Tree Lords II

[HorizonsDream]

"We aren't in any condition to fight more of them," Imani says as she slumps down to the ground.

[JadedDM]

Reluctant, Ulster and Thuskar obey and head off to the treeline for Malika and the horses.

Babushka slides down to the bottom of the depression where the two elves lie. She finds the male has been bandaged up crudely and is still alive. The female, however, has since bled out and passed on.

While Fikod starts to pick up his fallen daggers, Jerrard limps over to the second stone building and enters. It's just a plain ruined structure. Inside are beautiful frescoes on the walls, all defaced by dwarven graffiti. Fragments of priceless elven statues are shattered and crunch beneath Jerrard's boots.

[Breila]

Babushka checks the bandages and replaces those that should be (healing check: 1d20=11, pass). After that, she joins the group again and reports: "The kirath man is alive, thanks to Jerrard's work. I came too late for the woman, however. Once we've secured this place, we should carry him up and take care of her body, too. Do any of you know what elves do with their dead? Bury, burn, or offer to the animals of the wild?"

[Jerrard]

"I don't know. I can barely think straight right now." Jerrard says with a sigh, "I wish I could have saved her. It was a Choice, save her, or risk losing you all." The mage pulls himself from the building.

"We will have to camp in the open air, there is nothing in there."

[Jenara]

Locky wanders into another hut, looking inside she picks up a small piece of broken statue, placing it in a pouch, before helping to collect everything the dwarves had on them.

[JadedDM]

Locky grabs a small piece of statuary--a finger--and places it in her pouches. She then moves next door to the building on the far left. Inside she finds that the interior walls have all been knocked down and almost 50 bedrolls cover the floor. It would seem this is the building the Daergar used as a makeshift barracks.

[Jenara]

"Bring everyone in here." Locky suggests, darting her head back out the door before moving back in, checking the bedrolls she looks for anything interesting as she waits for them to join her.

---------

"I wonder what she has found." A tired Jerrard asks Babuskha and Jeremy as he moves to the building. "We should help the Elf."

[Breila]

Babushka comes into the building Locky called her to. After seeing all the bedroll, she almost goes backwards in the entrance.

"Locky!" she exclaims. "Can't you count? These are far more bedrolls than we've encountered Daergar so far! Instead of staying here, I think we should on the contrary move away from here, cover our tracks and seek sanctuary in the forsest!"

[JadedDM]

(OOC: Babushka is counting the dwarves that were already killed by the kirath before they arrived, right? There were over two dozen of them.)

[Breila]

(OOC: You're right, I forgot them. But that leaves almost 10, and we're in no shape to fight any)

[JadedDM]

It's at that moment that Ulster and Thuskar come crashing out of the shrub like a pair of charging rhinos. "Gone!" Ulster says, out of breath. "Malika, the animals--gone. No sign of them."

==============

(OOC: I did use the qualifier word of 'over' when I said there were two dozen dead dwarves. I also used the qualifier of 'almost' when I said there were 50 bedrolls.

Maybe I should have used exact numbers? It just seemed odd to me to say, "You see exactly 32 dead dwarves" or "You see exactly 48 bedrolls."

Oh, well.)

[Breila]

"And the dwarves that were trapped in the web?" Babushka asks.

(OOC: Well, that was to be expected. Too good an opportunity to waste. Still,had Babushka not come back to fight, she would probably have come to see all her friends dead. Now, it's mostly property damage. But Babushka would look for Dekker even if the donkey didn't carry their treasure.

As for the number of bedrolls, let's just attribute Babushka's reaction to battle stress. She doesn't want to be surprised again.)

[JadedDM]

"We let them go," Ulster admits. "That was the deal we made, if they gave us information, we'd free them."

[Breila]

Babushka approaches the two henchmen. Seeing Thuskar is still bleeding from the injury sustained, she apologises. "Sorry to have sent you away without seeing to you first" she says and proceeds to dress his wounds.

Healing check: 1d20=4, pass.

While working, she asks the two men: "What I meant by my question about the Daegar, does it look like they took Mailka and the animals? Or does Malika try her luck of surviving here alone?"

[Jenara]

"I...I..." Jerrard mutters, looking lost and tired, "Babuskha, go and check the area, Thuskar go with her. Ulster can you help Imani and the others? We will use this place, and Babuskha, I suspect the extra are those that were killed. Locky, please pray to Paladine, we need his aid."

"I can do that." Locky says as she searches the bedrolls.