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Message: <blockquote data-quote="peteyfrogboy" data-source="post: 1187866" data-attributes="member: 5677">On The RoadAs the sun rose over the low roofs of Istaro, the five travelers found themselves on dry land once more. Nevroth could still feel a slight tingling where he had been wounded, but Delthic's magic had repaired most of the damage. He held the spear that had caused those wounds in his hands. "Enchanted, you say?"Seraphim nodded. "I could be more specific, but I don't have any pearls on hand.""Pearls?" Parika's attention was always drawn to talk of gems."I need it for the identification spell," explained the halfling. She held her thumb and forefinger up  a half inch apart. "About so big."Parika whistled. "I could use one of those myself."Seraphim shrugged. "I used to keep a couple on me, but Rhodes has been supplying me since I got the job. This close to the ocean we might be able to find some here in town.""You guys take care of that," said Rachel. "I'll try to find us some horses.""I'll go with you," said Nevroth.Delthic nodded his head toward the city. "I've got a few friends here. I'll see if any of them have heard anything about Avandrae."***As it turned out, Istaro had nothing in the way of pearls or information. They were able to find horses, however, and they headed out on the east road to Pradnipha that afternoon. The highway was well maintained and patrolled, with inns spaced comfortably all along the road. Seraphim and Parika were doubled up on one of the horses, recalling stories from their youth in Averdane. Delthic livened up the journey occasionally with songs drawn from his wide repertoire of traveling music.After nearly five days on the road, they finally caught sight of the walls of Pradnipha. The high stone wall around the city center seemed out of place in the Midlands, but Pradnipha had been in the path of every Kufriti army that had come up from the south in the past centuries. Most Ahandrian cities had  walls of wood, if they had any at all. Despite the relatively comfortable traveling conditions of the road, they were grateful to be able to rest in a higher class of inn.Delthic was still unable to uncover any rumors about their quarry, but Seraphim was able to find some pearls suitable to use for her magic. It seemed that all of the best pearls -- and other goods -- from Istaro tended to make their way up the road to the much larger city of Pradnipha. She also found a couple of explorers who needed an artifact identified, which helped offset some of her costs. The sahuagin's spear turned out to bear only a minor enchantment, but it was still more than any of their other weapons. Nevroth decided to hang on to it just in case it was needed.After a restful night in the city, they set out toward the rising sun once more. The road east of Pradnipha was less heavily traveled than the one they had been on, and the convenient wayside inns became less and less so. The flat coastal plains gradually gave way to rolling hills as they neared the slopes of the Cappelori Mountains, which Rachel knew as the Red Peaks. The dwarves, of course, claimed the entire range as part of the empire of Stonehome. The towering crags loomed silently on the horizon, unchanging no matter what they were named."We should be able to make Travatti by tonight," said Delthic. Shadows stretched long before the four horses as the sun sank behind them. "If we're lucky we can --" He heard a whinny and looked back to see Parika wheeling her horse around and heading back up the road. Nevroth, meanwhile, was drawing his sword as he rode up the hill on the right side of the road. Before he could ask what was going on, his unspoken question was answered by a hail of arrows from either side. He kicked his heels to the horse's flanks and rode straight ahead. Normally, his response to banditry was to run fast and not look back, but somehow he didn't think his traveling companions would do the same. He stopped the horse after a couple of heartbeats and turned around.People were coming over the hills on either side of the road. On the north side were three archers and an unarmed woman, while on the south were another four archers. Parika and Seraphim were both dismounting as the woman on the hilltop began gesturing. She pointed her finger in their direction, sending a sizzling green bolt arcing through the air. Her aim was poor, though, and her intended targets retaliated with arrow and eldritch fire, felling her in an instant. Rachel seemed to have been caught as much off guard as had Delthic, and her lack of vigilance had been rewarded with a pair of arrows protruding from her side. She leapt off her horse and charged up the hill, cutlass raised high. Nevroth had already gained the opposite hilltop, swords at the ready. One of the archers dropped his bow and drew a sword, striking sparks from Nevroth's blade with a powerful blow.The archers concentrated their fire on the swordsmen in their midst, finding more success targeting Nevroth than Rachel. The archers on the north hill retreated as they fired, but Rachel ran them down one at a time. Nevroth and the bandit swordsman dueled on the south hill, while Parika and Seraphim weakened Nevroth's opponent from afar. Rather than turn their attention to the women below, the archers on the south hill continued firing at Nevroth. They were continuing to injure him, but their tactical error proved to be their undoing; the swordsman fell, leaving them at Nevroth's mercy. After the first of them was struck down by the manhunter, the others ran off into the hills.Delthic rested his hand on the pommel of his sword. He wore it mainly for show; if he ever was in a position where he needed to draw it, he would probably be better off fleeing. He looked up at the setting sun. If they moved quickly, they could still make Travatti before dark.</blockquote>

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