Healing duties completed Hawndona searches the enemy dead like a good camp follower.

She wipes a bloodied hand on her shield and ends up with some smeared on her mouth. She pointedly clears her throat in a rather disconcerting way before returning with her gleanings from the semi-nude tribesmen.

She sidles up behind Blazik and wraps her long arms around his chest whispering something in his ear
Then whistling a cheery tune she heads back over the ford to retrieve the shield covering that she let fall before the combat
This message was last edited by the player at 16:50, Tue 19 Oct 2021.

Zyxx rallies his squad and forms a defensive formation, once in formation ready to defend the prince and the rest of the folk. He turns you young Yanni and says "Go round and check the squad, and let me know who is injured".

Sadly you find little of value among the fallen impala riders--5 clacks worth of booty.



Blazik seems a bit recovered, he blushes and clears his throat.

Yanni gives you the update: the hoplites Jaxana, Onjur, Philactes (from Zyxx's squad) and Simfenus are dead, as is Kelsamos, a household servant of Envoranus.
A few of the slingers took grievous injuries but have received healing; but the hoplite Sandene and the slinger Madros, both of whom were struck by enemy arrows, are feeling weak and will need to ride or be carried.

The weeds seem natural enough but seem to have been threaded through the spokes of the wheel as part of the ambush.

After freeing the wagon wheel, The Aggabortas calls to his squad.  "Let's get Onjur and Jaxana on one of the wagons.  And find something to cover them.  We'll give them the proper rites when we make camp.  They died in the service of the Red Goddess."

With a frown of concern, Hawendona makes a space for Sandene and Madros in the chow wagon.
She empties a box, into which she carefully places some of the potentially poisoned arrows.

<OOC I assume the dead will not be going in this wagon>

With the discovery of the fallen soldiers, the remaining strength drains from Wanakela, she falls from the saddle into the creek.  The Praxian braves scramble to drag her out of the water.  Wanakela's spasmatic twitching seems to be at a crescendo.  When she gets on the bank, the braves cover he up with blanks, to dry her off and to conceal her episode from any onlookers.  Eventually, the episode settles down, and she seems to pass out.  The braves continue to make her comfortable while she rests.

Coroltha agrees with The Aggabortas that the five bodies to be wrapped in the victims' bedrolls and placed into the extra supply wagon, agreeing with Hawendona to keep them away from the food. The two injured soldiers who are not recovering well will ride in the food cart.

After conferring with Coroltha, the braves gently roll Wanakela on to a blanket, then scoop her up.  The two quickly maneuver her onto the wagon Coroltha pointed at.  Silent Trotting ties the his cousin's sable reigns to the same wagon before heading out to scout. He-Who-Looks-For-Water attempts to make the unconscious Wanakela as comfortable as possible.  He keeps a close eye on her, but acts pensive, as if he wants to be on his sable scouting for more Impala Riders.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:12, Tue 26 Oct 2021.

https://i.imgur.com/w4qSFk1.jpg" data-lightbox="images-msg-306">https://i.imgur.com/w4qSFk1.jpg" alt=''>
Making your way north, ever wary for the return of the chastened impalas, you move along through the cultivated lands dotting the Scritha, a healthy strip surrounded by hostile wastelands.

The promise of a walled city cheers you.

Once He-Who-Looks-For-Water is confident that Wanakela is swaddle properly, and not going to hurt herself, he deftly leaps onto his sable, and heads out back on scouting detail.

As the expedition marches on, The Aggabortas moves along his among his squad, speaking quietly to each, a squeeze on the shoulder here, slap on the back there.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:47, Thu 28 Oct 2021.

Hawendona will walk alongside the chow wagon and climb up now and then to check on Sandene, Madros and Wanakela. In between she puts an even finer edge on one of the many knives she seems to have collected.

{She's leaving Blazik to his own devices}
This message was last edited by the player at 08:52, Wed 27 Oct 2021.

Hurtzag and her beetle take up a position alongside and just back of the prince as the march resumes.

She picks a bit of Impala rider bone out from between her front tusks as she walks, silently bemoaning the fact that this human can ride a horse and therefore outpace her.

Astorl soon rides back to the column, mounted on his zebra following the scouting sortie he had been assigned. He bows to the prince, nodding at the rest of the group afterwards. "My lord, the fields ahead are deserted. Implements of farming are scattered here and there, but I saw no sign of the farmers."

The prince sniffs.
Hmm, maybe more of those beastly impalas.
They don't know when to quit.
Grab a bite from the cook before you head back out.

 Trigus tenses up as The Aggabortas approaches and whispers something

The sickened soldiers are miserable but not obviously getting worse.
Blazik keeps trundling along, if a little blankly.

Hawendona breaks out some cold finger-food for Astorl

'Good job with those Impala-pokers, Bushwhacker' she says with a twinkle. 'They could have really messed us up if they'd surprised us.'

'Any sign of hearth-smoke from the settlement? or smoke from a razing?' she asks as an afterthought.

As the column approaches the Indagos town-lands she falls silent in the eerie atmosphere of abandoned implements, and walks shoulder to shoulder with Blazik

Zyxx says a short prayer to the 7 Mothers for Simfenus and Kelsamos for those that have died. He thinks to himself you can't expect a raid to go without blood and pain, but loss of life for your side is always a horror of war

He then makes sure that hoplite Sandene and the slinger Madros are placed in the wagon and get medical aid.

While the others rest and eat Zyxx & Yanni take the heads off the impala riders. He then places them on poles next to the canyon. The two of them make sure that no weapons are left behind even though they are worthless, but too useful for the enemy to regain them.

The Aggabortas gives Trigus a pat on the shoulder, and walks forward past the squad.  Marching in the van again, he heard Astorl's report to the Prince.

"Scout, did you see any nomad animal tracks near the farmers' fields?"

Moving northward, you notice what Astorl had pointed out earlier--here a pitchfork, there a plough seemingly abandoned without much care. You see no animals, but some bovine tracks proceed along your path to the north.
You see no sign of the impalas or any other Praxians and you hear only the swollen, rushing Scritha.
By and by, you see a walled town, Indagos. The walls of rock, wooden posts, and mud have seen better days. There are watchmen on the walls, from which a white, neutral banner hangs.
Although the sun is setting and Yelm's departure will usher in Clayday*, the drizzling rain that has accompanied so much of your mission is beginning to dissipate. You again hear thunder to the south.

(*OOC unless I'm off by a day)

As the prince leads the column nearer, you notice that the white banner is rapidly pulled back above the wall and a bleached red banner (which now appears orange) covered with moon runes (which now appear pink) is lowered down.
From within a voice calls out "Open the gates! Open the gates! We are saved!"

Hawendona raises an eyebrow at the antics on the walls of Indagos and scans the horizon

'It seems they were expecting someone taller' she mutters

<OOC 10:27, Today: Hawendona rolled 78 using 1d100.  Scan (40). >