Pierced by lance and arrow, the troll that had mangled Frostbite decides to retreat; darting deeper into the woods.
The other follows suit, skirting Larin’s grease slick, and hurrying between the great tree trunks, deeper into the dark forest.
His magic now surging through him, with lightning dancing between his fingers and wind whipping his hair, Larin is about to unleash another spell when he sees the two trolls turn tail and flee into the forest. He closes his eyes and steadies his breathing, calming the storm of his magic.
Opening his eyes again he looks around, relieved that the imminent danger has passed. "Greetings," he calls to to newcomers, "and thanks. We were lucky you were passing," he adds, instantly regretting his choice of words when he sees the carnage wrought by the other troll. He rushes over towards the others, a look of horror on his face. "Frostbite!" he cries, anguish in his voice.
He was torn, letting the trolls flee meant they would just heal and cause further problems. But there were other matters to attend to... He clutched his holy symbol and channeled the positive energy given by his patron through it, providing healing aide to those who needed it, mostly the horse and frostbite, though he himself had a painful gash in him.
"Bah we shouldn't let them flee they will cause further trouble."
He said though from his tone it was clear he wasnt really upset with anyone in particular, just the situation.
"We have to tend to our own first!" Autumn said as she ran up to hold Frostbite. Who was now, thanks to Herger, getting up though still greatly hurt. "I've got you." Autumn said softly. "Herger! Augustine! Tend to Hope, she took it really bad." She said before focusing on her own animal companion. She would leave the care of Hope to those with greater healing skills than herself.
She summoned what power she had to heal her friend a little more. "I knew trolls would be a hard fight... But they took two of ours down in one blow..." Autumn said with a worried look on her face. "Yet I know... Herger is right... If we let them go they'll like return." She pointed out.
Autumn shook that from her mind for the moment and looked to the two people who joined them in the battle. "I thank you. We bit off a bit more than we could chew. But they where headed towards a group of loggers and we couldn't let that happen. If you need help tracking them, give us but a moment to recover our companions and I can help you track them." She offered.
Frostbite slowly got up following the healing from Herger and Autumn. She whimpered a bit as she was still hurt but she could move without too much pain. She nuzzled her alpha and welcomed the attention from Larin. Though she likely wouldn't be able to give him a ride for a bit.
Torek readies himself to roll out from a stomp or claw from the troll when the troll abruptly flees at the stranger's voice. He warily sits up and goes to Hope as Herger heals. She stops bleeding but it's well clear the Hope is still badly hurt and far from awaking.
"Is everyone okay?" Torek looks about as stranger approach and the others talk about perusing.
"We need to think a bit before chasing after them. At the moment I see no way we could win against them, and throwing our lives away would be worse than pointless."
Torek turns to the newcomers, and says, "Greetings and thanks for the timely arrivals; once again it appears we are favored, thanks to ol'Deadeye and yourselves. I'm Torek and my companions here will be available in a moment, except for Hope. Can you revive her Brother Herger?"
The man slashes at the air in frustration, and says something in a language other than common.
The woman adds a longer string of language, she seems to be far angrier. Then she switches to common. ”I was hoping those two would stand here.” She is of late middle age, but still quite beautiful. Her dark eyes flash with emotion. ”I’m madame Kasarathi.” She gestures her ornately carved staff at her companion. ”This is Arlain. We’ve been tailing those trolls for some time now. A matter of vengeance.” She looks you over. ”Seems fortune has smiled on you today. People who dance with trolls don’t usually fare so well.”
"I am Autumn Moon. This is Frostbite." Autumn introduced herself and her companion. "We are the Equinox Riders. That there is Herger and Augustina, our clerics. Titian, our knight believe it or not. Torek our ranger. And Larin our mage." Autumn said as she stepped up and offered a friendly hand to shake. "Yes, we did get lucky. Thank you. If you'd like, you would be welcome among our party. After all we wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you two." She pointed out.
"If I may ask, you said it was a matter of vengeance?" Autumn asked, wanting them to elaborate.
Augustina is a bit relieved when the trolls decide to flee. "Well, think of it like this - there are a lot of dangers here in these lands unaware to us, and we can't handle them all."
Yes, this will be a land hard to tame, she knows well. Thankfully, the day was saved by the arrival of the two strangers.
"Also, they were scared enough by you two that they probably won't come around here for a while. I'm Augustina, as my comrade already said; pleased to meet you."
"I think we've proven how poorly equipped we are to handle things that big," Larin says, in agreement with the others. He nods politely as he is introduced to Kasarathi and Arlain. "We owe you a debt of gratitude."
The threat of the trolls mostly gone for now it seemed, he once more focused his attentions on those hurt, channeling healing energy once again before focusing a bit on personal care for the injured horse.
”Yes, revenge.” Mme Kasarathi states bitterly. ”Those two came to our camp. Said they wanted to trade. Of course, I didn’t trust them. No farther than I can throw them, but many of our folk would have died if we had chosen to fight.” She shrugs. ”Stranger things than merchant trolls have happened.” Mme Kasarathi’s jaw clenches, and her knuckles whiten as she grips the staff. ”These trolls turned out to be typical of the breed. They scooped up the goods we had gathered for trade and absconded.” She sighs. ”Which we could have let pass... But one of them, called Shagrid, struck down our son as they fled.” A tear leaks from her eye, and Arlain’s jaw clenches. ”And so, revenge.” Mme Kasarathi says. ”I will follow them to the end of the earth, and not rest until death takes them!”
Autumn listened to their story, and her eyes widened when they spoke of their son's death and the hands of those things.
She looked to her group, and the look on her face said it all. She was pleading for them to agree to help these people. What they had lost was the worst thing Autumn could think of. No parent should have to bury their child. "They're cause is just." Autumn pointed out to her friends. "They hurt Frostbite and Hope a great deal, but if we keep them back, have Frostbite guard the horses, we could help them take those monsters down."
The death of the couple's son comes as a shock to Larin, and he sees anger and hate in them as much as pain and sadness. "We can't let what happened to you happen to others," he says to Madame Kasarathi. "I'll help you however we can to bring these creatures to justice for their actions." Larin stands straight and looks Madame Kasarathi in the eye, trying to appear more confident than he feels.
Augustina wonders what would she have done if someone killed Sergei. Probably everything in her hands. And that's her cousin, not to say about a direct descendant...
"You can count on me too."
He frowned at their troubles and could only shake his head. He was certainly one for eliminating all trolls. Whether they were civilized enough to try trading or not. No good things came from a troll.
"Well the loggers still might be in danger, shouldnt be too hard to follow them in their flight."
He grumbled taking one last look over the folks in his charge to make sure everyone was well healed.
Torek thanks Herger for Hope's recovery and listens to the grim tale of the newcomers. He sighs, and says, "I am sorry for your terrible loss. May Erastil bless you and stand for your son in the Boneyard. Bringing justice the murderers is proper, how much aid we can give is uncertain in the light of this fight where we did not do well. Our skill and gear seem very little compared to need. Have you a means to create fire as a weapon against them? We barely struck any blow, and they only fled from you. They feared us not at all and it appears rightly so. At least we need to plan better see how we could fight more effectively together. If we try brute strength, boldness, and fury against them again, we fight their battle their way to our detriment."
As Hope stumbles to wakefulness in confusion and fear, Torek attempts to calm her, and them to clean her of the blood that abounds.
Not sure of the DC. Base is 10. Might be riding but he isn't really riding her either.
Torek says to Herger, "I'm sure they are easy to track, can we keep up with them without horses or do we take our horses and only dismount when near again?"
”Your help would be appreciated.” Mme. Kasarathi says. ”If you’d rather not, we understand that too.” She smiles grimly at Torek. ”Yes, we have the command of fire. Trolls can be brought down with mundane weapons also. One must only burn the remains, to finish the job.” She gazes into the woods, after the trolls. ”They walk no faster than we, so it’s easier to catch them on horseback.”
"We'll dismount once we get near again, the trees will slow them as well. The larger one is the harder it will be to move through the think forest." Autumn said as she moved and mounted Solstice. "Larin, Frostbite should still be able to carry you, but she will be staying behind to guard the horses. Also go easy on her... She's still sore from battle." She explained. 'And because I can't bare to lose her too...' Autumn thought. "One of you can ride with me if you have no horses of your own."
"Torek," Autumn began giving him a grin "aren't you a trapper?" She asked, knowing full well the answer. "maybe that could come in handy here? Keep them from running again?"
"I'll look after her, don't worry," Larin replies with a smile. He moves over to Frostbite and pats her gently on the side. "I wonder whether this'll help you feel a bit better," he mutters to the wolf, offering her another sausage from his stash.
"Are we ready to go?" he asks the others as he carefully climbs into Frostbite's saddle, doing his best to treat her gently after her recent injuries.
Augustina mounts back again, holding her spear and showing a determined face. "Alright, let's do this." She feels that's the first step in a new chain of events leading to glory... or death.
Torek as he settles down Hope, gives a little chuckle at Autumn's tease. "Yeah, mighty trapper of rabbits and minks. Giants not so much, slipping I guess, didn't bring any Troll traps. Or really any for that matter. Are there Troll traps? Eh, probably."
Torek turns a bit more serious, "I did a bit of thinking on this before the charge, but the only thing I could think of was a pit trap and lure them in. But that's a mighty big hole to dig. But you're thinking right, we have to beat them with brains more than brawn. We need to chew on that thought as we ride."
Torek turns to the healers and asks, "How much healing can we expect for today? If we fight again someone is going to get very hurt even if we do better."
Torek stops as a thought strikes him, "To stop them running, I don't think our goodly knight would appreciate the thought but caltrops might serve. Big enough to hurt small enough to be hard to see. What to make them of? Usually wire but I don't have any."
"I've spent very few prayers, I'm able to carry on for a bit still."
He nodded torwards Torek.
"Ol' Deadeye has given me enough gifts that we are fine to continue the hunt. Perhaps we shoudlnt have spread out so much. Been a long time since i dealt with trolls and these ones seem a bit smarter than their northern breathren at least."
He added, saddling his mount and giving it a calming pat.
He made a couple of Chuffing and woofing noises to Frostbite.
Frostbite gladly took the sausage Larin held out and when it was finished she rubbed her head affectionately against the halfling in thanks.
When spoken to by Herger she looked up and answered.
"If we're lucky we'll catch them against brambles." Autumn said. "That would provide a natural barrier. But we can't trust that will be the case. Maybe if we focus our attacks on one we can bring it down faster... but the other could easily run." She sighed with a shake of her head. "This is like chasing rabbits, if you're not careful you'll loose both."
"I'm not sure there's an easy answer to this," Larin replies to Autumn. "They're big, powerful creatures, they'll be hard to pin down with anything I suspect."
"Even just one down means one less threat, we should be ready for them though, perhaps we could have..."
He started to muse his hand running itself through his beard as it was want to do when he was thinking...or worried.
"Bah. I probably shouldn't have went so wide on my own. We will be smarter then next time."
He added as he kicked his horse into motion in the direction the trolls had fled. He didnt want the trolls to get too far a head start. Those things were hardy.
Arlain speaks up. ”They didn’t like the odds. That’s why they turned tail. I saw the wounds you were dishing out. Of course, the trolls were doing worse to your animals. You should thank Desna that they didn’t strike at you.”
Mme. Kasarathi steps away from the group, and begins a spell. As she does so, a tan and black hawk swoops down to perch on her shoulder. It screams as it it settles it’s feathers.
When the spell finishes a pair of ghostly horses waver into existence.
”Powers were wasted for naught. Still let’s endeavor to run these trolls down.” She climbs up onto the back of one of the translucent steeds. Arlain takes the other, and they begin to ride into the shadow of the great trees.
Larin follows along behind Madame Kasarathi and Arlain on their magical steeds, making sure to sit as still as possible to keep Frostbite comfortable. He keeps his eyes peeled for danger, though he suspects that there would be few predators who would challenge such a large group of travellers.
"What's our plan for when we find the trolls?" he asks no-one in particular.
Autumn urged Solstice on after the other two. The longer they waited the harder they would have to fight, as the trolls would have time to recover.
"Focus fire on the weakest to bring it down first. Then focus on the other. We have to make sure they don't have time to heal up." Autumn explained. "But we have to be careful, they took Frostbite and Hope out in only two attacks... We may not be able to stand up too long against them so we'll have to be fast." She explained. "Fight smarter, not harder. Also keep watch on those who must be within striking range for them"
Autumn urged Solstice on after the other two. The longer they waited the harder they would have to fight, as the trolls would have time to recover.
"Focus fire on the weakest to bring it down first. Then focus on the other. We have to make sure they don't have time to heal up." Autumn explained. "But we have to be careful, they took Frostbite and Hope out in only two attacks... We may not be able to stand up too long against them so we'll have to be fast." She explained. "Fight smarter, not harder. Also keep watch on those who must be within striking range for them"
Frostbite took a moment to get use to Larin's weight and her wounds but once she did she was off along side Solstice and Autumn. Though she felt sore and some areas still pained her, she could run.
Augustina nods to the plan, only adding what she thinks is really important. "How do we know which one is the weakest?"
Torek shrugs, "About as good a plan as we can do at the moment." Torek continues to calm Hope down. "Hope's still a bit spooked, I'm not sure how she'll react if any Troll smell comes by. If we get close I should dismount." He looks at the others, mounts up, "As ready to ride as I can be but I not sure I'd fare much better than Hope or Frostbite. Those Trolls are powerful."
Torek nods at Augustina's on point question, "A very good point, I'm not sure we could tell, one seems bolder than the other but that doesn't mean much. Maybe we go for whatever is in the weakest position. Or it's just pick one and pray for the best. Erastil protect us all."
Torek lines up with the others, looks back to see if all are ready, when so he leads the group out.
"Can we take on these creatures from a distance?" Larin asks as the group rides out. "We didn't fare so well toe-to-toe, perhaps we could attack them from afar somehow," he muses.
Torek replies to Larin, "I'd like that too, problem is can we do enough wounds quickly? I'm a fair archer, Autumn is excellent, Brother Herger is good, but even combined I doubt we could overcome troll healing. Also they are not animals, they are clever enough, they would run or charge. A prey animal, well a cruel but often used tactic is to wound and track to let them slowly weaken from blood loss. Again that won't work on them. So can you with your magics and a bit of Erastil's favor with bows, do enough to bring one down in oh say half a minute or less? Maybe we could get ahead of them and set an ambush? If we had very high ground that might give us enough an edge to prevail. Keep thinking on it though, it's not bad thought just hard to do."
Autumn blushed a bit at the praise of her skills. "I don't think I'm that good, but Torek is correct that the normal way of handling things like this will not work because of how Trolls heal." She explained.
"We need to find them first and gather the information we need, or rush them if we can. The faster we take down one the faster the other will fall."
Mounting up, you follow the two mounted on their ghost horses. Deeper into the cool green shade of the mighty trees of the Narlmarches. On horseback, you speed is much greater than that of the trolls. As soon as that becomes apparent to the trolls, they turn to fight. Not before jumping across a small stream, however.
"Seems like a tougher proposition than I'd thought," Larin muses. "I'm not sure my magic would add much to bringing down anything as tough as those trolls from afar. We'd have to set up in a way that would stop the trolls from rushing at us, and I doubt we'll get that chance," he says, a concerned note in his voice.
The sound of the trolls ahead stirs Larin into action and he sits up on Frostbite's saddle, ready to dismount.
He gripped the holy symbol when the two revenge seeking folks rode forward and he focused casting a spell that could help some with the fear of getting too close. A shimmering Long bow with arrow nocked appeared behind the lead troll.The Spiritual Weapon stuck slamming itself torwards the troll.
"That river is as much a barrier for them as it is for us." Autumn said. "They can just cross it a bit faster than we." She added as she dismounted Solstice. "Custodi." Autumn called to Frostbite as she pointed to the horses.
Flag high, Augustina positions herself near her companions, so they can all get the bolster of the insignia.
Torek is about to warn everyone to work together when Herger picks his target and attacks; Torek closes his eyes and mutters a quick prayer. Autumn points out the river could work for them. Torek agrees, "Yes, let's see what they do; I guess they want us to charge them, so do ranged attacks, if possible, if not wait to counter-charge if they charge. If they retreat keep pushing them back until we reach the stream. That would make it possible to cross with some safety. Focus fire all on the same target, if we can immobilize one, the odds improve."
As Torek speaks he dismounts and places Hope under Frostbite's protection. He then starts to prepare for archery. He notices Augustina place herself centrally, and she raises her banner high to inspire those present. Torek calls out, "May Erastil and Cernunnos bless us now!" with a bow to the flag.