[3.5] Making Out Like Bandits - The Blackweald

[Hyudra]

Making Out Like Bandits
OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197425)
Game Ad, Description (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196820)
Dice Rolls (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10906957#post10906957)


http://i55.tinypic.com/348gkyu.jpg

It was half a day's journey from the Capitol to the Ethene border. You had the benefit of a night's rest in an inn there, possibly the last bed you'll sleep in for some time. After that, from before sunrise until late afternoon, you traveled south. The trip was spent confined in a wagon-coach, your transport jumping, tilting and bumping and tossing you an inch above your seat for every small stone passing under the wheels. The confinement was unnecessary, really, but it seems it would have offended the sensibilities of your onetime jailers to have you riding alongside the wagon, or sitting on the seat on top.

It rained the entire trip, there was no room to stretch your arms or legs, you were unable to play cards because of the movement of the wagon, unable to rest with the rattling and bouncing of the transport. Viewing scenery was difficult as the windows were smaller across than a hand's span, intended for the use of crossbows from within. Even conversation was more trouble than it was worth, with the noise of the rattling wagon-coach and the closeness of its occupants making it hard to face those next to you without seemingly overly intimate. Besides, there was the unspoken assumption that you would be spending the next year together, should you be so fortunate to live. You would hear all of one another's stories a dozen times over. All put together, the ride should have been unbearable, but it wasn't.

You were free.

Free of the dungeons, anyhow. Though the oppressive weight of confinement and threatening death has been lifted from your shoulders, another has been laid in its place. You've sworn an oath (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10907081&postcount=24), and it has been sealed with magic. You're forbidden to raise your blades against any who profess loyalty to Ethene, or who bear the nation's colors or emblem. You are to stay within the Blackweald - a forested wilderness just west of the High Road - and you've sworn to harass and harry Ethene's enemies, their citizens and their trade. You've been warned that failing to do so might cause you to sicken and die. Still, should you labor under the oath for a year and a day, you're free, pardoned for past crimes. In the face of life imprisonment or execution, it was an offer you couldn't pass up.

The wagon creaks to a halt, and there is the sound of the fat iron key in the lock of the door. The lean, scruff-chinned wagon-coach driver lets you out to stretch your legs and gaze upon your destination.

The smell of the recent rain is so thick on the air that you can taste it on your tongue. Behind you is a grassy clearing with gray-white mountains in the distance, another wagon with your collected possessions and a dirt road with Farlanghan's carved stones at regular intervals beside it to mark the distances. Before you is the Blackweald. Contrary to what the name might suggest, it is verdant, every shade of green under Pelor's sun. The trees that loom before you sit at slight angles, growing thick together, branches and trunks criss-crossing one another like a clash of spears.

"Welcome to your new home, boys and girls," the coach-wagon driver intones in a voice that rattles with phlegm, "Any questions?"

[Kurai]

When Tanith stepped out of the carriage squinting, she could feel several new bruises blooming on her body, nice reminders of a wonderful ride across what felt like every misplaced stone from here to Ethene. Her muscles were clenched uncomfortably and she could feel her flesh throb at the spot where the pommel of her longsword had dug into her hip. But all complaints aside, she was happy and relieved to finally breathe in something else than stale, used air.

Blinking up into the sunlight, smelling the freshness of the recent rain, Tanith got used to her surroundings for a moment or two. She stepped aside to let the others follow after her and ran a hand through her black strands, getting them out of her eyes.

The others. Yeah, it would take some time getting used to that. She had seen two of them before, but there hadn't been a chance to exchange more than a short nod as compensation for a lack of introduction, the ride and rain making it impossible to understand a normal word. But for the moment, she pushed all thoughts about first impressions and prejudices aside. There were more important matters and they would have time for introductions.

Lots and lots of time.

Putting both hand on her hips, she looked the driver up and down. "Several actually. Most of which you probably either can't answer or don't have time for. So I'll stick to the important one: How do we contact Ethene, or the one in charge, if the need is due? Is it even possible," the way she formed the last word made it obvious she meant 'allowed', "for us to contact someone?"

After a second of thought she added, "And do you have any information about recent banditry on the High Road?"

[Hyudra]

The driver rubs the scruff of the hair on his chin with one hand, "To be honest, girl, I don't know how you'd be contacting them. My guess? If they didn't go out of their way to tell you, then they probably don't want you to. May be they figure that the chance of you lot stumbling onto some information that's vital isn't worth the risk that you get caught sending a message to them and wind up sparking a diplomatic incident, eh?"

At the second question, he smiles, coughs and spits a wad of humors onto the dirt road. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he tells you, "Damn weather. Yeah, that kind of question I can answer. I've been traveling up and down the High Road and the Low Road since I was old enough to sit, so I know the land and I know what's been happening. You've got four groups of bandits hereabouts, these days."

His chest swelling a bit with pride as he gets to show off his knowledge, he ticks them off on his fingers, "First you've got the Sons of Dragonfire. They're Ramiran rebels who opposed the union with Kor. Probably don't need to concern yourself with them, since they're over by the coast somewheres, maybe even have a ship. Far side of the High Road, I'm saying."

"Then you've got three gangs in the Blackweald. You're probably going to get acquainted with them at some point. They apparently call themselves the Stone Dogs, The Lost and the Riven. The Stone Dogs are alright sorts for scum, ransom people back and treat them fair most of the time. The Lost are cruel, almost always take captives and the captives never come back. Make of that what you will. The Riven are Erythnul worshipers without the benefit of a holy type to lead them... small grace since they're unholy terrors even without one.

"So they're the who's-who of the Blackweald. Or at least, they were when I last came through, two weeks back. Can't tell you much more about who they are or how they operate. Word is that the only reason that Icatan can use the High Road is the gangs spend more time fighting each other than they do preying on travelers. Once or twice a week a gang will hit the road or raid the outpost south of the forest."

[Roethke]

Vilas unbends his long frame as he emerges from the carriage. He slaps the driver's back congenially as he steps down, "And we, my friend, and we. Now there are five more terrors of the Blackweald," he proclaims in his Kor-accented common, and gives a snort. This terror, though, has a sore behind and a great thirst. Did you have any of that Ethenian Red the dungeon guards drink? I seemed to have developed a taste for it, and I fear won't see some for sometime.

Vilas waits to see if the driver responds to his request, then continues,
You've told us about the two-legged terrors, what about those on four, or more? In Kor there were all manners of ice-beasts that would turn wicked children cold at their mothers' sides. What creatures of the Blackweald did your mother scare you with?

[TrueLazy]

Her normal instinct to suck in the details of her surroundings and the people within it wasn't present the whole journey. Instead Sabine seemed absent, her eyes staring blankly into the distance or closed of from the world around her. Even the heavy rain and the light jolts the wagon made from the stones and rocks on the road didn't cause her to snap back to reality.

No, her mind was set on the fact that the distance between her and Lea grew with each second. Every stone that caused shock to be send throughout her body was a reminder of that fact. Emotions swirled inside her over this, each emotion giving birth to a new one or closing off a other. This all came to a stop the second the sound of a key turning could be heard, her eyes right away shot open and quickly the knowledge of their arrival pushed away all other thoughts and emotions.

With a deep sigh she slowly followed the woman and the man that stepped out, blinking heavily for a small moment when she stepped outside. It was weird, for a moment she really thought she was actually free, it was a sweet moment that lasted a second or two before it vanished. Replaced with the taste of the recent rainfall on her tongue as she reached out with it to wet her lips before she let out a long deep sigh. Reality was a bitch to face, a real bitch.

Taking a few steps, to make sure the others could step out as well, Sabine shook her head to free herself from any lingering thoughts. Running her hands tenderly through her long brown hair to make sure it fell nicely back in place. With a clear head now, Sabine distanced herself a bit more from the driver and the others to take a good look around, sucking in her new surroundings in silence.

The forest didn't look so bad, though anything after the Three's dungeon would most likely look good. While she wasn't exactly free, Sabine still found it nice to finally be in the open air and nature. Of course she was here with a purpose, a mission.
And with that her mind went to the other transport on the road that was mentioned by the driver. It didn't go unnoticed by Sabine and quickly she decided that she would check upon her gear there first. Using the walk towards the other transport as a way to stretch her body after spending quite some time rather cramped up.

[Hyudra]

The wagon driver shakes his head, "I've no wine, prisoner, and I wouldn't be giving it to you if I did. I'm simply doing my duty as Lord Cochon asked of me."

At the second question, he frowns, "A few stories spring to mind. But they're just that. Stories. There's said to be a creature bigger than a Kor mammoth in these woods, sired by a god and a mortal lover. It was born in these woods and devoured both parents within moments of coming into this world. One of the Ur-Beasts, if you will."

Touching a pendant about his neck, the wagon-coach driver whispers a word under his breath, "Faerie too, if you believe the tales. I don't believe them real, but I was raised with stern warnings not to name them, so I shan't. If you know your stories, you should know well enough how to behave should you come across such. It is said the first attempt to establish a lumber camp in the Blackweald failed because of the intervention of the Fair Folk. My guess is it was simpler things. Dire bears, savages and human folly."

Sabine's investigations at the wagon uncover those of her belongings she could not bring with her onto the wagon, packed away, as well as the horses and other more unwieldy measures that her allies presumably brought along with them.

[TrueLazy]

"Hey... how are you? After this soft whisper Sabine softly pressed her lips on the forehead of her horse, kissing him lightly while caressing his neck with her fingertips. It was a small show of affection that even caught Sabine herself by surprise, but she just couldn't resist when she stood next to her horse once again. Seeing and being able to touch her horse reminded her of how her parents gave her this horse as a gift when she turned 15. With that thought a few fond memories of her horse popped up in her head, causing her to form a small smile with her lips.

The smile only lasted a moment as with a soft pat on the nose of her horse, to his content, Sabine slowly breaked away from him and turned her attention for a second to the filled saddle packs on the horse. She could clearly spot a bow and a bedroll, which made her conclude these were most likely the items that had been bestowed upon her for this "mission". While she was interested in those, her mind at the moment was more on her own stuff so she switched her focus to the wagon and it's goods.
When she was put on the transport she was allowed to carry some stuff with her and the rest would be transported seperate. With the knowledge that she wouldn't get a luxery ride to her destination she had choosed wisely on what to carry with her and what not

It wasn't much that she carried herself on this trip, her armor and clothing weren't a hard pick. Her weapons was a different story, they would most likely mean less comfort on her ride so she decided to not carry them with her. Now Sabine was looking for her weapon and quickly she spotted a sheated blade in the dark purple scabbard that was hers. Bound to it with a string was a sack, which on closer inspection revealed to contain a few other items that belonged to her.

With a soft pull Sabine managed to break her stuff free from the other stuff of which she assumed belonged to the rest. After laying the sack down on the ground, she lightly grasped the hilt of the blade with her left hand while placing her right hand on the end of the scabbard. Holding the slightly curved, sheathed blade infront of her chest, she slowly pulls it free from the scabbard with a elegant motion. Letting that flow into a gentle slashing strike towards the ground as soon as the tip of the blade was set free from it's sheath.

Her arm was now completely stretched, her blade pointed diagonal towards the ground on the left side of her, it's tip hovering a few inches above the road Sabine stood on. It all calmed her, the soft sound of her blade being drawn, the feel of the hilt in her hand, the sight of it's steel, the motion of the swing, all of it made Sabine feel peaceful for a moment.

Surpressing the urge to do a training session right away with her blade she forces herself to sheath it after standing there a few seconds and straps her blade on her right side were it used to be. Her focus went back to the sack of other stuff that belonged to her, a dagger, pouch with potions and a spell pouch. It wasn't much, but it was her stuff and quickly she went through the routine of equiping and strapping these items to her belt.

[Roethke]

Vilas turns away from the driver to watch Sabine begin to go through her things, smiling to himself when she approaches her horse. He gives a low whistle as she strikes with her sword, and as she returns the sword to its sheath he begins to clap slowly,

"Hey pretty lady, not bad, not bad at all. You've scared the Fair folk off and maybe run one through," With a nod of his head toward a short, stocky piebald gelding and a scrawny looking grey mare with a white star on her head in the line of horses behind Sabine's own,

"But I'd ask that you not make my new horses bolt before I meet them. I don't think they're as used to sharp shiny things waving about and sudden motions, as your beautiful creature." He wanders over to the horses, gesturing to each,

"I've picked out the names on the way up, Smiech and Smirt-- roughly 'Laughter' and 'Death' in the old tongue of my village, but the idea is maybe closer than it is in Ethenian. I can't decide which horse is which, though, Maybe you want to help me decide?"

He wipes his hands on his tunic, somewhat ineffectually, then holds one out,

The name is Vilas, by the way."

[TrueLazy]

Surprised by the sound of clapping, Sabine raises her head to find it's origin and finds herself staring in the brown eyes of a red-haired man. The man was without a doubt quite a bit older then her, she guessed around the 30, but she knew looks could be deceiving, so she wasn't going to bet on it.

Though, his appearence didn't really matter to her right now, his words were however a different case. It seemed like he was rather carefree in addressing her and in his talk, while this wasn't a crime or anything, Sabine wasn't exactly pleased by it either. Especially how he called her didn't stick well with Sabine and found herself hoping for a second that this man wasn't some sort of pervert.

With a neutral face she just stared at him as he continued his talk, now going about his horses as he approached them while explaining the names he gave them. While she listened carefully to what he said, she didn't really care alot for it and found herself more asking who he exactly was.

As if the man had heard her inner question, he wiped of his hand and sticked it out while introducing himself. Vilas... The name didn't ring any bells, but that didn't surprise Sabine any bit. While she knew he expected her to give him a hand and introduce herself back right now, she didn't do this. Mostly because of how he called her, but also because she had no idea what this man exactly had done to land in the Three's dungeon.

Instead she nodded, showing that she was listening and acknowledge his presence, but had no meaning of doing more then that. "Perhaps you should introduce yourself to them as well", she pauzed and turned her gaze from the man towards the horses he stood with, "and let them decide what they like." It was raised with light irritation, born from how the man had named his horses without any bonding, but also how casually he had spoken to her.

[Kurai]

"Well, well," Tanith muses after the driver is finished his explanation, holding onto a slight, but unmocking smirk while listening to the Fair Folk gossip. She had never been one for stories about fairies, gods or wood sprites - not because she refused to believe in them, but because they were of no immediate concern to her. Out on the battlefield, knee-deep in blood, mud and human remains, it taught you quickly and efficiently to hold on to very real and immediate beliefs. She'd worry about her relationship with the fable creatures the moment she had to deal with one.

"Any last words of advice? 'Cause everyone with their head screwed on right knows there's no wiser man than one who travels the road," she adds with a rugged, but charismatic grin, thin lips stretched over strong, white teeth. Holding out her hand to the driver, she shakes it with a strong grip to convey her thanks. He seems to be her kind of man, down to earth to not let himself be caught in the wind on a whim, but with enough of a smart mind to look beyond the fence. It reminded her of the men she had shared blood and sweat with, her mind drifting back to them with a quiet, nostalgic pin-prick.

That part of your life is over, woman. No gain in staying stuck in those memories like a carriage in the mud. Sighing, the dark-haired soldier throws a look over to her new two teammates, who busied themselves with the horses. While unable to hear the words from where she stood, Tanith guessed first introductions were made. On the far left, there was a glimpse of her own sorrel gelding, the mount shaking his head lazily and making Tanith smile slightly at the languid gesture. She however could already feel the restlessness settling into her bones, but would force into calmness. I guess it won't make a difference if we get going now or in a few more minutes.

[Hyudra]

The wagon-driver frowns, "You don't need to flatter me, miss. I serve my lord proper, and me told me to send you off right. Last words of advice? Make allies of some sort. Don't matter if they're savages or bandits, you won't survive with just the five of you. Or you'll survive but you won't thrive.

"You'll be wanting shelter too, lest you think you can get by with just tents and bedrolls in a monster infested wilderness. There's caves to the west edge of the Blackweald, I hear. Some from an aborted mining enterprise, some natural. If you want something more proper, I hear there was a lumber operation started in the Blackweald some thirty years ago. Someone's gotta be living there, and if you're lucky, the bandits there have some kind of town thrown together there. If not, you might get your noses cut off just for poking them in the wrong spot."

Glancing around, he asks, "So I guess I'll be seeing you off?"

[Gorgondantess]

The last out of the wagon is Sidheh, who, until now, had been quite deadened to the world. He was likely the only one who did not feel the bumps and jolts of the road.
Slowly getting himself up and out of the wagon, he walks over to the equipment wagon to retrieve his things. It would be good to have his armor back.
Seeing what's there, he spasms, gripping the side of the wagon in order to steady himself.
His armor- his second skin, fashioned by the finest smiths of Ethene and emblazoned with runes and prayers by the church of Pelor- was, for the most part, confiscated. Of course. He should've known. The gauntlets were still there (though the fire opals picked out) and most of the underarmor- a brigandine vest and greaves, shoulderpads- but the main of the armor, all of the plate, was gone.
His sword was gone too, and his tabard, but, well, at this point he didn't really expect anything else.
Well, then. That was that.
He dons what's there, though halts for a moment after all of it is on. It was like chewing food and leaving it in your mouth without swallowing it. There were more steps to the process, natural steps, necessary steps... but ones, at this point, he wasn't able to complete.

Whatever. He picks up a provided flail and longsword, the former slung over his shoulder and the latter strapped to his belt.

[Roethke]

After pausing for a moment with his hand outstretched, he returns it to his side. The piebald horse gives a whinny, and Vilas glances over. Giving a short mock-bow to the woman before him, Vilas says chidingly, As you say, nameless Lady, it seems Smiech has had the manners to introduce himself. I guess we should be thankful it wasn't Smirt.

Pausing, as if considering whether or not to go on, he continues,

"I would guess your fortunate star had farther to fall than mine. But remember, we did land in the same spot. Best get used to lying with dogs and waking up with fleas, as they say, if you want my advice. Though if you did manage to avoid fleas in the dungeon, I'll eat my words and take yours."

Vilas turns towards his horses and begins to groom them, feeding them a bit of oats he had lifted from the feeding trough at the inn the previous night, muttering to the animal in a calm voice, "Okay Smiech, you great dumb beast, you get used to Smirt. Smirt, this over here is a rude Namelss Lady, but she treats her animal nicely and thinks you're smart, so she might spoil you.


Handle Animal check to get them to calm and get used to all the strangers
Smiech: 14
Smirt: 6

[abadguy]

"OOOoooooooouuuUUUuuuaaahhhhhHHhhhhhh...." A loud yawn emits from the carriage.

A strange, small sized man unfurls himself from under the seats. As he sits on the carriage steps, rubbing sleep from his eyes, he takes in the surroundings. "So ... this is the Blackweald? Looks friendly enough. Only a year to go." Only a year before I can rejoin my family

He jumps off the steps to the ground where he starts stretching. He wears a light chain shirt with curious Oriental enhancements, a light travelling outfit beneath that. His features are child-like, similar to a gnomes, but that is tempered by his sinewy body and relaxed athleticism. "That was a good nap, so ... coach driver, what was your name again? Will you be back to check up on us, so to speak?" He starts pulling his backpack and weapons from the luggage area and looks around at the others. "Oh yes, sorry if any of you had not noticed me under the seats. I like small and dark places to rest. My name is Selfent, please to meet the rest of you," he does a little bow.

[Kurai]

"Oh, don't worry, no flattery. Just honest experience I made over the years," she replies to the driver with a wry smile. And it was true, as men of the road were the best sources when it came to rooted, unaltered news, with them traveling quickly and far across the land.

After nodding at him by way of thanks for the advice, she jogs over to her gelding. The horse snorts in greeting, pushing his nose against her arm for a moment when recognizing his owner after her long absence and she claps his neck in a moment of quiet joy. "Howsit goin', ma boy? I hope you were a pain in the back to the stablemasters while I was gone." Rhoen's name had been picked by her youngest brother, Maverin, when she had taken him with her to the stables. He had been younger then, just a small bundle of energy and happiness...

Pushing her memories aside, she nods curtly, but not unfriendly, to the other persons standing beside the horses, then finds her attention diverted by a loud noise from the carriage. Looking over to the sleep-disheveled man, Tanith has to smirk slightly.

"Good for you to wake up, Selfent. It wouldn't do to loose one so quickly due to heavy sleep."

Glancing around at the group and finding everyone up and about, she winds Rhoen's reins around her fist and turns to them. "So, lady and gentlemen, if everyone has their gear and horses ready, how about we move out? We have a lot to discuss and even more to accomplish, I rather wouldn't do this standing beneath the open sun in the middle of the road."

Tanith doesn't give her name back just yet. A small part of her, an equally ashamed and proud part, believes that her family name might rise a few eyebrows... turning right into open mistrust. Valladey would lead right back to her father and considering she remembers some of the faces in their new bunch of ragtags, it was stupid to think they wouldn't know someone like Ethene's Knight-Commander... whose blood was on her own hands. Sweet Pelor, thinking about him is still like biting in a bitter, burning fruit. It's been so long already...

[TrueLazy]

While she didn't show it, Sabine was slightly amused by the response Vilas gave her. "I will hold on to that advice of yours...", she pauzed and turns her head towards one of her other "companions" who had arrived at the supply wagon. She wasn't sure, but she thought that out of the corner of her eye she spotted the man in some sort of shock.

Her eyes were now fixed on the man's back, watching him donning his armor for a moment before she decided it was probably her imagination and returned her attention back towards Vilas. "You should know that a sharp tongue makes it only easier to cut oneself, see that as my advice to you." Flashing a small smile towards Vilas before returning back to her emotionless expression and the saddlebags on her horse.

But before she could check it out, a new voice could be heard from the carriage. With a newfound curiousity, Sabine found herself turning her head once again into a other direction and stared towards the driver and the carriage. It didn't took her long to find the source of this new voice, a short and rather young looking man, at least younger then the other men here. With the fifth person revealing himself as he stepped out into the open, Sabine found herself checking out each of her new "companions".

She couldn't tell much from the man that exited as last, he was most likely under 25 and the symbols on his armor suggested he hailed from somewhere else then Ethene. Next her gaze shifted towards the woman, which lingered a while longer on her then innitialy planned as she made her presence more clear by directing words to the whole group. She seems... familiar. Unlike she hoped for, this longer stare then planned didn't help her out in indentifying this woman. Before anyone would think wrongly of her staring, Sabine turned her body around in a smooth motion to look again at the man near the supply wagon who already finished donning his armor and weapons.

The flail he carried caused her to raise a eyebrow, it was not something she was used to seeing and stirred some interest in how one would exactly wield it. He seemed to be also "way" older then Sabine, most likely early 30's, perhaps even mid 30's. With this it was clear to Sabine she was most likely the youngest person here and she was certain this would come back at her in some way, most likely not a good one.

The woman was ready to leave already, Sabine didn't really minded this, but found herself asking how to call her. "Perhaps introductions are at place first", she glanced over towards Vilas for a moment, "so we know how to call each other." A pauze was in place so she could look at each of her "companions" before she continued, "I'm Sabine." It was a simple introduction, she felt no need to indulge everyone with any more information as of now, including her surname. Besides, it was her first name that would be used, at least, so she hoped.

[Hyudra]

The wagon-driver shakes his head at Selfent's question, "I don't think I care to have a group of criminals know my name."

Gripping an iron handle, he pulls himself up to the seat of his wagon. As you introduce yourselves, he takes a few moments to lift up the seat beside him - a lid to a compartment below - and rummage within. He interrupts your conversation with a hacking cough, followed by his voice, "It doesn't sound like you have more questions for me, so I'll be seeing you off."

There is a squeak followed by a click, and he raises a crossbow, directing at you. His expression is bland, virtually unconcerned as he threatens you, "I suggest you hurry along. I told milord that I would see you off into the forest, and I'm of the opinion that a crossbow bolt sticking through one of your arms or legs would go a fair ways towards selling the idea that you lot are on the wrong side of justice."

[Gorgondantess]

Sidheh walks up behind the man, and lays a gauntleted hand on his shoulder. He speaks in a gentle voice, a soft smile on his face. "You stand before five of the worst criminals in the realm- all with death sentences or life imprisonment, and justly so- who are considered talented enough in combat to be sent out into the Blackweald... and you are threatening them?"
He walks around the man, standing in front of his aimed crossbow.
"We'll be on our way in due time. After all, our fair country's mages have put a far more powerful incentive on us than any crossbow bolt. There is no need for violence here."

Once that messy business is over, Sidheh turns to the rest of the group. His words are commanding and forceful, in contrast to his previous tone.
"Alright then. We've been given a missive by our country to harass the whole of the Blackweald- aside from those loyal to Ethene- for a year and a day, and I intend to do so to the very best of my abilities."
He raises his sword, gesturing to the rest of the group.
"Do you?"

[Roethke]

Vilas blinked for a moment, obviously expecting a different reply from the young woman before him, then returns to preparing the tack and harness for his horses.

Finishing, he moves to check his equipment as the others emerge from the wagon, uncovering a large number of scroll cases and several sacks of clothing. As the others make themselves known, Vilas proffers a hand and introduces himself.

At the click of the crossbow, he clutches his own weapon a bit tighter,
The blasted curse didn't say anything about hurting an Ethenian horse. One arrow to the rump, and our condescending driver may take an unfortunate tumble. Two, and he may be stuck here with us


As Sidheh finishes his speech, Vilas gives a raspberry and says, idignantly
"Pshaw on that and Piss on Ethene! I intend to keep my skin, break this arcane slavery the Ethenian dogs have foisted on me, and maybe make some coin. In that order."

Considering the warrior standing before the loaded crossbow, he thinks to himself,That one will get me killed quickly and gloriously if I am not careful

"But I think we are forced to come to some accommodation, no? Let us see what opportunities present themselves."

[abadguy]

Selfent freezes when he sees the crossbow. He begins talking calmly and in a measure, reasonble tone"Now now, dear driver, sure there is no need for violence. We may be criminals but we are people too, with families, people we love and love us back home. Besides, there is the magical oath we took which is as binding. We will proceed on our way, and you should too." He walks slowly toward the driver, a warm smile on his face. Damn magic oath, I would have slain him in a heartbeat ...

((Diplomacy check, taking 10 for 25))

[Hyudra]

The wagon driver rolls his eyes at Sidheh's words, the threat clearly making little impression. As Sidheh turns his back to address his companions, the wagon driver trains the crossbow on the back of the knight's head as he speaks. Selfent distracts the driver with his words, and after a moment's pause, the man sets his crossbow down across his lap, still pointed in the general direction of Sidheh.

"So be it," he replies. He adds, to Selfent, "There's a Icatan outpost just south of the Blackweald. It is a key supply line for all the territory that Icatan controls north of here. You may wish to focus your efforts on that outpost and on the highroad. Just know that the outpost is guarded."

[Kurai]

Tanith snorts and pulls herself up on the horse in a quick motion. The driver's turn didn't come entirely unexpected, as they were criminals. If entirely honest, Tanith even wondered if she didn't actually deserve a bolt or two through the flesh.

"The name's Tanith," she throws in the direction of the group in an offhand way, "but I suppose proper introduction has to wait until we are seen off properly." She throws a wry, sharp smile in the driver's direction, then nods at the, to her still unknown, Sidheh. "I heed your words, man, and I will be with you all the way. So let's get our gear, everyone, and head out. We shouldn't waste the light we have."

The black-haired woman takes a glance at the sky and wonders how many hours there are left for today. Unaquainted with the area, it wouldn't be unfortunate if they looked around for a bit. And she'd rather find a spot for making camp sooner than later, especially in a bandid infested piece of the wild. Clicking her tongue at Rhoen, she has the horse make a few steps forward to gaze down the road left and right, then patiently waits for her new 'comrades'.

[TrueLazy]

The sudden appearence of the driver's crossbow certainly took Sabine by surprise, but she remained calm under this new threat. Instead of taking actions, she left this in the hands of her "companions" and took this oppurtunity to gain some insight in their personality and perhaps their capabilities.

First was the man with the flail, underestimating the opponent, she shook her head lightly with this thought in her head. His little talk was rather foolish with that in mind as he forgot that his logic worked the other way around as well. The driver was alone, knew we are "criminals" and combat capable, still he went as far to threaten us five. That alone should make one aware that the driver might be more then he seems or had something up his sleeve. The reaction of the driver to this all confirmed Sabine's thoughts, he is very much aware of his situation and knows what he is doing, a dangerous man.

What followed was a little speech towards the group from him, one that was meant to inspire them all, at least that's what Sabine made out of it. She didn't saw much use in such display and ignored it while assuming the man was probably some sort of gang leader before he was thrown into Three's Dungeon.
The reaction of Vilas on this was one fitting of a criminal and Sabine made a mental note of this. Knowing the nature of her "companions" was important and could prove to save their life in the future or that of her own if it came to that.

Selfent on the other hand showed a completely different approach, not one of intimidation or violence, but trying to compel to the driver's compassion. This seemed to have a positive effect on the driver and with his crossbow down he gave them another piece of advice. But Sabine's mind was now lingering on the name the female warrior revealed, Tanith, Tanith..., Tanith...., repeating the name a few times in her head still didn't ring any bells for Sabine.

With her mind occupied with this new name, she takes her horse by the bridle and walks towards the edge of the road. Clearing the way if the driver was thinking of turning around completely and heading the same way back, though wondered about the supply wagon's fate. "We should be grateful for the information he has given us even though he was only ordered to bring us here." She raised her voice softly, just hard enough to be heard by all while giving the driver a kind nod that served as her thanks for his efforts. "Not long before dusk is upon us and as Tanith suggested, might be best to use the light we got as much as possible."

[Roethke]

Vilas, turns to the group,

"Okay by me, to be heading out, but heading out to where?

Producing one of his sacks he opens it enough to reveal several Icatanese military uniforms within,gesturing towards Tanith and Sidheh

"For you enthusiastic folks, we may be able to investigate the outpost our good driver has pointed us towards or harass their defenseless merchants, whatever is to your taste. Elsewise, I say we get a roof of sorts over our heads, and would head to the caves or old lumber camp."

He pauses, surveying the group,
Speaking of, who shall lead our little ferocious bandit gang? My mother always said a ferret with two heads would bite at its own necks. I can only imagine what a five-headed ferret would do. I, of course, nominate myself, and see what we can make of the outpost. If we can knock over a caravan or two, we may be in a less objectionable position when we do meet the other bandits of these woods. Otherwise we'll be bushwhacking, looking for caves or running from the fairies who ate the lumberjacks."

He gives an exaggerated sniff at his armpits
Seeing as how,in my current state, I may be an objectionable option, I am open to other suggestions

[abadguy]

"Let us establish a defensible shelter of sorts first. All this leader talk can be settled later. Needs must." He looks at the sun and starts gauging a direction south nearer to the outpost.

[Hyudra]

It is hard to imagine a place more different from your prison cells than the Blackweald. As you venture into the woods and leave the clearing behind you, you pass into a territory that is dense, cluttered with details and as moist and vibrant with life as your cell was dry and reeking with decades of slow moldering decay.

While many of you have been in forests before, the Blackweald proves to be somewhat different. There are no paths, no easy routes through the trees. For minutes at a time, you have no solid ground, only roots overlapping roots and bushes wedged between trees. When you do find yourself with flat ground to walk on and enough room that you aren't squeezing past trees, it seems inevitable that you hit a dead end. A dense copse of trees, a short cliff just a little taller than you are, with a tree perched at its top, or a short stream surrounded by mud so thick you could lose yourself in it. So you wind up backtracking or find yourselves pushing into difficult terrain.

After a short while, you stop to rest. You haven't yet traveled so far you couldn't find your way back, and a ridge of ground rises to the west, while the east dips into lower ground where streams and fresh water may be available. Someone with more knowledge or talent in navigating the woodlands might find this a good time to exercise such, if they were looking for something specific.

[abadguy]

Selfent surveys the area and tries to recall the lore his tribe had used to survive the wilderness .... what would make a good area for the four of them to stop, rest and build the beginnings of a base?

Survival [roll0] (boosting with Cunning Knowledge)
Knowledge Nature [roll1] (boosting with Cunning Knowledge)

[Roethke]

Vilas shrugs and says "Fine by me" as the party begins to head south, though he does punctuate his sentence by entwining his arms together and snapping his hands at each other. He gets increasingly nervous as the forest envelops them, thinking to himself, It's just like the swamp again, at least this time we don't need to build a castle... but relaxes a bit when it appears that Selfent seems to know what he's doing as they trudge South.

[Hyudra]

Private Message:
abadguy:
Your intuition tells you that with the small streams running downhill, there's a good chance they congregate in a pool or pond of some sort. Further, given that the downhill path would lead you alongside the cliffside, you'd probably be passing by (or even into) caves. These things together make it fairly likely that there's some sort of watering hole for the local fauna down there. On the one hand it means fresh water, shelter and potential food. On the other, predators are likely to lurk down there and in the caves too.

Uphill, the vegetation should be thinner, making the going easier. Shelter and fresh water may be harder to come by as the ground gets rockier, but you won't be competing for it. Further, you should be able to find a good ridge to view the landscape from... but others would be able to spot you nearly as easily.

Despite the moisture and the mud that has accumulated on you with the still rain-moist vegetation you've been treading through, something feels off about how easy some of the going has been. There should be more bugs, following the rain, and there's no sign at all that anything human has been through these parts of the woods. No paths, no broken branches.

It should be dark in about two hours.

[TrueLazy]

She wasn't really pleased to hear Vilas nominated himself as leader of this group, so far he didn't seemed to be someone a bit too eager for wealth. Then again, one can expect that much from people that were in Three's dungeon. Before Sabine could raise a other matter, Selfent was doing it already and pretty much voiced her thoughts, "Mhmm..."

With the group going south, Sabine kept her mouth shut along the travel as she tried to manuever the horse behind her through the dense forest. It wasn't a easy task, let alone one with a good pace, but it wasn't like she was alone in this problem nor that they were able to travel fast themselves. Still, slowly she managed and the struggle gave her insight in the trials people had to endure in this forest.

The outdoors wasn't really Sabine's thing, she was just used to being in the capital city, mostly around or in the palace. Never too old to learn I guess..., but, silly to think that already with my age.... She was wondering wheter they would find a decent spot to camp out, she knew there was more to it then finding a small open space, what exactly was a bit beyond her.

[abadguy]

Selfent gets up from his inspection of the surrounding environs.

"From my knowledge of the wilds, I think we should head downhill. The streams should form a pool further down, meaning a supply of fresh water and food from those who come to drink. There should be caves as well along the cliffside where we can take shelter."

He points uphill. "Further up would make a good vantage point for us to overlook this area. Maybe we can take regular treks up to survey the Blackweald. Our knowledge of the terrain is scanty at best."

"Also, do you find it strange that there is not a single trace of civillised spoor? I would expect to see, maybe a remains of a fire, some broken branches, traces of a path .... perhaps this place is more dangerous that we thought if the Icatan men actively avoid this place."

He sets off first downslope, loping easily in the brush. "We should hurry ... the sun sets in two hours."

[Kurai]

Tanith doesn't give her opinion to the leader comment, as she believes that it will only spawn a lengthy discussion. And frankly, the idea of serving under criminals is not a nice one. Oh, not that she has a problem with serving beneath other people, be they man or woman, but in the King's army she knew that those who held high ranks had earned these spots fair and square and with every drop of blood shed in battle. And following what looked like a Korish salesman, considering the accent and way of speaking, was a laughable idea.

So she was glad that they set out into the woods, even though fighting themselves through the underbrush became quickly tedious at best. Tanith cursed herself for never taking some time to learn her former scouts handiwork. All these years she had her people who scouted the area, reported back to her and her maps, then discussed the best route a track of heavy armed persons were supposed to take. They never walked blindly into a deep wood without any kind of obvious human settlements. It was a stroke of luck that Selfent seemed to know what he was doing.

"Food, water and shelter are what we need first, next we should get acquainted with the area," Tanith remarks, nodding at Selfent's assessment. "But if the woods are dangerous, we should keep our eyes and ears open. It will be easier to defend ourselves if we have a better spot to do so, so let's move quickly to those caves." Taking the reins of her horse tighter, the warrior lets out a close-mouthed sigh. Heck, at least she knew what they needed... even if she didn't know how it was supposed to be found. But caves? Caves sounded fantastic in this giant tangle of wilderness and danger.

[Roethke]

Vilas brushes through a tangle of thorny bushes, trying to clear the way for Smiech and Smirt, "Not so strange, I'd be thinking, not to see signs of civilization. No one likes to set their behind down on knobby tree roots and drink thistle tea everyday. He pauses and gives a wry laugh

Well, no one excepting us. A dank cave does sound suitable for our little group. Even the butterfly clings to the cocoon, and a cave is close enough to the dungeon to make me feel at home, tonight.

Continuing the trek, Vilas keeps his eyes out for signs of a cave or human(oid) activity.

Search: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]

[Hyudra]

You opt for the low ground, the weed and root-riddled cliffs looming further over your right shoulder as you descend. The stony ground underfoot is not steep - nearly flat, but it is covered in moss, small stones and is still wet from the recent rains and the damp that is trickling down the side of the cliff. Your feet threaten to slip out from beneath you with every step.

Still, the going gets easier and you find more soft soil and grass underfoot as you make your way. In twenty minute's time, you and the horses get past the treacherous ground at the cliff's base with no incident. At the bottom, you see a large willow growing out of the base of the cliff, a tremendous mass of crows fly out of the long drooping leaves as you approach, not making a sound.

Peering closer, you see what served as the crow's interrupted meal. The dessicated corpse of some beast as large as the wagon-coach that brought you here is draped in the branches. Just what it was can't be readily made out due to the decay and its twisted position in the midst of the branches... by the general shape, the black fur and the hooks of bone that protrude from the brow and joints, you suspect it might have been a particularly large specimen of dire wolf, but it would be hard to explain what such was doing in the midst of a tree.

Finding a cave seems like it would be no trouble. You see one at the base of the tree, framed by the roots, hidden from the world by the curtain of leaves from the willow tree and the occasional falling clump of maggots from the decaying beast. Further south you can see a hole in the cliff wall about twenty feet above the ground.

[abadguy]

"Well, well! Options to choose from. Maybe someone with a keen eye can search around the entrance of that cave for tracks...."

[Roethke]

Vilas peers ahead,

"Home sweet home? " he says,questioningly gesturing the the maggot bedripped tree and cave entrance. I'll go see if we'd be the only residents, other than our unfortunate friend in the tree. " he continues, shrugging on his armor and stringing his bow,
Unless anyone wants to come with, if not I claim first pick for where I lay my blanket..."

OOC:

Seeing as we're not hard-pressed for time, Vilas will take 20 to search for tracks in and around a the cave entrance, lighting a torch, if necessary. He'll also look up to see if he can make out how the creature in the tree fell down there and if there are any signs as to what lives in the hole 20' up on the cliff.

Search: Taking 20 = 30
Spot(if necessary): [roll0]

[Hyudra]

Vilas' investigations and some common sense strongly suggest that the decaying beast didn't fall into the tree from above. There's no broken or fallen branches, nor any dried blood spatter. Besides, there's too much in the way of branches and overhanging trunk for such to have occurred.

The cave mouth and the cave itself has much in the way of dust, largely undisturbed by weather due to the shelter the cave and the tree afforded - nothing has been in or out in quite some time. Peering in the cave entrance, Vilas finds the interior to be relatively tidy. The ceiling is low - five and a half feet or so - but all solid rock. The cave interior is fairly broad, perhaps thirty or so feet across, and is deep enough that the torch light doesn't reach the far end of the cave.

Investigation of the hole in the cliffside doesn't reveal anything from where you stand. It's about six feet across and seven feet tall, and the bottom lip of it has moss growing on it, some of which crawls down the cliffside below. To see the interior of the cave from 20 feet below, you'd need to stand so far back that the trees would obscure your view.

[Kurai]

Tanith gives a non-committal grunt and seeing the others searching the vicinity around the cave, she makes a broader sweep of the area. The mystery of the dead wolf in the tree doesn't sit well with her and causes a slight scratching in the back of her neck, as if someone stood behind her watching and prowling. It might just be the slight paranoia of finding herself in the woods, alone with four people she didn't know and who could be blood-thirsty criminals for all she knew (though she ruled out the one who had given a speech about Ethene, he sounded to much like someone bound by an oath instead of a geas), but she forced herself to take a deep breath and relax for a second.

Adjusting the shield on her arm, which had been a wonderful hindrance during their little stumble, er, walk through the wilds, Tanith slings Rhoen's reins over the next available hold and puts the free hand on her hip.

"I'm gonna get us some firewood while you people prowl around here. I probably would hinder any search for marks by stepping right on the hints, so I'm going to make myself useful. Maybe I'll catch something to eat while in the area."

With that, the soldier gathers her bow and strings it, leaving so far as to not be out of earshot and without getting into the danger of loosing her way back. Keeping her eyes and ears open for game, but considering the gathering of dry wood her priority.


Some rolls in case they are needed:

Search: [roll0] (taking 10 or 20 on the Search if possible, as she's not in a hurry)
Spot: [roll1]
Listen: [roll2]

[abadguy]

"That cave above looks interesting. Any one else here wants to take a look?"

He moves to about 20 feet from the hole before running toward it and makes a mighty leap to grab hold of cliff face!

((High Jump [roll0] boosting with Cunning knowledge))

He manages a high leap of 15 feet (including vertical reach) and then hauls himself up to the mouth of the hole

((Climb Check [roll1] boosting with Cunning knowledge))

"Someone join me?" He says with a grin, legs dangling over the edge, quite pleased with himself.

[Gorgondantess]

Sidheh, taken aback by Vilas' comment, decides to humble himself by remaining in sullen silence for much of the journey.
Cringing at the stench of the rotting wolf, he's torn between checking out the cave in the cliff wall, or the cave with Vilas, simply wanting to be out of the range of the carcass. He had a sensitive nose, to say the least, but both options weren't exactly desirable (one involving likely falling flat on his back multiple times by attempting to climb the cliff face, and the other involving joining the un-patriot). So, when a third option presents itself, he takes the opportunity immediately.
"I'll join you," he says to Tanith, and follows after her.

[Roethke]

As Tanith makes her way into the woods, Vilas thinks to himself I'll never understand these Ethene women. That one looks like she could gut me without thinking twice, and yet offers to bring back dinner. Well best not to get on her wrong side...

"I'll cook up whatever you bring back, if you like. We've still got supplies, and I'd wager I'd make the best Korish Goulash in the Blackweald:"

His thoughts of food are interrupted as Selfent practically levitates up to the cave. He gives an appreciative whistle in response, and says, "I'll join you to look about, but I can't walk up walls like some spawn of a mountain-goat and a spider."

He shuffles in his pack for a length of rope, fastens a rock to the end and tosses it (carefully) up to Selfent.


Not sure exactly what checks are needed. Assuming that Selfent is willing to brace or there is something to secure the rope to up top, Vilas will climb up.

Climb Check (not counting modifiers for rope): [roll0]

getting a little ahead of ourselves, searching for animal or humanoid activity,
Search: 30
Spot: [roll1] to notice any critters hiding in the cave

[abadguy]

Selfent takes the rope, unrolls it to Vilas and braces himself against any sturdy rock outcropping on cave's lip. "Ready when you are!" he calls down when stable.

[TrueLazy]

The place wasn't perfect for them to settle for the rest of the day, but on first glance Sabine deemed it a decent spot to be at. A rather odd carcass in the tree wasn't enough to break her opinion on this, though did find herself wondering on it's presence as she tried to ignore it's stench. Without any knowledge whatsoever on the forest, it's inhabitants or on nature in general, she found herself shrugging this thought eventually away.

With her lips still sealed she watches how Vilas took the oppurtunity to search the cave entrance and it's near surroundings for some usefull information. Though the voice of Tanith quickly manages to break Sabine's eyes from Vilas as she turns herself towards the armored woman to see her leave for firewood. The "flailman", as Sabine called him seeing she still lacked his name, quickly follows her, which meant she was left with Vilas and Selfent.

Though the latter already managed to make his way up towards the higher cave, to Sabine's surprise without any rope, and asking who was going to join him. Without any reason to do so, she watched for a moment how Vilas took out a rope and secure a way up for himself to join Selfent.

She knew Vilas didn't took the chance to walk into the lower cave and explore any further, thus she decided that this could be something for her to pass time. After strapping her rather nervous companion to a tree, she walks up towards the cave entrance, pushing aside the leaves and branches that get in her way. At the entrance she takes a small pauze in her approach, giving herself time to peer into the cave's darkness.

"Willnyelv Ceviranla", slowly Sabine raises these words softly from her lips while she makes a few small, uncommon motions with her left hand that seem random to most people. Right after she closes her lips, four lights spring into being infront of her, forming a 10 ft. diagonal square together. Each one resembling small laterns in shape as they begin to move deeper into the cave with Sabine following them in a slower pace.


Rolls:
Sabine casted Dancing Lights, latern version, and sends them ahead of herself into the cave (to maximise her view range) to further explore it.
Spot check (if needed) [roll0]

[Hyudra]

OOC: As the party is split up, private messages being sent to each.
Truelazy - sent.
Roethke & abadguy - sent.
Gorgon & Kurai - sent.

Anyone reading the thread may request I send them some or all of the private messages, to follow along. I'll add in spoilers when any encounters/adventuring/exploration are done with.

[Hyudra]

Sabine ventures out from her explorations the cave, seeing the group with hands on their weapons, postures tense. Sidheh and Tanith stand at the edge of the clearing, opposite the hole in the cave face. Vilas stands below the hole, while Selfent stands at the entrance to it. Three pale girls, only one young enough to be called a child, though none truly adult, stand in a half circle around Selfent, just close enough that he would feel endangered should he turn his back on them to climb down. Sabine is a good twenty paces away, just beyond the willow tree.


"What is the meaning of this?" Tanith shouts in a commanding tone, her right hand safely grasping the hilt of her sword but not yet dragging it from its sheat. She takes a purposeful, unfrightened step forward. "Step back from our comrade and no harm will come to you. There is no need for trouble." The soldier takes a closer look at the strangers, lowering her eyes in close scrutiny of the women.

The women look to be clad in rags, their eyes unnaturally dark, with elbow length gloves and knee high boots. It's only after you peer closer that you realize that they wear neither glove nor boot - the rippling, dry leather texture is their skin, and their hands (likely their feet as well, though you cannot see such) are tipped with wicked claws.

The eldest of the three girls - perhaps sixteen or seventeen by human measure - walks up past Selfent, hesitating when he tightens his grip on his longsword, drawing it just two inches further from the scabbard, then walks past him. She perches on the lip of the cave, crouching with her fingers and toes gripping the rock and moss. She stretches, and it becomes clear that there are black feathered wings in the shadows just behind her, jutting from her shoulders and back.

Her voice is eerie as she speaks, reminding one of the magics some bards use to enhance their voices with harmony and perfect pitch, though applied too thick, too many times to sound natural.

"♪ Wingless Sister! ♫" she addresses Tanith, "♫ You have so many tasty looking man-things! Wrony is jealous. You please share? ♪"

[Kurai]

To say Tanith was stumped for a second would be understated. Think think think, quickly. Don't hesitate, make your mark, don't loose ground.

Easing her tone to come across as less hostile, but with the same amount of steel in it, the soldier loosens her tight posture a bit.
"I am sorry, Wrony, but these," she indicates the three men with a pointing of her chin, daring the males with a flash of her stormy eyes to speak up against her right now, "are my men. You can't have them, so you have to search your own. I don't share, winged sister."

Wondering at the nature of these creatures (and admitting that the whole scene did amuse her a bit, with the other guys now marked as 'hers'), she prayed they weren't as volatile as their youthful looks implied. She had tried to find a middle ground between a firm aura of relentlessness and friendly casualness, as to not rouse their ire so quickly and thoughtlessly.

"Would you be so nice to let my man up there come down? He is needed here and won't dare to hurt you," she adds in a kind tone. Tilting her head slightly in their direction, the armored woman can't help but feel a deep sense of curiosity about these creatures. Let's hope this isn't all going to hell in a handbasket.


Let's try some Diplomacy here:
[roll0]

[Roethke]

Vilas gaped in astonishment as the creatures revealed themselves, and feels relief crawl up his spine as the others return. As Tanith 'claims' him he shoots her a look, but it only lasts a second as he slips into character,

Gesturing to Tanith, he says to the creaturesYes, we were waiting for my mistress here to return. There are more of us man-thingsto the South, though, if you are looking. The Mistress was planning to hunt them later...


OOC: bow still drawn Vilas stays near the foot of the cliff, ready to aid Selfent, should he fall.

Diplomacy (Aid Tanith):[roll0]
Sense Motive (to tell how likely they are to attack):[roll1]

[Hyudra]

The girl pouts at Tanith's words, "♪ Man-liar here said he too scrawny to eat anyways. He can go. We not making him stay. ♫"

As Vilas speaks, she tilts her head in a jerky, oddly birdlike motion, then replies, "♫ We know, horse-man. But they shoot when we fly over. Many arrow-sticks. We not fight for food. Eat corpse-dead is easier. Eat helpless, eat sleeping-man. ♪"

[abadguy]

Selfent, on hearing the vulture-things assent to his leaving, does a backflip over the ledge to land on the ground

((Made my tumble check to treat the fall as 10 ft shorter so I take [roll0] non-lethal damage))

The landing jars him slightly.

He says nothing but watches the vulture-women closely, trying to pin down what kind of creatures they are. ((Knowledge checks in OOC thread))

[Hyudra]

For abadguy:
They're harpies, of that you're almost certain. You know that there are many breeds of harpy, each with the plumage of a particular species of bird.

Given the black feathers and eyes, you can deduce they're not the more martial raptor-harpies (such as hawk, eagle or the like), but they've either got the plumage of crows or of ravens. Either would fit with their professed carrion-eating.

From there, the information is indefinite, and you don't quite know enough to say whether they're one or the other, or whether any information from this point on is entirely correct. You've heard tales of crow-feathered harpies who could sing dirges that made injuries fester and be festooned with maggots before ten notes were sung, and force the dying to surrender their last breaths.

The raven-harpies, by contrast, are sometimes seen as harbingers. They can speak many languages and their song drives men to a craze. The minds of victims are filled with shame, guilt and fear to the point that they will fling themselves from balconies or bash their own brains out against a wall to rid themselves of the song's notes.

[Gorgondantess]

Sidheh decides to stand back and hold his tongue for the nonce. He's smart enough to know that anything he says right now would likely cause more trouble than good, especially seeing their... special disposition towards men.
Of course, he takes grip on his flail, ready to bash in some heads if need be.
On the mechanical side: changing stance to Master of the Field.

[TrueLazy]

Leaving the darkness of the cave behind her, Sabine found herself back in the open air, well as much as it could be called open in this forest, but with that also in a new and very surprising situation. Her eyes quickly shot between the young girls and the rest of the group, trying to read the situation as fast as possible before she would act too hasty.

It was obvious the girls weren't regular humans, the wings was a clear give away for that. They had a presence that implied some sort of danger, though Sabine found it hard to read their aura correctly. Still, a look around at the group confirmed the three girl's were surely, despite their age, something to watch out for.

Without responding to this possible threat just yet as she found herself caught by surprise by the words the eldest of the girls spoke. Tanith quickly responded in a way that almost surprised Sabine just as much, her men, heheh. Best not to mess up Tanith's deception here. Sabine kept herself from gripping the hilt of her sword and instead just stood still, calmness having clear reign in her presence when one would look at her.

Eat men... She turns her head back towards the cave behind her, staring into the familiar darkness, could it be? For a moment her thoughts went over what she came across inside the cave before she pushed those to the back of her head and focused back on matters at hand.

[Kurai]

"Then let me make you an offer, winged sisters," Tanith offers with a light smile, the skin around her eyes crinkling just slightly. There was a certain charm to the way she stood now, sword-hand on her hip, shielded arm to the side, upright posture and head held high with dignity, but not hubris. It was the air of a woman who had commanded many.

"Other men will fall prey to us and maybe we can even make the horse-men go away. I offer you their corpses as feast in return for a piece of your knowledge of this land and the safety of me and my men. How does that sound?"

The soldier had little qualms about offering them the dead bodies of their enemies. The dead were dead and this way they even fulfilled a certain role instead of rotting away on or beneath the ground. While speaking Pelor's name like anyone did, she was not a religious person by far, but rather much more concerned with earthly matters - and a feeble alliance with these women sounded much more promising than none.

[Hyudra]

The eldest of the three girls steps from the cliff edge and glides across the clearing, touching just ten or so feet from Tanith. As she reaches the ground she doesn't stop, but segues into an awkward walk that makes it clear that her feet aren't well suited for such. She halts in front of Tanith, then quizzically tilts her head in that odd birdlike way before asking, " ♪ Knowledge? What knowledge you want? ♫ "

Up close, Tanith can see that the girl's eyebrows and even eyelashes are not hair but fine downy feathers, and that feathers stick out at random from her scalp, almost indistinguishable from her tangle of long black hair. The other two girls approach the mouth of their cave and perch at the edge, watching the discussion.

[Kurai]

Tanith smiles a bit wider, crossing her arms and looking more at ease. While she had not seen such a creature ever before, these bird girls didn't raise her inner alarm and she was too much of a pragmatist to be disturbed by such unexpected events. And most importantly, this was an incredibly lucky occurence.

"Tell us about your home. We don't know this area, but we need a place on the ground that is safe. And if you could tell us in which direction and how far away these other man-things in the woods are, the sooner we can get them to you."

Small steps. We need a base, an idea where we stand and knowledge about each others strengths and weaknesses, then we can go forward.

Furrowing her brows, Tanith remembers the mangled carcasses she had found with the other man. Were these girls the reason for them? They looked like respectable foes, but the brutality and strength with which the wolves' bodies had been thrown around...
"You don't know by chance what happened to the wolves not far from here?"

[Hyudra]

"♪ Place on ground that is safe? Not exist. Is why smart Blackfeather Sisters have wings, yes? On ground is beast-things and Beasts and Others and the biter-things and man-things. ♫"

"♫ Man-things in woods are all over. Lots in town-place over in direction sun rises. Some man-things down where cliffs end, ♪" She turns to look South. "♪ Some nasty man-things at towers at top of cliffs. ♪"

At Tanith's last question, Wrony makes a curious face, "♪ Wolf-things? No wolf-things in these woods. ♪"

[Kurai]

"Thank you, Wrony. That is very helpful." So the other bandits are closer than we expected? I doubt they know which one of the groups it might be, she muses silently.

Turning her body slightly to the side, Tanith points to the decaying animal in the tree top, then into the part of the wood they had just left. "There are more of these not far from here. Killed by something very strong... and dangerous, I think. I wondered what it might be."

Then she directs her attention to Sabine, who is still standing at the entrance of the cave. Having seen her come out of it in her peripheral vision, the soldier guessed the younger woman might have scouted them out. "Is the cave a good place to spend the night in? As our new friends just told us, it seems like there is enough out there ready to kill us if we don't watch out."

[Hyudra]

"♪ Oh. That. Not wolf-thing. Beast, ♫" Wrony wrinkles her nose as she says 'that' and her inflection as she says the word 'beast' makes you suspect she might use a capital letter if she were writing it out, "♪ Killed by biggest, meanest Beast. Nuisance. Smells like food but Sisters can't eat. Wingless-Sister shouldn't eat either. ♫"

[TrueLazy]

She still wasn't sure what these creatures were, but appreciated the information they gave out towards Tanith nonetheless. Hostile or not, they were helping out so far with useful information about the near surroundings and the other inhabitants of this forest. Seems like bandits are the leasts of our troubles for the time being.

Quickly after this Sabine nodded in agreement towards Tanith before she continued her reply by speech. "It's safe for us to stay, someone else has done the same a "long" time back and left a few stuff behind. Not high enough for the horses though, but there's a fresh water source at the end that we could use for ourselves."

[abadguy]

"Agreed. This place is as good as any since we have these, urm, harpies on our side. I think." He looks at the sky, trying to estimate the time.

"Maybe we should scout those towers and groups that our erstwhile allies have mentioned? Does not seem too late in the day for that."

[Hyudra]

Half the sky is covered in dark clouds, which are illuminated a dark gold and red from below by the setting sun. It is perhaps an hour before nightfall, or thereabouts.

The second eldest of the winged girls flies down to join the conversation, "♫ Sister, what of the sevenday cart? ♪"

Wrony answers " ♪ Oh! Tomorrow- ♫" but gets no further. Her younger sister claps a taloned hand over her mouth and scolds her, "♫ Shush. You tell too much already for very little. ♫"

Turning towards you, the younger sister ventures, "♫ Blackfeather Sisters know when and where cart with papers and sometimes boxes comes. Every sevenday, same time, same place. Stuff in boxes always nice. Nicer is horse-man driving cart, all alone. We get them twice, last time was while he squatting in bushes. Young-tasty, both. Whimpered lots. Sisters tell you when, where, but want deal. ♪"

[Roethke]

Vilas flinches involuntarily as the winged creature flutters down towards Tanith. As the conversation goes on, he gives Tanith a reappraising look, "That one is clever and doesn't blink at feeding her enemies to... 'Blackfeather sisters' or whatever those things are.


At the mention of the word deal Vilas's ears perk up, this was familiar territory for him. He lowers the bow and returns the arrow to its quiver before addressing them,

"If my mistress will allow," he begins, hopefully not laying it on too thick, "If you will tell us when and where this 'Sevenday' cart will be, and answer her other questions, my mistress will hunt the man-things for you. For the deal, we lend you a horse, as collateral." Getting rolling, he continues, "Now I know horse-flesh is not as tasty as man-flesh, but if we come back, we'll give you the dead man-things we've hunted, and you give us the horse back." Vilas pauses, whistles for Smirt to come, and adds,"Alive, and unharmed.

If we don't come back, you've gotten some horse-flesh for nothing. If my mistress gets killed," He puts on a wide grin, and gives his bow a little shake, and points to himself "You're welcome to try for me...."


Thinking to himself, he gives a mental chuckle
Hehe... It doesn't matter if I'm dealing with some lordling buying fuel for his hearth or a crazy man-eating Ravenlady-- offer them something we don't care about for something we do, and make them think they're making out like bandits...


OOC: I'll take 10 or 20 on the handle animal check. Not sure if Come is a trick that a draft horse would know, but it seems likely.

[Hyudra]

" ♪ You leave horse here, Arrowbait-Sister will eat. Sister still growing, ever-hungry. Even Mama not able to stop her. ♫" The middle sister looks over her shoulder at the youngest of the three, still younger than ten by human years, though old enough to not be an infant.

"♪ No. Best colataler... best way to guarantee deal is if Sisters watch. Sisters lead Man-things to Sevenday Wagon. Fly over while Wingless-Sister and Lurking-Sister and Liar-man and Horse-man and Quiet-man take. Deal is two things. Sisters get first pick of things from wagon. One item each. That not counting food-dead you promise for knowledge Wrony-Sister give. ♫"

"♪ Second, Blackfeather Sisters want you. You die, you fall and cannot get up, Sisters allowed to eat you. ♪"

[Roethke]

Vilas takes his felt traveling hat in his left hand and crumples it in exasperation, indignantly, he responds

"My mistress is not your thrall to fetch your dinners for you, and then to claw through what leavings you decide are not choice enough. Gesturing to Tanith with the balled up hat,

Look at her face, and look at her eyes and steel talon. You can see she can hunt for herself-- she deals not because she is some fledgling, unable to find even goat-flesh. She deals because she is new to these woods and is willing to trade some of her strength with..." He gestures towards the smallest sister, "Arrow-bait, who may have some bits of useful knowledge"

Taking a breath, Vilas returns the rumpled hat to his head, and more calmly continues, "Where I come from, they say 'first-blood, first bounty'. If we're risking our blood for your supper, my mistress chooses an item for each of us, then you choose one for each of you, and we continue until there is no more. If she falls, then you may have me. Until then, I belong to her."

[TrueLazy]

She witnessed the winged females in silence as they listed their demands and mentioned a "Mama". Guess even... "they" have parents. Still, it was weird to picture it, even more because Sabine couldn't lose the picture of how a bird raised her children in a nest, but then about these girls. It was a... akward mental image.

Luckily she lost it, for now, at the mention of her "nickname", Lurking-Sister huh, that's... nice, I guess, not bad or is it? She wondered how she was looked upon by these.. girls, they had something against men. Well, they fed on them, women had a different position for them and Tanith's position together with all the men of this group were already established. Where does that leave me? For now it was better to stay quiet, unless talked too, as silence wouldn't hurt the group in any way.

She wasn't surprised to see Vilas come with his own way of doing things, he was the kind of guy to haggle and after hearing that last demand of the winged girls it was only natural to go against it. He wasn't bad at this kind of stuff either, better then me for sure. Still, according to them Tanith "owns" all the men here, soo... it's her call. Vilas shouldn't push his luck here with demands when he isn't in control.

[Hyudra]

The middle child tilts her head to one side, much as her sister did, her eyes are unreadable, being entirely black, but one might suspect she was more confused than anything else, "♪ Czarny not understand. Horse-man's mistress-sister not have anything if Blackfeather Sisters not tell where wagon is. We take one thing each, strangers get dozens to share with each other. Is more than fair, no? ♪"

[Kurai]

Tanith nods in Vilas' direction, thankful for his try at striking a better deal. She was honestly surprised with the smooth way he played along in his role, but, seeing a certain merchant gleam in his eye, guessed that it was just his thing. You didn't survive on the market if you didn't know how to twist words to your advantage.

"You are both right in a way. While we certainly lay our life on the line by doing this, it is only thanks to you Blackfeathers that we can get to the Sevenday wagon. So how about we make a deal on the middle ground?"

Smiling again at the sister doing most of the bargaining, Tanith fishes for the best words for this. "All I ask for is the right to bargain for the pieces of the wagon that you choose first. If there is one thing we desperately need, but which you would like for yourself, maybe we can find a solution for all of us. We are going to hunt more man-things in the future, whose flesh you will be able to feast on, so you might need us well prepared. That way, everyone wins. So, will you accept the right for bargain?"

There were three sisters and the soldier had no idea what would await them on that wagon. Important papers? But wouldn't they be better protected? Was it a simple post wagon? Who knew. She didn't expect that letting the Sisters choose first would hurt the loot very much, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Her words about being well prepared for the future were no lie.

[Roethke]

Vilas bites his tongue, for the moment, thinking I had them.., then sighs, and defers to to Tanith partly as the character he had assumed, partly realizing he had maybe been too taken with the thrill of the bargain after so much time in the dungeons.

[Kurai]

While watching the winged sisters think about her proposal, Tanith turns her body slightly to the side and towards her companions. After opening her mouth to speak, she quickly bites her tongue to keep the 'my friends' inside, that had jumped onto her tongue on first instinct.

"Men, Sabine," she nods at them all, "if you could please start making camp while I finish the conversation with our new acquaintances? I will join you as soon as we are finished." Her tone is friendly, but sure. She tried not to make it sound as if she was ordering them around on a whim.

With that, the dark-haired one steps closer to the two strange women on the ground and offers them her complete attention.

[Roethke]

Seeing Tanith finishing the deal with the Blackfeather sisters, for better for worse, Vilas gives Tanith a nod, smile and wink, as if he feels he's reached an understanding with her. Turning to Sabine he asks "I could do with stretching out these legs of mine, between the dungeon and the carriage ride, this is more walking than I've done in years. That cave over there looked comfortably dank- did you see anything I missed inside?"

[TrueLazy]

Sabine was curious to the outcome of the bargaining with the three sisters, but her contribution consisted of silence and not much more. So when Tanith suggested to leave the rest up to her, it was easy to make the call and go along with that idea. Vilas thought the very same thing and with confidence Tanith could handle things on her own she directed her attention towards Vilas.

"Think so, scanned it quickly because I had a limited light source. A bit further inside the cave I found a simple restplace with some supplies I haven't checked out thoroughly. The back end holds a water containing system that seemed broken, I think it's not beyond repair." With these words Sabine turns herself around towards the cave, pushing and holding the branches to the side, revealing the cave's darkness to all while making the entrace easier accessible. "So, got a light?"

[abadguy]

Hmmm ... Selfent thought .... but if the "cart of important papers" has been missing for 2 consecutive weeks, they might send a better guard this time around.


Covering his mouth, points his finger at Tanith and casts message to her: Find out when was the last time they killed the cart-rider and where the remains of the cart are. If it is too soon, they might send a better guard this time around.

After casting his spell, he turns to join the others. "Just told our, urm, mistress to find out when was the last time the harpies ambushed the cart. Might not be a good idea to tackle it without being very well prepared as they might actually send armed guards with it this time around. That is what I would do if my mail has been missing for two weeks. Also, consider the remains of the cart. Random paper may not be useful for the birds, but it would be a veritable treasure trove for us. Just hope they did not use it line their nests or something."

[Hyudra]

@ Tanith:
The middle child, who dubbed herself - you think - as Czarny, answers Tanith's proposal, "♪ If there is one thing Wingless-Sister want, Blackfeather Sisters pick two items each instead. Six things instead of three, in exchange for giving away first pick. Wingless-Sisters proud scavengers, would betray Sisters' nature to do different. ♪"

Far in the distance, the cry of a beast can be heard. It sounds like the ululating call of a wolf, but it is much more deep-throated and the lowest notes sound almost like a trumpeting or bleat. After a few moments, others pick up the call, and the night air is filled with ten or more such cries. The sound fades, leaving only echoes and the distressed cawing of birds.

@ Rest:
Little light passes into the cave, given the tree's drooping leaves around the entrance and the sun's place low in the sky.

Far in the distance, the cry of a beast can be heard. It sounds like the ululating call of a wolf, but it is much more deep-throated and the lowest notes sound almost like a trumpeting or bleat. After a few moments, others pick up the call, and the night air is filled with ten or more such cries. The sound fades, leaving only echoes and the distressed cawing of birds.

OOC:
Not much for me to chime in on here.

[TrueLazy]

Hearing Selfent talk about the winged girl's perhaps using paper to line their nest brought back the weird image she had before in her head. With that rather disturbing sight in her mind she almost missed out on the distant cry of what mostly resembled one of wolves. Wolves, luckily far away.

Recalling something the winged girl's had said earlier caused Sabine to frown deeply for a moment, "No wolf-things in these woods." She was certain one of them had mentioned that, but that didn't make things any better of course if she remembered this right. Wolves where one thing, but these... beasts were probably more dangerous then a pack of wolves. "Let's hope those stay in the distant for as long as we are here."

[abadguy]

"Welp, might as well make myself comfortable." He unrolls his bedroll and tucks himself into it against the cold.

"So ... while waiting for our 'mistress' ... care to share how did each of you get into trouble with the great nation of Ethene?"

[Gorgondantess]

As soon as the harpies are out of earshot, Sidheh shakes his head and speaks up for the first time.
"I will tell you now, I like this not one bit. I would prefer to not deal with them at all than be feeding sentient beings to those witches.
I am sure an alliance might be viable, but short of killing those monsters, it would have to involve something of a more permanent nature.
My thoughts are these: considering their fixation on food, we sortof, ah, keep them in employ, with the promise that they'll have all the food they shall ever need... so long as that food is not sentient beings, living or dead. A partnership, if you will, upholding necessary things such as simple decency."

[abadguy]

"Not just food it seems ... they want shiny magic items as well. And they seem to have a leaning toward man-meat."

A thought came to him.

"No one else here seems to be in a moral quandary. How in the world does a stand-up good guy like you get in trouble with Ethene law anyhow?"

[Gorgondantess]

"Not just food it seems ... they want shiny magic items as well. And they seem to have a leaning toward man-meat."
"Thus the issue. Not only is it vile and an offense against nature... but it's never a good idea to ally oneself with those who would think of you as a potential next meal.
And if they want magical items, well then I'd be more than happy to part with what few I possess in order to stave them off. As well as any I might acquire further down the road- say, in this raid."


"No one else here seems to be in a moral quandary. How in the world does a stand-up good guy like you get in trouble with Ethene law anyhow?"
Sidheh grimaces. "I made a mistake. I allowed emotion to blind my judgement, and so am paying a just penalty for it. I don't suppose you view your own situation similarly?"

[abadguy]

"Emotion ... not so much emotion as plain bad luck and not covering for all bases in my plans." If only they knew ... Selfent fought hard to keep his own "emotions" down.

"How about you two?" He turns to Vilas and Sabine.

[Roethke]

"How about you two?" He turns to Vilas and Sabine.

Vilas sets his bow down, and sits on a log massaging his legs, keeping his quiver on his back and half an eye on Tanith, just in case.

"The Story, eh? I'll give you the short version. I was born a peasant, and forgot myself. Ended up killing some highborn hoo-haw who needed it, and ran away from my soil. Did pretty well for myself for awhile, but the past came back when that scoundrel, good for nothing, horse-trading merchant, Aneeran found out who I was and got me put away"

He sighs, "I'd be happy to regale you at length with my tale of injustice and woe, but seeing as we have a year of quality time with each other, I'm sure you'll hear it in full as the days go by."


To Sidheh,
"Simple decency is expensive for our lot. If we're set on killing for Ethene, not sure I much care what's done with the bodies. Back in Kor we used to fertilize the fields with tax collectors from time to time, and our lords would respond by feeding the crows with a gallows-feast. Can't say there's much decency to be had.

And as for these sisters, well, they're no worse than many of the merchants I've dealt with. At least these ladies come right out tell you they'll eat you if they get the upper hand. The humans I know aren't so honest."


Vilas removes his everburning torch from his pack, and tosses it to Sabine, in response to her earlier request.

[TrueLazy]

Sabine followed the two small conversations between the others with interest, one being about the winged girl's and the deal, while the other was about their reason for imprisoment. She wasn't much surprised at the reasons she heard for their presence here right now, one of them lost his temper and did something bad, the other was sentenced for plain murder and the third had done something wrong. The plan, probably some sort of big theft that went wrong.

Her left hand quickly reached out to catch the torch that Vilas threw towards her and in response she gave him a soft nod as a thanks. As each of them had told their reason, she knew they expected her to be next, but she had no intentions so far of going into that. Instead she glared up towards the man that still hadn't giving out his name.

"No one is ordering nor forcing you to do anything, the deal Tanith is making out there is one she makes, not one either of us has made or agreed to, so there are no obligations. As for the eating, I just hope for you that you are a vegetarian and want to turn those three out there to it as well, otherwise you are nothing more then a big hypocrite." Her tone and facial expression were as neutral as ever, Sabine just didn't show any sign of emotional influences, she was simply stating something. While she was ready to say alot more after this, she decided not too. This part alone was enough for them all to see how she thought of this and she had no means to really upset anyone.

With that said she took her newly aquired light past the group at start of the cave, leaving them to think about what she said and most likely get judged because of it. It didn't bother her, instead her mind was more so occupied with the question that was asked, how did I get into Three's Dungeon? Her pace slowed down as her thoughts drifted away on this question, clenching her hand tightly around the torch. Her destination failed to drive these memories away, her curiousity on the boxes up ahead was no match for the current topic in her head.

[Gorgondantess]

"Simple decency is expensive for our lot. If we're set on killing for Ethene, not sure I much care what's done with the bodies. Back in Kor we used to fertilize the fields with tax collectors from time to time, and our lords would respond by feeding the crows with a gallows-feast. Can't say there's much decency to be had.

Sidheh's face darkens. "I certainly hope that was meant in jest. I don't see how any decent could stand the stench, let alone the depravity of such actions."


"No one is ordering nor forcing you to do anything, the deal Tanith is making out there is one she makes, not one either of us has made or agreed to, so there are no obligations.
Sidheh shrugs. "If that's the case, then I have no obligation not to detain or kill those beasts if they attempt to do something so vile.
But it is not. Tanith is dealing on all of our behalves- with the idea that we all, as a group, will attack the caravan and have a share in the loot. And I will not be a part of a deal that I believe is wrong."


"As for the eating, I just hope for you that you are a vegetarian and want to turn those three out there to it as well, otherwise you are nothing more then a big hypocrite."
Sidheh scowls at that. "Surely you aren't one of those treefolk who believes that a horse is to be valued as much as a man? Just as man should serve the gods, so should chattle serve man. Every living thing, from the grass to the elephants to Pelor himself, has its place. What's yours?"

[Kurai]

@ Tanith:
The middle child, who dubbed herself - you think - as Czarny, answers Tanith's proposal, "♪ If there is one thing Wingless-Sister want, Blackfeather Sisters pick two items each instead. Six things instead of three, in exchange for giving away first pick. Wingless-Sisters proud scavengers, would betray Sisters' nature to do different. ♪"

Far in the distance, the cry of a beast can be heard. It sounds like the ululating call of a wolf, but it is much more deep-throated and the lowest notes sound almost like a trumpeting or bleat. After a few moments, others pick up the call, and the night air is filled with ten or more such cries. The sound fades, leaving only echoes and the distressed cawing of birds.




"I honor your pride, my friends. The deal sounds very fair. You choose your three things, we'll take a look and see if we need anything very much. If yes, you take two things instead." Not knowing how to seal a deal with a harpy, she keeps her hands to herself instead and smiles brightly. "Then it is settled."

The roar of the beasts in the distance has her attention disturbed for a moment and Tanith furrows her brows. After a short look over her shoulder, she turns back to the sisters. "One last question. How long ago was it that you attacked the wagon? They might bring more people with weapons next time. Would you be willing to show us the remains of the last wagon tomorrow? Me and my... men can prepare ourselves better for the next one this way."

[Hyudra]

@ Tanith
"♪ Last time we find wagon was sixday ago. We find man-thing in bushes, making foul mess like you wingless-things do. Keep him in nest for threeday. Want to keep for very-much longer but Arrowbait-Sister ever hungry. Take little bites here and there until Wrony-sister have to snap-break his neck to stop the noise. Whole day and night of screaming very-much annoying. ♪"

Czarny turns to glare at her youngest sister, "♪ Bad-Sister. ♫"

Turning her attention back to Tanith, Czarny says, "♫ No remains. Other wagons come down road eventually, Czarny thinks, take wagon with them. But sevenday wagon come tomorrow. Not on main road. We have deal, Sisters get first pick. Sisters get to eat Wingless-Sister and her Man-things if any fall and can't get up. Sisters show you where sevenday wagon come, when sevenday wagon come. ♪"

@ Everyone Else
Sabine reveals the interior of the cave with the everburning torch. The cave is squat enough you have to bow your head to walk, and is broad, with the walls a good thirty or forty paces apart at an estimate. There is no back end to the cave, as far as you can see.

A hundred feet in, there are a pair of stalagmites - large spikes of earth as tall as you are, their points nearly touching the ceiling. Over one, a piece of cloth - a cloak for the rain - is draped. Beside the stalagmites and the rightmost wall is a bed and two crates, all covered in a thick layer of dust with only a few smudges on the crates where Sabine had handled them.

[Kurai]

Tanith nods at the Sisters, remaining straight-faced through Czarny's story. She says her good-bye and points to the cave, showing them where the group can be found in the morning, then takes her leave. "We'll see you tomorrow."

If one thinks these winged creatures are heartless and sadistic, they have not yet seen the darkest side of man. This - this is just nature. They may look like creatures out of fairy tales, but in the end they aren't better or worse than intelligent cats with their prey.

The soldier retreats her step to the point where she had thrown her firewood to the ground after seeing her comrades in possible danger, then carries the sticks back to where the group has gathered. After a quick look, she realizes Sabine isn't with them.

"The deal is made for tomorrow. There is no wagon left from the last time and I wouldn't be surprised if they send armed guards with them this time. Though I expect nothing we can't handle." Grinning roguishly, she throws the wood down next to her feet and puts her hands on her hips. "So... what are we waitin' for?"

[Gorgondantess]

As soon as Tanith has returned, Sidheh reiterates what he said before. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11069930&postcount=76)
"Frankly, I'm not too keen on dealing with a creature that might think of me as its next meal.
Of course, I understand that such an option might be expensive, and lose us some leverage. As such, I am perfectly willing to sacrifice whatever lootings I might take from this raid, as well as anything I possess now."

[TrueLazy]

While she did hear the reply behind her, she didn't actually listen to any of it. Her mind was completely occupied with the fact that this was only the first evening of the many to follow that she would be stuck here after her imprisonment and not where she belonged. Lea...
It was as if the cave's darkness ignored the light of the torch and had engulfed Sabine completely, gripping her heart tightly with no meaning of letting it go any time soon. It felt like it was set on smothering her heart with fear of her unknown future.

Blinded by this pain, she almost walked past the restplace without realising, but by a stroke of luck she managed to stop her in tracks on time. Only now that she stood still she noticed the light rocking of the torch and it's light, slowly she realised it was caused by the small trembling of her left hand. Setting of a series of various curses in her head she clenched both her hands, forming a fist with her right while tightening her grip around the torch even more.

A quick look around was needed to reorientate herself before she managed to walk up towards the two crate and bend through her knees to level herself to their heights. She layed the torch down on the left crate to free both her hands without giving up her light source and began to search both crates on ways of opening it without having to break them completely.


Sabine searches for some way to open both of the crates (and does so if possible of course) without resorting to breaking them completely. (that's plan B ;p)

Search Check (if needed) [roll0]

If there's need for any roll, say so and I will roll it in the dice section.

[Roethke]

Sidheh's face darkens. "I certainly hope that was meant in jest. I don't see how any decent could stand the stench, let alone the depravity of such actions."
"

Vilas gives a wry laugh,
Well, in addition to the manure it really wasn't so bad. Being taxed so that you might not survive the winter did something my sense of smell, I guess. Not to mention, if you've ever had a Korish turnip here in Ethene, there's not a small chance it was brought to you by the remains of an Icatanese tax-man."

Looking Sidheh up and down, he continues,
"and a warrior like yourself is one to talk of depravity. You're the ones in armor is willing to deal in death, but not corpses? But I forget myself, which is how I landed here in the first place. As you say, we each have our places, and tonight we are Bandits of the Blackweald. Decency has nothing to do with us"

As Tanith enters and explains the deal Vilas removes his hat, gives an exaggerated bow and says, "Welcome Mistress, lets see what we have in our bag of tricks to tilt the odds towards us tomorrow."

He rummages in his pack and pulls out several Icatanese military uniforms, a pot of ink, a pen, a short stack of paper, and a couple of signet rings, and finally a wand. "Not quite sure yet, but I'm sure there's a plan in here somewhere. When I wiggle it just so, and tap the end the wand creates any illusion I would like. Just the image, mind you. What tricks did any of you ask the Three for?

[Kurai]

Coming back, Tanith smirks at Vilas and does a mock bow in return, touching her forehead with her fingertips in a parody of a noble greeting.

Then, turning back to Sidheh, she scoffs slightly. "Dear gods, man. We are bandits and in the middle of the wild, this is not the time for decency. But if you want to forego your rightful items..." She shrugs. "That's your own choice."

But next her eyes flash, her expression grows hard and she points a finger at the knight. "But if you interfere with this deal, a deal with a helpful bunch of creatures able to scout the sky and with knowledge about the whole wood, then Pelor help you... I will make you pay for it. They get the corpses, we get what we want."

In Vilas direction she says, "I don't believe I have anything so handy. I only own what you see and what is needed for survival in the wilds."

[Hyudra]

@ Sabine:
The first chest contains much of what you'd expect of someone's belongings. There is well worn and much-patched clothing, rolled up rather than folded, to better fit into the space allotted it. There are books as well, stacked in one corner with a fine iron chain resting on the top book as though it were a shelf of sorts. A very worn copy of 'Sir Moaton and Sir Brand' sits atop the stack, followed by books titled 'the King of Thorns', 'The Crippled Dancer' and a thick black-bound volume titled only 'Alysanne'. Another book sits in the opposite corner, standing up, but it looks to be a spellbook, given the gilded edges and quality.

Other assorted items in the box are a small hand-painted portrait of a child with a glass cover that has collected some condensation on the inside, two tindertwigs, a sunstick, two miniature barrels with ludicrously oversized corks in them, a dagger with more rust than clean steel on it and a ring of iron with leather wrapped around one half and the other half honed to a blade on the outside edge, in far better shape than the dagger.

The second, smaller box is far less diverse. It is half filled with small metal rings. Most look to be very tarnished silver. There is a long whetting tool with a handle jammed in the corner so it stands up.

[Gorgondantess]

"and a warrior like yourself is one to talk of depravity. You're the ones in armor is willing to deal in death, but not corpses?"
"I have dealt with corpses. The worst stench I've ever had the displeasure to smell was while going through a two week old battlefield.
I just have to wonder why anybody would put themselves through such willingly."

To Tanith:
"The only problem is that I doubt that they would be well disposed towards anything I'd have to say. As such, I would need you as an intermediary."

[Kurai]

To Tanith:
"The only problem is that I doubt that they would be well disposed towards anything I'd have to say. As such, I would need you as an intermediary."

Tanith shrugs and smiles tightly. "So what do you want me to do? Watch while you stay on the side lines, folding your hands while we attack the caravan? Turn you around while I give the corpses to them and ask the sisters nicely not to eat in front of you? That they can keep your loot in exchange for that if you die, your body can rot peacefully away between the tree roots?"

She shakes her head with a sigh. "Look, stranger. When a person is dead, they are dead. His or her soul is with their god. Those winged sisters are just another part of nature that tries to survive... and why would it be against the natural course to give something that's part of nature our dead enemies? See it like this: Do you expect me to fend off all worms and insects that take a liking to a dead body in its grave? Or the tree roots and small beings who make use of their ashes if we burn them? As long as we don't give them someone alive who doesn't deserve it... please try and simply turn away if it disturbs you so." Her words have gotten much softer and friendlier, quite in contrast to the mocking tone she had adapted before her heavy sigh. Maybe the woman has seen that it wasn't the right way to taunt someone's sense of decency and what he believed was right in a benevolent way.

[Gorgondantess]

Sidheh shakes his head and sighs. "No. I cannot turn away from such things. My principles are all I have left. Without them, I might as well go rot between some trees as you say, good only as food for worms and maggots.
All I ask, for now, is that you offer them my share of the lootings in return for leaving the corpses untouched. I would do it myself, but you have seen the way they look upon men- they'd likely not regard my words in very high esteem."

[Kurai]

Rubbing her brow, Tanith swallows another sigh and squares her shoulders. "Well, the full deal doesn't include any other dead bodies than, well, ours at this time, so I guess we won't have to worry about ruffling their feathers if I offer them what you just said, but I can't promise anything. They want a body for the knowledge they have already given us. And it is on my honor that I stick to a deal I made."
She then rubs her eyes and takes a deep breath. "But... let's keep that topic for later or tomorrow. I don't want a full-blown discussion before we even have settled for camp."

[TrueLazy]

@Hyudra
Quickly she scanned through the contents of both chests, making sure she checked both of them before she began giving closer attention to any of the items. While she did wonder what the rings in the second chest exactly where for, her interest was more with the first chest she searched through. The small portrait of a child was what mostly had caught her eye at first and made Sabine realise just the more that these stuff where someone else.

Slowly she takes the portrait out of the chest to get a closer look at it, trying to see past the condensation at the child that was painted. After a short stare, that didn't make her much wiser, she softly lays the portrait down next to the crates on the bedroll, best to keep this in one piece... She had no idea who the kid was or wheter it was a really personal belonging to the owner of this restplace, but she found it best to treat such a item with respect nonetheless.

With that item out of the way, she grabs the iron chain and holds it up for a moment before laying it next to the portrait. Now the way to the stacked books was free and one by one she took them out to skim through, checking them for anything out of the ordinary before laying them down as well on the bedroll. Sabine was especially set on checking out the black book, 'Alysanne', on the bottom of the pile, which seemed different then a normal reading book, and the one apart from the pile, which appeared to be a spellbook of some sorts at first glance.


Sabine skims through each of the books for anything out of the ordinary (markings, notes etc.), giving the black book 'Alysanne' and the "spellbook" most of her attention and time.

Search check (if needed) [roll0]

[Hyudra]

@Hyudra
Quickly she scanned through the contents of both chests, making sure she checked both of them before she began giving closer attention to any of the items. While she did wonder what the rings in the second chest exactly where for, her interest was more with the first chest she searched through. The small portrait of a child was what mostly had caught her eye at first and made Sabine realise just the more that these stuff where someone else.

Slowly she takes the portrait out of the chest to get a closer look at it, trying to see past the condensation at the child that was painted. After a short stare, that didn't make her much wiser, she softly lays the portrait down next to the crates on the bedroll, best to keep this in one piece... She had no idea who the kid was or wheter it was a really personal belonging to the owner of this restplace, but she found it best to treat such a item with respect nonetheless.

With that item out of the way, she grabs the iron chain and holds it up for a moment before laying it next to the portrait. Now the way to the stacked books was free and one by one she took them out to skim through, checking them for anything out of the ordinary before laying them down as well on the bedroll. Sabine was especially set on checking out the black book, 'Alysanne', on the bottom of the pile, which seemed different then a normal reading book, and the one apart from the pile, which appeared to be a spellbook of some sorts at first glance.


Sabine skims through each of the books for anything out of the ordinary (markings, notes etc.), giving the black book 'Alysanne' and the "spellbook" most of her attention and time.

Search check (if needed) [roll0]



@Truelazy:
The Black Book Alysanne is some eight hundred pages of poetry written in cursive. The rhyme scheme, meter and the like changes from chapter to chapter, but it's all one narrative. Just skimming it, you see it is about a young bard traveling the world. He keeps running into a girl named Alysanne, a gorgeous woman who always has a well-to-do, rich, powerful or handsome paramour on her arm. He loves her, but cannot pursue her, for she leaves every one of her lovers ruined in some fashion. They become friends early on, but he cannot trust the advice she gives him, lest she destroy him as she does her lovers. Whether there is any deeper meaning or symbolism in the text isn't clear with such a cursory read through.

The 'spellbook', contrary to appearances, appears to be a diary. It seems a gap in the side of the box allowed the humidity to reach it, for the pages are wavy and stuck together into a solid block. While easing some pages apart would be doable, it would likely take some effort and perhaps the right sort of skill or knowledge to separate every page and make the entirety of it readable without destroying the book in the process.

The inside of the front cover bears the inscription 'diary no. IXIV'. The first page begins 'I was Fistovel Vance. No longer. I am a doomed man. Should I not depart this plane the next time I sleep, let my ninety-fourth diary serve to record my efforts to undo what my ignorance has wrought.

Would that I had never ventured into the Blackweald.

Below that is a series of squat, blocky runes you can't translate.
'┼╞╝╗▲╟O─┴╢'

[abadguy]

"Say..." Selfent perks up from his bedroll. "That girl Sabine seems to have gone for a long while. Anyone, uh, wants to go look for her? No screams yet which I think is a good sign."

He stands up from his warm bedroll and calls out into the depths of the cave. "Ahoy Sabine! Are you in need of assistance?"

[TrueLazy]

@Hyudra
Poems, poems and more poems... Something I can read through when free time arises, if anything like that will happen here. Sabine wasn't really a bookworm, but she couldn't help but feel a bit related to the young bard in the poems even with the several big, distinct differences with her own situation. Though the 'spellbook' proved to be far more important and interesting for now, unlike what she thought at her first look it appeared to be a diary on closer inspections.

Careful examinations of the book gave the annoying result that the pages were stuck together in a fashion that proved to be rather problematic to seperate them once again. Still, the writings she found inside the cover answered quite a bit of her raised questions. Unfortuantly for her it created tons of new ones that joined the other unanswered questions in her head and taunted Sabine with their nummerous presence. Fistovel Vance, so this is probably all his..., just what happened? The last sentence, before the unreadable runes, she read was doing anything but boosting her already slim and unstable feeling of safety in these woods.

A shout from the entrance snapped Sabine out of her pondering, Selfent... Mhmm, perhaps he knows more about runes or how to solve this page stuck problem, just like he knew his way around outdoors. Doubt Tanith or that other 'knight' know much about books, runes and alike, Vilas doesn't really seem like the 'bookworm' either. Seeing there was only one way of finding this out she decided to take Selfent's offer for help, let's see what he can get out of this.

"You could perhaps help with something here Selfent." Sabine reaches out with her voice towards Selfent and let's herself fall down on her bottom to wait his arrival sitting instead of crouched which she really was beginning to feel in her legs and knees.

[Kurai]

"Well, doesn't sound like acute danger then. If you all don't mind, I'm going to take care of my hoofed companion over there, he's been standing around that spot for far too long."

Tanith strides over to Rhoen and frees the poor creature from its confinement. Carefully she takes off the saddle and bags, rubbing his red fur clean with a piece of cloth and then knots the rope she carries with her around his neck, so she could release him from the bit and bridle. She checks the whole body with the care of someone used to tending to a horse, then searches for a spot on the ground or at the wall that can be filled with enough water for the horse to drink out of, using up half of her own waterskin for that action. During this time she is within earshot of the others, throwing them a glance or two every few minutes.

After spending a good amount of time with her trusty mount, she strokes his neck with affection and leaves him to his own devices, returning to the group with the horse's items in her arms and a slight niggle of hunger starting up in her stomach. Let's hope we're able to find some food here soon. Our rations won't hold forever... she thinks with slight concern.

[Hyudra]

Tanith's search for a place to store some water for the horses fails to turn up much of note. The ground outside the cave is dirt, grass and stone, in varying amounts, with nothing that would hold water for more than a few moments. Inside the cave, the ground is almost uniformly flat. Where there were dips and shallow hollows in the cave floor, dirt and dust has collected and settled in, resulting in patches of dark, hard packed earth on the dark gray floor. Scuffing a patch of dirt with her boot, Tanith is inclined to think that even if she were to remove the dirt, there wouldn't be enough of a bowl to hold a tenth of her waterskin, let alone half.

[Kurai]

Placing her things down in the cave, Tanith grumbles to herself, starting to rummage in her pack. Finding what she was looking for, she drags herself back outside, placing it beside the animal and pushing her hands on her hips.
"I really hope you appreciate what I'm doing for you, boy. I mean it."

With that, she fills her own cooking pot, standing now on the ground, with the water. Tanith was nothing if not resourceful.
Even if her cooking material had to suffer from it.

[Roethke]

Seeing folks settling in for the evening, Vilas breaks out some of his own rations and feed for Smiech and Smirt,

As he begins to bite into an oat cake he had packed, he asks the group,

"So, fellow terrors of the Blackweald, what shall we do tomorrow? Though we don't know what we face just yet, there are perhaps some plans we can make.

When I was a merchant, either of these would have set my nose twitching, and I would have left my wagon to save my life.

If the Sisters lead us to a path, and it must be some sort of path for a wagon to follow, something as simple as a tree fallen across could the way could occupy the guards for a bit. Better, would be a snare that lames or panics their animals-- then they must deal with the beasts and fend for themselves while our prize remains in the woods.

Attacking them while they camp is another possibility, though they may travel through the night, or be particularly watchful.

We may be able to be daring and avoid some bloodshed. I still sound Korish when I need to, and with the uniforms and horses, we may be able to pose as Icatanese soldiers, at least long enough to give them doubt, though if we are lucky we could separate the wagon from the wagoneers. We'd need to know more about what we face, though, whether the wagon is a smuggler's caravan or an official Icatanese carriage. Hopefully the sisters will be able to provide us with a little information.


He pauses, takes another bite of cake, and asks,

"Any thoughts?"


[OOC: He'll hobble the horses near a patch of grass, and go a little lighter on the feed, if there's enough to graze]

[abadguy]

Selfent picks his way amongst the scree, looking out for Sabine and the torch she was carrying.

When he find her, "Well well, looks like someone else was here before us!" He looks around at the assorted furniture. "So what did you need help with?"

[TrueLazy]

@abadguy

"Abandoned though, at least the state I found this restplace in suggested that much. But here, this is what I called you here for, I found it among these items." Sabine raises the book in her hands up to reveal it to Selfent and gestures he should take it. "I don't know if you are of help, but you seemed the most likely person to me."

"Just.. read the inside of the cover and tell me what you think."* As she spoke her eyes wandered of to the strange runes on Selfent's armor that were a bit harder to distinquish with just the light from the torch. Doesn't seem to be a match....



* Hyudra's part regarding the book:

The 'spellbook', contrary to appearances, appears to be a diary. It seems a gap in the side of the box allowed the humidity to reach it, for the pages are wavy and stuck together into a solid block. While easing some pages apart would be doable, it would likely take some effort and perhaps the right sort of skill or knowledge to separate every page and make the entirety of it readable without destroying the book in the process.

The inside of the front cover bears the inscription 'diary no. IXIV'. The first page begins 'I was Fistovel Vance. No longer. I am a doomed man. Should I not depart this plane the next time I sleep, let my ninety-fourth diary serve to record my efforts to undo what my ignorance has wrought.

Would that I had never ventured into the Blackweald.

Below that is a series of squat, blocky runes you can't translate.
'┼╞╝╗▲╟O─┴╢'


OoC: No idea if I have to spoiler it or not seeing the rest isn't here, so... just to be sure I spoilered it.

[Kurai]

"Seeing that you have sufficient military uniforms," Tanith mentions with raised eyebrows, a hint of surprise on her face, "I'd say if the carriage is officially Icatanese, then they are our best bet. It won't raise their suspicions as much as any other random stranger... maybe a soldier with a horse that has thrown a shoe? At least to get them to stop."

Seating herself at the mouth of the cave, Tanith places her forearms on her knees and wraps her fingers around each other. Having left the bow behind, only the shield makes the posture a bit awkward.
I'd be lying if I wasn't curious what's in here...

"Say, should we head inside the cave and make the fire for the night? Have something to eat? It's easier to talk if you have a full belly."

[abadguy]

Selfent

"Mmmm..." Selfent takes a look around in case Sabine missed anything (Spot [roll0]) "This does indeed look right up my alley ..."

Selfent takes the book up eagerly and begins examining it closely. He loves books, personal diaries even more so.

First he sees if he knows what the runes mean
Knowledge check (whichever applies, I'll just roll a d20 here and DM applies the correct modifier) [roll1]

Next he thinks on how to separate the pages (another Knowledge check [roll2])

Then he tries to recall if he knows anyone names "Fistovel Vance" (Going with a Knowledge Local (+7) or Nobility & Royalty (+9) [roll3])

[Hyudra]

@Selfent:
It takes virtually no effort to decipher the runes. They're dwarvish.


May Berronar Embrace me, her lost child.

Separating the pages would probably require a careful application of some steam to loosen them up with a good solid Craft (Scrivening) check to ensure that just enough steam is applied that the ink and the book bindings aren't spoiled.

As for Fistovel Vance, his name doesn't ring any bells, and Selfent is pretty sure that someone with a name like that would stand out in his memory.

[Roethke]

Vilas nods at Tanith's idea and heads into the cave.

"So what does everyone have for dinner? I'm swimming in oat cakes, which are my favorite, but I may be willing to trade."

he announces as he enters, finds a likely spot and plops down.

[abadguy]

Selfent (For DM and Sabine)

((Knowledge Religion for Berronar: [roll0]))

"Whoever the author is, he seems Dwarven. The runes here are written in the Dwarven language and dedicated to what seems to be a dwarven diety. As for the book, I am not confident of getting the pages unstuck. I do know steam is needed to seperate them ... but that is a very delicate process. Too much and the ink will run ... too little and the pages will not come apart."

He looks around the rest of the items scattered in the alcove, to see if Sabine had missed anything ((Search [roll1]))

[TrueLazy]

@Selfent and Hyudra
"Dwarven, well that's less exotic then I thought, probably a good sign as well. And it's oke if you can't undo the pages from each other, at least you know how to do it, that's more then me. Perhaps later on we will somehow meet a way to get to know what exactly is writing in the diary. It seems to hold valuable information that we could use on our stay in this forest, hopefully."

Lightly she sighed, her hope that Selfent could perhaps undo the pages and reveal the content of the diary was shattered. The part that they could read from the inside cover had raised some worries with Sabine, guess the reason for those words will be a mystery for now..

"Aah, don't know if you are really handy, but further in the cave, towards the end, is a broken water containing system at a waterfall. Could be useful if that's fixed for fresh water uses."

[Hyudra]

@ Selfent:
The interior of the boxes contain the following:

The first chest contains much of what you'd expect of someone's belongings. There is well worn and much-patched clothing, rolled up rather than folded, to better fit into the space allotted it. There are books as well, stacked in one corner with a fine iron chain resting on the top book as though it were a shelf of sorts. A very worn copy of 'Sir Moaton and Sir Brand' sits atop the stack, followed by books titled 'the King of Thorns' and 'The Crippled Dancer'.

Other assorted items in the box are a small hand-painted portrait of a child with a glass cover that has collected some condensation on the inside, two tindertwigs, a sunstick, two miniature barrels with ludicrously oversized corks in them, a dagger with more rust than clean steel on it and a ring of iron with leather wrapped around one half and the other half honed to a blade on the outside edge, in far better shape than the dagger.

The second, smaller box is far less diverse. It is half filled with small metal rings. Most look to be very tarnished silver. There is a long whetting tool with a handle jammed in the corner so it stands up.

The bed is simply a mattress stuffed with now-rotten grass. Presumably, if one were so inclined, they could empty it out, wash it, air it and then re-stuff it with fresh grass to have a fairly comfortable bed to rest on. There's one sheet draped over the mattress, another two top sheets folded slightly over, and one heavy blanket folded over the foot of the bed - presumably for colder weather. The pillow has some damp-mold on it, but is otherwise serviceable, and a black-covered book with 'Alysanne' in silver lettering on the front rests atop it, recently handled, presumably by your companion.

Below the bed are a pair of old, sturdy boots, work gloves, a leather apron and a rat that scurries off towards the entrance of the cave as you disturb it.

@ Everyone:

The cave interior grows a shade dimmer, and your eyes turn towards the entrance. Beyond the drooping leaves of the willow tree at the cave's mouth, there are signs that the sun is setting, and much of the little light it still casts is caught by the trees. It is dusk, looking to be a moonless night, and those who have spent time in the wilderness know that this means an absolute darkness, beyond what light you can provide for yourselves.

Those who have never spent time in the woods at night are liable to scoff at the fears of peasants and farmers who must venture into such. Even without the monsters and dangerous folk, it means an all consuming black, such that you cannot even see your hands in front of your faces.

Beyond the faintest traces of red, gold and pink on the clouds above - so scant you might think they are the spots in your vision - the territory beyond your cave is swiftly absorbed by the night over the coming minutes.

[Kurai]

Uncomfortable to sit in complete darkness soon, Tanith heads out to gather her firewood and proceeds to build a campfire close enough to the exit that the smoke will find its way out. If the ground gives way enough, she even uses her hands to dig out a small, a few hand's width deep hole for it, so that it will neither spread nor send its light outside too much, yet still get enough air.

"So what have you two found over there? Something useful?" the soldier asks curiously while working on getting a fire started with flint and steel. When her shield gets in the way once again, Tanith removes it with a muttered curse and places it beside her possessions, before returning to what she was doing.

[Roethke]

Still munching his supper, Vilas follows Tanith deeper into the cave to see what the others have found, looking on curiously

[Hyudra]

OOC note:
Assuming the others around the entrance move further in the cave (at least temporarily), to avoid having to repeat the descriptions of the items. Doing this in part because they're not replying.

While Tanith starts her fire - a smoky little blaze given the wetness of the wood from the recent rains - the others move into the cave to peruse the contents.

Beside the bed - a construction that looks as though it were cobbled together in the forest rather than brought all the way in - there are two crates fitted with lids. The first contains a medly of personal effects: a stack of books, a diary, a collection of rather worn clothing, rolled into tubular bundles, a small portrait of a child - the image obscured by moisture on the inside of the tiny glass panel, there's also supplies; two tindertwigs, a sunstick, two miniature barrels with large corks, a rusty dagger, and a circular iron blade with leather wrapped around one half.

The second box is filled to the brim with small iron rings, all identical. A small whetting tool such as what one would use to sharpen knives, sits in the corner of it.

Atop the bed, there's one of the books from the stack, recently handled. Selfent holds what looks to be a spellbook, at a glance.

@ Roethke:
Given your heritage, you recognize the iron rings as a vintage of Kor coins, from years back when there was a miners strike, and metals for coins was short, so they were fashioned into rings rather than round disks. Veterans of wars and skirmishes around that time took to wearing the rings over their body as a display of wealth - many by way of piercings. They're not worth much, even if you could find a moneychanger who would be interested in them - worth only a little over their weight in iron.

[abadguy]

"Ah, the rest of you are here. Quite an abode we have here. Maybe we can ask the harpies about these later. Anyone know how to unstick journals?" He holds up the book he was holding.

[TrueLazy]

Sabine looks up at the sound of footsteps and spots Tanith followed by Vilas joining her and Selfent at the abandoned restplace. "Well, some books, clothing and a few other stuff, not much of real interest as you can see. That is, aside from what Selfent is holding right now, a journal or diary from a man named... Fistovel Vance."

She sets her hands next to her on the ground and pushes herself up in one smooth motion to stand upright again. Though, completely forgetting the height of the cave, Sabine finds herself bumping her head rather crudely against the ceiling. Her left hand quickly shoots out to massage the back of her head, "Anyways, this Vance seems to have spend some time in these woods and I think it didn't end well for him."

[Kurai]

Tanith wrinkles her nose as the smoky fire, but, unable to change it for now and without substantial knowledge anyway, she mentally shrugs it off and turns her face to the two at the back of the cave. Sitting on her haunches, wrists lazily hanging from her knees, she mulls over what they told just now.

"Well, now that's some wonderful news," the women answers dryly. "Sorry, got no plan to unstick this other than with steam from boiling water... but that doesn't work with every sticky substance... and might ruin the ink it's written with." She shrugs, then turns halfway to Vilas, who is still munching away.

"So, about those oak cakes..." Tanith raises her eyebrows and grins cheekily.

[Gorgondantess]

Sidheh only reluctantly retreats to the depths of the cave, largely content to sit and ponder the situation he's in. Nevertheless, as the night darkens he does so simply to escape the cold.
He doesn't bother rummaging through the items much, though he does grimace when he sees the picture of the child.
"I certainly hope we're not intruding in somebody's home right now."

[abadguy]

"The cover looks ominous enough. I am very curious, but yet helpless to get this unstuck. Wait... did someone say oat cakes?" He rummages through his pack. "I got .... salt cod, beef jerky .... dried .. urm ... berries. Trade?" He looked hopefully at Vilas.

[Roethke]

Vilas rummages in his pack and brings out an oil paper wrapped bundle of small, hard, round cakes, studded with rolled oats and raisins. He juggles a few enticingly, manages to drop one.

Shrugging, he scoops it up, dusts it off and takes a bite,

These other two are still good. I could maybe trade one of these for some jerky and berries. Oat cakes settle the stomach, but meat makes you strong, my mother said. I could do with a bit of both after the dungeons.

Can't help with the book, though. If you just want to see what it says, we may be able to cut the binding off, separate what pages we can and take a rubbing. The nib of the pen often pushes through the paper a little, depending on the handwriting.

Come to think of it, a rubbing may work even if the ink is ruined, the impression from the pen is still there, though the steam may warp the paper. Never tried it, though. And if it's a book of spells, well, you first, I don't want this Fistovel's ghost haunting me." he finishes with a laugh.

He walks over to the box full of rings, and scoops some up (after returning the uneaten oat cakes to their wrapping) "If I were in Kor, years ago, these I would keep. These were what passed for gold in the time of the great revolt. Some villages still use them, but once the mines were working again, they were worth about their weight in iron. Maybe there's some actual gold nearby..

Vilas begins searching the box and the immediate area around it for a secret compartment or buried cache. [OOC: take 20 on search = DC 30]


Finally, to Tanith, he says with a grin, "What are you making over there? I think I may like serving a mistress who cooks for me."

[Hyudra]

@ Roethke:
There's nothing of particular note to be found in your search. No secret compartments or panels. You do spot a pair of boots, a leather apron and a pair of well worn work gloves under the bed, but that's it.

[Kurai]

"Nothing much, I fear," the woman answers Vilas while poking the embers with a stick. "Don't get your hopes up, my cooking is as bland as it can be. Anyway, my pot is outside with the horse and the rest I have is dried beef, cheese and bread. And more dry food."

She makes a face. "Everything is dry. Darn, I wish we could have shot a rabbit or something... but the wood out there is eerily empty. I hope we're not getting a food problem in a few days..."

Tanith nods at the rings in the box. "So we have a big load of worthless currency? Wonderful. Let's hope we can at least glean something from the diary."

Her eyes travel along the cave, the stuff that was left behind and the material of the makeshift bed, trying to gauge how long it has been since it might have been used last. Days? Weeks? Maybe even months?

[Hyudra]

A thick layer of dust on the cloak and on the bed and a few decayed leaves on and around the belongings suggest it has been months to a year since the occupant was last here.

[TrueLazy]

It seemed that everyone was slowly settling down for today, the talk about food suggested as much to Sabine. That did brought her own food supply she had asked for to mind and was quickly followed by the thought of the saddlebags on her horse. "I have to go check on my friend outside before darkness falls for good today."

With that said she turned herself around towards the entrance, frowning at the small lightsource she only now noticed that was a bit nearer the entrance. Fire already made, well missed that completely.... She didn't mind of course, it would make her way outside and tending to her horse only that much easier. Should get those saddlebags inside when I am done feeding him.... Pondering on what the saddlebags contain she made her way outside in a casual pace and found herself in slight surpisement about the intensity of the evening's darkness. Best not to waste time here.

[Gorgondantess]

Sidheh smacks his lips, realizing just how hungry he is after this long day. And that he has no food to speak of.
"Ahhh... excuse me, but I seem to be quite without food. Could any of you spare some of your own? I'm not picky, just whatever you're willing to give."

[Roethke]

Vilas pulls the work apron and gloves out from under the bed, then bites back a sharp reply to Sidheh before he reaches into his pack and holds an oat cake out towards him (though he does make sure the proffered one holds with the fewest raisins),

"Well, if you get more sour when you're hungry, a fight might start,

looking at his own scrawny frame and the knight's bulky one, "and I don't think I'd come out on top. But what were you thinking? They let us ask for a fortune in supplies and didn't exactly feed us like kings in the dungeons, and you didn't think to ask for food?"

Shaking his head he starts off after Sabine, calling
"'Sabine! pretty Lady'!", if you don't mind, I don't like the look of the woods at night, I don't think we should go off alone. If these Sisters are out there, who knows what else may be."

[TrueLazy]

"Tssh." She stops at the cave's entrance, annoyed at the words that Vilas threw her way. Once again he was adressing her in a manner she didn't like, though this time he was aware of this, which didn't make it any better. "I warned you about that tongue of yours." Sabine's voice was close to a whisper, but still hard enough to be heard by Vilas. "I suggest you start using it properly towards me or you will find that it's sharpness can be bested."

She reaches out with her left hand towards her blade on the right, letting it rest on it's hilt, knowing that this would send out her message clearly to Vilas. Before complete silence or Vilas voice would fall in, she softly continues."I have no need for a babysitter tonight which I will end up babysitting." With her back still facing Vilas she slides her left hand off the hilt and returns it to it's previous position on her left side. Slowly she continues her way, setting her eyes on her horse as she steps out of the cave's entrance and into the evening light outside.

[Gorgondantess]

"I'm afraid I was not afforded that luxury. All of the things I have now were my possessions even before I was incarcerated. Nevertheless, thank you for the meal," he says, bowing his head graciously.
He listens to Sabine and Vilas' slight altercation silently, devouring his oat cake. As soon as they are done, he gets up, brushing off his hands and clearing his throat audibly.
"Again, thank you for the biscuit. However, I think I'll step outside for a breath of fresh air. Getting rather stuffy in here."
He winks at Vilas, following after Sabine and keeping one eye on her though making sure to stay well out of her hair.

[Roethke]

Vilas' eyebrows raise as Sabine reaches towards her steel. As she strides away, he hisses back at her"My sharp tongue?! says the one more prickly than a hedgehog thrown in a pond? I just called out, wasn't even trying to be clever. Go, get yourself eaten by wolves the size of horses or maybe there are half-man half-scorpion beasts that eat only women. Or perhaps you have eyes in back of your head to match those in front, that you don't need any more with you. You get eaten tonight, and the chances I get eaten tomorrow go up, so go, and leave this man-thing to his fate. Phah.

Grumbling to himself he heads back towards the others. Passing the knight en route, he says, "No trouble about the food. You just remember who fed you, when the time comes to swinging those chains of yours around, I like keeping my head above my shoulders.

Watch out for Sabine out there, though. She's changeable as the wind, and as like to draw on you as smile. Make that more like. Though maybe it's just me and you'll manage not to raise her spines.

[Gorgondantess]

Sidheh chuckles.
"Of course. And don't worry, I can handle myself."
He is carrying his heavy flail over one shoulder, and if previous possession means anything, he knows how to use it.

[Kurai]

Tanith can't help a laugh at the other man's rant and raises a hand in Vilas' direction in a placating gesture. "Be at pease, man. We're all a bit roused these days... and who wouldn't, after how long a time in the dungeons? I certainly learned quickly not to trust anyone in there and keep to my own, lonely self. Give it a few days for everyone to get comfortable with each other."

She smiles and moves over to her backpack to get out some dried food, sinking her teeth into a piece of meat when walking back. If she was careful, she could spread out her five days of rations for herself and a piece here and there for the still nameless one.

"Once Sabine and her secret companion are back in here, we should get to creating our plan for tomorrow. I'd rather have everyone here for this." A small sigh escapes her lips at this, she wasn't looking forward to butting heads with the other knight about whether or not to stick to the deal with the winged girls or not.

[abadguy]

Selfent merely chuckles at the exchange. "Naturally, there is much pent up rage. I suppose we can be grateful it has not come to blow ... yet." He says to Tanith.

He puts the book back into the container and decides to turn in for the night. "Better get some shut eye while we can. If the wagon is coming tomorrow, perhaps we need all the rest we can get."

After eating his simple dinner of oat cake, nuts and berries, he lays out his bed roll near the bed where Fistovel Vance used to lie ... and falls into a dreamless sleep.

[Roethke]

Vilas relaxes a bit and sighs, "Yah, yah. Not exactly high society in the dungeons, so we all might be a bit ... rough. And according to the Three, not one of us fit for ANY society, high or low.

I'd be happy to plot the wagon's demise -- maybe we should decide what we should ask of the Sisters?

His glance falls on the now sleeping Selfent,

"Now there's a man I can respect. He got out of keeping watch, and I barely noticed.

[TrueLazy]

She heard Vilas reply, but listened less and less to it while she distanced herself as his rant continued. While she did notice that someone else took Vilas place on going outside, she decided to leave the man alone just as he seemed to have settled on doing the same with her.
A smile managed to force it's way on Sabine as she reached her horse, one of the few things right now in her life that she hold dear and wasn't beyond her reach. I wonder what you think of all this, Jivi. Softly she patted him on the side before letting her hands reach out to deal with the saddle and it's bags on the back of Jivi.

"There we go." Taking of the saddlebags first she lays them down on the ground for later, quickly accompanied by the saddle itself to release Jivi from their burden completely. With the dim light she had, Sabine had no other choice then to do a more thoroughly check up the next day, for now she made sure to check if Jivi made it here without any noticable injuries.

What followed was a quick search through the saddle bags to see if there was anything packed for Jivi, unfortunately this wasn't the case. Guess the grass here will have to do for now, she released him from his hold on the tree she strapped him earlier to and guides him to the few decent patches of grass she can still make out in the night.

Knowing that time wasn't on her side now, she granted Jivi as much time as she could grazing before she had to make sure he was safely set for the night. Strapping him back to a tree close-by to the cave entrance, making sure it would be within sight from there as she reminded herself to get Jivi enough water in the morning as well. The water and the barrel in the back could help... With that in mind she takes the saddle and it's bags along with her back into the cave for further inspection.

[Kurai]

"Sneaky Selfent. Gotta talk to him about that in the morning, but I guess the four of us can handle watch tonight." Falling silent for a while, she pokes the fire now and then, slightly hypnotized by the flames and the thoughts in her head. How she wished to have a good, tasty Ethenian wine at the ready - nothing to get her drunk, but to take the edge off. They were lucky to have found this cave, but who knew how long they would make it like this?

Damn it, Tanith. Dark thoughts again, doubting yourself and others. Go and do that when things become really nasty. Rubbing her brow with two fingers, she is roused when the ones outside the caves return to the camp they made.

Seeing no reason to delay the inevitable any longer, Tanith rises to her feet and crosses her arms in a no-nonsense gesture. "So, people, we need to make a plan on the next day. I like Vilas' starting point - dressing one of us up as an Icatanese soldier. Should give the cart pause enough for us to spring the trap. But that's just some food for thought, let's worry about that tomorrow... who likes first watch?" She looks from person to person.

[TrueLazy]

The start of her search through the bags was quickly followed by Tanith's voice with a small summary on the plan so far for their assault on the post cart, well more like a idea. Still, just as she mentioned, it was a starting point that would have to get worked out one way or another when the next day had fallen in. While she wasn't so pleased with Vilas personally, Sabine couldn't deny that his idea weren't bad, anything but actually.

"I will." Sabine replied to Tanith's raised question at the end, looking up from her bags to the rest. "Still have to check these", she gestured towards the bags infront of her feet, "and eat something. So you all can settle down right now, that's, after I know who wants to take the second one."

[Roethke]

Vilas scratches his back, catches something between his fingers, than tosses it into the fire "I can take second, my little fleas don't let me sleep more than a few hours at a time, anyhow. Just so long as Sabine over there doesn't mind rousing me at the appointed hour.

As for tomorrow, we should probably dream up a story. A patrol set upon by bandits, maybe? Might be tough to pull off not knowing much about the garrison in the area. Better to be from somewhere else, like Ramira or Kor with some good reason for being here, like protecting trade and hunting bandits.

Yawning, he continues, "Well, wake me if you come up with anything better."

[Kurai]

"Go ahead and wake me if you get tired, Vilas. I sure can take the last few hours until morning," Tanith replies and gathers her sleeping items.

Settling down near the fire, she takes off the armor clinging to her body, cleaning it all meticulously before reclining against the cavern wall wrapped in her blanket. There she waits until she is on the brink of falling half-asleep, half-lidded eyes seemingly looking into the dancing flames but actually many miles away.

[Hyudra]

The watch is only disturbed by howling in the night and a faint scratching sound from the deepest end of the cave - so faint that one might think they imagined it, but persistent enough to draw attention - especially once you had been told to listen for it by the person with the watch before you.

The early morning arrives with a thick soup of fog that pours in from the cave mouth and makes your bedrolls faintly damp.

"♪ Man-things! Man-things should wake up if they not want to miss sevenday-cart! ♪"

[Roethke]

Vilas shakes the sleep out of his eyes, and looks around. He rises, grabs the saddlebags from his bedroll and heads towards the mouth of the cave, asking the Sisters,
"So how far do we wingless beasts need to trudge today?

[abadguy]

Knife drawn silently across a surprised neck, warm thick blood spurting between his fingers. The final convulsions and the stink as the body voided itself ... just another day, just another day, just ...


Selfent sprang awake with a soft yell as he surveyed his surroundings wild eyed. Remembering he was now safe inside a cave, he calmed himself as the adrenaline surge faded and only stone cold wakefulness remained. "Be right with you O winged wonder," as he stooped to stuff his bedroll into his pack and rouse the others who were still asleep.

[TrueLazy]

Quickly Sabine wakes up from her light sleep at the sudden sound of a yell, spreading her eyes wide open before quickly raising her head up to see what was wrong. Her hand had already shot out to the sword next to her, but a second or two later she realised there was no threat to be seen. She rubs her eyes a few times to get rid of the lingering sleep that was still clouding her mind and reassess the situation.

A look at Selfent was enough for her to assume he was the one that had yelled out, a nightmare perhaps...? She parts her lips, ready to ask if he was oke, but quickly sealed her lips again as she could see that he was regaining his calm aura. She throws a look towards the cave entrance after hearing Selfent speak, but only manages to spot Vilas back. "Are they already here...?"

[Kurai]

As the one with the last watch, Tanith had already been up when the winged sister called out for them. Yet she had been so deeply drawn into her thoughts, that she had to shake her head once or twice to clear it.

Having already taken care of nature's calls earlier, the only thing left was to get ready for the imminent fight. "We'll be right out in a minute!" she calls, looking past Vilas to the light-filled entrance and grabbing her armor. Carefully, she takes her time to don at least this one without sudden haste, as to not get any of the clips and fastenings wrong.

Pulling at one of the leather strips, Tanith gets distracted by Selfent's sudden awakening. Poor guy. But no one enters and leaves the Three's dungeon without a dark spot on their soul, she assumes with a certain amount of empathy. Glancing at Sabine, she nods curtly at her question.

Once finished, Tanith finally gets to settle something nagging her mind since the last day. "Hey flail-boy, we still need a name to your frame. Or I might just call you flail-boy... has a nice ring to it." She grins cheekily and fastens the shield to her arm.

[Hyudra]

Vilas shakes the sleep out of his eyes, and looks around. He rises, grabs the saddlebags from his bedroll and heads towards the mouth of the cave, asking the Sisters,
"So how far do we wingless beasts need to trudge today?

As the group of you ventures from the cave, Sidheh either asleep or otherwise occupied, you find the Sisters waiting. The youngest is messily devouring the raw remains of some small animal - possibly a rabbit or groundhog - gore streaking her mouth, chin, neck, talons and upper torso. The older two are strapping on piecemeal pieces of leather armor.

"♪ Man-things have two options, ♫" Czarny tells you, "♫ Sisters can't fly near town-place. Get shot with arrow-sticks if approach. Man-things from all over woods come and go from there, so they probably not shoot you. Sisters would meet you man-things on far side. We not there to guide or help if there is trouble, but you get to place where sevenday cart comes sooner. Not even halfway to midday-time before you there. Maybe you prepare. ♪" She uses a taloned finger to draw a line across the sky from the east to about a 45 degree angle upward, as if that were a solid metric of time for you.

"♪ Other way is for Blackfeather Sisters to lead man-things around the town. Take longer, but safer. ♪"

[Kurai]

Tanith rubs her chin, thoughtful.
"Going to the town right now could be a danger, especially if someone sees us walking into the direction the cart gets robbed. If these people are naturally suspicious, and in a place like this I would bet on it, they might remember us and turn hostile next time."

She folds her arms, taking a look at the sky. "On the other hand, taking a look at the town might proof useful for the future. And the extra time we can use to form a plan for catching that cart."

Shaking her head suddenly, her steel eyes turn back to the group, back ramrod straight and feet spread apart. "I vote for going around the town. There is too much risk in showing our faces so soon, especially when we plan to do our first 'criminal' act. We can talk about our plan for the cart on the way."

[TrueLazy]

The blanket on top of Sabine slides down from her chest as she raises herself up in sitting position, revealing that she was still wearing her armor. While it didn't aid her at all in the comfort of sleeping, Sabine prefered safety before such a thing. Slowly she stretches her arms before pushing herself up from the bedroll she had slept on to stretch her legs as well. A soft sigh escaped from her lips as she felt the slight tiring effects from a rather bad nightrest.

After her watch was over she found settled down as comfortable as she could, luckily she was used to not being in too much comfort from her stay in the dungeon. Still, sleep didn't came easily and it wasn't comfort that caused this. The troubles in her head had kept her awake for quite some time, but nature eventually managed to catch up to her and a dreamless sleep fell in.

While she stretches herself completely she points herself towards the entrance at Tanith's words. She nods towards her, happy that she called out a vote and that a possible leadership discussion was still at bay, for now. "Same here, best to avoid revealing ourselves as much as possible. Also, I will be ready in sec."

[abadguy]

"Agreed. Discretion for now, until we can get a better feel for the land. We do not know how friendly the locals are toward strangers either." Selfent readies his bow and looks ready to leave once everyone else is.

[Roethke]

Vilas shrugs, "Well, I don't exactly know what we'd be risking in a town that's worse than becoming highwaymen pretending to be soldiers. And getting to the cart early may let us set up an ambush or at least know what we're up against. Maybe a couple of us could go through the town to get there early, and the sisters could give us a landmark to meet at? Though if everyone is set on the long way around I'm not going to trudge off int o this forest on my own.."

[Hyudra]

"♪ We leave now. You decide before we get near town-place. We leave at first-light since mama told us man-things cannot see in dark, but time short. Hurry-hurry. ♫"

With that, the Sisters take to the air and begin circling in oblong loops towards the East, above you, waiting for you to move.

[Gorgondantess]

Sidheh raises his eyebrows, amused. "If that is what you wish to call me, then that is what you may call me. I've been defined by my weapon before, I don't see why I shouldn't be named by it."

"While I would hardly mind seeing some civilization, it may indeed be more prudent to skip the town. And it would also give you time to broach my proposal to the carrion women," he nods to Tanith. "I would do it myself, but you've seen how they seem to regard men. I certainly hope you'll do this simple thing for me."

[Kurai]

Tanith muses for a moment, then nods after making a decision. "Sure, flail-boy. I'll present your offer to them, but know that I won't risk the break of our deal over this. I'll try, though."

She then smiles wryly at Vilas, shrugging. "Looks like you are outnumbered. But if you want to take the city route, feel free to do so. We could meet you at the back of the city."

Checking if she has everything she needs, Tanith takes a glance into the round. "You heard the ladies. Are you all ready? Then we should march. Don't forget the Icatanese uniforms, they might prove useful in our plan... whatever it will be."

[TrueLazy]

As the rest raised their voice in the choice at hand, Sabine gathered her stuff that she would need to get ready. Quickly it became clear that they weren't going through the town as only Vilas was for that option, doubt he is going alone through there...


She didn't exactly knew if around would be better, but just hoped that it proved to be safer choice as was put forth. Still, knowing that Lady Luck wasn't exactly on her side for quite some time she wasn't going to take any chances here. Quickly she begins a double check on her armor and blade, making sure everything was in order. "Mhmm, ready to go."

[Roethke]

"Hoy, once we're in sight of the sisters you're Mistress again, so who am I to argue. I'll go with the group", says Vilas, gathering his belongings and unhobbling the horses

[Hyudra]

You set off for the east, following your winged guides. The fog is thick in the air, casting the entirety of the forest in shades of gray, making following your guides difficult. The way is easier than it was when you were venturing south, however, with a great deal of flat ground with only shrubbery and weeds across it.

Five minutes of walking brings you to another corpse like the one under the willow tree, fresher, a great black furred beast with its back broken on an outcropping of rocks. It has the appearance of a dire beast, but the exact species is vague - it has the musculature of a dire bear, but the frame, muzzle and claws lead one to think of a wolf or a great cat. Yet, it is larger than any dire creature you've heard of. You don't have the time to linger, however, as the sisters fly on, and you risk losing sight of them in the thick soup of fog.

An hour into your walk, you come to the top of a hill with a cliff dropping down one side of it. The Sisters drop to roost a few feet away, and the eldest, Wrony, points in the direction the cliff faces.

In the valley, you can see a distant settlement - what used to be the lumber camp - shrouded in the fog. Black smoke pours from chimneys, and you see flags with crudely drawn emblems on them hanging from the lumber walls that surround the camp. A dog in white on a black background, a horned beast's head against a green background, and three crossed blades on a red background. These three flags repeat at regular intervals around the walls, but others do make appearances - a rat, a skull, and a rabbit are visible from where you stand. Surrounding the settlement, a few stumps indicate trees have been cut down, but all in all, there's not nearly enough to imply that the place is still active.

"♪ Have man-things made decision? ♫" Czarny asks.

[abadguy]

Selfent stops and peers at the emblems and flags, trying to see if he recognises them. "Anyone with good eyes can see if there's any movement in the camp ahead?"

Knowledge Roll
[roll0]
Modifiers:
Arcana +5
Dungeoneering +5
Local +7
Nature +5
Nobility & Royalty +9
Religion +5
The Planes +5

[Roethke]

Vilas whistles lowly to himself as they pass the slain dire beast. Wouldn't want to meet whatever is hunting those things, I'd be thinking". Approaching the camp, he peers ahead through the fog, looking for some sign of activity or sigil that he recognizes...

Spot: 15 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11261391#post11261391)

[Kurai]

When they pass the dead creature, a scowl starts to form on Tanith's face. Something that can kill such a thing with ease? They would never be able to defend themselves... it would give them no chance. She also vividly remembers the scratching at the cave entrance during her watch and the memory only causes to worry her further.

At the camp Tanith lets her gaze travel across the settlement, but at this distance and with the thick fog she has a hard time making something out. Maybe they would have further time in future to scout the camp out, but for now she rather keep to herself and her comrades.

"We'll come with you, sisters. For now, it doesn't seem wise to show our face to them. And once we are at the interception point where the cart will pass, I'd like to talk to you and make you another offer if you don't mind."

[Hyudra]

Selfent:
You recall several of the names the wagon-driver mentioned. Namely, that there's bandit groups called the Stone Dogs, the Riven and the Lost. It's not a great stretch to imagine that these flags represent the same groups. The smaller flags, as an extension of the same idea, may well represent smaller gangs or groups.

Vilas:
There's two figures fighting near the gated entrance of the settlement. They look to be a man and a woman, or a man and a long haired man - it is hard to tell at this distance - and both are clad in dark leather armor, one holding a sword, the other holding two axes. As you watch, a trio of individuals in dark clothes exit the gate, not giving the fight a second look.

The middle Sister makes a face, "♪ We not have time to talk when we get there, if we take long way. Czarny walk with you short time, talk with Wingless-Sister, yes? Wrony-sister, Arrowbait-sister, fly? Watch-guard? ♪"

The eldest sister nods and takes flight, the youngest following her.

She gestures with a talon and begins walking, her gait uneven and stilted given how unfamiliar her talons are for ground travel, "♪ Speak? ♫"

[TrueLazy]

"Not as far as I can see with that fog." Her gaze was still set on the camp in the valley as she replied to Selfent. The distance and the fog proved to be too much of a hindrance to spot anything of real interest. A good thing we can avoid going through that. She lets her gaze linger a little longer on the valley, fearing that something would reveal itself in the fog the moment she would turn her eyes away.

[Kurai]

"If time is short, then let's move." Once they have walked a few moments, Tanith moves closer to Czarny, keeping one eye on her surroundings while she talks.

"One of my men wants to make you an offer. He will forego all his picks in the wagon, if you don't eat the men we kill there. He believes we can find other food for you if you worry about that." Inside herself, the soldier has to grimace. She wasn't even sure they would find enough to sustain themselves... with the woods full of strange, strong creatures and the absence of the natural animals that should be inhabiting the area.

In an afterthought she adds softly, "It is only an offer. Please don't believe we're trying to get out of our deal, but we'd be thankful if the Winged Sisters think about it."


Let's see if Tanith sounds as diplomatic as I tried to make her be...
Diplomacy: [roll0]
Well, that's a no then *g*

[Hyudra]

Czarny grimaces, "♪ Man-things make things so complicated. No. Czarny not care that much about goodies. Only have four talons to carry with. Sisters can't fly well if carry-holding too much. So Sisters want one of nicest things each. Maybe two. Is fair. ♫"

As you crest another fairly steep hill, Czarny drops to all fours to better ascend it, wings tucked close to her back. She climbs it with short, awkward lunges, even as you barely need to adjust your pace. Once done, she straightens herself.

"♪ But Sisters need to eat. No meat, Sisters fade-wither away. So no. ♪"

[abadguy]

Mmm those flags ... they are the bandit groups. Are they encamped there or is that place newly conquered? We could take the shorter route .... Selfent looks appraisingly at the others, trying to ignore the sharp talons of the harpies.

[Roethke]

Vilas looks up in response to Selfent's question"Don't know much about the flags, but there are two going at it with bare steel just by the gate, and that seems to be how they do business there. Even the foppish Nobles back in Kor kept better order than this. They seem like mean customers, I'd just as soon not get involved and go around.

[TrueLazy]

"Strange if all of them are camped down there together. But just as Vilas said, I doubt any of them down there will be welcoming strangers with open arms. Of course you are free to test out their hospitality Selfent. Mhmm, don't rush yourself though, eventually we will cross them, one way or another." Wheter it was after today or later, Sabine knew that their actions wouldn't go unnoticed forever by the bandit groups. Still, she felt best on postponing a encounter of any sorts with them for now.

After her words she directs her attention to the two infront of her and their conversation. Hearing Czarny decline the offer wasn't a surprise, but her last line left Sabine with a disturbing image of her... eating habits. A shiver quickly followed before she managed to convert her thoughts to their goal for today. "Perhaps we should start to discuss how we are going to handle things today before we find ourselves at the location without a plan."

[abadguy]

"All right that sounds reasonable. Let us go around then. As for a plan, I think I can only formulate one once we know the ground we are working with. Dense vegetation versus open ground and all that. Let us make a move on then if we are planning to take the longer route." Selfent starts on the way to make circuitous route around the bandit camp.

[Gorgondantess]

Seeing Czarny climbing the hill so awkwardly, Sidheh jogs forwards beside her and offers her a hand to keep her steady. He's glad he's wearing gauntlets. If she refuses, though, he doesn't press it- that's well within her right.
Sidheh isn't worrying about the plan right now. Banishing using Tanith as an intermediary to the wind, he lays it down.
"I'm afraid I must insist on coming to some sort of compromise. If weight is a problem, I have no objection to carrying whatever you need me to. And as for food, that is a simple enough problem- I could take whatever loot you're willing, or even something I'm carrying now, and barter it at the settlement for far more food than a few corpses, and less perishable."
...Not that they seem the type to care whether or not their meat is rancid.

[Hyudra]

Czarny looks about ready to fly off when Sidheh offers his hand and makes his offer. She doesn't take his hand, but she listens as he speaks.

As he finishes, she looks distressed, "♪ Why Quiet-man make this so hard? Had deal. Sisters need to eat or Sisters wither away. Become bird-things in head like Sisters are bird-kin in body. Is curse of Sisters, mama says. ♪"

She huffs, "♪ Czarny not care anymore. Not worth trouble and walking on dirt-ground. Quiet-man free to eat dead man-things himself. Sisters will get man-food elsewhere. ♪"

She takes off the instant she is finished speaking, leaping upward and using her wings to bear herself aloft.

[Kurai]

Tanith raises an eyebrow in Sidhed's direction once the Sister has taken flight. "Well, that was smooth." She offers no other comment, but falls back a bit until she is in the middle of their small group and can hear everyone talk again without straining her ears.

"While I guess we should form a plan fitting the location, I suppose it doesn't hurt to think up something now. For example, how does one stop a cart if they don't fall for a 'soldier at the streetside' deception? A rope along the road? Fire to scare the horses?" Turning her head from side to side to loosen her neck muscles, the dark-haired woman contemplates other ways to achieve their goal in case something goes wrong.

[Roethke]

"Well, if you stop the animals, you stop the cart. A horse used to people doesn't mind fire that much, unless you wave a torch about in his face. Of course, then you're likely as not to get kicked. An arrow or three in the chest is likely to rile a beast up pretty good. Either cause him to bolt, and break a harness and maybe an axle, or decide that pulling isn't really what he wants to be doing. Same thing with a caltrop or stone in the hoof, or even a concealed ditch. Best to make it look natural, or something like one of the bandit gangs might rig up.

Aside from bandits, of course, two things used to hold up my wagons-- Downed trees and flooded fords. We are in the forest, so the former shouldn't be too difficult to arrange -- I've got my wand if we want to try the latter, I can sure picture a flooded river in my head, so maybe could fool them from a distance, at least.

Of course, then there's the question of whether we want to stop them or just peel off the guards. I could gin up some papers that make it look like it's Real Important they get to some Pooh-bah in Icatan. We could then mess up one of these nice uniforms and make it look like some bandits got to a courier, but left the papers. At least some of the guards might scurry back. Maybe too many 'maybes' in that plan, though.

A bit simpler would be to get one or two of us in among them with the thrown shoe or bandit attack story-- maybe both. Then the rest attack the cart from the woods, before they've had too long to examine the story. The ones by the cart could pretend to fight back, waiting for the right moment to change sides..." Vilas rubs his hands together absentmindedly, as possibilities roll through his head.

[Gorgondantess]

Sidheh sighs as Czarny flies away. "Why do I get the feeling I've only made things worse?"

He mulls over all the battle plans, not quite liking any of them. He decides to voice his opinion on the matter, knowing it would likely be shot down.
"...Well, I say we approach them, say that we're here to take what we want, and that if they decide their lives are worth more to them than their merchandise they'll not be harmed. Some of them might surrender, especially if we get the drop on them- though, at the same time, we don't know what level of guards they'll have."

[TrueLazy]

She didn't bother saying anything on the failure of the warriors attempt to change the deal. His idea didn't sound wrong to her, she prefered the no feasting on humans deal, but she quickly realised that this year wouldn't exactly go along the humane way.
Suggestions and ideas enough, now it is a matter to pick the right ones out and form a plan out of them. First time to.. be on the other side of it. Though it appears I can't say the same for all the others... She lets out a deep sigh at this thought before quickly listing all the stuff that was just raised in her head to try and get a better picture.

"Seeing what roams around in this forest, I think it's safe to assume that the horses are trained for combat. Scaring them won't be easy, so that seems to leave us with roughly three options if we want to get to the cart. Taking down the horses by force, immobilizing them by blocking their path or their ability to run completely. Or stopping the cart itself from being able to go any further. And lastly, taking down the drivers."

Her gaze went over each of the future to be bandits, "I can't say that taking down the drivers will stop the horses and along with that, the cart. That and what our nameless one said makes option three sorta a last resort in my eyes. Though, that's as much as I can say, my knowledge and experience on such a act like this seems to pale in comparison to some people here."

[Kurai]

Tanith grunts, mulling over the options and the opinions everyone had given. "All right, here is my idea. We try to find a good spot, a turn in the road would be perfect. Someone will play the robbed, hurt, whatever Icatanese soldier before the turn. If the cart stops, perfect, one less problem. We don't have the equipment to fell a tree and no time to dig a hidden pit, so... a rope across the road is step two, in case the cart doesn't stop. We'll fasten it right behind the turn, two people will have to pull it taut at the right moment. I'll see if I can hide in the trees and catch one of the drivers with my bow and, if worst comes to worst, the horses, too."

She glances across all of them, notes their weapons and the strength one can guess at hidden beneath their clothes, stormy eyes taking in the details. "Sabine, Flail-boy, you two look tough enough to pull a cart to a stop. Vilas, that your only weapon? If yes, maybe you should take a shot at the drivers together with me. Selfent, you willing to get into some Icatan getup?" Tanith smirks at them, looking back to the path ahead. "It's the best thing I can up with which is possible with little time... if anyone can come up with something better or more refined, out with it. I'm all ears."

[Gorgondantess]

Sidheh coughs. "Actually... In the past I've always used my flail on the battlefront to stop chariots, carts... that kind of thing. You pull the horse in the front to its knees, the rest of the cart isn't going anywhere.
Now, of course, there's more luck involved than I like, a horse being a fair sight stronger than a man... but one arrow is, in the end, more likely to spook a horse than bring it down."

[Roethke]

Vilas looks Sidheh up and down, as if examining a specimen of a different species "You'd walk up to a warhorse and kneecap it?!" he barks a laugh " Heh, I'm surprised you can walk upright with stones as big as those. My own, er, organization could have used someone like you back in the day, I'd be thinking. In this case, though, such a direct approach may be counterproductive to whatever deception we have going on.

Turning towards Tanith, he continues "If we are so pressed for time, I think you have the right of it, for the most part. I'd be a little more sure of my head staying well-placed atop my shoulders if we could set up a proper ambush. This sounds like little better than a stand-up fight, and I hate stand up fights. As for the rope across the road, we maybe could unseat a rider, but unless you're of a mind to play tug o' war with a horse, we'd better secure the rope to a tree, root or rock on either side of the road. One loop or two should do

[Kurai]

"While I don't want to doubt your ability to bring down a horse in a fight with that metal ball, the situation here is a bit different, I think. I don't like killing a good, able mount... but a suitable rope, strung across the pathway and pulled up taut at just the right moment? That's certainly stopping any average two-horse carriage I know..." She frowns, not happy with the thought of wasting one or possibly two horses with such an action, but you had to expect losses with the little material they could work with. "I've seen it more than a dozen times and it's not pretty to look at. Nine out of ten times you can only give the beasts a last stroke of mercy... and a carriage without horses goes nowhere."

She nods at Vilas, then shrugs shortly afterwards. "Securing the rope on the other side was the plan, and even then Flail-boy and Sabine will get an awful jolt in the arms if they're unlucky. Believe me, if we have time to check the perimeter, I'm all for a better plan to avoid a stand-up fight. And of course, all will be perfect if the 'soldier at the road side' idea works out, or whatever other faking we can come up with."

[TrueLazy]

Sabine just stayed quietly on the background of the discussion that had followed after her words. No longer did she saw any use to voice her own thoughts on the matter, simply because she had none that could be of real help. It wasn't just that, hearing Tanith, Vilas and the flail man speak rather casually and thoughtful about creating a ambush made her feel.... out of place. It showed they had experience, whether it was from the army or something shadier.

She on the other hand, she was trained to serve, protect and fight for one person in this world. Everything that didn't concern that goal was beyond her grasp of talents and interest, and that seemed to be everything in this place. That much became clear to Sabine now that they were on their way to their first act as "bandits".

A grimace crept on her face at this understanding, why am I even here? Of course she knew the answer already, she knew it all too well. Still, she couldn't help but question if her presence here was right and just. I don't belong here. Not in these woods, not with these people, not away from Lea.... Bowing her head in agony, Sabine could feel despair taking a hold of her and clenched her fists angrily in response.

[Hyudra]

As you discuss your plans, you cover a fair amount of ground. Even so, it's startling to find yourself come to an end of sorts in the forest. The treeline thins out abruptly, and after ten or fifteen feet, you find the only trees are saplings and the ground drops in something of a ledge. All in all, the terrain forms an extended concave ditch, about thirty feet across, ten or fifteen feet deep, extending as far northeast and southwest as you can see. On the far side of the ditch, it seems there's more woodland. All in all, it's about fifty feet between the treelines.

At a guess, one could surmise that this feature of the terrain is a dried up river. The ground is hard packed but riddled with weeds, and at the lowest point of the ditch or dry river - whatever one might wish to term it - you can see ruts in the ground where the repeated travel of wagon wheels have eroded the ground. Rather than make the effort of traveling the woodland, it seems whoever has been using this route has elected to use the dry river as a road to cross through the area.

Glancing upwards, you see guides split up - the smallest one travels southwest, following the road, while the others are moving Northeast as a pair.

[abadguy]

"Hmmm... that's curious. Why would the harpies split up?"

He bends down to examine the riverbed and tries to determine how long ago this river has been dry and if much traffic passes through here.

Knowledge nature [roll0]
Survival? [roll1]

[Hyudra]

Selfent slides down the slope to make his way to the riverbed. A quick examination shows that this path has existed for some time. Enough time, it seems, for vegetation to grow and be trampled to death several times over.

As for the amount of traffic? Selfent has no idea. The recent rains blurred the details of the tracks, making it unclear.

[abadguy]

He gets up from his examinations. "I suppose the mysterious wagon should be using this dry riverbed as a road of sorts. It has been dry for sometime and rather convenient for use. Mayhaps we should follow this riverbed and look for a good spot of ambush."

[Roethke]

Vilas dismounts and peers down the makeshift road from the ledge,
"Well, I imagine the wagon'll come from the south, maybe that's where our feathered friend went, to check its progress. Might be we'll be wanting to find a place to hide here or a bit north. Time to suit up, Selfent?", he asks pulling a uniform from his pack and gesturing towards one of his horses, Smirt here might do for an injured mount or a thrown shoe, if that's to be your story. I've got some oil and alchemists' fire, here, if we want to set up a distraction, or yo may want to have to hand.

Turning towards the others, he removes and hefts a scroll case,

"With this kind of terrain, a magic trick I picked up from the Ethenian witches might do the trick, at the right time. It'll make all those weeds in the gully writhe around and grab at anyone in that whole ditch. Including the horses... come to think of it, 'anyone' would include Selfent, too, so maybe not. I sometimes have trouble making it work just when I want it to, anyhow.

[TrueLazy]

The words of Selfent and Vilas ringed faintly in her ears as if they were softly whispering instead of speaking out loud. It wasn't by choice, Sabine's mind was just clouded and absent from the talk that took place. In a slow response to Selfent words, she tilts her head up, confirming with a dull look in her eyes at the splitting of the three harpies in two groups.

Shifting her gaze back down, she notes Vilas holding a scroll case of some sorts. A deep sigh leaves her lips at this sight, closing her eyes as she tries her best to clear her mind and think straight once again. Though, with little succes as she finds herself taking several seconds to realise the connection between his talk about a magic trick and the content of the case. Magic scrolls huh...

Her understanding of magic wasn't broad or deep, but it appeared that she was the only member of the team that had it to her disposal without the use of magical aids. As her eyes seemingly drift aimlessly around the area she softly raises her voice towards no one in particular. "If there's need for it, I can create a mistbank that lasts a few minutes."

[Gorgondantess]

Sidheh simply stands at attention, waiting for the others to finish planning; he's rather outclassed in all this magicking and sneaking and trickery. He just hit things really hard, and sometimes pulled them to the ground. Now, he was really good at both of those things... but that's still all he did, and despite its convenience, it could hardly compare to a simple scroll pawned off some witches.
Ah, the age old freudian magic-envy. Just posting so all's y'all's know I'm still here.

[abadguy]

"All right let us continue to follow where the harpies lead for now first, now that we know our capabilities at the moment." He sets off, following the flying harpies along the dry riverbed.

[Hyudra]

The two sisters from the north return, flying just over you, "♪ Sevenday-Wagon on its way! They have man-things protecting! Wearing metal! ♪"

Initiative

Vilas:
[roll0]

Tanith:
[roll1]

Sabine:
[roll2]

Sidheh:
[roll3]

Selfent:
[roll4]

Guards:
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]

Wagon:
[roll8]

Captain:
[roll9]

Battle Map:
http://i51.tinypic.com/knafk.jpg

Note that it's a 15' drop from the grass at the edges to the dirt.

[Hyudra]

Initiative Order:
Vilas - 21
Sabine - 21
Selfent - 20
Tanith - 17
Guard 1 - 16
Sidheh - 15
Captain - 13
Wagon - 12
Guard 2 - 11
Guard 3 - 10

OOC:
If you share initiative with someone, it's first come first served. Beyond that, I only request that you try to post within 24 hours of whoever has a turn before you.

I'll update the battle map as regularly as I'm able, and whenever I'm asked. Don't wait for me between each turn, unless you need clarification on something.

I'm just putting the initiative out there in case you decide to go that route. If you don't, that's cool too.

From the opposite direction that you'd expected, the wagon abruptly rounds the bend. It's moving at a fair clip, and there's a group of three armored men that have it half circled, guarding it, hands on the pommels of their swords. An armored woman in fancier equipment marches as well, apparently their leader. A man rides atop a bench on the front of the wagon, low enough that he is partially shielded by the horses.

[TrueLazy]

Surprised and slightly shocked by the sudden arrival of the wagon ripped the lingering worries apart in Sabine's mind. As she turned her head to look at their target and it was drawing in rather fast giving them little to almost no time to act before it would pass them. Quickly she scans the scene, trying to get a clear picture of what they were up against. Three... four guards...as long as there aren't any behind the wagon. With her sight obscured by the wagon, she wasn't too sure, but wasn't going to dwell on this.

She didn't trust her skill with the bow enough to take a attempt at taking down either the driver or one of the horses. So with that option gone she decided to rely on her sword performance and grasped her hilt tightly. Without hesitation she jumps down into the river bed, grimacing lightly when she feels her feet connecting with the ground. The fall proved to be a bit higher then she had imagined, luckily it was not a bone breaking one.

With her eyes still locked onto the wagon, Sabine takes a step forward to position herself next to the path of the wagon. "I suggest you step a bit back Selfent." Under these words of caution she pulls out her blade completely from it's sheath with her left hand, raising it slighty upwards before grasping it firmly with her right hand as well. Taking down one horse should stop the wagon... I hope.


Actions taking this round:
Sabine jumps down and positions herself on D4 (move action) after which she draws her sword (move action).

Jumpin down, DC 15
Jump check [roll0]


OoC: ((So this leaves me with 5ft of "falling damage", which I don't know what you rule on. Rounding it up to 10ft., making it 1d6 falling damage? Or ignore the last 5ft.?))

[Roethke]

"Olidammara, give us luck when our plans are gone" Vilas mutters to himself, as the wagon rumbles around the bend. He scrambles along the edge of the former river bank, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow. With a thwack he lets one fly towards the wagon, hoping that the grass and high bank will keep the attention of the guards focused on his compatriots in the road.

[OOC:]

Move: Draw bow and move to K1
Std:
Attack the wagon driver if the angle is better (i.e. if the horses provide less cover from this position). Otherwise attack the nearest guard (and a +1 to atk and damage for PB shot). Both should be flat-footed, I think.

Atk roll:[roll0]
Dmg & snk attack rolls: [roll1] , [roll2]


Spot to notice any markings on the wagon to indicate where it's from e.g. merchant or noble sigils:
Gah I screwed up the roll tag here.
Rolled a 20 in the dice roller thread.

[abadguy]

Oh gods ... so much for well laid plans

Knowledge Devotion (assuming they are humanoid) [roll0] so +1 to attack and dmg.

Selfent also draws his bow and shoots at the same guard Vilas shot at.

Attack [roll1] +1
Dmg [roll2] +1

[edit: dang first combat and already the rolls are fail]