On the trail
Subject The caravan
Cai wants to see if she can find tracks of the larger creature. She agrees that we should follow them as soon as possible.
From: Rob
Subject The caravan
Bel walks up to Ran and says " Ran, what about the Lady? I know that it isn't a good thing to let them lie there, but surely our first obligation lies with her. That is our duty, even though she wasn't here to receive our protection officially. Any time lost between her and us could be fatal.
I think we need to move out now, as quickly as possible, and track them down....who knows what they could be doing to her at this very moment?"
From: Mark
Subject Turn
Abby
Thanks for forwarding Rob's turn to the group. Everyone has replied. I will be sending out a turn later this afternoon or this evening, depending on how work goes. If any one wants to do any role play or anything else around the caravan let me know.
Thanks
From: Mark
Subject On the trail
The party looks in horror at the carnage before them. Even the horses that were pulling the carriage have been killed, left for carrion in the field. Anything useful has either been taken or broken. Alatyr tells the group what he thinks should be done with the bodies. Harp quickly takes it upon himself to honor the fallen men and starts the process of gathering the bodies. He quickly lays them in a row and positions them as best he can, so that they dead will have some respect.
While he is doing this the two rangers start to look for tracks. Surprisingly enough, they both find it difficult to find which way the raiding party left, since it is so confused around where the attack happened.(DC?, Cai 4+9=13, success, Bel 2+5=7,fail) However Cai eventually finds the tracks of the goblins heading backup the road a bit. However, in all the confusion in the tracks, she is unable to pick out the track of anything larger than the goblins. As she heads back to Ran to let him know she has found the tracks, Harp lets them all know that the bodies are ready to be honored.
The party stands before the pile of dead guardsmen. The mood is somber. This could be them if they were not careful. Alatyr says a few words over each man, mentioning his name, where he was from and what he was like. The Lt. is last. Alatyr realizes that this man probably saved his life by sending him ahead to find help. As he finishes, Alatyr feels a surge of hatred for the creatures that did this. Under his breath he promises his comrades that he would avenge them. Harp then says a small prayer to his god, Heironious, asking that these brave men find their place next to the war god.
The party mounts up and heads out after the goblins. Over the next 6 hours, even moving at normal speed, the two rangers are able to keep the trail. It does become obvious to Bel though that Cai is a much better tracker than he is. There are several times where he is sure that they have lost the trail, only to have her point it out to him. In fact, once she even found a foot print of a creature that was man sized.(Track rolls for 6 hours, DC?, Cai: 6+9=15, success, 6+9=15 success, 20+9=29,success, 10+9=19, success, 17+9=26, success, 10+9=19, success, 10+9=19, success. Bel 14+5=19, success, 2+5=7, fail, 11+5=16, success, 14+5=19, success, 17+5=22, success, 4+5=9, fail, 3+5=8, fail.)
Cai does realize that the size of the party they are following has a lot to do with her success many times. She figures that there are at least 30 goblins in the party. However, at the moment they all look like they are on foot. That means that the party may be able to catch up with them. It will take several days, maybe more than a week, depending on the terrain up ahead.
During the afternoon, the two rangers take turns sending their birds ahead to see if there is any trouble. So far they have had nothing to report. After a good six hours of hard travel Surin's pony again starts showing signs of coming up lame. Salix lets Ran know that they must rest. Knowing that it would be almost impossible to track in the dark, Ran decides to call for camp.
OODM: Ok guys any role playing you would like to do, go to it.
From: Kevin
Subject On the trail
IC: Salix, is there anything that can be done to help Surin's pony? I fear that it's lack of stamina will endanger us at some time. Is there any magic you can use that will either help it recover faster or maybe not succumb to the effects of the pace we are keeping. Maybe we can lighten its load somewhat if you think that may help.
OOC: Mark, I have tried to figure out the loads on the character sheets, but they seem to reflect the starting weights. Is there a chance that we would re-distribute a little bit of weight to give Surins pony a light load?
IC:
Harp also asks, as they ride:
"Alatyr, what can you tell us of the Lady Rochelle and her family? Is there any possibility that this attack was not random but a planned occurance meant to deal a blow to some business interest of her family?
From: Kevin
Subject Spot check
OOC: Mark, is there possibility that the Rangers might spot Spot Check) a camp area the goblins might have used, or does it look like they are moving on through the night?
From: Karl
Subject On the trail
Salix responds, "I have some small healing ability, and with proper preparation can remove the effects of fatigue or exhaustion. But a pony is not a horse and I have not mastered that particular form of transmutation. We will have to travel within the limits of the slowest among us, or leave someone behind." He gives Surin a look that he means to convey he is only joking about that last bit.
He walks over to the pony and puts a friendly hand on his flank. "We can take some of the load off our valiant little friend, but I don't think it will make that much difference. His legs just aren't long enough to keep up with the horses."
(OOC- that said, Salix does have spells like "Bull's Strength" and "Bear's Endurance" but they only last for 4 minutes at this level and would take up one of his highest spell slots, so unless someone did some serious convincing, he'd be reluctant to use them for that.)
From: Kevin
Subject Spells
OOC: I had reviewed the Players Manual, and did not see a "Make Pony Go Faster" or "Remove exhaustion from pony" spell, but I might have had an old manual. Maybe you could develop a "Make pony legs longer" spell or a "Stretch Hafling" spell.
;-)
From: Randy
Subject On the Trail
OOC: Sorry I don't have much time today so there isn't much to this turn.
Ran continues to press the group as hard as he can without leaving Surin in the dust. As much as possible he sends the Rangers to scout ahead when they stop to allow the pony time to rest. Ran doesn't talk much except for the occasional question to the rangers and continuing to check with Salix about what the birds are seeing.
From: Mark
Subject speeds
A pony's base speed is 40. A light load is up to 75lbs.
A light horse's base speed is 60. A light load is 150lbs.
A heavy horse's base speed is 50. A light load is 200lbs
A pony with light load can do 32 miles in a day( 8 hours).
A pony with a medium load(76-225lbs) can do 24 miles a day.
A light horse with light load can do 48 miles a day.
A light horse with a medium load(151-450lbs) can do 32 miles in a day.
A heavy horse with a light load can do 40 miles in a day.
A heavy horse with a medium load(201-600lbs) can do 28 miles a day.
A man's base speed is 30 with light load and light armor.
A man can do 24 miles in a day.
All of the above are as fast as some one can go in a day and not take any damage. All damage done to horses and ponies by pushing them is lethal damage. Just ask Alatyr.
So a pony with a medium load can keep up but not overtake a man with a light load and/or light armor.
Mark
From: Derrell
Subject On the Trail
Fal feeds his and grooms his horse. He then eats dinner. If there is anything that's needed of him, he will help out, but would like to turn in early so he has time to study his spell book before breakfast. Again, the raven will sleep perched atop Fal's tent, so that it can help the other birds keep watch.