All this hiding and waiting is really, really boring. You have to admit, though, that it would be far worse if you were one of those poor mugs out there on the plain just waiting for the accursed Watchers to charge into battle and mow them all down. That's why you made sure you got yourself a nice safe spot here among the trees of the Oytwood. Those damned Watchers, the Knights of the Watch, they won't be charging in here between all these trees, that's for sure! Too many low branches to knock them out of their saddles, too many exposed roots to trip their horses, too many hiding spots for goblins and orcs to lie in wait. That's what you call being smart, that is!

But there's not much future in this tactic, really. You have already been pushed westward 30 miles from Pest's Crossing since the fire giant King Mogthrassir was killed and his forces were decimated in the Battle of Pest's Crossing. There's only about 30 more miles of Oytwood left before you are back out on the plains with all the rest of those poor mugs out there. And that's if the elves don't get you first.

What to do, what to do?

Looking around you can see a few of the folk that you would actually be a bit happier to have by your side when things really start to go bad. Maybe it's time to get a bit closer to them and start making plans to get out of this mess, once and for all.

OOC: Game map uploaded to show current location in the Duchy of Geoff.

All characters are in the same general area. Most of you have been involved in the fight and flight since Pest's Crossing, so you all have some vague knowledge about each of the others, even if it only means you recognise them and maybe know their names.

What happens next is up to you.
This message was last updated by the GM at 15:36, Sun 18 May 2014.

Riza was good at hiding.... she was one of the best... it was how she had survived for so long... and how she killed.

But even still she was growing bored of waiting and hiding in the Oytwood forest, she wanted to use her skills again and she was feeling rusty.
She looked around and tried to find one of the others she could try and form a plan with... she recognised Minmorc immediately. Her stealth tactics and his ability to scare the pants out of the enemy had worked well together in the past. She moved quietly over to near where he was.

We need to find a way out of here Minmorc she hissed. Are there others here we can trust? We need to form a group

Jurz wasn't bothering to stay too quiet as he looked for berries or other fruit that would help his rations go a bit further.

He knew that the Watchers were down on the plains and hadn't got this far yet, however he knew that there were others about.  He had seen earlier.  More Goblins, Orcs and even a bugbear or two.  And he knew there would be others around as well, so he stayed alert.  And he knew that Rog, the great hound would be on his guard too.

It would be time to head  further into the forests soon, where he would be more at home than most others.  But for now, he looked for supplies as he waited to see who was around.

The little goblin shadowed his kinsman, not trying to hide, but at a safe distance so he could carefully observe Jurz, see which plants and berries he favoured, and get some for himself.

His sack he keeps close, gripped firmly as he forages, and unlike Jurz he tried to tread softly, keeping an eye out for any threat be they elf or those ostensibly on the same side !

*What's that !  Ah ... Riza* he thinks as the small lizard woman appears from nowhere.  That big orc, though ... him he doesn't know, but the brute looks scary with that damn big spear !

Nurzhan tried to be stealthy to avoid detection. Keyword: tried. He was an archer, used to shooting down men from many yards away, not a woodsman as most of his former squad (before he deserted) were before becoming archers themselves. He rarely stepped out of the human city he was raised in, and his short tenure as a mercenary against the invading demihuman army was the farthest he had gone from home. It had only been years, but it seemed so long ago when he was scapegoated by soldiers he thought were his friends. But that didn't matter now.

Nurzhan saw the other demihumans retreating to the deep forest, two goblins, a lizardman (or lizardwoman, Nurzhan could never tell them apart), another orc, and maybe more. He whistled and waved at them to get their attention.

Jurz pauses when he hears the whistle from behind him, and looks towards the sound and sees  a big orc, one he doesn't know.  The brown skinned goblin edges closer to a tangle of bushes but he stands his ground and waits for the orc to catch up.  After all, there need to be new alliances struck out here.  But he looks around nervously, just in case there are other out here who might be unfriendly, and makes a small gesture towards the large dog, that wears a saddle and saddlebags.


--

OOC For those of you in hiding or stepping softly -- Jurz rolled a 16 on his spot roll.

Rog looks around at the whistle and then looks across to Jurz.  When the Goblin makes a sign, the large dog just moves a little bit closer to its master.

Dregz stops in his tracks, his anxious gaze flicking between the large dog and the larger orc.  For a moment he eyes the bushes nearby, perhaps considering the chance of concealing himself until the coast was clear ... but the berry-gathering goblin must have seen him for sure, and the damn dog would sniff him out anyway.

"What you want ?" he hisses at Nurzhan, trying to put on a brave face.

In reply to Dregz (msg # 8):

Arlein sits on a nearby branch observing and lazily twitching her tail.

DC 22 hide check.
The group can call me cat, freak or any other nickname they come up with.

Minmorc likes little Riza, Riza is sneaky and smart. "Not trust... but others is itchy, scared, talking about watches coming and killing. I killed a few watches but dey killed us too. Dis forest has food. If you say other place better Minmorc will go. Better if we go with other itchy goblins."
Minmorc calls out to the two itchy goblins "yuse gonna leave forst?"
He then hears a whistle and spins, spear levelled "what choo blowin for, you seen watches?"

Jurz scowls.  Suddenly there are too many people here, and half of them are whistling and shouting already.  It is enough to bring everything in the whole area to this little neck of the woods.  For a moment he thinks about running and leaving them to it, but the same thing will likely happen again and again.  There are just too many people in the whole of this woods.  Instead he looks for a clear space and walks towards it.

"Shhhhhh..." he says putting a finger to his lips in what he hopes is a universally understood sign for shut the bloody noise up.  Then he waves everyone in to the clearing.

He looks nervously around, trying to see just who is here.  There are at least two Orcs, and they send a shiver up his spine, but with any luck they won't start a fight with each other.  The other Goblin might be all right.  OK he is a greeny and probably not a forest tribe, but at least he  will understand the rules.  Or at least Jurz hopes he will understand the rules.  Then there is a Lizardman.  As big as an Orc but even less well understood.

"Shh." he says again as they get closer "Or youze will have everyone in da woods here." he admonishes.  "Ize going deeper in da woodz." the brown skinned goblin replies to  Minmorc.  "Itz harder for dem to getz de horses in dere."

Nurzhan was dressed in well-maintained green studded leather armor, probably stolen from the enemy. He held a massive bow in his strong, meaty hands, and had a quiver of arrows and a two-handed sword strapped to his back. He stood around six feet tall and was heavily-built, mostly muscle with a small amount of fat on his body. He didn't smell like an orc; in fact, he had a neutral odor, the way soap and water cancelled out orcish body odor.

"Greetings, kin," said Nurzhan in the orcish tongue to Minmorc. Then, in unusually fluent Common, he addressed the others. "Hail, fellow survivors of King Mogthrassir's army. I am Nurzhan, an archer, the last of my tribe." That was technically true. When he was an infant, heroic adventurers slew his tribesmen. "They were killed by wicked adventurers who worshipped the false gods." He alone was spared by them and brought to be raised in human lands. But that was a story for another time.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:37, Thu 16 Jan 2014.

Minmorc is a hulking brute, dirty, menacing and scarred, smelling of earth and grass. Twigs and leaves cling to his chain kilt and hair and while his massive spear is as caked with grit as the rest of him its blades edge appears well cared for and razor sharp.

"pffft, then dere false gods stronger den yer real ones dat day. Horsey humans is good fightin but deres too many fer Minmorc." He sniffs suspiciously at this orc man archer thing and scowls then focuses on the little goblin. "You a thinker, I'll come wid you. You be der boss til you die or we'z find better boss. Sound good Riza?"

Riza stood only 3ft tall as one of the poison dusk lizard men. She was never at home with clothes... Besides she could hide better without them on. She was at home in her scales.

She listened to the Forrest goblin and the odd smelling Orc talk. She looked up at Minmorc, she was always much more comfortable knowing he was keeping an eye on things. "Sounds good to me Minmorc... I'll move along up ahead, you know what to do if you need me"

Riza pulls her bow and melts from sight in amongst the foliage. Minmorc would call if she needed to be visible. And she could sneak along the way like she enjoyed.

She moved over to near the Forrest goblin silently and hissed "lead the way forrest goblin"




OOC: rolled 37 to hide and 20 to move silently. I am only picking my way slowly over to Jurz so I'm not moving fast.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:16, Mon 13 Jan 2014.

Minmorc grunts in satisfaction and starts heading the way the others seem to be going.

OOC: Haven't rolled move silently or hide, figure I'm currently at his minimum of 2.