Olivia nods and runs towards the side of the bridge, jumping into the water.
Sander moves to the far side of the bridge next to Claustipher, crestfallen at the need to abandon his compatriots.
As he watches the few stragglers sprint across the bridge or jump into the water, he says "Claustipher, my friend, make ready. They may yet need our help..."
:: Surviving Phaendar Bridge ::
With the bridge nearing collapse, Falcon, Olivia, and Solace all run for the edge and jump into the river. The elemental is just close enough to make it to the far side of the bridge while sprinting. The hobgoblins seem okay with letting them go and scramble to get away from the bridge before it collapses. Claustipher does manage a parting shot however.
With a great grinding noise, the bridge lurches and stones start to fall. The stones splash down around the trio as they are swept under the bridge by the current. Occasionally a falling piece of the bridge grazes them, though no one is directly hit.
Buffeted by the current and hindered by her armor, Olivia laboriously makes her way to the edge of the river. As she does so she is buffeted by rocks in the river. . Once at the rivers edge she tiredly clambers out. Looking around she realizes she is about 160 feet further down the bridge.
The strain of swimming does Falcon in and he falls unconscious about half way to the far shore.
Struggling in her armor, Solace takes a battering as she hits rocks, logs, scaffolding and the gods only know what else in her attempt to make it to shore. Through her struggles she makes some headway but is steadily losing strength.
Seeing Elyas run towards the shore of the river, Ian runs as well. He sprints alongside the edge of the river, keeping pace. He grins as Olivia pulls herself to shore, but gasps as Falcon slips beneath the surface of the water. Ian can't swim well, but he uncoils a rope and offers to tie it around someone's waist.
Daniil quickly ties the offered rope around his waist and jumps in after his fallen comrades.
]
Elyas helps Ian hold on to the rope and braces his feet against a large rock nwar the riverbank, getting ready to start pulling Daniil back in when he gets to Falcon
Claustipher winces as he sees his friends struggling in the water.
"Hell and damnation! We need to help them."
Knowing he is a terrible swimmer he moves to the edge of the water to help pull them out if he gets the chance. Scanning the area he looks for anything he might be able to reach them with.
"Ngiyaqiniseka ukuthi awuyena oshayayo oqinile. Iya kwabanye emapulazini i-firend yami."
"I am sure you are not a strong swimmer. Go to the others in the woods my friend."
So Falcon immediately gains the drowning condition, and spends 10 rounds drowning. He can stay under another 60 rounds and still be revivable, though I’d suggest some channeling as soon as he’s within 30 feet of shore.
Daniil swims.
Olivia catches her breath and stands, seeing that her companions are having trouble making it. She makes a prayer to Erastil and goes to help with the rope.
Feeling particularly useless Claustipher stands on the bank of the water waving about and muttering.
:: Getting out of the River ::
As Falcon goes under, a lot seems to start happening quickly. Malcolm Gray start sprinting for the river, Ian grabs a rope, and Daniil and Elyas sprint towards Ian.
As Daniil ties the rope to himself, Ian, Elyas, and Sander hold onto the end of it, Ian tucked in behind the other two. In the water, Olivia and Solace struggle towards the shore line.
With the line tied, Daniil jumps in the water and swims for Falcons last location as the body slips under the water. The hobgoblins laughter at their plight can be heard across the river as Malcolm arrives and grabs hold of the rope as well.
While Daniil, Olivia, and Solace swim the hobgoblin archers jog over, followed by the heavies. When the hobgoblin archers arrive at the opposite side of the river bank they dig in their pockets and each throw a few coins on the ground before talking amongst themselves and pointing at the group holding the rope.
A volley of arrows arcs towards the group. One of the hobgoblins looks over joyed, thinking its arrow will strike Ian and goes to pick up the coins. Ian mutter something under his breath and goes slightly vaporous, the arrow passing through him. The supposed winner shouts in anger as the others laugh all the while nocking more arrows.
A second volley of arrows arcs toward the group. Dodging out of the way in this tight space is hard and Malcolm, Ian, and Sander are struck by arrows. Not accustomed to the bite of an enemies weapon, and too young to really blame for that, Ian takes off towards the trees. The groan of the hobgoblin aiming at him is audible as he throws more coins on the ground and points at Daniil.
As the heavies arrive and throw down some coins while pulling out their crossbows, the archers third volley strikes their targets again.
As Olivia climbs out of the water, a bolt smashes into the ground beside her head, throwing rock and gravel in her face. Elyas, and Sander can feel their muscles strain and sprain as they twist out of the way of the archers arrows and Malcolm loses his breath as an arrow hit him right in the gut.
The situation turning dire, Sander lets go of the rope and runs to get Olivia, Solace, and Daniil near himself. Pulling forth his holy symbol he calls upon the divine light of Erastil to heal them all. The light surges forth from his symbol more powerful than normal, and Sander hears a whisper in his mind May you keep your friends safe, and right this wrong in my name...
Everyone can feel the healing energy wash over them.
It seems to matter not however. Elyas, Malcolm, Sander and Olivia are hit with another volley of arrows as Olivia reaches the rope to hold on to it.
As the arrows strike, Sander and Malcolm fall at the same time that Daniil dives for Falcon. He comes up empty the first time, but on a second attempt surfaces with Falcon in his grasp, keeping the mans heav just above the water so as not to make him too much of a target for their bets.
While Daniil is diving for Falcon, the hobgoblins that struck down Sander and Malcolm are grabbing the coins at their feet while bickering with the others, and for a few moments you remain forgotten. As you pull Daniil and Falcon to shore however, one of them notices and points. More coins quickly hit the ground as arrows are nocked. The hobgoblin who downed Malcolm seems uninterested, but the one who downed Sander takes aim at Falcon.
Only one archer hits their mark as Daniil and Falcon are pulled a shore, the arrow winding Daniil as it bounces off his armor.
At a loss for how to help Claustipher makes his withdrawal into the woods with the others.
Well that escalated quickly. Best to get to safety and hope the others can as well.
Panting from his exertion Daniil tried to catch his breath as he reached the river bank. As he looked around the direness of the situation struck him and he quickly removed his dagger and cut the rope from his waist. "Throw the rope to Solace," he urged.
He reached into his sodden belt pouch and removed a vial dropping that to the ground too. "That's a healing potion give it to one of our comrades on the ground," Danill suggested hopefully as he reach down and grabbed Falcon and began dragging his body toward the woods.
Elyas holds out his holy symbol and a warm light surrounds him and his companions, healing some of their wounds.
He moves to help the wounded, if Sander is still unconcious he will pick him up and carry him towards the forest
As soon as Daniil reaches the river bank, Olivia takes the rope and throws it to Solace.
"You're almost there! Don't give up!", she shouts.
:: Finally out of the Water ::
After the volley of arrows lands, Daniil cuts the rope from hit body. Olivia takes the rope and runs towards Solace who continues swimming towards shore, though is struggling. Seeing that there's no more he can do Clausitpher runs for the forest as Elyas pulls out his holy symbol and lets a burst of energy surge forth.
Daniil pulls a potion out and drops so someone else can use it. Olivia throws the rope to Solace who grabs hold of it, the end of her ordeal finally in sight. Elyas picks up Sander who remains unconscious and, moves towards the forest.
Seeing their bets starting to get away, the archers all fire another volley. One of the archers dumps more money on the ground and seems to be going after the unconscious folks now. As the arrows land only Daniil is struck, his back turned as he tries to address getting Falcon on his shoulder. The arrow bites deep.
In pain from the arrow stuck in him, Daniil gets Falcon on across his back and start off after Elyas, making towards the forest. Olivia reels Solace in and helps her up onto the bank.
As arrows rain down amongst the group, one grazes Elyas as he moves off with Sander. Tragically, one of the arrows lands with a solid smack in Malcolm's chest. Those who see it also see the his breathing stop. One of the hobgoblins cheers and scoops up some coins before walking away.
Seeing Malcolm's demise, Olivia and Solace head toward the forest, with the hooting and hollering of the hobgoblins at their backs.
A final volley is fired by the hobgoblins. One of the arrows smacks Solace in the back but bounces off her armor.
:: Entering the Forest ::
Getting to the trees and out of arrow fire, people frantically gather round to help, even if they don't quite know how.
Daniil sets Falcon on the ground and Elyas pushes to Falcon's side to begin administering aid.
A quick pounding on Falcon's chest and some compressions clears Falcon's airway. He remains unconscious but alive.
"Carry the injured, we haven't time or capacity to heal them here." Aubrin states as she looks over Falcon and Sander.
As the group turns to go deeper into the forest, most of the group looks back to take a final look at Phaendar. Some small fires still burn, and the smoke from them, as well as those put out already, hangs close to the town turning the sky above it into an orange haze. Signal horns and chanting can be heard from the town as well, it seems a general victory celebration has begun. The only hobgoblins that do not look overly pleased are those standing by the remains of the bridge, having failed in their efforts to save it.
Though it is getting somewhat late in the evening, the group pushes onward, deeper into the forest. While not familiar, the direction is known to you all from past experiences in the town being sacked. Hopefully it will merely be a few weeks in the woods and then Phaendar will beckon to be rebuilt.
As you walk you notice that there are more people here than you rescued. Reuben Evans, William Johnston, Dylan Fisher, Samuel Black, Henry Wells, Davian Bush, Skylar Reed, Cole King, Mekhi Pena, Austyn Stuart, Brooke Sharp, Maya Price, Mia Fletcher, Imogen Chambers, Jennifer Robertson, Celeste Flynn, Malaysia Christensen, Skyler Fleming, Alani Bullock, and Jennifer Hartman have all joined the group as well. Each of them has a a day or two worth of food, but not much more.
The townsfolk talk as they walk. Two smaller groups, only about twenty to thirty people each, tried to make it to Gristledown and Shoren. The risk is higher for them because the little villages are much easier to get to than heading deeper into the forest.
After a few hours midnight aproaches. The townsfolk can no longer keep going and people begin to find the most comfortable place to sleep possible under the canopy of trees. No one seems concerned enough to keep a watch this night as everyone is too exhausted.
Before nodding off, Lorne and Aubrin come over and call upon their Erastil and Cayden to heal Sander and Falcon.
:: First Day ::
The new day dawns cool, but livable. Few people are truly awake yet. The birds chirp and leaves rustle in the gentle breeze. If it weren’t for the horrors of the previous night you almost think you could be at peace here.
Each of you is roused and told to come meet with some of others to decide what to do. As you wake yourselves and walk over you notice that all those present are either the mercantile, political or spiritual leaders of Phaendar. Jet, Rhyna, Kining, Lorne Evenstride, Father Shamus, and Vero Caligni stand in a semi circle around Aubrin, who is sitting with her back against a tree laboring to breathe.
”Good you have come.” Aubrin starts ”We need to determine how best to go about surviving until those damned hobgoblins leave Phaendar. We decided that since you roused the townsfolk and saved so many people you should be given a chance to speak. Initiative will help us survive this.” Aubrin coughs a bit before continuing with a smile,”Yes, even your input is valued Ian, though few are likely to follow you as a leader yet.”
”Shouldn’t be to hard to provide for ourselves after the amount of looting these folks did...” Kining grumbles, face dark.
”We need to find enough food for us all. We should all fan out as we move deeper into the forest” Jet states.
”It would probably be better to put more ground between us and the hobgoblins. They were after slaves and we are still ripe for the picking.” Lorne says ”Deadeye will provide us with food a plenty once we are safe enough to eat it.”
Father Shamus, Vero, and Rhyna stay silent for now thinking. It is obvious that your next words will be important given the differences in opinion between these well respected members of Phaendar.
Ian just barely manages to dodge the second arrow flown at him, though he was proud of himself for having managed that trick he had done to avoid the first one. His courage failing him, he flees into the forest with the rest of the refugees.
When he sees the rest of the group he had fought with arrive, he gasps with relief and goes to greet each of them, expressing how happy he is that they had all made it. He is already exhausted when the group begins their flight into the forest, and happily plops down onto a soft patch of grass to promptly fall asleep as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
He sleeps fitfully and wakes up early, having plenty of energy. When summoned to the council of whomevers to deal with how to deal with their situation, he surprises himself by speaking up first: "What makes you think that they'll leave?" he says. "And... if they do, what makes you think that where they end up going might not be worse?"
Falcon comes to with the magical healing. He sputters the rest of the water out of his lungs, wipes his mouth, and looks around.
”I’m not dead?” he asks, more than a little surprised. ”Pa!? I’m not dead!” He looks around for his father.
The grief hits him hard. He sobs quietly for a long time, eventually crying himself to sleep. He wakes occasionally throughout the evening, only to soon drift fitfully off again.
In the morning, he rouses himself, finds an isolated area of the camp, and exercises, seeking comfort in the familiarity of the forms. The exercises bring back memories of the protracted Battle of Phaendar Bridge. He cries out in anguish as the memory of his best friend Talgrum falling beside him comes back, and anger at how he hadn’t even allowed that loss to register until now. He continues to work the forms through his tears until somebody comes to summon him to the meeting.
At the meeting, Falcon is silent. He grumbles angrily at the suggestion of spreading out, and nods at Lorne’s statement.
Olivia seemingly keeps her calm as the group retreats from the collapsed bridge, doing her best to smile and reassure any townsfolk who looks particularly scared or anxious. "The worst has passed.", she says. "Things will be back to normal soon."
As everyone gets tired and goes to sleep, Olivia rolls around trying to sleep, the sobbing from Falcon keeping her awake; she eventually stands up and walks away from the group, trying to find a quiet place in the forest.
"Once again, you couldn't save anyone, could you?", she mutters, the tears finally coming out. Out of rage and denial, she punches the trunk of a tree with her bare fists, again and again, the , as mempries of those she left behind pass through her mind. She falls on her knees, joining her bloodied hands in a desperate prayer for Erastil to protect her family.
As the prayer ends, she is surprised to find her hands are no longer injured.
---
Olivia wakes up early next day, scouting around to see if their position is still safe and if she can find any food. After some time, she joins the meeting.
"We can't know if the hobgoblins will leave, but we have to find ways to survive regardless.", she says. "We don't know yet if they'll come into the woods searching for us, so we should never leave people alone or split in groups that can't defend themselves...I believe the bridge being destroyed should at least give us some time to find food here before we move to another area."
”It has to. It has to have been worth it,” Falcon mutters to nobody in particular.
Whoever is foolish enough to be the one to wake Claustipher is greeted by, well, a grumpy old man with a stick. Surely once he is poked around the head and neck by the staff he retreats.
Before moving out he looks for what he now considers his new ward, the Elemental. He will do his best to comfort him and get him to follow and stand with him at the meeting.
Arriving shortly after the meeting starts he heads to stand near Ian. With a noticeable limp he steps forward and clears his throat, multiple times if needed, before speaking.
"Well, you all seem to be rebounding and have come up with a plan. How nice but I, like Ian, question the premise that we will just move back home when they leave may be very flawed."
"There is a good chance that they are the tip of a spear and now, well, our home is nothing more then a supply stop as they move forward."
He takes a deep breath.
"I would like to hear from some of the others before WE, as a group make a plan. Vero? Rhyna? Father Shamus? It looks as though you have thoughts."
At Claustipher's prompting the others speak up.
"I am here more to provide counsel on what we should NOT do if it comes up. Though I do believe that whatever happens, we should find a safe place for those who can not fight and then try to head back to watch and see what the hobgoblins do." Father Shamus says, his voice calm and collected, belying the turmoil in his mind.
Her voice nervous, Rhyna speaks her mind, "Regardless of what we do, we need to get setup to help people as they fall sick, get injured, and otherwise need care. A stable spot is better for this so I suggest we find somewhere to make a permanent camp." Rhyna lets out a sigh as she finishes, obviously feeling like she can't fill Noelan's shoes.
"Merely need to wait it out." Vero state. "The invaders will leave as they always do. It is a balance, what comes must end." Vero lets out a sigh before continuing, "I also insist that as little trace as possible is left. This many people will bring swift change to the places in the forest they visit, and while they need to survive, their passing should disturb as little as possible. The forest has a right to its being as much as any of them."
"Let me think... Does anyone know of a good spot we can head to so that we can set up a camp? A clear hill maybe, or maybe an abandoned logging lodge?"
He thinks for awhile. "If we're going to check and see what the hobbos are doing, I can go with. I have... some powers, and I think I can be helpful."
---Escape from the bridge---
Elyas hauls Sander into the forest, cursing as more arrows fly past them. As he makes it into the woods he drops Sander heavily and almost falls to the ground out of exhaustion, but sees that Falcon needs help.
He pulls himself together and stumbles to Falcon's side, thanking Iomedae that he is well versed in how to save a drowning victim. He pumps Falcon's chest and is relieved to see water come out of the man's mouth.
As night falls, Elyas is feeling well and truly spent. He has never before in his life had to fight in any real battle, and has never had to call upon his god so many times in a single day. He is amazed that he is still standing, and even more amazed when the light of Iomedae shines from his holy symbol one last time before going dim and cold
---The next day---
Elyas wakes up more sore than he has ever been, aching all over from battle wounds and repeated healings and the flight from the bridge.
He gets up and prepares for the day, then walks around the survivors looking for anyone in need of healing or moral assistance. He tries to speak encouraging words to those who are missing family members, but finds it hard to find the words through his own grief. He angrily prays to Iomedae to make this all worth it.
He joins the others in the council meeting and listens to the various opinions. Finally he speaks up:
I am in favor of moving quickly to put some distance between us and the town. It may not take long for all of those hobgoblins to start venturing into the woods, even without a bridge.
However, we also need to get ourselves a good location to dig in, as Rhyna says. We must have a stable location to tend to the wounded and supply our people.
We have to assume that these goblins will not just up and leave quickly. If we want our land back, we will have to take it. Otherwise, we need to evacuate and find a new home...
Food must be our priority now. We do not have enough to keep all these people fed for long. As soon as we find a good location we should dig in and start regular hunting parties
Honored to be included in the council meeting Daniil holds his tongue but finally voiced his opinion agreeing with Elyas, "Hope for the best but prepare for the worst." He stood and began to pace as he spoke, "Prudence would suggest we move quickly and find a good location to hold up for a while."
------------------
"I'd like to offer my help in finding a more stable camp location. I've done my fair share of wandering around these forests, with luck we can find someplace out of the way, where those hobgoblins won't wander."
"Once we are safe and secure, maybe we could work on ideas for rescuing more our people. Though I have no ideas on how to go about doing that yet, I know that we need to try."
”Yes, we still have people to rescue,” Falcon says.
”And others to avenge,” he adds quietly but grimly.
:: First Steps ::
As everyone's opinions area heard, Aubrin speaks up "It seems like moving forward and finding a more defensible location is the more popular choice at the moment." A fit of coughing over takes Aubrin momentarily, she has refused to have her wounds healed in lieu of others being served first. "As for where the location maybe, the denizens of the forest shift to much for me to say with certainty where safety will lie. We will need to send competent scouts out a head of us to make sure our path is clear. I suggest these eight" Aubrin gestures to those the party, "head out first, the rest of us following after and more slowly to gather what food we can find."
"That still leaves the matter of where to go open for discussion, Aubrin." Kining states.
"Other than the Gristledown and Shoren, the only other permanent place I can suggest is the Chernasardo Ranger post southwest of Shoren." Aubrin says with a shrug "I leave it to them to decide, they're the ones who must lead the journey."
At this point Father Shamus speaks up. "Going to either Gristledown, Shoren, or this outpost will lead us towards the edge of the forest. Our safety is in how deep we dare enter. The deeper we go the longer it will take to thoroughly search everything."
"Aye, the forests edge is where we will find trouble." Lorne says. "The towns will be targeted to get their supplies, we can't lead the group there."
"The towns will probably have enough food and supplies to let us ease into winter though!" Jet says, urgency in her voice.
Rhyna pips in with "And the towns will have medical supplies."
"As I said before, let them decide. They will be scouting a head and it is fairest to let them choose their fate. We have enough healthy bodies to defend ourselves when they are gone, and we can move slowly gathering food towards an agreed upon meeting location for them to meet us at." Aubrin says.
"Sounds like a good plan. We'll do our best and find a good place for us to stay.", Olivia says, optimistic. "Even if we don't stay in a town I think its only fair that we include them in our route so we can at least warn them of potential danger."
Daniil shakes his head as he paced not sure where they should begin scouting. He stopped and looked at his companions, "Any ideas?"
”If the nearby towns haven’t been attacked yet, they soon will be, and they would be fools not to band with us for defense. We should seek allies among them, others capable of fighting and put together a resistance force.”
Ian thinks... Hmm. "Why don't we send a few people to each town to warn them about the hobgoblin threat? Maybe some of our.... I dunno, woodsy people? People who can get along in the wild in a small group and move quickly? Me and the others can go ahead and check for dangers, and I agree that we should move deeper into the forest, but we don't want to leave the others behind."
Claustipher sighs.
"Ian is right, always a bright lad. Sending at least a runner to surrounding towns would make the most sense. They don't need to be a capable fighter, more someone unassuming who would go unnoticed mostly."
"Maybe the ranch on the way to Shoren for the larger group. Water makes for faster travel and the hobgoblins my take advantage of that. Staying could place an undue burden on the town but we may be able to gather allies.]"
Daniil nodded his head in agreement at Ian's suggestion, "That sounds like a good idea sending runners to each village."
Smart kid, he thought as he listened to the others.
"Warning all the other towns is a good idea, but we should be careful lest we stumble into a town that has already fallen like ours."
"We should also be sending out small groups to forage and hunt for game nearby. We shouldn't count on being able to recover anymore food from the town and need to prepare ourselves for the winter. Perhaps we should also look for a more insulated place for a camp. Maybe a large cave or at least some large boulders nearby to provide windbreaks."
I agree with Solace, Elyas speaks up, nodding.
it will be cold before we know it, and we will not last out in the open. A cave could also help hide us from roving patrols of hobgoblins.
Warning the other towns is a good idea, but the bulk of our resources should be pointed towards finding a stable place to stay for an unknown amount of time...
"Yes, yes. If I have to sleep outside I may not be able to walk in the morning."
:: First Steps ::
"Aye, we should send people to Shoren and Gristledown to warn them. Lirosa and Taidel can go to Shoren, while Cyne and Reuben go to Gristledown. Given their talents we can send them without food, as others here will need it more." Aubrin says. The others nod in agreement on this.
Lorne speaks next, "We will rouse the others and organize them to gather food, but our moving will be slow going. The eight of you should use the next bit to figure out where to lead us to. As Aubrin said, if you are to take on the danger you should decide what our goal is."
"While I don't know much about the forest, I do think that you eight should head out at least a half our before the rest of us. Many of us are not suited to moments of... uh ... sudden distress. If you can deal with anything before we get to it it will make us feel more secure. There are enough of us here to watch our back while you distant." Rhyna suggests.
"It has been some time since I have felt the need to travel like this. My knowledge is out of date so I will let you more youthful folks pick a direction I think. I have been to Gristletown so something new is always nice even if the name is... poorly chosen."
"I think we should visit the Chernasardo Ranger camp for now. I bet they know the forest much better than we do."
”I agree. If nothing else, they need to be warned.”
Elyas nods. yes, we will need all the help we can get. If anyone knows a safe place to set up it will be the rangers...
Ian shrugs, then nods. "A good a place as any to start. We'll figure more out as time goes by, and we see what's happened to the other villages," he says. "And I'd like to come with, if that's ok."
"With a destination in mind, there's no reason to put off travel. I suggest we get a good night's sleep and then head out at first light. Maybe we can get some info from the Ranger camp to help determine our next move after that."