CH. 9: Road to Tu'Valie

[JadedDM]

The party continues on without incident, doing their best to ignore their growling stomachs. The hours pass, and eventually the sun begins to sink over the horizon. The party again makes camp for the night, near the trail. Andar sets up a fire and sleeping bags and blankets are laid out around it.

==========

The party travels 4 miles in 10 hours at a movement rate of 8.

It is now 7:00 PM.

[HorizonsDream]

"We should have taken a boat," Jocelyn mutters to herself as she sets out her stuff.

[BishGada]

Baeros and Takit set to the woods hunting. 'Let's just hope we left that flower sniffing snake behind us' Baeros thinks to himself.

===============================================================
(OOC: I think Val is no longer ecumbered and we should move at rate of 12. Nude posted 'Val hands over her excess weight' obviously he meant she hands it to Andar which is our new mule )

[JadedDM]

"We couldn't take a boat," Areilon says to Jocelyn. "Because then we'd have had to leave Thunder behind."

Baeros and Takit prepare to leave the camp to go hunting, when suddenly the party hears barking in the distance. Takit tilts his head, puzzled.

A small dog--more of a puppy, really--comes sprinting out of the woods. It skids to a halt when it sees the party. It begins bouncing around, barking loudly, then runs back toward the forest a few feet before stopping again, then turning toward the party and barking some more.

===========

(OOC: I need to know what gear, specifically, Val gives to Andar. She needs to drop at about 25 pounds to reach no encumbrance.)

[Nuke]

Giving the following items to Andar.

waterskin (8 pints) [9 lb], waterskin (8 pints) [9 lb], battle axe [7 lbs], 25 feet of silk rope [4 lbs]

Val plainly speaks, "We ended up leaving Thunder behind anyway."

"Me thinks we got company" as she readies her bow

[HorizonsDream]

Jocelyn looks towards the barking puppy. "I think it wants us to follow him," she says with a small frown.

[BishGada]

Baeros flinches as he hears Val's comment, but keep his look away from her, focusing on the dog. "So it seems..." Baeros answers Jocelyn. "Well, since I'm already ready to go, I'll check what it wants and call you if needed." Baeros gets closer to the dog, let it sniff him and then follows, with Takit walking at his side.

[Breila]

"Let's hope the people we're going to meet are as friendly as their dog" Ouragana remarks, packing up her gear.

[JadedDM]

When Baeros gets close to the dog, it suddenly vanishes into thin air. A second later, it reappears 10 feet away, still barking and checking to see if it's being followed.

=========

(OOC: Okay, I've transferred Val's two waterskins, axe and rope to Andar. She is no longer encumbered. Andar, however, is now 1 pound into light encumbrance, so the party's movement rate remains at 8.)

[HorizonsDream]

Jocelyn blinks, then rubs at her eyes. "Wait a minute," she says, clearly a little confused. "I'm not sure we should follow a dog that disappears."

[BishGada]

Baeros stops on the spot. "Hey! Did you see that? Something is wrong with this dog. He can... vanish and reappear elsewhere... or maybe there is something here..." Baeros lifts a stone and throws it to the place the dog just stood at. "Hmm... nothing here... so this dog is weird. I guess you should grab your weapons and follow us." And he tries to keep pace with the displacing dog.

[Breila]

Weapons Ouragana thinks. Not for me, I'm more likely to hurt a friend than a foe. But we'll see if they can be put to sleep or caught in a web. She makes sure she can see what#s in front of them.

[JadedDM]

The party follows after the strange pup. The puppy stops barking, but does routinely check over its shoulder to ensure the party is following.

It leads them deeper into the forest, and after awhile they start to encounter very large spiderwebs. The puppy continues on, slowing a bit out of fear, its head down and tail tucked beneath it, but determined to press onward.

[HorizonsDream]

~Where is this dog leading us?~ Jocelyn thinks to herself as she presses on with the rest of the group.

[Nuke]

Val empties a waterskin since water storage is no longer an issue. "Let's not get too side tracked here."