Chapter 8 - Orc Recon

[AleBelly]

Anxious to depart, the party burns the bodies, collects the gold and silver (distributing it between Sucks and Beelzebub), and head towards the Sambord fort. They find the same smattering of dead bodies as the leave the town, but as they continue in a south-southeasterly direction the density decreases until none are visible.

Arnulf is quiet, stopping to map from time to time. He seems grateful for the distraction.

But the going is slow through the forest. It is thick, and the scouting raven has difficulty seeing much between the pines. The eagle finds some small game - enough to feed him, the raven and the two wolves for the day.

After four hours of travel, they group has managed to make it five miles or so. The sun, having set a half hour ago, casts very dim light from the western horizon. It will be completely dark in minutes, and the party needs to decide if they will make camp or press onwards.

Actions?

Date: 18 Hewing, Year 42
Time: 18:00
Conditions: 34F, damp and grey, west breeze at 6 mph, 6 inches of snow on the ground
Known Spells in Effect:
Light bearers: Complete darkness at 18:08
Intended Direction of Travel: ~165 degree bearing, 1.2 mph, 7.6 miles traveled today
Injury Status: Hyde lightly wounded

[Zhym]

Angus glowers in the direction of the setting sun. "Ain't so sure leaving the ghost town was such a great idea, now that we done it," he says. "We got our choice between freezing our asses off camping in the open or getting lost trying to keep on in the dark."

He half-smiles and shrugs. "No use crying about it now, I reckon. Y'all want to die sitting still or moving around?"

[Marullus]

"Can't be more than an hour or two more, if we press on," opines Hellebore. She hops up and grabs a pine branch, scurrying on her agile little feet up the tree to get a bearing on the Sambord's fort. "They have a big clearing, plus night fires. Gotta be able to see it..."

[Zorroroaster]

Arnulf watches Hellebore climb the tree.

"But what if they are besieged? We'd be stumbling into the orcs' backside in the middle of the night. Not exactly good tactics. I think cold camping is the smarter choice, as much as I would rather be in a warm bed."

[tkrexx]

I don't like this cold! Hyde yells, No, don't like it at all! I'd ratha run on Orcs than sleep like this. At least I be killing something that stays dead, yeahh.

[enn.in.me]

"Maybe we keep going, and those of us that can see in the dark can keep to the outside so we don't have to light torches. It seems if we camp, we'll need a fire, and if we light a big enough fire to stay warm, well, Veles only knows what that might attract. But--I would like to, mmm, never mind. There will be time enough for that once we're inside the Sambord fort." Yenny rubs her charm distractedly for a few moments as her eyes get distant. "What say the rest of you?"

[Storm11]

"We could risk getting lost in the dark and stumbling down a ravine, falling into a pit trap, or any number of hidden dangers. If we can find a defensible campsite, with access to the warding magic we have it should be relatively safe don't you think? Plus night is the orc's natural habitat. In daylight they are more vulnerable, and we can recover and be at full strength before we appear before the gates of the settlement. From what you have said before they arent exactly the friendliest people, I don't think I would feel right being vulnerable when entering. Hyde is still injured too alittle." the dreadlocked halfling chimes in with a shrug. He scratches fluffy behind the ears and waits to hear everyone else's thoughts.

[Zhym]

"Yenny makes a damned good point," says Angus. "A campfire'd draw attention, and without a fire we'd freeze our danglies off in this cold, them of us what has them. Of course, torches or lanterns would draw attention too, but only from anything what's nearby."

"Hellebore's mathing ain't too far off, neither. We were about six hours from Sambord, give or take, when we fought the batsquitos, and that was right outside Town No Go. We left there about four hours ago, so I'd reckon we got two more hours until we'd get to Sambord—maybe three, figuring we'll move slower in the dark. Worst case—excepting an attack by dragons or undead or undead dragons—we get lost and have to make camp, which is our other option right now anyway."

"So, yeah, that's all a long-winded way of saying I agree with Hyde, Yenny, and Hellebore. We ought to keep moving."

[AleBelly]

OK, we have 7 pretty active posters in the group right now. Four have voted in favor of continuing, so I'll update accordingly unless something changes (or those that don't want to continue decide to stay put).

Also, we'll put Hellebore's chance of climbing a tree with those short stubby legs at 55% in the darkness. Chance of falling is just 2% - other failure means she just can't find a way up. She's right, the group will remember that the fort is lit up at night - in fact, fires are placed around the perimeter to enable sight into the distance.

[Marullus]

Hellebore makes it into the lower branches of one of the pines, trying her way up the tallest one to get to a view. She is heard grumbling and cursing to herself about halfway up, accompanied by the sound of breaking branches.

She eventually drops back to the ground. "I decided. Tall things suck," she grumps. "If there are no other ideas, I'll talk to Rrkox to tell him our plan and mayhaps he can get high enough to show us the right way."


Tree climbing 55% [1d100] = 81

[onlyme]

Dandelion agrees they should move on...

[Zhym]

Would Angus have a better chance of making it up the tree?

[AleBelly]

In daylight, yes. But it's totally dark at this point. If someone lights a torch so he can see, he'll have a 70% chance of success (if he removes armor first).

[Zhym]

Yeah, the bit about removing armor probably makes it a no go. Do we have anyone else who is lightly armored and can see in the dark that might want to try?

[tkrexx]

It's cold! Hyde grumbles miserably, and drops his pack & shield. He will attempt to climb a tall tree.

DM roll, please.

[AleBelly]

Hyde is cold, and hopes to warm himself up by climbing a tree to look for the Sambord fort. He finds the sturdiest tree and begins to ascend. He gets 15' off the ground. The branches start to thin, and the breeze is stronger up here. His hands, frozen by the wind and cold, have a tough time gripping the tree. He decides to descend before risking any more trouble. It is now 20 minutes past total darkness.

Climb [1d100] = 74

Actions?

[Zhym]

Angus glares at the tree and holds his axe threateningly towards his nemesis. "Now you'd best think about your fate when the next person tries to climb you," growls the woodsman.

[enn.in.me]

"It's cooling off. Let's start walking. Hellebore, if you really can have your bird get a bead on the camp, that would probably help us."

[onlyme]

Dandelion feels relieved that they should only have to endure the cold for a few hours longer, and not the full night. She marches along with the rest, casting her eyes in the various directions, trying to pick up anything moving.

[Marullus]

Whispering the words to call forth her magic, Hellebore begins quorking with the birds. She tells them the plan, asking them to espy the fort and it's fires and lead them directly.