a muttered prayer as he tries to move quietly
Maidie stays well hidden in the trees, but doesn't find much in the way of any landmarks or trails. Erigga finds some old tracks and Grobradon can smell woodsmoke on the air. Histya and Moon, however, soon figure out where the trail that Erigga leads, an small cave where the ranger and Arnama had camped a few times while the latter was teaching the former. It also appears to be where the woodsmoke is coming from.
Emerald, meanwhile, takes off the blindfold from and unplugs the ears of the goblin, who is about to snarl something when she quietly reminds him of his predicament and cleans him up with a spell after his brother's death curse strikes again.
Once the location is pointed out on the map, it takes the fey woman a few minutes to figure out where exactly she can get you to that would be at least in the area. Once that is done, she begins to chant as she traces ancient runes on the trunk of the oak. A patch in the shape of a door glows after a minute or so.
"Remember the oaths you gave. Tell no one of this," she warns before you all step, or in Maidie's case, fly, through the door way. The light grows bright until it is all you can see, then you find yourself next to another large oak in the middle of the Fangwood.
The vines covering Erigga's eyes and ears fall away as they wither into nothing. Dik however, seems on the verge of panic as he looks around with increasing agitation.
Betzolte nods to Fern.
"Aye, ye have my word, and it's as iron as my name!"
She chuckles a bit as Erigga clears the withered vines from her face and ears, but says nothing.
As they move, Betzolte tries to keep near Erigga, knowing they were not the sneakiest ones in the group.
Erigga follows along, trying to be sneaky as well.
Betzolte tries to follow Erigga's example, knowing her mail's jingling was probably going to give her away.
You soon find the cave where a crude camp has been set up. Moon recognizes it, and the fire left smoldering is almost exactly where she and Arnama had put their fire many times. A few crates, a crude sledge, and bedrolls and blankets left behind tell that the currently absent inhabitants will return. A fresh trail, perhaps two or three hours old, in the snow tells where they went.
Betzolte glowers a bit at the empty campsite.
"Hmmph...I got an idea."
She turns to the others.
"What say some of us wait in here for 'em to come back, while the sneakiest of us cover our tracks outside and then hide so when they return and find us, they come in and cut 'em off from the entrance? Leave 'em nowhere to run."
"What if they're not coming back?" Grobradon frowns "Otherwise I like the plan."
"Yes, we don't know when they'll be back or if that fey spy will be with them or ahead of them. I think we're better off tracking them down."
"Or if they'll bring more back with them and we'll be the one caught in our own trap." Erigga adds to Moon's thought.
"We took a shortcut to save time and even so we might be running short of it. I agree we need to stay active and go after them."
"How about Moon, Hystia and Maidie stealthily track the group, while the rest of us follow them from a side trail?"
"Suppose that'd work," Betzolte says with a shrug.
”Sounds like a solid plan, Erigga. I agree that we should be proactive in seeking out the enemy, rather than sit and wait.”
"let's do it" The ddruid agrees, and glad he won't ruin the stealth of moon and the others.
Betzolte, knowing to trust the advice of the experts, follows Moon's directions as they prepare to hunt, so the trench she carves in the snow as she plows through it doesn't give them away TOO soon. She watches for signs of people passing through the woods as best she can.
As the others start to leave, Emerald calls out.
"I'll stay behind with the goblin. I should be able to keep an eye on it."
The snow is deep and the day grows long, but the tracks are fresh, and easy to follow.
Despite Betzolte's robust and imposing frame, somehow following Moon's lead makes her move through the woods surprisingly quietly, even if the trail she leaves behind makes it look like a moose or an overgrown wolf had tromped through the area.
Though Grobradon does have some difficulty keeping quiet, you all manage to be quiet enough that when you do catch up to Grimscar and his gang they are unaware of your presence.
As they close with the traitors, Moon readies her bow and nocks one of the three human-bane arrows. Just before they attack, she quietly weaves a spell upon herself.
Arrows (45):
Blunts (45):
Iron Arrows (3):
Human Bane Arrows (3):
Lead Blades (1):
Hero Points (3):
Kassen Battle Boon: 1x
Kassen Death Boon: 1x
Lead Blades – 1 min – all my melee weapons act as one size larger
”I can hit them with a Stone Call to soften them up and hinder their mobility. Then you can attack from a distance.” she whispers to the rest of the group.
"Gonna limber up, figure if you're doing battlefield control I can make the melee a bit easier."
Betzolte murmurs a spell as quietly as she can muster and stretches, her arms lengthening as the magic takes effect and she reconfigures her grip on her axe.
"Want me to entangle first, Maidie?"
"No. The rocks will slow them down if they try to run. Save the entangle in case we need it later." Maidie says quietly to Grobradon.
Then she focuses on the three men in the clearing, carefully calculating where to place her deadly rain of obsidian.
After glancing around to confirm that everyone are ready, she swiftly casts the spell, unleashing pain on the unsuspecting renegades.
The three traitors curse and spit and they are bombarded by Maidie's magic.
Grimscar bellows back as he and his two cronies recover from the opening barrage.
Betzolte roars as she begins charging through the snow, axe at the ready, her face red with rage.
As soon as she has finished her spell, Maidie raises her new wand and lets three streaks of force fly at Grimscar.
she hollars back, then adds to her friends.
”Kill Grimscar first, then we’ll see if either of his buddies wants to trade their worthless lives for information.”
Crouching beneath the snow-heavy branches of a pine tree, Moon lets her bow deliver a message. She sends an arrow into Gargle, her most unobstructed target.
Arrows (45):
Blunts (45):
Iron Arrows (3):
Human Bane Arrows (3): x
Lead Blades (1):
Hero Points (3):
Kassen Battle Boon: 1x
Kassen Death Boon: 1x
Lead Blades – Rnd 1 of 10 – all my melee weapons act as one size larger
”…or kill whomever you like…I’m not the boss of you,” she adds as Moon’s arrow strikes Gargle, dealing much more damage than her own missiles.
The falling stones were the signal, so while her companions were throwing banter at these folks, Erigga was running through the snow and then jumping around.
Shield in one hand, sickly-ugly goblin weapon in the other, she manages to get really close the their quarry. "You bunch brave enough to fight me, or ye turning tail?" She taunts, pointing her goblin-blade at them and smirking.
Grobradon's move is simpler, he moves. He's going to need to closer for the spell he hopes to use on Grimscar.
The three men curse and howl as the attack begins. With surprise achieved, the heroes have the initiative.
Maidie continiues to fire her wand at Grimscar, keeping her remaining spells in reserve.
Grobradon moves closer still, and fights a curse as he sees his target hasn't had time to draw a weapon. His plan hinged on it. Then, realization kicks in as he sees a flash of a chain shirt and he smiles with a beastial grin.
Even better. Then he calls out "Grimscar, you made it really hard to be an orc blood in Kassen, everyone figured I'd be a bully like you. And now a full on traitor? May the Firespirts turn your very shell to pain!"
Even as Grimscar resists, damn his miserable hide, Grobradon presses the spell on to also strike Gargle's armor "Pretty sure I hate your guts too."
Even as Grimscar resists the hold of Grobradon's magic, Gargle is not so lucky. the links of his chain shirt begin to steam as they heat up.
Histya continues her circuitous path to cut off any retreat. Moon advances through the snow as she nocks another arrow and puts it into Gargle’s gut, piercing his rapidly heating suit of armor.
Arrows (45):
Blunts (45):
Iron Arrows (3):
Human Bane Arrows (3): xx
Lead Blades (1):
Hero Points (3):
Kassen Battle Boon: 1x
Kassen Death Boon: 1x
Lead Blades – Rnd 2 of 10 – all my melee weapons act as one size larger
Gargle screams out in pain as Moon's arrow impales him. Between the previous one and the injuries from Maidie's initial spell, the brutish man looks worse for wear as his eyes dart about looking for an escape.
Betzolte mutters a spell and places a hand on her chest as she walks, growing in size as she does so (along with letting out a few small "ow!"s as her rising face breaks through small tree branches in her path).
she rumbles as she advances.
Erigga moves forward, closing the last feet and then slashes the one in front of her. She did not remember his name.
Bloodied, taken off guard, and outnumbered, the three traitors scatter.
"Damn!" She curses as the man flees from her. Yet, she pursues, moving through the snow and around the stones before jumping on his back to strike again.
Higgs doesn't even have a chance to scream as Erigga's knife opens up a second smile across the brute's throat. Steaming blood splatters the snow as he falls and bleeds out.