(OOC: is there a reason we didn’t want to go to the Uthgardts to check with the other survivor? He might know more?)

Quote from rkmobius >>

(OOC: is there a reason we didn’t want to go to the Uthgardts to check with the other survivor? He might know more?)

(We have a better lead now? *shrug*)

"No need," Rixton says. "I am carrying my old leather armor still but I've found it to be too restrictive. However, to the larger point, we cannot trust the, frankly dubious, claims the Pikes have made about Aralea while also distrusting them enough to treat them as prisoners. We have no reason to treat any of these three as prisoners. The spell affecting the Pikes has ended and I know of no spell that can return spontaneously. While they could be lying about their amnesia, I think we have enough other evidence to believe they were not in control when they left Yartar. As for the other woman, she is a stranger but thus only owed the level of trust as any other stranger. Were I travelling in these lands to visit my mother, and gods protect me from whatever reason would force that to happen, I would gladly arm a strange traveling companion to help protect us both. Besides, she has great potential to be an asset to the Harpers. We are not police, after all, we are...spies. And we must take advantage of every opportunity...every asset. Thus, I am against anything but friendly, but wary, acceptance of all three into our traveling routine."

After a moment's thought, Rixton adds, "She can ride behind me on Knickerboxer, if it makes you feel better."

"Truth-be-told, I'm not sold on letting the Pikes go. Then again, I'm not sold on taking them with us. Two more mouths to feed, and they haven't got a blade or chance between them. We'd have to spend two days just going back to Olostin's Hold to provision them, then we're hoping whatever charmed them doesn't come back." Jheric glances over at the brothers, trying to avoid seeming obvious that the pair are the cause of such secret meetings. 

"That's another matter too: I don't know of much that can possess the mind so completely. There are magics that beguile the mind, but the subject is either lucid while afflicted, or they realize they've been bewitched. To completely black out for days, carry out such explicit intent, then have no recollection is beyond magic. I greatly fear some sort of possession."

(Hope I'm not overstepping with the assumption. Just trying to mesh the various skills foci together. Jheric is a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none, in an academic sense, but he's got natural talent for sniffing out every little detail. By level 6, I assume any wizard worth their spellbook is familiar with the different schools and how magic can be applied in broad scopes.)

After Rixton leaves his cloak with the Hand, Mola looks at him with surprise. When they are out of earshot of the Hand, he says to the rogue, "I did mean that I would be coming back to give them my cloak when this is all done. They could have treated us much worse than they did. So my plan really was to use the cloak on this... errand, and then return, tell them what happened, and hand over my cloak. Here's mine," and he offers his cloak to Rixton. "You can use it much more than I can."

After the exchange with the Pikes, where the bit about the grandfather tree is revealed not to be something they remember doing, Mola says, "what is, honestly, the last thing you remember doing? I assume it was in Yartar?" He looks at Ferrian. "No screaming this time."

He also asks them what they were working on over the last few weeks, if they'd met anyone new, been digging into anything at all. He drops a very oblique Harper reference, trying not to alert Aralea. He also asks them if there were other prisoners there with them, and if any of them had memory loss. 

"We have some information that suggests you ambushed the Hand along with another group of people. Tree Ghosts. There may be a survivor. You disputed that you were involved in any ambush. Would you want to talk to someone who might have been with you when you lost your memories?"

When Gwin pulls him, Rixton, and Jheric together to talk privately, he listens to everyone's positions. When Rixton finishes speaking, he nods. "Wary acceptance makes sense to me. If they pull anything, we are capable of putting them in their places, or in bindings. I do think that the four of us should keep our own separate watch schedule at night, and let them sleep. And they can certainly travel on foot, in plain sight of us, just in case they do try something. Or the chosen-yak-men think about returning. I have no way of knowing if this memory loss, or possession, or whatever happened, is still with them, or likely to come back. I doubt it, but we can't know right now. The yak-man did apparently return while they were imprisoned there. After they were back in control of their faculties. So that might happen again. Again. Wary acceptance makes sense to me." He turns to Gwin and Jheric. "If we have to keep them bound and imprisoned the whole way back, they're not going to like us very much, or be able to defend themselves from... things. Trust in ourselves to handle them if things go south."

He asks the party if they'd like to be tracked by the leader of the Hand as they depart, or not. If not, he offers to cast pass without trace on everyone and keeps the spell going for an hour.

[Also, if we have leveled up already and have access to our new spells, he offers to cast dispel magic on Ferrian, who seems a bit manic.]

Once they're starting to move again, Mola falls in next to Aralea. "So. Yikaria. You know who these yak-men are? Tell me everything you've heard. I love a good story."

"The last thing I remember doing?" repeats Ferrian. "Simple. Fighting off a trio of thugs just west of Yartar. My brother and I were returning from a nearby farm, where we'd just delivered some saddles."

"That's right," chimes Finnegas.

"Not much of a fair fight," continues Ferrian. "They had us by surprise. Must've knocked us both out and ferried us off someplace. Sorcery...potions...devilry....I don't know what they did. Truly I don't. Next thing I know...next thing we both know, right, Finn?...is being bruised and bloodied in an orc hideout. If someone can bear witness that the Pike brothers joined up with a band of Uthgardts, then I would very much like to have a word with that person."

"Ten or eleven days seem to have passed us by," adds Finnegas, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Nothing unusual at all in the past few weeks. Just doing our jobs and paying visits to the Dawnybrook now and then. All was as ordinary as could be," explains Ferrian. "And no other prisoners except the elf as far as I know. She arrived the day after we did." 

Ferrian then expresses his willingness to go along with Mola's idea. "Offering to cast a spell on me and banish any ill effect that I might be experiencing? Might as well then. Any guarantee that things are returning to normal is welcome."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yikaria," begins Aralea, "if the tales are true, are ruthless and powerful. Lovers of dark knowledge and elemental magic. Keepers of slaves. If they exist, they dwell in the remotest of places. And as Gwin has said, sacrificing to their god is part of their religious creed."

She pauses, lost in thought for a while, before adding, "Would such creatures forge an alliance with the Tree Ghosts, I wonder? Both are unquestionably evil, but what common end would they seek? Uthgardts fear magic and seek to destroy any who wield it. And why bother harassing an orc tribe? Many questions. Few answers. I do not know your next steps...and, of course, my gratitude to you is enormous...but I must find my way to Everlund. Possibly I will find the answers there."

Mola gives a “aren’t they dead” look to Gwin when Ferrian mentions getting taken by the thugs outside Yartar.

Have any of them reacted to the Harper code? I don’t think they have explicitly mentioned it but maybe I missed it. 

He defers to the group about the dispel magic offer.

He also defers Aralea’s questions about the Yikaria to Gwin, and the idea that they would work with the Uthgardts to the rest of the group. He asks if she is from Everlund, what she does for a living, and what she was up to before losing her memory and ending up with the Hand.

Quote from rkmobius >>

Have any of them reacted to the Harper code? I don’t think they have explicitly mentioned it but maybe I missed it. 

DM oversight. Yes, Ferrian reacted. See edited post #265 above. 

Also, re: more prisoners, Mola asks in response, “so what did the roper have for dinner over the last week then?”

"So what do we suppose: Are we to go back to Yartar and search for cultists, or pursue the Uthgardts? Latter seems closer at hand, but if we get there and find dead ends, I'm torching a trailer back to Yartar."

Quote from rkmobius >>

 

He also defers Aralea’s questions about the Yikaria to Gwin, and the idea that they would work with the Uthgardts to the rest of the group. He asks if she is from Everlund, what she does for a living, and what she was up to before losing her memory and ending up with the Hand.

 "Not from Everlund, no," Aralea replies. "A stately and polished city is a fine place to visit, but I much prefer trees and streams over towers and streets. Everlund is, however, home to a number of learned minds, and I am hoping one of them might be of help in solving this riddle.

The wood elf goes on to explain somewhat ambiguously that her livelihood is to hunt, to fish, and to prevent others from causing trouble. She was on the southern bank of the Rauvin, a bit west of Jalanthar, when a group of Tree Ghosts fell upon her. She's certain that she killed two of them. Regarding the other three, she remarks, "It seems they beat me nearly to death. What happened afterward is only a guess." 

NOTE: Even the greenest of Harpers is aware of Everlund's importance to the faction's cause. For it is there that Moongleam Tower is located: a keep of black stone that serves as a Harper stronghold in the North.

Quote from rkmobius >>

Also, re: more prisoners, Mola asks in response, “so what did the roper have for dinner over the last week then?”

 Finnegas responds, "No dinner that we know of. I figured you and your friends would be the first. Thankfully, you were not."

"We knew the roper was there all along," adds Ferrian. "Naraga would ring her bell and summon it as a threat. Then she'd ring the bell again, and it would disappear into the cave wall. Like some sort of servant or pet. Damned sinister, isn't it? Naraga's law was two fold: don't every try to escape and don't ever mention the roper to anyone."

"Everlund is a fine destination," Rixton says at length. "The Pikes will be in good hands there and we can restock our supplies, if needed."

Does Mola recognize Aralea? Her description of her life matches his own as a druid Harper, away from cities, keeping people out of trouble. If she’s in the Harper orbit, it seems he’d know. 

He tries a fairly straightforward Harper call and response to see if she takes the bait.

His face wrinkles up in a bit of confusion at the Pikes’ explanation of the roper rule, but he then smiles and lets it pass.

”I think a friend of ours was headed to Everlund to see an old friend of his when we left the Hold, right? Makes sense for a destination.” Mola will keep the pass without trace going for a while and then keep an eye on the ex-prisoners while he is with the group, and keep an eye on the surrounding woods as they walk, ranging ahead and behind and to the flanks of the group of people and horses, trusting Tarnie to stick with the group, carrying one of the ex-prisoners if they get tired.

Gwin nods her head in acquiescence at the others' suggestion of allowing the three newcomers to be unbound. She agrees with Mola's suggestion of taking turns at evening watch. And to the entire group she says, Everlund. Oh, I've never been but would be happy to see it. I'm sure the temples are quite enthralling. To Finnegas she offers to share Steveaustin for she is but a wee dwarf and doesn't take up much room at all.

Mola is sure he has never previously encountered Aralea, who, by the way, seems entirely oblivious to any veiled references to the Harpers. 

21 | 3

After a few hours of traveling under the protection of Mola's Pass without Trace, the group sets up camp within a copse of trees in Silverwood, a few hundred feet from where it meets the moors. Late in Gwin's watch, she hears the unmistakable sound of heavy footfalls--many of them--coming from the north.  Whoever is making the noise is moving quickly and making no attempt to hide their movement. Gwin moves to alert the rest of the group, awakening each of you in time to hear whoever it is that is making haste through the darkness. You cannot see anything or anyone through the trees, but you have no doubt that several humanoids are moving rapidly southward at the forest's edge. 

You have rested/slept for 4 hours when this occurs. Sunrise is soon approaching. 

Mola did his best to find a campsite well out of the way of game trails and obvious pathways. 

Waking up and hearing Gwin's alert, he jumps to standing. "That has to be the Hand. I can make a really nice distraction. Run that way [he points perpendicular to their path, east into the woods] fifty feet. A thunderwave or some faerie fire to get their attention. A flaming sphere to get them chasing. Molatiger then leads them with some dashing and growls far from this place. Lose them. Circle around and meet back up with you for the rest of our rest. That work?" He's already moving east and will do this unless someone calls him back.

"I propose a counter idea," says the rogue.

He ignores the muttered, "Of course he does."

"We could let them find us," Rixton says. "If you lead them away, then they maintain the advantage. We can set up the advantage for us if we lay in wait. Here or elsewhere."

“You want to take on a whole war band right now?”

"How many would you say? 8, maybe 12 at the most? I feel sorry for them. Give me a few minutes and I could have a whole trench line laid in waiting. Drawn them in, then easy pickings." There's a twinkle in Jheric's eye as he examines the surrounding area, "Lots of concealment and brush. Even if we don't stand our ground, it'll be hard to chase us when they're dodging mud pits and ditches."

Impossible to know the exact number of individuals that are moving through the night, but you're confident there are at least ten of them. I'll post a map of the area soon.