Zina decided it would be best to join her Gnommish friend, and walked over to join Pettilaen. She plopped down onto the ground, trying to peak over the rogue's shoulder to read his book. "What've you got there?" She asked.

Ishkar pulls out his Viol and somberly begins a tune (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vXj-eT3rF4) as we settle for a break and silently looks to his group to keep them calm and relaxed with his music. He also walks over to the open terrain and stands in the mild wind that is billowing through to think for the few hours of his playing. His mood is now very down and somber as his playing continues through the hour of break. He switches between song after song going through his repertoire of calming songs he has.

OOC: He does not need to roll hit dice because of his full hp and also at the end of the hour he will give a bardic inspiration die to Zina, Portia, and Imoxator,.Sorry Bulden, only had 3. As well Ishkar will be completely drowned out by his music which he is minorly enhancing with small effects from thaumaturgy and altering volume and adding his voice every now and then.

Bullden agrees we definitely need a break but we also need to find a defensive position.  Being out in the open is going to attract undesirables.

With Bullden's proficiency in Smithy Tools he's check the axle to discern if it was sabotaged ((investigation 14)).

Bullden call out to group, "Grab what you can that looks expensive and drag it off the road.  I'm bett'n that we going to have visitors shortly and not the welcomed kind".

((Back in the room))

She grins at seeing the dogs up and healthy. "I really hated having to hit them to be able to search for the boy in the first place. They are very well trained and I love dogs." She hopes they won't bother her as she stays close to keep an eye on the boy's health. "Seems there is more to how this all wound up here than just a simple kidnapping and robbery. And I am sorry for being snippy before because I'm tired and I just wanted to help him get better. Besides things not seeming entirely normal around here for a bit."

((Once on the road))

She stayed close noting the cart was overloaded and who knew if it would make it. It appeared to be as good of shape as doors in Gert's inn. The next thing she knew a load snap could be heard and the cart suddenly wobbled crazily dumping stuff until it fell in on itself over the broken axle. At least she had managed to make the still unconscious boy not wind up in the spill...barely. Once she had him, she laid him still wrapped in several blankets in the grass along the road.

The elves took off pretty quickly leaving the party and several guard dogs to watch the mess in the middle of the road. She ignored the gnomes for a moment and looked at the dogs. She says, "Guard," but is not sure if they will get it and points at the boy and then the cart. They might do it automatically if someone else comes along to bother them seeing how they had reacted in the room and after with the help of the ranger. Nope, her attempt to be more than neutral with them made them just look at her like they already had this figured out. She chuckles to herself.

She works on making a fresh poultice to use while waiting for the return of help and the elves. At least they were only a couple miles away and the elves had all gone on horseback.

((Meta: did an animal handling check and got a whopping 4 - so since they are taught she can help the boy, they stay neutral, but definitely don't like her atm))

The dogs seem to naturally gravitate toward Master Regis, especially the alpha. It would be a task to get that dog ("Brut", if one were to read the name embossed on his collar) to leave the boy's side.

The stretch of road between the Sharp Tooth Tavern and Beregost crosses a rolling plain and is relatively wide open. Very little opportunity for bandit ambushes, though sometimes bandits travel the road disguised. Other times, especially in recent times with the Flaming Fist overextended, more confident monsters rove the road without worrying about a disguise at all.

The cart's axle looks like it's been rotting and splitting for some time. It appears to have broken at the exact spot of a previous, haphazard patch. It could be a masterful sabotage, but more likely just bad maintenance and overloading.

Not quite an hour after the elves left, just as the setting sun begins to turn the sky ruddy and golden, a shrill horn sounds in the far distance. The sound is consistent with a sylvan hunting horn of the type that elven rangers would likely use...

Bullden says to the group, "Dat sound kinna be good.  Git tha boy covered up in tha wagon and have tha dogs protect him.  Everyone else take up defensive positions."

((survivial 3 to identify the sound of the horn))

The horn interrupts his studying of the tome. I feel like I'm so close to getting this magic stuff! He stands and faces south, looking in the direction of Beregost. Without a clue to what the sound means, Pettilaen at least recognizes it as a sylvan horn, most likely coming from the rangers, due to the direction. "I don't know what that sound means, but common sense tells me they're in trouble and not just announcing their arrival." Seeing some of his companions either hide or stick to the wagon, he shakes his head. "It could mean they're in trouble, guys!"

He grimaces, pacing in circles. Having made a decision, he exclaims, "Stay here and protect the kid: I'll run over and see what the commotion is. If I'm not back in 40 minutes, come looking for me." With that said, Pettilaen runs in the direction of the noise, planning on hiding as soon as he spots where the noise is coming from.

Portia is not going to try to hide. She helps get the broken cart arranged to protect the boy and notes the dogs appearing more alert. She then takes a position leaning against the wagon protecting the charge she said she would get to Beregost. She has her shield and warhammer ready, but looks quite relaxed against the cart remains holding her up and housing the unconscious boy. She figured hiding would be silly considering there was all the goods and the dogs obviously in the open even if off the road. Her attention drifts south the most, but she is trying to keep an eye on a good portion of the area around her from her position.

Zina let out a very heroic squeak before diving underneath the wagon. Her small build made it easy to hide (18 stealth check.) The wizard was squishy to say the least, and knew her own limitations. If they were to be under fire, she had little doubt that she would be the first to fall. 

Pettilaen gears up to leave, trying to hide the perspiration and quaky limbs that belie his heroic facade. 

He heads south as the sun sets and the sky darkens. Eventually the sounds of his departure fade away and the evening grows quiet. 

10 minutes. 20 minutes. 30, 40, 50... He is gone well past his 40 minute "if I'm not back" mark and there's still no sign of Pettilaen.

What now?

"Do you think he's dead?" Zina shuddered as, after 40 minutes of being cramped up underneath a wagon, she finally crawled out and stretched her limbs. "I... I hope he's ok."

Ishkar also gets out from his hiding place (DM can decide where) and asks the group "What should we do now? I say we follow him, but stealthily."

"If i go anywhere it is with the boy and a pack of dogs to Beregost, but not by the road." She smirks some. "At some point they will find this spot anyway, but I know the area well enough to head south cross country and possibly a couple places outside the city that are safe. Though it depends on what we find in the just over two miles we have to go."

She chews her lip thinking about how to do this. Then she is a flurry of activity working on jury rigging a harness so she can carry the boy piggy back. 

"Hmm, maybe once we get him on my back one of you can find a way to attach my shield over him to protect him if anything comes behind us. I'll be encumbered, but it will let the gnome keep up. Though maybe you three might want to stay near, but let the dogs attract the attention as we go."

She gets the harness on the boy and waits to pick him up as she sees if anyone has any better ideas. She keeps the reaction of the dogs as part of her awareness as she does all of this knowing they would sense something coming before any of them.

Bullden mumbles to himself, "I can't believe and he just trotted off like a stubborn mule.  Now we got to fetch our way ward (most likely lost) companion while baby sitting".

Bullden suggests we go after Pettilaen because we should never leave a man behind.  Though in this case he left us first but you get my point.

Portia I will carry the boy while you drag the dogs along.

Iskar keep your eyes peeled and Z keep the books closed.  We need all eyes up.  We move out in 5 minutes.

"Fine, Bully," Zina rolled her eyes. She hoped the nickname at least sort of annoyed him. That would show the dwarf. "But you're going first! I'm not going to be the first one to die if we get ambushed."

And here's the punchline... After 10-15 minutes of travel to find Pettilaen, you run into him coming the other way, trying to return to the group... Just a little late.

He's a bit filthy and carrying some extra gear.

(I'll let him describe himself from there)

While a "run in" covers a variety of different encounters, it quite literally is how the rest of the party finds Pettilaen. He is running, as fast as his little legs can take him, as a bloodied horse follows behind him in a slow trot. It's apparent that gnome legs just can't carry them very far very fast. Meeting him at the top of a hill, he almost runs into Bullden, so exhausted from running back at such a frantic pace. Gasping for air, he collapses on the ground, only able to get a few words out at a time. "Rangers... dead.... blood... everywhere... horse... nice... can't.... ride him... short... legs...." It takes a few minutes for Pettilaen to catch his breath, but he is eventually able to do so. Continuing to lay on the ground, a cool breeze blows over him. I really just want to go to sleep. They don't need to know anything else about it.

No, Pettilaen. They -do- need to know this. He takes one final deep breath before bringing himself to his feet. "The short story is that the rangers are a bloody mess and scattered along the road... this horse is the only thing left living." Seeing the frightened look at the amount of blood coming from Portia, he calms her down. "Don't worry. It's not the horses. Just its dead rider, collapsed on the side of the road. The rangers shoulder was crushed into his chest." He starts breathing quicker as his eyes go wide. "Okay. Maybe there is some reason to worry. Something just turned those elven rangers into jelly. Elven.... rangers. They've had hundreds of years of expertise, and they're dead." He sits down and closes his eyes, taking several deep breaths. Breathe. "My braveness could only carry me so far as to find the first ranger. I didn't find any answers... But I found some really nice daggers, and I'll keep the grouch's legacy living vicariously through me by these daggers!" He holds them high, showing the fine elven craftsmanship and ashen handles. "Oh. And his bow and quiver. But they're too big for me."

"Anyway, the carnage is about a half hour down the road. Beregost can't be much farther ahead, but we'll be passing through all of it on the way over."

Ishkar eyes him weirdly "Well that can happen, my friend." He is completely unfazed by any of this detail from his past and childhood. He moves over to console Pettilaen and puts a hand on his shoulder "This world can be cruel, now if this means that all of you need to add watch your backs to this little endeavor be my guest and join the club. I have seen much worse in my time and I practice a good healthy pay-attention-to-the-world-when-it-seems-like-it-is-trying-to-kill-me." He takes a long breath to pause and moves to look down the path Pettilaen came from to speak again. "I am usually silent because of my addictive thoughts to ask why this must happen, but I know one thing and that is that we are only a few people and that anything can kill us in this state. We still must deal with our mission at hand and pioneer forward to no matter what thing that can kill us; if it mangled those rangers, then we need to be cautious ourselves, but we still needn't freak out over their dead visage. Now, let's go to Beregost."

Portia nods as she listens to Pettilaen and starts stroking the horse's neck. While he is still explaining things and Ishkar makes his comments on the situation she gets the boy off her back and onto the horse using the harness she had jury rigged to keep him slumped on it. Then before Pettilaen can comment, but after he and Ishkar have had their say on the matter, she sweeps him up and plunks him down behind the boy. 

"Take a break, but make sure he doesn't slip or wind up with his head in an odd position. I'll be leading the horse."

She looks down at the alpha dog. "So Brut, you stay right here by the horse as we go and have the rest fan out around." She points to a spot near the left stirrup which Brut was trying to be close to in the first place and then waves her hand in a circle.

Brut cocks his head at her more or less dismissing her some. Then with one bark the dogs pretty much moved the way Portia wanted them. Actually she had expected that. They were only this cooperative because of Regis and they know despite her clocking a few in the head, she had Regis' best interest in mind.

"I know the area well and we can move a ways off the road, but not much cover all the way to Beregost. Though we might want to check what is left of the elven demise for any further details, but I don't think it will help at this point. No, I think we stay off the road and go as straight as I know possible to Beregost." She points south. Now that it is night there is a bit of orange lighting rising into the sky in that direction due to the city. Like any idiot could head straight for it in this place unless they were blind.