Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jeremy" data-source="post: 1379527" data-attributes="member: 4036">Hillock near Galan's Roost, Mistledale15th of Deepwinter in the Year of Wild Magic Titus hopped down off his perch and crept up to the top of the hill with Revan. Parially sheltered by a pair of old, bare elms was a ruined campsite. The slashed and punctured tents were spattered with blood, various stands were knocked over or splintered, and the camp was generally in great disarray. Revan pieced together that the horsemen had butchered whatever had been resting here, apparently taking them by surprise as at least one of them had been speared where he lay through the tent. Titus continued searching the area while Revan followed a set of heavy tracks down the north slope. Titus found a well hidden set of holes dug with circles of turf cut to cover them that refuse and the campsite could be broken down and stored in. Revan followed a set of tracks down to a group of poorly hidden shallow graves. Two of them had been dug up by local animals and were mostly destroyed, but the third was still covered. Digging it up himself he was able to confirm that all three were drow, though these ones lacked the pattern of the last he had found. These ones were clothed largely in blacks and whites that looked like they would blend into the winter landscape except for a small red mask insignia on a patch that each had. Cutting one of the patches free Revan headed back up to tell Titus what he had found. *** "...and that's what we found. So we've got drow hitting homesteads, drow hitting drow, horse raiders hitting homesteads, and horse raiders hitting drow. And we've got at least two sects of drow who may be the ones filling each other full o' holes." Titus finished explaining to Galdur and Elayne once they had all met up. Galdur stroked his beard, "And it be the ridin' ones we here to find out about, right?" Elayne nodded, "Yes. The Riders of Mistledale have been up and down the borders of Cormanthor doing everything they can to hold back the drow. But we need to find out if there's something else going on." "We know the raiders came here, and unless it was the Riders of Mistledale who took the drow on the hill, we know they've been around the area. But I have not found any tracks that suggest they left." Revan had more to add, but a fit of coughing overtook him. Elayne moved to check on him, but he waved her off before she stood. "Well I say we at least take a look around," Titus said. "With those guard dogs dead I want to have a look inside at least." Galdur protested, "I keep tellin' ya. We can only channel so much magic inna day." After considerable discussion it was decided that since they could see through the broken down structure well enough to tell that most of it was empty, a quick peek wouldn't be a bad idea. *** The company made their way up the old causeway and stepped into the broken wreck of a fort. The broken stone jutted up at odd angles where cold and time had cracked stone and various undergrowth had tried to push free. The blockhouse that once guarded the causeway was lacking a roof that had apparently caved in, destroying the west wall of the structure. The north wall still was mostly intact with a pair of niches where archers could cover the approach to the Roost. The wooden walls that had separated the fort into different rooms had all apparently rotted away or collapsed into various debris leaving only the stone walls of some kind of stair case and a hall with an attached kitchen of some sort towards the south end of the fort. Also, behind the southern wall of the blockhouse there appeared to be some kind of hole in the floor that descended into darkness. The group split up to check for any signs of the riders when Galdur thought he heard something in the blockhouse. He motioned Revan over and while he readied his shield and axe, the elf crept in. Apparently asleep in one of the defensive niches was a hideous four-winged bat/mosquito. A stirge. First giant bees, now giant mosquitos. Revan carefully nocked and stepped right up on the creature and fired point-blank into where he figured it's heart to be; the arrow sank in and stirge sputtered and died. Awoken by the noise a pair of stirge from the next two nooks flew out and sighting the warm meal flew at him. Revan ducked under the first, but the second clamped down on his back and sunk its dagger-like nose into his back. Galdur called out swung his axe at the monster while Elayne summoned up another magic bolt that punched a hole in the second stirge's carapace. Titus ran over holding only the end of his long staff used his forward momentum to jump forward while turning in mid air and swinging in a wide arc. Still blinded by Elayne's bolt, the stirge didn't see the attack coming and with a loud crack was batted out of the air where it slammed into the rubble and slumped the ground twitching. Titus landed right where it had been. Revan slammed back on a stone wall, smashing the stirge and dazing it, but driving its nose deeper producing a pained grunt. Stumbling over to a bit of wall sticking out at an odd angle he spun into it hard. The wall crashed into the stirge from the side and it was ripped off of the elf's back as he fell to his knees. The stirge tried to gain its senses only to Galdur's axe shatter its carapace and sink into to its vulnerable innards. Titus moved over to the downed stirge twitching amidst the rubble and drove the end of his staff down through its head. *** Galdur supported Revan's steps as they sought out a place to camp. Dugmaren's power had sealed Revan's wound but the draining effect of the experience left the Ranger weakened. Earlier while tracking down something to eat for the group the elf had noted a relatively screened area that would make a decent campsite. It was to there that he led the group. The group held up as Revan was stopped by a series of wracking coughs but after a moment he nodded and they pressed on. Pushing through some bare bushes they discovered too late that their prospective campsite was already occupied.</blockquote>

Verification