Vasaam shakes his head and lets the rat run off. "They must have been really hungry to have attacked us...."
Watching the last creature run off, she asks " Is this a normal event that occurs on the surface, or is this some special occasion because I am with you?"
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Lariel relaxes and says "This is normal, yes. It's a survival mechanism to run away when things are tough. Is this not like this underwater?"
He checks anyone who has been bitten to see if there's risk of infection.
After everyone is safe, he says "We should move on. Don't want to lose the track."
" Well, we do not have creatures that look like smaller ones attack us often. These seemed like terrible beast you should cleanse from the lands."
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Lariel replies to Coraline "Well, if one would spend their life hunting and cleansing terrible beasts, one would grow old and die without ever coming close to finishing." He actually doesn't care much about this conversation and without any verbal confirmation from the others, begins following the tracks again.
The rats dead and gone, the group continues their journey through The Thickets.
Following the tracks becomes a little tricky at some points, and time becomes somewhere late afternoon when the group nears signs of a clearing. The natural hedges in these parts grow up to 10-12 feet high.
Little animals native to undergrowth can sometime be seen scurrying off.
Coraline looks around and tries her best to help track down. She may be of some use after all on these lands. This means she was in the middle of the group most likely
The party follows Lariel's tracking through the thick growth upon the path. There is a sudden *THWACK*, as something had triggered upon Lariel making his next step.
Lariel's snagged by a deviously hidden snare, and hangs upside down 10ft into the air. The sudden yank throws him against the thick vines before getting suspended upside down.
Eyes glazed over from a dead rat, Aletha tries to get Lariel down from the nets
S@&@, your bleeding!
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Vasaam readies his crossbow and looks around. "Be ready. Folk don't usually set a trap without backup."
Good call, ill take point once I got Lariel down!
Aletha replies
" Keep an eye to the tree tops, it works like kale forest I imagine."
As everyone stands ready to catch Lariel when he frees his foot, he falls and safely gets down. Aletha climbs back down the thick growth.
You are able to see but a glimpse, not being around the corner yet to see everything. But the path this last bit was forcibly cut, indicated by broken growth that's not recovered yet.
You all make out a conversation that is going on.
#1 "It was a fair haul. But only half is fit to be pawned off, clothes and fabric's unfit. By the way, how's that box coming along?"
#2 "Working on it. I got the other ones, just this one left."
#3 "Anyway. Money & jewelry are good pickings. Naive guy, or overconfident, that merchant."
#1 "Anyway, let's get this fire going, light will fall soon with this growth."
With all the chipped and cut brambles on the path, you'll have to watch your footing. It's unlikely you'd make it without making a sound, but if you're careful, you might make it to the opening with minimal sound.
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Coraline channels some of her power to heal the wounds of her companions, and trying her best, attempts to be as quiet as someone born in the ocean can be. That is, not at all.
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Aletha is fairly stealthy
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Leona, queen of stealth
Green's just attentive enough to hear some sound coming from your direction.
"Hold on, something's coming."
By the moment you 5 gather at the 10ft wide opening in the growth, 4 men stand around a campfire, weapons drawn. 3 with swords, 1 with a bow.
#1 (blue): "No wild animal. Who are you? If you're looking for a campsite, sorry, but this one's taken already."
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Lariel curses himself. Not only did he fall into a trap like a deer, but he failed to hide himself now.
He holds his bow at the ready, not wanting to talk, as he knows things don't go well when he does. He watches the 4 men, especially the one with the bow. If it comes to a shooting match, he is sure he'll come on top. But still, basic tactics dictate that the group should concentrate their efforts on a single oponent, if it comes to a fight. He hopes it doesn't.
Vasaam had readies his crossbow. He'll glance at it to be sure it isn't aimed at anyone, then he'll glance around at any of the team that actually have trained at diplomacy....
Vasaam had readies his crossbow. He'll glance at it to be sure it isn't aimed at anyone, then he'll glance around at any of the team that actually have trained at diplomacy....
Making an attempt at diplomacy, Coraline perhaps stumbles a bit over her wording to other landwalkers " Come friends, let us not be like tiger sharks, but instead like the mighty dolphin. Let us join our pod, and converse. What other campsite do you know of?"
There are some strange looks on the men's faces at the unusual greetings about sharks and dolphins.
A quick reply, "You make campsites yourselves. We didn't look for others, is that all?"
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Lariel thinks "They are clearly a bunch of nobodies, their icons on the map are the same henchman icon with different colors. These are clearly thieves. Maybe even of the horses. I don't think we're going to just let them go. But better to let Cora ease the tension, it's better if we have more information."
We shall pick our own site then
Totally our thieves, best to strike them from ambush, then we can do it less lethally then in a standup fight
Aletha offers
Vasaam steps forward and looks around a bit. "But this looks like a nice clearing. All I've seen for the last couple of miles has been a narrow trail. Unless you guys know of another clearing so we don't have to cut out an area?"
The four men still look wary of you. Then the speaker replies,
"Fine. But the tents are all taken."
The mood is not particularly improving, but at least they didn't straight up attack you.
Vasaam looks down and takes the bolt from his crossbow, stepping forward another step while doing it. "No problem. The tents are yours anyway, right? We're just tired travelers. I know they say feet are made for walking, but mine just need a rest now and then." He looks around for a rock to sit on. "Would you mind if we use the fire to heat up some rations? They're bad enough heated but I can't imagine eating them cold!"
" Let us friends, why are you so far out? Are you too explorers of this area, sent to map it out? Excited for some ruins?" Coraline probes to the group, her tone friendly, but her use of words clear she was not used to the language they were currently using. If one was elven she would speak to them in Elven, asking similar but more confidently.
@Vasaam's question about utilizing the fire.
"Whatever.", the 'chatty' one of the bunch replies. "Then your rations are either too old, stale, or the one who made them is incompetent"
Coraline's attempt at further gauging the deal with these 4 men doesn't bear much fruit. "Hunting.", one of the others says in a dismissive tone, his thumb points at 2 skinned tiny critters, some meat already on skewers. Probably just enough for 4.
"What about you?", the 'chatty' one asks. All eyes aimed at the group.
Vasaam sets his pack down on the ground. "Yeah. My rations are probably old. But they're not supposed to go bad. Maybe that's the trade off for bad tasting."
"We're explorers. Some might say 'adventurers', but where's the money in that? Know what I mean? You find some decent ruins, say an old keep that was knocked down in a battle decades or even centuries ago.... You never know what you might find in there. Of course there's always some danger, but mostly the bards have been hamming it up for so many years. Somebody stubs their toe on a rock while digging through the rubble and pulling out old coins.... and the bard sings the song of how he got bit by some great worm bursting up through the earth in a cavern. And how they found treasure chests full of riches after slaying the thing."
"But, that don't mean that there ain't any treasure. Just that the bards don't know the truth of it!"
"Say. You guys wouldn't happen to know your way around these woods? I heard there was an old burned down keep in these woods. We're going to map the area and try to find it. Might be worth a finder's fee if you know of it and there's anything there? What say you?"
The thickets feature many animals of size small and smaller still.
Birds, rodents, foxes, to name a few. Rare is the rumored sighting of anything bigger.
The thickets is the covers several hours by horse, between Yonford's city limits and the open road. It is by no means a small natural area.
Not everything's been explored, there hadn't presented a pressing need for it yet. That is to say, the areas within nearer to the road are generally safe for travel. Looking for trouble would be going inward into deeper uncharted areas.
Vasaam's further attempts are met with less favorable reactions, his words not sounding too good with the four men.
The chatty guy frowns with some resentment.
"Damn, you sound like a poor sales pitch."
The dismissive one looks over at the 'chatty one'.
"I'm bored. I don't feel like hanging around here anymore."
The two others just mumble with a faint nod.
The chatty guy follows up,
"Whatever, have these old tents. We're leaving."
"Come on fellows, tell me about yourselves. You are not like my friends, we can share yes?"
To the inquiries about themselves, a short "None of your business." is given.
The men hoist their small rucksacks over their shoulders, take the meat skewers, and make motion to start walking north.
Vasaam steps back and frowns at the men. "Sad. I didn't think that a group of horse thieves would be giving up equipment for nothing."
He mutters arcane words but nothing obvious happens.
"Sad. I didn't think that a group of horse thieves would be giving up equipment for nothing."
Barely have these words left Vasaam's mouth, that the four men catch on and turn their weapons towards the party.
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Round 1
Leona
Vasaam
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Blue, Green
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Coraline & Lariel
Aletha
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Red & Yellow
"Now that's more what I would expect from a group of horse thieves!" He mutters some more arcane words and this time the effect is obvious as a burst of flames blasts out from his hands toward two of the men.
Leona slings a stone at the one closest to her
Both men get burns from the sudden spell.
"That's it, you're dead blondie!", one yells.
Leona picks up a small stone from the ground and slings it at the red bandit. However the allies standing in the way protect the man from getting hit.
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Blue and green (-5) advance upon Vasaam.
Blue's sword is particularly accurate, gashing Vasaam across the abdomen, leaving his clothes bloodied and him feeling dizzy from the sudden wound.
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Coraline & Lariel
Aletha
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Red & Yellow