Sarusa will use the extra speed to forage for food for the group.
Chloe administers care to the wounded spearman and Volorio for some time in the evening.
As soon as it is possible, the oracle makes her way to her place of rest and curls into a ball to sleep.
Sarusa nods after discussing the watch list with Morin, and scans the area with her spirit senses.
"Sleep well," she says to the group, clapping Tekk on a shoulder, "Except you. Stay awake." She then beds down for the night, her frog clambering near her to sit motionless.
"Right, not a problem."
Sarusa's ranging during the day adds tasty herbs and several plump quail to the cook pot that night and goes a long way toward making trail food more edible. She also manages to find enough fuel to cook the food, though not enough to keep a fire going through the night.
Chloe is able to give some comfort and aid to Volorio and the still unnamed spearman and feels confident that a night's rest will have them both somewhat recovered.
While the ground is still somewhat damp, your tents and blankets help to keep you from getting soggy, though Volorio spends a great deal of time complaining of sleeping on the wet ground, and that he did not receive enough quail. The spearman wavers in an out of delirium, and must be spoon-fed by Chloe to gain any sustenance.
Despite the damp and the whining, the evening turns to bucolic splendor as the stars break out like a million jewels around the moon's curve, all shining in the firmament. With full bellies your group drifts off one by one as the fogs rise on the moor, until finally only Tekkis remains awake.
Almost at the end of Tekkis' shift, he turns towards the prisoners and realizes that Volorio is gone. Corbyn and Sarusa sit up almost simultaneously, their keen ears having picked out a rustle in the grasses that is definitely not the wind.
[ooc]Karozekas, you will have time to prepare different spells in the morning should you so choose. It is currently an hour until midnight, give or take.
Sarusa uses Spirit Sense and peers into the darkness, rising quietly from her bedroll. She motions for silence and points to the rustling. She looks at Tekk and points to his eyes, indicating that he use darkvision, and points to her and Corbyn as trackers.
Tekk quickly rises and climbs to the top of the large wagon, trying to locate the fleeing bandit.
He grimaces in pain as smoke from the fire drifts across his vision, obscuring everything beyond a few feet...
Sarusa does not detect any unnatural presences.
Corbyn hears more rustling outside of the camp. It is getting quieter.
Tekkis blinks his eyes to try to clear the smoke from them, but cannot see much of anything.
Chloe, Morin & Karozekas sleep on, unmindful of threats in the dark and mist shrouded fields.
Tekkis begins shouting in an attempt to wake up the other party members while still searching for the fleeing bandit.
Karo bolts up from his bedroll, looking around mumbling. Whaa, pardon me a moment ladi..es. He clears the sleep from his eyes, coming to full alertness. What it is Tek?
Karo begins scanning the area. Which way Tekkis? How long? Karo begins muttering arcane words before turning to Corvus. Fly Corvus, quickly, stay with him. Karo reaches out and touches the raven. And when you find him, give him this for me. AWAY NOW!
Karo grabs his rapier and begins running to the horses. Corbyn! How do you put a saddle on this beast!
"So much for the element of surprise..."
"Gellig!" Sarusa grabs the ropes that held the bandit and brings it to the frog. "Track this scent!
Sarusa moves quickly to follow the rustling herself.
"Reep."
Gellig scrambles along to follow his mistress, wiping the rope away derisively.
As Tekkis shouts, he espies Volorio in his flight, all pretense of stealth abandoned as he runs across the fields away from the group. However, the young man is soon swallowed by the darkness, too far away for the half-orc's keen night sight.
With Corbyn's aid, Sarusa is able to pick up the thief's trail easily enough, and eventually spots the young man, running away as fast as his legs will carry him over the dark terrain.
Corvus easily spots Volorio and races toward him, folding his wings like an inky dart.
His beak strikes the top of the young man's head, and a blinding spark illuminates the fields for a split second before darkness envelops the night once more.
Volorio drops to the ground, a wisp of smoke wafting off the top of his head.
V at -5hp
Chloe and Morin remain fast asleep.
Morin stirs himself from a surprisingly deep sleep, worn out from the challenges of the past day. He looks around in an effort to understand what is going on around him, with his companions shouting and running about.
Taking in the scene quickly, Morin draws his swords from the bedding and gets to his feet, muttering to himself "May be that we kill the boy for good and all this time, save us a weight of trouble."
"Karozekas, remind me never to piss you off!" Tekk says through laughter.
Seeing Morin rise and draw his sword, Tekk says,"I hope not, I really want him to get to Sandpoint alive."
Tekk hops off the wagon and heads toward the bandit. Back over his shoulder he calls, "But I won't lose any sleep if he arrives as a corpse."
Chloe starts to stir with all the speaking going on, sitting up in disorientation.
"Is... is it morning already... what...?"
Sarusa draws Gellig to her side, patting his head. "You just aren't a bird, my batrachian friend."
She catches up to Volorio and Corvus, nodding in approval to the raven. "Were we scoundrels, I'd suggest cutting the tendons of his heels this time. Tekk, this time can you take the watch while sitting on the fellow?"
-6hp, stable (dead @ -14)
Volorio lies insensate, although his limbs twitch irregularly. His breathing is shallow and ragged amidst the stink of ozone and burnt hair.
All else is quiet, but for the occasional hoot of an owl, somewhere in the distance.
Karozekas, deciding to forgo the horse, runs out into the field following the other's voices and Corvus' cawing. When he gets to Volorio he calls Corvus to his shoulder. Well done Corvus, most impressive.
To the others Does he live? Stupid fellow has some gall does he not?
Tekkis sees the man lying on the ground and hustles back to camp. Finding Chloe, he says, "Chloe, we need you to help the bandit. He tried to escape and he got injured trying to run away. Can you just make sure he won't die? We don't want to heal him too much though."
After initially looking like she is physically struck by this news, the healer nods and follows the half-orc without so much as a word.
"Oh, burning star...," Chloe says, kneeling down to examine Volorio yet again, trying to alleviate a very different form of harm with purposeful movements.
With practiced movements, Chloe checks Volorio's eyes and reflexes and determines that the young man is in stable condition. She does what she can to make him comfortable and keep him from choking on his own tongue. Long term care will bring him back to a reasonable state of health, as could Chloe's own magic, although the bandit has proven that given the opportunity, he will attempt to flee.
Assuming that Chloe does not magically heal Volorio, the rest of the night passes without incident and the sun rises in partly cloudy skies. The morning air is pleasantly cool, and the meadowlarks beating their wings amidst the sun's rays and the disappearing the mists of the fields to the south and east are a welcome sight. To the west and north, the land slopes down towards the bay, becoming boggy and split by small estuaries.
The road, though muddy, is no longer the sticking morass of yesterday's storm, and with your new steeds, the group should be able to make Sandpoint by day's end, barring further untoward complications.
Far off to the northwest, you can see a slender tower, rising from the cliffs above the bay.
Tekkis is in a much better mood once the group sets out the next morning. After the events of yesterday, he has calmed down quite a bit, and is even regaling the group with ribald tales involving a half-orc serving wench and a drunk dwarf sailor.
Chloe turns several shades of red during Tekkis's stories, trying to wrap her head around certain... anatomical nuances that confound her.
|
Corbyn walks over to the wagon where the loot is being kept. He cannot resist the lure of the Mithral Chain Shirt.
"Hey guys, I'm going to exchange this chain shirt for mine. I've always wanted one like this to help steady the aim of my bow. Mine is of fair quality but would never fetch the same price this one would. I'll square up with you guys at the first chance I get."
"As you wish, Corbyn. Too much metal and my connection to the Green is blunted. Chloe...you've never heard of a 'dwarven step sling'? Invented by gnomes, actually; you'll see them in the, er, parlors of little folk.".
Your group continues north along the , making good time for once. Overhead, scattered clouds break up the blue of the spring sky as the sun climbs higher and higher. Karozekas and Morin are the first to spot a tall, slender tower reaching out of the cliffs along the bay to the north, though soon enough the rest of you can see it as well. This is the , rumored to be a lighthouse from some shattered empire of millenia past.
Soon after you get underway, your group passes a small inn that might have been a cozy place to stop for the night. There are also a few small, but well attended roadside shrines to , goddess of dreams and travelers. To the east, the scattered farmsteads give way to dark forests filled with massive, red-barked trees. Those of you familiar with the area recognize the shadowy confines of the , a notorious haunt of bandits and worse, though you are unaccosted as you pass by. To the west, the land sweeps up to rocky tors, with the blue-green shimmering beyond, or sweeps down toward the coast-line, becoming boggy and treacherous. Numerous small streams flow from the forest to the coastline, mostly spanned by simple, wooden bridges, though occasionally a span of stone crosses the water, and twice you simply ford over at a shallow point where the road is briefly swallowed in the wet.
A few larger estates dot the eastern side of the road, some well appointed, others falling into ruin. You pass a painted wagon full of native Varisians, filling the air around them with fiddles and ribald songs as they take their midday meal.
As the sun sinks into the waters of the gulf coast, the tree shrouded path leads to a simple sign with a brass mirror, mostly free of tarnish which reads:
"Let's dump our friends off at the sheriff's office. I'm ready to be done with them."
"Then let's find something to eat... there's a tavern down that way, and an inn where we can have a roof over our heads tonight." Tekk points down a street.
"Also might be able to discover some information our our lost tax collector, and this town we're heading toward. Never hurts to ask around."
”A fine couple of notions there, Tekk. Nothing would make me happier than getting rid of those two louts. I’ve been through Sandpoint a couple of times on my travels, and there’s a couple of decent places to sling a hammock and enjoy a pint, which I guess is something that would make me happier, now I think about it. And we’ve got some horseflesh we might want to sell, no?”
"Oh, I had a great idea. Next time, more than one person per watch. Otherwise, we awaken a horse and make them an alarm-horse."
Sarusa bends to look in the mirror and gives it a little wink. "Let's go paint the town, Morin!"
"Ah. Well... I've been here once, but it was nighttime, and... I think I slept through most of it... you know... c-caravans and what-not."
Chloe cocks her head sideways at Sarusa's suggestion.
"W-well, I need to help hearten Dodi, anyway... so she doesn't hurt anyone in battle. Maybe she could be trained to.. help... on that account. Also, I didn't know.. that you and Morin had paint."
She smiles after a moment of feigned awkwardness, showing she did, in fact, know that isn't a phrase to be taken literally.
"Like Tekkis said... we could also ask more questions in town... I would volunteer for that duty. I won't stray far, I promise, but... I have a way of getting people to talk to me. Still not sure what it is, though..."
Karozekas gets down off his horse, surveying the town and stretching his weary back. Ahh..Sandpoint at last. Tek, I agree, let us be rid of these scoundrels. Then I could use a drink and a warm bed. Though I would like to explore this town a little.
"Oh, I had a great idea. Next time, more than one person per watch. Otherwise, we awaken a horse and make them an alarm-horse."
"Awaken? What does that even mean? I probably sleep less hours than any of you. I'm awake all the time!"
Wagon in tow, your group rides over a small bridge into Sandpoint proper. Cobblestones on the main thoroughfares speak to the prosperity of the town, and the lack of outright stares from the residents indicate that this small community has some culture of its own.
Immediately on your right is a large wooden building, most likely a brewery from the heady aroma of hops and barley. Two heavily armored figures do battle with sword and axe on the sign that hangs over the double doors that face the street.
A few small shops sit across from it, among them a cobblers and a scriveners as well as the Sandpoint Boutique. Further up the street, you can spy signs for an hostelry and an inn directly next to it, with a rusting, many segmented iron dragon for a sign, as well as a butcher and the local Mercantile League. There are docks as well, clinging to the southwest edge of the island the town sits on.
Deep within the town, and on higher ground, the stone Garrison and Town Hall command a view of the area. A large stone cathedral rises on a small hill, well north of the brewery, with many intervening buildings in between.
Dominating all, the broken tower of the Old Light rises at least fifty feet into the air at the northwest corner of town.
A few locals are still on the streets this late in the day, and light spills from many windows. A sandy-haired man, dressed in the tunic and cloak of the Watch flirts with a young, red-haired maiden near to the Inn. Other townsfolk go about their business in the streets, most likely on their way home for supper.
Tekkis nods at Corbyn, "That sounds good. Why don't the rest of us go deliver our cargo while you and Karoz take the excess goods and see what you can get for them. Let's meet back up at the Inn in an hour?"
"Um... which inn, then?" Chloe asks, wanting to make sure that this particular detail isn't glossed over in a rush.
Perhaps Morin or Chloe might accompany Corbyn and me while we try to sell this stuff. They could help make sure we are getting a good deal. Karo says while taking an inventory of what is in the wagon.
"Consider me a volunteer, Karo... I don't think I want to see... where they keep prisoners, here, and shopkeepers often have information on things, so..."