Chapter 9 - At the Sambords

[onlyme]

Dandelion responds,
Buffalo Tallow. I never knew. I must look for some in Alleborg. I suppose I should be off as well. These nomads need all the help they can get. Hopefully, we'll be back with an army. If not, maybe we'll at least scare the orcs away for you. Good day, fine folks of the Sambords.

[AleBelly]

Angus relaxes slightly, his smile changing from flirtatious to warm. "It's a fine thing your doing with these poor folks," Angus tells Leylana. "We ain't on the best of terms with your chief right now, but if there's any way we can help you, just say the word and we'll find a way. Maybe one day, if you get to know us, you'd even see fit to put in a good word for us with Jorbin. I reckon there ain't a man alive who can say no to you." He risks a friendly wink.

Leylana returns his smile. "It is the right thing to do. In the past we have found that our new friends contribute well to our settlement. But don't forget, your band made this possible. Although your relations with Jobin are not ideal, he does hold you in high regard. But his concern for us outweighs all."

The party prepares to leave, saying their farewells to Tempus and Leylana. As they fiddle with the straps on their mounts and prepare to leave, Leylana pipes up "Please wait. I have something for you." She disappears into the settlement, and returns about ten minutes later with a metal tin the size of the palm of her hand. She hands it to Dandelion. It looks considerably smaller in her man-sized hand. "For your hair, dear. On those days when it's looking just a bit dull." She turns to the others. "I hope our paths cross again soon. Best wishes for your journey."

With that, she clasps the hand of each of the party members before they leave.

The breeze from the south picks up, bringing moisture. Large snowflakes fall lazily to the ground in a light shower.

OK, I'll try to update again tonight. If there are any spells to memorize, etc., please let me know. Otherwise I'll have the party - sans Tempus - returning to Alleborg.

Treasure
From hanging corpse manor
From dilapidated church in town no-go
From top floor of tower

With Tempus - 3 bloodstones, 2 pieces of amber (estimated value of 200ish gp)
On mounts - ~202 pounds of silver (including what was recovered from orc corpses, ~20 pounds of gold
With Galan - 9 gems and 6 pieces of jewelry and finement - estimated at several thousand gp value
With Yenny - Scuffed piece of lapis lazuli and an emerald worth several hundred gp (found with Khahl-Ehl and Chet still in party.

Date: 19 Hewing, Year 42
Time: 08:45
Conditions: 34F, light snow, SSE breeze at 13 mph, 6 inches of snow on the ground
Known Spells in Effect:
Light bearers: Sun
Intended Direction of Travel:
Injury Status: none

[tkrexx]

Hyde suddenly begins chuckling like a lunatic. She just got us, hah? Got us all distracted, left the room, came back and touched each of us. Clever Lady, yeahh. And now Jobin got the info he wanted. Well, can't say I blame eitha of them. They got a whole gob of folks to look afta. I just think it be funny how they was sneaky about it! Now maybe they be trusting us, hah?

The Half-Orc hefts his pack and glances to the others. Back to No-Go? Place seems safe now.

[Zhym]

"I ain't so sure," answers Angus. "We're leaving. They got nothing to gain by checking our bona fides now. And if they did it without our consent—well, Jorbin might not think us much use, but casting that spell on us without our okey-doke might sour things with Alleborg if we figured it out, and I'm fair certain he still wants the city's help. No, Hyde, I reckon she was just being friendly-like."

He looks to Leylana in hope of confirmation. "Besides—this lady, all she'd have to do is ask nice."

"But it's funny you should mention No Go. I was just thinking that it might be worth stopping there on our way back to town if Arnulf can stand to wait that long. Ain't so sure it's safe, but if we leave now we ought to be able to get there with a couple of hours of daylight left. On the other hand, if we run into one of them orc patrols, we'd be in bad shape without a snooze missle. Safest choice is straight back to Alleborg."

[AleBelly]

Hyde suddenly begins chuckling like a lunatic. She just got us, hah? Got us all distracted, left the room, came back and touched each of us. Clever Lady, yeahh. And now Jobin got the info he wanted. Well, can't say I blame eitha of them. They got a whole gob of folks to look afta. I just think it be funny how they was sneaky about it! Now maybe they be trusting us, hah?

The Half-Orc hefts his pack and glances to the others. Back to No-Go? Place seems safe now.

If Hyde thinks this is what Leylana was doing, he's free to act. I didn't intend to take free will out of your (the players') hands...

[Marullus]

Hellebore lets the fort disappear behind them as they walk and talk. "We aren't beyond the perimeter to be safe... and nothing's safe," says Hellebore curtly. She pauses once clear and calls Rrkox to her. "We are down half our number, but we are out here to discover. Knowing what these Barons did could help us understand Allborg a bit more, and, I'd prefer to have the night at the tower on our way back. She quorks to the Raven for a few minutes then sets it to wing. "I trained the Raven to find Chet when we were back in town. He'll try to get them word to meet us at the tower tonight, or turn back to Alleborg. He'll meet us at the tower to tell is if there's success or not. Let's move on."

[tkrexx]

Anyone else got torches? Hyde speaks up. I don't fancy spending another night out in the cold, no. No-Go is fine, or the tower if we can make it.

Hyde just made an observation of a possibility. He considers it tit-for-tat, if indeed the party was Bona-fided.

[enn.in.me]

"Angus--I'm sorry things went sideways there. I know it meant a lot to you to try and help these guys, and maybe still does. Sometimes I get these ideas and just act on them. You'd think after all these years I'd know better. Anyway, I hope we don't get in a fight with anything this afternoon, but if we do, I hope you're still willing to receive Veles' blessing upon Bloody Worthless there.

I'd be nervous about a night in No-Go, but I also feel it's a place that could use my attention, so I'm game either way."

[Zhym]

"We ain't out here to get killt for no good reason, either," counters Angus in a tone of voice that's kinder than the words. "I don't see as how that No Go gets us anything in exchange for the extra danger. We need to get Arnulf his mojo back if we're going to get back to fighting strength. That means Alleborg."

"But it's Arnulf's mojo," he says, "so I'll put it up to him. If Arnulf wants to go to Town No Go, I'll vote that way. If he wants to get back to town to see his wonderful wizard, that's the way I want to go."

[Zorroroaster]

Arnulf shies away from the sudden shift in focus.

"I...I'm not sure what I should do. Maybe it makes more sense to go back to the city for more than just my...problem."

He looks downcast. "I should see Aphoz, though it gives me the howling fantods to think of what he'll do to me. Plus, we are otherwise wandering around with a lot of wealth packed onto those horses and Orc patrols all over. We should get that somewhere and secure it. Plus, we should look in on Chet. I miss that guy."

He takes a deep breath.

"I think we should go back to Alleborg."

[Marullus]

Hellebore nods solemnly to Arnulf, quorks to the Raven, and then watches as it circles to the sky. "Fair enough. The Raven will find Chet to tell him to head back to Alleborg, then it will meet me at the cottage." Seeming tired of talking, she starts walking.

[onlyme]

Dandelion gave thanks for the hair care ointment. As they leave she can only dream of how much more folks in Alleborg will notice her once she uses it a few times.

[AleBelly]

Hyde suddenly begins chuckling like a lunatic. She just got us, hah? Got us all distracted, left the room, came back and touched each of us. Clever Lady, yeahh. And now Jobin got the info he wanted. Well, can't say I blame eitha of them. They got a whole gob of folks to look afta. I just think it be funny how they was sneaky about it! Now maybe they be trusting us, hah?

The Half-Orc hefts his pack and glances to the others. Back to No-Go? Place seems safe now.

"I ain't so sure," answers Angus. "We're leaving. They got nothing to gain by checking our bona fides now. And if they did it without our consent—well, Jorbin might not think us much use, but casting that spell on us without our okey-doke might sour things with Alleborg if we figured it out, and I'm fair certain he still wants the city's help. No, Hyde, I reckon she was just being friendly-like."

He looks to Leylana in hope of confirmation. "Besides—this lady, all she'd have to do is ask nice."

Leylana simply smiles. "I am not blessed with the gifts of divination. But if all I must do is ask nicely for a favor, it is this: Jobin knows you are good people. However, he believes strongly in protocol and decorum. Please tell your friends in the king's old city this. We have fought foes for decades out here, and he expects us to be treated as equals. Our discussions with your people have fallen apart in the past because his expectations weren't met. And neither of us can afford to face the threats of today alone. Now, good luck on your journey, and may you reach safety by nightfall."

With that, the party departs (sans Tempus), deciding to head for Alleborg. Rrkox is sent to look for Chet, and the mounts move more slowly under the weight of the coin and feed strapped to their backs. After three hours, the south wind has warmed the snow to rain, a most unwelcome change. Visibility is reduced quite a bit, and the party is surprised after four hours of travel to encounter an entirely frozen, large lake. It appears they have gotten off track.



Rrkox circles back periodically, showing no signs of finding Chet...but these are not favorable conditions for such an endeavor.


Date: 19 Hewing, Year 42
Time: 12:45
Conditions: 37F, south wind at 10 mph, cold rain, 6 inches of snow on the ground
Known Spells in Effect: none
Light bearers: Sun, 4 hours and 45 minutes until darkness
Intended Direction of Travel: 15 degree bearing to Alleborg, 0.9 mph, 3.5 miles traveled today
Injury Status: none

[tkrexx]

We all gonna hafta be on extra guard in Alleborg, yeahh, Hyde ponders aloud, Unless we be lost now. I do got some business I could take care of there, maybe get more knowledge, too. I'll see what the shadows have to tell me. IF we get there. Where are we, hah?

[Zhym]

"Well if that don't beat all," sighs Angus. "If our map's right, we been heading east instead of north northeast all morning. If the other rangers hear about this they'll take away my union card."

He takes a long look at the lake and the rainy sky. "Way I figure it, we got two options. One, we take a hard left. That might get us going back toward Alleborg if we're where I think we are and I don't get us lost again. But we'd get there blasted late. Two"—he shakes his head, unable to believe what he's about to say—"we turn around and go back to Sambord, hope they'll take us in for another night, and set out at the crack of dawn tomorrow. I ought to be able to follow our own trail back, even in this muck."

"Hellebore, do you suppose Rrkox or your eagle friend'd be any help in figuring out where we are? I'm just guessing that this here lake is the one on our map."

[AleBelly]

edited my last post to show rate of travel. It's reduced by 25% due to thick forest. The players would also know that the lake is frozen enough to walk on, which would allow them to travel 1.8 mph over it (same rate as roads).

[enn.in.me]

"Seems like a torrent of red hair and Angus loses all sense of direction...mmm, perhaps Veles has led us here for some purpose. We have some hours of daylight, and perhaps could head north from here--but if these are the Nixie lakes life may get even trixier than just some flowing locks. I'd be nervous walking over their heads."

[Zhym]

"If this is the nixie lake," says Angus, "crossing it doesn't get us any closer to town. Unless we got even more lost than I reckoned and we're at the south edge of the lakes."

He takes another long look at the sun—as best he can with the rain and cloud cover—the trees, and the snow melt patterns to try to determine which way is north.

[tkrexx]

I see a Nixie, I'm killing it, yeahh, Hyde is suddenly serious, looking about the frozen lake.

[Marullus]

"If this IS the Nixie Lake, then we should be able to make time walking on the ice to the north end, then follow the river back to Alleborg to avoid getting lost. It would be about five miles from the perimeter if our maps are right... That extra bit of speed on the ice might be needed since we have no torches. Not sure we'll make it without needing to camp." Hellebore squints at the lake, considering something, then shakes her head. She steps over and helps Angus look for North to know which way to follow the lake shore.