He smiles slightly at Velio's reinforcement, continuing down the trail until close to the fallen trees."So two trees fall across our path...Is that sort of thing common?" He asks, addressing Thindar primarily.
Knowledge Nature:
Beilin inwardly smiles as his companions draw weapons hastily all around him. He tries to imagine how the group would appear to would be ambushers, decidedly like novices no doubt. He loosely holds his quarterstaff, leaning on it as he listens and looks all around as nonchalantly as possible.
Perception:
Naria begins to watch the rear and sides of the group whilst the others talk
Perception
"Everyone keep alert." Velios says in a hushed voice.
"Bah, no need to hush it down. If ther's any would-be ambushers lurkin' 'round here they' be lookin' at us allready"
Despite his attitude he keep a look out for troubles.
perception
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Thindar isn't so sure about Manduzi's question about the trees, it certainly is suspicious in any case.
There is a sudden movement ahead as large thick-skinned greenish hands grab the top of the logs and three large orcs pull themselves up atop the wall formed by the trees, snarling down at you. Its even more surprising because several of you feel as if you were staring through the gaps in the logs straight at the spots they appeared, its almost as if they were invisible before. All three have greataxes hanging down in one hand, javilins raised in the other.
Orc Initiative
You all were quite obviously on guard, so no need for surprise. Feel free to roll initiative.
Initiative
Seeing the Orcs jump up on the tree and ready their javelins, Velios moves forward 20ft and readies himself in a defensive stance.
Drosk's Initiative:
Raising his warhammer and shield in a defensive posture, Drosk steps forward and shouts
Initiative
"Orcs? This close to town?"
Initiative:
Seeing how the orcs are all bunched up and standing precariously atop the logs Beilin grabs a pinch of sand from a pouch and begins to cast the spell sleep centered on the center orc.
casting time: 1 round
"Go to sleep little orcy, go to sleep"
SAVE DC: 14
If a companion enters the range of the spell before I begin to cast, I will instead drop my pack, string my bow, then knock an arrow.
Naria assumes a fighting stance (Taking a ready action)
"Well I think it is safe to say that this is turning out to be more eventful than just carrying a torch." She shouts over to Velios
"Yeah and we haven't even made it to the glade yet."
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Velios rushes forward, placing himself near the orcs, ready to accept any attacks they may give.
Beilin's words seem surprisingly soothing to the orcs who blink stupidly towards the remainder of the group for a second and then one after the next slump forward, falling from the logs to hit the ground silently. As they land, somewhat shockingly they vanish from sight.
There is an instant of dead quiet, followed by a sudden popping of tree branches off to the side of the trail that lasts just a few seconds, then all goes quiet again.
"Huh, what the, where in Desna's name did they go?
Beilin is obviously surprised and somewhat shocked by the potency of his spell, perhaps he misspoke while casting it and somehow magicked the orcs away as well.
It takes him a few minutes too calm his outward emotions, before he settles into a smug smile.
It worked, it actually worked just as I planned it he thinks to himself, proudly.
Beilin picks up his pack and un-strings his bow. Before walking forward to examine where the orcs fell.
"What just happened?" Velios questions while nearing the area where the Orcs vanished. Hearing the branches popping, Velios looks in that direction to see if he can spot anything.
Perception
Arriving behind Veilos.
"Did you see something out there?"
perception
"Sooo uh is that it?" Naria asks "I mean do orc's normally just disappear like that?"
"Sooo uh is that it?" Naria asks "I mean do orc's normally just disappear like that?"
"No I don't think so, something fishy is going on here."
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Looking over the spot where the orcs fell doesn't reveal anything and that is likely all the stranger. You saw them hit the ground quite plainly before they vanished, but there is no sign of impact, no raised dust, not even scraped off bits of moss and bark from the tree.
Turning your eyes to where the noise was momentarily heard you can see the limbs of a tree swaying slightly as if they were brushed by something or caught in a breeze, all the way to the highest point. Oddly though, none of the other trees seem to be moving.
"Though I am a little unsure about what just happened, we should get moving to the lake and make camp." Velios suggests as he makes his way back to the rest of the group.
Velios points at Beilin and smiles. "We will just rely on Archmage Beilin over there to keep us safe."
"Huh? What kind o' trickery is this?" Bandar blurt out when the orcs disappear.
"I'm with the half-born ther', let's get away from this place it's making me bum hair stand"
"I agree let's keep moving"
Knowledge: Arcana
Is there some magical explanation for this?
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Beilin
Carefully checking over the wooden barricade, there is no real sign of the other creatures on the other side of it either. Its easy enough for each of you to hoist yourself over the wall and beyond that the path is clear once again.
Moving out into the clearing you get an open view of the sky for the first time since you left town earlier in the morning and it doesn't look good, dark storm clouds are forming on the horizon and are likely to be meeting you before it is fully dark.
Assuming that you all plan to continue to press on as far as you can, about an hour before dusk a cold rain starts to fall, quickly turning the trail into mud that is miserable to slog through, particularly for the shorter among you.
Consulting your pieced together map near the time the sun would be setting, you would guess that you have at least another hours walk to reach the lake. The heavy clouds have managed to cause it to darken earlier then normal and the boggy trail is slowing your speed, keeping you from maintaining your expected pace.
Do you wish to try and find a spot and set up camp before it grows fully dark, just doing so along the trail? Or do you wish to push on beyond dark to try and get to the lake? Or for that matter, if you wish you could try and set up back at the glade or just when the rain is starting.
Are we back in the woods? Or still in the clearing?
As we enter the clearing Velios looks up at the sky and frowns. "Those clouds on the horizon do not look good and it is getting late. Do you want to press on or rest here in the clearing?" He asks, turning to address the party.
"I think we should move out of the clearing before we set up camp, we can then use the woods for cover from rainfall and as a windbreak. I agree though that perhaps we should start thinking about looking for a good campsite before the nasty weather arrives."
"That sounds like the most solid plan Beilin. Anyone have any other suggestions?" Velios stands silently waiting for a response.
"Works for me."
"I'm going to look for a spot." Velios says before turning around and walking out of the clearing into the nearby forest.
Survival
I will assist Veilos as well. The skill is untrained for me, but I feel like Beilin is a jack of all trades he probably learned all kind of skills applicable to survival growing up throughout the community.
Survival (assist)
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Moving on from the clearing and back into the wooded area, you are just reaching a point where the trees start to thin again when Velios spots what he suspects would be a good camp site. There is a nice level spot off the road, with thickets of bushes surrounding it on three sides to provide some cover.
Nearby the is plenty of wood, and you can manage to get a fire started(if you want one) just a few minutes before the cold rain begins to fall.
The woods darken very quickly when the clouds roll over head, but there is still probably most of an hour until true nightfall. Is there anything you wish to do in preparation for rest, or over night? As is right now, it looks like you'll be spending a fairly miserable night in the rain, though the trees over head give just a little shelter.
Set up my tent and get my gear inside then I will help with getting a fire going so we can keep warm.
"Ah it would threaten to storm the night we are away from the taproom. We should make sure we have a watch tonight. I am not so sure about what those "orcs" were up to but we should take care to keep an eye out for who or what was messing with us back there."
Manduzi Sets up his tent as Well and sighs at the weather, admittedly he was accustomed to the warmth of his study and this was the first night that he had spent in the miserable rain." Half the group sleeps, while the other half watches." He states stepping forward noticeably annoyed at the steady downpour upon his head. "I will head the first watch, who else will join me?"
"I would be happy to join you Manduzi"
Naria pitches up her tent "I'll take the second watch"
Manduzi Smiles at Beilin's enthusiasm"Very well Beilin, I hear you have quite a way with the spoken word." He says, thoroughly enthused. He Turns his warm smile to Naria"Rest as best you can, We might not do as well against imaginary orcs if we are deprived of our sanctuary in dreams." He says rather whimsically before turning his eyes to the sky. He lets the rain hit his face for a few moments perhaps to shake off his drowsiness. He Then opened his eyes and ears to the world around him.
Velios clears a patch of ground and sets up his tent. He then makes his way over to aid in building a fire. "I will take second watch to even things out so far." He adds after Naria volunteers for second watch.
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As people begin to doze off for the night, and eerie silence falls over the forest. It seems that in this miserable weather not even the other animals are coming out other then a far off wolf howl which is answered by another a few moments later.
It takes a few minutes before you are even really willing to admit it to yourselves, but the howls seem to be slowly growing closer. Never so close as to be an immediate threat, but not so far off in the distance as to be comforting. Still after about a half hour even those go completely silent, leaving you in the quiet of the nighttime woods.
Perhaps an hour into the watch, Manduzi is the first to notice a momentary rustle in one of the thickets surrounding the camp, but as that fades away and one of the other bushes shivers an instant later the others on watch see it too. Nothing comes out immediately, but it is like there is something or somethings moving around the edge of camp, staying hidden in the thicket.
Drosk sets up his tent as the others discuss taking watches. "Aye, I'll take the second watch too if that works for you all. I'll need to pray to Torag at dawn."
After eating dinner, Drosk will settle down to sleep, trusting Beilin, Manduzi, and Bandar to stay alert for the first watch.
"Hmm something is out there, maybe we should wake the others?"
Beilin puts his back to the fire while holding his bow, the next time he detects a disturbance he will cast dancing lights (PFRPG pg 263 choosing the four lantern option) each lantern at a the edge of a 10' radius circle centered where he heard the noise. If nothing is there he will spend the next ten minutes recasting the spell (every minute) and sweeping the area within 110 feet of the camp with this "spot light".
Perception
”Might be them puppies we 'eard earlier.”. While Beilin scan the area Bandar motions to Manduzi. ”Let's get some torches. If they come at us we'll roast us some wolfie, and eat fine tonight.”
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The light is cast and slowly begins to move along the area of bushes next to the campsite. As you use them to scan the thicket you catch the reflective gleam of dark eyes peering out at you about two feet off the ground, but its only for a split second before they pull back again out of sight. It is only gone for an instant though, before with a sudden rustle a wolf bursts out from the brush, growling up at you. Two of his fellow pack-mates leap forward to join him a moment later, all are snarling and looking wild.
Knowledge Nature DC 13