You Awaken IC

[Lither]

The sun has begun to slowly sink beneath the horizon as you awaken, although that can only be determined by the gradual darkening of the clouds. You are in a mass grave, you realise as your senses slowly begin returning. Tossed there as the dead, among perhaps a few hundred others. All who were in the fort making their defiant stand. On the very top, and it is perhaps two feet to the lip. Above the lip there are a few treetops to the south, brightly illuminated by a flickering infernal glow, and the smell of smoke is faint but noticable.

All your gear remains with you, as it seems they want nothing to do with you anymore.

[thedarkstone]

Groaning, Aleister awoke to the smell of rotting corpses. Not the worst smell he'd ever been assaulted by in the morning--there was a reason soldiers dreaded meal time, and it wasn't the chance to be taken by surprise in an ambush--but still, it was rather unpleasant. Sitting up, he brushed some of the particulates of the dead from his body and looked around.

The sight that greeted him was even worse than the smell. Dead bodies, of all of the soldiers who had been fighting alongside them at the fort, lay before him. Crawling out of the pile, he surveyed the area. Deciding it wouldn't hurt, he turned back to the pile. "Is anyone else alive?" he called to them, hoping that, at least, some of those who had served under him had survived.

Thinking about it then, the man found it rather strange how he could not remember anything past the axe that should have done him in. After all, with its trajectory and force, it should have broken his chest, which should have collapsed inwards on his innards, killing him near instantly. Which would have placed his soul straight into devilish hands; that was a fate he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Looks like I may have survived for now, he thought, but not for much longer alone. Aleister had sided with Svilbarris, the losing side of this war. He could not guarantee his life would be much longer. Added, of course, to his low ration amount--he had enough to last him four days, perhaps six if he wanted to push it--this made it seem all the more likely that he would perish, and his soul would be damned to Hell for all eternity.

Perhaps another is still alive. I could use the help. Additional survivors meant more mouths, but an increased chance for survival among all of them. Especially in the regions formerly occupied by Svilbarris. "Are there other survivors among this lot, besides myself?" Perhaps one of my students survived; Skrareg had always been resilient. He might have survived this.

[CowMasterTrojan]

In the cold twilight of the setting sun, D'ssandra defiantly opens her blue eyes, their cold intellect immediately surveying the scene. But even her vision, spectacular as it was in darkness, saw only dirt. Above her something heavy pressed down, pinning her in place. Slowly, carefully her hand reached out to find the burden. Groping, she felt it carefully before realizing it's identity. It was a leg. She dug her nail hard into the person's ankle, hoping to wake him. Seconds passed as she received no response and it occurred to her. He was dead. Some buffoon did not pass out on her, he was thrown on her. She was in a grave.

I remember running, and then the arrows... they went straight through the back of my neck and stomach. I knew then as it all went black.... I had died again... And yet I am clearly not....

Again her hand reached carefully to the back of her neck, carefully feeling the flesh. Nothing. Not even a scar. So be it, whatever happened is currently irrelevant. With all her might she tried to pull herself out. No luck. Determined to escape, D'ssandra grabbed onto the leg once more. With all her strength she tilted her body and pulled the leg downward. For a moment she felt no difference, and then the bodies on top of her shifted to the side. She quickly rolled in the opposite direction and once free jumped to her feet before bounding out of the grave. Standing up, she felt her abdomen. It was missing the arrow and fully healed as well. How odd

Cooly she looked around. They were all dead, and a slight anger rose from her stomach. Savages....
But wait... she heard something in the distance. Someone was calling for survivors. Raising an eyebrow she looked around. She would check those around her for survivors first, perhaps loot anything that was immediately useful, and then follow the sound of the voice. As she knelt over to examine a nearby body she whispered "Do not take offense, but better you than I as I see it."

Mechanics

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Spot (To notice if someone is still breathing or notice someone coming) (1d20+10)[21]
Search (To find any easy to find tools, arrows, or coin purses) (1d20+13)[18]
Listen (To hear anyone breathing or anyone coming) (1d20+10)[14]
Hide (Blending in with the shadows to not be found looting bodies) (1d20+21)[35]

[Smokin Red]

Everything was black. And silent.
It took some moments for Skrareg to realize the smell of death and the weight of bodies upon him.
'My comrades... The battle...'
Slowly, memories reappeared.
'There were too many of them, too many pikes.'
He coughed and tried to touch his throat. He had to move some of the dead bodies, piled upon him.
'Why am I still alive?'
Where a gaping wound should be, Skrareg felt firm, scaly flesh. He froze still.
'Great platinum dragon, have mercy.'

Skrareg spent some time to consider his situation.

Then he heard something, pulling him out of shock.
'Aleister!'
Military training took over. He tried to move some more, pushing away corpses.
"I apologise.", he said to the dead, then louder "Aleister? Sir? I am here!"

[nazgulnine]

As the sun hung low in the sky, Nerra quietly felt the sudden coldness of the world return to her as she tightened her paw around the fresh earth, the stink of metal filling her keen nose. A whimper escaped her muzzle as she strained her eyes open, readjusting them to the sudden light.

"Khazz drik," she swore under her breath as she pulled herself up from the ground, checking her chest, where her bone amulet hung, and where for some reason, she remembered a human blade sinking cleanly through. Nerra put a paw to her nose, remembering the stink of the world before realizing she was stuck at the bottom of a pit among a heap of bodies. She sprang to one of the bodies beside her, grabbing the corpse and shaking it with a growl.

The patch-furs... they are... Nerra looked around the pit, hoping to spot one that had moved, for some sign of breath—of life. Such pity. Who would do such a deed, and for what purpose?

Nerra rose from her place and stretched her limbs, finding her bow and bodkins still in her possession, along with all of the traveling gear from her clan. Her clan. Nerra took to a frantic panic, wondering if there were any of them nearby before realizing that whoever put her there could still be nearby. She began moving more carefully, pushing aside the bodies of the humans she had met the night before, humans she regarded as kind, if strange, individuals.

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Listen to hear any breathing or whispers: (1d20+6)[12]
Spot to notice motion: (1d20+8)[10]
Move silently to avoid being noticed by potential guards: (1d20+15)[29]

[Lither]

Aleister:

Leaving the grave you find yourself in a large clearing surrounded by trees. Flickering patches of orange and yellow light illuminate the forest landscape brighter than the dimming sunlight.

CowMasterTrojan:

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You cannot see anybody else approach, and nobody else seems to breathe. However, you do see and hear that a short while away there three others moving around.

One has left the grave and is walking around outside it, calling for survivors, another is running to the edge and the third is wading through as quietly as they can.

From the bodies you can find a few coins worth ten gold pieces in total, four unbroken arrows, a day's worth of unspoilt rations as well as a strange amulet made out of metal.

nazgulnine:

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You cannot hear or see anyone else alive around you, but a short distance off you can see one other moving around outside the ditch calling for survivors and another pushing aside, appearantly to escape.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Leaving the grave, D'ssandra quickly pockets her findings. She draws her bow, notches an arrow and begins moving towards the sound of the others. She moves slowly, staying hidden, trying to notice any enemy that may be hidden.

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Spot (1d20+10)[25]
Listen (1d20+10)[14]
Move silently (1d20+19)[25]
Hide (if a new one is needed) (1d20+21)[25]

[nazgulnine]

Who is that? More who still live? Or those who do not yet rest? Nerra shuddered at the thought of the dead springing back to life. I have found others, and that is enough for now. Taking care to place her footing over as little of the dead as possible out of respect, Nerra whispered a prayer to her ancestors for the safety of their souls as she passed them by on her way out of the ditch.

[Smokin Red]

The carrion birds croak indignantly, as their meal starts to move. The torn remains of the horse are tossed aside and a large figure, clad in steel emerges from the mass grave.

Skrareg draws his blade and stretches his wings, while looking around alert.

'Remain calm.', he thinks to himself, 'If there were guards here, they would have attacked already.
I'm sure I've heard Aleister or am I imagining things...'

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Spot: (1d20+2)[11]
Listen: (1d20+2)[4] (both to find Aleister, and check the environment)
No 20's for me ... as usual

[Lither]

@CowMasterTrojan:

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Moving out of the grave, you cannot see or hear anybody new.

@Smokin Red:

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You cannot pinpoint him by sound alone, nor can you hear anything else amiss, but you can see him moving north around the clearing, while south-east you see another one leaving, this one evidently not a human, despite a humanoid shape.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Sorry, to clarify; she is moving towards the one outside the grave that was calling out.

[Smokin Red]

Trying to get a better impression of the humanoid in the south-east, Skrerag slowly moves north, trying to get the attention of his commanding officer.

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Spot: (1d20+2)[18] to get a better knowledge of the non-human - though I thought there are no humans in our little group (you surely considered darkvision and low-light vision, but just in case...)

[nazgulnine]

Nerra exits the pit and looks around in the twilight, straining her eyes to make sense of her newfound surroundings as she quietly approached the group of humans. How many there must have been.... To think the Earth Mother has left us in the realm of life--my ancestors must be smiling upon me.

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Spot check to identify any 'oddities' in the surroundings (no chirping birds, strange lights, etc): (1d20+8)[10]

[Lither]

@CowMasterTrojan:

Moving up to him, you can easily recognise him from the siege as Aleister Convent. Moving closer, you can also see and recognise Nerra Windwalker and Skareg Icescale. The three of them you remember from the garrison during the siege.

@SmokinRed:

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Yes, and that nobody here is human did occur to me . I found it amusing, but humans are numerous enough that it can be used as a reliable baseline.

The one from the south-east you cannot see properly but you can recognise her as Nerra Windwalker, one member of the garrison during the siege.

@nazgulnine:

Moving closer, you can identify two people, Aleister Convent and Skrareg Icescale. Aleister is calling out for survivors, and Skareg is moving to his location.

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You see faint movement amoung a few of the dead in the ditch you just left, as if a large creature was jostling them.

@thedarkstone:

You can see two other people moving towards you, and you can recognise both of them as Skareg Icescale and Nerra Windwalker. They were both part of the garrison during the siege.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Realizing that the other two are descending on Aleister, D'ssandra stops for a moment. Once they have grouped up, she will begin to approach again.

[Smokin Red]

Skrareg approaches Aleister and salutes, sadness in his eyes.

"Sir, I have to report, what seems to be the loss of nearly the entire unit. I have no excuses, nor explanations, how I am still alive, and even unscathed."

He shrugs, regaining his bearings, he continues: "What are your commands?"

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I think I should be for everybody plain to see, with the 'stretching my wings'-bit

[CowMasterTrojan]

(Got bored of waiting)

As the two former comrades regroup, seemingly out of the shadows steps a humanish woman in all black, with long black hair and dull blue eyes. She wears a crest of Svilbarris on her shoulder, and a strange dagger partially shows under her cloak. Her bow and arrow is in hand, but it is not currently notched.

"Aleister... is it? I apologize, but I only recall your name in passing. Unless I'm mistaken, we've never worked together before. I am D'ssandra Tali'nox, 2nd Lieutenant of the Intelligence division. "

::Her eyes case over the other two quickly, seemingly looking for something::

"I notice neither of you have wounds. Which is funny, because I saw you fall..." motioning towards Skrareg "because that's when I started the tactical retreat. Several arrows to my back later, I thought I was ... dead, much like yourselves I presume."

"So I hate to be the one to say this, but unless somebody has some brighter idea's, I do believe now is the time to get the hell out of here. War's over, we're out of men. And I believe that if we worked together, it would serve all our interests best. Don't you agree?"

[thedarkstone]

Aleister looked at the two standing before him; one--who had approached later after the other--he did not recognize, though there was something familiar about her. The other... "Skrareg? It is you! This is quite unexpected, in the best possible way." He smiled warmly at the half-dragon as he returned the salute. The smile slowly fades as he hears the words spoken by his subordinate. "That seems to be the case, may their souls reach the Platinum Dragon safely." Sighing, he heard the question for orders, and was about to answer, when the other spoke up.

That was why there was something familiar. She was a member of the Intelligence unit. Aleister saluted the woman. "I am indeed Aleister. And, to be frank, D'ssandra, I must at least partially agree. We need to get somewhere else. There will likely be looters soon, and if they find living members, word could spread." Looking at the crest upon her shoulder, the hellbred pointed and said, "That will have to go. We lost; if you show that crest, you sign our death warrants."

Turning his head to Skrareg, he said, "Your orders are as follows: help me escort Lieutenant D'ssandra Tali'nox of the Intelligence division to the nearest town. Once there, we will decide on another course of action. Understood?"

[Smokin Red]

Skrareg follows the talk of the officers, his eyes wandering between them, although it seems to rest a bit longer on D'ssandra.
After Aleister adresses him, he indicates a salute.
"Yes sir, understood."
Looking down at the two, he sheathes his sword and opens his arms.
"Shall I carry you two? Or do you think it is better to stay on the ground?"

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Using 'Detect evil' on D'ssandra - I know I won't find anything, but Skrareg doesn't.

If I'm right, it should be easy to carry you two, with all our equipment and your weight, I'm at approximate half light weight.

If number three (where is Nerra?) shows up, it could get challenging, carrying three persons at once.

[nazgulnine]

Nerra stood beside the group, tail lolling from side-to-side, listening intently to the conversation.
"Skies burn, friends lie, and the lone kits make for retreat. Truly it is a day of sorrow. Nerra knows she asked on her clan's safety upon taking refuge, but she implores you all now. If sight or sense brings them to you, Nerra implores you to inform Nerra." The wolfish woman raised her paws and made a hand gesture close to prayer and bowed a little to the human she identified as D'ssandra. "In return Nerra shall do what she can guard your lives, by hers or otherwise, in Earth-Mother's name."

[CowMasterTrojan]

To Nerra
"Right... "

To Skrareg
"I prefer to minimize the physical contact. I haven't needed a horse up til now, I don't need one now. Nothing personal. I will take point, if you three can manage to stay somewhat close then we should be okay."

When all three are ready, she darts out rather fast in the vague direction of the nearest town, Bow at the ready.

[thedarkstone]

Aleister might have sighed at the catfolk woman speaking in third person in his former life, but he knew more restraint in his current. So, instead, he simply made a mental note to minimize vocal communication with that one. Third person was confusing, and led to odd sentence structures. Turning to Skrareg, he shook his head. "The sky will attract too much undue attention. Much better if we remain grounded."

As D'ssandra darted past him, Aleister called to her, "Don't move too far ahead!" before turning to face Nerra. "I am glad for your assistance." Turning to the direction D'ssandra went, he began to follow at a brisk pace, expecting the other two to keep up. "If we hurry, we should reach a town by nightfall." I hope.

[nazgulnine]

Nerra

Half-running and half-pouncing, Nerra follows after the group, keeping a steady eye on their surroundings. She grumbled internally at the request to stay together, lamenting the sluggishness of the humans, but did as she was asked, eager to leave behind the stench of the dead. Staying with the group, Nerra focused her senses on detecting any incoming threats.

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More surveying checks.
Spot: (1d20+8)[23]
Listen: (1d20+6)[16]

[CowMasterTrojan]

Quickly beginning to double their speed, D'ssandra catches herself picking up too much speed and comes to a sudden stop. Her fingers come to touch her face gently as something appears to have crossed her mind. She patiently waits for the others to catch up. Once they approach, she motions for them to stop.
"We have no idea how spread out the enemy is. Would you be opposed to doing some quick recon? Just fly up, look around and the nearby area and come back down. Try to see if you can find any enemy troop encampments. This will only last a couple of minutes so you don't have a lot of time"

She steps forward and touches Skrareg quickly on the shoulder, muttering arcane words. He immediately turns invisible.

[Lither]

Skareg:

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(if you go scouting)

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On scouting, you see that outside the forest, the army has built a massive bonfire from the wooden walls of the fort. They appear to be celebrating inside there and are making no attempt at a search.

All:

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(If you continue into the nearest city)

Despite the assurances, it being sunset means that by the time you arrive, it is shortly after nightfall, thanks to following a track leading out of the forest. You have arrived at what was once the capital of Svilbarris.

The city, or rather fortress, is recovering from heavy damage to the walls. There is easily observable evidence that ground teams have been working on repairing many sections, and have only begun recently.

The moat has been filled in and even at night there are regular patrols who keep warm by burning whatever seems to be available.

As you watch, three guards blocking the gates gather around a brazier while the fourth throws a flag on it.

Clearly victory celebrations have yet to reach this place.

Nerra:

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On your trip out, you cannot see or hear any more disturbances.

[thedarkstone]

Aleister examines the fortifications for a moment before turning to his companions. "The guards seem oblivious to us," he whispered to those around him. "Our options are many. What do you think, D'ssandra?" he asked the former Second Lieutenant. Given that she had some experience, Aleister assumed she would have some opinion on this, a viewpoint he had not considered.

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OOC: Apologies for the short post; I'll try to increase the length with the next post.

[CowMasterTrojan]

"Well as I see it, we really have only three options. Try to talk our way past them, try to sneak our way past them, or silently kill them all. Although right now I am inclined to prefer option three, its more rational and logical to try talking or sneaking first and use option three as a back up."

She leans against a tree, raises a boot and clicks open a hidden compartment in the heel. Finally taking the crest off, she places it in the hidden compartment and closes it.

"If we sneak past them, this is how I would do it. I would cast invisibility on you and the half dragon, make a distraction, and then myself and... Nerra is it?...would sneak in while you two noisy creatures fly inside. What we do once we're inside would still be a possible issue."

"If we talk, we obviously feed them the information that the last fort has fallen. That may raise their spirits enough to not ask too many questions. Its advantage to sneaking is that it uses up less of my magic and we worry less once we're inside, in theory, but the disadvantage is it can go to hell alot faster."

"Those are my thoughts. As I have said, I have little field command experience, so I consider you in charge here. It's your call"

[nazgulnine]

Nerra nods her head at the suggestion made by D'ssandra.
"Mrazz-kham. Nerra believes you are right, D'ssandra. If you will allow Nerra a chance to speak, our party must tread carefully. As the elders say, in times of hardship, even the deer will mistake one another as enemies. Think on it. To come from the woods as ghosts smelling of death and bearing news of slain kin, would you welcome such a messenger with open arms?"

[thedarkstone]

Aleister nodded as he listened to both of them. "Nerra, you make a good point. We may be able to pass ourselves off as mercenaries on their side, but we don't know how long that will last, or even if it will succeed. We could sneak inside; however," he said quietly as he shook his head, "I'm not certain as to the wisdom of that."

The hellbred sighed. "We may need to, but if we are caught, they will likely have superior forces and preparedness on their side. So, it seems as though our best option is to avoid them, but that is not a luxury we can afford." Looking around, he almost sighed again but stopped himself. "Very well. We shall take the most cautious approach and sneak our way in."

[CowMasterTrojan]

"Very well. We shall meet at *****. Go swiftly, these last only a few minutes. we shall see you soon with luck."

OOC

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**** I assume they could quickly come to the conclusion of where to meet, a Inn most likely.

D'ssandra casts invisibility on Skrareg and Aleister, then she casts silence on Skrareg since he wears full plate. She then motions for them to take flight. Once she believes they are gone, she turns to Nerra.

"Be ready, I shall make a distraction now"

She then casts expeditious retreat on herself. Then she casts silent image and ghost sound to enhance it (Oddly in the reverse order because silent image requires concentration.).

Near the guards in a direction away from the gate starts a soft human sounding moaning of agony. "murderers..." It starts quiet enough that it could easily be covered by the wind and slowly grows in volume until it is the sound of someone screaming. "Murderers!..." At the same time a floating transparent woman who clearly appears corpse like and ghostly slowly appears, giving off a light glow. She continuously bleeds from a stab wound in her neck, and the blood runs down her body, staining her white dress, before dripping off her bare feet and disappearing into thin air. The woman stands upright and points at the guards, before the moans of pain turn even louder. "MURDERERS!!!...." If this spooks the guards, she will advance on them. If they do not spook, but approach her then she will appear to lead them to something, but the point is to get them away.

D'ssandra makes the motion to Nerra to move when the guards attention is elsewhere. Using her standard action she concentrates on the illusion, which stops moving when she can no longer see it to direct it. With her move actions she sneaks thru the gate at a speed of 45, hiding in the shadows.

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She takes 10 on both Hide and Move silently.
Hide 31
MS 29