Orophin's hunt

[tomcat]

Even in the darkness, the trail was easy to follow. The Tyrant Hill's man ran indiscriminately and was being followed by a pack of five dogs. Orophin slid through the shadows in pursuit. The Silvan Elf ran along the trail, as well as took to tree and limb, his Elven feet nimbly walking along the thinnest branch as if he had no weight.

At last, he caught up with his quarry who leaned against a tree trunk, panting and winded. The pack of hounds sniffed and roamed around the stalled woodman. They did not catch sight or scent of the Elf, in the trees above. Orophin was sure, based on the man's demeanor that he was lost in the night. If there was a path back from whence he came, it would not be until morning for him to find it.
  Stefan, I went ahead and ignored Hunting tests - as the pack of dogs would be easy enough to follow and hear. We will try and resolve this thread quickly, as it is my goal for Orophin to walk back into camp while the Folk-moot is going on. That said, let me know your desire - do you attack, or will you wait until morning to follow him to see where he goes?

[Stefan]

Orophin had put his bow away during the chase.  He was frustrated by his poor aim of late but now was not the time to redeem himself, he had to make sure that this human didn't get away.  Of course the volume of his crashing through the woods made that fairly unlikely.  Nonetheless he followed as stealthily as he could and kept the man in or near his sight as ran.


OOC: I don't think there's anything that we told him that was damaging to us if our enemy learned it.  So, while I'd like to kill him, I think it might be more prudent to see where he goes.  Plus, given my horrible attack rolls up to this point, he'd probably die of old age before I killed him.

[tomcat]

The Silvan Elf spent the night in his tree as the woodman, with his pack of hounds, all sat down and made to wait out the evening. If the man was afraid, Orophin could not tell, as there seemed to stem a confidence by being surrounded by five dogs.

Time passed, a fleeting moment for the immortal Elf, and the sun rose. With the morning light, the woodman was off again at a good pace but Orophin was able to easily keep up with him. The path  he took led south to the Black Tarn and passed it, until at last they entered the land that had been once ruled by the Necromancer. The atmosphere was different here. Orophin did not like the sound of the woods, as it was nothing that he had experienced before. The song the trees sung was not of death, but of lamentation and sorrow. Limbs hung low. Dried and stringy moss hung upon the trunks and roots were gnarled atop the ground, as if they did not want to dig deep into the earth below.

The woodman zigged and zagged as he continued south, but he had become more cautious. Orophin knew why - traces of spider webs stretched across treetops and hung down from upper branches. Black ravens gave lone cries in the shaded wood, and squirrels as dark as night scampered around them. It was like the had entered a night that would not let day return.

[Stefan]

The darkness was no problem for Orophin, but it was an eerie reminder that this place was dangerous and getting more so by the league that they traveled.  He made sure that he was very careful not to be spotted and also to keep an eye out for any spiders that wanted to make a meal of him, the holes in the man they'd found flashing to the fore in his brain more and more often as the number of webs he past increased.

[tomcat]

Though now more wary, it was unfounded for no beast presented itself to waylay the woodman or the Elf. Only the oppressive atmosphere of Southern Mirkwood weighed heavy  on Orophin. His normally light, elven mood was subdued and it was a grim face that he wore as he pursued the Tyrant Hill's man.

Days passed.

At last the forest cleared and Orophin could see a great hill rise within the clearing. Crowning the hill was a earthen rampart and palisade. Single streams of smoke could be seen rising from within, signaling the cook fires that burned. It was a fortified settlement and Orophin wondered at the men who were brave enough to make such a place their home. If his memory served, the dreaded Dol Guldur was roughly fifty miles further south.

The Silvan Elf watched as the man began to climb the path that led to the top - the dogs running ahead of him and baying their return.


Hey Stephen, let me know if there was anything you wanted to do besides follow the man. If you wished to waylay him before he climbs Tyrant's Hill, let me know. I will change things.

[Stefan]

  Can I see anything from here that might tell me how many people live in the town or what they're doing here?

[tomcat]

Yea, you can.

It is a settlement of men. There are many streamers of smoke which tells of many cook fires and homes. It is a permanent structure that probably houses a good two to three hundred people. You can see general things through the open gate, but not enough to justify your estimation. It is on top of a broad hill and it is walled.

[Stefan]

As the man walks from the edge of the forest Orophin draws back his bow and lets one arrow fly at the man he'd pursued. 
It would serve as a warning that this forest was still watched by the elves even as the shadow crept closer.

Rolled 1d12 : 9, total 9

Rolled 2d6 : 3, 5, total 8

Damage 5, Edge  10, Injury 14

[tomcat]

Hey Stefan, I am basing the TN to hit on Ambush rules, so the TN will be determined on the test results I am asking for below. Either this guy is unaware and thinking he is home free, or he knew someone (or something) was following him home.

So, I want you to roll some rolls to determine his status and to earn some AP's for your skills. All of these are at TN 14, as this is not a major Loremaster character. A success will allow you to mark a skill AP in that category (if you don't already have one); a great or extraordinary success will allow you to mark two in a given category (but no category can have more than two checks).

Finally, any failure will mean the man was becoming nervous and more cautious - maybe a little paranoid - as he knew something (or someone) was following him back to the hill. He may have scouted you out a time or two with the dogs, though we didn't RP it. Make sense?

Give me these rolls and then I will give the narrative on your bow shot.

Awareness
Stealth
Hunting

[Stefan]

 

Awareness

Rolled 1d12 : 2, total 2

Rolled 2d6 : 5, 3, total 8

Stealth

Rolled 1d12 : 1, total 1

Rolled 2d6 : 1, 3, total 4

Hunting

Rolled 1d12 : 2, total 2

Rolled 2d6 : 5, 2, total 7

[tomcat]

  I think this PC might want to head back to the Elven realm and stay there for a while. 

[Stefan]

  yeah, the dice seem to really hate him.

[tomcat]

The good news is your 17 is still enough to hit an aware target in Ambush, which I am placing his level at TN 14 - TN 16.

Orophin watched as the man quickly made his way across the clearing to the hill and started up. He was ever looking over his shoulder - something he had begun the day before, as if he know something - or someone - was following.

The Elven bow twanged and the arrow arched over, coming back down to stab into the man's right calf, delivering the Elf's intended message. The man cried out in pain and fear as he fell to the ground, clutching at his wounded leg. He looked back at the dark eaves of the woods and wondered at the threat that lay within.

"HELP ME!" he yelled to any that might hear him from above. "HELP!"

Orophin saw two new men emerge from the palisade and jog down to find the last of Dagmar's companions, come home at last. They saw the arrow, then looked to the woods, and then they hoisted up their wounded fellow and carried him quickly the rest of the way. The Elf turned his back on what he saw and began the trek back to Tent-town.

[Stefan]

 A little fear is a good thing for those that aid the shadow in it's works. Orophim thought to himself as he watched the terrified man being helped into the walled village.  "Maybe it will keep them from causing trouble for the moot.

The miles back to the tent city passed more quickly on the trip back, not having to trail the man through the woods and he made good time. As he passed from the southern woods that were still under the oppressive shadow he could almost feel the weight of them lifting off of him and he breathed deep the smells of the Mirkwood, the land of his people and ran as joy filled his heart once again.

[tomcat]

The miles might have seemed to pass more quickly, but Orophin might have stopped to smell some flowers, play a lute, dance under the forest canopy - or whatever - cause we need a total of a fortnight before the moot starts.