giving combat actions, and give me about 5 seconds of how you intent to chase him down.

Gustav isn't feeling much like running after a horse just now, but he does lift his shield.
Take care, the rider has a bow.

Rolf rushes to aid the beleaguered Gustav and attack his nearest opponent, a swarthy looking lad of about twenty.  Bringing his falchion in on a wide arc, he sends it careening across the man's body as he frantically tries to wrest himself out the way!

A gout of blood bursts in every direction as the mage's blade sinks deep into flesh and bone.  A sharp hiss escapes his lips as he falls heavily...making no attempt to cushion his fall.  The man is clearly down for the count.

Bloodlust upon him, Rolf looks for another brigand, but finds none.  At least none other than the horseman, who by the sound of the beating hooves, is clearly riding away to make good his escape.

Sheathing his blade he says to Terri and anyone in earshot, "Tend to the wounded!  Bandages in my gear!"

Sparing no further delay he immediately tries to cast a spell...

OOC:  Rolf will sheath his sword and attempt to cast Hawk Flight M146.  FP cost 8.  Time to cast 3 seconds.  Move speed is 40.  I intend to try to fly after and incapacitate the horseman with swooping attacks.

This message was last edited by the player at 13:14, Mon 10 May 2021.

Rolf offers only the briefest comment to those capable of bandaging the wounded before he thrusts his sword into his scabbard and begins his casting once again.  The horseman likely thought that at night, on horseback, there was no chance for the ambushed men to give chase... of course they had not counted on Rolf.

Though the spell requires much more concentration than he is used to, within a few moments, Rolf can feel the mana surging through his body.  He kicks off the ground hard, and lifts himself into the air with the speed of an eagle.

Though the night gives little light with which to pick his quarry back up, and the precious seconds he required to harness his magics let his quarry escape his sight, Rolf finds that with a little bit of altitude, finding the horseman proves more than easy.  The horse kicks and churns at the path, which cues Rolf's ears, and the rough-beaten path funnels his eyes until he can find the horse little more than a few dozen yards away.

Rolf dives, drawing his sword as the wind rushes by his ears, deadening the sound of the churning hooves.  He draws closer, he swings his sword!  Rolf hears a scream as he flies past, but the blackness of the ground draws far closer far faster than he had anticipated!

Rolf concentrates his hardest on the spell, willing himself back upwards into the night as he kicks desperately to avoid hitting the ground!

OOC:  You've caused a major wound on the rider who seemed unaware to your attack, though your speed, proximity to the ground, the terrible visibility, and diving tactics have put you hurtling towards the ground at a blazing speed.  Roll vs. DX to avoid hitting the ground.  You may spend a hero point if you fail.

Rolf wastes no time after barking his brief orders.  He doesn't want the escaping rider to get too far away, though if his spell is successful a bit more distance won't matter.

The mage sheaths his sword and begins to make the intricate motions he needs to weave the mana around him to coalesce into the effect he desires.  Several seconds pass and he continues to work.  Accipiter Fuga! he utters triumphantly as his powerful spell worked!

He wasn't too sure if it would as this is a spell he hasn't cast too often and it's a tough one.  His jubilation is short lived as he immediately feels drained.  Not so much to be thoroughly exhausted, but still it's noticeable hit.

Tarrying no longer he draws his blade and bursts from the camp at breakneck speed!

Taking flight the mage finds the fleeing horseman with little trouble as the horse's pounding hooves reverberate far through the night.  The mage grips his sword firmly.  He anticipates at high speed when he hits to expect a jarring force to travel up the sword and through his arm.

He struggles to see clearly due to his speed and lack of light.  But he's able to track his prey and mostly judge where the ground and any vegetation is.  Before he knows it, in mere seconds, he is upon him!

Doing his best to keep aerily above the man so as not to crash into him, he swings his sword outward below his horizontally traveling body and it meets flesh in a sickening thunk.  Rolf notes a human scream as he careens past, but his attention is elsewhere as he realizes his arc carried him too low!

Preoccupied with his attack, he almost realizes too late that his track is earthbound...but with a jerk he pulls up and wills himself to slow.  He feels the tickle of long grasses graze his chin as he just avoids the ground!

Taking a bank turn, he shrugs off the near miss.  Slowing down to roughly half speed he backtracks to find the horse and it's rider.

OOC: Rolf made his DX check with plenty to spare.  He will slow and seek out the horse.  He will keep at least a speed of 10 to as much as 20 as he tries to find the horse.  Basically will go as fast as he can, but still be safe.

Rolf peels himself out of the dive just in time, his heart thrumming in his chest at the near miss.

He turns himself, slowing as the horse approaches at a gallop...  without its rider.  It takes some moments, Rolf's flying form coming alongside the startled beast, coaxing it to slow, getting it to stop.  Though Rolf knows the beast won't calm immediately, he does his best to make the horse relax, petting the thing gently across the sweat-lathered shoulder.

Though he is in somewhat of a hurry, Rolf decides it is best to return at a quick walk lest the beast get spooked again.

On the way back, Rolf notes the body of the thief, splayed out upon the path face down in the opposite direction he was traveling.  His back is cut from spine to shoulder in a gash that bleeds freely all across the grass.  It matters little for the man however, as his head lies tucked to the side at an impossible angle, his neck broken from the fall.  The man is clearly dead.

As Rolf walks the horse into camp, he notes that Tatsori and Kiro are still on the ground.  The former is being tended to by Terri, who is wrapping the man feverishly in bandages.  Fzoul is looking over Kiro, though he seems much less active in his efforts.  Gustav, who had also taken a heavy wound to the side, is still standing, the black sword still gripped in his hand as he peels away his bloodied shirt to look at the injury...

Though Gustav is shocked to find when he pulls the cloth away that there is no cut at all.  His flesh is in tact and warm to the touch, reddened by the sticky blood which still clings to his skin.

OOC:  Rolf successfully caught the horse and pulled it back to the camp, though with the amount of time required for all this, and the fact that the horse has had an eventful evening, it just made sense for Rolf to walk back rather than fly back to avoid injury to either himself or the steed (he wouldn't have made it the whole way back anyway).  The rider is splayed out on the road and undoubtedly dead.  Both Tatsori and Kiro have taken serious wounds.  Terri is tending to Tatsori (it looks like competently).  All of the thieves are either dead or unconsciou.  You guys are out of combat.

Gustav is covered in sweat and shaking slightly and hacking up the bodies in front of him with the black sword, in some sort of frenzy, stiking over and over again.

Rolf slows his flight and turns in a bank, bringing himself under control.  He has little trouble finding the horse as it moves through the forest.  Slickened with sweat from it's exertions, he approaches and tuts soothingly as he gently reaches for it's reins.

Little versed in the handling of animals, he is glad the horse seems accepting of the mage.  Leading the horse back the way to camp, he moves along at a quickened walk.  To make it easier on himself and the horse, he keeps to a safer pace.

Fortunately he finds the brigand soon enough.  Splayed on the ground, a gaping wound bleeds profusely across the expanse of his back.  "Sorry mate." he says regrettably.  "But you should of done something different with your life." he mumbles further as he feels conflicted about the whole affair.

His flying spell allowed Rolf to move at such a high rate of speed the man never stood a chance.  Still, he got what was coming to him.  Attacking merchants is bad enough, but to do so at night to take advantage of the sleeping is cowardly and low.

Still, Rolf avoids killing if at all possible.  Taking a life is not something to be done lightly, and preferably not at all.  In this case though he knows he likely has saved many lives by removing this bandit and his cohorts from active duty.

In a rush, he leaves the man and continues back to camp.

Knowing there are wounded in their party he quickly ties off the horse to a tree and looks to help.  He notes Terri is tending to Tatsori, and he seems stable, so Rolf focuses on Kiro.

As he prepares to cast a healing spell, he notices Gustav flaying the bandits with abandon.  "Gustav, that's enough!" he says sharply in hopes of snapping the man to his senses.  "I killed the archer and he lay not far from here.  Are you hurt?  Could you retrieve him?" he adds Gustav's way as he looks Kiro over and knows he needs all the power he can lend him.

"The bandits should be searched.  Just in case any clue can be found as to who they are and if there are any more of them." he says generally to the group over all.

OOC:  I will give Kiro a 4FP major healing.  Then I'll need to rest for 20 minutes before I can do the same for Tatsori.  After that I'd like to go back to sleep for the night.  But not before making sure the horse is settled.

Gustav slows and stops, gathering his wits and wondering what had come over him. He wipes the blade on any clean cloth he can see on them and sheathes the sword.  Checking these two was going to be messy at best. He heads out to the road and goes looking for that guy...

Rolf returns to camp some minutes later to find Gustav slashing his black sword deep into the flesh of one of the bandits.  Gustav cannot explain the lapse... though he has been known to lose his temper in the past it seems to have grown less of an issue of late, and it hadn't generally shown itself in the lust for blood.

Gustav shakes off the feeling, wiping his blade clean and sheathing it before he steps out into the night, his whole body rejuvenated and pulsating with energy.  A walk in the cool night air would be enough to burn away his post combat-jitters.

Rolf walks the horse in line with the others, taking a long line of rope to make a halter of sorts before securing it.

From there, Rolf makes his way to the injured.  He heals Kiro, spending a great deal of his remaining energy, and tough the man's wound appears greatly diminished, Kiro does not stir.  Spent as he is, Rolf worries there may be damage to the man's internal organs that is not visible from the outside.

Time passes.  Gustav walks back into camp with the archer slung over his shoulder and lies him along with the other bodies at the base of the slope a good ways away from the camp site.  The bodies are searched, though little of value is found apart from their weapons and the horse that Rolf had already taken.  There is some discussion of burial, though no one has any desire to spend hours to digging a grave for five men that had just sought to kill them.

"There's nothing to be done tonight."  Ayun shakes his head, perhaps telling himself as much as anyone else.  "May as well get whatever sleep we can for the rest of the night.  Help me put Kiro back in the tent, rest will probably do him the most good."

The watches are shuffled slightly at account for Kiro, though the rest of the night passes uneventfully.

Though the intent was to leave early in the morning, Kiro does not come to until nearly the afternoon, and even then he seems only fit to lay in one of the wagons.  Rolf continues to administer care and spells as he can, though it seems the condition is one that is beyond simple damage to the body.

---

Kiro seems to recover at a slow pace, though he is walking some by the afternoon and seems almost in normal form by the next day.

Time drips away at a lethargic pace, the wagons and the heavy loads slowing the caravan to what seems slower even than a walk.  By the sun has crested in the sky on the third day of the trip everyone has settled into the routine of long days, sore muscles, and frequent breaks to feed or water the animals.

It is on one such break that Fzoul points out the dark clouds building in the western skies.  "Looks like it's going to storm again."

OOC:  Kiro suffered a coma from his injuries, though managed to pull out of it after 10 hours and an HT roll.  He's nearly back in form now, though he still seems less fit and energetic than he was at the start of the mission (consider him fully healed through magical means by Rolf).  Tatsori is also fully healed.

If you guys wanted to bury the bandits, feel free to post it.  It will take several hours to dig a grave large enough to hold all of them though.

On their persons you found 4 Knives of normal quality and $50 total in copper and silver small change.  You also found a medium bow and a quiver of 8 arrows on the archer (in addition to the horse)

If you have the skill, roll vs. Survival: Plains

Gustav looks at the clouds rolling in,but can't seem to think of a good action, he dithers about where to move the wagon to and whether to leave the animals harnessed or not.

Rolf tends to the injured, especially Kiro.  Successfully casting his most powerful healing on the wounded man, it still isn't enough to bring him out of his torpor.

Exhausted to the bone, Rolf heads off to sleep and recover, though sleep takes it's time to come.  His fatigue offset by a healthy dose of adrenaline, he tosses and turns trying to settle down.  It takes some time but finally he drifts off.

In the morning Rolf wakes stiffly, but rested mostly.  Leaving his tent, he is disheartened to see Kiro still comatose.

He knows he's healed him, but he also knows the shock to his system has been great and will simply take time to recover.

He then turns to what to do with the dead.  Despite their wickedness, Rolf doesn't want to leave them to the elements and wild animals.  It wouldn't be the right thing to do.  Yet, he doesn't relish the idea of having to dig for hours on end.

Being a resourceful mage he plucks forth a useful spell for moving large portions of earth.  But not before moving the dead men in close proximity to the hole he plans to create.  It's grisly work, but must be done.

Figura Terrae he says with conviction as he weaves a tapestry with his hands.  Immediately a deep trench is formed as a large volume of earth moves up and to the side.  Without delay he drops the men into the hole and moves the freshly moved earth back.

The spell weakens him and he sits to recover.  Rolf sits still for a time before standing.  "I'd say some kind words, but I have none for the lot of you." he mutters and goes to check back on Kiro.

Satisfied he's done all he can for his patient, he packs up his gear in preparation to move on.  He takes the reigns of the bandit's horse, but decides not to put his pack on the animal just yet.  It's not bonded to him and is concerned it could ride off if he loses control of it.

He gives the brockle faced mare a gentle caress.  "I should name you.  It's probably a bad idea not to." he says as he considers what to call the creature.  "Lilly.  I shall call you Lilly.  Seems a nice name." he says with a smile.

As they near the finish their march, he doesn't like the look of the sky.  "We should find a good spot, could get ugly." he says to Ayun before sidling next to Gustav.  "You feeling okay?  I know I saw you wounded, but when I got back after felling the archer, you were hacking the bandits and somehow your wound was healed.  Do you know what happened?"

OOC:  Rolf will use Shape Earth to make a grave.  He will dig a large enough space as needed, and with the help of anyone who wants to, drop the bodies in and move the earth back.

He will take the horse as his cut of the treasure and let the rest of the group split the weapons and money as they see fit.

He will try to find a good spot to protect the group from the coming wind and rain.  And do his best to protect the horse from elements.  If it's going to get cold he will put his blanket on the horse and sleep in his tent in the robes and his light cloak.

Gustav looks at Rolf and shakes his head  I don't understand it myself, but I am sure it has to do wih the sword somehow.

"Agreed.  You might want to put it away and not use it.  Maybe even consider selling or trading it away." Rolf says in regards to the black sword.

"It's powerful, but I'd be concerned it would put you in such a blood frenzy you might hurt someone you care about."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:26, Sat 12 June 2021.

Gustav nods  Might be good to have it analyzed. It does seem to have healed me as well as bringing on the frenzy.
he points out the fresh red arks on his body.

"I would try to analyze it myself, but it's beyond my capability.  And where we're going we're unlikely to find anyone who can."  Rolf says as he keeps a wary eye on the dark clouds moving in.

"Best to keep it close to the vest for now."

Aye, I shall do that...  those clouds bode ill.

The conversation looms as dark as the clouds on the horizon.  Rolf fears for Gustav, for he suspects that the sword has some magics that far older and darker than he is familiar with.  Rolf did not know of the catacombs under Perdition where Gustav had won the sword.  He could not have known of the Bone Sovereign, that undead which feasted upon the remains of men and beast, embodying them, becoming stronger with each soul fuzed with its own disfigured form.  He could not have known of the black history of the temple, of its fall from the elvish prison of horrors unknown to the vice-riddled garden of evil.  It was not necessary to know all of this.
 He had seen Gustav lose himself in the slaying of men, thieves and murderers though they may have been.  Despite the possibility that it was the power of the sword that healed Gustav's body, was it worth the lust for blood that had seemed to come over him?  It was hard to know.

What was much clearer was the fact that the caravan must seek cover, and soon.

It is little more than a moment of focus before Rolf realizes that the billowing dark clouds portend not just rain, but most definitely scorching wind and quite possibly hail.  It would be bad for the wagons, and worse for the horses if they were caught out in it.

OOC:  Ok, let me know what actions you guys want to take to prepare for the storm.  If you want to look for natural cover, roll vs. Plains Survival again at -2 (it's a fairly open landscape).  Otherwise, you can set up the tents or do anything else for cover that you can think of.

Gustav points to a shallow dip not to far off ... In there will protect  from the wind, water will be an issue, but hopefully not too serious. and if there is hail, we need to protect everyone and the horses.

Rolf notes the dreadful looking clouds rolling in and he knows trouble is afoot.  It won't be long before drenching rain hits them and likely worse.  High winds, and perhaps even hail if they are particularly unlucky, are coming their way.

The mage scans for cover but to his eye there is nothing but flat land and grasses.

Seeing nothing better he nods to Gustav's suggestion.  "We need to lash the wagons and horses.  I can create a light to keep the camp well lit.  Just in case things go south, it'll be helpful to be able to see."

OOC:  Rolf missed his Survival Plains roll, so we'll go with Gustav's suggestion.  He has 30 yards of rope in the bag of holding which he'll use to help lash the wagons and his horse together with.  He'll keep his gear on his person and use his shield to block the wind and rain.  He won't bother to setup his tent which he thinks won't hold up to the wind.  He will cast a continual light on an iron spike and tie it where it will provide the most light.

Gustav ensure the top of his wagon is covered with a tarp and the ends closed; he will ensure that he has some sort of cover for the Horses, in case of Hail, likely Horse blankets and then another tarp braced over them on the wagon tongue and afixed to the outer traces. He will need to control them during the first part of the storm, which is normally the most violent.

Rolf follows Gustav's lead and puts Lilly in with the other horses under whatever tarp or blankets he can find.  He's unused to caring for animals and has much to learn.  Still, he's happy to have Lilly as he sees it a good step forward for him.  He's becoming a man of influence and certainly men of a higher caliber own a horse, if not more than one.

Gustav notes a small gulley some ways off, and though it didn't have any natural cover from the skies, at least it would shield the caravan from the wind.  Though it seemed a small consolation, it would be just as important for the horses to keep them from taking fright and stampeding off.

The group works in a flurry of action as the massive grey and black clouds loom closer.  Wagons are covered and secured, horses are lashed and blankets are thrown on top of them to provide some semblance of cover.  Terri seems to be working in a fervor, throwing up the big tent almost all by herself, staking the ropes in securely, though leaving some give in the canvas.

The others are busy too, Fzoul shrouding his own wagon and Ayun running back and forth between his horses and his cart, without really seeming to get anything done.  Tatsori and Kiro too prepare as best they can.

When at last the blackened clouds start rolling overhead, everything seems done, though the process was harried and rushed.  Most of the men dart to the tent for their own cover, though Gustav insists on heading out to be with the horses, taking some impromptu cover of his own.  The black sky churns and the first raindrops begin to fall...

OOC:  Sorry for the repetition here, but one more plains survival roll from each of you.
 Feel free to describe any particular action you want to take through the storm.

And of course the die roller goes high.

Rolf only notes the small gulley when Gustav points it out.  Hurriedly he joins the others as they race to setup camp and fortify their defenses.

Rolf is no newbie when it comes to surviving in the outdoors.  Despite his bookish nature, he has spent time living and learning to survive within a variety of environments, the plains included.

Still, he's no expert and knows when his skills are not up to the task.  He follows Gustav's lead and helps with the horses, before helping Terri with the tent.

Satisfied he's done all he can he returns to the tent and waits for the elements to hit the fan.  Even as he looks out he sees the blackened sky roll over them.

OOC:  I still would like to cast a continual light spell, somewhere in the middle of our camp on whatever object makes the most sense.  I wouldn't want it on anything that might easily fly away.

I missed my survival plains roll by 1.

As Rolf stands in the tent a thought occurs to him. The cloud of darkness rolling towards them is surely going to being wind and rain, but also very likely lightning and thunder.  And from what the mage knows of lightning, it wants to get to ground as quickly as it can. Meaning you don't want to be either the highest point yourself, or anywhere in near proximity to it. Like a tree or buried tent pole.

Taking charge Rolf says to everyone in the tent, "Everyone outside! Lightning is coming and we need to stay as low as possible and away from the highest like these tent poles!"

OOC: Rolf will stay somewhere in the middle of camp and do his best to keep low.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:16, Sun 27 June 2021.

Aye, a reason why we went down in the gully ... the hill above is higher and the ground will be wet, Lightening seems to like wet as well as high things. The tent pole should be on dry ground, as well as lower.   Gustav explains.

Though there is some last minute arguing, everyone manages to get to their places as the skies begin to open.  Rain pummels down and the wind picks up to a screaming whistle overhead, though the placement of the tent in the gulley seems to shelter the group for the most part from the worst of the windstorm.  Gustav stands out with the horses for a time, trying to keep them calm, though the harsh trill of the winds seem to be beyond his ability to calm.

Gustav double and triple checks the ropes binding the animals, but when Lilly rears back and accidentally strikes Gustav with a forehoof, causing immediate bruising, Gustav decides he's done all he can and heads back into the tent.

Eventually there is some hail with the storm, though it seems to be small - the size of peas at worst, not bad enough to damage the tent or steeds.  Though the animals continue to whinny in discomfort it seems all their ropes continue to hold.

After three quarters of an hour later it seems most of the storm has passed...  At least until a massive gust of wind completely knocks over the tent from its supports, sending a large portion of the weight crashing down on Rolf unexpectedly.

Still, all told, the storm does no permanent damage.  The horses remain secure and none of their equipment is destroyed.  It is only in the aftermath as they assess the damage that the biggest inconvenience is discovered.

"The road's been washed out!"  Terri calls from a hill over.  "It was definitely right here, I mean, I guess if you could call it a road... it was mostly just worn down grass, but now you can't even tell!  The water and wind have pretty much taken out anything that's left!"

OOC:  Sorry for the lag here.  I've been searching through the two modules I'm using and unfortunately I've found very little of use for the rest of the adventure.  For right now, you guys have two options to continue on, either of you can choose to attempt either a (modified) tracking roll to put you back on the road or either of you can make an appropriate navigation roll to send you in the general right direction.  If you don't want to do either of those, you can choose someone else in the party to make a roll.  If you wish I can make a secret IQ roll to give you an assessment on who you think is the most skilled person to make the roll for you.

As a sidenote, some damage was caused by Gustav's bite and the tent falling on Rolf, but as Rolf is a healer, it's a moot point... I'm not even bothering to make the healing rolls as there will be plenty of time and opportunities for him to do so over the next few days.

Gustav is not comfortable with trying to track or navigate, but will if noone better is present.

Rolf's nerves are on edge.  He fears high winds and rampant lightning could make a disaster of their camp.  Making himself useful, the mage creates a brilliant light to keep the camp well lit.

His feared lightning fortunately doesn't come to pass, but the horses are spooked and even the steady handed Gustav struggles to keep them in line.  After getting a solid horse kick to the leg, the man returns to the tent, hobbled and soaked to the bone.

Rolf moves in and out of the tent periodically at first, but keeps to the relatively dry shelter after it becomes apparent no bolts are coming their way.

But there is wind!  Enough so that a large gust knocks the tent down upon him.  Shocked and surprised, the bruised mage pulls himself out and does a damage assessment in the driving rain.  A bit battered, he finds himself mostly okay and steadies himself by a wagon before returning to help with the dismantled tent.

The heavy storm wraps up in a short amount of time after finishing slamming the camp.  Upon it's exit, a quiet, wet stillness permeates the air.  Frazzled and disheveled, Rolf helps with the camp as best he can while Terri scouts around.

"No road?!?" he says in reply.  "Now what?" he asks openly as his mind works what to do next.

OOC:  I can shapeshift as a crow to scout ahead, and I could possibly use seek earth if there are any significant land markers with an unusual type of earth or stone to search for.  But my effective seek range is probably only a mile.  Crow form will probably be more effective.

I have the tracking skill, but Rolf is pretty average at it.  If there is a better skilled tracker in the group, maybe Terri?, he will defer.  But perhaps he could still lend a hand to help.  I seem to remember there maybe is a rule where I could add +1 to another's skill roll if I help.  Not sure.  In any event if Rolf is the best tracker he will try to find the road.  And maybe use crow form if there are any landmarkers to search for.  It could also be that having a literal birds eye view might reveal the road's location that might otherwise be easily missed on the ground.

Rolf doesn't have any Navigation skills.

Though there are questions as to how the group will move along, Rolf eventually comes up with the plan of changing himself into a crow to get a bird's eye view while Terri tries to find the path from the ground.

"Umm...  I might be able to find it again."  Terri says tepidly as Rolf explains the plan.  "I'll at least be able to get us in the right direction while the weather remains good.  I spent a long time on the ships in Keyhole Bay and picked up some of the finer points of how to figure out where you are going when there's nothing but the sky to find your way.  It should be good enough to at least get us down to the Makarem where we can find the western road."

And so they set off again, finding the easiest ground they can for the carts and wagons with Gustav leading Lilly from his cart while Rolf searches from the skies above.  Within an hour, they have found the road again, despite Rolf's limited ability to really see any extra detail from the skies or two communicate it to Terri with anything other than a throaty "Caw!"

"It's here!"  Terri shouts.  "I thought we had been following it... I wasn't sure, but this is certainly packed ground and ruts from wagons!"

Rolf is overjoyed by the news, his brain slightly fogged from being a bird for so long.  He found himself much more concerned with which of the hardings seems slowest and oldest...  he fostered thoughts of whether Kunai might chase one down and kill it, leaving the fresh carcass to be picked over...  thankfully, he circles back to the ground where he takes over his things and Lilly from Gustav.

The afternoon and evening pass on with little more affair, as do several more days.

"We're close, I can feel it."  Ayun says hopefully to Rolf on the eleventh day of their journey.  "One of the soldiers from the fort came by Craine for liberty, and he said they found gold in the mines.  Loads of it.  It'll be near free money for anyone that can do honest work or provide a service."

Rolf can hear Ayun nearly salivating over the words, his chin raised and a pleasant smirk dancing across his face.

"They say Bran sent a hundred of his own slaves down to work the mines, who won't be paid, but they'll need to eat...  I'm glad we got in on this early, they'll be desperate for food and goods to keep things moving.  The prices we can sell at will be astronomical.  Think of all..."

"Hey."  Kiro interrupts the others.  "What day is it?"

"Twentyfifth."  Tatsori responds.

"That's what I thought!"  Kiro nearly shouts.  "It's Christmas!  Merry Christmas everybody!"

"...paid in gold!"  Ayun finishes as his horse stops dead in its tracks behind Fzoul's stopped cart.

"What's the holdup?"  Ayun shouts ahead, as he notices the hardings ahead have stopped as well.

"I think we took a wrong turn!"  Terri's voice calls back.  "Come look at this!"

Up ahead, the hilly landscape is split open with a rocky canyon that spans some fifty to a hundred yards and drops away several hundred feet down into the earth.  There appears to be a cave or two dotting the opposite canyon wall, though no clear way of how to get to the bottom from here on the rim.

"Think that's the mine?"  Fzoul asks.

Rolf, who was there on the initial expedition sees stark resemblances, though the canyon here seems much longer than the large sinkhole he had traveled in so long ago with Bromdaeg and Darran.

"Maybe we should head back?"  Terri suggests.  "I think your right, we can't be that far off from the village, but this definitely isn't the way."

OOC:  Stopping here to give you guys options if you wish.  This is clearly not the way you are supposed to be going, though you haven't been long on the wrong track.  If you wish to just carry on to the village on Three Corners just say so and we'll keep moving on.

If this is Not the place, then mayhap we should find the village. Of course, this may also be loaded with valuable minerals as well.  onder if it has been explored as well?

After some discussion it is decided to leave it to Terri to handle the tracking and navigation on the ground, while Rolf flies above.  The woman is better skilled than Rolf, and he isn't the type to not defer to his betters.  He knows when he's outclassed.

In preparation of his spell, Rolf removes his shield, weapons and pack.  Placing his gear on Lilly, he hands the reigns to Gustav.  Knowing full well he'll take good care of his newly found horse and possessions.

Mutare Vocem he exclaims as he weaves his hands intricately, and transforms into a crow!  Stretching his jet black wings to get a feel of his new diminutive body, he takes flight and soars high above.

To Rolf the plains look all the same, but here and there he thinks he can pick out the sight of a broken trail ahead, and returns to Terri to point in the direction they should go.

Communication is simplistic at best, but between them, they find their way.

Once Terri is sure she has the trail, Rolf returns to land to transform back to human.  His mind is foggy as he takes Lilly back, but it fades quickly.  "Great job Terri.  I doubt I could have found the trail on my own.  We might have been out here running in circles for days if it weren't for you." he says with genuine affection.

They follow the next few days uneventfully.  As they near their destination, Rolf softly smiles as the men discuss with excitement at the prospect of the gold they will be reaping.  He knows it wouldn't be that way if it weren't for his efforts and the small group of men that had traveled him.  He thinks to say something boastful, but decides against it.  He has no call to be prideful.

As they near the canyon, it's clear it's not the one they want.  "This isn't it.  I'm sure of it."

He takes a closer look at the steep walls and the sheerness of the drop down.

"We could try to rappel down to investigate the caves, but just getting to them is going to be dangerous." he says as he looks over the climb before them.  "I could cast a flying spell on Gustav who could carry maybe a few of us down there, plus himself.  But you'd still have to likely climb back up.  Or use more magic."

"And many of these caves are empty.  Devoid of life or treasure making the effort fruitless.  But the ones that do have life are of the extremely deadly variety.  I encountered creatures that hung to the ceilings in wait for prey.  They were very difficult to bypass and kill."

"And they were easy compared to the great worm.  It bit Darran's leg clean off and nearly killed us all.  It was covered in a tough scaly hide and had the most enormous mouth filled with razor sharp teeth I've ever seen."

Pointing to his chest he adds, "I had his hide made to armor.  Wish I had more of him.  It protects me well."

Getting more to the point he says, "In only one cave were precious metals found.  The odds are against this cave having any itself.  But it could be if this cave is close enough to the other, it might be part of the same vein of ore."

"Stay and investigate or go?  I am okay either way.  We could get killed, get rich, or waste our time.  But nothing ventured nothing gained I always say."

"What say you all?"

OOC:  Do I recall finding these caves?  If not, I'm okay with investigating if the majority of the group wants to.  I say we should put it to a vote.  Rolf will vote yes to investigate.  Also, is there anyone in our party with a metallurgic background? It would be most helpful is someone does.  Rolf has some Naturalist skill, but that's it.

Perhaps wiser to find the village and the things we may need, like rope and torches. we can come back then if w wish.

"I can handle the light, and I have some rope stored away, though we will need more than what I have. In any event I worry someone could come along and usurp our claim here."

"Of course that's all moot if no one here has any skills finding and identifying precious metals and ore."

Turning to the group Rolf says, "What say you all? Want to investigate the caves?"

Rolf petitions the group as to what to do about the caves and the responses are various.  Once Fzoul has realizes that these are indeed not the mines already discovered and plumbed by the Duke's envoy he immediately puts in his vote to head back to the village.

"'sno point in heading down there.  Just splits us up and makes it take more time headed to the village.  We can tell everybody about finding 'em and you can come back if you're interested.  Animals'll probably lose their minds up here if we leave 'em."

Ayun however, takes a much more adventurist approach.

"These are new caves you say?  So you're saying if we find gold here it's all ours?  Seems like too good of a chance to pass up right?  Even just the information that there's another place to mine could be worth a fortune to the Duke...  So long's we know for sure that there's gold down there.

Tatsori seems noncommittal, merely shrugging his shoulders and not seeming to take any side.

"I think there's something to it."  Kiro suggests.  "We don't even all have to go down there, we could leaves some up here with the animals and carts..."

"I'm not sure splitting up is a good idea though..."  Terri suggests softly

"Well we can't just leave everything alone up here!"  Fzoul sputters.  "The Hardings need to graze, they can't just stay here and eat dust!"

"Ha, yes they can!"  Ayun laughs in response.  "That's why they're called hardings old boy.  And we won't be gone long enough for any of the animals to suffer.  Just a quick look to find the gold and maybe dig out a handful before we pop right back up and head to the village."

OOC:  Your vote yields the following results:  For exploring:  Ayun, Kiro  Abstain:  Tatsori, Terri, Against:  Fzoul.

No one has a metalurgic background or a background in jewelry.

"Ok.  It's settled then.  Some of us go down and some of us stay." Rolf says as he sizes up the group.

"I think myself, Gustav, Kiro and Terri should go.  If they are all willing.  While the rest stay and mind the camp and animals."

Attempting to nip in the bud any arguments he adds, "And we all get an even split of whatever we find.  Whether or not you stay in camp or go down, the cut will be the same.  Someone has to mind the camp and perhaps pull up a wounded man with rope if the case arises."

"Speaking of which, we'll need more rope than what I have.  Anyone have any?"

OOC:  I will lobby myself, Gustav (assuming he wants to go), Kiro and Terri go down.  I know Terri was neutral and Ayun is eager to go, but I trust Terri to handle herself more than Ayun so I'm hoping she'll agree to go.

"That's the spirit!"  Ayun shouts as Rolf decides to bring the group down the cliff face to the caves.

Though his jovial attitude deflates slightly when he realizes he won't be one of the ones to go, his spirits seem to pick up again as Rolf suggests everything will be split evenly between the whole group.

"Well, I suppose that's fair."  Ayun muses.  "Someone does have to stay up here with the animals after all.  And we'll be here to pull people up if someone gets hurt."

The rest of the group demurs to their assignments and prepares themselves to head down the cliffs as Fzoul rounds all the wagons together aided by Kiro and Tatsori who have little gear to assemble.  Meanwhile Ayun speculates on what the others will find down in the caves, which seems to run the gamut from massive veins of precious metals to full-grown cave trolls.

Terri collects her bow and large shoulder quiver stashed with arrows, Gustav takes all of the gear he needs into Rolf's magical bag.  Everyone who has it gathers their spare rope into a pile, all together there is some 130 yards of various strength, enough to drop a line to the bottom and still leave Rolf with his 30 yards for whatever is needed down in the cave.

With the last little bit of rope, Rolf ties up an impromptu harness, one side tight enough to just barely fit Gustav's midsection, the other loose enough to be easily slipped on and off the biggest of them for a bit of added safety without adding a load of time.

After fifteen or so minutes of preparation, everyone seems ready to move on, and the sun is near its peak, showing as much detail of the canyon floor as can be hoped for.  Much of the landscape is empty dirt, thought there seems to be a line of desert scrub and trees just near the center of the canyon floor.  Some of the scrub continues blooms out towards the wall of the canyon however, even obscuring parts the lower face of the cliff.

"I bet that's where you want to go."  Ayun points towards the lower cave.  "Gold's bound to be in the deeper parts... you know, farther from the surface."  Ayun makes a self-satisfied nod, though from there he leans back against his cart, casting his eyes in Rolf's direction.

It seems the mage has taken a sort of de facto lead of the mission.

OOC:  it is 1315 on the 25th of December.  The Canyon is approximately 100 yards deep and something like 100 yards across at the top, though the walls are not sheer and the canyon floor is significantly narrower.  Both sides seem climbable with a bit of effort and skill (or risk).  It seems like your plan is to cast flight on Gustav, then have him carry the rest of the crew down to the floor of the canyon while holding his gear in the bag of holding.  If that's the case here's what I need:

1.  A roll against the appropriate spell
2.  The gear everyone plans on taking
3.  General intentions (which cave you are heading towards, how long you are waiting... etc.)

Rolf is glad Ayun agrees with little fuss about staying up top.  Especially with the promised full cut of any treasure the caves may have.  And that's without the inherent risk involved on the venture they'll be going on.  Rolf knows from experience the caves around here can be very dangerous and hopes these caves have nothing menacing in them.

Still, having help above is not only prudent, it could be paramount.  Those in camp have an important job staying at the ready if help is needed, and minding the horses and all else that's needed to keep their camp in good running order.

Rolf doesn't have much to prepare as he plans on bringing all his gear with him.  He does however dig out his tent and leaves it at camp as he can't see it will serve any purpose where he's going.  The rest of his stuff might be needed, so he decides why not bring it.  Especially as a lot of it is essentially weightless with the benefit of being able to store items in the bag of holding.

A rather mundane magical item at first glance, but the bag is so very useful.  Adventuring requires a lot of gear that can get quite heavy.  And the more you weigh, the slower you move.  And slow feet can get you killed.  Being able to offload weight is an enormous boon.

While the others get ready, Rolf creates a rope harness to tie around Gustav as a safety measure in case someone slips in the descent down.  Ever the worrier, he doesn't want to risk a death in case something goes awry.

The noonday sun rises as they are ready to embark.  "Yes, Ayun.  I agree the east cave might be better, but we must investigate the western one first.  It'll be far easier to climb down from there than it will be to climb up to it." Rolf says as he plans out their moves.  The mage wouldn't want to admit it, but he's not the greatest climber.  He knows the basics, but not much more.  Which is understandable when why bother to climb, when you can float?

Taking charge he says to those going down, "The plan is for Gustav to carry us down one at a time using my magic for flight.  He'll wear a rope harness that will drape over those he carries for safety.  He'll drop us off at the western cave and we'll start from there."

To Ayun he adds, "It could take us some time to fully search the caves.  But if we are gone for more than a couple of days, go and get help.  I can't imagine it will take that long, but I definitely could see it going into the morrow.  I don't want to rush this and take any unnecessary risks.  Give us tomorrow and the day after and on the third get help."

OOC:  I believe those going down are myself, Gustav, Terri, Tatsori and Kiro.  Staying are Fzoul and Ayun.  I would assume the safest way would be a mutual bear hug between the flyer and flyee, with rope loop under the armpits of the flyee.  The last thing I would want to see is someone get dropped.

Rolf will take all his gear sans his tent which he'll leave up above.  I would like Rolf to be the second one down.  That way he won't be alone at the west cave entrance once he gets there and won't be limited by low FP and half ST on the way down. He will strap his shield on his back to keep his hands free.  If his crossbow is not capable of being strapped to his back, he'll put it in the bag of holding.

Gustav Puts his Crossbow and Shield in the sack of Holding, He keeps the Black sword and the Knife or Poisons on himself.

As everyone is set, Kiro volunteers to be the first down, eager as he is to see the caves for himself.  Rolf agrees, seeing as he would rather go down second than be left alone and exhausted in a potentially hostile place.

Gustav puts his crossbow and shield into Rolf's incredible bag, leaving only his weapons and his magical bracers on himself.

"Volant!"  Rolf calls as everyone is set and Gustav hovers just slightly in the air before hooking his arms under Kiro and the two float down at the pace of a brisk jog towards the cave on the far wall of the cliff.

OOC: I'm sorry to do this to everybody, but it can't be avoided.  This thread is now exclusive to Rolf.  I'll update things as you see them, and you can feel free to take any action you wish.

The plan is settled and put into action.  Looking down the canyon, Rolf's heart flutters a bit at the risk involved.  Normally he's totally fine with flight, but in this instance he's not going to be the one flown and instead carried.  Something he's never tried before.

On paper it's not a big deal.  They all should be easily strong enough to hold on, especially with a harness back up.  Still, if they were flying just above the ground it would mentally be no big deal, but they are flying down a steep wall canyon with a long drop.

It's similar to taking a swim in a small pond versus the open ocean.  The magnitude of the operating environment makes a world of difference.  Rolf is concerned for his, and everyone else's safety as there's no room for error.

The mage's spell goes off without a hitch which is good.  He's going to need every shred of strength he has to pull this flying off, and doesn't have the wiggle room to be wasting energy on miscasts.

Rolf feels the power of the spell flow through him and into Gustav.  Already in a bear hug with Kiro, the pair look a little odd.  Without a moments delay Gustav rises up slightly with Kiro in tow and they move outward and down at a decent pace.  Slightly less than one would walking.

As they move away Rolf decides Kiro deserves a bonus for volunteering to be first.  "Stalwart lad he is." he mutters as he waits for Gustav to return.

Long.  Too long it takes for Gustav to return.  Rolf was sure that he had emphasized the importance of haste, that he could not hold the spell for extended periods, yet he watches as the two men land at the cave, barely blips color in the distance, and stay there for several moments...

Were they having trouble with the harness?  Was there something there at the entrance that had caused delay?

Rolf ponders as he feeds more of his energy to the spell, his head spinning with the dual effort.

But then Rolf realizes that Gustav is returning, and he breathes a sigh of relief... until he realizes that Kiro is still tethered to the harness.

"It's a grave I think!"  Gustav yells from the distance, as the two slowly grow in size as they approach the edge of the canyon.

OOC:  Gustav and Kiro rejoin us here.  Sorry for splitting the threads up for what seems like little reason, but I'm glad I did it, as I completely confused his intentions with the private I sent him.  Rolf has already put 2 minutes worth of energy into the spell and there are now 0 people down at the cave.  It seems clear that you are not going to get 4 people down there without going to extreme measures or resting and then recasting the spell later.

Rolf waits patiently for Gustav to return.  "It's taking too long" he says as more than a minute passes.

Sweat beads on Rolf's forehead from the effort to not only cast the spell, but bind it longer than it would normally last.

Worried something bad happened, he cocks his head at the sound of a grave down below and wonders what impact that would have on their investigation of the caves and why it's thwarted their desire to ferry them all down below.

Settling back on the ground at the top, Gustav releases Kiro, It seems to be full of skulls, Kiro took a quick look, but I think we'll not find much ore in a grave site.

Rolf waits for the men to return and settle themselves on safe land.

"Skulls is it?" Rolf says as he sits.  "I've heard tale of some religions that don't bury their dead and leave them to the open air...To decompose in the sun and be preyed upon by whatever animal finds them.  A bit strange if you ask me, but I've heard of worse."

"It could be a tribe used this canyon to cast off their deceased parishioners for some time.  Doesn't mean there's no ore to be found down there."

Rolf thinks some more.  As he ponders the situation he frowns.  "It could also be some sort of sacrifice though.  Maybe they were casting off some of their own to appease some sort of creature that lives in the caves that would feed upon those cast down."

"I for one don't want to be caught up in that."

Taking charge he says to group, "I see two options.  The first is we simply leave."

"The second, we trap or hunt down an animal and toss it over the canyon's edge to see if anything comes to feed.  If nothing does then we head down again and search the caves."

"If all goes well I would guess we'd have to try again on the morrow to search."

Looking around he adds, "What say you all?  What do you prefer?  Leave?  Or try again to head down the canyon, likely tomorrow morning?"

OOC: Rolf will put to a vote to stay or go.  He will vote to stay and try to search.

These skulls are not just thrown or scattered, they are stacked against the walls; can't say how many, but seemed like quite a few stacked as high as a man stands. It is a Grave, and those placed there were but bones when so placed.

"Sacrifice?"  Kiro says the word nearly as soon as Rolf suggests it.  "No...  Well, I don't think so.  These skulls weren't sitting down on the ground, but set up into the cave wall, 'bout head high.  And I don't think there weren't no bodies neither.  Unless they were buried alive in the wall and just their faces was poking out..."

Kiro thinks on the possibility for a moment before he shakes his head.

"I didn't see nothing to say that they were recent dead, nor that there was anything down there that died recently.  I think it may just be all old.  I think we can go down there and check it out.  I didn't see nothing close in those caves to bother us."

Despite Kiro's encouragement, Tatsori seems a little shaken by the news.

"I don't know..."  Tatsori starts.  "We were thinking there was gold down there.  I don't think going down to do disturb graves is right.  I'm not interested in crypt robbing."

"Well they're not using the gold!"  Ayun nearly shouts, obviously having only barely held himself from speaking until this moment.  "Who cares if there's dead bodies down there?  Nobody's gotten hurt from things that are dead!  It's us living who needs the money, and just because people's been buried there, doesn't mean there isn't a mine!"

Tatsori bites his lip, but doesn't respond to Ayun, and the merchant too seems to manage to calm down as Rolf asks around who wants to continue to try and search the caves.  Though the vote stays largely the same as before, Tatsori shifts his vote to leaving, earning a glare from Ayun, who raises a second hand when asked who wants to stay.

OOC:  Votes for leaving:  Tatsori, Fzoul.  Votes for staying:  Ayun, Kiro.  Abstain:  Terri.

I think there may be a some missing information which may change the plan here.  The skulls weren't bodies piled on the cave floor but rather set into the stone and dirt of the walls.  If pressed, Kiro will state that he walked a foot or two into the cave and saw that it split up in three directions, but he didn't press things any farther than just taking a glance.

With the amount of conversation going on, I think it's clear that Rolf's spell has expired.  Assume that you have kept it up for 2 minutes and then let the spell lapse.  Fatigue is not noted on your sheet, but I'll work it in to the time the next time I fast forward (if you don't want to rest than I'll just note the fatigue on your sheet.)

Gustav is not interested in disturbing a grave site either

Rolf listens to the group as they give their opinion on what to do.  Each side on whether to stay or go has valid points.

By the mage's count, it's a deadlock.  "Since there's no consensus on what to do then let's leave.  Those that want to can always come back later."

"In fact I will plan on doing so, assuming I can get a group willing to join me."

OOC: Let's head to where we planned.  But I will do my best to remember where this canyon is.  Using markers and the like so I can return.

Rolf makes the decision, at least for now, for the group to leave the caves.  Almost everyone takes the news in stride, the exception being Ayun who curses loudly and calls out a few indelicate names, though the slurs don't seem to be pointed at anyone in particular and Rolf feels it best to just let the man get his anger out.

"Be easy enough to find our way down now."  Terri says as the group gathers their things together.  "We're probably less than a day out.  I haven't seen exactly where the town's been started, but we can't be that far off of the river, and they wouldn't be very far from that."

"Almost there."  Tatsori smiles back as he gets back on to his cart, the horses harnessed and ready to pull.

"Almost there."  Terri agrees.

Kunai barks merrily in seeming agreement as he chases back one of the hardings that has strayed just too close to the edge of the cliff.

"Almost there."  Fzoul repeats as he pushes his own horses onward, closing the last bit of the gap between the caravan and Three Corners.

OOC:  Congrats on a successful thread!  Sorry things were so haphazard here.  I was borrowing material from two different sources that I had only read glancingly and after the windstorm I found that nothing at all fit with the storyline I was trying to create.  I'll send each of you PMs with character points, and I'll move on as quickly as I can to getting the next threads started, though we'll probably come to a halt for two weeks starting Monday.

Feel free to write a closing post for each of your characters.

Rolf ignores Ayun's small tirade about leaving.  Best to leave him be.

Sure Rolf would have liked to investigate the caves, but he also would like to do so safely and really, it doesn't make sense to spend all that effort without the help of a seasoned miner to search for ore.

Better to note the places location for later.  He's sure he could drudge up a crew to come back, especially with the possibility of finding a new mine.

Also, if there is malevolent force only a days march from the Three Corners it will need to be dealt with.  It would do no one any good if evil were allowed to fester there.

In the last leg of their journey Rolf notes his feet are quite sore and he'd love to rest a bit before taking on other challenges though he'll unlikely get much time to himself.

He isn't sure what role he will be asked to play once he gets to the new town.  They need people to assist governing Three Corners and seeing as Rolf has never held such a position he's not sure what he'll have to do.

In any case he'll wing it as best he can.

"Almost there indeed."