Glad that Chenris knows the land around them, and relieved that his rescue mission is again the focus of their journey, Hamnish settles himself to fall into a deep sleep. Alas, sleep eludes his still active mind. Can Chenris truly find a safe route to Eisin? What will they do once they reach there, and...? Hamnish sits up, realizing that he has told the halfling nothing of his mission. How can Chenris plan their route without knowing their destination? Shaking his head to organize his tired thoughts, Hamnish gets up and goes to Chenris.
"I need to explain my quest to you." he said.
In a few words, he tells Chenris of his mentor, his capture by the orcs, and Hamnish's desire to somehow free the elf. After laying out his threadbare plan to rescue Eythorial, Hamnish succumbs to his exhaustion, stumbles back to his bedroll and almost immediately falls asleep.
Despite their exhaustion, both Hamnish and Chenris feel the dread of the thrall of Eisin. Before the forces of Shadow conquered it, Eisin was an elven trading city, built west of the borders of the great forest of Erethor. Though once home to a lush sprawl of graceful spires and elegant gardens, Eisin was razed to the ground by orcs a hundred years ago when Izrador's armies marched south. In that hundred years, nothing is left of the original trading city of the Carinsils except its name. Though neither Hamnish nor Chenris have seen it, they've heard many terrible tales. Supposedly, in the ugly rebuilding of the city into one more crank of the war machine, a towering temple to Izrador was built right in the center of it. It is said to be both the administrative center for the assault on Erethor, with thousands of orc warbands pouring into the city from the Road of Ruin and being evaluated and deployed to the Burning Line from there.
Besides that, it is rumored to be a favorite place to torture high-profile elven prisoners. Eisin has a reputation for being nearly impenetrable, not just due to the constant flow of warbands and orc legions, and it is said that they bring the elven prisoners there to try and draw forces from Erethor in futile rescue attempts.
Hamnish remembers the Redgard riders warning him to try and intercept the party transporting Eythorial through Baden's Bluff and south on the road to Eisin, rather than waiting until the Erunsil is incarcerated in the fortress of Eisin itself. But after his grueling chase with twelve orcs, impenetrable, wielding their deadly vardatches, and they surprised during their midday rest and not even in their usual armor, he is painfully reminded that he is just one man, on a horse. And now, a halfling out of myth and legend wants to join his cause, but what can the two of them do? Chenris is steeped in halfling magic and the hale constitution of having lived relatively free her whole life with her tribe, but they are a little people, simple, not powerful; such tribes are routinely brutalized and enslaved by the orcs, if they are found. The fate of Chenris' tribe is a tragic reminder of that. Hamnish knows the answer to rescuing Eythorial is not going to be easy or simple.
But what are his options? Gaining support seems crucial in the face of the vice-like grip of Izrador's oppression. But where? From whom? Erenland is an occupied nation, its citizens cowed, robbed, and broken, punished for the infractions of strangers. Hamnish has of course heard tales of resistance riders here in the south as the Redgard riders are in the north. Perhaps they could be sought out.
There's also the forest of Erethor, the focus of Izrador's greatest ire and the bulk of his forces, arrayed along the Burning Line. And Hamnish knows well that if elves don't know you, they won't trust you, and you won't be able, by guile or by force, to set a step in their forests. If the Carinsil could be convinced of the need to help Eythorial's cause... but Hamnish again feels very small.
And then there was Sardric... left first to die by his warband, and then swiftly killed by them as he made a last ditch stand against his peoples' slavery to Izrador. This was new knowledge to Hamnish, that there are orcs who resist the Sendings of the Dark Lord and who even stand against him.
Chenris, too, remembers Sardric. She remembers how he attacked one of his fellow orcs for torturing one of the halflings. She does not know anything of his philosophy, or of his allegiance, or even his name. She did not even see him die. But she remembers his actions when the world ended for her tribe.
Baden's Bluff is the nearest large city, east of where they camp on the coast of the Sea of Pelluria, but smaller towns along the way might offer other resources or support.
Chenris, having finished her rest, watches while Hamnish gets his... his horse placidly spends the night sleeping and grazing...
ChenrisPerception for her watch: 7 (rolled in game log)
Hamnish sleeps as Chenris watches. In the dark pre-dawn, Hamnish's horse placidly munches grass. Only the twinkle of far-away stars give the faintest light to outline the tops of the waving swordgrass, and the hobbled horse as it slowly inches around to graze.
If it weren't for an offended snort and nicker from the animal, Chenris wouldn't have seen it. But she hears the horse, and her finely tuned senses deeply connected to nature and to the beasts in it tell her what the horse is saying. ((Chenris has a feature called Speech of the Woods and can talk to and understand animals.))
"What? Who are these two strange men? Now, sir, why are you putting your hand on my bridle? Where's Hamnish? Goodness, sir, get off my back, we've only just met!"
Chenris' attention goes to the horse, and she can see him moving around, his legs no longer in hobbles, and barely in the dark she can a man leap onto his back and pull his head around to spur him on away... someone is trying to steal the horse!
What does Chenris do? She could speak to the horse, or wake Hamnish...but she must act quickly.
Chenris quickly tells the horse to resist the man and asks if he can tell what type of man/being is on him. If it is an enemy, she will turn into a panther. She can then move toward the invader and claw attack them so they can't steal the horse.
Chenris' words of warning to the horse quickly gain a reaction from the beast. "Why, it's only a man. Not very heavy, either, no weapons, no armor... oh, but if he is an enemy, I will throw him off!" Hamnish's horse is a Redgard steed used to riding in war, and certainly understands the concept of an enemy rather than a master to be obeyed. While a moment ago he had shuffled in confusion, he now begins to buck violently.
The man on his back cries out, but manages to stay on, clinging to the saddle. "Oh, ***, Barley, help me! This thing is gonna kill me!"
The other man shouts back, "Jump off it, man, I can't help you from here! Forget it, let's just run! No way they aren't going to wake up, with that racket! We'll have to make it to Erethor on foot!"
A cry and a loud thud indicate that the man on the horse's back has flown free... and possibly the worse for wear. "***, Jim, can you walk?"
"I don't know, Barley... give me a minute..."
"We aren't gonna have one, Jim. Come on!" A sharp cry of pain echoes out as, presumably, Barley hauls Jim to his feet...
Hamnish's horse snorts loudly in indigation as he lopes off a short distance, flipping his heels and tossing his head before turning around to stare, ears perked, back towards the interlopers. And he neighs, loudly. Chenris understands him: "Oh, now, where's Hamnish?"
Chenris gives a big sigh of relief that the horse wasn't stolen. She makes much of the horse, telling him what a great job he did defeating the enemy. He was so brave, and strong, and he is a stupendous war horse. She calls him gently towards her telling him they will find Hamnish to make sure he is okay. As the horse approaches she goes toward Hamnish and gently shakes him to waken him and update him on all the happenings. She is most curious to find out if he knows of anyone named Barley or Jim to find out if they are enemies or possible friends that could help them in their adventures. If they are heading towards Erethor, then maybe, just maybe, Hamnish can find out if she and he can aid Barley and Jim, and perhaps Barley and Jim can aid them.
Hamnish wakes with a start, and instantly rolls into a defensive crouch. As he reached for his knife, his eyes took in Chenris squatting next to him, and his horse, UNHOBBLED, standing close by, looking quite upset. "What's going on?", he asked. "Why is my horse free?" He quickly gets up and runs to his steed. With quick touches and muttering soothing words, Hamnish calms the creature. After ensuring his horse is fine, Hamnish turned to Chenris. "What happened?" Chenris quickly explains the attempted theft of his horse, and the words that the thieves spoke. "Which way did they run?", he asked. When Chenris pointed, Hamnish quickly mounted the horse. "I'd like to speak with them", he said
The two men haven't got far. If Hamnish lights a torch, from horseback he can see them about sixty feet away, one man supporting the other, and they aren't moving too fast. Likely the one being held up is feeling it after being thrown from the horse.
As Hamnish rides after them, they hear him coming and quickly swing around to face him. "Oh Shadow take it, Barley, now we're gonna die!"
Barley gets in between Hamnish's horse and his injured friend. "Peace! Mercy! We're sorry, we're desperate! We're trying to get to Erethor!"The expression on his face in the torchlight shows that his own words sound hollow to him, as horse theft has always been a crime punishable by death even before the occupation of the Shadow, but if the weight of that feels less to most now since so many things under Izrador's rule are punishable by death, it has not been forgotten in the shame and fear evident on Barley's face.
But it's a desperate admission, regardless. It's punishable by death to consort with elves, too.
After speedily lighting a torch, Hamnish rides towards the now-visible struggling pair. Having pulled out his knife as the horse reached the pair, Hamnish asked, "Why are you headed to Erethor?"
"For refuge," Barley says. "We escaped from the Aarl salt mines. We'll be tortured and killed if they catch us." He steadies Jim, who winces as he takes a deep breath.
"It's a miracle we even got this far without them hunting us down... maybe they've given up the chase... but I'm not going to bet on that." Jim's breath comes in ragged, painful gasps. He probably broke a rib or two falling off the horse. "Barley, I can't keep the pace like this."
Barley says nothing, his eyes on Hamnish's knife. Priorities.
Selphina thinks it's best to head toward the river and follow it. (History: 22, nat 20!) She might meet a group to join for safety. She looks around to see if she can recognize any landmarks for the caches. (History:3 nat 1 :( ). She would like to find a cache with new material for disguises and a little money in case that helps grease some palms along the way. (Investigate: 15).
Selphina sets out across the undulating grasslands. The swordgrass is well grazed some miles out from the Road of Ruin that runs south from Baden's Bluff, and it is a heart-pounding dash through relatively open land for Selphina, hoping that no winged spy will catch sight of her and wonder. She heads west, keeping north of the roads and relatively close to the coastline. With only five days of rations in her go-bag, and two hundred miles to the River Orth, Selphina keeps a fast pace, traveling by night rather than by day, and foraging as she goes. She is able to collect roots and seeds, and sometimes berries, and makes a detour a couple of times to the seashore to fish. She strips a thin branch with her knife, and twists together some seaweed fibers to make a line, digging up worms and catching insects for bait. Although she doesn't dare build a fire during her flight, raw fish, when eaten fresh, are not so unfamiliar to the sea-faring gnomes, as much as they prefer cooking them...
Selphina wracks her brain to remember where a cache might be hidden, but she can't think of any. Perfunctory investigation of likely areas doesn't turn anything up, and her stronger urge is to get away from the city, and the roads. Really, none of the land is safe until she is sheltered under the boughs of Erethor, on the other side of the Burning Line.
Still, it is a welcome sight when she successfully bypasses the roads and Shadow-occupied towns those two hundred miles out from Baden's Bluff, past the Aarl salt mines, and reaches the riverbanks of the River Orth. Here, the grasslands give way to lush fronds and undergrowth, and low hanging bannock trees whose roots grip the slippery mud of the riverbank. Morning is just beginning to break, and after her long night of traveling, Selphina is grateful to sit down with her back against a tree trunk, the familiar sight of moving water making her feel more at home than she has in... well, probably a long time. Just the edge of hunger keeps her alert, but it's amazing how exhaustion hits her when she finds herself feeling safe by the river.
Hamnish has no idea, no insight into how truthful these men are. On the other hand, their desperation and fear are hard to ignore. After staring sternly at the two men, Hamnish motions to them to start walking towards his camp, ahead of him and his horse. "We're going to have a talk, all of us"
The two men do not look very happy with their situation, but with Jim injured the way he is, they have little choice. "Come on, Jim," Barley says, and he throws the other man's arm over his own shoulder and helps him to hobble after Hamnish. The small group, lit by Hamnish's torch, makes its way back to Chenris and the dark, makeshift campsite.
When Hamnish returns to the camp with Jim and Barley following, she quickly draws Hamnish aside to explain that she is willing to cast a cure wounds spell for Jim if they are willing to join forces with the two of us. However she makes it clear that she isn't going to heal Jim if they want to go it on their own. She encourages Hamnish to use the cure wounds spell as a point of negotiation with Jim and Barley, reserving that information until they get a feel for what these two horse thieves will be doing in Erethor.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Glad that Chenris knows the land around them, and relieved that his rescue mission is again the focus of their journey, Hamnish settles himself to fall into a deep sleep. Alas, sleep eludes his still active mind. Can Chenris truly find a safe route to Eisin? What will they do once they reach there, and...?
Hamnish sits up, realizing that he has told the halfling nothing of his mission. How can Chenris plan their route without knowing their destination? Shaking his head to organize his tired thoughts, Hamnish gets up and goes to Chenris.
"I need to explain my quest to you." he said.
In a few words, he tells Chenris of his mentor, his capture by the orcs, and Hamnish's desire to somehow free the elf. After laying out his threadbare plan to rescue Eythorial, Hamnish succumbs to his exhaustion, stumbles back to his bedroll and almost immediately falls asleep.
Hamnish and Chenris:
Despite their exhaustion, both Hamnish and Chenris feel the dread of the thrall of Eisin. Before the forces of Shadow conquered it, Eisin was an elven trading city, built west of the borders of the great forest of Erethor. Though once home to a lush sprawl of graceful spires and elegant gardens, Eisin was razed to the ground by orcs a hundred years ago when Izrador's armies marched south. In that hundred years, nothing is left of the original trading city of the Carinsils except its name. Though neither Hamnish nor Chenris have seen it, they've heard many terrible tales. Supposedly, in the ugly rebuilding of the city into one more crank of the war machine, a towering temple to Izrador was built right in the center of it. It is said to be both the administrative center for the assault on Erethor, with thousands of orc warbands pouring into the city from the Road of Ruin and being evaluated and deployed to the Burning Line from there.
Besides that, it is rumored to be a favorite place to torture high-profile elven prisoners. Eisin has a reputation for being nearly impenetrable, not just due to the constant flow of warbands and orc legions, and it is said that they bring the elven prisoners there to try and draw forces from Erethor in futile rescue attempts.
Hamnish remembers the Redgard riders warning him to try and intercept the party transporting Eythorial through Baden's Bluff and south on the road to Eisin, rather than waiting until the Erunsil is incarcerated in the fortress of Eisin itself. But after his grueling chase with twelve orcs, impenetrable, wielding their deadly vardatches, and they surprised during their midday rest and not even in their usual armor, he is painfully reminded that he is just one man, on a horse. And now, a halfling out of myth and legend wants to join his cause, but what can the two of them do? Chenris is steeped in halfling magic and the hale constitution of having lived relatively free her whole life with her tribe, but they are a little people, simple, not powerful; such tribes are routinely brutalized and enslaved by the orcs, if they are found. The fate of Chenris' tribe is a tragic reminder of that. Hamnish knows the answer to rescuing Eythorial is not going to be easy or simple.
But what are his options? Gaining support seems crucial in the face of the vice-like grip of Izrador's oppression. But where? From whom? Erenland is an occupied nation, its citizens cowed, robbed, and broken, punished for the infractions of strangers. Hamnish has of course heard tales of resistance riders here in the south as the Redgard riders are in the north. Perhaps they could be sought out.
There's also the forest of Erethor, the focus of Izrador's greatest ire and the bulk of his forces, arrayed along the Burning Line. And Hamnish knows well that if elves don't know you, they won't trust you, and you won't be able, by guile or by force, to set a step in their forests. If the Carinsil could be convinced of the need to help Eythorial's cause... but Hamnish again feels very small.
And then there was Sardric... left first to die by his warband, and then swiftly killed by them as he made a last ditch stand against his peoples' slavery to Izrador. This was new knowledge to Hamnish, that there are orcs who resist the Sendings of the Dark Lord and who even stand against him.
Chenris, too, remembers Sardric. She remembers how he attacked one of his fellow orcs for torturing one of the halflings. She does not know anything of his philosophy, or of his allegiance, or even his name. She did not even see him die. But she remembers his actions when the world ended for her tribe.
Baden's Bluff is the nearest large city, east of where they camp on the coast of the Sea of Pelluria, but smaller towns along the way might offer other resources or support.
Chenris, having finished her rest, watches while Hamnish gets his... his horse placidly spends the night sleeping and grazing...
((Each of you, roll a d6.))
Chenris rolls a 1. Hamnish rolls a 3
Hamnish and Chenris:
Chenris Perception for her watch: 7 (rolled in game log)
Hamnish sleeps as Chenris watches. In the dark pre-dawn, Hamnish's horse placidly munches grass. Only the twinkle of far-away stars give the faintest light to outline the tops of the waving swordgrass, and the hobbled horse as it slowly inches around to graze.
If it weren't for an offended snort and nicker from the animal, Chenris wouldn't have seen it. But she hears the horse, and her finely tuned senses deeply connected to nature and to the beasts in it tell her what the horse is saying. ((Chenris has a feature called Speech of the Woods and can talk to and understand animals.))
"What? Who are these two strange men? Now, sir, why are you putting your hand on my bridle? Where's Hamnish? Goodness, sir, get off my back, we've only just met!"
Chenris' attention goes to the horse, and she can see him moving around, his legs no longer in hobbles, and barely in the dark she can a man leap onto his back and pull his head around to spur him on away... someone is trying to steal the horse!
What does Chenris do? She could speak to the horse, or wake Hamnish...but she must act quickly.
Chenris quickly tells the horse to resist the man and asks if he can tell what type of man/being is on him. If it is an enemy, she will turn into a panther. She can then move toward the invader and claw attack them so they can't steal the horse.
(Roll Animal Handling)
Animal Handling = 17+3=20
Hamnish and Chenris:
Chenris' words of warning to the horse quickly gain a reaction from the beast. "Why, it's only a man. Not very heavy, either, no weapons, no armor... oh, but if he is an enemy, I will throw him off!" Hamnish's horse is a Redgard steed used to riding in war, and certainly understands the concept of an enemy rather than a master to be obeyed. While a moment ago he had shuffled in confusion, he now begins to buck violently.
The man on his back cries out, but manages to stay on, clinging to the saddle. "Oh, ***, Barley, help me! This thing is gonna kill me!"
The other man shouts back, "Jump off it, man, I can't help you from here! Forget it, let's just run! No way they aren't going to wake up, with that racket! We'll have to make it to Erethor on foot!"
A cry and a loud thud indicate that the man on the horse's back has flown free... and possibly the worse for wear. "***, Jim, can you walk?"
"I don't know, Barley... give me a minute..."
"We aren't gonna have one, Jim. Come on!" A sharp cry of pain echoes out as, presumably, Barley hauls Jim to his feet...
Hamnish's horse snorts loudly in indigation as he lopes off a short distance, flipping his heels and tossing his head before turning around to stare, ears perked, back towards the interlopers. And he neighs, loudly. Chenris understands him: "Oh, now, where's Hamnish?"
Chenris gives a big sigh of relief that the horse wasn't stolen. She makes much of the horse, telling him what a great job he did defeating the enemy. He was so brave, and strong, and he is a stupendous war horse. She calls him gently towards her telling him they will find Hamnish to make sure he is okay. As the horse approaches she goes toward Hamnish and gently shakes him to waken him and update him on all the happenings. She is most curious to find out if he knows of anyone named Barley or Jim to find out if they are enemies or possible friends that could help them in their adventures. If they are heading towards Erethor, then maybe, just maybe, Hamnish can find out if she and he can aid Barley and Jim, and perhaps Barley and Jim can aid them.
Hamnish wakes with a start, and instantly rolls into a defensive crouch. As he reached for his knife, his eyes took in Chenris squatting next to him, and his horse, UNHOBBLED, standing close by, looking quite upset.
"What's going on?", he asked. "Why is my horse free?"
He quickly gets up and runs to his steed. With quick touches and muttering soothing words, Hamnish calms the creature.
After ensuring his horse is fine, Hamnish turned to Chenris. "What happened?"
Chenris quickly explains the attempted theft of his horse, and the words that the thieves spoke.
"Which way did they run?", he asked.
When Chenris pointed, Hamnish quickly mounted the horse.
"I'd like to speak with them", he said
The two men haven't got far. If Hamnish lights a torch, from horseback he can see them about sixty feet away, one man supporting the other, and they aren't moving too fast. Likely the one being held up is feeling it after being thrown from the horse.
As Hamnish rides after them, they hear him coming and quickly swing around to face him. "Oh Shadow take it, Barley, now we're gonna die!"
Barley gets in between Hamnish's horse and his injured friend. "Peace! Mercy! We're sorry, we're desperate! We're trying to get to Erethor!" The expression on his face in the torchlight shows that his own words sound hollow to him, as horse theft has always been a crime punishable by death even before the occupation of the Shadow, but if the weight of that feels less to most now since so many things under Izrador's rule are punishable by death, it has not been forgotten in the shame and fear evident on Barley's face.
But it's a desperate admission, regardless. It's punishable by death to consort with elves, too.
After speedily lighting a torch, Hamnish rides towards the now-visible struggling pair.
Having pulled out his knife as the horse reached the pair, Hamnish asked, "Why are you headed to Erethor?"
"For refuge," Barley says. "We escaped from the Aarl salt mines. We'll be tortured and killed if they catch us." He steadies Jim, who winces as he takes a deep breath.
"It's a miracle we even got this far without them hunting us down... maybe they've given up the chase... but I'm not going to bet on that." Jim's breath comes in ragged, painful gasps. He probably broke a rib or two falling off the horse. "Barley, I can't keep the pace like this."
Barley says nothing, his eyes on Hamnish's knife. Priorities.
[Rolls perception check: 19]
Selphina thinks it's best to head toward the river and follow it. (History: 22, nat 20!) She might meet a group to join for safety. She looks around to see if she can recognize any landmarks for the caches. (History:3 nat 1 :( ). She would like to find a cache with new material for disguises and a little money in case that helps grease some palms along the way. (Investigate: 15).
Selphina
Selphina sets out across the undulating grasslands. The swordgrass is well grazed some miles out from the Road of Ruin that runs south from Baden's Bluff, and it is a heart-pounding dash through relatively open land for Selphina, hoping that no winged spy will catch sight of her and wonder. She heads west, keeping north of the roads and relatively close to the coastline. With only five days of rations in her go-bag, and two hundred miles to the River Orth, Selphina keeps a fast pace, traveling by night rather than by day, and foraging as she goes. She is able to collect roots and seeds, and sometimes berries, and makes a detour a couple of times to the seashore to fish. She strips a thin branch with her knife, and twists together some seaweed fibers to make a line, digging up worms and catching insects for bait. Although she doesn't dare build a fire during her flight, raw fish, when eaten fresh, are not so unfamiliar to the sea-faring gnomes, as much as they prefer cooking them...
Selphina wracks her brain to remember where a cache might be hidden, but she can't think of any. Perfunctory investigation of likely areas doesn't turn anything up, and her stronger urge is to get away from the city, and the roads. Really, none of the land is safe until she is sheltered under the boughs of Erethor, on the other side of the Burning Line.
Still, it is a welcome sight when she successfully bypasses the roads and Shadow-occupied towns those two hundred miles out from Baden's Bluff, past the Aarl salt mines, and reaches the riverbanks of the River Orth. Here, the grasslands give way to lush fronds and undergrowth, and low hanging bannock trees whose roots grip the slippery mud of the riverbank. Morning is just beginning to break, and after her long night of traveling, Selphina is grateful to sit down with her back against a tree trunk, the familiar sight of moving water making her feel more at home than she has in... well, probably a long time. Just the edge of hunger keeps her alert, but it's amazing how exhaustion hits her when she finds herself feeling safe by the river.
Survival: 22 (nat 20)
[Rolls Insight check] 4
Hamnish has no idea, no insight into how truthful these men are. On the other hand, their desperation and fear are hard to ignore.
After staring sternly at the two men, Hamnish motions to them to start walking towards his camp, ahead of him and his horse.
"We're going to have a talk, all of us"
[Rolls Persuasion] 1
Hamnish and Chenris
The two men do not look very happy with their situation, but with Jim injured the way he is, they have little choice. "Come on, Jim," Barley says, and he throws the other man's arm over his own shoulder and helps him to hobble after Hamnish. The small group, lit by Hamnish's torch, makes its way back to Chenris and the dark, makeshift campsite.
When Hamnish returns to the camp with Jim and Barley following, she quickly draws Hamnish aside to explain that she is willing to cast a cure wounds spell for Jim if they are willing to join forces with the two of us. However she makes it clear that she isn't going to heal Jim if they want to go it on their own. She encourages Hamnish to use the cure wounds spell as a point of negotiation with Jim and Barley, reserving that information until they get a feel for what these two horse thieves will be doing in Erethor.