PLs...

 "Indeed we do. We'll need to press hard if we're to reach our destination ahead of the warhorses of the rebels." Adonis grimly replies, painfully hauling himself back up from where he's been resting and shouldering his pack - at least now mercifully lighter than it has been - before starting eastwards once more, with the intention of trying to take the group towards whichever onwards route looked the least challenging.

 ---

 OOC: What are you trying to 'do right'? We have a time-critical mission with dozens of lives at stake on it and one of our own trapped behind us. We're doing the 'right' thing.

Eldor hung back for a few moments to allow the humans to discuss the next move.

" Well I think it is settled then .... we move on." Taking one last look at the group and judging which was the weakest he set off at a pace that all could keep up with.

Rael pause by the post and turn to the others "A moment sir fae if you don't mind." he looks at the other slightly nervously "I know little of this land but isn't the cave the fat wizard spoke about are near here? should we not investigate to find proof after all there was very harsh accusation against the Jarl."

Opening his eyes, Kjaelos sits up from his reclining position with a small sigh. So much for a little rest... Dusting off his well-worn, travel-stained robe, he shoulders his pack quickly, adjusts Karl's shortsword at his belt, and makes ready to begin another exhausting trudge.

Fixing his eyes on the rune-carved post and the faint footprints that lead away from it, Kjaelos asks Adonis without look around, "How far away do you reckon the castle is?"

Turning around to survey the area from whence Adonis returned from his scouting, he ponders out loud, "If we keep up our pace, or perhaps move even faster, could we arrive by sun down today?"

You heft your packs once again and set of up the shoulder of the mountain, some with an almost wistful glance back at the caves.  The going is tiring but steady and within a few hours you have reached the summit.  Looking down from it there is an impressive view: the hills roll down more gently into rough moors, but several leagues yonder you see the green of gentler meadows.

To the north-east you can just see Castle Ely, and south of it the hearth-smoke of a sizeable settlement.  Beyond this is the faint line of the sea.  To the south east is the great swathe of the forest through which Rael and his companions were chased by wolves a week previously.

You can see no signs of battle so it seems that Ettryck's forces have not yet reached the coast.

You reckon that by nightfall you can be safely down off the mountainside and some way into the moors.  By noon of the following day you could surely reach the castle - or you could try marching through the night to reach it earlier.

[Rael, Thomas and Adonis give me tracking rolls again please].

Rael was not pleased with the fact they had ignored the caves, if there was proof for foul play with the Jarl identity that was the place. Yet he understood the need for haste "Then we shell give our warning and head back to the caves." he state more the asks.

Conserving his energy for the press to the Castle Ely, Kjaelos trudges along in silence for the most part somewhere in the middle of the party. Much is on his mind however, for a careful observer would occasionally catch a sudden narrowing of his eyes as if a new disturbing thought has just occurred him.

 "And investigate we shall - do not forget that we must come back this way to recover our friend in yonder cave." Adonis reassures Rael, half-turning his entire body around to gesture with his good arm in the direction from which they've come before setting his shoulders and settling into the march, although as time passes his head droops further and further, pain and exhaustion taking their toll - though with the knock-on effect of leading him to spend more time paying close attention to the ground over which the group is travelling.

 ---

 11:15, Today: Sir Adonis Campbell rolled 3 using 2d10. Tracking.

Thomas had little more to say than to grunt in mild agreement. He had a duty to go and find his family sword at that inn. They had buried his armour, he had a key which fit into something which they had not found. So the place required more investigation.

---

17:12, Today: Thomas Keith rolled 6 using 2d10. Tracking Roll.
 

Adonis notices that a trail of similar age and usage to the one leading from the barrows to the caves, appears at the peak of the ridge and heads down in the rough direction of Castle Ely.  For all that the Downs have a bad reputation among the locals, it seems that the party are not the only ones to be visiting them in recent months.

The trail becomes harder to follow when the rough ground at the foot of the hills is reached, but Rael and Thomas take note of the surrounds and are confident that they could find their way back into the Downs from the east, were they ever to return.  The ground is open enough that you could make good progress across it with or without following any particular track.

[Will you head for the Castle or the village at its foot?  Will you press on through the night or rest till morning (when you would at least have a chance of keeping tabs on the trail Adonis has been tracking].

 "We are no more than a few hours from the castle now... it would be churlish of us to fall short of our destination for want of a little light, not to mention that I for one would give much for a churgeon and a hot meal!" states the Albish knight as the group reach steady ground and the weather darkens, thoughtfully remarking of the ground about them, "There's some sign of travellers here, but I'm inclined to say we ought head directly for the fortress, what say you gentlefolk?"

Rael shakes his head "I like to rest in proper bed like the next men but to go under cover of dark is foolishness. This is bad land and unless we all get the sight of the fae we will risk our lives for little gain. What about the fort, would they not consider us for thieves in the night or raiders, enemies. I say we rest till first light then head to the village and sniff some news then better equipped we march to the fort."

<brown>"As would I wish to rest within walls for the night. I for one doubt they will open the gates in the night Sir Adonis. Should we make for the town and fortress and rest in its proximity, we would be best served and protected that way."</blue>

the albish knight was very inclined to not be out in the darkness again but it was not reasonable to expect the fortress to open their gates in the night.

"I for one am for pressing on to the castle..." Kjaelos intones emphatically, though it is unclear whether any of the party can see his expression through the gloom of night. His left hand fidgets nervously as if missing the grasp of some old familiar staff.

"I am tired and weakened by the day's ordeal. And I am not sure resting for the night in this god-forsaken place will be any safer than pressing on through the night..." Clearing his throat, he continues, "If we were indeed refused entry at the castle, we could always rest below its walls or near it. We wouldn't be much worse off than staying here."

Eldor listens to their discussions "I would gladly lead you to the castle. I will go slowly and stay close IF I think the going is starting to get to tough for you in the dark I will stop and we can re-assess the situation."

 Tired, pained and inclined to be understanding, Adonis politely ignores Rael's mispeaking and and instead simply addresses his point about the land ahead amiably, "Our friends on the high moor said the trail was far easier from here and the route seems far gentler than that we have already traversed." before going on to field his fellow noblemans objection with the greater respect it deserves (since it was spoken by a belted knight rather than a man at arms), "A fair point Sir Keith, but I wager we could persuade them open a sally-port with the word we carry, and if not it is as our companion says, we will unquestionably find shelter at the village."

 And of course, as so often upon this trip it's Eldor that seems to make the difference, receiving a cheerful buffet on the shoulder from the knights good arm and a bluff "Well said Sir Fairy! See now Sir Keith, with elf-eyes to guide our steps how can we go astray on the final leg of the journey?"

Rael shook his head as he is forced once more to march without reason or logic. The fact the knight ignored him did not escaped him, nor how friendly the knight was with the fae. Perhaps he is under a glamour of some sort. Rael decided to watch the knight more carefully now and continue to walk with the others keeping his eyes sharp for any pitfalls.

Kjaelos notes the undercurrents between the various characters in the party in silence, storing the information away against the day when it might prove useful. Adjusting his pack and belt, he looks around the party, prepared to make the final push to the castle.

"Let's make good time up to at least midnight, take a short break, then press on to our destination. And I can take another look at our wounded during the break..."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:53, Sat 07 May 2011.

Differences put aside (or at least put to the back of the mind for another time), the party tighten their boots and step out northeastwards across the heath.  As the light fades you notice that the Castle has a some kind of watchfire lit that keeps your bearing, like a faint candle at this distance.

Eldor leads on at a steady pace, somewhat slow as you are all tired and no-one fancies turning an ankle.  It must be shortly after midnight when you feel the ground change - you are entering the richer grazing pastures which surround the castle, and come upon a hamlet, little more than a cluster of huts and a large animal pen.

You are still several hundred yards from the settlement when the air chills markedly and you all catch your breath in fright.  A faint, man-like figure appears in the air before Adonis and addresses him in a foul-mouthed Visic.  "ALBISH - WHERE IS MY MAN BJORN?  WHERE ARE YOUR COMPANIONS?  WHY GO YOU NOW TO ELY WHERE THE TRAITOR SIEGFRIED WAITS?"


[ooc: Adonis and Thomas are so struck by the apparition that they find their feet rooted to the spot, though they may still think and speak.  The other, more letter men are less affected.  Eldor can hear the words but sees no figure, only Adonis staring into the empty night before him.]

 There's logic to the march... there's even reason, though it might be pushing things a little to say that either of them are completely watertight, particularly since Sir Campbell is in favour of them and he's not one of the brightest flowers in the Good Lord's garden.

 He is however one of the tougher ones - a trait he shares with several other of the group, and somehow manages to push on despite his injuries and tiredness, accepting the slower pace come evening and darkness with good grace, plainly no more eager to be lying injured on the moor at night than anyone else.

 Whatever it is that sucks the heat from the air and roots the good knights to the earth however, the response from the knight is automatic - to reach for the spear-like sigil about his neck and to call on the Saviour before looking puzzled for a moment and asking "Who?" of absolutely no-one anyone else can see, and then adding "They're here." in a rather baffled tone and going on to add in far more certain fashion "We bear word of invasion and black sorcery, stand aside shade, and go to your rest!"

The sudden chill stops Kjaelos right in his tracks. Mastering his own rising fear, the young scholar forces his mind to focus on studying the being floating in the air before the party.

It does not take him long to realize that the party had been accosted by a ghost or a shade. Though this is the 1st time he is confronted by one up front, he recalls from his long years of study that this being is a restless soul that is unable to find true rest despite having given up his or her life's breath long ago. Such beings are bound to the living world by something. Perhaps an unfinished errand, a duty to discharge, a message to pass on, a debt to repay, or...*gulp*...a hatred and a vengeance to exact. They are doomed to relive the final moments of their lives for eternity until that thing that binds them to this world and keeps them from their rest is resolved.

Vaguely recalling snippets of conversation with Beren, it dawns on Kjaelos that this might be the shade of the fallen warrior lord Thorkel. If this is true, then the shade, seemingly still living/reliving the events of his life just before death, has come to confront the party whom it thinks are part of a larger band with his comrade in arms Bjorn. Perhaps the shade might provide some clues to the mystery of the Jarl...

Stepping forward, Kjaelos addresses the shade respectfully, "We seek the answer to the riddle of the false Jarl Siegfried, and his link with that foul witch Fyonja...Lord Thorkel." Kjaelos bows slightly to the shade.

The shade appearing most certainly startled the albish knight into not moving. He stared at the thing as it spoke to them and lost his tongue for the moment. He had never seen a ghost before and this tihng certainly disturbed him. Kjaelos stepping forward spared him the need to speak to this thing. He seemed to know what he was talking about.

Rael hands shot to his blades when the shade appeared  in front of the knights. Would good steel match the fade? perhaps cold iron but he was not sure of neither and the ghost seem to be focused on the knights so he allowed them to handle the situation.

The shade hums and haws rather scarily at Adonis forthright rebuttal.

"ALBISH YE BE A FOOL - HELPING SUCH A JARL AS THIS.  YE WERE BETTER LISTEN TO THIS PALE-FACED FURRINER - FOR E'EN NOW SIEGFRIED'S FOUL MINIONS DRAW HENCE!  STILL YE HAE A GUID HEART SO I'LL NO HINDER YE - BUT NEITHER SHALL I LEND YOU MY AID!"

With this grand pronouncement the apparition begins to flicker and curl at the edges, then fades completely from sight, its voice still echoing somehow for a few moments longer.


[ooc: since it is past midnight and the moon is up, Karl, Eldor and Kjaelos have replenished their MPs]