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Arturius
"Thanks ford"

*looks up from food preparations*

"too good to be true is fine with me, i' haven't had any bad dreams, the waters fresh everything seems fine and its a beautiful day! Are you sure its not just a bad stomache midge?"
Abramul
This may be pushing it, but can I detect the combustion of sugar, or body heat?
Malchik
Lisette and Siffli

Lisette tries to use fire magic to detect heat. She does not detect body heat but she does sense that something is being burned inside the building at an angle of fifteen degrees to the entrance door and on the same floor.

Lurel's party.

You breakfast and push on to Witten without visiting the farms or charcoal burners. The way now leads through one of the densest parts of the forest and is as far south as Ari has ever ventured before. There is nothing frightening about the place and yet you can sense its age.

Midge has remained jumpy all day. Evening falls more quickly amid the large trees. Tonight you have only two choices of where to stay, under the forest beside a stream or under the forest away from the stream. Midge tells you that there is nothing to pick between them but he believes there is something threatening in your vicinity and has been since breakfast.
Switch
Ford grins at Ari.

"You're welcome."

When they arrive at their next camp spot he looks down to Midge with a concerned expression on his face.

"I don't like how you've been today. You're not usually wrong when danger is close..."

He looks back up at Lurel and Ari.

"I suggest camping by the stream again, as if the threat has been near us all day, it's more than likely going to come from the forest... being as far away from the trees as possible would probably be a good thing. And of course, night watches again... even though it does limit our amount of sleep..."

He lets out a small yawn.
ShinJiOh
OOC> Myah I still do exist

"Either way, we'll be camping under the treeline, all the same I'd rather sleep near the stream. At least the sound of rushing water might sooth my jitters."

"We need to be alert though, something doesn't feel right. I can't sleep anyway, I'll be first watch." *He pulls out the bow and arrows he flogged from the held camp*
Theta Orionis
Lurel nods. "Just shout as soon as you notice anything suspicious. And be aware that the noise of that stream may also mask any noises an approaching attacker might make."

He pauses, then he lies down on the ground and presses his hands and forehead to the forest floor. If there is anything inherently malevolent in the ground, he hopes that he will detect it - but he is almost certain that Midge's unease is caused not by the terrain itself, but by something following them.

'With our luck we've probably managed to awaken Anromainyus' brother.... or perhaps it's Anromainyus himself trying to goad us into something....'
Malchik
Lurel's party

Lurel detects or thinks he might detect a distant sound of footsteps. It seems to be more than one person. They are a considerable way away. They may be nothing to do with Midge's unease. If they are then they are either brilliant trackers or have some other way of keeping track of the party.

Midge's watch is not disturbed but the feeling of potential threat is growing all the time. He passes the watch to...
Theta Orionis
Lurel whispers to Ford. "Can you take the next watch? I want to find out what it is that is tracking us.... don't worry, I'll be careful."


He begins the werewolf transformation, and lopes off into the night, in the direction of the footsteps. In wolf-form he sniffs the night air, listens for any unusual sounds and peers into the darkness, hoping that he will be able to detect something.

Aware that they might be in danger he decides not to stray too far, and he circles the camp., always alert for sounds and scents.
Arturius
*Ari jumps back*
"Wha... you weren't kidding about the lycanthropy thing!"
*as lurel starts to head into the woods*

"Wait if you're going into the woods i should go with you, i'm good at not being seen in woods and tracking."

"err what are you looking for by the way?"

'mentaly kicks himself realising the wolf probably cant talk'
*Follows lurel silently party permitting*

ooc malchik is there any indication of something amis eg when someone is walking through woods quietly animals and birds will go quiet around that area or in the general vicinity?
Malchik
ooc>animals and birds go silent only very close to intruders and will only occur while such intruders are moving.

Around the camp you can find nothing. The sounds were rather further away. Lurel again hears sounds but they are now parallel to you rather than behind. Again they are someway off.
Abramul
Lisette puts her ear to the door. Hopefully, no one will slam it open.
Malchik
Lisette and Siffli

The voices appear to be coming from off the passageway.

She hears the words.

"I tell you he bought arrows!"

"That doesn't make any difference."

"Shut the damn door will you. You never know who might be creeping up from the sewers."

A door slams and the voices become no more than a mumble.
Abramul
"Siffli, can you open the door silently?", Lisette whispers (I figure telekinesis is prolly quieter). "I should be ok to sneak inside now, you keep watch out here."
Theta Orionis
'Are they trying to circle around us?' Lurel wonders.

He starts circling the camp again, though this time a bit further out from the camp, edging closer to the sounds.
Arturius
*ari climbs a tree at the edge of the camp and hides in the canopy and knocks an arrow to his bow*
*sits silently*
Malchik
Lurel's party

Lurel gets considerably closer to the sounds. There are at least five men in the party moving with very little noise. They are not talking to each other but occasionally you hear a whispered instruction. It is too far away for Lurel to work out what it is. The silence and stealth makes you intensely uneasy but you get the impression that they are taking care to avoid you at the moment. The interesting thing is to how do they know where you are?

Ari's vigil is disturbed only by the passing of an owl and a cloud of mosquitos.

Lisette and Siffli

The door opens quietly allowing Lisette to sneak inside unspotted.
Switch
Ford nods to Lurel and draws his sword, keeping a watch over Midge as they wander off.

'Great... now it's just me and Midge. I hope we don't get ambushed or something...'
Theta Orionis
Very cautiously, Lurel creeps closer - he wants to get a look at the party following them.
Abramul
Err, can I hear anything from where I am?

If not, I first try putting my ear to the wall, and if that doesn't work, the door.
Malchik
Lurel's party

Lurel pads close enough to hear the whispered question "Angle?" and then an instruction "Five degrees to the right".

There are in fact seven men all dressed in dark green. The second order was to them. Lurel cannot see what the question was directed at.

Siffli and Lisette

Listening at the door Lisette hears "do not want to lose any more men. I say we don't do it."

"Why should we worry about arrows? They're no more deadly than swords?"

"Yes, but these arrows."

"That is all idiotic nonsense. I'm going to do it whether you like it or not. I'm out of here."

Waiting at the back door Siffli discovers that she has become the object of attention of a small girl of about six years old.

"Where's your feet?" she asks, not the slightest bit afraid.
Abramul
Time to take action, methinks.

Lisette brightens, and then quences the flame she sensed earlier. She knocks on the door.
Theta Orionis
Curious, Lurel creeps around the group, careful not to get any closer to the men - but he wants to see who or what the men in green were speaking to. He moves very cautiously and as quietly as he can, all the while listening out for any more whispered conversations.
Malchik
Lurel's party

After some time Lurel hears another grunted instruction. He cannot see anything but hears the flap of wings.

Lisette and Siffli

The door opens as you knock at it. The five men inside are startled but confused rather than suspicious.

The one who had been on the verge of leaving snaps. "There are no lodgings here. Try the Prancing Pony in the next square."

They have been burning papers in a metal basket.
Theta Orionis
Lurel decides it would be better to head back to the camp to warn the others. He wonders about the flap of wings, and decides to ask Ari what kind of bird would be flying around Brandon Forest at night.

Cautiously Lurel puts some distance between himself and the men's camp, then runs back to his companions.
Abramul
"I believe our organization may be able to be of assistance to you. We are informed that you are having troubles with arrows, and at present, we are looking for unusual arrows. Although you may not be acting within the law, that is...no concern of ours. Are you interested in our help?"
Malchik
Lisette and Siffli

The men are instantly suspicious. A tall, blond haired bearded giant of a man pulls out a dagger and taps it against his lips. He says: "Our business is our business and I would advise you not to pursue it. We need no help. And as for 'laws' such niceties do not apply in Witten. Remember that. But if you are looking for arrows..."

He turns to his companions and they look at each other with a smile of complicity.

"Balthazar Zorn, the fur merchant who lives on the south side of this square has bought some. We do not need them and neither should he. If you can get them for us we would pay well. Are you interested?"
Theta Orionis
If nothing else attracts Lurel's attention on the way back, he transforms back into his normal form and gets dressed again. In a quiet whisper he tells Ford and Ari (assuming Midge is asleep) about his discovery, and asks:

"I heard the sound of wings... Ari, what kind of bird would be flying at night in this forest? Might be worth keeping an eye out for it... - in case that's how they're tracking us."
Malchik
OOC> leaving a little early today - visitors! Will post again on Monday. Have a good weekend y'all!
Abramul
"Yes, I believe we are. Is there any additional information we might need, or anything you would like us to borrow while we are there?"
Switch
Ford gulps.

"That doesn't sound good. If they're that experienced at tracking I doubt we'll get away from them... and they outnumber us so we can't confront them..."

He sighs.

"What can we do?"
ShinJiOh
"Well if they are after us, I don't think there's any real way of knowing how many there are until they come to us. But they won't come if they think we're ready for a fight, they'd most likely be flanking us now. I don't know, maybe we should pretend we're asleep?"
Switch
Ford nods.

"Maybe... if they've been tracking us for this long, it presumably means they want to take us alive... if we pretended like we didn't know they were there we could maybe launch a surprise attack when they got close enough?"

He sighs.

"It's a bit of a long shot though."
Arturius
*Ari See's Lurels return and climbs quietly down the tree.*

*listens carefully*
"do you think they are going to attack us tonight or follow us, if they follow us we can shoot the bird and lose them in the woods, we could still try that tonight but we'd have to move now, and fast and keep our eyes open for the bird then if we get the bird i can scout back drop a few arrows in the middle of their slip into the woods and put the wind up them that way no one gets hurt."

"we could try a surprise attack as ford suggested, i could shoot 2 by the point you get into melee but that sill leaves you with at least 3 to deal with can you and lurel do that? and do you know for sure that they are trying to kill us?"

"Also if we kill them a lose a source of valuable inforation"

"if we kill the bird we can take them 1 by 1 with arrows and slip away no confrontation."

"i don't know what lurel can do with his magic, i don't supose you can just stop them moving can you? so we can tie them up"
Theta Orionis
"We can't move tonight," Lurel sighs. "Some of us still need sleep. And it's too risky to move in the dark. I think our best plan is to watch out for that winged thing, and bring it down if we can."

He pauses briefly. "If those men attack us, I could probably drop them in a hole in the ground - provided the earth elementals let me, of course. But I can't do that unless we are sure they are hostile. So far they haven't attacked us - even though they could have. There are at least 7 of them - we would be no match for them. They haven't shown themselves as hostile so far - maybe they are as wary of us as we are of them."

He grimaces. "Though I must confess I'm uneasy, too. Here, I'll take the next watch - you go and get some sleep if you can."
Malchik
Lisette and Siffli

"Just get the arrows and bring them to us. We'll pay you two gold pieces per arrow and that'll be ten times what they are worth. But we're honest thieves, only taking from the rich to give to the poor. Can't have sneaky weapons like arrows around. Someone could get hurt."

There is something disingenuous in the words. The man points to the house in which you had seen the movement earlier.

"There were three people who bought arrows off that strange group of women. If you can find the others we'd pay for them too. I believe Irvana Marek bought some. She lives over in the other village. I'm not sure who has the others, Smudge works for whoever pays."

Lurel's party

Nothing disturbs Lurel's watch but Ari catches sight of a large owl in the distance too far away to shoot at. It could be the same owl that flew by before but he cannot know for sure.

When morning arrives Midge still feels uneasy.

The way to Ratz has four distinct sections all following the stream. The first is a continuation of what you have already been walking through. Then there is a strange area of rocky outcroppings that is almost like a series of walls. The only way through is in the stream bed at this point a narrow defile. The third section is broad rather marshy watermeadows where several streams converge before flowing into the River Hamm. Finally you will join the main Regen to Flen highway a little way west of Ratz.

Arturius
*Ari looks concerned*
"i'm more than a little worried about the path ahead, it leaves 2 possiblilities, it narrows a lot at one point and people have to travel in single file, even a child with a bow or a sling could cause us trouble there let alone 7 bandits or woodsmen, have you any ideas?"

"I think that we will probably be ambushed there, if we arent it leaves us with a perfect opertunity...."
Switch
Ford nods to Lurel.

"Be careful."

He then lies down and tries to get some rest.

The next day, when Ari addressses them, Ford looks at him, a slightly concerned look on his face.

"Hmm... isn't there any way we could avoid the narrow bits?"
Theta Orionis
"Hmmm..." Lurel ponders, "if anyone wanted to ambush us, that narrow defile would be an ideal place. But, " he grins, "as long as the earth elementals let me, I could perhaps use that place to delay our attackers a bit. Ari, do you know how deep that stream is? If we blocked the path, would people be able to wade or swim around the obstruction?"
Arturius
"i dont know, i've not actually been there, you know about as much as i do now"
Malchik
Lurel's Party

You start with some trepidation. The walk along the stream is easy. The entrance to the defile appears quite unexpectedly. The geological formation is weird in the extreme, giving the impression that someone has deliberately built a wall around part of the forest. It is however natural. You can see within the wall further wall like structures some long some smaller many capped with larger rocks like hats. They seem to continue for a long way in every direction save the way you came. The river is deeper here, rising to all your waists and someone will need to carry Midge. There are no flat surfaces on which anyone could set an ambush but Ford thinks he sees a large bird circling in the distance perhaps where the defile opens onto the marsh.

It could of course be any bird but Midge is jumpier than ever, convinced not only of a potential threat but of an impending attack.

Lisette and Siffli

The men have no further information to give you.
Switch
Ford gulps.

"This doesn't look very safe... but I guess we have no choice..."

He looks down to Midge.

"This water is too deep for you, I'll try and carry you across."

With that he lifts Midge up, giving him a piggy-back ride. He looks at the bird circling in the distance.

"Erm, I'm not sure if this is something we should worry about, but I think I can see a large bird circling in the distance over there."

He points.

"Could it be theirs?"
Theta Orionis
Lurel peers at the bird. "Ari, how close to it would you have to be to bring it down?" he asks thoughtfully. "I don't like killing creatures unless we know them to be hostile, but I think we can trust Midge's danger sense."

He walks up to one of the rock walls, and places his hands against it, trying to get find out as much as he can about it.

"I think we should try to avoid a fight, if we can. But if my suspicions are right, they're waiting for us where we will emerge from this defile. Perhaps, though, we can go through the rock rather than around it - yet it would be pointless for us to do so while all our movements are being tracked by our opponents!"
Arturius
"i can put an arrow about 300 yards on the flat but not at a target that small in the air i recon realisticly were only likely to hit it 100 150 yards away at best."

"your magic stuff lurel could you create fog? that would bring it closer if they wanted to follow or conceal us if they weren't prepared to risk it?"
Gabbe_master
Walks outside and turns to Lisette: "So what do you suggest we do next Lissy?"
Abramul
"We may as well scout the fur merchant's place, to see what we can see."

Lissy, is it? Eh well, I can live with that.
Malchik
Siffli and Lisette

The little girl has become a hanger on and is trailing Siffli constantly pointing out that she has no feet. This could become an embarrassment.

As you reach the door of the merchants house you see a woman who appears to be a servant or working woman brushing dirt out of the front door.

Balthasar Zorn is obviously a man of wealth. Through the door you can see a pair of tough fighters keeping an eye on the entrance.

Lurel's party.

Lurel can tell that it would be easy enough for him to push through the walls if the elementals let him. Ford is unable to do much fighting with Midge perched on his back but Midge is able to use both hands.
Gabbe_master
Siffli turnes around with a big smile, trying to look so nice as posible. "Hi my friend, what is your name?" Siffli says to the little girl that has followed her.
Theta Orionis
Lurel looks doubtful. "I don't think I could create fog by magic.. I've never tried it. If Lisette were here, she could perhaps create smoke, but I'm not a flamecarrier."

He looks around. "If we could find a dry enough spot perhaps we could light a fire and create some smoke?"
Malchik
Siffli's words send the girl into a paroxysm of embarrassment. She runs away and then turns back to stare at you, completely tongue-tied.
Gabbe_master
"Wasn't she cute?" Siffli says to Lisette with a smile.

OOC> Time for weekend now =) See you all on monday grin.gif
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