Bloodcurse: Into the Woods

[Computer +1]

Darkstar says quietly to Greystone before the party moves out, Cousin if you move to the front I will drop back and watch for danger from behind.

[Alethan]

Greystone nods, "Be careful, cousin."

Then, after getting direction from the barbarians, moves forward to scout ahead. He maintains a lead of about 35-40 yards ahead of the rest of the party, confident that he can remain unseen better that way and, should the need arise, that he can hightail it back to the main party should the need arise.

[hedgeknight]

Having decided on a scouting and marching order, your group ventures deeper into the Lurkwood and you are swallowed by the vastness of this forest. Thick trees and thicker brambles make the going slow and difficult, but the path is true and muddy and Cole easily follows several tracks of wolves heading back into the deeper part of the forest. The barbarians walk on the trail and beside the trail when they can, spread out along it, weapons ready. Nokrugh sniffs the air and watches the shadowy canopy for any sign of danger, while Tarrin follows along and then Darkstar bringing up the rear. The archer has an arrow ready to draw and fire and constantly is turning and even walking backwards, watching for a sneak attack of some kind. Cole crosses a thin stream and comes to a fork in the trail. He calls a halt and examines the ground - the tracks go in both directions, left and right.

Out in front and completely alone from the rest of the group is Greystone - the elven scout is in his element and he pads softly through the foliage, making little or no sound at all. When he comes to a fork in the trail, he hesitates only a second before taking the left path, and follows it for about 50 yards when he comes somewhat of a clearing. The ground is damp and there is a thin stream running across the trail...coming from a larger pond. And beside the pond, Greystone sees a run-down shack, covered with moss and featuring a front porch that is almost falling in. The roof is slanted and the one window he can see is boarded up. But...there is a trickle of smoke rising from the chimney...someone is at home!

Actions?

[Computer +1]

When the group halts Darkstar begins patrolling laterally to make sure nothing takes them unaware.

[Alethan]

Greystone heads back to the trail to catch up with the main group. Once he does this, he will tell them what he has found.

[Hoondatha]

"What're the odds they're friends, do you think?" Tarrin asked wryly.

[Belkregos]

Cole nods
"maybe not friends but at lest they'd have some kind of understanding..."

[Alethan]

Greystone shrugs,"I can't speak for anyone else, but I will be on my guard for as long as we are in these woods."

While the others decide what to do, he rests quietly, a short distance from the others, listening for anything unusual in the woods that might indicate the approach of anyone or anything.

[hedgeknight]

"What're the odds they're friends, do you think?" Tarrin asked wryly.

"Only one way to find out," King Gundar says. "Go pay 'em a visit."
Adain beckons him to halt and says, "Let us go, my king, in case it is a trap. Watch while we go and investigate. If everything is okay, we will send word. If not, then you can continue on."

The king thinks on this for a moment and agrees. "I await your safe return, nephew."

OOC: Okay fellers > talk to me > how are you going in?

[Alethan]

Greystone suggests, "As we approach the pond, the trail splits once again, with the right-most trail going near the hut. If we want to go the straightforward approach, that is the way. I watched it for a while, but saw no activity outside the hut the entire time, nor did I spot any lookouts. It might be best to approach it from a blind side (OOC: a side with no windows, if such a side exists)or, if that is not possible, then I can approach it alone with haste and in silence to scout it further."

[Computer +1]

Darkstar, having been moving around the area away fro the group to scout, joins the party.
What is the delay?

[rtdersch]

Nokrugh begins to slowly approach the cabin from the front shield in arm, hand on sword. He is looking for any signs of recent activity in the area ie. bent grass, foot prints, recently cut wood next to the cabin etc. He also pays close attention to the sounds of the wild, waiting for a change in their demeanor.

[Belkregos]

Cole sees his companions start to move,
in truth, the cabin was not that much different from the one he grew up in

he looks to his companions signaling he'll walk ahead and starts to walk towards the front, cautious but making no effort to hide, isolated people were very guarded and for good reason
his weapons close but not in hand

stops a few meters from the porch
looks again to his companions, before he calls out
(if nobody signals for him to stop he continues)

"someone in there? just passing through"

[Alethan]

Greystone watches the others throw stealth aside and walk right up to the cabin and shrugs. He doesn't always understand the other races, nor does he claim to.

He decides to hang back and continue keeping an eye on the surrounding woods, bow in hand.

[hedgeknight]

Once your group begins to move in on the cabin, Greystone jumps ahead quickly to scout the place. Silently and quickly, the elven rogue moves along the eastward side to the back of the cabin. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he comes back around to the porch and waits. He doesn't have to wait long because Nokrugh and Cole are coming up the path - Nokrugh with his shield in front of him, and Cole walking in the open, hands out, not trying to hide or be quiet. Greystone shakes his head and moves back, watching the surrounding woods with bow in hand. Adain, Tarrin, and Darkstar follow stopping a few feet behind Greystone and wait. A house wren flits around the limbs on a nearby bush, twittering and fidgeting, looking at you now and again, while a gray squirrel jumps up on a log and begins hulling a nut it found in the undergrowth.
Nokrugh listens and watches, but the only things he sees and hears are the normal sights and sounds of a forest. He smells the wood smoke from the chimney and the dampness of the greenery around him, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Noting his companions' positions, Cole walks toward the porch and says, "Someone in there? Just passing through..."

There is no answer from the cabin, but back near the companions a doe brazenly steps out of thick cover on your left, about 30 feet away and watches you, batting her eyes, ears alert, nostrils flaring with her deep breathing. And then, strangely enough, you see a rare sight > a bobcat, thick and squat but bigger than most dogs you've seen, pads out of the undergrowth near the east side of the cabin. It's stump tail twitches as it walks and then it climbs up on an old stump...and begins to clean its paws.

And then a gravelly voice says, "Best to keep passing through, I should think."
The voice doesn't come from the cabin, but rather to the right of where Adain, Tarrin, and Darkstar are standing. Jerking to look, they see...nothing but woods and bushes, vines and foliage.

Actions?

[Hoondatha]

There were times to be flashy, and then there were times to be subtle. This was quite clearly one of the latter. Taking his gauntleted hand off the bow, he quietly wove it through the motions of a prayer to detect evil, murmuring the words under his breath. Then he looked in the direction the voice had come from.

((ooc: Cast Detect Evil, look to see if the voice is evil.))

[hedgeknight]

You detect no evil...

[Computer +1]

Darkstar is not pleased to be taken unaware once again. He looks for the source of the voice in vain before finally calling out
It is clear you mean us not harm since you could have struck us unaware. Will you show yourself to us so that we may speak?

[Alethan]

Greystone moves into a non-aggressive stance, but does not let down his guard.

He, too, searches out the source of the voice.

[rtdersch]

Nokrugh lowers his shield while looking back over his shoulder to the conversation happening behind him. Ever vigilant, he continues to scan the area around them for any movement just in case this is a trap.