Subject: Re: The Chase; Spells and more spells and some running

Garyth nods wordlessly to Rennik's suggestion. He's not nearly the woodsman Rennik is. Hopefully, the time he spent as a youth playing in the woods behind the family farm will be of some use to him in this ruse. As he sneaks off, he remembers the times he and his brothers would play Hide-and-Seek amongst the trees. It's been a long time, though. He just hopes enough comes back to him to help throw off their pursuers.

Subject: The chase; jungle and more jungle

The group runs through the jungle at a swift jog for nearly an hour before Rennik calls them to a stop, puffing and out of breath. "We... stop for a moment." Everyone nods agreement, and plops to the ground panting. Rennik hands Promise to his father, and moves away back up the trail a few hundred yards to hide and confuse it while everyone else rests. When he returns he says, "We move no faster than a swift walk from here. If we're caught, we'll need our strength for fighting or running then. I don't want to be ambushed while out of breath."

Garyth nods. "Agreed. And I think we've gained some ground here. It won't be easy to catch us now."

Farron swats at one of the giant blood sucking bugs that are so ubiquitous here. "How much longer are we in this jungle?" Rennik shrugs. "A day" I don't know. Those southern forests are Kalama territory. We are not at war with them, but we have been in the past. Relations are... strained. We Chorrdath avoid those woods." He takes Promise back, and returns him to the sling. The party begins to get up and move out. Rennik adds, "I would rather an honorable fight with a Kalama hunter protecting his land than a fight with those who chase us. But if we do meet any of my folk in those woods, do not speak or act before me. Let me feel it out first. Agreed?"

The group moves on. Rennik does his best to cover the trail, but the need for haste limits what he can do. His only hope is that it is enough to delay those that follow. He doesn't need to completely lose the pursuers, just slow them enough. If the group can reach Overlook ahead of their pursuit, they will have stout wooden walls and a garrison of fifty men to help them.

For the rest of the group, it is just more walking. The mind numbing process of one foot in front of another, broken only by the need to avoid sinkholes, and swat bugs, and pull slimy hanging plants out of one's face. At one point, Sa'id almost steps on a resting swamp dragon. It looks like a large rotten log until it opens its mouth in a four foot long tooth filled warning. Sa'id, and Farron next to him, nearly wet themselves but the creature does not appear to want to fight. It just wants to be left alone, and they quickly oblige it. Rennik says a quick prayer of thanks to Mielikki and to the darker gods of swamp and lizard.

At mid afternoon rolls around the thunder starts. Kessel begins collecting a thunder storm of fittingly apocalyptic proportions. For nearly half an hour you can hear nothing but the crash of one bolt after another, the sky above the jungle flashing bright white a split second before each blast. Just as the thunder dies down, the rain begins. It comes down in drenching waves, leaving everyone soaked within seconds. Rennik bundles Promise even tighter in the dead wizards cloak, and is gratified to see that the magical cloak seems to shed water like a ducks feathers. The baby stays quite warm and dry inside it. At least the rain will make tracking much more difficult.

In the jungle, under heavy cloud cover, and being drenched in rain, it is difficult to tell exactly when night falls. But at some point, it gets so dark that the party can barely see five feet ahead of them, and exhaustion sets in. Rennik hears an almost apologetic little cry. He looks down, and Promise is staring up at him with an almost embarrassed look. He gives one more little half hearted cry. Some ancient genetic memory of how these things work kicks on in Rennik's head and says, "He is probably hungry or soiled or both."

[Ok. Decision time. You have moved as far as you can without starting to pile up fatigue penalties. Promise is a newborn baby, and is hungry and has been carted nonstop for the entire first day of his life. Do you want to move on? What will you do about Promise? Do you want to camp? Gimme some details please. At this point, you are still in the jungle.]

Subject: Re: The chase; jungle and more jungle

"We should camp, but not here."

Rennik takes a look around the area before speaking again.

"Make as though we have camped. Take off your pack, drop it on the ground, shuffle it about. Sit, stand, walk around back and forth. Tramp the ground down a bit. Once it looks as though we've been stopped here, we will move off through the woods as carefully as possible for 50 yards or more, then make true camp."

"With a camp, and no trail leading off, it may just delay them or throw them off. I will make attempts to booby trap the path we leave tonight, as well."

Setting about the camp at a heavy limp, making dragging marks with his foot, Rennik breaks a length of wood from a tree and starts whittling it into a splint with his knife. He intentionally cuts deep to ruin the strength of the splint, then discards it. Breaking off another length of wood, he places it in his pack. Hopefully, he thinks, this will continue the ruse of his being injured.

After the false camp is made, and the group moves off at 90 degrees from the path they had been taking, Rennik will go back and cover the path as best as possible. He will then dig a few foottraps, digging up the hard dirt, burying an arrow point up just under the surface, then replacing the soil loosely over the top and hiding it with ground cover. He'll do this with ten arrows from his fallen kinsman's quiver, saying a quiet pray to Mielikki to allow his kin revenge.

Once back at the proper camp, making sure everyone is very careful not to disturb much of the undergrowth, his mind turns to the Kalama.

His father had told him of the wars with the tribe. They were honorable fighters that fought with strength and cunning, much like their mongoose totem. They are an animistic people, who worship the spirits of animals and the weather rather than any established gods. If Rennik remembers correctly, it was this that brought the two tribes into conflict - some nonsense about the Kalama betraying Mielikki by denying her, and betraying the halfling tribes by angering the forest gods.

The Kalama, in turn, claimed the Chorrdath worshipped false gods, apart from the true spirits of life. They felt the Chorrdath were tainted by the humans, having abandoned their animistic roots. Knowing what he knows now, Rennik shudders. It was the Kalama who had drifted the further from their civilized roots - and likely for the best.

Rennik's own views on the subject were sort of a compromise. Mielikki governed the forests and provided for the halflings, certainly, but she worked in mysterious ways. Her messages were often carried by animals appearing at certain times, or plants growing where they had no normal reason to grow. Rennik believed the animal spirits were just ways of seeing Mielikki, by worshipping her servants and acts, and he had no trouble accepting that. A tree can be called many things by many tribes, yet it still remains a tree.

Even so, he had to be careful, and to call attention early to the truce between their peoples, and give honor to the great mongoose and the other animals of the forest. Pride would not be prudent.

He turns to Cadfael.

"It is good to see the palor gone from your face, servant of Pelor. It is as though you again see the sun... I... We will be entering the territory of a tribe called the Kalama. They believe that all gods are false idols, and that only the spirits of animal and plant are true..."

He pauses, trying to think how to phrase his next thought.

"Not that you would... but... I... it would not be wise to speak of your god before them. My tribe was at war for several years simply because we worshipped Mielikki, and they the great mongoose. In fact," he glances at Cadfael's shield, "it might be best to cover Pelor's symbol for the next leg of the journey. I do not know their feelings toward the sun god, but if they have fallen so far away from the ways of our ancestors, there may still be a lingering denial of Pelor, as there is a denial of the ways of human civilization."

Subject: Re: The chase; jungle and more jungle

When the group selects its location for the night's camp, Garyth takes Promise from Rennik. Growing up in a big family, he has changed his share of diapers, and he doubts any of the others can say the same. He finds a bit of shelter from the rain under a broad-leafed tree and cleans the baby. He also tries to clean the robe with rainwater; hopefully the charm that keeps the robe dry will aid in the cleaning, as they have nothing else with which to clothe the child. He then hands Promise to Mission.

"I don't know what we have to feed your son with. If we could risk a fire and the time we might try making a bit of broth, but if our pursuers find us..." Garyth trails off. Everyone knows what will happen if they are caught. He gropes for words for a moment, then turns to Cadfael. "Ah... Brother Cadfael, do you know of any prayer that might bring us some food for the child?"

OOC: Garyth will offer to take the first watch, but won't argue if Rennik or Mission wants it. In the morning, he will want to go as fast as Rennik thinks prudent, hustling for the first hour if possible.

Subject: Re: The chase; jungle and more jungle

His voice is almost desperate. "I'll take him, Rennick," Mission says, lifing Promise out of the halfling's sling. He tucks the child into his arms, so right, so _good_, like he fits there, like he is a natural part of Mission's own body.

Garyth steps forward, mentions something about changing Promise-- but Mission shakes his head. "Thanks, no. He is my boy. I can do it."

He'd better. How much time did he have with Promise? Mission slips into the shadows of the forest, apart from the others. Just a little way away, close enough to hear Rennick rumbling over the noise of the rain. Mission peels off the cloak from around Promise, shakes it inside out, and leaves it to soak clean for a moment.

Time. Mission looks into Promise's eyes, those timeless, depthless, dark pools of blue, and is struck by how very little time they might have.

"Don't piss on me now, boy," Mission says softly. "I'm wet enough as it is. Yes, I am. I am, I am!"

For now, they had a moment. Mission pulls his bandana out of his pocket, and lets the rain wet it. He wrings it out, gets it soaking again, and then puts the tip of the wet cloth in Promise's mouth.

It isn't much-- it isn't anything, really-- but it's all Mission has right now. As Promise greedily sucks on the cloth, Mission cleans him off as best he can. Garyth would be better at it, for sure-- but Promise was his. From the patch of blonde at the top of his head, to the pink toes. . . his boy.

And Kaishin. Mission takes a deep breath. That was something.

He whispers to Promise, "If you have any hidden wisdom there, Promise, now'd be the right time to let me in on it. Between the swamp dragons and the hordes of ravening undead and the insane, savage halflings, your da's about out of ideas. What do you say, huh, little boy?"

Promise is silent as he sucks on Mission's wet bandana. Mission feels his heart breaking and binding itself up in his son's eyes. Those fat cheeks, the little tip of pinkish tongue that works itself out of his lips every now and then. . .

"Stone and Blood, I love you, boy," he says, fiercely. "I don't think I've ever loved anything half so much as you, and though you're going to break my heart and the Stone I stand on, I will love you come shadow and sand. Just you watch-- we'll get free of all this. Just you watch."

Mission cleans out the cloak, and wraps it back around his son. "Let's see if we can't find you something else to eat. And then, what we'll do to get back to the Mossground. Maybe that nice priest can help, hmm? What do you think, Promise? Maybe I'll let you piss on a wizard. Do you want to? Hmm?"

And Promise smiles once.

OOC: Sorry to overwrite you, Mike. . . but Mission wouldn't let anyone change his son's dirty laundry, not at this point in their lives.