Ashin's Commission, RA Style--Michael Alone

[Rystil Arden]

*Michael circles around in a half-elliptical path towards the north, keeping well clear of the village. The terrain is rough and not at all easy going, but eventually, he descends the other half of the path towards the patrol's supposed location. They are, of course, not there at all--though there is an abandoned campsite at that spot.*

 

[ajanders]

Oh, of course not. If this was going as planned, I wouldn't have been sent to find them.
Michael is struck by this practical application of why Universal Law always results in good, even when it appears to result in sadness.
Of course, that would mean he'd have to care about these people.
Michael finds this an perturbing thought, and makes a note to explore this carefully. Possibly over lunch...the meal he didn't pack.
Michael finds this a perturbing thought as well.

But it looks like a patrol camped here, so whatever went wrong, it didn't go wrong until after they got here.

Michael examines the campsite carefully and thoroughly.
Does it look struck, as if the patrol rode away in good order?
Abandoned at speed, as if the patrol was attacked and had to flee?

Did they leave any armor behind? Corpses?
Michael's stomach grumbles.
Forget the armor, how about provisions?

 

[Rystil Arden]

*Michael doesn't have the wilderness skill to track, but he can certainly look around to see what the patrol has left. Weapons and armour don't seem to be lying around, but there are some simple provisions still there--it seems more as if the patrol members went out to investigate something nearby without intending to abandon the camp. Perhaps they will even be back soon--Michael can't tell how old this camp was. Still, if he can find them, or their bodies, he'll be done with any commitment to the lieutenant.*

 

[ajanders]

Michael pickets his horse in the shade, snags some lunch, and gets a drink while he collects his thoughts.

They didn't come back last night. They might have left the day before yesterday, campde and missed a dusk return, but I don't quite think so.

Michael frowns.
We're getting corpses.

Michael regrets he is not a ranger, but he looks about him with soldierly eyes.
What would be something here the patrol would want to go and explore?
He's passed the village...the mine? An abandoned cabin? A pool of nymphs cavorting.

Who are you kidding? It's the mine.

With his luck, the shadow from the ogre cave has tracked him halfway across the continent

 

[Rystil Arden]

*Michael grabs some grub and water without any incident or problems, alone in this quiet campsite.*

 

[ajanders]

Michael had hoped someone might appear while he was eating and resolve this situation, but that seems not to have been the case.

If there's enough daylight left, he packs up the rest of the food and rides towards the mine -- his best guess of where the soldiers might have gone.
He keeps a sharp eye out for signs of the patrol or for anything else that looks interesting enough to attract the patrol's attention.

He will stop to camp well before dark, giving himself plenty of time to find someplace secure and defensible...though he thinks he's got time.

 

[ajanders]

If there's anything interesting that happens to Michael, the next week is looking a little confused right now. This weekend is my best chance to post for a bit.

aja

 

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: No trouble--I had to pause because you got ahead of the others and they might be in the same general vicinity around the same time)

 

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: Alrighty! The other group ran around and didn't go to where you are yet, so let's proceed!)

*Michael heads towards the mine, and he reaches the nearest cavernous entrance well before dark, but he has already decided to camp well before dark--he has to decide whether or not the caverns along the cliff face or the main mine seem like a good place to camp for the night. In truth, they would be more defensible than the open air, but on the other hand, there's the old story of thirteen dwarves and a halfling who camped out in a cave for a night...*

 

[ajanders]

Michael goes to light a torch, then realizes he doesn't have any torches.
Great.
He starts to cast a light spell, then realizes he didn't pray for any this morning.
Because he didn't pray.
Double great.

And apparently, there's no patrol.
Michael feels put upon by the universe.
*Sigh*

He goes looking for some nice pitchy wood, starts a fire, and with a brand from the fire examines the mine first. He makes sure not to get out of site of the mine mouth.
He hopes to get lucky and find the corpses of the patrol stacked in front of the mine.

And when that's lucky, it's a bad day...