Cold Embraces

[sageaqua]

Ka'lion lifts the book out of the hole using a pole. He doesn't want touch it yet. Once he get's it out he'll rap it carefully in blankets and the hides in the place or leather to take it with us but we need to get out of here. The party can't keep up with Ka'lion and they all know it.

[at]

Vadania considers the surrounding area. While there are paths the group could take to make it difficult for mounted men to follow Ka'lions horse ruled them out.
They could also press on to the sunken ship though the valley was a dead end.

Recalling the papers from the cave, and closer than the ship, was the Winnowing Hall - the small temple to Tiamat. The magic there might conceal the party but the hall and the surrounded area had always been a place of danger avoided by humans and elves alike.

[harknail]

Vadania will point out those options to Tink, and also point out that with a night to change spells, that she could probably get everyone up the cliffs as another exit from the lake.

[Jasmine]

If we could rest for the night, Vadania could prepare pass without trace to prevent them from tracking us. But if they're only a few miles away, that means we might have maybe an hour before they get here.

[sageaqua]

"Okay. We need to disappear. The best route to disappear is along the river." said Ka'lion

[at]

"I've been following the river, the path was clear but if you are being tracked with magic I fear it would make little difference" states Emily. "A spell against detection would be required but I have no such magic."

[sageaqua]

"Non detection magic?" asked Ka'lion, "We need to return to the bat cave if we need that kind of magic but I think it's a bad idea. We'd only end up trapped inside it. And all we'd end up doing is leading them to the cave that could be used as a base of operation for an invasion. I'm not willing to do that. This kingdom has more then enough problems. I think we should continue to Clearwater. The sooner we break into the vaults the sooner we will have the answers we neeed.."

[at]

The group has many options, but must settle on one course of action.

Brennen observes that if those closing do have the same form of magical detection as Emily then moving directly away from them at great speed would buy time - the compass shows direction but not distance.

To the north Clearwater and open ground, to the south the hidden valley with the sunken ship and Burr Town beyond, and to the west, away from the cave and the horsemen, increasingly frosty weather and the Winnowing Hall.

And somewhere still the Ogre that they had fought earlier, perhaps watching and waiting, or perhaps now far from here.



The group turn to Tink for the final decision.

[harknail]

Vadania points out, "If they are tracking us by the items we picked up, we could simply leave the surviving ones here."

[sageaqua]

"I'd rather sell them to the castle. And we can let them know about the tracking spells and the trespassers. They may be able to use them safely. Probably wouldn't make what they are worth but it would provide the castle weapons to defend themselves with." says Ka'lion

[Jasmine]

"I move we keep traveling, stay ahead of them, and look for a spot to set up an ambush," says Brennen. "If they're tracking us with spells, they'll find us eventually. Let's have it be on our terms."

[sageaqua]

"The the ghost town then? It nearly killed us the last time we where in it?" suggests Ka'lion, "We don't need to stay. We just lead them into it. In fact I prefer not to stay. Of course the ogre mage could follow us and lead them right to us."

[at]

To reach the ghost town the party would have to travel the full length of the mountain range that divides the north and south of the Steadlands, however the mountains themselves are a veritable maze in places full of caves, old smugglers dens, the works of long dead cults and mages, and the occasional wandering fellbeast. An easy place to lay an ambush.

[sageaqua]

"We are going to run out of arrows." says Ka'lion pointing out the obvious. "We should head through the Burtown. If they don't follow us into town - we know they are hiding their trust pass."

[at]

Still Tinks choice - from a growing selection of options. She is probably wondering how she got roped into this job.

[Jasmine]

"Well I'm not going to run out of arrows, and I doubt Vadania will either," says Brennen. "But I think going into the mountains sounds fine. The terrain will be difficult for their horses, and it shouldn't be too hard to find a choke point with high ground to ambush them."

[sageaqua]

"I admit being able to cast spells at will is useful but I'm just pointing out something else. None of you can keep up with me. So I suggest we split up again. I'll hide the stuff we found in the cave and take the wolf with me. His tracks are hard to miss. The rest of you hide down river careful to walk in the water and leave no tracks. Tomorrow morning we meet back here. You see once again your just not fast enough. The intruders are on horseback. They'd run you down in minutes and because they move faster then you do. Your going to exist yourselves before we'd ever have time to climb up the cliff." points out Ka'lion

[harknail]

Vadania answered, "There's no need for o get our feet wet. I have a couple of Pass Without Trace spells as my traveling spells none of us we leave either footprints or a scent trail. But meeting back here isn't good, the army may well decid to camp here as previous forces.

[sageaqua]

"They might camp here. I don't think they would. There are 2 dead ogres here. Somebody killed them and there are no other dead. Which means whoever killed them is good. It would have a effect on moral of the men. In addition the fact that no ones here would suggest the heroes that killed the ogres want to report the attack. Nothing else is going to make since to them. Now if we can make the only tracks found leaving the area is few in numbers they are going to assume the person that killed both ogres may be to much for them to handle. What we need to do is seem more powerful then we are." said Ka'lion, "We need to decide quickly we are running of time."

[harknail]

"We are more then they can handle. I just don't want to kill any more of them if I can avoid it. "