Just because I feel you all should have a way to get in touch with me here is my email:
chef_bryce@live.com
"I know that we should search for Carmichael, but part of me wishes to let nature have her way with the coward."
Chiron beats the ground irritably with his hooves.
"Truly, he could not have thought the pitch black forest to be better refuge from the wolves than our campsite. If he has fled into the wood, we should seek him out." Naen softly hums a prayer to the Everbloom, and her morningstar begins to glow brightly.
"If you will allow me a moment to dawn my armor, I will light his trail for one of you to track."
Yes, I suppose we should find him. He was quite a decent cook, after all. William had been quite enjoying the rest. It looks like it will be a long night.
William puts on his boots and packs up the camp. Taking his bow in hand, he hops astride Brownie.
Has anybody seen my lantern? I just had it right here.
As the party rides away down the trail Carmichael left, William goes last. He softly whistles to the wolves. While they may cause plenty of problems down the line, he hopes they follow.
Looking forward to RP with you guys.
Is there an OOC thread for this game over in the OOC section, or do we use this one?
But I guess if you are following the tracks (can you at night?) then we might meet sooner... however that would mean I have to travel at night as well... I mean "arriving right before dawn" means the same. hmm, maybe you'd stumble on my camp then or something.
Well I'm done reading the thread and what happened so far, seems you're about a day's ride from Oleg's by now, probably a bit less depending on when you started. I think it doesn't make alot of sense for Emalea to ride by night, she would make camp. And despite Chiron having darkvision it's probably not good for you to track Carmichael during night either.
Not wanting to tell you how to proceed, but here's my suggestion: At morning you head backwards, folling the sorcerer, I start moving towards you again, and we meet after maybe an hour or so, me having found the remains of Carmichael and telling you about it, or maybe at the corpse itself if you want to bury it.
Hm, I guess I'll actually write something as to how I got started from Oleg's post (I probably arrived there too late, and Oleg told me which way you went)
Chiron stalks around the camp looking for Carmichael's prints.
"The coward seems to have fled sometime during his watch. I could track him in the darkness but I have no hope of catching him with you humans in toe. I mean no disrespect, but you are neither very fast nor are you able to see into the night. By the time the sun is up, Carmichael's trail will have gone cold. I am inclined to rest this night and carry on without him tomorrow."
My answer, Chiron, depends on how old you think these tracks are. I can't help but notice that a wolf seems to have followed him out of camp. If these are a couple hours old, I doubt we can do anything for him, and we should rest. If these are only minutes old, we should follow. It's dark, and he's subject to the same limitations I am. What's more, he left his horse behind. I would prefer we save him from a sad fate, if at all possible.
William Flynn is a good man.
"I am with you, William."
But if Carmichael truly abandoned us, what shall I say to him? Can I ever trust him to watch while we sleep? Can I trust any of them? Naen sighs. Perhaps Chiron is right. But no matter. I have given myself to aid William.
"But quickly!" Naen fastens the last strap on her scale mail with urgency.
It was the 24th day of Calistril and the sun stood well above the horizon already, when Emalea's keen elven eyes spoted Oleg's Trading Post in the distance. Or at least she hoped it was Oleg's Trading Post this time.
Three days ago she had taken the wrong turn and ended up far away from her original course by the time she noticed her mistake.
"Blasted maps drawn by humans, how is someone supposed to see anything on these? I'll be late for this meeting, all because that one can't draw a straight line." she was thinking to herself as she drove her horse forward again.
Far above her and a fair bit to the east, Ath'eni was flying, and while even her eyes could not pick up the small bird, she could have pointed right at him. From the emotions she received from the familiar he was currently hunting some insects, but apperently not very successfully.
She attempted to send her own message through the link to scout ahead and have a look at the trading post. It wasn't easy to communicate this way, but curiousity about what lied ahead was usually interpreted the right way by the bird. If not he would know that Emalea wanted him to do something and would aproach to find out what.
As the bird flew further away the connection grew dimmer and soon she could only discern the aproximate direction it had vanished. It took not long and he came back, and again she could feel him before she actually saw the little colorful bird aproach and land on the horses head. It barely shook it's head anymore, not like the first few times when Ath'eni had done this.
"What did you see, my little friend?" she asked in the musical language of her people. The little bird opened his beak but instead of chippery tones, as one would expect from an animal of his kind, he answered in the same language "I think it's the place we're looking for. I heard a female call one of the males 'Oleg'. They are digging holes behind the post. Why do they do that?"
"I don't know, Ath'eni. Humans can be strange sometimes. Best you stay with me now" and with that the little bird flew up again and perched itself on her shoulder, while she pulled a small piece of dried fruit from the pouch hanging from her belt and offered it to her friend, who began pecking at it right away.
As she arrived at the trading post, she swung herself of the horse, securing the reins before continuing.
"Greetings, my name is Emalea, I come here in search for Master Oleg. I have a charter here, I was told I should present to him." she greeted the first person she saw. She was directed behind the post, where Oleg would be busy burying the corpses of bandits that tried to raid the place earlier. 'Digging holes... of course'
She introduced herself again formally, and presented the charter she had received from the swordlords in Restov.
"What happened here, if I may ask?" she inquired.
"Oh, bandits, that's what happened. Stinking scoundrels they are" and he spit on the ground saying that, before he remembered who he was talking to "Oh, please forgive me manners. My Svetlana always says I act like a pig." he laughs at that "But the whole area be infected with them bandits, lass. You better be careful on your own. Well about that charter and your companions..."
She was told that unfortunately the rest of the explorers had already left a few hours ago. Luckily he was able to describe the direction they had taken, and told her that if she hurried she might catch up to them before nightfall.
Apperently one of them was a centaur, who while possessing a horse's body isn't quite as swift, so the group as a whole would be moving slower than she herself could alone.
'A curious thing, one of the mighty centaurs joining a human expedition. And a... no, that can't be, I must have misheard!'
"Master Oleg, did you just say a Hobgoblin would be with them as well?" - "Aye lass, a true and honest hobgoblin. I was surprised too, but they say he was raised in the city to the north, been adopted or something by a nobleman. And he even trained at the academy there, hard to believe as that is."
And it was hard to believe. She herself had never met an actual goblin or hobgoblin, but she had heard of them of course. It was said they hated elves beyond all reason, and noone really knew say why. She had to be careful about this one.
"Thank you Master Oleg. Would it be too much trouble asking for a warm meal for me and some fodder and water for my horse, before I move on?"
As it turned out, it was no problem, and soon she was back in the saddle.
Unfortunately she wouldn't be able to ride for as long as she had hoped, before fatigue caught up to her and her mount, and she was forced to rest for the night.
She removed the saddle and rubbed the horse down with some of the hay from the saddlebag. There was enough grass nearby that there was no need to feed it anymore, especially since it had enough at Oleg's post.
Since she was afraid it might rain she took the time to set up her small tent instead of simply rolling out her bedroll. She had cut a small flap into one side of the tent long ago, so Ath'eni could fly in and out at night.
"Keep an eye open, and wake me if you see anything strange, or a bit before sunrise" she told the bird before lying down to sleep.
Oh, I didn't know you didn't start with 28, I figured you did. I'll wait for the DM's call before I start trimming some stats though, because I wouldn't really know where to start (could drop Con to 10 that would be 3 points - actually 14 to 12 but has a -2 for elf, but well I like hitpoints)
** spoiler omitted **
My answer, Chiron, depends on how old you think these tracks are. I can't help but notice that a wolf seems to have followed him out of camp. If these are a couple hours old, I doubt we can do anything for him, and we should rest. If these are only minutes old, we should follow. It's dark, and he's subject to the same limitations I am. What's more, he left his horse behind. I would prefer we save him from a sad fate, if at all possible.
Naen looks rapidly between Chiron and William, waiting for one of them to act.
I updated my stats also, but I don't remember what. I think my int went to a 13, and my cha went to a 10.
Chiron you notice that the tracks of Carmicheal and judging from the freshness of them you assume he took off when he was startled awake by the wolves. You also notice that the set of tracks that followed him appeared to be a much larger wolf that was still hiding in the trees. You can tell by the general direction that he was running toward what he assumed was Oleg's
Chiron finishes his examinations of the camp site.
"It seems Carmichael slithered away as the wolves attacked. He can't be too far. We could catch him up if you all are so inclined."
Then let's follow. Lead on, Master Chiron.
William found his lantern. It was on the other side of Brownie. He lights it, and follows Carmichael's trail behind Chiron.
Obviously frustrated:
"I can't believe he ran off like that. At least we found out what to expect from him against wolves instead of something more dangerous."
Naen pulls herself on to her mare and holds her shining morningstar aloft. She follows behind the others.
Take 10 + 6 = 16
Chiron walks into the night with his eyes on the ground, looking carefully for signs of Carmichael's passing.
You are able to follow his trail for some time and you happen upon his body, leg caught in a bear trap and mauled by wild beasts, however as you find the grizzly sight another stranger happens upon the same sight.
Naen looks over Carmichael's remains. She does not make a sound.
Just like young Petrov, three summers past. Poor Carmichael. Milani guide your soul. If only he had...wait...what is this? Who is this stranger?
Naen raises her shield and holds her morningstar at the ready.
"Announce yourself."
It is the middle of the night, a few hours after she had laid down in her small tent to sleep, when Ath'eni flew back into the tent, making an awful loud noise to wake her up.
She opens her eyes, knowing this means something is happening. "What is it?" she asked, and the little bird stopped the chirping and switched to use actual language "Not far from here, to the south a huge wolf is hunting a man"
She casts the Light cantrip, making her hairband glow brightly, then quickly tosses the saddle on her horse and fastens the strap before jumping on it. Following the little bird towards where he saw the wolf as far as she could, but as she rounds a few trees she seesw that she is too late, the animal had killed the poor man already, but must have been scared off by the 4 people already standing around the corpse. Or creatures anyway, as one of them is half-horse and another a goblin.
She stops her horse at a safe distance, as to not provoke an attack.
"My name is Emalea Nightstar. And I might be mistaken, but judging by your companions you must be Naen Tesrec. Master Oleg told me about you. No need to worry, I am not here to do you harm."
"That is my name. What business had you with Oleg?"
Chiron trains an arrow at the stranger. However, as her story begins to make sense, he lowers his bow.
Naen is doing well, she is beginning to find her confidence.
"My business with him is the same as yours, I believe. I arrived at his post a few hours too late unfortunately, and so he told me which way you had gone. I admit I did not expect to catch up to you at this time of night though."
"Please miss, do not think me rude, but discression is the better part of valor. If you claim the charter of the swordlords, present it so our doubts might be assuaged."
"But of course" she reaches behind her to get the papers out of her saddlebags, and stops.
"Oh... it would seem I left my saddlebags behind in my tent, about half a mile that way" pointing to where she came from. "When I heard someone was being chased by a wolf, I hurried to get here in time, to see if I could help him. But it would seem I am too late, doesn't it? Who was it, do you know?"
"He was our companion. An unworthy coward whom nature selected for extinction."
While his words are harsh, Chiron's face shows a hint of sorrow for poor Carmichael. Now that you think about it, the words even sound somewhat practiced: learned. He looks back to Emalea.
"You may not have it with you now, but I will not expect you to sleep alone in the wilds. You may stay with us tonight if you wish, but I will want to see your charter before I place my trust in you."
"Naturally" she gives her horse a nudge with her heels, guiding it into a slow walk towards the group again.
"I thank you for the kind offer, and I'm more than happy to accept. But you'll understand that I would like to see your charters for the very same reasons you want to see mine. After all, I don't know how many bands of bandits consist of a centaur and a hobgoblin in these parts"
"Hello, Emalea my name is H'vok. I believe Chiron speaks for all of us on this matter. With that said I have an important question to ask you. Can you cook?"
"Naturally" she gives her horse a nudge with her heels, guiding it into a slow walk towards the group again.
"I thank you for the kind offer, and I'm more than happy to accept. But you'll understand that I would like to see your charters for the very same reasons you want to see mine. After all, I don't know how many bands of bandits consist of a centaur and a hobgoblin in these parts"
With a smile on his face:
"I figured a hobgoblin raised in the city would be somewhat famous, but I guess my name has not started to precede me yet."He then pulls his charter out.
Chiron snorts when the newcomer asks for his charter, but he produces it nonetheless.
"Satisfactory?"
I might be able to rest easier with this one around. She is shrewd.
The elf regards H'vok while she dismounts gracefully from her horse before accepting the charter from him. Her tone is quite matter-of-fact when she finally answers him "Yes, I can indeed cook. However I'm not sure my palette is refined enough for your tastes, as I usually don't cook sapients"