The Necromancer's Pact VII: Lake of Tears II

[Frojoe21]

Aeroz

"Mothers husband? But...oh..."

Aeroz says nothing for moment.

"Ok Edgar, I'd like to say its been a pleasure talking to you, but you, my friend, are too sullen. Its depressing. You should try lightening up and stop being so linear. My father was, and he almost blew me to bits."

At that point, Aeroz gets up and makes his way to his "tent". Skipping the pointless thoughts, he goes straight to a reverie.

[kariokie]

Nyssa

Nyssa, quietly evesdropping the entire time, says, "I think Edgar is a nice name."

Saying nothing more, she lies down, wrapping both her blankets and the blankets procured from Nolan around her. She slowly drifts back to sleep.

[Phasm]

Lissa

Once all the camp chores are done and full dark has fallen, Lissa spends about an hour in what looks like quiet prayer, dog curled up at her back. Evidently her deity prefers communion at night. Am I doing the right thing? I think I am, but I don't know... we've picked up so many strangers lately. I guess few people ever do really know that they're going the right way in life. Even those of us who serve the gods. Prayers complete, she bids goodnight to everyone with a tired smile and burrows into her bedroll. Cloudy settles down next to his diminutive mistress, evidently intent on sharing warmth with his new 'pack'. Lissa isn't about to complain; this is one reason she likes riding dogs.

About midnight, the howling of the wolves jolts Lissa awake. She reflexively grabs for her crossbow, left loaded next to her bedroll. "Mwuh? Who, what?" The sleep rapidly fades from her eyes as she looks around. "We under attack?"

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

The reappearance of the lizardman startles Tiriel, but not overly so. Guessing from his pantomime and with Trinark's help she digs in her pack and pulls out a small vial sealed with wax.
"You're not hurt are you? She asks as she hands the lizardman the potion.


When the subject of watches is brought up, Tiriel volenteers to take any of the three shifts.

If she's awake when Callos leaes:
Tiriel shakes her head as the wizard wanders off from the camp. Figures. He's either sulking or getting into more trouble. If he's not back by morning ... Well, I should look for him... maybe. Katrine took off again too, what the hell is she up too?

[King_of_GRiffins]

Elthan

Elthan goes to bed early and without worry. Sure there where wolves, but the group counted as an army in its own right. A money motivated, necromancer tormented, relatively combat unorganized army, but still one relatively that few sane creatures would care to bother with. When he is awakened by the continued howls, he shuts it out and falls back asleep wondering, How do they know what each of those howls mean anyway?

[Zeal]

Hajih

Hajih lies on the back of his wagon, his hat pulled over his eyes and his wolf curled up beside him. Deep in sleep, the ranger stirs in his slumber, responding to a dream, or judging from his response, a nightmare.

Standing on the deck of a ship, Hajih smells the salty air with a smile, but his expression quickly turns sour.
“Oh not this again, why did it have to be this? Why this day?” He says out loud to the ocean breeze.
He walks over to lean on the railing, his thick mat of hair open to the sea air. From somewhere behind him a feminine voice whispers, “Not getting sea-sick are we?”
Hajih reels back, a looks of horror and recognition on his face.
“No, you’re dead…you died…I saw it, why are you still here?” He says leaning backwards on the railing.
The voice belongs to a woman in gleaning plate mail; she has the same olive skin tone and sharp nose that Hajih carries and her hair is the same inky black colour. She doesn’t seem to notice, or care what Hajih is says, instead she acts as if he was simply sea-sick, offering encouragement, and offering him a water skin.
There is a sudden flash of lightening and everything changes.
No longer sunny and bright, a storm cloud lurks over the ship. The deck tilts and heaves, spilling cargo all over its surface. A line breaks with a sound like the crack of a whip and some rogue piece of timber lands squarely against the back of the woman in plate mail. She spills over the side of the ship and sinks into the white foam of the wild sea.
“Oh gods” Hajih mutters over and over again as this takes place but after what seems like a life time, there is another lightening flash.

Hajih sits up, spilling the hat to one side.
“I need a drink”

[dauphinous]

Delphinia

Gladi stirs at the wolf howls, whining quietly and awakening her ranger. Delphinia comes fully awake in a moment, just in time to hear the howls stop abruptly. She darts her glance around the camp, making sure everything is all right. Looks like maybe half of us woke up to that. Huh. Where's that wizard going? She watches him pace zombielike to the edge of the wood, then keep going. Damn frigging sonofa- he can go get himself killed for all I care. She scritches Gladi's head, trying to calm her, and sighs. Oh hell. Everyone's just going to let him go like that. I don't really want to see him dead, do I? He's just a jerk, not anything deserving of fatality. How many times did Orris tell me that not everyone sees the wilds in the same way? She gets up, grabbing her bow and quiver, and trots after the wizard, stopping just outside the clearing. Either something's wrong and he's not going to say anything, or he's just being a weirdo and he'll snap at me. She nocks an arrow to her bow. "Ya daft wizard, where in the Nine Hells are you going? If you don't answer me, I'll shoot you in the back." If he's in there, he'll answer to that!

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

Storing the vial carefully, he gives a look of gratitude to Tiriel. He fishes out the gourd of hydra blood and gives it in exchange.

Hurt?..Noo.
He vigourously shakes his head and turns about standing arms spread open to show that he hadn't a scratch on him.

Taking in her scent one last time, he nods politely before stalking off to bunk next to Trinark who had already start to meditate smiling at the rising moon.

Feeling obliged to share his thoughts with his partner, he mentions breifly his intention to be off in the morning briefly to make things right and in a small way restore the balance.

With a far better disposition since he had watched Trinark die and learned of Sheyra's fate he plops down and sighs as the fatigue in his sore muscles are relieved. In a matter of minutes he is fast asleep beside a wagon tightly wrapped against the cold.
[hr]
The howls of the wolves do not disturb his slumber. The silence does make him start before sleep settles over him again.

Thus, he doesn't notice Callos's departure. However, He does get up and stare coldly at hajih.....

..... before removing the ranger's hat from his own head and tossing it back onto Hajih's lap.

[Dr._Bob]

Callos ignores Delphinia's challenge, weaving between the trees until he is out of view.

Before anyone can decide whether or not to follow the wizard, a blood curdling scream pierces the night. Is it a woman in distress? Callos? Or perhaps a jungle cat? It's hard to say.

Almost immediately the howling picks up again. This time, the howling seems to be closer than before and the howls are definitely coming from multiple directions ...

[dauphinous]

Delphinia

Oh, hell no, if anyone is gonna kick his ass, it's gonna be me and the druid. "Hey, need some help with the wizard here," she calls back to the camp. Without wasting any more time than that, she uses what little power she has to try to stop him with a spell.

{casting Entangle, trying to get Callos in the AoE before he slips away}

[Phasm]

Lissa

Just as Lissa is about to go back to sleep, she hears Delphinia shout out. Wizard? A quick headcount confirms that Callos has gone missing. Ooh, if he did this a-purpose, he is so getting frozen horse dung in his bedroll when we got back! I just got warm! The gnome peels out of her relatively warm bedroll with a wince, now infinitely grateful that it had been so bloody cold that she chose to sleep in her clothes and armor rather than expose any skin to the frosty air. Damn, I took Cloudy's saddle off for the night. Well, here's hoping Callos isn't too far. Slinging her loaded crossbow over her back, Lissa rouses Cloudy and mounts him bareback. "Coming, Delphinia!", she shouts back. "Cloudy, mush!" The riding dog obediently bounds forward into the night.


OOC: It amused me to have Cloudy trained to the same directional commands as sled dogs. ^_^

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

What was that!?...

In a flash, the lizardman who had slumped down spun out of bed and onto his feet. The primal life he'd led before aiding his swift reaction.

He assesses the situation and tries to make sense of what's going on.
{Knowledge(Nature): 4 + 6= 10}

"Fire...Fire.. get fire", he urges pointing to the small fires they'd lit. Grabbing a torch he will hand it to the nearest human and urge others to pick one up.

Turning his head this way and that, he tries to make out just how many enemies they were facing.

{Cast Detect Animals and sweep it around}

[kariokie]

Nyssa

She had just gotten back to sleep when the scream split the night air. "What was tha--" she managed to say before the resumption of the howls cut her off.

Standing, Nyssa wraps her cloak and robe around herself tightly. Seeing Lissa head off into the forest at Delphinia's call for help she adds helplessly, "Splitting up might not be the best ide--" She gives up halfway through her words. It's like herding cats. Hasted cats.

Instead, she walks around the camp, quietly awakening anyone who still sleeps. "Callos has walked off. There was a scream. Delphinia and Lissa are after Callos. The wolves are closer and in multiple directions," she answers efficiently to anyone who asks.

[Spaz]

Yix


Yix wakes up, and he seems pretty angry at the interruption. Upon seeing the anxiousness of the rest of the party he figures something is not right. "What's going on?" Yix broadcasts to the group.

[Lost Sage]

Kiah

Kiah is just snuggling down into her blankets when Delphinia challenges Callos. She perks up and watches as Callos ignores her.

damn, that's not right after all Throwing her blankets off she just stands up when the scream pierces the night. holly mother... what was that???

She does a quick count of people, including Delphinia and Callos, and comes up one short.

"Lumpy, you great oaf, someone else is missing! Who left besides Callos?"

(OOC: can Kiah get to Lissa before she leaves, since she was already up?)

"Lissa! before you run off take this." Kiah casts a spell and touches Lissa. "Then I'll know if you get into trouble. Stick with Delphinia please."

She looks around...

"Anyone else hell bent on running off?"

(OOC: casting Status)

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

"Katrine is the other one missing. Trying to track her is near impossiple, we usualy just have to wait for her to come back. The wizard though, he should be fairly easy to find. She grabs her pack and quickly produces a tourch which she hands to the lizardman.

Good thing I put on my armour when my watch came around... she thinks, Now, it had better not be Katrine that screamed. The wizard seems inclilnded to act a fool, but she should know better...

Tiriel will follow the two shorter women who went into the woods after making sure that there are a good number of people, who are awake, staying at the camp.

edit: she'll allow Kiah to cast status on her before she leaves.

[Lost Sage]

Kiah

"Katrine... (sigh)... of course", she touches Tiriel as she goes by, then calls after her,

"Maybe the dog can find her!"

(OOC: Status on Tiriel also - that's it for that casting of it)

[Ludo]

Nolan

At the lizardkin's call for fire Nolan fetches his modified quarter staff and lights both ends of it once again. He returns to the perimeter of the camp, watching and listening intently for any approaching danger.

[+8 to spot and listen]

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn's eyes spring open as he hears the scream. He brings both arms out of his bedroll. Aw hell. It's cold out there. I'm going to enjoy mt bed for as long as I can. He grabs his crossbow and promptly disappears into his bedroll. From the oddly shaped lump and the noises, it is obvious that he is loading the crossbow. He soon springs up from the blanket and stands short. He begins scanning the area, load crossbow held loosely in one hand and the hilt of his 'short sword' gripped firmly in his other.

[Yoric_Steele]

Trinark

Everything began to happen at once and the camp suddenly resembled an anthill. Different members moving in different locations.

Trinark quickly moves back to his things and finishes strapping on his armor. If they had to fight something, anything, being prepared was a good idea.

After he was equipped, he moved to the edge of camp outside the firelight. Trinark began scanning the area outside of camp using his Darkvision, looking for enemies.

[Frojoe21]

Aeroz

Barely into his meditations, Aeroz snaps to attention. Sliding on the new small sheild he recently procured and unsheathing his rapier Aeroz goes to where most of the group is congregated.

"Alright, what in the infinite pits of the abyss is going on now?"

[HempRope]

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

Achkby wakens with the rest, but is slow to get his head on straight. Once he does understand what's going on, though, he dives into his pack, rooting to the very bottom where his sling has settled.

A few moments later, he pulls it out, and casts a quick spell on one of the stones, making it glow with a soft illumination. This he loads into the sling pouch before carefully standing his spear firmly in the ground at his feet. Then, he casts another spell to create a group of luminescent orbs, which he directs to circle the campsite.

[OOC]Light on a slingstone, Dancing Lights to scour our perimeter in widening circles (a spiral, I suppose).[/OOC]

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

There it was. Humans. Hardly more than a day, and that bitch was already trying to put him in his place.

In contrast to the general madness of the waking camp, Lumpy's methods are neither rushed, nor delayed, simply taken at an easy pace. He casually rises from his seat, making sure his things are properly secured before taking any other action. He chooses not to dignify Kiah's query with a response, instead shifting straight to instruction, barking like tired drill instruction,

"No one else go nowhere. And slow the Hells down, it's hard enough ta sort this out without everyone yelling and flashing lights everywhere."

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

*First from the scream, then from the mental ping from Yix, Thokk extracts himself from his bedroll, simply grabs his sword and shield and jogs over to the lizardman. Standing, he sweeps the area to try and see anything moving within the darkness*

"Ach, scaley, what be goin on here?"

[Dr._Bob]

Delphinia is about to cast entangle, but Callos is too far into the woods to reach, so she holds back for the moment, plunging into the trees with Gladi at her side.

The bare trees don't obscure the moonlight too much, and Callos doesn't seem to be attempting to disguise his footsteps in any way. The halfling ranger is able to track Callos fairly easily.

Lissa pauses only long enough for Kiah to link to her, before she leaps astride her dog and rides into the woods after Delphinia. Tiriel, also linked to Kiah, is not far behind, her flaming sword lighting her way.

[hr]
The camp flares to life. Nolan stands, his staff burning from both ends. A set of dancing lights spirals into the night, sending shadows spinning disorientingly. Questions are shouted into the air at no one in particular and weapons are hastily readied and armor donned.

The lizardman peers into the woods, forming the mental image of a wolf as he scans the area for life. The howls have stopped, and if there are any wolves in the area, they must be too far away for the druid to sense them ...

[hr]
It doesn't take Delphina, Lissa and Tiriel long to catch up with Callos. The wizard stands swaying slightly in a forest glade. Illuminated by the full moon, he looks peaceful as he stares up into the night sky.

Another high-pitched scream fills the air from deeper within the woods, causing Callos to start slightly. He turns around and looks at the women behind him, blinking in confusion. "Where am I?" he asks dazedly ...

[Spaz]

Yix


Yix looks at around at the group, the tension thick in the air "Back to back?" the suggestion comes from the small lizardesque creature.

[dauphinous]

Delphinia

"Yeah, that's not a surprise. You wandered off, probably called over by something." Delphinia takes a moment to look around. A glade, eh? When you get sucked into a glade, it's either lollipops or knuckle sandwiches. And that smell sure as hell isn't sugar. The scream directs her attention that way. She climbs up onto Gladi's bare back and readies her bow again.

[kariokie]

Nyssa

Nyssa, at a loss of what else to do, speaks a few words and draws an arcane symbol in the air, drawing upon her powers to see if they are being approached by the undead. The group's primary enemy was a necromancer like herself, and they had already been attacked once in the night by undead.

{Cast Detect Undead, concentrate, and scan out in all directions from the camp (clockwise) for undead. If she finds any, she'll warn the group.}

[Ludo]

Nolan

Nolan nods to the pseudodragon's suggestion and makes sure his position covers an area not being scanned by others. His grip flexes on his staff once and he clears his mind in anticipation.

[Dr._Bob]

Nyssa scans the area for undead, detecting none. The lizardman hisses, however, sensing the approaching wolves before the others can see them.

The wolves converge on the party from all directions staying just out of range of Achkby's dancing lights. As they close in, their eyes pick up some of the light from the party's torches and arcane illumination, glowing red. Soon your party is surrounded by what must be at least two score pairs of glowing eyes.

Everyone is up and standing in a loose circle. The horses and mules stamp their hooves and whinny uneasily. Hajih's wolf crouches at his side, growling softly. Its tail is tucked under its body and its ears lie flat as it trembles in fear ...

[hr]
In the glade, Callos, Lissa, Tiriel and Delphinia also stand back to back. Something dark is moving through the underbrush, just out of sight, as if it is stalking them ...