Upon the Desert Road (IC - Outside the City)

[Darklin2]

Alec

Widens the gap a little before coming to a halt. Grabs a tarp from the chest in the back of the wagon and jumps down. Then unfurls the tarp over the heads of the horses and himself. Covering their heads from the blowing sand and debris.

Take shelter were you can under the wagon. This is going to be bad.


[4d6]=10 Wisdom check Wisdom is a 16.

[Grognardsw]

Gil, barbarian skald

Always caught between a rock and a hard place in Nuz Edrak, thinks Gil darkly as he sees the impending storm.

The barbarian pulls back on his horse and turns about. If Gil sees the city forces turning back, Gil gallops to the wagon for cover. If not, he’ll wait where he is to see what develops.

Gil Wis check vs 10 [4d6]=13

[Bluetongue]

Shylock Cravat

Takes cover under the wagon, putting an upturned bucket over his head. The plink of sand and wind blown debris plink off the sides. With nothing to do but hunker down and think he sets his mind to current events.

Shylock Cravat: hard check vs wisdom 10 [4d6]=10

[tarlyn]

Jasmine

"I Having a very bad feeling too, bad omen this weather is.."

Wisdom check [4d6]=10

Jasmine will follow what everyone else is doing unless her wisdom check reveals to her something else.

Turning to Shylock and grinning "We show that man do not mess with us!"

[Paladin]

The Coming Storm, Late Morning

Artabanu watches from a distance, seemingly torn, then finally signals for his men to ride back toward the city. They file quickly back toward the safety of their high walls.

The wind picks up, hurling yet more sand toward you. But Alec's keen elven eyes pick out the ghost of a trail leading off the road to the West. It cuts directly across the desert, a smattering of hooves and ruts already partially filled in by the shifting sand.

The horses shift from foot to foot, tossing their heads and threatening to bolt, but for the moment you manage to keep them under control.

Include a regular (3d6) CON check at the end of your next action, please.

Gil - 36/39
Jasmine - 51/55
Corthalis - 10/10
Alec - 22/22
Shylock 23/23

[cybersavant]

Corthalis Aelvynwynne sticks with the wagon

con11 [_3d6]=(6+1+3)=10

[Bluetongue]

Shylock Cravat

Shylock constitution check vs 17 [3d6]=6

"We should press on, even slowly along the trail as the storm will cover our tracks. What if we do this idea?"

Put some sacks over the heads of the horses to hood them. They will still move forward if guided, just as a racehorse that is reluctant to enter stalls for fear of closed spaces. So blinker them and rein them to the wagon.

Secondly tie some large grasses and brushwood to the rear wheel arches so they sweep the sand behind us and aid the covering of tracks.

We don't all need to face into the wind, just the wagon driver. Look, bottle lens glasses ...


He takes a wine bottle and breaks it open, picking the bottom piece abd chips with his small gemstone hammer to break off sharp points until he is left with a thick monocle. Wrapping some lock pick wire around he makes it hang over one eye from his helmet.

"OK. I can't see much for shit and often we all look at life from the bottom of a bottle. But it stops sand in your eye."

[tarlyn]

Jasmine

Con check [3d6]=15


Using her survival knowledge Jasmine will prepare the best she knows for the storm.

She'' try to keep her horse as calm as possible.

[Grognardsw]

Relieved to see the city guard turn back, though with a sinking foreboding about braving the storm, Gil rides back to join the wagon.

The barbarian listens to the little man’s plan. Not having experienced a sand storm, Gil is uncertain.

“Whatever our course, cover is wise
Bag the horse, and shelter from skies!”

Gil covers Mount's head, tethers him to the wagon, whistles in his war hawk, and gets into the back of the covered wagon.

[Paladin]

Waiting on you, Alec.

[Darklin2]

Alec

Pulls the covering tight around his horses and tried to keep them calm.

[3d6]=8 Con Con is 15.


OOC- Sorry, Yesterday was hell. Found a broken Dampener on the Main Rotor head and had to fix it by 10 so we would be ready for fire and wouldn't ya know it some idiot decided to burn leaves in a 15 mile and hour wind. The stupidity never fails to impress.

[Paladin]

No worries, my friend. I know how it goes.

I ended up with a ridiculously awful case of food poisoning last night, so forgive me if it's my turn to drag a little. I'll try to get us a post up tonight. Or in the morning, at the latest.

[tarlyn]

No worries guys. Real Life comes first

[Paladin]

Midday, In the Eye of the Storm

In his haste to prepare for the storm, Alec dismisses the trail through the desert and neglects to mention it to his comrades. Shylock's agile mind works out several ingenious means of coping with the storm and pushing ahead, but only Gil seems interested, and even he opts to shelter in the wagon rather than try them out.

Jasmine does her best to advise the others on how to prepare for such a storm, and her deep knowledge of weather and storms mitigates some of the damage which would otherwise afflict the party.

Any horses left uncovered buck and stomp, bending their necks against the wind and threatening to bolt.
Anyone chancing to look outside and squint against the storm catches sight of a bone-chilling apparition. A fleshless dragon soars on the raging wind, and a black-shrouded figure sits astride the beast's bony shoulders, clutching the reins in one hand and a long staff in the other.

You blink and the monster is gone, swallowed by the roiling sand. A few moments later and the storm begins to subside. The wind dies and the sand drifts to a stop. The landscape outside has been completely rearranged, dunes swept clean and rebuilt. There is no sign of pursuit.

Gil - 36/39
Jasmine - 51/55
Corthalis - 10/10
Alec - 22/22
Shylock 23/23

[Bluetongue]

Shylock Cravat

After an indeterminate time with his head shrouded in a bucket and his throat hoarse from sand, the halfling takes a break to do his ablutions as the wind dies down.

After watering the sand and burying yesterday's breakfast he returns quite chipper and goes to see his hard won mount.

He will need to adjust the saddle and reins as if a human child was riding the horse. He checks the hooves for shoes and gives the creature a once over.

"Hey, why the long face?" he queries the horse, trying to win him over with a few apples.

how many horses do we have?

"Okay. So where to now? We have evaded the guard but need to ambush the bandits right? "

[Grognardsw]

Gil O'Sullivan uncovers Mount as Claw takes to the air. The barbarian skald is quiet for a time, pondering the bad luck this Nuz Edrak seems to have brought. Kazak’s job is some source of gold (damn little for the risk!), but not the riches he had heard of in songs of daring and dungeon-do.

Gil pushes aside day dreams of battling the necromancer for untold treasures. Instead, he plods along on Mount, peering into the distance for signs of dust kicked up by horses. He looks to each side of the road for bandits.

"We'll meet up with the caravan,
whilst we better our tan,
hopefully to set our bandit trap
and wipe them from the map."

[cybersavant]

Corthalis Aelvynwynne "What's this about bandits?"

[Darklin2]

Alec

Waits for the winds to pass and then uncovers the horses. Knocking the sand and grit from the tarp. Looking around for the others.

Is everyone all right? We best get moving those guards might be back at any time. Let's get everything uncovered and on the move. I saw a trail off in that direction before the wind and sand blew through. Was more worried about keeping the horses alive.

[tarlyn]

Jasmine

The Barbarian makes sure her mount is fine. She feeds it an apple and some water, patting it down and reassuring it in a soothing voice.

She will also make sure everyone is unharmed.

[Grognardsw]

Gil recounts for Cort the job the party is doing for Kazak, owner of the Vulgar Unicorn.

Gil finishes his tankard of ale and orders another.

“Now, this job... I am but a simple warrior, with simple ideas and a sword. I welcome your thoughts. Some tactics came to mind. We will be out-numbered, so we must fight smart. We ride ahead and meet the caravan, gaining their cooperation to lay a trap. When we reach a likely spot for banditry, we pull off into the sands and fake an axle break. We lay large nets under the sands in front and back, with the warrior’s horses at two corners. When the bandits arrive we wave a white flag. When they approach over the nets, we gallop and entangle them and their horses. Then strike them down safely.”

“The wizards can be in the caravan, ready to... do what they do. As long as it doesn’t involve human sacrifices or the summoning of demons, which I hear is what they do. No offense.”