Chapter 19: Civilization's End

[Bluetongue]

With no dissent to casting a bubble of silence over the canoe as we paddle, Grigor does so.

Cast 'Silence 15'ft radius'

[Paladin]

Iago Vazquez de Quesada

Iago makes a mental note to learn the arcane arts one day, mulling over the potential advantages of a silence spell when climbing the ivy to a merchant's bored wife...or padding down the hallway of a great mansion to woo a noble's errant daughter.

For the moment, he'll force his attention to the dark water and the riverbanks, hunching low in the canoe to obscure any silhouette he might cast against the water.

[Inferno]

The Black River, The Border of Conajohara Province, Aquilonian Empire, the World of Hyboria
Day Two. Night. 12th day of the month of Qrot, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia
Partly cloudy, cool







The longboat is half the way across Black River when the silence is shattered by the drums of the Picts! The adventurers grip their weapons and crouch low behind the walls of the canoe. Grigor speaks awhile, his voice carrying on the water.

The scouts, Flavius and Julius are wide eyed with fear and rage at the gypsy's defiance of Decius' instructions, but do not leave their posts.

Then Grigor chants a gypsy prayer for the better part of a minute. Completely exposed in the open boat, it feels like the better part of an hour. Julius is ready to strike him with a paddle when suddenly, everyone is rendered deaf!

The two scouts withdraw their oars and join the others crouching at the boat's floor, praying that Mitra spares them and dark of night hides them from the eyes of the Picts. The boat is adrift in the pitch shadows and the river current takes them.



They speed southward, out of sight of the looming shape of the Aquilonian fort. If arrows are whistling overhead, they are neither seen nor heard in the disorienting absence of light, sound and earth.

All of a sudden, their hearing returns with the rush of the river, the wind in the branches, and the beating of the drums which Amethu can differentiate from last night.

At the stern, Flavius risks his head and drags his oar, sending the longboat into the western shore of the Black River. It runs aground at a dense treeline and the furious scouts snarl, "Get out," as quietly as they can manage.


Actions?!


Map:

X marks the adventurers' position near Fort Tuscelan.





PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 14/14, Spells: 7/7 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 45/45
Dahinna: Zamoran Southwoman Thief 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 19/19
Grigor: Zamoran Nomad Cleric/Fighter 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 20/29, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl, 1/2 2nd lvl
Iago: Zingaran Southman Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 20/32
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 19/19, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl
Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 27/29
Gnasher: Grigor's Hound: Move: 12", AC: 5, HD: 2+2, HP: 11/11, AT: 1, D: 1-4

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[Urson]

Zahra
Zahra hurries out of the boat, grateful for solid ground underfoot. She moves a few yards toward the dark forest, then stops and half-crouches with a javelin in hand. She strains her eyes, watching for any motion in the darkness as the others debark.

[hedgeknight]

Dahinna

Not needing to be told twice, Dahinna follows Zahra out of the boat, ducking behind a tree for cover. She looks around, her eyes trying to adjust to the darkness. "What do we do now? I'm as blind as a bat!" she hisses.

[Bluetongue]

Grigor

Would give a mouthful to the grumpy scouts, he feels his forethought and action saved their lives. They could have been up a creek without a paddle or head, instead get to return across river under the moonlight shadows.

He calls Gnasher to heel with a snap of his fingers and dons his armour in preparation of a trek through the night.

[Paladin]

Iago Vazquez de Quesada

The irrepressible Zingaran winks and tips his hat to the disgruntled scouts, then leaps catlike to shore and falls into a crouch, awaiting the others and scanning the darkness around them.

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Cruloc abhorred Amethu's arcane weavings in the city below the southern sands, and his distaste for the dark arts has not abated in the intervening months. That the flick of a finger and a string of gibberish from Grigor could rob him of one of his finely-honed senses was disconcerting to the extreme.

"I don’t like the stink of sorcery in my nostrils, whether it strikes for or against me," he quietly concludes.

He is out of the canoe and in the nearby rushes faster than a Zamoran whore can drop her dress.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu quietly makes his way from the shoreline with the rest of the group. He thanks the scouts that have sped them here equally quietly.

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri disembarks with a nod to the scouts, unseen in the dark. He feels certain they will never cross paths again.

Given the circumstances and the need for quiet, he crouches low with the others and declines to summon Grandfather quite yet. The old man will be disappointed, he thinks...

[Inferno]

The Black River, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Two. Night. 12th day of the month of Qrot, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia
Partly cloudy, cool







And so the adventurers steal into Pictland.

Leaving the livid scouts in the longboat, they splash ashore, crunch across the short pebbly beach and take cover within the dark treeline.

They are south of the fort now. Wise Amethu believes he can guide them west-northwest to their fabled destination by the stars that slowly brighten against the infinite gulfs.



But they know of no trail through the heavy forest.

Grigor snaps his fingers for his hound, and dons his armor.

The adventurers scan their dark surroundings and spy no movement. But between the density of the woods, and the deep shadows of the night, visibility might be ten or twenty feet.



Beyond that black wall, were the savages already aware of their position and silently closing in on them?

The scouts are gone.

The only sound now is the river, the drone of insects, the adventurers' words and footfalls in the thick undergrowth, and the distant, unrelenting drumming of the Picts.

"What do we do now? I'm as blind as a bat!" hisses Dahinna.


Actions?! (Intentions for the next several hours, please? Marching order? Light sources? Thanks.)


Map:

X marks Fort Tuscelan. The PCs are somewhere south of there, on the Black River.





PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 14/14, Spells: 7/7 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 45/45
Dahinna: Zamoran Southwoman Thief 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 19/19
Grigor: Zamoran Nomad Cleric/Fighter 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 20/29, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl, 1/2 2nd lvl
Iago: Zingaran Southman Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 20/32
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 19/19, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl
Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 27/29
Gnasher: Grigor's Hound: Move: 12", AC: 5, HD: 2+2, HP: 11/11, AT: 1, D: 1-4

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[Bluetongue]

Grigor

"Single file, stay close perhaps six feet apart to walk in each others footprints. A couple of hours slow trek could take us half a dozen miles from the river.

We take a break then repeat until dawn. That will put us a good distance from the fort, hopefully without meeting these savages.

Head west and up to higher ground preferably."


The gypsy offers some counsel as he dresses. He shoulders his bow, taking his scimitar in hand to move branches aside as we move off.

I will offer a MO and over watch suggestion in ooc

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Cruloc nods his assent to Grigor's instructions. He waits until the others begin moving, then brings up and guards their rear.

"This is not the first time the Zamoran has taken part in a chase," he surmises. "The question is, was he the pursuer or the pursued?"

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri will follow the instructions, keeping quiet as he goes.

After several hours and some distance, if there is no sign of ambush or of being followed, he will summon grandfather as quietly as he is able.

[hedgeknight]

Dahinna

She listens to Grigor's instructions and feels around for a stick to push back the foliage without stabbing one of her comrades in the back. She tightens her gear, especially her boots (not wanting to slip or twist her ankle in the dark), and heads out with the others. She tries to manage a spot either behind Grigor or in front of Cruloc.

[Urson]

Zahra
Zahra supresses a shudder at being outside, under the huge open sky, in the dark. She nods at Grigor's plan, and falls in behind him. She keeps her blade in hand, and constantly looks side-to-side, trying to see any threats in the darkness.

[Paladin]

Iago Vazquez de Quesada

Iago falls into place near the rear again, as is his custom, and walks as quietly as he can. He remains as alert as possible, listening, looking, and scenting the air as they progress.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu also follows the group as silently as he can. He indicates directions as quietly as he can based on the stars above.

magical swords can emit light - but can a magical staff do the same to some degree?

[Inferno]

The Pictish Wilderness, the World of Hyboria
Day Two. Night. 12th day of the month of Qrot, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia
Partly cloudy, cool







In the thick forest of the Pictish wilderness, the adventurers ready to set out into territories black and unknown.

Suddenly, a cry of death pierces the night! Defiant yelling follows and abruptly ends mid-shout! Then all is quiet again.

The sound of slaughtered men came from the direction of the river, whose shore lies not 100 feet away! Grigor's hound Gnasher growls low in his throat!

Hearts pounding in the darkness, the adventurers feel an overwhelming urge to fight or take flight!


Actions?!


Map:

X marks Fort Tuscelan. The PCs are somewhere south of there, on the Black River.





PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 14/14, Spells: 7/7 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 45/45
Dahinna: Zamoran Southwoman Thief 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 19/19
Grigor: Zamoran Nomad Cleric/Fighter 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 20/29, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl, 1/2 2nd lvl
Iago: Zingaran Southman Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 20/32
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 19/19, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl
Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 27/29
Gnasher: Grigor's Hound: Move: 12", AC: 5, HD: 2+2, HP: 11/11, AT: 1, D: 1-4

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[Bluetongue]

Grigor

Fears that his bubble of stealth has been well and truly popped. Flight, unless under another summoned vacuum of noise is only going to draw the hunters upon our heels. Besides, our nature is not to flee.

"If we are to fight, at least do it on our terms." he counsels. "We need to draw them into a trap. To catch the tiger you need a sacrificial goat. I will take that place. Draw them to me and then ambush them from the side. By divine grace and the favour I prayed for, these heathens will not overwhelm me." he says rubbing furiously on the horseshoe he bought earlier.

So my plan is to stand highlighted by the light of my enchanted scimitar by the big tree a few paces away. I cast Sanctuary upon myself. Then next round, as the hunters close in to scalp me I will intone a Bless spell focused on the area directly in front of me. As the hunters enter that area, you guys spring unseen from the bushes and hack them down.

He orders Gnasher to the undergrowth, not willing to risk the hound taking fire.