Flug says nothing. Merely stares into the man's eyes. As if piercing the man's soul, as if deciding how best to make the man suffer. As if contemplating the man and the man's fears and how to make the man break.
I stand nearby watching this encounter unfold, almost feeling sorry for this warrior, and thinking if I didn't know these people I would run away in complete terror!
I reach in my backpack and pull out my rope and walk over to the paralyzed warrior. Once there I take the rope and very securely bind the warrior's hands and feet with it. Then I take the extra rope and tie it loosely around his neck and knot it securely so he won't get short of breath, leaving a length to use as a lead.
"Who are you? Who do you work for?"
"What is your name? And who is Rohkar? What do you all do? What are you doing out here in this blizzard? Where is your camp?"
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I am called Thomi. Rohkar is leader of the Raiders. I am out here being rear guard to our fortress, the High Sentinel Lodge. Look at the top of the hill...you can see fireplace smoke from the Lodge above the trees. Look, I am just a guard, nothing more. We have failed to guard the lodge, so Rohkar will end up killing me. Let me go, I will flee away and not return....
"How many people does he command? What is the best way to attack his camp?"
Celif stands quietly by, arms crossed, trying to look menacing.
Well, what do you all think? Shall we check out this lodge? And what shall we do with this one?
"Thomi, from this day until the end of time you will never harm another good person. Swear it."
"Remember who it was that gave you your life when another would have taken it," Nästród says as he unties him, "Now go."
"Are you sure that's wise?" Celif asks with a frown. "He may try to warn the others."
"Maybe," Nästród says gravely as they watch him run away, "But I feel it was the right thing to do. What was the alternative? Take him with us? Kill him? Neither would . . . feel right."
"Not kill him, certainly!" Celif protests, seemingly offended at the very thought. "But we could have kept him with us briefly, or put magicks to use." She shrugs as she watches him run away. "Moot now."
"Well that takes care of that. Nastrod, may I please have my rope back? I may need it again," I say holding my hand out. Then I say,"And now we check out the lodge?"
"Agreed" Nästród says, handing the rope back over.
Flug stares in the direction of the smoke until they're ready go on, presumably to the back of the lodge.
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After climbing at least a hundred feet into the hills, the snowy trail finally levels off. In a clearing among the trees, a large wooden lodge overlooks a ravine spanned by a long rope bridge. Smoke rises from the lodge’s two snow-covered chimneys, and large woodpile is stacked against the outer wall. A small outbuilding stands east of the lodge, and a stone well nearly blanketed by snow is barely recognizable to the north. Several tracks lead southwest toward a detached stable. Numerous horse and human tracks cross back and forth through the snow near the back porch of the lodge.
Perception:
Checking for traps:
Survival:
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It is late afternoon, and the sun is hovering over the western horizon, preparing to set soon...
You all observe the lodge and its surroundings, and perceive the following information:
- The interior of the lodge is being lit by lanterns, and you can see several persons maintaining a watch out the eastern windows that look out over the path upon which you are approaching.
- The small building immediately south of you appears to be an outhouse.
- Imowen sees a crossbow set up on the eastern porch of the lodge. The crossbow has several strings tied to a stack of pots and pans near it, and a single string that proceeds directly from the porch toward the area in which you are all standing. She cautiously examines the snow in front of the group, and spies a trip line across the trail...
- Nastrod notes that the High Sentinel Lodge is constructed of heavy timber and stone harvested from the forested highlands of the Sharpened Hills, a jagged, nigh-impassible region southeast of the lodge. Unless otherwise noted, all of the doors in the lodge are constructed of strong wood (hardness 5, hp 20). He also notes the numerous horse and human tracks that cross back and forth through the snow near the back porch of the lodge. The small out building south of the lodge has its twin doors closed, but is definitely a stable.
"Hey! Don't anybody move! There is a trip line to a trap right in front of us! Let me see if I can disarm it," I say as I motion to the others to move back a bit. Then I carefully move forward to the trip line and attempt to disarm it. Perhaps . . .
Disable Device:
"Should we just attack them or try to negotiate? Or should we just ignore them?"
"We need to get to the bottom of what's going on around here. Do you think they're involved, or just taking advantage of the situation?"
"Whatever information th-they have may still prove useful. Also better to remove th-them anyway. Capture the l-leader?"
"Surprise them by sneaking in the back or just march to the front and demand surrender?"
"Do we have the strength and numbers for that? Even if we march in the front we'll still need to cover the back somehow."
"We could release the animals as a distraction. . . I wish Fener was still traveling with us. He was good with animals."
"I agree with Celif; we need to get to the bottom of this. But I also think Flug has a couple of good ideas; we need to get any information we can from their leader. I don't think we should release the animals. We might need them for our getaway. Since they seem to expect someone approaching from this path, perhaps we should sneak in the front entrance and surprise them and take them all out except for the leader. What do you all think?"
"One moment."
Nästród sits down and pulls out his Harrow deck. Placing his mind in an oracular state, he deals out the cards in the familiar patters of the fortune teller.
Is it weal or woe to attack the front entrance rather than the rear? He meditates on that question as the last cards fall into place.
Nästród shakes the trance out of his mind as he cleans up the cards.
"Cards say attacking the front is good." He announces as he stands up.
Flug nods, his hand lingering at the handle of his weapon. "Go?"
"Yes. Let's get to a spot where we can use magic to fortify ourselves before the battle."
"Agreed."
"Now would be a good time. How close can we get without being seen?"
"I can sneak around front and check for a sheltered area big enough for us to ready ourselves for our grand entrance if you want me to,"
I say to my companions.
"Sounds good to me," Nästród says.
Flug nods, looking at the darkening sky. "I follow."
I put on my Shadow Armor and move, using Fast Stealth, around to the front of the lodge searching for a good spot to fortify ourselves. I finally end up at I-15 and wait for the others to join me.
Flug follows Imowen's path, in case of traps, his cloak of shadows helping conceal his form.