Horror in the Small Valley ic

[dangelo]

A letter from the baron:

To my ministers:

As planned, I intent to visit our neighbors during my upcoming campaign. I expect you to follow camp and participate in my strategy. Fifty warriors were called to join my forces.

Things have been calm and mostly peaceful between us and our neighbors for the past generation, but I'm not humbled by my family's legacy. We shall expand in the years to come, and for that to be possible we need strong allies, primarily House Zular. We have no reason to play against each other, but they usually refrain from following others in their campaigns and it can be hard convincing them to take my word as advice in warfarwe. Ideally we would join our houses, but if vassalage is not an option I plan to exchange boons.

We shall meet along with my other counselors to discuss our course of action. Approaching Lord Hotys will be a challenge and I'm willing to expend plenty of resources to make sure we succeed.

Our path is bright as Himself; Rejoice, for this is good.

Regards,
Lord Fyonor, baron of Branhill.
May 10th, 71sr day of Spring


May 14th, 75th day of spring.

You find yourself, as usual, in a chamber dedicated to such meetings. A large wooden table (of fine craftsmanship) displays a series of notes, documents and maps. A book describing the main noble lineages of the province, compiled by a monastery to the west; Some maps that are occasionaly contradictory about specific landmarks; Heraldic manuals, recieved letters, delicate letters crafted word by word. There is a modest fireplace that has been cold since the last days of winter.

You are in the presence of Lord Fyodor, his wife (who actively participates in the barony's warfare affairs) and four knights, each one responsible for a fraction of the 50 men and women who make up the army. The knights (who are only a part of these meetings when a campaign is coming) share their opinions but Fyodor listens to you, his counselors, first.

"We shall be welcomed in the Small Keep as guests, where me and my family will attend to their traditions and work on a bond, which could take up to several weeks until there is room for talking about war. But we should always be careful. Hotys will certainly ask for a major boon when we finally come to terms, and by that time I need to know as much as possible about the Valley so he won't take advantage of the situation. Instead, with the right information, we might end up gaining much more from such an agreement."

"However," Lady Thalia complements. "Managing this is our job. When we get to the Valley, we need you to visit Thoren. You don't need to introduce yourselves as our emissaries... in fact, the opposite might give you more or less options depending on your plans. Just remember that your arctions will drastically affect our ongoing diplomacy, for the better or for the worse. We need to know their struggles. Their weak points. Their inconsistencies."

Lady Thalia sounds assertive, even more than Fyodor. "Now we need to hear from you."

You know the drill. You shall state your name, your loyalty and your thoughts. Your lords are traditional, but not blindly. They appreciate the right words but wouldn't punish someone for not addressing them properly, and are open to a more informal way of speaking.

Consider that during this meeting you went over all this information (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24587770&postcount=2) point by point. It took the entire day and was rather exhausting; you already knew most of that, but never had to take in account in such detail.

"Right now we have only ideas and projects, and things will get more concrete as we near the Keep and the town. Either way, you are all wise and loyal, thus your opinions are appreciated. Rejoice, for this is good."

"This is good." is answered by the others in synchrony.

[Dimers]

"My Gracious and Incontestible Lady and Lord under the Sun, Thalia, Fyodor. Your humble servant Aranyel Chubidhim wishes to speak." The sun-touched priest's rote speech was until recently quite foreign, but by this time, it's been repeated enough that half the room's inhabitants could chant it along with him. "I know my role within Pelor's church but I don't know yet how I might apply it to meet your aims. What use is a social investigator and illusion-breaker in a small town with little magic?" Turning to face the larger part of the assembly, he nevertheless pitches his voice for the ears of the nobles. "I ask my fellow advisors to keep in mind, and to avail themselves of, my talent for shining light into dark places, just as I shall call upon them wherever their ready skill outstrips my own." The odd dwarf bows to the Lord and Lady, accepting their approval before resuming his seat.

If you see something an inquisitor might help with, let me know! 'Cuz in-character, I can't think of much my skillset might be good for in this situation.

[JNAProductions]

My lord and lady, Sasha begins, keeping the honorifics to a minimum in contrast to Aranyel, your faithful servant Sasha also wishes to speak.

The ruins of Ta'ah-while regarded by the locals as nothing more than superstition, they may provided valuable insights into the history of the world, and grant us knowledge on how to better be one with the grace and power of Bereus. As a scholar of many subjects, and a fighter besdies, I believe investigating these ruins would be a wise decision.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

As usual, the duke's butler stands by the door, still as a statue. On an end table next to him, a pitcher of water and a tray of hors d'oeuvres help the ministers get through long meetings like this one. While Anri Asighirs is a much a family friend as a servant to Lord Fyodor, he's more of a listener than a talker in the best of times and doesn't offer much from a strategic standpoint.

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang looks around the room uncomofortably. While he worked with the lord and lady in the past, being a much more...agreeable person than the official representative from the order of the green, it doesnt mean he feels comfortable without a roof abpve his head. He takes a deep breath and bares his tusks for a moment, folding his arms on top of his brown and white furs.


I have lived neqr the mountain which you call the old one for many years. While therr are some who wouldnt be happy to see me back so soon...I think it would be best to at least investigate the area. Many forces lurk there, both those who could hamper us or be our allies. While distant from the Zular's and their stone buildings, the tribes can be a force to be reckoned with - knowing where they currently stand is advised

[Niobaran]

Maxine

As Sasha speaks and mentions Bereus, Max slightly raises an eyebrow and smiles appreciative, happy to hear such an open acknowledgement by her best friend.

Max takes her stand next, starting off with a hint of kneeling. She is unarmored, wearing a tunic of strong, gray fabrics and a sword belt with a slightly curved blade in a sheath of well-made leather. Her appearance neat but not pompous, her hair cut short to not be in the way, she emanates an aura of confidence. Her loyalty however is well known to those in the area, as she is in the service of the baron for about twenty years, starting off as a page, then a squire, and then his agent.

"My lady, my lord. Since I swore my oath as a squire, it has been renewed subsequently. My left shall always be yours, my right that of Bereus." She bows her head for a moment, and then, continues. "As to the matter at hand... I believe Lord Hotys to be more receptive for an investment into a military campaign if he knows his own fief to be safe. Summer is on its way, and with it bandits who terrorize his lands. Ending this plague once and for all could reduce hesitation on his side." She pauses again for a moment, glancing at the sun-kissed dwarf for a moment. "His family is also deeply bonded with the Church of Pelor. Winning their favor could be valuable as well, one might even suspect it to be required." Another short pause, this time as if she is unsure for a moment how to phrase her next thought correctly. "Finally, I believe that it is important to investigate the specific relationships between Hotys, his Knights, and his cousin Lanuk, to see whether there are potential sources of ... instability. An investment into another lord's campaign, while not unusual if well compensated, might stir restless minds."

[Yas392]

Leif bows. He still retains his masked appearance since his majesty appointed him here as the right hand of Baron Fyodor as his body bent to show his respect to his Lord and Lady.

"Your excellencies, I believe it is imperative to strengthen ties with the royals of Zular first. Identify the ongoing problem they are facing and resolving it to gain their favor. We will need to keep up a good appearance so that Lord Hoyst know that we are reliable allies thus opening options for expansion. I second Maxine's advise to investigate the Houses but without drawing suspicions that the Baron think we are plotting against him. My explanation is a powerful, criminal necromancer remaining at large who can assume the face of the person he killed and usurp their position. He once usurped a lord, masquerading as him long ago before he was ousted. History may repeat. We must be vigilant for his activities so that he does not seek to interfere in this potential alliance or pose as Lord Hoyst. With an undead army abound, he is a terrific foe to face. I speak from experience."

[dangelo]

One of the knights, a tall woman with short hair and golden eyes, takes part in the discussion
"I'm Kendra of House Borrowhan, and I shall live and die by your name, Sire." She dutifully states.
"The family of three of my men come from the Valley. They say that the Red Shirts are probably not at their best right now. Those bandits even got one of our caravans in the Owl Heights a couple of years ago, but haven't dared to get any close again ever since. Some believe they lost some of their power."

Fyodor and Thalia pay close attention to your words, meditating on each one of the statements. After sipping from his glass of wine a few times, he replies:
"Solving the bandits problem certainly seems like something Lord Hotys should be grateful for. However I have two concerns: First, taking action and bringing a solution may hurt his pride; he may fear his reputation might be tainted for not being able to manage his own land, thus deteriorating our relationship. Second, I think he can declare he took it as an insult only so he can deny our alliance, having his land ridden from bandits while owing us no favors."

"House Zular believes in results." Lady Thalia says. "I would never speak ill of a fellow neighbor, but th at family never ceased to expand. Each generation since Lord Adhemar aims higher, to the point that some indeed suffered high falls."

"Very well. You shall find the bandit's hideout and capture them, but you must keep your mission a secret until Lord Hotys formally accepts our help. Do what you can for now." The baron takes another sip from the wine, clearing his throat, before going on.
"Now, moving to our next matter. All available sources tell us that the ruins are somewhere around the northern part of the Old One. At this point, most of the snow is vanishing from the top of the mountain, making way to the hordes, and the path to the temple might be dangerous. Those orcs might also have valuable information regarding the Red Shirts' hideout, if they know the mountain as well as we think they do, so do handle them carefully."

"Seems like you have three objectives so far, two of them which shall take you all the way across the valley to the Old One." Lady Thalia picks up. "Now for the last one, we need information on House Zular's low profile struggles. For that, I believe you must visit the town of Thoren. Hanuk is a key part of their internal affairs, and the Church of Pelor is a mighty presence there. It might be the perfect place for you to take a closer look on that people and their issues, giving your resources."

The baroness finishes writing a letter, closing it with sealing wax. She then handles it to the butler standing right beside them. "This is a presentation letter stating that we are politically responsible for your actions. You must hold on to his until the right time, since it will grant you privileges but will also limit your options. We trust you, our loyal counselors, with these tasks."

"I shall ask, then. How do you plan to proceed when we begin our march towards the Small Keep? We must keep in touch somehow, either by setting a meeting point where I can send a messenger or you visiting to the camp from time to time. I need updates on your progress so we can adjust our strategy or send you reinforcements if things go terribly wrong."

A second knight asks to speak and then face you all: "My Lady, me and my men are the best riders in your army. We volunteer to deliver your messages, and we shall ride as fast as a lightning falls from the sky when He screams."

And a third one: "But Sire! I feel like we don't need to go that far. If Lord Hotys never had a chance to deal with the bandits, what luck could we have? Instead, we should patrol his roads and secure his land. We could set up camp in the small outpost by the eastern road and prepare for harverst season, when they shall strike."

Despite his courageous tone and posture, both Leif and Aranyel picks up a glimpse of fright or hesitation in his voice. This is, you now notice, the youngest of the present knights, a sixteen years old lad. He looks full of energy and potential, but equally inexperienced even clad in full plate armor. [sense motive dc 14]

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang growls silently in response to the young knight's question - In a manner that could be similar to the way a loyal hound reacts around the children of his masters.
"We are not regular soldiers. We are a pack of hunters. Becauwe we are a small group we could hurt them right at the painful place, like a..." He stops for a moment, looking for a word, and then sighs "like that knife your healers use."

[JNAProductions]

Scalpel, Sasha adds. We would have to learn more before we could say with confidence that the situation is under our control, but it is certainly possible.

[Dimers]

"Nevertheless, your words of caution do not fall on deaf ears, young Sir Knight," Aranyel says diplomatically. "Proceed we must, for several reasons, but we will not unnecessarily throw ourselves into danger."

I'm not actually saying I agree with the kid, but it sure sounds like it, huh? And sometimes people just want to know that their voice is heard.

On the off chance a Diplomacy check is called for:

[roll0]

[Yas392]

Unmoving, silent, Lief focuses on the conversation between the dwarven cleric and the young knight. He raises his gauntlet hand, he stop it mid-raise, letting it slump to his side. His mouth is lesser. Lips part littler than the distance the his hand achieves before they give up their strength and fall back to their natural formation without suspicion. Except the perceptive who can interpret his body language as someone who wants to say something but retracts the articulation of his speech in the last minute.

[dangelo]

"We might end up doing exactly that, Sir." the baron replies. "If Lord Hotys accepts our aid, our troops will patrol the eastern roads. But I also need an elite, small team operating on specific demands."

Lady Thalia nods in agreement with her husband. "But we do value spirit and tradition, and for that you shall have the privilege of scouting the roads as we travel. You'll ride a day ahead of us and will be able to warn the rest of us about potential danger."

The lad instantly switches back to a more "professional" stance, encouraged and just slightly embarrassed. He quietly bows in respect, saying a quick "by your name, Sire" and sits down. Lady Thalia gives the group a subtle thankful look for keeping morale high among the knights.

"Now, is there anything we're yet to decide? Our forcers should take the Narrow Route tomorrow by sunrise, for this is good." ("this is good", the others reply) "If one of you still have something to discuss, do it now. Then I ask you, father, to say our final prayer. The night falls and we should not extend this meeting longer than necessary."

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang shrugs "The earlier we move, the better. We would have more time to preapre. I suggest we go" He takes a step closer to the exit but waits to se ehow the rest of the team acts before fully going out

[Yas392]

"I believe our plans are in order. I have nothing to add. I will see you all in the morning."

Lief bows to the Lord and Lady before retiring for the night.

[JNAProductions]

Sasha sees if the lord needs any attending to, but assuming not, she retires to her chambers.

I'm good to move on.

[dangelo]

The castle wakes with the sun, blessed by a clear blue sky today. People go by the gates, in and out to the city, carrying goods and lords on their shoulders. This day it's specially crowded, with dozens of camp followers, soldiers and their families loading wagons, saying goodbyes and haggling pieces of equipment. Groups of knights are feeding or saddling their animals, loading them or finding them shade to wait for the departure. You see blacksmiths, soldiers, squires, horses, citizens, donkeys and courtesans getting ready with haste.

It takes at least two hours to the army to leaves the city. Thirteen knights (five of those who have already left a day before), 29 professional soldiers and 8 recruits make up Fyodor's forces, along with at least a dozen camp followers.
The first days ot travel will cover moslty settled land. You'll cross chunks of farmlands thriving between the hills, growing corn, beans and wheat or ducks, goose and pigs. The hills are covered in pine trees, but some areas of forest are yet to be settled. Fyodor usually sets camp less than a mile away from the villages by the road, but as you near the end of the week, the hills get rougher and chunks of settled land becomes more isolated from each other.
In the fifth night, Fyodor decides to stop for two full days. You'll take the Narrow Path, the soldiers will soon get tired of walking uphill in the cold, and this is also where you'll find the last tavern before the Valley. They will need the morale, so let them drink, party and rest for a while.

Journal:
This is day 6 of Fyodor's campaign, 81st day of Spring. The army's morale os high and resources are abundant. Fyodor is anxious but satisfied. Weather is good. You're camping in the woods next to Dew's Burgh.

Please declare your overall routine, how you've been spending your days and what you will be doing in the first day off. The soldiers have a lot of work to do, but the six of you don't really need to set up your own tents or prepare your own food. You're actually welcomed to settle by the cavalry and the Baron himself. Besides the soldiers' families, several craftsmen, artists and entertainers are also following camp, so the whole place is pretty hectic.

Today, however, since no one needs to get water, load wagons and retrieve chaveaux-de-frise from the field, most of the warriors are either out to the tavern in Dew's Burgh (80~ people, half a mile away) or spending time with their families. Some knights are also there though you're not sure which ones. Dew's Burgh tavern is humble and definitely won't deliver what most nobles expect of proper accommodations. The place is noisy and will be crowded these days.

Enjoy your daylight while you can.

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang is conflicted. On the one hand, he is in the wilds. He runs free, shifts into the form of a mountain eagle to scout ahead and then turns into a large wolf that follows the group from afar/ And yet, he is anchored. Not by physical chains but by his own duty. Duty to what, to whom? He doesn't know yet, but he does know that a true champion must be dutiful to something. This seems like a good start, so he does his job. Scouting, hunting, stalking, scounting, hunting....in these days he keeps his distance from his companions, but also studies them. Trying to assess how would they fair in battle, in danger, but always keeping his distance. After all, the lives of these civlized people are so fragile...getting attached to them would be akin to getting attached to a flower - pretty for now, gone with the dust and wind tommorow.

[JNAProductions]

Sasha spends her time near the lord, tending to his needs and making sure he stays safe. If and when she is dismissed, she spends time with the others of the elite, getting to know them better. While she knows Maxine well, the others are a little more mysterious to her for now.

During some of the time Snowfang isn't moving ahead, she talks to him. You've barely spent an hour among us. What's the matter?

[Dimers]

Aranyel's days swing between trudging boredom and happy engagement, generally trending toward the latter. He seems to really enjoy travel and novelty, and he makes fast friends with one of the camp followers, a young tinker able and eager to tell him about the local flora, fauna and sights. Nights tend to get the priest down a bit; dawn and noon both include rituals of sun worship, and the bulk of the day spent traveling keeps his spirits up. The Pelorite rituals are not well attended. Not too many here count themselves as Pelor's faithful.

As the group near Dew's Burgh on the sixth day of walking, Aranyel asks to make sure his absence won't be amiss. "I'd like to have some extra time to speak with burghers about any unusual sites they may know of. The location of that missing monument is so frustratingly uncertain, it could be almost anywhere in the Valley ..."

[Yas392]

Lief's time is well-spent on strengthening his mind and body. During daytime, he spars with the fighters as well as joking around with them to build solidarity. At night, he practices his binding circles. He leaves some time for the counselors but his contact with them is minimal with him devoting much his time to the first two activities. There is another reason he is working his butt off twice as hard; the necromancer. He needs to prepare for him. The last encounter taught him to not underestimate the dark creature that mowed down most of the last group he was in with utter ease.

[JNAProductions]

Another thing Sasha does is cast Endure Elements on anyone who she might fight alongside at the start of the day, and anyone who requests it (as it does help people stay comfortable in hot or cold weather). It's a simple gesture, but one she hopes will help the folk feel better about their situation and herself.

[dangelo]

Sir Abelard, one of the knights, quietly approaches the group and asks Sasha, trying to not make a big deal out of this.
"My lady, I'm sorry to bother you like that, but I couldn't help to hear you can make a soldier endure harsh conditions with your magic... you see, one of my men is just a recruit and is not used to our pacing. Weather is still good and most of us are okay, but if you'd be so kind to ease his pain... and, if possible... could we keep it between ourselves? I don't want the others to think I would bring underprepared soldiers to the campaign."

[JNAProductions]

I'm limited in what I can do-I can make the weather easier to handle, but I've nothing for being tired from a long march. That being said... Sasha says, thinking about the flora she's been encountering so far.

Knowledge (Nature) Check, to see if I know if any of the plants have properties that could help a tired soldier.

[roll0]

[dangelo]

OOC:
The soldier is struggling as if he was under harsh conditions, even though that's nor the problem. I'm okay with the spell making it easier for him :smallwink: but it's your call

And you do know some plants avaliable around - a couple of ones, actually. Wild Brightgrass tea is great for tired muscles.

Edit: I think I should've posted it in the ooc thread. Oopsie.

[JNAProductions]

Sasha asks Where is he now? I'll cast the spell, which should help him somewhat. Beyond that, there's some Wild Brightgrass in the area. That can make an excellent tea, for relieving weary muscles and general fatigue. She describes what it looks like, and where she spotted it.

And no worries-while I'd never lie to the Baron, I somehow doubt he'll be asking about one particular soldier, and even should he, he's not the kind of man to embarrass those under his command. Though there's no shame in being new-but all the same, I understand wanting to keep this private.

[Yas392]

Lief wakes up at the sixth day before the others and binds Tenebrous on a washable ground by drawing his sign on it. After the pact is made, he scrubs off the sign with a bit of water. This has been a repetitive routine since the journey to the valley.

Binder check: [roll0]

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang shrugs, and it seems like he would just stalk away as usual. And then he changes his mind, and walks near Sasha, switching between predator and human forms
"I....am not good with, you. You know...city people, flat land people. I am of the forest, my duty is from the wild. People that are not of the wild can bw hurt by it. When it happens?" He points to himself "My fault".

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

The crew quickly becomes familiar with Anri's daily routine, as he is effectively in charge of preparing the meals for the senior staff as well as Lord Fyodor himself. After lunch, when the baron has knights looking after him, Anri typically excuses himself to join his wife among the troops and dine with her. Being this close to your spouse is a rare treat for someone in Aergia's unit, as far from home as they have come under Aranyel's command.

As of day six, the matter of what happens when her mission is over has not come up yet. What has come up is a day in town partying with her mates, and with the baron's permission Aergia has dragged Anri to Dewy's Tavern behind her.

Anri's alcohol response is interesting. At one drink, he is bashfully waving and playing darts with silverware. At three drinks, he is skittish and uptight, constantly offering to clean up messes after the other partygoers. At five drinks and one kiss, he melts in his beloved's arms and proceeds to hang on her like a sloth for the rest of the night.

[JNAProductions]

Snowfang shrugs, and it seems like he would just stalk away as usual. And then he changes his mind, and walks near Sasha, switching between predator and human forms
"I....am not good with, you. You know...city people, flat land people. I am of the forest, my duty is from the wild. People that are not of the wild can bw hurt by it. When it happens?" He points to himself "My fault".

Understandable. But if you want to keep the wilds of the world safe from civilization's grasp, you'd be best off getting to know these people-and having them get to know you, Sasha advises. Teach people to see the good of nature-make them WANT to live with it. If all you do is fight, it'll never end.

[Yas392]

After his daily binding, Leif joins the others partying in the tavern. He enjoys himself though he restricts himself from heavy drinking, taking the minimum amount of alcohol to remain sober. He returns to the camp earlier than the party-goers. He becomes a sentry for the rest of the day.

[dangelo]

The camp (Sasha, Snowfang)

The soldiers drink and party with no immediate concerns - for one night, life was good.
Dew's Burgh is a simple hamlet surrounded by dense woods, one of lumberjacks and timbermen with just a few crops hidden away by the trees. Fyodor's army is camped just outside the forest, on top of a long, sloped hill.

It is a quiet day by the camp. A few hard-workers are training or repairing their equipment, many camp followers went to Dew's Burgh throughout the day to buy or sell some goodies and the Baron himself is resting with his family in his private bright yellow tent.

Sir Abelard leads you through narrow aisles between the numerous tents and find a couple of his men hanging around behind theirs. Abelard leaves the group alone, sparing them from the pressure of having their captain around. He gives Sasha a trusty look before leaving, holding his helmet against his chest.

"M'lady, I'm so sorry to bother you with this. See, this is not my first campaign... But..."
He and the other lads look at each other, unnerved. "I've been having dreams... terrible dreams. I wake up even more tired than the day before."

One of them gestures the sign of the cross when the lad talks about his dreams.

"They are dark and confusing. I can't recall exactly what happens... but I see someone's dark eyes staring at me in the darkness." his voice trembles.

Knowledge (religion, arcana, planes, nature)
Sense Motive
Spot
Any social roll you might want

Dew's Burgh (Anri, Lief, Aranyel)

Many of the townsfolk also take the day off to spend some of their time with the travelers, listen to their stories and hear the whereabouts. The small tavern is crowded and most people stand up, dancing or drinking by the counter.

At the peak of the evening, some of them stand on the tables and do a local dance, the men and women stepping with their boots, throwing their arms up and singing in a chaotic choir.

"Come, lady come!
Your bath will soon run cold!
Come, lady-one!
Your husband got so old!"

Each chorus finishes with the dancers throwing their fists in the air and laughing uncontrollably at the joke of the song.

"Come, lady-two!
The hounds took your sheets!"

The locals are happy to teach the soldiers how to dance, and some of them find out soon enough that it shares some similarities with their own songs. When a chorus ends, someone takes the lead and sings the next first sentence, to which the rest of the tavern replies.

They are having a great time and try to pull each one of you to the table at least twice.

Knowledge (local, geography)
Listen
Any social skills you might want including Perform (dance) (local knowledge can be rolled in place of Perform for that matter. Use your Charisma modifier if that's the case!)

The road (Lief, later that night)

The way back is quiet and gloomy, following a path through the woods. Some bugs and owls fill the background with their songs and you spot a group of bats fighting for some fruit.

But a different noise distinct itself from the animals. Some sort of frenetic drumming on the land - a rider! The binder spots their silhouette and quickly recognizes Sir Brenda in her coat of arms, speeding on a large horse. She raises her fist in a greeting when she sees you.

"Finally! My Lord, we must hurry! A rider came in the middle of the night! It's from Sir Lawrence, who is travelling a day ahead of us. He is crossing the Owl Heights, but his letter says that he thinks something's off."

She catches her breath. "The Baron asks your group to go there. We're afraid he might need help."

Lief's scene on the road is happening after the other ones, but I figured we could manage that in this case rather than having everyone wait for a player's scene. @everyone Tell me if you'd prefer keeping our timeline more straightforward than that.

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang nods slowly in response to Sasha's point. It SOUNDS right...but the ways of the tribe...it matters not, he concludes. There will be time for pondering later. Right now there is a problem he must focus on.

Snowfang looks at the scared soldiers, and frowns. Warriors are not supposes to act like prey...something is wrong with them.

META

[roll0]

[JNAProductions]

[roll0] Religion
[roll1] Arcana
[roll2] Nature
[roll3] Planes-untrained, but I can roll it untrained thanks to an Invocation.

[roll4] Sense Motive
[roll5] Spot

[roll6] Diplomacy

Breathe easy, soldier. It's a dream-even if it's of things to come, that will simply arm us with knowledge on how to handle it, Sasha begins. She asks What exactly do you remember? Any details you can give would help. If we're lucky, you're simply having nightmares-but if we're not, we need to make sure that we can keep the village safe, as well as all of us.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Anri's lifestyle thus hasn't given him much insight into the tales and songs of people beyond his master's walls, but he's nothing if not willing to listen and learn.

Knowledge: [roll0]

Listen: [roll1]

Singing???: [roll2]

[Dimers]

When a lass tugs at Aranyel's sleeve to get him into the dance, he tells her, "Well, miss, I'm such a bad dancer I have three left feet, but it'll be hilarious to watch! Look out for your toes!" He willingly goes to attempt the dance but knows he should put more faith in his tongue than his toes, try to play up how comically bad it is. It'll make me look harmless -- a good enough place to start from, he thinks.

I'll take 10 for a Dex check to dance well, resulting in a total of 8 -- or maybe 4 if you count the armor check penalty, given that I can't take off my dragonscale husk. And I'll take 10 on Diplomacy as well, for a result of 16. If Sense Motive might be useful, a take-10 would be total 20 but if that's not allowed I'll roll and get [roll0] instead.


Lief's scene on the road is happening after the other ones, but I figured we could manage that in this case rather than having everyone wait for a player's scene. @everyone Tell me if you'd prefer keeping our timeline more straightforward than that.

Your way works great for me!

[Yas392]

Dew's Burgh Tavern (Past)

Lief does not dance at first, preferring to watch the town folks sing their hearts out, enjoying his wine. He also listens to every conversation his ears can catch while trying to catch anything noteworthy in the tavern. Lief avoids a lass's hand when she comes to his table to tug his cloth. The masked superior instead directs her hand with subtle movements so that it lands on his subordinate's next to him. Lief laughs, pats the poor soldier on their shoulder and ushers them towards the table with the girl.

"Move those legs, soldier. Go on, go on. This is the night you don't want to miss out. If you are lucky, you might catch the eyes of a girl or two. Hahaha."

He claps as his subordinate moves with such awkwardness in his first time to match the town girl's movement. Halfway before another lass comes to drag him to dance or join the singing, Lief ditches his table and join the other dancers on the table. Solo and partnering with some girls and boys for the dance.

Spot (Take 20) - 20

Listen (Take 20) - 20

Perform (Dance) - [roll0]

The road (Night, Present)

The tedious ride back to the camp causes Lief's head to sway about time to time. He emerges out of the forest, nearing camp when a knight rider with a horse appears in front of him all of a sudden.

"Ah, Lady Knight. Fancy meeting you he-"

Then, Lief's head and back straightens, his pose defaulting to normal for a rider as soon as Sir Brennan whom the knight overloads him with sudden news as she speaks. He slants his head sideways for a moment to check the direction she comes from then adjust his head so that his eyes meet the female knight.

"Have you informed the others in the camp about it?"

Sense Motive for Brennan's veracity - [roll1]

[dangelo]

The camp

Sasha's words get through the lad, who slowly answers the question.
"I'm always alone in my nightmares, but I can never see where I am. Sometimes I see red eyes in the darkness or subtle whispers in my ears. I don't know if it speaks any language... I wouldn't recognize. But it says one word more often than not: 'Valash" or something like that."

The others are nervous, but quiet. One of them holds a religious third that he wears around the neck.

Sasha knows the word "Valash", which is in draconic. It means "prisoner" or "victim". Through her extensive studies on arcane magic and draconic heritage, she knows that "Valash" is often used as part of an incantation for divination arcane spells, specially Scrying. It is possible that someone, somewhere, is scrying the boy or the camp in secret, but the boy's sensitivity could pick that up. It doesn't look like they're just natural bad dreams or divine magic scrying.

"Am I cursed, m'lady? Please, I just got married... It can't end like this."

The burgh

The townsfolk laugh and smile even when someone refuses to get in the dance. "Come, lady-three!", they sing. You quickly earn their sympathy, and they talk happily, drink and tell their own stories. They'll answer nearly anything you may ask, if so desired.

The Road

The knight controls her tired, puffy horse. "Only Lord Fyodor and two other knights are aware of this. He decided to not alert the others."

She handles you a note. It seems like it was written with haste. Both the handwriting and signet match Lord Fyodor's.

"Fyodor is concerned with morale, my lord. He asks you to keep it a secret and leave during the night."

[JNAProductions]

Sasha weighs her options, but decides that it's important to be honest with him. "Valash" is a draconic word. It is often part of an incantation for divination. Most divinations leave some imprint on the target-in this case, it's your dreams. You're being watched-along with the rest of us, I would assume, she says. She thinks for a moment, and then says Come with me-we should see the lord together. We'll figure out how best to keep you and all the rest of us safe.

She takes the young man with her to see the baron, and as she goes, attempts to help put him at ease. Tell me about your spouse. What's the name? Was the wedding nice?

[Dimers]

They'll answer nearly anything you may ask, if so desired.

Aranyel is enjoying spending time with the vivacious burghers, but he doesn't forget his tasks. He makes sure to ask a few people if someone in the village has seen an ancient monument or crumbled building out in the wilderness.

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang nods as he hears Sasha's explanation. Then he turns his eyes to the clouds, close them for a moment, and emerge from his own skin in the shape of a swift eagle, soaring above the soldiers, looking for people with the same haunted looks in their eyes, trying to conclude if this was a scrying meant for the young man only or if he is one of a group who picked up on the scrying sensors.


[roll0]

[Yas392]

Dew's Burgh Tavern (Past)

Once he has enough of the dancing which is a short session, Lief settles back on the table to resume his people watching, partying with the soldiers and leaves the table to talk to the patrons to gather information of anything noteworthy in the area.



Listen: [roll0]

Spot: [roll1]

Gather Information: [roll2]

Diplomacy: [roll3]



The road (Night, Present)

Lief takes the note, reads it in depth and nods.

"Thank you, soldier. I will take care of the camp side. Go inform the burgh group of the urgency and tell them to meet up with our group on the main road."

The masked Councillor tucks the note into his pocket while still facing the female knight to see if she has anything more to add.

If not...

"Take care of the Baron, his lady and the army in our absence, Sir Brennan."

Lief takes his reins and snaps it with a "yah!," spurring his horse to go at its peak speed to reach camp. Reaching camp, he looks for Sasha and Snowfang, waking them if they are resting.

"Sorry for interrupting your downtime but we have an emergency."

The masked man keeps his tone to a whisper to avoid waking the camp or attracting unwanted attention.

"Ride with me. I will explain on the way to the main road where we will be meeting up with the others."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

In Town

Anri fakes his way through the end of the song and has to be reminded to sit down instead of taking drink orders. He's already been told that he doesn't need to return to prepare dinner; Fyodor is surrounded by loyal warriors and in the mood for regular rations. So, Anri tries his best to loosen up.

He leans forward in his chair with his hands in his lap and asks about the town. "So! How have things been out here in Dew's Burgh? Any exciting new ghost stories? Unexplained livestock abductions?"

[dangelo]

The Camp

The lad follows Sasha, leaving his mates who are considerably less concerned with the curse now that it has been explained. Not that they understand arcane magic any further than divine curses, but it was enough to ease their pain.
He tells her about his marriage, a simple peasant's ceremony in the family's barn, officiated by a Bereus priest who occasionally visited their village. Talking helps him relax and he is grateful.

An eagle soares through the sky up above, flying in a large circle around the camp. Snowfang can see the tranquillity that reigns at the camp today, but something gets his attention just as he was preparing to land. The young soldier accompanying Sasha, much like many others, is wearing a religious third around his neck and underneath his gambeson, but Snowfang's eagle eyes pick up a shiny sparkle coming from it.

Upon closer inspection he notices the third is bejewelled with tiny rubies. If he decides to investigate it further, he may notice a masterwork sword among another soldier's belongings and maybe some other few expensive objects that simple professional warriors shouldn't be able to afford.

If questioned, he'll answer "This? I don't see why it would be a problem, m'lady. I won it on a bet with a traveler who was passing by my village, just a day before the campaign. He was eager to get rid of it, actually..." He looks down. "I think he stole it from someone, m'lady, yes I do, but I decided to use it anyway and give it a new faithful purpose."

You pass by the knight's tents, who are camping around Fyodor's, on your way to see the baron. A nervous-looking teenager who is squiring for Fyodor tells you he'll not see anyone today, but the baron himself yells at him from inside.

"I should've asked Anri to stay here. That boy is a disaster." By his voice, the baron seems to be in a bad mood. "Please, tell me what is happening."

Both Fyodor and his wife are laying in bed without wearing any clothes, but covered in thick blankets and pelts. Four of their children, all knights in the army wearing gambesons and mail coats, are sitting on the floor talking, but the baron orders them to leave.


The burgh

As it gets late, many of the townsfolk are leaving and the tavern gets a little less chaotic. The musicians switched to a melancholic ballad and the elders are now having the time to tell some tales. The candles are faint, nothing more than small pieces of burning wax on the tables, and the night is getting colder. The doors are shut to keep the frostbite out and every time someone gets in or out the whole tavern yells "Close the friggin door!!" to the point it actually becomes a joke. At some point, a man in his 60's starts to tell his stories, and is particularly interest in the dwarf's question.

"Funny that you ask... In my days, when I was an adventurer myself, I traveled to the Valley once. Darn, I don't know how long ago it was... I remember Lord Azad was recruiting adventurers to explore the eastern mountains. And I was a good climber! Oh, yes I was, yes I was. By the time I got there, however, the expedition was canceled."

"But the woman who told me about it was also traveling east, and we crossed the Heights together. Weird lady, she was, yes she was. Never told me her name. But she wore a strange necklage with golden plates and told me they were dragon scales. I never believed it, of course. When we got to the great bridge of St. Lenos, we went different ways and I never saw her again. She said there was something she had to look for. But she was gorgeous and we loved each other one perfect time."

The tavern pays close attention to the old man's tale, and his last sentence left a melancholic, nostalgic mood in the air. Then, suddenly, a young man yells:
"Ha! Cut the bullsh*t, old man, we all know you have a limp d*ck!"

The tavern explodes in laughter.

The town doesn't have any stories about lurking undead. Yet.


The road

Just as Lief was preparing to go on his way, he saw something over Brenda's shoulder that makes him stop. She almost didn't notice it in time, but thanks to him she was able to turn around and dodge the arrow.

Something in the bushes. Lief could see it clear as day. Someone with a hood and a thick cloak was now reaching for the second arrow, but Brenda was ready for it and quickly raised her shield in time.

But there was more - at least three of them. And the other two were rushing towards the two travelers, raising one handed axes with their gloved hands.

"Sh*t!" The knight gasps. "Go back to the camp and tell the baron! I'll hold them off!"

But they seem to have though about it, and are engaging with you while blocking the small road.
As they near you, Lief smells something terrible - decomposed corpses. A bony face can be seen underneath the hood, but it's hard to identify it under the moonlight.

Initiative, Spot, Knowledge (Religion) and Knowledge (Arcana), (I believe Lief is trained in both) and your actions.

[Yas392]

Lief, thanks to his ability to see through the darkness, is able to spot the undead that try to ambush them. Then, the clogged path.

"Undead!"

Initiative: [roll0]

Spot: [roll1]

Knowledge (Religion): [roll2]

Knowledge (Arcana): [roll3]

[Yas392]

Night - Nearing Camp (Present)

Lief's head bow a little.

"Carriage of unholy energy, be purged and return to the earth from whence you came..."

The masked Councillor lifts his head, clapping his hands and then spreading it outwards.

"Turn Undead!"

As soon as he utters those two words, waves of holy energy emits from his being and engulfs the undead standing in his way.



Turn Undead: [roll0]

Turning Damage: [roll1]



Regardless of result, he gives the female knight a sideway glance.

"Sir Knight, do not be foolish. Live! Do not attempt to waste your life to stall for my survival if we can escape to report this happening to the Baron. Now, come!"

Then, he snaps his reins and try to have his horse bulldoze past the undead blocking the path if they remained and keep moving at optimal speed towards the camp.

[JNAProductions]

The Camp

The lad follows Sasha, leaving his mates who are considerably less concerned with the curse now that it has been explained. Not that they understand arcane magic any further than divine curses, but it was enough to ease their pain.
He tells her about his marriage, a simple peasant's ceremony in the family's barn, officiated by a Bereus priest who occasionally visited their village. Talking helps him relax and he is grateful.

An eagle soares through the sky up above, flying in a large circle around the camp. Snowfang can see the tranquillity that reigns at the camp today, but something gets his attention just as he was preparing to land. The young soldier accompanying Sasha, much like many others, is wearing a religious third around his neck and underneath his gambeson, but Snowfang's eagle eyes pick up a shiny sparkle coming from it.

Upon closer inspection he notices the third is bejewelled with tiny rubies. If he decides to investigate it further, he may notice a masterwork sword among another soldier's belongings and maybe some other few expensive objects that simple professional warriors shouldn't be able to afford.

If questioned, he'll answer "This? I don't see why it would be a problem, m'lady. I won it on a bet with a traveler who was passing by my village, just a day before the campaign. He was eager to get rid of it, actually..." He looks down. "I think he stole it from someone, m'lady, yes I do, but I decided to use it anyway and give it a new faithful purpose."

You pass by the knight's tents, who are camping around Fyodor's, on your way to see the baron. A nervous-looking teenager who is squiring for Fyodor tells you he'll not see anyone today, but the baron himself yells at him from inside.

"I should've asked Anri to stay here. That boy is a disaster." By his voice, the baron seems to be in a bad mood. "Please, tell me what is happening."

Both Fyodor and his wife are laying in bed without wearing any clothes, but covered in thick blankets and pelts. Four of their children, all knights in the army wearing gambesons and mail coats, are sitting on the floor talking, but the baron orders them to leave.

As the man tells her about his wedding, Sasha smiles and asks questions. She's legitimately interested-while she doesn't know him, she likes to hear people being happy.

Sasha, seeing her master undressed, is a bit unsure of where to look. She settles on looking above him, and says My lord, this soldier has had nightmares-which I believe to be the result of him being scryed upon. While I could attempt to find the sensor or traces of the spell, I am, as you know, better versed in theory than practice of most magic. What would you have us do?

So, as a quick note, I do have the Voidsense Invocation, which gives me Blindsense. Would I know if that'd help me find the sensor, if there is one to find?

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

In Town (earlier)

The day passes as it started. Once they've filled up on bar snacks and the evening's chill has set in, Aergia returns to camp with the soldiers and Anri returns to his duties alongside Lief. The two split from there; Lief takes a scouting shift on the road and Anri remains in camp to resume his work as bodyguard.

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang shows no emberassment, nor any sort of interest, in the way his pack leader for this mission is dressed - city humans, after all. It isnt the weirdest thing he saw them doing. Immedietly after landing in the tent in the form of a bird and scanning his surroundings for a few seconds with his yellow piercing eyes, he shifts into his humanoid form and speaks.
A few of your warriors, including that one, carry objects that might be connected to the visions of eyes, I could go and take them if you'd like
He bares his fangs in a dark smile,Lets turn the hunters into the prey.

[dangelo]

The camp

Fyodor rests his head on his hand, weighing the options.
"I will not consider the possibility of treason, if this is the case" He says, staring at the young soldier. "How can we know they're not watching us right now?"

"I believe the owners of these objects are the target?" His wife intervenes. "We could split the army, then. Let some men behind, including all of the targets, so whoever is spying on us will think we're not on the move yet. This will give us time to figure out what's happening. They can catch up once we're in the valley."

"That is a good idea, my lady." Baron Fyodor says. "I don't think we have the means to win a divination duel with someone we don't know. If you're right about the objects, this mage laid the groundwork before my campaign. Our best chance is misleading them."

"We'll discuss what do to as we go. Snowfang, please identify those objects and find out who are those soldiers and if there are others who came from the same village. I'll ask one of my children to stay and camp here for another week."


The road

The ghouls suddenly scream in terror, dropping their weapons and rushing back to the woods, tripping on each other. Lief's warhorse shoves one of them to the side, crushing it's legs under it's hooves as it moves by. The knight looks impressed and follows him down the road.

"I can go get your allies in the burgh, my lord." She says.

Either way, Lief manages to reach camp and to wake up his allies.

[Dimers]

In Town (earlier)

Before leaving for the night, Aranyel takes the time to thank the older man for his reference. "I'll go that way as soon as I may, and see what there is to see beyond the St. Lenos bridge. If I should find your dragonscale-necklace companion, is there anything you'd like me to tell her?"

[Yas392]

En Route -> Camp & Camp (Night, Present)

Lief smiles behind his mask as his horse tramples on one of the undead legs, preventing it from escaping. His expression returns back to its serious mood.

"No time. We must inform the Baron and prepare our troops for battle. There is a high chance that we are surrounded and there are more laying in wait for an ambush. As of now, rushing to the Burgh is suicidal."

Reaching camp, Lief dismounts his horse. He works with Sir Brennan to alarm the camp. Once the entire camp is alert, he bows to the Baron and his lady.

"My lord. My lady. My apologies for the disturbing your rest. The news is urgent. Sir Brennan and I encountered undead on the road, close to camp. We must mobilize our forces in the event of an undead attack."

[dangelo]

Lord Fyodor helps alerting the camp, except for a small fraction of it, about 10 or 15 men. "They must stay inside, your allies will explain you better than myself. Let's make sure everyone else is in their positions."

Morale is pretty high right now and the soldiers are full of energy, no one seems to bother waking up in the middle of the night. Their faces are dutiful and strong-willed. Some knights ride by the camp's surroundings, patrolling the area while never going too far.

The minutes go by and slowly stretch into hours, but the camp stays alert. Soon the rest of the group leaves Dew's Burgh, unaware of the horrors crawling in the woods that night. Surprisingly or not, they make their way safely back to camp, finding it alert and probably stumbling upon a rider before actually reaching the tents.

The Burgh group, who crossed the woods in their way back to camp, should roll Spot, Survival and/or Spellcraft

I'm aware not everyone had the time to post, sorry for rushing the scene, I just wanted to get you to regroup in a single timeline so we can roleplay more naturally.

At the Burgh
"Tell her... Hm, you know what, I might get in trouble with my wife for that." He laughs gladly. "Just tell her the people of Dew's Burgh sends their regards, this is good, yes, this is."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

<< Burgh Group Listen: [roll0] >>

Undead. Anri closes his eyes to stop himself from audibly groaning. He's a decent enough warrior in his own right, but undead have a tendency to underscore his shortcomings. He can't help comparing himself to proper soldiers like Aergia or that one Orc scout who can do their jobs without the artery-cutting shenanigans he usually resorts to.

[Dimers]

"We'd best hurry and alert the others, Anri, if it's not too late already. If Lief is missing, we can find him during the light of day." Aranyel starts to hustle as well as he can with the limitation of his companion's vision. He won't leave the gentleman alone in such circumstances!

When they arrive at the camp and find soldiers on alert already, Aranyel wishes he could just go to his cot and sleep. The night is quite late, and a couple hours of drinking and dancing have taken their toll. But the mood is far too tense for resting -- it looks like the night will be getting longer still. He goes to emplace magic lights at a few key points and give soldiers minor blessings.

I'll spend 5 orisons on light spells wherever needed, lasting 60 minutes. And I'll give four warriors a conviction spell, 80 minutes of +3 morale bonus to saves.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Anri nods to Aranyel. "Of course. Let's go!"

Finding the way to camp isn't terribly difficult; by now it's lit up with the lanterns of an alerted night watch. Upon arriving, the butler excuses himself from his wife's captain and reports to his Fyodor with a deep bow. "My lord, my lady, I am glad to find you still well. I apologize for my tardiness. What is our next move?"

[JNAProductions]

Sasha sits with the others, doing her best to recall any details about undead she's learned over the years. Depending on what she recalls, she'll advise the others as appropriate.

In addition, as the rest arrive, she takes a moment to cast her invocation on them, rendering them immune to the elements and, far more importantly, her breath weapon.

[roll0] Arcana
[roll1] Dungeoneering
[roll2] Religion

[Yas392]

Lief breathes in relief as the Burgh group turns up, unscathed.

"You're safe. I thought you were ambushed by ghouls commanded by the necromancer. They have these arcane marks on their head."

[JNAProductions]

Sasha, having recollected to the best of her ability, gives an info dump.

Ghouls. Capable of paralyzing anything that moves, excepting elves, for some odd reason. Their bite is laced with disease, notable "Ghoul Fever"-it weakens the body's durability and makes you shake. If you die from it... You become a ghoul yourself. Which means that if anyone gets infected and we are not able to find a cure in time, there's only one real option. Ghouls can also see in the dark, like dwarves can, and are generally adept at sneaking, she begins. As for the mark, it would indicate that this necromancer is NOT capable of seventh circle spells, such as Control Undead... Or at least is not using them in this situation. They're likely using some lesser version of it. If I can examine the mark in-person, I can get more information.

[Yas392]

Lief listens to the dragonfire adept's exposition and sighs.

"He is just toying with us. These bunch are just scouts or for limit testing. Let's deviate from the subject for a while then compare notes. Having the image of the ghouls in mind will make it hard for me to sleep tonight. Anything we missed while we were away from camp?"

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang is excited. This is it, now he will prpve himself as a worthy defender. And if it means he has to adress big group of city dwellers...than that is what will be done.
He coughs in order to grab the attention of his allies.

The undead are a blight on the world, I am very happy that I got the opportunity to fight and destroy them. If what you say is true, we will need more information about them he stops to rub the thick fur of the only clothing article on his upper body, a brown-grey-white vest of some sort.
If we wish to hunt these ghouls, this might be of some use. The shamans of the mountain made it so whoever wears it carries the blessing of the predator while hunting down the living dead, and therefore becomes unnoticable for them. If. You would like me to take the front lines and scout forward, I would do so gladly

[Dimers]

"That's useful in the extreme!" Aranyel says. "Does it work absolutely, or is there a chance the undead will see you anyway? And may I ask, does the invisibility fade if you attack them?"

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang ponders the question for a moment

While I can hide from their senses without any real limits, if I would step into a hunting trap, for example, it would still activate. The magic doesnt bend the world, it simply seperates my soul from the way they see the world. For this reasons, touching or striking them would connect me back to the world and the hiding would be over.

[dangelo]

After an hour or two, the Baron dismisses the soldiers and most of them start to make their way back to their beds. Riders patrol the woods and some guards remain alert with lanterns on.

[Yas392]

"That is useful when tracking undead or getting the drop on them. Let's make sure the camp is safe before we go on a patrol."

Lief looks at Snowfang and Sasha.

"Like I asked earlier, have we missed anything while we are away from camp?"

He gestures to Anri, Aranyel and himself.

[JNAProductions]

We're being watched, Sasha replies. Someone or something is scrying upon at least one of the soldiers in this force.

[Dimers]

"That's not good," Aranyel mutters. He tries to think of any hints that the burghers were experiencing the problem too. "How did you find out?"

[JNAProductions]

The soldier in question was having nightmares-probably a bit of sensitivity to magical doings-and heard the casting in them, Sasha replies. Without someone else to check for sure for the scrying sensor or traces of divination, we can't know for sure if I'm right, or, more importantly, if anyone else is being watched. But at least we know this much.

[Yas392]

Lief turns to Aranyel.

"Can you get rid of the effect?"

[Dimers]

The soldier in question was having nightmares-probably a bit of sensitivity to magical doings-and heard the casting in them, Sasha replies.

"Good fortune for us, then. We could have been completely blindsided."


Lief turns to Aranyel. "Can you get rid of the effect?"

"If I know who or what to target, I think I can, yes. I certainly have the best chance of it among this group. Did the soldier -- who was it, by the way? -- have an aura, or was the magic on an item they carried?"

[JNAProductions]

Sasha gives the soldier's name.

Not sure if it was ever given to me, but presumably Sasha would know.

She then says I've no way of seeing auras, so I can't say.

[Yas392]

"Then we need to confirm it. Let's take care of the soldier's ailments before we go on our patrol."

Lief leads the group to the soldier whose name Sasha utters.

"Sorry for disturbing your rest, soldier. But Sasha mentioned that you are experiencing nightmares as of late."

[dangelo]

He was awake, one of the soldiers who were patrolling the camp.
"Yes, yes, but please don't let the others know. I've told her everything I could remember, lord Fyodor decided to split the army so we could lose the spy." He sounds sorry, like he feels he's getting in the way of the campaign.

[Yas392]

Lief looks at Aranyel for lead, seeing this matter is his expertise.

[Dimers]

The priest mutters something magical and peers intently at the young soldier, belatedly directing him, "Just try to relax. You won't feel anything from this process."

I intend to use detect magic to see whether the person or something on/near him is enchanted. If I do find anything and it might be dispellable, I'm willing to spend up to three dispel attempts to remove it, with another detect after the first and second to see if it's gone. That puts me out of detects, so if the first two dispels don't work, I won't know whether the third does ...

dispel magic 1, CL check [roll0] against 11+opponent's CL
dispel 2, [roll1]
dispel 3, [roll2]

Please let me know how many dispels and detects I use up before the beacon-mark disappears!

[dangelo]

After detecting magic, Aranyel notices that the spellcaster isn't scrying right now, therefore the spell can't be dispelled. By the reminiscent aura left in the third, it's a reasonable thing to assume that the object have been targeted daily.

I am okay with assuming that Sasha and Snowfang did their research during the day and found out three or four other random items some soldiers seem to have won in surprisingly easy bets or as mysterious gifts.

[Dimers]

Aranyel shakes his head. "The objects aren't enchanted per se, they're just familiar enough to benefit scrying. That means there's nothing to dispel. A high-potency wizard could probably use the familiarity in some sort of distant attack, but that's well beyond what I can do. Best just to toss the items in a ditch or lock them in a dark box, something like that."

[dangelo]

"The baron ordered us to stay behind for a while to mislead the spy, m'lord." The lad adds. "About fifteen men to make it look like we're all waiting a few more days befote crossing the Heights."

[Yas392]

Lief nods as Aranyel reveals that he cannot do more and the soldier tells the group that he has his orders.

"Good man. We will leave you to resume your duties. You are doing a good job so far."

The masked councilor steers the group far away from the lad and to their horses. (If everyone is fine with me moving us forward.)

"Let's get our patrol done then."

Once the group is distance away from the camp, he motions them to stop their horses, taking a note that he stowed away and showing it to the others.

"Baron's orders on the double. We are to keep it as covert as possible. Must be referring to the undead somehow. Snowfang, you want to scout ahead? We could use your tracking skills now."

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang nods and his bare-tooth grin flashes across his face for a split second. And then the smile turns into a beak, and a white-feathered hawk shoots into the sky, going back and forth between the team and the front of the forest, looking for any signs of danger. Sometimes returning as a humanoid, sometimes as a wolf or a small bear, and sometimes as a bird, but always on the lookout.


[roll0] - Survival
[roll1] - spot

[Dimers]

Once the group is distance away from the camp, Lief motions them to stop their horses, taking a note that he stowed away and showing it to the others.

"Baron's orders on the double. We are to keep it as covert as possible."

Aranyel nods, not overly dismayed at the prospect of one sleepless night -- particularly not when undead are about (who'd be able to sleep anyhow?). "To Sir Lawrence, then."

[dangelo]

From the spot where Lief turned them, Snowfang could find two trails in the woods. The first actually leads back, to a hiding spot where the ghouls could see the camp at a safe distance. There were bones in the floor, rotten flesh buried under the ground and signs of horses in this hiding spot. From there they rode straight east to the Heights. The second trail just goes back to the Heights, but not the same way.

At some point the trail goes northeast and separates itself from the road. It still leads to the Heights, as the terrain is slowly getting rough and rocky, but it seems like the ghouls crossed the Heights by some other secret route that is not the road.

Sir Lawrence and the army are taking the road, Lawrence is a day ahead of the army.

The group gets half a day ahead of the army before having to choose: follow the road and meet Lawrence quickly or follow the ghouls to a mysterious route?

Scene: You've made your way through the woods, some timbermen's houses and a small "road" (more of a path, really) between some hills without drawing attention. The hills themselves were getting larger, rougher, but there were still room for your horses to maneuver. You were now crossing crops and woods thriving at the foot of the Heights, pieces of settled land loomed over by hills that only get higher and slowly become mountains. It's almost 10 a.m., you were following the tracks across a wheat field and decided to rest your bones in an abandoned barn. The landscape is now overtaken by large rocks and mountains that you could see in the horizon back at Dew's Burgh.

[Yas392]

Lief gestures to the trails that Snowfang found.

"So undead route or Lawrence?"

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang emerges silently in the shape of a stout mountain lion, and shifts into his humanoid form, speaking while he shifts.
"undead. If we wait we can lose the trail, we can strike them now while we are fresh, and finish the whole thing as early as possible."

[JNAProductions]

Sasha nods. Everyone's prepped against my breath, right? she checks.

Everyone SHOULD have my invocation on them, making them immune to my breath attack. But this is just a post to ensure that, yes, yes they are.

[Dimers]

Aranyel is about to speak up in favor of catching up to Sir Lawrence, but Snowfang's suggestion makes sense too. "Hm. But what if we find nothing on that trail? At what point do we cut back toward Sir Lawrence's position?"

[Yas392]

"What I am more worried about tailing after the undead is bumping into the necromancer. Flee on sight, he is very formidable. While I vouch for seeing Sir Lawrence, I do not mind the other route as long as it is just his flunkies we are facing. Make sure we leave marks we can refer back to backtrack to the main road."

Lief gives a slight tilt of his head to the sun cleric's direction.

"And if we come across nothing after some time then we go to Sir Lawrence. That some time is the point where we strayed too far from the main road. We could also split; two of us meeting Sir Lawrence, two of us going after the undead if the final decision is a dilemma for some of us."

Downtime

During the duration of respite, Lief seeks a resting place that is isolated from the rest of his companions outside the barn-house that is without sunlight. After making sure that his companions are asleep, not tailing him out of curiosity, and his place of choice does not disturb their rest, he rebinds Tenebrous. After the ritual, he brushes away the sign he drawn on the ground and go back into the barn-house to get some shut eye.

Tenebrous binding check:[roll0]

[Dimers]

Aranyel shakes his head No vigorously. "Dangerous to split. Ghouls must be taken seriously even under ideal conditions, and -- who knows? -- these ones may have special powers thanks to that odd mark left by the necromancer. Come to think of it, were the baron here now, I think he would send us to deal with the more esoteric danger -- it's not something soldiers should face if it can be avoided. Let's follow the track, not the road."

[Yas392]

"It looks like undead route. I hope we have the common sense to run when things get bad for us. Snowfang, Aranyel, you want to lead? You are the experts in these areas."

Once the group make the decision, Lief takes his position at the back when they are following the undead.

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang looks down, suddenly very interested in the dirt between his toes.
"I never earned the right to lead a pack, and now is not the time to try. Ill scout around and watch our rear in case of trouble, until we reach the battle itself."

[Dimers]

Aranyel shrugs and shoulders his pack while Snowfang declines the honor. "Friend, we'll have to follow you whether or not you call yourself a leader -- who else here could trace the path? Let's move as long as we can with the sun, everyone. And keep your eyes and ears open."

[Yas392]

"No objections from me. If any of us feels uncomfortable with the leadership, we can switch around later."

Mounted on his horse, Lief follows whoever is taking the rein of the group.

[dangelo]

The tracks lead up to a rill and then follows it upstream towards the Heights. At this point, really, you could say you're already "in" the Heights, though there are both hills and mountains of varied sizes around.

You're heading northeast, just barely missing a village smaller than Dewsburgh north of you. At one point you can actually spot among the trees, in a distance, the faint road that connects this next village to the pieces of settled land you've been crossing, but the trail you're following stays at least a mile away from it.

The wheat field where you found that barn was the last real farm you passed by. Now, the grasslands lose ground to rocky hills, piles of rocks and boulders. The grass is thicker, colder, and you'd only occasionally find small pieces of workable land. A citric smell in the air hints you about a nearby orchard.

Rolls: Knowledge (geography), Listen, +

[Yas392]

Lief sees if he can navigate through this land well as well as keeping his ears peeled for danger.

Listen: [roll0]

Untrained Knowledge (Geography) (DC 10 for basic knowledge): [roll1]

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang always preferred the way of sight as far as it comes to tracking danger, but even he knows the value of detecting enemies fro, behind cover, and tries his hand at that.


[roll0]

[dangelo]

You ride all day long. Soon you and your horses will get too tired to keep up and road might become too dangerous. But "road" is not really a way to describe what you're on right now: troughout the morning you've been crossing woods and making way around hills, occasionally finding a road, path or a small orchard. You saw peasants and timbermen from "Little Dewsburgh" (as we'll call it) working and doing their own stuff, but they were easily avoidable. Now, as night falls, you're reaching a wilder piece of land, a region technically disputed by Fyodor and Hotys. However, since the rugged terrain makes it both impossible to grow crops and to move armies, none of them are really interested in it.

But is it, though? You're now crossing some sort of slithering valley of brown, dusty rock, with room for at least six horsemen to travel side-a-side. It's way rougher in the sides and would still be a problem for a big army though. On top of that, as Sasha told the group, by the direction you're heading, you should stumble upon a large river called the Brown, which flows from the Heights to the Small Valley. This should make crossing the Heights impossible.

You find an intersection in the road, a secondary path that branches off from this valley, slithers a few times and then blends into the high mountains, and the undead tracks lead you there. In the end of it, you find out many other tracks: at least ten ghouls might've been here, maybe more. It's a little confusing and you can't sort exactly when was it, it seems to be some sort of meeting point.

But there are no signs of the ghouls elsewhere. Actually, the trails lead you deeper into the mountains, over a slope that seemed too high to cross but was actually pretty easy to. From now on, you have to pull your horses by the reins - they can still come, but it's a little dangerous to ride them.

Behind the slope, you find a big cave hidden among the rocks. It's almost as large as the valley, about 20 feet wide, and it seems to lead down deep into the earth. The ghouls and their horses went there.

[Yas392]

As they follow the trail of the undead, Lief takes the opportunity to mark the trees and stone with his own mark so they can backtrack back to the village and camp when needed be without getting lost on their way back.

[Dimers]

Aranyel peers as far into the cavern as he can. "I don't love caves, but I think we'd better keep after those ghouls. Does anyone need a light source or a blessing?"

Do I see anything with 60-foot darkvision? And does anybody want a light spell (lasts 1 hour) or conviction (+3 morale bonus to saving throws, lasts 80 minutes)?

[dangelo]

The cave leads to a tunnel large enough that your horses can walk. Despite the cave's rough walls, it's rock floor is leveled and easy to walk for both you and your mounts.

It's not long before you reach a quick turn to the right where the cave opens up to large chamber. Somewhere in the dark, you hear a slow running river. Faint voices exchange a few words while someone seems to be piling up boxes. The voices are low, rattling and gross. The whole place smells like corpses, just like the tunnel and the weird meeting spot back in the entrance of the cave.

"Too quick. Desperate move. I don't like that." A ghoul mumbles.
To which some other ghoul replies, aggressively: "Shut up, you cursed beast. It's the plan, now, it's all you need to understand."

You're hiding about 60 feet away from this underground river's shore. For those who can see it, the river is calm and quite large. There are a couple of boxes next to a small ship but the whole place seems to be often used to load or unload boats. This one particularly is a sloop, single mast, simple to manage, can be operated by a crew of two. To get from where you are to the "harbor" you just walk down a 60 ft. rocky slope (full speed, no rough terrain)

[Dimers]

Aranyel gulps and whispers to his allies, "My holy symbol is ready if your blades are."

[Yas392]

Lief nudges Snowfang, signalling him to get into an optimal position or close to the ghouls or whatever he chooses to do due to his equipment make him undetectable to any undead.

"Once my shroud of darkness is up, try to ambush them."

His whispers is very soft that it is almost silent.

After Snowfang positions himself...

Lief arms himself his load crossbow and emanates a 60 ft deeper darkness from himself with but a thought. Within that darkness, he drops onto a Angel Radiance makeshift pendant onto Aranyel's hand.

[Heavenblade]

Snofang steps forward, and whispers.my armor hides me from the dead...I shall take a form that hides me from the living as well.


Snowfang hasnt been to the mountains in a long time, but he still remembers them. The rocks, the caves...and the things that lived inside them. With a flash of brown-white-grey fur and leather, he transforms into a small cave bat and flies forward, scanning the area in front of jim and looks for a good spot to hang from.


[roll0]

[dangelo]

"Are you finished loading that, Crackjaw?" One ghoul hisses to the other. "We have to be there by midnight, if we don't wanna eat scraps."

"Shut up, you're not my boss." The other replies, but after a quick pause it adds: "It's done, it is."

[Dimers]

Aranyel creeps forward as quietly as he can, orienting himself by the ghouls' voices. As he comes to the edge of the darkness, his stance changes completely and he strides out with his sun symbol held high. "Behold!" Before the ghouls can really react at all, they're stricken by the channeled presence of Pelor, the Brightest Light. The two creatures fall to ash.

[dangelo]

Silence in the darkness. The ghouls, now nothing but burning ashes scattered on the rock floor, couldn't see or resist what came for them. A large crate that was being carried over to the sloop by one of them through a narrow ramp falls on the shallow water, breaking apart entirely. It's contents are a mix of quality martial equipment; there are four cheap but durable streel helmets, some chain shirts and a dozen simple swords. These objects are not padronized, some pieces could've even come from distant baronies. It looks more like a bunch of spoils from a recent battle. There are other six crates aboard the ship with similar content.

The cave itself is wide and the rock ceiling is over 30 ft high by the river's shores. The rock floor is smooth as riverside rocks usually are, and the river itself is so wide you can't see the othe side. There are three docks that look like they were built in the shortest time possible. It's unbalanced, many planks are missing and some of the support wooden trunks look like they could fall apart at any moment. Surprisingly, the whole thing supports everyone's weight. There is a single sloop in the harbor.

[Yas392]

Lief checks to see if there are more threats lurking around than the two ghouls.

"By the way, Aranyel, return my light source to me when we are out of the caves. I am just lending it for the duration we are in the darkness since you cannot see properly."

Spot: [roll0]

Listen: [roll1]

[dangelo]

Like the meeting point outside the cave, it looks like there was a lot of activity here recently, but now it's a dead scene.

[Yas392]

Retrieving back his trinket once he confirms that the cleric can see in the dark, Lief turns off his darkness. He waves to the ship.

"We sailing on this ship?"

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang, without shifting away from the form of the silent beast, growls from above
folloeing the boat would be the best way to act. More chance to catch them

[Dimers]

"I agree," says Aranyel. "We're not on track for meeting up with the other troops anyway ... in for a penny, in for a pound. Remind me, Snowfang, how many ghouls did you think we might be following?"

It'll be a Survival check to aid, since I have no training in any of those three! [roll0]

[Yas392]

Lief shrugs.

"Then let's get a move on."

The masked man steps onto the ship. If he can load the horses, he will do it. If not, he won't.

Survival: [roll0]

Spot: [roll1]

[dangelo]

The sloop is pretty light for a ship, this one is single masted and can be sailed even by a single person. The horses are accommodated in a narrow space below deck, next to the crates loaded by the ghouls.

Sailing the ship itself is not too tricky. The hardest part was actually setting it off, but eventually Lief managed to do it. At first the ship accelerated much more than expected, building up velocity as it sailed downstream, but with the help of the group it was aligned back and the sail was brought to the right position, quickly avoiding the rocks at the other side of the river.

Iskar is not famous for it's sailors, no it isn't, as their rivers often meet waterfalls or race too much for a ship to be realiable. Still, many of the kingom's rivers are navigable in specific parts, specially in the eastern provinces,* so it's not weird that ships are being used in war.

Backtracking: You're heading to the direction of the enemy, as they're expecting the two ghouls with the rest of the load to come that way. Since they're carrying spoils, they probably won a battle recently, but they probably didn't pillage or plunder any villages, as news would have spread immediately. They also didn't fight any of Fyodor's men, at least not that you're aware of.

Now, actions:
You have six rounds (roughly 5 minutes each) until something happens. During that time, you can take the following actions:

- The sails must be constantly monitored and frequently adjusted. Roll Survival, Use Rope, Ride or Swim (DC 14, +5 for extra speed if so intended.) You need 3 successes on this action until the end of the sixth round to proceed safely. Going for extra speed and making it gives you two successes instead of one. Even after you get the three successes, at least one character must occupy themselves with steering the ship.

- Someone needs to keep an eye on the surroundings for rocks hidden in the darkness, lurking enemies or incoming ships. Spot or Listen (+4 situational bonus for flying scouts). You only need to do this once, but since I'm not setting a DC, one might want to check again until they get a better result. Costs an action.

- The horses are spooked and angry, it might escalate to a bigger problem. Roll Handle Animal (DC 14) or Heal (DC 17). (or Strength DC 18?). One action.

- A ghoul in the ship! When investigating the lower deck, you find a remaining ghoul hidden among the crates, ready to make a surprise attack. One character must take a full round to kill it until the end of the six rounds. No consequence, no failing, someone just have spare a round to do it.

- There are four cannons at each side of the ship, but they must be properly loaded. It takes a single round for someone to get them ready. Do it if you feel like you're gonna need it, but it's a bet.

If you think of something important to do that I didn't consider up until now, let me know.

The Geography of the Kingdom

Iskar is politically divided in many fiefs but culturally divided in western and eastern provinces, and these regions' topography is a major symbol for their culture. While overall the entirety of the kingdom's land is fairly rugged, the western portion is even more bleak and desolate. Their culture is marked by long winters, harsh conditions and overall less internal political struggles. They often see the "eastern people" as somewhat "summerchilds", too busy with their vassal backstabing to appreciate their fortunate land. In the other hand, eastern folk often carry some prejudice against western people regarding their quote-unquote "bad mannered" or"rough" lifestyle. These cultures are vaguely related to the Lawful and Chaotic duality as both carry elements from all alignments.

There are three western provinces and two smaller eastern ones. Demographic density varies wildly depending on a region's specific topography, it's assumed that it ranges from 40 to 100 people per square mile but demographic census are rather unaccurate.

[Dimers]

Once he and the horses are safely aboard the sloop, Aranyel hears some sort of disturbance belowdecks and goes to investigate -- and finds a ghoul menacing the animals. "Where did you--!" Shocked, he lashes out with his morningstar, and after a brief, wild scuffle the undead creature lies still on the floor. Aranyel then uses his best 'bedside manner' to calm down the frightened animals. Individually they don't need much reassurance, but it takes a while to get the whole group settled at once. Then he grabs the ghoul by the armpits and drags it up the stairs to toss into the river. Once at the side of the boat, he notices something and points it out to his companions. "Look -- over there ..."

[Yas392]

Lief's role in the ship is minimal but impactful. With Aranyel multitasking in the tasks he chose, the masked man loads the cannons and aids Snowfang in steering the course of the ship.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang looks at the small vehicle and smiles fondly as memories of river-hunting with his tribe rise anew. This thing is not like the slim and swift boats he is used to...but its not exactly dissimilar either- close enough that he could handle it properly.


OUT
Snowfang takes the driver's seat - going for regular speed

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[dangelo]

The sloop violently cuts the surface of the river. With Snowfang in charge of the main sail, the ship dashes around the corners of the tunnel.
As Lief rushes around the ship bringing the ammunition upstairs to the deck and loading the cannons, he barely hears the skirmish between Aranyel and the ghoul going on. You all know everyone needs to contribute and you must trust each other to deal with crisis.
As expected, when Lief was retrieving a second barrel of powder, he crossed paths with Aranyel as the clumsy but sturdy sun-touched dwarf drags the ghoul upstairs.

The sound of the water hitting the rocks fills the cave, but suddenly something else screams in the darkness. Bats. Lots of them. They form thick swarms flying around the ship. When you look closely at them, however, it's clear that those are actually undead corpses that once were normal bats.
Then the river makes a quick turn and Snowfang struggles to maintain the trajectory. Sasha, who was in her way to help him, occupies herself with blasting the swarms with her fire breath so the creatures wouldn't go near damaging the ship.

New action required: One character per turn must keep the bat skeleton swarms away, so I figured Sasha's fire breath would be fit. This is a narrative skill challenge so no daily charges spent.

[Yas392]

As Snowfang stabilized the bearing of the ship and moderated the sails, Lief's hands are on the wheel. Although busied, he still helps around with undead matters with attempts of repelling them, keeping them at bay or sending them flee every once in a while with the release energies of turn undead. He also keeps a lookout for anything the party missed.

[dangelo]

When the river makes another turn, you suddenly start to see daylight. The cave opens up to a cliffside and the river keeps flowing through dense woods. You're on a really large rocky valley, pointy grey hills towering around you.

In the end, you sail for over 2 hours when the river starts to get dangerously fast. At this point, Snowfang flies above the trees and manages to spot your destination: a small fishermen village thrives in the middle of the Heights, but the place is completely abandoned by their original inhabitants. Now, only a handful fishing boats are scattered around the river and the place is serving as base of operation for an entire squad of ghouls. A dozen, maybe more of them, are loading wagons to leave. A commander yells out orders to the rest of the undead.
"We must be ready to leave as soon as Crackjaw and Bonecutter get back from the other side. Hurry, you beasts, they should be here already! Where are those lazy pieces of crap??"

The party has 10 minutes before nearing the village.

[Dimers]

Upon hearing Snowfang's report, Aranyel slowly shakes his head. "Not good. Lief, you look like you know how to handle a cannon -- can you brief me on what to do? Or would you rather fire them yourself?"

[Yas392]

Lief frowns at the report. He shrugs at the dwarf's question as he continues to turn the wheels.

"Aranyel, I am occupied with manning the wheels. I could use some hands with the cannons. I do think you and Sasha should bombard them with the cannons until we are run out of ammo or unable to utilize the cannons. Don't think Snowfang should reveal himself until we have the advantage."

He instructs Aranyel on how to use the cannons though his voice drones with fatigue and laziness due to the failed binding. After that, he looks at the distance.

"So what's our attack plan? I plan to use my darkness as a cover to protect the ship and reducing potential damage as we close in to engage with the undead. I can turn it on and off at will therefore it will give us windows to make sneak attacks with our cannons at our enemy's base of operation at the same time maintaining our defenses and prevent obstruction of vision. My plan is by no means a finalized plan. Think of it as a part of a tactic than a realized one. Let's combine our intelligence. I figure together we can cobble up a better one than this half-assed plan of mine. Thoughts?"

[Heavenblade]

I believe my tactical value will be at itd height before we attack. I think that it will be best for me to try and sneak up on the one that seemed like the leader, give him a nasty surprise and try to take him down.

[Dimers]

Aranyel considers that. "I would say, wait until the first round of cannonballs has stopped flying. Oh, goodness, how are we going to stop this ship to unload ourselves and gear and horses? Snowfang, you may need to fly ahead and throw us a line."

He taps his chin. "I think it's a sound plan, Lief. If they stay at range, we can keep up cannonfire, and if they close with us, Sasha's breath and our holy power should quickly whittle down their numbers. I hope."

[Yas392]

Lief nods.

"Then, the plan is settled. Long range, harass with cannons, darkness. Close range, turn undead, Sasha breathing on them. Snowfang, on his own, ambush the leader when their troops are on us and this ship. Is this right or do we have any last minute changes to the tactics?"

Initiative: [roll0]

[dangelo]

The river gets wider to the point it makes some sort of pond before narrowing back down. You're in the heart of the Owl Heights, miles away to the north of the the traditional Narrow Path, supposedly the only way to (costly) cross that mountain range. Everywhere you look there are large gray rocks building up rough cliffs that tower around the slithering river like giant claws. Only the bravest trees and bushes dare to grow there, and even then, mostly by the riverside. The air gets colder and the wind blows faster as the sloop approaches the village.

"There!" One of the ghouls yell, pointing at the ship. "They're here! Go tell the chief we'll be ready to leave!"
The soldiers are not the brightest, but damn, are they synchronized. Five of them immediately volunteer to handle the ropes, quickly getting everything ready to welcome their allies back to the shore. One of them runs off to the village center to give the chief the good news while the other six get ready to help Crackjaw and Bonecutter unload the crates.

Then a thunder hits the earth, or at least that's what it sounded like for the soldiers.The poorly built pier explodes in a cloud of dirt, planks and bits of ghoul. The cannon rolls back from the recoil, almost taking Aranyel off balance, and the smell of powder fills the air. The second cannon goes off immediately by the hands of Sasha, hitting the other panicking group of ghouls.

Before the ghouls could even pick up what the hell was happening, the attacker's silhouettes suddenly get swallowed by a supernatural field of pure darkness. The idea of darkness they can't see in frightens the undead a bit.

Chaos in the village. Snowfang, lurking through the bushes, sees exactly the moment where the chief hears the explosions. He doesn't hesitate.

"You two, go get the others by the wagon. The rest of you, GO NOW. Bloodsucker, put them in formation and shoot. WHY ARE YOU NOT RUNNING, OR DO YOU WANNA LOSE YOUR LEGS." He shouts commands with his rattling, disgusting undead voice, and soldiers run around making sure they'll be followed. He's quickly left alone and is now hustling towards his large, brown horse.

This was your surprise round. Combat will follow group initiative.

On his first round, the Ghoul chief moves up to his horse and tries to mount as a free action and ride away (Snowfang will need another stealth check to get him before he joins the battle if he does).

The ghouls will pick up the weapons they have at hand, the versatile short spears, the cheap, deadly standard weapon for any base unit. They'll throw them at the party with a -2 penalty due to extended range.

[Heavenblade]

META
initiative

[roll0]

[Cygnia]

*whistles innocently*

[roll0]

[Dimers]

Aranyel jumps down to the pier and quickly secures the sloop, anxiously glancing over his shoulder at the spear-wielders. Their throws pepper the side of the ship or simply splash into the river, though, courtesy of Lief's darkness.

[Cygnia]

Meanwhile...

The young woman's ears were ringing and her already dry throat was now caked in smoke and dust. She was dimly aware of someone shaking her.

Just let me die...they can't hurt me --use me -- anymore if I'm dead. Great Pelor, grant me final peace...

"Siovhan, Siovhan -- wake up!"The dirty cloth used as a blindfold was finally pushed off her face and Siovhan Rhal found herself staring into the frantic gaze of Hanja. "Lord of Light, someone's firing on the village -- this could be our chance to escape. Give me your wrists, girl, quick!"

"W--what?" Siovhan croaked weakly. But Hanja was already working her ropes free. Siovhan noticed the older woman's bonds hand been sawed apart by a newly splintered plank of wood.

Which led to a battered gap in the wall that she was sure hadn't been in the shed when they first had been imprisoned. Siovhan rubbed her wrists, trying to get some feeling back in her arms. Her heartbeat thundered as her fingers unconsciously twitched, the sounds of battle echoing harshly all the while.

Calling to her.

Hanja roughly grabbed Siovhan by the shoulders, pushing her out the hole. "...we need to run, girl! Pelor willing, whatever is happening right now will hide us--" Hanja swallowed, steeling herself. "--but prepare yourself. You may need to use your..."

It remained unspoken. The fear alone spurred Siovhan to move with Hanja now.

[Yas392]

Lief, in his persisted darkness, moves and fires the remaining loaded cannon at the bunch nearest to Aranyel.

Cannon Damage: [roll0]

[Heavenblade]

Meta
Rolling here ti. Stealtth, if it works Illedit in my action - noting that due to shirt of wraith stalking they cannot notice me
Hide
[roll0]
Move silently
[roll1]

[dangelo]

The villagers come out from the wagons where they were being held, freeing each other from their shackles with haste.
"We were blessed! It is our chance!" A woman says, pointing at the wisp or road that leads out of the village and into the rocky woods.
"Our Old Father has sent help!" Many of them say. "We must not waste our chance! This is good!"

The road is tempting. The villagers are talking about finding shelter in the monastery, which involves a long pilgrimage through the mountains. "If we leave now, we might reach the Lower Lake before sunrise." It was, if the elderly and children didn't get tired before that.

Two young adults (around 15 years old), a lad and a girl, volunteer to stay. "We'll fight, too." They say, inspired by the heroic explosions brought by the ship. "And we'll join you in the monastery should Father keep us alive after today."

(Cut)

Inside the darkness sphere, Aranyel and Sasha have only a distorted notion of what's happening outside. Enemy war cries become faint muffled whispers in the shadows. The loud bang of the cannon going off doesn't echo inside the shadows but rather fades quickly into them. Even so, the binder aims the cannon precisely at the nearest troops without hesitation, his blue eyes somehow piercing the curtain of shadows.

Without a warning, about ten bolts come flying through the air across the sphere of darkness. The projectiles rain over the ship like a wave, the deck now covered in bolts and spears. The adventurers throw themselves behind cover.

[Heavenblade]

Silent and deadly like the night, snowfang stalks as a
large bat, inisible to the eye. He releases an ear piercing below, the ghoul will inly hear it while it is at its peak. He shifts into a large wolf mid-flight and tries to give a malicious bite to the unliving horror, after gaining momentum from his dive, and tries to leave as deep a cut as possible in its undead skin.

Meta
Move action to get skirmish
Using swift action to shift

Attack
[roll0]
Damage
[roll1]

[Cygnia]

As the two villagers eagerly volunteered to stay behind to fight, Siovhan shook her head. "No, you need to g--"

Hanja already cut in. "--you two need to help me find any equipment those bastards may have taken from us and hopefully left behind, else the others will be sitting ducks on the road. Can't fight a bone bag without a proper weapon!" The spark of the adventurer's soul glinted in the older woman's eyes. "Siovhan, you need to stop those ghouls, help whoever's firing on them!"

"I--I can't!" Siovhan looked terrified, shuddering at her own hands as if they were infected. "...it's unholy, Hanja!" Her wild gaze darted towards the shadow cloud on the river. "...what if we're not being saved? What if it's something worst?!" Memories of La Caldera and their sickening grins crept into her mind...

"Siovhan, I know you're scared -- but you are not going to be damned for helping us! Trust me, girl -- you're the only one who can do anything right now. We need you. Believe in Pelor and He will believe in you."

Siovhan blinked.

Then nodded. The young woman was obviously still scared as she called on certain powers. The air shimmered around her and her eyes took on a black hue. Then, she began to run after the two ghouls as a greenish glow surrounded her hands.

And fired at the nearest undead.


[roll0]
[roll1]

[Yas392]

Lief asks Sasha to help him load the cannon before he fires at the first bunch again. He keeps the dwarven cleric updated on the position of the ghouls and the distance to it. If he is hurted bad from the arrow that hit him, he will spend an immediate action activating healing devotion (Giving him fast healing 2 for 1 minute) on himself.

Cannon attack: [roll0]

[Dimers]

Trusting his ally's description better than his own occluded sight, Aranyel summons Pelor's holy power. From the ghouls' perspective, it must seem like all the light Lief's sphere ate up suddenly comes pouring forth in a terrifying wave -- far too close to evade and blessedly difficult to withstand.

Charisma check [roll0], HD affected [roll1]

EDIT: That can turn 7-HD creatures, so 3-HD ghouls get destroyed instead. Not many of them, though.

[dangelo]

The ghouls' aim was sharp, but still far from enough. The cannons lay waste on the pier and the archers blow up with the rest of the docks. The other ghouls fall back, but many of them break formation and route.

Further away into the village, the ghoul chief is thrown off it's horse by a large wild wolf who pounces at him, coming out of the shadows in a long leap. They roll on the floor exchanging blows, the chief trying to avoid the wolves claws and teeth by grappling with the beast. The ghoul is strong and agile, but Snowfang manages to leave deep cuts on it's arms and face. It tastes like what it is, a walking diseased corpse.

"Beast of nature! Let go of me!"

While the chief is too busy to give orders, the backup ghouls see the wolf and stop running towards the shore, instead rushing to aid their captain. One of them is shot in the back by Siovhan's magic and almost falls on it's knees.

The pier is clear and the ship is secured. The rest of the villagers followed the instructions given to them.

[Yas392]

As the ship drifts to the pier, Lief turns to Aranyel.

"Go, Aranyel! Aid Snowfang!"

Lief again asks for Sasha's help to reload the cannon, wincing as he spies an arrow lodged on his shoulder while continue supplying the dwarf cleric with information of the surrounding as he moves. The masked councillor finds at the best spot that can catch the majority or all of the backup ghouls with one fell swoop without catching the transformed Snowfang in the radius and fire.

Cannon Damage: [roll0]

[Dimers]

Mired in darkness and the chaos of battle, Aranyel isn't quite sure where Snowfang is now, but he moves forward to try to find out. The sounds of combat ahead might give a clue.

[dangelo]

Aranyel leaves the darkness area as soon as he reaches the shore. He runs a distance of 40 feet. and manages to engage with the ghoul chief and snowfang. He's still 20 feet away from the chief and Snowfang.

In the next turn you may join the grapple maneuver with an attack. You can attack the chief running the risk of hitting Snowfang by mistake.
Both the chief and Snowfang are flat-footed for everyone outside of the maneuver. They can attack with light weapons or unarmed. They can't make attacks of opportunity.

[Cygnia]

Lord of Light, guide my aim! The ghoul was wounded -- but not permanently put down. Siovhan tried to push aside her terror at being potentially swarmed by the undead. Hanja and the others were depending her.

...ohhhh, but you could FLY, little one. Leave these mewling sheep to the abbatoir... The voice in the back of her head -- it sounded like Siovhan, but more rough and gravelly. Like after a bout of forever screaming.

Like rage made flesh.

Siovhan shook her head frantically, trying to focus on finishing off one of the slavering undead before they could go after her. Another greenish blast fired towards the ghoul on his knees....


[roll0] EB
[roll1] Dmg (if hit)

5ft step away from the incoming ghouls.

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang tries to shake himself free of the ghoul's grasp, biting around madly and twisting like a wild beast.


[roll0]

If I make it, shapeshift into a bird as a swift and fly to the ceiling

[dangelo]

The ghoul chief gets up swiftly, wiping black blood from it's face and making it look even worse. Snowfang's teeth and claws left deep cuts across the creature's ugly face, but this ghoul is a raging warrior.

It draws a thick arming sword and charges at Aranyel, screaming horribly at his face.

Between this battle and the wagons, the remaining ghouls pick up spears and shields and enter pike formation, determined to keep Siovhan from joining the others. Three of them are flung into the air by a cannonball, leaving half a dozen soldiers trying to stay in formation while being bombarded by the ship.

[Cygnia]

Distracted by her doubts, the shot went wide. Siovhan gritted her teeth. If the ghouls were able to surround her, there would be no escape and any chance the villagers had would be gone.

Leave them...fleefleeflee...

...never...

Siovhan would not abandon Hanja and the others.

But that didn't mean she had to wait for the walking corpses to reach her.

Her fingers flexed and wings of shadow sprouted from her shoulders. Then she rose straight up into the air...


Activating Fell Flight
Move: 30ft up

[Yas392]

With a stable routine of Sasha's reloading the cannons, Lief does not stop with firing cannonballs, firing another at the remaining six undead underlings that are trying to prevent their formation from scattering by created dust cause by the previous cannonball that landed near them.

Cannon damage at the six undead: [roll0]

[Dimers]

Aranyel stumbles back from the crushing blow and retaliates with a spell. "Sun's vengeance, fiend!"

5-foot step back out of the chief's reach, then cast deific vengeance. The chief takes [roll0] damage, Will save DC 15 for half.

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang growls from.above and lands back on the chief, trying to strangle him with sharp talons, like what he did to him mere moments ago.



Move action

Grapple
- touch attack
[roll0]
Grapple check
[roll1]

[dangelo]

The ghouls that managed to avoid the last cannonball falls to this one. The whole squad blows up in a cloud of dirt, smoke and debris. The battlefield is covered with undead bodies and broken spearshafts, pieces of equipment splattered with black blood.

The chief fights fiercely, but it's efforts are not enough. Debilitated by Aranyel's divine powers, he even manages to draw his secondary weapon, a light axe with which he defends himself, but he's quickly overwhelmed.

Despite being a fine warrior, the chief is eventually pinned down by the party. The soldiers are down. The battlefield is secured. The chief is still un-alive, but stopped fighting before you destroyed it. Snowfang is standing over it, his large teeth hanging a few inches above it's horrendous face.

The villagers slowly begin to come backn it will take a while since they ran as fast as possible. The lad and the girl who decided to stay hug each other and Siovhan when it all ends.
"Siovhan... who are those?" She rapidly whispers. "Foreigners and shapeshifters... Please, be careful."

The group eventually meets around the chief. Lief notices the creature's pale skin. Aranyel sees it's larger claws. Snowfang knows how hard it's skin is. This is a ghast, no doubt, the party locks eyes in a shared understanding.

But why is it not stinking? Ghasts were supposed to stench. Actually, all these ghouls are favoring armed fighting, instead of using their claws and teeth. They still have the toxin in their bodies, so they soak their weapons in their spit - that's how Aranyel could've been paralyzed - but they seem to differ from "regular" ghouls and ghasts in a few aspects.

[Cygnia]

"...we trust in Pelor..." Siovhan said it for her own assurance as much as the girl's.

Steeling herself, she tentatively approached what she hoped was their rescuers. Her fingers again twitched by her side.

"Strangers, we thank you for saving us! But who are you? Are any of you hurt?"


Invoking Beguiling Influence
[roll0] Know: religion (what's up with the ghouls and ghast?)

[Yas392]

After the threats are neutralized and his allies keeping the chief at bay, Lief turns off his darkness, descending to the pier with Sasha to the captive and the girl who helped in their efforts.

"There is time for formalities later. If you want an apt description, we are reinforcements to deal with the undead. But first, I do believe we have questions for the instigator of this event."

Shifting his gaze from the girl and his allies to the undead chief, the masked man stares at the undead Snowfang pinned.

"So who sent you? What are their intentions for this village?"

[dangelo]

It looks Lief in the eyes, genuinely surprised. Than it suddenly laughs, a terrible breath coming up from it's mouth.
"You will never know."
"We might've failed here today, hunter, but this is not the end, no it isn't." The chief says. "The other lieutenants are on the move. You can't expect to stop us. Go home and hide, for sooner or later we will come." It grunts, even managing to smile.

At least this was still true to what they knew about undead. Having nothing to lose, this kind of beast will not hesitate to sacrifice itself without giving any answers. However, it still kept talking. It has... ego. It has an accent. It still knows what it knew before dying of ghoul fever, certainly some skilled battlefield warrior in their prime.

[Yas392]

Lief facepalms.

"Right. That is obvious."

He then places a hand on his chin.

"Say do you have a name? The way you and your underlings battle us was sophisticated and organized than the ones we encountered. You must be one heck of a commander in life."

[dangelo]

"I was no one." He grunts. "I am Chief Blackblood now, and that's my purpose."

Unlike the three ghouls who attacked the binder and Brenda, none of them have those runes on their foreheads. And, they did develope a weird new personality as ghouls - as it normally happens - with new names and all.

"My lord has brought me back to this feverish existence so I'd serve a new purpose. You already lost. You can destroy me here, and I'll fulfill my purpose. Go ahead. Win the battle."

So, this is the second time this creature raises as a ghoul. The first, probably by ghoul fever, the second to serve in this army.

[Yas392]

"But you could be a former person that was missed. Do not devalue yourself."

Although his visage is masked, his tone is filled with passion like his previous question and compliment unlike the sharp, interrogative voice that he used earlier when he first questioned the undead.

[dangelo]

"You're forgetting who you're talking to, hunter." It grunts. "I am better now than I ever was. I might have been a warrior in a lesser existence, but now I'm a Champion."

Is shows complete apathy towards it's old life. It reacts to Lief's approach with a mix of sarcasm and disbelief.

[Yas392]

Lief's posture does not change a bit regardless how the undead leader spoke to him.

"I am aware of that. I am speaking of your previous identity which had contributed to the competency and feats of your greater existence. You are a worthy opponent. I believe it is a name to be remembered."

[Cygnia]

Siovhan eyed the interrogation with some wariness, but when the teenage girl returned her belongings to her, she began gearing up with gratitude. The grime and dirt were still caked on her frame, but at least she had some protection now.

"Who sent them?"

Don't know if anything was overheard during captivity or not...

[Dimers]

After waiting for the ghast to respond to Lief, Aranyel shakes his head at the leader's hardheadedness. "Chief Blackhead, it's obvious you know less than we do. You wouldn't be talking so big if you'd heard the news from Thoren."

First, "blackhead" is an insult. Aranyel is calling the chief a very nasty pimple ... supposedly by accident, oops :smalltongue:

Second, the "new from Thoren" bit is a lie, intended to draw out more information. If the chief gets telepathic communication from the Big Boss, my gambit might even reveal that fact.

[dangelo]

"You talk of things with very little meaning." It replies to Lief. "Your enemy is Chief Blackblood. I was called many things in the past. Scum. Weak. Sienna of Rouchefort was only the mortal name I was given, but don't waste your time asking your elders about my feats. If someone who met me managed to escape with their life, their mortal bodies would've been eaten by worms already."

It grunts when Aranyel calls it by the wrong name. "It doesn't matter what you can pull off. Thoren will be reduced to ashes in no time, then those news will mean nothing, priest." It's not surprised by the news, and it was confident saying that there's nothing that could save Thoren.

[dangelo]

Sasha hums, stepping forward into the circle. At first, she speaks directly to Siovhan. "We still don't know. But there's something to it."

"As far as I know... and one would say I know quite a bunch..." She gives off a cynical humorous vibe to chief Blackhead. "Rouchefort is a burkish name. Well, it doesn't surprise me... the burkish have always had more women in their ranks than Skar. A wise choice, if you may ask my opinion. I have actually a thesis written up about something relevant to this, I donated it to the Viceroy in behalf of lord Fyodor."

Sasha walks in circles around the beast (and the large wild wolf standing on top of it) as she goes deeper in that wild tangent. "You know. For status. Still, I don't think the Viceroy can read draconian. I can picture a Vindelvar wizard reading it out loud for him. What a way to waste a spellcaster."

She naturally comes back to the matter of hand, as if she had never changed subjects. Sasha had the inconvenient habit of explaining things for an unnecessarily long time, and the party was somewhat used to this - some less than others. She proceeds to purposefully explain everything in front of the ghoul.

"You will find women in our ranks across the province, too. It's not a surprise to have an old burkish warrior callled Sienna."

"Although, the way it talks about it, it doesn't sound like she was in the Burkish War. Well, not our Burkish War. Definitely some burkish war."
She turns to the undead. "You're not from here, are you? Somehow, whoever summoned you, didn't claimed your soul from anywhere nearby... depending on how much you traveled with this army, you could even be from the other side of the Bright Sea."

Then she turns to the group. "Her name is not famous in our tales, nor in any burkish story I've heard, and have I heard many. His fighting style also doesn't match a traditional knight's, burkish or not. This is not final, but my suggestion at the moment is that she was a low rank soldier under the command of some local burkish lord. It could have been nearby... potentially it was not."

[Yas392]

Lief shook his head at Aranyel and whispered to Sasha to find out about one Sienna of Rouchefort. After Sasha's stepped up with her knowledge, he then returns his attention to Chief Blackblood/Sienna, his mask or movement betraying no weakness.

"Still, to have fought in battles and wars is commendable. If anything, they speak for your fighting spirit, strength and courage. Far from what others perceived you which you should not care other than what you think of yourself. You were fighting on the front-line and they were not so they were weak. Was there any wish or wishes from your previous existence before you were transformed to the current you?"

[dangelo]

The ghoul grunts at the binder. It seems incapable of being empathetic about it's former existence. When Lief keeps pressing it, Blackhead tends to get aggressive, using terrible words to describe him and his "foolish crusade".

[Yas392]

Lief shrugs.

"You don't have to put it that way. Besides, this way it might bring you closure and ease to you, knowing that it is done and over with."

[dangelo]

"I am already fulfilled. I face destruction, but my cause stands."

[Yas392]

"So no revenging on those who insulted you?"

[dangelo]

It makes the worst menacing face it can pull off.
"They are below me. Insignificant to me now."

[Yas392]

"So you are implying they are still alive? It seems as if you have unfinished business with them. Perhaps putting them in their place might be your desire. Got any names so I can pass on your baleful message to them if we see them?"

[dangelo]

"Here's a message: Tell everyone to run away from Thoren." It laughs, showing it's shark teeth

[Yas392]

Lief tilts his head.

"So they are from Thoren? Still need their names though. We cannot cover everyone you know."

[dangelo]

The ghoul maintains it's sarcastic smile and shakes it's head.

[Yas392]

"The major people that belittled you. Do you remember their names?"

[dangelo]

"I remeber them, yet I see no point in sharing it with you."

[Yas392]

"Why not?"

[dangelo]

"Every second you waste talking to me, you're letting the other chiefs move freely. Please, ask more questions." The ghoul says, keeping it's unnerving smile.

[Yas392]

"Thanks for the reminder and caveat. I believe I will just ask for their names in the future if the chiefs are a respectable opponents. I hope that your next life is a good one, Sienna of Rouchefort. Or if we meet in another battlefield, fight each other again."

After that, Lief grants the undead mercy by coup-de grace it with a combination of turn undead and his gauntlet. Immediate at the disintegration of the undead into cinders, he places a hand onto Aranyel, glow emitting from it before dying. The masked man instructs the dwarf cleric to activate the glow that he transferred to him (Healing Devotion) via subconscious to heal his wounds.

"You need it more than I do now. Save your spells for a more major threats. I will handle healing outside of combat whenever we have the time to recuperate. Well then, let's make sure this village is safe before we report to the main forces."

Unless there is any other thing that requires his attention other than healing, Lief contributes to getting the village back into stability and healing those who are wounded in the undead onslaught. He will also heal himself from the glancing blow from the arrow his pulled out on the way.

[dangelo]

Despite how strong willed this ghast was, it fear destruction in the end, letting out a rattling scream before turning into burning ashes.

The people gather around the group, some of them herding behind Siovhan. They are thorn apart between fear and hope. They don't repond immediately to the group's movements towards securing the village, waiting for a proper introduction before making up their minds about the adventurers.

[Cygnia]

Siovhan eyed Hanja for reassurance, then back towards the strangers. She walked over to the woman who said she didn't know who sent the ghouls, but did say a lot of Other Things. It would at least feel easier addressing her rather than say, the masked man or the wolf.

"Strangers, again you have our gratitude. But who are you? Were you sent to save us? We thought we were done for...who knew of our plight?"

[dangelo]

The crowd mumbles a confirmation.

[Dimers]

After murmuring his thanks to Lief, Aranyel addresses the stranger who stood to battle the ghouls at his side. "The one to thank is Lord Fyodor, Baron of Branhill. He graciously allowed us to split from the main force moving to aid Lord Hotys in some minor matter before the two parley to speak of closer bonds. Knowing of that ghastly creature's presence here and its words, we would do well to return to Fyodor's side with haste, in case his troops are similarly beset. I regret we can't take time to help you rebuild your lives ..." Aranyel trails off, looking pensive.

[Yas392]

Seeing the crowd rallying behind the girl in wariness the moment he tries to help, Lief lets Aranyel take over the conversation.

[dangelo]

Still weary of the large wolf, the crowd turns to Siovhan, hesitating to take their own stance.

[Cygnia]

"Then our thanks to Lord Fyodor, I guess..." Siovhan felt the eyes of the villagers upon her and shifted uncomfortably. "...but what of yourselves? I am Siovhan, this is Hanja."

Siovhan flinched.

"...please, are we trading one conqueror for another?"

Hanja cleared her throat. "How did these beasts even get here?!"

"Hanja--" The young woman tried to cut the older one off.

"No. You tell them...you tell these strangers what you heard."

Siovhan rubbed her arm.

"Two of the ghouls were talking amongst themselves...

'I have checked the road. There's nothing there.'
'Quiet, stupid. What did you find?'
'Nothing. The path trails off into the woods.'
'The chef must have something prepared.'
'I'm talking to you. This is a dead end.'

She paused, shaking her head. "You can barely ride a donkey through these parts."


Straight INT to see if she knows anything about Fyodor or Hoyt (and if the village needs to be worried about either noble...)

[roll0] Know: Nobility & Royalty

[dangelo]

News are slow, and only occasionally do traders visit that part of the Heights. Still, just like any noble house, the Zular pays talented bards to make sure everyone knows the name of a new baron.

This small village doesn't pay any tributes, nor have any lord claimed it as their fief. Still, the only way to civilization will take a multiple-days walk to the nearest village, which is more distinctly a part of Lord Hotys' barony.

[Dimers]

"I'm Aranyel, Siovhan, and these are Lief, Snowfang and Sasha. No, we're not conquerors, just people doing good works. What you owe to Lord Fyodor is thanks, not taxes. The ghouls probably arrived the same way we did, sailing down that underground river -- and it's a good thing we were able to find the hidden dock where that boat was stashed, or you would have faced several more ghouls instead of our own philanthropic souls. Tell me, what will you do now? There may be more undead about, so we must resume our hunt soon."

[Cygnia]

Siovhan looked unsure of herself. If there were more of these ghouls waging war against unknowing towns, then it was true that they shouldn't be holding these forces back just to clean up their village.

"You should go with them..." Hanja interrupted her thoughts.

"What? I should be here--if there's more of those creatures, they could come back..."

"You're better help to the village if we can stop these bastards, child! Besides, I'm not getting any younger. Time for one last grand tour out in the world..." With the hint of a grin, Hanja shot a glance over at Aranyel. "HEY! You got room for a couple more on that boat of yours?"

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang shifta back into his humanoid form "If we stay here, we lose the attack just to potentially fend off a future one. The faster we move, the easier it will be to target the others."

[dangelo]

The villagers are curious about that. One of them steps forwards.
"It's a long way to Thoren... at least a week before you can ride and two more if you get a horse once you hit the valley."

If the group had crossed the heights through the Narrow Path, they would have needed at least three days. They did it a few hours through this shortcut - well, an incomplete shortcut, since you would get to Thoren in a week and a half through the road.
Also it's impossible to move an army where the group is.

[Cygnia]

Siovhan's brow furrowed deep in thought. Her uneasiness with Hanja "inviting" themselves to go with these strangers had been set aside for the time being. No, now her concern was where the ghouls were planning on taking them. Even the undead seemed to have no idea.

But their leader did.

"We need to see where they wanted to take us -- they might have had an ally lurking there." Her mind whirled with odd possibilities.

"An army can't go through these woods -- but what if, what it these ghouls were aligned with a mage of some kind? One capable of moving mass people through Teleport... Siovhan chewed her bottom lip. "...at the very least, it might explain something..."

[dangelo]

A villager raises her fist. "It must be them damn fairies! Some of them must live in the dark woods beyond the orchard."
"That's really the only way to go." The brave lad steps forwards. "You can get from there to the Lower Lake, if you're traveling light. Not with a horse, even less with that horde. The woods are as far as you can go on the back of a horse."

They look to the pine woods covering the hills beyond the village, less than a mile into the shore.

[Yas392]

Lief winces as the villagers and Siovhan describe what the group had gotten themselves into.

"Seems we gotten ourselves into a detour and the woods are filled with misdirection. Snowfang, can you scout ahead for alternate paths to Thoren and Heights? I rather we find other paths other than the woods that do not require us to backtrack through the river."

[Heavenblade]

Snowfang shrugs I could try. Not very good with locations and maps, but a road is always a road, no matter what. Lets just finish the buisness of tactics, and then start our movement.

[dangelo]

Due to his own connection with nature and Siovhan's directions, Snowfang quickly understands the region - not like a map, of course, though with the help or a cartographer that would be possible, but with an instinctive awareness.

The village is squeezed between high hills and towering rocks, and when Snowfang looks at them, he not only sees the rugged terrain, but how the mountains organically sprouted over the ages, crushing against each other until the Heights were formed. He understands the slithering paths that should turn into a road down at the Lower Lake. There are many paths connecting important resources such as Siovhan's village, the orchards, an iron deposit, a couple of lumberjack cabins deeper into the woods and a specific landmark called "The Needle", where one can climb and see the whole valley. The bravest young villagers enjoy climbing the Needle, as it's either a sacred and romantic place for the locals. Some of them see climbing the Needle as a maturity test, and the magnificent view surely rewards the effort to beat the climb.

Behind Snowfang, the river comes out of a cliff and dives into the woods. In front of him, these many paths carve their way across the hills. That's when something sparks Snowfang's curiosity, who then glides down in a wide circle to check out the object of interest.

The rest of the group and some of the villagers barely manage to catch up with the druid. In the middle of the woods, in a apparently random location, Snowfang notices something written on a rock.

"An incantation of sorts." Sasha identifies. "Just like you would find in a scroll."
The words were written in green ink on a large stone slab, but the markings were made almost invisible under the sunlight.

"It's written in draconic, I'm sure it was scribed by an arcane master. The method is unusual... but it's crafty, I must say."

She turns the rest of the group. "This is an arcane anchor. It's activated, and is attuned to at least another one."

Realizing that she had skiped a few steps, Sasha takes a breather. "This is a two-way portal. And a very delicate one, so please don't touch the stone."

[Yas392]

"This must shortcut the undead is taking, huh? So we only need to say the magic words to activate the portal?"

[Cygnia]

Not a mage then, but a device. Siovhan looked in awe and in fear at the stone.

"Has...has this been here all along? Or was this recently scribed?" Instinctively, though without touching, the young woman looked carefully at the stone.


Using Detect Magic

[dangelo]

The anchor is a delicate structure, as Siovhan notices, and would probably crumble if the stone was moved. It could've been there for days, weeks even, but no more than that.

"I have no idea where it would take us." She replies to Lief. "We'd be going straight into darkness."

[Yas392]

Lief glances at the stone with inscription for a while before he turns to Sasha.

"Sasha, can you translate the inscription to us? With care and far away from the rock. We don't want to accidentally activate it."

Knowledge (Arcana) on inscription to see if he can discern any location from the draconic words: [roll0]

[dangelo]

The inscription corresponds to an incantation, but it doesn't say the destination. Lief understands enough of arcane spells to assume it's made for long-distance travels (it could take them to Thoren or even to the other side of the Old One).

"It's not different from other dimensional travel spells I've heard about." Sasha clarifies. "It's just really unstable. Terrible craftsmanship."

[Dimers]

"Sounds like it's hard to say whether it's supposed to allow two-way travel. But given the ghouls' lack of concern for themselves, plus the anchor's instability, I would bet against being able to come back the same way." Aranyel taps his chin. "If we wish to test it, I might go first -- I can read Draconic, which may be useful at the other end. But I'd prefer resting first."

[Yas392]

Lief looks at the rock, shakes his head and walks away from it.

"I am not testing the unstable portal. Better safe than sorry. Let's keep looking for alternate routes. I guess we are back to scouting. I would love to have the option to scout ahead today but I am not going to do that. The trade off would leave us more vulnerable to ambushes. If I have more experience, yes. For now, we will have to do with Snowfang as our scouter."

[Cygnia]

Siovhan shook her head in disbelief. While she understood the risk about a potentially one-way and unstable magic portal, it was still a lead as to who could be behind the undead assault and she didn't know why the others didn't want to take the chance.

Lord of Light, help me!

She waved one of the villagers over and explained what was found about the portal, then adding "The others who are staying behind -- I need you to go back and warn them about this stone. Set a guard around it but don't touch it unless it appears that something is coming out of it." Siovhan grimaced. At the very least, she needed to tell the villagers about this dilemma. If this portal was still a threat to her home, the others needed to be prepared.

[dangelo]

Sasha turns to Aranyel: "Although it is unstable, the main purpose of setting up an arcane anchor is to allow two-way travel. Unlike a scroll, provided the stone isn't moved, we should be able to activate it."

"First those weird symbols on those ghouls' foreheads, now this? Can't this arcane wizard cast proper spells?" She vents.

[Dimers]

"Ahh, then there's little danger of being stranded. Good news indeed." Aranyel rubs his palms together in pleasure. "In that case, Lief, let's jump right through as soon as we're rested and restored. And thank you again for the healing! Siovhan, Hanja? You'll come with us when we're ready?"

[Cygnia]

Both women nodded, though the look of concern Siovhan had towards Hanja coming (and potentially being at risk) was obvious. But the older woman looked eager to get some back at whoever invaded their village.

"Might want to modify those instructions a tad, child. To 'someone other than us'." Hanja gave a wink.

[Yas392]

Lief looks at the stone then to Aranyel.

"If you verify that it is a two way portal, I will follow up. Throwing a stone back to the portal and it appearing back here is acceptable for me."

[Dimers]

Aranyel nods. "No time like the present, then. I'll rest after I come back." He takes a deep breath and attempts to use the portal device.

[dangelo]

The ground shakes lightly as Aranyel says the magic words. The spell cloakes the dwarf in a bright light before shooting him into the unknown; A second later he's not there anymore.

The portal takes Aranyel to a pine forest, right next to a clearing, and suddenly he feels like he can breath a lot easier. The fresh air greets his lungs and he steps firmly on the grass.

Only a second later the dwarf finds himself surrounded by a dozen people - soldiers, actually - all pointing their spears at him.

"Drop your weapon!" A soldier yells. "Step away from the portal, now!"

Seemingly waiting for anyone who came out of the portal, the soldiers are definitely weary of battle, many of them hurt. Their weapons are soaked in ghoul's blood, but there are no corpses around: whatever remained from the undead was dragged to the middle of the clearing and is now burning in a large pyre.

They carry their own banner, but Aranyel recognizes them as Hotys's vassals - more specifically, the burkish mercenaries who run the eastern outpost.

[Dimers]

Aranyel cautiously raises his empty hands and takes one step away from the portal device. "I'm no ghoul, sir. My name is Aranyel, and I'm an associate of Lord Fyodor and a devotee of the sun god Pelor. You look injured -- may I provide healing?"

[dangelo]

The soldiers step back, lowering their spears, and the captain approaches Aranyel. He looks relieved. "We were expecting a cursed army. What's going on over there?" He says, swiftly showing Aranyel the way to a tent where three wounded soldiers are laying down.

"We had a skirmish with the ghouls two days ago, these ones started to feel sick yesterday. We were already too close, so we kept moving."

[Dimers]

Aranyel replies, "There's a bit too much to explain quickly. If you please, let me heal these men, then go back to let my allies know it's safe to come through -- they're anxiously awaiting my return." He casts curative spells on the three wounded soldiers, then comments, "They should get long-term care from a good healer to fight off the disease. I can give that aid if we have the time."

I'm assuming Aranyel learned about ghoul fever from his allies' excellent checks. I'll cast one cure moderate wounds on each of the wounded people, for 2d8+11 healing apiece.

[dangelo]

"By all means, go. We're gonna spend the night here anyway, so take your time, and thanks for your aid."
The captain walks Aranyel to the portal and briefly asks him before he goes, somewhat worried: "Is your lord coming with you?"

[Dimers]

"Lord Fyodor is traveling a separate path, though we hope to rejoin him soon," Aranyel says with a nod. "I should be back in a moment to explain more." He goes to activate the teleporter.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

On the other side, the priest breathes a sigh of relief. "Most is well at the destination. It's in the hands of Lord Hotys's mercenaries -- they almost speared me when I showed up, since they were expecting ghoul trouble. Several of the men are wounded and a couple show signs of ghoul fever. I'd like to go back and help ... I'm less concerned about my own rest, knowing that at least it's safe to cross."

[Yas392]

Lief makes a pinching motion near his helmet.

"Troubling. Aranyel, are you capable to cast remove disease once you rested to counter the ghoul fever or treat disease in another way? I can restore the soldiers' vitality so you can save your spells for the main cause for the soldier's woes."

[Cygnia]

"I can assist with that as well once I get some rest as well and get me strength back up..." said Hanja. "I may not be a full priest, but Pelor has granted me some of His gifts..."

[Dimers]

"Aranyel, are you capable to cast remove disease once you rested to counter the ghoul fever or treat disease in another way?"

"I've only been blessed with knowledge of a few spells, and that's not among them, no. But herbal cures and tinctures should help the body fight it off." Aranyel doesn't seem worried about the men's prospects with only mundane healing.


"I can assist with that as well once I get some rest as well and get me strength back up..." said Hanja. "I may not be a full priest, but Pelor has granted me some of His gifts..."

Aranyel looks at Hanja with surprise. "Pelor? Usually you hear about Bereus in this part of the world. Good to meet another fellow worshipper. Tell me, Hanja, have you heard of any mysterious obelisks or shrines near the village? I'm looking for one for a High Temple quest."

[Cygnia]

Hanja's brow furrowed in thought, but she shook her head after a few moments.

"Afraid I've not seen anything like those around here." The older woman scratched the back of her head. "Now, there's a monastery in the mountains a few days from here -- it's where I took my vows back when I was younger. Took Siovhan in too when she was but a girl..."

At that, Siovhan fidgeted uncomfortably. Hanja took the hint.

"Most times, they keep to themselves, raise herbs and honey, make wine. They're always there for the Lake Fair though, yes. Next month, oh Lord of Light, if there's more of those damn ghouls, oh my, I don't think the Fair would be safe to have! But the monks, they might have some knowledge about shrines or old temple markers -- though, I don't think you and your people would have time for such a detour. Not if there are others still hurt by the walking dead."

[Yas392]

Lief nods at Aranyel.

"Then, we should do that first. Aranyel, lead on. You are familiar with the Lord Hoyts's men so you should act as the middle man between our group and theirs to ensure our exchange is smooth."

[Cygnia]

"We should go through then," Siovhan gestured to the portal. "If these men were attacked by the ghouls as well, maybe they have some information as to who's behind these assaults!"

[Dimers]

Aranyel looks ready to leave again but hesitates a moment. "Snowfang? Anything you want to do before we make the leap?"

[Heavenblade]

Keep your nose clean for troubles, this entire thing feels like something a bigger predator messing with its prey.

[Yas392]

Lief shrugs and nods at Snowfang. He turns to Aranyel, waiting for him to lead the group to the other side.

[dangelo]

"Should we send a messenger to the monastery?" The two brave young villagers ask.

[Yas392]

"It is better to let Snowfang do it. Undead are everywhere. He can avoid them without a problem."

Lief looks at the druid.

"How long does it takes you to fly there?"

[Dimers]

"It is better to let Snowfang do it. Undead are everywhere. He can avoid them without a problem."

Aranyel smiles at the truth of that. Snowfang's magical equipment is quite a wonder, to say nothing of his flight! All the same, he replies to the villagers differently from Lief. "No, no need for a message. It's better to continue on; I can visit the monastery later when milord's service grants me time more leisurely. Let's be off and start helping those soldiers."

[Cygnia]

Siovhan shook her head -- this was her home and her people, monastery included. People around here did need to be warned -- and her village was not beholden to any lord.

"We don't know how long we're going to be gone once we go through that portal. If we're not back in three days, send word to them about the ghouls."

[dangelo]

Being teleported through the portal is like being shot across the planes like a projectile. When the party arrives at their destination, it really feels like they're "landing". The green symbols on the anchor emit a bright light and suddenly they find themselves in a whole different clearing.

During the time Aranyel was gone, the soldiers had brought the wounded and sick closer to the portal so they could be more easily attended. As soon as they come back, the burkish commander makes sure to welcome them.
"I'm Sieur Adrien. Aranyel told us you were coming, we're grateful." Than he looks a bit uncertain; "Father Aranyel?" He asks, not sure if the dwarf should be treated as a priest.

There are three soldiers who seem to have caught ghoul fever and ten other who were just wounded. The whole group is composed by three dozen men and women plus a bunch of horses.

[Dimers]

"I'm not a senior cleric," Aranyel explains. "No title for me yet. You can call me Brother if you prefer." He then quickly performs introductions all around.

[dangelo]

"I've seen royal priests less gifted than you, brother Aranyel." Sir Adrien makes sure to tell the dwarf. "So you are Fyodor's men? I'd like to ask you many questions, and answer yours with what I know."

[Yas392]

"Yes. Let's save the questioning and answering after we tend to these wounded and feverish soldiers. The sooner you can lead us to them, the sooner we can treat their wounds."

If Sir Adrien leads them to the wounded and the sick, Lief reminds the dwarven cleric to save his magic. He will treat each soldier with healing devotion and instructs the wounded and sick on how to activate the magic.

[dangelo]

Sir Adrien shows Lief the wounded men, who seem ultimately grateful and a bit curious about the Binder's healing abilities.
"Thanks to Aranyel, our severely wounded are already stable, but many others need your aid." He explains as they walk. "The enemy archers rained down arrows on us, took a bunch of my men out of combat."

[Cygnia]

For her part, Siovhan wondered why Lief was offering only the barest minimum of treatment for Sir Adrien's people. She gave Hanja a worried glance, concerned of what they may have gotten themselves involved in.

[Yas392]

Lief lags as their guide explains the situation and lead the group to more wounded which he will repeat the process and heal them back to full health.

"Was the leader with them and visible?"

[dangelo]

"Yes, there was a captain." He explains. "It was a skillful rider and a ferocious combatant."

[Cygnia]

"Did the leader escape or were you able to put it down?" Siovhan's gaze darted towards the burning pyre, wondering if there was some lead or clue left behind as to who was behind these undead assaults.

[Dimers]

"I hope the latter. The one we fought had no interest in escape when losing, and I'd hate to battle a more tactically minded creature," Aranyel says.

[dangelo]

"They had a captain, yes." He points at one of his soldiers. "Young Yann right there was the one who took it down with an arrow."
"But listen." He continues. "We have been following them for days, and we took that time to spy on them every other night. I'm sure that that captain was sending messengers around. They gathered at night and spoke fiendish tongues." He hesitates. "All I'm saying is that they might have a magician of great power working for them. There were riders coming and going all the time. It's not looking good."

[Cygnia]

"If they had riders coming in, we could follow their tracks!" Now THAT might be a lead. "Find out who's behind these horrible attacks..."

Hanja cleared her throat "Where are the ones with the fever? I trust they've been quarantined from the rest of your people?"

[dangelo]

"We saw the messengers riding to the east. I have two men marching a day ahead of us on that direction, but my soldiers are no trackers. Besides, those cursed men ride during the night and hide during the day. I have faith in god, but I can't see in the dark."

"Here it is" Adrian leads them to a blood-stained tent where Hanja can find the sick soldiers.

[dangelo]

As night falls over the pine woods, the pyre slowly burns out and the whole camp get somehow quiet. A total of five tents are put up in two groups; two small ones and a big one for most of the 12 soldiers and their families following camp, and two individual ones for Adrian and his lieutenant, lady Sasha, the only knights there.

Both Adrian and Sasha sit with the group around a bonfire to eat and rest. Wooden bowls are given away before an old man comes with a lid and a large pan of soup. They share their bread with the adventurers, but the mood is still quite gloomy. Most soldiers go to sleep earlier than usual and somehow it feels like they lost the battle rather than the opposite. Despiting having destroyed the ghouls, those soldiers will definitely have their worst nightmares that night.

"I think I wanna start with... Where?" Sir Adrian says between bites, gesturing with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Where were you? Where does it take you?" He stutters, not quite finding the right words.
"The thing. The portal."

[Dimers]

"A little village in the mountains ..." Aranyel replies, glancing at Hanja and Siovhan, realizing he hadn't caught the place's name. "I think it was chosen because it was out-of-the-way ... without that portal, it would take a week of hard travel for news to get out anywhere else important. The ghouls there were gathering supplies shipped in along a fast river. Speed and secrecy, that's what seems to be important to our foe."

"I'm curious," he adds, "just where are we now?"

[dangelo]

"In the mountains? If you come from Fyodor's land, do you mean the Owl Heights?" He looks a bit surprised.
"Well, welcome to the Valley, then... you missed it completely."

"This is the Big and Old One." He says, gesturing to show them the woods. "You can't see the Heights from here because of the trees, but you'll spot them in the horizon tomorrow. We're on the other side of the Small Valley."

Sir Adrian points at the sunset. "The Lake of Tasha is that way. We should be heading north to the Outpost." He rotates his arm 90 degrees. "But the messengers were riding east, deeper into the Old One."

"At least they will not be riding those horses for too long if they keep traveling east. We have that on our side."

[Cygnia]

For now, Siovhan was fine not letting either side know much about her home, uncertain as she was of either lords' intention. What mattered to her now was keeping it safe. The ghouls -- and whoever was leading them -- were the immediate threat. Politics could come later.

"We should start tracking those horses then..." The young woman said simply. "...find out who is aiding them."

[Yas392]

Lief heals the sick along with Hanja. When night comes, he stays content, observing the conversation and looking at the warlock's expression. Eventually, the warlock pipes up to deflect the conversation right back to its natural course as the dwarven cleric leaked the location they came from. The masked man nods at no one in particular. He faces back to the gathered.

"That's a start. Before that, we should see if we can try to keep in touch with Sir Lawrence. Say, Sir Adrien, do you have couriers, messenger birds or equivalent?"

[dangelo]

"I have good horses and loyal men to ride them." Adrien replies with earnestness. "We travel light around the Old One, you should too. That's what turned the battle to our side against them cursed, to be fairly honest."

"Besides, we have ravens from Thoren and the Small Keep back at the fortress. Lord Hotys' court wizard often replies directly to us through magic."