Byron and Myarra set off up the Left trail to see who was carrying the torch, while Nolan and Lennox look on from their locations to see if they could see anything. Lorrik is guarding Aliana while she goes to wake up Roenthelm and Twiggy, while Amara and Kalliyan still sleep.

Byron and Myarra are now close enough (100 feet) to hear a male voice asking for help:

Help me. My friend is hurt. Please.

Moving closer to get a good look at the torch bearer, the torch light guides you down the trail...

I signal Myarra, using hand signals, that I'm going to move forward and for her to back me up.  Her appearance might get her attacked or worse someone killed for no reason.  I move up the trail as quietly as I can and slowly.  Still not trusting what appears to be torch light.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:01, Fri 09 June 2017.

Myarra nods, even as her shape twists and melts, reforming as a far more normal (at least as Byron would reckon the term) person.  "I only spook the natives when it would be funny," she assures him.  "Lead the way, I'll follow 30 feet behind.  I'll be able to see you and a ways in front of you.  If I see anything dangerous,  you'll be the second to know."

She's somewhat amused by his futile attempt to move quietly.   He'd have better luck wearing a couple dozen tin cans and those belled shoes the Morose dancers wore at the festivals.  But she'd yet to have any luck explaining that to guys that insisted that plate armor was a good idea.

It takes a little longer to travel down the trail, since it's still dark and Byron is a human. So, in a way, he's trying to be stealthy. Myarra is about 30 feet behind Byron, in another form, thanks to her "hat". Both of you have your weapons out as you move to the spot where you saw the flickering torch light and where you thought you heard the call for help. When you think you get to that spot, you see the flickering light up the trail about 75 feet that disappears around a bend in the trail around a large tree.

Up this way. Please hurry!

----------------

Aliana wakes up Roenthelm as Lorrik keeps guard over her. Nolan and Lennox watches what is going on from their vantage points.

Aliana woke up the next warrior, or the next closest person.

Lennox, can you keep an eye on the other trail? I still think this is a trick to split our forces. It's not unheard of for bandits to rob adventurers who spent lots of gold to explore these woods for treasures.

Oh, hell no! Myarra thinks to herself as they reach their destination, only to find that the person has vanished, keeping just far enough ahead to remain our of sight.  Just how stupid do they think we are?

First she calls out to Byron ... "Hold still, Byron.  Do not go any further!"

Then to the mysterious voice ... "We are not going to follow you, sight unseen, into the darkness.  If you truly need our aid, you will show yourself to us now and explain yourself.  Otherwise we will return to our company."

As much as she's sure she and Byron can take care of themselves, this just screams "trap" and she's not that naive ... anymore.  Still she moves slowly forward, closing the distance between herself and Byron.

Twiggy blinks in suprise at being woken by Aliana "This is better than any eclare in my dream, a sweet when I wake. "  Twiggy wipes the sleep from his eyes with a grin at the priestess and looks around in suprise "Its not morning whats wrong?"

I stop and wait for Myarra to catch up.  Keeping alert as I sense trouble.

OOC: Alertness Feat.

Sister Aliana smiled at the silly little man as she moved away to wake up the next person.
"We're not sure, goofball.  There was a call for help, with some torchlight down the trail.  It is probably nothing Myarra and Byron can't handle, but we want to be safe."

Twiggy gave an over exaggerated frown "I thought you woke me up to cuddle."  The halfling then puts on his boots and chainshirt with a grin before hopping up "I will wait outside."  he then goes outside and eases into a shadow before listening carefully.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:19, Sun 11 June 2017.

Roen didn't think he could sleep so much after being in that mirror for so long. It did feel different to actually sleep for a change, but when Aliana woke him up, he was instantly up and on his feet, wondering what was happening. He just stood there and listened.

When Amara was roused from her reverie, she too had the adventurer instinct that something was wrong. She was quick to rise to her feet and move toward the path Nolan had been indicating someone should watch. Her night vision was superior to most in the party, and if this was a trick, that was where she would be of the most use.

In reply to Twiggy Flinch (msg # 11):

Aliana rolled her eyes, but with a friendly smile,  at Twiggy and his silliness.
She didn't pause in her duties, though

"This is such a silly trap," Myarra tells Byron as she comes to his side.

"When I was desperate, I knew you had to get up close.  You had to hold their hand and look them in the eye.  You had to make it personal.  That was the only way to get folks to help.  Running like this?  This is Willy-Whisp crap."

Whispering softly so only Myarra can hear me.

I absolutely agree with you Myarra.  This has all the appearance of a nasty trap.

In a much louder and commanding voice Byron says that even Lorrik and his friends, if they are alive, would recognize as a do as I'm told voice.

Show yourself and talk to us.  A minute or so to answer our questions won't hurt anyone.

Myarra and Byron wait where they are at as Byron calls out. Nothing shows itself, but the male voice calls out again,

"Please help. They are right up the path!"

==========
Everyone else in the building is either awake or in the process of doing so after all the movement in the building, plus the voice of Byron yelling. Precautions are taken by thinking this situation is a trap with members of the group looking up the other path to see if anything was coming. So far, nothing.

"Right, we should head back," Myarra tells Byron.  "These people may be incompetent when it comes to traps, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous.  And if by some strange quirk they are honest but incredibly stupid, they'll come to us."

She starts backing away, looking to either side as well as ahead as she does.   "Let's go.  I'll cover you, you cover me."

I do the same as Myarra.  Keeping my head on a swivel to look for any sign of an ambush.

I whisper to Myarra as we make our way back.

Notice how the voice changes between singular and plural?  It is a trap.

"I got eyes on a swivel up here." Nox replies to Nolan from above, keeping a slow pan of the surrounding terrain... randomly switching directions/speed so as to mitigate any obvious blind spots in his surveillance.

Twiggy stays hidden  debating if it is a good time to mess with Byron.

Not falling for a "trap", Myarra and Byron head on back to base, keeping an eye out for an ambush. Not that Byron could see much in the dark anyways. After about 100 feet, the light shows up again, calling out to the duo,

Please help us! Don't let my friends die!

"You're the one letting your friends die," Myarra calls back, even while she and Byron continue to move back towards the tower.  "If you want them to live, stop screwing around.  Show yourself.  Come here and talk to us.  That's the only way we're going to help you."

I continue to walk with Myarra.  Knowing that she has said what I would say and agreeing with her.

" I wonder what Byron was yelling at? Do you think he might need some help?" Roen asked the present company

In reply to Roenthelm (msg # 25):

As she woke everyone up, Aliana looked over at Roenthelm.
"If you want to stay at the edge of camp, in case they need help, that would be lovely.   But don't get closer unless they ask."

Byron and Myarra make it back to camp with no problems. The light calling for help returns to the same spot when it was first spotted and calls for help again. The group members looking down the other path still see nothing....

"Please help me. My friends are dying!"

"This is totally messed up," Myarra tells the others.  "Anyone that wanted our help would come forth and plead with us in person, not hide just out of sight.  And anyone that wanted to ambush us would give up after the lure so clearly failed.

Does anyone know of any creatures that mimic human voices?  Lorrik, just to be clear, do you recognize the voice?  Should we go forth in full strength and just put an end to this nonsense, or wait for morning?"

"In the unlikely chance that it is being truthful, we would all be very unhappy with ourselves in the morning." Amara said. She looked at Twiggy and asked quietly, "How are you in the dark?"

"Plenty of creatures do, and even with night-blessed eyes AND the High Ground... I see no indicators of anyone or anything truly in need of help." Nox provides from the roof. "Given that I can flit through the shadows at will though... I'd be more than happy to run a little subtle recon if you like. Hard to anticipate an angle of approach when it can be altered with a blink of my eyes..."

I agree Amara. However, dying in the middle of the night because we walked into the middle of an ambush is not how I intend to die. If he or they truly want our help they will make themselves known to us.

"No, I suppose not," Myarra replies to Amara.  "But Byron is right, walking into what is almost certainly an ambush would be stupid."

"Lennox, if you think you're good enough ... go ahead, let us know what you find.  And try not to get yourself killed in the process."

Kali, clearly exausted from her shift started rousing hearing the shouting of Byron and Myarra.  She simply nudges the panther at her side, who opened his eye once and looked at Kali.  With one. Look, the panther knew something was awry. Kali was also on alert, her eyes scannng the group in a questioning manner. "I sleep for a few hours and miss out on the excitement.  Typical."

Calling out to byron, she made sure her tone was mocking, but she knew he would know the reason she called out. "Byron, if you get hurt I'll reincarnate you as an rabbit for Raie to hunt you."

....he would know she was concerned for their safety.

Byron shakes his head at Kali's words.  Replying in his teasing tone to relieve some of the tension among the group.

Kali, I would expect nothing less from you.

Twiggy stays in the shadows keeping a look out and listening being quiet and unseen.

Nolan didn't say a word. He just looked out the window at the glowing light off in the distance, his mind far, far away.

"I may worship Ilmater and take on another's suffering, but if these people won't show you their faces, I'd suspect a trap too, even if they are crying out for help. Running away, leading you on to chase them, sounds like a trap to me." Roen said to the group "If we are to investigate this, we should all go out. We have numbers that might scare off a small group of pillagers, or we stay here and see if they will show themselves at the door."

Nox arches an eyebrow at Myarra's challenge. "Good enough?" The words come out a stifled whisper. His pride had suffered enough lately, that was more than sufficient to prompt him to action. "Take over up here, and keep an ear to the wind. Just in case." Just like that, he's gone before even hearing Roenthelm's words.

Kali looks at the others with a nod and stands at the front door.  Letting out a low whistle, she looks around, as Raieylan pads over.  She looks at the panther with a nod, and the panther pads off a short distance and hides in a shrub. She looks around and sniffs the air.


She looks back at Roenthelm. "I think it may be a trap, but not what the others think. If what our new friend said was true, I doubt the attackers may be human, and if they are, possibly not alive. I'd prefered if The others fell back, but trust in their skills.  If they need us they will call us. For now, lets prepare."

Lorrik shakes his head No, "No, I didn't recognize the voice. I'm sure if it was one of my friends, they would have ran up to the door calling my name."

Walking right by the big panther without seeing him.

You know I may be crazy to charge into the middle of 5 to 1 odds against me.  But, I'm definitely not stupid enough to walk into an obvious ambush in the middle of the night when I can't see what's coming.  For now I don't think they will come this way to attack us.  They might try again to lure some of us away from here though.

Twiggy stays hidden and listening as the others make their way back.

Lennox disappears in a puff of smoke and appears in the brush some distance away, then disappears again until nobody can see him with their vision anymore.....

The light on the trail still calls out for help,

Please help me! My friends are dying!

The cries for help, real or not,  were like fingernails down the chalkboard of the elven girl's soul, and she cringed as she listened.
Then she sighed
"I'm going to try something. "
Making a show if it (so as to not startle Lorrik too much) she used her new amulet to  summon a giant wasp, with instructions to investigate the noises in the woods

Activating the new amulet thst summons a giant wasp for 1 minute, thst obeys my commands. 

Amara didn't like someone going alone. If it was dangerous for a pair to go, it was dangerous for someone alone to go. She moved into the shadows, first to the side by about 45 feet, and then slowly toward the voice. Her goal was go get close enough to see what it was - not to follow it into what might be a trap. She was in no rush, moving deliberately.

Lorrik looks on in awe as Aliana uses her magical item to summon forth a Giant Wasp, but something strange happens before she commands it to look in the woods. Most of you are experienced enough to know what a Dancing Lights spell is, but it freaks Lorrik out. The lights follow the "light" into the forest. That's when Aliana sends her Wasp in to figure out what is happening. After the lights and the wasp have disappeared into the forest, Amara quietly disappears outside to follow.

"Well, with everyone going out and splitting up the party, it appears Nolan's assumptions are probably correct. Divide and conquer." Roen said to the group "Is this what we're going to do? Or should we follow in a large group?"

In reply to Roenthelm (msg # 47):

Aliana looked at him and shrugged.
"I wasn't going in without more information.  I guess a few of us are more impatient, or confident, then others."

Now that I've watched the lights, I recall a story I've heard about aberrations called Willo-wisps. Evil little creatures who lure the unknowing to natural hazards and drain their life force while they're dying. It does fit with plants that attack people, so I don't think it's wise to follow them. There might be more in hiding.

Lorrik looked out the window and backed away from it, "I'm not going out there. I don't know what this Abbera thing is, but I'll shoot at it from the second floor."

Aliana's giant insect friend returns to base and tells her what it found. She is told that the light is going up the trail away from the base further and further away.

The giant insect disappears. Its time has expired.

Sister Aliana looked at everyone.
"Yes, it's not a real person.  Just a magical light luring us out.  Pretty creepy."

Twiggy walks out from the shadows when the wasp appears back and he walks over to the others "I guess it is back to sleep again or do we set double watches?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to be able to sleep after all this." Lorrik said "How do you defeat this weird magical light?"

In reply to Lorrik (msg # 54):

The elven priestess shrugged, looking a bit sheepish.
'In a straight battle, we could probably win, but in the crowded and dark forest,  the monsters have a big advantage.    We should wait here, stay defensive.   They shouldn't come here into the open, and if they do, the. we'll have the advantage. "
She smiled at Lorrik.
'That's one of the big rules of Adventuring :  Always try to choose the battlefield,  if you can."

Looking at Lorrik.
Take it easy kid.  Your still on guard with Aliana, Myarra and myself.

Looking at the rest of the group.

Go back to sleep if you can and are not currently on guard duty.  If anything shows up that we can't handle we will wake you up again.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:41, Thu 22 June 2017.

Twiggy slaps Lorrik on the back walking back in the house "Another good thing to learn is sleep when you can. Aliana, that offer is still open.   Twiggy grins at the priestess as he goes in.

Unfortunately, I don't know how to defeat one. What I've told you all is the extent of my knowledge on them. If brawn doesn't work, use magic. If magic doesn't work, use brawn. If that doesn't work, run away as fast as you can.

"See, Byron.  What did I tell you?  Willy-Whisps.  I ran into one years ago in the Dales.  Well, my, err, team and I.  Steel and wood were useless, as was our wizard. She was mostly useless anyway, and a real lecher, but she didn't deserve getting electrocuted like that.   We ran for it, and it still managed to kill half of us before we got out of the marshes."

She stares off into the woods for a minute.  "Everyone needs to get back in the tower and wait for daylight.  We're much stronger than my old bandit ... I mean adventuring group, but we shouldn't be floundering around in the dark."

In reply to Twiggy Flinch (msg # 57):

Aliana rolled her eyes at the little man, though not without a friendly smile

"Go to sleep, silly"

Once the light goes away, Amara has nothing as a specific target, and so returns to the group.

Kali looked off into the forest with a concerned look,  she had heard of Will-o-wisps by reputation only, but never seen any. Everything she had heard...they were dangerous.  She looked at Byron and Myarra, hearing their tales. She walked over to the group. "If we choose to face them, night isn't the time anyway. Choose your fights, and if you can't, choose where."

If they are will-o-wisps as Nolan, Kali and Myarra believe them to be then our best defense and offense is to stay here until it gets light before we start exploring these overgrown gardens.

Looking at Myarra and speaking in a cryptic tone to her alone.

I hope Nox doesn't hurt himself trying to prove how tough he really is.

Twiggy just grinned at Aliana and went to lade down.  He liked making the secluded elven priestess get out of her shell with playful banter.  Byron was on watch so they will be ok, if Nox doesn't get in trouble.

Lorrik, you didn't happen to come across a stone that was trying to spin around did you?

Wondering if they may have come across the stone of balance without realizing what it is.

Roen turned around at that question and waited for the young man to answer. If Lorrik did know of the magical stone, this trip would soon be over.

It's quite obvious, from the look of confusion on his face, that Lorrik doesn't know what you're talking about.

"A spinning stone??"

Looking in the direction that Nox went off in before turning back to Lorrik to answer his question and confusion.

In this case it would be a flat stone like a paver but vertical instead of laying down on the ground.  The one we are looking for has symbols on it.  Obviously when you see it you would think one of two things.  Either it should spin freely, or it shouldn't be spinning at all.  In this case it should be spinning freely.

With nothing to add to any conversation at the moment, Nolan continues to stare out the window, his mind going back to what he was thinking before.

In a matter of minutes Twiggy can be heard lightly snoring on his pallet again...

It's been about 10 minutes now and Amara and Lennox still haven't come back.....

Biting her lip in worry, Aliana spoke to Byron and Myarra.
"Okay, now I'm starting to get worried."

Roen was getting a bit worried as well, but reassured Aliana that things were going to be fine.

"I'm worried as well, but we haven't heard any yelling, so that tells me they're OK."

Aliana sighed, and nodded.
"Yes, I suppose they wouldn't go quietly."

"Nox is annoying and rash, but he's not incompetent," Myarra remarks, staring out into the darkness towards the forest.  "And Amara is ... well, maybe a tiny bit annoying, but she's certainly neither rash nor incompetent."

Half of her wants to head back out into the darkness immediately to find her friends in the forest, the other wants to stay and protect her friends right here.

"It would be difficult to take either of them silently, unless magic is involved, but that doesn't mean its impossible.  They shouldn't be out there this long.  So if they don't come back in the next couple of minutes, or if we hear anything out there, I say we grab some torches and go find them.  But we all go together.  I'd rather wait until daylight, but that may not be a possibility.

Opinions?"

Looking at Aliana.

I think Roen is right in that they are fine as we haven't heard any yelling.  Nox, is a lot tougher than some give him credit for being.  I'm sure Amara can take good care of herself as well.

Looking to the sky to see if I can tell how close sunrise is.

As much as I hate to agree with Myarra at times. This is one of those times I have to agree with her.

Sister Aliana made a sour face, but didn't have a good retort.

Kali looked towards the door. She hadn't known the party long, but in their time she had grown to respect and trust them all. "Myarra is right....if they don't come back soon we should go out there after them, as a group. Darkness isn't the best time, but as a large group we will have better chance against whatever is out there."

She looked at them all, clearly a look of concern on her face. she looked at byron with a half smile.

It's around 4:30am now....

Nolan didn't say a word. He continued to look out the window, totally oblivious to the surroundings around him.

"Well, I suggest we light up a few torches or lamps and head on out there then. The darkness is the least of our worries. There are eight of us. Any bandits wanting to set up an ambush in the forest will think twice when they see eight lights coming towards them." Roen suggested as he looked through the packs in the building for light sources "And if this whole thing is over a willy-wisp, I'm sure all of us can take care of it. I'm not afraid of the ghost stories about the evil creature."

Nox returns to the roof, and hangs his head down to address those below. "Nine hundred-ish paces out, no signs of anything. Lead the light along for a bit, but it also vanished. No signs of magic either, so... weird."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:34, Tue 04 July 2017.

Amara has another 2 minutes before we go start looking for her.  I hope nothing has happened to her.

Sounding nervous and counting quietly to myself to mark the time.

Kali lets out a low whistle, and from the tree's, the sleek panther emerges at her side and sits. Kali draws her scimitar...her new blade. She holds it revendandly in her hand and closing her eyes, mutters in a musical language. Opening her eyes, she sheaths her sword.

Looking at the others, she smiles.  "I can cast a spell that enables magical light...But we should save it for times when it will be needed." She stands next to Byron and looks at him and smiles.

"Okay, " Myarra announces.  "Let's go.  I'm not leaving Amara out there alone.

I suggest Lorrik remain here and guard the building and our horses.  No offense, Lorrik, but if it some kind of ambush or evil monster, you're not ready to face it yet.  We're going to get you trained and ready, but you're not ready tonight.  And we'd be pretty piss-poor teachers if we got you killed needlessly.

In fact, there are more of us than are really necessary.  If anyone would like to stay behind and help Lorrik, it would probably be a good idea.

Otherwise, if you're coming, light up whatever light you need, and let's go."

Turning away from the others, she strides out of the ruins, drawing her sword as she goes.

Kali looked out into the darkness. She knew that in this suituation, her skills may prove to tip the scales in her favor. "I'm coming.  My skills are suited in the wild...and Raie can help guard us too." She looked at Lorrik with a smile. "Myarra is right....plus if you stay here and guard this position, we may need it if someone is injured. Keep your head down and don't do anything brave and you will walk out of this with one hell of a story."

I grab a torch, but don't light it just yet.

Aliana, can I have my long sword back temporarily? It will be easier for me to wield while carrying a torch than my normal weapon.

Amara finally returned from the darkness herself. "I went to beside where the light appeared. It was a light alone, possibly magic. Then a troll came along, carrying what appeared to be both a spear and a staff, and interested in the light. I did not attempt to follow, and waited until it was long down the trail before returning."

Aliana was taking out the magic long sword when Amara reappeared.
She gasped with happiness.
"You're back!  We were so worried!!!"
She hugged the dark elf with enthusiasm.

Byron looks at Amara with relief obvious on his face.

I'm glad to see you back safely.  I'm not happy to hear there is atleast one troll running around.

Byron gently pats the panther on the top of his head and says in a low soft voice.

Easy my friend.  Everything will be fine.

Light snores can be heard from Twiggy "zzzzzzzzzz..."

Myarra stops short as Amara appears out of the dark.  "Good to see you," she comments, turning around to walk with the drow back into the ruin.  "We were just heading out to find you."

Once everyone was back inside, and their stories properly shared, Myarra looks over the assembled group.  "There barely two hours left until sunrise.  But anyone that wants to get some more rest should do so.

Once the sun is up and we're all properly fed, we can go find out what this was all about."

Nolan didn't say a word. He continued to look out the window, totally oblivious to the surroundings around him.

Aliana, I think I'm going to go ahead and wear that sword on my person at least through tomorrow.  Something tells me we are going to need it.

Taking the longsword from her and strapping it around my waist before I go back to guard duty.

Seeing that everyone was back safe and sound, Roen smiled and went back to his sleeping spot for a few more hours of resting time.

In reply to Byron Rockhead (msg # 95):

Aliana looked at Byron in confusion,  then realized she was still wearing the magic sword.
'Oh!!!  I'm so sorry,  my friend.   I totally forgot!!

She quickly took off the sword and gave it to its proper owner

Byron smiles at Aliana ruefully.

It's ok my friend. I see you like it just as much as I do.

The mysterious light doesn't return and nothing happens for the rest of the watch. Those of you who wanted a few more hours rest time had no problems going back to sleep. Sunrise is less than 2 hours later and when you all eventually wake up, you do your daily routine of praying to your deities, praying/studying spells, morning exercises, feeding/watering the horses and getting a bite to eat for yourselves.

It's currently 5:45am-ish.

Lorrik was up with the group, his crappy armor donned and armed with his poor short sword and the dagger that twiggy was letting him borrow. He also had that very well-used bow with the mixture of arrows strapped to his back with his pack full of gear.

"OK, I'm ready to go." Lorrik said with some excitement to his voice "What do I get to do?"

Aliana did her morning exercises and prayers and was soon ready for travel

Amara smiled at the greetings, "You need not worry about me, at least not so soon. I know stealth, and have hid in caverns and caves with little cover. I can certainly find a place to hide under the moonlight. But I appreciate your concern."

Like the others, she returned to her place, relaxing, finishing reverie for the night.

I think we should do a reconnaissance mission to find out where these flying plants are. I know it was said that Lorrik encountered them next to a broken bridge, but they have to perch somewhere so they can ambush their prey. I want to hit them before they hit us. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Twiggy gets up and stretches before munching on some snacks.  He offers some of his rations to the others who are running low.  Eating a handful of nuts he asks "Anything exciting happen after I went to sleep?  Did Nox kill everyone in the forest yet?"

Aliana gathered her equipment,  and did her best to answer the others.
To Lorrik, she smiled.
"Yes, it would be safer with us than here alone.  But you must stay close and do exactly what we say.  Is that acceptable? "

To Nolan, she narrowed her eyes in consternation.
"Perhaps so.e of us could do a fly over, but I'm not sure what else to suggest "

When Twiggy spoke up, Aliana grinned
"A few bits of shrubbery fought valiently, but that's it so far"

Byron chuckles at Aliana's comment to Twiggy.  Unable to keep a straight face Byron says:

It's too bad they died of broken branches.

Byron chuckles at Aliana's comment to Twiggy.  Unable to keep a straight face Byron says:

It's too bad they died of broken branches.

Aliana nodded, completely deadpan.
"indeed.  it was their time to leave."

Nox's morning routine is as always, calasthenics and practice to work up a small sweat-- followed by a cool down and wash before breakfast. He has nothing to offer on Nolan's suggested course of action. He agreed, but has no better suggestions than Aliana's. Twiggy's query about his propensity for woodland violence elicits a chuckle, but nothing more.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:36, Wed 12 July 2017.

Lorrik smiles and nods his head in agreement.

"OK, I accept. I'm just hoping we can find my friends."

In reply to Lorrik (msg # 109):

Aliana nodded to the young man,  her large elven eyes wide with sympathetic concern.
"As do I.  This place seems very dangerous,  but hopefully they found refuge in various spots, as you did"

Do we keep this marching order with Lorrik in the middle of it?

Byron asks as he reminds the group of yesterday's order.

Byron   Aliana
   20 feet
Kalli   Roen
   10 feet
Amara   Nolan
   10 feet
Twiggy  Lennox
   10 feet
   Myarra

In reply to Byron Rockhead (msg # 111):

Aliana nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, perhaps between Twiggy and Lenox."

Nox frowns, casting a look at Twiggy to see how he felt about that placement and the inferred babysitting duty it came with.

"I think it would be better to have him between me and Kalli to let the warriors do their work in case we get attacked." Roen suggested "Also, if he gets hurt, I'll be able to heal him immediately."

In reply to Roenthelm (msg # 114):

Aliana nodded,  not necessarily agreeing,  but not arguing

Myarra puttered around as the others got ready to leave.  She had been a bit surprised when the sun had risen and her skin was revealed to be pink.  She'd completely forgotten about the disguise she'd put on while out with Byron.  The circlet was becoming such a part of her that she barely gave it any thought. It took just a whisper of intent before the magic fled and her natural ashen-gray tones return.

She rejoined the others as they discussed their need for a revised marching order.  Training a new warrior in actual combat was always tricky.  But it had to be done or they'd never become an old warrior.  "Put him in the back with me.  A rear attack is as likely as a frontal attack, and as strung out as we'll be, there really isn't a safe place to stand.  I have to cover left, right, and rear.  I could use his eyes to help see anything before it gets to us."

Kali, up before dawn and greeting the sun as was her habit, came into the dwelling as the others were sleeping.  She had a fitful sleep, but felt rested enough. She decided not to weigh in on the tactics of positioning with the others....people like Myarra and byron were more suited to these things.

Hearing Roen's suggestion, she simply nodded. "I have no issue with him with us....like Roen said, it will mean you can focus on our surroundings, and keep an eye on all of us." She looks at the young man. "...plus he may benefit from some discussion that isn't solely warrior orientated. Roen can maybe teach him a few things and i can point out some things about the wild. Subtle things like that can warn against danger so he can avoid it."

Twiggy smiles at Lorrik as they walked and had to tell the youth "You do realize that Nox and myself are the most agile of the group.  If you are going to walk with us then you had better be too.  Otherwise you may not be able to doge anything being thrown at us because we will be well out of the way."

Amara raised an eyebrow at Twiggy's assertion that he and Nox were the most agile of the group. But while she gave him that brief eyebrow raise, she didn't say anything about it. Nor did she put forth any advice on where the boy should be in the group. Between her and Nolan would probably be best protected, but also where he would likely learn the least. Best to have him elsewhere.

That sounds like a plan to me. Anyone have any ideas on how we should do our recon then? Fly, or sneak in on foot?

Myarra ignores any further discussion on where Lorrik show stand. She'd made her suggestion, but doesn't feel strongly one way or another.

As for Nolan's latest question .... "I can do an over-flight easily enough.  Problem is that forests are hard to see through.  I may not be able to see much from above the trees.  But bridges and rivers are hard for trees to cling to, so it's worth trying.

Hopefully there won't be any fighting needed, so I can bring someone with me ... other than Byron ... for a second pair of eyes.  Sorry Byron, I can lift you in an emergency, but unless you want to shed the armor, you're going to be stuck down here.  Anyone want to volunteer?  Lorrik?  Do you think you could recognize the bridge from above?"

"I can flit branch to branch, shadowing Myarra at a level above most eyes but lower than her... or if she can carry me, I'd make for the easiest disengage between my featherfall and ability to teleport clear of fall or danger if we ran into trouble..." Nox volunteers.

Roen seemed quite pleased with Lennox's plan to use his special teleporting ability in the air if he was riding piggy-back with Myarra.

"I must say that that sounds like a good idea. If the flying plants came after you, you can use your ability to get to safety while the rest of us would probably get seriously hurt. We could have one of our stealthy ones sneak ahead and watch for movement when you fly over-head. Then we could plan on what to do after that when we know where these creatures are roosting."

OK then, let's go with that. But, until then, based off Lorrik's map, we have some distance to cover before we even get to that area. So, let's ride to the next ruins at the fork and tie our horses there, then travel to this broken bridge following our recon plan.

No thanks.  I feel naked without my armor.  I don't like being naked except for two things.

Byron replies with a wink and a grin.

I'll just keep my feet on the ground today.

Twiggy chuckles and refrains from making a crack at Byron's comment.  Instead he readies himself for the day making sure everything is secure.

Myarra nods at Byron, trying but failing to completely keep the grin from showing.  "Understood.  One of my cousins always got naked when he tended the goats.  Seemed strange back then, but I've learned not to judge."

Turning back to Nolan, she adds, "Sounds good to me.  I'll start taking care of the horses."

No matter how long it takes for humans (or beings somewhat similar to humans) to get ready, the horses have their own routines that need to be taken care of before they can be ridden.  And now is as good a time as any to get with the brushing, watering, shoe-checking, saddling, etc.

"I'll help with the horses. I'm pretty good at doing that. Been doing it all my life back on the farm." Lorrik said with a smile "I'm just not good at getting them when they run away."

With Lorrik and Myarra getting the horses ready for travel, the rest of the group pack up their gear to get ready to move out. 30 minutes later, you're ready to leave. Since Lorrik will be in the back with Myarra on the ground, he rides with her up the trail. It's about 6:30am-ish as you ride up the trail headed for the next ruined building near another fork in the trail 5 miles up. You all keep a look out as you travel, taking in the sights and sounds of the forest.

(Game Map 2 is what the trail looks like)

The travel is uneventful until you reach the ruined building. The building once looked like the home base you're staying at, but about 80% of this one is gone. And near the ruins is a wounded horse munching on some grass. When Lorrik spots the horse, he recognizes it as his friend Jasper's horse.

Map of Ruins is Game Map 5
Game Map 4 of the forest has been updated. The Red Arrow is the party's location.

Roen got off of his borrowed horse and slowly approached the wounded horse using a calm voice to attract the animal's attention while looking for anyone that might have rode the animal here.

20:50, Today: Roenthelm rolled 21 using 1d20+5.  Calm Horse.

If successful, Roen will cast a healing spell on the horse.

I suppose we should take a quick look around for Jasper then.

Getting off of my horse to start searching around and in the building.

Twiggy looks around at all of the vegitation "Good idea buts let's move as a group.  Isn't this where they were attacked?"

"No, we were attacked by the plant creatures at the broken bridge that way...." Lorrik said as he pointed to the right trail "And we killed the zombie at the ruins up that trail." as Lorrik pointed up the left trail

Well, it appears that Roenthelm is good dealing with animals as he slowly moves up and checks out the horse's wounds. The horse seems very relieved after the healing spell, but it will require more spells to be 100% again. The saddle seems to be fine. Just no rider. Several of you cautiously search the area for anyone, but you come up empty.

"Do you remember if there was any water in the waterway that the bridge crossed.  Maybe the flying plants can only stay close to a source.  What did they look like, colors size shape, anything to help  identify them.  I know it is hard to remember in the heat of the moment but these details can save us from being ambushed again if they are hiding in other foliage."

"Yeah, there was water and a little pond next to the bridge. My friends decided that the bridge didn't look too stable, so we were going down the side of the bank when we were attacked." Lorrik explained "The creatures looked like a very ugly version of her...No offense, Myarra." Lorrik pointed to Myarra "All green and mossy. Some of them had little flowers growing on them and they were hard as a rock when I broke my sword on one of them."

They sound like Gargoyles with wings. Byron says as he looks over at Nolan. Continue on to this broken bridge now?  We haven't found anything to indicate someone is in trouble here.  I'm also sure that the stone of balance is going to be deeper in the Garden itself.

"If another set of eyes is all you want, I could go with you," Amara said to Myarra. "I can levitate if needed, and am neither too large nor carry anything particularly heavy." She was on the small side even for her people, at a bit under 4 and a half feet in height.

Amara got off her horse as well, walking to the wounded horse once it had been healed and seemed okay. She checked the saddle for signs of blood or other marks that might indicate the fate of the rider. She also checked the saddlebags for anything unusual. Something unusual might have suggested that Lorrik's friend had survived longer, or otherwise give them a hint to their whereabouts.

"Well, I guess the wedding's off then," Myarra mutters.  She doesn't really take offense.  But there's another little twinge to add to the lifetime supply of little twinges.  And they always come from the innocent ones that aren't trying to hurt her.  Out of the mouths of babes indeed.

"Seriously, Lorrik.  Things don't look great for your friends, but don't give up hope just yet.  A wounded horse just means it fled in this direction.  Your friend either wasn't on it to start with, or fell off it part way.  In either case, we'll keep heading towards the bridge.  We'll find out what happened, one way or the other."

She considers Amara's proposition. "Thank you for your offer.  Of the three of you, I think you might be the best choice.  Good senses, ability to strike from a distance, and you'll be safe if I have to drop you.  I think Lennox would be more effective on the ground."

She then turns to Byron.  "Gargoyles, Byron?   I don't think I've fought gargoyles before.  What do we need to know?"

Animated stone creatures.  From a distance they look like statues. Usually they stay still until their intended victims are close and have their backs turned to them before they attack.

Byron pauses in thought for a moment before continuing.  Myarra recognizes Byron's look as one of deep thought and a flash of intelligence and wisdom from one who is normally confident to the point of overconfidence

We might want to consider coming at the broken bridge from the other side, if there is a way to do so.  It could be that Lorrik and his friends disturbed the Gargoyles' home if that is where it is at.  Coming from the other direction might give us a better chance of spotting them.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:03, Mon 17 July 2017.

I have a feeling that these creatures are gargoyles as well and that sounds like a good plan for spotting them, but what should we do to eliminate them? Does everyone have a magical weapon of the first order to even hurt these creatures?

Twiggy smiled at Myarra "So the gargoyles are cute then."  She does have her appeal and even the halfling can not deny that.

Twiggy takes out his rapier and grabs three stones "I can enhance these stones to be magic and my rapier is also enchanted.  The dagger you have is magical and returns, dont forget that.   Twiggy indicated the weapon he gave the youth.

When Myarra opts for Amara as the optimal choice, Nox just shrugs and nods. She was definitely a lighter load at the very least and odds were she had tricks aplenty of her own to bring to bear on foes both close and ranged. "Sure." He replies in typical Nox fashion.

Kali, walking next to the panther, listens to the group.  with the mention of Gargoyles, she looked at Nolan. Nolan....as much as i know about arcane magic, don't animated objects have to make certain requirements to come to life.....like guards of places or something?"

She pats the panther as she stands next to Byron. "Keep your armor on Byron...at least for now. Myarra and I can't torture you if your dead." There was a smile on her face as she looked at him.

"My new sword is magical, and i have some spells that may help....expecially if they are stone."

Well animated is how they were described to me.  I've never actually encountered one, and am just telling you what I have heard from others.  I'm also making an inference based on what I've heard from them and from Lorrik's descriptions.  It would not surprise me to find Gargoyles here.

Turning to look at Lorrik.

Lorrik, do you remember how many of these creatures you saw when they attacked?

Teasing Kali a little as I look at the big cat.

I'm sure you two are coming up with lots of ways to torture me clothed or not.

"My sword is magical, thanks to the dwarf ghosts." Myarra reports.  "I should be fine."

Even knowing he's a rake and smarm, she still smiles at Twiggy, making the effort to keep her fangs in.  That's the nicest thing anyone's said in a while.

To Byron she retorts, "When I dedicated myself to Mystra, I swore off torture.

But some of the techniques could easily be adapted so that Kali would enjoy using them on you.  Hmm, we'll need feathers, oil, padded rope, a modified suit of leather armor, a bucket of soapy frogs..."  She trails off as she returns to the important subject at hand.

"Given that the creatures can fly, it probably doesn't matter what direction we come from, they'll still see us as trespassers.

Now this might be a unpopular opinion but, if we can just cross the broken bridge, we might not have to deal with the creatures at all.  It's not our job to fight every beast that we hear about. It's not like this is a trail that people would normally take.  Lorrik and his friends were probably the first in years.

Sure, if there's any signs of his friends and we need to fight to save them, I'm all in favor.  But, if not, I don't see a reason to risk out lives just for the sake of fighting.

We're here to get the stone, not clear the forest."

"I'm thinking at least five. I really couldn't tell because several kept on flying by and attacking us as they went."

Teasing Myarra lightheartedly with a chuckle.

Mock combat with you is torture too, you know.

Myarra can tell I truly enjoy our mock combat sessions as I learn new things from her that Amos couldn't teach me.

Lorrik, I would venture to say you saw 5 of them. 7 at the most, but it is unlikely that there are that many.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:34, Wed 19 July 2017.

Amara had no magical weapon, but she knew that Nolan knew that. And if she needed to fight with a weapon, then things had likely gone quite wrong.

"Kalliyan, I understand that some druids can talk to animals. Can you speak with the horse and see what it knows about Lorrik's friend?"

"Well, if these are the same creatures I saw eating a deer long ago, then they need to go. Vile beasts that are a plague to society." Roen said "If you need somebody to sacrifice themselves so you all can find these evil creatures, then I volunteer."

We are not going to sacrifice anyone for anything.  Even you Roen.

Gone is teasing and lightheartedness from Byron's tone.  Replacing it is a tone of commanding seriousness.

Roen turned to Byron with a serious look on his face and a serious tone to his voice.

"Then I think we should go after these creatures before they attack another Lorrik. We are capable of handling a group of gargoyles, if that's what they are. How many people need to be killed before someone does the right thing?"

OK, how about we do this. If we find them near the bridge like Lorrik did, we fight them. If we don't, we move along. We can't be running around this forest for the rest of our lives looking for fights. We have other pressing matters to attend to.

"A couple of us can scout ahead and survey the bridge then report back. Gargolys look like statues and we should be able to see them.  I can go search far enough ahead to spot anything but close enough that you can reach me if there is troble. Say 200 feet." with that the halfling quickly and silently disappears going towards the bridge

50, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 31,27,14 using 1d20+11,1d20+11,1d20+6.  Hide, move silent, spot.
:52, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 25 using 1d20+13.  Search

This message was last edited by the player at 11:47, Fri 21 July 2017.

"That's the idea," Myarra replies to Nolan.  "If they attack us, we'll defend ourselves.  If there's any sign of Lorrik's group, we'll go get them.  I'm not opposed to fighting when necessary.  But we're in the middle of a forest infested with evil dragons.  There are already a lot of things that are going to try to kill us.  And we still have to have enough strength left to fight those plant creatures once we reach the garden."

Aliana got out her bow, ready to back up her friends

Kali smiled at the drow and nodded. "was thinking that myself."  She walked up to the horse, chanting in the musical language that somehow resembled the elvish language, looking the beast in the eye.

<Casts Speak with animals>

She looks at the horse and makes sounds akin to a horses nickering.


She looks at the others then continues.

Kali speaks to the horse and in general finds out that the horses and the humans were attacked by flying creatures while crossing over the stream to the other side. The flying creatures were coming from all around them and after the horse was damaged it ran away in fear. The horse does not know what happened to anyone else.

Aliana, back Twiggy up and give him his 200 feet. We'll be 100 behind you.

"Is Jasper's horse OK to ride? I can't tell from the dried blood." Lorrik asked as he checked to see if the saddle was properly strapped in "I can ride behind Myarra or in front of her and still be in the back where you guys want me."

According to the map we drew, assuming it was to scale or something close to it, then we have a couple of miles between here and the "broken bridge".  I suggest we stay together for the next mile or so.  but shorten the distances as we spread out to scout the area.

Looking at Roen.

We can't run around the world trying to make it safe for everyone.  We don't have the time to do it.  Our primary missions of restoring the stones of balance and stopping Culver come first.  Remember the only reason we are in this garden is to restore the stone of balance so it can operate properly.  It is our assumption that restoring them will also help foil Culver's plans at the same time.  If it comes to a fight with these Gargoyles, or whatever they really are, so be it.  I've got no problem kicking their a****.  After the last few days I'm spoiling for a good fight, but not at the expense of needlessly throwing my life or anyone else's in this group away.

The seriousness to Roen's face was quickly replaced by a hearty chuckle,

"Byron, you must have misunderstood me, or I didn't explain myself properly. I didn't plan on sacrificing myself the way I'm thinking that you're thinking. I may be a worshiper of Ilmater, but I'm not stupid! I like you guys, but not that much!" Roen laughed "I just suggested that I'd volunteer myself to go on ahead to see if these gargoyles would come at me, so we could find out where they're at."

Ok, Ok. We have it covered now. Twiggy has volunteered and Aliana will be following, with us in the rear.

Turning to Lorrik,

Lorrik, I'm sure the horse is healed up enough to ride, if you think you can manage it. Let's move out. We're wasting daylight.

Amara nodded. She, too, was getting impatient with all this talk. She mounted up while she waited for Kalliyan to say what she had learned from the horse, looking around, and primarily in the trees. People tended to think of dangers as coming from on the ground, but often they came from above. And having heard about flighted monsters in the area, it only made sense to keep a sharp lookout.

While they talked, Sister Aliana snuck up to the wounded horse and used a healing wand to give it a bit of  healing.


OOC: 00:08, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 2 using 1d8+1.  cure light wounds.

Kali, looking at Lorik, just nodded. "The horse is fine to ride, just be gentile with it...it has seen some things that have scared it."

She Looked at Byron with a furrowed brow. "Our aim is the stone Byron, but it would not be wise to ignore these beasts...i don't want them sneaking up on us...and if one of them kills me, i'll make sure your reincarnitated as a slug."

Byron replies to Kali's teasing with a chuckle.

If the big cat doesn't eat me first.

Byron continues in a more serious tone.

It is wise to avoid unneeded battles.  It is not wise to ignore a potential deadly encounter unprepared.

Roen wasn't going to let a poor animal suffer just to make the ride easier for someone else, so he used his Deity's powers to heal the horse. With his hands glowing from the magical spell, Roen watched the wounds heal up before checking the leg of the horse to make sure it could walk properly.

Twiggy moves silently through the brush not disturbing anything in his wake.  He would much rather be on his feet than on a horse.  He keeps the road in view as he parallels it making his way towards the bridge keeping an eye out for statues.

After the healing from Sister Aliana and Roenthelm, the horse is now 100% and seems to have some extra energy now as Lorrik climbs up into the saddle. It's been about 5 minutes now since Twiggy left, so you all figure it'll be safe to start following Aliana now up the trail.

Game Map 2 has been updated.

++++++++++

Twiggy eventually hears the sound of running water in the distance and immediately hides in the brush for cover, looking around for any creatures or stonework. Staying in the brush and following the trail, he eventually sees the bridge that Lorrik was talking about. He stands still and uses his senses, but he doesn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary. Then he hears some guttural speech from the trees around him and then flying plant creatures (5) take flight down the path where Twiggy can hear Aliana coming up!

Game Map 5 has been updated.

++++++++++

Aliana is highly knowledgeable on how to survive in the wilds, but everyone in the world could hear her a mile away. She's not very stealthy and her riding skills are lacking, especially when she tried to go over a fallen tree on the trail. She got her horse over it, but she almost fell off. Getting her composure back, she didn't even see the bulk that knocked her off her horse as her mount freaked out and started running up the trail without her. She did see the next creature that landed next to her and started clawing at her legs, though. They look like what Lorrik described....

Name       Initiative    Health      Misc.
Gargoyle 3   15          ??/??
Gargoyle 1   13          ??/??       Flying
Horse        13          ??/08       Panicked
Gargoyle 4   13          ??/??
Gargoyle 5   11          ??/??       Flying
Gargoyle 2   10          ??/??       Flying
Aliana       ??          30/42       Prone!
Twiggy       ??          24/24

!Prone: -4 attack, -4 AC

Aliana and Twiggy: I need your actions and initiatives from you.

++++++++++

Going by the Marching Order, Byron was leading the party up the trail (single file because the trail isn't that wide) when the party hears a female scream in pain up the trail.

Please roll Initiatives. Byron is in the lead on his horse, but you can get by him with a Ride DC 12 check if your initiative is higher than his. If you fail, your move ends. The DC increases +2 for every person in front of you.

Main Game Map has been updated. Byron is 2 squares West of location M1 on the map. Please follow marching order to determine how far you can move. Each square = 5 feet. Movement on trail is normal speed. Any movement not on the trail is at 3/4.

21:11, Today: Secret Roll: Lennox rolled 22 using 1d20+07.  Initiative.

Ever unflappable, Nox says: "Sounds ominous." he looks back over his shoulder to Amara, ensuring that she'd heard from her position at the rear and assuming she'd likely take to the air to investigate.

In reply to Lennox (msg # 171):

Initiative.  22:29, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 10 using 1d20+2 ((8))

At the sounds of Aliana I pull out the Long Sword and urge Charger into the battle following the trail.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:32, Wed 26 July 2017.

22:31, Today: Amara rolled 7 using 1d20.  init.

Amara knew she was not a great horsewoman, so although she hurried her mount, she did not try to pass anyone in front of her. She would stop once she was able to see what was happening.

Twiggy pulls three stone bullets from his pouch and casts magic stone on them waiting for an opportunity to sneak one of the targets when it gets flanked, or to draw attention. (A preaction if possible upon reaching the bridge)

Seeing a gargoyle hasn't taken flight yet Twiggy sends a stone its way while it is unaware.  He then calls out "There are five coming towards you."  he knew it was stupid to call out but he did not want to see Aliana get hurt or bombarded by all of the creatures.

22:01, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 20 using 1d20+4.  init.

22:05, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 12 using 3d6+1.  damage.

22:04, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 20 using 1d20+10.  attack gargoyle that hasn't taken flight yet, 20 init.




This message was last edited by the player at 11:56, Wed 26 July 2017.

Aliana tried to get to her feet.


OOC:


01:22, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 13 using 1d20+3.  initiative.

Roen heard the woman scream and he froze. It reminded him of what he heard so long ago and he felt really bad about leaving the person behind. Then he saw the gargoyles and his blood boiled in anger. He wasn't going to let these monsters hurt anyone again. Roen moved his horse and followed Byron.

Nolan mumbled a few words and then him and his horse instantly vanished.

Myarra snaps to attention at the sound of Aliana's scream.  Stuck in the back she knows that she's not going to be able to get her horse past the others.  Turning to Lorrik she gives the lad some instructions.  "Stick close to one of the others.  You're still learning, don't let yourself get separated and surrounded.  Don't worry about attacking the creatures, they'll be coming to you. Defend yourself and the others."

Standing in the stirrups, she unfurls her wings and rises into the air, beating her way above the heads of the rest of the team below, drawing her sword along the way.

OOC: 13:21, Today: Myarra rolled 9 using 1d20+3.  Initiative.
60' move in the direction of the gargoyles.

"OK. For now, I'll make sure your horse doesn't run away." Lorrik said as he took the reins of Myarra's horse

16:32, Today: Lorrik rolled 19 using 1d20+3.  Initiative.

Round 1 results----------

Lennox, in the back with Myarra and Lorrik, knew he couldn't ride his horse ahead through everyone without difficulty, so he moved as best as he could with the pack. Twiggy was on the other side of Aliana, so he has a bit of backtracking to do to be in range of his sling. He wasn't even sure if Aliana even heard him. Nolan spoke the words of a spell and he and his horse disappeared and reappeared near Gargoyle 5. Gargoyle 3 tore into the prone Aliana with claws and teeth as Gargoyle 1 turned and flew towards her panicked horse for a free meal, clawing and biting the poor horse. Aliana gets up off the ground with the gargoyle trying to claw into her again, but her armor saves her this time. Aliana's horse runs up the path, panicked and wounded. Gargoyle 4, who was already attached to the horse, goes along for the ride, biting the horse the whole time. Gargoyle 5, startled at the sudden appearance of Nolan, dive bombs the wizard to try and knock him off his horse. Nolan grabs his horses' neck and ducks as the gargoyle flies by. Gargoyle 2 flies in and tries to knock Aliana over, but she duck and weaves and gets out of the way as the gargoyle flies by. Byron urges his horse Charger into the fight, galloping along the trail to find Aliana. Myarra takes to the air after telling Lorrik to stay safe. She figures that flying over everyone will get her to the fight faster. Lorrik stays in the back with the 3 horses he's taking care of now. Amara was set to move, but she's in traffic, delaying her actions. Kalliyan sets her horse to follow Byron, her scimitar out and ready, with her Panther companion on her tail. Roenthelm was slow to react, staring at nothing, but comes back to focus after Amara tells him to move!

Name       Initiative    Health      Misc.
Lennox       22          37/37       On Horse
Twiggy       20          24/24       Magic Stone
Nolan        19          67/67       On Horse
Gargoyle 3   15          ??/??
Gargoyle 1   13          ??/??       Flying 5' high
Aliana       13          24/42
Horse        13          ??/17       Panicked
Gargoyle 4   13          ??/??       On Aliana's horse
Gargoyle 5   11          ??/??       Flying 20' high
Gargoyle 2   10          ??/??       Flying 10' high
Byron        10          64/64       On Horse
Myarra       09          70/70       Flying 10' high
Lorrik       09           5/5        On Horse
Kalliyan     06          29/29       On Horse
Kitty        06          ??/??       Next to Kalliyan
Roenthelm    03          44/44       On Horse
Amara        03          37/37       On Horse

Roenthelm is 1 square from square M1.
Amara is 2 squares from square M1.
Lennox is 3 squares from square M1.
Lorrik is 5 squares from square M1.

Main Game Map has been updated.

Twiggy double moves 40 feet towards gargoyle 5.

Seeing as that she was going no where fast, and that she needed to be able to see the enemy to be able to do anything effectively, she cast a spell upon herself to protect her from damage.

Casting Mage Armor

Nolan moved his horse to line up with the gargoyle that was tearing up Aliana and started casting a spell. When he was done, a lightning bolt shot out of his outstretched hand.

Move 5' to P-24 and cast Lightning bolt: 36 damage

Byron moves towards Gargoyle #2 and yelling at it to try to get its attention so it will move towards me and I can attack it when it tries to attack me.

Hey stone face.  Over here block head.

Lorrik wanted to tie the horses up and pull out his bow, but he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. His bow wasn't magical and if he drew the gargoyle's attention, he wouldn't be able to defend himself. So, he stuck with the plan and stayed close to the party, bringing the horses along with him.

There wasn't much for Roen to do either but follow Byron down the trail. He still felt remorse for fleeing all those years ago and wondered if these gargoyles were responsible for that screaming voice he heard back then? But, now that he was with an experienced adventuring group, Roen hoped the ghosts from his past will finally get some rest.

At first Myarra aimed herself towards Aliana and her attacker, but when Nolan appeared and fired off lightning, she veered to the side, both to avoid the aftermath and to take on the gargoyle approaching Nolan from behind.

OOC: Attack Gargoyle #5

Round 2 results----------

There wasn't much Lennox could do while he was following the rest of the horses up the trail. Twiggy jogged in when he saw a gargoyle coming his way trying to kill Aliana's horse. With his sling twirling in the air, he slung a stone at the magical beast and nailed it on a wing. It didn't like that at all. Nolan moved up a bit to get in line of sight with Gargoyle 3 as the air suddenly gets bright with a lightning bolt coming out of the wizard's hand. The gargoyle managed to get out of the way before it took the whole spell and decided that being in the air was it's best option at the moment. Gargoyle 1 swooped down to try and slice Nolan with it's claws, but the wizard moved out of the way. Aliana, helpless in melee against these creatures, casts a spell on Gargoyle 3 and nails the creature in the back with a Searing Light spell. The gargoyle falls to the ground and breaks into pieces. Aliana's horse continues to ride off as Gargoyle 4 flies off after being hit on the wing by Twiggy's sling stone. It's sees the little halfling and cackles at Twiggy as it flies in for a swooping attack, but Twiggy ducks into the brush for cover. Gargoyle 5 dive-bombs Nolan, but he moves out of the way. Gargoyle 2 dive-bombs Aliana, but she ducks into the brush for cover. Byron made his way near the melee, calling out to the flying gargoyles, and nearly fell off his horse as it jumped over a fallen tree on the trail. Myarra flew in on wings of her own, but she's still short reaching melee, though. The rest of the crew make it into range now to see that they are fighting moss covered gargoyles.

Name       Initiative    Health      Misc.
Lennox       22          37/37       On Horse
Twiggy       20          24/24       Magic Stone
Nolan        19          67/67       On Horse
Gargoyle 1   13          ??/??       Flying 15' high
Aliana       13          24/42
Horse        13          ??/17       Panicked
Gargoyle 4   13          ??/12       Flying 10' high
Gargoyle 5   11          ??/??       Flying 20' high
Gargoyle 2   10          ??/??       Flying 10' high
Byron        10          64/64       On Horse
Myarra       09          70/70       Flying 10' high
Lorrik       09           5/5        On Horse
Kalliyan     06          29/29       On Horse
Kitty        06          ??/??       Next to Kalliyan
Roenthelm    03          44/44       On Horse
Amara        03          37/37       On Horse, Mage Armor

Main Game Map has been updated.
Lorrik is the "F" icon

21:41, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 8 using 1d20+3.  Handle Animal.
21:41, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 20 using 1d20+4.  Ride.
21:40, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 22 using 1d20+4.  To Hit Gargoyle #3.
18:12, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 10 using 1d8+4.  Long Sword Damage vs Man Sized Creature.

Byron urges Charger to move to Gargoyle #3.

Lets see how you like this stonehead!

Edit:  Damage Roll of 1d6+4 replaced by corrected 1d8+4 roll.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:13, Wed 02 Aug 2017.

Nox draws his greatsword, shifting impatiently in his saddle...

Staying on his horse. Doesn't trust his riding skill to try and pass the others, nor that it wouldn't bolt if he abandoned it!

Twiggy rolled out of the way of the gargoyle and loaded another magical sling stone to send it at the vile creature "Come on you pile of rocks, let's see how you crumble like your friends"

06:59, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 8 using 2d6+1.  crit damage

06:58, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 16 using 1d20+9.  confirm crit.

06:58, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 29 using 1d20+9.  attack gargoyle 4.

Nolan pulled a scroll from his sleeve and read the magic upon it, while pointing his finger at Gargoyle 2. Another Lightning Bolt shot from his hand and struck the creature going after Aliana.

Lightning Bolt on Gargoyle 2: 30 damage

Aliana cast a spell, summoning a glowing quarterstaff to attack the gargoyle that assaulted her (or the closest one if Nolan killed it).

OOC:19:47, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 7 using 1d8+2.  spiritual weapon damage.

19:47, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 25 using 1d20+7.  possible crit.

19:46, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 27 using 1d20+7.  spiritual weapon.

Roen continued to follow Kalli on the trail until he got into melee. He wasn't familiar enough with the area to get off his horse and start bushwhacking. But, once he reaches the downed tree, he will stop and get off his horse.

Kali, her scimitar in hand, was stunned by the attack, but looked on and saw the attackers, snapping her from her reprieve.

She slid from her horse and narrowed her eyes, running to Byron's side, determined to protect the warriors back with her sword and spells.

Round 3 results----------

Lennox impatiently waits for the group to get into combat, following the line of horses down the trail, while Twiggy wishes he had some help with the Gargoyle he's facing now. He loaded another stone on his sling and slung it around and shot the Gargoyle on the side of the head. Pulling out a scroll from the sleeve of his robe, Nolan read the words of the spell on the scroll and another Lightning bolt shot from his hand and hit Gargoyle 2 straight on the chest. Gargoyle 1 divebombs Nolan from behind, but Nolan ducks and avoids the creature. Aliana cast a Spiritual Weapon and brings forth a floating Quarterstaff and strikes Gargoyle 2 right between the eyes. It falls to the ground and crumbles into pieces while her horse runs across the bridge and is gone. Gargoyle 4 divebombs Twiggy and knocks the halfling over sprawled on the ground next to the trail. Gargoyle 5 does the same to Nolan and knocks the wizard from his horse, sending him sprawling to the ground while his horse runs towards Byron, who charges in on Gargoyle 1 and swings his sword, but the flying creature is above his reach. Myarra has a straight shot at Gargoyle 5 now as she charged in and swung her sword on the creature, chopping off part of it's horn and the tip of it's wing. Kalliyan stops at the downed tree, not wanting to try her riding skills trying to jump over it. And since she stopped, everyone behind her has to stop, pulling up as close as they can to get off their horses.

Name       Initiative    Health      Misc.
Lennox       22          37/37
Twiggy       20          18/24       Magic Stone, Prone on ground!
Nolan        19          61/67       Prone on ground!
Horse        18          ??/??       Panicked
Gargoyle 1   13          ??/??       Flying 15' high
Aliana       13          24/42
Gargoyle 4   13          ??/20       Flying 10' high
Gargoyle 5   11          ??/??       Flying 20' high
Byron        10          64/64       On Horse
Myarra       09          70/70       Flying 10' high
Lorrik       09           5/5        On Horse
Kalliyan     06          29/29
Kitty        06          ??/??       Next to Kalliyan
Roenthelm    03          44/44
Amara        03          37/37       Mage Armor

!Prone: -4 to attack and AC

Main Game Map has been updated.
Lorrik is the "F" icon

Byron yells at Gargoyle #1.

Hey blockhead, didn't your mom tell you that flying isn't safe?  Ignis!

15:15, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 21 using 4d6.  Damage to Gargoyle #1 with Flame Tongue special feature.
15:15, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 19 using 1d20+4.  To Hit Gargoyle #1.

OOC:  Lets see how it likes getting hit when it thought it was safe from me.

Aliana tried to attack the gargoyle  (5) that was stalking Nolan


OOC : 16:43, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 4 using 1d8+2.  damage .
16:43, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 11 using 1d20+7.  spiritual weapon

"Nolan, if you can, help Twiggy.  I've got this one."

Swinging her sword in a smooth easy motion, Myarra slashes twice in rapid succession.

Twiggy tries to roll out of the way to stand up and load another stone.


18:30, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 27 using 1d20+9.  tumble free stand.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:32, Sun 06 Aug 2017.

Amara dismounted from her horse, knowing that she was not a great rider. She let the horse run if he wanted - they could find it later. She moved to where she could cast a spell - deep slumber to try to put one of the attacking creatures to sleep.

Casting Deep Slumber on the nearest gargoyle

Roen was about to run right into the fight, but he stopped and looked around. The trees and brush were thick and could hide more Gargoyles until they decided to come out of hiding. So, Roen decided to stay and protect Lorrik, who was doing his best keeping all the horses together in the back of the group.

"I'm going to stay back here with Lorrik, just in case more Gargoyles come out of the trees."

Action: Switch places with Lennox?

"take my horse's reigns." Nox says as Roenthelm moves to switch places with him. He trusted the man somewhat more than Lorrik, at least enough to know that he wouldn't bokt and run. Then, Lennox vanishes-- whisps of shadowy tendrils where he'd been moments before.

Nolan hissed a few curse words as he tried to get up off the ground, looking around to see if he could find Twiggy.

Kali, nimbly jumping the tree, left the horse and with her new sword in hand, ran to Byron's side.

She pulled up with a slight smile. "You didn't invite me? This is a poor way to start our first date." She then looks at the Gargoyle and mutters in the musical language so simular to the elvish language, yet so different.

With her eyes intent, she looks at the gargoyle.

Byron waits for Kali to finish her spell casting before replying in his teasing tone.

Now Kali, I would have thought that you would want to find a natural pool at the bottom of a waterfall with a full moon for a picnic for two with some good wine and no unnatural creatures around as a first date.

Round 4 results----------

Lennox agrees to Roenthelm's proposal and then disappears in a puff of smoke, reappearing elsewhere. Twiggy ducks and rolls, trying to get out of the way of the gargoyle bombarding him, as Nolan picks himself up, trying to find Twiggy, while his horse continues to run away. Gargoyle 1 flies higher and starts to flee as Aliana directs her Spiritual Weapon to chase after it, bouncing off its tough stony hide. Gargoyle 4 tries to dive-bomb Twiggy again, but tree branches interfere. Gargoyle 5 is a bit surprised to be fighting a foe that can fly (and can hurt it), so decides that fleeing the area is the best choice. Myarra takes advantage of this and chops off the gargoyle's leg. Byron holds out his Longsword and says a word and a fiery burst hits Gargoyle 1 as Myarra charges after the fleeing Gargoyle 5, who is much faster than her. Lorrik remains in the back, keeping the horses in check as Kalliyan and her Feline friend move in towards Byron, casting a spell and lighting up Gargoyle 1 in Green fiery light. Its chances of hiding are none now. Roenthelm grabs the reins of Lennox's horse to make sure it didn't run away as Amara casts a spell on Gargoyle 1. It falls asleep and falls to the ground and wakes up again from the fall, but it's prone!

Name       Initiative    Health      Misc.
Lennox       22          37/37
Twiggy       20          18/24       Magic Stone,
Nolan        19          61/67
Horse        18          ??/??       Panicked
Gargoyle 1   13          ??/21       Faerie Fire, Prone!
Aliana       13          24/42
Gargoyle 4   13          ??/20       Flying 10' high
Gargoyle 5   11          ??/31       Flying 20' high
Byron        10          64/64       On Horse
Myarra       09          70/70       Flying 10' high
Lorrik       09           5/5        On Horse
Kalliyan     06          29/29
Kitty        06          ??/??       Next to Kalliyan
Roenthelm    03          44/44
Amara        03          37/37       Mage Armor

!Prone: -4 to attack and AC

Main Game Map has been updated.
Lorrik is the "F" icon

I told you so.

Byron says as he moves to swing the sword at Gargoyle #1.

20:24, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 11 using 1d8+4.  Damage to Gargoyle #1.
20:23, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 11 using 1d20+4.  To Hit Gargoyle #1.

Twiggy stands up and sends another stone at the gargoyle.

:29, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 5 using 1d6+1.  Damage.

19:28, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 17 using 1d20+10.  Stone to gargoyle.

Aliana kept swinging at Gargoyle #1

OOC:21:29, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 10 using 1d20+7.  spiritual weapon.

Walking and scanning the area, Nolan saw the commotion to the east and cast a spell on the creature in the trees.

Move to U-24 and cast Magic Missile on Gargoyle 4: 11 damage

Roen stayed in the back of the group with Lorrik to help keep the horses calm. There wasn't much he could do for Nolan's horse at the moment and told Lorrik so.

"We'll recover Nolan's horse once we're safe."

A protrusion of shadowy whisps precedes Lennox's reappearance a few feet away from Twiggy. The warriors Greatsword is in hand, and he's chosen a position and distance ensuring that any attempt to divebomb his ally again will open the harrassing gargoyle to retribution from an optimal flanking angle. "And this is what happens when They separate us..." The warrior says, nodding to Twiggy in greeting...

Second leg of the teleportation, appearing at his destination at last!

"I have this Lennox, but since you are here..."  the halfling just gives a grin to his complicated human friend for the help.

Round 5 results----------

Lennox disappears in a puff of smoke again and reappears near Twiggy, who is ready to launch another stone at the Gargoyle flying in the air. The stone flies and hits the gargoyle on the left wing, pieces of stone falling to the ground. Seconds after that, the gargoyle is nailed by 3 magic missiles from Nolan and the gargoyle falls to the ground and shatters. Nolan's horse continues to run through the brush as Gargoyle 1 gets up from the prone position and takes to the air again! Aliana tries to smack the gargoyle with her Spiritual Weapon, but the flying creature dodges out of the way. Gargoyle 5 continues to flee the area and disappears into the surrounding brush as Byron moves in and swings his Flame Tongue, but misses the gargoyle. The gargoyle laughs at Byron and never sees Myarra come up from behind it, who nailed the gargoyle with her Greatsword, sending the creature to the ground to shatter.

The next minute or so the group looks for any more threats, but it appears the fight is over.....for now.

Name       Initiative    Health      Misc.
Lennox       22          37/37
Twiggy       20          18/24
Nolan        19          61/67
Horse        18          ??/??       Panicked
Aliana       13          24/42
Byron        10          64/64       On Horse
Myarra       09          70/70       Flying 10' high
Lorrik       09           5/5        On Horse
Kalliyan     06          29/29
Kitty        06          ??/??       Next to Kalliyan
Roenthelm    03          44/44
Amara        03          37/37       Mage Armor
Gargoyle 5   Fled        ??/31

Main Game Map has been updated.
Lorrik is the "F" icon

"Wow! You guys are great! You smashed those things into rubble!" Lorrik said to the group "What do we do now? Two horses have run off."

Byron looks Aliana and asks with geninue concern in his normal conversational tone.

Are you going to be ok? If so I'll go after Nolan's Horse.

OOC: Who else lost a horse?

Aliana looked at Byron with a grateful smile.
"I'm fine, thank you, my friend."
She looked around.
"Who is wounded?"
The cleric moved to grab her dropped bow, and walked with an obvious limp.

Twiggy smiles at the elven cleric batting his eyes "I was hit Aliana if you would like to help out a little halfling so I can go check under the bridge for any goodies the creatures might have stowed away."  Twiggy will go search under the bridge and the area the gargoyles were in.


0:08, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 22 using 1d20+13.  search.

Aliana smiled at the adorable Halfling and cast a curing spell before he went off.

OOC:20:16, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 8 using 1d8+5.  Cure Light Wounds.

What do we do now? We gather everyone up and be on the lookout for more gargoyles. I also suggest that we start clearing the path in front of us of fallen trees, in case we need to make a run for it.

Nox smirks, then looks up to see the last of the visible gargoyle's handled. He sighs. "So, basically you just wanted to see how long it would take me to get to you in a moment of need? Clever halfling, nobody likes live fire drills." He sheaths his greatsword and begins walking back down the path to the horse he'd left with the rearguard.

"Thank you Lorrik, but please remember that most of us have been doing this for a long time.  I started fighting for my tribe when I was 15.  There have been a lot of years and a lot of scars since then.

I agree that we need to get to the bridge as soon as we can and find out what we're working with, and if there are any remaining gargoyles left.   I can fly people across if the bridge is destroyed, but I can't carry horses.  So let's see if we even have to go down into the gully ... other than having Twiggy look for treasure, of course.

But I'm not sure clearing trees away will be time best spent. We could be clearing for hours, if not days."

Amara followed Twiggy to the bridge. If there were more gargoyles, they could be hiding, so one should not go alone. Besides, she also had some experience with searching and might be able to find something that slipped the eyes of the halfling, especially in the shadows under the bridge.

"I'm 15 years old right now, but I'll never be as strong as you, Myarra." Lorrik said with a smile "I've never seen a woman as strong as you and that's why you guys beat those gargoyles so bad."

Nolan's horse wasn't wounded in the fight, just startled, so it's easy for the animal to be found and returned to the group. Aliana's horse on the other hand, is long gone. Twiggy and Amara arrived at the bridge and 1/2 of it is missing lengthwise, and you can see why Lorrik and his friends decided not to use it. A dexterous person could walk across with no problems, but a horse would have some trouble. Amara and Twiggy search under the bridge for loot or remains of Lorrik's friends. They do find blood stains which are a couple days old (Area F-11 thru F-16), but other than that, they're not finding riches. After Nolan's horse was recovered, Byron leads the group to the bridge where Twiggy and Amara are. That's when they hear a rustling come from the trees (A-1 thru A-4 area) and another group of Gargoyles fly out and attack the party. They are covered in moss and little plants, same as the ones you just fought. Number 3 is a lot larger than the rest.

Spot Checks

Please roll initiatives and state your actions.

Name       Initiative    Health      Misc.
Gargoyle 3   16          ??/??       Flying 20'
Gargoyle 4   15          ??/??       Flying 20'
Gargoyle 5   15          ??/31       Flying 20'
Gargoyle 1   14          ??/??       Flying 20'
Gargoyle 2   12          ??/??       Flying 20'
Lorrik       12           5/5        On Horse
Lennox       ??          37/37       On Horse
Twiggy       ??          24/24
Nolan        ??          61/67       On Horse
Aliana       ??          24/42       On Horse
Byron        ??          64/64       On Horse
Myarra       ??          70/70       On Horse
Kalliyan     ??          29/29       On Horse
Kitty        ??          ??/??       Next to Kalliyan
Roenthelm    ??          44/44       On Horse
Amara        ??          37/37       Mage Armor

Main Game Map has been updated.
Lorrik is the "F" icon
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 01:12, Fri 18 Aug 2017.

22:33, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 14 using 1d20+2.  Initative.

Oh look, some more stone heads who haven't learned well enough yet.  Kali, looks like your invited to the party this time.

Moves out in the open to G6 and taunts them.

If any want to try and attack I attack back.

22:36, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 8 using 1d20+4.  To Hit Gargoyle first gargoyle to attack me.

OOC: Guess they don't want to get close to me.

Nox dismounts again, "Lorik, don't let the horses bolt."  He says as he draws his blade and steps up alongside Byron to form a defensive line between the enemy and the others.

==========
OOC


Dismounts, moves to G5, readies to repel the gargoyles.

Initiative: 16
Primary Attack: AC22, Damage 12
Iteritive Attack: AC 7, Damage 12






23:10, Today: Secret Roll: Lennox rolled 7,24,12 using 1D20+06,1D20+06,2D6+05.  Attack2/CritConfirm2/BaseDamage2.
23:09, Today: Secret Roll: Lennox rolled 22,24,12 using 1D20+11,1D20+11,2D6+05.  Attack1/CritConfirm1/BaseDamage1.
23:09, Today: Secret Roll: Lennox rolled 16 using 1d20+07.  Initiative.

Seeing a new kerfuffle, Aliana cast healing magic on herself.

OOC:


23:33, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 14 using 2d8+10.  CSW



07:55, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 14 using 1d20+3.  initiative.



This message was last edited by the player at 12:55, Fri 18 Aug 2017.

Roen could barely ride a horse, let alone fight on one, so he hopped off and moved to an area south of the trail. He figured that the gargoyles would try and swoop down and attack people like last time, so Roen figured he'd be waiting where he could reach them.

Move to L-5

05:25, Today: Roenthelm rolled 12 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.
05:24, Today: Roenthelm rolled 10 using 1d20+6.  Spot check.

Amara repeated the spell that she had just cast previously, this time targeting the big Gargoyle 3. True, it wouldn't keep the gargoyle out of the action for long, but it would take him out long enough that others could be dealt with and for those on the land to be able to reach it.

As she was close to the bridge, she then moved so that she was partly shielded by it with her back to it.

Nolan stared at the bridge like he was a million miles away, not even realizing that more gargoyles were attacking. He sat upon his horse with a confused look on his face.

Initiative: 5

Twiggy just stands there with a confused look on his face at first the draws three more stones and cast magic stone on them.

09:20, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 5 using 1d20+4.  init.

Move: Draw three stones
Standard: Cast magic stone

Myarra sighs and extracts her sword again as the gargoyle that ran away brings back friends.

For now she stays on the ground, taking up a guard stance, waiting for the enemy to close.  Once they're committed, she'll be able to take the battle up to them, but for now, there's no point in getting swarmed all by herself.  Plus, it would be best to wait and see what flash bangs the wizardy folks might be sending their way.  Getting scorched by her friends would not be ideal.


13:00, Today: Myarra rolled 9 using 1d20+3.  Initiative.

Kalli just laughed, "Wow, you sure know how to show a girl a good time, huh?"

Kalli moves up and casts a Bull's Strength spell on Byron.

16:41, Today: Kalliyan rolled 16 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.

Round 1 results----------

Lennox dismounts and moves to form a defensive line between the enemy and the party and immediately has to defend himself against Gargoyle 3, who comes flying in and attacks. Both swing and connect on each other in a clash of stone and metal. Kalliyan's feline companion stays near her side as Kalliyan moves her horse near Byron to cast a spell on her future boyfriend. Gargoyle 4 swoops down and hits Myarra, but hitting the side of her horse prevents her from falling over prone. Unfortunately for Lorrik, Gargoyle 5 swoops in and nails the young lad, who falls off his horse and lands unconscious on the ground. The horses scatter. Amara, hiding under the bridge, casts a spell on Gargoyle 3 and it falls asleep! Gargoyle 1 goes after one of the fleeing horses Lorrik was holding as Aliana casts a healing spell on herself, remembering the damage she took in the fight before. Byron smiles at the boost of strength he just received and rides his horse to assist Lennox. He hits the sleeping Gargoyle 3 and wakes the creature up after chopping a bit of its wing off. Roenthelm, seeing Lorrik fall, rushes to his side to defend the young lad from the Gargoyles, as Gargoyle 2 moves in and attacks Byron, scratching his plate armor. Myarra was going to wait and see what the spell casters of the group were going to do, but with Lorrik down, she took action and moved in to protect the young lad, seeing and striking the already wounded Gargoyle 5. The gargoyle falls to the ground and shatters. Twiggy, slow to react, comes out of his confusion and casts a spell on 3 stones again as Nolan stares off into another world, sitting on his horse.

Name       Initiative    Health      Misc.
Lennox       16          30/37
Gargoyle 3   16          ??/24
Kitty        16          ??/??       Next to Kalliyan
Kalliyan     16          29/29       On Horse
Gargoyle 4   15          ??/??       Flying 10'
Amara        14          37/37       Mage Armor
Gargoyle 1   14          ??/??       Flying 5', Attacking fleeing horse
Aliana       14          38/42       On Horse
Byron        14          64/64       On Horse, Bull's Strength!
Roenthelm    12          44/44       On Horse
Gargoyle 2   12          ??/??       Flying 5'
Myarra       09          65/70
Twiggy       05          24/24       Magic Stone
Nolan        05          61/67       On Horse
Lorrik       --          -2/5        Unconscious

! Bull's Strength: +4 Strength: 40 rounds

Main Game Map has been updated.
Lorrik is the "F" icon
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:13, Wed 23 Aug 2017.

Kalli took the opportunity given and used her spells of nature to help fight these gargoyles. With them flying around and being able to stay out of reach of the party most of the time, she cast a spell, using the surrounding vegetation, to Entangle Gargoyles 2 and 3 to prevent them from flying away.

Cast Entangle on Gargoyle 2 and 3.

Aliana used to the side of their young charge as well, and tried to heal his wounds

OOC :
02:09, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 9 using 1d8+5 ((4)).

Amara sees gargoyles 2 and 3 in a line, and chants in the arcane words of power once more, releasing a blast that would be felt only by minds.

06:52, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 16 using 1d20+6.  To Hit Gargoyle #3.
06:53, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 12 using 1d8+6.  Damage to Gargoyle #3.

I move to hit Gargoyle #3 again before he can get away.

Thanks Kali.  Maybe you'd like a hug while I'm this strong sometime.  Byron says as he smiles at her.

Twiggy comes out from under the bridge and slings a stone at the nearest gargoyle.

06:50, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 4 using 1d6+1.  damage.

06:50, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 18 using 1d20+10.  gargoyle 2.

Nolan stared at the bridge like he was a million miles away, not even realizing that more gargoyles were attacking. He sat upon his horse with a confused look on his face.

Not willing to leave the young man's side as long as he was down, Myarra kept guard over Lorrik, swinging at the gargoyle (#4) menacing him.

Roen stood in a fighting stance and when the gargoyle moved in, Roen struck out with hands and feet in a flurry of blows that turned parts of the gargoyle's body into golden ice.


16:21, Today: Roenthelm rolled 26 using 1d20+6.  Attack gargoyle flurry of blows.
16:21, Today: Roenthelm rolled 18 using 1d20+6.  Confirm crit.
16:22, Today: Roenthelm rolled 20 using 1d20+6.  Flurry 2.
16:23, Today: Roenthelm rolled 7 using 1d6+3.  Flurry damage.
16:24, Today: Roenthelm rolled 3,2 using 1d6,1d6.  Dex damage.

Despite feeling disappointed at the missed oppertunity to Coup de Grace the slumbering gargoyle before the more honorable Byron hefted in, Nox sidesteps, pivots in inhumanly graceful fashion into a crouch, comes up with explosive speed with a round-about inverted uppercut of his blade-- bits of stone flesh chunks trail as the blade reaches the top of it's swing and the crashes downwards in a cross slash. For a guy who'd found himself sidelined a lot lately, the warrior was clearly making up for lost opportunities.

=============
OOC


Attack #1:  vs AC26 16 damage
Attack #2:  vs AC18 12 damage



19:29, Today: Secret Roll: Lennox rolled 18,19,12 using 1D20+06,1D20+06,2D6+05.  Attack2/CritConfirm2/BaseDamage2.
19:29, Today: Secret Roll: Lennox rolled 26,27,16 using 1D20+11,1D20+11,2D6+05.  Attack1/CritConfirm1/BaseDamage1.

Round 2 results----------

With his Great Sword swishing through the air, Lennox solidly connects twice on the large Gargoyle, pieces of stone falling to the ground, but far from dead. It just makes the Gargoyle mad as it retaliates with claws, teeth and horns, injuring Lennox pretty badly. Kalliyan and her feline friend stay in place, but Kalli casts a spell that Entangles Gargoyles 2 and 3, with bushes and grass grabbing body parts. Gargoyle 4 lands on the ground and attacks Roenthelm, but doesn't even come close to penetrating his defenses. Amara casts a spell on Gargoyles 2 and 3 and could tell that it worked Gargoyle 2 as it lands on the ground and gets entangled more by Kalli's spell. Gargoyle 1 continues to attack Twiggy's fleeing horse as it runs down the trail. Aliana hurries over to aid poor Lorrik, pulling him away from harm and kneeling down to cast a healing spell on him. His eyes open and he starts coughing. Byron watched as the vegetation entangled the gargoyles in front of him and times his attack as best as he could to hit the large Gargoyle, lopping off a bit from its wing. Until now, nobody has seen Roenthelm in action and Myarra has a front row seat. The starved looking man dressed in rags suddenly bursts forth with a flurry of hands and feet, which Myarra has witnessed a few times in her life. But, what she hasn't seen before is the golden ice that remains after the blows that sends the gargoyle shrieking to the ground from the pain. Gargoyle 2 tries to free itself from the entanglement, but fails, as Myarra takes advantage of the wounded Gargoyle, hitting it once and finishing it off with her second attack. Twiggy moves on over to where he can see the fight and slings a stone and hits Gargoyle 2 on the side while Nolan continues to stare at nothing....

Name       Initiative    Health      Misc.
Lennox       16          17/37
Gargoyle 3   16          ??/64       Entangled
Kitty        16          ??/??       Next to Kalliyan
Kalliyan     16          29/29       On Horse
Amara        14          37/37       Mage Armor
Gargoyle 1   14          ??/??       Flying 5', Attacking fleeing horse (off map)
Aliana       14          38/42
Byron        14          64/64       On Horse, Bull's Strength!
Roenthelm    12          44/44       On Horse
Gargoyle 2   12          ??/12/4     Entangled
Myarra       09          65/70
Twiggy       05          24/24       Magic Stone
Nolan        05          61/67       On Horse
Lorrik       --          5/5

! Bull's Strength: +4 Strength: 39 rounds

Main Game Map has been updated.
Lorrik is the "F" icon

Seeing only two left attacking, Amara took her turn looking around, trying to see if there were any more that needed action taken against them.

Lennox's eyes narrow, he'd expected the gargoyles to drop much easier and faster than they were based upon the earlier encounter. He alters his stance, hoping to bring more power to bear by swinging with both hands in a far less graceful (and apparently far less effective) series of swings.

======
OOC:

Primary Attack.  18 Damage Vs. AC 12 (hahah)
Iterative Attack 12 Damage Vs. AC 15

22:01, Today: Secret Roll: Lennox rolled 15,8,12 using 1D20+06,1D20+06,2D6+06.  Attack2/CritConfirm2/BaseDamage2.
22:01, Today: Secret Roll: Lennox rolled 12,17,18 using 1D20+11,1D20+11,2D6+06.  Attack1/CritConfirm1/BaseDamage1.

Sister Aliana rushed to Lennox to try to cast a curing spell.
OOC:23:21, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 7 using 1d8+5.  cure light wounds.

05:54, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 21 using 1d20+6.  To Hit Gargoyle #2.
05:55, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 10 using 1d8+6.  Damage to Gargoyle #2.

Byron swings at the entangled Gargoyle #2 again.

These stoneheads are really beginning to annoy me.  Almost as much her greenness does.

Twiggy slings another stone at the entangled gargoyle "Who is her greeness?"

06:36, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 5 using 1d6+1.  damage.

06:35, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 29 using 1d20+10.  gargoyle 2.

Nolan stared at the bridge like he was a million miles away, not even realizing that more gargoyles were attacking. He sat upon his horse with a confused look on his face.

In the depths of combat, Myarra doesn't notice Nolan's strange behavior.  But fortunately the wizard doesn't seem to be in any danger at the moment.  And now that Lorrik seems to be safe enough, Myarra moves forward, coming up beside Lennox to apply some steel to the problem of the downed gargoyles.  She doesn't have any special or magical moves, she just slams six pounds of sharpened steel into the creatures stony hide.

Roen stayed where he was at when the gargoyles on this side were dealt with. He kept a look out for more that could fly in unnoticed, figuring the rest of the group could deal with what was left.

"What you do to me, the old man here will get to do to you." Kalli smiled

With the last two Gargoyles entangled in her spell, Kalli just watched as the party took them out.

"I could have sworn there were 5 gargoyles..."

Round 3 results----------

Lennox swings his great sword on Gargoyle 3, but ends up hitting vegetation instead. With many adventurers gathering around, Gargoyle 3 tries to fly away, but is stuck by Kalliyan's spell. Kalliyan and Amara don't want to interfere with the warriors at the moment, so they keep a look-out for more gargoyles that might be flying in. Aliana hurries on over to help out Lennox, who is bleeding from several scratches and casts a healing spell on him, as Byron swings his sword on Gargoyle 2, solidly connecting with bits of stone flying. Roenthelm guards over Lorrik, who is staggering to his feet, while watching the area for more gargoyles, as Gargoyle 2 breaks free from its entanglement and attempts to fly away, dodging attacks of opportunity from Byron and Lennox. Myarra moves in next to Lennox and swings her great sword on Gargoyle 3, solidly connecting and killing the gargoyle. It crumples in a pile of rubble. Twiggy slings another stone and connects with the fleeing Gargoyle 2 as Nolan continues to stare at nothing....

Name       Initiative    Health      Misc.
Lennox       16          24/37
Kitty        16          ??/??       Next to Kalliyan
Kalliyan     16          29/29       On Horse
Amara        14          37/37       Mage Armor
Gargoyle 1   14          ??/??       Flying 5', Attacking fleeing horse (off map)
Aliana       14          38/42
Byron        14          64/64       Bull's Strength!
Roenthelm    12          44/44
Gargoyle 2   12          ??/12/19    Flying 10'
Myarra       09          65/70
Twiggy       05          24/24       Magic Stone
Nolan        05          61/67       On Horse
Lorrik       --          5/5

! Bull's Strength: +4 Strength: 38 rounds

Main Game Map has been updated.
Lorrik is the "F" icon

Roen helped young Lorrik to his feet, making sure he doesn't fall over. He still looked around, even though one gargoyle appeared to be fleeing the area.

"Yep, those are the creatures I saw long ago eating a deer, but I don't remember seeing that big one before. Are these the creatures that attacked you and your friends, Lorrik?"

Roen continues to guard the area, keeping alert for any threats.

Byron curses softly at his inability to damage the last gargoyle he can see.  The he looks over to see Myarra flying.

Myarra, any chance you can force him back towards us?

Byron seeing the vegetation in front of him still moving he decides it is best not to enter it.

Aliana casts another curing spell on Lennox

OOC :
20:40, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 6 using 1d8+5.  cure light wounds

"Lorrik, bring Byron the dagger to throw at the gargoyles, hurry before they get lose."  Twiggy then sends a stone at gargoyle 2

06:20, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 3 using 1d6+1.  damage.

06:20, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 19 using 1d20+10.  gargoyle 2.

I now know why Lorrik and his friends went down the side. This bridge is ready to collapse. Probably from all the fighting over the years against these gargoyles.

Nolan turned his horse around and faced the fight going on, to see what he could do. Noting that a gargoyle was trying to flee, Nolan cast Magic Missile on it.

Magic Missile on Gargoyle 2: 9 damage

"They're faster than I am in the air.  If it wants to flee, there's nothing I can do to stop it.  But I'll give it a shot," Myarra replies, then leaps into the air, flying swiftly towards gargoyle 2, sword trailing behind her, but ready to be brought to bear.  "Your mother was fountain statue in a whore house!" she yells at it.  Really, how does one insult a gargoyle?

Amara took a more direct route, casting a spell to cause the creature to fall asleep in the air. Granted, it would not stay down long, but it should stay down long enough for the others to have another good chance at it.

Byron guides Charger around the enchanted entangling vegetation. (Move around the outside of it to D3 or as close as possible this round.)

OOC:  Should I get lucky enough to get close enough to attack it.

22:04, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 25 using 1d20+6.  To hit remaining Gargoyle if possible.
22:05, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 14 using 1d8+6.  Damage to remaining Gargoyle if possible.

Lennox watches as Myarra swoops off after the last gargoyle for lack of anything better to do.

Lorrik, seeing a great opportunity for him to help the party, runs and chucks the magical knife at the fleeing gargoyle, hoping to hit it.

Kalli had a couple tricks up her sleeve, but she decided to wait and see what happened, just in case another group of gargoyles flew in to attack the group.

"Find out where it's going, old man." Kalli said to her feline friend

Round 4 results----------

The gargoyle flew faster than Lennox could move, so he stayed put and watched Myarra take flight to go after the stone creature. Kalliyan also stayed put, wanting to hold her powers, just in case the party was attacked by another group of gargoyles. She did send her feline friend to follow the gargoyle to see where it was headed to, though. Amara cast another spell and suddenly the gargoyle crash landed to the ground. Aliana cast another healing spell on Lennox as Byron got back on his horse and tried to ride around to catch up with the downed gargoyle, but the group is in the way and he's delayed a bit. Roenthelm continued to guard the area as Gargoyle 2 tried to get up and fly away. Lorrik moved and tried to throw Twiggy's dagger at the gargoyle, but he missed as the dagger appeared in his hand again. Myarra took flight and went after the gargoyle and with it trying to take flight again after being affected by Amara's spell, it was easy for Myarra to catch up to it and slash at it with her Greatsword. The gargoyle crumples into a pile of rubble.

The battle is over.....for now.

Name       Initiative    Health      Misc.
Lennox       16          30/37
Kitty        16          ??/??       Off snooping around
Kalliyan     16          29/29       On Horse
Amara        14          37/37       Mage Armor
Aliana       14          38/42
Byron        14          64/64       Bull's Strength!, On horse
Roenthelm    12          44/44
Lorrik       12          5/5
Myarra       09          65/70
Twiggy       05          24/24       Magic Stone
Nolan        05          61/67       On Horse

! Bull's Strength: +4 Strength: 37 rounds

Main Game Map has been updated.
Lorrik is the "F" icon
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:42, Wed 30 Aug 2017.

Nox inclines his head in gratitude to Aliana for the mending magicks, and watches as the last of the gargoyles are felled by his colleagues.

Sister Aliana looked around,  to see who else needs healing

In our first fight with gargoyles, one fled to the north-east and with this fight, one tried to flee to the north-west. Anyone up to go and seeing where they were fleeing to?

Twiggy looked at the direction they came from and started to look around "I am more concerned where they flew from.  They must have a nest or something."

Once Myarra puts down the last of the attacking gargoyles, she leaps back into the air, heading in the direction of the fleeing gargoyle and the horse.  She doesn't have much hope that she'll be able to save the beast, but if the gargoyle is hanging around, she can at least put it down for good.

"I presume they were heading toward that tower over there," Amara pointed to the northwest.

Tower? I didn't see any tower. Where is it?

Once the threat of the gargoyles has ended Byron takes a couple of minutes to check over his equipment.  Making sure there is no damage to Longsword he's used in the last couple of fights and to his armor.  Seeing the scratch marks from a hand of the last gargoyle.

Well damn.  That's going to take a little effort to polish out.

His tone one of annoyance more than anything else.  Continuing his tone changes a little as he looks over at Twiggy.

Twiggy, her greenness is a very malicious spirited female green dragon who thinks she appears to be prettier than Kali or Amara or Myarra or Aliana when she assumes the shape of a female elf.

And when we talk about HER, we say SHE or HER. A couple of us think that if we used the named she is currently using, she'll be able to hear us anywhere and we don't want her around, if we can help it.

After the fight was over, Lorrik returned to the middle of the group for protection.

"Should we go and find the horses?" Lorrik asked "It's a long walk back on foot."

"Ahhh, never met a dragon, this should be interesting indeed.  Sure Lorrik, we can search but if that gargoyle was on the horse there is no telling how far it will run."  Twiggy then started walking in the direction of the runaway horse.

"Paranoia, not all dragons are bad. I rather liked Lothorewyn. Best part about my undercover assignment." Nox remisses, sheathing his greatsword at last.

Two of the horses are found near the downed tree from the first battle. They're Lennox's horse and Lorrik's horse. Twiggy's horse is nowhere to be found. Aliana's horse is still missing as well. There is no sign of the gargoyle that attacked Twiggy's horse, so you'd assume that it's still attacking the fleeing horse down the trail.

Byron's Bull's Strength spell expires.

It's currently around 8:30am-ish...

Lennox offers his freshly returned horse to Aliana, in an atypical demonstration of chivalry. Of course he also says he could use some time afoot, and it would be easier for him to assist in scouting without having to handle the mount.

Sister Aliana pouted sadly at the apparent loss of her beloved mount, Zypher.  She humbly accepted the gift horse from Lennox, and didn't even look into its mouth first.
"Thank you,  my friend "

OK, it appears that Myarra is going to go look for Twiggy's horse. Anyone want to try and find Aliana's? It went east and probably over this bridge. Take 5 minutes, then turn back and meet here?

I'll go.

Urging Charger gently to head in the direction indicated by Nolan.

In reply to Byron Rockhead (msg # 285):

Aliana moved to join Byron.
"I can track the lost horses, so I'll come too."

Twiggy goes in the direction that his horse ran but there was more broken branches at his height so he couldnt see too well.

Byron and Aliana head East, while Myarra and Twiggy head West with everyone else waiting near the broken bridge for the group to be reunited. Myarra was ahead of Twiggy, so she goes out the 2 minutes back down the trail, but she doesn't find anything. So, she returns and meets Twiggy and both return to the group. Byron and Aliana have the luck of tracking the horse. It at least stayed on the trail, but after the 5 minutes, the horse was still running up the trail, so Byron and Aliana return to the group.

Twiggy got back "I liked walking in the woods better anyway.  the area just gets thicker as we go in"

That's typical of an uninhabited forest. Nature takes it back. So, what are we going to do now? Find missing horses or investigate this old tower that Amara saw through the trees? The way things were going with the past two fights, I'm beginning to think the gargoyles came from there.

"I suggest explore the tower. Take out the enemy before they can do us more damage." Amara said, steel in her voice.

"That's the spirit." Nox encourages his fellow pedestrian before nodding in agreement with Amara.

The tower works for me.  Maybe we will find the stone of balance there as well.

Turning to look at Aliana.

I hope your horse is ok and we get it back for you.

The tower works for me.  Maybe we will find the stone of balance there as well.

Turning to look at Aliana.

I hope your horse is ok and we get it back for you.

Stone guarding stone. In a way, it makes sense. I'm sorry about the missing horses, but we can't go around chasing after them right now. This area is too dangerous. Everyone ready to go explore this tower?

Aliana looked sad, but was trying to stay professional. "I've had Zephyr for years.  I hope we find them again. "

"We did what we could," Myarra sympathizes with Aliana, giving her friend a quick one-armed side hug, her sword still being kept ready in the other.  "Hopefully he'll calm down and head back. I'll keep an eye out for him whenever I'm in the air.

But in the meantime, let's get to that tower.  Even if it doesn't have what we want, it's still potential shelter."

Once everyone is ready to move out, she'll take to the air again, flying above the party and keeping an eye out for horses, gargoyles, or dragons.

Twiggy was not concerned about his horse, it was a tough beast "I am sure when we get back to that cabin where we found Lorrik, the horses would have found their way back there.  It was safe and had water for them.  I like this tower idea, how far off is it?"

The sooner we get there the sooner we will find out if the stone of balance and the gargoyle's nest are there.

Byron says somewhat cheerfully as he absently rubs the scratches on his armor.

Aliana returned the hug to her good friend, still sad but glad to have such good friends around.
"Okay, let's go to the tower."

Amara stands near the bridge and points to the North-West. From there anyone interested enough would see part of a stone structure through the top of the trees. Walking slowly and keeping an eye out for more Gargoyles, Byron takes the lead, with Aliana following. You all walk through the overgrown brush maybe 100 yards and come out into a small clearing and standing there is a 30 foot tall stone tower in pretty decent shape. Myarra, flying in the air to be a look-out, calls down to the group below to say that the roof of the tower has caved in. Byron and Aliana, getting to about 50 feet of the tower, start finding bones on the ground....animals and human/humanoids. There is a faint stench of death floating around the area.

Game Map 6 has been updated

Someone or something doesn't like visitors.

Byron says as he looks around and pulls out his greatsword.

I wonder who used to live in the tower.

OOC: Spot check just in case.
22:43, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 25 using 1d20+5.  Spot check.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:45, Thu 07 Sept 2017.

Roen kept an eye out, just in case something other than gargoyles tried to sneak up on the party. The smell of death told Roen there might be undead in the area as well. The gargoyles would be protected from them, if they were perched up above.

"I don't know, but there are a lot of bones on the ground and it stinks of death. Myarra said the roof collapsed. I hope it didn't collapse on anybody. I don't remember this place the last time I was here, but then I wasn't exploring too much off the trail."

19:55, Today: Roenthelm rolled 17,22 using 1d20+6,1d20+6.  Spot/Listen checks.

Aliana looks at the tracks around the place, almost oblivious to all else as she examined then.

OOC :
07:20, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 18 using 1d20+12.  tracking .
07:20, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 13 using 1d20+5.  listen.
07:19, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 7 using 1d20+5.  spot

Lorrik was guiding his and Lennox's horse to the tower when he got a whiff of death, which he didn't like at all.

"Oh, yuck. That smells like a dead horse."

Aliana heard the statement and looked up, her eyes wide with worry.

"Oh no!!!!"

Twiggy was about to go to investigate when Aliana called out and he looked at her then tried to see what she saw.

Myarra flies closer to the tower, passing about 20' above the caved in roof, looking downward to see if anything was nesting (or lurking) in the hollowed out top.

The stench of death didn't bother Kalli all that much as she knows that's part of nature. But, to be sure, she sent the old man to go and investigate, remembering the undead the party fought before.

"Go check out the area." Kalli said to her panther companion

Amara followed, nearly silent, seeming to be distracted by something. She pondered if this was why Nolan had seemed distracted during the fight, but while hearing things only, kept her composure and did not speak.

But when she sees... something, she stops rather suddenly, peering ahead. "We will do what good we can while we are here," Amara says to something or someone. "What happened to you? I've never met a ghost before."

Aliana blinked in surprise and moved closer to see what was happening to her dark elf friend.

Twiggys eyebrows went up in curiosity or excitement at the mention of ghost as the halfling walks closer to see.

Byron smiles at Kali and speaks to the big cat.

Be careful too.

Looking up to see Myarra above the tower.  There is no hint of teasing, only seriousness in his voice as he calls out to her.

See anything good up there?

Nolan heard what Amara said, but he just sat upon his horse and looked at her for a few seconds before turning back to scan the area.

Aliana, pull out your holy symbol just in case you need to rebuke the undead.

"Yes, I can both hear and see you." Amara replied, walking deliberately to a spot, eyes locked gazing upward, as if focused on the eyes of a tall man. "And that is unusual for you. Interesting." She paused for a moment, "Suite yourself. You don't need to talk, but if you don't, we can't help you."

The idea of undead made Aliana's skin crawl, but she nodded and quickly got her silver holy symbol out.

Myarra spirals around again, swooping closer to the tower, trying to see what's inside.  "There's some kind of nest inside," she calls back down to Byron.  "I'm pretty sure it's empty, but I"m going to take a closer look."

Aiming for the opening, she swings her legs down, back-winging furiously to slower herself to a stop just inside the ruined tower's roof, but ready to break off and climb back out if she were to find herself in the jaws of a dragon, or something equally less wholesome.

Roen was a bit confused to see Amara talking to herself. Most of the time, she hardly spoke at all unless it was to give her opinion, so when she walked and started talking to the sky, Roen listened to what she was saying, while looking around for possible threats when Nolan asked Aliana to take out her holy symbol.

"Who are you talking to?" Roen asked Amara

Amara didn't move her eyes away from where she was gazing, but did answer Roenthelm, "The ghost, or other undead perhaps, of a man, shot five times in the back by arrows. He can hear and see you all just fine. Of course, I can not vouch for his character - he's not wearing anything that would distinguish him, such as a holy symbol, and his talk so far has not included anything to help determine his character, other than that he is rather bored and like a moth to flame is attracted to things happening in the area."

Five arrows to the back tells me he was betrayed or executed. Ask him his name and if he was betrayed, by whom? If he was executed, why? Once we find this out, we can vote what we wish to do. If you feel that he is lying, we leave here at once. If he attacks, we defend ourselves to the best of our abilities.

"Well, Vernon, it's nice to meet you. At least it wasn't your own family that betrayed you." There's just enough of a tinge in her voice to indicate that she most likely had suffered betrayal herself at some point. "We aren't looking for treasure, except one specific item. Perhaps if you help us find it, we can find a way to help you."

What kind of help does he want from us? The usual revenge and then a proper burial thing?

"So far, I believe just proper burial," Amara replied.

The place reeks of death and decay. There is a nest down in the tower, maybe 10 feet down, made from branches, grasses, the ruined roof and bodies/bones from the gargoyles victims. It's been here for a long time. It would also take quite sometime to rummage through all the junk, debris and vegetation to see if there was anything valuable here. Myarra encounters nothing dangerous.

Well we can certainly think about a proper burial if we can find his body.  We've done a funeral pyre for mass victims before, and they deserved a proper ceremony.

Byron looks up in Myarra's direction and teases her.

Keep yourself safe so I don't have to rescue you.

In reply to Byron Rockhead (msg # 324):

Aliana nodded to the group.
"I would certainly volunteer my services to do a proper blessing and benediction,  even if it's on behalf of another diety. "

Twiggy asked the obvious "Ask where his body is."

Myarra pulls herself up to the rim of the ruined roof and looks down at the rest of the group, who seem to be standing around Amara, chatting, rather than exploring.  Which she finds weird.

"Byron, I'd love to see you scale this wall in that metal shell.  We could place bets on how many times you'd bounce.

There's a gargoyle nest up here, filled with bodies and trash.  If anyone wants to look for valuables, it's not going to be pleasant.

And, just for my own amusement, what is going on down there? You're all acting pretty strange."

I'm not sure how many times I would bounce.  So we won't even try to find out today.

Byron replies in his teasing tone before turning serious.

Amara apparently sees and is talking to some sore of spirit named Vernon.

A chill runs down Myarra's spine and her hands clench involuntarily on the stones.  "Spirit?  You mean a ghost?"

I wouldn't say it is a ghost.  At least in the sense of the undead Ghost you mean as he is not attacking anyone.  I believe, from what Amara has said, that Vernon is a restless spirit who needs a proper burial and really doesn't mean us any harm.

Byron's explanation doesn't do much to ease the sense of panic Myarra can feel freezing her hearts.  Just because it's not attacking anyone yet, doesn't mean the Elder was harmless.
  Perhaps it just hadn't found the right sinner to punish yet.  And if it does, Myarra knows there's nothing she can do to stop it.

Trying not to attract the Elder's attention, she lets herself slip back down into the nest and starts searching through the debris, mostly just to have something to concentrate on; anything of value she might find was purely an afterthought.

Twiggy looks up "Come get me please Myrra  I want to rummage through the nest.  I could probably climb that but it would be safer if you got me.  And I want to fly, if you want to know the truth."