Claire sighs, and notes the post she will be taking at the window, not really willing to go outside and brave the cold to keep watch inside the community.

Quote from Sidewinder51 >>

Vaclav nods. "I could go with you but while I am looking through Chernobog's eyes I am blind and deaf, it's not an ideal situation. Plus then the others have no way of knowing if we need help."

 "Well, in that case I'll try and trail him unobserved." A grin flashes briefly across Nos Heliwr face.

Stealth   13

OCC Hopefully he is hard of hearing?

Nos Heliwr slips off into the darkness following Fallon.  Above him, the owl-spirit swoops silently along, skidding through the night sky like a tiny cloud.  The game trail is well defined and the rogue believes it was probably created by deer moving through the wilds.  It leads roughly northeast, parallel to the craggy mountains to your left.  You are in foothill territory here.  The ground is rocky and grassy in equal measure.  Fallon appears to be moving with purpose down the trail, occasionally checking back behind himself.  Nos follows warily, trusting to his skills.

After about thirty minutes the trail begins to rise and you can see it leading to a small wooden footbridge which crosses a fast-flowing stream.  Fallon is heading for it.  Vaclav, looking down from the vantage of the owl's position high above, sees a man stood on the bridge.  Chernobog also notices two further men, stood off to the sides in positions of vantage, obviously lookouts.

Nos moves across an open area between rocks and his timing is unlucky as the clouds clear momentarily as he does so, meaning for a couple of moments he was highlighted in the moonlight and visible.  Chernobog spotted him easily and Vaclav isn't sure but he thinks perhaps Fallon turned to look over his shoulder at about that same time.

Nos dips into cover and merges with the shadows of a bushy outcrop below the rise where the bridge and stream are situated.  Fallon is continuing onwards towards the figure on the bridge.  Nos can now make out the silhouette of the man on the bridge but has not spotted the two hidden lookouts yet.


Meanwhile back in the village, all is quiet. 

Claire scratches her nose.  "I still don't see what the others were so paranoid about," she muses absently.  "But they have good instincts.  I trust them."  She smiles at Louis and for a little while before retiring to her own rest, attempts to make some amicable small talk to get to know the ranger better, and allow him to do the same.

(Which we could RP out or not, at your discretion)

Nos Heliwr will crouch down amid the rocks and watch; He is more interested in where the people Fallon meets go than with the actual meeting itself.  That Fallon is arranging the hijack and/or warning them about the Broken Chain's, and the Baron's interest in the robberies is somewhat moot.  Senses alert, he will await developments before deciding what actions to take.  As he waits he will scan the area for routes to leave quickly and under as much cover as possible, just in case things turn turtle. 

OCC I forgot to double the proficiency for stealth on the last roll, a 9, it should have been 11.

Stealth   29

Nos Heliwr will melt into the shadows.

Quote from Enkida >>

Claire scratches her nose.  "I still don't see what the others were so paranoid about," she muses absently.  "But they have good instincts.  I trust them."  She smiles at Louis and for a little while before retiring to her own rest, attempts to make some amicable small talk to get to know the ranger better, and allow him to do the same.

(Which we could RP out or not, at your discretion)

 Louis smiles back through some crooked teeth. 
“Pardon my saying, but ya’ll are an odd buncha’ ducks. How did ya’ll meet?”

Fallon moves up to the bridge and the man there and he shakes hands.  They stand and discuss things for five minutes or so.  You note Fallon nodding over his shoulder once and the man staring off into the darkness.  He then calls out to the side and Vaclav, looking through Chernobog's eyes, spots the two hidden men moving forward stealthily.  Soon enough they begin to close in on the location that Nos Heliwr is hiding.  Nos is also aware of them, and they are looking about, but as yet do not seem to have spotted him.

26

As soon as the men start moving toward Nos Heliwr he will flick a small stone off to his left; a stone small enough to make just enough of a sound as to draw the attention of the two away from where he is at.  Hardly breathing he will remain hidden, for the moment pretending he is a rock. 

The two men spend a few minutes looking around the area, but Nos Heliwr's superior skills keep him hidden from view.  They soon return to their positions flanking the bridge.  After a further few minutes, the man on the bridge hands a small bag to Fallon and they shake hands once more.  The three unknown men move off to the north.  Fallon turns and heads back down the game trail towards Hillsend.

Nos Heliwr and Vaclav, what are you going to do?

Meanwhile back in the village Claire and Louis continue to exchange small talk and get to know one another.  A cat slinks through the shadows from one house to another, seeking prey in the bushes.  Otherwise, nothing stirs.

24   Nos Heliwr will surreptitiously follow the three northward, staying just at the edge of his hearing, alert for any sign of lookouts.  All those lessons in walking soundlessly on rice paper are paying off it seems.  His goal is to find out not only where they go but to get some indication of how many are in the band of hijackers.

The bridge where Fallon met the men was about a thirty-minute walk from the village of Hillsend.  How long does Nos Heliwr want to follow them for (assuming they could travel north for a few days, worst case!)?

What is Chernobog doing?  Following Nos or Fallon?

If they come to a picket of horses and mount up, continuing to where ever it is they are going, Nos Heliwr will cease following.  But, as it did not seem they were equipped for a lengthy journey, he will give them an hour or so to get somewhere.  Otherwise he will break off trailing them and head back to the inn.  If they get 'somewhere' he will reconsider his actions then. 

Nos Heliwr follows the three men on through the darkness.  They stick to the game trail northeast for about a further fifteen minutes then break off to the left, heading up into the mountains.  After a further fifteen minutes, you see the flickering of a small campfire.  You are about an hour's walk from Hillsend here.  The three men enter the makeshift camp.  Nos Heliwr sees three more men there (six in total).  All armed with swords, a couple also with short bows and wearing an assortment of light armour.  The three you were following hunker down with their companions and start to talk.   Soon the leader - the man who met Fallon on the bridge - indicates that they should settle down and five men tuck themselves up in bedrolls.  One stands on a nearby rock looking out over the surrounding area, clearly taking the first watch.

Meanwhile, Chernobog silently follows Fallon and within about thirty minutes he returns to Hillsend and - unless anyone is going to stop him - enters his shack.  Vaclav is able to telepathically command and talk to the owl again now he is back in the village.

Louis and Claire have been chatting for an hour or so now.

Vaclav will send Chernobog back down the trail to try and find Nos.

Chernobog flits off into the night, silent and swift.  The countryside passes beneath him and Vaclav watches, enjoying the sensation of flight at speed across the farmlands.  You see a few farmsteads with lights on and some nocturnal animals but mostly all is quiet.

(what you see next will depend on Nos Heliwr's next actions)

"We were actually all... stationed on a ship together.  We got to know one another during the journey at sea.  Confined quarters and all, you know," she says, smiling uneasily.  "You could say, being on land together is something of a new experience for us... but it's been working out well so far.  And what of you?  Do you do this sort of job for a living?"

*As the evening wears on, Claire would actually retire in time to take her watch and then get a proper long rest, given that nothing untoward happened in the town.*

Nos Heliwr Will return to the inn and inform his companions of what he has seen. “There are six of them plus Fallon, I think we can take care of these hijackers with out too much trouble.” He grins in a manner that would send a chill up the spine of one who didn’t know him, maybe even then. “They don’t know they have been ‘discovered’. Time to sharpen the knives.”

Chernobog returns to Vaclav a few moments before Nos Heliwr reappears in the meeting hall.

What do you plan to do now?  It is now about 1 o'clock in the morning.  The weather is cold but dry outside.

Vaclav will tell the others what Chernobog saw and then wait for Nos to do the same. Then he'll go to sleep.

Louis scratches his beard. 
“Are we doing this tonight or tomorrow?”