The four of you push your horses hard as you ride out of Sandpoint. The waning light is enough to see the well beaten road, but visibility is fleeting.
By the time you catch up to Lisabett, the sun has all but set. She seems to have gotten surprisingly far on foot.
Lisabett has paused on the path, bent over what appears to be a bit of track. Her quiver shines like a torch, illuminating an 20' diameter, with 40' being considered dim light. She cannot help but hear the approach of four mounted warriors and a fifth horse, and rises and fairly glares at each and every one of you, the effect only slightly diminished by the highlighting her white blonde hair.
"I see that you persisted in your foolishness," she says none to softly, no longer worrying about the volume of her voice for the noise that five horses generate is sure to alarm any creature in the swamp. "And not a one of you thought to bring a lantern? A horse is a fine animal in the day, but they cannot see in darkness."
Lisabett snarls a curse and shakes her head. "Speed were of the essence and you have hobbled us."
Lisabett points to the path. "I have found naught but Sandru's track," she informs the party. "I will lead on my own two legs," she concludes.
Alazandaru sighs at Lisbett's tirade, lacking the energy and willpower to respond to it.
Sorin frowns at Lisabett's speech. "Your words are not wise. Koya and Sandru could both be injured and we will need the horses to return them to the town safely. Even if not injured, Koya can hardly be expected to make a return trip swiftly on foot at her age."
"The horses can see as well as we can and I trust their sense of smell better than my own in this place. The horses know the way home whether night or day and we may have need of such speed."
"If you truly desire speed and and end to foolishness then I suggest you set your anger aside; that will be our greatest hindrance to both if you do not."
Gods above, I cannot even remember what Ameiko said that set her off like this...
"We are here and we are moving forward. We did what was could possibly be done on such a short notice and we honored our commitment with Sandpoint. I'm sure we could say you left without adequate preparations too, but throwing accusations at each other is meaningless and dangerous at this point. We are all togheter now, we need to find Koya and Sandru and then move out of this swamp. Everything else is just useless chatter. Let's move on"
Almar says the words in a calm, collected tone, but it's clear he means every single word. Without wasting other precious time he sets to thetask of following Sandru's tracks.
Survival check:
My foolishness? Lisabett seethes, her eyes widening. She does not dignify Sorin's ridiculous insinuation with an answer, simply turns around and begins running again.
"Sandru also rode a horse. I take it you haven't found it yet?" Raziel asks Lisabett.
"I doubt Sandru would take a horse into the swamp, so we should find where he left his horse at the place he went into the swamp."
Almar notices the same deep hoofprints that Lisabett has been tracking. Sandru has ridden his horse hard, and the path is easy to follow. That said, doing so from the saddle with limited light is problematic. As a result, the pace of those on horseback is not much greater than Lisabett's.
As you continue, you become aware that you have arrived at the bluff overlooking Brinestump Marsh; the swamp is to your right. It is eerily quiet at night. The hoofprints continue around the edge of the bluff, but they veer off and lead to a small grove of trees.
Something moves in the dark as you approach.
You hear a snort, and you raise your light. A horse is tied to one of the thinner trunks. There is no sign of its rider.
Lisabett is breathing hard, and she gestures to the horse. "I... will keep him calm," she offers. "Please, if... If the saddle bags are empty, it may give some indication," that the captain may yet live, she finishes, but cannot give voice to the selfish hope.
Lisabett approaches the horse cautiously and attempts to soothe it with calm words in Varisian.
When the bags have been searched, Lisabett will return to the path and look for sign of which direction Sandru might have gone.
While the horse is searched and the trackers track, Sorin will keep his eyes on the surroundings.
"If Sandru left his horse here it is either because the remaining distance he needed to travel was not far or he was heading somewhere the horse could not go. Either way, I think we should tie our horses here as well. That way, they're all together if we need to make a hasty withdrawal."
The saddle has a few built in pouches, but no substantial storage. The rider does not appear to have brought provisions. Those compartments that you do find are empty.
The horse responds to Lisabett's touch. It bumps her gently with its muzzle. The beast is clearly tired, but it is alert and awake.
Sandru's tracks are more difficult to follow, but you are able to follow them. They lead to the southern edge of the bluff and down a steep trail into the swamp.
Lisabett places her forehead against the horse's muzzle in response and continues whispering to it in Varisian as the others bring their horses around to join her.
"We will find the captain. Rest now, and set an example for the others."
Lisabett frowns as she contemplates re-entering the swamp. For a brief moment she regrets having lent her blanket to restoring some dignity the the corpse they found in the pool, and her furs to comforting Warden Proudstump. Proximity to the sea should maintain a steady temperature in the night, she hopes, but the condition of her clothing, of all their clothing...
Lisabett shakes her head and looks to the others, slinging her quiver of javelins under her arm to refresh the spell. "Provided the horses remain quiet, they should remain safe. We, however, must remain close," Lisabett assesses. "Without a light source, Alazandaru will be blind and with one, he will be a target."
Alazandaru nods.
We'll just stay close together with the light then. No sense being eaten alone, I may as well have company in the stomach.
Raziel follows up in the rear of the party, his light spell also giving illumination.
You carefully step down the steep trail. It is more difficult to maneuver than those you traversed earlier. Except for the rhythmic song of toads, there is very little noise.
You reach the base of the bluff and notice that the trail continues north into the swamp.
Survival check:
You both notice that Sandru's tracks appear to veer from the trail. They head to the right along the cliff face. The trail does not look like its been used recently, however, you do spot several sets of tracks that cross it from right to left, heading southwest through the swamp. These tracks bear the same skeletal footprint you saw in the goblin village. Whatever left them made no attempt to avoid walking through deep water; their course was as direct as possible.
Lisabett looks up from the track, rises, and speaks to the others softly. "Sandru appears to be following the cliff face, but there are also track from the dead men here, crossing his. This... cavern the lady mentioned, Master Proudstump did as well, earlier. Something about evil and the whispers of the dead," Lisabett strains and shakes her head. "It may be their origin?" she suggests.
Sorin ponders what been revealed. "Perhaps both Sandru and the undead are headed to the same point. The mindless dead may have had no fear of crossing these foul waters but Sandru may have picked an easier and safer, if less direct, path."
"I believe Sandru and Koya should be our main concern at this time. It would be folly to splash around through the swamp waters in the dark in any case."
"Yes, I gather the same as Lisabett from those tracks. And yes, we should be following Sandru and retrive him, then search for Koya. The undeads may become a problem but hunting for them now, under these conditions, would just be folly"
Survival check to follow Sandru's Tracks:
"I was not suggesting that we should track the dead, only that we should be aware of their previous or perhaps current presence here," Lisabett says softly. "We have each of us something to protect, the least being ourselves," she continues and refreshes the cantrip on her quiver while they have paused.
"Indeed, the dead seem to have free roam of the swamp." Sorin says in a disgusted tone. "I'll keep an eye to the water while we move."
You follow Sandru's tracks along the base of the bluff for some time, but you pause for a moment where Sandru's footprints seemingly come to a stop. A quick glance around reveals an overgrown trail that leads up the side of the cliff. It is rocky, and perhaps not as easily marked by passage as the soggy ground of the swamp.
Lisabett rubs her lips together and ponders the terrain and the ascent for several moments. "If Alazandaru continues to lead, I will cast upon his armor," she suggests. "We will need the light before almost as much as among us. Raziel, would you step forward so there are no gaps in the illumination? With the rocks, I fear any misstep."
"I'd rather not get stiched with a giant bullseye, we are exposing ourselves enough with a small light in the dark, if you make a whole armor illuminating that would be a giant bullseye, and consider how the man inside that armor will be the favorite target of anyone who whishes to snipe us down. But of course, the choice is Alazandru's"
Whispers Almar while trying to catch on Sandru's traces again.
Survival check:
Alazandaru shrugs.
Its ok with me, just keep your weapons ready he says, drawing two fresh daggers and twirling them expertly, locking a third and a forth into his two wrist sheaths.
"The amount of area the spell affects has little effect upon its brilliance," Lisabett assures Alamar as she begins weaving the spell in Skald. She touches Alazandaru's armor and leans in to whisper, "I will be behind directly to renew the spell if it is required."
Lisabett will take a javelin in her hand before following Alazandaru.
Raziel moves closer to the bluff, his light spell illuminating the area as well as Lisabetts. He waits as the rest of the group starts up the bluff.
It's difficult to tell if Sandru went this way or not, but his tracks clearly stop at the start of the rocky path.
Lisabett begins climbing up the hill as quietly as possible considering the rocky terrain, but she slips occasionally, displacing rocks along the path.
Sorin manages to climb without his armor banging against the rocks and ground.
Climb check 01:
Climb check 02:
Almar climbs the surface with little effort.
Climb-
Stealth-
You carefully ascend the rocky trail, doing your best to remain quiet. Even so, loose pebbles trickle down the slope behind you.
You proceed for several minutes before the light catches a man's dangling leg. You raise it for a closer look. It's Sandru, securely suspended from a tree that grows out from the cliff. He is unmoving.
Lisabett's breath catches in her throat as she sees the captain immobile in the tree, and although she would like to call out to him, she recognizes that there is likely a reason he would seek that refuge. Or... if it were not of his own power, but a trap...
"Hells! Is Sandru's still alive? We need to take him down from there! But carefully...
Almar's Perception:
Lisabett's eyes widen in the supernatural light. Was he being followed? How is it that we could have missed this creature before? Why would it not attack the horse?
Lisabett looks up the trail wildly, then back down it, scanning . If this creature had scent it might have remained. If it had sentience, it should have attacked the horse. Either it were directed, or completely unawares of his presence here.
Hiding from the dead men?
Lisabett reaches an arm out and touches Alamar, and then Sorin. "Track," she whispers, points to Sandru in the tree, and then back down the trail.
Looking around, you do not notice any threats nearby. The brush is overgrown, however, so you can't be sure.
Sandru's arms and legs are angled to hold his weight. You expect that if he were to slip from this position, he would fall safely against the cliff and not away from it.
Almar nord curtly and slowly moves towards Sandru's unmoving body, extracting his pistol he points at the brush and whispers back "We need to take him down, but I don't trust this situation... any way to remove that foliage people? Otherwise I may need to make a little noise to wake Sandru up"...
Lisabett places her hand over Alamar's pistol and shakes her head. "No," she whispers firmly. Can he not see that we are completely at a loss in this situation?
Lisabett motions to Alazandaru and Brother Holheim to gather with the lights, and whispers to them all. "I have not the greatest skill with my arms, but then, neither do I have the greatest offensive capabilities. I also carry the least. I propose to climb and see if the captain yet lives, and assist him down if so, and we might carry on as a group. Objections?"
"And what if what we are seeing is not what it's really there? This is too strange, like someone wanted us to find the person we were searching for... Sandru's is not in an easily defendable position, there's no reason for him to hang that low unless it's a badly concealed trap... my weapon is quite noisy... try sending that javelin of yours in the bushes at the base of the tree please... and we'll see what might come out of them"
Lisabett nods, relieved that someone else has spoken aloud her fears that this is trap. She might have smiled if she thought it appropriate.
"Prepare yourselves" she whispers as she takes aim with her javelin. And I pray, if Desna sent Her children any sense, if it is Sandru, he will not call out. Although it is strange he has not yet...
The javelin sinks into the tree trunk with a thunk. It is the only sound you hear apart from the ambient noise of the swamp. Nothing moves.
Alazandaru shrugs.
If its a trap, i'll play bait, but i'll not leave him there any longer. Be ready and keep a weapon handy.
He keeps his two daggers close at hand as he carefully advances towards Sandru, and his eyes peeled. The light radiating from his armour makes him an obvious target, but also gives him a good chance to spot an ambush with his keen eyes.
Perception
Sorin nods at Alazandaru. He activates Detect Evil and begins looking first in the direction of Sandru's tree, then the nearby brush and finally back down the hill.