Heading into the mountains
Subject Waiting
As far as I know I am waiting on a response from Derrell, Randy and Jake.
Have you guys sent in a turn or did I miss something?
Thanks
When they have checked in I will do the next turn.
From: Mark
Subject Waiting
Sorry I did get a turn from Jake, I just filed it wrong.
So I still need to hear from Randy and Derrell.
From: Randy
Subject Information
OOC - Sorry I didn't get a response in yesterday. I was away from my desk all day at work and I didn't get a chance to check my email last night.
"I am grateful that you have been notified of our pending arrival Lt. Halpin. I am Ran-Ell and these are my companions for this journey and hopefully friends beyond that."
"We will gladly accept whatever food and water you can spare. Our horses could also use a good rub down if you have any squires available for the task."
"If you can spare the time, I would like to discuss the lay of the land coming before us on our journey and any concerns you may be aware of that could help us out. There are still several hours of daylight left, so if we could discuss things for about an hour now while our supplies are replenished we could be back on the road and be a little closer to our destination."
From: Derrell
Subject The guards
Fal-Tor sits atop his horse silently. Subliminally, he instructs the raven, Lenore to keep an eye on the soldiers. Fal looks at the various members of his party to see if any of them show signs of nervousness. Fal will treat the strangers as if they mean no harm, unless they do anything to prove otherwise.
From: Mark
Subject In the Mountains
The Lieutenant laughs at Ran's request for a groom. ?This is not the big city, but the borderlands. We have learned to take care of our own needs.? Turning to one of the men with him he says ?When we get to the keep, take their horses and get them water and a quick rub down. Maybe some feed. Treat them well.? The soldier nods and turns his horse to head back to the small keep. Halpin and the rest of his crew draw along side the party and escort them the hundred or so yards to the keep. The party sees a total of about 50 men milling around, practicing swordsmanship, drilling in the yard. The sound of a smithy pounding shoes for the horses or weapons can be heard around back. To Ran and Harp's eyes, the soldiers look like common conscripts, nothing like the armored knights of the Order. However, discipline looks good and the yard is neat.
Lt. Halpin leads the group to where the soldier is waiting to take their mounts and leads them into a medium sized office. On the way there he orders another soldier to bring food from the kitchen so that the party can eat while they talk. The group can see the soldier watching them, giving them the once over. There are many whispers when they see Harp with the sigil of the Silver Sword on his armor.
In the Lieutenant's office extra chairs are brought in so that every one can sit and eat. Halpin starts to answer Ran's questions. ?Well things have been fairly quiet in this area. Of course we border with Byho and they are never any trouble. Have you ever been this way on the North Mountain Road?? Salix raises his hand to indicate that he has been along the road before. ?Well then? replies Halpin, ?you know that the road follows the northern foothills of the mountains you see ahead of you. While the area is claimed by Bhyo, it is really wilderness. Creatures from the mountains sometimes raid down from there if the weather has been bad. Other than that I would not say that there is anything in particular to report. You know that you actually pass through a bit of Camlost before you get to Bhyo. Camlost does not patrol up here though so most travelers have no problems. The only real place to be wary is the Pass of Undulant.? He looks at the group, expecting them to recognize the name.
Most of the grouphas heard of this pass, but know very little about it. Seeing their looks Halpin goes on. ?The pass is the one area where the mountain drop down enough that people can get through the mountains. It is still very hilly and rough terrain, but light cavalry could get through, if they took their time. The robber barons of Undulant use it to raid caravans using the road. Not often enough to make it worthwhile for Bhyo to keep a garrison their. Undulant, of course denies that they are responsible for this, but the monsters of the mountains, like orcs and goblins and such know that if they need work they can go to Undulant and they can find work. Watch yourself around the pass. It is about 5-6 days ride from here. The path gets rougher the further you get into the mountains.? With that Halpin stops talking and start eating.
The hour passes quickly and soon the party members are all mounted up again. The Lieutenant sees them off, the pack horse laden with food.
The next few days sees the truth of the Lt.'s words. The road becomes much rougher and the party travels a bit more slowly. (OODM, think of the Ozarks, lots of trees, fairly hilly, not mountainous). There is rain the day after they leave the garrison, and it is a cold rain. However the next few days are clear. It is about noon on the 4th day when Cai's hawk comes back all excited. Cai seems to get some impression that the hawk saw something up ahead.
OODM: Ok guys what do you do now?
From: Karl
Subject The hawk
On the second rainy day, Salix wants to enjoy it like the previous rain, but the drops are colder and less inviting. Almost as if Nature were telling him to keep his guard up despite her pleasures and beauty. Salix's excitement that has been building as the group has moved into the less "civilized" land, while undiminished, seems to take on a tinge of caution as they enter wilder lands. Here he could feel the raw power of nature which, like a raging river, was exhilarating, beautiful, and dangerous all at once.
On the fourth day the Ranger woman's hawk returns, obviously with news. Salix rides up to Cai and asks, "Can you speak with her? If not, I might be able to with your permission."
From: Derrell
Subject The hawk
When Cai's hawk returns, Fal-Tor considers sending his raven ahead to investigate, but will wait to see what the leaders of the party decide to do. If the Ranger is unable to communicate with the hawk, Fal-Tor will offer to send the raven ahead to see what the hawk saw.
From: Kevin
Subject What is ahead
Harp will look to Ran Ell for directions. Absent anything direct from Ran Ell, Harp will keep a trained eye out for any hints of trouble and will listen to any conversation that takes place between the other travelers.
From: Randy
Subject What is ahead
Ran calls the company to a halt and approaches Cai along with Salix. He starts to question Cai but stops as Salix mentions talking to the bird. The rest of the group form a circle around Cai intent on hearing any news she can share.
If it sounds like trouble then Ran will organize the group into a formation with Bel-Ril and Cai-Ril moving out to the left and right respectively and moving ahead to check for traps/ambush. Ran and Harp in the front with Fal-Tor, Salix, and Surin following closely behind.
He also suggests that the birds take to the sky and watch for possible enemys moving to come in from behind the group (if the bird owners can communicate well enough with their birds).
From: Kevin
Subject Setting up
When and if the group has to form up as Ran suggests, Harp will ask Salix if he can tie off the pack horse to Salix's mount, leaving Harp mount free at the front of the group.
From: Mark
Subject Riding horses
Please remember that all of the horses in the party are riding horses and not warhorses. They are not trained for battle and will require ride checks to keep them under control.
Those of you with 5 or more ranks in Handle Animal get a +2 bonus to your ride check. It is a DC20 to control a horse/pony in combat. If you fail you can do nothing else. If you succede you can make a normal attack. It is also a move action so you can not do that and get a full attack.