Alperion will eat and drink before preparing to settle in for rest.
"Nebdel, I will take the watch after you. Wake me in approximately 2 hours time."
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Survival and Perception rolls:
Alperion stoops to pick up the short bow noticing its fine craftsmanship, he tests the draw and quietly nods, "This bow is extremely well made, I can use it but would be happy to let someone else use it if they have need of a short bow as well. Regardless, we will give it to the proper owner upon our return to Falcon's Hollow." "The light is fading and I wonder if it would be best to leave this area or not. It has the advantage of being clear so you can see someone approaching but we know that dangerous creatures make their homes here. What says the group, move on or stay here for the night?"
"Mistress, I agree that we must do what little we can for them. It is a grim and grisly task but we will not leave them here in the open for other predators to desecrate."
"The witch's hut lies almost due west of our current location." Alperion pauses to get his bearings...."West should be this way. He points (in whatever the correct direction is)
"It is regrettable we do not have time to do more for these poor souls at this time. I did not feel right leaving those men up there as supper for those beasts; but, as has been pointed out, the living must take precedence and we will need to speed away to recover the second ingredient as quickly as possible." Even though he has no particular training, Alperion will scan the items retrieved to see if any of them (especially the short swords and the short bow) are of superior quality to what he currently possesses and could be beneficial on their expedition.
Nice! :D
Alperion manages to slowly work his way down the tree, albeit with several points where his slick hands force him to stop momentarily. As he nears the end of his torturous climb his exhausted arms finally give out and he falls the remaining distance...
Pausing momentarily after looking down and taking in the nausea inducing height at which he is currently situated, Alperion slowly begins the descent down the tree... I sure hope those hunters' families are grateful for the insane risk I just took to return their loved ones. Climb check rolls:
Alperion loses his grasp on the tree, slides down a few feet and then recovers. Pausing a moment to reflect on the incredible foolishness in which he is currently engaged, he slowly resumes his climb...
Alperion attaches a coil of rope to the poor, decaying hunter's body he has reached and slowly lowers the corpse down as far as it will go and shouts down, "I have lowered the remains as far as I can. Someone will likely need to climb up to the body and let it loose to fall the remaining distance. I will then drag the rope back up and attempt to do the same with the other two bodies." Alperion will wait for someone to retrieve the body he has lowered down and will then try to reach the other two...
Alperion looks grimly at the tree and replies to Serila, "Mistress, I will make the attempt one more time but I think this task may be beyond the ability of any in this company.
Chagrined, Alperion brushes the muck off of his clothes, "Erm...is anyone particularly adept at climbing. I thought I was reasonably comfortable scaling the trees but..." he trails off obviously embarrassed at his abject failure at so simple a task.
Alperion looks up into the tree and muses aloud, "These may be the remains of three hunters who have gone missing from Falcon's Hollow. I imagine their families would be glad to know definitively if these poor souls are in fact their missing loved ones. I will climb up to investigate further. Alperion stows his bow on his back and begins to climb the tree...
Alperion looks up thoughtfully into the tree, "Hopefully the experience of its injuries at our group's hands will teach the survivor some respect for any one walking on two legs who approaches in the future. We can also provide notice when we return to Falcon's Hollow about what lives here so they may be forewarned should they need to visit this area." He pauses momentarily then continues, "While I agree that it would be ideal to provide a decent burial for those unfortunate victims, I feel we should simply take the moss we need and move on...quickly."
Alperion's relief at seeing the foul beast before him finally drop under Nebdel's vicious assault is quickly squashed as he notices the other creature attempt to flee. He sheathes his sword (move action 1) and retrieves the bow lying at his feet (move action 2).
Alperion drops his bow (free action) to the ground, draws his short sword (move action) and swipes at the horrifying beast (standard action) who just attacked him.
Quickly notching an arrow, Alperion fires his short bow at the more northern of the two foul beasts. Unfortunately, in his haste, Alperion's shot sails wide of the mark...
Alperion will sheathe his short sword and ready his bow.
Alperion watches, fascinated, as the "magic figure" conjured by the sorceress moves away from the tree. "Remarkable." he whispers under his breath.
Alperion stirs from his reflections on the tales told at night by woodsmen around the fire and states, "There are legends, mind you only legends, that speak of a creature that lurks in the woods...a "man-dragon" which possesses a voracious appetite and a non-discriminating palate. Based on what we have seen here, I tend to think that this particular legend just might be true." Alperion slowly fans out to the Augustine's left flank.
"I have some little skill in moving quietly when needed, mistress; unfortunately, cover is usually required to aid such movement and there is none available in this clearing. I would stand out like a lightning-bug on a moonless night in these conditions to anyone watching this area. If the bodies are stored in the tree, it is reasonable to assume that whatever put them there considers this area its territory and will be watching. I think we would be better served to approach as a group and hope that our large numbers deter any action on its part. If it does attack anyway, well..there are always strength in numbers as they say." Alperion stows his bow at this point and unsheathes his short sword.
"Which ingredient are we looking to recover from this location?" asks Alperion as he slowly moves towards the tree with bow in hand. By the gods above and below, Donal never showed me this colossus. What a truly awe-inspiring sight!
[dice=survival]1d20+1
Did Donal hear his former pupil's thoughts? Did the Gods take pity on the distraught half-elf? Was it pure unadulterated luck? Regardless of the source, Alperion's face clears as he spies the correct path to take to resume their journey..."We have traveled too far west and will need to head northeast to find the elder tree we seek." He proceeds to lead the way to the northeast.
Where are we?!? By the gods, I knew I would mess this up and get us lost. Donal, you were a good teacher but you had a poor student. Mother is counting on me and I am failing her like I have failed everyone else. Alperion's face is creased with anxiety as he spins his head from side to side in obvious consternation. His body language is tense as he looks helplessly at the massive expanse of woods in which they are now...LOST.
Alperion wracks his brain trying to recall any tidbits of knowledge Donal, his mentor, may have given him about this area of Darkmoon Wood.
His ruminations appear to only confuse him, likely the concern he feels over the current state of his mother's health is adversely affecting his recall.
Well, at least someone wants to stay on mission. Alperion catches up to Serila and heads in the direction of the tree they are searching for.
A confused look crosses Alperion's face as he begins to ford the shallows and he stammers, "Er...I thought we were heading toward the old tree first? I believe we had discussed going in a counter-clockwise direction with the old tree first, the witch's hut next and ending with the dwarven monastery? Is this not correct?"
As Alperion returns to the clearing he notes his companions fussing over the fox. His countenance only barely masks his befuddlement... What in blazes is wrong with these people?!? It's an animal, nothing more. We can't eat it. The only thing we might do with it is skin it and sell it's pelt and that doesn't really seem worth the trouble. Aloud he merely mutters, "Are we ready to get moving again? Time is against us and people in the Hollow need us to act quickly. We must not linger."
What am I doing running off into the woods alone? Donal would be incensed at my rash behavior. I need to stick to my true mission. With bow still at the ready and keeping his face towards the archer, Alperion backs along the trail towards his companions in the clearing by the lake.
Hmmm...it appears that Paizo "retconned" the board. I lost a game play post from yesterday.
Alperion looses another arrow at his foe but in his haste to end the affair he fires wildly into the woods...
With two arrows having hit home, Alperion senses the kill and races after the foul ambusher, bow still in hand ready to launch another missile should the opportunity present itself.
Well...that sucked. We wasted multiple spells and resources to kill two lousy birds, but, hey, we did rescue a fox! He/she will probably bite our hand and give us rabies if we try to feed it. ;) I'm just kidding, or course, but that was rather unsatisfying, no?
Alperion races forward to follow the fleeing assailant, hoping to regain a clear view for another shot to fell the coward.
Alperion moves towards the archer hiding in the tree (move action: 30 feet) and fires an arrow attempting to dislodge him from his perch.
Obviously not the DM but unless you had your weapon in your hand (not likely as we were not expecting an attack), you would need to use a second move action to draw your weapon and would not be able to attack this round. I think that is the correct interpretation.
Having moved out from the cover of the tress, Alperion scans the area nearby in an attempt to locate the cowardly archer who launched this ambush.
Alperion cautiously moves out from the cover of the trees towards the ambushing enemies while readying his bow for combat.
"There is apparently something in distress near the lake ahead. Shall we investigate or continue on our path? Let us not forget Milon's advice about not straying from the trails as many evil things lurk in these woods."
"Rain might make for an unpleasant voyage but it does cover one's tracks. The coin is not often scarred on both sides."
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