Interlude in Red Larch

[greyarea]

Marcus, paladin

Marcus pats the horse. He looks at Rory, Buck and Grinkle. What do you all make of this? he asks.

[Spanningtree]

Nahin - Elf

Strange, somethings up ahead... Nahin will take a closer look at the claw marks on the animal trying to discern the size of the inflicter.

[badams30]

Nahin and Buck examine the horse a bit more closely, while Grinkle caresses it's head. The horse seems to absorb the human(ish) contact, and nieghs contentedly.
Nahin and Buck both reach the conclusion that the wounds are likely those of a bobcat or a mountain lion, both common in these parts. The wounds look relatively fresh, perhaps within the last 2-3 days. They are slightly infected, but not likely life threatening.

As Buck pets the horse along the haunches, he suddenly stops and shouts, "Wait! This is Del's horse!" And he points to the brand on the back, a simple "DL" and says "This is Del Lockheart's brand, and I think this is Violet, his own horse." He looks at you all, and not seeing the recognition he expected, he says "oh, sorry. Del is a wheelright in Red Larch. His nephew is one of those who originally left for the manor, and Del took up with the other eight to go look for him a couple of weeks back. This is his horse." Buck's words trail off as he stares in the direction the horse came from. He continues, but still staring down the track. "Saddle and gear are missing, that's odd. Doesn't look as if she's eaten in some time either. Something is amiss. Del wouldn't knowingly let his mount get this way." Buck stands silent for almost 5 minutes, just staring into the darkness. Finally he says "Well, not much we can do till sun up. Let's go back to sleep, but keep a good eye out. Hopefully Del is close by."

With that, Buck starts putting his gear on, and tossing a couple pieces of ragged wood into the fire.

[greyarea]

Marcus, paladin

Marcus says grimly, This is a bad sign. Let's take this horse with us. Hopefully they all are alive, even if we need to rescue them.

He pats the horse, Don't worry Voilet. I understand when a warhorse chooses his paladin and so might another horse her rider. We will try to return you to yours if we can.

[Atomic Ray]

Han Overfist, augur of Tymora

(Han goes through a simple prayer session including the party members and those who went before them, he breaks out his Mu bag, draws a quick circle, shakes the bag, recites a chant, and tosses the items at the circle)

(he looks at the pile of little bones, rune tiles, short braid of hair, colored glass, and stones)

"Clearly there is something foul and distressing out in the dark, I will second the watches after the moon reaches it's highest point...I suspect a witching hour tonight"

(Han collects his items, tosses the braid into the fire, checks on the injured horse, makes a short braid and cuts it off, putting it in his bag)

"Wake me after the mid-watch"

(Han drops quickly to sleep)

[Spanningtree]

Nahin - Elf

Clearly an omen of things to come. He will stay vigilant on his watch(s).

[tumblingdice]

OC: Sorry, guys. Email notification stopped working on my end.

Rory looks at Violet, shaking his head. If an apple is near at hand, he'll feed it to the horse.

[kjc]

Marcus...
He pats the horse, Don't worry Voilet. I understand when a warhorse chooses his paladin and so might another horse her rider. We will try to return you to yours if we can.

Jayce - Fighter

"Or if not...it's more meat for the stew." Jayce thinks, then frantically looks around hoping he didn't say that out loud.

[badams30]

Aside from what sounds like coyote calls in the distance about an hour after Violet comes to camp, the rest of the night is uneventful. Around 3AM, the snow and wind picked up dramatically, then suddenly dropped off around 5AM. Buck and Grinkle stoke the fire and get some warm food cooking, as the first rays of sun try to poke through a cloudy, cold grey sky. Despite the amount of snow that has fallen, most of it has blown away, and it lays in small accumulated drifts next to boulders and static objects. Buck shakes his head and comments "This is how it is up here this time of year. Could have 2 feet of snow tomorrow, then warm and sunny the next day." He shrugs, pouring coffee and says "That's why we waste no time, eh gents?"

Buck motions toward the growing light on the horizon and says "No hurry in getting started the next two days. We need to take our time, the next campsite is a short distance, and then the by the following day we should enter the valley.

After a filling and warm breakfast, you all mount up, Grinkle taking time to comfort Violet and tie her to the wagon on a long lead. Buck also spends some time mixing some herbal salve and applying to her wounds, making her visibly more relaxed. She's still pretty thin, but looking better than last night when you met her.

With that, you are on your way, with more of the same rocky, hilly terrain. in some places despite the relative rolling terrain, the trail is very narrow and boxed in by rocks and boulders, making the progress slow and deliberate. Grinkle carefully threads the wagon through this though, proving his worth yet again.

At lunch time you pause to eat a cold meal and rest the horses, then it's off again. As it gets later in the day, you can see the mountains in the distance, and ominous grey clouds framing them. Buck smiles a humorless smile and says "There is our destination. We'll be there midday at this pace. The trail has become more winding and slower as you proceed, and as you round one particularly sharp curve, Buck suddenly calls out "WHOA! STOP!" and as you bunch up near him at the front, you see at the feet of his mount a carcass of a white and brown riding horse, almost blocking the trail. The horse appears to have been dead for at least a week, and looks to have been a snack for some wild beasts on occasion. Buck rides forward about 50 feet, looking about, smelling the air and generally being observant. He says "This may be one of our search party's horses, but I'm not sure. He points out what you've already seen - aside from a bridle, no saddle or gear is apparent. Buck dismounts, drawing his axe and starts to look about the area.

Any special actions?

[tumblingdice]

Rory snaps out of his reverie, wherein he was lying in Fern's bed, draws an arrow, and looks up toward either side of the rock ridges.