"Uuhhhhhhhhh ..." Garroth says, a bit of drool down his lip.
Synatria swears and begins praying again.
As Synatria starts to summone another ally her snake winks out like a blown candle and is simply gone as Jax hurls his hammer at the howler that was fighting the snake foe Missing the howler.
Another nah fills the night as another horse goes down under savage fangs. The bitten one, lifts its head and howls, as it starts to limp away, ones attacking the horses as well seem to start and run
Init
Garroth=19
cat=19
Snake=19
Lethe=18
Jax=17
Joyelle=16
Synatria=15
Haedric=15
Sandhowerler 12
Jax Materializes the hammer and attacks the nearest snake, cursing under his breath as he sees the horse go down.
"No!" Synatria shouts. "They're with me, you idiot!"
Finally no longer stunned, Garroth exclaims, "Jax, why are you attacking Synatria's allies?!!" as he takes off after the nearest sandhowler ...
If I can reach one of the creatures, I'll attack, of course.
unarmed strike
Finally able to move after being stunned by the Howl Lethe now severely Pissed off lunges at the nearest sandhowler and attempts for lack of a better term to mall it
Attack (bite)
Damage
Joy takes aim at one of the howling creatures, and fires.
Joy takes aim at one of the howling creatures, and fires.
1d20+3
1d6+1
Synatria swears and sends her now badly beaten up snake to attack the nearest howler.
Synatria herself fires her crossbow again at any howler that is not in melee. Failing that, she attacks the closest one.
[ooc] Not counting any -4 from shooting into melee...
Attack
Damage (normal)
Damage (shocking)
Clearing his head, he cusses under his breath at himself and moves to attack the nearest howler.
Garroth charges after one of the howlers but in the darkness misses his target.Synatria's cat stays close to her mistress as her snake moves off into the dark, unable to catch the howlers. Lethe charges after a howler, biting into it , while Jax in a state of confusion hits Synatria's snake!.
Joyelle's arrow seems to dig into a running howler, as Synatria and Haedric seem to fire aimlessly into the night.
The howlers however, seem to give up order and just run
Init
Garroth=19
cat=19
Snake=19
Lethe=18
Jax=17
Joyelle=16
Synatria=15
Haedric=15
Sandhowerler 12
"Let Them Run!"" He calls out as a forewarning, Looking especially at Lethe.
Attack of oppertunity
Damage
AoO w/ kukri
damage
Lethe manages to kill his howler while Garroth just wounds his, but now it is gone somewhere out there in the dark. But as you look around the camp you see a bigger issue, only two horses still stand, three others having ran off when the attack started. Even now most likely being ran down by the howlers. So while you still have the unpacked gear your left with two horses and three dead ones that will soon attract scavengers as the smell of blood hits the night air
"Just bloody perfect. Okay, I don't know much about nature and all that, but I'm pretty sure this just got a whole lot harder. Guess it's time to break camp. Those of you who know what the hell you're doing, figure out our next move. One of these days I'm actually gonna get assigned to a mission where my skills actually have some bloody use," she muttered as she started packing things up.
"We'll need to determine what supplies are absolutely necessary, and pack those first. Each of us should carry as much as possible, without weighing ourselves down so much we can't make the rebel camp by tomorrow. Whatever space is left on the two horses, and us, can be filled with the 'nice-to-haves.' The rest, we leave." Garroth begins sorting through the packed gear, trying to determine what is most important.
"Guys, I think this is a bit serious. Those sandhowlers are intelligent. If they'd been tracking us for days, they'd know we weren't easy to beat. Which means this might have been a hit and run, to take out our horses. And that they may be back." Synatria turns to glare at Jax. "So let's be very clear. The snakes are on our side. Anything that suddenly appears out of thin air after I pray for help? That's on our side. This fight could have gone really nasty if they hadn't focused on the horses."
Over the next three days you got to learn about the harsh landscape of northern valenar all to well. You spent th harsh days and night near sleepless always on the lookout for more of the howlers, as it seemed they still trailed you. They never came forward again but you got a feeling they were there and you slept in small shifts always on the lookout.
But early on the forth day you make it, with Lethe's guidance you make your way toward the inn, just settled a few miles outside of town. But if there was a resistance here, there no longer is. The building itself is a ruin. Chard timbers make up the most of the building. The barn stands a half ruin with large places missing and area's of burns relics of some kind of explosive or magic attack. Hanging from the rafters in the barn, you see bloated bodies turning slowly in the in the morning wind, the sickly sweet smell of decay drifting your way cling to you almost like grease, thick in the air
As the smell hits her, Joyelle becomes utterly silent, not uttering so much as a peep even if directly addressed. She cursed inwardly. She knew that she needed to get past this particular weakness, but could not break her silence no matter how much she wanted to. She waited for orders.
Lethe upon seeing the state of the Inn lets out a sickly sounding moan before dropping whatever she is carrying and diving into the barn looking around franticly for any survivors.
As Lethe reaches the barn the smell is over whelming. The bodies are bloated almost to the point of being unrecognizable. Birds and other scavengers have picked over the remains of 8 people hanging from the rafters. Things crawl along the skin of the dangling bloated corpses, digging, nesting feasting upon the flesh of the dead.
Your not sure, but you think you see the Inn keeper and his wife, as well as a few that might have been part of the resistance cell. No corpse is the right size to be Tika however.
Lethe lets out a string of profanities before searching the rest of the ruins for Tika occasionally calling out her name.
Haedric simply searches through the wreckage, not wishing to attempt to console Lethe. After all, he knows what she's going through.
Lethe calls out to Tika but gets no reply. The barn seems to have been ransacked, most things are over turned and broken. Of the Inn only burned timbers remain
Haedric
There is something written on the wall in maybe elven
Who ever can read eleven
"Here hangs traitors to the glory of Valner. Let them rot, without honor and those who touch the traitors will suffer the same fate "
Survival check to look for tracks (Prerably ones that would match Tika's)
Lethe looks for tracks but the place is a mess, there looks to be 20 or 30 animals, horses by the looks of em, and a few wagons, dozens of foot prints chriss cross the ground, but it's hard to get good detail as by the looks of this they are near a week old or a bit longer. You would guess the day the caravan was attacked or the day before
Still it looks to you as if some people were loaded onto wagons along with supply's. Meaning not everyone here looks to have been killed, but with tracks so old, your not sure if Tika was among them, she is not among the dead here however, unless more bodies lay in the chard Inn
Lethe immediately takes off after them
"A lightning bolt did this. At least, this was done with electricity." Haedric steps up to the elven script and reads it alound in a vaguely mocking tone. "Here lie traitors to the glory of Valenar. Let them rot, without honor, and those who touch the traitos will suffer the same fate."
Garroth grimly surveys the wreckage. As lethe takes off, a thought occurs to kim. "Hold, Lethe. Wait a moment." Turning to Synatria, he asks, "You mentioned before that the howlers are intelligent. Are they smart enough to form deals or work arrangements? They likely still follow us; is there a chance they work for the Valenar? Could we just be leading them to more of the resistance?"
Garroth grimly surveys the wreckage. As lethe takes off, a thought occurs to kim. "Hold, Lethe. Wait a moment." Turning to Synatria, he asks, "You mentioned before that the howlers are intelligent. Are they smart enough to form deals or work arrangements? They likely still follow us; is there a chance they work for the Valenar? Could we just be leading them to more of the resistance?"
Synatria c0cks her head. "Perhaps..." she murmurs. "Sandhowlers are technically good, I believe, but this is a war. They would fight for whoever they are loyal to." She hesitates, then shakes her head. "But if they were loyal to the elves, we'd have a fully-fledged group of elves already chasing us. The sandhowlers would know where we are. No, I don't think the sandhowlers are with the elves."
"And yet, for some reason, they decided to destroy our pack animals, yet leave us mostly unharmed. You're probably right; I'd think if they were allied with the elves, they could have easily captured or killed us considering how many of us fell victim to their howls. But they still felt the need to cripple our ability to carry supplies. This makes me uneasy; it is very odd behavior. Unless they're trying to stop both sides from fighting?"
Garroth thinks a moment. "Do they have the ability to speak? Or communicate in some manner? Perhaps we should just talk to them, if we can."
"And yet, for some reason, they decided to destroy our pack animals, yet leave us mostly unharmed. You're probably right; I'd think if they were allied with the elves, they could have easily captured or killed us considering how many of us fell victim to their howls. But they still felt the need to cripple our ability to carry supplies. This makes me uneasy; it is very odd behavior. Unless they're trying to stop both sides from fighting?"
Garroth thinks a moment. "Do they have the ability to speak? Or communicate in some manner? Perhaps we should just talk to them, if we can."
Synatria sighs. "I don't know much about them. I didn't learn too much about the desert. But it is extremely odd. Sandhowlers are desert creatures, hence the name. They are outside their territory. We have proven to be severe threats, and they would never endanger their pack over us, not from so far. Therefore, they must have a very good reason for coming after us, and there aren't many things we've done to infuriate them. I think it must have something to do with the War. They must have picked a side. Which one--oh." Synatria seems to lose her train of thought for a moment. Then she catches herself. "Anyways, we can't tell which one they're loyal to. This is very, very odd."
While the others talk, Joy searches the inside of the burned building.
As the others talk, and try to restrain Lethe from doing something foolish Joyelle roots though the burnt remains of the Inn. She finds little as it seems the fire did a fine job of destroying everything that was here
Now your left with some problems, but how is that new to the blackcaps. You can spend the day in the barn, it is intact enough to hide both you and your horses, You also have the headbands which will change your looks. Lethe does not have one, however Jax does not really need his as long as he leg stays covered
Your left two miles outside of town, so you could disguise yourself and do some recon, or head into town, asking for a place to stay after all you just got here and it seems the Inn is gone. Really, with your base gone before you got here and your contact with the rebels cut off, your now own your on in a very big way
Edit: On the tracks since it seems I did not post they way they went. They seem to head toward town. Which is not all that odd since the road leads that way and there were wagons
"Why are we waiting around clucking like hens over why the big Dog's decided to attack our horses and not us? What's done is done and every minute we stand here mindlessly talking is a minute wasted." Lethe sounds somewhat different from her usual self her voice having a hint of worry and desperation in it.
"Why are we waiting around clucking like hens over why the big Dog's decided to attack our horses and not us? What's done is done and every minute we stand here mindlessly talking is a minute wasted." Lethe sounds somewhat different from her usual self her voice having a hint of worry and desperation in it.
Joy hands her a piece of paper that reads, "Plan first. Much better chance of taking more of your enemies with you. Also, good to know who enemies and allies are."
Lethe squints at the paper for a few minutes as if having slight trouble but eventually manges to read it "I already have a plan" She replies "I go in there beat the %&^% out of anyone who gets in my way or looks at me funny, Smash my way into there base, rescue the prisoners then leg it. What could we possibly need to plan out beyond that?"
Lethe squints at the paper for a few minutes as if having slight trouble but eventually manges to read it "I already have a plan" She replies "I go in there beat the %&^% out of anyone who gets in my way or looks at me funny, Smash my way into there base, rescue the prisoners then leg it. What could we possibly need to plan out beyond that?"
Joy sighs and rolls her eyes and frantically scribbles out more words.
"Well, for starters you could take advantage of your allies. I'm an infiltration specialist. Accurate recon about where the prisoners are being held and how many are guarding the base could make a big difference to the success of your smash and grab plan."She hands the paper back to Lethe.
"What have you suddenly gone mute or something? Did one of those sandhowlers remove your tongue when I wasn't watching?" Lethe says getting increasingly annoyed at having to try and read what Joy is saying.