Expedition: Markd/On a Mission from Baudh II - 02 June 2021

[Marullus]

The decision made by Markd, the group finishes gathering their "trophies" from the hippogriffs and continues on. They are soon past the city, it growing slower on the horizon behind them until it passes out of sight. Shortly after that, they see a river, shining and blue, running straight east and west on the horizon ahead of them.

By mid-afternoon, the river is closer - you know you can reach it in about an hour's time and there's several hours of sun left in the day. You pause, however, as you're now close enough to see something of interest along the river bank which you couldn't see from further back. The land before you descends and shifts more from grass to sphagnum with sparse and waterlogged trees -- bogland stretching at least a mile from the river's banks here on either side. Through the trees about a mile ahead you can see the distinct square remains of greyish-black stonework - a town wall with stone-built buildings leaning at precarious angles behind it, tipping over sideways towards the river like they're drunk.

Date: 4:30pm, 03 June 2021
Light: Sun
Distance: ~15 miles today
Injuries: Bandy (severely wounded), Florin (severely wounded), Irving (severely wounded), Bremen (severely wounded), Markd (minorly wounded)

[Alethan]

Bandy Sandybanks

Bandy looks around at the condition of the group and sees bandages and blood seepage and tired, weary people.

"Look... we might want to rest a day or two before tackling that swamp. And that city." He checks his own bandages and adds, "I'm still pretty banged up from that damned hippogriff, myself. Most of you look about the same."

[Rusty Tincanne]

There's much truth to your words, Bandy. I'd be content to find a place to make camp for a day or two. Captain Bremen begins to search for a suitable place to establish a camp for the group.

Did we get any rations off the hippogriffs?

[Marullus]

Did we get any rations off the hippogriffs?

Sure... strips of horsemeat that taste like chicken. Off of eight large horse-beasts you can get about 2,000lbs* (man/days) rations if you butchered them fully. The question is, how much raw meat do you cut and pack? You'll need to roast or smoke it soon, but that's less of a problem if you're going to try to hole-up and camp a day or two.



* The internet is a scary place, where I can find in a few seconds that most horsemeat exporting nations average 8.33 horses butchered per ton of meat exported...

[Alethan]

OOC: I'd propose enough for all of us to account for 3 days of resting without going through our normal rations. Don't want to overload on chicken-steak... and we need to recover some HP before we continue on. Healing can be done with time. Finding food sources after we run out of rations is the hardest part.

strips of horsemeat that taste like chicken.

lol

[Rusty Tincanne]

Hippogriff: nature's own chicken-fried-steak.

If we had had all that prior to the festival, we could have set up a vending stand. 3 days worth each sounds fine, though Bremen will bring along another 10 days reasons to cure as we rest.

[onlyme]

Markd nods as the suggestions.
"Yes, we better campdown for a few days if Baudh allows. We could all use a refresh before our next obstacle. Bandy, perhaps you can help edit this map whilst we wait.

[Marullus]

The group finds a suitable place still on the highland above the marshy plains below where jutting, weathered rocks provide some shelter and comfort for a camp. There is plentiful water, but of questionable quality. Good enough once boiled, though, so the camp is established. With several hours before nightfall, the group has little trouble unloading their meat cuts and roasting/smoking them to preserve them for the day ahead. Rich, lean, red meat that tastes like chicken, it is a hard-won delicacy. (10 man-days fresh rations for Bremen, 3 for everyone else, 28 man-days total)

The group settles in for the night, unrolling bedrolls and setting up their tent to ensure a good night's rest for the wounded. With the schedule previously established in 2-hour shifts, they get to bed at dusk, let Florin get a good night's rest, expecting everyone to rise about 5:00am with the sun above the horizon.

Watch Schedule:

Bremen
Markd
Bandy
Irving
(Florin sleeps in)

The "dreaded third watch" finishes and Bandy wakes Irving and lies down to rest himself. Irving sets about his personal grooming routines, watching the still before-dawn gloaming, the fire banked as coals to make a good breakfast but providing little light in the night. About 10 minutes into this, he is alerted by a splash and looks north, down at the marshlands below. He sees eight figures limned in the faint starlight - bipedal, oddly shaped with wide bodies and spindly legs, distinctive long-spears in their hands. They're about 140' away, the splash occasioned by one of them landing from a superhuman jump as he caught up with the others. They do not appear to have noticed you yet, but are winding your direction.

Date: 3:17am, 04 June 2021
Light: Sun
Distance: ~15 miles today
Injuries: Bandy (Moderately wounded), Florin (severely wounded), Irving (severely wounded), Bremen (severely wounded), Markd (minorly wounded)

[Keehnelf]

If the fire is low, Irving stays low: he tosses a blanket over the fire to suffocate it as quickly as he can with limited smoke, then creeps over to Bandy first, then Bremen, then Markd, to wake each as quickly and quietly as he can and indicate to them silently that there is potential danger.

[Marullus]

Everyone is woken; they're now 60' away, over the lip and downhill.

[Keehnelf]

Irving encourages everyone to stay low, out of sight, listening for any sound of approach but doesn't want them to observe at the cost of possibly revealing themselves.

[Rusty Tincanne]

In the darkness it is difficult for anyone to see Captain Bremen roll his eyes. He whispered,What then? Wait for these frog-things to land among us? That sounds like madness to me. The Captain slips behind a tree with his sword and loaded crossbow so he can surprise the frogs in case there is a scuffle.

Feel free to offer some of Bremen's hippogriff meat in trade for something useful. Like our lives.

[onlyme]

After attempting to make himself a bit less in the open, Markd will load one of his few remaining arrows and wait, patiently.

[Marullus]

The party opts to hide and hope they are not noticed. Bremen slips off into the darkness instead. They wait, trying to not even breathe. The creatures were not far away, surely they must have passed on...

Then three of the frog-like bipedal creatures sail into the small campsite with prodigious leaps. They land, one facing each direction, longspears in their hands. They croak in a commanding tone, pointing the spears at anyone with a weapon in hand. You see a half-dozen more in the faint starlit night, ringing you at about 40'. (They are between Bremen and the group, back to him.)

(Actions?)

Date: 3:30am, 04 June 2021
Light: Sun
Distance: ~15 miles today
Injuries: Bandy (Moderately wounded), Florin (severely wounded), Irving (severely wounded), Bremen (severely wounded), Markd (minorly wounded)

[Rusty Tincanne]

Bremen stays out of sight, waiting to see if the frogs attack. He hopes Irving's charms work on amphibians, too.

like I said before, feel free to use Bremen's hippogriff meat to barter.

[onlyme]

Markd attempts to stay out of the center of focus, knowing he would hamper any negotiation. He waits for someone a bit more persuasive to offer friendly outcome possibilities.

[Alethan]

Bandobras "Bandy" Sandybanks

Bandy takes a short step forward, hands held out with palms up.

"Greetings, my hoppy friends. What brings you out of your boggy swamps this fine evening?" he begins, speaking in common in the hopes that they understand him.

He continues in Chaotic speak:

"You don't want to mess with this lot. We just killed a dozen hippogriffs and took their claws for gifts for our children."

He pulls a handful of claws out of a pocket to show the frogmen.

[Marullus]

They seem Dubious of Bandy, spears moving to cover his movements. They seem confused at the proffered giant bird-foot and don't seem to have understood either of his communication attempts.

[Alethan]

Bandy Sandybanks

Bandy shrugs and tries again. He puts the claws back in his pouch and very slowly moves to get Bremen's smoked rations. He takes enough for each of them for a day and sets them in a pile between him and the nearest frogman, never turning his back to them.

[Keehnelf]

Irving stands and frowns at the frog-men, ready to intercede should any of them attempt to harm his companions. Seeing Bandy's communication efforts fail, he feels he would be even less likely to make inroads with them.