Book 1 - Chapter 5: Have Sword - Will Travel, or How the West was Fun(dead)

[Oath]

[info] perception [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+3 : 16 + 3, total 19[/blockquote]

[Throndir]

[info][blockquote]Perception 1d20+7 : 1 + 7, total 8[/blockquote][/info]

[Asta]

A few days out of Baile Fada, about halfway to Caer Mog, Scathach turns in the saddle to address the group. "Don't look now but I think we're being followed."

Cecilia had also noticed the group of riders that had been shadowing your party for the better part of the day. They had stayed far enough from the road to avoid all but the keenest eye, yet close enough to ensure they could chase you down if need be. It is unclear what their intentions are, but most likely they are far from good.

"Do you want to make a run for it? If we're lucky we could lose them entirely, at the very least put enough distance between us that we get to town first."

Caer Mog was still two days away, and the children you were escorting would need protecting if the mysterious group caught up with you.

[pringerbeam]

     Thedrin looked back at the pursuers. "Mere bandits? Or perhaps allies of the cultists we killed? Regardless, I'm sure they're up to no good. I say we confront them. If they have any sense they will surrender to us or die by our righteous judgement." He said as he tried, mostly in vain, to try and get a solid count of the other party.

[Asta]

"Do they ever surrender?" Scathach asked rhetorically. "We have kids to protect, should we really be picking a fight we can easily avoid?"

[pringerbeam]

     "Then they will fall before us. We can prepare for their attack. I'm sure the wizard has some spell that can disable enough of them to turn the tide in our favor. If they're from the MacArtain clan we might be able to capture another prisoner, hopefully one that isn't enchanted like the last one. Physical evidence is quite useful but a cunning aristocrat will have prepared some alibi to account for this. A live prisoner would do much more to prove our accusations."  Replied Thedrin.

[Asta]

Your group halts on the road, waiting, watching the other party. The mysterious pursuers come to a halt soon after you, from this distance you still can't get a good read on who they might be but you aren't left in suspense for very long.

A lone rider approaches from their number. It takes a few minutes for them to get close enough but eventually you can see it is in fact a man, very lightly armed, and wearing nothing one might consider protective gear. He reins in his horse about a hundred feet from you, and the air bristles with the anticipation of violence. Eventually he speaks: "Uhh hey there... Travelers? Where are you heading?" The man glances nervously at your weapons, and the children in the cart.

[pringerbeam]

     "We are on an important mission for the Righ. And where we go is none of your concern." Replied Thedrin, giving the group a good looking over. "Who are you? And why are you following us?"

[info]Perception check to try and get a count of the enemies numbers and any threats they might be trying to conceal.[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+2 : 11 + 2, total 13[/blockquote][/info]

[Asta]

[info]Thedrin perception:
It seems the group is comprised of about six people if you include the rider that approached your party. Unfortunately at this distance it is difficult to tell how well armed they might be.[/info]

The man shuffles nervously in his saddle, somewhat intimidated. "Urrr.. right I suppose it ain't really." He glances over his shoulder at his group. "Well its not so much that we're following, as it is we're going in the same direction I expect. We're heading to Caer Mog, escaped the village when everyone started getting turned into zombies and hid outside for a couple days trying not to get eaten. When all the zombies dropped we thought it would be safe to leave and that's when we saw your group. You're pretty well armed and you've got those kids in the cart so we wasn't sure if you were bandits or some such and kept our distance."

[pringerbeam]

     "Other survivors..." Repeated Thedrin as he tried to take a gauge of the supposed villagers. "Children, do you recognize any of these people?" He asked, not turning his back on the other party.

[info]Sense motive to try and gauge the truthfulness of the villager's story [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+4 : 6 + 4, total 10[/blockquote][/info]

[Asta]

[info]Sense Motive: The villager appears to be telling the truth.[/info]

Eeada sat up from where the children had hunkered down expecting violence and scrutinized the man. "Oh, that's Keelan Ryan! The butcher's eldest son. You made it out? We thought everyone was dead."

"Eeada? That's a shock, where's your mum?" Keelan replied.

"Dead." Eeada responded flatly, looking away.

"Ah... right... Sorry."

[pringerbeam]

     Thedrin took one last appraising look before taking his hand off the pommel of his sword. "Then I suppose we're headed the same way after all." He said as he turned to get back into the cart. As he got up to the driver's bench he was struck with a thought. "Tell me... what did you see if the cultists? Did you manage to catch anything that might have identified them? A banner or mention of their leader perhaps."

[Asta]

"To be honest, I was paying more attention to getting away from zombies than looking to see how was making them" Keelan replied. "Though maybe one of the others got a better look." He turned in the saddle to the group of villagers in the distance and waved animatedly, indicating they should come down.

A few minutes later, the other group had joined yours. Keelan asked the others the question you had posed him, and though most had replied similarly about trying to escape, a young woman mentioned she had overheard something that could be useful.

"Before the zombies started attacking folks I overheard one of those robed fellows talking about reportin' back to a Peadaran L

[pringerbeam]

     "I see... well then let us continue on our way. We have business in the town. You can come with us as long as you wish." Said Thedrin as he drove the horses.

[Asta]

The villagers express their thanks for allowing them to travel with you, there is safety in numbers after all.

Location: Caer Mog
Date: Fabri 6, 796
Time: 1800

After a few days of relatively uneventful travel you once again find yourselves in the town of Caer Mog. The group of villagers depart from your party with thanks, off to seek a way to pick up the pieces of their lives. Meanwhile Duny points the way to his uncle's inn, The Unbreakable Diamond.

Duny's uncle it so happened, is an absurdly muscular gentleman. His heart proves twice as large as his muscles though, and agrees readily to accept guardianship of the children. He offers his sincere gratitude for protecting his nephew and provides you with free room and board for the night.