The Balance of Power

[sageaqua]

"Our party has a flying monkey, a shapeshifting wolf, an elf, a wolf, a invisible horse, a halfling and two others. I can just imagine what people are going to say about us." says Ka'lion

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

In a jocking tone, " Do you see wings on my back? Have i ever flown? its a bit insensitive to think all monkeys fly, the others give us a bad name, im not fond of them, i must say.

[sageaqua]

"On an invisible horse. You look like your flying." say's Ka'lion, "It also strange to watch an invisible horse in the water. It looks like your ridding an invisible casting."

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

He foulds his legs " or looks like im meddatating and looking bad ass" he puts them back to normal before he falls.

[harknail]

Staying in the stream makes sense, our tracks won't last long there. Once we leave the stream, we should move away from it, using a bit more dust to hide where we leave. George doesn't need to worry about drowning, we're staying in the shallows where we can wade.

How do we get back to the siege from here?

[at]

Jun 7, 2014 3:07:49 GMT -5 harknail said:

How do we get back to the siege from here?

The river runs northwest to the mines where it will connect to the old mine roads - they could be followed northeast towards Clearwater and the route the group originally took, or the party could go in a more southerly direction past Melwyns house towards that leads to Merebas and then either northwards to the convent or south as they had originally intended into the lands of Merebas.

Vadanias primary concern about the river is that any runner sent to follow it would catch them quickly without needing to search for tracks.

[sageaqua]

We will follow the river for an hour then get out.

[harknail]

Vadania will be looking for good spots to leave the river, somewhere close to the river where the party can move but where tracking would be difficult. Concealment from a distance is also important here. Our trail leads to the river gate, so it won't be that long before they get though the gate or go around and start following us. We need to be out of sight by then.

Also, will we be passing close to town? We were on the far side of the town from where we're going so I assume so. At some point we'll have to let Lynette's sister make her own way back to town unless she's also interested in adventuring.

[at]

Jun 7, 2014 13:57:33 GMT -5 harknail said:

Vadania will be looking for good spots to leave the river, somewhere close to the river where the party can move but where tracking would be difficult.

The hills are forested, rocky, uneven ground but the group can leave the river path and travel through them at any point - though they would leave tracks Melwyns dust should prevent any from picking up their trail at the river.

Vadania's skill as an outdoorsman gives her reason to believe that the group would be best leaving the river early in order to get deep enough amongst the trees to be hidden from any pursuers.

Travelling east from here would take them into the more open lands around Burr Town where they would be easier to find but also closer to their goal and to potential sanctuary. Travelling west and north would take them deeper into the hills making them almost impossible to find without magic but would add at least a day to their journey.

[harknail]

Vadania will lead them east. She doesn't think they are particularly welcome in town, but we need to get close enough for Lynette's sister to make it home. Or did she want to stay with us?

[at]

Xana hasn't inquired as to the groups intentions or stated her own, she seems more concerned about possibility of pursuit.

After leaving the river into the forest Vadania uses the dust once more to hide their tracks, any pursuers would likely continue to follow the river down. It's slow going through the terrain here but not particularly dangerous, the group can rejoin the hill path to the south of Burr Town and reach it's outskirts by sundown or take a more northery route that would lead them towards the path they originally took.


After about an hour of travel, the horse long since made visible once more, Vadania motions the party to stop as Ylva indicates something may be ahead. Peering over a ridge she spies a trio of tallish mottled green figures - forest trolls, not uncommon along the edge of the fell but unusually far south. Probably hunting for food given the recent exodus of animals in the wake of the storms and undead plague.

Each stands around 6 feet in height and carries a selection of crude weaponry, one even has something resembling armour. They are not the giant things of fell legend - such things only exist deeper into the fell lands, but they are dangerous advarsaries none the less and may pick up the scent of the group should they seek to pass them.

[harknail]

Vadania drops back below the ridge and says quietly to the others, "We're going to have to take a detour, there are three forest trolls up ahead."

She'll lead the party around them, giving them a wide berth and trying to stay downwind of them so that they don't pick up the groups scent.

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

What are they exactly? I have never heard of them before but Sounds dangerious to meet them or fight.

Ok wait a second do trolls hate drow? We lead the drow into the trolls, they kill the drow or him it and when drow is week from fighting we take him and his buddies out, ka'lion can out run them all so they chase him into trolls and two birds one stone. But if trolls are that bad we need to keep them from the city.

[harknail]

"These are small ones, only human sized" answered Vadania. "I think we could fight them if we had to, but they are part of the fell as well so I'm not inclined to do so unless we have to. As for leading the drow here, we've been careful to hide our tracks. So we'd have to go back and leave tracks leading here. But there is a good chance we'd be seen doing so, and the trolls would most likely have moved on by the time the drow got here. And we'd be having the drow and his crew right behind us. I think it's safer to just avoid all of them and leave them behind us."

KS Nature: uJWa8Yebp_1-20+10=19 to know more about forest trolls.1-20

[at]

Vadania knows a little about the trolls - they are hunters, smaller but smarter than 'true' trolls and capable of strategically attacking and withdrawing in groups to cover one another while they regenerate. Though tough they lack the superhuman strength of their larger cousins, something Vadania learnt about them in her youth when her mentor taught her in the ways of counteracting poisons including troll poison.

Xana chips in on the coversation referring to them as 'dwarf trolls', known to the barbarian tribes. For them to have ventured this far into human lands is unusual - normally they would not have risked death at the hands of patrols but with the recent deaths and devastation more and more creatures of the fell might soon find their way east.

[sageaqua]

Ka'lion looks back and returns to human form, "Trolls regenerate, there weakness is fire but they are completely fearless. The fact that they regenerate makes them very hard to kill and my grandmother once told me the story of a troll that cut off their fingers and created 5 more in a matter of minutes. This is not a fight we can win."

[harknail]

"I think we could win this fight if we had to," disagreed Vadania. "But we don't have to fight them and I do agree that we don't want to fight them. So we go around them."

Just in case it didn't get mentioned earlier, Vadania did make sure both gates were closed and locked after we passed though them.

[at]

Cautious of the trolls Vadania leads the group downwind into rougher terrain, hoping to ensure that the creatures do not pick up their trail when they move on.

The group proceeds like this for about half an hour until the gleam of metal catches their eye - something buried in the ground far from any path, it's size difficult to determine but clearly larger than a common weapon or tool.

[sageaqua]

We take a look at the shinny object. Ka'lion will look it over. What did they find?

[at]

It's large, rusty, and partially buried - it has been here for a while. It is difficult to determine it's shape or full size without digging it up at least partially but the top appears to be hinged with an elaborate locking mechanism, like a big circular iron chest.