Wrath of the Sun: IC Thread

[Molan]

Ok Guys, IC thread is up! I'm working on a starting post to get us kicked off -- expect it shortly!

[Molan]

I apologize to very one for the protracted wait. That is uncommon of me and I hope to do a substantially better job for you with posting frequency going forward.

Between a vast, stretching inlet of the Sea of Silt and a brutal, sun-baked and waterless rolling waste stood the high -- if damaged -- walls of the city of Raam. The wastes stretched on for countless miles and were particularly reprehensible to travelers by merit of not only the vast lawlessness of the area but also of the shockingly diligent -- if horribly misguided -- Templar patrols hunting down anyone who attempted to cross the desert by super-conventional means. Psychoportation was in many ways a crucial part of life on Athas, yet even this most time honored of traditional arts was ruthlessly hunted by the masterless strongmen of Raam.

To cross this waste meant that anyone who was not prepared to put down several hundred men at arms in the Templars' employ would have to be fantastically good at finding water -- a bit of a mystic art in and of itself.

Yet the Mellikot driven caravan crossing this waste along the silt sea's edge; and for nearly a month the eclectic assortment of vehicles had roamed, somehow managing to avoid death by dehydration, and slowly, inexorably making their way to their chosen destination.

Most of the caravan was covered -- it's carts enjoyed wood built permanent cabins when not dedicated to carrying purely cargo. Caravans with this level of sophistication rarely traveled this far through the gutted wastes to Raam; in fact, very few attempted the journey these days at all.

Ahead of the caravan, in the leadmost position, a female half giant sits in what would -- were it not charged with containing her huge frame -- be an impressively large howdah.

Behind her trails the rest of her caravan, flanked only occasionally by her select few guards -- the rest of her staff preferring to remain under the cover of a wagon -- this wasn't a popular trip when she'd decreed it -- it hadn't become any more so after nearly a month of trying not to starve to death in the Waste--but it was about to pay off.

Raam was only a few hours away, and as the caravan slowly approaches, both it's master and guards point a weather eye out in the distance, looking for any last signs of trouble.

[paradox26]

Sala rode alone on his crodlu, enjoying the peace and quiet of the ride. He always felt uncomfortable cooped up with the others, and knew that they felt uncomfortable with him too, with the well founded reputation of his people for cannibalism, which he also partook in when the opportunity arose. He was likely alone among his companions in being perfectly comfortable in the harsh conditions, due to the magic inherent in his magical cloak, which was enchanted to make even the harshest conditions if not satisfying then at least acceptable. He found himself starting to get hungry, and he took a moment to focus his powerful will through his centre. With a burst of willpower, he removed any need for food or water for the entire day. In an instant, he had made his day much more pleasant, and he found himself turning to the mission at hand. He wondered briefly about what exactly it was that they were seeking to buy in Raam, though he realised that he didn't really care that much. It was more important for him to learn as much as he could about the city and its people, so that he could pass the information back to his tribe in the Verdant Forest.

[Drynwyn]

Betielde sits in the back of one of the wagons, at a small desk she uses when tracking Kersta's assets. Although it wouldn't be obvious from looking, the desk is carefully positioned so that no-one sitting in the wagon's interior seats would have an unobstructed view of her. She looks around the wagon, her lips pursing as she mentally takes inventory of their supplies and trade goods. At her feet is curled a tiny, dirt brown cat, dozing contentedly.

[Gunhaven]

Pik-Ik'Cha stayed outside the wagons at every opportunity. Something about the fact that he would have trouble launching through the canopy and into the sky bothered him on a personal level. Still the Kreen wasn't impervious to the heat of the sun and when it grew too hot for the insectoid then he would return to fidget for an hour or two before bounding out and leaping forward into the air. Such was his way, even when the smooth skins insisted on sleeping and being lazy he found himself bouncing around the outskirts of the camp with an eye out for prey.
Thus it was his place as they closed the gap to the dra's city they called Raam. Pik had no concern for such a thing as he leapt into the air after a brief running start, touching down just long enough to propel himself into the air again. Each apex saw his antenna twitch and his eyes scan for danger ahead before he gracefully landed with the briefest of dust clouds, preferring to land at the top of any hills so that he could skate effortlessly down it to the next leap into the air. Perhaps they'd get lucky and eat Elf today.

[NineOfSpades]

In her resting place, sheltered as she was from the harshness of the sun by both the mild enchantments she carried and the more mundane shade from the canvas tarp overhead, Kersta reclined, eyes on the horizon as her mind turned and turned again, gears of thought rolling along at the same steady pace as the wheels on her wagons.

The Half-Giant did not especially care for Raam. Nor did she hate it either, since hate was an expense that she'd little interest in paying, and there was no good sense to be had letting any personal feelings interfere with her business. But like a stone stuck in the heel of your boot, it was an annoyance she could not fully ignore. Likely, her feelings arose from the ironclad adherence to their precious caste system. It was hard to overlook how very different, and how very limited, her life's path might have been had she the misfortune of being born into such a restrictive environment.

But those were matters that need not merit deeper consideration. Not when the people she'd employed for this trip were already weary of their journey. The decision to make this transit had not won her any favor, nor had she expected it to. But that itself was part of the reason for making it. First, the displeasure felt by her own employee's would likely be shared by her competitors, making them less likely to attempt such a trip. Second, by successfully making the crossing, she would have greater confidence in attempting it again in the future, opening up a new travel route for her to pass through. Lastly though, there was always value to be had in the knowledge that those paid to work for you would continue to do so even in the face of adversity or hardship that they would otherwise prefer to avoid. Just as personal feelings had no place in business, so to was there no place for slackers who accepted their payment yet refused to uphold their performance when they found it objectionable.

[supernerd]

Illik kept his arms loose, making sure to pull Aandu away from any curves. Today he was the larger reptile's eyes. He rode atop his companion, who'd been complaining the whole way. "Don't worry, it's not too much longer." Aandu had been walking by sound and direction from his rider for some time to rest his eyes. A clawed hand reached out to pat the larger lizard's back. Illik had already stored away his magic items, and was covering his head with his backup cloak and looked through the thin veil that hung down. The journey had been long, but the animals had been good about it. He directed the caravan towards the city, not wanting them steered off course before another rest stop could be made.

Illik/Aandu
Sunburn: Desert Clothing and Light Cloak/Desert Lizard
Glare: Veil/Eyes Closed (poor dear)
Heat: Coldblooded(Pterrans are explicitly lizards) 1, Desert Clothing 1/Desert Animal 2

[Molan]

The small caravan rumbles through the waste, waiting anxiously to clear through the glaring desert and reach the more verdant grasslands around Raam. From the view of a cation bird circling overhead, the caravan appears especially strange -- two wagons pulled by a pair of equally large Mellikots, led by a half giant, flanked by a small Halfling with a gangly bug creature bouncing along beside it, hurling through the air and then bouncing again like a much smaller jumping beetle.

The Caravan rolls on in silence. The Half-Giant thoughtfully gazing into the distance, the wagons trundle along, crunching against the hard light colored sand, the Halfling outrider thinking inwardly. This goes on for some time, until the Thri-Keen leaping alongside the caravan suddenly stops leaping.

The caravan trundles on without the Thri-Keen landing beside the lead Mellikot for a minute or so, before the otherwise preoccupied half giant looks around, and pulls the caravan to a stop.

The Halfling pulls up besides the lead Mellikot and looks up at the Caravan boss excpectedly. They do not exchange words; instead the Half-Giant leans away from him and looks behind her to the rear of the caravan.

About ten yards or so behind the second wagon, the Thri-Keen sits crouched. He looks past his boss into the distance, antenae twitching anxiously.

Inside the wagons, the caravans other members look around quietly, wondering why they'be stopped.

Spot check reveals movement in the distance. Pik'Ik-Cha can see multiple humanoid figures moving a good distance away from the caravan. The figures appear to be splitting into two groups, one moving north of the caravan's route and the other south of it. It's hard to make out much more then that thanks to the glare.

Make a spot check since you're leading / directing the caravan. Sorry I didn't see your post I wasn't sure if you were in the wagons.

[Drynwyn]

Feeling the wagon stop under her, Betielde frowns slightly, then looks down at her cat.

"Watch my things for me, would you, Dusty?"

Smiling at the tiny animal, she gives it a quick scratch behind the ears, then grabs her parasol from it's resting place leaning against her desk and, opening it, walks forward out of the front of the caravan to stand near the lead howdah. She quickly looks around, noting the positions of her travelling companion, and then looks up to Kersta and speaks.

"We're too far out to be putting things into the hold, and we're obviously not there yet. Should I be finding a place to hide?"

[paradox26]

Sala comes to a halt as he sees the thri-kreen stop moving, and as the mekillots stop as well. He pulls up to the right hand side of the first mekillot, and tries to see what lies ahead that so interests the kreen. He takes a moment to activate his ectoplasmic armour, which quickly comes to envelop him.


Spot Check: [roll0]

[Molan]

In the bright, sun-baked reflective haze of the desert, it's difficult for Sala to make anything out. She thinks she might see movement in the distance but it's really hard to gain anything specific. She might have seen enough motion up ahead to stop and investigate further, but it's hard to tell what exactly she's looking at.

[supernerd]

Illik sess the two groups in the distance, and while they were stopped, headed back to the main wagon. He thought to Aandu, "Stay here. I'll be right back," and the Pterran dismounted. A few seconds later, he was clambering up into the wagon. "Kersta, we've got a bit of a situation. There's a group to the front and the back of us. My instincts say ambush, but this close to the city might be a patrol. What should we do? If we go off the road, there's likely to be complications, but it's also unlikely that they've spotted us quite yet. If we go to meet them, you'll have to make the call on whether we hide anything that needs hidden." By the end of his statement he was in the wagon, not wasting time getting up that could be spent multitasking.

[Drynwyn]

Betielde looks to Ilik and then nods, tilting her head side-to-side as she absorbs the new information. She then looks up to Kersta, and once again, speaks quietly to him alone.
"Considering this information... Raiders would have been better-hidden if they were waiting for a victim- if they were raiders who already left concealment to fill their bags with someone else's things, they wouldn't be moving to intercept us. If they ARE raiders who have broken concealment already, now attacking a target of opportunity, they will likely back down if we can present a convincing threat, as they've already made a profit."

"However, they are nonetheless unlikely to be friendly, as they are moving to surround us. It's most likely, then, that they are either Templars or a force employed by one of the merchant houses. If they are a merchant house, we want to negotiate with them. If they are templars, they're almost certainly here to give a nasty surprise to merchants who planned to hide their contraband before they arrived in the city."

[NineOfSpades]

Kersta listened, and looked upon her situation as the Druid explained the situation. In her mind, the Half-Giant surveyed the situation and considered the angles at play. Many of her own thoughts were mirrored back in the form of advise from her bookkeeper, Betielde. For a moment, she felt a pang of annoyance at being instructed in how to handle the situation, but she didn't voice it, knowing that the frustration was less directed at Betielde and more from the fact that this journey was almost at its conclusion and she was eager to reach their destination, only now having to deal with this potential threat. Whether or not her input was fully welcome, the insight was certainly not worth dismissing.

"We're changin' course...take us off the main route. if we've any luck today, we'll pass by without strife. if not, least we tinnie avoid drivin' head first into whatever trap their setting, make them come ta us instead." Kersta instructed, sitting upright, and speaking loud enough to be herd by everyone, even over the steady rumble of the wagon wheels. "If their here on patrol, we'll just say the Mekillots got restless 'n' wandered off the path. Not like that's unknown ta happen. Toss whatever contraband we've got down into the holds now, If their templars, last thin' we want is ta draw their eyes on us this close ta the big-smoke."

Stripping off her own magical equipment, Kerstra briefly entered the wagon to here rear, opening up the hidden compartment that was concealed below the floorboards. Lined with lead (At no small expense), it would be shielded from any sort of magical detection, rendering it the perfect place to hide anything you didn't want to be found. "Nothin' else ta do for now other than ride it out 'n' see what happens. Stay sharp, 'n' hold for me signal ta attack."

[Drynwyn]

Betielde nods to Kersta, then turns to Pik, smiling, and looses a rapid stream of chitters and pops, speaking to him in Kreen.

"Your eyes, it would seem, are much better than mine- lucky we have you around. I can't see a thing moving. Can you tell me if there are any mounts among the approaching group? I'm concerned it could be elves..."

Betielde bites her upper lip slightly and inhales, her eyes darting around in apparent apprehension at the prospect of approaching elves.


Bluff check for Betielde to give her best impression of a scared noncombatant. Circumstance bonus for a believable lie may be applicable but is not applied.

[roll0]

[supernerd]

Illik followed Kersta to the rear, storing his own magical equipment in the lead lined compartment. "Off-road it is, boss." The Pterran then ran to his companion. Aandu had been more than a little restless with the sun in his eyes. "Okay, I'm back. we're going off the trail, so you may need to eat something." Aandu complained about already being full. "Say that tomorrow when you're hungry again." Illik began to lead them around the group he saw in the distance on Kersta's orders, waiting so that he didn't run off on his own and leave the caravan behind as they took stock. "There's a group ahead of us and Kersta wants us to make our way around them. I hope you all saved your water rations, because we might have an extra hour to the city."

Spot Just in case: [roll0]
Survival for keeping us on track off the road. [roll1]
Handle Animal to change course: [roll2]
Knowledge Nature for things to look out for [roll3]+5 for identifying creatures and their powers

[paradox26]

Sala listened to the discussion using his telepathic communication abilities. He looked over to where the others sat in the wagon, seeing their forms through his mindsight ability. At the warning that they should hide their magical equipment, he quickly removed all of his magical possessions and moved the crodlu over to the wagon. He quickly climbed inside and placed his items inside the lead container. He then returned to his mount's back. Using mind speech he said to the others, "When we get close enough, about twenty yards, I can use my powers to read their mind. I should be able to get an indication as to what they want with us."

[Gunhaven]

Pik paused with the others and slowly shuffled back around toward the wagons, hopping as if the waste was burning his feet and he needed to get into the shade; a preposterous thought given his feet never even touch the ground with the support of the ectoplasm to let him skate about the dunes. The extra time let the group make their decision, grimacing at mention of elves. He gripped his Tkaesali and said "We will check for Clutchmates and adjust the course. If prey is elves then we will wish to pierce the soft skin's hateful hide."
With that he leapt into the air again, pinpointing on the other groups, and attempting to discern what the groups were composed of. He landed again and hopped toward the group to relay the finding before bouncing toward the fellow odd ball race. His landings grew softer, the bursts of sand from his landings seeming to disperse after each bound.
Spot again: [roll0]
Move Silently: [roll1]

[Molan]

Aandu diverts off of the road, following Illik's mental commands. Slowly but surely they start to make their way through the harsh, rocky terrain adjacent to the well worn merchant's path they'd been on. The caravan starts to lumber along behind him, the sluggish Mellikots slowly beginning to wid their way off the road and crunching and grinding the wagons over the hard terrain.

Sala's Crodlu follows the caravan at it's flank, and the larger group moved off, leaving Pik back on the Merchant Road. The Thri-Kreen skittered along the path, quickly gaining ground on the location where he'd first spotted the divergent groups, despite his quiet movements. He tried to make the groups -- either of them -- out a second time through the hazy glare but saw only dust up ahead. He was nearing the spot where he'd first seen them split from the road...up ahead, he could see that the path dipped down into a shallow valley, flanked by eroded dunes on either side, creating stiff, salty walls. Looked a lot like an ambush site.

Up ahead of the Caravan, as it began to slowly churn through the harsher terrain, Illik pondered their situation. He was quickly able to reorient himself now that they'd diverged from the main path, despite the brutal, eye-watering conditions. He tried to spot the groups he'd seen a second time, looking somewhat over his shoulder, but instead saw only dust and haze.

He tried to ponder what they might have seen. There weren't a ton of large alpha or super predators in this region -- that much was good. It was possible it was a Templar group, but why would they be concealing themselves?

Elf raiding party started to feel the most likely. He hoped he was wrong...but there were known to be tribes scattered through this region, and this behavior would not be beneath them.

[paradox26]

Sala continued to remain close to the caravan. He briefly considered moving farther away, to try to get sight of the creatures so that he could read their minds. But that would make him a potential target, and he was far too vulnerable to be prepared to go out alone where he could be jumped by the unseen followers. If he did manage to get close enough to read minds, he would be close enough that his companions couldn't get to him before the potential enemies.

[Molan]

Pik arrives at the short, shallow valley, more of a large depression in the terrain then anything -- and can see the area a bit more clearly. The "road" is really just a flat, beaten path. The depression spreads out far away from the main route before turning up into the steep sides of the calcified, collapsed dunes that flank it.

Most of the area on the floor of the depression appears to be powderized, salty sand. This could very well have been a body of water at one point, perhaps part of a runoff of a long dead river feeding into the ocean. There was no way to know for sure.

Pik can see that the areas on top of the collapsed dune walls are a bit depressed, and likely stable. If his clutch were setting an ambush, that would be a fine place to do it.

Spot, Search, Knowledge, Listen and Survival checks available for you if you've got ranks, Gun.

[Gunhaven]

Pik paused for a moment as he observed the likely ambush spot. Two groups on either side, stable ground to attack prey. It reminded him of the strange in between times when his first clutch was killed and his current clutch, even if he only really did it for the meat. Satisfied that the area was the wrong choice to make he shuffled around before bounding over the dune in between him and the caravan. Then he leapt again, attempting to reach the highest spot possible before he came down in an attempt to reorient himself. When he saw the caravan in the distance he made a note of the location and meandered between dunes in the general direction that they were traveling with an eye out for the ambush groups.

[Molan]

Looking around the depression, a few things jump out at Pik.

The hardened areas in top of the flat dunes have some crushed, albeit long dead vegetation along it's surface. Pik can also identify areas where dirt and dust has been moved around. Casually, it looks like nothing is amiss -- it's more dirt on dirt -- but to Pik's keep hunter senses, it looks more like someone -- or a bunch of someone's -- was covering evidence of their presence.

He looks around some more. The caravan had gone off the regular path to circumnavigate whoever or whatever had been here, but whoever that was had moved. Where were they now? He hadn't been attacked, which meant if there were hunters nearby listening for an approach they likely hadn't heard him.

He needed to get back to warn the caravan. The haze -- and possibly the Predators' efforts -- had made it difficult to see if there were tracks heading in any one particular direction but it was possible.

Pik quickly bounds away, still moving quietly on his ectoplasmic buffers, leaping through the air in the northernly direction the caravan ought to have been in.

He didn't even hear the bow string pull back, nor the arrow whistle through the air. It smacked into his carapace with startling force nonetheless, and as he came back down onto the sand. He heard the shrill, fluid language that had haunted his people for decades.

Elves.

Survival and Spot reveal quite a bit, but sadly the elves were outside of LOS and camouflaged against the sand behind the dunes -- hence their ambush. They didn't know you were there till you jumped over them. Roll for Initiative. ;-)

Also you take 6 damage.

[Molan]

Kersta and the rest of the caravan have soon made it a good distance away from the stretch of road where they had first seen signs of trouble. Soon, they are almost directly north of where Illik and Pik had first spotted the disturbance in the otherwise flat, uninhabited desert.

Up ahead, several large shapes begin to take form in the haze up ahead.

Kersta, Illik and Sala, Spot checks.

[Molan]

Sauntering ahead of the caravan on Aandu's back, Illik spots a curious sight up ahead. He takes a few paces to study the encroaching shapes, and notices that none of his companions have said anything; which must mean they couldn't see what he was seeing.

Three Mellikot's are resting up ahead under the shade of some hastily erected tarps. Several humanoid figures in sparse desert clothing are milling about around them. They appear to be of all ages with some of the figures being quite small, and at least two figures appear to have infants strapped to their backs. All in all he counts a little over a dozen figures.

He knew that they had, by this point strayed far from the original groups of strangers or predators they'd seen along the merchant road, and did not figure that those same interlopers could have intercepted them very quickly -- which means this group is new.

[supernerd]

Illik squinted to make out the forms of children on the back of some of the people. They weren't dangerous, not with children. He kept their course towards these figures and just before the time when the others would start to catch up in their sight, he called to Kersta. "Looks like there are children with these people. They might need an escort. They have tarps set up a few hours outside the city." A few minutes later, they would see the new group come into view.

[Molan]

Pik lands in the dust painfully after having taken an arrow to the carapace. His mandibles hiss and click and he prepares to defend himself. Another arrow sinks into the sand right next to his foot, and another smacks into his torso, again drawing pain and anger out of the Thri-Kreen.

He whips around and sees four figures rushing at him from different directions. Two come head on, while two others seem to be running out wide so as to be able to surround him.

They were elves, all right. Each was dressed in sparse, loose fitting desert clothing, and the ones running at him carried what looked to be sharp ceramic blades. They sported long, offend beaded and braided long hair and a dark series of tattoos, with each sporting a unique black mark on their faces.

Pik quickly looked around to attempt to prepare for what they would throw at him. One of the elves running outside of him carried a staff and was draped in significantly more robes and talismans then his friends. The elf stopped just due north of him and began chanting. Great. Pik hissed mental displeasure through a rapid humming of his antanae.

The one running south carried what appeared to just be a pair of knives, but her entire body was decked in them. She looked like a lithe, but deadly walking twister of blades.

The two coming directly at him looked a bit more dangerous. One carried a large, crystalline looking blade made of semi-transparent green material, and the other a pair of short swords. The two closed the distance with him quickly but their opening flurry of attacks find virtually no purchase. Pik deftly swoops and ducks away from their blows and one glancing hit just bounces off of his carapace. However, despite enjoying the satisfying feeling of watching two elves fail to hurt him, Pik is soon greeted by the sound of an object whirling through the air before an ugly ceramic knife buries itself up to the hilt in his arm.

And then, of course, the robed elf finished chanting.

Take 6 more damage from the knife, plus 9 from the arrow. You have two elves adjacent to you but not yet in flanking position, one 30 ft south throwing daggers, one 30ft north casting. Two more in the back, carrying bows. Make a will save.

[NineOfSpades]

The report from Illik prompted silence from Kersta, who reflected on the news with thoughtful concern. Encountering another traveling caravan was not so strange a thing, yet this scenario didn't sit right with her, leaving a knot in her stomach as she contemplated what she was facing.

The first possibility was that this was just another traveling carvan. While that was likely, it raised questions in her mind. If they were heading towards the city, why had they suddenly stopped when so close to their destination. Were it a small group, it would be possible to believe that they were simply waiting out the heat of the day, and lacked the resources to continue traveling until the heat died down. But this was a caravan of three Mellikots, which was sufficient in size to transport a large and well funded group. It was hard to accept that anyone who could afford three Mellikots wouldn't be able to pay for shelter from the heat sufficient to endure another few hours in the mid-day sun. Perhaps then they were exiting the city, on their way elsewhere. But this too raised questions. If they had only gotten this far before having to stop because of the heat, then that would mean they departed only a few hours prior, rather than beginning at dawn which would have been the more sensible choice. As before, the size of the group made mere incompetency a poor explanation. And neither of these options addressed the Caravan's location, which was quite removed from the main road.

Lots of questions, and no answers. That was a bad way to conduct business.

"Mileen, I don't like this. First a possible ambush or raid by Templar's, then we just happen upon another caravan resting in the heat. Cast the bones and see if there is anything more to be learned from this" she instructed, speaking to her assistant. The water cleric collected her ceremonial totems and cast a brief bit of divine magic, before throwing the notched bones to the ground, kneeling over as they fell so she could read the portents of what is to come.



Mileen is casting Omen of Peril. She's got a 77% chance of accurately predicting the level of danger likely to be encountered in the next hour, based on the current path being taken.

[Drynwyn]

Betielde emerges from the wagon for a moment, having heard Pik's announcement. She casts an approving glance at Kersta as Mileen begins to cast, and then looks over the ground they are on. After a brief glance, she turns to Ilik.

"Tell me, do you see any mekillot tracks or wagon-wheel ruts around here? Other than our own, of course- If we don't see any, that would indicate this group came from the city, which is... unusual, given their actions."

She then turns and walks over to Kersta, standing near him and very quietly speaking- not quite a whisper, but you'd have to seriously strain yourself to make anything out. If someone did manage to overhear her, they'd probably assume they misheard, seeing as how easy it is for Kreen to sound like gibberish to the untrained ear.

Rolls for looking for tracks before asking Ilik. (Note: You can't follow tracks for long distances without the Track feat, but you can still use spot to notice them, particularly in the case of obvious tracks, which mekillot wagons would presumably leave.)

Spot: [roll]1d20[roll]

Automatic success on identifying the spell Mileen is casting (assuming I walk out right after Ilik speaks, and as Kersta is speaking, so that I actually see her cast it).



Betielde tells Kersta the following in Kreen.

"If they did approach by this general route, I'll scan the group we're coming up upon for wizards from here. Could prove useful information. I"

[supernerd]

Illik looks out and around, surveying the land. "Well, they have three mekillots, and I'll check for wagon tracks." The bookie was usually a good source for ideas, and they were close enough that it was likely he'd be able to notice the tracks. With luck, they were some passing group, and not a trap of some sort, though he doubted they were.

Spot for tracks: [roll0] Well, the DC for spotting the second group is closer to the 20-25ish range, so the DC to see tracks if they are there shouldn't be much higher.

[Gunhaven]

Pik glanced at the six walking meat sacs then down at his own freshly pierced carapace. With a grunt of annoyance he pushed back the haze of hatred and bloodlust that was slowly forming, his own selfish need to stay alive winning out barely. With a click of his mandibles and a shift of his stance he darted away from the two that flanked him and launched himself into the air toward the last known location of the caravan. With a subtle twist he landed on each dune between him and his destination, sliding down it as he built up speed before hurtling himself through the air. After a couple seconds and fifty feet away from the ambush site he yelled back in Kreen "Come catch me, slowpokes!" even as he built the distance up between himself and the group.
Using Withdraw to double move without AOO from the flankers (and moving in a diagonal toward the caravan to avoid the north/south debate). Attempting to milk Skate by getting running jumps on the downward slope of dunes and hurtling myself over them. Base speed is 40, +15 from generic Skate which is doubled on downward slopes (and just base on upward slopes). I have a +39 Jump despite the -4 from not murdering elves so I won't roll unless you want me too.

[paradox26]

Sala maintained his position riding along beside the mekillot caravan. He couldn't see Pik, so he continued riding along, looking out for signs of the people who were trying to outflank them. He considered the powers he had available to him, and decided that none of them would be of any use at all at this point. He held off on his powers, saving them for when they would be best utilised. There was no point in wasting them now, when they could make the difference later.

[Molan]

Sitting behind Kersta on the wagon, Mileen begins quietly chanting to herself while consulting her collection of animal bones as she attempts to discern if the caravan is in any danger.

Up slightly ahead, Illik scans the terrain thoroughly. At first, he doesn't see anything, but after doing his due diligence and searching up a little farther ahead of the caravan, Illik finds the tracks...and lots of them. The evidence of the heavy melikot tread is obvious -- their huge scraping footprints have created almost a large rut right through the center of the tracks he's found. However those heavy tracks are surrounded by a small swarm of much smaller, might lighter ones. Most of the tracks are primarily just indents from the front portion of the foot, as though the heel made very little contact with the ground.

Back at the wagon, Mileen quietly addresses Kersta. "I see nothing -- our fate over the next few minutes is hidden from my eyes."

Pik bounds, runs, and skates his way past the elven ambush and out of it. He knows that behind him, the elves are in hot pursuit, but he extends his distance between them rapidly. He hears the tell-tale whistle of several arrows chasing him through the wind, but nothing else finds purchase in his carapace.

He's traveled north east, away from the ambush, but after running for a few moments and peering through the haze, he cannot see the caravan up ahead of him. He's put a lot of distance between himself and his pursuers, but he's now stuck in the middle of the burning desert, squinting through the glare, looking for the rest of his companions.

Survival check to find the caravan's path and not get lost. You could do a spot but the DC will be very high.

[supernerd]

Illik held his hand up and slowed as he surveyed the lands. "Kersta, there's definitely Mekillot tracks on this side, so they're probably not from the city, but those footprints seem to be surrounded by those of running humanoids, probably elves. Given that Pik ran off in search of what was likely an Elf raiding party, they're in the area. Before they have more than an off chance of spotting us, do we still want to proceed?"

[Drynwyn]

Betielde, hearing Ilik's pronouncement, quietly slips back into the caravan wagon while all the others discuss the situation outside. She gives a quick nod to her cat, which meows and hops off, lying down at the door to the wagon. She sits down at her desk and grabs her quill, whispering something unintelligible over it... probably just doing calculations in her head.


Directing my familiar to watch the door to the wagon and meow loudly if anyone comes in, then taking a couple minutes to cast Mage Seeker. Making a Bluff Check to concealed cast just in case someone overhears, but will break off the casting if the cat warns me of someone coming in.

Mage Seeker will cause the quill to rotate to point towards the most powerful wizard (other than Betielde, of course) who was in this area in the last 24 hours. It retains this property for a day. Since the other caravan came this way...

If there haven't been any wizards other than the caster in the area within 24 hours, that's useful information itself.

Bluff check to cast concealed: [roll0]

EDIT: Gotta love the nat 20 on an almost completely inconsequential roll.

[Molan]

Up ahead, two of the figures near the Mellikots seem to notice the Caravan. After speaking to Kersta, Illik turns his head back ahead of the caravan and sees a pair of figures break away from the rest of the group and begin to walk cautiously towards Kersta's Caravan. It doesn't seem that anyone else from the Caravan have noticed them yet.

Betielde successfully casts her spell with near artisanal perfection, enjoying a small feeling of success in her chest as she perfectly masks the components of her cast as more mundane behavior. And her effort is rewarded; he quill suddenly rises from her "ledger" and twirls around in place for a moment, before pointing itself directly at her.

Curious as to the result, Betielde moves to her left, (the Quill's right), or to the south. The Quill fails to follow her, instead pointing straight towards the front end of the wagon, where Kersta is sitting outside.

Betielde thinks for a moment. The wagons are pointed West, as is the Quill, and due directly ahead of the wagons is Illik, and due directly ahead of him...the alien caravan Illik had spotted.

The quill adjusts for a moment, seeming to quiver south for a moment, then north, then reorienting itself. It continues to fluctuate like that, as though keeping it's bead on a target.

Pik looks around through the haze and the glare, trying to use the distance he bought himself from the hated fleshbags to find the caravan before being shot again.

He looks as hard as he can, but struggles to orient himself in this horribly disorienting environment. After a moment of searching though, he notices a set of wagon tracks up ahead, running perpendicular to his path.

Behind him, he sees his pursuers. They seem to have stopped for a moment, but are still moving, sort of milling about and in one case, even running or hopping in place.

[supernerd]

Illik huffed to himself. Off chances were always guarantees, now weren't they. He called back, "Looks like two of them are coming this way. They're moving cautiously, so I'm not thinking they plan to attack, at least not right away. I could be wrong. Be prepared for two people to show up." He thought to Aandu. "Be ready, but don't pounce until I tell you."

[NineOfSpades]

"Bugger" Kersta muttered, not pleased with the failed divination. Nothing left to do but ride it out and stay on guard, especailly now that they were being approached by two people. "Right then, Nothing else for it. Lets see what these nobbers wan't.". With a heave, the Half-Giant dismounted from her perched position on the Howdah, stepping down to the sun-scorched sands. Illik had said something about the tracks, which suggested this group might have already been ambushed. "Don't go picking fights, but keep a hand at the ready. I've not trekked this far just to get my wagons raided a mile out from the walls." Kersta instructed, leaning against the side of the wagon as she waited for the two envoys to reach them.

[Drynwyn]

Betielde drops her quill into her pocket, grabs a few sheets of her records, and quietly slips out of the wagon and approaches Kersta's howdah. Loudly -though not so loud as to be ridiculous- she calls out to him.

"It looks like we have a minute, small oddity in the records..."

Without waiting for a reply, she sets the paperwork and quill down next to Kersta, so that the walls of the howdah block it from view, and whispers to him.

"The caravan we're coming up on has a wizard. Could be more than one, but at least one. The quill will swivel to point towards him or her. Might be related to Mileen's spell failing.

[Gunhaven]

Pik clicked his mandibles twice in frustration, shifted his stance, and began to follow the trail left by the wagons. With each bound upwards he checked the horizon with the hope that he would see some other form of movement beyond those damn elves who wished to ambush him. Every fifteen seconds or so he would double check his heading as well, knowing that with the focus on speed he could cover just about 500 feet in such a short period of time and any divination from the path could spell further disaster.
Hopefully I can only get better and not accidentally go off into the desert further. At the very least I'll continue in the same direction the wagons were going if I lose the trail.
Movement: 240 (180 if I can't milk Skate) feet per 6 seconds x2 rounds, break 1 round to survey and adjust, repeat.
Spot: [roll0]
Survival: [roll1]

[Molan]

Up ahead, the two figures are getting close to the caravan, and they begin to come into sharper relief. They're both somewhat tall and slender, but are draped in flowing desert garb to keep themselves protected from the brutal environment. One of them carries a long staff, apparently wooden -- the second (who looks female) sports a pair of long knives, possibly short swords, at her belt.

Neither of them look like they're prepared to attack -- perhaps given the families that they're traveling with, they're just as interested in ensuring that they're not about to be hit by raiders as Kersta's trade caravan is.

Spot checks for everyone!

Pik continues to run forward, attempting to follow the tracks and search for the caravan while avoiding being overtaken by his pursuers.

He struggles badly to follow the tracks -- the wind is beginning already to distort the sand and the sun is still in his eyes. As he runs forward, he begins to worry that he will soon begin to get even more lost then he already was -- he now can't tell if he's following the tracks anymore.

Suddenly, almost by chance, he happens to pivot his head to the right at the last moment, almost accidentally, and sees a group of lumbering shapes off to the northeast. He can't be sure that it's the caravan, but it's either a pair of Mellikots pulling a pair of wagons or several super predators waiting to devour him whole. He decides to gamble on the former.

A moment of start realization comes over him -- had he not noticed the shapes in the distance, he would have continued running north when the Caravan had turned east, likely running himself straight into the middle of a barren desert with no hope of survival.

Fortunately, that seems unlikely to happen now. He begins to turn towards the caravan and takes one last look behind him -- laying his eyes on his pursuers. They're now an exceptionally long distance off; he'd really put a lot of space between himself and them. But as he observes, he notices that the whole lot of them now seem to be running -- fast. In fact, it looks like they're beginning to at least match his speed. He idly wonders how that's possible as he tears off after the blurry shapes in the distance. Survival failed, but your spot and your incredible ability to close distances just barely pulled it off! My advice would be to not wind up in the barrens of Athas alone anymore...that was a close one, lol.

[paradox26]

Sala watched as the pair of creatures approached.. Although his sight was not particularly acute, the tension of the moment made his vision clear, and he studied the situation and the creatures carefully. As soon as they got close enough, he reached out with his mind and tried to read the thoughts of the one that seemed to be in charge, or if that couldn't be discerned, the one in the lead.


Rolled a 22 (natural 20) on the spot check. Will then use Read Thoughts on the leading creature once they come into range.

[Gunhaven]

Pik let out a low whistle of appreciation at his luck. Maybe one of his Clutchmates strong in the Way could help keep him in contact with the others in case he decided to go hunting again by himself. Still, he kept at the same brisk pace as he closed the distance to hopefully his caravan and not a second group of elves. Just to be on the safe side he did draw his longbow and knock an arrow in case he needed to return the gift of a pierced skin sooner rather than later. When he got close enough to be heard he called out "We found elves! Decided filthy smooth skins needed to be evened out! We require your aide Clutchmates!"