Map of Road
These events will take place on the road. The Last Camp took place near the "i" in Lizard. The ground rises and drops pretty quickly along "zar". Between there and the Fort is two days travel. There are mudflats near Black Lake. Beyond the lake it becomes forest again, though there are many biting flies.
There is a light rain.

The rain has been light, but there is a ridge to get over. No one knows what the weather is like on the other side, where it drops down to the level of Black Lake.
To the party's immense relief, the rain is no worse. The mudflats will be slick and messy, but not dangerously slippery. No wheels should get bogged.
Carefully, the party works its way down swichbacks. When last they came this way, the land was a bit parched, but now the rains have made it look very different. What were once cracks are now little rivulets, the bigger ones are streams. Still, the road is bermed above the worst of it.
Dashel says, "Keep an eye out, eh? 'specially you adept lot, beggin yer pardon. This 'ere's gator weather." A couple of the party look across the flats and show skepticism.
"Ah, it looks pretty wide open, but we're still lookin' down onnit, aren't we? Once your down there, some of them cracks is big enough for people, gators, or worse to creep frew unseen. Spirit eyes see through that better, but even they can be fooled. Tha's a lotta mud to look frew. Water makes it even 'arder. Once saw a hydra surprise a party and take off wi'a horse. An 'ey had adepts, too."

"This isn't the first time I've encountered gators in weather like this..." Cas looks around hesitantly, "I doubt it will be the last. But don't let fear hamper progress. We have friends at Fort Lizard to meet."

"Gators, eh. I will be sure to keep an eye out for that. Anything else, other than gators or hydras to worry about?"

As necessary, Spirit Sense / PER, 13-
3d6: 4, 2, 4 (STUN: 10, BODY: 3) Wed May 19, 2004 @10:47 AM (EDT)

Ricco casts a wary eyes towards the Mud Flats. He's been sneaking past Gators for many a year. That was along the Sabre River Valley, though. These Mud Flats are a whole new business. Ricco hops from his perch among his casks within the Bergen Wagon and joins Dashel, worry visible on his features. "Ol' Riccoco will be havin' a look ahead iffin' you are or not."

The 'Coon trundles forward a bit, looking for evidence of his friend's passing.

PER 15-
3d6: 8 Wed May 19, 2004 @1:55 PM (CDT)

Tracking 13-
3d6: 9 Wed May 19, 2004 @1:55 PM (CDT)

Nuyok just shakes his head, knowing Ricco to be looking for signs of the fox, when the rain has surely washed them away.

Vagrant surveys the flats. His head turns slowly taking in the landscape slowly, "Christ. This looks like the flats in Panama."

Sometime during the morning and before mid-day...
OOC: Previous to the post by Keith below...

Ricco returns to the caravan after a bit of forward scouting. He's grinning broadly from ear to ear and moves quickly to Celeste's side. "Iffin' you be havin' a bit o' time, Big Sister, Ol' Riccoco be havin' a thing to be showin' you." If any others wish to join, Ricco won't nay-say them.

A few hundred yards ahead of the caravan, on the main road, Ricco points out a series of depressions along a bit of hardpan. "Faliol. They can only be bein' tracks o' his horse!"

Celeste follows Ricco to the area where the tracks are clearest. Bending down she traces a finger along the outline of the horses hoofprint. "Well, at least he made it this far." Her gaze follows the track along the mud until they can no longer be seen. "I suppose only time will tell if he made it beyond these mudflats. I certainly hope so." She looks to the sky to discern any signs of a change in the weather.

Riccoco, you find a small stretch of deep hoofprints. They have filled with water. To any other eye they would just look like a series of puddles, not even horseshoe shaped. But you know by their regularity they are not likely to have been caused by anything other than Faliol's horse. Although he left 2-3 days ago, it has only been raining since last night, and not hard.

Riccoco let out a quiet whoop and nodded his head after seeing the tracks. It was a good thing. At least, he knew Faliol had made it this far. In the future, he'd continue his advance scouting, eagerly searching for more evidence of his good friend's passing.

The party continues for the better part of the morning. Well before noon, you see the area where presumably Horn had met with the bandit party and recovered the Eye of the Reaver. There is absolutely no trace of bodies or combat now.
The toughest stretch lies ahead and is soon visible. A river snakes from Black Lake, meandering its way to the distant ocean. It splits and rejoins itself many times. Only careful attention will pick put where the rivulets are fordable. It was much easier on the way here, when it hadn't rained for awhile. Now there are countless shallow runoffs to avoid.
The main river is crossed by a broad stoney ford. It is made of ton upon ton of river rock and gravel washed down from the lake. In places, engineers of years past have bolstered or strengthened parts of it to keep it fordable. There are even a number of small causeways, low stone arches that are often under an inch or so of water but still crossable. Doubtless it was once better maintained, but has fallen into disrepair after the need for a Tallon-Adala supply line dwindled after the Karkulite War.
It will be necesssary to have a number of advance scouts to pick out the route.

You three, as well as Kent pick out something long before the others can see. All but Nuyok see a dark shape, maybe man-sized, dive into one of the culvert causeways far ahead. Nuyok can confirm thatit is a gator. In fact, by looking about carefully, he can spot more of the big lizard men. There are at least half a dozen, possibly many more infesting the fords.
They are all well-beyond bow shot at this point. You are forewarned. Presumeably, so are they.

"I'd like to help scout," Cas says when the discussion is brought up by [name of person who brought it up]. Her voice looks to be a bit excited which is the first time in a long while. "I remembered some tricks from a ways back. Don't remember who taught them to me, but I bet I can move out there all quiet like and never be noticed."

Riccoco comes pounding back from a bit of advance scouting. His fur and oil-skin cloak are encrusted by dark, wet, and dry mud alike. His masked features are screwed up in nervous fear as he trundles up to Nuyok with many a glances over his shoulder. "Ol' Riccoco be seein' folk o' some kind ahead!"

Eyes narrowed, Nuyok is looking ahead as Riccoco approaches, "Yes, you are right, there are a number of gators ahead, some in the waters, maybe a half-dozen, maybe twice as many, I cannot be sure whether I have seen them all at this distance." Nuyok pauses, and then in a darker tone, "One thing is sure, they have seen us."

I get the wagons ready and get ready for a fight.

Lekchock, who was a little put out by having to leave the comfort of the trees he's known for so long, looks almost skitsh at the posiblity of having to fight on such wide open terrain. He draws the large knife, holding it and scanning the terran picking how best to use it.

Celeste draws her falchion from its sheath, and the whetstone and oil from her pack, and begins to work on the weapons edge while waiting for the gators approach.

The company prepares for battle. The wagons are circled, weapons are drawn and armor checked. All are tense and alert.

Time passes.

The gators remain in the ford, each having chosen a good spot of natural cover. They do not advance. They do not retreat. They do not hail. They do occasionally peek out, and once in a while some gutteral communication passes between them, though it is totally obscured by the patter of rain and the tumble of water.

Cas shakes her head, "Gators... brains the size of a walnut but brass the size of Riccoco's head. I'd like to be moving onward soon, but not with them as they are."

"So," Vagrant starts, "are they so primal that they will not negotiate for anything?"

After some time passes, "Well, it seems as if they are staying put. Do we have any options at this point, other than advancing on them? How long has Faliol been gone, could he return with soldiers on the other side?"

Nuyok will try to figure out how long Faliol has been gone and how long it would take him to get back to this point with soldiers, based on assistance from others, to see if it is worthwhile just to wait this situation out until then.

If Faliol got to the fort at all, it is within the realm of possibility for him to return with soldiers at any point now.

OOC: Still... We don't need no stinkin' Lizrd Troops!

"Too long, and not be long enough to be returnin' this-a-way with Lizard Troops." Ricco replies candidly. "They be a waitin', knowin' we be movin' on that-a-ways." The 'Coon's features darken and he grumbles about for a few moments.

"Ol' Ricocco be seein' three ways to be movin' on. Stay here an' be waitin' for who-be-knowin'-how-long. We be movin' the whole caravan along an' fight with the Gators when we be reachin' 'em.

"Now, the last... We send a group up to clear 'em outta the Path. Be keepin' the fighters there till the wagons come through. It be slow, but best for keepin' the Cargo safe. Best not be movin' too far head as the Gator folk be a crafty lot. They me be hopin' to be comin' aroun' behin' while the Warriors be ahead..."

"Splitting up could be a problem, as you recognize. If we are not interested in waiting out much longer, we could try out archery fire on them and see what sort of reaction we get. Also, what are our concerns with waiting here and having night fall? I do not think that would be a very good situation."

Dashel agrees. "We're a lot more visible, righ'? We got oxen and 'orses anna lot that sticks out. No tellin' how long those gators saw us comin'. Whassa say they 'aven't sent off some o' their folk quiet-like to gather up some help while that lot keeps us pinned?"
He looks ahead and shudders. "Still, tha's the only way we can go, innit? An' that terrain is all in their favor. Can't move the wagons at more'n a slow crawl through that."

SOUND

OK, I was playing with some recording equipment.

you are so talented.......

OOC: Someone has oo much time on his hands! (cool honey)

OOC: Woot! That's what makes TSE the BEST! A crafty GM that works hard to immerse his players!

Great show, Keith!

"You're right Ricco," says Celeste while fingering the edge of her weapon, "We should go down and soften them up a bit before taking the wagons down. I understand alligator hide makes for good armour, and I have been needing some new boots, " she looks down at her sadly worn footware and a smile plays across her face in anticipation of the coming confrontation.

"How strong is their hide?" Questions Vagrant. "Can one of my bolts penetrate it at range?"

"I'm not sure how tough their hide is, " Celeste says with a smile...."I suppose the only way to find out if your bolt will penetrate the hide...is to test it." I like Cas' idea of a trap...but for a trap, you need bait..."
:arrr:

"Do we really need to be in such a rush for blood again," Cas says. "I mean, I've seen gators rip a fox apart with their bare hands. Rushing in to a fight isn't a wise move."

Cas smiles a nice big evil smile, "Now laying an ambush and luring them into it is another thing altogether."

"Got any ideas for an ambush? They seem well settled in, and I do not know what we can do to lure them out short of sending forward some archers, but that probably will just cause them to submerge more temporarily. But at least it will soften them up."

Observing Cas' smile, "I assume you have a plan in mind Cas?"

"I have the start of a plan in my head," Cas says. "You see, we have two things in our favor. Gator's are predictable and we just came from Adala. So I plan on spinning a tale that will convince those gators to come on over and help us get our carts across. Of course, the gators will have no intention of helping us in the first place. We will have some of us hidden off to the side and the rest with the carts. That way when the gators reveal themselves to be the blood thirsty killers they are are, we will already have them surrounded."

Ricco nods wryily, eyeing the rest of the party as they bandy about ideas. "We be on this side o' that Ford and we be needin' to be on that side." He points out with one short, furry arm. "These Gators be needlin' all the parties between Adalla an' Tallon most like. They want easy takin' not hard steel an' bitin' arrows. Iffin' we be givin' 'em a lickin' they'll head out ta wait for the prey that be easier."

"First though... Why not be givin' Cas a chance to addle them with her story tellin's?"

.oO(Ol' Riccoco be seein' stranger schemes workin'.)

The 'Coon pauses in mid-thuoght. "The worst that can be happenin', other than the killin' o' the lot o' us, course... Would be the loss o' another horse. That means, we can't be lettin' them be gettin' close enou' to be takin' our draft animals..."

"So you plan to approach and talk to the gators? If so, then I say we have archers at the ready, to defend you in the event they decide to just want to eat you."

OOC: Since it takes forever to get a concensus, let alone a plan, over the net, I am going to go with the plan that seems most feasible, detailed, or has the greatest support by this evening. Get your thinking caps on and pitch your plan!

It would seem there is *some* consensus with Cas' plan, if I understand it correctly as:

Cas approaches the Gators to lure them to us,
We have archers ready in case that goes wrong,
Archers can be in the woods when Cas and the Gators approach,
We "surprise" the Gators, and force them to allow us through unmolested (perhaps with a warning shot to let them know we are surrounded), only battling them if that does not work, but keeping our animals at a safe distance before the ambush is revealed.

Except, "They" are surrounded, not "We".

To spare the details, Cas is going to roll around in the mud to and "get" someone to bruise herself up a bit. She is going to claim she is a slave from Adala who managed to get the wagon hopelessly stuck and help is needed to get it free. Her owner said that if Cas couldn't come up with something immediately, she was going to be hung up to a tree for "chimera" food.

Two minor problems with your plan as it stands. I'll go with some suggested changes in order to keep it moving.

1) At this point you are visible to the gators (but certainly not audible). While you can rough up Cas and roll her around in the mud, it will be done in full sight of the gators and need to look real. You do have some cover afforded by the wagons, but it might look suspicious if you didn't treat Cas like a slave starting immediately.
Suggestion Start treating Cas like slave immediately.

2. No woods for archer cover. There are lots of rocks and boulders you can use, but no dense bank of trees. Also, any large scale movement would have to be done gator style: slithering around rivulets on your belly. Those in the party who have encountered gators as part of their history know that they are comfotable moving upright or crawling.
Suggestion have people take flanking positions behind rocks and boulders, moving as stealthily as possible.

To get into position from the wagons and have this remain unseen will require stealth rolls. Those of you who make a PER roll by three (and I'll take it as read that at least one of you will and point it out to the others), notice that more gators are slithering in from the direction of Black lake. Apparently they want to circle you as well. At this point they are not nearly in position, but it does put a certain pressure on you to go ahead with whatever plan you can work up as quickly as possible.

Let me know if there are any disagreements with deployment:

Wagon Folk
Lekchock
Nuyok
Beka
Peaches
Angilak
Bergen
Cadbury
Dashel
Wickersticks

Archers
Vagrant
Riccoco
Celeste
Konnur
Umbra

Slave
Cas

Sounds good to me, Lekchock will pretty much follow True Eyes, since he feels very out of his element on the flat surface with no trees.

Vagrant will take any position suggested to fire his bolts.

Sounds good (btw, Nuyok does now have bow skill, but in the wagon area for him is fine).

Cas walks up to Beka with her head lowered so that the right side of her face is in the direction of the gators. She says in a low, inaudible fashion, "Beka, I need you to slap me. I could say something that would certainly get you to slap me, but I wish not to say something that would cause you hurt. In such, I am giving you the chance now to hit me as hard as you can. It has to be convincing so please hit me like you mean it. It is the only way my story will work."

Cas braces for impact...

Beka grimaces at Cas, "You stupid beast!" she shouts, "Don't you know how to drive, you might have ruined everything!" Then she slaps her...
3d6: 4, 2, 6 (STUN: 12, BODY: 4) Tue May 25, 2004 @3:20 PM (PDT)
.oO(I hope this doesn't hurt too much!)

Celeste will step up to a spot behind Beka as if supporting her position against the 'stupid beast'..oO(Hope the 'gators buy this....)

Cas puts her paw up to where she was hit and lowers her head, "I'm heading over now. Everyone... good luck."

Cas will move to the wagon and check out the wheel as if she is inspecting it. After a moment of this she will begin to approach the gator's camp...

I'm going to keep this fully visible, though you realistically could not hear the interchange. We'll assume you all can tell from body language what's going on.
Cas advances carefully. As she gets closer to a great culvert, a bulky shape comes slithering out. The gator is big, nearly seven feet tall, eleven if you count his tail. He bears no weapon; he doesn't need one. His muscular tail whips casually back and forth as he mounts the top of the culvert and stares hungrily at Cas. His jaws open wide enough for Cas to sit in and he hisses. He glances at the caravan back a ways and makes a motion with his tail. Two other gators slowly approach, keeping low and near cover. Unlike the leader, they carry spiked clubs.
His voice is a deep, bubbling rumble, "Little Meat, why do you come to yourr death? Arre you the oferring?" Saliva drips from his maw.

Cas is shaking, she isn't acting either... she is afraid. "I-," she says and stops, her eyes drifting up from the ground to the face of the gator before her. She swallows and continues, "I got our wagon stuck." She swallows again, "My mistress said she would hang me by my neck and leave me for chimera food if I didn't get the problem resolved. Chances are I'm dead even if I do fix the problem. The shipment is suppose to be secret. No one is suppose to know about it. My mistress went to a lot of trouble to keep it secret... but..." Cas lowers her head in what is either fear or shame. She puts her hand on her still hurting cheek which is hopefully still red. "I was sneaking out to steal a chicken and I overheard her talking. She has weapons of some kind that are being hidden in silk rolls. I'm sure that if you helped us get the wagon free... that... well she could repay you. I'd even give you my days food. It isn't much, but it is all I can offer."

"The meat talks too much," rumbles one of the follower gators. It pads forward through the foot-deep rushing water, rain running down its hide in rivulets. "Make it stop squeaking."
"R-r-r-r-r-r..." mues the leader. "We werre going to ask for but one of you to eat, and let the otherrs pass. But if therre arre weapons..." He shouts to the others, "Lads! This little scrrap of food says therre's booty in the wagons. What if we just take the whole thing?"
Bubbling chuckles erupt from different parts of the ford.

Cas looks frightful, more than likely because for a moment... she thought she was going to be dinner. "I'll show you where mistress hides her money if you spare my life."

"R-r-r-r-r. Sparre yourr life? Why don't we just kill you all and take everrything? Morre meat and we get all the trreasure. R-r-r?" The gator begins to advance. "Maybe we kill you last, though. If you tell them we let you thrrough. Wagons get here in waterr then, R-r-r-r! We kill all!"
He is only inches away from Cas. "But maybe you betrray us, eh? Get back to wagons and rrun away?" Suddenly he lunges at Cas, grabbing at her with his short arms. Cas evades the grasp neatly, but stumbles in the slippery ford. She lies on the bed of smooth river rocks at the feet of the gator, water rushing over her.
The gator shouts to the party back at the wagons, "Hey! We let you thrrough forr... five pieces of gold. Eh? Orr we eat you all! Eat you all and thrrow bones in river, neverr be found!"

The wagon folk can see the gator reinforcements slowly approaching from the direction of Black Lake.

Nuyok's danger sense allows you to tell their true intent of betrayal and murder. I'll assume he has communicated this to you.

As the lead gator makes his treacherous offer, there is a disturbance behind him, across the ford, just where the trees begin again. Two tiny figures have emerged from the woods. One appears to be a fox, though at this distance, you can't be certain if it is Faliol. The other is a feline, black in coloration. Neither wears armor or uniform. They seem surprised to see the gators and raise their bows. There are a couple of stunningly bad shots fired, coming nowhere near the reptiles.
The gators turn at this new "threat."
"R-R-R-R! Trrick! It is Trrick! They have otherrs sneak frrom behind! Kill them! Kill them nooowwww!!!" The main body of gators suddenly turns to pursue the newcomers. In response, the two suddenly drop their weapons in terror. The fox stumbles badly and is swept about twenty feet downstream before gaining his feet and limping away towards the trees. He is nowhere near as fast as the gators, who are closing on him rapidly.

Cas leaps upward and rakes her claws across the gator's face. He does indeed look startled, but her claws fail to catch his eyes and instead slide along his armored hide.
"Stupid food-thing!" he roars. Before Cas can retreat, he thrusts his jaws at her, hoping to crush her.

The teeth snap shut on empty air. Before he can make another attack, the vixen is splashing through the water at top speed. The gator is right behind her, and gaining!

Just as they get within bow range, the hidden archers from the caravan let loose a multiple barrage. The gator nearly flips over backward, sprouting new quills like Dashel's. His body twitches a moment, turning the water red. Then he begins to drift downstream, bumping against boulders and rocks.

The remaining gators coming from the direction of the lake begin a charge. There are not enough archers to stop them all and the caravan braces for an onslaught. Suddenly, all stop as the sound of a horn bursts pure and clear from the woods on the far side of the ford. The gators hesitate. Some seek cover; some retreat.

Riccoco ponders who the fox with the blemished tail and poor bow-shooting skills could be. Surely, it wasn't Faliol.

Ricco continues to fire arrows from his position. If a Gator moves towards his cover to get away or attack, he'll draw his new saber and try to hide and ambush the incoming Beast.

Taking advantage of the 'gators momentary confusion, Celeste leaps forward and pursues the 'gators seeking cover. She will note the general directions of Ricco's fire and pursue the ones away from his line of fire.

Red Tide Bloodlust..??.

I need to know exactly how many gators are located within 5 hexes of me. My next action will depend greatly on this one detail.

The leader is adjacent to your hex, but not really paying attention to you, The two nearest are within five hees, but charging away towrd the newcomers. You are forgotten at the moment.

Once upon a time, there was a badger who was walking down a road. The badger, looking for some food, distrubed a nest of birds who pecked his eyes out. A fox who sat relaxing in a tree observed the whole thing. He hoped down and pretended to be a weak, helpless squirrel. He convinced the badget that if the badger followed him, he could get the badger food. Blind and untrusting the badget followed the fox to his home. Their was a pot, the fox claimed that inside the pot was food and all the badger had to do was lean in. When the badger was leaning forward, the fox pushed the badger in and slammed on the lid. The fox, dined on badget that very night. The moral of the story is, never trust a helpless animal, especially when your blind.

Cas is going to take one action and attempt to rake her claws across the gators eyes while he is off guard. This will, if she is lucky, blind him. Regardless of outcome, as long as she is able to move... she will next run to her wagons as quickly as she can.

Its a long shot... but it is all she has and Faliol, after all, messed things up just a bit.

Nuyok makes sure everyone assumes their positions...er, gets into position as stealthfully as possible.

OOC: Yeah, Mr. Adept, we know you've got your eyes on Beka....

OOC: Whereas Celeste has set her sights on a pair of alligator boots....
:arrr:

OOC: Keith, are you expecting rolls from the Stealth Brigade? Did Celeste change her mind about being part of this and stayed with the other around the wagons?

Is Ricco ready to rain death down on these blasted Gators?

Woot!

OOC: Don't worry about Stealth rolls. I assume you are employing them now. In any case where it's not implicit, let me know you want to be stealthy. I make all stealth rolls for you, here behind my cybernetic dice screen.

Oh, and it looks like Celeste decided to stay next to Beka.

Celeste stood next to Beka to reinforce the illusion of the 'scapefox'. However, the 'gators having seen us, it wouldn't do to go skulking off out of sight....sooo....yes, she will stand her ground at this point.

[EDITED on Fri May 28, 2004 @12:14 PM (PDT)]

Though Faliol is chafing to be away, Doom relentlessly keeps the horses to a moderate pace.
"I know you made the ride in a day, Red. But you were one horse, and you were taking a lot of chances. We want to get there in one piece and in fighting shape. No sense riding to a slaughter. Our own slaughter, that is. We're going to send out scouts as we go. You can be part of that, though scouts get killed way more often than everyone else.
"We'll camp once we're past the flies and come to the mud flats the next day. We should reach the spot on the map with several good hours of daylight left."

Faliol nods at Doom, "Forgive me. You are correct, of course. Would you allow me to share scouting duties with Shado?"

If the answer is "yes", then Faliol says, "Thanks. The day passes faster when I am scouting. Here is my signal system for alerting you to danger or asking for you to come running...." He then proceeds to describe the little noise maker and the special arrows. Then he catches up with Shado and consults with the cat on sharing the scouting.

If the answer is "no", then Faliol says without rancor, "As you wish, Sgt. Doom." He then drops back and tries to strike up conversations with the individual soldiers. Asking about their pasts, families, etc. These men may die for him and his friends. The least he can do is know a little something about them.

The days goes well enough. The non-furred folk complain occasionally of the flies, but every time they mention them, Doom tells a story about people being poisoned by them, dying over the course of weeks, or having eggs laid in them by carnivorous bugs and eaten alive from the inside. Eventually, the complaining stops.

No one is apparently interested in accosting the mounted party. By evening you have camped at a high place between two boulders with a nearby warm muddy creek. You recognize it with a stab as where your party camped the first night out on your own trip to Adala.

The soldiers are friendly enough, for most of them remember the fighting your company did during the riven attacks. A few are among the reinforcements brought up by Father Jeo and eagerly listen to any new stories about those days.

One of the new folks, a stringy gangly fellow whom you are assured is called "Stretch", asks, "What about these assassins? The Sarge says they're all Masters gone bad or something? What do we need to look out for?"

Faliol looks at Stretch with a neutral expression. The young man brought up some bad memories, but deserves to know what happened.

"As far as I know that is correct. Our Adept, Master Nuyok, said something about them being Adepts. First of all, they are damned sneaky. They tracked us for some time after torturing and slaughtering the good people at the Sanctuary. Eventhough we had scouts fore and aft, I only saw ONE moccasin print. So don't hold your breath that we will spot their tracks. We won't. Second, they are masters at divide and conquer. They grabbed both our guys on watch late one night. Handle you met. Konnur's brother, Drummel, I believe was the other one. Somehow our Adept knew we were under attack, else we wouldn't have found out they were gone till morning."

Faliol takes a sip of water, "We looked for them, of course. But again, no tracks. So we pushed onwards. Then I found Konnur's brother during routine scouting. He had been cut many, many times and was mostly dead. They had poured his blood on the trees and leaves. I was an idiot. I thought he was a trap. I thought they would jump me as I approached him, so I sounded the alert to come a running! My friends came charging in to help. Then the bloodsuckers swarmed us from all sides. He was a trap, but not quite the trap I expected. You see, while my friends came running to help me, the Yaraza jumped the rest of the caravan. Poisoned or cut most of them and several of the pack animals."

Another sip of water, "They did it again with my friend Handle. Ricco found him by the water, bled for gator bait. After what happened with Drummel, I urged Beka to send half of us in a fake rescue attempt. My plan was to lure the Yaraza to attack the caravan while we looped back and hit them from behind. I didn't want to leave Handle to die but a worse choice was to have the Yaraza slaughter all my other friends in a second attack once all the fighters had charged off to save Handle. I hope Handle, wherever he is now, forgives me for that decision. Anyways, where was I? Oh, yeah. Beka, being stubborn and loyal as the day is long, decides against my plan."

"Turned out she was right and I was wrong - again. Handle was dead and the Yaraza waited till we got back to finally tell us what the Hell they wanted. All this was over some stupid book Arkis had stolen from them! After we gave them that damn book they went away. Don't know if they stayed away, cause I took off for the Lizard shortly thereafter. So remember what I said. Stay wide awake on watch and think twice before splitting up the group. Don't go off by yourselves even to take a leak. Shyness can get you bled and used for bait."

Stretch listens soberly, as do the others, one by one. Doom gives an appreciative nod at the general bleakness of Faliol's story.
One of the others appears to be a lieutenant, though you never see him give orders. Perhaps he is content to let the experienced Sergeant manage things or maybe he is somehow outside the chain of command. He has done some scouting during the day, though always separate from you or Shado. He is short for a human, and sports a short thick beard, though his head is bald. He is stocky and his arms displaylean knotted muscle. He moves with an ease that implies long familiarity with the trail.

He says, "Sighted woodcraft is a dangerous combination. Some barbarian tribes employ adepts as trackers and scouts, though they usually fear giving them too much freedom and just use them to ward reavers. There are plenty of tricks that can be used to confuse spirit sight if you are familiar with Sight and the Jungle. You have doubtless heard the term "Word and Way" to refer to the society of the Lawgiver, and the power to shape and protect it.
"Well, there is no "Word" out here in the Jungle. Instead, some of us work out how to use our gifts within a new context. We call it the Way and the Wood."

He holds out his hand, "I am Lineman Hastik, born of the Snake Canyon Hill Tribe, but fostered by Father Jeo when I was twelve. I know these lands and how to use them. We'll make them pay, blood for blood."

Faliol stands and offers paw in greeting, "Well met Lineman Hastik! Any fosterling of Father Jeo is a friend of mine! I didn't have time to pay my respects to the good Father last night. Is he well?"

"Hale and hearty. He was distraught as the others to learn of the loss of Master Ash, but the new Master should be arriving any day now. It's a difficult post to fill. I understand you were there at the end. Terrible business, that."
Well, we should get some sleep. We still have a bit of a ride tomorrow and we want to be ready for whatever lies in store."

Rising as the Lineman takes his leave, Faliol smiles (no teeth) but deep inside the memory of the real Ash comes unbidden. "Good night, all. Thank you for risking yourselves to help me and my friends. It is very much appreciated."

Walking over to Sgt. Doom, "Would you like me to take a watch, Sgt.? Can't have too many watchers with the Yaraza skulking about..."

"Nahh. It won't make much difference. You've been riding hard for two or three days now. You'd likely fall asleep and get your throat cut. Be our guest while you can. Take a full night for once. You look like the type that doesn't get much sleep while on the road."

Faliol chuckles at the mention of falling asleep.

"Speaking of sleep...people say that I am rather hard to wake up in the morning. Evil rumor, that. But, just to be on the safe side, you might want to jab me with a long stick, from a healthy distance. And don't believe me if I tell you I am awake. Keep poking me with that stick until I stand up or we could spend all morning exchanging 'Faliol, get up!' with 'I am up!' in endless repetition. I have been lured out of sleep with fresh chicken, but you didn't bring any live chickens..."

Dawn comes right on time, and Faliol is wakened carefully from a distance. He is prodded with the butt end of a spear by Doom.
"No one else wanted the duty," he explains, "After I told them you'd likely go riven on them. Anyway, today's the last stretch. Time to go find survivors." He doesn't sound hpoeful about the prospect. The other soldiers are clearly anticipating a fight, however, and strangely seem rather upbeat about it. Or at least alert.

Faliol takes turns doing point and sweep with Shado. Hastik seems to stay with the main group, his eyes scanning the trees carefully. He rides in the center of the horsemen. Shado explains while you are all stopped for the noon meal. "That's SOP, see? We've got one lineman, so he's a critical resource. If we lose him, we lose our best eyes. We can give advance warning, but he's the one who has to be with the fighters. You ever see an adept specially trained to work with the army? No? He's a tactician. He weighs the offense and defense with his spirit sight. Tells us where the weak points are and how to defend best against the enemy. Pretty damn' effective."

After being prodded with a spear in a delicate spot, Faliol finally awakes.
"Morning, Sgt. Doom. Spear, huh? Handy weapon, a spear..."
His eyes don't quite open fully till he gets his morning pick-me-up (do they have coffee/tea in the SE?).

Listening to Shado talk about linemen and tactics, Faliol replies, "The Hamilton-Kent Caravan made our Adept Nuyok our war leader for most of the same reasons."

As it gets into early afternoon, Faliol is on point. He has reached the area where Black Lake empties out into the lands beyond. The road here crosses a rough and tumble ford area. Much of it has been bolstered by past engineering. Culverts and causeways dot the region. Taking a wagon through is slow and careful work. A horse needs less care, but still cannot gallop. The rain is still coming down, though not heavily. The trees have thinned dramatically, but here a couple of hundred yards out, there is still some cover.
Faliol has dismounted, so as to get closer without being seen. This is the area called Dead Man's Ford. It is a common ambush area, since the rocks and rivulets provide cover for bandits or gators.
And--speak of the Kings! There are gators out there! They are mostly in positions of cover, but you can see a few scaley backsides poking out here and there.

Faliol controls his surprise. He pats the horse on the back and wheels it around to stand between him and the gators. He hopes that this will shield his next act.

He pulls Betsy and notches an arrow that signals "Danger ahead". He fires this special arrow towards a spot about 4 meters in front of the lead soldier.

If allowed, he will lead the horse back at a slow walk to the soldiers.

The signal goes unseen by the reptilian crew. Faliol successfully leads the horse bcak the the soldiers, who are waiting in a state of alertness. They have made a formation, as best as possible in the confines of the forest. Stretch has recovered your arrow.
"We must be near the Ford," says Hastik, controlling his steed with one hand and holding a spear with the other. "Crooks, Crocks or Chimera?"
"All three, likely," mutters Doom.

Faliol quips, "Sgt., do you have a brother named 'Gloom'?" Then he gets to business...

"Gators ahead, trying unsuccessfully not to be seen. Numbers uncertain, but at least two, probably more. Do you think I will charm the ladies in a new gatorskin vest?"

Hastik considers.
"Thanks, Red. If you weren't seen we have time to come up with a plan.
"A charge is no good at the ford. There's no sure footing for the horses. Spears are best for piercing gator hide and bows should soften them up. The problem is that there's too much cover out there."

He glances at Faliol and smiles. "Let's borrow a trick from your Yaraza 'friends'. Divide and conquer. I need two volunteers. Go out there and pop a couple at whoever you can see. Once they respond--and they will--look surprised that they didn't all just run away. Gators don't move quickly over open ground. You need to run, but not so quickly they give up hope. They should almost catch you. Be careful.
"Now, I want four archers in the trees, two right, two left. Don't fire on the gators as they pass. Let them go through.
"The rest of you back up the trail with the horses. Level spears and wait for my signal. When you hear my horn, charge. Bait volunteers, you dive for cover 'cause we're going to be filling the path with a lot of pointy sticks.
"We don't want our new scaley friends to get too organized at this point. They try to retreat. That's when the archers fire. If we can hold them for just a second, they should be trampled and skewered pretty quickly."
As hands begin to go up, he says, "Wait. Before anyone volunteers, keep this in mind. The bait has to look vulnerable. No armor, no uniforms. And when you run, I want you to drop your bows. You have to look like something worth chasing into the woods."

.oO(Prison or death by gator? Equally bad...)

"I volunteer! I am faster than any gator. This fine outfit could never be mistaken for a uniform! But someone needs to loan me a cheap bow to drop on the way back. I can't disrespect Betsy by dropping her in the mud. She would NEVER forgive me!"

.oO(Only fair that I go. These soldiers are risking plenty for the sake of my friends...)

[EDITED on Thu May 27, 2004 @4:26 PM (CDT)]

Stretch throws you a bow. "Take this. I'm a lousy shot anyway." There are general nods of agreement. "I'll be on the charge, if that's OK with you Sarge?"
"Yeah, you'd probably get us killed anywhere else," Doom replies. "I'll lead the archers."
Shado says, "Faliol, you're probably right. The two of us are probably the least soldierly looking. Cats are known for their speed though, so..." He takes a bandage from the first aid kit and quickly wraps a leg. "I'll limp. Let's go."
Quickly, all get into position.
Hastik says, "All right. Show's on. Be careful. Go!"

OOC: I'll let you describe the actions you use to draw the gators.

Faliol catches the cheap bow and throws Stretch 'Betsy'. "Thanks!" As he and Shado walk forward, Faliol whispers, "I am going to make those gators dehydrate from over salivating. If I look like I am in trouble, don't worry. It is intentional..." Then Faliol (without pointing) describes EXACTLY where the gators are to Shado in a very low volume.

Then the act begins, Faliol starts talking in a normal volume about his girlfriend back in Tallon, a fine vixen named Sharra. He drones on and on about how much he misses her and when they will share some 'wink' 'nudge' quality time together. It is not difficult to play the horny teenager...

He waits till Shado 'notices' the gators and lets the cat shoot first, then acts surprised and frightened. The borrowed bow shakes as he undershoots at the gators... If the gators charge, he squaks and turns to flee. However, he intentionally trips on the bow and goes down into an acrobatic roll.

12 or less
3d6: 14 Fri May 28, 2004 @6:11 AM (CDT)

If successful, he comes up with a twisted ankle, makes an aborted return to the bow only to turn and run when the reptiles get closer.

God of Dice likes Gators?!?

"R-R-R-R! Trrick! It is Trrick! They have otherrs sneak frrom behind! Kill them! Kill them nooowwww!!!" The gators whirl to face the two beasts. They begin splashing through the water , tails whipping and jaws open. They are either faster than expected, or just more impressive in a charge. Faliol turns and goes into his acrobatic fall, but a river stone turns under his feet and pitches him into the shallow but rapidly rushing water. Before he can gain his feet he has been swept nearly twenty feet downstream. Sputtering and "limping", he makes for the trees, following the not-too-rapidly retreating Shado. The gators are far closer than he intended them to be...

His head broke surface and he sputtered, "Damn it all to Hell!!!"

Then he put on an extra burst of speed to make damn sure he didn't become some gator's stomach contents...
(push for 5 points running)

ego roll, not sure of the exact number...
3d6: 13 Fri May 28, 2004 @12:59 PM (CDT)

Faliol runs like a reaver was after him. All pretense of easy prey must be dropped now. If he doesn't strain to his utmost, he is easy prey. Behind him gators snarl and jaws snap. Ahead of him, Shado has slowed just enough to turn around if necessary.
The two beasts run into the cover of the trees and up the path. The gators are not as fast on dry land, and the lead gets a little more comfortable. Suddenly, a horn blows. This is followed by the thunder of hooves.
Shado and Faliol dive for cover, barely avoiding the charge themselves. There is the sound of gators screaming and cursing, horses whinnying and then bows twanging, followed by more cursing.
By the time the beasts get their bearings, the cavalry has galloped out of the trees, leaving behind three dead gators and chasing away several more by the sound of it. The horn is still sounding and there are sounds of combat beyond the trees. The archers drop to the ground and rush to the edge of the cover.

Glad to be alive, Faliol's heart is thudding like crazy. He draws his sword and moves with the archers, heading for the place where the horn sounded. If soldiers are in hand-to-hand combat with the gators, Faliol will move into sword range and help the hardest pressed soldier.

If the fighting is at range, he will guard the archers from sudden gator charges, seeking to come between the gators and the vulnerable archers.