The Canterbury Tales- Chapter 4: Dead Drunk

The baker works over a fire to check on a loaf of bread he has been making from the grain and gives a chuckle, "So senseless death is the final showing of courage and honor? I'll take a long life and cowardice anytime." The knight falls silent and says nothing further.

Experience Points
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Chapter 1 complete.

Fenris, ethanandrew, dragonwriter, Holyman, and Theroc: 150xp+25xp RP bonus=175 total xp
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Eventually, the scouts laid down for some much needed sleep while others in the caravan took watch. It was near morning, when the sun was still hidden yet creating a pink glow on the horizon, that a scream woke the scouts.

They rushed out of their cots, grabbed weapons, and made it to the source to find the baker near a wagon with a half-eaten loaf of bread in one hand. The cow you had recently procured was tethered to the wagon and watching with typical cow-boredom. "The thieves took it! They took the grain," the baker shrieked. A side panel of the wagon was broken open and empty; the bag of grain that was evidently inside was also missing.

Fresh footprints led from the wagon and disappeared up a rocky hill to the east.
 
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Richard leaped out of his bedroll and upon seeing the disturbance quickly donned his and grabbed his weapon as he prepared to head after the grain thieves.
 

The party took time to don their equipment before heading out after the thieves. Though this slowed the scouts down, it was best to be safe than sorry in such an unknown stretch of land. They headed out of camp with the baker losing self-control, shrieking odd profanities and brief strange statements like, "Warty, green thieves they are! Like stunted goblins!"

It took the scouts until noon to track down the thieves as the footprints disappeared several times as the farmland turned into sparse plains, but finally Francis picked up the trail again and took the group a few miles away from the caravan trail to the base of a twenty foot tall, rocky hill. The footprints had ended at the base of the mound, as the ground was too rough to leave any. However, smoke from a cooking fire could be seen from where the scouts stood eminating from the center of the hill.

An argument could also be heard, in some foreign and shrill tongue. It sounded as if the thieves were fighting with one another.

Francis and Sir Richard Goodlake
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It's odd, but several times as you've been following the trail the thieves left you could have sworn you heard some kind of small bell ringing in the distance but it would stop when you stopped to listen further.
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OOC: Please make sure your characters are posted and complete in the rogue's gallery as I am beginning to roll for skills and will need to make more rolls very soon. Link= http://www.enworld.org/forum/plots-places/268038-canterbury-tales-rogues-gallery.html
 
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Duncan pulls his lance from the side of Gaoth's saddle and starts quietly urging his horse up to the hill. He looks over his shoulder and down to the others, speaking softly, "Could any of you perhaps take a quick look over the edge of the hilltop and see how many we face? While I would prefer to make the valiant charge, I understand the benefit of knowing the size of the enemy force."
 

Alwyn had been busily pondering what deity would curse a cow to a demonic state to join the conversation over Palamon and Arcite, though the story struck him as familiar, as a youth interested in the Gods, he studied much of Saturn and Venus, and Mars and the others. He kept his own opinion of the story, not speaking outwardly and merely thinking on possible influences. Still pondering at the end of the night, Alwyn turned in with the others.

When Alwyn awoke, he donned his gear swiftly, pondering if the Betrayer's blessing was still upon him or if he must make another prayer before investigating, checked his arm for the arrowhead which had been imbedded mysteriously in his flesh before following the others, smiling at the prospect of encountering goblins... a sign that the Old Gods still held some influence in the region.

[sblock=OOC]
Apologies for the delay, as I stated in another topic in talking the talk, my PC was out of commission for awhile.[/sblock]
 

Reading himself takes a little longer than the others as Professor Smiley has to find Hillford. The others start off without the man but he soon catches up suitcase and hatbox in hand.

When the group reaches the area they believe the bandits are in he sets the suitcase down, opens it and removes some vials from it. After putting the vials in his long coat pockets he undoes the ties on his hat box and lifting the lid, Hillford hops out. "Don't go off to far again please." he says to the toad.

"Right then all set let's go." he says to the group.

[sblock=Skills]
Concentration +5
Hide +0
Move Silently +0
Listen -1
Spot -1
Climb -3
Jump -3 [/sblock]

[sblock=Spells]
Spells Known:
0 level- Acid Splash, Detect Poison, Resistance, Touch of Fatigue
1st level- Comprehend Languages, Shocking Grasp

Spells per Day
0 level- ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
1 level- ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) [/sblock]
 

It takes Francis a moment to realize that when Duncan mentioned someone going to scout out the camp, he meant the rogue. With a sigh, Francis moved quietly up the rough slope and peeked his head over the edge. The scouts watched as he took some extra time gazing the scene, before he snuck back to the party. "There's five of them, all a bit short and skinny, but looking more like strange, dirty men then warty goblins to me. The leader is wearing some sort of helm and all are lightly armed. I can't recognize their language but they seem to be angry with one another and set to fight. I think we can sneak up on them, but they are violent and ... odd."

OOC: Sorry for RPing Francis, but I wanted to move this part along.
 

Duncan nods thoughtfully and a broad smile grows across his young face. "With only five of them, we should easily be able to handle this. I will happily lead the charge. Unless someone else has a different idea of how to handle this..."
 

"I don't think 'leading a charge' was what I had in mind by sneaking in," Francis looked at Duncan with a frown.

"Here's what I suggest, we set up an ambush for them to come investigate the disturbance that they hear up on this hill. When one or all of them show up, we flank them and then Duncan, you charge in from the front and run them down." As he details this plan, he kneels down and draws a rough diagram detailing positions and such.
 

"Wait," the Professor chimes in at the mention of ambushes and charging in. "Should we not make sure these men are guilty before we apprehend them? What if they did not steal the grain, or that only one or two did and the rest know nothing." With a scratch to the temple the Professor's face becomes troubled. "We aren't going to kill them first without knowing are we?"

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Hope I 'm playing my alignment right the Professor is LN (leaning towards good) and it mainly comes from a structured background. Schooling and the laws of science both follow strict order so he would want to capture these thieves and have the authorities deal with them. But he will defend himself and his friends if they attack. [/sblock]
 

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