In reply to Varen (msg # 77):

"Rosa's more an' all rounder.  But watch out when she gets a hammer in her hands.  She'll treat you like bad scrap metal."

He laughs and slaps you on the back.  It's playful but...ow.

"Lemme finish my patrol.  I'll find ya once I'm done."

Anyone else you want to speak with?  If not, we'll spar.  Thanks

OOC: No, the sparring is more Varen trying to get a good measure of how good a pair of warriors he has on his side. He knows they are guards for hire, but can he rely on them in a fight? So he wants to measure just how well they can hold their line.

If you want to do the sparring as a combat exercise, we can. But if not, we can move on to the part of the story where the ambush happens, and you can tell me how well they are comparatively speaking. Up to you.

In reply to Varen (msg # 79):

Just on the off chance one of us fumbles or crits, let's skip the sparring

Ryx seems a fairly confident warrior.  He definitely can outmatch you blade on axe.  Is he the best you've ever seen?  Not even close.  But you don't feel you have to worry if he's at your back.  You would guess Rosa is at least at the same skill level.

Sellows comes to find you in the morning.

"Alright.  I talked to Gantry.  Here's the plan.  We'll leave this morning like nothing's wrong.  There's a sandbar about a mile upstream from the planned stopping point.  We'll beach on that.  Gantry, the Rockdusts, their guard, and Rosa will disembark.  I'd like to have her with us, but I can't leave Gantry and the shipment unguarded.

"I want you to go ahead of us and scout things out, then meet us at the sandbar.  If things look good, Ryx and I will take the raft downstream to the usual camping spot.  Like we're gonna camp.  You'll come up behind them and start peppering them with arrows.  I'll do so from the raft and Ryx will wade ashore.  Once he's in the middle of them, you and I will charge in.

"If things don't look good...well.  We'll figure that out when we talk at the sandbar.  Concerns?"

Varen listens to the plan. As Sellows explains, he interjects, "Who'll be watching Aldo?"

Then, as the plan concludes, he furrows his brows.

"I hope that is not too few of us, but it will have to do. Let's do it."

Varen begins to prepare for a fight. He works on his armor, his shield, and makes sure spare bow strings are available. He packs his arrows, and hones the edge of his sword.

By the time they arrive at the sandbar, he's fully armed and armored, and ready to go.

In reply to Varen (msg # 81):

Sellows needs you to go ahead and scout my friend.

Stalking roll to see how quiet you are please.  You'll get a bonus due to the circumstance of +15.

Tracking roll if you want to look for any signs of passage.

And let me have three Perception tests please.  You may arrange the results in any order you want.

As a general rule, unless I state otherwise, whenever I ask for multiple rolls like that, you may order them in any way you wish.  So if you rolled a 28, 87, and 56 you could present them as a 87, 28, 56.  I will assume whatever order you write them down in on your post is the order I should use.

Let me know what questions.  Thanks

In order of mention:

Stalking & Hiding
15:46, Today: Varen rolled 90 using 1d100+68 ((22)).

Pretty decent. Let's see how that works out.


Tracking
15:47, Today: Varen rolled 72 using 1d100+33 ((39)).

That's alright. But could have been better.


Perception
15:51, Today: Varen rolled 58 using 1d100+38 ((20)).
15:52, Today: Varen rolled 41 using 1d100+38 ((3)).
15:52, Today: Varen rolled 75 using 1d100+38 ((37)).

Ack, that was rough. I will select: 41, 58, 75.

In reply to Varen (msg # 83):

You start up the river bank, then move into the woods, running parallel.  Autumn is just rounding the bend into the colder months.  You would guess it won't be a week before you'll need a heavier coat.

Because you aren't as familiar with the area, you need to check your position with the river bank every so often.  The spot that Gantry's barge would normally bank on is a open place with  a tree that spreads it's branches over the water.  Wayfarers tie strips of ribbon around the branches as a sort of prayer for good luck.  So you are on the look out for those ribbons.

You come back into the woods after your third such check, thinking it should only be another half hour before you reach the spot when you almost walk into a man's back.

He is standing on the other side of a tree you were rounding.  If you had taken one more step, you'd have bowled into him.

He seems to be watching ahead, his hands gripping an unsheathed sword.  He hasn't looked back over his shoulder.  He has not seen you, despite the fact you're close enough to blow on the back of his neck.

For the one moment you freeze up, your mind processing the situation, you can see someone else.  A woman with a bow.  She's up in the branches of a tree about thirty feet away.  She seems to be too busy looking towards the river to see you.  But if she does look over, you will be caught.

Just to sum up:

Your Stalk roll worked.  That second Perception check...not so much.

You have a guy standing with his back to you, literally about a foot away.

A sniper in a tree thirty feet ahead and fifteen feet or so up.

Neither has seen you.  Yet.

Unless you just stand there and hope for the best, I will need another Stalk/Hide roll.

You may take any action you see fit.

... by the gods... how?...

Varen remembers his training, and ducks... sneaking away slowly backwards and around the tree. He is not concerned so much about the man, who, if he didn't hear or see him by now, would never see or hear him. The woman on top was probably more observant, so his goal was to put tree between himself and her, and then to back away to a place were he could hide and listen.

Once there, he will prepare his bow and wait for a while until they either said something or took action. It would not do well to simply attack them without any evidence that these were the ambushers. Besides, Aldo had mentiond there would be more of them, and a spell caster of some sort. He only saw two of them right now. And he still needed to get back to the barge to report.


OOC:

New Hiding roll to get away silently and unobserved
11:44, Today: Varen rolled 83 using 1d100+68 ((15)).

Wow, crappy roll. Good thing he's actually pretty decent at this.


Full Perception Roll to see if he spotted anyone else. He has reason to believe there should more than two.
11:45, Today: Varen rolled 81 using 1d100+38 ((43)).

Oh well, they are decent rolls, but can be well easily overcome. =)

In reply to Varen (msg # 85):

As you step back around the tree, you hear that unmistakable sound of a bow string being pulled.  You duck around the tree as an arrow fills the space you were just in.

Your roll wasn't bad.  Hers was just really good.  Except the one to hit you.  That one sucked.

You hear the man hiss, "Melva?  What the hell- Huh?  Behind me?"

You have a moment.  You can run for it or brace for the attack.

Or whatever else you can think of

Varen understood the situation was now against him. Trapped in melee with one opponent, and being subject to the shots of an out-of-range archer was precisely the position he wanted to have "them" in, not the other way around. In the end, the fact that this was a 'scouting' mission took precedence, and it was important that he return to the barge with the information.

Taking advantage of the cover of the tree to keep it between himself and the archer, he rushed back into the undergrowth and speed away from the two as fast as possible. If he could lose them, he might try again, but it would be that much harder now that they knew he was around.

OOC: Stalking & Hiding roll to get (technical term) "the hell out of there".
13:34, Today: Varen rolled 152 using 1d100+68 ((84)).

That is a good roll. I am hoping this lets him at least make some distance, or at minimum make it moderately hard to shoot at him.

In reply to Varen (msg # 87):

You disappear into the underbrush...

Yep.  A 152 is good enough.

You are heading back to the barge now, correct?

OOC: Actually, no. He will run for a while and gauge if they are pursuing him. If they are not, he will stop and gently circle about for another approach. Knowing that they are there, he will take it extra slow and careful. He wants to hear from them, see if they give any details away that they are part of the Cloaks, since he can't be sure these are the people that are planning to ambush them.

If they are pursuing him, then, yes, he will run to the barge.

In reply to Varen (msg # 89):

Gotcha. Thanks

You plunge into the undergrowth, tossing yourself through thickets to try to throw off pursuit.  You stop after a while, standing completely still, waiting to see if you were successful.

It seems like it.  Either these guys are better at stealth than you are or you did lose them.


New round of rolls please.

Perception.

Stalk/Hide

Tracking.

Thanks

Varen stood silently, listening to the wind, the bugs, the sky. It was quiet. Or at least as quiet as it needed to be to convince him that he had lost his pursuers. He gently released the tension of the flight in a slow but long drawn-out breath.

Didn't Aldo mention two Cloaks that were "very strong"? He didn't remember the names he used, but he did remember that the man called the woman "Melva". He would have to confirm with Aldo when he got back.

Without moving, he focused his senses again towards his scouting task. This was going to need to be very precise. They knew he was around, and he knew they were around. The first one to give himself away would probably lose, and if it was him, it could be his life.

With extreme caution, as if stalking a wounded wild boar, Varen began the slow trek of circling about and approaching again.

OOC:

Perception
18:57, Today: Varen rolled 130 using 1d100+38 ((92)).
Oh, wow, this is a great roll.

Stalking & Hiding
18:58, Today: Varen rolled 162 using 1d100+68 ((94)).
Followed by an even better one. Varen is almost invisible.

Tracking
18:58, Today: Varen rolled 91 using 1d100+33 ((58)).
Well, I can't complain about this one. It's pretty decent.

Overall, the dice roller has been good to me so far. =)
This message was last edited by the player at 03:06, Tue 09 Mar 2021.

In reply to Varen (msg # 91):

Those are much better rolls.  And since you mention Varen thinking back to what Aldo said...

You hurry through the underbrush, not so fast that you make the mistake of stepping on this twig or bat aside that branch.  But you make some good time.

Aldo did mention two people.  But he said the bandit's archer was a man.  Named Pavis you think.  And that the spell tosser of the group was a woman named Kina.

He didn't mention another archer.  No Melba.  Aldo had said Pavis was the good shot.

Melba shot over her partner's shoulder and only missed you because you had stepped around the tree. And her shot was fast.  She had nocked, turned, aimed, and released in the space of a breath.  From an odd angle.

In other words, she's good.  And if Pavis is the 'good' archer among the bandits, then to be better than Melba, Pavis would have to be amazing.

Before you can think more about it, you hear some movement ahead.

Ahead is the river.  Four people are crouched behind some bushes, studying the water.

There are two dwarfs, a halfling, and a human woman.  You recognize the halfling.  He's the one you saw back in town where you were looking for Castor.

One of the dwarfs mumbles something to the woman.  You think you hear the name Kina in what he says.

The woman shakes her head.  "No.  We wait.  If we attack too soon, we risk them heading back into the river.  We have to let them get ashore and make camp.  That's when they'll be vulnerable.

"Pavis will signal once they pass his position.  Dexy, you'll stay here.  The rest of us will pull back once we see it.  Dexy, let us know when they start eatting.  That's when we move."

And just to be clear:  Mebla and her partner are not in this group here.

This was enough for Varen. It is clear to him that this group was the one waiting for them. Whether the other two are part of the group or not can be debated, but this was not the time or the place for that.

With the confirmation in place, he turned and carefully started the trip back to the barge.

... this might be harder than we think... perhaps we can avoid the entire situation if we skip this spot... maybe the other edge of the river?...

Keeping his thoughts in check, he focused on making the distance silently.

In reply to Varen (msg # 93):

Sellows listens to your report when you get back.

I am assuming you tell him everything.  If not, let me know what you leave out.

Aldo seems confused about Melba and her friend. "I swear to you.  Never met none of the Cloaks who sound like either of them.  I...no one like that traveled down here with us."

Sellows nods at Rosa when he's done talking/you're done asking any questions, and she moves Aldo back towards the raft and out of earshot.

Sellows sighs.

"So we have not only one group but maybe two groups to deal with.  Lovely.

"We still got a long way to go to get ta Green Bluff.  And its not like we're gonna get a lot of help on the way.  Even when we stop at the Fine Point or Hollow Hill," he adds, naming the two trading posts the caravan will stop at on the way upstream.

"These guys are gonna be dogging our steps all the way home.  I don't think we can avoid crossing swords with 'em.  It's just a matter of where and when we do it."

He seems to consider a moment and then looks at you. "What are your thoughts?"

Varen considers the possibility of Aldo's words. This whole thing with the two hunters may have been just a coincidence. After all, they weren't there when he discovered the actual Cloak's gathering.

"If we could get one or two more hands in here, I think we could do it. Otherwise it will be an even fight and that might mean a loss for us as well. I don't like the odds. But if we can surprise them, perhaps...", he trails off in thought.

"I would consider the last resort of a night time raid. Don't move the barge and have them wait. They will either gather themselves to find us, or give up and withdraw to their camp. My desire is for them to withdraw. If we can then ambush them while they sleep, it will be much easier for us to overcome them. If they gather to find us, then perhaps we can ambush them while they attempt to find us.

Either way, if we must confront them, I still favor it on our terms and ground. We still have the advantage that we know of them, but they do not know of us."

"Also... what do you make of the halfling? He was part of the group accosting Castor back in town. My thoughts return to the idea that this was planned ahead before we left."

Sellows blinks when you bring up the halfling and Castor.

"What?  Really?  Shit.  Yeah.  Sounds like they've been birddogging us ever since we left then.

"If they've been after us all this time, the odds they'll just give up and go back to their camp are low.  They want us bad enough to follow us all this way after all.

"And we have two people whose allegiances are uncertain.  Because why wouldn't we need further complications?"

He thinks.

"Alright.  The way I see it, we can play it one of three ways.

"One, we can try to whittle them down.  See if we can take out one or two of them.  Pick at them.  Preferably that spell caster first.

"Two.  We try to reach out to those two you ran into.  If they're not against us, maybe they're for us.  That might give us those extra hands you were talking about.

"Three.  We try to find a good ambush spot.  Get it set up.  And try to lead them in.

"Whaddya think?"

Varen keeps his council, looking to examine the options. Since it is his skin on the line, it is his risk to take.

"Let us whittle them down. They will know right away that we are on to them, but I think we can minimize the risk to our 'cargo' and make it to our destination if we can sow doubt and confusion in their midst. But you will have to keep a good watch, because they may feel their hand has been called, and they may either try to force the issues by attacking, or withdraw and reevaluate."

Varen doesn't like any of the solutions, but this one is better than hoping to trust a set of strangers, and, besides, it falls on his forestry skills, so he's good at it.

OOC: Sorry for the delay. I've been feeling pretty crappy lately, between medical issues and lots of work. All my games are suffering from my delayed posting.

In reply to Varen (msg # 99):

No worries.  As long as I know what's going on, I can be patient.  Take the time you need to get better.

Sellows considers and then nods.  "Okay.  That's what we'll do.

"Take one of the sibs..." He motions at Ryx and Rosa.  "See if you can pick one of them off.  Hightail it back here if there's no opening or things go south.  I'll see if I can fortify our position."

After discussing things with the Gryx, he picks the one that has the best subterfuge skills, as well as some training in bows, preferably. (Assuming they have a bow on them.)

With another set of hands, Varen feels a bit more confident of the success of their venture. They may be able to dispatch one, or perhaps injure two. Either way, it will be shift the odds in their favor should they try to pull the ambush anyway.

OOC: Based on the selection criteria, which one is best suited to go with Varen?

In reply to Varen (msg # 101):

Gryx looks at the bow in his hands with an oddly nostalgic expression.  "So I'll tell ya now...it's been a while since I shot one of these.  But I'm still better than Rosa.  She can't hit the broadside of a barn."

While that may not be reassuring, he at least seems to know how to move quietly.

Neither is great with a bow.  He's the better shot.  Also he's much stealthier.

So you want to go at it with any specific kind of approach?  Head in after dark? Try to lure one away from the others?  Scout out their position?

If you don't have any specific plan of action in mind, let's do some scouting.  A tracking roll please.

Thanks