Action thread 1 - the departing

[Argennian]

Yosef quickly puts the wand back into its belt holder and gets his shortbow nocked and ready. He'll begin scanning the perimeter, looking for any accomplices of the now-toasted highwaymen or any other threats.

"A true pity they would not surrender. Damned fools."

Yosef maintains a vigilant watch and will move over to cover Bruard and their injured man.

[migellito]

After Eyman is stable, I give Van 5sp. I put another 5sp in Eyman's pouch.

[ToniXX]

Damn, I've got to leave for a while! I don't want to rush my response, but I'll reply again late tonight! Sorry!

[Alethan]

You said two arrows were not recoverable - one broken in Eyman and one broke when it hit the ground. But weren't there four arrows fired at us? Are the other two recoverable?

--Drinard: TH [1d20+1] = 6+1 = 7 Dam [1d6] = 2 Target [1d6] = 6 Yosef miss
--Rhinard: TH [1d20+2] = 17+2 = 19 Dam [1d6+1] = 5+1 = 6 Target [1d6] = 4 Eyman hit, the arrow finds an uprotected spot between pants and shirt, embedding itself in his gut, he falls to the ground unmoving except for the red stain on the rocks that continues to expand
--Corinard: TH [1d20+1] = 9+1 = 10 Dam [1d6] = 2 Target [1d5] = 1 Till miss
--Terenard: TH [1d20+1] = 7+1 = 8 Dam [1d6] = 2 Target [1d5] = 1 Till miss

[Alethan]

Till walks up to the center of the scorched area and pokes around at the sword and the gold slag with his short sword. Once they seem cool enough to handle, he'll pick them up and bring them back down to the group.

He shakes his head as he says, "I would have had more respect for them if they'd outright attacked us from the beginning. Let's make sure there isn't anything left up there in the remains that hints at who was fried, though. I don't want another pack of elves tracking us down with some kind of blood feud because they think we wronged their peaceful and loving friends and family."

"Well, let's see what we have here, shall we?" Till hefts the gold slag in his hand, trying to determine about how much it would have been in coinage. Then he examines the sword more closely to determine what, if any, markings it might have on it.

"This looks like a nice sword! Obviously not something Bruard can use and, though it is a thing of beauty, it's a bit large for me, so... I'd say it should go to one of the fighters - either Jeloon or Yusef." Till then pushes the sword in their direction for further discussion.

Till will pack the gold slag away in one of the bags on... Bill the mule.

[migellito]

"Longswords are my best weapon, but if you want it Yosef, please feel free."

[Argennian]

"Longswords are my best weapon, but if you want it Yosef, please feel free."

Yosef, still holding his bow at the ready and scanning the perimeter with what appears to be a strained or perhaps even a pained look upon his visage, snaps to and turns back to Till and then Jeloon. He looks down at the sword with a detached look and then back up to Jeloon. The elf takes a deep breath and the frown once again turns back to its usual, easy smile.

"Apologies for my distraction, dear friends. I do not know why it bothers me so to have had to incinerate those men, whoever or whatever they were, even though they meant to rob and kill us. Something within me believes they knew much more about this place and where we are going than they let on. If we could have only taken one alive..."

Yosef, after a moment of introspection, again smiles at the female barbarian and gestures to the longsword. "You are most generous and honorable, mistress Jeloon, but I would like you to have it. I am not as hardy and resiliant in melee as you, my friend, so I will rely on my bow and my magics when feasible. May it serve you well..."

Yosef then moves back over to where Bruard and the injured Eyman lies. He looks over toward Van, hoping to meet his gaze. When he does, the elf gives him a quick nod, in a manner meant to display a warrior's admiration. "You have my thanks and my respect, master Van. I will endeavor to follow your keen example of vigilance from here on out."

[Alethan]

"Yosef, console yourself with the thought that they were planning that course of action all along. I'm not sure what has driven the likes of those of a kindly race to such ends; maybe hardship, maybe all the years of violence in this region... or maybe just several young elves from bad lots who formed a gang of sorts. Whatever the reason, I didn't spend three months of my life clearing out the caverns just to have my possessions taken away by some lying thieving thugs. With the two options presented before us, we had but one choice. You did the right thing, my friend. Hopefully we can get Eyman back on his feet tomorrow morning and continue on our way."

Till picks up the long sword and stares at it once more, just a hint of longing desire quickly flashing across his face. "At least they were kind enough to not keep all of their worldly possessions in the form of wood! It's too bad they didn't have any shiny coats of that elven chain mail under their cloaks, though; that would have fetched a pretty copper to the right buyers." He shrugs, steels his mouth into a smile and tosses the sword over to Jeloon.

"By the way, Jeloon, that was a great shot earlier. Your skill with the bow continues to amaze me!"

"Now, if you don't mind, my friends, I'm going to make a quick scouting run up the trail a bit to make sure our blast didn't attract any unfortunate attention."

With that, Till removes his traveling cloak, drops it to the ground and rolls it around in the dust for a while to take away the "sharpness" of the contrast between it and his surroundings. He puts it back on, throws everyone a quick smile, and silently heads north up the trail at a cautious pace.

He's going to keep an ear out for any unusual or unnatural sounds coming from the trail ahead and also see if he can spot the elves' tracks once he gets past the blast area. Maybe they had some other treasure originally, but stashed it somewhere before sitting down with the party.

OOC: Game mechanics-wise, Till is going to attempt to Hide in Shadows any chance he gets. He doesn't really have to worry about moving silently, what with his elven boots. He will not go terribly far down the trail - maybe walking for 20 minutes to a half hour. If he sees any signs at all of hill giant activity, he'll stop immediately and quietly make his way back to the rest of the group. Otherwise, he'll scout ahead for just a half hour or so before turning back.

[Argennian]

"Yosef, console yourself with the thought that they were planning that course of action all along. I'm not sure what has driven the likes of those of a kindly race to such ends; maybe hardship, maybe all the years of violence in this region... or maybe just several young elves from bad lots who formed a gang of sorts. Whatever the reason, I didn't spend three months of my life clearing out the caverns just to have my possessions taken away by some lying thieving thugs. With the two options presented before us, we had but one choice. You did the right thing, my friend. Hopefully we can get Eyman back on his feet tomorrow morning and continue on our way."

"I am thankful that Eyman will live and fully recover, and that no one else was hurt. I could have been faster with the wand but I truly thought they would not really fire. Although there is but one more fireball left in the wand, I would use it again in an instant to protect us. I think instead of being ashamed that they were elves, I will concentrate on raising my vigilance and state of readiness. As you said, perhaps they do have friends around..." With that Yosef brings his bow to a more ready position and will again begin to scan the perimeter and horizon for trouble.

"Now, if you don't mind, my friends, I'm going to make a quick scouting run up the trail a bit to make sure our blast didn't attract any unfortunate attention."

With that, Till removes his traveling cloak, drops it to the ground and rolls it around in the dust for a while to take away the "sharpness" of the contrast between it and his surroundings. He puts it back on, throws everyone a quick smile, and silently heads north up the trail at a cautious pace.

When Yosef sees that Till is heading out alone to scout, a look of concern crosses his visage. He starts to walk over to say something, but decides it probably best the party know now what lies ahead. And Till is the best equipped for the job. "Good luck and excersize vigilance. Whistle if you need us..."

[migellito]

Yosef, after a moment of introspection, again smiles at the female barbarian and gestures to the longsword. "You are most generous and honorable, mistress Jeloon, but I would like you to have it. I am not as hardy and resiliant in melee as you, my friend, so I will rely on my bow and my magics when feasible. May it serve you well..."

"Thank you Yosef." She bows. "I'll take good care of it." After an uncomfortable pause, she continues, saying "I.. uhmm.. I'm sorry they were.. you know.. elves."

"By the way, Jeloon, that was a great shot earlier. Your skill with the bow continues to amaze me!"

She laughs and nods her head once in thanks "thank you. I still say it's just luck!"

As Till disappears up the pass, Jeloon sits down next to Eyman, and begins meticulously cleaning the newly gained longsword. She spends at least twenty minutes on it, examining it carefully for any details as she cares for it. During that time, if Eyman shows any signs of discomfort, she will do what she can to make him more comfortable, but in an 'absent-minded' manner without looking directly at him. (She can't have anyone thinking she's gone soft, after all! )

[ToniXX]

Bruard moves over to Eyman and quickly examines his condition. He places his hands upon Eyman's wounds, closes his eyes and mutters 'Shinare, please bend your bright light down upon the unfortunate Eyman, and heal his wounds.'

Cure light wounds: [1d8] = 7

Bruard sits next to his patient and takes a moment to collect his thoughts. Yosef, your quickness never ceases to surprise and inspire me. It is too bad those elves had to come to such an end, but better them then us. Let's keep our ears and eyes open for any signals from Till. I will pray he returns soon.

[rredmond]

Bruard can tell that Eyman's wounds are fully healed, but his body and spirit will be days recovering from the trauma. (His pace is slowed, but if relieved of carrying anything he shouldn't slow you down too much. Any strenuous activity is out of the question until he is able to fully rest for a week.)

Just checking, but Till touched the sword first, correct. Jeloon and Yosef can tell this sword is decorated a little over the top, no gems or anything, but an ornately made hilt that is quite shined up. But the blade itself is a beaut, both of you can tell that it is strong and well made. Though not really Jeloon's style, it feels good in her hand. Even Van, not really a sword guy, marvelled at it's craftsmanship and strength.

The metal looks to be a mix of gold and some other types of coins that are semi-melted together. Nothing that can be used now for trade, but certainly looks to be something that can be separated out later. There are 5 such piles, that look to be anywhere from 6 to 8 gps of coin.

The other two fired arrows, unfortunately, lay in ruins on the hard rock of the ground.

[migellito]

Just checking, but Till touched the sword first, correct.
...
The metal looks to be a mix of gold and some other types of coins that are semi-melted together. Nothing that can be used now for trade, but certainly looks to be something that can be separated out later. There are 5 such piles, that look to be anywhere from 6 to 8 gps of coin.

Yes, Till picked it up. We'll pack up the precious metals on the dams. I'll replace the sword in my scabbard with this new blade, and pack my old one on the dams, unless anyone else would like to use it.

[Alethan]

Till makes his way back to the camp about an hour or so after he'd left.

"I walked up for about 30 minutes or so; didn't find anything unusual, though. Couldn't even find any tracks left by the elves. The path gets a little wider, about 40' or so, further on up the trail and either side of the pass is rocky and treacherous. I think from here on out it might be wise for me to scout the trail ahead of the rest of the group and report back every few hours unless something causes concern."

Till looks over at Eywan.

"His wounds look healed, but he appears to be in pretty bad shape still. Almost dying will do that to ya. Should we transfer the loads of the DAMs to free one up for him to ride? The lads can carry his gear. We could maybe travel for a few more hours today if we do that and stop early to form camp so he can get plenty of rest tonight."

[migellito]

Jeloon nods at Till. "Yes, scouting sounds wise. It's too bad we don't have some magic that could bring you back to us if you got into trouble. That also sounds like a good idea about Eyman."

She will help repack the load onto 2 of the dams and the two porters, then after Eyman's on a mule we'll continue up the pass.

[rredmond]

Repacking of the DAMs all complete, you set out with the scout plan. The rest of the day goes, thankfully, without event. The day got a bit more cloudy, and the pass widens to a bit over 50' across, but not a sound is heard nor a soul seen.

We are going to need an updated watch schedule as Eyman passes out, sleeping hard. But the night too passes uneventfully.

The next day dawns, clouds still in the air, but bright enough to see well.

Please give me an updated watch schedule and marching order. Also, Bruard should choose a spell... I'm assuming another CLW, but you know what they say about those who assume.

[Argennian]

Yosef will offer to take the last watch with Van, as before, or wherever and with whomever he's most needed, especially with Eyman being injured.
If he does not have to memorize spells, Yosef offers to cover an extra shift, if needed.

Last evening, while they all supped and enjoyed the fire and smell of Till's pipe, Yosef makes his daily entry in his journal. He seems introspective as he writes and stares occassionally into the flame as if not even paying attention.

In the morning, while they eat breakfast, Yosef talks with his companions about their new SOP, with Till as advanced scout and an injured Eyman on one of the DAMs. He asks the others what they think, especially now that the trail is wider.

[migellito]

In the evening, as Till puffs his pipe, Jeloon says "Bruard.. tell us another tale of Shinare and the other gods."

In the morning, during breakfast, she says "I think we should stay in single file, and off to one side of the pass, and at least ten feet apart. Seeing what grouping up tight did for our opponents yesterday has convinced me of this. What say the rest?"

[Alethan]

OOC: Hey! What's going on here? You guys trying to give Till cancer or something with all of that pipe smoking??

IC:
"Wise words, Jeloon. Single-file and off to the side sounds like a plan. I'll venture no more than 100 yards or so from the rest of the group. And I'll keep my signal whistle handy. If something happens and I need immediate assistance, I'll blow one long note on the whistle. If you guys hear any other combination of whistle notes, that will mean something is wrong and you should approach with caution."

Till will be happy to take the beginning and the ending shifts, as long as he gets at least four hours of sleep in the middle. (That's about what I've been getting for the last eight months and I seem to be functioning fairly well.)

[rredmond]

Single file:
Till
Van
Jeloon
Ancor w/Donkey
Rosin w/Donkey and Eyman
Yosef w/Donkey
Bruard

Sticking to the eastern side of the pass.

The third day in the pass continues as it dawned, plenty cloudy, but not gray or dark. You walk in scouting formation, with the pass actually starting to veer North West. Then, about 10am you can tell that it takes a sharp bend North East up ahead, cutting off ability to see past it. The bend is about 1/2 mile, maybe a little more up ahead. The pass has widened to 70' across. There is an occasional tree seen on the mountains at this point, and a flock of some sort of birds has flown by, though very high up.

Other than the above, everything else is the same.