Middle Earth [TA 2997]: The Phantom of the Northern Marches

[Mirth]

"That would be even worse than what the bear produces." He says with a laugh.

"I wouldn't be so certain, friend," Artos says grimly, without a hint of the humor he displayed just moments before. "Regardless, we should all be on our toes now ... so to speak." He shoves the bear trap roughly into his pack and then gets back to the matter at hand.

 

[Festy_Dog]

"It appears we have more to worry about than just the boogey-man," Antroine adds with a nervous chuckle.

He scans the path ahead warily, as the additional concern placed its strain on him.

 

[Inez Hull]

Artos can't quite help but think as he places the trap in his pack that it was oddly placed to snare a bear. He shakes off the thought and resumes leading the company onwards down the trail. Tensions run high and your pace of travel slows down as you move cautiously, eyes and ears tuned for anything out of the ordinary. At the slow pace it perhaps an hour before Artos gives the party notice that the site of Beroth's attack is up ahead.

The party draw weapons and move up, Arathorn, Breor and Valandil melting into the trees as you try to surround and suprise anything that might be here. However, the forest seems to be vacant of any life except a few twittering birds in the nearby trees. There is no welcome relief though at finding the woods vacant, built up adrenalin and tension have taken their toll on sore muscles and jittery nerves. Artos points out where his friends body was found and elaborates on how the body was when he stumbled across it. The company gather round to discuss their next course of action.

 

[rangerjohn]

Probably too late, but Arathorn looks for any distingishing marks around the clearing.

 

[Mirth]

"Don't ask me how, but I have a feeling we're being followed," Artos says quietly when the group is huddled together. "At the very least, we were expected to return here. Given that, we may indeed find more evidence now than was here the last time I ... visited. Be wary and examine everything."

Oddly, the barbarian sinks to all fours and sniffs the ground around where the body was found. He grabs a pile of damp leaves from the forest floor and holds them closely to his nose, snorting strongly, before moving to a nearby tree and inspecting the base of it intently. More quickly than a man of his size would seem capable, he then climbs the tree and looks down on the site from the vantage point of one of the branches.

 

[Manzanita]

Valandil

Valandil follows Athos' progress with a mixture of mirth and respect. Chuckling to himself, he also goes about looking for tracks or signs of what might have been here.

 

[Inez Hull]

The two rangers and the bushy woodsman scout and search for tracks throughout the area, whilst Breor keeps guard and Antroine... does whatever it is that Antroine does! Though their combined woodslore is great, some time has passed since Artos recovered his friends body. Arathorn however does find a hint of tracks from a large quadreped animal which seems to be a predator by the traces of claw marks accompannying the prints. There is no discernable trail, but Arathorn also finds traces of similar tracks a short distance further down the game trail.

 

[Festy_Dog]

While the others searched the area Antroine packed his pipe and lit up. If there was ever an ideal time for it in his mind, it was now, to take some edge off the situation.

He paces about the area, looking at interesting patches of earth, and trying to make himself useful.

 

[Manzanita]

Valandil

"OK. Well, isn't there one more spot where there was trouble that we could investigate?"

 

[Mirth]

The two rangers and the bushy woodsman scout and search for tracks throughout the area, whilst Breor keeps guard and Antroine... does whatever it is that Antroine does! Though their combined woodslore is great, some time has passed since Artos recovered his friends body. Arathorn however does find a hint of tracks from a large quadreped animal which seems to be a predator by the traces of claw marks accompannying the prints. There is no discernable trail, but Arathorn also finds traces of similar tracks a short distance further down the game trail.

(Assuming Arathorn tells them about the tracks) Artos climbs down to take a closer look at both sets of them, trying to determine what made the tracks.

To Valandil's suggestion, he replies, "Well those shepherd boys disappeared and also that ghost was seen, which were you thinking of?"