Before setting out, Anastacia has a meeting with her staff. "I will be accompanying Lord Wilhelm as he explores more of the Geenbelt. I need to keep abreast of the happenings here, in Zatokska." Anastacia smiles at the guards. "I'd like you all to pay attention to what you hear around town, and in the taverns. If you hear anything interesting, pass it on to Brother Anitov. " Anastacia turns to the acolyte. "I'm counting on you to be my eyes and ears here as well. If anything of interest happens, you can write it down and place the note in this." Anastacia hands a scroll case to Anitov. She leads the way out into the garden behind the Coiled Path Monastery. She sets the scroll into the outstretched arms of a small statue, a winged cherub or cupid. The artist's intent is somewhat unclear. "Place the message here. My messenger will retrieve it." Anastacia's face becomes even more serious than usual. "I doubt i will send many messages to you by this method, but check here every day. If I do send you a message, it may be vital."
Anastacia looks her staff over, sizing them up. "I know you are not spies. I'm not asking you to be. I'd just like to keep up on what is happening here. I trust I can count on you all to keep quiet about this. Our business is ours."
When Natalie is ready to setting out, she goes to the Monastery to see Anastacia before they leave. She walks in just as Anastacia is finishing her talk with the staff. "Lady Stormwind is right, infomation is important and you don't need to be a spy to listen to what happens in Zatokska. Most people often like to confer with a priest about things." She smiles and turn to Anastacia "Pardon me on intruding Lady Stormwind, I couldn't help to overhear you. I wanted to ask if I could have one or two of your acolytes relay any information they hear around town to me aswell as you? If they just leave it at the tavern one of my people with pick it up."
"A priest hears much, it's true. Much of that is confidential. It is a trust not lightly broken, Natalie. That being said, I see no problem with sharing information. If your agent needs to send you a message, they can put it in the scroll case as well."
"Of course Anastacia, I would not ask them to do anything they are uncomfortable about, that being said I appreciate anything they want to share. And I thank you I'll let my agent know if it's urgent they can put it there."
Pruett holds his action, and will either wait for direction from the Baron or mirror his action if he rides towards the cursing.
Gorruum and Ubagub hesitate for just a moment to see if Wilhelm issues a command.
"That wagon will be washed away!" Anastacia guides Avalanche forward with her knees. Meanwhile, she pulls a rope out of her pack.
"What can we do about this Anastacia?" Natalie asks while riding next to her guiding her mount with her knees to, looking to Anastacia Natalie decides to also find her rope.
"I was going to get a rope on the wagon, then use Avalanche's strength to help pull.
"Ubagub also help pull." Gorruum guides Ubagub up to join Anastacia and Natalie. "No rope, but Ubagub very strong."
"Here Gorruum, Ubagub may be stronger and you can probably guide him better then I can this horse!" Natalie says as she hands the rope towards Gorruum.
Wilhelm waves Natalie into his study, where he is being assisted into his armor by his steward, Domitian. With a final heave, the last of the buckles holding his armor on are tightened and Wilhelm nods to the man, "Thank you, Domitian. If you'd see to the rest of the gear, I'll join the party shortly."
To Natlie, he says as he tests the range of motion of his arms in his full plate, "I apologize for the delay, you had something you wanted to speak about?"
He listens in thoughtful silence that grows quickly darker as Natalie speaks, "I don't know that I've ever heard anything substantial about these assassins, so I'm glad you brought this to my attention. I don't know that it's enough to act on, but it bears watching. Do you know for cert-" Wilhelm cuts off as he finishes working through what Natalie had said. Obviously surprised, a hint of bemusement touches his smile as he says, "I think that makes the two of us, so I'll do my best to make sure nothing happens to me. I appreciate the concern though, truly." The young paladin's eyes search Natalie's a moment before he shrug, and says more seriously, "It's a shame that things can't be simpler then they are proving to be. This business of politics and the movements of the houses is a game I never wanted to play. Talk of assassins and the rest, it's part of why I came here in the first place. A simpler foe who I could feel sure of. Ah well, there is good amidst the bad at that. Shall we be off?"
Wilhelm, having ridden in pensive silence uncharacteristic of him, is caught completely off guard by the emergance of Lumnia from Fhârn's saddlebags. What on -?" He cuts off as the little being curtsies and returns it with a bemused bow of his own, "Err, hello? I'm Wil? It was Lumnia, Fhârn, right? You've agreed to help us be about our work then, was it?"
Wilhelm instantly spurs Triumph towards the ailing wagon, calling out, "Anastacia's plan makes good sense. We'll do that, but we must secure any ropes to the wagon. Gorruum, can secure ropes to the wagon?" As they ride, Wilhelm begins to fish through his pack to retrieve the rope stored there.
"Yes!" The mephit beams and flies closer to Will, stirring up dust from some unseen source. She reaches out to touch this new interesting person before her, but quickly retracts her hand again. Err that is not how courtesy works! she recalls, from her lessons in 'how not to scare/annoy people too much'.
Pruett's horse gets Hasted since there's 30 feet of difficult terrain involved in the 100 foot distance, and so a double move will be required.
Pruett watches the others guide their horses with their knees, and declines to risk such fanciness; he keeps both hands on the bridle while he follows the Baron.
Once Pruett is at the edge of the river, and assuming the wagon is within 30 feet, Pruett will start giving an inspirational speech...from his saddle, of course.
"Verily, I am reminded of the time that Sir Hannibal the Valiant rescued a fair maiden from an imperiled coach, which was stuck in some mud. Indeed, he heroically tied a rope to said coach, and then his mighty horse pulled it free from the mud's embrace. Lo, did he then receive a kiss from the fair maiden, whose fashionable dress and shoes remained clean."
"Yes, Ubagub understand Gorruum. Boggard tongue much easier than hoom tongue."
"Uhm ..." Fhârn raises an eyebrow. You know, it actually makes sense, when you think about it...
"I am ready when you are Wilhelm, but I have a small detour to make first. I like to get but Lady Stormwind before we leave."
The group hustles forward into the river. The current is strong, and it pushes hard against the wagon and ponies. Ubagub pushes up to the wagon, swimming in the current.
Fhârn takes off after the others, riding as quickly as he dared towards the river banks.
Natalie doesn't feel comfortable in her riding skill so she ties a lasso and tries to toss it around some part of the wagon.
Ubagub splashes into the river, water frothing as he plunges in with Gorruum, holding to his back.
Wilhelm plunges into the river astride Triumph, looking for the wagon's owners in the turbulent waters. "Gorrum, when you've secured the rope, take it to the shore! Friends, we're here to help! Help us secure your wagon and we can pull you ashore."
The mephit grabs one end of Pruett's rope and flies out to the wagon, looking for a place to secure it.
Once Gorrum and Wilhelm arrive, the small gnome on the wagon, his face battered, looks over. "Aye! Need to get ashore! The ponies are panicing! Damn fools!"
Wilhelm and Gorrum can see the ponies panicing, and they seem to be panicing even more now that there's a Slurk next to them!
"Stupid tiny horses. Gorruum and Ubagub here to help!" Gorruum whirls his halberd, bringing it down on the harness holding the ponies to the wagon.
The ponies, driven into a frenzy by the screaming of the monster next to them and the attack on them, jerk away from the wagon as the harness, and the yolk under it, is parted by the halberd!
The gnome has a strange look on his face for a half a second before the suddenly charging ponies jerk him off the top of the wagon and into the water!
The two ponies attempt to swim toward the shore, while the gnome splashes and curses in the water as he's dragged behind!
The two ponies seem to be able to keep their heads above the current and head for shore, despite still being yoked to each other.
The poor gnome however is torn free of the traces and goes under as he is rushed down the river!
Natalie tries to calm the ponies as best she can from this distance.
"Hey easy now, we are helping you!"
The way the ponies jerked the gnome into the water looked highly amusing. Would be too if he wasn't drowning! Flailing wildly Fhârn activates the enchantment on his armour, tries to detangle himself from his stirrups and get Lumnia to change her target from the wagon to the gnome. Once he downgraded from 'save the driver, the gnome!' to 'the one in the water!' the message seems to have gotten across.
With Pruett's rope firmly in hand Lumnia flew out after the gnome, easily matching the speed of the river with her hasted wings.
But given the general scarcity of water (and well everything except open air..) on the Plane of Air, Lumnia did not know how to swim. The very thought was alien to her. But comparing the situation of the gnome and the ponies, she started to see the value of the strange habit.
What she could do was to follow along just above the surface and hope the gnome would come close enough for her to nab him - and preferably before the rope ran out!
Pruett continues giving an "inspirational" speech from his saddle.
"All of this rope business reminds me of a tale Sir Hannibal the Valiant once told me of when he was younger and naughtier. He found himself tied to a young woman's bed after a long night of...*ahem*...well, you know. Apparently the adventurous young lady enjoyed ropes.
At any rate, as the sun began to rise, the two of them heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall; it was the young woman's father! Even worse, the lady dashed out her window and left Sir Hannibal tied to her bed! Desperate to free himself, Sir Hannibal thought back to his scout training when he was a boy, and remembered the many knots he had to learn. Applying that knowledge, Sir Hannibal managed to undo his bindings and flee out the window as well!"
Pruett proceeds to describe the knots in question .
Watching helplessly from astride Triumph, Wilhelm curses as the gnome is pulled from the wagon "Gorruum, I can't swim well enough in these waters. Help the gnome and I'll see what I can do for the wagon. There may be others aboard!" Wilhelm urges Triumph forward and tries to secure the wagon, he shouts above the roaring of the water as he does, "Is there anyone else aboard?"
"Pull wagon Ubagub! Get out of water!" shouts Gorruum in Boggard as he leaps from Ubagub's back to swim after the gnome. He hits the water smoothly, powerful strokes carrying him quickly downstream toward the flailing gnome as Ubagub pulls the wagon free.
Lumnia flies over and tries to grab the gnome, but comes away with a cap instead. However, Gorruum, naturally at home in the water, swims right over to the gnome and swipes him up in one big boggard hand.
The other gnomes manage to grab the yolked ponies and calm them down.
Ubagub puts his shoulder against the back of the wagon and begins pushing, shoving the wagon toward the other shore with the other wagons...
Meanwhile, Wilhelm has tied the rope to the wagon. Unfortunately, this leaves Pruett and his horse pulling the wagon while Ubagub is pushing, meaning the wagon stays in place...
Trusting Gorruum to rescue the gnome, Anastacia tries to tie her rope onto the wagon and help drag it from the torrent.
Natalie yells to Wilhelm... "Wilhelm can you help tie this rope to the wagon? I don't trust I can control the horse in the current." as she tosses her rope towards him.
Pruett continues to pull from the river bank while conducting a Bardic Performance.
Tucking the gnome under his arm, Gorruum continues his powerful strokes with one arm, pulling the gnome back to shore. Ubagub, realizing he is working against everyone else, maneuvers to the other side of the wagon to help push it to shore.
Gorruum manages to swim to shore with the gnome, landing 200 feet down stream.
The wagon is pushed back onto the shore near Pruett, opposite of the shore where all the other wagons, Gorruum, and the gnome are.
The gnomes on the other shore let out a kind of mixed collective sigh, one part relief (as Gorruum pulls the gnome he fished out up onto the shore), and part frustration (as the rest of the group pulls the wagon back across the stream rather than pushing it on through to the other side).
The gnome finally kicks himself free of Gorruum and coughs some water up. "I'll be dibbled! Damn fragmen pulled me out of the water! Maight be a better day than Aye thought, iffen he dinnae et me for mae troubles!"
Anastacia guides her dapple-gray war horse close to the bank of the chilly stream. "Might as well set up camp, and dry your friend off!" Anastacia shouts across the water. "We'll figure out some way to get his wagon across, don't you fear!"
With the cap safe, Lumnia swoops and sweeps around and over Gorruum offering somewhat 'helpful' directions about the operation. When the gnome and 'fragman' are safely back on the shore again she refocuses on the cap. At first, the mephit tries it on, but finds it unpleasantly wet. She wrings it and sings some nonsensical words in Auran () that with a spark of magic seems to do the trick. Once again she tries it, just to make sure, and finds it as warm and comfortable as no doubt intended.
"Very nice cap!" The mephit comments and places the cap back on the gnome's head; warm and dry if a little bit dusty. In another helpful comment she offers - "Gorr-uum hasn't eaten anyone yet!"
"If we simply get some ropes over to the other side, they ought to be able to pull it over. I think." Fhârn speculates and eyes the landing a few hundred feet downstream as well as the party on the other side. "Gorruum or Lumnia should be able to fix that, so I guess we just ought to give our unfortunate acquaintance some time to dry up before he crosses again. Let me see if I have something helpful ..."
Now that there is time to look over ones options, Fhârn pulls out his scroll of Endure Elements, if the gnome is in danger of freezing, and his scroll of Air Bubble, should the next crossing end up worse then this one.
"Thank Desna, we got them all safe ashore again, even if it's the wrong side. Are anyone hurt?" Natalie says look downstream and to the other side. "I think you are right Fharn we should be able to get them over with ropes tied to both sides. Maybe once they have dried a bit up the stream with have lost some momentum and be easier to cross."
Anastacia steps down from Avalanche's back. She nods in thoughtful agreement at
Fhârn's idea. "We aren't on ponies either." Avalanche is a tall, powerful horse, though he is no comparison to Wilhelm's mighty steed.
"Where I grew up, in the southern Icerime Peaks, the creeks would grow larger late in the afternoon and into the night as the snow would melt during the day and the water flow would increase. It takes awhile for the runoff to make it's way down the canyons. Then during the night, it would get cold again, the melting would stop, and the excess water would run on down the creek. So the spring runoff would have a high and low tide, so to speak." Anastacia shrugs. "I'm not sure it works the same here in the flatlands."
Anastacia examines the bank of the stream to see if she can see any sign of a high-water mark. She looks for stranded driftwood, sticks are always left behind as the water subsides.
"That is true."
Fhârn nods at the pony comment and thinks a bit on the second statement. The Lake back home exhibited similar properties, even if he hadn't paid it too close attention being a merchant's son and a blacksmith's apprentice rather then a fisherman or farmer. But then, I doubt Anastacia were of those professions either! he scolded himself silently.
"Should we head down to meet the driver himself? Maybe he has some concern about the situation..."
Fhârn motions towards the landing site a bit further downstream.
"I can watch the wagon for the moment."