Once the log stops swinging around so violently, Grey runs forward and cast stabilize on Hendra.
Unless anyone else has some healing for her, we need to get Miss crazy pants here back to town. If I can get one other person, we can carry her back.
"And that's why I suggested we leave the chest." Freyr sighs and takes a look at the chest. "But I'm honestly surprised that they bothered to put anything in it at all if it was just bait for a trap. Maybe they figured they wouldn't be able to sell obviously Taldan armor in Taldor without a fuss and decided it wasn't a great loss." Nothing in the chest really seems worth taking with his current equipment, though a few of the weapons are of quite exceptional quality. "Perhaps we can return it to the noblewoman. It did belong to her guards." He glances over at his sister. "Do you want to return to town and rest?" he silently projects. "I'll go where you go, whether you want to return or continue this little trek."
Lanyssa takes a step forward. "Okay, let's see if we can get this thing settled." She prays for a second and puts her hand on Hendra.
She leaves the drow to get up by herself and, meanwhile, takes a quick look at the chest. When checking that nothing is relevant to their current pursuit, she looks at the rest and adds "Okay, now we can go on."
Lurruk yawns while looking through the chest, seeing little of interest until happening upon the masterwork longsword. He tests its weight, taking pleasure in its fine craftsmanship. "I do believe this is a finer weapon than the one I have been carrying around."
The look of surprise is almost comical on the drow woman as the log connects, knocking her unconscious for the second time that day.
Feeling the healing energies of Lanyssa closing most of her wounds, she nods thanks to the half orc as she sits up again.
"Well. Not interested in prisoners. Capable of using environment to make trap." Looking inside the chest with Lurruk at the belongings within it, she shakes her head. "Armed enough to leave additional behind. Perhaps was meant to be emergency cache, retrieve when needed, trap prevent others steal." Picking up the masterwork dagger and the bolts, she nods at his assessment of the longsword.
Ah, good to see that there are others who can heal here. I guess you all should take what you need in the short term and leave the rest here for now as we continue on.
Faethara flinches back when the trap activates, and when the log connects she winces in sympathy despite herself. Suspicious or not, that just looked like it hurt.
She goes to take a look at the chest, picks up the chain shirt, and examines it briefly. "Yes, I could use this," she mutters, and quickly changes out of her own armor and into the chain shirt. She adjusts how it rests on her, and says, "Well, shall we continue on? Or do you need further rest, drow?"
Greivious takes the masterwork dagger, Crossbow, all the bolts, and a spear. Why would bandits leave perfectly good weapons behind just as a trap? Are they better equipped than those gaurds? After all this all looks like the guards stuff..
Noticing Grievous taking a crossbow, Hendra passes her 15 bolts, putting the remaining 10 inside her clothes behind her back.
"Likely store for future. Does imply well armed. More so if some dead from ambush." Rising slowly, she takes the other spear after some additional thought, strapping it to her back.
"Should be well enough to continue. More rest mean more lead bandits have. Have large enough lead already." Shaking her head, the drow picks up her scythe once more. "Ready when others ready."
Lurruk magnanimously calls upon the spirits to heal the drow.
"If we come back by this way, we can collect all these items and sell them in town. The poor departed won't be needing them any further."
"Brother, she may not have that much time..." Fryja gently laid her hand upon Freyr's arm.
She then looked to the others. "Shall we keep moving? Is time not an issue here?" She asked.
Greivious thanks the Drow and loads the crossbow. Best keep on guard as well. Never know what else is going on.
Looking with some surprise at Lurruk, she still nods gratefully as the healing energies close more of the wounds she has sustained.
"Yes. Must find source winter, put stop to, rescue Lady if alive."
"We'll do her little good if we die in the middle of these woods," Freyr silently replies. "But it seems that the half-orc is a decent healer at least."
"Let's try not to get caught in the next trap that we run into then. I have a feeling we're not nearly done with them."
"True, but is there really a point to return if we leave? Knowing that time is not on our side." Fryja pointed out to her twin.
"Putting a stop to this winter and finding the Lady are two very different tasks. Of this I can assure you." Fryja told Hendra with a simple shrug. "Let us first find the Lady. She is the most in danger right now. But please keep a sharp eye. As my brother said, I don't believe this is the last we've seen of traps."
The group heads after the bandits, the trail slowly being filled in by the slow falling snow. The tracks lead onto a narrow game trail winds its
way through the trees and undergrowth here. Hoofprints mark the underlying snow, leading both in the north and west direction!
"So they're covering their trail now. Lovely."
Despite having absolutely no training or experience in tracking, Faethara still takes a look.
The elf lights up, and looks a little smug as she points out her findings, probably risky seeing as how she mostly just got really lucky. "Indeed, however, look here, at the depth of the tracks here, compared to those going the other way; the tracks to the west, I believe, are genuine."
Lanyssa walks to Faethara and checks what she has just found.
"Yes, you seem right. Good job" she says, and points West while taking again her backpack and starting to follow the tracks. "If we are lucky, them trying to cover the trail will make them slower and allow us to catch them soon."
Hendra looks at the two other women and shakes her head.
"Obvious. Bandits not used to snow, cannot even disguise trail proper."
Checking that her scythe is ready to begin the task of reaping bandit skulls, she nods.
"West bound."
The hobgoblin puffs her pipe. Should we be covering our tracks? Or are we fine? she makes sure she has her quiver ready
Don't know if I can surge like I did before again, after all, it is very taxing on my body, if I do it wrong I'll be far too weak to do much other than simple tasks...
"Covering their tracks means they expect people following them yes? Or at least coming to look for them?" Fryja asked. "Or is this something bandits do? Outside of coming here I've never encountered bandits before." She explained.
"It's a general cautionary measure whenever traveling in the wilderness, and especially if you're doing something that you might not want others to find out. I imagine that they're being careful more than actively expecting us. Still, we should be on guard as we move. So, the west then was it?"
Lurruk listens with some impatience. "We have been spending too much time wondering why the bandits are doing what they do. Let's just hurry and find them so we can ask them directly."
Hendra smiles broadly under her scarf.
"Find, yes. Ask, yes. Kill, yes." After a moments thought, she turns to Grievous and adds, "Cover own tracks, no. Easier find way back to town."
The group moves west in pursuit of the bandits true trail. Soon enough they hear a sound behind them. Hooves. A white horse trots up behind the group and pauses fluttering its lips, "Why have you entered the forest?" It asks!
Freyr Sense Motive
Grey Sense Motive
Hendra Sense Motive
Lanyssa Sense Motive
Lurruk Sense Motive
Freyr stares at the horse for a moment, then turns to his companions. "I don't know much about Taldor, but talking horses aren't a usual creature to encounter, are they?"
Hendra looks with disbelief at the horse.
"Talking horses aren't impossible, but they certainly aren't normal..."
Taking a firmer grip upon her scythe, the drow woman begins examining the chatty equine intently.
"Why interested? Spy? Shapeshifter? Illusion?"
"It could just be a magical beast." Fryja said as she took a step foreword to look and the horse. "May I ask just what you are first?"
I don't think it hurts to tell it why we are here... We are tracking bandits who have abducted a Lady and taken her into this Forest.
Pointing at Eht with visible hurry showing from all her movements, Lanyssa adds "Yes, what she said, and if you're not going to help, please don't be a distraction or these bandits might get away with it."
Lurruk smirks at the others' impatience. "Hello, my friend. Have you seen such people pass through here? Can you help us to find them? The Lady is in grave danger."
Looking with some incredulity at the two half orcs and Grey, Hendra shakes her head.
"Surface dwellers.... so quick to be mistrustful of a solitary drow in their tavern, so foolishly trusting of 'talking horses' found within what is arguably enemy territory."
"By all means. Share information with potential spy from foes. No harm, no harm." The drow turns back to the odd horse, ready to strike at it if it proves hostile.
I have heard tales of Druids who made animals like this... It's called Awakening . The animals gain humanoid sentience... Perhaps that's what this is grievous tightens her grip on her crossbow.
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Faethara considers briefly getting involved, throws her hands up in the air, and turns away, refusing to engage. "Of course, of course, a horse," she says, and then quietly, "What the hell have I gotten myself involved in?"
The horse nickers and shakes its head, "I did see some humans and other odd creatures leading many of my fellows by rope. I will agree to lead you to them if you agree to free my people..."
As the 'horse' speaks to them, Hendra watches its movements and listens carefully to it, attempting to discern what it is really and if it is lying to them.
"Odd creatures. One to talk. Literal, figurative, funny."
Lurruk is highly amused by this talking horse. Turning to Hendra, he says, "He seems harmless enough. I have seen far more bizarre creatures in my day. And besides, we need to track those bandits. If the horse can lead us to the water, I say we take a drink."
Let's let the horse lead us to our quarry.
"If this is the best way, I don't see a problem with it." Fryja said as she looked to her twin. "What do you think brother?"
"Now we're taking requests from a horse." Freyr fights the urge to sigh. He's fought with talking wolves before and this still hits a few good notches on his weirdness scale. "So we're going to free some horses then? Fine. Sure."
Greivous looks to Freyr. It's more likely that he means other awoken animals she says, adjusting her crossbow.
Faethara frowns. She holds up a hand. "Quick question, how are you talking?" she says, because apparently they're talking to the talking horse.
Greivous sighs. I told you! It's an Awakening spell! It gifts animals with intelligence, and let's them speak a language... That or it's really just a druid in disguise!
Hendra rolls eyes. "Or fey in disguise. Or fey illusion. Or bandit wizard illusion. Or bandit druid in disguise."
The Horse shakes it's head, "All of my kind talk, most of you two legs just can't understand us... can we go ?"
The horse leads you across the tracks and towards literally, water. A human-sized snowman stands in the middle of the trail that leads to the frozen stream. A crude wooden sign leans against it and bears the words “Trespassers Turn Back.”
The horse stops about 20' away. "They went there across the that stream. The sentry though I have not moved past as it speaks!"
"This has gotten surreal," Freyr mutters as they walk through the snow. He pulls his cloak around himself a little tighter, at the snowman carefully. "Lovely. Just a warning, or another trap?"
"Wait" says Lanyssa to the horse, "You are surprised because the snowman speaks?"