All this talk of 'savages in the forest' resonated with Bramble, but not in the way the other ship's captain intended. He recalled times when outsiders referred to him and his folk as savages, and hearing it again to refer to the prisoners aboard the ship made his anger flare up... but he kept it contained under the tranquil expression he wears. He doesn't say anything, waiting to see how his companions react. Relieved they are freeing the prisoners, Bramble nocks an arrow in his longbow and flees along with them back to the ship. He keeps his bow ready in case any of the sailors give chase.
(Readying an action to loose an arrow at anyone that chases after us.)
"Damn it Jack!" Aluve yells at the so called captain. "Alright everyone I am taking command now, Jack needs a break. I am no sailor, but we need to get out of here now!. Get this ship moving! They are our enemy! Raise anchor lets go!"
Aluve loosing his patients with Jacks hesitant behavior calls to the crew to start moving. He wasn't sure if they were going to listen, but hoped they could see that something was wrong and that something needed to be done.
Momentarily stupefied by the woman’s strength of Will, Chatcho regains his composure upon hearing Aluve’s shouting. He reaches out to everyone within reach and none too gentle.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Jack, Cooke, and the other crew members jump into motion. Gathering around the capstan, they push together on it, going round and round, the anchor pulling the ship forward until it lifts off the river bottom. As two of them secure the anchor, Jack and another begin hauling on the halyards, raising the mains'l, and then the jib. As they worked the ship began forward, almost imperceptibly, but not before their pursuer. After fishing out the few men knocked overboard by the woman's spell, they too hoist their large triangular sail. Having come from opposing directions, the two ships had remained in that state throughout the engagement so far. And so, the stranger's ship had picked up speed, but had to turn around before they could begin their pursuit in earnest. By the time The Berronar had picked up speed, the stranger's ship had spun clear 'round and was giving chase.
Manning the helm, Jack seems to find his courage again, barking orders to his crew as he strives to trim the sails for every ounce of speed they could muster. The two prisoners move to the windward railing, the woman sits against it and rests, but it is not long before the two begin to speak. They exchange a few words too quiet to hear over the commotion, when the man recoils in shock at something she said. "Stayar-dauthr?! Their ræna thiin hugi!" A moment of panic washes over the crew at recognizing the odd sounds of words of power, but it does not linger in the mind and air as it had before. Indeed, after a moment's pause it becomes clear that nothing will come of the malformed spell. The two former-prisoners continue their disagreement none-the-wiser, their tones growing quiet again.
Standing at the stern of the ship, weapon in hand, it becomes suddenly clear to Bramble that if nothing is done, they will catch up. It is a small act of defiance, but it is at hand, and so he raises the weapon, strings an arrow, and looses it over the expanse of their two ships. The wooden shaft sails through the air, and lances the white expanse of their sail, hopefully impacting someone on the other side. Even before the shot as met it's mark, however, a return-volley launches from the stranger's ship, pitiful as it is with only three shafts.
Thankfully, the wind carries them sailing harmlessly by, save for one, which sails within mere inches of Chatcho, implanting itself in the deck with a dull thunk. It would seem at least for now, they are woefully undergunned to pose too much of a threat.
Branch watches with growing admiration as Aluve takes control of the ship, good, glad someone did, she looks at the rest of the crew with a tinge of disappointment. Then shrugs and tries to decide what to do next. Seems Bramble and Archibald were ready at the rails for the pursuing ship, so she heads over to the new passengers and tries to converse with them.
"Hello? I hope you don't mind my intrusion, but can you tell me, well, everything? We don't know where we are, who they are" pointing to Phillip and the other ship, "who you are or where we are going? I do hope that man was telling the truth that civilization was this way. We will do what we can to keep those men away from the two of you."
As she talks to them, she tries to read their body language and how they react to her, hoping she can understand more.
"Let's keep moving for now, we still don't know where we are so we don't have anywhere to go." Aluve notices Branch trying to talk with the prisoners. "Hopefully our new friends can Branch some idea of where we are or possibly a heading."
Aluve fires an arrow from his longbow at the other ship, hoping he might hit something.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Chatcho runs to the stern of the Berronar. Extending three of his arms, the Thri-Kreen summons [spell]magic missile[\spell]s and aims for the sailcloth of the enemy ship.
Han holds out his hands cast Silent Image making a 15ft cube image at the back of the boat of the water and horizon around them in the hopes that it will cover the boat from view of the other ship. He hopes it will look like they’ve vanished but knows that if their smart they’ll watch the water for their trail but it might be enough to give them some breathing room.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Racing astern after the close-call, the thri-kreen digs deep into the well of energy all around them, and summons three motes of pure energy. They impact the sail of the pursuing ship unerringly, rocking the ship and tearing the cloth. The damage might slow them a little, but it is far from debilitating. Chatcho is not alone in his offense however. Hanson and Archibald join him and Bramble, using their own methods to assist in the defense of their lives. Recalling the nature of their journey before meeting this ship, Hanson notes that since they're still travelling upwind, they are still zig-zagging across the span of the waters. He waits for the opportune moment, and conceals the ship as they begin to maneuver back the other direction.
It is only for a moment before their momentum carries them outside the bounds of the concealment, but his efforts hide the ship's maneuvering for that moment longer, and their archers are unable to adjust. The, now five, bolts land harmlessly in the waters where they'd been, all while Archibald and Bramble take aim again. The cries of wounded men reach them over the water, assuring that this time, they did not miss.
As all this is going on, Branch approaches their new passengers. The woman looks up at her with kind eyes, but the man seems agitated. His agitation only grows as his companion replies, "We have not the time now, we must--"She grunts, hauling herself to her feet with considerable effort"--escape these people. There are a few options."
"And you would have them take the worst!" Her companion snaps, his frustration boiling over.
"Waise thoogn!" She retorts in the language of power, then turns back to Branch. "He would have us run aground and flee into the wood. You are right, there is 'civilization,' up ahead, as they call it. A..." She looks at the man for a second, seemingly lost for the word. "It is a... stone-guard... home? But it is theirs, flee there and you may as well surrender now, you will be met by great weapons of war and will have no choice. I think we shoul--"
"They have addled her mind!"
"I think we should make for Stayar-dauthr." She completes, ignoring his interruption. "They built the river their stone-guard-home is built upon, for they fear Stayar-dauthr as much as my friend here. If we follow the natural river it will take us there, and beyond, to safety."
Han continues to focus on the spell able to move it to cover the ship every 60 seconds doing his best to keep them under cover at-least for a few moments obscuring the view of the archers on the other boat. He shout back ”where ever we plan on heading i can only hold the illusion another nine minutes then we’ll be in full view again.”
Branch looks at the two prisoners, a bit confused. She finds it strange how at odds the two are. But seeing one appears to have their wits about them and an actual direction, let alone confirms what they were thinking about what would happen if they followed the attacking ship to their lair, she goes with it. With a nod of the head, she leaves the new passengers and goes to find Aluve.
"So, now that I see you've taken a temporary captains position, thank goodness, I thought I'd let you know what I learned from the prisoners. They argue between themselves, but it looks to me that we want to follow the natural river and avoid the so-called civilization up ahead that Phillip referred to. That sounds like a trap."
She looks beyond the water to the ship that is attacking them, as she watches, she waits till she can see any of their archers attacking - if she can she casts shape water, attempting to change the flow of water and make the boat rock to throw off their ranged attack.
Aluve nods "ok, lets do that then, thankyou Branch, great job getting the info." Aluve turns towards the open ship.
"Alright men! We are going to follow the natural river, it might be a bit tighter but it is going to be safer, when you see then inlet, take it!"
Aluve makes his was through the crew and finds Jack at the helm. "You've got this. We will all be fine ok? Once we find the inlet we will be on our way to safety and according to our new friends the ship shouldn't follow. Keep at it men!"
"Clever work with this illusion, Han, keep it steady. Hopefully we'll lose them soon. If not, my arrows will, ah, have to do the trick! Or hopefully our wizard friend here, Chatcho, has some more magic up their carapace."
Bramble holds their bow steady, an arrow half-nocked in case their pursuers see through the illusion and continue giving chase. Taking a page out of Chatcho's book, he'll attempt to pierce the sailcloth or perhaps a piece of rigging rather than loose at another person. There's been enough blood today... however, if the lives of his shipmates are in danger, Bramble will focus on neutralizing any aggressors.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Recalling the saboteurs that they themselves had to deal with, Bramble shifts his aim to one of the lines that he believes holds the sail aloft. If he could make the shot, it would cripple them. He looses the wooden bolt, and it flies through the space between them in a steady arc, only to miss it's target by a distance imperceptible at their range. Archibald looses his own, but the string catches his arm as it travels and the shot goes wild, sinking itself into the drink.
Again, the number of their shots increases as more of their crew dedicates itself to firing back, and this time the number proves too much to evade, despite Hanson and Branch's clever contributions. The metal-tipped barbs sprout all across the deck, one strikes Chatcho in the leg, glancing off but gouging out a canal of his chitin and flesh. Aluve, as he finishes reassuring their helmsmen, is wracked with pain as one of them lodges itself deep into his gut, but seems to miss anything vital in doing so. A body drops to the deck. Cooke, struck in the shoulder, writhes where he fell. He screams with a pain he is entirely unaccustomed to in his simple life of trade and smuggling.
The sudden success of their attack unsteadies the men, the crew stop and look to the screaming, distracted. The air around the ship grows only more desperate as they shake themselves from it and look back at their pursuer only to realize that after firing the last volley, the ship had sprouted oars, and was now steadily gaining on them. The distant echo of a drum sounded over the water, the beat to which the other ship's oarsmen worked, relentless.
Even as their hope began to flag, new hopes found them. "There!" Someone cried, pointing out a break in the tree-line, where the current slowly pulled them. They were closer than anyone could've guessed. Hidden by the make of the land, the sudden bend in the water had concealed their path until the last moment. Swinging the helm with wild abandon, the ship rocking with the sudden turn, Jack steers them towards it. On the other bank, a clear-cut section of forest comes into view. In the center of it, earth and stonework reveal a man-made canal and series of locks that rise up the shallow hill. On the crest, a small stone fortress guards the area.
"Arrghh! They got me" Aluve falls back against the ships side grabbing the arrow now embedded in his belly. "Damn it" sweat begins to stream down his face.
"We've found it! We are almost out of the woods! Great work men! Keep on steering Jack lets loose these bastards."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Seeing her mates get hit by flying arrows springs Branch into action, as they find their way to the inlet by the treeline, she heads to the railing and fires off an arrow to any enemy she can see. If she sees Phillip, all the better.
“Damit! Sorry guys this is the best I got at this range. At least if any of you go unconscious I can heal you back up.” Han sweats as he keeps up the illusion trying to obscure the boats occupancy as best he can.
With the bend in the river coming quickly, both sets of archers work quickly to loose their volleys before the upcoming treeline masks their view. Branch joins the duo of archers at the stern, aiming her shot. Next to her, one of the smugglers works, slowly letting out the sheet, adjusting the sails angle as they turned. The three of them loose their shot, just beating their enemy's archers who release but a moment later. The arrows meet between the two ships, intermingling briefly before separating. Two of them spiral put of control in the space between the ships, having knocked each other off their deadly trajectory.
As the arrows sprout from the deck once more, and the treeline blocks the view of the pursuing ship, the thud of a weight against the deck sounds out. It is the crewmate, one of the shafts imbeded in his neck. Light, foamy blood spits out of his mouth and the wood as he chokes. There is a shout for assistance, but the young man is dead only moments later.
The ship travels down their chosen path now. Once their enemy finally breaks from the forest and reveals itself again, they appear to have given up the chase, making way now towards the stone fortress and well out if range. The party has not come out of the engagement unscathed, but they have made it out
All this talk of 'savages in the forest' resonated with Bramble, but not in the way the other ship's captain intended. He recalled times when outsiders referred to him and his folk as savages, and hearing it again to refer to the prisoners aboard the ship made his anger flare up... but he kept it contained under the tranquil expression he wears. He doesn't say anything, waiting to see how his companions react. Relieved they are freeing the prisoners, Bramble nocks an arrow in his longbow and flees along with them back to the ship. He keeps his bow ready in case any of the sailors give chase.
(Readying an action to loose an arrow at anyone that chases after us.)
"Damn it Jack!" Aluve yells at the so called captain. "Alright everyone I am taking command now, Jack needs a break. I am no sailor, but we need to get out of here now!. Get this ship moving! They are our enemy! Raise anchor lets go!"
Aluve loosing his patients with Jacks hesitant behavior calls to the crew to start moving. He wasn't sure if they were going to listen, but hoped they could see that something was wrong and that something needed to be done.
Persuasion Roll: 14 + 1 = 15
Momentarily stupefied by the woman’s strength of Will, Chatcho regains his composure upon hearing Aluve’s shouting. He reaches out to everyone within reach and none too gentle.
Hoist the sails, we need to leave now!
Jack, Cooke, and the other crew members jump into motion. Gathering around the capstan, they push together on it, going round and round, the anchor pulling the ship forward until it lifts off the river bottom. As two of them secure the anchor, Jack and another begin hauling on the halyards, raising the mains'l, and then the jib. As they worked the ship began forward, almost imperceptibly, but not before their pursuer. After fishing out the few men knocked overboard by the woman's spell, they too hoist their large triangular sail. Having come from opposing directions, the two ships had remained in that state throughout the engagement so far. And so, the stranger's ship had picked up speed, but had to turn around before they could begin their pursuit in earnest. By the time The Berronar had picked up speed, the stranger's ship had spun clear 'round and was giving chase.
Manning the helm, Jack seems to find his courage again, barking orders to his crew as he strives to trim the sails for every ounce of speed they could muster. The two prisoners move to the windward railing, the woman sits against it and rests, but it is not long before the two begin to speak. They exchange a few words too quiet to hear over the commotion, when the man recoils in shock at something she said. "Stayar-dauthr?! Their ræna thiin hugi!" A moment of panic washes over the crew at recognizing the odd sounds of words of power, but it does not linger in the mind and air as it had before. Indeed, after a moment's pause it becomes clear that nothing will come of the malformed spell. The two former-prisoners continue their disagreement none-the-wiser, their tones growing quiet again.
Standing at the stern of the ship, weapon in hand, it becomes suddenly clear to Bramble that if nothing is done, they will catch up. It is a small act of defiance, but it is at hand, and so he raises the weapon, strings an arrow, and looses it over the expanse of their two ships. The wooden shaft sails through the air, and lances the white expanse of their sail, hopefully impacting someone on the other side. Even before the shot as met it's mark, however, a return-volley launches from the stranger's ship, pitiful as it is with only three shafts.
Thankfully, the wind carries them sailing harmlessly by, save for one, which sails within mere inches of Chatcho, implanting itself in the deck with a dull thunk. It would seem at least for now, they are woefully undergunned to pose too much of a threat.
Attack: 22 Damage: 10
Jack15
Cooke5
Crewmate14
Crewmate20
Woman Prisoner8
Man Prisoner:9
Chatcho:18
Hanson:22
Archibald:6
Bramble:8
Branch:8
Aluve:14
Archibald draws his longbow and moves to ready himself for firing on their pursuers.
"Where is there to go? We need a destination! Or we may as well turn and fight."
Paladin - warforged - orange
Branch watches with growing admiration as Aluve takes control of the ship, good, glad someone did, she looks at the rest of the crew with a tinge of disappointment. Then shrugs and tries to decide what to do next. Seems Bramble and Archibald were ready at the rails for the pursuing ship, so she heads over to the new passengers and tries to converse with them.
"Hello? I hope you don't mind my intrusion, but can you tell me, well, everything? We don't know where we are, who they are" pointing to Phillip and the other ship, "who you are or where we are going? I do hope that man was telling the truth that civilization was this way. We will do what we can to keep those men away from the two of you."
As she talks to them, she tries to read their body language and how they react to her, hoping she can understand more.
Insight 7
"Let's keep moving for now, we still don't know where we are so we don't have anywhere to go." Aluve notices Branch trying to talk with the prisoners. "Hopefully our new friends can Branch some idea of where we are or possibly a heading."
Aluve fires an arrow from his longbow at the other ship, hoping he might hit something.
Chatcho runs to the stern of the Berronar. Extending three of his arms, the Thri-Kreen summons [spell]magic missile[\spell]s and aims for the sailcloth of the enemy ship.
12
Han holds out his hands cast Silent Image making a 15ft cube image at the back of the boat of the water and horizon around them in the hopes that it will cover the boat from view of the other ship. He hopes it will look like they’ve vanished but knows that if their smart they’ll watch the water for their trail but it might be enough to give them some breathing room.
Racing astern after the close-call, the thri-kreen digs deep into the well of energy all around them, and summons three motes of pure energy. They impact the sail of the pursuing ship unerringly, rocking the ship and tearing the cloth. The damage might slow them a little, but it is far from debilitating. Chatcho is not alone in his offense however. Hanson and Archibald join him and Bramble, using their own methods to assist in the defense of their lives. Recalling the nature of their journey before meeting this ship, Hanson notes that since they're still travelling upwind, they are still zig-zagging across the span of the waters. He waits for the opportune moment, and conceals the ship as they begin to maneuver back the other direction.
It is only for a moment before their momentum carries them outside the bounds of the concealment, but his efforts hide the ship's maneuvering for that moment longer, and their archers are unable to adjust. The, now five, bolts land harmlessly in the waters where they'd been, all while Archibald and Bramble take aim again. The cries of wounded men reach them over the water, assuring that this time, they did not miss.
As all this is going on, Branch approaches their new passengers. The woman looks up at her with kind eyes, but the man seems agitated. His agitation only grows as his companion replies, "We have not the time now, we must--"She grunts, hauling herself to her feet with considerable effort"--escape these people. There are a few options."
"And you would have them take the worst!" Her companion snaps, his frustration boiling over.
"Waise thoogn!" She retorts in the language of power, then turns back to Branch. "He would have us run aground and flee into the wood. You are right, there is 'civilization,' up ahead, as they call it. A..." She looks at the man for a second, seemingly lost for the word. "It is a... stone-guard... home? But it is theirs, flee there and you may as well surrender now, you will be met by great weapons of war and will have no choice. I think we shoul--"
"They have addled her mind!"
"I think we should make for Stayar-dauthr." She completes, ignoring his interruption. "They built the river their stone-guard-home is built upon, for they fear Stayar-dauthr as much as my friend here. If we follow the natural river it will take us there, and beyond, to safety."
Bramble Attack: 26 Damage: 10
Archibald Attack: 13 Damage: 4
Jack14
Cooke6
Crewmate16
Crewmate8
Woman Prisoner19
Man Prisoner:20
Chatcho:11
Hanson:23
Archibald:17
Bramble:17
Branch:24
Aluve:22
Han continues to focus on the spell able to move it to cover the ship every 60 seconds doing his best to keep them under cover at-least for a few moments obscuring the view of the archers on the other boat. He shout back ”where ever we plan on heading i can only hold the illusion another nine minutes then we’ll be in full view again.”
Branch looks at the two prisoners, a bit confused. She finds it strange how at odds the two are. But seeing one appears to have their wits about them and an actual direction, let alone confirms what they were thinking about what would happen if they followed the attacking ship to their lair, she goes with it. With a nod of the head, she leaves the new passengers and goes to find Aluve.
"So, now that I see you've taken a temporary captains position, thank goodness, I thought I'd let you know what I learned from the prisoners. They argue between themselves, but it looks to me that we want to follow the natural river and avoid the so-called civilization up ahead that Phillip referred to. That sounds like a trap."
She looks beyond the water to the ship that is attacking them, as she watches, she waits till she can see any of their archers attacking - if she can she casts shape water, attempting to change the flow of water and make the boat rock to throw off their ranged attack.
Aluve nods "ok, lets do that then, thankyou Branch, great job getting the info." Aluve turns towards the open ship.
"Alright men! We are going to follow the natural river, it might be a bit tighter but it is going to be safer, when you see then inlet, take it!"
Aluve makes his was through the crew and finds Jack at the helm. "You've got this. We will all be fine ok? Once we find the inlet we will be on our way to safety and according to our new friends the ship shouldn't follow. Keep at it men!"
"Clever work with this illusion, Han, keep it steady. Hopefully we'll lose them soon. If not, my arrows will, ah, have to do the trick! Or hopefully our wizard friend here, Chatcho, has some more magic up their carapace."
Bramble holds their bow steady, an arrow half-nocked in case their pursuers see through the illusion and continue giving chase. Taking a page out of Chatcho's book, he'll attempt to pierce the sailcloth or perhaps a piece of rigging rather than loose at another person. There's been enough blood today... however, if the lives of his shipmates are in danger, Bramble will focus on neutralizing any aggressors.
Recalling the saboteurs that they themselves had to deal with, Bramble shifts his aim to one of the lines that he believes holds the sail aloft. If he could make the shot, it would cripple them. He looses the wooden bolt, and it flies through the space between them in a steady arc, only to miss it's target by a distance imperceptible at their range. Archibald looses his own, but the string catches his arm as it travels and the shot goes wild, sinking itself into the drink.
Again, the number of their shots increases as more of their crew dedicates itself to firing back, and this time the number proves too much to evade, despite Hanson and Branch's clever contributions. The metal-tipped barbs sprout all across the deck, one strikes Chatcho in the leg, glancing off but gouging out a canal of his chitin and flesh. Aluve, as he finishes reassuring their helmsmen, is wracked with pain as one of them lodges itself deep into his gut, but seems to miss anything vital in doing so. A body drops to the deck. Cooke, struck in the shoulder, writhes where he fell. He screams with a pain he is entirely unaccustomed to in his simple life of trade and smuggling.
The sudden success of their attack unsteadies the men, the crew stop and look to the screaming, distracted. The air around the ship grows only more desperate as they shake themselves from it and look back at their pursuer only to realize that after firing the last volley, the ship had sprouted oars, and was now steadily gaining on them. The distant echo of a drum sounded over the water, the beat to which the other ship's oarsmen worked, relentless.
Even as their hope began to flag, new hopes found them. "There!" Someone cried, pointing out a break in the tree-line, where the current slowly pulled them. They were closer than anyone could've guessed. Hidden by the make of the land, the sudden bend in the water had concealed their path until the last moment. Swinging the helm with wild abandon, the ship rocking with the sudden turn, Jack steers them towards it. On the other bank, a clear-cut section of forest comes into view. In the center of it, earth and stonework reveal a man-made canal and series of locks that rise up the shallow hill. On the crest, a small stone fortress guards the area.
Bramble Attack: 8 Damage: 7
Archibald Attack: 20 Damage: 5
Jack10
Cooke5
Crewmate20
Crewmate14
Woman Prisoner13
Man Prisoner:15
Chatcho:14
Hanson:24
Archibald:6
Bramble:20
Branch:18
Aluve:16
Cooke: 6
Chatcho: 7
Aluve 4
"Arrghh! They got me" Aluve falls back against the ships side grabbing the arrow now embedded in his belly. "Damn it" sweat begins to stream down his face.
"We've found it! We are almost out of the woods! Great work men! Keep on steering Jack lets loose these bastards."
Seeing her mates get hit by flying arrows springs Branch into action, as they find their way to the inlet by the treeline, she heads to the railing and fires off an arrow to any enemy she can see. If she sees Phillip, all the better.
Attack: 19 Damage: 8
She then ducks under the railing to hide.
“Damit! Sorry guys this is the best I got at this range. At least if any of you go unconscious I can heal you back up.” Han sweats as he keeps up the illusion trying to obscure the boats occupancy as best he can.
Archibald keeps firing as quick as he can, aiming for oarsmen
Paladin - warforged - orange
Bramble Attack: 13 Damage: 8
Archibald Attack: 21 Damage: 6
Jack16
Cooke17
Crewmate17
Crewmate16
Woman Prisoner19
Man Prisoner:18
Chatcho:10
Hanson:11
Archibald:18
Bramble:25
Branch:18
Aluve:21
Crewmate: 6
With the bend in the river coming quickly, both sets of archers work quickly to loose their volleys before the upcoming treeline masks their view. Branch joins the duo of archers at the stern, aiming her shot. Next to her, one of the smugglers works, slowly letting out the sheet, adjusting the sails angle as they turned. The three of them loose their shot, just beating their enemy's archers who release but a moment later. The arrows meet between the two ships, intermingling briefly before separating. Two of them spiral put of control in the space between the ships, having knocked each other off their deadly trajectory.
As the arrows sprout from the deck once more, and the treeline blocks the view of the pursuing ship, the thud of a weight against the deck sounds out. It is the crewmate, one of the shafts imbeded in his neck. Light, foamy blood spits out of his mouth and the wood as he chokes. There is a shout for assistance, but the young man is dead only moments later.
The ship travels down their chosen path now. Once their enemy finally breaks from the forest and reveals itself again, they appear to have given up the chase, making way now towards the stone fortress and well out if range. The party has not come out of the engagement unscathed, but they have made it out