((Moving right along then...))
Leaving the diggers to their endeavor, the party continued on. The stone alley gave way to a beaten path as the buildings got fewer and farther apart, and in even worse condition. Soon it was clear that they'd entered the Big Grazing.
The terrain looked deceptively flat, long grass waving in an early summer breeze. The grass was broken here and there by clumps of bushes and sometimes a remaining stone wall. The top of the main Pavis wall was visible far to the right; ahead the furthest thing that could be seen was the tops of the Twin Hills at what was the other border of the nomad territory.
To the left, the grass and bushes slowly gave way to brush and eventually trees close to the river. At about the two o'clock bearing from their current position, the taller members of the party could see a herd of elk, well out of bowshot. The herd did not appear to be moving.
The Central Bridge was about an hour's travel from this point by the beaten paths; Francis and Grax knew that straying from it would soon reveal the many ravines and sinkholes that dotted this part of the rubble.
It was a shame to leave the purported storage cellar behind, but the miners were right. There were more important things at hand. Francis just hoped they didn't unearth anything too... well, unearthly. Ancient artefacts - and moreso, those of an alchemical nature - had a disturbing reputation for melting people's faces off and creating unholy abominations against nature, all the good gods, and basic decency... as far as he knew.
...Maybe that explains why Ravenhide and I don't see eye to eye. That, and the fact that I'm two feet taller.
He looked to his right. The elk weren't moving, which was good - undisturbed animals meant a lesser likelihood of an ambush... assuming you discounted the possibility of a band of psychotic Druids pretending to be elk. Still, he kept an eye out for any suspicious movements or evidence of recent activity.
(OOC: Spot Check?)
edited 28th Dec '11 7:55:14 PM by Pyrite
Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.The grass to the left of the path shook momentarily, but this proved to be a hare, grown fat on the local vegetation. For all that there were monsters in the Big Rubble, life was in abundance here, keeping an almost healthy balance of nature.
((Anyone want to try for rabbit dinner?))
Progress slowed as the party got deeper into the Big Grazing; the trails were less well-maintained, and the preceding spring storms had altered the terrain somewhat. The buzzing and chirping of insects and small birds were a constant counterpart to the wind's sussurus through the tall grass. Soon, though, it was time to strike towards the river and find the Central Bridge.
Trixip was sorry to lose the potential of finding ancient spell scrolls and tomes, but consoled himself on the fact that there were sure to be more during their adventures.
I'll probably find more and better ones, since We're moving further into the Big Rubble. Who knows what artifacts are waiting to be found?!
He'd been lost to his own thoughts, and suddenly glanced up to see Mono'a running off, chasing a rabbit. Then he realized he wouldn't mind a rabbit dinner.
As Trixip thought of how best to catch the rabbit, <<Insert any action the other characters do to actually kill the rabbit>>
Sanity? Why would I need a useless thing like that? Now posting as Motor-Runner.Well, it's not like I can embarrass myself any more than that monk has already. Francis watched Mono'a scamper across the field with a look that was equal parts bemusement and annoyance, and picked up a fair-sized rock from the ground, wondering if the monk or the hare would make a better target.
It took quite a bit of deliberation before he decided on the latter.
(OOC: If hare is within rock-throwing range, chuck rock. AT HARE, not Mono'a.)
Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.Mono'a was reminded of just why it's a bad idea to use a sling while running after a moving target when his shot went wild and disappeared yards away.
Francis' tactic of waiting until Mono'a chased the hare across the path and then chucking a rock proved far more effective, and he managed to get a good solid hit. While the hare was still twitching, a quick twist of the neck by the first person to reach it finished the creature. There would be fresh meat tonight!
As the monk made a fool of himself, and the old soldier showed wisdom, the dark elf looked up at the afternoon sky, and breathed. She had been to the Big Rubble before, and knew that more likely then not this would be their last sun for a while.
Then she grabbed a band from her back, and tied up her back-length hair into a bun and combat braid. Tradition (what little was left of it) said that status was displayed by hair length, but sometimes such things were impractical. Looking over, she noticed that seemed that the foolishness had ended.
Ana walked up to them. "Now that that's over, we should decide. If we start now, we can have camp set up before dark. Or we can press on, and try to make as much progress as possible before the nightwanderers come."
edited 30th Dec '11 7:59:42 PM by MaskedAndDangerous
"It's still early, and we're about an hour from the Central Bridge. I think we should try to get closer first; the terrain in these parts isn't good for setting up camp anyway," Francis pointed out. "Oh, and someone else should hang on to this," he added, holding up the hare's limp carcass. "I can't skin animals with a battleaxe."
edited 30th Dec '11 7:19:51 PM by Pyrite
Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.((OOC: It's about an hour and a bit after dawn, and it's going to be a fairly long day, as it's summer. Next encounter is the bridge, so I'll set the scene.))
The path became wider and more beaten as the party approached the river, which could be heard now. While the trees grew more thickly towards the bank, they did not come less than ten yards from the path, and as the party came closer, there were signs of recent crude forestry.
A slight bend in the path gave a clear view of the Central Bridge. It was a good example of fine dwarvish stone engineering, and was nearly intact. Only a number of breaches in the sidewalls marred the bridge's lines.
However, the near side of the bridge had been blocked off by a number of felled trees, and several large humanoids stood between the party and the bridge. They did not seem to have noticed the newcomers yet, being in positions of repose.
Bandits, eh? The cleric took a step back and looked for cover - they hadn't seemed to have noticed the party yet, which meant that the element of surprise could be theirs... assuming they didn't screw it up.
"Hold back," he hissed. "If they've blocked off the bridge, they may have archers hiding behind. We need to know who we're up against." And unfortunately, everyone else in the party was probably more perceptive than he was. They needed a plan.
"Ana, Grax, Elail. What do your elf - *ahem* - and half elf, and goblin, and whatever - eyes see?
Speaking of which... Elail and Trixip," he added, using the gnome's personal name for the first time since they'd started off on their journey, "your pet birds may serve us well as scouts, if they remain silent. I trust that, between the two of us, we should have some spells prepared to deal with these miscreants. As for Mono'a..."
He looked at the monk, who was already champing at the bit, and sighed.
"Keep an eye out, but for the love of all that is holy... save the charging in for later. Please?"
edited 31st Dec '11 8:03:48 AM by Pyrite
Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.Elail didn't join in the rabbit hunt, he had an aversion to killing animals, besides he'd packed plenty of rations for himself. Continuing on the journey he was second to spot the group up ahead and the obstacles the lounged around, upon Ana's advice he began sinking into the undergrowth.
Once Elail was confident the group had done likewise he let out a shrill piercing whistle, which to the general suprise of the group echoed back from above, seconds later a majestic creature landed on Elail's outstreched arm. Elail hoped whatever was up ahead was not too suspicious. The red eagle cawed quietly into Elail's ear and Elail smiled half a grin, "It seems Myvn was hunting the rabbit as well, he's not happy about our inteference," Elail chuckled lowly.
Elail whispered in wood elf to the eagle, with that he sent the eagle off. "I've sent Myvn to watch and report back on what lays ahead," Elail explained, "I've also promised him some of the rabbit."
Elail glanced over and eyed the so called bandits up ahead.
-Spot Check or something?-
edited 31st Dec '11 1:48:38 AM by Hevchenko
"Insert philisophical/funny rambling here"The humanoid figures appear to be ogres. Ogres are large, strong and fairly tough. On the downside, they're none too bright and very ill-tempered. Ogres in the Big Rubble are loosely allied with the Uz Horde. That is, if seen together they're on the same side, but no ogre is going to rush off to help an orc and vice versa.
The party counts three ogres on this side of the trees, and from the way Myvn is circling, there's at least one behind the barricade.
One of the ogres whacks another on the shoulder, and points up to the eagle. The three assume more ready positions, looking as though they're scanning the underbrush.
-Mono'a Readies himself for the inevitable battle about to take place, moving slightly to the right off of the path as the group walks toward the figures, Trying to do so without making the group any more noticeable. He then looks at the rest of the group to see what they will do.
Sparks Make horrible santas... This one is no different!Trixip stopped in his tracks and quickly crouched as soon as he spotted the bandits. He disliked bandits, mainly because all they seemed to do was to lie in wait for innocent travellers and kill them for no reason other than to loot their dead bodies.
"What can your familiar see, Elail? How many of them are there?" Trixip whispered to Elail, equipping his loaded Repeating crossbow.
Sanity? Why would I need a useless thing like that? Now posting as Motor-Runner.It seemed as though the party had been intimidated by the ogres. No surprises there. Still, a little blessing
went a long way.
"St. Cuthbert, we beseech thee, keep us from evil and stupidity. Okay, blessing over. Now get in there before they notice us!"
edited 4th Jan '12 4:57:25 AM by Pyrite
Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.Trixip was wary of wasting his spell slots, when to his left, he heard the Cleric chant some words. He barely recognized it as some kind of Bless spell. Suddenly, Trixip got filled with courage and decided to take initiative. He readied his crossbow, took aim, held his breath to steady himself and fired an arrow at the neck of the ogre closest to them.
-roll for attack?-
OOC:If it hits on target, it should hit the neck. If it doesn't, it should hit close to the heart or something...
Sanity? Why would I need a useless thing like that? Now posting as Motor-Runner.Ana took shallow breaths, ducking into the underbrush. If they played their cards right, they could avoid a fight here, and leave the ogres none the wiser. If they've been at this for a while, maybe we could find their camp and loot... errr appropriate their ill gotten goods. Always an opportunist.
Then the gnome fired an arrow at the ogre. Damn. she thought. With a deft flick of her wrists, the dark elf brought out a pair of throwing knives. Still hidden, she whispered to Trixip, professional and totally not pissed. "get ready to move"
Elail was watching the ogres so intently he had ignored the rest of the party altogethor so when Trixip fired off his weapon Elail was midly confused.
Elail soon found himself again and whipped into action, "Protect the gnome!," he yelled at Francis and he slunk back into the underbrush and attempted to flank round the ogres, readying his bow a he did.
OOC: sorry I've been offline for so long been caught up in anew job and recently got into a new mmo; Dungeons and Dragons Online
edited 5th Jan '12 4:11:19 AM by Hevchenko
"Insert philisophical/funny rambling here"Oh, great. Here we go. Francis watched the arrow fly towards the ogres, wondering why the wizard hadn't chosen to use a spell of some sorts on them. Anyway, there was no sense in maintaining concealment now; he yelled to the rest of the party, "What're you waiting for? The King's Birthday?"
With another prayer and a quick gesture, he cast another spell, willing the spiritual weapon
of St. Cuthbert to appear before him before directing it towards the closest ogre. He hoped the others could whittle the pack down, not wanting to take chances with more than one ogre at a time.
The neck is a small target, relatively even so on a large creature like an ogre, so it was no surprise when Trixip's shot sailed past the target and into the felled trees behind it. Another bolt clicked into place in his crossbow.
As Elail moved to flank to one side, he saw Grax out of the corner of his eye flanking in the other direction.
Francis' spiritual hammer was more successful at hitting the closest ogre, but seemed only to annoy it.
Mono'a had better luck with his slingshot, bloodying the furthest visible ogre.
By good luck, none of the ogres seemed to be carrying anything but clubs. Upon spotting Francis and Mono'a, the three visible ogres began lurching towards the party.
((Ana has a held action. What would she like to do?))
Ana noted that the ogres were moving toward the priest and the fake monk. Good, that meant she could do her job. Ducking low, the dark elf moved as quietly as she could attempting to sneak into position for the perfect Back Stab.

(o)x(o)
The cautious man started looking worried again, and the other diggers picked up on his nervousness.
"No, we should be able to find an ordinary staircase, or the hole that would have led to one. Just needs more digging. Thank you for the offer of help, but I'm sure that as well-equipped as you are, you're already after bigger game."