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Mustafa reminds Newmark of the foes they faced on the way here. "There is no guarantee that you would be capable of protecting the lady by yourself long enough to return to town. There is safety in numbers."
As the bodies are laid out in preparation, Mustafa pronounces a prayer to Sarenrae as he light the pyre. He nods to Ylosani. "This is only the first step. Whatever is going on here needs to be fixed."
"Now then, let's get the lady back to town."
"Then let us be off once we have discharged their final rites." Thorn pips up. Knowing that going back to town would be good even if his patrons aren't pleased as a minor headache begins plaguing him.
"We get the lady back and perhaps plan out our next move."
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The lady speaks up "if you wish to go on ahead, all I need is a set of cold weather clothes, and I can make my way back to town"
As you look through the dead companions gear, most of it was looted, though a wand of CLW was overlooked, either in haste or it was well hidden enough
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Mustafa smiles at Eladorn. "Good find. That wand could definitely come in handy."
He almost gasps, however, at Argentea's suggestion. "This is not an area fit for man, nor beast. No, milady. At least one of us will be escorting you back." He grins a bit, saying "After all, what good would come of this expedition should you be kidnapped again?"
"Indeed. There's no way we're letting you walk back to town alone. Capable you must be... I'm certain of it. But you were just kidnapped. This is the first you've seen of what can remain to be seen of the sun in days. Have you even eaten? Did they feed you?"
He shakes his head as he starts digging in his pack for rations.
"No... no.... We will see you back. All of us." He hands her a leaf-wrapped packet containing a pounded and formed mix of suet, nuts, and berries.
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"No... no.... We will see you back. All of us."
Newmark tries...but, he just can't resit one last parting shot. Are you sure? Perhaps there's a pig sty we should muck through before we go? This group, portends to be noble..but, do they even know what they're doing? They run around checking stables and crap houses? I suppose I should consider the source...elves and country folk pretending to be adventures.
"Okay. Newmark stays behind to check the pig sty." He looks around at the others, shaking his head, as if to say "This guy?"
But... he does seem to reconsider.
"It's not a terrible idea, though, for some people to stay behind here. Maybe two two of us could return to Heldren with the Lady, while the others stay here. We can fix the damage to the lodge and prep it as a sort of home base that we can use as we venture further into the woods to investigate the weather problem."
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"Well, that would be leaving it to the expert," Ylosani responds to Eladorn's suggestion about who should check the pig sty.
"But I don't like the idea of splitting up. We've already seen how dangerous the creatures stalking this unnatural winter can be and, even with the defense offered by the lodge, I wouldn't trust the ability of 2 people left here to withstand an assault. We'll take the lady back then return and investigate further. Perhaps she'll be kind enough to provide us more details about what happened along our trip?" he looks hopefully to her as they prepare to tread a now familiar trail.
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Maraxus ignores the annoying dwarf, though a short daydream of smashing in his skull does flash past his eyes.
"Our, and your" with a nod to the elven archer, "Primary task was to secure this lady and return her safely. With at least one of those ambushing fae still alive, I recommend we remain together in force and complete the primary objective. Then we can be determine our next move."
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At the mention of cold weather gear for the lady tyrael will walk back into the lodge and grab the bear skin rug from the floor and wrap it around her shoulders.
" theres not much in the way of anything warm in there but this should help."
Looking at the group.
"lets be off as it shall be dark soon and who knows what learks out here in the dark. "
Despite his lack of respect for a couple of his fellow party members, Nemark, is reverent when the bodies are placed on the pyre. He says nothing but audible but, does whisper a short prayer to Torag that their souls might find peace. The lady Argenta having never responded to him...causes Newmark to likewise ignore her. another milk-sop noble in need of rescue...too good to talk to common folk. Suppose, there's nothing new there ...mi' Lady.....you will be offering an award, or come spring time their may be some ...accidental fires in your finest grain fields. Newmark spares a glance at the noblewoman wrapped in bear skins and spits.
After some empty words are said by, the mercenary Ylosani and Maraxus; Newmark falls in with the rest of the group and heads back to town. Will need to remember to order some snowshoes when I get back to town...I wonder if these Taldor farmers even know what snowshoes are?
No one is happier then Thorn to see the comforts of Civilisation as his face spilts into a wide grin.
"Ahh I see and can dream only about the sot beds awaiting us now." He doesn't pay much attention to his companions as his patrons doesn't seem to have pushed him into....
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Ylosani does not relax until they actually enter the village and discover that it has not been ransacked in their absence.
He leads the group to the tavern and finds a table near the fire, sitting her down.
"Now, can you tell us anything else about what happened to you, milady? Did you see who abducted you? Were they humans? Elves? Orcs? Fae? Did you see anyone else when you were in the lodge? Did they mention any other locations where they might be hiding?" he asked.
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When the elf barges in on Newmark's conversation with the lady...Newmark quietly withdraws. He heads to the nearby Tavern and orders a drink. Maybe this isn't the group I was destined to travel with? Newmark, heads to the local outfitter and describes to him how to string together basic snowshoes. It takes hours but, by evening there's a knock on his Inn door and the snowshoes Newmark had Prepaid for..are delivered to him.
In the morning Newmark wakes before any of the others. He leaves a few coins on the desk in his room to pay for the lodging and double checks his pack. Satisfied Newmark sets out on his own.
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"This is interesting. We assumed you had been the target, that perhaps they planned to ransom you. But if they simply left you behind, your abduction may have been more of a crime of opportunity. Or perhaps a distraction from something else." He rubs his chin thoughtfully.
He turns to Ylosani. "Have there been any other strange occurrences about? Aside from the unseasonable weather, I mean."
"Please don't think me rude, milady; I'm sure you're exhausted from your ordeal. But I must ask if you can describe the 'ice devil.' Any information at all could be helpful," he says, trying to be as tactful as possible.
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"There have been a number of strange creatures reported. I suspected they were simply taking advantage of the unusual weather but perhaps they were brought along by the invaders," Ylosani responded.
He waits for any further information from the noblewoman before thanking her and departing.
"We'll return to the cabin tomorrow and see if we can pick up the trail from there, since it is clear that we have not solved the full problem," he tells the party.
Thorn is more then happy to retreat to the comforts of his room leaving the reporting and questioning to his companions.
He needed time to commune (Report) to his divine superiors. Perhaps they might have something else for him to perform.
Eladorn helps deliver the lady to her bodyguard, sending a runner to go fetch the council along the way. He introduces himself to the Ulfen Guard, as he'd never met the man initially.
"I'm Eladorn; I'm a ranger out here in Heldren. I'm sorry I wasn't around when your caravan was attacked; I was in fact on my way for supplies to deal with this cold. Something's amiss, but we're going to find out what." With that, he motions to the Lady so that she can reunite with her guard.
"No; we are still looking into that. It comes from deeper in the forest. We felt it most important to get the Lady returned to civilization before we proceeded further."
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Ylosani will accept the payment but will take none of it. Instead, he will ensure it is distributed to the rest of the people who joined him in his quest to put his comrades to rest.
He nods singly to Eladorn's explanation. "I'll be returning tomorrow to pick up the trail and I am hoping that many of those who were involved in retrieving the good Lady will join me as I continue this quest."
He will let the rest of the group know that he will once again be waiting when the sun rises the next morning for any who want to join him.
And, will, in fact, be standing in the same spot the next morning. His expression is noticeably less somber and desperate, but no less dedicated.
Thorn is more then happy to accept the gold, foreseeing a perfect sunny and warm location away from here but morning finds himself infront outside after receiving various different lectures on 'responsibility' from different personages the night before.
"The divine has spoken and I agree that I shall continue."
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tyrael will look over at the elf.
"the gods have sent me here for a reason. i feel that my work is not done and Apsu seems to agree as i have not been tasked elsewhere by him."
Tyreal will accept the gold and place it in a pouch on his waist. the next morning when he awakes he goes downstairs and orders himself a nice hot breakfast knowing that it will be a long time before he gets another warm meal. After breakfast he will load up his pack and head out to where he meet the elf before. he reaches this spot as the sun is just starting to come up and as soon as he see's the others arrive he speaks.
"well it seems time waits for no man (elf or any other creature for that matter) so lets get going while we still have some heat in our bones."
with that statement being made he will follow the trail that lead them to the lodge just the day prior and wait for ylosani to pick the trail back up.
Eladorn and Shael are both awake and ready at the meeting spot; they both have apparently been there for quite some time, having slept somewhere in the woods nearby and woken with nature.
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"Thank you," Ylosani says simply when most of the group gathers again the next morning. There is no sign of the irascible dwarf but he doesn't give the fellow much time to show up (none, in fact) once the others are there.
Instead, he sets back along what is now an all too familiar trail. When they reach the fork, he chooses the right path, knowing it has been cleared more recently and not at all trusting that the left hand path hasn't been set with new guards or dangers.
Assuming they make it to the cabin with no further incident, he prowls the outskirts, on the watch for danger.
"Eladorn, can you search for tracks or a trail that might have lead to and from here that our quarry might have used?"
Before taking a look for tracks, he takes a cautious step back into the lodge, to see if anybody had returned in the time they were away.
After establishing that the lodge is still secure, he continues on to look for tracks. Eladorn scouts around the cabin, ruling out the tracks of he and his companions from the past two days. He focuses on the far side of the cabin, opposite the direction they came from.
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Maraxus is quiet as the group returns and reports in, simply observing as he had little to add that the keen eyed elf and hunter didn't offer.
The following morning finds him waiting with the rest of the group.
"I am compelled to see this through, though only Gorum knows why he sent me."
With that he takes his place towards the front of the group, hammer resting on his armored shoulder, eyes roving, tunelessly whistling a soft marching song as he goes.
"So where do we from here?" Thorn asks as the party investigates the cabin.
"Is there another path from here that goes beyond this cabin?"
"So bridging problems?" he attempts a lighthearted joke, not wanting to look down.
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Maraxus chuckles at Thorn's attempt at a joke as he looks at the bridge.
"Bridge clumping us up, high cliff, this seems to be a perfect place for an ambush, assuming the enemy has more flying creatures. Or perhaps the necromancer could have zombies waiting at the other end. Keep weapons ready and eyes sharp."
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A bridge made of rope and wooden planks spans a narrow ravine.
It’s already covered in ice and snow, and it sways alarmingly in the
icy winds blowing through the gorge. The turbulent waters of a
fast-moving creek surge through a couple of waterfalls far below.
Those who cross I need a reflex save and I need to know how fast you are going across
Eladorn studies the bridge. He knew it well from other trips into these woods from the hunting lodge, but he and Shael had always taken other--much longer--ways around so that she didn't have to deal with this kind of unstable footing.
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Despite how precarious the passage on the bridge appears, Ylosani takes the lead. He is far from reckless about it, though and moves very carefully, keeping his eyes alternately on the icy passage he's treading and the land on the other side, watching the former to avoid the slickest spots and the latter to avoid sliding into an ambush.