Arrangements were made to meet back up at Rikers Cave, and all non-essential equipment was handed over by those going back in to enable them to carry more back out again.
Those heading off consisted of Bill and Bob the merchants, Caelebon, Celonor, the Countess, Gwythe, Haldan, Iviana, the Prince, Rolf, Sir Juffer and Tindoome, along with Ben the torturers victim, Elda and Essa (the two women released from the torture chamber cell). Also along were three mobile prisoners (a crossbowman and two swordsmen) carrying two more of their number on stretchers (with help obviously from the rest of the group).

OOC: Marching order please, and any special arrangements for the approximately 6 hour walk to the cave.
Note the elves have no armour or spells, but are light armed. Ben probably should be in a stretcher too, but can walk at a moderate pace. Elda & Essa are your typical village girls - used to a bit of hard work, but don't know one end of a spear from the other. Bill & Ben now know how to use the crossbows they're carrying, but as seen earlier, can't be relied upon to stand their ground.

Iviana felt it would be inappropriate to tell the Prince, who was a member of the Royal classes 'those who rule' and probably far better trained in strategy and tactics than she was what to do. She did however make suggestions.

"It seems to me that we have two main threats. A pursuit party from the Temple, and bandits that have been attracted to the area by the Temple. I am not worried about wild animals as there are too many of us. We should try and make as little noise moving as possible, and perhaps have yourselves" she gestured to  Gwythe and Haldan "scouting ahead to spot Bandit trails and those potential ambushes.

"I don't feel scouts behind us can contribute much. A pursuit party would be fast moving by it's nature, so it is likely to get to us before our scouts could deliver news to us"

"To deal with any pursuit party... I have armour and spells so should perhaps be at the back, as ranged combat is likely against such a party. Bill and Ben can be there as well to help deal with fast moving raiders. Sir Juffer if you perhaps lead the way, then we have armour at the front and the back" such as it is, she added quietly to herself. This group was wide open "I think more of a marching order than that would be hard, as people move around while walking. If we define the front and the back, and have scouts, that would help us a lot"

Just checking: who are the PCs here?

OOC: I'm assuming you meant Bill and Bob rather than the injured (and unarmed) Ben?
Sir Juffer is unarmoured. Only Gwythe (leather), Iviana (plate & shield), the Prince (chain & shield), and Rolf (chain & shield) are armoured.
Haldan has a short bow in addition to short sword and daggers.
Rolf, short sword, 8' spear, daggers.
Gwythe, club, dagger, short sword.
Iviana is pure melee with short & long swords, and flail.
The Prince, swords (broad & short), flail, 9' spear
The rest have either a sword, spear, or dagger and there's a couple of shields amongst the lot of them.

Only active PCs with this group are Iviana and Gwythe.

OOC Thanks for the extra information. Helps.

@Bill and Ben
I'm responding to "Bill & Ben now know how to use the crossbows". If it's actually Bill and Bob, go with Bill and Bob.  I get they are likely to run, but as long they shoot once, we are better off. I suspect as well 'Bill and Ben the flowerpot men' had something to do with the juxtaposition of the two names.

@Marching order (more details)
I don't honestly think any marching order can hold up other than 'front and back'. I've tried coordinating people on walks and never managed it. Not over hours. It might work in the military, but we haven't trained together. If the Prince or Gwythe want to define it more.. go do!

@weapons/armour
I have a sling as well by the way. But if I get down to needing that, we're pretty messed up :)

Yep, that's right, flowerpot men. :p
Looks like I screwed up at some point then - its definitely the two merchants with the crossbows although Ben (victim) is a man-at-arms....

Yes, front and back is about all I really need, plus who might be helping with the stretchers and assigned to watching the prisoners (not that they're likely to run off or cause any trouble after the PCs so resoundingly thumped them earlier in battle). A vague "people not at the front or back take turns" is good enough.

Only a proficiency it would seem - not listed in your equipment.

PM

OOC: Gwythe is happy to scout, everything else suggested looks fine to me - a rag tag bunch like this people aren't going to march in order, so mix it up a bit if anything happens.

"You need a little help out the front?" Haldan chuckled at his own joke.

"We seem to be short of help" Iviana said sharing Haldan's amusement, and joining in the the puns. It was nice not to be too stressed. The weird noises, smells and general unpleasantness of the temple was behind them. They still had to make it back to Homlet, but it was nicer outside "That sounds like it would help, although I wouldn't want you to think it was beneath you"

Several hours pass by as the near score of people trudge through the forest retracing Gwythe and Iviana's steps of a few days earlier. It seemed a lifetime ago when they'd snuck eastwards past Nulb to the temple. At the current slow pace it wasn't looking like they'd get there any time sooner than midnight...

"Should just execute the prisoners now an' get it over with!" mumbled Rolf staring angrily at the stretchers.
"There's nasty things in the woods an' I don' wanna meet them in the dark!"

"Is the big bad warrior afraid of a few trees? Don't worry, there's plenty of elves here to protect you from splinters."

The group reaches the crossing over Imeryds Run (small but wild river) to find sometime in the last few days, the narrow wooden bridge has been destroyed! It looks like heavy rain upstream has caused the river to flood and wash the bridge away.

"Well, that's a problem. The only other crossing points are in Nulb, or a ford six leagues south."

"Do we need to cross the river if we were walking to Homlet" she asked, "and if so would that detour to the ford cause up problems?"

Iviana had nothing else to contribute to this. She didn't really know where the places were, didn't have any magics that would help, and wasn't a heavy outdoors person.

She hoped the others would have some sensible ideas. If not... well it was time to start walking for the ford.

Gwythe inspects the remnants of the bridge. "Going through Nulb will not turn out well for us, based on the last time we were there. We should make for the ford."

"Yes, the river must be crossed if we're to get back to Hommlet. The best place to cross is Nulb as the other ford is well out of the way to the east," she pointed almost directly away from the direction of Hommlet. That crossing would add at least a day to their journey.
"Nulb can't be more than a mile or two downstream can it? It's not the nicest place, but I don't know why you don't want to go there?"

Gwythe's inspection of the bridge remnants proves interesting.

Essa looked scared.
"There's evil monsters that way! Please don't make me go there!" she pleaded, falling to her knees.

Gwythe ignores Elda and Essa and motions for Iviana to come over to the remnants of the bridge. "Look." he points to the axe blows. "We can't go to Nulb, someone is trying to make us pass through there again."

"And you automatically assume it's all about you!"
"Wow, how pretentious!"

"We have wounded." Iviana observed. "I shall consult the gods, and see if that helps the matter. I would ask you all to take a moment's silence. Any prayers that might care to say would be appreciated: Lydia is a kind goddess, and it is nice to thank her for her help"

She took a moment to prepare herself and then opened her mind to the world. At the front of her mind she was wondering 'Should we go towards Nulb or towards the ford'

"What did Arek say to you about Otis, Iviana?"

Iviana cast the bones and concentrated. It takes her a few minutes to make sense of what they seem to be telling her.

"Sounds bad" Iviana said thoughtfully. A couple of rabbits had just come out to play and then fallen asleep at her feet "We should definitely avoid Nulb". Like many prophecies it was obscure and Lydia required intellect and thought on interpreting them. In many ways Iviana often thought her goddess delighted in teasing her. But this was clearer than many. They had many wounded with them, and in Iviana's experience the only way that prophecy would come true for them was if they were dead or drugged. Especially if they were to set guards and watches. No: Nulb was now in the list of places to explore on full health, preferably with a healthy army

"Sad but there we are.Can we make it to the cave, or do we have to detour? If we detour we should perhaps just head for Homlet"

"What exactly did you see in the bones Iviana?"

"Homlet is on the other side of this river. We have to cross it no matter where we want to go."

OOC: the ford is so far upstream that it's location is right off the eastern side of the map (about half a hex).

Haldan joined Gwythe in inspecting the damaged bridge timbers.
"Hmm," he said, deep in thought as he poked one of the cuts with a finger.
"Hmm," he said again, scuffing the ground with his bare foot.
"Two days ago I make this. All cuts to the underside where they wouldn't be seen at a casual glance. This bridge was coming down just by walking on it. Good thing it rained upstream when it did, or we'd probably be swimming right now."
"Of course that assumes we were the next ones to try crossing it."
He scouted around along the bank looking for more clues.
"Looks like hobgoblins or bugbears or something like that were here. I count at least three sets of tracks."
"They came from upstream, looks like they went back that way too."

"That sounds like it was done maybe half a day after we came across from the west. The saboteurs came from and left to the south east, so it doesn't look like the destruction directly relates to us."
"Rolf might have a point."

An idea came to Iviana

"Why don't we go towards Homlet on this side of the river. I can send a message to Otis who can come and meet us. Arik asked me to do that anyway..." she smiled in an amused way "There are things called boats, and it may be that he can come by boat, and they can carry us swiftly back. If not... well I am sure he will be able to arrange either a boat or a raft with a rope to cross the river. In fact if we have an axe, and a good swimmer we can probably sort that sort of thing out ourselves.. "

How wide is the river?

"Staying on this side of the river means never getting any closer to Hommlet than we are right now. The further the river goes upstream, the further it curves away from Hommlet."

OOC: River is a good 20-30 yards across

"Well my rope goes 50'" Iviana said "So if we have another and an axe, we can just cross here. There are the remnants of the bridge to make it easy. There are trees here... While it's being built I can rest and start healing people"

"And then we can carry on to the cave and Homlet"

"How do you propose getting the rope across in the first place? That's nearly thirty yards of water, further to any anchors of note. The remnants of the bridge aren't in great shape."
"Do you have some way of sprouting wings and flying somebody over to tie off the other end?"
"And even then, how are you going to get the wounded over?"

"By one person swimming out, tied to a rope" observed Iviana "Or by my unseen servant spell if that will work. We need a strong person and we can try many times until we get it right... as with the rope there is little downside."

"Given that the alternative is two days extra marching... I see little downside."

"This whole great outdoors thing isn't my thing. If the ideas are stupid we can just walk the extra two days. They look quite credible to me though..."

"Anyone know how to swim and stupid enough to brave those wild waters?"

OOC: See, this is where non-weapon proficiencies come into play. :)

Rolf's question was followed by the shaking of heads from almost everyone.

"Let us prepare a temporary resting place, and wait for the others" Iviana suggested. "I am at a loss for how to deal with this issue, and perhaps one of them can swim. Or have a magic or something for dealing with this matter."

"Walking to the ford will take us two extra days, so another hour will make little difference. I am loath to ignore the God's advice of heading into Nulb." she shrugged and looked at the Prince. It was his call. She settled down and waited to see what he would decide
This message was last edited by the player at 08:50, Fri 01 May 2015.

[Language unknown: "Oneer m o ceusonurck mo erathoand oresomsan chhateof Tedithticwas."]
The Countess picked at Tindoome's clothing.
[Language unknown: "E om nalo m stnt heres roelnaan vor diee'adha ncwess o ceilol ngsial arsiit. Pa ononch om asesanal enncwh larantlin ol."]

"It would seem this is definitely where we part ways then. I simply cannot afford to sit around waiting here, or heading in the opposite direction to where I need to go."
"I wish you luck and perhaps one day soon we shall meet again."
With that the Prince hefted his meagre possessions and stepped off towards Nulb.
"If you still wish to come with me, now would be the time Haldan."

"After years away, a few days will make no difference. And the Gods were clear in their advice" Iviana said "If you do go that way, then I suggest you do not stay in the town or I fear you will not ever leave it..." She realised the Prince was just impatient and cared nothing for wounded, which was sad. He'd been locked up for years and yet left the people that rescued him in the lurch. No sense of duty of care at all...

The prince had said petty words when they had met, but she realised that words were cheap. His actions showed him to be as self obsessed and uncaring as she'd expected royalty to be. She could not imagine how a man with any sense of honour could leave so many weak and wounded people alone in bandit territory in good conscience.

"Good luck" she wished him anyway, although her disappointment probably shower in her body language. He would need it anyway: the Gods had spoken. Perhaps she would rescue him again back in the Temple... "We wait for the others " she said to the others, picking up the reins of leadership. She began issuing instructions to find a suitable place to rest for the hour or so that would be needed. The ones that weren't wounded she used to post a picket line. Not ideal... but her options were limited. She would send a message to Ottis when the others got here. It was unlikely that an hour would matter, and if they didn't arrive she would have to send a different message...

[Language unknown: "Anyun atca fitato, ching ichthukor!"]
The Countess almost spat the words, her face going red with rage.
[Language unknown: "Utis ore nce mawiac fo ek n thevng!"]

OOC: Besides Ben, the only people seriously injured are captives.

Tindoome shrank back, clearly uncomfortable with the situation and wishing she was anywhere else but here.

Sir Juffer half drew the sword he'd claimed as his while both Caelebon and Celonor also glared at Iviana disapprovingly.

"Coming!"
Haldan scrambled to follow the Prince, obviously keen to put as much distance between himself and the elves as possible.

Iviana shrugged. She hadn't said anything bad, although she had looked very disappointed. Which she was. She didn't speak in Elvish, as that would be rude. She had very little time for the countess either, although she kept her tone of voice flat.

"I may be a half breed, Countess, but I have a duty of care over these people. Now if you'll excuse me, our tactical position has got about ten times worse, and I need to attend to that now. With any luck we will survive long enough for the others to return. Although there are indications that there are bugbears around"

Gwythe watches the 'debate' with interest. "What makes us sure that the others will be here in an hour? They entered the dungeon again, there is no guarantee of them making it here, or on time."

An hour is a long time. They are going to a specific place, and coming out. Perhaps ten minutes there, ten minutes back. Ten minutes to load up. That's half an hour behind us. Assuming they are a lot slower... If they haven't got to us in the hour, we'll worry about them not turning up..." Iviana shrugged. "We could do with a rest, especially the wounded and the people carrying them. I don't like the waiting, but as it happens I don't like any of our options"

"We don't have to like our options though, we just have to deal with what the Gods have dealt with us."

OOC: So now the Prince and Haldan are gone, what's the security arrangements.
Obviously you'll need somebody watching the prisoners, plus others to watch the forest. Will Gwythe try setting any traps? Are there any spells you'd like to place?

Don't forget scrolls, the wand of paralyzation in Celonors hands, the rope of entanglement in Tindoome's possession, the two dogs and the two familiars which could come in handy if utilised the right way.

Iviana looked around for a small copse of trees. It would be much less noticable than out in the open. They hopefully weren't going to be there for long. She set the two crossbow men whose names she got confused with to be a picket, and asked Gwythe if he'd mind doing the same. She had a lot more confidence in Gwythe, and having a competent scout around was a good thing. She wished the Countess had gone with the Prince too: they seemed made for each other, but she couldn't have everything. Iviana hoped the Countess would do something sensible on her own, as Iviana wasn't going to ask her, or tell her, anything.

As for the prisoners, she set them in a coffle so that they were sitting, the rope through their rope collars going between two trees. She made sure had ropes on their legs restricting their movements to eighteen inches. She kept their hands tied behind them, and sat them in such a way that a guard (Rolf) was behind them watching they didn't mess with the bindings, and another (Sir Juffer if he didn't mind) in front. She assessed the wounded prisoners to see if they could sit with the others, or needed to lie down.

The wounded she asked to rest, and all other able bodied people first made the place a little safer, then guarded them. In the hour they had, she felt there was little they could do other than spend a few minutes gathering fallen branches and making it awkward to come at the group from all sides.

Her weasel she had wandering around the periphery, keeping an eye for intruders.

OOC Just a straw man, if you've got a better idea Gwythe go with it.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:35, Mon 04 May 2015.

Gwythe watches Iviana make arrangements without comment or suggestion. He'll seek some food from the belongings and drink from the river, before wandering about 50 metres out away from the river, and settling himself down in some cover to watch for anything coming.

Sentries are posted and everyone settles in to wait. Gwythe finds the perfect hiding spot amongst the still green branches of a recently fallen tree, the sounds of rushing water and rustling leaves filling his ears the only drawback.
The Countess takes advantage of the delay by studying Tindoome's spell book, Tindo's disembodied voice coaching from over her shoulder (Tindoome is still invisible from when she disappeared inside the temple).

PM

Iviana continued to wait for the others to return

After about half an hour of waiting, those in the camp hear something crashing through the bushes from upstream - the direction Gwythe stationed himself on sentry.

Scenario's flickered through Iviana's head. A raiding party from the Temple. A wild creature. A foul creature drawn to the evil place. Or the returning group.

She moved a little distance away from the wounded, in case she was about to draw missile fire, then announced 'Show yourself'. In each of those scenarios she would find something out. Although perhaps it was something she hadn't thought of. Still you could only do the best you could.

Gwythe dashes towards the camp, freshly wounded. "Three bugbears!" he calls out, dashing right through the group before turning to point in the direction from which he came.

Iviana headed straight to Gwythe and pulled out a bandage "Circle round and stop any that flee" she shouted to Bill and Ben. The most important priority here was that that none got away. "You too please Celenor" she asked. She was confident that Sir Juffer and Rolf would do sensible things, although she fully expected the countess to scream and run.

She had few magics that would work effectively against these creatures, but she fully expected them to be in hot pursuit of Gwythe, and her flaming sword might well spoil their day!

OOC Have 2 hp back. Not much... but it's all she wrote :)
This message was last edited by the player at 13:18, Sun 10 May 2015.

OOC: Bill and Bob are a good 100 metres or so out of the camp on sentry - out of sight and, unless you want to yell REALLY loud, out of hearing.
Also, Gwythe looks like he's about to drop from blood loss.

ooc

Iviana had in fact yelled really loud. They are bugbears... if they can understand her *shrug*

Noted about Gwythe. Sadly I cannot cast healing spells at the moment and for some strange reason, incomprehensible to me (that's a dig at the rules not you) bandaging only works within a few seconds of getting the wounds. If bandaging would work I'll do it... I don't actually know what it does... I'll edit my post to reflect that if you let me know


12:46, Today: Iviana rolled 7 using 1d20. bandaging.

Gwythe pins the bandage to a wound while Iviana ties it up, his eyes searching frantically for their opponents, his sword held in front of him.

Iviana quickly applied the bandage, her eyes full of concern. Gwythe was badly hurt and needed miraculous healing. But that wasn't going to happen for a while. Every time she saw the wounded she winced: it was her job to heal them... and she couldn't do it. It had been a gamble leaving the Temple and they still didn't know it was a smart move.

It had been an equal gamble splitting up. She didn't like it, but she knew the call of gold was a strong motivator for some people.... and then the Prince had deserted them in their hour of need. Deserted them and left behind wounded and women to be slaughtered by the Bugbears whose tracks they'd already found.

Well if she could, she'd head this off. With any luck Bill and Ben would head round and cut the Bugbears off from reinforcements. She didn't have a lot of faith in them, although at least they had been more reliable than the cowardly Prince.

"Gwythe... if you want... guard the wounded" she said, options running through her head. Celenor had the wand. If she could engage the bugbears while Celenor got into position, then they might come out of this alive. Bugbears were often cowards and fled... but she'd done her best to head that off.

Sighing at the horrible tactical position, she headed towards the direction Gwythe had come from.

Celonor hadn't moved.
"You do realise that I've only got the wand and no idea how many charges are left within it?"

Iviana didn't understand the issue that Celenor had, but in any case she was too far away to talk having gone a long way past Gwythe. As far as she could see you pointed the wand and blasted until the wand ran out of charges at which point it usually crumbled into dust or something

This wasn't a time for talking, it was a time for doing. Either Celenor would become part of the solution, or like the other elf (the Countess) she'd stay part of the problem. At times like this Iviana blessed her human heritage. It wasn't hard to see how Celenor had been captured given how much she dithered.

She made one more try to get Celenor to help by pointing and gesturing hoping that would do it, then continued to see if she could find the Bugbears.

Rolf joined Iviana on her excursion into the forest in search of the bugbears.
"What are you expecting to achieve?" he asked quietly while keeping his attention, and spear, on their surroundings.

"The Bugbears hit Gwythe" she explained "He came running from this way, away from them"

"My limited experience with them is that they are bullies. I expected them to follow him, so I was giving them a different target. It looks like they haven't followed him"

"Great" she was tempted to spit and swear. Something she didn't do, but this was a nightmare. She thought the cowardly prince leaving had been bad, but this was worse.

"Well unless their tribe is within a few minutes of here, we are still better off waiting for the others. And if it is close, we are better where we are than being caught marching. So I can only see bad things happening if we move now" she played the scenarios out in her mind. Moving now... the Bugbears could just hit them with or without a tribe that would be unpleasant. Waiting ... well it depended on whether the others came. If they came, their ratio of combatents to wounded would get a lot better, and they had lots of options. If they didn't arrive... she didn't like any of their options... still she could think about that if it happened

"I guess we go back. Might as well spend some more time building up defenses while we wait."

Cautiously she retreated back to where the others were, and began to instruct those that were capable of helping and not on scout duty to help improve their defenses.

Right as Iviana was about to turn and go back, she spotted three bugbears around a hundred feet further away from the camp. Armed with an array of weapons, and wearing mismatched pieces of blackened armour, they looked ready for a fight.
One raised their morning star in challenge, thumping their chest with the other fist which was closed around the shaft of a hammer.

"And there we have them!" In a way Iviana sighed a breath of relief. This was going to be hard, but at least they hadn't gone for reinforcements. She didn't think she could take the three on her own, but she wasn't on her own, and she shot Rolf a grateful look before she charged the three, making more of an attempt to 'get their interest' than damage them. She was in far better armour than Rolf, and if she could keep them busy she was pretty sure Rolf could put them down.

Now if only Celenor became part of the solution, she thought to herself.


Hits AC 12 I think ... just misses everything unless I get something for charging... can't remember the rules I'm afraid.
12:19, Today: Iviana rolled 6,8 using d20+2,d12+2. To hit/damage with flamesword.

Gwythe waits back with the others, making sure that he is not trapped against the river, looking around for further weapons for the unarmed (hunks of wood etc).

At the camp site Gwythe and the others see and hear nothing besides wind in the trees and the rushing of the water. Soon everyone is armed with a collection of clubs and sharpened stakes.

Iviana and suspected the Bugbears were cowards, and now she knew they were. The only question was were they the sort of cowards that would flee and lure her into an ambush. Because she herself was certainly that sort of cowards.

Still she knew how to deal with the threat. "Memento" she whispered as she ran: the magically enhanced armour not slowing her at all "scout ahead. Let me know if there is an ambush" Her weasel could move so fast she wasn't even a blur. Memento wasn't really going to spot a pit trap or a dug in and concealed ambush. But if it was as simple as following them round a corned and being surprised by Bugbears laying in waiting... well Iviana should get at least a little warning.

She made sure she broke line of sight with the Bugbears, putting a tree between them before letting Memento free to race ahead.

She was faster than the bugbears. Quite a lost faster. She doubted if the precaution was needed, but all in all it was better to be safe than sorry.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:23, Fri 15 May 2015.

Iviana is almost within touching distance of the bugbears.

OOC: This is how I imagine the river is at your current location, just a bit wider.


The bridge was only something like this:

At the camp, Gwythe stands watch patiently along with the others. Iviana and Rolf have been gone almost ten minutes and there's no sign of Bill, Bob, Celonor, or Tindoome (although the latter possibly due to her invisibility spell).

PM

"I don't have time for this Yesil" Iviana responded "There are over a dozen injured and wounded men and women, with inadequate guards and Bugbears scouting them out. If you want to 'do good' in the world then come and help save those innocents from becoming Bugbear food. If you want to do respond with hatred and bigotry then please hold off until those people have a chance at life"

She turned around and walked off back towards the main group.

PM

Iviana was at full speed back to the others and didn't stop and certainly wasn't letting Yisel close with her. She didn't trust the barbarian as far as she could throw her. She'd trust her to fight like a demon unbtil the ens but not when it came to what were the targets of her rage. She was Tue simple most bigoted and narrow minded person. iviana had ever met. And want afraid to put that unthinking hatred into action. Iviana pited her quite a lot

"Thank you for saving my life" she said to Yisel over her shoulder  "Right now I have other people's lives to save. You can think of them as being saved by your act as well. So thank you for their lives. If you want to talk come meet me the group" with that she broke into a jog.

Iviana arrives back at the camp alone approximately twenty minutes after she'd left so hurriedly.
This message was last updated by the GM at 12:25, Sat 30 May 2015.

"I've been a fool!" Tindoome's disembodied voice declares right as Iviana arrives.
"I totally forgot I'm carrying two twelve foot long row boats!"
"They're no good here where the river is so swollen and wild, but I'm sure we'll find calmer waters within a mile or so upstream."

Calebon looked very puzzled.
"Have you bumped your head recently? You're what, barely four feet tall and yet you say you've got not one, but two large boats on you?"

"I just bumped into Yesil" Iviana mentioned looking worried "She's ... well I never understood her, and I don't understand her now. Still as full of hatred as ever. The bugbears ran off. Yesil might of killed them: I'm not sure, I didn't hang around to ask. "

She turned to the hidden voice

"Thank you for that Tindoome. I take it there is a magical reason for you being able to carry them. I think your idea is a good one, and we should move as soon as we can. It will take us a while to get there, and with luck the others will catch us up. This many people can't help but make a clear trail"

"Is everyone back safe?" she called out to the pickets, checking that Bill and Ben were OK, and looked for Rolf.

There was no sign of Bill, Bob, Celonor or Rolf...

Gwythe watches Iviana return. "Yesil?" he asks quizzically and then shakes his head. "If the bugbears have been run off, we should gather everyone here and prepare to use the boats." He looks around. "Where are the others?"

"Celonor headed off on her own as Iviana requested, and Bill and Bob are either still in their sentry positions, or, if they heard Iviana's yelled order, circled around to cut off the bugbears."
"Of Rolf, not a clue. As you know he headed off with Iviana and we haven't seen him since."

"So what should we do? Wait here for them to come back, or move on?" she asked, her disembodied voice floating in the air near Gwythe.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:07, Wed 24 June 2015.

Gwythe shakes his head. "Great." he mutters to no one in particular. "I'll go see if I can round up the others."

He heads off to where Bill was stationed, moving slowly once he enters the trees and watching out for signs of danger.

"You sure that's such a good idea? You're rather seriously wounded."
"Perhaps somebody else here better do it?"
Caelebon and Sir Juffer, while unarmoured, were still healthy, and elves to boot. Tindoome herself was also invisible. The Countess was also capable, although she dare not suggest a noblewoman go hunt down their missing commoners.

"I will go with you," Sir Juffer offered after an unspoken "conversation" with the Countess. Although the noblewoman was clearly unhappy, she'd given a nod of approval.
"I have some skills in tracking."

As Gwythe and Sir Juffer head out, they encounter Rolf staggering back with Bill and Bob in tow. Over Rolf's shoulders is the limp body of Celonor, her battered face and torso covered with numerous terrible wounds.

Gwythe helps the wounded back to the clearing so that they can regroup. "The bugbears?" he asks the group.

"Yeah," he nodded, wiping Celonors blood from his hands with a scrap of her ragged clothing.
"Foun' her like this before I picked up Bill and Bob. We're all ok, but she's dead, throat slit and all bashed up. They took the necklace Yew gave her but left the wand, I guess they thought it was just a stick."

"She should never have been out there," spat a fuming Caelebon.
"Lets go. There's no point staying here for the bugbears to come back with reinforcements."

Iviana had stayed with the wounded while the search party had gone out. She winced a little at the dead body, but disagreed with Caelebon. The woman had had a powerful weapon and the priority had been to disable the Bugbears. She'd no idea how the Bugbears who were usually large ungainly creatures had suddenly developed fantastic stealth skills, but perhaps they had had magical support or something. A scary thought.

"I think we have to stay" she said "We cannot outrun a war party. Not with this many wounded. So if the Bugbears are coming we are better making a defensive position here, than being hit while traveling. Besides the others should join us soon"

"How many bugbears now?" Gwythe asks.

"Look, all we have to do is get across the river and they can't follow us. We have boats thanks to Tindoome, we only have to move a mile or two upstream to calmer waters."

In reply to Gwythe (msg # 94):

"I saw three. Probably a scouting party."

"Still three?" he groans. "So we haven't done very well so far."

He looks around at the group? "Do we have any healing left? And then let us prepare for departure while watching for their return. If three come we might be able to fight them off, if they bring reinforcements we are doomed.

"No healing" Iviana commented. "And you are right Caelebon. If we get across the river the Bugbears can't really get us. Let's get the boat out, check out the other side... we don't want to go from the frying pan into the fire, and then go across."

"I'll stay and guard the wounded. Gwythe do you want to take some people and quickly check it it over?"

Gwythe tries to get the boat ready and any supplies in it.

(OOC how many can go at once. It's a river so it's damn difficult to get the boat back upstream once you cross)

"I have two twelve foot long row boats on my robe. Perhaps it's best to leave them where they are until we find a crossing point and actually need them?"
"Each boat should be able to carry three or perhaps four people if they're small."

With twelve people, five prisoners (two on stretchers) and Celonors body to cross, a number of trips would be needed. The presence of prisoners would complicate that task significantly.

In reply to Iviana (msg # 98):

"Do you think splitting up again is wise with bugbears about?"

"Well the problem is that we either fort up over here, or cross the river" Iviana observed "Those are our choices. If we want to cross the river we have to split up for the duration of the crossing of the river as we only have two boats."

"Personally I think it is going to be safer to wait on the other side. But it is absolutely a gamble made with little knowledge."

"I propose we take the chance of crossing the river, as I think it is very likely the bugbears will return, and if we hurry we will be across before they are. If we bind the prisoners, and send them over with a guard, then we can ferry the wounded. I'll stay on this side to guard over here. Gwythe do you want to guard the prisoners, and then the wounded?"

"Yes, I understand that the actual crossing will result in fragmentation, but do you really believe it's wise to send a group of scouts several miles or more upstream in search of a crossing point, for what could well be many hours, while the remainder stay here?"

"Yes. Because we can send one scout" she nodded to Gwythe "reducing our fighting strength only a tiny amount. We have a much better defensive position here than moving. And we are expecting any time now, our other comrades to join us."

"There are no really good options. So we have to just try our best with what we have. My temptation... as I have repeated many times ... is to just wait for the others. For at least a while. They are not even overdue yet. However sending a scout out to find a crossing place does reduce the impact of our colleagues failing to join us. A single scout can use stealth and thus be more likely to avoid danger. If we are attacked here, we have at least slightly prepared positions and have a chance of defending ourselves. If we are attacked on the move it will be a slaughter"

"Now I am going to meditate until the the scout or scouts return, or the others return. Gwythe... you are more knowledgable than I about scouting, could you decide who goes to look?"

Gwythe shakes his head. "I'm not going off scouting anywhere in this state. Difficult to move with this many injuries, let alone fight anything off. We should stick together and push the boats into the river with all our people in them in an emergency."

"We can't do that here" Iviana observed "The river is too wild here. They would just die, and we would die protecting them as they get in the water. We either scout out a place to cross or fort up"

"I think you have decided for us. We will fort up. I will meditate and try and recover enough spells to do some healing. Hopefully the others will return. Can you make sure any able bodied people are improving our defences?"

With that, she settled down to meditate as a precursor to regaining her healing powers

The heavily burdened "treasure recovery" group arrives mere minutes after the decision to stay put is made, four people greater than the last time they were seen.

"So, ah, what's goin' on 'ere then?" Arek inquired, dropping his load to the ground for a well deserved rest.

Brother Yew joined Arek and set down his backpack as well. He Looked at the other group and noted Gwythe's wounds, Celonor's corpse and the absence of the Prince and the Halfling.

"You were attacked?" he surmised.

Amathaon sat down to rest. There was little he could do to help his friends at the moment.

"We have had a run in with Bugbears" Iviana said "Killed Celonor . They've gone to get their friends. I did an Augury and if we cross the bridge into Nulb it's bad. Very bad. The glorious Prince did his brave thing and abandoned the wounded, and defenceless, ignored the advice of the Gods and went to Nulb. I can only pray that the God's will be Just towards him. If he'd not run like a cowardly dog, Celonor would probably be still be alive"

"We have a choice. We have magical boats that can cross the river, but it will probably be a journey of several miles to find a suitable crossing place. I suggest we wait, heal up, and then cross. Many of the wounded should not be moved in any event. A lot of them are unconscious and may die if we move them far."

"Perhaps while I and Arek meditate, the rest of you could ensure that the place is made more safe against the possibility of a Bugbear attack"

"Get some rest. We will organise securing." Ronalt replied. "Which way were the bugbears. So I can see their tracks."

Luthien frowns.

"What happened to the missing people?"

Gwythe the can you show Ronalt the tracks, and answer questions. I'm going to try and get healing magics back" Iviana settled back to meditate feeling relieved. At least the others were back now. That doubt and uncertainty had gone. They still had the threat of the bugbears, but even one load of healing magics would get people that currently had to be carried back on their feet.

Ronalt requested, "Gwythe, could you show us the area the bugbears were."

Yew went to inspect Celonor's body. The first thing he tried to determine was whether she was struck down from behind or did she face her attackers? He quickly noticed that the necklace he had given her was missing.

"Who has the necklace she was wearing?" he asks. "It was just a simple necklace with a single, small, brass pendant. It was given to me by my mother and I lent it to Celonor while we were in the temple."

"Bugbears must've got it. I came along a little after and found her like that."

Gwythe will lead Ronalt to where he first saw the bugbears, and then point off in the direction where he understands they clashed with the others.

"That is not good. It looks like she was hit from behind, so I suspect she was caught by surprise. If she had warning she would probably have been able to destroy them. The missing necklace is a Necklace of Missiles with one missile remaining. The wearer can pull the missile off and throw it up to 70 yards before it explodes in a fireball. Not a very powerful blast but bad enough to slay those who are weak or wounded. Pray they do not learn what it is but watch out for it. If you see a bugbear wearing it or reaching for its neck to pull and throw something, shoot it first if you have the chance."

"What sort of area does it effect?"

"The one I threw at those black-clothed guards in the great hall down in the underground temple blasted out to 20 feet from where the missile landed, but I believe that could increase to 20 yards outdoors. I have no idea why that should be so. Magic is a strange force that I really do not understand."

"So, it could easily take out almost everyone here?"
Rolf subtly sidled away from the bulk of the group...
"Time to go is it? As you can see the recent rain's washed out the bridge which has signs of sabotage too - chances are if the water hadn't done it, it would have collapsed under our weight while we were crossing it."
"Tindoome has two small twelve foot long rowing boats which can take three or four at a time, but the river is too wild right here. There's a ford about six leagues upstream in the wrong direction, or we can go a couple of miles downstream and cross at Nulb where they really don't seem to like Gwythe for some reason."
"Somebody mentioned the river might be calmer a few miles upstream allowing us to ferry across in the boats. We were about to do that."

[Language unknown: St riis me santrashe ntest?] the Countess asked of Sir Juffer.

There went the countess again. Iviana thought to herself Selfish as ever

"May I recommend sorting out the defences, while Arek and I meditate" Iviana repeated herself "Many of the wounded might die if we move them violently. Given half a day, they can all walk out of here."

"As I said if we move the Bugbears can hit us on the move, with our few able bodied people carrying stretchers holding the wounded. If we wait then the situation changes"

"The alternative is to accept that some of the wounded may die, but we feel that it is generally better to get to the otherside of the river."

She closed her eyes again

"I leave it to you lot to decide. Wake me if you want to move"

OOC Me I recommend fast forwarding, even if that means fighting the bugbears. But if you all want to move that's fine. Just to set the scene: many of the wounded are on negative hit points now from the earlier move, and getting them across on a boat is contra-indicated.
We could go to Nulb, but the Gods have indicated via Augury that this is a Bad Idea^TM We could ignore that if we want.

Arek nodded at Celonor's covered body.
"Ah cud anima' 'er too..."
"Wou'na ta' long."

OOC: DM, can you list who is in this group and a quick indication of their health and whether they are armed at all, etc.?

Iviana's group was recently described as "twelve people, five prisoners (two on stretchers) and Celonor's body." Gwythe is seriously wounded.

Arek's group consists of Ronalt, Arek, Brother Yew, Luthien, Amathaon (seriously wounded), Wonnilon, Sven, Kalador the zombie and a second zombie. They rescued 4 NPCs (carpenter, merchant, hawker and labourer) and equipped them with various armour and melee weapons, although we don't expect them to be very effective in a fight.

"You should talk to the Countess about what to do with Celonor's body," Yew suggested to Arek. "Celonor is one of her people, not ours."

"Looking at the rest of us I believe we would be well advised to head upstream to the ford as soon as we can, as long as that is not where the bugbears were approaching from. The bugbear scouts found the first group of us here, so this is where they will come back to first. If Ronalt and Sir Juffer use their skills to hide our tracks and make a false trail into the river we may fool the bugbears long enough to give us a good head start and, with luck, all across the river. Avoiding them altogether would surely be our best chance to avoid further casualties."

"Six leagues there and the same back is a long way on foot with wounded. Why not just go a mile or two upstream and use the boats?"

"I know nothing about boats and rivers. We should cross wherever we can," Yew agreed.

Iviana preferred the option of healing and forting up, but since the others didn't she just waited for them to work out what was happening

Rolf sighed in exasperation.
"I just said only moments ago that Tindoome has two twelve foot long rowing boats!"

"Yes, I understand, Rolf. I meant I have lived a cloistered life and have no experience of rivers or boats. Those who do understand such things are far better suited than I am to advise exactly how and where to cross the river. I only advise that we should go there and cross as soon as possible," Yew replied calmly.

"Ok, shall I lead off then? Scout ahead a few hundred yards?"
"Anyone on the flank or rear, or just stick together?"

In reply to Brother Yew (msg # 127):

"I don't know how well we'll be able to cover the tracks of such a large group but it's worth a try I suppose."
He was quite dubious about the chances of success, and even more dubious about their ability to lay a convincing false trail.

Given the Bugbears appear to be extraordinarily capable at scouting, witness the death of one of us, then I suggest if we are going to move an army of wounded through their territory we have a person on point, and two people on each flank if possible. I'm happy to take point. I'll only go perhaps 100 feet in front." Iviana offered

Ronalt returned from looking over the trail sign, diplomacy not his strongest skill, spoke to his companions.
"I will go point. Bugbears are something I am familiar with. Iviana you should keep with the wounded for now with Arek."
"Rolf can join me, as he knows of this crossing point."
"Wonnilon take the left flank, Yew the right. Use a dragged branch to make the tracking harder. It will leave a trail but not reveal our numbers so easily."

Ronalt looked to see if anyone wished to add anything further.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:51, Fri 24 July 2015.

"Hey, I'm just guessing the river will be calmer upstream. Never seen it myself."
"Could go downstream to Nulb, but I get the feeling some people don't like a few of you there?"

"Hope you can swim Yew," Wonnilon chortled.
"Looks like Ronalt wants you in the river."

"Upstream Rolf and we need someone watching the river side, Wonnilon. This land is not peaceful. A threat could come from there as much as the side you will be upon." Ronalt replied to the pair.

"Stick close to the bank and everyone can watch that flank freeing Yew for other areas."

A short while later and everyone was back on their feet (those not in stretchers anyway). Arek put the two zombies to work, one carrying Celonors body, and the other an end of a prisoners stretcher. The treasure retrieved from the temple was redistributed to allow a little more freedom of movement for those scouting or expected to fight, and the group set off upstream in search of a suitable crossing point.

Several miles later a suitable location is found with just enough daylight remaining to ferry everyone across in the two boats which suddenly appear out of thin air (Tindoome is still invisible - she plucked them from her robe of useful items). The river here is a good 70 or 80 yards across and would normally be fairly shallow (maybe 8-10 feet deep when not swollen by rain) - more than sufficient distance to prohibit any thrown weapons by bugbears and deep enough to deter any attempts at unassisted crossing.

OOC: Camp or travel into the night? With the delay at the washed out bridge and the detour, the cave is still about 3 hours away.
I'm guessing the boats will be hidden in the bushes for possible later use?

Ronalt asks Arek and Iviana, "Can we continue for another few hours or do you need to rest now?"
"Can the wounded make the walk?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Fri 24 July 2015.

"Yeah, bu' we're all tir'd already. 'nother few 'ours an'..."
Reaching the cave was possible, although fatigue would be a major factor when it came to setting watches and all the other tasks that needed doing.
"Cave's no' real big either."
It had been the shelter of one solitary Druid, squeezing in just the seven who'd rested there before had been a bit of a feat. Thirty five would be impossible, forcing the majority to camp outside.
"But, there's supplies an' a b' of treasure ta pick up. Ri' now we' got 'nough food 'mongst us ta feed e'ery one ta'nigh', an' me'be breakfast. That's it."
Otis had promised to leave supplies at the cave, but he was expecting half a dozen or so mouths, not a small army. What would be found there might be enough for a few days, or barely a snack. There was also Iviana's old scale armour which would fit one of the elves.
"Cave's three 'ours tha' way." He pointed to the north west before indicating the south west.
"Hommlet's 'bou' six 'ours tha' way pas' tha' moa' 'ouse."
"Wha' yer wanna do?"

Luthien considered...

"I think we ask those in the worst shape if they'd like to keep going or stay here. The rest of us can go or stay as they need us to."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:13, Sat 25 July 2015.

"I believe heading for Hommlet come dawn. We set a camp here or the first defensible spot on the way to Hommlet." Ronalt added his thoughts on the matter.
"Arek is right, the cave would not hold us all and it is out of our path to salvation of our poor wounded charges."

"Amathaon? Gwythe?"
"Your thoughts?"

Amathaon replied, "I agree with Ronalt's plan. I need a place to rest and heal."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:00, Sun 26 July 2015.

Gwythe nods his assent to the plan.

Brother Yew is pleased to have successfully crossed the river and now quite happy to make camp for the night.

"I agree it is time to let these people rest, Master Ronalt. Too many of them are unable to see at night, so travelling in the dark would be unwise. Besides, they are all tired and many are injured. We should set guards to keep watch in case anything attacks during the night but the river should dissuade the bugbears from following us."

"If someone sho' the best place, I kin ward it wi' a blessin' from The Father Of Battl'. Mos' likely approach i' bes', i' be a one shot t'ing too."
"Mos' o' what Tindoome an' Iviana 'ave go' a' tha momen' are all shor' term spells."

Those with outdoor skills supervised the setting up of camp and although the sky was clear construction of temporary shelters for the night. Wood is gathered, fires lit and food distributed - it would be a very lean breakfast.

The night passes uneventfully and casters are able to recover spells without problem. Both Arek and Iviana share out the available healing prayers, and administer to the wounds of those not as desperately in need. Both stretcher cases are back on their feet and able to walk without assistance - a good thing in the minds of those who'd had to carry them the day before.

A quick sweep of the immediate area at first light by Ronalt and Sir Juffer results in a surprising find. A large boar, recently killed has been left by somebody unknown during the night. It would seem pork is on the breakfast menu!
Who left it and why is a mystery, but Iviana's encounter with Yesil the previous day might have something to do with it...

Once all are fed and the camp packed up, the large group sets off for Hommlet, arriving just before dusk, hungry, foot sore and tired, but looking forward to hot food, baths and a real bed. First of course the prisoners need to be dealt with, and rescuees reunited with friends and family.

Brother Yew would immediately head off to find someone from the council in Hommlet but no doubt the arrival of such a large group would draw instant attention and a welcoming committee in a village like Hommlet.

As they approach the outskirts of Hommlet, "Brother Yew, pass over your heavy items and go ahead. Summon the local council and organise a place to put the prisoners."
Ronalt takes on Yew's burden.

Wow, look at that lightly-laden monk go! Who would have guessed the half-elf could move so quickly?

Knock, knock - Greetings councillors, we're back!

"Ronalt's band is returning," Brother Yew explained briefly to whichever Council member/s he had managed to locate. "They will be here very soon with about two dozen people we have rescued from the old evil temple south of Nulb and a handful of prisoners who were guards there. We will need to lock those prisoners up somewhere until their punishment is decided and the rescued people are all tired and need somewhere to rest. Then the rest of us should meet with the Council to report what we have discovered."