Deciding Manut's Fate
Subject: Re: hey! can i get an amen! Uh huh! Good god!
Checking in. I was incommunicado yesterday.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
Farron listens to all this with interest, but has nothing to add.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
Did everyone receive the mail below?
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
I got it, (both times).
Farron can cast "haste", but that only lasts a few rounds. Not nearly long enough to get back to Gully's and back with it. Other than that, I don't have anything that would help you significantly.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
Yup, I got that one. I don't have my spell list on me, but IIRC I don't have anything that would be particularly useful.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
:)
:)
:)
OOC: What is it with you wizards and the double emails?
How hard can it be to go into the To and CC lines and delete everything but 'game@sakeriver.com?'
I mean, I understand that wizards are not given to physical exertion, but THIS. . .this is just silly.
:)
:)
:)
From: Ty
Subject: Cries in the night; where do we go?
The child has finished his tale. He falls asleep next to Rennik, with Mission's blanket wrapped tightly around him. It is clear that he sleeps so heavily that nothing will wake him.
[You can discuss plans if you wish, or just check in to tell me you're sleeping. I do need to know what you plan to do with the kid before I write the next turn.]
PS, welcome Tom to the team, everyone. Tom is going to be taking over a very important character in the near future. :)
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; where do we go?
There goes the neighborhood. . .
:)
From: Dan
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
OOC - If you wait until morning Cadfael can cast endurance on you which will raise your constitution by 1d4+1 for 5 hours. Other than that, I can't help you. Doesn't Farron have a mount? Or is the forest too dense for that to be an option?
Cadfael smiles broadly down at the Halfling boy and extends a hand to help him to his feet. He does not, however, have anything to say (and so he goes back to studying for his midterms).
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
Well, I either have to take my hands off the keyboard and click the mouse to do that, or I have to hit "Shift-Tab" four times, then "delete", whereas to get rid of a duplicate email, all I have to do is hit "Ctrl+D". :D
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; where do we go?
Farron thinks the kid would be a liability, but having already said so chooses not to belabor the point. He takes one last look at the now-sleeping kid and decides that for now he has the right idea. If the others want to discuss his fate now, that's fine, but unless anyone addresses Farron specifically, he goes back to his blanket and is quickly asleep.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
(OOC - Oh yeah, how could I have forgotten, Farron *can* cast mount, but it is not on his spell list today. Ty, when are spells technically decided on? The night before? or in the morning during prep time? If the latter, Farron can prepare and cast Mount if that's what we decide. Ty, he'll trade in one of the "Magic Missile" spells and prepare "Mount" instead. If the former, it will take a day to do that.)
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
(OOC - OK, let's try this one . . .Ty, you *did* say the path we are following is pretty well trodden, right? Can we assume a horse could make it back by following the trail?)
Farron listens to the debate when Cadfael suggests that it's too bad we don't have a horse we could send him back on. At that point, Farron says, "Well, I think that can be arranged if we want to do that. We're only a day out from Gully's on foot. I can summon a mount that should be able to get him at least well out of the forest if not all the way back to Gully's before the spell ends. (OOC - Good for 10 hours riding, however far that will take him). If we choose to do that, though, we should at least send a note with him so Gully knows the circumstances.
"At any rate, whether or not we choose to go that route, I, for one, need a good night's sleep." With that Farron returns to his blanket, and sleep.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
Mission frowns. "Kulick may still be seraching for him."
He falls silent again. Mission will let the others debate this out for a while.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
Garyth nods at Farron's suggestion of summoning a mount, but frowns at Mission's comment. "Yes, Kulik is a concern, but it seems more likely to me that he and his cohorts would have continued on to their destination." He thinks a moment. "This tower is not likely to be far from here. If we went there before sending the boy back, we could better ascertain what the group did after losing the boy."
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
OOC: When I'm writing from school I usually forget. Sorry. :) And welcome to Tom. :)
..seven characters, eh? Hope he isn't a wizard ;-)
Sa'id has nothing to add to the discussion about the boy's fate; he has gleaned all of the information he needs from the conversation and is quite happy to muse to himself (doing his best to refrain frum muttering out loud) and ultimately allow his subconscious to chew on it while he sleeps.
OOC: In other words, I have a difficult exam coming up tomorrow. :-P
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
Rennik studies the boy as he listens to the words of others. He hasn't achieved manhood yet, and should have been spared the nights in the jungle for at least a few more years. If he survives, he will remember these days and will gain great renown amongst his people for his courage. That is, if there is even a Logi tribe to return to. Or a Chorrdath tribe.
Rennik's face is troubled as he ponders the boy's words, and perks up at the mention of Kulik.
"If he were on the boy's trail, he would be dead. The Logi are experienced trackers and Elise's men are capable. If they had pursued him into the jungle, they would have overtaken him and killed him. He was not worth their notice."
"What I don't understand is how Elise could have come to be in that tower last night, unless she doubled back at some point from the course we are on. I've been following her trail, set deep in this mud, and we came across no tower. Yet she was there, according to Manut's he tale."
"We may be able to gain on her if we turn back toward the tower now, instead of waiting for her trail to double back. That would take us closer to Gully's, where we could leave Manut."
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
Garyth nods. "Agreed. Besides, who knows what we might find at this tower?"
If no one else has anything to add, Garyth will return to his patrol.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
(OOC: Apparently I misread or misinterpreted where we are. I thought we had been in the jungle for a good part of the day, when we'd only been in the rain forest. So we're not actually doubling back... we haven't gotten to the jungle yet. The Tower is just into the jungle, while Gully is back the other direction. Sorry for the confusion)
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
OOC: Wait, rain forest and jungle are different? Damn. And I thought this little moral dilemma was worked out.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cries in the night; a halflings tale
Mission sits quietly, his good nature warring against the frustration he feels at being but a day away from picking up Anileth's trail. His mind is eased somewhat by Rennick's words-- but his heart is not.
Manut's story is too much like his own. Betrayal of the Path, betrayal of his father, his Blood-- Manut's story, in a way, is Mission's story.
But Mission has his own son, his own Path that demands his devotion. He knew, as perhaps this boy would now come to know, the harsh toll taken on traitors who sought redemption. That is what finally decides him.
"If Farron's summoned horse can take him quickly back to Gully's. . . we should do that."
He swallows. Path help us all. Blood and stone, how he ached!
Mission wraps his arms around himself and places his head on his knees. He will say nothing more tonight.