Asher continues to race towards the horses, tethered out of sight and distant from the gnolls.  Aidrin and Perrato, wounded and aching, continue to stamp out and smother the small grass fire that threatens the fallen bodies of their companions.  Garryn, and then Caylin, join them, and soon there is a line of blackened stems and scorched earth that provides a firebreak--and keeps the fire from spreading further to the east.  Asher arrives soon after, leading a string of slightly skittish horses.

OOC:  You have successfully retrieved your horses, and the fire poses no immediate danger to either you or your dead companions.  Actions?

"Well, that could have gone better..." Garryn comments idly while gathering his thoughts. His own wounds were severe but looking around he seemed to be doing as well as anybody else, and that was a bit disheartening. "Alright, lets set about it. Asher, will you help me get the brothers on the horses? And Perrato, please tell me you can spare our fallen companions from the ravages of rot and insects at least as long as it takes us to get back to the city?" Garryn asks the priest hopefully. Not waiting for an answer he continues, "Caylin, Aidrin, why don't you search the bodies, look for maps and valuables. Maybe we can get some sense of how to avoid them in the future. Perrato, do what you can to heal people, paying special attention to yourself and Asher. When we are done here we'll move on to the Gnolls Caylin dispatched,I noticed a nice set of armor on the one riding the big hyena. There'll be no more splitting up for the meantime, and everyone, please, keep your eyes open."

Asher nods in response to Garryns request for help with the bodies and leads Vils horse to the fallen brothers. Ashers head cocks slightly at sight of Villhalas' dismembered head, betraying the doubts he feels about the task at hand.

He decides to start with the half-beast.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:32, Tue 06 Sept 2005.

After working with Aidrin to stop the spread of the prairie fire, Perrato retrieves the potion imbued with a Prayer for Well-Being and Salubrious Mending from the corpse of Totmacher. "El momento oportuno es todo, amigo orque. No debes esperar hasta que estás muerto antes de pensar en tu salud. Quizás hay algo que podemos hacer para tí."

The cleric hands the potion to Asher and recommends that he use it rather soon. Then he seeks the assistance of Vagrani to convert the divine favor granted him for his orisons into minor Prayers for Well-Being and Salubrious Mending, saying one each for Garryn, Caylin, Aidrin, and himself.

[OOC: Perrato turns 4 of his 5 0-level cleic spells into healing spells for 1 HP each. He will save his last orison, Detect Magic, until the caravan has been investigated and the gnolls looted.]

"I am in your debt, Priest," Aidrin nods at Perrato. The wizard strikes out towards the fallen gnolls while donning his singed robes, and tries to keep in sight of the short ranger.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:18, Wed 07 Sept 2005.

The smell of burning grass is in the warm and darkening air, as the twilight deepens.  Garryn and Asher maneuver the incredibly heavy body of the dead half-orc onto one of the steeds--divesting the barbarian of his weapons and gear prior to doing so.  The body of Villhalas is much easier to handle, and is soon consigned to another horse.  Both bodies are lashed to the horses' saddles.  In the meantime, Perrato administers what aid he can, praying and casting the last of his minor orisons.

While Asher and Garryn are arranging the bodies, Aidrin and Caylin quickly rifle the fallen gnolls.  Aside from notched and battered axes and filthy leather armor (the latter alive with lice and fleas), not much else is forthcoming.  However, the collected odds and ends from the gnolls' belt pouches and satchels yield a small number of battered silver, copper, and a few lonely gold pieces, along with three or four semi-precious stones.  By the time their dead companions are slung over the horses and the bodies of the gnolls in the immediate vicinity have been searched, nightime is only a few moments away.

OOC:  You'll be operating in darkness, although you have a waning half moon to work with.  These gnolls netted you 195 copper pieces, 89 silver pieces, and 27 gold pieces, plus 4 gems.  Let me know what you want to do--the other gnolls and their leader are to the north, and the remains of the caravan are beyond that (see previous map).

"Okay lets get search the bodies of the gnolls north of here and I want to retrieve the armor the mounted gnoll was wearing. Perrato, I want you to look for a place where we can spend the night. It doesn't look like much light is left, so we better hurry. Caylin, add this to what you've collected," Garryn said, tossing a satchel and purse to the halfling, and guiding the horse burdened with Totmacher towards the northern bodies.

Asher takes the vial from Perrato with gratitude before addressing the others, "Thank you. Perhaps we could get your leathers on the way to the site of the lost caravan? I'm thinking we could find a place to set up camp near the there, and check it out at day break? Asher suggests.

OOC: What was in the satchel and "heavy pouch" Garryn took off of the absconding Gnoll?
This message was last edited by the player at 20:30, Wed 07 Sept 2005.

Caylin nimbly catches the heavy pouch in one hand, and the satchel in the other.  The halfling unties the leathern thongs that close the pouch, pouring out a mixture of gold and platinum.  Caylin grunts a bit, and then unclasps the sinew-and-button arrangement that closes the satchel.  A sheaf of papers spills out, and by the light of the still-burning grassfire, the archer peers at the writing.

"Looks t' be some'at o' th' nature o' letters o' credit.  Hmmm...drawn t' 5,000 Nobles, 'ppears."

OOC:  400 gp, 100 pp, and 5,000 gp in a writ of species

[21:53, Today: Perrato Viatomagne rolled 15 using 1d20+7. Survival Check--Find Good Campsite.]

Perrato begins to comb the area for a likely spot for the group to bed down the evening. Before he starts in earnest he asks Caylin, "From where was this letter of credit drawn? Are there any telling signatures?"

"Hmmm....looks t'be some folks outta Deuxchay fer th' creditors, but no signatures--jes' a signet mark...an' there's a Merchant Mage mark on th' letter, too.  I'm thinkin' this might be good anywheres, if ye ken."

OOC:  Darkness is upon you.  What are your plans?

"Interesting. Perhaps I can identify that mark, Caylin," Aidrin says.

Caylin shrugs and hands the sheaf of papers to Aidrin.  The wizard recognizes the Merchant Mage mark from the chapter in Deuxchay.  Clearly, this letter of credit was from a caravan was at least partially underwritten by the Merchant Mages.  The only reference to a date concerns the topmost page, which refers to the Year of the Basilisk (PY 850)--the current year.

These types of letter can be retrieved in any medium-sized town along the trade routes throughout Arret.

In spite of the deepening darkness, Perrato is able to use the light of the rising moon to find a reasonably comfortable and defensible camp site.  The priest makes certain that they are far enough from the rotting corpses of the ambushed caravan, choosing to avoid both the stench and the bothersome attentions of nocturnal scavengers.  Ensconced on a small knoll, the party sets about settling in for the night.

Totmacher and Villhalas are unceremoniously dumped from the horses, and the animals are rubbed down, led to water, and fed a ration of oats and allowed to graze.  Bedrolls are unfurled, and a brief, fireless meal is taken.  The day has been long, and the evening bloody and exhausting.  The surviving companions are bone-weary, and sleep is a welcome respite from the grim loss of two of their number.

 OOC:  What is the watch order and length of each watch?

Before resting his weary and battered body, Perrato observes the gathered loot from the caravan and the gnolls and uses his last orison to determine if any of the items possess arcane properties.

[OOC: Perrato casts Detect Magic]

Having stripped the gnoll leader of everything of value and gathered all of the items taken from the gnolls together, Perrato intones a brief Prayer for Blessed Perception of Occult Dweomers.  The only item that shows any aura is the gnoll leader's studded leather armor--a moderate enchantment of the school of abjuration magic.  Caylin sets about ridding the armor of its vermin, using a flask of oil and rubbing the fluid into the hardened leather.

The night passes, observed by the five surviving party members:  Asher first, followed by Garryn, then Caylin, Aidrin, and finally ending in a warm dawn with Perrato.  The night is alive with sound--the barking and howling of coyotes and wolves, the harsh laughter of hyenas, the call of owls and nighthawks, the susurration of crickets, and chorusing of frogs from the nearby small lake and wetland.  No larger or more dangerous creatures make themselves known, however, and the darkness fades into a new day with little else to mark the night's passage.

The day dawns warm and sultry, with no real wind or air movement.  A dawn chorus of songbirds accompanies the slow illumination of the plains as the sun begins to rise.  Soon enough, everyone is awake and engaged in simultaneously breaking their camp and breaking their fast.  The remains of the caravan lie to the north, marked by the presence of carrion crows and vultures even at this early hour.

OOC:  Moves?  Map showing whereabouts of party and caravan is HERE.  Everyone recovers 4 hp, due to natural healing.

While the others break camp and prepare to break their fast Aidrin pours over his spellbook, replenishing the magic's presence in his memory.

"Unless someone objects, I'd like to try out the gnoll's armor, Garryn states as he starts preparing for the long road ahead.

"I don't expect we'll find anything valuable in the remains of the caravan, but it won't hurt to check. I'm hoping Perrato can get some sense of where they trail goes and maybe we can learn something of the identity of the bandits. If it is the gnolls, which seems likely, we can easily be able to compare the arrows at the caravan site against the ones from the gnolls we fought yesterday. Once we have done our search I suggest we get back to Bordertown in the shortest time possible. Anyway, lets get moving," Garryn concludes as he finishes repacking his belongings.

Perrato greets the dawn as always, peering at the horizon, meditating on how the newly shed light falls upon the flora Arret graciously provides and how the panoply of diurnal animal species will begin the day, once again able to make their way in the world aided by the gift of sight. He communes with Vagrani by means of what other men might describe as "natural theology", but too few outside his sect understand what that really means. Soon he is granted with divine favor and charged with the obligation to use it justly for those who respect The Light and thrive in its bounty.

Walking over to the gathered mounts and their grim, cadaverous cargo, the cleric takes the dangling hand of the fallen half-orc and places his knee to the ground, chanting quietly and almost melodically as he does so. "Vagrane, gratia tua corpum amici mei conserva dum suum fatum ultimum congredior potest." And the Prayer for Gracious Corporeal Preservation of the Fallen is complete. [Perrato casts Gentle Repose on the corpse of Totmacher.] He sees the decapitated corpse of the sorcerer, and ruefully remembers the harsh, utilitarian discussions which current tragedy has brought upon the party. His ultimate fate lies not with the group and their coming endeavors. "Lo siento, amigo. Verdaderamente, lo siento, Señor Villhalas."

Turning again to the dawn, the eternal reminder of how the present meets the future, Perrato looks to his battered colleagues, their wounds barely stanched as the stench of the vanquished gnolls begins to carry across the winds. He continues his work and, as always, thinks about things to come.

[OOC: It's a healing extravaganza!
 03:20, Today: Perrato Viatomagne rolled 12 using 2d8+4. Cure Moderate Wounds--Asher.
 03:21, Today: Perrato Viatomagne rolled 18 using 2d8+4. Cure Moderate Wounds--Caylin.  (Woof!)
 03:23, Today: Perrato Viatomagne rolled 7 using 1d8+4. Cure Light Wounds--Garryn.
 03:24, Today: Perrato Viatomagne rolled 9 using 1d8+4. Cure Light Wounds--Aidrin.
 03:25, Today: Perrato Viatomagne rolled 6 using 1d8+4. Cure Light Wounds--Himself.
 Got one Cure Light left, and a batch of five orisons. Suggestions?]
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 08:36, Sun 11 Sept 2005.

Asher thanks the priest for tending to his wounds and re-packs his belongings.

"Garryn, it seems the armour would suit you best. Aidrin, can you tell us again what you recall about the fate of this caravan?"