Lost Trails 11 The Road to Phlan

[ewancummins]

NIGHT
THE CAMP IN THE PINES
NEAR THE ROAD

Except for the breeze shaking the pine boughs and ruffling the prairie grass, the occasional cries of nocturnal birds, the crackle of pine-cones and sticks in the campfire, quiet reigns in the cool darkness...

Until the second watch changeover, when Alain and Sir Clive both hear a wave of noises blown into camp from somewhere to the east: metallic crashes, indistinct shouts, and a shriek like an injured horse.

Peering east down the road, the men see a fiery light flare and then vanish in the dark folds of the rolling hills just north of the road. Distance is hard to guess by night, but that flash seems no more than a mile distant.

[alhoon]

Raen sleeps, a box of nice Zambook, the only thing he liked from the black keep, by his side. He purchased some for the road.

[ewancummins]

Raen sleeps, a box of nice Zambook, the only thing he liked from the black keep, by his side. He purchased some for the road.

And then suddenly, he's wide awake, aware of the noises carried on the night wind.

[alhoon]

Raen, having woken up and sitting on his blanket, squinted his eyes as he couldn't see anything.
Rubbing his eyes, tired, he stood up.
"It's some distance but we better check it out. Perhaps leave someone here to keep an eye on our items? Since you two wear your armor, we could head there quickly. Whatever trouble is there may find us soon."

[Adam]

Bennedict rolls over, his hands reaching for his crossbow.

"I can keep an eye on things here, if you like," he sleepily mutters.

[RocEter]

"Very well." Clive says.

Clive makes preparations to investigate.

[ewancummins]

"Very well." Clive says.

Clive makes preparations to investigate.

Tonio stirs in his sleep, wrapped in his cloak and curled up on the ground near the trees where the party's animals are tied up.

[Adam]

Bennedict fetches another log and stokes up the fire.

[ewancummins]

Sir Clive, on foot and in full armor and hefting his great head-taking blade, walks down the road to the east.
Raen moves along behind the knight-executioner.

Horrible screams and then silence...

About a mile from camp, where the road curves in a long moonlit arc to the northeast, they come upon two gutted, dying horses and a man's body stretched face down in the road near the wreck of a wagon. Supplies spill out of the broken side of the vehicle.
A woman slumped behind a front wheel stares off into the night with empty eyes, heedless of the arrow buried in her chest.

Two teenage boys, one gripping a bow and the other a hatchet, lie sprawled in the roadway a beyond the wagon. Both dead, like the others here. One is missing half his lower jaw, sheared off by a terrific blow. The broken haft of a spear sticks out of the other's guts.

The two men hear footfalls and grunts to the north, where a line of low grassy hills runs along the road shoulder.

[ewancummins]

Raen casts mage armor and light. Then shouts to get attention of any survivor that may need help (while planning to dive behind the armored fighter if arrows come out of the night to greet his shouts)

Not arrows--figures racing out the darkness, butchering blades lifted high.
One of the attackers nearly knocks Raen on his back.
Blows ring on Sir Clive's armor.
The knight swings his sword, dropping two assailants dead in the dirt, before wheeling to attack a third who threatens Raen.

[ewancummins]

Another tusked night raider falls to Mercy.
The others press the attack with chopping blades and short throwing spears.
Sir Clive hacks down the nearest three enemies and then steps to place himself between Raen and the javelin-throwers across the road.

[ewancummins]

Raen casts a spell and a golden, glittering clouds falls upon the two javelin-hurling inhumans.
The pair shriek, cover their eyes, and beat a stumbling zigzag retreat north of the road, like fireflies pursued by a hungry bat.

[kintire]

Kat quickly dresses and prepares, watching as the two head off with an amused shrug. She glances at Benn as she readies herself an casually remarks “so, what do you make of our group’s foray into slaveowning?”

[ewancummins]

IN CAMP

After Kat gets dressed and Benn armors up, a golden light appears from the direction Sir Clive and Raen had gone.
Indistinct noises. Then a clang of metal on metal.
More light on the road, flickering, moving...

[alhoon]

"This will hold for some time!" Raen said to the large warrior. " The way they glow we could follow them from a large distance and hit their comrades. Eliminate the threat."