"It's probably a good idea to get ready to go. If we are supposed to lead them astray Theo I am guessing we have someone in mind to catch whoever follows us. That or perhaps a plan on how to lose them when and if it's needed to do so." She glances at Heolstar with a sympathy knowing Theo wouldn't like to be parted from her. Still if it was important they would go their separate ways until they managed to find each other once more.

Each of the leaders here was asked to contribute just a small group of volunteers to the upcoming campaign.  Those who truly wished to participate.

Anakri D’Annaci had brought over 200 Elves to the Ardennes.  Most of them were High Elves- some of the Elves of the Black Forest, veterans of the battle of Cambete and not ready to stop their efforts, joined up.  In fact, they proved themselves tough fighters.  Along the way, at the battles of Tullum and Beda, fifteen lives had been lost.  It is the way of the mystics of the High Elves to see meaning in numbers, even if they can’t exactly be sure of what the meaning is.  So she left with Theoderic fifteen Elven warriors, one for each soul lost along the way, under the command of a chieftain’s son of the Black Forest Elves, Eparo.

The Ardennes Elves sent word that they will match this contingent and then some, but not with the Elves here, who are needed to protect their homes, the Fifth and Sixth wards on the eastern flank of the Ardennes.  Theoderic gets word that they will join up at Namaco.

So Theoderic designates Salen to take charge of the Elves here, and bring them to Namaco, (where Salen helped at the fight for the Citadel) and thence north along the Meuse to Mos Trajectum.

Not surprisingly, Ayren offers to go with him.  Namaco is close to where she lives, after all, and a force like this… you never know when a Healer would be needed.

So the group forms up to depart Lucimburic.  Ayren suggests that they go through Elven territory, at least until they reach the Meuse.

Petra put a hand to Heolstor's cheek, that and her very genuine smile acknowledging him fully without words.   She thanked Aelasuria as well for her offer of aid.  But this was given to be her duty, and so she would do it, understanding its importance.

Her plan was to keep it terribly simple, to begin.  She would hail this goddess of the Meuse and humbly put forth the situation for her consideration.  Perhaps to the river itself, if there was no visible manifestation.  And she would do not more than that initially.   Reckoning that courtesy and honesty might go further than elaborate ritual.

At the proper time, she diverged from the troop, and attempted to find a portion of the Meuse that looked particularly clear, lovely, vibrant, and deep.

Heolstor rallied his the contingent entrusted to him. He requested, personally, that the two werewolves be in this group - he'd been impressed thoroughly by their prowess at Beda. If there were any Burgundians or other human volunteers, Lord Strang would bring them in his party as well.

He gave orders for them to make ready, buy what supplies they required, and meet in the morning. Once all were assembled they'd begin their journey.

Heolstor departs, heading off into a new thread: The Belgica Road in March.

Aelasuria, Swift, Theoderic, and those not yet with any of the other threads, for the moment, hang out in this one.

Theoderic rounds up the last contingent of troops.  He's taken those that truly have their heart in it, valuing commitment above all else.

"Swift, you will have the job of scouting ahead when we get close," he says. "But for a while, we will be traveling in safe country.  The Elves will move us on boats along the Meuse, like before.  But first, we have to get back to Raviniacum, and meet them there.  We have to let Heolstor travel out a few days ahead of us, though, to avoid the appearance of me leaving with a large force.  There is a spy in Lucimburic, we know it, and we may be trailed.  So.. that means that until Raviniacum, we need a scout behind, not ahead."

Swift looks at Theo "So you want me to scout behind while we are in the safe area to see if I can see if anyone is following us. I think that’s a good idea and can't wait to try to catch this spy. I suppose he or she is some kind of rouge with some magic. I would think such a spy would have some way to conceal themselves. Maybe the Fay with me can help me though any magic that might hide a spy"

They finally get going- Theoderic, Aelasuria, Swift, Spica, and Cirrus, and a small team of hand picked troops.  In the first day of travel they cross the south western part of the Duchy.  Swift watches the trail behind them.  This area is very familiar to her- it’s a well settled part of the Duchy, with farms and small villages.  There are also many iron mines in this area, and hard working werebadgers and wereboars turn iron ore into iron, the export of which provides a lot of income to the Duchy.

Swift checks the route behind.  From the Lycanthrope point of view, checking to see if you are being followed is much harder than following.  You can’t sniff out the trail of someone coming up behind you.  Swift is suspicious.  There are several moments that are… maybe.. kind of… what was that?  But nothing turns up.  If someone is back there, it is a very elusive someone, very skilled at stealth.

By the end of the day of travel they reach Longus.  They know this place well, from prior visits.  It is the village with the rustic tavern perched high on the ridge- Longus House.  The village is home to its leader, Viscount Gerraud, and also the nature priestess Fica, who is usually followed around her ferret companion Inkspot.

As they reach the town, Spica the Unicorn confirms that Swift is not paranoid.  There is something out there.  She doesn’t know what it is, or where it is, but it is behind, and following, and it makes the birds afraid.

This worries the Unicorn, because an ordinary rogue or assassin wouldn’t do that.

Somewhere between after the wedding and before they leave Lucimburic Aelasuria makes sure that She and Theo go horseback riding through the city and outside it. Using the matching saddles gifted to them by the dwarves. She hadn't forgotten her promise to let them be displayed. It didn't hurt that she wanted to go riding with Theo as well.

While they travel she thinks about the situation particularly when Spica warns them that they indeed are being followed. By something that likely was either using magic or a few other rather unpleasant possibilities. She speaks softly with Theo sharing her thoughts discreetly in case their follower had ways of listening as well as watching from afar. "Theo we could try to feed the spy  miss information. If you feel it has enough value to even try. Alternatively since we know we are being followed we could attempt to catch our spy and perhaps get information from them. It's possible that whatever is following us could be a demon. It could also be a evil fey, someone with magic, or some type of monster in the service of the Huns. If we have a druid they might be able to learn something from the animals. I could try summoning something that might be able to spot our little spy. Perhaps someone with us is gifted enough to find them. If we try though we risk giving away that we know that something is out there. I don't think it would be wise to send swift back there alone. Especially if whatever is following us notices she disappears for any reason from the group. We could try it though Theo if you think it is worth a try. We might have a better opportunity later."

She also researches her new magical cube trying to learn it's secrets. Eventually Aelasuria hopes to master it so that she could put it to good use.

Once they reach the town she looks around taking in the sights. If she see's Fica and her ferret companion Inkspot she waves giving them a friendly smile. "Will we be staying at the Inn Theo or will we simply continue to travel? IF we plan on just passing through we could stop long enough to see what news they have and share a bit of our own with them."

1) When she gets moments, here and there, Aelasuria examines the cubic she acquired.

It creates portals between the current location of the cube and one of six different places, one tied to each face of the cube.  She has already learned that the portal is about ten feet wide, and stays in place for a few hours- and there seems to be no way to turn it off before it fades out on its own.

Which means she has to be cautious- a portal created is “left open”.

They haven't had time to explore the destinations, and perhaps, if they slowed down, she could do more to figure it out, but thus far she's seen two.

The first one seems to be a wet, muddy city with lots of Halflings!

The second is a city on a river, by a bridge.  But it looks abandoned, and in poor condition.  All she sees are rats.

By the time they reach Longus, Swift and Spica are convinced something is trailing then, but they've seen nothing but an occasional suspicious shadow.  But there are movements, just at the edge of sight, and there are sounds of feet on leaves.  When they turn their heads, and when they pause to look and listen, it stops.

It is the end of a day's travel, here and time to stop.

Fortunately, Longus looks defensible, with a narrow walkway up the steep, high ridge to Longus house.

“I will watch the road,” Spica volunteers.

Theoderic suggests they stay at the inn.  There is no reason to camp out.  Besides, if Spica is right and not just paranoid, it could be safer.  And Theoderic can catch up on any local news.

Fica doesn't seem to be around the tavern.  As they recall, she is frequently to be found at her temple.

She was fascinated by the cubic eager to learn more although like any responsible person she's aware there are dangers involved. So she proceeds with caution not wanting anyone to get hurt! Aelasuria notes which side goes to the Halfling city as well as the one to the abandoned city. Which was likely a very dangerous place because cities didn't become abandoned without a very good reason.

Pausing Aelasuria gives Spica a gentle loving hug speaking to her softly. "Be very careful Spica. Whatever is following us is very good at not being seen. If it is evil though you should sense it's presence if he, she, it, or they get to close. We shouldn't assume we are being followed by just one person."

With Theo she agree feeling there was no point in camping out in the wilderness. That would make them easier to attack or watch not harder. "Whatever is out there probably won't come into town. Not if he, she, it or they know that we know they are out there. I just wonder what sort of something is following us. Oh and Theo If we do have to camp away from a town I can use magic to call up a secure hut."

She continues softly keeping it private to only those that are very close to them at the time. "I also have a magical cube. It opens a portal the only problem is that it stays open for a few hours. It can take us back to Lucimburic. It also opens to a muddy Halfling city and another side goes to what appears to be a abandoned city. It's on a river by a bridge, however it's in poor condition and probably dangerous. People just don't abandon a city without a good reason. We could in theory use it as a trap after all if it want's to follow us it also would have to pass through the portal where we could ambush it. The down side of course is that should it close while we are on the other side we would lose a good bit of travel time. I don't expect us to do that though I wanted to give you the option at least to consider the possibility."

Swift is not sure if the inn is better or not. At least camping out, they know everyone in camp. In the inn, there are strangers around. She looks at Spica "Be careful, I will walk around the inn and see what I can see."

She takes off in fox form to check around the outside of the inn. She looks to see how many ways in there is and if the winodws are large enough to enter though. She hates so many ways in.

(ooc- did she ever pick up any strange scents of the shadowy thing?)

The village of Longus is in two parts.  The “Lower town” lies alongside the Chier River, across a bridge from the road.  It is mostly farm houses, built here where people wanted to be close to their fields.

The ‘Upper town” is built on top of a steep ridge, and the center is Longus House itself. The trail up the ridge switches back and forth and passes below Longus House.  The ridge top location is well suited for defense.

The Chiers river here is shallow, cold and fast.  It is not really much of an obstacle for anything willing to wade.  The ridge, on the other hand, will slow down anyone not on the trail.

The river looks like this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi...s_Charency-Vezin.jpg

From up on the ridge, Swift has a good view of the approach.  It is hard to move across the fields and the river without being seen... maybe too hard even for the skilled whatever it is.

And then, just for a few moments, Swift sees something:  something large and humanoid but strangely bulky looking, like a smooth but fat Ogre.  Moving with an ape-like gait, arms swinging wide, it walks from the field into the river.  Swift sees it... colored the exact same dingy brown as the fields.  It is visible in the water... and then its color changes, and it shifts to match the water, even matching the movement of the water.  Moments later, she gets sight of it again, crossing out of the water on their side, and again, changing color to match the surroundings.

A map of Longus and immediate surroundings:
 

Graehl kept to himself on the road for the most part. He had packed light and hunted for his meals rather than relying on rations. As they arrived in Longus, Graehl attached himself to the others. He seemed curious at the talk of the cubic, but kept his questions to himself, as more pressing matters pressed. He kept his eyes peeled for whatever was thought to be on their tail.

Aelasuria stays near Theo and likely Spica waiting for them to decide what to do. Her suggestion might or might not work depending on how determined it was to follow them wherever they went. Course for now they also had the town to worry about.

Swift sneaks back to the others and shakes herself before becoming human again. "Well, I saw some interesting stuff, like a color shifting oger." she tells the group everything she saw. Also saying how it will be very hard to sneak over with out being seen.

Spica sort-of confirms what Swift saw.  The Unicorn didn't get a good look, but felt the presence of something "wrong" in general directions that go along with Swift's observations.

"From the sound of it, it is a supernatural opponent and it can change it's body," Theoderic says.  "But we don't know if it is here to attack or just to follow."

He looks out over the forested slope.  By now, the thing has certainly moved.

"If it is here for battle," he decides, "I don't want to use the Longus House as our battlefield.  It's built for defense, but not against a magical enemy.  It would be wrong to bring this kind of risk to Longus House."

Spica nods.  It is, after all, the kind of thinking her father worked to instill in Theoderic all his life.

There is another voice.  Fica.  The village's young priestess of the forest has arrived, and upon hearing the nature of the problem has put aside other concerns for the moment.  "You can use the temple," she says.  "Diana would favor that.  You have defended Her forest, and she would wish to defend you in return."

"Thank you Fica that is both very brave and generous of you. Let's go Theo whatever it is could arrive here at any time if it's looking for a fight. Spica I hope that you will be comfortable there. I don't want to leave you alone with that monster out here."

Unless someone objects Aelasuria moves quickly with the intent of getting to the temple where they could prepare for whatever might come. "If it comes to it I can also cast secure hut. Though I think the temple will be stronger due to it's divine nature and possible protections that gives."

The group hurries over to Fica’s temple.

It’s modest.  The temple itself is an open air wooden gazebo with a raised floor, perched on the edge of a steep slope.  Eight large wooden columns support the dome like roof.  Around the perimeter is a hedge, and there are several other open air structures- peaked roofs only, supported on posts.  The only actual walled building is Fica’s little cottage, a two room, single story dwelling of stone and wood, with slate shingles for the roof.

As soon as she gets inside the hedge barrier, her little animal companion, Inkspot the ferret, jumps out from a bag she wears, and begins to “patrol” the perimeter.

Fica chants an invocation, and the hedge wall begins to rustle and shift.

”It will not stop a strong attacker,” she warns, “ but it will give us notice, and slow anything down.”

”If it intends to come in,” Theoderic says.  “It may be here just to track us.  If we can find it, somehow, I’d like the settle the issue, though.”

Thus far, Swift has had a hard time tracking their pursuer, because it was doing the following, and she knows it is a lot easier to follow a scent trail when you are the one following.  But her nose is not her only sense.  Fica has lived close enough to the Lycanthropes for years, and she recognizes that Swift is a werefox.

”I can enhance your hearing,” she says.

Cirrus, the slim, pale skinned girl who has slipped into the parallel roles of lady-in-waiting for Aelasuria and royal courier, asks what she can do.

”Get your horse, and prepare to ride out quickly,” Theoderic says.  “If this doesn’t go well for us, warn them at Longus house, and then ride west to the other villages and warn them there, too, as fast as you can, all the way home to Raviniacum.”

”But I can…”  Cirrus starts.

”That is all I want you to do,” Theoderic says.

"A very useful spell fica Thank you." She thought of Eadoin knowing he likely had similar spell if not identical. The plants likely would try to hold and slow anything that tried to pass through them.

It might be a waste however she prepares by casting Mage armor on herself. Then gently takes Cirrus's hand giving it a comforting and supportive squeeze. "Someone has to warn them of danger Cirrus. So that they can send help as well as be prepared for the coming danger should it prove necessary. Which I am sure we all hope that it won't. It's very important cirrus and you are our fastest messenger."

Discreetly she speaks to Cirrus softly keeping it private. "Once your horse is ready if you wish to share a idea you can speak to me privately and I will listen. You can also speak with Theo privately if you feel the need. Just remember you need to be ready to ride if things go badly."

Cirrus heads for her horse, as the rest of the group moves into the temple area.

Swift and Spica have the sharpest senses, and stay alert for any clue that the stealthy, color-changing thing is following.

And then, Spica suddenly focuses towards the southeast, where there is a steep slope down, with dense vegetation.  "There," the Unicorn says.

Moments later, Swift hears sounds of movement in the same direction.  Like a bear, or some other large animal moving through brush.

For the moment she holds her action focusing on trying to determine the creatures exact location. It wouldn't due to simply fire off a destructive spell randomly and hope to strike it. Though she keeps a spell or two in mind that might be helpful once it did show itself. "Fica do you have any flour, oil, or sticky sort of liquid that you can toss. This creature uses stealth which might or might not be used even in combat. Though if we can coat it with something that won't work anymore."

Aelasuria steps back a bit to put a bit more distance between herself and the approach. Theo she knew would be better for any hand to hand. "Be careful if it can use magic or has someone with it that can. It's possible to use sound illusions or others to trick you into thinking it's coming from one direction when it might come from another. It depends on how cunning it is." Still she thought the plants would give it away unless it somehow bypassed that as well. "It would be nice to have one of Rita's protection from evil circles now."

Swift ducks into bush and turns into her fox form. She heads out to see what she can see about what is moving in the bushes. She doesn't want to get too close as a fox doesn't want to take on a bear.

Fica sees Aelasuria casting spells, and hurries to her side to make a request.

”Please, nothing… you know.. .destructive.  The trees here are sacred, and there are animals living in them.  And there are Woodlings.  Even I don’t know when they are around, sometimes, they can be hard to see.”

Swift investigates, heading close for a better view, now in Fox form.  The hedge wall seems tighter and more difficult than it was before, so she has to cross it at the entrance.

As she heads over, she sees it- it changes color and texture rapidly, blending in well, but it can be seen at close range, a some distorted humanoid shape, shaggy and lumpy and awkward looking.  With each step it takes, it seems to absorb the appearance of whatever is around it.  Possibly more than just appearance- behind it, the vegetation looks wilted and weakened, in a trail.

Another creature runs past Swift.  This one is also Humanoid, but shorter than a Human and gangly looking, and made entirely of vegetation, as if someone put together a model of  a Human from wood, vines and leaves.

As it runs, it speaks!  It calls out for Fica, warning her to get away!

Fica cannot see it through the hedge wall, but she knows the voice.  “That’s a Woodling, and it’s scared,” Fica says worriedly.

 

She looks at Fica for a moment almost staring at her. "Fica I am a wizard you do realize this means I am now very limited in what battle spells I can use. We should have known this before picking a place to do battle. If you have any enhancement magic you can cast on a fighter or magic that will ward off evil now is the time." Feeling worried about Theo and the others she knows she can't really help them. Not effectively anyway as it was hard enough to use magic and avoid hitting your friends let alone worrying about every tree, bush and blade of grass. Not that she didn't care about the forest as she did quite a bit being a elf. Spica helps reinforce that as well. Which meant whatever she did cast would be done with care.

She looks at Theo speaking quickly. "Theo I won't be able to use my Magic here freely. I wouldn't want to hit a tree to begin with and Fica has reminded me that they are sacred to her goddess as well. I will do what I can but this one may depend on everyone's fighting skills. At least until we leave the tree's behind that is."

If the monster is close enough that it won't be a total waste she casts her most powerful monster summoning. At least she hopes that whatever she calls will be sufficient to prove helpful in defeating the monster should it attack.

OOC: Go team FAT!