Before she did anything else, Eleniel went to Tellorn and walked beside him as he walked behind Opal, studying him for any sign of wounds on his body.

If it was a trick, it was a good one.  They found the form of a small man bound hand and foot tucked into a small cave.  He was clearly bound too tightly to be able to move much.

His head was shaved, his skin was tanned, and his robes were simple and plain, marked only by an image of a glowing hand, finger pointed up toward the man's shoulder.

He'd managed to scrape the gag off against a nearby rock, and his cheek bore the marks of the scraping as well.

As you came into view, he tried a winning grin. "Thank the High One!  Can you get me out of here?"

Betha holds a hand up to her companions signaling for them to do nothing yet and then stares coldly at the bound man.

Betha's supernatural sight probes the mans aura looking for the telltale signs of evil.


Detect Evil
Know Relgion:
23:11, Today: Betha Brightwood rolled 5 using 1d20+2. Know Religion.

Silence gather as the group stands and look at the man securely bound by strong rope. It seems that many people have trough the times gone here. It starts to slowly go over the group that they have under this adventure now killed there first person. Some might feel sadness for the waste of a life. It does not take long before birds are heard to far away. Crying, signaling to others that a feast is to be found here. The only problem you can see with that is that it might attract more then just birds.

"His aura is free of evils taint you can unbind him.  Tell us how you were captures sir, and your name if you could" Betha says.

Once free, Khemed stood and bowed slightly, rubbing his wrists to try to restore the rest of the circulation. "My thanks.  I am called Khemed, and I serve the High One as part of his Shining Hand.  I was captured by many well armed soldiers... more than I felt I could survive facing, even with His help."

"After three days bound in this cave, I was beginning to think that fighting and dying would have been the more pleasant choice.  Who do I have to thank for my rescue?"

"I am Betha Brightwood Knight of the Silver Fire. This is Opal, Tellorn and Eleniel. We are on a mission at the moment and are glad to have aided you in your time of need."

Khemed bowed simply. "Not nearly so glad as I was to have your help.  In thanks, if I could aid you in your mission, I would gladly do so.  I am not a bad hand in a fight, and I have a few other tricks up my sleeves as well."

With a grin, he made a stage showman's gesture of 'nothing up my sleeves', then looked startled when nothing was produced.

Eleniel watched the newcomer curiously, but she did not relax just yet.  She threw a quick questioning glance at Tellorn, wanting to know what he thought before passing any judgments.

Opal crosses her arms across her chest, as skeptical as ever.  "No one has invited you to join us...  I for one am not in a sharing mood.  And if you were captured by a bunch of soldiers, then why was there only one guarding you?"  She raises an eyebrow to see how he tries to talk his way out of it.

Khemed just shrugged, though whether at her skepticism or her question wasn't clear.  "Perhaps they thought that once I was bound hand and foot, one man was sufficient guard, and that their men were better used somewhere else."

"His heart is pure I have studied his aura if he wants to come along more the merrier" Betha says a little naively. "As for a share of the reward, I believe he can get a fair share depending on his participation.

For now we need to move on, are any of you hurt? I have but a little restorative power but am willing to give what I have."

"I can heal you," Eleniel offered, thinking that the paladin should save her special healing for emergencies.  There was no reason that she could think of to keep Khemed from accompanying them so she said nothing against it.

Opal looks down to her blood soaked shirt and the ragged hole in her shoulder, then back up to Betha with a strange expression on her face.  Halfway between disbelief and wondering how naive this paladin actually is.  She looks at the group and just shakes her head.  She can't believe that they'll simply believe this man's story and welcome him into their group, no questions asked.

Tellorn remained quiet for the moment, though he was a bit sceptical to the stranger.  Still, they were four against one, so he wasn't all that opposed to having the new guy join them, if only for a little bit.  Plus, if he was hiding something, they should have plenty of time to get it out of him, Tellorn thought. . .

Khemed looked from face to face with a wide grin.  It wasn't clear whether he was happy to be accepted, or still trying to make friends.

"Do you need healing?" Eleniel asked, growing a bit impatient.  "I would like to make certain my friends are not hurt, after all," she said, pointing out the blood on Opal's shirt.

"Lets get moving, you may come along Khemed". Betha says. "Lets hope we dont meet anymore snipers"

Betha will push the group on toward there destination

Opal nods at Eleniel's question about healing  "That arrow hit pretty hard..."  She sighs to herself when Betha invites the man to join them.  'Ah well...  I suppose he can have Rabbitfoot's share...  if he does enough to earn it...'  She waits to see if the elf will heal her, then follows the others as they press on towards the mountains.  She keeps to the back and keeps an eye on the newbie.

Eleniel nodded and moved up to Opal, placing a hand on the other woman's shoulder as she prayed for healing to help her companion.  A short moment passed and then her hand began to grow warm on Opal as the divine grace went from one to the other, healing the woman completely.

Khemed followed as the others started to move away.  If he noticed Opal's scrutiny, he didn't show any sign that it bothered him.

As the group got moving again, Tellorn kept close to Eleniel and Betha, on the off-chance that they would fall under attack again - he so hated trying to cast spells while being distracted by arrows and swords and other unweildy pieces of metal, after all, especially when said weaponry were being weilded against him.  Keeping his enhanced bow out as he walked, he tried to keep on alert - but before too long, his mind had occupied itself, thinking back on recent events, and such.

It seems to be a uneventful day as the group make their way next to the high mountain. The rain clouds that threaten you with another cold and wet night hold their rain. The stars are hiding behind the clouds. Sometimes they pop out alongside the moon when they find a little opening in the thick clouds above. The next day you notice that the dark clouds are moving again and you can see the bright blue sky above. Many birds scatter before the group. The grouse are it seems a little nervous. Right before you must take and set camp a eagle is seen riding the skies. The night is bright as the moon shines her light upon you. Many wolfs are heard paying tribute to the moon. The night pass without much difficulty. A fox  visit your camp, but keeps it's distance before moving away most likely to hunt mouse and other small animals.

You do not walk for long before you can see clearly a big crack in the mountain side you should be close to the so called caves. After walking a hours time Opal is reports having found a cave entrance not to far ahead. After only a short walk you all see the entrance clearly. It's a small one, but should not be to difficult to   get into. It's about mid day if one would take a guess. At least it feels like it is. Everybody finds their magical torches and lanterns and  put them to good use. The cave is dark and it seems that the darkness is eating you up. After walking for a while you enter a larger room within the cave. The air is cold to your skin and you have the strange feeling of you not being welcomed into this cave. Your feets are tired and your stomachs empty. Setting up the torches around you at least ease the feeling of hostility this place gives you. It brings a sense of warmth and happiness. Not long after you start to hear the sound of something against the stone floor. It seems to come closer and closer. Eleniel sitting closest to the sound looks shocked for a few moments. As soon as Eleniel is shocked it seems whatever it was moves quickly away. The sound of the thing moving hastily trough room and away from you.

With wide eyes showing a mixture of horror and fear, two very different emotions in this case, Eleniel sat very still, gazing in the direction of the retreating sounds.  She was, apparently, quite speechless, her pretty pink mouth slightly open in surprise.

Khemed almost floated up from the curled resting position he'd settled into.  He stepped forward, his hands slipping loose from his sleeves.  He took up a ready position between his new companions and whatever had caused the sounds, peering into the gloom.

20:37, Today: Khemed rolled 12 using 1d20+7. Sorry, that was a Spot check, I just hit the roll button before I filled in the reason box.