Amorette finally gets around to packing up her things and wringing out her cloak from the rain the night before. Being from nearby, she feels she likely had traveled this way to market before…

She shakes her head slightly to clear her mind, then nods in agreement at the group’s decision.

“Yes, I think we all owe them another visit. But perhaps it would be worth it to try and travel off the road? If they hadn’t shot us last night, we probably would have walked right into the scaly creeps.”

"Alright, for our marching order I'm thinking caster on the back, then the warrior's at the middle and scouts at the far front." Cat says as what they'll do has been decided,"I'll o course stick with the caster's side, so don't worry about them cause I'll be defending them."

In reply to Catrina GreySky (msg # 217):

Amorette nods slowly, considering. “I confess I don’t mind being a bit farther from the action, but I would like to remain close enough that I could heal and distract as needed. If you are so kind as to volunteer, I will definitely feel better with a strong arm guarding our backs.

“But who will strike out ahead? I should think at least our sly Alleycat could keep an eye out for us… Are there any others feeling particularly sneaky this morning?”

Upon hearing Amorette's words, Alleycat nodded. "Aye, I had planned on acting as a scout. I know how to move quietly and take advantage of cover to stay hidden, although admittedly my woods-craft leaves much to be desired."

"I plan on ranging out ahead of the main group, and sliding over to the flank nearest to the caravan as we pass them by, just to make sure that no nosey Kobolds get too close."

He shrugged. "Not much I can do about those flying bastards, though. 'Ware them."

"Is that all, than in that case let's go. Come on everyone, we're burning daylight as long as we stand here and those folks over their definitely need our help." Cat says, just about ready to go.

The party is sucessful at using the terrain to hide their movement. The caravan is moving very slowly and with great difficulty over the muddy road. The kobalds and humans grow frustrated with the slow pace. The halfdragon paces the line demanding greater effort. His followers obey but the mud is deep and stubborn. Their pace remains less than half of what would be expected under normal conditions. The prisoners are forced to assist. They are whipped mercilessly to encourage greater effort.

The party overtakes the vanguard by noon. The road seems to be curving closer to the hills over the next mile. As you watch you see Ichthriss appear from a wagon. He approaches the half dragon, gestures at the prisoners, speaks further instructions then gestures toward the coast. The prisoners are forced to the front of the line. There are about 50 of them. The halfdragon issues orders to the kobalds. Forty kobalds with crossbows form up with 10 drakes. The halfdragon leads the group forward at a normal walking pace. The prisoners are herded along by the drakes as the kobalds form skirmish lines around the group.

It appears that the prisoners have someplace to be and or some reason Ichtriss has decided that getting them there ahead of the caravan is important.

The enemy has split its forces. The group leading the prisoners marches at a 25 movement rate away from the main group which is fortunate if it can move at a rate of 10.   

Sora moved quietly around the group, constantly watching for signs of being seen.  As they came around, she watched as the groups split up, her brow furrowed in thought, she waved everyone over. "There's about the same umber of enemies as there are prisoners. If we can release them, it can change the odds a bit, but the issue will be getting to them."

She looked at them. "If we can seperate them, if only fr a moment, then we may have a hope."

Amorette squints at the group of kobalds herding the prisoners. “Would a diversion be helpful? Or would we prefer to have the element of surprise? I can create an illusion to draw some of their forces away.”

Catrina starts stretching as she watches the cultists moving all over the place,"If you want me to, I could join in on the whole diversion thing. I can be pretty loud, and distracting, part of my quirks."

Sora looks at the group, with a shake of her head. "It's too risky now. We should wait for an opportunity. For now, lets follow them and see if something presents itself. With the drake's and kobolds on alert, we'd be hard pressed to separate them without injury."

She looks at them all. "Lets just follow them for now."

Alleycat nodded towards Sora. "She's got the right of it. There are just too many of them to deal with, and the prisoners aren't going to be much help in trying to fight this lot."

"So, we should stay close and watch. My guess is that our best chance to do something will come this evening -- although we should stand ready, in case a good opportunity pops up before then."

"So we have to watch them and take them out at the most opportune time." Cat says as she starts cracking her knuckles,"Yeah, I'm up for it, let's move out before they start to get a headstart on us."

(Bross is still gtg.)

You follow them until they camp that night. The locals in the party, and others familiar with the area, realize that you will most likely reach the coast before noon the following day. The kobalds maintain a watch with patrols, but the patrols do not stray too far from the road. Their night tactics have proven effective for them so far. Before night falls completely, you can see that the patrols are fairly small consisting of 4 kobalds and a drake, but they maintain kobald gaurds and drakes prepared at the main group to respond to the dreaded whistles in a hurry.

The main group with the carts and treasure remains hours behind having struggled all day through the mud. The exhausted captives are huddled together in a group just off the road. Their hands and feet have been bound for the night. A pair of drakes circles the bound prisoners. You observe two patrols circling the group. Both consist of four kobalds and a drake. One group circles the perimeter. The other is circling at the limit of crossbow range from the first. The rest of the kobalds and drakes are resting around a fire and a two person tent. The halfdragon seems to be the only one resting within.

Crouching down, Bross turns from this scene and simply says "Plans?"

Sora looks on at the guards, chewing her lip. "If we can take the patrols one by one, we stand a chance, but it will need to be quietly"

Bross nocks an arrow. "Alright then. Call it."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:42, Wed 13 Apr 2022.

The woman closes her eyes, then opens them, the eyes now jet black as the shadows gather around her, giving her a little more protection.

Her eyes again went normal as she looked at Hargrin and Taria. "Do you have any magic that can manipulate a group of people? I have heard of magic that can cause people to sleep or cause them to be less lucky in their strikes....anything like that could help us here."

---

<OOC: Casts Mage Armor (Eldrich invocation) on herself>
This message was last edited by the player at 23:48, Wed 13 Apr 2022.

Taria's brow furrows as she shakes her head, "Those would primarily be Enchanter or Illusionists. Those that muddle with the mind and confound the will of the susceptible. The magicks, of course, follow the same patterns. If I had access to such a pattern, I could likely replicate it or enact it." She pulls a small notebook from her apron and hits her knuckle on it twice. "However, my studies have not been in that direction yet. My current abilities lend themselves to flashy, dangerous, and utility purposes."

"Flashy and dangerous huh, now your speaking my language." Catrina says, staying close to Sora for now,"If we get spotted, just say the word and I'll gladly charge ahead." she says and waits for the attack.

[OOC: To clarify- call 'now', and (if you're doing that) who you want taken out first. I'm thinking they'll be easier pickings if he wears down or takes out the half-dragon, but ymmv. Call it. :) ]

Amorette perks up at Sora’s question. “I know of a spell that may help thin the crowd. If I am successful, I can make them flee. The rest I can make unlucky with my mockery, but that is one at a time- I like to make my insults personally tailored.”

She winks.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:34, Fri 15 Apr 2022.

sora, her eyes now normal, nods. " can cause one person to flee, but that is limited. Most of my magic is offensive in nature. My mistress has also granted me with the ability to scare or charm a small group, but they must be close to each other."

Amorette bites her lip. “Yes, I’m not sure it would be enough if we wanted to take them on on a fight. Based on what we know and have seen about their fire power, I think we need a different tack here- we need to approach quietly and rescue the prisoners without being detected, if possible.

I wonder if we could manage to sneak a few away at a time if we could get close? Do the kobalds keep track of their numbers? Perhaps we could disguise or conceal ourselves somehow so we could get close and learn more about how their guard works…”
This message was last edited by the player at 15:35, Fri 15 Apr 2022.