Wolves Amongst Lambs

[Revenant]

As the group exit back into the corridor that led them here, you hear the bolts on the other side being snapped shut by their doorman. Keeping up your ruse for now, you move back through the corridors that brought you to this place all the while watching for the beast they spoke of...which luckily does not appear. You quickly exit the ruined inn's cellars and are relieved to find your mounts as you left them. The three prisoners, are still gagged and bound in chains.

Pilgrim says, "This third one is one of my brothers from the Nighthawks. Sparrow, I bet you've quite the tale to tell me," as he loosens the gag of the young man brought in with Davion. Sparrow nods, "Thank you brother, and all the rest of you."

Reggie gathers her things and turns to look at the group, "Time for this old piece of floatsam to sail back to my home Canguine. You can have this cursed land far as I'm concerned. I wish ya luck whatever ya do, but I don't serve this king or country and frankly don't give one puff what happens to him. Ya can keep me cut of the reward and take my mount back to Lupre. I'm off."

[Rex]

Bryne

"Good luck Reggie."

She unbinds the other prisoners. "We should get moving as soon as possible."

[The Bindoner]

Wilwarin maintains her guise as Finla until the group have reached the clean air outside the ruin’s cellar.

Free of the dark tunnels below she sighs happily and spins a few dance steps.

It is good to be free of that place! I feared we would not be.

Smiling at the prisoners she adds: More souls than we went in with. A good day.

When Reggie announces her departure Wilwarin Looks crestfallen: I am saddened. You have a fierce spirit that I will miss. I wish you a safe journey.

Bryne

She unbinds the other prisoners. "We should get moving as soon as possible."

Good advice. But first we must either destroy or remove the real Finla and her companions. Leaving or burying the bodies here promises discovery of our ruse.

She considers briefly:

The simplest solution is to take the corpses away on the horses and hide them somewhere far from here.

[Darithe]

Mave

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mave cannot help but laugh as Wilwarin does her little victory dance. She will bid Reggie a fond farewell and wishes her well on her sailing trip home. "May warm breezes guide your sails," she says remembering the old saying popular among some of her father's men in Gull's Landing.

On the subject of the corpses, "I agree, perhaps move them farther up the road and bury them where they won't likely be found. We can always notify the authorities where we left them, should they need to know."

She gives the newly freed prisoners some of her water and a bit of food supplies, "We will talk later once we've disposed of the dead. Best not to put that task off, lest we draw predators of the four or two legged varieties."

[Rex]

Bryne

"A sound plan to dispose of the bodies away from here."

[Revenant]

You all breathe in the fresh air once you are up top. Reggie, Pilgrim and Sparrow help you load the bodies on your mounts while Davion and Liviel both give their thanks to each of you for freeing them. After the bodies are loaded Reggie without further word slips off into the forest heading south. Pilgrim says, "Thank you my friends for your help to myself and brother Sparrow. You have earned favor with the Nighthawks this day and it won't be forgotten. Alas now we must return to our leader the Gypsy with a report of what has occurred here. Good fortunes to each of you!" After saying their goodbyes, the two start off into the eastern forest. Davion and Liviel both mount up on Reggie's horse and the small group follow the pathway from the old ruined inn back to the Northern Pass Road. There you start your journey back on the road to Lupre looking along the way for a clearing in which to bury the dead you now carry. Bryne spots what she thinks is a good spot just off the left side of the road, however as you start your ride the horses suddenly get skittish and you soon see why.

Hanged Men.jpg (263.65 KiB) Viewed 864 times

Thena immediately recognizes the three as men she knew, Traven, Richter and Steiner of Lupre's town guard, though their armor and weapons are no where to be seen. Two wolves growl beneath them hoping for an easy meal. Five more wolves can be seen on the edge of the clearing. They growl menacingly and move forward daring you to get closer to their dinner.

[Rex]

Bryne

Bryne readies her bow. "Scatter beasts."

[Revenant]

The wolves on the edge of the clearing seem unsure and continue to hang back while two near the bodies growl with menace.

[The Bindoner]

Wilwarin jokes, grimly: Well, Bryne, your instincts were right, this is indeed a place for the dead.

Dismounting, she twists the reins of her horse around a branch and draws Nacquessë. Taking the "from the roof" stance, with the blade held high over her shoulder and left foot forward, she faces the wolves and, with a half smile, commands them to Shoo!, adding If you know what is good for you.

[Darithe]

Mave

Mave gives the dead a grim look as she dismounts handing her reins to Athan, "I didn't know wolves went in for hanging their victims," as she straighten her armor and looks about the ground beneath the horses. Like Wilwarin she offers a half-smile before adding, "Then again perhaps the wolves are like us, merely innocents who happened upon the scene." She reaches down and picks up a good sized rock, "In my life, one thing I've learned when dealing with wolves of either the four or two-legged variety, is that a large rock to the head discourages any improprieties." She throws the rock as hard as she can at the closer wolf.

Rock toss: [1d20]=13

[spanningtree]

Thena

Ageist a what she sees she drops off of the back of her mount, draws Rover, and slaps the flat of the blade against her shield, attempting to drive the wolves away. Be gone!! She says loudly.

Assuming the big doggies don't care to wrangle: I knew them, they are from Lupre, guards in fact. This potentially does not bode well for Lupre... I also wonder if these men were placed here on purpose, knowing that we would find them. This will require me to return home, with these men.

[Revenant]

The two braver wolves hold their ground at Bryne's warning and then hesitate as Wilwarin starts to move towards them with her warning. The sound of Thena's blade on her shield make them both jump and then the rock that hits the biggest and causes it to yelp in surprise and pain pushes them over the edge. The wolves on the edge of the clearing run off into the woods at the aggressive sounds from the group and with the yelp the two by the hanged men turn tail and run too. A small breeze cause the hanged men to sway and the tree limbs to creak under their weight.

From somewhere high above, you hear the sound of a crow cawing.

[The Bindoner]

Wilwarin relaxes her stance, but does not sheath Nacquessë.

You have a good arm Mave.


Wilwarin walks over to the hanging bodies, then walks around the tree. She is looking at how they are suspended from the tree, and whether they might be trapped.

To Thena:

I am sorry for your friends, the end they came to. We will take them home with you. I am not sure that they were left for us to see, though. Who would know we were looking for a place to bury evidence, yet leave only a dreadful message we might miss?

[Rex]

Bryne

"It is bad news for sure. If a message then we have more trouble then we already have."

[Revenant]

Wilwarin walks around the bodies, seeing nothing to indicate the bodies are trapped. In fact, she notes nothing awry at all about the bodies, no signs of injuries on their dead forms, no signs that they struggled when they were bound, no visible damage at all to the bodies save that from the noose.

Liviel slips from Reggie's horse, and walks up to the bodies, "Traven, my friend, what a sorry end. Stripped of your armor and hung like a common criminal," she shakes her head, the scars made from the whip, prominent even in the fading light of the day.

Bryne who scans the ground around the body from her mount see no sign of any tracks save those of the dead men's horses. She is puzzled at this but perhaps whoever did it is skilled with covering their tracks.

Athan dismounts and remarks, "Night is falling soon and we still have several hours of riding before reaching Lupre. And in any case. after we bury our foes, night will be upon us. Should we make camp here? If so, I think we need to build a good fire if we are to keep those wolves at bay. Now who is agile enough to climb the trees and cut these poor fellows free."

Zaella too dismounts, "I for one am weary, it has been a long and stressful day, and think we should make camp here. It is never wise to ride into darkness."

[spanningtree]

Thena

A morbid campsite... indeed. Someone would not happen to have a shovel for the graves would they? I can jump on that.

Perhaps we leave the med hanging where they are for the night... should they rise?

[Rex]

Bryne

"I can climb the tree and cut them down but if we are staying may as well do it in the morning and use what light we have to gather some fire wood."

She scouts the immediate area and makes sure it is secure.

[The Bindoner]

Wilwarin looks with furrowed brow at the hanged men while speaking:

I would have preferred a more congenial glade to spend the night, but I suppose we must make the best of where we find ourselves.

This is a mystery here. I do not understand how these men, guards, come to be here, unmarked and unarmoured. Brought, without a fight, to die so far from Lupre.

I do not think it wise to take them down until we solve some part of this puzzle.



Turning to look with disdain at the Finla and her companion:


I am not overly concerned with the decent burial of these, merely their concealment. We should take them deeper into the trees. Having robbed the wolves of one meal, we should provide another, and in return they can dispose of the bodies for us.

[Rex]

Bryne

"I have no issue with leaving them for the scavengers but if we are we should strip them of everything first so it doesn't end up getting scattered all around the forest for someone to chance upon. It will be easier to bury and less likely for animal to dig up then a body."

[Darithe]

Mave

Mave was a city girl first and foremost. She had seen men die but never so many as she had seen this day. She wished they were closer to the town or at least an inn, even the ruined inn with one solid wall to their backs would have been preferable to their present location. But alas that was not to be. She helps to remove the clothing of the Finla and her shaman. She tried to avoid looking either of them in the face as she assisted in dragging them off a safe distance for the wolves. Once the sister of a king and now food for the wolves. She involuntarily shivers as she begins to gather firewood. She intended to gather as much as she could carry. A big fire would make the night more pleasant.

Once back to the campsite Bryne had chosen for them, she asks, "I assume we are setting watches. I volunteer for the first if there are no objections." She felt a combination of melancholy and apprehension, that would not allow her to sleep anytime soon.