Darkwood--The first shadow.....

Post by **Laurel** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:39 pm

Allowing her song to trail away, Laurel looks up and casts a smile at the newcomer, while she makes her way over to the paralyzed halfling. "Welcome, friend Led. I am Laurel, a tune smith from Ventarii, a Ree in the far south of the Darelline Confederacy, out to see the world. We battled some of the orcs and kobolds responsible for the original attack on the caravan yesterday, but were not expecting, or at least I must admit I was not expecting, ghouls to be...devouring the slaughtered."

Laurel looks at Skyseeker and sees she is well enough to continue on, if not a little gingerly, much like the bard did herself yesterday. Turning to the halfling, she offers him her side for support, to see if he can move. "Any feeling at all, Beauregard? Can you stand and make it to our night's camp? Or shall we arrange a transport for you a way from this slaughter, pitch camp there, and see if a night's rest returns feeling and movement to you?"

Depending on Beauregard's ability to move, Laurel supports him over to Hardy, or signals to Marrik to carry him there. In either case, Laurel takes the time to retrieve her arrows from the corpses (I did the same with the kobolds and orcs yesterday), making sure to do a thorough search [search check please] of them and the caravan wagons as she does so, then returning to Hardy, cleans the arrow heads and shafts, checking the fletching then storing them in her quiver. She then shifts things on Hardy's pack saddle, removing it if necessary and repackaging her supplies in her backpack (raising her to a medium load, if necessary) so Beauregard could be straddled bareback on to Hardy and supported while the party continues onward.

Assuming her search is fruitful (it is a trader's caravan after all), she reports what she finds as she finds it...

Post by **Led Pighp** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:19 pm

Limping quietly, make my way around the caravan with book and pencil in hand. Make sketches of any of the dead (those whose faces are recognizable) as well as any identifiable markings / symbols. Keep track of numbers of wagons / horses / people that were killed. Also note down if there are any bodies from the attackings orcs / goblins / kobolds, and any markings they might have on them. Sketch them, if they're undamaged enough. Sketch a map of the area, noting placement, etc.

Finally, spend quite a lot of time sketching the ghast who damaged me. He gets a full page to himself.

"You're dead, and I'm not."

Post by **Laurel** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 2:25 pm

Her unfruitful search finished, and seeing Beauregard safely astride Hardy for as long as he consents to stay there, Laurel notices the Heshic's limp and makes her way back to the Bearer of Words. She silently waits for him to pause in his sketching and look inquiringly at her...

"Excuse me, friend Led. May I look at how badly you have been bitten in your shoulder and leg? I have a small gift for Healing wounds, although nothing that will totally cure you right now..."

Post by **Led Pighp** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 2:38 pm

"I think you for your concern, lady. I'm able to walk, though I hope there'll be no need for running soon. Hopefully, Missaryi will see fit to send some of her grace my way, when yon Paladin is himself recovered. But I'd be happy of any care you can give me now."

"I want to records the faces, if not the names, of all those who died here. We can't give them a proper burial, but we can at least give some amount of peace to their families. It's sad news to bear that one's father or brother is dead, but worse still when there's no news at all. But I expect the smell to attact other predators and carrion eaters, like these ghouls, so would welcome all the speed you can grant me."

"Do you know these people? Can we tell if there are any missing or captured? Where are their families, that we can put their fears to rest, along with their hopes?"

Post by **Laurel** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:15 pm

Moving closer to the man, Laurel whistles between her teeth at the bite marks on shoulder and leg. "I am amazed you can sketch, much less walk like this, Led Pighp. Yet I think I would prefer to wait until we settle for the night before doing what I can to address this. Rest always benefits healing, and if you will join us for the night, where we can watch over each other in turns, perhaps what little I can do will be more effective...

"Is this agreeable to you, friend Led?"

Then looking about her at the corpses of human, half-elf, horse, ghoul and ghast, she shakes her head sadly. "I am as much a stranger to these parts as you, perhaps more. Although there has been talk of a missing caravan in Waymeet; the leader of which is Jauron Swiftstar. But I personally know him not, nor where his folk may be found.

"Yet we were told earlier some were taken prisoners by orcs and are being held against their will in some ruins nearby. Perhaps there are tracks or something we can follow from here should we desire to do so.

"But, I for one, would like to see these corpses removed from the road and helped on their way to Tar-Anatha, for judgment in hopes of making their way to Cerana's Celestial Casino..."

Looking at Marrik, she continues, "Shall we leave the corpses here, to potentially attract more scavengers, either living or Undead? Or shall we take the time to cremate their remains, and attempt to cleanse the road of this massacre as best we can before looking for a site to pitch camp for the night?"

Post by **Led Pighp** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:30 pm

"The dead are in Tar-Anatha's hands, while those still alive will have to make due with what help we can offer them. Which, at the moment, isn't very much help at all, I'm afraid. So I'll do what I can for the dead tonight, and hope that whatever the orcs hoped to gain from keeping those men alive, they will continue doing so for another day."

Wincing noticably, start to gather the wreckage of the caravan together to make a bonfire. "The fire will also keep the night beasts at bay while we sleep, though I doubt we'll enjoy the smell very much."

Post by **Laurel** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:46 pm

Joining in on collecting wreckage, Laurel makes her objection to pitching camp at the ambush site known...

"Must we stay here the entire night? I have no experience in purifying the dead through fire; I only think it would be the best option here for these unfortunates. Will we not be able to find another site, a mile of so further down the road, once this bonfire is doused after it is used for its purpose?"

Post by **Led Pighp** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:55 pm

"I'm no priest, so I'm just guessing. But I imagine that <insert count of dead bodies> corpses will take some time to finish burning. Someone will have to stay by them to keep the fire hot enough to do the job. I'll volunteer to stay here with them, while the rest of you make camp somewhere more civilized. Someone should watch them go, and remember it to their family. I've never sketched a funeral pyre by its own light. That means that you'll be one person short for your own watch, however."

"What say you, sir Paladin? How best can we help these souls pass on, without endangering ourselves in the process? And endangering their living companions at the same time?"

Post by **Laurel** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 4:01 pm

*shakes head slowly and speaks up before Marrik*

"No, it was my idea we do this to help them on their way. And you need to rest at some point to help your healing. I can't speak for the others, but I at least will stay and take shifts shoring the blaze and keeping watch with you...

"If you are agreed to such..."

Post by **Led Pighp** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 4:34 pm

"With a grim task such as this, company is always welcome, Lady. Espcially company so fair as to make me almost forget my injuries." He winces, as he lifts another broken piece of wagon onto the pile. "Almost."

Post by **Laurel** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 4:52 pm

Blushing quietly at the Heshic's response, the bard continues collecting wreakage and quietly awaits the response of the rest of the party...

Post by **Vynarkus** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:38 pm

Vynarkus looks over the dead bodies with an expression of sadness. "I would have them taken care of in whatever fashion befits their god, but this is the best for what we can do."

He then looks over the party as a whole. "I do not know why ghouls would be carrying such, but I found some healing potions on them. Given the price of such things, I would rather use spells and save the potions, but I can see the reason in giving one to those of us who are too wounded to heal with our own abilities.

"Paladin, would you prefer to carry these? Or should we divide them up as best we can? There are only three, so I would not advise attempting to divide them."

Post by **Led Pighp** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:44 pm

Led reaches for a potion, pauses, then drops his hand.

"Unless we think that the survivors will not survive for long, I think it should be safe to let Marrik hold onto those potions for now. There may come a time when we'll need all the healing he can give out, plus three potions worth."

Post by **Seven Words** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:54 pm

Skyseeker whispers in pain, "They are probably left from before they became ghouls...if the fever took them and they were by themselves, they may well have been carrying them and not recalled it in their new twisted existence."

Post by **Led Pighp** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:44 pm

Led chuckles rhyly, then winces at the pain. "That's too bad. I would love to see an undead drink a healing potion. Would have saved me a lot of trouble."

Post by **Vynarkus** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:13 pm

Vynarkus looks around. "I don't really want to camp here, but we should take the time to properly cremate the corpses, and it would be even worse to split up the party. Should we start setting up camp?"

He then turns back to Marrik and holds out the potions. "Would you like to take these now, Paladin?"

Post by **Laurel** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:03 pm

Looking at the bonfire, which would soon become a funeral pyre, Laurel slowly nodded at Vynarkus' question. "I am glad it appears we wish to stay together. Vynarkus, will you see if there is an appropriate site for camp a short distance upwind of the pyre, please? I will stay and continue to help stoke the fire, although I am unsure how much help I will be dragging corpses. I think, once the fire is ready for what we intend, I would rather try to help both Skyseeker and Led to the camp site once the corpses are being dragged to the pyre..."

Post by **Seven Words** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:03 pm

Her experienced eye gauging the local landscape, Skyseeker quickly points out the best places for the watch standers over the cremation, and a site for the resting members...both within earshot of each other. She also says, "The scent of the ghouls will keep away any other scavengers"

"I am.....greatly troubled..by that kobolds tale of recently revealed ruins. I am....not allowed...to say much more, other than my people are deeply concerned at what that could portend. I was tasked to simply keep an eye on the southern edge of the woods and the Reek in this stretch. My youth and inexperience meant I was assigned to the part closest to Waymeet, where graver dangers were less likely to be, as Sverdhame, whatever faults it may have, has always kept monstrous activity well in check. For now, however, I am eager to find my sleeping roll. "

Post by **Led Pighp** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:13 pm

Plan for the rest of the evening: build fire. reverently cremate the human bodies, disdainfully cremate the ghouls (they were really just infected humans as well, so aren't to blame for their evils), rest.

Will respond to others / monsters if necessary, but otherwise I'm good until morning. Eagerly anticipating the Paladin's morning prayers and subsiquent good touch moments.

Post by **Vynarkus** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:27 pm

Vynarkus helps anyone who needs it in getting to the campsite. Then he sets out his sleeping roll.

"Who would like to take the first watch?"

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

Darkwood--The first shadow.....