It was a simple assignment; they said all you had to do was skulk around the Orc encampment and see what there to be seen and hear what’s there to be heard. Simple right? Wrong, wrong! Now you have to be running for your lives, lest you be captured. It was a simple coincidence, that hunting party returning to the camp just when you were leaving. Simple and uncomplicated; happenstance really but it could ruin everything.

 You had seen Orc berserkers and a priest in the camp. They had gone off a ways to speak amongst themselves and it had been the easiest thing to get close to enough to hear them. A simple spell had allowed you to understand what was said. Those words chilled you the bone. According to the priest, there were many other camps like this one all around the region. That was no secret, for months now there have been reports of increased monster activity. The region had been crawling with Orcs and Goblins and Bugbears and all manner of miscreants, in fact the Hordewatch keep had put out a request for mercenaries and adventurers to bolster there defenses. You had answered the call hoping to earn a little gold and snatch some loot of course.

 But the priest, he said that this was the beginning. Soon a great Horde led by the God king would swoop down on the unsuspecting and devour everything in its path. He had said that first they would destroy the keep and its meddling adventurers who kept disrupting the God King’s plans. Then he had named dates and places that would fall for the glory of the God King. They had gone mad then, whopping and hollering like drunken sailors while they danced around the campfire, the priest chanting all the while.

 After that, all hell broke loose. At the moment the forest around you is quiet and you seem to shaken your pursuers. You have a moment to catch your breath and take stock of the situation, you are still moving but this looks like a good place to rest for a minute but you have to make it back to the Keep before you are captured or at least get word to them with your intel before it is too late…

Andredi bent and put his hands on his knees, the elf wasn't the hardiest of souls and right now his chest felt aflame with all the running. After a moment he straightened, let us keep moving, it wouldn't do for those bastard orcs to catch up with us...

The priest huffs and puffs along with the elf, "I seem to remember I did this with this elf before..."

"Agreed.  ::huff:: Let's keep moving.  ::puff:: We should only stop when we are ready to lay down and die."

He grabs the silver coin on his chest, hold it to his heart and chants,

"kylaennar taliriel."

the coin glows softly with warm blue light, and his feet and legs seems to have received another round of energy.

[Private to DM Darkchylde: Casting Longstrider with Divine Spellpower added.  Taking 10 on the Divine Spellpower Turn check, making additional +2 CL ro Longstrider, making it last for 5 hourss.  +10' movement]

-K

Even though she was in excellent shape, Jyslyn's heavy armor made it hard for her to run such long distances.  She breathed heavily, her grey skin tinged pink with exertion.  The drow did not speak.  Instead, she kept looking back behind her and her friends, worried about losing ground to their foes.

Isiah breathed heavily, not at all used to this much running, and decided he would rather it stay that way, as well.  At least the fact that Jyslyn couldn't run very fast in her platemail, meant that the group couldn't move as quickly as possible, and he would not leave her behind.  Had it just been him, the wizard would have easily cast a spell to double his speed, letting him slip away from the orcs easily, but that was not an option here.  Well, at least nobody had caught them. . .  yet.


[Private to GM:
The spells Isiah would have prepared:

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯Spell Lvl 0¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Detect Magic
Daze
Daze
Mage Hand
Message

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯Spell Lvl 1¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Mage Armor
Expeditious Retreat
Comprehend Languages,
Charm Person
Sleep
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯Spell Lvl 2¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Hideous Laughter
Hideous Laughter
Hideous Laughter
Glitterdust
Scorching Ray

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯Spell Lvl 3¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Deep Slumber
Dispel Magic
Hold Person
Lightning Bolt
]

The four spies stop for the briefest moment to catch their breath. Kanas used this respite to cast a spell that will aid his flight from your vicious pursuers. In a moment the party is off again, moving at a pace that is comfortable to all, yet still fast enough for them to make good time back to the village.

The weary, spent spies soon slow to a walk, not because it was safe, but simply because they were flesh and blood and they could not hope to keep the pace they had set. They had been walking now for nearly a half an hour with aching calves, thighs and chests, when they heard the baying of wolves some ways behind them. It seemed that their pursuers had picked up their scent and would soon be on their heels again. All you saw the dire wolves the Goblins and Orcs kept as mounts. Dire Wolves that could track by scent alone. It was not far to the town now, but would they make it before being overtaken?

OOC: You are all fatigued at the moment and it is less than an hour to the village. The wolves arent that far behind you, it is difficult to say if you will get to town before they get to you. Take moment to decide on your course of action and then let me know what you will do.

"OK, I have to throw away some stuff to lighten my load.", the cleric opens his backpack, and shakes it upside down to emptie it to the side of the road behind bushes.  You see lantern, ration, and bunch of other things thrown away.  He go through the pile to pick up the scroll case and a silver coin and put them back into the backpack.

"Let's keep moving.  We should dump anything we can replace at the villege so we can move faster.

-K

Andredi, who normally travelled light, found that his backpack was exceedingly heavy. He dumped out a rope and a grappling hook out of his bag. He waited till the others had lightened their load and then continued on breathing heavily the whole way.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:43, Sat 08 Sept 2007.

The party quickly disposes of the extraneous gear, making their load lighter, allowing them to travel a little easier. They could have done it before but such blatant clues to their whereabouts would have had their pursuers on their trail in minutes. It didn’t matter much now that the wolves have picked up their scent. All that remained was fight or flight and their information was too important to risk capture.

So you press on toward your goal. Travel through the forest is inconvenient at best but you make good time and soon the village wall comes into view through the trees. It’s an easy five minutes from here on out. Relief washes through you and lend you new strength as you near the end of your flight.

[Private to Andredi: You here something big but stealthy rustling through the bushes some where behind you. It's close, withing 30 feet or so of your position.]

Andredi turns and draws his twin short swords off his back, I heard something attemptiing to sneak up on us, he backs away still heading to the village but not taking his eyes off the way they came.

OCC: Spot check 17
This message was last edited by the player at 15:21, Tue 11 Sept 2007.

The priest grabs a scroll case and takes a scroll out.

"It could be Keep outer scout or something.", the priest gets tense, but he keeps moving forward with the group.
[Private to DM Darkchylde: taking out a scroll of Mass Aid out of the backpack as a move action.  But move 40' with the standard action to keep pace with the group.]
-K

PM: [Private to Andredi: You Spot a Large wolf creeping through the brush towards you. The details are indistinct because of the foliage, but it’s definitely Large and definitely coming straight towards the party. It is about 25 feet south east of the group.]

 As the Keep comes into view through the tree’s (the thick foliage had kept it hidden until now), and the weight of dread lifted from Kanas shoulders. The spell he cast earlier was still in effect and he knew he could easily sprint to Keep for aide and back in a matter of minutes. But Andredi’s pronouncement stopped him cold.

As the Elf drew his blades a great wolf leapt from the underbrush, no longer concerned with stealth, yet quiet none the less. Even as Kanas spoke it bore down on the Elf, charging through the brush to attack. On its back rode a little goblin warrior; fierce and wild looking, wielding a javelin like a lance, it tip aimed at Andredi heart. But the nimble elf crouched low; the goblins attack went over his head, wolf swept pass.

That was the only chance they got as the rest of you react the presence of the evil beast and its rider...

Initiative if you please?

Andredi ducks and lashes out at the wolf as it runs past.

11:45, Today: Andredi rolled 14 using 1d20+4. init.
[private to DM Darkchylde: Not sure if the wolf provoked an attack of opportunity or whether that was just some fluff before the battle started. So disregard the AOO if anything
11:45, Today: Andredi rolled 3 using 1d6. damage.
11:45, Today: Andredi rolled 17 using 1d20+8. AOO just in case.
 ]

14:22, Today: Kanas rolled 3 using 1d20. Initiative.

". . . Or, maybe it's one of their advanced scout.", the priest rolls his eyes, with his hope of the noise being a friendly face completely wrong.

-K

"It's just one goblin on a wolf - I think Waukeen shall see us through, so we may strike favorable bargains in the future," the wizard stated with some degree of confidence.  Undead, constructs, and powerful wizards, he could fear.  A goblin atop of an overgrown dog?  In Thay, a goblin could concider itself lucky to be a slave, and even at that, a puny one.  Still, Isiah reached for a wand of his, just in case. . .


21:23, Today: Isiah rolled 5 using 1d20+2. Init- can't do worse than Kanas, heh! :D

Jyslyn did as always, moving into a position that protected Isiah mostly, but also Kanas and Andredi.  Her ferocious battle face slipped into place and she shouted at the goblin to get its attention focused on her and away from the others.

16:15, Today: Jyslyn rolled 5 using 1d20+1. Init. 

Andredi slashes the beast as it springs pass, drawing a yelp from its savage throat. But the beast continues on, stopping between the party and the town some 15 ft from Andredi. It growls and barks fiercely, snapping at the air, but doesn’t move to attack. The goblin aboard pulls the horn of some wild beast and puts it to his lips. He blast a piercing note and smiles cruelly at you as it is answered by others nearby. Nearer still; the baying of the other wolves tell you that they fanned out to cover more ground but stayed close enough to answer the call when you were found.

First round actions please.
Game Speak
The horns that answered are about a minute or more away, but the wolves will be there in a matter of rounds...
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:38, Fri 14 Sept 2007.

Andredi moves towards the wolf and attacks with his sword.


[private to gm: The attack is actually 21. I forgot that I'm fatigued and cannot charge. and -2 from dex further reduces my attack roll by 1
20:10, Today: Andredi rolled 3 using 1d6-1. damage.
20:08, Today: Andredi rolled 24 using 1d20+10. Charge!!!!. ]

Posting on Isiah’s behalf.

Isiah stares down the goblin with a calm expression. He throws back his hood so that his tattoo is prominently displayed and gestures at the goblin, while incanting a spell> his chant is soft and captivating, his fingers moving in a complex pattern. The goblin’s expression turns slack and it appraises Isiah with new expression; one of adoration.

Come now friend, let us pass. We are weary and would like to rest and eat. Won’t you allow us to go pass to our home, my good friend?