Tracks Near the Barn
Subject: The Farm
[please give me a quick check in everyone. I need to know if we are still having problems with the list. Gracias]
Rennik and Pensive leave the farm house, moving slowly over to the barn. Out of the corner of his eye, Rennik can see Robert peeking out of the corn field, crossbow in hand. The Falcon's were brave, no doubt, but he'd need to teach them a thing or two about staying out of sight if he was going to keep traveling with them.
They are only half way between the house and barn when Rennik stops. "A lot of people went through here." He points out the deep tracks leading out of the barn and off to the East. "How many, Rennik?" the elf asks. "More than the two adults and children?"
The Halfling nods, "Just at a guess, I'd say several dozen at least. Humans, by the tracks." He bends down for a better look. "And Halflings here on the flanks." Rennik spends several long minutes slowly walking around the tracks, occasionally bending down for a closer look, using the haft of his halberd to move grass and rocks out of the way. "Prisoners. It was a group of prisoners, maybe two dozen or more. Tied up and moved together by a group of Halflings. The Murrkat have probably been raiding the outlying farms, capturing anyone that didn't seek refuge inside Overlook. And within the last two days, they took them east."
Pensive looks at the massive outline of Kessel in the distance and shudders. He can sense a lingering pain and panic here. The people taken away knew they weren't coming back.
Rennik, apparently satisfied that he's learned all he can from the footprints, moves cautiously to the barn door. It is slightly ajar, and the inside is well lit by sunlight coming through high windows. There is no one inside, but it does look like a large group of people had been living in it for several days at least.
"The demon is moving fast," Rennik says, while fingering a bit of clothing someone left behind. "He must have had his Murrkat scouting the island weeks ago. The wereboar attacks on Overlook were not isolated. The boars must have been traveling with Garesh scouts and hunters."
Pensive says quietly, "Rennik, this island is dotted with hundreds of small farms like this, outside the protection of any town."
Rennik nods, "And now the army from Nesalin is running home with its tail between its legs, and if I know humans, they'll stay shut up inside the city waiting to be seiged. Meanwhile, the demon's creatures will have the run of the island. That army he sent out did exactly what it was supposed to do. It scared the one power on this island capable of fighting back into hiding."
The Halfling and the Elf look at each other for a moment, then move back out to the cornfield to collect the Falcons and catch up with the fleeing people of Overlook.
[I know I did a lot of exposition here, but I am trying to get the game back on track after my long hiatus. I'm going to pause here for any RP or turns that people want to do. Rennik and Pensive will catch up with Garyth several hours before the town stops to camp.]
From: Raja
Subject: Test
This is a test message.
From: Ty
Subject: The farm
[please give me a quick check in everyone. I need to know if we are still having problems with the list. Gracias]
Rennik and Pensive leave the farm house, moving slowly over to the barn. Out of the corner of his eye, Rennik can see Robert peeking out of the corn field, crossbow in hand. The Falcon's were brave, no doubt, but he'd need to teach them a thing or two about staying out of sight if he was going to keep traveling with them.
They are only half way between the house and barn when Rennik stops. "A lot of people went through here." He points out the deep tracks leading out of the barn and off to the East. "How many, Rennik?" the elf asks. "More than the two adults and children?"
The Halfling nods, "Just at a guess, I'd say several dozen at least. Humans, by the tracks." He bends down for a better look. "And Halflings here on the flanks." Rennik spends several long minutes slowly walking around the tracks, occasionally bending down for a closer look, using the haft of his halberd to move grass and rocks out of the way. "Prisoners. It was a group of prisoners, maybe two dozen or more. Tied up and moved together by a group of Halflings. The Murrkat have probably been raiding the outlying farms, capturing anyone that didn't seek refuge inside Overlook. And within the last two days, they took them east."
Pensive looks at the massive outline of Kessel in the distance and shudders. He can sense a lingering pain and panic here. The people taken away knew they weren't coming back.
Rennik, apparently satisfied that he's learned all he can from the footprints, moves cautiously to the barn door. It is slightly ajar, and the inside is well lit by sunlight coming through high windows. There is no one inside, but it does look like a large group of people had been living in it for several days at least.
"The demon is moving fast," Rennik says, while fingering a bit of clothing someone left behind. "He must have had his Murrkat scouting the island weeks ago. The wereboar attacks on Overlook were not isolated. The boars must have been traveling with Garesh scouts and hunters."
Pensive says quietly, "Rennik, this island is dotted with hundreds of small farms like this, outside the protection of any town."
Rennik nods, "And now the army from Nesalin is running home with its tail between its legs, and if I know humans, they'll stay shut up inside the city waiting to be seiged. Meanwhile, the demon's creatures will have the run of the island. That army he sent out did exactly what it was supposed to do. It scared the one power on this island capable of fighting back into hiding."
The Halfling and the Elf look at each other for a moment, then move back out to the cornfield to collect the Falcons and catch up with the fleeing people of Overlook.
[I know I did a lot of exposition here, but I am trying to get the game back on track after my long hiatus. I'm going to pause here for any RP or turns that people want to do. Rennik and Pensive will catch up with Garyth several hours before the town stops to camp.]
[Editor's Note: This post was sent to the list twice, each time from a different email account.]
From: Mark
Subject: Re: The farm
I got it.
I was wondering who Mr. B was.
Mark
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The farm
When everyone checks in, please also let me know if you got my test message that went out before Ty's turn. Karl, this goes double for you. :P I'm trying to figure out if there's any method to the madness of the missing messges.
From: Mark
Subject: Re: The farm
I got the test message as well. Did not know I was to reply but here you go.
Mark
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The farm
That's my fault, I meant to ask people to reply when I sent it out. :)
From: Mike
Subject: Re: The farm
I got both messages.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The farm
I just got this message in the last half hour or so (the original one, which Ty sent at 2:30 PM EST this afternoon). I also just got two other messages that you sent me, Ty, both test messages. So something is definitely borked between your domain and my list for some reason. And I guess that's also true between my domain and Karl's domain. Hmmmmm....
From: Matt
Subject: Re: The farm
I seem to have gotten everything, though I hadn't checked in a couple of days. This is my vacation week, and I was in Atlantic City for two days.
That said, I'm cool until we meet up with Garyth again. No real talking except to slap Robert around a bit. :)
OOC Chatter: List Tests
Subject: Re: Test
Got it, presumably in a timely manner.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: The Farm
I got it.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: The farm
I did get it at home. I'll reply from work if I get it there, too.
Karl
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Test
Received at work.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: The farm
Received at work.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The farm
Did you get the version of the message that Ty sent from his work address?
From: Mark
Subject: Re: The farm
I got both. Not at the same time. The one from work was several hours later, I think.
mark
From: Karl
Subject: Re: The farm
I got the original message that he sent out at 2:33 PM, but I got it after 9PM my time.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: The farm
Got all messages fine.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: The farm
Ty--
Things are pretty hectic here at work, so I probably won't do any RP. If you want to move on to the reunion of the party, that's fine.
Pensive will stay close to Garyth.
Meeting Up
Subject: Re: The Farm
The stink of the farm lingers with Pensive-- pain and fear and despair. It rides with him, and he tolerates it. Samples it, even. And then pulls away. The Path may not be straight, but it does not lead there.
A single body, maimed and left for them. Why? Was it left for them, even? Or was there some magic worked on that farm, like the magic that had been worked on the battlefield? Two days, that woman had lain there. . . two days ago, he had been in Nesalin, oblivious to all of this, oblivious to the Kaishin and Mission, and. . . two days ago, he felt, he had been innocent.
Pensive rolls his shoulders-- he can feel the people of Overlook in front of him, awash in confusion and fear. . . and desperate hope. Innocent, too. Blood and Stone, let him meet their hope. Let him carry it out, and protect it.
And then he sucks in a breath as he realizes how very tenous their hope is. Kor Garesh was rounding up small farmsteads-- and here they were, one thousand souls out in the middle of the plains, protected by less than a hundred armed men. . . Kor Garesh had to see them. Had to desire them.
And in that moment, the exodus appears in front of him, a long straggling line of unarmed men and women and children.
He rides over to Rennick, "If Kor Garesh is gathering up farmsteads-- what do you think this will look like to him?" He points at the line, and then spurs his horse forward to join it.
Garyth had set a hard pace. Pensive swallows and holds his tongue. Brutal necessities. He finds the young captain, and stands quietly aside until there is a moment to speak to him.
"We found no one there alive, Garyth." It is hard to keep his voice steady. "The Hunter thinks that there was a band of halflings guarding more than a dozen humans in the barn. There was a body of a woman in the farmhouse cellar-- mutilated like the priest in Nesalin."
(OOC: If Garyth has any questions or if anyone wants to RP at all, I'll backplay)
*****
One thousand people making camp is no small ordeal. Pensive watches as the command to stop is passed down the length of the exodus, watches the few soldiers that ride with Garyth realize that now was not the time to dismount. No-- now that the march was over, it was time to guard. Now came the long, long night.
How far had they come along? As he makes his way around the camp, he sees the people of Overlook cast glances back toward their home. Their hopes and fears are on his tongue, and taste like ashes.
The line of men, women and children gathers to itself. The soldiers and aldermen keep order as best they can among the frightened and the weary. Pensive tries to help them, but finds that his slight stature lends nothing to his authority. In the dusk, he looks and sounds like a boy. A boy in the way, a boy riding a horse-- that is an insult to the townsmen and women who have walked for miles, carrying all they could. Pensive finally leaves the work of organizing the camp to the human men who know these people.
He starts off at first to find Garyth-- but thinks better of it. He'd be of no use there. The thing to do now would be to find the Blood Falcons. Some were still wounded from the battle with the brute and his men. And there, Pensive could help. It would be best to go to them through the cleric, though-- through someone they trusted, not this strange, weeping elf boy.
"I have some skill with healing," he says, when he finds the priest. "But I do not know your men-- will you show me which needs aid the most? I will do what I can for them."
From: Mike
Subject: Re: The Farm
It's been a long day already. Garyth can see the fatigue growing on the faces of the townspeople, unused as they are to long marches. And it will be several hours yet before they can afford to stop and make camp. They're bearing it well, and without complaint, but even so it pains him to have to push them so hard. As if there were any choice.
A guardsman approaches at a quick pace, breaking Garyth's reverie. "Riders approaching, sir," he says. Garyth turns, eyes scanning in the direction the guardsman points. There. Five riders, making straight for them. He frowns. If that were Rennik and Pensive, it would mean that things had not gone well at the farm. And if it werent...
"Tell Sergeant Osred to move the group ahead," he tells the guardsman, who runs ahead to look for the sergeant. Garyth quickly forms up a squad of ten and sets about preparing to meet the incoming riders.
A couple of tense minutes go by as they wait. A few of the younger guards finger their bowstrings nervously. But it turns out the precaution is unnecessary; as the riders get nearer, Garyth sees the familiar faces of Rennik, Pensive, and his men.
Pensive approaches, pulling up alongside Garyth as they return to the column. "We found no one there alive, Garyth," the elf says. Garyth nods gravely. It was as he expected when he first saw them approaching. Pensive continues, "The Hunter thinks that there was a band of halflings guarding more than a dozen humans in the barn. There was a body of a woman in the farmhouse cellar-- mutilated like the priest in Nesalin." The woman, that must have been Jessamyn, Dannil's wife. The news leaves an ashen taste in Garyth's mouth.
"Just one body?" he asks. He turns to Rennik. "Any sign of the others?"
Rennik's Response
Subject: Re: The Farm
"Taken, would be my guess. Either to be made into mindless slaves with cursed parchment chained around their necks, or to be turned into more of the walking dead by the dark god. I do not know what they plan for them, but they were marched toward the mountain days ago."
"The man who was killed in the town... he must have been held there for several days if he did not know his family was more than just under threat of violence. They knew we would be coming, and used him as their mouthpiece. It does not bode well."
He looks at the sprawling mass of townsfolk and adds, "it wouldn't be hard to know where we are coming from and going at this point."
[Rennik will avoid the human encampment and take to the trees on patrol. If possible, he will scout with Melani, and they can trade off sleep and watch with one another. He will look for any sign of prisoner movement, or anything else out of the ordinary.]
Garyth's Reaction, Osred Thinking Ahead
Subject: Re: The Farm
Garyth nods gravely, taking in the news. In a way, he's a little glad he didn't have to see it himself, what they had done to Dannil Garrett's farm, that he didn't have to smell Jessamyn Garrett's rotting corpse. He's not sad, he realizes with mild surprise. No, there's no grief at this destruction, this... rape of his home. There is only anger. Anger at the people who did this. Anger at the dark god that drove them. Most of all, anger at himself, for not being able to stop it.
"Thank you, Rennik, for going," he says, his voice hollow and emotionless even in his own ears. "I would wish more could have been done, but at least I know now." He'll say a prayer tonight for the Garretts' souls, if any god is even there to hear it.
Garyth's eyes sweep along the column. A group so large, with so few guards, they were nearly defenseless. Rennik was right, it wouldn't be hard to find them. He turns back to Rennik. "We'll have to be alert," he says. "The ones who killed Dannil had plenty of help, and there may yet be more of the dark one's minions among us."
[When camp is set, Garyth will go about organizing the watch. He'll offer to Captain Bragga to head up the first watch, recommending at least three, preferably four watches, to try to let the sentries get as much rest as possible before the next day's march.]
From: Mark
Subject: Re: The Farm
Melani will follow Rennik's lead while doing what she can for Garyth.
Mark
From: Jake
Subject: Re: The Farm
Osred strides up to Garyth, ignoring the trickle of blood from the arrow wound in his back. It's in an awkward place--every time he lifts his right arm the wound pulls open, soaking the bandage Vincy had tied over it--but a slight grimace is the only indication that it pains him.
"Sir," he says, "Want the men to throw up earthworks? Some of these farmers could do a little digging for us, spread out the load. Course every damned one of is dead on our feet. Farmers probably wouldn't have the discipline to work when they're worn out."
Ty and Jake Busy, Garyth Nixes the Defenses
Subject: Re: The Farm
Ty, just wanted to let you know that stuff has come up, and it's probably going to be at least a week and possibly two until I'll be able to get a chance to play again. I've asked celia to play Osred again in my absence (assuming that you're cool with that).
From: Mike
Subject: Re: The Farm
Ty, the group left in a hurry, did we bring any materials for defenses, large stakes, for example? Also, how long are we stopping for?
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The Farm
Sorry, am on site at a client for the whole week. Will update when I can.
To answer mike:
No, there really isn't anything to build defenses with. Also, a wall big enough to surround 1000 people would be huge, especially when so few of them are military age men for the building.
Besides, if that dark army catches you, a bulwark will stop them for about a minute and half.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: The Farm
No worries, we'll all still be here when you get back.
I was more thinking about smaller sorts of fortifications, like lines or bundles of sharpened stakes, small earth mounds in front of ditches. But yeah, I figured that if we actually got caught, any defenses we'd be able to erect in one night would be pretty handily overcome.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: The Farm
Garyth shakes his head to Osred. "If we're caught, we're outnumbered by enough that any defenses we might erect in one night would be overcome easily. Better to save our strength, rest while we can, save our strength to make a run for it if we have to."
He looks off into the distance. "We should post sentries a ways out from the camp, though, and some roving pickets as well. If we do get hit in the night we'll need as much warning as we can get."
Celia Away
Subject: Re: The Farm
And celia will be afk until Monday morning.