The Darkness That Comes Before [IC]

[Thanee]

Dara Dragondaughter

Dara stands up and slings the sheathed sword over her shoulder. She also picks up a rather small backpack, which rested inconspicuously next to her big sword.

“I, for one, am ready to head out.”

 

[Quirhid]

*Taneth rides calmly with his horse beside the group. "My name is Taneth," he nods. "I'm ready for travel. I have all that I need with me." He taps his saddlebags.*

 

[Serpenteye]

Mahe frowns. "Inner path? I have nae heard o' that one, but then, there're are thousand of 'em. So are you gonna join this damnfool crusade, too?" Mahe knows of the odd discipline of psionics, but has never heard of it referred to by that name, not being widely travelled; he assumes it is another god.

"Aye, why not?"
Ian grabs his pack, picks up the emerald from the empty glass exchanges greetings with the others and heads out with the group.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Mahe shrugs and doesn't bother to correct Ian as he misinterprets which damnfool crusade he was referring to. "It'll be about two weeks," he says, "'till we get to the edge of the real dense and dang'rous forest. One week if we kin get horses for the lot of us. Once we're in the deep forest, it's another week from there, horses or no horses- makes naught a difference."

 

[Serpenteye]

Ian pulls his cloak tighter around his shoulders, waiting for the others to get ready.

 

[Erekose13]

The First Day

[ooc: no one has mentioned that they want to buy horses yet, so we are going to go with no horses for now. If you do want to buy one to speed things up as Mahe pointed out, then do so before my next post ]

Mahe leads the way travelling down the dirt path towards the forest. There are wagon tracks in the dirt and from the few farms you pass on the way, you assume that it was farmer's carts that have left these tracks. It takes about an hour to reach the forest. By then the dirt trail has dissappeared completely and you are heading in following only Mahe.

The trees on the edge of the forest are spread out, in some places you can see the effects of logging as farmers and others come here for their wood supplies. You can also see a few small trees begining to grow so it is obvious that the forest is being looked after and human involvement limited.

Throughout the day you see small animals and a variety of interesting plant life. Nothing yet seems dangerous in the least, and the pleasant stroll through the woods has invigorated the dogs and horses. As the sun begins to dissappear over the mountains you stop for the night and set up camp. Nalya speaks up, "I know that it looks safe out here, but I think that we should set watches tonight just in case."

 

[Ferrix]

Donner begins to help set camp, pitching his tent and laying out his bedroll. With a chuckle he says "I'll take first or last watch, whichever is more convenient for most of you folk. Either way, I'll be up as soon as the sun creeps." With that, he settles down. Giving meat to each of the dogs and a comforting pat to each, they settle down around him. He pulls a whetstone from his pack, along with an oiled rag, and begins to go through his gear; wiping down any leather with the rag to keep it from cracking, same with any metal to keep it from rusting. He checks each of his weapons carefully, running his finger along the edges and taking off any burrs with the whetstone. All the while he knaws roughly on some hardtack.

OOC: going through his gear routine will prolly take an hour or so after however long it takes to get camp set up, he'll offer silent help to anyone who looks like they need it setting up camp

 

[Ghostknight]

*Gespath looks at the group heading out, at the empty tavern and decides he should go along. At least there should be some treasure in this even if the pay is lousy. All the talk of mountains and forests leads him to speculate that his wagon better stay behind*

"Ahh, Mary, would you mind if I left the horses and wagon here with you until I return? Make use of them freely - the horses will need the exercise anyway."

*Packing a few essentials into his backpack he decides that he probably needs to purchase some waterproof wrappings for his spell books.*

"So Nayla, how much can you pay for us to join you on this trip? I have to give something to my school eventually!"

*****​

"If no one objects I will take first watch, I need to rest so I can study more appropriate arcana in the morning."

*Gespath sat down, pulled out some of thedried meat of his trail rations and started munching away*

ooc: How much for oilskin blankets which can be tied tightly to prevent damage to those little darlings of mine?

 

[Thanee]

Dara Dragondaughter

OOC: What kind of horse can I buy for 3gp 8sp 8cp?

Still in town, Dara will buy a week worth of rations from her last money and stash them into her small backpack, before following the druid to see that fabulous tree they spoke of.

*****​

Dara is used to travel by foot and has to keep herself to a lower pace to not lose the others that also walk. She enjoys the little exercise and it's a nice enough region to travel through as well.

*****​

Once the group stops to make camp, Dara pulls out a bedroll from her pack, which - strangely enough - seems to be larger than the small backpack itself, she gets it from. She looks for a decent spot and rolls it out there.

“I can take any watch,” she says, once the group decides how to devide the duties.

Dara then takes off her black chain shirt, stashes it into her backpack and stretches her muscles for a while before sitting down on a nearby stone or treestump to sharpen her large blade with a whetstone before laying it down next to her sleeping place within arm's reach. Part of the blade is pushed under her bedroll, so even if someone tries to pull it away from her during the night, she will be awaken by the movement. She will rest her head on her backpack during the night for similar reasons. All this is done with a certain routine.

 

[Serpenteye]

A few hours out of town Ian begins to regret that he didn't buy a horse, by nightfall he's near exhaustion. Troughout the journey every now and then he manifests Lesser Body Adjustment to heal his chafing feet and aching muscles. He had allowed himself to get too out of shape the last few months and he would have to pay for that in blood and sweat. The Emerald is blessedly silent, sharing his own fatigue.

When they finally arrive at the campsite he drops his backpack and quicly prepares his blankets. "I don't need much sleep, only half an hour at some point during the night. I'll share every watch but the last."