# Tales of the eldeen reaches



## DrZombie (Aug 16, 2005)

It is evening. All the people of the village are gathered around a large fire on the village green Tonight is the first night of spring. A night of happiness, feast and celebration. A night when winter releases its cold clutches on the land, and spring heralds the coming of summer. Especially for you, for tonight you are all celebrated. 

Last night you were set loose in the forest, left to fend for yourself for a night. You were expected to hunt for the village.

Some of you grouped together, and brought down a wild boar, or a deer. Others went by themselves, catching hare and squirrel, or fish, in the silent hours of sunrise.

What you caught, or how much, matters not. What counts is that you came back, alive.

In the afternoon some of you slept, while others told their outrageous tales to the children, who laughed and squeaked when Jarod tells a tale of his highly improbable meeting with an enraged bulette and his  cunning escape plan, leading it into the clutches of an owlbear, himself fleeing while the two mighty creatures fought it out amongst themselves.



But tonight, you are accepted as equals amongst the adults of the village. The mayor himself gives you a glass of his finest apple brandy, and toast to welcome you.



The deer and boar are roasting over the open fire, and tables filled with whatever delicious dishes the village wives could make compete for your attention with the barrels of fine mead and foaming ale.



But all of the sudden the merriment and celebration stops as Scarfang enters the clearing. Voices stop as people stare at the druid.



Scarfang commands and gets respect. But what he gets even more is fear, for none dare stand up against him. He has no one that you know whom he calls friend, and no one can remember him smile. 

Some say he lived through the crusade. Some say he fought the Silver Flame. Some say he fought the Lycanthropes. Some say he fought both.



He looks to be in his fifties, strong and unbent, with the effect of old age yet to claim him; He has looked like this for as long as you can remember. Even your father, or your father’s father, does not remember him otherwise.



He looks around the clearing, undisturbed by the whispering behind his back. With a gesture he summons the village elder.  They confer, and a whispered discussion takes place. The elder gives as good as he gets, but everyone knows that whatever scarfang wants, he’ll get. After a minute the elder gives a sharp nod, then walks away.



The druid walks towards the group of youngsters, bunched together at the side of the fire. The pleasant talks, which had just restarted, stop when the druid approaches. When it is clear that he’s coming straight to you, you jump to your feet, all of the sudden chilled to the bone, the food suddenly heavy as a brick in your stomach, all the effects of alcohol washed away.



The druid lifts his hand, and Aluir jumps onto his outstretched finger, both tilt their heads as they stare at one another, as if silently communicating. The corner of his scarred mouth twitch into something that could almost be called a grin, and he looks Caw in the eyes.

“The crow and raven are cousins, you know. They are not alike, but similar. So are you to your cousins. They fear what they do not understand. But fear will be replaced by respect, if you let them know you. That is a choice you will have to make. Soon. You will join me tomorrow on a trip. Feast tonight, but be ready by dawn. You have a long way to go.”



“Stulgar the Swift.” He looks at the double axe. “Your knowledge of other cultures will soon be called upon. But forget not, that you are what you are, and can never be what you are not. Look and learn, but stay true to yourself, or you will fail. You will join me tomorrow on a trip. Feast tonight, but be ready by dawn. You have a long way to go.”



“Ranvar hardheart. You follow a different way then the ways of old. That is the choice you have made. Hold on to your faith, for it will be tested. The gods are distant from men, and they do not seem to care. Stay true, and the beasts will bow to you as they bow to your master. You will join me tomorrow on a trip. Feast tonight, but be ready by dawn. You have a long way to go.”



“Roral Parl. You too, follow not the traditional path of the path of the people. From this you draw your strength. But if you are to become the leader you want to be, you will haave to understand our ways better then you do now. If you learn, you will rise higher then any; If you fail, you will fall. You will join me tomorrow on a trip. Feast tonight, but be ready by dawn. You have a long way to go.”



“Umbra. Shadow. Beast. Like Caw, they whisper about you when the night is dark. But you must never forget that shadow is created by light. Without light, no shadow. If you dwell in darkness, you will fade away. You will join me tomorrow on a trip. Feast tonight, but be ready by dawn. You have a long way to go.” 



“Silver. You have seen what happens when the beast controls the man. But if you leash the beast to tight, it will die, and you will be lost. To learn this balance you must make peace with your past, and with yourself. You will join me tomorrow on a trip. Feast tonight, but be ready by dawn. You have a long way to go.”





Without another word, he walks away into the darkness, and disappears; All around you, the people start talking amongst themselves, and the six of you find yourself being watched by the entire village with a mixture of pride and fear.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 16, 2005)

*Ranvar Hardheart: Cleric of Balinor*

Ranvar, clearly uncomfortable with the whispers and attention calls out,

"More brandy here!  You heard the man, TONIGHT WE FEAST!"

Ranvar then tears into his leg of roast boar, belching loudly after he chases the juicy meat with his last swig of drink.


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## Bront (Aug 17, 2005)

Stulgar nods to Scarfang when he is addressed.  He leans over to Roral when all is said and done and asks "Join him for a trip?  Have you heard of such a thing happening after the Rite?"


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## Krug (Aug 17, 2005)

Caw's heart leaped when he saw Scarfang approach. He knew it was time. Before he could even thank the druid, he had turned and left. As Aluir alighted on his head again, Caw mouthed quietly "Finally. We will be out of here, Aluir! Sorcery is as despised as wolves despise fire, and the more superstitious had been casting glances towards me strangely. I fear the knife in the back, the string across the throat, the poison in the cup." He turns excitedly to the other novices, "I MUST PREPARE!" before rushing off like an excited boy to pack and ready himself for the journey ahead.


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## Ferrix (Aug 17, 2005)

Umbra shifts uncomfortably in the darkness at the edge of the fire, he prefered if he hadn't have been pointed out to the others, his reputation was grim enough without Scarfang adding to it.  Although he respected the druid, he feared him rightly so, the manner in which Scarfang spoke of him gave a glimmer of light, which shone in his eyes, like the reflections of the fire that he stared into.  "We shall see, we shall see."  Taking a swig of the apple brandy from the flask he held, he dipped his hand into a pouch at his side and took out a narrow pipe and a small bag of leaf, tapping some into it, he lit it with a coal and drew deeply upon the warm aromas which lightened his head.  Tomorrow, he had best put such things behind him while he traveled with Scarfang.


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## DEFCON 1 (Aug 17, 2005)

Bront said:
			
		

> Stulgar nods to Scarfang when he is addressed.  He leans over to Roral when all is said and done and asks "Join him for a trip?  Have you heard of such a thing happening after the Rite?"




Roral turns to his friend and upraises his eyebrows in a shrug.

'Afraid not.  All of the usual activities and requirements occur while we're out in the forest the night before, not the day afterwards.  At least, that's what Cracoran told me when he went through the Rite last year.  This seems odd.'

Roral hears the belch of Ranvar and the excited exclamation of preparation from Caw... and he shakes his head in a bit of annoyance.  _'Children!'_ he thinks to himself.  But Roral ignores them both and stands up to make his way towards the mayor, Zarn Millar, who is listening in to a conversation between two other of the village's elders.

'Excuse me, Your Honor, please pardon the interruption.  If you don't mind me asking... do you know the cause of this trip?  I was to understand that our Rite ended with the Feast tonight.'


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## DrZombie (Aug 17, 2005)

" Ah, Roral." Zarn says, as you hail him.
He looks at you, with a mixture of pride, fear and awe. 
"Well, euhm. As of tonight, you are an adultn free to do as you like. So you are free in your choice to join him on this trip, or to stay here. He has no more powers of command over you than he has over the other people in the village."
He lowers his voice. "Remember Latheron Greatclaw?* He went on a trip with him as well, when he came of age, thirty years age. So did five others, that same day, although none of them returned."

* Latheron greatclaw was a living legend. He was one of the great freedom fighters, and has u nited several tribes at the frontier with Aundair, beating back the aubdair forces time and time again. Tales of his exploits are told during the long winter nights. He disappeared several years ago, near the end of the war.


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## DEFCON 1 (Aug 17, 2005)

> "Remember Latheron Greatclaw?  He went on a trip with him as well, when he came of age, thirty years age. So did five others, that same day, although none of them returned."




Roral's eyes widen for just a second as he contemplates the mayor's words.  Roral obviously is aware of all the stories about Greatclaw, and the thought of he too becoming a hero and freedom fighter holds particular interest for him.  He then glances at the other four of his Rite brothers and sister (with one of them having run off) and thinks to himself... _'Five others didn't return, hmm?  Not exactly the most promising of stories.  I'll do what I can for the rest of them, but I know that I at the very least will be coming back when we're done.  Hopefully I'll be able to bring some of them back with me, unlike Greatclaw.'_


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## Ozmar (Aug 21, 2005)

Silver is stunned by Scarfang's announcement. For some time, she sits in amazement, as she listens to everyone's congratulations and plans. Hayli and Kayli congratulate her. "Isn't that exciting! You're going on a quest with Scarfang." "I wonder why he picked you?" "Aren't you excited?" "I'd be scared. Scarfang gives me the creeps." Gradually, Silver shakes off her shock. "I don't know. I guess this will be fun. I'm not scared of him. But what can he want with us? I was hoping to apprentice with him or some other druid... but why would he want all of us? Surely Ranvar and Roral can't have anything to do with... Excuse me."

Silver gets up and walks towards her friend, Caw, but he has already departed. "Now where is he off to?" 

She overhears Roral talking to the mayor, and walks up to join the conversation. She nods respectfully to the mayor. "Master Millar." She addresses Roral. "Roral. What do you make of this journey? Did Master Scarfang say _you_ were to be our leader?"


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## DrZombie (Aug 21, 2005)

Caw:
You rush off to the hut at the side of the village that you call home. It's a bit rundown, but quite comfortable and cozy, and it's clear that it's inhabited by a bachelor.
You start packing, sniffing at various shirts to determine wether they are clean or not. Aluir looks at the frantic going-ons and chuckles.
In the background you can hear the sound of the villagers, when you hear a knock on the door.
You see your half-sister, Ethain, who hesitates before coming in.
"Hi, Caw," she says softly. "Can I come in?"


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## DrZombie (Aug 21, 2005)

Stulgar:
Stulgar watches his friend walk over to the mayor. justas he decides to join him, Sturges walks over to him, a foaming beer-mug in his hand.
"Here, son," his deep voice rumbles. "Have a drink."
He looks at you, thoughtfull, then chuckles.
"Do you remembe chasing that dog with a stick when you where 3 years old, because it had ruined your sandcastle? It must have been as big as you, but you weren't afraid. No, not one bit."

He grabs you in a fierce bear hug. "You'll do me proud, boy. I know it. But come back, you hear. There are worse things out there then dogs, and they'll ruin more then a sandcastle. Don't let your temper rule you, son."He whispers, while holding you tight.


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## DrZombie (Aug 21, 2005)

Umbra.
Your father walks up to you, uncomfortable, and disapproving of the smoke.

"Now, son, you can't be having that when you go on a trip with the Great Druid" The capitals are evident in the tone of his voice.

He stops, hesitating, not really knowing what to say to his son.


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## DrZombie (Aug 21, 2005)

Ranvar:

With juice and beer running down your face you stand in the middle of attention, receiving a few slaps on the back and a wishyouwell from the villagers.

(OOC: roral and Silver, you seem to be doing fine)


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 21, 2005)

"Thanks, thanks!  Farewell all!  I promise to bring you back many stories of our travels!"

Ranvar staggers through the crowd, seeking out his younger sisters.

"You two...stay out of trouble while your big brother is away.  I'll bring you something nice back when I return."

He hugs the both of them and trundles off into the woods just off of the meeting place for the morning so he can meditate, feel close to nature, and finally, fall asleep.


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## Krug (Aug 22, 2005)

DrZombie said:
			
		

> Caw:
> You rush off to the hut at the side of the village that you call home. It's a bit rundown, but quite comfortable and cozy, and it's clear that it's inhabited by a bachelor.
> You start packing, sniffing at various shirts to determine wether they are clean or not. Aluir looks at the frantic going-ons and chuckles.
> In the background you can hear the sound of the villagers, when you hear a knock on the door.
> ...




Caw snaps at the snickering Aluir. "I do not see you helping out! All you do is eat seeds. You do not even hunt anymore! The mice could outrun you, even a pregnant one!" Caw goes about the room, picking up his research and notes about his spellcraft.

"Why why yes, of course, half-sister," says Caw. "Have you heard? Tomorrow I set off on a journey. It is an important one!" The sorcerer says, excitedly.


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## Ferrix (Aug 22, 2005)

DrZombie said:
			
		

> Umbra.
> Your father walks up to you, uncomfortable, and disapproving of the smoke.
> 
> "Now, son, you can't be having that when you go on a trip with the Great Druid" The capitals are evident in the tone of his voice.
> ...




Umbra's gaze drifts down from his fathers face, drawing in a long breath of the smoke and waited.  He knew his father disapproved, his father seemed to disapprove of everything about him it seemed.  Exhaling the smoke in a twisting cloud, "then I better do it now."  His eyes raise to his fathers, and then the smugness drops away and is replaced by a boyish smile, "it is a night of festivities is it not?  I've heard you tell tales of the nght you passed your rite of becoming, they were surely more festive than a meager few puffs of smoke."


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## DEFCON 1 (Aug 22, 2005)

Silver said:
			
		

> "Roral. What do you make of this journey? Did Master Scarfang say _you_ were to be our leader?"




Roral turns to the quiet and withdrawn female and tilts his head when he hears her question.

'Hmm.  No... I do not believe Scarfang gave me any sort of leadership control over the rest of you... and to be honest, I do not know how many of you would have listened to me even if he had.  I think that what he meant was that in order for me to learn more about what it takes to lead, I would need to follow him on his journey in the morn.'

He grins at the more pacifistic and fairly attractive shifter and shrugs his shoulders.

'Of course, if I can actually somehow convince the rest of you to do things my way... then that'll prove my abilities right there!  Granted, the odds of that ever happening are probably several thousand to one...' as he glances over and sees Umbra deliberately disobeying his father, Ranvar indulging in the ale more than is probably wise, and even Silver looking a bit disapprovingly of the bastardword he has strapped to his hip... 'but really, who knows!  Heh heh!  I just hope that this journey will give me the experience out of the village I need to convince Master Marrillian to recommend me to the Defender's Guild.'

As the night has progressed further than he realized, and because he was up the entire night before with the others during their Rite... Roral starts to yawn, which he tries to stifle with his hand.

'Ugh... I must be more tired than I thought.  I suppose a good night sleep is in order so I am more prepared for tomorrow.  Have a good night Silver.  I will see you in the morn.'

He nods to girl, gives her one last smile, then turns and walks back to his family's farmhouse for the night... waving good night to the rest of the villagers still at the party.


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## Ozmar (Aug 22, 2005)

Silver continues to hover about the party for a while, chatting with friends and thinking about Scarfang's words. But as the night grows old, she gets pensive and excuses herself to prepare for the trip.

She hurries home and gathers everything together that she thinks she'll need, and packs it all in eager anticipation for the journey. In the morning, she rises quickly and heads to the meeting place, hoping to be there before Scarfang arrives to impress him with her promptness.


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## Bront (Aug 22, 2005)

DrZombie said:
			
		

> Stulgar:
> Stulgar watches his friend walk over to the mayor. justas he decides to join him, Sturges walks over to him, a foaming beer-mug in his hand.
> "Here, son," his deep voice rumbles. "Have a drink."
> He looks at you, thoughtfull, then chuckles.
> ...



"Of course Father.  I shall return." he says, hugging back.  "You raised me well, and I shall not disapoint."

Felling done with the party, Stulgar wanders back home to gather his things, which are mostly still layed out.  He twirls the axe briefly, testing it's weight with a smile, for it is much better balanced than any other he has used.

Waking refreshed, Stulgar puts on his things and goes to meet his friends.


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## DEFCON 1 (Aug 24, 2005)

Roral awakens early in the morning, armors up, grabs the rest of his equipment, then walks back into the village and sees Silver and Stulgar already there waiting.

'Good morn!  Looks like the group is slowly but surely awakening and getting together.  Any sign of Scarfang?'


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## Ozmar (Aug 24, 2005)

Roral said:
			
		

> 'Good morn!  Looks like the group is slowly but surely awakening and getting together.  Any sign of Scarfang?'




"Good morning, Roral. Scarfang hasn't arrived yet... but maybe he is already here."  She looks suspiciously at a nearby squirrel. "Even the trees have ears." She smiles self-consciously and rumages through her pack to make sure everything is ready.


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## Bront (Aug 24, 2005)

"I'm sure he'll be here when he wishes.  I'm sure he's still testing us."  Stulgar says, leaning up against a tree.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 24, 2005)

Ranvar walks out of the woods, fully armored and ready to go.  He seems to be fairly chipper considering the night previous, and eager to get started.

"Good day to you all!  Who are we yet waiting for?  I am eager to see more of this great world and have stories of my own to tell."


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## Ozmar (Aug 24, 2005)

Silver smiles shyly in Ranvar's direction and then walks over to Stulgar to compare the contents of their pack. "Stulgar, what did you pack? I want to make sure I have everything we'll need. We don't even know where we're going... or how long we'll be?" She rummages around in her pack. "I only have two week's food. But I got some rope. Did you bring any rope? I guess you can always use some rope..." She glances nervously in Ranvar's direction.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 24, 2005)

"I wouldn't worry about food too much.  I suspect that Balinor's great bounty will provide us all we need...and perhaps a bit more.  It is, however, good to know that no additional information was given last eve.  Some details are...fuzzy."


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## Ozmar (Aug 24, 2005)

ShaggySpellsword said:
			
		

> "I wouldn't worry about food too much.  I suspect that Balinor's great bounty will provide us all we need...and perhaps a bit more.  It is, however, good to know that no additional information was given last eve.  Some details are...fuzzy."




Silver laughs. Then she stops as she realizes that it wasn't particularly funny. She blushes and tries to hide it as she digs in her sack, mumbling to herself. "Well, better safe than hungry..."


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 24, 2005)

Ranvar busts out laughing.  "Aye, better just about anything than hungry.  Agreed."


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## Ozmar (Aug 24, 2005)

Silver is stung because she feels like Ranvar is laughing at her. She snaps, "And how much food did your mother pack for you?" but instantly regrets the words.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 24, 2005)

"Take no offense, take none.  I was laughing at the thought of being without food in the middle of the forest in the company of a druid with the power of Scarfang.  It is good to be self-sufficient.  I admit, I didn't think to pack any food at all.  I brought only my belief in our skills as hunters and a waterskin."


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## Ozmar (Aug 24, 2005)

"No food? What if Scarfang's plan is to set us loose in the wild to see how we fare? Surely we can survive, but I have lived that life, and it is not as pleasant as a pack full of prepared rations."

She stops abruptly.

"Waterskin? uh oh..."

She digs through her pack frantically. "Flame! I knew I forgot something!"


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## DEFCON 1 (Aug 24, 2005)

Ranvar said:
			
		

> "Good day to you all!  Who are we yet waiting for?  I am eager to see more of this great world and have stories of my own to tell."




Roral quickly glances around to see if the two remaining shifters are on their way towards them.  When he doesn't see them, he says to Ranvar...

'Caw and Umbra are left to arrive.  Unless of course Umbra is actually already here but is hiding somewhere and doesn't want to show himself.  You can never be too sure.  Caw?  Him I have no idea.  He took off so early from the celebration last night, I would have thought he'd have been the first one here.'

He glances around once more.

'And of course, Scarfang hasn't arrived either.  But hopefully we will get on our way shortly, as I am anxious to start out.  I didn't get up this early in the morn to wait for two hours for the rest of everyone to arrive.'


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 24, 2005)

"Well, as far as I see it, no one is late until Ole' Scarfang shows up, so the two of them should be just fine."

Ranvar drops his pack and shield, takes out his sickle, and starts to sharpen it, glancing over at Silver from time to time and smiling to himself.


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## Bront (Aug 25, 2005)

Ozmar said:
			
		

> Silver smiles shyly in Ranvar's direction and then walks over to Stulgar to compare the contents of their pack. "Stulgar, what did you pack? I want to make sure I have everything we'll need. We don't even know where we're going... or how long we'll be?" She rummages around in her pack. "I only have two week's food. But I got some rope. Did you bring any rope? I guess you can always use some rope..." She glances nervously in Ranvar's direction.



"Well, I do have some rope, a few days worth of rations, and some other utility gear for catching food and starting a fire and such." Stulgar replies "I'm sure we can catch some extra food as we travel, so I wouldn't worry about it as much.  I'm more worried about the general strange things that are out there in the reaches than getting enough food."


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## DrZombie (Aug 25, 2005)

Ferrix said:
			
		

> Umbra's gaze drifts down from his fathers face, drawing in a long breath of the smoke and waited. He knew his father disapproved, his father seemed to disapprove of everything about him it seemed. Exhaling the smoke in a twisting cloud, "then I better do it now." His eyes raise to his fathers, and then the smugness drops away and is replaced by a boyish smile, "it is a night of festivities is it not? I've heard you tell tales of the nght you passed your rite of becoming, they were surely more festive than a meager few puffs of smoke."




With an uneasy nod, your father admits that, yes, he might have done so in the past.
"look, son. I; euhm. We don't get along... Well." He sighs. "Good luck, son, whatever you might think of us. Come back safe."

And he disappears into the night.


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## DrZombie (Aug 25, 2005)

Krug said:
			
		

> Caw snaps at the snickering Aluir. "I do not see you helping out! All you do is eat seeds. You do not even hunt anymore! The mice could outrun you, even a pregnant one!" Caw goes about the room, picking up his research and notes about his spellcraft.
> 
> "Why why yes, of course, half-sister," says Caw. "Have you heard? Tomorrow I set off on a journey. It is an important one!" The sorcerer says, excitedly.





"Yes" She says, looking not very happy. "I know. Have fun, and, when you're rich and famous, don't forget us." Her face lights up. "You could send word to us, no? Then I can come and visit you, in The Big City. Do you need help packing?"


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## DrZombie (Aug 25, 2005)

Just as Caw and Umbra arrive, Scarfang appears,startling you all. He looks at you, nods,and turns around, back into the woods.It is as if the trees themselves make way for him, because not even a twig is displaced where he passes, and the thornbush don't entangle his clothes. He makes not a sound.
It is only after a few minutes that some of you notice a big dark shape walking parallel to him, a few meters  to his left. Sometimes it runs off, to return half an our later. 
Scarfang walks at a good walking pace, but doesn't seems to be planning to stop for a while.


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## Bront (Aug 25, 2005)

Stulgar does his best to keep up, likely better at most being quite used to moving at a brisk pace.  He tries to take the lead of the others, so they can try to follow his path, which should be much more managable for the others.

After an hour or so, he braves the question "Scarfang, sir, why did you choose us and where are we heading?"


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## Ozmar (Aug 25, 2005)

Silver walks along briskly, keeping pace as best she can. She is determined not to be shown up by any of the others. If any opportunity arises, she tries to impress Scarfang with her knowledge of nature, by naming the medicinal properties of an obscure plant, or commenting on the hunting habits of a passing animal.


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## Krug (Aug 25, 2005)

Caw will speak to Ethain, reassuring her and yes, letting her help pack, though the sorcerer has so few belongings anyway. "Do not worry Ethain. Yes, do come visit me. Are you troubled by other things?"

----

Caw is happy to see Scarfang. He is happy to get ready to leave and that it was not another joke after all.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 25, 2005)

Ranvar stays to the rear of the group, somewhat encumbered by his gear, but working his hardest to keep up.  He keeps an eye out for dangerous plants and animals that might be problem.


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## DEFCON 1 (Aug 25, 2005)

For the first couple hours, Roral falls so far behind he almost loses the trail and the group several times.  Although he would have felt lost had he left his ceremonial suit of half-plate armor at home, the weight of it makes the hiking ridiculously slow-going... especially as he continuously trips over branches, twigs and roots that he never notices.  Because Ranvar is in a similar boat wearing his chainmail, he also follows far enough behind that the times Roral's lost sight he's been able to bellow out for Ranvar to let him catch up.

'*Huff* *Huff* *Huff* *Huff*  What was I thinking?  *Huff* *Huff*  This is *Huff* why I *Huff* learned *Huff* *Huff* how to ride.  *Huff* *Huff* *Huff*  Is it too late *Huff* to go back *Huff* *Huff* and get *Huff* my horse?  *Huff* *Huff* *Huff*'

As he reaches up to wipe some sweat from his bushy eyebrows, the split-second his view is blocked by his gauntlet is enough for him to catch a root with the tip of his boot, and once again he drops face-first in the dirt with a large *clang*!

'BY BALINOR'S MANE!'

Roral lies there for a few seconds as his wind got knocked out of him, and he waits to see is Ranvar doubles back one more time to see how he is.


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## DrZombie (Aug 26, 2005)

The druid ignores all attempts at conversation, giving an Icy Stare as sole response to any question asked. His pace is just fast enough to give Roral a very, very hard time, but not fast enough to lose him.

Roral
[sblock]
After your last fall you lay on your belly. just when you try to get up you hear a faint noice from behind you, as if someone is sn igg ering 
OOC:goddamn political correct spell checker[/sblock]


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## Ferrix (Aug 27, 2005)

Umbra sighed as, the encounter with his father last night troubled him still, his father obviously cared for him, yet it bothered him still that he wasn't accepted as he was.

Caught up in his thoughts he walks quietly with the others, drifting in out and behind trees as is his natural course of movement, sometimes flitting up to the front and then disappearing into the shadows only to appear next to Roral or on his own in the back.  His pace matches his thoughts, sometimes careening forwards, stuttering with trepidation once in a while and then slowly almost to a halt, and picking up again.


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## Bront (Aug 27, 2005)

Stulgar spots Roral's troubles and falls back a bit to help him out.  "Try to follow me, I'll look for a clear path for you."  He looks ahead and tries to find a good spot for his friend to follow along at without loosing the rest of the group.


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## DEFCON 1 (Aug 29, 2005)

Roral lies face-down in the dirt... a groan of exhaustion escaping his lips.  Thus far, the efforts of Ranvar, Umbra, and especially Stulgar to keep him on his feet and pressing forward have been invaluable.  In the past hour alone Stulgar had come back to check up on him multiple times as he plodded along, and the warrior was quite thankful for the lithe and silent ranger's efforts.



			
				Stulgar said:
			
		

> "Try to follow me, I'll look for a clear path for you."




Roral nodded to his friend and grinned.

'You're a good friend, Stulgar, thank you.  I'll return the favor to you the first time we get into combat... I'll be your wall of steel from which you can attack behind.  Heh heh.  Assuming of course I don't collapse in a pile of goo before then.  Heh heh.'

That conversation runs through Roral's mind as he lies there in the dirt and indeed feels as though he is nothing but a pile of goo.  The sweat that has been running down his back and seeping into his clothing has turned him into a sponge of disgusting wetness, and he finally realizes in however small way just the kind of conditions that the warriors of the Last War must have lived in day after day for one hundred years.  This kind of irritation never really sank in to Roral's consciousness until this point in time and the stories he heard about the males and females who left the village to fight suddenly because just a little more real and just a little more horrific.  Is this really what he wants to do with his life?

He decides that he's done enough laying about and he has a job to do, so he pushes himself to his knees with a huff.  As the clanks of the metal plates bumping against each other ring through his ears, he thinks he hears a... guffah?  A laugh?  Something?  He quickly spins his neck around to get a look at the inconsiderate lout who is laughing at his misfortune.

'All right!  Out with it!  Who's there?  If you're going to laugh at me, at least have the guts to do it to my face!'


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## Krug (Aug 29, 2005)

Caw follows near the back of the group, eager to be on his way away from the village, though looking at his companions, he wonders why Scarfang bought thewhole village with him.


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## DrZombie (Aug 29, 2005)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> 'All right!  Out with it!  Who's there?  If you're going to laugh at me, at least have the guts to do it to my face!'





You can hear a faint murmur, as if someone is having a discussion, then silence.

The trek continues throughout the day, with a pauze for food and drink. It is as if Scarfang is making haste, towards a point unknown. He takes you deeper and deeper into the woods, untill near nightfall, he comes to a clearing, with a small spring nearby. On the ground lays a dead eaer, with a clawmarks on its hamstrings  and a twisted neck.

Scarfang nods.

"Good. Don't leave the clearing. I'll be back tomorrow morning."

He looks at you all, and points at Caw. "You will be the leader tonight."

He then turns, and, despite your questions, disappears into the woods....


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## Ozmar (Aug 29, 2005)

Assuming that the "dead eaer" is really a dead "deer", Silver will inspect it. If it is fresh, she'll begin preparing the meat for cooking. "Anyone want to get some firewood?"  She smiles at Caw. "Well, great leader? Want to establish a watch rotation?"


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## DEFCON 1 (Aug 29, 2005)

Roral takes a look at the deer, then glances around at the rest of the group and their intrepid guide Scarfang.  Just as he's about to open his mouth to make a comment, Scarfang says...



			
				Scarfang said:
			
		

> "Good. Don't leave the clearing. I'll be back tomorrow morning.  You will be the leader tonight."




...and then he turns and hurries off into the woods.

Roral snaps his mouth shut and glances once more at the rest of them... each of them glancing at Caw now that he's been given the task of being leader.  Roral thinks to himself...

_'Hmm... okay... well this is unexpected.  What exactly are we out for here again?  Watch over a dead animal?  Is there a point to this?'_

He shrugs once, hears Silver's comment about getting some firewood, and then nods to her.

'I'll go for some wood.  I need to fill up my waterskin in the spring anyway.  If we've really stopped for the night, then I'm going to get out of this damn suit.'

He spends the next few minutes getting out of his armor and once done... grabs his waterskin and walks out of the clearing to get fresh water and find some firewood.  If anyone goes with him, he makes casual smalltalk about this odd situation.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 30, 2005)

"Come Roral, we shall gather firewood."

As they get near the edge of the clearing Ranvarr mutters to Roral, "Ha, if anything should happen this eve, I think it likely we will be the ones to destroy any threat.  What say you Roral...can we make an impenatrable wall of shield and armor to protect our companions?  I say yes!"

Ranvarr then laughs as if he said something funny, claps Roral on the shoulder, and brings some firewood to the center of the clearing.


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## Krug (Aug 30, 2005)

"Y-y-yes," says Caw, suddenly unsure after this duty is foisted on him. "I'll take first watch,followed by Ranvarr, Roral, Silver, Stulgar and Umbra. And keep within sight for the firewood! Do not be too far from the clearing. Wait come back... don't leave this place at all! Come back!" shouts Caw. 

The sorcerer inspects the deer, wondering if it can be cooked... or if Scarfang had left it and it's meant to be the group's meal. Aliur the raven eyes it hungrily. Caw sends the familiar up to look around to see if there's anything suspicious in the area.


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## Ferrix (Aug 30, 2005)

Umbra rests his spear upon against a tree, and finds a decent pair of trees to hang his hammock between.  Stringing it up, he sits casually down in the hammock watching the others and waiting for them to sort out the fire.


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## Bront (Aug 30, 2005)

Stulgar gathers what would he can within a short reach from the clearing, never out of sight or earshot of his friends.  He also takes the time to look for tracks, hoping that perhaps he can find evidence of these others he heard Roral calling to.

Once he's gathered some wood, he returns and builds a small fire


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## Ozmar (Aug 30, 2005)

Silver silently and expertly dresses the deer, setting aside half for travel on the next day, and preparing the other half for cooking. Once the fire is built, she begins roasting various cuts of meat.


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## DEFCON 1 (Aug 30, 2005)

Ranvar said:
			
		

> "What say you Roral...can we make an impenatrable wall of shield and armor to protect our companions? I say yes!"




Roral smiles at him for his enthusiasm. 'Well we shall see, won't we?  Of course I'm not exactly clad in my wall of steel at the moment, so if things go to pot you'll be able to hold them off long enough for me to climb back in, won't you?'  He then slyly grins at him once more.

The pair return with a supply of wood and set about starting the campfire.  As the fire finally blazes, Roral takes out his bastardsword and inspects it's edge.

'Stulgar, any idea of the nature of the deer's injury?  It was claw marks, yes?  Do we know what kind?'

While the others in the group sit around the campfire, he moves slightly away into the clearing to give himself plenty of space.  Roral then begins to drop into different stances, practicing the techniques that Anders Marrillian taught him.

'As I do not know who or what those voices were earlier that I heard... perhaps they were denizens of the forest just enjoying my troubles... there's a chance we have been and still are being watched.  Not to countermand your suggestion of watch order, Caw... but with six of us we may want to have two up at a time rather than just one.  More eyes and ears could probably be good in this situation.  I myself do not have a problem watching for three hours rather than just one and a half.'

He brings the sword around in a wide arc, then leaps to his left in a defensive tactic.

'But as per Scarfang's command... I'll abide by your final decision, whatever you choose it to be.'


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## Ozmar (Aug 30, 2005)

Silver rolls her eyes at Stulgar's display.

"I agree. Double watch sounds more secure. Not that I think we have much to fear around here. But I think it would generally be a good idea. Dinners ready."

She passes out sticks with freshly roasted venison for everyone to share.


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## Bront (Aug 30, 2005)

"Well, the claw marks could be a shifter's, or could be an animal's, but by the broken neck, I'd assume someone got close enough to snap it, which would have to be either some kind of bear, or a humanoid.  If I'd had time to look at it more, I might tell you more, but I'm hungry myself, and it seems Silver is as well, as she's already dressed it."   Stulgar smiles "We're with Scarfang, and perhaps other men of the wilds, so I souldn't doubt that one of them had something to do with this."

Stulgar thanks Silver and tears into his meat.  "While I can take a watch myself, it is far safer if we pair up in some way.  I suggest those that are a bit more at home in the woods or more alert in general try to pair up with someone who is not," he says to Caw.

Stulgar helps anyone who need assistance setting up their bed rolls, trying to point out the better spots on the ground that he sees.  Eventualy he sets his own up as well in a practiced mannor that takes very little time.  He takes his pack off and sets his axe, bow, and arrows down beside his bed but in easy reach.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 30, 2005)

Ranvar smiles at the watch discussion, and then chimes in.

"Double watches, single watches...it matters not to me.  All I am interested in knowing is weather or not I'm going first so I can decide wetaher or not to take off this steel waistcoat I'm outfitted in."


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## Ozmar (Aug 30, 2005)

Silver finishes her meal. "Perhaps you should take the first watch, then Ranvar? Your discomfort will keep you alert." She blushes slightly. "And... uh... well, I guess I'm not very tired. I volunteer for first watch. Caw? What say you?"


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## Krug (Aug 30, 2005)

"W-w-well.. yes, double watch might be b-better. Ranvarr and Roral, Silver and Stulgar and f-f-finally Umbra and m-me," the sorcerer says, poking at the meat. "The deer... it was attacked and killed, but not slain. Why? Is not the way of the forest to c-consume?"


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## Ozmar (Aug 30, 2005)

Krug said:
			
		

> "W-w-well.. yes, double watch might be b-better. Ranvarr and Roral, Silver and Stulgar and f-f-finally Umbra and m-me," the sorcerer says, poking at the meat. "The deer... it was attacked and killed, but not slain. Why? Is not the way of the forest to c-consume?"




"Stulgar?!" Silver pouts, but then changes the subject quickly. "What do you mean, 'not slain'? You mean, 'not eaten'? I assume that we have Scarfang to thank for that. But I s'pose we shouldn't be expecting him to feed us every night." Silver moves off and busys herself with ensuring that any remains from the carcass are sufficiently removed from the campsite so as not to attact unwanted attention.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 31, 2005)

"Right then, I'll wait and take this off later them.  I'll take this side of the camp Roral, you watch over there."


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## Krug (Aug 31, 2005)

"N-n-not eaten, I mean," says Caw, fumbling under the pressure.


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## Ozmar (Aug 31, 2005)

Silver takes Caw aside and speaks quietly. "Hey buddy, you're doing fine. Why so nervous? Don't you know Scarfang is just outside our perimeter, just out of sight? He and his animal friends will be watching over us all night, so there's nothing for you to be worried about. We're perfectly safe." She smiles and gives him a reassuring squeeze on his arm. "Isn't that right, Aluir?"


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## Bront (Aug 31, 2005)

Ozmar said:
			
		

> "Stulgar?!" Silver pouts, but then changes the subject quickly. "What do you mean, 'not slain'? You mean, 'not eaten'? I assume that we have Scarfang to thank for that. But I s'pose we shouldn't be expecting him to feed us every night." Silver moves off and busys herself with ensuring that any remains from the carcass are sufficiently removed from the campsite so as not to attact unwanted attention.



Stulgar raises an eyebrow at Silver but otherwise makes no note of her apparent objections.  "Sounds like a fine watch set to me."

Stulgar thought about pulling Caw asside to reassure him, but upon seeing Silver pull him aside, decides he'll wait till when he wakes Caw for his watch.

"Well, I suggest we all get a good rest tonight, it will be a long day tomorow if this is any indication."

Stulgar sits back and prepairs to rest till his watch comes up.

OOC: I do want to do something on my watch, so please don't just skip over it, but whenever it happens, it happens.


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## DrZombie (Aug 31, 2005)

*first watch*

Night settles over the forest. Atd dusk, there is a stirring as thecreatures of day settle for sleep and the creatures of night wake up to hunt.

Your campfire burns merilly, and you can see the bats swooping around hunting for the insects attracted by the light.
In the background you can hear the familiar sounds of the vast forest that surrounds you, the cry of a rodent caught by a predator, the insects, the occasional hoot of an owl.

After a while those not on guard get ready to sleep, while those on guard prepare to stay awake.

All is quiet, all is well.


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## Krug (Aug 31, 2005)

Rolls as requested:
_Caw: Spot - 11+3=14
Listen - 4+3=7
Fortitude - 20+2=22

Aluir (Just in case): Spot - 14+5=19
Listen - 14+3=17
Fortitude - 15+2=17
_


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## ShaggySpellsword (Aug 31, 2005)

[sblock]_Fort= 8
Listen=23
Spot=15_[/sblock]


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## Ozmar (Aug 31, 2005)

When the time comes for Silver's watch, her rolls are...

[sblock]
Spot [8] = (8) + 2 = 10

Listen [5] = (5) + 4 = 9

Fortitude Save [10] = (10) + 5 = 15

Click here for the source.
[/sblock]


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## Ferrix (Aug 31, 2005)

Umbra ignores the two hulking brutes, or atleast that's how he considers Ranvar and Roral half the time, too much noise for their own good.  As the evening winds down, he makes a quick comment to Silver as he enjoys some of the deer, "thank you for dressing the food, I'd have made a mess if I had tried myself."  Hoping not to sound to thankful, but still the appreciation is shown.

He takes his watch quietly when the time comes with Caw, "dawn..." he says at the onset of the predawn glow.









*OOC:*


Rolls: Fortitude 15, Spot 25 (whee nat. 20), Listen 23


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## Ozmar (Aug 31, 2005)

Silver smiles. "Don't mention it. I just didn't want you to spoil our dinner,"  she says, laughing in a friendly way.


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## Bront (Sep 1, 2005)

OOC: Well, you asked for first watch rolls, but it seems everyone is doing it, so Spot 24, Listen 12, Fort 14.  Let me know when I'm either awake this watch, or it's second watch.


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 1, 2005)

Ranvar said:
			
		

> "Right then, I'll wait and take this off later then. I'll take this side of the camp Roral, you watch over there."




Roral takes a quick look to where Balinor's cleric indicated, and nods in agreement.

'Very well.  I'll take it.  I probably should get suited up as well then once the night watch begins.'

As the evening progresses and it looks as though the other four shifters are getting ready for sleep, Roral sighs and then begins the arduous task of armoring up again.  Once completed, he moves a bit away from the camp to allow his eyes to adjust, but also to keep the noise of his armor from being too loud to keep them awake.

Then from about 10pm to 1am, Roral waits and watches.

**********

Listen [12] - 1 = 11
Spot [7] - 1 = 6
Fortitude [15] + 5 = 20


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## DrZombie (Sep 2, 2005)

Roral:

The night is filled with the usual sounds of nature. So quiet, infact, that Ranvar doses off.

Then, at about midnight, the forest goes eerily quiet. Nothing stirs, as if the forest itself is holding it's breath.
You can feel, as much as hear, right at he edge of sound, something chanting, far away and nearby at the same time, as if a voice swirls around through the woods. It is a macabre sound, with a maniacally twisted edge that fills you with distaste. It rises to a crescende, then suddenly stops.
Then it goes quiet again.

You see your friends twisting and turning in their sleep, sweating and mumbling something. 


The rest:

Slowly you get ready to sleep. You start dreaming.

_The moon shines on a clearing in the forest. Huge standing stones form a circle. An elderly half-orc druid is holding a ceremony, offering fruit and a deer to the Gods. He suddenly looks up, and turns around. Then he doubles over, an arrow sticking in his stomach. He falls to the ground, and seven hooded figures appear in the clearing. They grab his struggling form by hands and ankles, and put him on the altar. His throat is slit, and the blood pours on the altar, hissing and steaming. The body is dragged away, and the seven start to chant, raising their voices to the heavens. They all draw strange, curved bone daggers, and use them to slice open their arms. The blood falls to the floor, and streams towards the altar. One of the seven walks towards it, and with a scepter of sorts strikes the altar. 
It cracks, and the standing stones start to shake.
One by one, slowly, they fall over.

The seven continue their ecstatic singing, and fall to their knees, cutting themselves, offering their blood, wich continues to stream towards the now cracked altar.

Slowly a portal forms, and from beyond you can see horrible creatures, twisted, alien, gruesome, bizarre. Natural forms, melted together. Gibbering, drooling mouths. Inane cackles escape from foam-flecked lips.
Amidst all this stands a creature with the face of an angel and the eyes of a demented mass-murderer. It smiles as his horde starts to move through the portal, showing rotten fangs behind cherry-red, full lips.

Then, all of the sudden, one of the seven falls over, an arrow through his throat. The portal slowly grows smaller, and the creatures attack each other in an effort to get through.

A giant bear wielding an axe, a tiger with two swords, and a huge creature of fire enter the clearing.

Then all goes black.
_


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## Krug (Sep 3, 2005)

Caw wakes up abruptly, his head hurting as thought a sledgehammer were pounding. "What in the..." he looks to the others,and soon realises they all had the same dream. "What does itmean? W-what?"

The sorcerer looks around for Scarfang so that they can continue their journey. Caw has been quite affected by the dream.


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## Bront (Sep 3, 2005)

Stulgar awakens with a bit of a start.  He looks around, seeing that others have awakened as well.  "The Gatekeepers."  he says, certain that he was witnessing something involving them.

Stulgar sees Caw is agitated, and says. "It was a vision.  Perhaps a memory of a stand by the gatekeepers of the past, or perhaps a fortelling of those in the future.  I'm sure in time we will find meaning in it, but we must be ready for the task at hand."

Once things settle down, Stulgar pulls Caw aside and says to him "My friend, be not afraid of what you see or your responsibility.  A good leader knows when to listen to those he leads, and needs not be the best at anything but looking after those he leads.  If you need assistance from anyone, just ask, for it is not a sign of weakness to rely on others who might offer you more insight.  We're all friends here, and have the same goal.  We'll all stand behind you and help you."  He smiles and pats Caw on the shoulder as he finishes.

He looks up at the sky "It's almost time for our watch", he says to Silver. "No sense in going back to sleep now."


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 6, 2005)

Ranvar slowly comes out of his sleep.

"Wh...huhn?  An attack!  Was that Scarfang calling to us for help?  Has something gone wrong?  Perhaps we should seek that place...we certainly should if Scarfang doesn't return for us."


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## Ozmar (Sep 6, 2005)

Silver: Zzzzzzzzzz

She sleeps as if in a deep trance. As Stulgar shakes her to wake her up, he notices that she appears different, her brown hair has turned completely white, and when she opens, her eyes are large and seem to glow with an inner light akin to that of a full moon. As she wakes fully, her appearance returns to normal.

OOC: During the dream, she shifted. 

"What? Is it time to watch?"


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 6, 2005)

As the others wake up from their dreams, Roral inquires what exactly was going on and what they saw.  Upon hearing Stulgar's explanation of his dream, Roral's brow furrows in thought.

'The Gatekeepers?  And seven cloaked individuals chanting and opening a portal?  Hmm.  Well, I will say that while all of you were sleeping, I thought I heard... or I'm pretty sure I heard... well I think I heard... some... chanting near here as well.  Sort of distant... but also sort of close.  It was hard to explain.  I almost FELT the sounds as well.  I know I'm not explaining it well.'

He looks over and sees Caw's fear on his face, and hears Ranvar exclaim as he wakes up.  He turns to the cleric and there's a bit of hardness in his response as he's not exactly thrilled that Ranvar fell asleep.

'Let's not jump to conclusions, Ranvar.  I haven't seen Scarfang since he took off earlier, and we don't know what this dream of yours signifies.  Of course, had I dozed off while I was supposedly on watch and gotten a chance to witness this dream myself, perhaps I'd feel differently.  But as I was doing my job, I think it best that we all continue to just do our jobs until Scarfang returns.'

Roral addresses the group once they've fully awoken.

'Scarfang brought us and left us at this specific place for a reason.  Whether this vision is connected to that reason, or if this vision is a byproduct of something else entirely, I don't know.  But it doesn't do us any good to go rushing off through the trees screaming our heads off to find Scarfang, especially not at this time of the night.  We don't seem to be in any immediate danger, so let's wait to see what the druid has to say about what we've seen.  Perhaps we were meant to see this... perhaps not.  But I for one will wait for Scarfang to make a decision about what's to occur, before I go flailing about, ranting and raving like some child.  Stulgar?  It's your and Silver's watch.  I'm going to try and get some sleep.'


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 6, 2005)

Ranvar looks a bit abashed, realising he fell asleep on watch.  He replies to Roral.

"The dream was clearly magical in nature...we couldn't have all had the same dream otherwise.  I couldn't have stayed awake as I fell beneath the power of the spell-it's not my fault."

Ranvar then thinks a moment before continuing, 
"What if one of the animals in the dream...or the flaming elemental for that matter...WAS Scarfang and this was his way of calling for help?  What if the place he went was to this circle ritual?  I don't fancy meeting the things that came out of that portal, and I care to see Scarfang angry that we didn't answer his summons even less."
Ranvar looks around at the others in camp, hoping to be gaining support.  He turns to Roral  "You say you heard the chanting while awake?  Which direction?  I think we should investigate and aid Scarfang if need be.  He knew that this trip would be dangerous, he wouldn't have asked us along otherwise."


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## Bront (Sep 6, 2005)

Sulgar strains to listen in the background for any more chanting.  "Perhaps Roral, being awake, only heard a little of the dream as if background noise?"

Stulgar shrugs "I'm sure you soldiers can appreciate the duty of following orders.  We were told to stay here, so I think we should remain here."

"And yes Silver, it's time for our watch" he adds.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 6, 2005)

"Well, I'm not going out there alone...but it seems to me this message-dream may have been an order.  That's my point."


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## Bront (Sep 6, 2005)

"I think it's more likely the telling of a tail, or perhaps an attempt to recruit.  Perhaps that's why we 6 were choses, because they felt we're the ones most likely to join the Gatekeepers."


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## Ozmar (Sep 6, 2005)

"Scarfang asking us for help? That seems as likely as the seasons asking us to change the leaves of the trees. Still, if we know which direction the chanting lies, then I would agree with investigating. Carefully."


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 6, 2005)

'Agreed.  If Scarfang brought us out here because he thought he might need help in dealing with some monstrous creatures coming from beyond... he would have told us outright before he took off.  It does him no good to communicate to us using some sort of weird dream in the hopes that we understand what he's implying.  Especially since the dream gave no indication that one of those weapon-wielding animals was even him, nor where he currently is.  How are we supposed to find him?  Go out hiking and hope we find these standing stones on a lark?  The chanting I heard was from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.  I couldn't pinpoint it if I wanted to.'

Roral rolls his eyes.

'Nevermind the most important fact that if Scarfang was really coming out here this night to deal with creatures from another world... he wouldn't have brought **US**.  Even I'm not so egotistical to think that I'd be a good choice for this assignment if that was the case.  There are a lot more qualified folks back in the village to assist Scarfang if he needed a strong sword.  Anders Marrilian for one... Stulgar's father for another... Umbra's entire family on his father's side are all qualified hunters and warriors... lot more qualified than me!  Let's assume that Scarfang isn't so stupid that he'd leave them at home and bring us as back-up instead, hmm?'

He walks over and lays down on his bedroll to get ready for sleep.


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## Ferrix (Sep 6, 2005)

Umbra remains asleep, used to fitful dreams interupting the darkness of sleep that he prefers.  Although those watching him notice his eyes flicker open occasionally, those penetrating yellow-green orbs split like a great cat's watching you as if from beyond before closing.


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## Ozmar (Sep 6, 2005)

Silver sits down and wraps her cloak about her, taking up position to watch the campsite for the next few hours.


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## DrZombie (Sep 6, 2005)

You find yourself waking in the morning sun. Those on last watch have put a kettle to boil, and the remains of the deer are roasting on the fire.

You wonder if yesterday's dream was a dream, when suddenly, without a noise, Scarfang appears from the bushes, accompagnied by two large, muscular shifters, a man and a woman, and a dire panther.

The relief you start to feel when you see his stern figure turns to ice  in your stomach when you realise they are all hurt. The two shifters show makeshift bandages, and the dire panther sports a nast burn to his side. Scarfang's clothing is torn, and he walks with a severe limp, leaning on his staff.


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## Ozmar (Sep 6, 2005)

Silver gets up as Scarfang approaches. She is apprehensive, and looks to the others to see how they react. She watches Scarfang closely, but doesn't say anything or approach him.


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## Ferrix (Sep 6, 2005)

For once Umbra's dreams weren't personal nightmares, this time they had some reflection in reality, he was about to open his mouth to speak but then shut it when he considered the other two shifters.  His gaze falls upon the massive panther and a smile spreads across his face.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 6, 2005)

Ranvar looks at the wounded, a look of triumph at being right dying on his face, quickly replaced by concern for the wounded.

"My magics are weak compared to yours Wise one, but my I heal any additional hurts?  What can I do?"


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## Krug (Sep 7, 2005)

Caw bows to Scarfang. "Morning Master Scarfang. I... how are you?" Caw is a little edgy at the sight of the panther.


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## Bront (Sep 7, 2005)

Durring the night (Sorry to go back, but I did actualy want to have a quick conversation with Silver.)

Silver:
[sblock]Stulgar paces slowly around the camp as he keeps a watchful eye out.  "I couldn't help but notice your.. well... I'd don't know if it was disapointment or irritation with being put on watch with me.  I don't bite, and you know I'm an able woodsmen.  Is there something else that upsets you about me?"  He asks in a calm, and inquisitoral, but not confrontational voice.  He keeps his eyes on Silver waiting for a responce.[/sblock]


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## Bront (Sep 7, 2005)

Stulgar immediately looks over the wounded before his eyes rest on Scarfang again, "Is there any way we can help?" he asks, hoping some calmly said words would help calm the panic some of his friends seem to feel.


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## Ozmar (Sep 7, 2005)

Bront said:
			
		

> Durring the night (Sorry to go back, but I did actualy want to have a quick conversation with Silver.)
> 
> Silver:
> [sblock]Stulgar paces slowly around the camp as he keeps a watchful eye out.  "I couldn't help but notice your.. well... I'd don't know if it was disapointment or irritation with being put on watch with me.  I don't bite, and you know I'm an able woodsmen.  Is there something else that upsets you about me?"  He asks in a calm, and inquisitoral, but not confrontational voice.  He keeps his eyes on Silver waiting for a responce.[/sblock]




Silver's response:

[sblock]
Silver blushes. "Huh? What? Uh, what do you mean?"  She tries to cover up her embarrassment with a joke. "Well, you do kinda smell funny."  She smiles, and shrugs, as if sensing that Stulgar wants a real explanation. "I dunno, I guess I just thought that it would be better to put our two best woodsmen on separate watches. And putting Ranvar and Roral on the same watch? Its a wonder we got any sleep. They probably spent the whole watch practicing their sword-fighting. I think Caw (or whomever our next leader is) ought to give some thought to spreading our skill sets across different watches."  She considers for a minute, and then notices Stulgar's intense expression. She continues in a teasing tone. "Why? You think I don't like you? Why, Stulgar, I didn't know you cared."
[/sblock]


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 7, 2005)

From his bedroll, Roral rolls to his side and looks at Scarfang, the two other shifters and the panther.  Noticing their injuries he wonders for a moment if perhaps Ranvar was right and that they should have went out searching for them last night... but then he realizes how futile it all would have been.  He recalls what Mayor Millar said two nights ago about how Latheron Greatclaw and five others went out with Scarfang 30 years ago after their Rite of Becoming, but only Greatclaw returned.  Roral is pretty sure if the six of them had gone running through the woods looking for Scarfang, they also would not have returned.

'Good morning to you all.  I take it things did not go well last night?  We have a sneaking suspicion that the other five of us might have seen the start of what happened to you all last night in a vision while they slept.'


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## Bront (Sep 7, 2005)

Ozmar said:
			
		

> Silver's response:
> 
> [sblock]
> Silver blushes. "Huh? What? Uh, what do you mean?"  She tries to cover up her embarrassment with a joke. "Well, you do kinda smell funny."  She smiles, and shrugs, as if sensing that Stulgar wants a real explanation. "I dunno, I guess I just thought that it would be better to put our two best woodsmen on separate watches. And putting Ranvar and Roral on the same watch? Its a wonder we got any sleep. They probably spent the whole watch practicing their sword-fighting. I think Caw (or whomever our next leader is) ought to give some thought to spreading our skill sets across different watches."  She considers for a minute, and then notices Stulgar's intense expression. She continues in a teasing tone. "Why? You think I don't like you? Why, Stulgar, I didn't know you cared."
> [/sblock]



Stulgar Responds:
[sblock]Stulgar chuckles at her joking.  "Caw simply lacks confidence, and I'm sure felt threatened when others made suggestions.  If he's going to continue to be the leader appointed by Scarfang, he'll have to learn taking advice does not make a leader look soft."

"As for anyting else, just remember that you don't have anything to prove to me, or anyone else for that matter.  And I know there's no one else I'd rather have by my side out here than yourself."  He cracks an unusualy warm smile for him before his stern demeanor returns as he continues the watch.[/sblock]


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 12, 2005)

Roral sits up and leans back on his elbows in his bedroll, awaiting a response from the elder druid.

'Well, Scarfang?  What happened?  What's going on?  Do you have need of us, or should I just go back to sleep?'


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## DrZombie (Sep 12, 2005)

The druid looks at you, tiredness shining through his eyes.
"*Save your healing magic for yourself, you will have need of it soon*."

At the mention of a vision, he looks up. 

"*A vision*?" He nods to himself.
"*Hmm, yes, that might be possible, considering how you are linked to this place, and to them*."
He shakes his head.
"*No matter. Listen. You must move north from here for two days. When you reach a small stream, follow it to it's spring. Then move south again, untill you are found by one of us or untill you reach somewhere safe. Then go to the great druid.
Leave tracks untill you reach the stream, but try to leave no trace when you've reached the spring. 
Don't stop moving, and watch your back*."

He looks at all of you.
"*I don't know if you're ready for this, but you'll have to be. Trust each other, and stay together*."

He takes a leather sack from the backpack of one of the shifters,and hands it to you. "*Take this to the great druid, and tell him all you've seen."*

From his coat he takes a woolen thread, one for eack of you, and ties it around your necks.
"*Don't lose these." Now go. We'll try to hold 'em here*"


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## Krug (Sep 12, 2005)

Caw looks afraid. Scarfang is sacrificing himself... for them? "Could we not fight the evil you are prepared to face? Would we not stand more of a chance?"


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## Ozmar (Sep 12, 2005)

Silver, too, is afraid. But she is quickly gathering her things into her bag. Her voice quavers as she says "'c'mon, Caw! Let us do as Scarfang says, and quickly."  Without waiting for the others to be completely ready, she begins to move off to the north, hoping that they will follow.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 12, 2005)

Ranvar moves into instant action, putting on his armor, and helping the others get their things together. 

"Lets go, hurry.  I will bring up the rear.  Move steadily, but slow enough for Roral and I to keep up.  We shouldn't split up."


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## Ozmar (Sep 12, 2005)

(Just to be clear: Silver doesn't run so far or fast that she leaves anyone behind, but she does lead the pack.)


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## Bront (Sep 12, 2005)

Stulgar takes the sack and tucks it away in his backpack (No one else has at this point), while nodding to the druid.  As if almost instinctive, he begins to try to find the best uses of his friend's tallents.  "Silver, you take the lead." he says giving her a knowing look, and perhaps a hint of a smile.  "Keep your eyes open.  Roral and Umbra, follow her.  Renvar and Umbra, you stay behind Roral and Caw, and I'll trail behind you all."

Before they leave, he says to Scarfang "I trust my friends, and believe they're more ready than they know.    We won't let you down."


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## DrZombie (Sep 12, 2005)

The druid looks at you as you leave the clearing, and when you look back you can see him smile a bitter grin. His hand waves in the air wreathed in green light, as he bends down to heal the wounds of his companions.

An hour or two after you leave you can hear a roar, dimly , from where you came. After that, silence.

The going is tough as you go deeper and deeper into the woods. You have a hard time keeping your direction, but manage with a few minor mishaps.


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## Ozmar (Sep 12, 2005)

Silver will set a pace that is as hard as she can, allowing for the others to keep up. She asks Caw (particularly his raven familiar) to fly ahead to keep an eye out for ambushes. She stops only briefly for rests, and a quick mid-day meal, and encourages them to push on to the brink of twilight before setting camp. Only then does she begin reflecting on what has transpired...


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 12, 2005)

"Sure Stulgar, cover our tracks.  Let's go."

[sblock]Spot: 17[/sblock]


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 12, 2005)

'Great druid?  What great druid?  I thought Scarfang was supposed to be some great druid?'

As the group progresses forward this first day... Roral placed second in the marching order behind a rapidly-progressing Silver... he can't help but continually question what has transpired thus far.  All his training up to this point has been regimented and militaristic-- Anders Marrilian gave specific orders and Roral followed them to a 'T'.  But now to just "go with the flow" with whatever Scarfang has presented them thus far, regardless of how specific - or more to the point _UNSPECIFIC_ - the information given has been... has him quite bothered.  And thus (to the annoyance probably of the rest of the group), he whines and complains about it the entire day of the hike.

'Go north two days until we reach a stream, then follow it until we find it's source.  Then turn around and come BACK this way until we eventually find Scarfang and the others or we reach somewhere SAFE?!?  What does that mean, somewhere SAFE?!?  And where would that be, pray tell?  And at what point after we've found somewhere safe are we then supposed to go find this Great Druid?  Especially since he didn't tell us who or where this Great Druid is!  I certainly hope one of you guys know... because this seems like a bunch of useless hiking to get us out of the way, if you ask me.'

This second day of relentless hiking while wearing his armor ends up being even worse than the first, what with his muscles still not fully healed from the journey the day before.  And thus, he's cranky, cranky, cranky.

'And by the way... just how exactly are we supposed to come back this way from the stream WITHOUT leaving any tracks?  Are one of you going to be ERASING them or something... because I know my boots will be leaving large pockets in the mud.  I certainly don't envy the one of you who has to try and eliminated six pairs of tired, heavy boot tracks.  Why in Balinor's name did he BRING us out here if he's not going to tell us what is going on?  Is this how all creature of the forest behave?  Keep everyone in the dark?  Remind me to never take a post in the woods then.'


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## Krug (Sep 12, 2005)

Caw sends Aluir ahead to check that things ahead are safe,telling it to fly in the shadows. He keeps his mouth shut, keeping to the middle of the party. He constantly looks back, wondering what has happened to the druid.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 13, 2005)

Ranvar gets a bemused look on his face, and says with a degree of resignation,

"Quiet Roral.  I beleive that Scarfang means us to find THE great druid.  The Greatpine, cheif druid of the Reach.  As for Scarfang's instructions?  Either they'll make sense as they become important, or we'll try our best and do our worst.  No point complaining about it now.  On we go."


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## Bront (Sep 13, 2005)

"Silver won't get us lost.  I believe in her." Stulgar says in a reasuring voice.  "We have a few days ahead of us till I mist cover our tracks.  Thing will make sense eventualy, but for now, we must trust in ourselves and in Scarfang's word."


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 13, 2005)

Ranvar said:
			
		

> "Either they'll make sense as they become important, or we'll try our best and do our worst. No point complaining about it now. On we go."





			
				Stulgar said:
			
		

> "Thing will make sense eventually, but for now, we must trust in ourselves and in Scarfang's word."




Roral throws childishly annoyed looks back at Ranvar and Stulgar as they mention this to him on their hike through the woods.  He turns quiet and sulks as they continue their march forward.  His thoughts turn dark as his mind races.

_'Hrumph!  No point in complaining?  Easy for them to say... they LIKE it out here.  This is just stupid... walking around for no purpose.  If Scarfang wants me to fight, then send me to fight!  If he wants a diversion so others can fight... send me home and let the nature-lovers go traipsing through the trees!  Stupid, stupid, stup--'_

And of course, since he wasn't paying attention he catches his metal boot on another root, and falls face-first to the ground once more!

*** CLANG!! ***

'ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHH!!!  BY THE LION'S MANE!!!'

He lies there for a second, then rolls over and pulls himself to a sitting position.  He sits there in a blackened mood, refusing to get back to his feet until the rest of the group catches up.


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## Ozmar (Sep 15, 2005)

Silver doubles-back to Roral, attempting to move up on him swiftly and silently. She appears on top of him, in his face, while he lies on the ground. She's snarling, having shifted to her dreamsight form. In her Rage, she grabs Roral's shirt with intense strength. "Outbursts like that will bring whatever is chasing us down on our position!", she hisses in an angry whisper. "Do you want to get us all killed?! If Scarfang cannot handle them, what hope do you think we'll have? What hope do you think YOU'LL have on your -"

Abruptly, she draws back, as if surprised by her words. A look of fear and embarassment passes her eyes as she shifts back. She then turns and runs away from Roral, moving back to the lead position. She's very quiet for a while, and slows her pace to ensure that Ranvar can keep up.


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## DrZombie (Sep 15, 2005)

Amidst all the shouting and arguing, stulgar notices "something" in the woods behind the party aiming a crossbow at the group. It is a four-armed creature, twisted, with a nightmarish face. Two of it's arms are manipulating the crossbow, and it holds a morningstar and a shield in the other two. A dribble of drool comes out of the corner of it's two mouths.
 A few yards back another creature is loading it's crossbow.

Ranvar Sees movement in the back, and feels the adrenalin rising in his chest as he realises they're about to be attacked.

Initiative please.


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## DrZombie (Sep 15, 2005)

..........T......T......T...
..............................
........1...T.........T.....
........T....................
........2......3.............
........T....4...........T.
..............................
..............5T.............
.............6...............
....T......T................
.....................T.......
...T..........T...........Y
..............................
.............................
.............X......T....T..
............T........T......
...............T............T

X enemy 1
Y Enemy 2

1 Silver
2 Caw
3 Umbra
4 Roral
5 Ranvar
6 Stulgar

Stullgar : full round
Ranvar partial

If sulgar wins initiative and gives warning the rest will have a partial action as well.
Evryone but Stulgar is flat-footed.


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## Bront (Sep 15, 2005)

*Stulgar 10/10 HP, AC 16*

Stulgar pulses with adreline, as his legs become stronger, swifter, and his traits more animalistic.  He calls out, in a much more gutteral voice "Attack!", as he draws his double axe and charges the form, hoping to get to it before his friends are attacked.

OOC: Shifting upon seeing the crossbow - Init:20, Charging up to 80', Attack - Double Axe +4,+2 charge / 1d8+3 / 20x3, AC: 14 till next turn

Edit: Charging X (Wasn't a map when I was initialy posting, sneaky)


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 15, 2005)

*Roral  13/13 HP, AC 19  [unshifted]*



			
				Silver said:
			
		

> "Outbursts like that will bring whatever is chasing us down on our position!  Do you want to get us all killed?! If Scarfang cannot handle them, what hope do you think we'll have? What hope do you think YOU'LL have on your -"




As Silver steps back away from him, Roral's eyes can be seen to be rather wide.  He certainly wasn't expecting to be chastized by the female, and especially not with the rage with which she did it.  Roral sits there and doesn't say anything, as he's a bit afraid of what Silver might do to him if he did.

Suddenly, Roral hears Stulgar shout out "Attack" from further down the trail.  He immediately spins around to see what is going on, and catches a look at the two four-armed creatures aiming crossbows in their direction.

'Holy--!!!'

**********

Roral ((Initiative [6] + 0 = 6))

If Roral receives a partial action during the surprise round, he will use it to get back on his feet as a Move Action (and also shift, if shifting's a free action - I can't remember whether it is or not.)

If Stulgar's warning was not fast enough and Roral does not receive a partial action, then I'll give my first round's action after I see how the surprise round plays out.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 15, 2005)

Ranvar reacts just after Stulgar, seeing motion out of the corner of his eye.  Ranvar darts toward another form in response to Stulgar's charge, bringing his shield foward and reaching for his holy symbol.


[sblock]Initiative: 13.  Move 20 ft. toward baddy Y.[/sblock]


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## Krug (Sep 15, 2005)

*Caw, AC 13, HP 6*

Caw spies the enemy and goes into action. He spins around and casts a spell. A raven black missile shoots out at the nearest enemy.
_Are these the beings that killed Scarfang? And what manner of beasts are they?_
--
Initiative: 12 +3 =15
Magic Missile: 2 +1 = 3 points damage.


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## Ozmar (Sep 15, 2005)

*Silver, HP 15/15, AC 14*

Silver spins at the cry and runs back towards the rear, drawing her axe. "S***!"  she mutters to herself. She closes with the enemy, bringing her axe to bear on the nearest foe.

[sblock]
Initiative: 14

Not raging yet (and I'm hoping/assuming that she's not winded from her previous rage, since this is a "new scene").

She's taking a double-move (speed 40) to the opponent at X, and drawing her axe as part of her move. If she has enough movement, she'll move to the side to set up a flanking position with any allies who are there or likely to engage.
[/sblock]


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## Ferrix (Sep 16, 2005)

Umbra having just ducked out from under some brush, realizes that it would have been better to stay there as Stulgar cries out the warning.  Spear clenched closely in his hands, he ducks for the cover of the trees.









*OOC:*


Initiative 14, Move for Cover


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## DrZombie (Sep 17, 2005)

..........T......T......T...
..............................
............T.........T.....
........T....................
........2....................
........T....4...........T.
................3.............
...............T.............
...................1..........
....T......T......5.........
.....................T.......
...T..........T...........Y
..............................
..............6..............
.............X......T....T..
............T........T......
...............T............T

X enemy 1
Y Enemy 2

1 Silver
2 Caw
3 Umbra
4 Roral
5 Ranvar
6 Stulgar

With a snarl Stulgar draws his axe and charges the attacker. With a cry he lashes out with his axe, landing a powerfull blow on it's chest. Blood and gore spatter around, but to his horror, what should have been a mortal blow is healing before his very eyes, but it is still leaving a large gap.
The creature strikes back, but is off balance by the powerfull blow and misses.

Silver draws her weapon and hastes towards battle, but is too far away to reach it (partial action only, I'll allow for a single move and a draw weapon)

Umbra moves to take cover behind the nearest tree.

Ranvar boldly strides forward but gasps for breat when a bolt pierces his armor, leaving a flesh wound in his shoulder (2 pts)

Caw draws upon the mighty powers of magic, and smiles when the creature howls in pain, taking the black missile in the leg.

The second creature howls in pain, and shoots into the group that's charging towards him, hitting ranvar in the arm.

With a curse roral gets up and shifts into his wyld form, ready for battle.


(OOC : please post HP, AC, initiative, attack and DMG. You can roll for yourselves)


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 17, 2005)

*Init: 13; HP 9/11; AC 20*

Ranvar, angered by the crossbow bolt, shifts, his hair growing longer and thicker, his hide toughening.  He draws his mace and closes with the shooter.


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## Krug (Sep 17, 2005)

Glad to see that his magic has not failed him, Caw draws out his crossbow and fires a bolt at the further beast(Y). 
"Fly true!" the shifter says. 

_X-bow Attack(+3/1d8/19-20x2): 19 + 3 = 22
Confirm Crit: 15 +3 = 18
Damage: 8 (if critical), 4 if not
_


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## Ferrix (Sep 18, 2005)

Resting his spear against the tree, Umbra pulls his shortbow, knocking and loosing an arrow into the air at the second creature, but the arrow flies wide and into a tree.









*OOC:*


Shortbow Attack & Damage (1d20+3=8, 1d6=6)


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## Ozmar (Sep 18, 2005)

*Silver, HP 17/17, AC 10, raging and charging*

Silver charges at the enemy, howling a blood-curdling cry of rage as she (attempts to) bury her axe in his skull.

[sblock]Still on Init 14, she charges, rages, and attacks Y. Attack roll: 23. Damage: 9 (silver battleaxe)

OOC: If the foe does not fall, she continues her attacks, with a +4 silvered battleaxe, 1d8+2 dmg, each round. Her AC will be 12 after the initial charge. She can maintain the rage for 8 rounds. If she takes more than 15 points of damage and is still conscious, she'll attempt to flee.

(Just thought that would help in case I don't reply quick enough to keep the battle moving.  )[/sblock]


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## Bront (Sep 18, 2005)

*Stulgar 10/10 HP, AC 16,  Init 20*

Stulgar, not willing to admit defeat with the wound closing, swings his axe hard in an attempt to create another wound, but misses badly.

Attack (1d20+4=7).


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 19, 2005)

*Roral - 14/14 HP, AC 21 (charge), Init 6 [shifted]*

Having gotten to his feet and seeing most of the party working on Enemy Y, Roral decides to rush up to help out Stulgar with his opponent X.  Viewing through the brush, Roral can see a straight path directly to the enemy that barely skirts about three trees along the way.  He barrels forward like a metallic ram, reaching back and pulling his bastardsword from it's sheath across his back.  His charge brings him right up to the creature and he brings his sword straight down from above his head, aiming for it's skull.

((Bastardsword [14] + 5 + 2 charge = 21)) / ((Damage [5] + 4 = 9))

((AC 21 for rest of round due to charge *normal AC 23*))


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## DrZombie (Sep 19, 2005)

..........T......T......T...
..............................
............T.........T.....
........T....................
........2....................
........T................T.
................3.............
...............T.............
..............................
....T......T...............
.....................T....51.
...T..........T...........Y
..............................
............4.6..............
.............X......T....T..
............T........T......
...............T............T

X enemy 1
Y Enemy 2

1 Silver
2 Caw
3 Umbra
4 Roral
5 Ranvar
6 Stulgar

Stulgar overreaches and swings wide. The creature hissed with delight and lands his spiked mace with a sickening crunch in the side of Stulgar (6pts)

With a ferocious roar Silver buries her axe in the belly of the creature. It howls in pain and prepares to strike back when a crossbow bolt pierces its eye and buries itself in its brain.

From behind the tree umbra aims, but he cannot find a clear shot, and misses.

Ranvar continues his march forward, but arrives with the beast allready dead.

With a masterfull shot Caw finishes one of his opponents.

Before his very eyes Stulgar takes a severe blow. Rorall Crushes the beasts' skull, and immediatly turns to Stulgar.



End of combat


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## Ozmar (Sep 19, 2005)

"Arrrg!" Silver snarls as she hacks the beasts head off. Then she stands over its corpse, her body heaving as she takes heavy breaths and attempts to quiet the rage in her soul. After a few seconds, she looks around, trying to take stock of the situation.

_What has happened? We were attacked? What are these things?_

She looks to her companions. "Was anyone hurt? Can we continue? There may be more of them!"  While waiting for a reply, she quickly bends to her fallen foe and strips it of any valuables (food, potions, any necklace or rings, a pouch of gold, or a fancy-looking weapon) before standing again to see how her companions are faring.


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## Bront (Sep 19, 2005)

*Stulgar (4/10)*

Stulgar sets one of the heads of his axe down on the ground, and rests for a moment.  "Make sure these things aren't getting back up.  I saw the first wound I inflicted begin to close when I first hit it."

"And well done." he adds.  "Take anything you may need, but leave the rest behind.  We don't need to be slowed down by carrying a bunch of useless second hand gear."

Stulgar limps back to check on everyone, indulging the pain in his side for the moment.  "We all ok?"


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 20, 2005)

After looking around and ensuring all of his companions are up and conscious, Ranvar kicks away the crossbow of the foe at his feet, and looks over the body, trying to identify what it was.  He also checks for any identifying papers or other interesting valuables.  When he is done he turns to the rest.

"Who has wounds that need tending?"


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## Krug (Sep 20, 2005)

Caw smiles to Aluir, his familiar. _So what did you think of that? Was that not a good shot? Oh yes, it was lucky he walked right into it... but such is such!_ Slightly more confident, the sorcerer then remembers Scarfang again, and gives a quick prayer that he is all right.


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## Ozmar (Sep 20, 2005)

*Silver*



			
				Stulgar said:
			
		

> "Take anything you may need, but leave the rest behind. We don't need to be slowed down by carrying a bunch of useless second hand gear."




_By the Moons! We're not children._

Silver gathers up any of the aforementioned valuables, (OOC: not taking anything that would be too bulky or slow her down) and looks at the others.

"We should leave. There may be others. Stulgar! You've been hurt! Can you keep up?"


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## Bront (Sep 20, 2005)

Ozmar said:
			
		

> "We should leave. There may be others. Stulgar! You've been hurt! Can you keep up?"



"I should be able to, just tender." Stulgar says, testing and stretching the area, wincing occasionaly.  "Don't think I'd put up a fight if someone offered to do something about it though."

"They carrying anything interesting? Any clues what sent them?"


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## Ferrix (Sep 20, 2005)

Bront said:
			
		

> Stulgar sets one of the heads of his axe down on the ground, and rests for a moment.  "Make sure these things aren't getting back up.  I saw the first wound I inflicted begin to close when I first hit it."
> 
> "And well done." he adds.  "Take anything you may need, but leave the rest behind.  We don't need to be slowed down by carrying a bunch of useless second hand gear."
> 
> Stulgar limps back to check on everyone, indulging the pain in his side for the moment.  "We all ok?"




Umbra closes in, his sickle in hand, he performs a relatively gruesome slash across the throats of both of the creatures before he begins to search over their bodies.  "They won't be moving now."


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 20, 2005)

After searching the one skewered by bolts, Ranvar walks over to Stulgar and prays over him, closing some of his wounds.

[sblock]Lose Magic Weapon for Cure Light Wounds: 1d8+1[/sblock]


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 20, 2005)

Silver said:
			
		

> "We should leave. There may be others. Stulgar! You've been hurt! Can you keep up?"






			
				Stulgar said:
			
		

> "I should be able to, just tender."




Roral glances at the now virtually decapitated creatures (thanks to Umbra) and shakes his head.

'I'm not crazy about the idea that we're nothing but a bunch of decoys.  We basically have to just keep walking and pull more of these things away from what will eventually be the big battle site?  Seems kind of cowardly if you ask me.'  Roral then takes a second to reconsider the situation.  'But then again, we probably wouldn't be able to survive a full-on assault against dozens of these things if we did... so our lessening the enemy's numbers a few at a time is probably the best we can do.'

He pulls out a rag from one of his pouches and begins cleaning off his sword.

'Okay.  If we indeed ARE meant to just draw off a few scouts and such away from wherever the large-scale fights are going to be, let's be more thoughtful about this.  Ranvar and I are like beacons in the night, based on how much noise our armor makes... so we HAVE to be decoys.  But I don't think all six of us need to or should be out in the open, drawing focus.  Umbra... you and Stulgar are our quietest.  I think it'd make more sense for you both to follow in front, behind, or to the sides quite a ways away from the central group, keeping watch out for more of these things advancing on us as we march.'

Roral begins sketching what a typical pincher movement might look like down in the dirt.

'If the other four of us are here in the middle... and either of you see one of these things advancing on us... you let them get past you towards us, but send out a signal that we'd recognize but they might not.  This'll give us a few seconds to prep for the upcoming fight and have a general idea of which direction they are coming from.  When the creatures finally reach us, you two can then collapse in and take the creatures from behind as well.'

The last movement of the X's and O's done with his stick, Roral stands up.

'With only six of us we can't set up pefect ambushes... but we'll at least be able to give ourselves a bit of a warning.  It'll all come down to whether you two feel as though you can keep out of sight enough.  Because if either of you get seen, they'll pick you off alone and we'll never get a chance to reach you in time.  What do you think?  Are you confident in your stealth, or is being off silently by yourself too much of a risk?  I mean, we can always just keep traveling together as we've been doing... but we do run the risk of a larger force taking us by surprise again.'

Roral shrugs his shoulders and waits to hear what the rest of the group thinks.


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## Ozmar (Sep 20, 2005)

"Sounds good to me. Let's go."

Silver shifts about nervously.


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## Bront (Sep 21, 2005)

Ranvar touches Stulgar's wound, and he begins to feel much better.  Stulgar tests it out a bit before he smiles and pats Ranvar on the shoulder "Thank you."

"Roral, we're almost to the stream, and once we're there, I'll be hiding our tracks.  I don't think we're a diversion.  More likely, we're assistance.  Scarfang selected us for some reason, so we'll have to trust that he knew what he was doing.  But untill we're hiding and trying to go quietly, your precautions can't hurt."

Stulgar cleans off his axe and puts it away, still testing his leg.


----------



## DrZombie (Sep 21, 2005)

One of the creatures carries a band of gold around his left upper upper arm. It has a few gemstones in  it, and is engraved in an alien motif, with strangely twisted curves.
The weapons are too small for you to use comfortably, but could perhaps be sold to halflings or gnomes.

....


The forest, wich had gone quite during the fight, tarts to liven up again. Flies are buzzing over the two corpses.

[ooc : what do you do with the corpses, if anything, and what's the travel order? It is around midday)


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## Ozmar (Sep 21, 2005)

[ooc: huh, I thought they were bigger than that]

Silver takes the gold band, but does nothing to conceal the bodies.

To the best of my knowledge, the plan is: Silver and Caw take the lead (Aluir continues to scout ahead), with Ranvar and Roral following, and Umbra and Stulgar are bringing up the rear/flanks with an eye towards protecting us against more attacks. Silver is heading due north towards the river.

Does that sound right?


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## Krug (Sep 21, 2005)

Caw is happy to just leave the corpses to the elements. "Perhaps I should be in the middle, as Aluir can still communicate with me easily from there. The warriors might wish to take the front," the sorcerer suggests.


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 21, 2005)

Stulgar said:
			
		

> "I don't think we're a diversion. More likely, we're assistance."




Roral tilts his head at the ranger and looks at him questioningly.

'How can we be assistance if we're being sent off to hide?  If we were meant to be assisting the others, we'd stay out in the field and continue to find more of these things and attack them.'

He walks over to one of the creatures and takes a careful look at it.

'The fact that we've been walking this far north for two days, and then are supposed to just "disappear" tells me that Scarfang and the others wanted us to be seen walking away from some important area, but then not get involved past that.  So as I said... I think we're a diversion meant to draw at least some of these creatures away from some central area.  If and when we disappear at the spring... any more of these things that followed us will be now two days out from wherever Scarfang and the others are now probably going to be.'

He stands up and gives a small snort of amusement.

'And how much do you want to bet that we aren't the only group walking around out here like this either?  I'd be willing to put down money that probably every single druid involved in this battle probably recruited a band like us to cause their own diversions.  The more groups like us that can draw these creatures away... the easier the big central fight will be for Scarfang and the others.'

He now stands up and shrugs his shoulders.

'Look, I could be completely off here, I admit... but looking at this battle plan logically... the only reason raw, untested recruits such as ourselves would be brought into an engagement like this would be to draw attention away from the main fight.  If we were meant to be part of the main battle, we wouldn't have been asked to walk away, go hide, and then eventually find the Great Druid.  We'd be brought to the eventually place of battle and put in the third or fourth line of defense to be used if the battle went horribly wrong.  So as this is what we've been asked to do... let's do it right.  Let's make sure that we take out as many of these creatures as we can as we walk before we reach the spring and then "disappear."'

He tightens up his mail, sheathes his sword, and then gets in line up next to Caw.


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## Ozmar (Sep 21, 2005)

_Well, at least he seems to know what he's talking about._

"If that's Scarfang's plan for us, then let's not disappoint him!" Silver leads off at a steady pace, taking less care to be quiet than before, partially because she wants to draw more enemies, and partially because she knows Roral will be making twice as much noise anyway.


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## Bront (Sep 21, 2005)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> Roral tilts his head at the ranger and looks at him questioningly.
> 
> 'How can we be assistance if we're being sent off to hide?  If we were meant to be assisting the others, we'd stay out in the field and continue to find more of these things and attack them.'



"Assistance is not always direct or immediate.  The fight might yet be coming, and both sides may be gathering warriors." Stulgar says.  "The Great Druid will know more, we should make haste to get to him.  The Gatekeepers have their ways for a reason."


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 22, 2005)

Ranvar takes up his sheild, takes out his sickle, and starts back headed north.

"Lets get a move on then.  I can take the lead with Roral walking behind.  Caw and Silver, stay in the middle to keep protected and mobile.  Flankers to the side to spot ambushes.  What will the signal be?"

Ranvar is sure to cut an obvious trail through the forest with his sheild moving any branches or brambles out of the way and his sickle cutting through the worst of the undergrowth.


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## Ferrix (Sep 22, 2005)

Umbra glances at Roral, _he sure does like to talk a lot that one_, "whatever he has in store for us, or fate has in store for us, it is useless to wait for it.  To meet it and grasp it by the throat, is the way of the hunter."  He reclaims his spear and moves into a flanking, emphasizing his tacit aptness of disappearing into the shadows and underbrush, his eyes following the loud others from the shadows.


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## Ozmar (Sep 22, 2005)

Silver rolls her eyes at Ranvar, and follows his lead. But if he doesn't move fast enough for her tastes, she pushes up behind and even passes him.


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 22, 2005)

Ranvar said:
			
		

> "What will the signal be?"




Roral glances at Umbra and Stulgar to see if they themselves know what kind of signal would make the most sense and be able to be understood without giving away their own position.

'Whatever works for you, works for me.  I just don't want to see either of you get ambushed out there by yourselves, because who knows how quickly we can come aid you if you do.'

Roral follows along behind Ranvar as he blazes a trail forward.  Occasionally he glances back and sees Silver getting a bit impatient, but there's nothing they can do about it.  The journey is monotonous, hot, and tiresome... and Roral is looking forward to when they finally reach the stream, because then the spring will be only a few hours away.


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## Bront (Sep 22, 2005)

"You'll know it's a signal for you if you listen." Stulgar says as he takes his place in this formation.


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## DrZombie (Sep 26, 2005)

As the afternoon weasr out you start looking for a place to make camp. A slight rise with a few bramlebushes around it seems to be a good spot. Traces of an old fire show that someone shared that opinion. You estimate that it would be another half hour untill dark.


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## Bront (Sep 26, 2005)

"I think our previous watch rotation worked fine, so I think we should stick to it."  Stulgar suggests.  "I'll gather some firewood."

Stulgar sets about gathering some wood, though he tries to stay within eyesite or earshot of the camp.


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 26, 2005)

Stulgar said:
			
		

> "I think our previous watch rotation worked fine, so I think we should stick to it."




Roral nods at Stulgar.  'Sounds good to me.'

He takes off his helmet and gauntlets, lays out his pack, sets up his bedroll so he won't have to do it in the dead of the night.  As Stulgar brings the wood in from the surrounding areas, Roral helps get the fire started.  He then stands watch at the top of the rise and looks out in both directions.

'We'll be reaching the spring soon, right?  Then it's into stealth mode and we go looking for this Great Druid.  Do any of you happen to know where this Druid actually is, by any chance?'


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## Ozmar (Sep 26, 2005)

OOC: _Do _ we know where the Great Druid is? I mean, we're talking about Oalian, the Greatpine, right? He pretty much is always in the same spot, I would imagine. /OOC

Silver will busy herself with camp preparations, including making sure that her equipment is stowed and ready for a rapid departure. If the weather is sufficiently warm, she'll forgo any bedroll and simply sleep in her cloak tonight. She wants to be ready to flee if necessary.

"No fire,"  she says, "we don't want it to be obvious that we want to be tracked."


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 26, 2005)

"Even if we are not exactly sure of the great druid's location, if we can get close, I may be able to find an animal who can direct us to him.  Ask directions..."


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 26, 2005)

Silver said:
			
		

> "No fire, we don't want it to be obvious that we want to be tracked."




Roral tilts his head quizzically to her for a moment, but says nothing.



			
				Ranvar said:
			
		

> "Even if we are not exactly sure of the great druid's location, if we can get close, I may be able to find an animal who can direct us to him. Ask directions..."




'You can do that?  Huh!  Interesting!  That'll actually be useful, especially if we don't know from which direction we should leave the spring when we get there.'  Roral smiles for what seems like the first time on this trip.  'Now I actually don't feel as pessimistic about our journey as I had been.'


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## DrZombie (Sep 26, 2005)

OOC The great druid resides in Greenheart, the capital of the Eldeen reaches, in the middle of the forest. Fromyour village it's a seven day trek. From where you're heading, it'll be nine or ten days. The stream is about a day ahead, then follow it to it's origin? About two days, you don't really know. Then you'll have to head south towards greenheart.


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## Ozmar (Sep 26, 2005)

ShaggySpellsword said:
			
		

> "Even if we are not exactly sure of the great druid's location, if we can get close, I may be able to find an animal who can direct us to him.  Ask directions..."




"Talk to animals? OK, 'Master Druid'. I didn't know you were the type." Silver attempts to throw a humorous comment into the conversation, but her frustration and fear is revealed in her voice. "Anyway... how hard can it be to find the Great Druid? Everyone knows where his grove is."


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 26, 2005)

"Balinor grants me limited ability to communicate with his creations.  I've only used it once or twice.  Most animals are frustrating to speak with.  Like you say, most everyone knows where the Great Druid resides, animals, however, won't be able to repeat that we've asked after the fact."


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## Bront (Sep 27, 2005)

Ozmar said:
			
		

> "Talk to animals? OK, 'Master Druid'. I didn't know you were the type." Silver attempts to throw a humorous comment into the conversation, but her frustration and fear is revealed in her voice. "Anyway... how hard can it be to find the Great Druid? Everyone knows where his grove is."



"Learning to interpret animals is not as complex as it sounds, though to truely speak with them is another matter," Stulgar says. "And as for the fire, we can make a small smokeless cooking fire and then reduce it to coals for the eve.  The light of the fire might be useful at night for the watch, but if you don't see the need..."


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## Krug (Sep 27, 2005)

Caw sends Aluir up, but doubts if the crow will have much luck. "Speak to birds of the air, good crow, and tell us if you learn anything," the sorcerer says to his familiar.


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## Ozmar (Sep 27, 2005)

ShaggySpellsword said:
			
		

> "Balinor grants me limited ability to communicate with his creations.  I've only used it once or twice.  Most animals are frustrating to speak with.  Like you say, most everyone knows where the Great Druid resides, animals, however, won't be able to repeat that we've asked after the fact."




"Unless someone else can speak to animals..."


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## Ozmar (Sep 27, 2005)

Bront said:
			
		

> "Learning to interpret animals is not as complex as it sounds, though to truely speak with them is another matter," Stulgar says. "And as for the fire, we can make a small smokeless cooking fire and then reduce it to coals for the eve.  The light of the fire might be useful at night for the watch, but if you don't see the need..."




Silver growls low in her throat. "I don't! Why leave any additional evidence of our presence? We don't need the light - anything that would help us will only serve to attract things to our location. We've already been attacked once and have every reason to expect another attack soon. I think a fire is an unnecessary and dangerous luxury tonight."


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 27, 2005)

Silver said:
			
		

> "I think a fire is an unnecessary and dangerous luxury tonight."




Roral shrugs his shoulders.  'Okay... I don't have any arguments against it if you feel that strongly about it.  Ranvar and I have first watch and we'll use the moonlight to spot by.'

He stares out back the way they came, as that is the direction any creatures which were following them would have to come.  'The big question right now is what, if anything, we're going to see during our dreams tonight.  Obviously the portents were more real than I originally gave them credit for, so we should get as many details as possible... locations, number of enemies... if the dreams return.  They might give us clues as to where our troubles may lie in the next three days leading to the spring.'


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 27, 2005)

Ranvar settles down to watch with Roral, and speaks quietly to him

"So...Silver seems a little high-strung tonight, huh?  Between you and me, I wonder if she's gonna be able to cut getting us there and back again...maybe its just me.  Balinor help her...and all of us."


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## Bront (Sep 27, 2005)

Ozmar said:
			
		

> Silver growls low in her throat. "I don't! Why leave any additional evidence of our presence? We don't need the light - anything that would help us will only serve to attract things to our location. We've already been attacked once and have every reason to expect another attack soon. I think a fire is an unnecessary and dangerous luxury tonight."



"As the lady wishes then," Stulgar says with a rare smile.

Stulgar lays out his gear and finds a good place to sit, where he starts on a ration.

"Are we going to have enough food to get where we're going?  Or should some of us hunt one of these days?"


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 28, 2005)

Caw said:
			
		

> "Speak to birds of the air, good crow, and tell us if you learn anything."



'Hey Caw!  That bird of yours report anything yet?'



			
				Stulgar said:
			
		

> "Are we going to have enough food to get where we're going? Or should some of us hunt one of these days?"



'Hunting would probably be a smart idea.  Perhaps on tomorrow's journey we can slow down the pace a bit and see if we can find any game on the trail as we move.'



			
				Ranvar said:
			
		

> "So...Silver seems a little high-strung tonight, huh? Between you and me, I wonder if she's gonna be able to cut getting us there and back again...maybe its just me. Balinor help her...and all of us."




Roral casts a sidelong glance at Silver, then moves it over to Umbra.

'To be honest... it's Umbra that I'm more worried about.  The guy barely says anything, and is usually off walking by himself doing goodness knows what.  That kind of antisocial behavior makes me nervous.  Silver might get pretty tense some times, but at least we can plainly see what's up with her.  The problems you see are easier to deal with than the problems you can't.'

**********

Roral and Ranvar have first watch until around midnight or so.

((Spot [10] - 1 = 9))
((Listen [4] - 1 = 3))
((Fortitude [11] + 5 = 16))


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## Ozmar (Sep 28, 2005)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> 'Hunting would probably be a smart idea.  Perhaps on tomorrow's journey we can slow down the pace a bit and see if we can find any game on the trail as we move.'




Silver chimes in with an observation. "Probably don't want to do that until after we've drowned our trail in the river. We don't want to get caught by whatever else may be chasing us."


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## Bront (Sep 28, 2005)

"Silver's right, we'll have to slow down anyway when I cover our tracks, so one or two can hunt while I cover the tracks of the others." Stulgar says.

OOC: I'm assuming I'm the only one who can track, so I'm the only one who can cover them.  If this is untrue, I can hunt instead.


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## Ozmar (Sep 28, 2005)

Bront said:
			
		

> "Silver's right, we'll have to slow down anyway when I cover our tracks, so one or two can hunt while I cover the tracks of the others." Stulgar says.
> 
> OOC: I'm assuming I'm the only one who can track, so I'm the only one who can cover them.  If this is untrue, I can hunt instead.




Silver observes: "Well, in terms of 'covering' our tracks, I had thought we would simply use the river? If it is not too deep, we can wade up or down stream. Surely that would eliminate our trail? Then after we leave the river, we can hunt if necessary."

"Personally, I want to get to Oalian as swiftly as possible. Whatever can challenge Scarfang would make short work of us if it caught up with us."


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 28, 2005)

Silver said:
			
		

> "Well, in terms of 'covering' our tracks, I had thought we would simply use the river? If it is not too deep, we can wade up or down stream. Surely that would eliminate our trail?"




Roral looks down at his metal-clad body and shakes his head.

'Nuh uh.  I'm not about to put myself into any depth of water wearing this.  One misstep and I'm face-first down under water and drowning.  I've already fallen twice on this journey and that was on dry land... you'll have to think of some other way of covering our tracks.'


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## Ozmar (Sep 28, 2005)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> Roral looks down at his metal-clad body and shakes his head.
> 
> 'Nuh uh.  I'm not about to put myself into any depth of water wearing this.  One misstep and I'm face-first down under water and drowning.  I've already fallen twice on this journey and that was on dry land... you'll have to think of some other way of covering our tracks.'




Silver looks at Roral incredulously. "Are you serious?"  she demands. "How about we cover our tracks with a diversion? You can lead them away while we make our escape?"  She tries to calm down somewhat. "Look, maybe you should consider taking your armor off while we travel? Anyway, we'll have to look at the river first. If its too deep, then we might not be able to use it. I'm not saying we should swim it. But if it is just a stream, then you needn't fear drowning,"  she finishes in a huff.


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## Ferrix (Sep 28, 2005)

Drawing himself out the shadows that seem to continually hang about him, Umbra remarks bitingly, "if we can cover our tracks without resorting to wading about in the water, then we do that.  If you feel like going for a swim Silver, I'm sure someone can help you with that."  He glares at her, his cat-like eyes glimmering in the darkness.


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## Ozmar (Sep 28, 2005)

Ferrix said:
			
		

> Drawing himself out the shadows that seem to continually hang about him, Umbra remarks bitingly, "if we can cover our tracks without resorting to wading about in the water, then we do that.  If you feel like going for a swim Silver, I'm sure someone can help you with that."  He glares at her, his cat-like eyes glimmering in the darkness.




"Yeah?! And how do you suggest we 'cover our tracks' without getting wet?" Silver's voice rises in anger. She glares back at Umbra.


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## Bront (Sep 28, 2005)

Ozmar said:
			
		

> "Yeah?! And how do you suggest we 'cover our tracks' without getting wet?" Silver's voice rises in anger. She glares back at Umbra.



"I can trail behind and cover our tracks effectively, but we'd need to go a little slower." says Stulgar.  "I offered to earlier."


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## Ozmar (Sep 29, 2005)

Bront said:
			
		

> "I can trail behind and cover our tracks effectively, but we'd need to go a little slower." says Stulgar.  "I offered to earlier."




"YEah?! Well... Uh... OK then! Maybe we should do that, then." Silver pouts, thinking of nothing to say, and clearly having "lost" the argument.


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## Ferrix (Sep 29, 2005)

Umbra merely smirks at the infuriated Silver.  Turning away, he hooks up his hammock and drops into it with a comfortable sigh, waiting for his watch to be up.


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## Bront (Sep 29, 2005)

Ozmar said:
			
		

> "YEah?! Well... Uh... OK then! Maybe we should do that, then." Silver pouts, thinking of nothing to say, and clearly having "lost" the argument.



"If you'd like, you're welcome to follow behind with me and make sure I do a thurough job.  I'd certaintly enjoy the company."  Stulgar says.


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 29, 2005)

Roral looks at Silver as she stands around and pouts over having been overruled.  He can't help but feel that something is going on inside that mind of hers, and as they have nothing better to do this evening as they sit around coldly in the dark, he decides to bring it up and find out what's going on.

'Silver... what's up with you?  Every time something happens that bothers you, you freak out and go crazy.  Now granted, being the only female amongst us males probably isn't the most comfortable thing in the world... but even still, you could try and be a little more calm.  What's the deal, huh?  Why are you so easily set off, especially over the most minute things?  If I'm going to have to learn to expect it from you, I'd much rather understand why it's happening.  A good soldier is one who trusts and understands his bretheren and thus is more easily able to work with them.  So talk to us.  What's the deal?'

He then turns to Caw and points a finger at him.

'And you're next!  I want to know why a guy with your abilities in magic is so easily spooked.  That doesn't make any sense either!  But I'll get to your problems after we deal with her.'

Roral turns back and looks at Silver.

'Well?'


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## Krug (Sep 29, 2005)

"My magic isn't anything world changing, dear Roral. I am still an acolyte, At least I recognise that," says Caw.


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## Ozmar (Sep 29, 2005)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> 'Silver... what's up with you?  Every time something happens that bothers you, you freak out and go crazy.  Now granted, being the only female amongst us males probably isn't the most comfortable thing in the world... but even still, you could try and be a little more calm.  What's the deal, huh?  Why are you so easily set off, especially over the most minute things?  If I'm going to have to learn to expect it from you, I'd much rather understand why it's happening.  A good soldier is one who trusts and understands his bretheren and thus is more easily able to work with them.  So talk to us.  What's the deal?'
> 
> Roral turns back and looks at Silver.
> 
> 'Well?'




"Grrrr!" Silver glares at Roral. "I'm fine! At least I know how to move through the woods quietly. Who took down one of those monsters? You needn't worry about me." Silver sets to whatever task will keep her busy with camp preparations, avoiding Roral's gaze.


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 29, 2005)

'That's it?  THAT'S all you have to say?'

Roral shakes his head and sighs.

'Here I am... trying to find out about you... and now you clam up!  You weren't this tight-lipped when you were screaming at me when I fell down yesterday.  But now I ask you a straight question about yourself and you tell me essentially to mind my own business.  Great!  Nice working with you too!  What... you want me to go first?  Fine!  Ask me anything you want and I'll be happy to answer.'

He looks around at the rest of the group.

'I think part of this whole thing we're on is that it's a test.  How do we get along?  How much have we grown?  How do we accomplish what needs to get accomplished?  All that stuff.  And personally... this is one test I don't want to fail... even if I would have rather appeciated a little more information when it was given to me.'


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## Ozmar (Sep 29, 2005)

Silver ignores Roral, and goes over to Caw and speaks quietly with him.

[sblock]
"How are you holding up, Caw? You're weren't hurt back there, were you?"  Seeing that he's fine, she continues... "Nevermind Roral. You're doing great. And we're all going to get through this. Together." She casts a sidelong glance at Roral, and then settles down to share the evening meal with Caw.

"So, do you have any theories about what we're caught up in? I mean, with Scarfang and all? I haven't hardly had time to think. I've just been focusing on getting us all to Oalian. Surely he can explain what's been going on?"
[/sblock]


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## Bront (Sep 29, 2005)

"I think that we all just need to learn to accept the quirks of the others," Stulgar says, somewhat directed at Roral, but loud enough so everyone can hear. "It reminds me of an orcish saying, 'Don't sweat the flees, sweat the tiger.'"


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 29, 2005)

Stulgar said:
			
		

> "I think that we all just need to learn to accept the quirks of the others."




'That's just it, Stulgar... I'm TRYING to accept the quirks of others!  We've been walking for two days now and I still know each of you as much or as little I did when we started this journey!  We haven't talked about ourselves at all, and frankly, I'm INTERESTED in what's up with each of you.'

Roral motions to Ranvar...

'Like you, Ranvar.  How did you start working with the priest of Balinor in the village?  What made you decide to follow in their footsteps?  And Umbra... how come you don't talk more?  You're always so quiet.  And Stulgar... how did you get started working the woods?  These are all things that I think we'd be interested in knowing about each other and speaking about.  Think of it as "character development".'

Roral shrugs.

'Or if you'd rather just keep silent and not speak at all and remain blank slates to one another... we can walk the next three days with no communication amongst ourselves at all.  Oh boy.  That'll be fun, won't it?  That's a great idea.  Why open up to each other and learn about each other when we can walk in absolute silence doing nothing useful whatsoever.  Sign me up for that one!'


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## ShaggySpellsword (Sep 29, 2005)

"Thought you'd never ask.  It was my grandfather.  He told me stories of the old days and all of the amazing things he did as a travelling priest of Balinor.  He fought against the Silver Flame in the great purge, he helped fight the Daelkyr excursion alongside some Gatekeeper friends he had.  He fought in Breland, Thrane, and Cyre.  There was his trip to Xen'drick alongside Boromar ir'Dayne...all sorts of exciting stories.  One night, I'm asleep and I hear this voice saying to me "Ranvar, I could show you everything I made.  You just have to follow me."  I thought it was Grandfather, so I went to him and asked where we were going.  He said "Fool boy, get back in yer bed!"  That happened three or four times: I'd hear the voice, see my grandfather, get whacked on the head, and go back to bed.  The last time the voice says "Dang it Ranvar, this ISN'T YOUR GRANDFATHER talking, its BALINOR.  Worship me!  I was pretty embarassed at mistaking a god's voice for my grandfather's...they sounded very much alike.  So, here I am, with my grandfather's holy symbol and the prayers and magics I have learned from him.  Handy miracles if you ask me."


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## Bront (Sep 29, 2005)

"If you must know," Stulgar says,  "I was raised in the Durgan* tribe near the Darguun border, and learned at a young age to fight for my tribe.  The Gatekeeper traditions run deep in the Durgan tribe, and my father was something of a hero among them.  We moved Redstone Spring after the war for my father was weary of the constant fighting near the Droaam boarder."

Stulgar motions to his ornate and unique double axe.  "That was gifted to my father by Farl Kul’Tar durring the war, and has been gifted to me now.  I am a warrior, and will follow in the Gatekeeper traditions as I have been taught."

*[sblock]The Durgan tribe was originally a druidic tribe consisting of Orcs of the Gatekeeper tradition. During the extreme persecution of the shifters by the church of the Silver Flame, the tribe took refuge to a large number of shifters. The cultures have meshed, as the Gatekeeper Orcs are much more civilized that many of the more common orcs. The tribal chief alternates from an orc to a shifter, and currently the chief is an orc druid by the name of Farl Kul’Tar.[/sblock]


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## Krug (Sep 29, 2005)

Caw speaks quietly to Silver.
[sblock]
"No I am fine, but if whatever came for Scarfang slew him...I am doubtful of our chances. But we must try, must we not?" he says, glad for the company and the conversation.
[/sblock]


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## Ozmar (Sep 29, 2005)

Krug said:
			
		

> Caw speaks quietly to Silver.
> [sblock]
> "No I am fine, but if whatever came for Scarfang slew him...I am doubtful of our chances. But we must try, must we not?" he says, glad for the company and the conversation.
> [/sblock]



Silver to Caw...

[sblock]
"No fear. Scarfang's tough. He'll make do. Why, if worst came to worst, he could turn into a bird and fly away. Maybe that's why he sent us off, so he wouldn't have to defend us, and would be free to deal with the situation. He'll probably be waiting for us when we get to Oalian's Grove."
[/sblock]


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## DEFCON 1 (Sep 30, 2005)

Roral nods his head to both Stulgar and Ranvar.

'So both of you have familial ties to the Gatekeepers, huh?  Well that makes sense then that you would be brought upon this mission for Scarfang.  You've both been more accepting of some of the things that have been asked of us thus far, and I'm guessing it's because you've probably grown up learning about what the Gatekeepers have stood and fought for.  I wish I had your backgrounds... perhaps I wouldn't question so much what we're doing out here if I had a better understanding of exactly how the Gatekeepers handle their business.' He guffahs to himself.  'Becuase thus far... this has been the least informative battle plan I've ever studied or been a part of before.  Heh heh!  Must be a Gatekeeper tradition!'  He grins at both of them.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Oct 1, 2005)

Ranvar smiles and laughs lightly at Roral's comment about the operation.

"Ties to the Gatekeepers?  That might be exaggerating.  I know stories of the Gatekeepers and their wars against the demons from deep below the earth.  They are grim and brave and if the sacrifice of 100 Gatekeepers will seal a great evil away for ever, then the sacrifice is made.  If it takes 200?  Then 200 will make the sacrifice and another hundred will mourn them.  That is what my Grandfather Craggin always told me, anyway.  I think, friend Roral, you are making a mistake thinking of this as an operation like one might find in an army or a  militia.  This is no operation, this is a STORY, and we have been thrown into the middle, or possibly the beginning or end of it?  We shall see.  What we should do is our best, and ensure that when the time comes for our story to be told, there is something to tell!"


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## Ozmar (Oct 1, 2005)

Silver to Caw...

[sblock]
Silver rolls her eyes. "Moons! Have you ever heard such nonsense? Why on earth did Scarfang send us out her with them? One imagines he's a military general, and the other thinks we're in some grand tale."
[/sblock]

Silver's voice rises to be heard by all. "If we weren't in such danger, it would be funny."


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## Bront (Oct 1, 2005)

"I think everyone's tired from a long day," Stulgar says.  "Some sleep would do us good."


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## Ferrix (Oct 2, 2005)

By this time Umbra is already asleep in his hammock until someone wakes him up for his shift at the watch.


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## DrZombie (Oct 3, 2005)

Night settles down over the encampment. After the somewhat heated discussion everyone settles down and tries to sleep.

With the stars and the moon all shining brightly Ranvar has no troubles noticing some dark shapes emerging at the foot of the little hill. They seem to be like the same grotesque beasts that attacked them earlier. One of them has an animal on a leash, which paws a the ground and sniffles eagerly.

They split up and start to encircle the little hill.

OOC : the top of the hill(where you are ) is about 150 ft from the edge of the forest (where they are) Inbetween is some sparse growth, not enough for total cover.


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## ShaggySpellsword (Oct 3, 2005)

Ranvar sits bolt upright upon seeing the shadowy creatures.

"Roral, wake Silver and Caw.  We have company."

Ranvar then picks up his shield and weapon, moves over to Umbra and Stulgar, and wakes them up.


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## DEFCON 1 (Oct 3, 2005)

Ranvar said:
			
		

> "Roral, wake Silver and Caw. We have company."




Roral squints into the darkness and tries to get a view of the creatures at the base of the hill.  He quickly moves over to Silver and Caw and shakes them awake.

'Pssst!  Wake up!  Time to fight again.'

Roral reaches over his back and takes out his shortbow and then nocks an arrow.  He moves around the top of the hill and tries to track one of the creatures circling along the base.

'As soon as everyone's awake and ready, give the signal and let's take this fight to them this time!'

**********

Roral is Readying an action to fire his bow as soon as he sees a creature break through the treeline advancing towards the them.

((Shortbow [14] + 1 = 15)) / ((Dmg [3]))


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## Ozmar (Oct 4, 2005)

Silver awakes easily, rolls over into a crouch, axe in hand.

Quietly, she asks "how many, where?"  She looks about the campsite to see who is still asleep and then moves over to wake them.

OOC: Move Silently +2, Spot +2, Listen +4

(If possible, she "shifts", and her eyes grow wide and shine with the moonlight. She then has Spot +3 and Listen +5. (I don't know if this is the "next day" for her shifting ability or not.))


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## DrZombie (Oct 4, 2005)

OOC : nope, no new day for shifting or spells or whatever    Initiative evryone. You've got a partial action as a surprise round kinda thingie, but I assume you've all got our weapons ready and your position chosen.




The group tenses as everyone quietly takes their weapons and readies for the attack.


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## DEFCON 1 (Oct 4, 2005)

*HP 13 of 13, AC 19, Init ? [unshifted]*

Roral holds the pulled bowstring tight in his fingers as he awaits a creature to break through the treeline.

'C'mon... show yourself... c'mon, you piece of...'

**********

As I posted before, Roral has Readied an action to fire his bow as soon as he sees a creature break through the treeline advancing towards the them.  Thus my inititive will be on the same count whenever the first creature moves into the open and I fire.

((Shortbow [14] + 1 = 15)) / ((Dmg [3]))


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## Ferrix (Oct 4, 2005)

Umbra rolls into a crouch, spear already in hand, a hungry look blazes in his eyes as he glares up towards the peaks and disappears into the shadows to stalk the creatures down.









*OOC:*


Hide +7, Move Silently +7


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## Ozmar (Oct 5, 2005)

"Is everyone awake? How many are there?"  Silver tries to get her bearings, whispering softly. She grips her axe in hand, sweating slightly in fear and anticipation. She tries to draw on her inner self for strength, but her will fails her. [OOC: no shifting]


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## Bront (Oct 5, 2005)

Stulgar draws back his bow as he takes a position besides Caw, so he can step in front of him if need be.


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## Krug (Oct 5, 2005)

Caw wakes up, rubbing his eyes. "Another attack?" he groans.
Caw loads his crossbow, hoping his aim continues to be true. 
_Has he regained his spells?_


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## Bront (Oct 5, 2005)

Krug said:
			
		

> _Has he regained his spells?_



OOC: No, since we haven't regained shifting, happens at the same time.


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## DrZombie (Oct 6, 2005)

You can see vague movement in the bushes as they surround the litlle hill. Cautiosly they emerge from the bushes, stalking uphill when you let the arrows fly.

OOC : one shape from the north(N1), two from the east(E1, E2), two from the west(W1, W2), and two from the south(S1,S2), one of wich is holding an animal(A) on a leash. Distance about 150 ft. They are armed with a crossbow, a shield and a spear or morningstar .

The campsite is encircled with trees and bushes, and you can take cover behind some boulders.

Roll for initiative and shoot.


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## Bront (Oct 6, 2005)

Stulgar draws a beed on the one to the south holding the animal, and fires, striking it with a powerful hit.

[sblock=Roll Stuff]
Longbow(120')             +4       1d8        20x3
Init: 15 
To Hit: 19 
Damage:  8 [/sblock]


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## Ozmar (Oct 6, 2005)

Could Silver charge through this brush? If so, she waits until the enemy moves within 80 feet, then she rages, charges and whacks one of them with her axe!

Init: Delay until the next round and then set Init to 22.


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## DEFCON 1 (Oct 6, 2005)

*HP 13 of 13, AC 19, Init ?*

Inititive count is whatever the creatures are going on from my Readied action.

Previous post had the surprise round attack and damage.  I am attacking W1.

For Round 1 Roral gets behind a boulder for partial cover then fires his shortbow again at W1 if he hasn't been killed yet (W2 if he had).

((Attack [5] + 1 = 6))


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## ShaggySpellsword (Oct 6, 2005)

Ranvar, just before the fighting truly begins, takes up his holy symbol and says "Balinor, bless here in your wood to give battle to the enemies of nature!"

He then draws his mace and moves to the south of the campsite, taking cover behind a bush, trying to determine what type of animal is on the leash.
[sblock]
OOC: Init: 8  Surprise round: Cast Bless.  1st round, move to south camp and try to determine the type of animal on leash.  draw mace.[/sblock]


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## Krug (Oct 6, 2005)

Caw looks for as much cover as possible, and fires off a sling bullet.

Initiative: 8
Attack: 14
Damage (if hit): 2


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## DrZombie (Oct 6, 2005)

*Surprise round.*

As the shapes emerge from the woods, everyone fires. The creatures howl in surprise, but only Stulgar seems to do any damage at all.
 With a howl, they start scampering up the slopes, trying to get some cover on the way up, shooting their crossbows.
OOC : you estimate you can get one or two more shots off before they arrive.
Start round 1


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## DEFCON 1 (Oct 10, 2005)

OOC:  DrZombie, what is the initiatve phase of the creatures?  We really can't start Round 1 until we know when they go.  Right now our initiative order is thus:

22 - Silver
15 - Stulgar
8 - Caw / Ranvar

Umbra is hiding in the bushes and has not yet rolled initiative, and Roral is going at whatever the creature's initiative phase is (which we don't know yet).  If you could set up the battle plot for us, hopefully we'll be able to get the fight started.  Thanx!


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## Krug (Oct 10, 2005)

Caw loads his crossbow and fires another bolt, moving behind the others. The bolt fires through the air and embeds itself in the trunk of a tree. The shifter sorcerer curses, looks to Aluir, saying "Oh you find that amusing uh?"

Attack: 7


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## DEFCON 1 (Oct 10, 2005)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> For Round 1 Roral gets behind a boulder for partial cover then fires his shortbow again at W1.
> 
> ((Attack [5] + 1 = 6))




The arrow sails from Roral's bow up over the heads of the creatures and disappears into the darkness.

'RRRRAAAAAARRRGGGHH!!!' he exclaims in frustration, and ducks a bit more behind the boulder while reaching for another arrow on his back.


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## DrZombie (Oct 13, 2005)

OOC : sorry guys, got the ini order at home. Will update tonight. Life's been quite hectic, kiddies a bit sick, stuff like that.


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## Bront (Oct 13, 2005)

Stulgar takes another shot and misses badly.

OOC: Stulgar Bow Attack (1d20+4=5)


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## DrZombie (Oct 13, 2005)

init:
22 silver
16 N1 Roral
15 Stulgar
10 E1 E2
8  S1 S2 A Ranvar Caw
7  W


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## DEFCON 1 (Oct 17, 2005)

OOC:  Round 1 thus far.  Bless is active on heros and Umbra is still missing.

22 Silver - _still to roll_

16 N1 - _still to roll_
16 Roral - *attacked W with bow [missed 6]*

15 Stulgar - *attacked S1 with bow [missed 5]*

10 E1 - _still to roll_
10 E2 - _still to roll_

8 S1 - _still to roll_
8 S2 - _still to roll_
8 A - _still to roll_
8 Ranvar - _still to roll_
8 Caw - *attacked S1 with crossbow [missed 7]*

7 W - _still to roll_


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## ShaggySpellsword (Oct 17, 2005)

Ranvar continues to try and size up the animal on the creature's leash in an attempt to determine what it is.


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## DrZombie (Oct 17, 2005)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> OOC:  Round 1 thus far.  Bless is active on heros and Umbra is still missing.
> 
> 22 Silver - _still to roll_
> 20 Umbra
> ...






With a blood-curdling cry silver launches herself towards the monster to the north.A faint expression of surprise can be seen on it's face when the huge axe cleaves it's skull in two. (crit hit dmg 20+)

Umbra drops to all fours and crawls away, looking for a spot from where he can set up an ambush.

Roral and Stulgar pop out from behind a rock and a tree to exchange a few friendly volleys of bolts with the creatures, who return the favor in much the same way. They are moving cautiously closer.

The creature is unleashed and Ranvar can get more details then he wants to as the creature charges towards him. It looks like a dog with scales, and its saliva sizzles and pops when it hits the ground.

Finally, in continuation of the general mood, both caw and the creature to the west miss their shot.

Round 2....


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## Krug (Oct 17, 2005)

Caw loads his crossbow anxiously and fires at the creatures, hiding behind available cover and keeping close to the rest of the party. "What creatres are this..." he mutters to Aliur.

_Move action towards Roral and Stulgar and fire off Sling.

Roll: 18 + 3 = 21
Damage: 7
_


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## Bront (Oct 18, 2005)

Stulgar fires again, and gets much closer with a potentialy strong strike.

 Stulgar Bow Attack (d20+4 = 14 + 1 (Bless) = 15)
Stulgar Bow Damage (1d8=5)


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## ShaggySpellsword (Oct 18, 2005)

Ranvar draws his weapon and prepares to smash the dog with acidic saliva as soon as he gets within reach.

OOC: Ready an action to hit the dog when in reach.


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## DEFCON 1 (Oct 18, 2005)

Roral ducks just a bit as the creature from the west fires it's crossbow, but the bolt sails way too high.  He pulls out another arrow and nocks it... pulling hard on the bowstring.

'Show yourself... just a little bit... here we go...'

And he releases the arrow right at the creature's head.

((Attack [18] + 1 = 19))  ((Dmg [6]))


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## Ferrix (Oct 20, 2005)

Umbra peers out from the scrub, he'll advance up the hill in as best silence as he can, hoping to come around and flank the creatures as they descend down the hill.  He draws out his shortbow and knocks an arrow.


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## DrZombie (Oct 27, 2005)

22 Silver - 
20 Umbra
16 Roral 
15 Stulgar -
10 E1 - 
10 E2 - 
8 S1 -
8 S2 -
8 A - 
8 Ranvar 
8 Caw - 
7 W - 

Round two:
It takes the combined effort of roral, stulgar and Caw for one of the creatures to the east to go down, three arrows and bolts sticking in it's tough hide.

The others seem unafraid, advancing uphill whilst shooting their crosbows at anything moving, without actually hitting much.

The dog-like creature bounds uphill, snarling and throwing itself at ranvar. Ranvar strikes a glancing blow at the creature, but is bowled over and screams as he feels the acid eating into his face (2 hp).
He wrestles and tries to keep the creature from chewing away his face, when he feels the creature go limp, with a crossbow-bolt sticking behind its ear.
He looks up to see Umbra giving him a tight little grin while he reloads his crossbow.
To the west you can hear clashes of weapons and screaming.



...............X X X.E..........................
..................................T..U.X...........
..........X..............X...........T..........
.................................X................
.X................X.X.............St...............S1
.............................C.......Ra..............S2
..........X.........X.......X.....Ro.......T.....
..............T....T.............T.............
..................................................
.................T....................T........T

X : Boulder
T: Tree
Umbra is in hiding (he thinks)


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## Bront (Oct 27, 2005)

If S1 and S2 are not/have not been charging his direction, or are more than 30' away:
Stulgar fires at S1, hoping to take another one down, but misses.
Stulgar Bow Attack Rd 3 (1d20+4=7+1 Bless=8)

If S1 and S2 are/have been charging his direction, or are less than 30' away:
Stulgar drops his bow and draws his double axe, and readies an action to step forward 5' and attack if one comes near enough for him to do so.
Stulgar's Potential Axe Attack /w Bless (1d20+5=24)
Stulgar's Potential Axe Damage (1d8+3=4)

OOC: Did I mention that Invisible Castle hates me?


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## Krug (Oct 27, 2005)

Without magical spells now,Caw reloads his crossbow.He tries to get a good shot while firing into the melee. "Oh Aluir...how does one hit anything?" he mutters. The bolt embeds itself in a tree. 

Attack: 4+3-4=3


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## DEFCON 1 (Oct 27, 2005)

OOC: Just to confirm... Silver and the western creature do not appear on the map, but they are still technically in the battle, correct?  Last we saw in Round 1, Silver had rushed to attack the Northern creature and killed it, so she would have been on the left side of the map.  Do we want to say for argument's sake that for Round 2 she charged the creature to the West (at the bottom of the map) and is fighting that one?  Thus the rest of us can deal with S1, E1 & E2?

Here's my Round 3.

**********

After his previous bowshot impacted in the creature to the east and helped bring it to it's knees, Roral decides to take the action to the remaining eastern creature himself.  He charges to the east... dropping his bow and drawing his bastardsword... and takes a big swing at it...

((Attack [20] + 6 = 26)) *POSSIBLE CRITICAL*
((Crit Hit Confirm [15] + 6 = 21)) *CRITICAL HIT*
((Dmg [1] + 4 + [10] + 4 = 19))

...and connects with a powerful blow to the top of the skull!  Roral's shout of passion reverberates through the forest.

'WOOOOOOO!!!  TAKE THAT, SCUM!!!'


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## ShaggySpellsword (Oct 31, 2005)

Ranvar moves toward one of the creatures, swinging with all of his might.

OOC: Ranvar moves and attacks S2.  Attack roll: 20 and damage roll: 7


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