Above & Below

They were being pulled by the horses that the soldiers were riding. They were all either spooked or had their riders knocked off at some point. Someone give me an animal handling check with advantage to see how many of them you can calm down enough to hook back up to the three carts (there are four horses total). 

(Since Kurama has the highest Animal Handling Check): 10

With advantage. :)

Effort gathers all the weapons and dumps them on the cart, thinking they'll be useful to either sell or donate to the village.  She keeps, however, the heavy crossbow, the magic sword, and the pouch of gold.  As the others are gathering the things together on the cart to return, she gives 19 gold coins to Kurama and 20 gold coins to Brask - "A little extra for Pip," she tells him quietly.  She also offers the heavy crossbow and magic longsword to Brask as well.  "As your brave student showed you, you can achieve quite a lot with some range.  Maybe you could learn something new too, and try this out.  If you're interested in this magic sword, you can take it as well.  It's not quite as impressive as your maul, but you could possibly wield it in both of your hands and squeeze a little more effectiveness out of the blade, if you like.  Otherwise, it's likely worth some coin."

(for pretty much my own record, it's 7 spears, 7 shields, and 3 maces to sell back in town :P)

Oh oops missed that :)  Animal Handling (advantage): 11 (Wow Kurama's bad luck continues lol)

Kurama, with some effort, rose to his feet as the others began organizing the scene in front of them.  Seeing that some of the horses had remained after battle, he gingerly approached them in an attempt to calm them down and reattach them back to the wagons; he had no interest pulling them himself in his current condition.  Thinking back on some of the tricks the monks from the House of Truth had used to control various animals, Kurama began clicking his tongue lightly as he held his hand out in front of him hoping to settle them down.  He hoped the smell of blood or his haggard condition wouldn't set off the animals in some way too much but he was prepared to chase one or two down if necessary if they all scattered.

The horses are in an absolutely panic, continuously kicking when anyone gets close. The lead horse figures out a way to slowly get around the traps and has booked it for the forest. You think with some more coaxing you could get the one furthest back to calm down, but it would be a lot of weight for it to carry. Alternatively, the three hitched to the wagons would all calm down eventually, but that might mean waiting longer and risk being out after sunset. 

Effort sighs and summons her mage hand.  Using it to pluck a carrot off of the cart, she sends it out towards the horse in the back hoping the food will convince it to cooperate.

"As much as we need to recover, staying by this bridge is much too dangerous... as is waiting for nightfall.  We will have to move, one way or the other."  She turns her eyes towards the cart, and then the three guards they took alive.  "Perhaps those resolute men over there will have a chance to redeem themselves through hard work."

A magic sword?  Brask says as he takes the weapon and inspects it.  Sure.  Bit small for my tastes.  Hard to get a good thwack with a toothpick like this.  He makes a few experimental swings.  Good to have, in case we fight something that needs magic to kill it.  

As the horse whispering comes to its resolution, Brask grins an evil grin.  You'll pull our cart, he says to the men.  And make no mistake, I will behead the first of you who complains. That's a promise, he adds, giving the sword another swing for effect.

The guards hardly make a peep as you begin your journey back to town. Between them and the one horse, you move at a pretty good pace. You even start to recognize your surroundings as the day wears on and you get closer. Still, the gray sky has darkened a bit, and dusk seems near.

I need someone to give me two d20 luck rolls. 

One of them
5

Luck roll number 2: 1 (Wow Sorry!!)

(I hope we all got a short rest while making our way back...? XD)

Haha, oh my gosh, these rolls! Yes, you can have short-rested on the walk back. I'll give everyone a bit to do that first. I actually wasn't prepared for a 5 and 1 anyway! 

• Hit Dice #1: 10
• Hit Dice #2: 10
• Hit Dice #3: 9
• Hit Dice #4: 3

(31 Total HP)

Hit dice:  8  6  9

Back to full. :)

Quote from Billtacular >>

Haha, oh my gosh, these rolls! Yes, you can have short-rested on the walk back. I'll give everyone a bit to do that first. I actually wasn't prepared for a 5 and 1 anyway! 

 Believe me, neither were me, LOOOL.

Effort doesn't need hit dice but she'll ritually cast comprehend languages on herself just in case (1-hour duration).  She'll also have Cadmael scouting for danger during this time.  If Cad doesn't fail us, she would like to cast Armor of Agathys on herself and then recover the spell slot with her Rod of the Pact Keeper +1 before any aggressions start.  I won't do this if Cadmael spots nothing amiss, though.

Cadmael Stealth: 5
Cadmael Perception + Guidance: 21 + 1

More in-character:

As the wagon rolls along under the grunts and strains of the three men (and one horse?), Effort digs through her pack and offers the last of Burik's mother's venison jerky to the two women.  "Eat up," she advises them.  "I hear food is scarce around these parts, and you two look as though you need it."

(Yea yesterday was not my day apparently.  That was the first in a series of (3) straight Nat 1s lol)

They take the jerky and bow their heads. "Oh, thank you." They tear into it voraciously as they walk along. One looks to the other, smiling. "I haven't had meat in years."

The forest starts to thin a bit, and off in the distance, you can see the silhouette of the town wall. It's quite dark now, and the shadows have all blended together to make the woods tough to see in. As always, it's eerily quiet, with only the occasional gust of wind making its way through the trees.

OMFG, this dice roller. Just posting everything again in the next post.

You hear a scream and turn to find a shadowy presence streaking toward your group. A dark appendage reaches out with long, dark fingers and strikes at one of the guards. It slashes across his chest, drawing blood. Two more emerge. They attack another guard, and one of the women.

One of the guards is only cut across his shoulder. The other, and the woman, are not so lucky. The dark shadow moves through the woman as she drops the last bit of her jerky onto the ground, eyes wide. It tears a hole into her mid-section, and she topples over as blood starts to spill onto the ground. The third shadow reaches out with two tendril-filled hands, ripping at the guard's face and tearing it into two separate directions. The silence is gone. The other woman screams in horror as she cowers, looking around in a panic. 

Roll initiative! Shadows: 10 Pip: 8