Chapter 2: Sylvan Escape

[Ismaels-Legacy]

Bill and Carith are both directed to visit Ignatius the quartermaster at his wagon so they can procure some tree-felling axes. Carson hesitates for a moment and finally adds, "Bear with him....he's a bit.....off." Carson's typically stable countenance is broken with a strained grimace.

Everyone else is instructed by Dorir to prepare a makeshift guard for the tree cutters. "You'll serve to keep watch and, if necessary, engage the enemy while the tree cutters can make an escape. I'll be sending along a pair of shield bearers who will guard the cutters directly if necessary, and to provide backup for any who may fall. Slade, I want you to backtrack our trail and make sure we're not being flanked. Dee, you'll lead them to the tree and continue further along to scout ahead. Go about a half mile afield and double back to our location. While you're away, we'll be setting up camp. The day is already dying and the wagons already circled, so we'll make due with the light we have. Besides, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves while we're in a forest with no room to maneuver the wagons." He looks to Hedra with a specific request, "I have a specific task for you. It may be a bit unorthodox from what you're used to, but it may just work."

[Talyn]

Wolf decides to slide over to see how dealing with the Quartermaster will work out for Bill and Carith, though he keeps his eyes on the treeline. No need to let his guard down to just satisfy his curiosity.

He hangs out, just within earshot range to see what Dorir means by "Off".

[Jenara]

Carith heads over to the Wagon, Bill in Tow, she smiles at the big warrior, placing her own axe on her back.

"Come on, it cant be that bad." She smiles, flashing her teeth, the broken tip visible.

[Breila]

Hedra looks bakc at Dorir and calmly says: "Tell me what you think. Anything that helps to keep us safer will please the Protector, so I won't refuse doing it."

[Ismaels-Legacy]

The covered wagon has a thick canvas covered in what appears to be runes and sigils (Though Wolf will know that really it's a bunch of nonsense). That said, the owner clearly got the correct brown tone to simulate dried blood. When you approach the back, you realize that the hatch closes off the entire wagon entrance. There appears to be a small sliding door toward the middle of the hatch. Scrawled on it are the words "Go aWay!". (Granted the "Y" is backward)

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Dorir takes Hedra to the side and begins; "When you were back home, I'm sure you remember the chanters blessing the3 very stone used in our cities, correct? Out here there are fewer stones to be blessed, since most of the surface world is trees and (He seems to choke on the word) dirt. So here's my idea, and I'm not e'en sure that it will work: we collect stones, all about the size of a fist, and we have you bless them. We then place these stones in a circle around the camp. It may not last long, but we only need it to last the night, aye?"

[Breila]

Hedra's face lights up. "Oh, but in recent times, a new form of blessing has been created for just this! It does not need stone, but works on any structure used as a dwelling, and so can be put on the wagons. It needs the owner's consent, though, and there might be a problem." Hedra glances to the wagon covered in runes and sigils.

"I will draw the glyph of blessing onto the wagons, perhaps also on trees that define our camp perimeter, plus bless any stone you or someone else brings to me."

She sets to work, taking out her sacred chalk, drawing the glyph (see prelude) onto all the wagons whose owner consents. It's drawn on the outside, so that oncoming undead could clearly see it. If parts of the camp are unprotected, she'll draw it on trees outside:

Ohea, sekkne sells laaga,
de shwakhe un staake
deewos braoukhet!

When the stones are gathered, she thanks the people who brought them and begins to chant. It's a lengthy thing this time, because she feels she has to praise the Protector first for the good fortune they had so far, and invoke Divine protection for so many different people. She specifically pleads that even if not all of them are perfect, the innocent in particular merit protection.

After a quarter hour or so, she has finished her chant. She feels drained and hopes that her energy will be stored and amplified in the blessed stones. She quietly sits with the young children to rest and regain some strength.

[Jenara]

"Mumbo Jumbo.." She mutters to herself, approaching the wagon, "Can they really be as bad as me? Eh Big man." Punching Bill lightly she heads straight for the door, and knocks twice.

"Dorir sent us, we need some tree felling Axes." She listens to the Chanter doing her stuff, biting her tongue she awaits an answer from the door.

[TigerStripedDog]

Grinning the whole way Bill agrees with Carith:

"Is truth. What is mean cannot be 'that bad'. Thing is bad, or is good. Yes?"

Bill nods as Carith speaks, and adds:

"AM BILL!" he introduces himself to the fellow in the wagon "Will need two axe for me, and one large axe for womayns." he states, pointing at Carith. He turns to explain to Carith, "I has idea. I use two of axe, one for left, one for right. I swing two, so as job go faster. Is good? Axe is small, not like axe for battle, or SUPLEX. Should be thing of ease."

Bill, having met many an 'off' fellow in this world takes no concern over walking to the wagon, but remains curious at the man he will find.

[Jenara]

"Remember even a simple Tree can be a challenge, the world is dark and cruel." She says, waiting for an answer.

[Marcus]

Gus takes a load off at the back of a wagon. He talks to whomever will listen. "Good leadership in this outfit... let the young strong backs take care of the chopping." Gus' knees creak as he lowers himself. "I'll tell ya, with the commotion before, I felt 20 years younger." He looks around into the trees. "Not the best place to stop, but nothing you can do about it, I suppose. Yeah, I remember about 30 years ago I was with a couple of families and all that was left of a town militia. Must have been about 8 or 9 fighting men. We got stopped on the road by a broken wagon..." Gus trails off as he looks around to see no one is listening. "Well, no sense scaring the kids with that story anyway."

[Jenara]

"We can't let you exert yourself too much, now can we old man?" She smirks and leans in closer. "Your stories can't scare me, I have seen nightmares, as I would expect so has Bill here."

[Ismaels-Legacy]

"Got offa my cart!" A tiny, gruff voice squeaks from inside. (OOC: Yes, I know that statement is contradictory) "You'll get nothing from me ye taffers!" The slide on the hatch slips open, a pair of bespectacled eyes appears quickly (Beneath a thick white brow) and disappears as the slide closes again. "My cart is protected by eeeeeeeeeeeevil magicks! They'll turn you all into toads! Now, go A-WAY!"

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Hedra's blessed stones are taken 20 feet away from camp and distributed between each sentry point to alert guards at their weakest locations. Three of the four carts consent to the glyph being drawn upon the outer-most wall of their cart (Since they're in a square arrangement right now, for fortification purposes). The final cart is the one belonging to the quartermaster and he is......unavailable for comment at the moment.

Sitting with the children, a young teen sits beside Hedra. She's a wispy girl with long, blonde hair. Even in these dark times it's clear that she takes some measure of pride in her appearance, brushing her hair each night to make sure it well-kempt. "Don't mind the quartermaster. You probably saw all the runes he has on the canvas of his cart. He feels that he's well-protected already." She leans closer to Hedra and whispers conspiratorially in her ear, "Of course the truth is that it's all mumbo jumbo, really. Just a bunch of designs and symbols that he came up with and painted on there with a mixture of red clay and other stuff to make it look like blood!"

[Breila]

Hedra smiles at the girl. "And who is talking to me with so much knowledge? My name is Hedra, as you probably know already."
She stretches out her hand in greeting, pushing back her exhaustion.

[Ismaels-Legacy]

"My name is Grace. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Rather than shake Hedra's hand she stands and gives a quick curtsy.

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Before anyone can react, Dorir sidles up to the quartermaster's wagon, bangs on the hatch and bellows, "IGNATIUS YOU OPEN THIS DAMNED HATCH AND GIVE THESE PEOPLE SOME AXES!" He turns to Gus and gives him a conspiratorial wink before walking off again.

You hear several latches being unfastened and the hatch slowly lowers on heavy ropes. Sheepishly, Ignatius stands there, a tiny man standing slightly over 5 feet tall. The top of his head is bald and shiny, but the sides of his head are thick with wild, white hair that extends into sideburns and finally into a mustache. His spectacles are the cleanest part of him, being polished to a fierce shine. He's holding two tree-felling axes clutched to his chest, cradling them as if he is quite overburdened. "My apologies, I thought you may be bandits, or perhaps worse; missionaries!"

[Breila]

In response to Grace's curtsy, Hedra inclines her head. "I am not highborn, Grace, just well-trained. And it's a pleasure to meet you, too." Hedra is pleasantly surprised to find such good manners here.

"You mentioned the quartermaster, what do you know about him?"