Sinorei scavenges about the area for something that will work as a spear (or an actual spear if one can be found).
Morthak grabs what he can, trying to move as fast as Anton.
[ooc]Round 7: Flee
A minute later, body red and steaming, Morthak runs screaming from the wreck with an armload of gear.
Anton and Morthak rush out of the wagon, arms loaded down with all they could reasonably grab, their skin steams from the heat coming off of them. They have patches of red burns, and black char from the wagon. Most of what they carry is filled waterskins, focusing on the hardest thing to find in the wild, but they also have various armors and weapons with them.
As Sin looks around for anything that could work as a spear, while the other two drop their wares, the sun begins to set. The day slowly becomes night lit only by the light of Ral and Guthay, Athas' two moons, and the consuming flame of the wagon. It may be a source of light and heat during the night, but it could also be a source of any curious predators.
Sin returns unsuccessful, the terrain too rocky and barren to have any length of material suitable for a spear. The area doesn't seem to be suitable for much of anything, and probably why the 'locals' are desperate enough to hit a wagon.
"Do we have a direction? The wagon continued along one path, the raiders left upon a second, and the guards fled along a third. Let us choose a direction and go. The night will cool our heated bodies effectively."
Before we move out, Morthak will gather up the group and summon a burst of healing energy to soothe the burns and bruises.
"My thanks Morthak. We should move quickly, the carcass of this caravan will attract scavengers."
Xanyon stands a little straighter now that he has been healed, although he surreptitiously searches the area for any sign of dead plants after this act.
Morthak will pass out the waterskins so that everyone has at least one. He'll also use the pack to carry the rations.
"I think me might head for Silver Spring. Obviously we should stay away from Urik and Nibenay. I would like to continue tracking the Black Sand slavers that took my family."
Xanyon will take the longsword and any armor that is left after the others have equipped themselves.
"A pity about my weapons and armor, lost in the fire or sold off by the templars no doubt. I live outside Urik, I should return there at some point, but I will help you track these Black Sand slavers for now Morthak."
Anton takes up a scimitar and sling, dons a suit of studded leather and grabs the buckler. At least, now, I can defend myself... He then adds the waterskins and rations be collected to Morthak's pile for division amongst the group, and gathers up all the equipment into a separate pile.
He eyes the burning wagon, looking for a piece he could break into a club or something he could fashion into a focus. Without looking back at the others, he adds his voice to the discussion, "Indeed... a pity, my own armour was finer than this... In terms of destination, I do believe we should first head toward something safe and secure... However, over the longer term, I think we have to return.. I have... business... in Urik."
K'z'k takes the waterskin and bundles up the remains of the guard and slings it on her back. She curiously watches as the others choose weapons and armor.
"We leave now? Are you done with the fake carapaces?"
Averel listens as the others speak before saying "After we get somewhere safe, I will take my leave. I have a mission to finish."
Averel listens as the others speak before saying "After we get somewhere safe, I will take my leave. I have a mission to finish."
Morthak raises an eyebrow, "I'm sure we all have one thing in common, and that is the need to be somewhere else. Let's get moving in that direction."
Anton nods, "I think it best to worry about short-term plans at the moment."
"We head south, the Silver Springs Oasis."
The scarred mul shoulders his share of the supplies and begins heading south.
"I will follow, master," K'z'k replies.
The thri-kreen steps in line behind Xanyon.
Seeing the others move out Averel adjusts the gear he had just gotten before following them.
Morthak shoves what supplies remain into his backpack and moves out with the others. He is, strangely, smiling.
Biting her lower lip and rubbing her arms, Sinorei glances at the setting sun.
"Well, at least I'm not alone this time around... despite the fact that we were all apparently considered criminals of some sort."
Xanyon equips the armor from the attackers as best he can, and takes up one of their carrikals.
"We should travel at night, without shelter we'll need to keep moving to stay warm. I'll stay in the front and search for hazards unless there are objections?"
Averel nods to Xanyon before turning to the others "Hope you are all ready for the walk."
K'z'k says simply, "Agreed," and stays close to Xanyon.
"Agreed. It is far better to travel at night and try to sleep in shade than the opposite."
Anton will grab the extra gear from the corpses and stuff it into a sack.
Relieving a corpse of a sling, Sinorei spins in a little before nodding to herself as if it's as good as it's going to get.
"As ready as I'll ever be..."
As her psycrystal floats over to her, the psion reaches out to grab it and quickly tucks it away in a pouch she also relieved another attacker of.
"A little over thirty ceramic pieces, enough for food if we can find somewhere to spend it..." she tries to add with some hint of optimism.
Traveling through the growing darkness, Xanyon leads on, ensuring by what light is given off of Ral and Guthay that he stays as best he can toward the south. K'z'k stays close at his heels. Averel seems to be working at weathering the chill of the open desert night, offering guidance where he can to help others stave off its effects. The desert is quiet at night, and eerily calm, staying on the move may be helping to avoid predators as you enter and exit their territory quickly. The night seems to be long for a world with so much sun, but it could just be exhaustion from a long day of excitement. From looking at your surroundings, you could have gone tens of miles, or but a few, but the time you spent walking through the gravelly sands gives you the feeling of distance. The magmic dark of the sun peeking over the tips of the Ringing Mountains provides ample warning of the need to find shelter to sleep away the hottest part of the day. Hopefully, your proximity to the foothills of the range to the east will help in providing for some large enough terrain to create shade.
"Keep moving, we need to stay warm. And keep your eyes open for a likely shelter when we get closer to sunrise."
"He is right." Averel says after hearing Xanyon speak.
Fort Save: {+2 from Survival}
Anton winces at Xanyon's statement, "We should have taken some wagon-fragments as we fled -- we could have used them to build a small structure..." He laughs with a wry smile, "Apparently being made a slave and then being set on fire makes a person forget the basics."
As we travel, Anton will pause periodically to get his bearings and ensure we're on the correct path, making corrections as necessary.
"That way," Morthak points towards the foothills. Despite his dwarven constitution, he seems more and more fatigued and listless. The random spurts of attitude change also taper (thankfully) off as he gets more tired.
Fort Save (with +2 from Averel)
Rubbing her arms with her hands, Sinorei continues to blow into them to warm them up.
As she wonders along, she plays a mental game with Quib, not unlike a game called "I spy..." but in the sands of Athas, it tends to be "beetle carcas" or "fragment of bone" more often than anything else.
Why are we playing this game again?
*To continue to develop your mental coordination, and take your mind off the chill...*
Oh. I think I need to teach you a trick to emanate heat in nights like this.
While traveling, K'z'k stays silent, mostly, picking up a stone. She manipulates the stone while she walks, spitting upon it and scraping the acrid spittle across its surface while she looks around. Reddish dots and lines and patterns cover the face of the stone. She stops, stares at it, looks at the horizon, back at the painted rock, and begins to dig.
The night is cold, but with the assistance of the Muls, the heat conducted from the march, and the leftover excitement of the escape, the majority are able to push back the cold. As the sun rises, and eyes adjust to the ever brightening light of day, the search for a safe shadowy place to rest is the priority. As you wander the rocky terrain, K'z'k scurries to and fro, digging here and there, reaching into burrows, and her skill as a hunter pays off. She brings back a brace of jarbo, and half a cactus pod full of squirming renk.
Amongst the stony earth and the boulders, a decent sized chunk of shade can be found, which at its best could provide enough shade during the larger portion of the day to cover everyone if they sleep huddled together.
"I'll take first watch."
We did well, but we won't be able to keep this pace for long. And if we're attacked...
Averel looks around at the group than says "I will take last watch than."
Anton looks around, nodding at the shelter and food with a smile. He takes what he can of the excess gear and places it in the stones to extend the coverage of the shelter to help the group resist the sun's heat.
He looks at his fellows, "The sun will be up for a long time -- I think we should try for 12 hours rest. If we do that, we can do 2 per watch and each still sleep for eight hours. That would be my recommendation."
K'z'k looks around, her antennae twitching. "You are doing the useless prey thing, yes? Everyone usually rests at night, it will be convenient to rest during the day when there is more light. It is easier to see the patterns at daytime. I can remain bored for you while you are useless. There is a pretty rock here."
Morthak looks around the campsite, trying not to grimace. "I can take a middle watch, if needed, though I will require some time alone with the sun." He shrugs and sits down on a clear spot of sand, in plain view of the sun. He turns his face up to the light, as if absorbing its energy. A smile of contentedness creeps onto his face.
Anton nods to the Kreen and says, "You cannot be everywhere, I think it best that more than one of us keep watch at a time, though this does make things easier."
The day, hot and uncomfortable as it was, remained still. K'z'k, meanwhile, burdened with feelings of wasted time, managed to at least entertain herself enough to keep from rushing the "sleepers" (or dra in the kreen tongue) in completing their ritual of uselessness.