Zorlon - Levdia

[ShinJiOh]

"Well if they are after us, I don't think there's any real way of knowing how many there are until they come to us. But they won't come if they think we're ready for a fight, they'd most likely be flanking us now. I don't know, maybe we should pretend we're asleep?"

[Switch]

Ford nods.

 

"Maybe... if they've been tracking us for this long, it presumably means they want to take us alive... if we pretended like we didn't know they were there we could maybe launch a surprise attack when they got close enough?"

 

He sighs.

 

"It's a bit of a long shot though."

[Arturius]

*Ari See's Lurels return and climbs quietly down the tree.*

 

*listens carefully*

"do you think they are going to attack us tonight or follow us, if they follow us we can shoot the bird and lose them in the woods, we could still try that tonight but we'd have to move now, and fast and keep our eyes open for the bird then if we get the bird i can scout back drop a few arrows in the middle of their slip into the woods and put the wind up them that way no one gets hurt."

 

"we could try a surprise attack as ford suggested, i could shoot 2 by the point you get into melee but that sill leaves you with at least 3 to deal with can you and lurel do that? and do you know for sure that they are trying to kill us?"

 

"Also if we kill them a lose a source of valuable inforation"

 

"if we kill the bird we can take them 1 by 1 with arrows and slip away no confrontation."

 

"i don't know what lurel can do with his magic, i don't supose you can just stop them moving can you? so we can tie them up"

[ThetaOrionis01]

"We can't move tonight," Lurel sighs. "Some of us still need sleep. And it's too risky to move in the dark. I think our best plan is to watch out for that winged thing, and bring it down if we can."

 

He pauses briefly. "If those men attack us, I could probably drop them in a hole in the ground - provided the earth elementals let me, of course. But I can't do that unless we are sure they are hostile. So far they haven't attacked us - even though they could have. There are at least 7 of them - we would be no match for them. They haven't shown themselves as hostile so far - maybe they are as wary of us as we are of them."

 

He grimaces. "Though I must confess I'm uneasy, too. Here, I'll take the next watch - you go and get some sleep if you can."

[Malchik]

Lisette and Siffli

 

"Just get the arrows and bring them to us. We'll pay you two gold pieces per arrow and that'll be ten times what they are worth. But we're honest thieves, only taking from the rich to give to the poor. Can't have sneaky weapons like arrows around. Someone could get hurt."

 

There is something disingenuous in the words. The man points to the house in which you had seen the movement earlier.

 

"There were three people who bought arrows off that strange group of women. If you can find the others we'd pay for them too. I believe Irvana Marek bought some. She lives over in the other village. I'm not sure who has the others, Smudge works for whoever pays."

 

Lurel's party

 

Nothing disturbs Lurel's watch but Ari catches sight of a large owl in the distance too far away to shoot at. It could be the same owl that flew by before but he cannot know for sure.

 

When morning arrives Midge still feels uneasy.

 

The way to Ratz has four distinct sections all following the stream. The first is a continuation of what you have already been walking through. Then there is a strange area of rocky outcroppings that is almost like a series of walls. The only way through is in the stream bed at this point a narrow defile. The third section is broad rather marshy watermeadows where several streams converge before flowing into the River Hamm. Finally you will join the main Regen to Flen highway a little way west of Ratz.

[Arturius]

*Ari looks concerned*

"i'm more than a little worried about the path ahead, it leaves 2 possiblilities, it narrows a lot at one point and people have to travel in single file, even a child with a bow or a sling could cause us trouble there let alone 7 bandits or woodsmen, have you any ideas?"

 

"I think that we will probably be ambushed there, if we arent it leaves us with a perfect opertunity...."

[Switch]

Ford nods to Lurel.

 

"Be careful."

 

He then lies down and tries to get some rest.

 

The next day, when Ari addressses them, Ford looks at him, a slightly concerned look on his face.

 

"Hmm... isn't there any way we could avoid the narrow bits?"

[ThetaOrionis01]

"Hmmm..." Lurel ponders, "if anyone wanted to ambush us, that narrow defile would be an ideal place. But, " he grins, "as long as the earth elementals let me, I could perhaps use that place to delay our attackers a bit. Ari, do you know how deep that stream is? If we blocked the path, would people be able to wade or swim around the obstruction?"

[Arturius]

"i dont know, i've not actually been there, you know about as much as i do now"

[Malchik]

Lurel's Party

 

You start with some trepidation. The walk along the stream is easy. The entrance to the defile appears quite unexpectedly. The geological formation is weird in the extreme, giving the impression that someone has deliberately built a wall around part of the forest. It is however natural. You can see within the wall further wall like structures some long some smaller many capped with larger rocks like hats. They seem to continue for a long way in every direction save the way you came. The river is deeper here, rising to all your waists and someone will need to carry Midge. There are no flat surfaces on which anyone could set an ambush but Ford thinks he sees a large bird circling in the distance perhaps where the defile opens onto the marsh.

 

It could of course be any bird but Midge is jumpier than ever, convinced not only of a potential threat but of an impending attack.

 

Lisette and Siffli

 

The men have no further information to give you.