The party broke camp, and Kaileer found a trail left by the group who had attacked them the day before. After a few minutes' walk, the trail led to a spot where the bandits had probably waited out yesterday's storm. Kaileer's attempt to pick up another, more productive trail was unsuccessful, all traces of where they came from having been washed away by the storm.
The woods were eerily quiet this morning, an odd silence that was confusing and comforting at the same time. There was little animal movement or birdsong to be heard. Most of the noise in the area seemed to be coming from the party itself. Lasiar, still badly wounded, and Arachne, on foot, brought up the rear of the group as they walked.
"South, North, it matters not to me." Blacky said and then stopped as if suddenly having an idea. "Listen, this may be a risky prospect for it would divide the group slightly, but half of us could travel on one bank while the other half traveled on the other. That way we would be unlikely to miss any clues. We would also be close enough together to be of some support to each other in the event of an attack. What say you all?" He finished, seeming quite pleased with himself for having though up the idea.
As they searched the camp Kaileer, unable to find a trail, walked along the edge in uneasy anticipation. Suddenly, he stopped, looked around quickly, tightened his grip on his spear and joined the group. "Something not right... in forest," he said, shaking his head as he looked back, then past the others, and finaly to both sides, apparently hoping to locate the source of his anxiety. "Have care..."
"Dammit," Jana growled. She looked around nervously. "Just paint a friggin' target on my chest," she muttered. She gripped the reins of her horse a bit more tightly. "Steady, Dammit," she whispered. "What am I going to do with you," she mused quietly, looking around for a convenient place to tether the horse should Kaileer's threat materialize.
Aloysius moved up next to Jana and Sweetie/Horse/Dammit as the group moved along. "Janathell, I thank thee for thy candor concerning thy economic motives. Eric spoke true, we have much need of thy spirit and thy good right arm." Aloysius reached into his belt pouch and dug out some coins. "Here," he said, holding a handful of coins out to the dark-haired fighter. "Stargazer seeks knowledge and a way to free the captured. Knowledge I yet have little, but coin I have more. Take this not as a bribe or offer of hire. I simply wish thee to find what thou wants." The mage awaited Jana's response to his offer.
Jana blinked a few times, then stammered, "No, no... Thank you, but no." She wiped away a bit of dust that had somehow found its way into the corner of her eye. For a moment, despite her height and the weapons and the armor, she looked quite young and oddly vulnerable. The moment passed, and she smiled at Aloysius and said gently, "I appreciate the thought, really, but I can't take your money. Besides, I'm afraid I'll need a great deal more than a few coins." She sighed and explained, "It's hard to get into a good mercenary company, especially for women. My mother had to marry into one. I'd rather," she added dryly, "just make myself too well-equipped and too good at what I do for them to pass over, or discard in some hopeless front line grunt position. Or worse."
The mage returned the coins to his pouch. "Very well," he said with a faint smile. "If thy inclination should change, just say so." Aloysius seemed to ponder a point for a moment. "Little do I know of matters martial, but seen have I thy merit in combat. Thy talents make mine seem, well . . . .meager. Mayhap you could assist me in the nuances of hand-to-hand combat? I feel as if I keep doing it wrong . . . . . Brave Kaileer seemed to think a change of weapon might help, but I have ne'er used anything other than a dagger. Any guidance you might have would be greatly appreciated.
As Aloysius spoke, he gave an impression of being somewhat lost and out of place. Despite his choice of vocations, it was clear that Aloysius was really just a very young man who was being quite rudely awakened by the realities of the world.
"Well," Jana said dubiously, looking over Aloysius, "If you really want to learn how to use a sword or a mace, I guess I could teach you..." Jana brushed her hair back from her eyes. "I don't know, it takes an awful lot of time and very, very hard work to learn how to properly use a weapon. But, if you're serious, I'll start you off tonight. Which would you rather learn?" Jana drew her bastard sword and held it up in on hand, then with her other hand pulled her mace. She offered the weapons to Aloysius for closer inspection. "Go ahead, you can hold them if you want, see what you like best."
The mage's eyes widened at the prospect of trying out such large weapons. He looked at Jana and blushed slightly. "Er," he began uncomfortably, "Stargazer was thinking more along the lines of this." Aloysius reached into his bandolier and drew one of his daggers. He looked at his dagger, then at Jana's bastard sword, then back at his own dagger. Finally, he flashed Jana a mild version of the PSF.
"Usually I meet with success when employing these as missiles, unless . . . .of course . . .one of my companions is . . . . standing in front of me. . . ." The mage's voice trailed off and his blush reddened.
Jana's eyes narrowed dangerously. She held the look for a moment, then grinned suddenly. "No harm, no lasting harm, done." She returned her weapons to their places on her belt.
"Howe'er, I am most ineffective when faced with a more imminent opponent. I watched a sword duel once on my way to pick up some steamed frog stones, and tried to incorporate some of the techniques I saw there." He looked at his dagger as he slowly turned it in his hand. "Methinks I am still doing something wrong. I would greatly appreciate thy assistance. Mayhap once we reach Thurmaster?" he asked hopefully.
Jana studied the dagger, trying not to smirk. "I'm afraid I've never trained with anything that small. I've always preferred the larger weapons..." Jana trailed off, blushing slightly. "Uhm, I mean," she said carefully, "I've never trained with daggers, uhm, just the sword and mace..."
Aloysius looked at Jana curiously as she blushed. "I see. I thought I had heard that there were principles common to the use of every weapon, regardless of size. Perhaps I heard incorrectly. Very well, if you should happen to notice anything I might do to improve, please let me know."
"Well, no, not really," Jana said. "I mean, I can probably show you how to hold it, but a sword's very, very different from a dagger. The kind of sword I have can be used with one hand or two, so that makes it even more complicated. I'm not really good at all with daggers, and my aim's lousy throwing things." Jana shrugged. "I'll bet Kaileer over there knows more than I do." Jana smiled apologetically. "I'm afraid my knowledge of weapons is rather specialized."
Aloysius seemed somewhat dejected. "I understand. Stargazer did consult with brave Kaileer earlier. He suggested that I abandon the use of the dagger in favor of another weapon. I suppose I will just do my best."
Jana shrugged. "I'd think about a bow if I were you. You aren't really built for standing toe-to-toe hacking with a sword, no offense..." She flashed a self-deprecating smile and added, "It's usually best if you're built like more like me."
The mage looked over at Sweetie/Horse/Dammit. "I wouldn't mind learning how to ride sometime, although I don't intend to make a nuisance of myself. Hath thy steed recovered from his earlier wound?" The magic-user's face reflected a look of genuine concern over the health of Jana's horse.
"He's fine," Jana said, clearly pleased by Aloysius' concern for her horse. "Just a scratch. I'm afraid I don't know anything about tending wounds, so hopefully, I can find someone to take a look at it for me when we reach Thurmaster." She patted her horse affectionately. "Now, riding horses is something I do know a few things about. That, I can teach you."
Aloysius smiled at the horse."Horses be so noble, so strong. Lessons I would greatly appreciate." The mage thought for a moment. "What could I help you with in return? I know much of the breeding habits of squirrels, does that interest you?"
"Uhm, not really. You can, though," Jana said, with a playful half-smile, "repay me by never, ever throwing anything when you're standing behind me."
Aloysius blushed slightly. "Ah. . . .er . . .ahem . . . .very well," he said uncomfortably. "That seems more than fair."
The mage focused his attention on the stretch of land in front of him as the group walked along. "Afore she left, Galaret said something about this Ranchefus being a priest of 'Cyric'. Ne'er have I heard of such a god. Does anyone know anything about this Cyric?"
"So," Arachne murmured, subdued by the forest's silence and Kaileer's warning. "Do you want me to go after Azrun and tell him that you're following the river east? Or should I stay here with you and lend moral support? I wouldn't mind going -- I'm not feeling particularly brave right now --" She remembered Echo and explained to her: "I can shapeshift. If I went back to Kuiper's by myself it wouldn't be as a lonesome little gnome. I'd fly. And I think I'd be safer that way than in the company of a group that's offended this Ranchefus.
"And because this Ranchefus and his bandits and zombies are likely to attack us again, I'm not enthusiastic about dividing up in order to cover both banks of the river. Except... My green portal. The one that upset Azrun so much. I don't think the river is so wide that I couldn't bridge it with that."
"If there were an attack we could use that to regroup. Would we want to regroup where the enemy was or on the opposite side of the river?" Arachne chewed her lip. "There's not much I can do in a battle besides dodge, try to heal people and set up the portal. If any of the rest of you has an idea for strategems to try using it, please say so. Now, rather than while we're under attack. Anyone can go through it, by the way, though it's a little disorienting. "Aloysius (or Echo), I guess we're finding out what spells you have at hand. Are there any tactics or whatever that we could try that would help make your spells more effective?"
"Nothing that thou hast not seen me do afore, small one", replied the purple-haired man. "Like would I to capture one of these brigands so I could use my magics to obtain information." The mage clearly suppressed an angry thought. "Darkwalker hath lost our best chance of that to date."
"Effective?" said Echo from behind her hood. "No, I don't think so. I'm not going to be of much use providing spells today."
Aloysius looked ahead as the party walked. "Methinks it best if we all stayed on the same side of the river. None of us save Kaileer have weapons with range enough to cross the river, and fording in deep water during battle would likely prove perilous." He looked over at Arachne. "Employing thy 'green portal' so soon after the rest of us have seen it for the first time would be unwise as well."
"Huh?" Arachne frowned.
Aloysius continued, "Let us stay to the south bank for now, since we have not been along that side as yet, and we can come back along the north. We shouldn't be in Thurmaster or at Parlfray's for that long anyway."
"It's a doorway. You go through it. Yes, there's a bit of a lurch because you wind up dozens of feet from where you started, but -- it's not as if I'm asking you to say special words or think special thoughts while you walk through. And I'm sure you're not _frightened_ of the novelty, not an investigator into arcane mysteries like yourself..."
"Frightened?" replied the mage. "Nay. Howe'er, there be nothing arcane in anything I've seen thee do, small one. I know not HOW you do it, but there be no magics involved.
"We'll be safer together on the same side of the river, I suppose. Also, a clearer target. And half as effective at finding anything in the river that might be worth finding. And if Renchifus does come stalking us with more of his bandits and zombies --" She stopped. "I was going to say that he'd be likely to pick an attack that would press us against the riverbank, but if he and his minions and whatever are as fond of water as I think, they might attack from within the river. In that case, we might _want_ to surround them. Or maybe not. Jana? Blacky? What do you think?" Again, she fell to musing, stumbling along at the back of the party.
"The river be their mode of travel, methinks, not their lair. Our history as a divided party hath not been bright. I will go on whatever side of the river the rest of you wish to follow, but I am strongly opposed to division." Aloysius then fell silent and awaited the input of the others.
"I think if someone's out there trying to stop us," Jana said, somewhat harshly, "splitting up on opposite sides of a river would make their job a whole lot easier." After a moment's pause she continued in a more neutral voice, "I just don't see a tactical advantage. Of course," she added softly, "tactics isn't what I'm good at, so maybe I'm not the best one to ask. Just tell me who to kill. That's what I'm good at."
"Oh well, it was just a thought. Don't mind me." Blacky said with a slight frown "The only tactics I'm good at are charging into a group of opponents and swinging my axe until no one is left standing."
"If we be hunted, we not want hunter get prey," the painted ranger interrupted as he looked at the wounded priest, "faster we get safe place, less chance have hunter get prey. We need go."
After taking a moment to check the area again, Kaileer started leading the way in the river's direction, intent on first leaving the deeper parts of the thornwood behind them.
Aloysius nodded in agreement. "Any discussions that need be made can be made as we move along. Let's follow brave Kaileer away from this odd place." Aloysius turned towards the direction Kaileer had gone and followed the elf in the direction of the river.
Gala stepped out from behind them and cleared her throat gently. "Lasiar, will you let me try to heal you?" she asked.
Lasiar, who had been withdrawn eversince Aloysius told him that Gala had left to be on her own, turned in complete shock. "Gala, I... thought you... Aloysius said you... left... By Selune, have you changed your mind and decided to return to us?" Whatever self-doubt had plagued him since learning Torro had perished and Gala's decision to return home disappeared with the sight of the Priestess of Lathander standing before him.
Gala blushed to the roots of her hair. "Kaileer made me come back." She looked at the elf and nodded. "You were right. I'm sorry." She then walked up tentatively to Lasiar and laid her hands on his wounds.
The ranger turned around, surprised for a second at seeing the priestess, then smiled as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "It be good you come back." he said, relaxing his grip on the spear.
Arachne had been straggling next to Lasiar. She turned at Gala's reappearance and smiled shyly without saying anything --
Aloysius quickly wheeled at the sound of Gala's voice and reached for a dagger. However, his eyes quickly lit at the sight of the Morning Lord. "Galaret!" he cried joyfully as he ran towards her.
Without giving her a chance to answer, the mage threw his arms around her and gave her a big hug. "I thought that thou were leaving? Have you changed thy mind? How did you get . . . ." his voice took on an air of confusion, "behind us?" Aloysius then looked over at Kaileer.
Still having failed to say anything, Arachne dodged out of the wizard's way.
"I came to the conclusion that if I left, I would be violating my desire to serve Lathander and good. I will try to be more worthy in the future." Gala returned Aloysius's hug, then gently extricated herself so that she could heal Lasiar.
Aloysius watched as Gala approached the Silverstar. "Kaileer?" he muttered to himself. The mage looked at the ground for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders.
Jana whirled around at the noise, her hand on her sword. She saw Gala and relaxed. "Hello," she said, smiling. "I'm glad you decided to travel with us." She glanced around, still nervous from Kaileer's earlier warning. "This doesn't seem to be a very safe place."
Gala nodded a greeting.
Jana took off her backpack and added it to the equipment on her horse. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. I know you don't feel very good either. I'll get you apples and carrots both when we get to Thurmaster." The horse bobbed his head up and down as he heard two of his favorite noises. Jana laughed softly. "You're so easy." She scritched the horse's ears and continued in a low voice. "If this town is big enough, maybe I can find a job as a guard or bouncer for a few weeks, get us both rested up, and then we'll see if we can't find some rich merchant to overpay us to guard his overpriced baubles, hmm?"
"Aye, how did you get behind us?" Blacky asks suspiciously while watching the Morninglord closely.
From behind her cowl, Echo said, "I'm glad you're back too." She suddenly started laughing and pushed the hood back from her head. "It's too hot for this if we are just going to stand around." She looked around at the group, still struggling to put names together with these people, "Do you think the other one is coming back too, or is he gone for good?"
Echo put her pack down on the ground and dug through it for a minute. She withdrew a small bell on a string and looped it around her wrist, holding the bell in her hand. "I'm useless for spells today, like I said earlier. The scout said something was odd in the woods today. If you want, I'll trail behind the group, in case someone or _something_ is following us, rear guard so to speak. If I see anything odd, I'll ring the bell," she chimed it just slightly. "And if anything takes me unawares, it will ring anyway, so you will still be warned."
"I never really went that far. Lathander watched over me in the night, and when the dawn came, I knew that I would be wrong to go back to Waterdeep until this evil is cleansed from this place. So I have been following you ever since. Do you not trust me now, Blacky? Is there some way I might prove my trust. For I will not leave again." Gala replied.
Gala looked at Echo showing her concern. "Echo, maybe it was me causing this. I was, well, ashamed to show myself to you again. It took me a bit to work up my nerve to face you. If anyone follows behind the group for danger, let it at least be someone in armor, that can perhaps hold anything off or survive until the rest of us can get here. I'll do it, if you want."
Echo shook her head with a grin and pulled the cowl back over her head, "I don't want. If you could follow us in that loud mail, that's all the more reason we need someone quiet watching behind you. Don't worry about me. I accept the risk, and I don't think I'll be in that much danger. It'll make me feel useful anyway. I know my strengths and weaknesses. Armor wouldn't make any difference to me; I don't plan on being seen. The bell is just precaution. Just listen for it." If there were no further arguments against this, Echo waited until the others left and followed along a distance behind. She mostly disappeared into the foliage, much like she had the night before in the tree.
Gala smiled at Echo. "Well, I know your effectiveness already, but I would not see you hurt. And I'm not the quietest person in a forest, 'tis true. Take care, Echo."
Jana nodded her agreement with Echo's plan. "Sounds sensible," she commented. She took her mace off of her belt and put in on her horse, muttering apologies again to him.
