(CSRHoD) Creamsteak's Red Hand of Doom [IC]

[Vigwyn the Unruly]

Pender, Male Human Fighter 6

"Damnit, Warren! Just how much good do you think you're going to be out there without us, huh? So you think we shouldn't stay here? Well, neither do I, but I'm smart enough to know that I don't stand a chance without the rest of group, and I'm not about to just walk off in a huff. I'm staying here and standing or falling as part of our group. If you think you're better than that, then you've grown far too big for your tiny halfling breeches!"

 

[Creamsteak]

(I was going to give more time for some debate on this splitting up, but it seems there's not much actual debate on that. Because of the circumstances, I'll have to alter my plans a bit to keep everyone engaged).

 

[Creamsteak]

Warren
As you head out along the trail at night, you reach a point where a roadsign hangs near an old abandoned farmhouse. The fields look like they've been overgrown with wild brush and weeds for years now. It must have been abandoned a long time ago.

The sign reads rather simply in common.

Herald's Homestead
<--- (West) Drellin's Ferry 22 Miles
<--- (West) Skull Gorge 48 Miles
---> (East) Terrelton 10 Miles
---> (East) Nimon Gap 31 Miles
---> (East) Brindol 100 Miles

What sort of light source are you using to get by along the road at night? The moonlight and starlight give shadowy illumination along the middle of the road, but complete darkness everywhere else.

 

[Creamsteak]

Everyone Else
The hobgoblin seems to want to follow Warren at first, and he seems convinced he'll be allowed to. However, when Pender puts him back into his bindings he begins to wail and moan again saying many of the same phrases as before.

After some time passes since Warren's early morning departure, there's a a sharp but strange sound that Mandla hears in the distance. Larian, Avril, and Siobhan hear the noise, but it's simply too sharp to be identifiable.

[sblock=Avril]Mandla gives off a distinct vibe of awareness and anger. Something has stepped into Mandla's territory, and Mandla knows it.[/sblock]

The shadows of the moon and stars give shadowy illumination to most squares on the road or in nearby clearings, but total darkness elsewhere.

 

[Redclaw]

Larian, AC 17, HP 22/29, Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +5

Larian finds and holds his scroll of Mass Resist Energy, just in case it's the dragon. Tyrla, are you looking for invisible foes again, just in case? he asks, a bit nervous after his last experience.

[sblock=spells] Spells Prepared
0- Mage Hand, Read Magic, Detect Magic, Detect Magic
1st- Feather Fall, Color Spray, Mage Armor, True Strike, Magic Weapon (Trans.)
2nd- See Invisibility, Invisibility, Scorching Ray, Invisibility, Bull's Strength(Trans.)
3rd- Dispell Magic, Fireball, Major Image, Haste (Trans)

Spells in Effect
Mage Armor-12 Hours from sunset

Rod of Extend--1/3 uses
Pearl of Power--used [/sblock]

 

[Arkhandus]

Warren the halfling, HP 39/39, AC 23

Warren rides Serrin away to the east at a decent pace, but tries to be reasonably sneaky at first, only speeding up after he figures there couldn't be any worg riders ahead in ambush. So after a few hours he has Serrin pick up the pace.

Warren heads east towards Terrelton, as the sign indicates. Though before he gets to Terrelton, he'll be slowing down and dismounting, tying Serrin's reigns to a tree while he sneakily scouts the edge of Terrelton first for signs of goblinoids, monsters, or other hostiles.

He uses no light for as long as he can, but when it's dark he'll be keeping Serrin at a slow canter so he can avoid trees or other significant obstacles by the moonlight or starlight. When necessary, Warren stops and searches the ground for a decently-long twig or stick, takes out the roll of twine from his backpack, unrolls roughly a foot worth of twine, cuts it with his dagger, and wraps it around one end of the stick. Then he initiates the Burning Blade maneuver to lightly strike one end of the stick with his palm (an unarmed strike), igniting the twine. If he can find some tinder on the ground in the dark, he stuffs that between the twine and the stick. He doesn't need light for very long.

Worse comes to worse, he can use his sunrod for light, though it's far brighter and longer-lasting than he'd prefer for this. In any case, if he uses Burning Blade at any point, he'll meditate and practice his forms for a few moments to ready the maneuver again, before his light source has faded.

As he travels, Warren hopes his less sensible comrades don't get themselves killed by the folly of waiting for an enemy force of unknown size but likely significant danger..... He really thought Avril and Larian were smarter than that.

[sblock=occ]No offense meant, of course, that's just Warren's in-character feeling. He's got strong instincts and intuition, with his 16 Wisdom, and as a halfling, a rogue, and a follower of Olidammara, he has a significant interest in his self-preservation.

So when the captured enemy basically tells him that the angry, vengeful dragon and possibly another squad of hobgoblins is on the way, Warren's instincts tell him to leave post-haste. If his companions know what's good for them, he reasons, they'll follow his wise decision. Well, paranoid decision, more like. Orlane taught him as a swordsage that the wise warrior picks his own battles and the battlefield, and Warren's own impulses say to avoid fighting an unknown force that includes a dragon, without the advantage of surprise or at least initiative as the attackers. Dying in his sleep would suck, in his mind, and dying when he's just too tired from no sleep would be just as bad.

So, he'll just hope the others catch up and don't die first.[/sblock]

 

[Redclaw]

Larian watches sadly as his diminutive travelling companion rides away into the night. I understand his fear, he thinks to himself, but it's hard to understand how he can think that he'll be better off travelling alone at night in hostile territory. The simple fact is that none of us will get through this without the others. He shrugs, and chalks it up to the jealousy with which the younger races guard every moment, lacking the wisdom of the elves. Not very sporting of him to take our only horse, however.

[sblock=ooc] I understand the character choice, even if I dislike it. Just don't expect Larian to trust Warren as much in the future (if they survive the night that is.) [/sblock]

 

[pathfinderq1]

Larian finds and holds his scroll of Mass Resist Energy, just in case it's the dragon. Tyrla, are you looking for invisible foes again, just in case? he asks, a bit nervous after his last experience.

Tyrla tried to sound calm, though she was just as ill-at-ease as the others seemed to be. Her magically enhanced eyesight swept the darkness around them, but she knew that range and foliage could thwart her vision. "I watch as best I can- hopefully morning will come soon."

 

[Creamsteak]

Warren
As you continue your trek through the darkness, you eventually stop in an area to gather something to light again. While your on foot, you hear the sound of a frog or a toad, but much louder. It's coming from just a bit north of your current position.

When you turn to look, and it's difficult in the current lighting, you hearsome movement in the grass beyond. It's not particularly large, but something is moving around in the tangles of a grassy field at this late hour. You just can't seem to make out what exactly is doing it.

The light from the moon casts shadow illumination over the entire field, but the concealment of the grass is sufficient to hide whatever it is from an accurate view in the darkness. It is, however, failing to move particularly silently and seems to be wandering around aimlessly.



Everyone Else
After a bit more time another high pitched croak sounds over the road, this time a bit closer. Everyone hears it this time, and it seems louder than a normal animal cry in the night.

 

[Arkhandus]

Warren the halfling, HP 39/39, AC 23

(ooc: actually, you guys should still have one horse, the heavy horse or heavy warhorse that the group bought at the same time as Serrin, the light warhorse that Warren named)

Warren decides that he may as well use the sunrod now, and see if the thing in the grass is dangerous or just something he can chase away, before he moves on. He walks quietly back to Serrin and slips the sunrod out of his backpack, draws his short sword in the other hand, and strikes the sunrod against a tree trunk (or the ground if necessary) to make it light up.