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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 3441199" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>The sky flashes and rumbles with incredible power from whatever battle of the gods is happening far away. Beneath it, the Dead Grass Lands spread out for miles and miles, a carpet of high sharp grey grass and stunted malformed shrubs. The land itself seems brittle. Near the jungle, a broken and shattered wagon sits disconsolately on the side of the path. Allyendra, Barouk and Kifla turn their backs to it, seeking the voice they heard. Even as they do so, the voice croaks out again: “Help!”</p><p></p><p>A ragged-looking man, dirty and hungry looking, staggers from the tall grass. Kifla immediately notes, “He’s one of those pilgrims!”</p><p></p><p>“Yes... please... bandits,” the man gasps.</p><p></p><p>Our heroes take a moment to ensure that there are no enemies immediately nearby, and then they question the pilgrim, whose name is Herb. He is, indeed, one of the pacifist hermits that the group encountered two days ago. He tells the party that the pilgrims had continued along their journey to this point, but that they had been assaulted by bandits.</p><p></p><p>“They shot our driver,” Herb groans sadly, “but they didn’t try to hurt the rest of us. They captured my friends, and took them up to a hillock nearby.”</p><p></p><p>“How many of them were there?” Ally asks. </p><p></p><p>Herb pauses to consider. “Perhaps half a dozen, no more. But they had dogs and garen, too.”*</p><p></p><p>“Which hillock?” Barouk inquires, and Herb points the correct one out. “All right,” the dwarf announces, “I’ll go scout.” He proceeds forward, vanishing into the tall grass.</p><p></p><p>“I don’t know about this,” Kifla mutters. “Half a dozen of them, plus mounts!”</p><p></p><p>Ally snorts confidently. “No problem.”</p><p></p><p>The two of them wait a while, but Ally grows more and more impatient. Finally, she says, “All right, I’m going after him. I’m sick of sitting around. We’ve been sitting around for days.” She grabs up her pack and starts to walk off.</p><p></p><p>“Wait for me!” Kifla squeals, and follows.</p><p></p><p>Behind her, the pilgrim Herb hesitates for a second, and then hurries after. Better to be with friendly people, even though they might do violence, than to face the chance of meeting the bandits or some grassland monster alone.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Barouk steals forward, veering left to avoid a direct approach on the hillock. He moves 60 yards out and stops for a moment to peer at the hillock. It is still a good 40 yards away, and he sees nothing. He moves a little closer, and peers again. His eyes widen. For a moment, he thinks he catches a glimpse of Ally! <em>Did she get impatient and just forge ahead of me?</em> he wonders.** <em>Damn it, girl! I’d best get up there so she doesn’t get herself in trouble...</em></p><p></p><p>The dwarf hurries forward, but he does notice a wisp of smoke coming from the hillock. <em>A small fire,</em> he realizes, his pulse quickening. <em>This may be them.</em> He continues moving, slowly and carefully. He cocks his head and listens intently, and he hears a distant voice speaking. </p><p></p><p><em>Got to move closer,</em> he thinks, and he starts moving-</p><p></p><p>“No further,” calls a voice. </p><p></p><p>Two bandits step into view, their crossbows trained on Barouk with arrows already nocked. He halts and, sensing that it is the prudent thing to do, raises his hands.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Ally and Kifla move forward sneakily. The tall, brittle grass of this region really helps their attempts at concealment; it is almost always taller than Kifla, and often it is higher than Allyendra’s head. Herb moves behind them, emulating their stealth as best he can. Suddenly Kifla catches a glimpse of movement. She grabs Ally’s elbow and points. </p><p></p><p><em>Two figures.</em> One of them is wearing leather armor, the other a chain shirt. They have the look of guards about them.</p><p></p><p>Kifla casts <em>sleep,</em> and both of them collapse without ever knowing that our heroes are there. Ally hurries forward to slay them. “Wait!” Kifla hisses. “We can-”</p><p></p><p>Ally slits a throat.</p><p></p><p>“-tie them up,” the gnome finishes uselessly. </p><p></p><p>Ally slits the other’s throat. “They’re <em>bandits,</em>” she reminds Kifla. “They would do it to us.”</p><p></p><p>“We don’t know that for sure,” Kifla objects. “That wasn’t very nice. We didn’t have to kill them, they were asleep!”</p><p></p><p>Ally rolls her eyes as she begins stripping the chain shirt off of the guard who had worn it. “For how long?”</p><p></p><p>“Well, only a few minutes...” Kifla sighs. “Do you remember what our mission is? We need to <em>capture</em> one and return him to my master!” But Ally ignores her, and Kifla sighs and gives up the argument. She tries to stabilize and save the bleeding guards, but to no avail.</p><p></p><p>“Hey, a new great axe!” Ally enthuses.</p><p></p><p>After upgrading her equipment- although the new chain shirt is a little bloodstained from the throat slitting- Ally nods to Kifla and the two of them continue along towards the hillock.</p><p></p><p>Behind them, Herb stares in horror at the two bodies. <em>They will do anything to save their friend,</em> he thinks slowly. <em>It is horrible. But I must save my friends as well...</em></p><p></p><p>His stomach twists. He hurries after the two killers that are helping him. <em>At least the gnome advocated keeping them alive,</em> the pacifist broods.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Barouk, his hands bound, is led into a natural amphitheater. The pilgrims are there, unbound, in one area; a bandit and three dogs are watching over them. A tall, handsome half-elven man is speaking to them in an earnest and persuasive voice, but he stops as Barouk is led forward. </p><p></p><p>“Well, well,” the half-elf says. “And who are you?” He smiles, showing perfect teeth.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Kifla pulls Ally up short again. “Hold on a second,” the gnome says. Then she crouches down next to a small hole in the ground and chitters down it. </p><p></p><p>A groundhog pokes its head out. </p><p></p><p>The gnome and the groundhog chitter back and forth for a few brief moments, and then Kifla stands up and says, “This way. We’re looking for a big hole in the ground.”</p><p></p><p>“Kifla, did you just get directions from a groundhog?” Ally snickers.</p><p></p><p>The two of them walk along, moving up the side of the hillock until they find a large natural depression; they creep forward to observe it. Along the far side of it, a set of natural steps curves down to the bottom of it. The pilgrims are in there, as are three bandits- and Barouk! A crossbow is trained on him, and his hands are tied behind his back.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly the dogs begin to bark, and everything gets crazy.</p><p></p><p>Ally runs for the far side of the natural amphitheater, where the steps will allow her entry. One of the bandits, near the top of the stairs, strikes at her with a spear, but she dodges out of the way, pulling out her new great axe as she does so. One of the dogs springs up the steps and bites Ally in the leg. “Aargh!” she calls out, and gets <em>really</em> angry. Rage bursts through her, and in a single great swipe of her axe she decapitates the bandit guard! The blow continues on through, cleaving towards the dog, but the wily animal dances away from it. </p><p></p><p>Kifla, meanwhile, casts <em>dancing lights</em> on the opposite side of the amphitheater, and cries out, “Give up, you’re surrounded!” Then she draws out her short bow and fires an arrow at the half-elf, actually hitting him!</p><p></p><p>The half-elf glares up at Kifla. <em>“The South will rise again!”</em> he bellows, and his bandits cheer when he does; and then he reaches into a pouch and pulls out a bit of sand. Murmuring secret magical words, he gestures- and puts Kifla to <em>sleep!</em></p><p></p><p>The bandit with his crossbow trained on Barouk is rather distracted, so the dwarf decides that he probably has the best opportunity he is going to get. He leaps forward and kicks the man hard in the solar plexus. The bandit flies back, limp and unmoving, and Barouk lands on his feet.</p><p></p><p><em>My hands are bound,</em> he thinks, <em>but I am a monk. I do not need them.</em></p><p></p><p>Then the other two dogs tear into him. He spins, leaps, tries to guard with his legs alone- but one of them manages to bloody his ankle. He kicks back, and dances with the dogs. He can’t seem to land a blow, but the dogs are tearing at him. Pain jolts him as the dogs tear at his legs. </p><p></p><p>The half-elf tumbles past Ally, gaining the high ground, and jabs at her with his rapier. Ally roars in anger and cuts the dog attacking her in half, then cleaves at the half-elf- to no avail! The slippery bastard dodges her blow!</p><p></p><p>Up above, shaking with shame, Herb throws a rock, hitting one of the dogs in the head. It yelps and growls. The pacifist pilgrim weeps at what he has done.</p><p></p><p>The half-elf stabs at Ally again, but her newfound chain shirt saves her. The half-elf, scowling, tries to tumble away, but a rock slips out from under his foot and he stumbles. Ally grins and swings, but misses her attack of opportunity. Then she rushes after the half-elf- who is clearly trying to flee, as things have done awry- and buries her axe several inches deep in his back. The bard dies in an instant, and Ally howls in triumph, then whirls to leap into the pit, accepting a minor ankle twist in order to get to Barouk’s aid.</p><p></p><p>Barouk manages to stomp one of the dogs on the neck, killing it, and suddenly that new great axe of Ally’s is slicing in. The last dog dies as the axe decapitates it. </p><p></p><p>Herb hurries to check on Kifla, fearing the worst, but she wakes easily. The two of them head down into the amphitheater. Kifla hurries over to her friends and slits Barouk’s bonds with her dagger. </p><p></p><p>“Now, if one of these guys is still alive,” grumbles Barouk, “we may be almost done with our first mission!”</p><p></p><p>Kifla opens her mouth to reply, but stops as she hears Finneas, the leader of the pilgrims, speaking behind them.</p><p></p><p>“I am sorry, Herb. I know your intentions were good, but you cast a stone to harm another being. You may not travel with us any longer. You may not go back to the mission house. You are cast out.”</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> What will Herb do? Will our heroes find a still-living bandit? And who were these bandits, anyway?</p><p></p><p></p><p>*In this era of the Cydra campaign, there are essentially no horses. Garen are equine beasts similar to a zebra, but are two colors out of green, brown and yellow. They are roughly equal to a light horse, and are used as mounts by the folk of Cydra. Cydra folk also extensively use big riding birds called kocho, although kocho are much harder to control and are notoriously foul-tempered.</p><p></p><p>**No, Barouk just fumbled his Spot check.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 3441199, member: 1210"] The sky flashes and rumbles with incredible power from whatever battle of the gods is happening far away. Beneath it, the Dead Grass Lands spread out for miles and miles, a carpet of high sharp grey grass and stunted malformed shrubs. The land itself seems brittle. Near the jungle, a broken and shattered wagon sits disconsolately on the side of the path. Allyendra, Barouk and Kifla turn their backs to it, seeking the voice they heard. Even as they do so, the voice croaks out again: “Help!” A ragged-looking man, dirty and hungry looking, staggers from the tall grass. Kifla immediately notes, “He’s one of those pilgrims!” “Yes... please... bandits,” the man gasps. Our heroes take a moment to ensure that there are no enemies immediately nearby, and then they question the pilgrim, whose name is Herb. He is, indeed, one of the pacifist hermits that the group encountered two days ago. He tells the party that the pilgrims had continued along their journey to this point, but that they had been assaulted by bandits. “They shot our driver,” Herb groans sadly, “but they didn’t try to hurt the rest of us. They captured my friends, and took them up to a hillock nearby.” “How many of them were there?” Ally asks. Herb pauses to consider. “Perhaps half a dozen, no more. But they had dogs and garen, too.”* “Which hillock?” Barouk inquires, and Herb points the correct one out. “All right,” the dwarf announces, “I’ll go scout.” He proceeds forward, vanishing into the tall grass. “I don’t know about this,” Kifla mutters. “Half a dozen of them, plus mounts!” Ally snorts confidently. “No problem.” The two of them wait a while, but Ally grows more and more impatient. Finally, she says, “All right, I’m going after him. I’m sick of sitting around. We’ve been sitting around for days.” She grabs up her pack and starts to walk off. “Wait for me!” Kifla squeals, and follows. Behind her, the pilgrim Herb hesitates for a second, and then hurries after. Better to be with friendly people, even though they might do violence, than to face the chance of meeting the bandits or some grassland monster alone. *** Barouk steals forward, veering left to avoid a direct approach on the hillock. He moves 60 yards out and stops for a moment to peer at the hillock. It is still a good 40 yards away, and he sees nothing. He moves a little closer, and peers again. His eyes widen. For a moment, he thinks he catches a glimpse of Ally! [i]Did she get impatient and just forge ahead of me?[/i] he wonders.** [i]Damn it, girl! I’d best get up there so she doesn’t get herself in trouble...[/i] The dwarf hurries forward, but he does notice a wisp of smoke coming from the hillock. [i]A small fire,[/i] he realizes, his pulse quickening. [i]This may be them.[/i] He continues moving, slowly and carefully. He cocks his head and listens intently, and he hears a distant voice speaking. [i]Got to move closer,[/i] he thinks, and he starts moving- “No further,” calls a voice. Two bandits step into view, their crossbows trained on Barouk with arrows already nocked. He halts and, sensing that it is the prudent thing to do, raises his hands. *** Ally and Kifla move forward sneakily. The tall, brittle grass of this region really helps their attempts at concealment; it is almost always taller than Kifla, and often it is higher than Allyendra’s head. Herb moves behind them, emulating their stealth as best he can. Suddenly Kifla catches a glimpse of movement. She grabs Ally’s elbow and points. [i]Two figures.[/i] One of them is wearing leather armor, the other a chain shirt. They have the look of guards about them. Kifla casts [i]sleep,[/i] and both of them collapse without ever knowing that our heroes are there. Ally hurries forward to slay them. “Wait!” Kifla hisses. “We can-” Ally slits a throat. “-tie them up,” the gnome finishes uselessly. Ally slits the other’s throat. “They’re [i]bandits,[/i]” she reminds Kifla. “They would do it to us.” “We don’t know that for sure,” Kifla objects. “That wasn’t very nice. We didn’t have to kill them, they were asleep!” Ally rolls her eyes as she begins stripping the chain shirt off of the guard who had worn it. “For how long?” “Well, only a few minutes...” Kifla sighs. “Do you remember what our mission is? We need to [i]capture[/i] one and return him to my master!” But Ally ignores her, and Kifla sighs and gives up the argument. She tries to stabilize and save the bleeding guards, but to no avail. “Hey, a new great axe!” Ally enthuses. After upgrading her equipment- although the new chain shirt is a little bloodstained from the throat slitting- Ally nods to Kifla and the two of them continue along towards the hillock. Behind them, Herb stares in horror at the two bodies. [i]They will do anything to save their friend,[/i] he thinks slowly. [i]It is horrible. But I must save my friends as well...[/i] His stomach twists. He hurries after the two killers that are helping him. [i]At least the gnome advocated keeping them alive,[/i] the pacifist broods. *** Barouk, his hands bound, is led into a natural amphitheater. The pilgrims are there, unbound, in one area; a bandit and three dogs are watching over them. A tall, handsome half-elven man is speaking to them in an earnest and persuasive voice, but he stops as Barouk is led forward. “Well, well,” the half-elf says. “And who are you?” He smiles, showing perfect teeth. *** Kifla pulls Ally up short again. “Hold on a second,” the gnome says. Then she crouches down next to a small hole in the ground and chitters down it. A groundhog pokes its head out. The gnome and the groundhog chitter back and forth for a few brief moments, and then Kifla stands up and says, “This way. We’re looking for a big hole in the ground.” “Kifla, did you just get directions from a groundhog?” Ally snickers. The two of them walk along, moving up the side of the hillock until they find a large natural depression; they creep forward to observe it. Along the far side of it, a set of natural steps curves down to the bottom of it. The pilgrims are in there, as are three bandits- and Barouk! A crossbow is trained on him, and his hands are tied behind his back. Suddenly the dogs begin to bark, and everything gets crazy. Ally runs for the far side of the natural amphitheater, where the steps will allow her entry. One of the bandits, near the top of the stairs, strikes at her with a spear, but she dodges out of the way, pulling out her new great axe as she does so. One of the dogs springs up the steps and bites Ally in the leg. “Aargh!” she calls out, and gets [i]really[/i] angry. Rage bursts through her, and in a single great swipe of her axe she decapitates the bandit guard! The blow continues on through, cleaving towards the dog, but the wily animal dances away from it. Kifla, meanwhile, casts [i]dancing lights[/i] on the opposite side of the amphitheater, and cries out, “Give up, you’re surrounded!” Then she draws out her short bow and fires an arrow at the half-elf, actually hitting him! The half-elf glares up at Kifla. [i]“The South will rise again!”[/i] he bellows, and his bandits cheer when he does; and then he reaches into a pouch and pulls out a bit of sand. Murmuring secret magical words, he gestures- and puts Kifla to [i]sleep![/i] The bandit with his crossbow trained on Barouk is rather distracted, so the dwarf decides that he probably has the best opportunity he is going to get. He leaps forward and kicks the man hard in the solar plexus. The bandit flies back, limp and unmoving, and Barouk lands on his feet. [i]My hands are bound,[/i] he thinks, [i]but I am a monk. I do not need them.[/i] Then the other two dogs tear into him. He spins, leaps, tries to guard with his legs alone- but one of them manages to bloody his ankle. He kicks back, and dances with the dogs. He can’t seem to land a blow, but the dogs are tearing at him. Pain jolts him as the dogs tear at his legs. The half-elf tumbles past Ally, gaining the high ground, and jabs at her with his rapier. Ally roars in anger and cuts the dog attacking her in half, then cleaves at the half-elf- to no avail! The slippery bastard dodges her blow! Up above, shaking with shame, Herb throws a rock, hitting one of the dogs in the head. It yelps and growls. The pacifist pilgrim weeps at what he has done. The half-elf stabs at Ally again, but her newfound chain shirt saves her. The half-elf, scowling, tries to tumble away, but a rock slips out from under his foot and he stumbles. Ally grins and swings, but misses her attack of opportunity. Then she rushes after the half-elf- who is clearly trying to flee, as things have done awry- and buries her axe several inches deep in his back. The bard dies in an instant, and Ally howls in triumph, then whirls to leap into the pit, accepting a minor ankle twist in order to get to Barouk’s aid. Barouk manages to stomp one of the dogs on the neck, killing it, and suddenly that new great axe of Ally’s is slicing in. The last dog dies as the axe decapitates it. Herb hurries to check on Kifla, fearing the worst, but she wakes easily. The two of them head down into the amphitheater. Kifla hurries over to her friends and slits Barouk’s bonds with her dagger. “Now, if one of these guys is still alive,” grumbles Barouk, “we may be almost done with our first mission!” Kifla opens her mouth to reply, but stops as she hears Finneas, the leader of the pilgrims, speaking behind them. “I am sorry, Herb. I know your intentions were good, but you cast a stone to harm another being. You may not travel with us any longer. You may not go back to the mission house. You are cast out.” [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] What will Herb do? Will our heroes find a still-living bandit? And who were these bandits, anyway? *In this era of the Cydra campaign, there are essentially no horses. Garen are equine beasts similar to a zebra, but are two colors out of green, brown and yellow. They are roughly equal to a light horse, and are used as mounts by the folk of Cydra. Cydra folk also extensively use big riding birds called kocho, although kocho are much harder to control and are notoriously foul-tempered. **No, Barouk just fumbled his Spot check. [/QUOTE]
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