Across the Howling Hills and t0 the banks of the Edema River
Tyvis woke to find Anita missing from the roof! Panicked, he rushed to the top of the rickety stairs, only to find her cheerfully bounding back up. The Liscari had been out collecting information in the early morning hours, and heard tell of troops en mass heading for Etheria. Oh, and there were also werewolves in the hills.
The two hardly had another moment before clarion trumpets peeled and crowds of soldiers gathered beneath the balcony of the nearby cathedral. Several priests and ushers heralded the Bishop of Bleachbone, looking a brawny warrior in priest's clothing, dressed in bloody cinnabar. He praised the God King and the Emperor, then reaffirmed the ancient commitment to unite all men. He also chastised the despicable and magical races for swaying brother against brother.
Pondering changing into a bird and pooping on the man's head, Tyvis couldn't help but laugh when Anita murmured the exact same idea. The two waited for the sermon to end and the militant crowds to part from the streets on their way east before hunting for horses.
They found an expansive stable, which made sense in such a military-bent town, with well-bred and well-trained riding and warhorses. Numerous stable hands attended these fine beasts, no less than 200 horses in all. Approaching a middle-aged woman of some suspected authority, they pulled off a story about wanting to begin their own corral. Tyvis's knowledge of animals picked the five choicest among the lot, and found the slightest of faults in each of them, which Anita's business savvy turned into a hefty discount. The woman was none too happy, though, and after taking their six platinum told them not to come back again.
And they certainly didn't intend to, passing without much trouble back out of the bone-colored walls, leaving the skull-like keep behind them.
~~~
Meanwhile, horns and the growing thunder of infantry spurred the camped party into a hasty cleanup and escape. Kaylan blundered with putting out the fire, alerting whoever looked skyward of their presence with a billowing plume of camp smoke. Taking the woods, the bard, cleric, swordmage and their little charge moved quickly north, eventually coming upon one of the crusader trails. A team of five young Nors cadets were on their way up, followed by an eager hound.
Kaylan overheard them discussing an important message to be delivered to the Lord Marshall of Bleachbone, about a captured northern spy with golden skin. Compelled to learn more, Kaylan crept closer, closer, and was spotted by the hound. One of the Nors ran back to fetch him, only to spot the cleric as well. Gens leaped out to defend her, provoking a battle, one which Kaylan in her guise as a slave owner managed to quell. However it was more than a little suspicious a noble woman would be out in the middle of the woods with only her elven slave, and to keep him so armed, was more than enough to inspire the gathered cadets to bring her in to Bleachbone for proper questioning. However when one of them took her harshly by the wrist, Thamior exploded from the brush.
In five deft cuts, lightning quick and mindless, all but one of the recruits was left with a head. As the bodies dropped, the survivor lost his balance, falling to the ground amidst his friends in shock. From the bushes, Tasha screamed, and truthfully none were quite expecting that level of over-protectiveness. Thamior's look of horror melted away, replaced by the cool mockery of Vilthanos. As the sound of approaching soldiers grew, the recruit found his voice, but instead of using it to answer Kaylan's eerily sweet questioning whilst she wiped the blood from her face and crouched between the corpses, he cried for help. Gens cracked him over the head with his lute, and Vilthanos chidingly lifted the unconscious human and followed Gens and Kaylan (with a whimpering little girl) deeper into the woods.
Flying over rock and root, they eventually found a stream to throw off the scent. In the distance, a great many horns of alarm sprang up as the bodies on the trail were found. The hunt was on. The fugitives waded on to the end of the stream, where it emptied into a pond, and found some heavy underbrush to hold up in.
~~~
Tyvis and Anita shared a light flirtation as they backtracked over the hills, but all mirth was lost when they saw the mass of agitated soldiers near the treeline, horns blaring, four headless corpses and a dead dog being carried out. The woods were teeming with soldiers, and soon town watch were pouring in as well. A heavily-armored man with a bald, scarred head on a stony charger even made an appearance before long, the Lord Marshall if one had to guess.
The humans found purchase a quarter mile from the hunt and set up a hasty camp. A tent was pitched, and within Tyvis cast a Sending. He learned from Gens there had been a fight on a trail and the final words were 'Thamior killed'. Uncertain if the feladrin was indeed dead, and needing to leave as soon as they could regardless, the angry Archdruid changed into a raven and took to the sky after them. The worried rogue was left to guard the horses, taking a seat outside the tent and hiding her pistol underneath the folded jacket over her lap.
~~~
The young recruit slowly came to, finding himself gagged and tied. Tina, after praying for forgiveness, insisted they let him go. Kaylan tried to explain their situation, and assured her he would be freed when safe. When questioned again, the recruit refused to tell them anything, and worked futilely on convincing them to release the girl. This made Tina very quiet, and she didn't speak again for hours.
As the Nors chewed his gag out, he tried getting Tina to run away, thinking her kidnapped or perhaps brainwashed. Vilthanos watched amused, and Gens, on hearing the horns getting closer, thought to go out and find Tyvis. After some debate, Kaylan, her guise in place, set out through the wood, while the bard kept an eye on the prisoner, his niece and the touched fel.
The Archdruid had be wheeling quite some time overhead, but when he investigated the pond nearest their old campsite, he spotted the prophet heading inadvertently toward a search party! He swooped down and landed on her shoulder, quickly directing her back to their hideout with a sharp tone.
Once there, and after some jabs back and forth about whose fault was whose, soldiers' calls were nearly upon them. They gathered themselves and fled, but not before Kaylan, in her mercy, untied the man. Tyvis threw a fit, even as the Nors called to the others, sending the party into a desperate chase through the woods. Eventually the Archdruid was forced to call on Neverba to slow their pursuit, ordering her back as soon as things looked too much. With the jade serpent's intervention, the group was able to outdistance the hunters by some amount, and exit the wood nearly two miles from where they currently scoured. Neverba was not too far behind, cracked and near shattering. He thanked her and drew her back into the figurine.
They double-timed back to the camp, where Anita looked about ready to give them a piece of her mind after two hours wait. Understandably, it wasn't the place, and the elves hid between the horses as the humans in the party led them deeper into the hills. They were well out of sight of the Soveros and Bleachbone before risking mounting up and riding ahead. From there they rode until dark, then, after the wolves began their eerie chorus and the mists rolled in, rode even further for fear of being eaten.
An hour later, they came upon tracks... their own, and quickly realized they were lost. Some of the howls were unnatural out in the night and with little other choice they continued on, despite saddle sores and the weariness of a stressful day. The sky cleared some, then, and using the stars they navigated a straight path away from the concentration of pointy-toothed predators and to the banks of a rushing river, which Tyvis accurately supposed the Edema. It wasn't much farther to Edmark, several days ride at most. The Archdruid conjured small sprites and woads, which crafted the finest camp yet, and masked it in the hill mist. Nothing came for them that night, so well-guarded was the site.
In the mists of the evening, under the myriad stars, Kaylan found Vilthanos meditating near the edge of the river. She insisted on speaking with her husband, whom he said was too afraid to come out, afraid of what he'd done to those boys and afraid of what he might still do. She eventually coaxed the man she loved out, whereupon he pleaded for her to give him leave to fight his demons on his own terms, away from her and Tina. Kaylan couldn't handle the thought and refused, explaining how she didn't know when he'd be back, or how old she'd be. She wanted to give him children. She wanted a life with him. Thamior professed his love for her a dozen different ways, but knew that if he didn't try and overcome the darkness now, he'd lose himself in it forever. He was going off to fight for a chance at happiness, of many children and a life of love. But already he and Vilthanos were blurring into one another, and his desire to protect was twisting into something wrong. He asked again for her to support him and let go, which, after long, she did. Before he went, however, the two consummated their love upon the banks.
And in the other tents, a druid covered his ears with a groan, a rogue sighed and fell to sleep with a smile, a little girl snored obliviously, and a bard stalked off into the night. Gens, staring out over the uncaring waters, ripped away his holy symbol and cast it into the river before smashing his beloved lute to pieces.
Experience: 1,150 xp each (36, 028 total)
Escaping Pursuit, 2800
Navigating the Hills, 1200
RP Bonus, 600
Magic: n/a
Coin: 18 pp, 5 gp, 14 sp, 9cp imperial mint (Anita), -8 imperial pp (Anita)
Loot: 5 Imperial Riding Horses (Tyvis, Anita, Kaylan, Gens, Vilthanos), Bleachbone brothel keys, bookkeeper's receipts
Imperial Riding Horse
Large natural beast (mount)
Initiative +7 Senses Perception +3; low-light vision
HP 37; Bloodied 18
AC 18; Fortitude 14, Reflex 16, Will 14
Speed 10
Kick (standard, at-will)
+7 vs AC; 1d6+6 damage.
Nimble Beast (move; encounter)
The imperial riding horse shifts 2 squares.
Swift Steed (minor; while mounted by a friendly rider of 2nd level or higher; encounter) Mount
The imperial riding horse gains a +4 bonus to speed until the end of its next turn.
Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Skills Endurance +7
Str 14 (+3) Dex 18 (+5) Wis 14 (+3)
Con 13 (+2) Int 2 (-3) Cha 9 (0)
Requirements: 2 sp of feed per day (or a place to graze), and a water source from which to drink (equivalent to 2 full water skins). Every day without nourishment reduces Speed and certain other numbers, and four days results in the animal's death.
Bishop of Bleachbone (nameless): The head of the church in Bleachbone, looking a warrior in priest's clothing, dressed in bloody cinnabar. He performs a morning sermon and send off to all troops passing out of town from the heights of the local cathedral. His message is the standard fair of the Church of Nor, praise to Nor and the Emperor, hope for the unity of man, and destruction of the other races who sway them against their brothers.
Young Nors Recruit (nameless): The only survivor of Thamior's wrath after the ambush along the soldier's trail near Bleachbone. He spurned the groups questioning after having seen his friends murdered, and tried several times to 'save' Tina. He guided a squad of Nors soldiers after her and fought Neverba, losing the trail in the process. Whereabouts unknown.
New Hooks
Golden-Skinned Spy: The young recruits along the soldier's trail spoke of a golden-skinned woman captured by their company in the Soveros. She was to be transported to Bleachbone, where the Lord Marshall could properly question her. Kaylan sought further information, but the young recruit refused out of anger, and the group ultimately fled instead of risking capture or death.
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