Not needing a second invitation, I will nod as in agreement to the Elf Maliuss' words.
"We best get moving, there not far away" pointing in the direction from where they are coming from.
"Maliuss, lead on please.. leady quickly. I have no desire to become a pin coushin
I will take a few step forwards in the direction away from the oncoming hunters.
Tionan, Mallius and Luke:
At Mallius's gentle prodding, Luke starts forward, following the sledge tracks, slipping and sliding down the bank. At the centre of the valley Tionan directs you down the river bed for several hundred feet until you are sure that your scent is lost and then into the cover of some thick brush. The rain continues to hammer down and the thunder and lighting continues to flash and rumble.
No sooner have you found the concelment when the sharp eyed of you see several lithe shapes crest the top of the valley and glide silently and gracefully down the slope. They are led by a large black bear, its nose low to the floor as it follows the scent more than the obvious sledge and boot tracks, it leads eight tall, thin elves, there laminated wooden armour glistening in the rain. An array of bows and spears in their hands. The bear stops at the river bed and paces back and forth before it bounds back over the stream in one fluid motion and silently clambers the far side, leading the eight armoured elves behind it.
Tionan: Knowledge Nature please.
Mallius:
Ill smile at miller and indicate the blob of jam in his lap saying "you have to watch the little buggers, they do that a lot, i got myself into trouble a few times when i was young." After a few minutes of quiet contemplation watching the world go by ill say " i think ill head to Hommlet, there is a priest there who is a friend of my fathers. To be honest miller it will be nice to see a friendly face, i dont think every one will be as friendly as you and not every one will be able to see past these." tap a finger against my tusks." still cant blame them if i saw someone like me walking down the street id probably cross over to. Ill just have to make sure my dazzling personality shines through eh" with that ill give miller a nudge with my elbow and grin. Ill then sit back and enjoy the ride.
"Ah bugger," says Miller, "only just had this cleaned," he starts trying to get the jam off and out of the links in his chainmail.
As you chat with Miller he tells you "Hommlet, it isn't a bad place, the Inn of the Welcome Wench is a pretty legendary for the food and drinks it serves, but it comes at a price." he gets a dreamy look in his face as if he is tasting the food in his head, "your a man of the cloth, a lot of the people in Hommlet are converting to the cudgel, so I think it is a good place to be made at home."
Miller makes conversation as the wagon train rumbles on through the outlying farm land, there is something about him that makes him likeable.
Untrained Knowledge Nature +3
here is hoping to luck
Go... press on I show the concern on my face without shame. These people have saved me, it is not acceptable for them to be caught up in the prejudices of a fanatic. They will not listen, their tracker is not going to want to listen.
Untrained Knowledge Nature +3 1d20 + 3
here is hoping to luck
That was one, big, tame bear....
Go... press on I show the concern on my face without shame. These people have saved me, it is not acceptable for them to be caught up in the prejudices of a fanatic. They will not listen, their tracker is not going to want to listen.
Luke looks at you uncertain of which direction to head, "my friends, they are at the camp....." he trails off sadly as he realises that they will probably be attacked.
I am feeling quite sorry for Luke however his friends ran off and left me to die...
I would suggest we consider waiting until they have made their rounds. We should try and circle around to check the camp in case they leave survivors.
"I agree, we should head back to this camp. I can probably navigate us a way to get us there unseen"
I have a more selfish reason to get back to the camp, my gear is in the hide there!
Rolls to navigate the fasted way of getting back to Luke's camp without alerting the attention of the elven hunters
Knowledge Geography +4
Survival +6
I have a nagging feeling this is going to go quiet badly, not to mention that I will need to retrieve my gear (if the elves don't find it) without Luke spotting me.
The three of you set off, using the cover of the scrub land and rolling hills to arch around the camp and come up behind it. Unfortunately, a lack of knowledge with the area and the driving rain conspire to put you off coarse and what should of taken a couple of hours ends up taking nearer four.
Eventually Luck (and Tionan) start to recognise the area, you are approaching the camp from the far side, the south, having circled completely behind.
You sneak closer to the camp, again using cover to approach, the lumber camp itself is in a shallow hollow, obviously chosen to protect it from the weather as much as from sight. The rain is still relentless, but the thunder and lighting have passed on, it is getting later in the day, early evening when you finally crawl to the edge of the depression and peer into the camp.
From this distance the place looks deserted, no camp fires, no movement, nothing.
Ulgarth, three days pass of pleasant weather and you find the company of Miller, the five other caravan guards, the Merchant Zaister and the three teamsters to be refreshingly frank.
You leave the rolling farm land behind, spend a few stop overs in wayside inns. On day four the weather takes a turn for the worse, the heavens open and the rain lashes down. As the lighting flashes across the sky, Zaister, who is a superstitious man, claims loudly that Vobar the god of Storms is marching through the sky. You finally reach a turning off the main road, a trail that only shows faint use, the grass still grows in places between the cart ruts.
It is slow going tracking through the mud, and you have to jump out a few times to help push one of the carts when it becomes mired. Common sense would argue pulling the carts over and camping until the storm breaks, but the caravan pushes on.
I'm not feeling joy on any level that this is going to work out well. The rain's not so bad but the idea of half dead men or worse in a camp does little to lift spirits.
"Should I go first?" I don't really know if I dare in case the men are there but perhaps if the Elves are waiting it's better they see me.
"No, let me go. I'm a trained Tracker and Hunter. I will let you know if its safe, I have a signal whistle. I will blow on the whistle twice if its safe to enter the camp"
Without giving the others a chance to object I will leave skirting round the fringe of the camp. I will be looking for recent tracks. Human and Bear. Keeping my head down and doing my best to move unseen I will find the safest route back intially to my hide (recovinging my gear). From the safety of my Hide i will scan the camp and see what I can see from there.
Perception Roll +7 +2 vs Humans
Stealth Roll +7
Survival/Track +8 +2 vs Humans
Archard:
Tionan slips from the cover and is quickly lost from sight in the rain and undergrowth. Luck lies on his side looking thoroughly miserable, mud coating his front. Your recently healed leg throbs, and rain runs down your back making you shiver.
Tionan:
You scout around the edges of the camp, making your way towards the far side and the cover of the willow tree. As you go you catch small signs that not all is well in the camp. One of the tents near you is collapsed, the horse coral is empty and something or someone lies slumped against the piles of logs. You reach you 'hide' and after a quick search ascertain that no one has been near it and you recover your gear. Nothing moves in the camp that you can see, although as you study the camp you count the bodies of four lumberjacks lying in the camp. You can also see tears and holes in the tent covers which with out doubt will contain more bodies.
sorry for the delay
During the trip ill mingle with the guards and merchants trying to get to know them.
Diplomacy roll
Ill say to miller We must be in a bit of a rush to carry on during this lot indicate the sky and weather,are we late or something?
Having said that ill pull my cloak tighter round my shoulders to try and stop the rain dripping down my neck.
During the trip ill mingle with the guards and merchants trying to get to know them.
Diplomacy roll 1d20 + 6
You get on well with all of your fellow travellers and are soon at home with the daily routine of travel.
Ill say to miller We must be in a bit of a rush to carry on during this lot indicate the sky and weather,are we late or something?
Having said that ill pull my cloak tighter round my shoulders to try and stop the rain dripping down my neck.
The cloak does little to repel the rain, which soaks through to your inner clothing. Miller confesses, "aye, we are in a rush, this is bad country, full of monsters, bandits and worse," he shudders, but whether from the rain or a bad memory you can not tell, "I think Zaister (the merchant) wants to get there load up and make it back to the main road before night fall," Miller looks around at the slow progress the wagon train is making and chuckles "I think he is living in the land of the fairies myself, but ours is not to grumble why, ours is just to do or die."
The rain continues to hammer down, the carts continue to slip and slide through the mud, but at least the thunder and lightning stops.
With millers mention of monsters and bandits being in this area, ill just check my equipment for the 100th time and make sure Peace keeper is near.
"well if i was a monster or bandit id be sitting im my cave or where ever it is they sleep wrapped up in my blanket next to a big fire. Still if they wanna attack us id be happy to teach them the error of their ways, and besides a bit of a workout now might warm me up a bit" Now miller has put me on edge ill start paying more attention to the surrounding area.
perception check (if needed)
I hope this doesn't take too long, I really think it might be best if we considered somewhere to make a camp and assess our situations. I'll look at Luke, the poor man is probably in several confusions by now, and I doubt he will forget this day in a hurry.
"Let us wait up for a short while, if we hear no sounds of combat he should return fairly quickly."
I will place the whistle in my mouth but, not knowing the disposition of my erstwhile companions when it comes to gruesome sights I will refrain from blowing it.
Instead I will pick up the remainder of my gear, slinging my shield and backpack over my shoulder and returning to Luck and Maliuss.
I will only blow the whistle if I am ambushed.
Malius:
After a short while Tionan appears stealthily through the rain, he seems to of gained a backpack and shield while he was absent. Luke does not seem to have noticed the extra equipment.
Tionan:
You scout back around the camp, you are sure the place is a morgue, you see no movement or signs of life.
Malius and Tionan:
Ulgath:
You keep watch, 'Peace Keeper' at your side, the hills and dales roll by but you see no sign of danger. You do notice a half dozen horses running in the distance, but by the time you can alert any one they are lost from sight.
Ulgath:
I think I'll just say nothing to Tionan about the added equipment, either he's taken it or was aware of it for some reason.
"How do we judge if they are hostile or not?" I shall look to Tionan. "And is there anything I need to do for the lost souls to put them to rest?"
I will frown
"The camp has been turned into a slaughterhouse, and I doubt anyone remains alive. However, that may not be the case"
I will turn to luke.
"I am sorry, your friend's have paid for there nievaty with there lives. I did not summon you both to the camp becuase I did not know if you wished to enter and see friends and colliegues slain. I would save you the pain if i could"
Returning my gaze to Maliuss and the oncoming caravan.
"I dont feel that the newcomers can be hostile, more likely they are aware of the camps exsistance and have headed this way to shelter from the poor weather. with that in mind i suggest it best that we warn them that thy are walking into a mortuary"
With that I will head off to intercept the caravan, after a few paces I will turn back to them both.
"I would ask if you would come with me... just in case my feelings are wrong!"
Ulgath:
Tionan and Mallius:
I am armed, I just prefer not to draw anything unless it's necessary. I shall pull the hood of my cloak up and follow. The wretched weather can sometime be a hindrance to tempers anyway.
"I am with you, though I may likely remain quiet until we can be sure they will not be worried by my presence."
Ill jump down, grab peacekeeper and follow after miller "Well at least i might warm up a bit if this turn out to be a fight". Ill give miller a nervous smile while giving a silent prayer to st cuthbert that my training will keep me alive if it turns out to be a fight.
As soon as I see the caravan stop and the two people moving towards us I will stop, raise my hand and wave.
I will then wait for these two people to be in speaking distance. I am unsure of there motives therefore i will not attempt to hide my armoury but will not draw any weaponry.
As they approach I will observe and way up these two newcomers.
Tionan and Malius:
You see several of the caravan guards covering you with crossbows and the approaching two take an angled approach so as to leave a clean line of fire from the guard to you three. Luke has held back several steps behind you, he shuffles his feet uncomfortably and looks around like a guilty man. The two approaching men resolve into a human man about 5 foot 9 inches, wearing chain armour under a blue cloak and a large rain hat. The other is a giant of a half orc, armoured and carrying what would appear to be half a tree trunk as a club, two tusk protrude from his bottom jaw.
The men stop about 25 feet from you, the rain continues to hammer down, "what can I do for you three gentleman?" asks cloak wearer? He looks around as he tries to assertain if you are alone and wispers something to the tall half orc.
Ulgath:
Miller is glad for your company and as you walk the length of the caravan he barks orders for the guards to cover the two of you with crossbows, but to watch the flanks and rear for ambush. He leads you down the road, before cutting across country towards the three, Miller explains that he is leaving a clear line of fire from the caravan. The rain contines to hammer down and in the distance down the road the lumber camp stands invitingly close.
As you near the three you can make out a short man at the rear, he is dressed in waterproofs and shuffles about looking nervous. The nearest two are both armoured, armed and covered in mud. The man on the right bears a long scar across his face, the other has the bearings of a none human, possibly one of the fey elves, he stands favouring one leg, the other legs armour is torn and damaged and discoloured with blood. You come to a halt 25 feet from the three, "what can I do for you three gentleman?" Miller calls out, before wispering to you, "what do you think?".
I will audiably sight!
"I had thought to warn you that you perhaps were walking into a trap"
I will give them a brief moment to digest that information, watching there reactions, but will cut in before they speak.
"The Camp yonder has been ambushed, although we have not been into the camp, I have been close enough to see more than one body strewn on the floor, some of the tents also show sign's of carnage. When we saw your caravan heading towards the camp we decided to warn you. Tis a shame you see fit to greet us with such casual suscipion"
I will shake my head
"My Father once said, Men should not have to work to earn somones trust for you should give it freely. Let them work on loosing it, if they so choose"
Dm eyes only:
I shall stay close to Luke, the half-orc is a natural concern but I shall listen to the exchange.
"Worry not Luke, we have no reason to be in fear. We have done nothing wrong. Truth will out, as they say." And with that I shall watch carefully for signs of the conversation taking a wrong turn.
Ill give the three of them the once over.Ill say quietly to miller.
GM Only
ill then plant the head of peacekeeper on the floor in front of me and lean on its handle.
Ulgath:
Ill take a few steps forward and say " you will have to excuse the reception my friends but we live in dangerous times and this area is full of bandits and such like, and seeing 3 armed men who look like they have been out here a while" indicate the mud and dirt on their clothes "kinda puts us on edge, but if what you say about the lumber camp is true then we have done you a disservice and owe you an apology." So with a smile ill say"So let us start again my name is Ulgath lighthammer and this is my friend miller" indicate miller who is standing behind me.ill then wait for a response.
DM only:
Sense motive
Malliuss Priest of Caeril looking at the half orc, he seems fluent enough and not as dire as some of them I have heard of. I understand your concern, there is certiainly a lot of trouble around here, the weather is hardly helping us either.
I will keep my features behind my hood however... just for a short while longer.
Malliuss Priest of Caeril
Caeril is an Elder God, one of the ancient creatures that live on Sarn (this world) and have the powers over the forces of nature, the elements, fauna and flora. This particular one is said to live in the One Wood, which is dangerously close and it told that the forest resists all intruders with a loathing.
Caeril often walks amongst his children and appears as a 20-foot tall, oak tree like humanoid with bark for skin and leaves for hair. His voice sounds like the rustle of the wind in the trees and he can communicate with any woodland creature, plant or animal. His followers build no idols or temples to his name but carry representations of oak trees as his symbol and worship in consecrated groves.
Caeril teaches that he created the Wood Elves and couples seeking to conceive a child will consume an acorn each to guarantee success. Each morning followers of Caeril must chant the following devotion as the sun rises “Master Caeril guide us, master Caeril teach us, master Caeril protect us, in your light we thrive, in your mercy we are sheltered, and in your wisdom we are humbled. We live only to serve, our lives are yours”.
Priests of Caeril are concerned with protecting woodland and do not tolerate any abuse of their charge. They despise lumbering and the fur trade in particular, even murder is considered a fair way of dealing with those who violate their beliefs. The followers of Caeril are allied with those of A’nis while the church of Boondarg is its bitter enemy because of its promotion of agriculture.
Caeril has recently taken an interest in the outside world sending forth his priests to seek out and learn all they can about the world in general.
"My name is Tionan and this"gesturing to Luke noting his nervousness"Is Luke"
Watching them both carefully
"Sadly pleasentries, as polite as they are will not really help here. I suggest if you intent to proceed to the camp to confirm my words we do so together? if you would only call off your crossbowmen or at least have them cover the trees? I have no desire to run foul of a stray arrow from nervous men"
Ill turn to miller and ask "well what do you think? shall we spring the trap if there is one, i think we should go and have a look just in case there has been an attack and there is anyone who might need our help"and in a low voice ill say to miller.
Gm only:
ill then turn back to the strangers and say "Come then let us go and take a look and luke why dont you stay here with the caravan". Ill wait to see if miller has any thing to say before starting towards the lumber camp.
"I agree, its probably best if you looking at luke stay with the caravan until we can confirm that the path is safe"
I will then take a quick 360 degree look of the surrounding woods and scrubland.
I will draw an arrow, Placing it in my longbow just in case. I will do my best not to direct the bow or the arrow in the direction of the human or Half Orc.
"Im ready when you are longshanks" Looking directly at Ulgath before looking at Maliuss. "you tagging along, or is your leg still injured Priest"
Perception +7
I gave you my name, use it. Priest is the profession not my name. My leg's not going to get any better than it does at present. I think it best I follow them I am not happy to have them wandering closer to the home woods now we're out of them. You might wish to be careful about where you walk, not everyone of my race is so happy to be seen with others. the last statement I shall say with a softer edge to it, I don't want them getting harmed but I also won't stand in the way of my people.
Miller lets Ulgath take the lead, obviously trusting a man of the cloths judgement. "Come on Luke, lets get you out of this rain," he offers to the slow lumber jack. Luke looks around at the others before nodding and moving over to Miller. "My responsibility is the safety of the caravan, I'll head back with Luke and wait for your signal that it is okay to approach," he smiles good natured, "and if I see you come a running, I'll turn it around and get out of here." He claps Ulgath on the back and starts back towards the caravan. "Good luck and may the Cudgel be with you."
The three of you find yourselves standing alone in the rain.
Mallius:
The half orc is a follower of a Saint, a human follower of T'Gellen the god of fire and Vengence who ascended to god hood, known as Saint Cuthbert. St Cuthbert is a good god who is overly obsessed with law and order.
From the look of it he is one of the militia, followers who leave the safety and comfort of the churches and monasteries to make a difference in the world. Hoping to bring law, order and justice to the unlawful. Bandits would be a major target of these travelling law men. It is very unusual to encounter a none full blooded human priest.
Tionan: Your spot check saw nothing new through the rain.
ILl say to mallius and Tionan "Shall we then" before indicating the path towards the lumber camp and starting forward."you probably dont need to be told but keep your eyes and ears open" ill then start moving with some caution.
I will fall in behind Ulgath, my eyes methodically switching from the trading post and surround area, taking particular note of useful hiding positions, ones that I would use if i were about to ambush the caravan.
The three of you trudge cautiously through the rain, the hulking half orc leading the way, the stealthy human following his head scanning from side to side as he studies for traps and the limping elf bringing up the rear. You make it to the outskirts of the lumber camp which is built into the centre of a depression to shield it from the worst of the wind and from prying eyes. As you get closer you can see the camp is deserted, the coral gate swings in the wind, the horses long gone. It occurs to Ulgath that the horse he saw earlier in the day were probably the same. A huge pile of wooden tree trunks, hewn and ready for transport still stand stacked on your left, wooden stakes holding them into place. A body lies slumped up against the log pile, his throat and most of his face are missing, the flesh disgustingly on show as the blood has been washed away into the ground by the torrential down pour. Another body lies slumped half in and half out of a tent, his arms and hands a messy clump of mangled flesh. A little deeper into the camp lie three bodies of broad shouldered lumberjacks, these appear to have at least managed to arm them selves, the axes lying next to their corpses testify to this. From this distance you can see the swirl of imprints in the rain, tracks of the battle.
The rain continues to pour down, but nothing seems to be alive in this carnage.
Ill move forward into the camp keeping my eyes peeled ,ill say to my two companions "This does not look good, i dont think we will find any survivors, can either of you two tell where the attackers went, im all for hunting them down and bringing them to justice providing there not waiting for us in there." indicate the camp ,that said ill still move into camp expecting trouble but i want to check just in case anyone survived.
If you are all for their death you would be walking into your own I shall step forwards and push my hood back and look at him. Nothing but honesty. The people that were murdered here caused my limp, they set traps in our wood and they were happy to leave me for dead. No man is that foolish he enters the homelands, injures the residents and then leaves with an Elven scouting party behind him. No sir... I am not all for hunting them down as the justice of what went on ended with their lives.
Slightly worried that he is going to take offence to me but to be honest those people annoyed me. I'm permanently scarred and they were going to let me die. I will also not suffer their blood on my hands, so this is my only warning. Also my daughter lives there, I don't really fancy a butchering on her doorstep...
Turning to MaliussWe dont know that for sure Maliuss, perhaps the hunters from the One wood also stumbled upon this carnage I will look at Ulgath.
The Men of this camp were driven off from there endeavours in the darkwood and headed here. In there nievity they began hunting and i assume felling tree's in the One wood. I was sent here by my Master to watch them. It is as Maliuss said he was caught in a bear trap set by the Loggers. After I and Luke got Maliuss out of the Trap we caught sight of Hunters from the one wood dispatched to hunt down the Trespassers. We fled and tracked back to the camp, knowing that the Woodland Hunters would follow the men back to there camp. We came back and discovered this
Once more turning to Maliuss In all likelyhood it is your people whom have done this, however I have no problem with people defending there land form people whom ort not to be there, I knew the risks when i entered the wood, it is likely they paid for there life for there Ignorance. However there may be another explanation
Consider this also Ulgath, It is likely that luke is the only survivor of this camp. That means has compassion saved his life.. if you believe in such things?
I will then begin examining the camp, using my skill as a tracker and my keen senses i will try to pick together what happened at the camp.
Perception Roll +7
Tracking Roll +8
Looking at the bodies strewn around ill say looking at maliuss " looking at the state of the bodies they look like they have been killed by animals not civilized people and what worries me more is that you seem to think its ok for them to come and slaughter them all for what , cutting down a few trees. It seem harsh. They may not have even known they were in someone elses land for gods sake, DID Your people even approach them to tell them. ill take a few deep breaths before saying in a quiet voice " im sorry its just i dont like seeing anyone dead and it upsets me to think of their families loss. We dont really know what went on here lets investigate further ill then begin looking around.
I would offer another point, The Elven Hunting party we saw are likely to have come across the Human bear trap, I would be able to read the signs that the trap had recently bitten into something other than animal. The torn elven threads would have been enough to identify the victim as Elven! With the absense of a body, it would be a sound assumption that the humans that laid the bear trap had taken the Elf back to the camp as hostage or worse. I am sure that is enough ammunition to come to the camp enraged
Justice will not bring the dead back to life, and setting foot in the One wood would only add your corpse to the pile. My Master warned me not to step foot in the wood, I ignored that once to save Maliuss I will not again. Forewarned is forearmed and as my father once said. Ignorance is no defence in the eyes of the law
I will then continue with my Investigation of the camp.
Let us not argue amongst ourselves please. Sir you have a point, it does look like an animal came through and I for one will not be victim to any animal or man that is able to do that. Great I am stuck between two hot heads… Look at the end of the day you step in the woods I am not going to play diplomat to try and save you. They are not just a few trees either, there are entire communities affected by these people taking down areas without concern. It upsets the balance of nature; it scares children that love the land they are born in. Those children include one of my own so by all means go in there brandishing a weapon but don’t expect any mercy. I am far more tolerant than many of my race I assure you.
While you bicker about the rights of the elves to kill the lumber jacks Tionan makes the discovery that the only humaniod tracks belong to the deceased Lumberjacks. They were killed by animals, many of them. Tionan identifies the tracks of a particularly large brown bear, or Grizzly as the lumber jacks would of called it, that is almost certainly the one he saw with the elves, he also finds tracks of several Wolves, Boars and a few smaller bear tracks. It looks like the animals arrived in waves, charging into the camp from the north, the direction of the one wood. You also find the imprints of where a few of the animals fell, cut down by the desperate men, but their is no blood, fur or bones, it is as if the animals disappeared into clear air once dead.