Savendir moves around behind one of the remaining wolves and swipes at it with the flame in his palm.
Savendir glides effortlessly through the tall grass and burns another wolf creating another smoldering heap. Matsumoto's takes another swing at the remaining wolf attacking his horse, but the unsteady horse beneath him causes his blow to go awry again, just narrowly missing the wolf.
Now severely outnumbered, wolf 1 attempts to flee, while wolf 4 is disabled and stumbles back into the tall weeds to the east.
Urzur
Enard
End of Round 3
Flavia
Savendir
Mason
Matsumoto
Wolves (1 is unhit, 4 is disabled)
"Let them lick their wounds," Savendir says to his companions. "They should live to hunt another day and find more suitable prey." He will not strike at fleeing beasts.
Enard looks as if he’s about to ride after the fleeing wolf, but at Savendir’s comment he shrugs and slides easily from his horse. He gives the animal a pat on the nose, then cleans his black bladed sword, first on the grass then on a cloth that he pulls from the pocket of his faded military style riding jacket. He inspects the sword carefully – looking at it for perhaps a few seconds longer than seems entirely normal – then slides it back into its scabbard.
“Nice work,” he says, the comment not seeming directed at anyone in particular (or anyone at all).
“If you can do that healing trick for the spare horse too, it’d be good,” Enard says to Mason. “Wolf took a nasty bite.”
Urzur is, on the other hand, still not entirely happy with those wolves. They tried to eat his horse, his companions, and his companions' horses. Most importantly, they pissed him off. As the wolf tries to run, he tries to cleave it in two.
He does not move to pursue if it misses, however, instead calming down and going to fetch his dropped potion from the ground.
Flavia dashes after the fleeing horses, taking Urzur's vacant horse to do so if necessary. She returns to the group leading Blazing Doom and Spare, taking a moment to give the coup to the badly injured wolf.
"He'd never make it out here that badly injured, and there's no point his suffering," she explains. "Hey, Blazing Doom is hurt, too. Can one of you fix him up? I don't know if he can be persuaded to drink a potion. I saw a horse that was trained to drink from a bottle once in a Varisian caravan, but I doubt poor Doom here knows the joys of boozing it up. He comes from a very sober household, looks like."
Once all of the wolves are slain or have fled out of range, Savendir says, "Gather the horses. I can share healing among us all - person or beast."
Urzur's sword nearly severs the fleeing wolf in half. One remaining wolf continues to flee farther into the brush, howling as it leaves.
As Savendir's healing energy flows through the horses, Matsumoto's horse is almost completely healed (13/15 hp) and the Spare horse is almost healed as much (11/15).
Flavia fusses over Blazing Doom and gives him the remaining piece of fruit from breakfast to calm his equine nerves, then cleans the blood from her blade and person with some water and a rag before stashing her blade again.
"Looks like we have monsters on the road as well, Mason. So much for negotiating. What do you think - were they set on us, or just looking for a meal?"
"They looked starved. Ordinary wolves wouldn't attack a large party with horses. Either they were simply deprived by the whims of nature, or some heartless villain starved them and set them out."
Savendir explains what he knows to the rest of the party . "We should be wary. The balance of nature here has been upset by too much sentient activity. Who knows what the beasts may turn to under these conditions."
“The march of civilisation,” comments Enard, swinging himself back up into Swift’s saddle and taking Spare’s guiding rope. “We must try to keep a sharper eye out as we travel, but let’s not let some animal attack divert us from the job at hand.”
Flavia kicks Burning Doom into a canter. "Wolves, people... they all act pretty much the same. There's little they won't do, especially when they're starving. The only difference between this place and the Old City is a few trees."
"And the smell."
"And the wolves." Urzur adds, pausing.
"Wait. That was the joke, wasn't it."
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Rokuro is finally able to get his horse fully back under his control and he turns to the others a little embarrassed. "I thank you all for the assistance. I am unfamiliar with fighting from horseback and fear that this affected my ability to battle the wolves."
He pulls his horse back into rank in preparation to continue their journey.
Flavia nods sympathetically at Rokuro. "I hear you. That's why I dumped off this nag as soon as possible - no offense, Blazing Doom, but you're no hero. Besides, our employer's horses aren't as well trained as Enard's. He was smart to bring his other weapon along on this trip." She pats Blazing Doom's neck in apology.
"Horses are good for carrying. Never met one I'd want to ride into battle." Urzur says shortly, cleaning his sword off with a stained cloth. "It's not the same if I can't look em' right in the eye."
Finally he sheaths his weapon, hopping back on his horse. "Well, that was a blast. We going?"
"I can help with Blazing Doom. I'm sorry the horses took the brunt of this attack, and I know how valuable a horse can be on one's travels."
Mason casts cure light wounds, healing .
"Blazing Doom seems fine after Savendir's healing, but Rokuro's horse and poor Spare could probably use your help. I think the wolves hungered for horseflesh and thought we were simply decorations. Or appetizers. Thanks for the healing Savendir, Mason."
Recovering from the wolf attack, you continue along the road to Harse. You occasionally see a wagon or 2 heading south told Korvosa or pass a wagon heading northwest toward Harse. The people you see are mix of traveling merchants, cargo carriers, farmers, and fellow adventurers. All seem pleasant enough as you pass.
After a few more hours of riding, it begins to get dark. You pass a sign pointing to Harse, 32 miles away. Near the sign, is a small unattended shrine to Desna. You still have a full day's ride a head of you and your horses seem to be fatigued from the long ride and the wolf attack.
Flavia will chat up groups going in the direction of Harse to see if any of them know of a shortcut to Janderhof or Sirathu, turning on the charm if need be. She specifies it would have to be one that horses can manage, even if wagons cannot, and that it be relatively safe.
“Ask them if they’ve heard of any dangers along the road,” Enard suggests as Flavia rides over to hail one of the merchant caravans they pass. “Bandits, monsters ... rabid wolves ...”
Flavia makes nice with the other travelers, warning them of hungry wolves ("There were six of them! We almost lost a couple of horses! But we killed five of 'em, at least.") and asking about other dangers on the road as well as faster routes to Sirathu.
The merchant driving the lead wagon stops as Flavia approaches. "Hungry wolves you say? That's worrisome, it was a dry summer so that has brought the game population down, plus more travelers hunting what's left must a made slim pickings for them wolves. Got enough troubles with bandits along this road, now add this. Maybe that prophet in Sirathu is right. Korvosa doesn't care about us outside their cozy town. As long as the taxes flow in all is right for them. I've asked for more patrols between here and Harse but it just falls on deaf ears. It gets better the closer you get to Janderhoff. The dwarven patrols keep the thieves in check. Just be careful that they don't mistake you for gang of bandits. Speaking of Sirathu, you want a faster route hmmmm." He bends down and pulls out a tattered map.
"You can cut off about 20 miles if you take this route." His ruddy finger traces the path on the map. "Go about 5 more miles until you find a sign post saying Harse 32 miles. There is a small shrine to Desna there too. Then go off the path and head due north. It will take you straight to Janderhoff. Wagons can't go that way on a count of the Falcon River. You should be able to ford the river on horseback. The river is about 15 miles from the sign post. Just keep your eyes open and I hope you are good at direction. There ain't any landmarks that way. After you cross the river, it will be another 45 miles or so to Janderhoff. Be wary and safe."
With that, the merchant snaps his reins, and the wagons begin to roll off.
"We're from Korvosa, and we killed those wolves for you. We care." Flavia calls after the departing merchant, then looks at the rest of the group. "Huh, he's right. You lot do look like bandits. We'd best be careful. What think you all of the shortcut? Either way, long or short, looks like we'll be Desna's guests tonight."
Flavia shows the group the shortcut on the map and passes along the merchant's words to any who weren't close enough to be in on the conversation.
“I don’t look like a bandit,” replies Enard indignantly. “I look like an adventurer, which is an entirely different thing.”
He looks again at the map. “I don’t know, I’m a bit wary of going cross-country. Roads are there for a reason, you know there’ll be something at the end of them.” He is thinking about the warm bed and hot meal at the inn in Harse. “The map shows open plains between here and Janderhoff – apart from the river – but who’s to say there won’t actually be woods, ravines, bogs, nettle patches ... either way we’ll travel more slowly without a trail than with one.”
He hands the map back to Flavia. “Let’s find this shrine, set up camp and discuss it over dinner. Look about, maybe there is a track or something. If we do go cross-country I hope someone has a better sense of direction than I.”
"Do they have many elven bandits?" Savendir asks absentmindedly.
"I can find the way across the open space, at any rate. If the map is accurate, I can keep us aligned to true north."
"A shrine to Desna. Splendid! They will certainly welcome travelers like us."
"You should feel right at home there," Flavia smiles at Mason. "We can take a look at the track north and see if it's travelworthy. After all, couriers and adventurers may use it frequently even if wagons can't."
"If there's a track ..."
...
"Is that the shrine up ahead?"
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At the Shrine, Rokuro dismounts and cracks his back with a great sigh. He waits for the others to do tie up their horses before selecting a spot for his with some grass close by. He then goes and bows his head politely before the Shrine, thanking the Lady for seeing them through on their travels, and waits for the others to do the same.
Once everyone is down and assembled, he steps forward with a question of his own. "I once more bow to the superior knowings of the area you all have over me and will follow your decision on our direction. Would it be wise for a couple of us to scout down this other path a short distance to see how well it travels while the rest of us set up our camp?"
"Scouting the path is a good idea, but it's getting awfully dark. We should wait for the morning light to split up and try to see what a new road is like. First thing we should do is build a good fire." Flavia looks nervously at the darkening sky and suits her actions to her words, pausing only to the up Blazing Doom before stacking wood and tinder and fetching her flint and steel from her pack. "We need more wood for tonight. Can you look around and stockpile more? We can't afford to run out before dawn." She starts striking sparks and blowing on them to ignite the tinder.
Savendir forages nearby for firewood.
Enard pokes about just outside (and if possible, within) the shrine, looking for anything of interest.
This shrine to Desna is very simple in its construction. It is a wooden altar adorned with Desna's holy symbol. A small clay bowl sits on a corner of the alter and a few coins lie in it. Most likely tokens left by previous travelers seeking Desna's good fortune on their journey. The grasslands are matted down and worn away in a wide circle surrounding the altar. Since this spot marks roughly the halfway point between Korvosa and Harse, it is a logical stopping place for travelers like yourselves, and you see the remains of old campfires. As there is no structure surrounding the altar, travelers merely sleep under the stars in this location.
Savendir and Matsumoto look for wood for the fire. After some searching, Savendir finds some tree like bushes nearby, about 100 feet from the shrine. Some of stray branches have fallen nearby, and appear to be dry enough to burn. Savendir and Matsumoto find enough wood to make a decent size fire.
Enard peers into the coin bowl but leaves the money where it lies. He then heads around to the north side of the shrine to see if he can see any sign of a trail or track leading away in that direction.
Urzur will be keeping guard at the shrine proper and sharpening his sword.
"Think there'll be any more wolves?" he asks to whoever's listening.
“No. The bears and trolls will have scared them off,” answers Enard, deadpan, sitting down nearby. He unslings his scabbard and follows Urzur’s example, drawing forth the black bladed bastard sword and inspecting it for nicks and imperfections.
“I wouldn’t worry. The way you cut that wolf in half back there, you’d probably be able to put a fair dent in a bear too.”
Flavia deposits a few silvers in the bowl and bows her head briefly before surveying the collected wood. "Will that be enough to last the night?" she asks Savendir nervously. "I have a lantern. I'll get that ready to use in case the fire dies. Do you think there are more wolves around?"
Figuring there must be water nearby if so many people camp here, Flavia seeks water for the horses and to replenish their waterskins. She pulls trail rations from her pack and gnaws on them. "Anybody need rations? What about watches tonight?"
“I’ll take first watch if no one objects,” says Enard. “I’ll need to study my spellbook in the morning, and that’ll go all the more easily if I’ve had a solid night’s sleep before hand.”
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Rokuro answers Enard as he walks around to find a spot within the circle they have set up for their camp. "I do not care which watch I take, as long as I get enough sleep to regain the use of my mystical energies." With that, he mouths a few simple words in Tien and suddenly, the leaves and grass swirl around his feet to form themselves into a soft mattress. He looks at the others and asks "would anyone else like me to create a bed for them?"
"I have a bedroll, but it might be nice to lay it on something soft. If you don't mind, Rokuru. Thank you." Flavia will settle in for the night after that. She remains in her light chain shirt with rapier and pack close at hand, as near to the fire as possible.