"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."