Words of the Raven - Southward

[Eclecticon]

Woe, Grimbeorn son of the Skinchanger!  Woe, Esgalwen sword of Gondor! 
Woe, silver-voiced Tate!  Woe, steadfast Hathcyn! 
Hear now of the ill tidings brought to the hearth of the folk from north and south:
An army dark and desperate, a cruel king's to command
A friend lost and alone, from fellowship's bond to fettles of the foe fallen! 
Hear now the words of the ancient and wise:
As winter proves the shepherd and the storm proves the sailor,
So does the battle prove the warrior, and the judgement prove the king. 

Sparing not a moment, Esgalwen leads the small party to the edge of the Wolfswood, where the deepening darkness forces them to stop for the night.  By now, their flight has surely been discovered, and it is an uneasy and restless night that they spend beneath the thinning boughs. 

The following day dawns with a southern wind driving along the western vales, blowing the ill air of the Gladden Fields up into the hills.  Wrapping their cloaks tight about them, the four set out with haste, skirting the valley fens as much as possible.  Few words are spoken, and all eyes are fixed on the shimmering ribbon on the horizon that is the Anduin river, beyond which lies Stánford, and the hope for its salvation. 


  Travel rolls to see how you go:

Esgalwen

1d12 : 8, total 8
Rolled 3d6 : 3, 4, 1, total 8

Tate

1d12 : 9, total 9
Rolled 3d6 : 3, 6, 5, total 14

Oderic

1d12 : 11, total 11
Rolled 2d6 : 6, 1, total 7

Williferd
[

1d12 : 10, total 10
Rolled 2d6 : 2, 5, total 7

[Eclecticon]

The silence of the travellers is echoed by the land about them, which is eerily quiet, save for the buzzing of insects and the rustling of hidden things in the tall grasses by the water's edge.  Then, shattering the silence like a stone dropped into an icy pond, the howling of hounds carries across the hilltops on the chill wind.  Vidugalum, it seems, is loathe to give leave for his 'guest' to depart.


So, Hazard time.  The party faces a choice here – you can attempt to hide (probably by pulling the old 'submerged and breathing through a reed straw' trick), in which case everyone has to pass a Stealth roll.  Alternatively, you could roll Battle to set up an ambush, though you have no idea how many Men are pursuing you. 

EDIT: To be clear, I'm not limiting you to those two options.  If you have an alternative idea, I'm open to considering it.

[tomcat]

The baying brought all of the companions to a halt and each hunkered down into the tall grass.

So close, thought Esgalwen as she looked at the river.

The Ranger rose up slightly to look out about the swath of land - both south and west. Like themselves, their hunters had little in the way of cover. Only the rolling field and high grasses offered any blind. There were small groves of trees and scrub, but they were few and far between.

Tate edged over to her, "What do you think, Gwen?"

She stared out across the grassland as she answered, "We cannot outrun hounds."

"No...the river?"

Esgalwen looked to the water. It was wide and the current was strong...and it was cold. The autumn night temperatures were dropping low. Even ff they were able to swim it without wearying, they would be carried further south again.

"Do you think we can swim it? It is wide and the cold water will sap our strength e'er we cross."

The bard mused, "We could hide in it? Yes?"

Now that was an idea, nodded Esgalwen. Her mind drifted back to a spring not long ago where she did that very thing to evade the Blood-Moon Raiders. She had met Udo then. She wondered how he was doing. Shaking her head to clear away idle thoughts, Esgalwen asked, "Perhaps we could hide in the reeds and submerge as the southerners pass. The question is, will the hounds follow our scent to the shores and find us in the shallows?"

"Time is not on our side, Gwen. We must do something."

"I know," she replied impatiently once more looking across the fields. "What if you three hide in the reeds and I lead them north? Once they pass, you three can hurry on after me towards Stánford"

Tate cocked an eye at her, "I do not think that is a good plan."

She argued, "One of us can move faster than three...at least for a while. The other three can then watch them pass and quickly prepare an ambush of our own. Yes?"

"An ambush? What if it is the whole bloody camp? What can three do against so many, and how will you ever keep ahead of them?"

"These are not orcs on a forced march," answered Esgalwen. "They are Men and I am certain that they must need move with some stealth. The Blood-Moon Raiders have made a bitter name for themselves in these lands. If they move openly, then we can hope that someone would see them and thus prepare. I do not see these southerners wishing to attack against prepared resistance, do you?"

AROOOOO!

The cry of the hound brought both of them back to the urgency of the moment.

Esgalwen decided, "Come...we will move further up the river bank, using the water to break our scent. At the next best reed bed, you and our friends will hide, while I lead them away. You will follow on when it is safe to do so. If it comes to a fight...well, hopefully you will come to rescue me."

She gave a wan smile, but winked.

Tate did not like it. He made to argue.

"There is no time!" Esgalwen hissed. "Come!"

And moving quickly along the bank, but hunched so as to not stick up among the reeds, she led them forward to where they could make a good hiding place. Often, she would lead them into the water for a distance in hopes of complicating their trail.
I will clarify my thoughts more in skills and rolls in just a little bit, Paul. Feel free to argue more as Tate, or the other NPC's if you want. I am not sure their skill sets will allow for anything else than a grand chase.

Athletics is pretty weak for swimming a wide, cold river. Stealth is paltry for each, at best. But Esgalwen does have Travel - which I hope is the skill of choice for this foot race - which I see more as a marathon than a sprint.  

Esgalwen really believes that these raiders might not be so foolish to move in great numbers openly - not if they want to have the edge on an attack.

I will post again in a bit, but I will see how you put this together.

[tomcat]

Okay...a quick side-by-side to see who is the better pick on trying to lead the raiders away:

	Esgalwen	Tate
athletics	2d	2d
awareness	2d	4d ◙
explore	2d ◙	0d
travel	3d	3d
battle	2d ◙	1d
stealth	2d ◙	0d

Although they share some common scores on a couple skill ranks, Esgalwen seems to be better at the majority of pertinent skills for this circumstance. I think I will continue with this idea, Paul, and have Esgalwen try to lead the raiders off. I hope I am not sacrificing her up to the Powers - she is really weak on Hope and so we will have little options on a failure.

 

We'll see how you put this together. By the way, it is autumn in game, right? So the river might be a really cold stretch of water, correct?

[Eclecticon]

I'll have a story post up when the gods allow it, but you're right - it's mid-autumn and the river is broad and cold.  Swimming is not a good plan. 

[Eclecticon]

Athletics is pretty weak ... Esgalwen does have Travel - which I hope is the skill of choice for this foot race - which I see more as a marathon than a sprint. 

Having read up on this, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you - I'm pretty sure Athletics is the skill for this.  If you had more of a lead on them, I'd be more inclined to go with Travel, but once you're within earshot I think the ability to keep speed up matters more than the ability to keep hale and strong over multiple days in the wilderness. 

So, with that in mind, let's make some rolls:

Esgalwen - Athletics 2d

1d12 : 8, total 8
Rolled 2d6 : 6, 3, total 9

Tate - Stealth 2d - TN 12 if Esgalwen succeeds, 16 otherwise

1d12 : 6, total 6
Rolled 2d6 : 5, 5, total 10

Oderic - Stealth 2d

1d12 : 5, total 5
Rolled 2d6 : 5, 3, total 8

Williferd - Stealth 2d

1d12 : 7, total 7
Rolled 2d6 : 2, 2, total 4

[Eclecticon]

Damn it, Tate turns out not to have any dice in Stealth.  Lemme re-roll that...

Tate - Stealth 0d - TN 12

1d12 : 11, total 11

[Eclecticon]

HO-kay!   

[Eclecticon]

Before long, Esgalwen finds what she is looking for: a channel in the riverbank just large enough to conceal three men, surrounded by reeds grown thick and high over the summer.  A swift slash of Nimronyn cuts down a number of these, which she shoves in Tate's direction.  "You know what to do," she hisses.  "Good fortune to you!" 

Before Tate can give voice to his doubts, she turns and moves as quickly as she may up the bank, picking her way with the practised ease of one born and raised in wild lands, and with no other to slow her passage.  Tate she leaves behind, clutching a handful of reeds with the words but the marsh was forbidden!  I don't know... dying unspoken on his tongue.  Williferd and Oderic, however, seem to understand, and quickly submerge themselves, leaving only reed-stalks above the water.  Tate, the baying of hounds coming ever closer, follows their lead. 

Esgalwen, meanwhile, reaches more solid ground and begins to run, all thought of stealth abandoned.  Behind her, she hears the cries of pursuit as the Toft-men let slip their hounds.  And thus I give myself over to fate, she thinks.  Still, she cannot but feel the exhilaration of new adventure – though she has hunted prey many times, she has tested herself against hunting foes only once before, beneath the boughs of southern Mirkwood when first she and her companions ventured northward from Osgiliath, and much has she learned since that unhappy day. 

Risking a glance behind her, she sees a pair of long-limbed hunting dogs racing after her, and a Toft-man falling behind, though reaching for an arrow for his bow.  She hears him cry 'AFTER HER!'  But then comes a reply that chills her blood: 'nay!  Gorth scents something still by the riverbank!' 

Beneath the water, Tate lies restlessly.  The channel is barely enough to conceal the three men.  Moreover, Williferd appears to have a perverse inability to lie still, and once and again his foot finds its way into the Lake-Man's ear.  His lungs, already taxed by exertion this morning, cannot seem to draw in enough air through the reed to sustain him.  Finally, he can stand no more: come bloodshed and tragedy, he must breathe!  He means to go slowly and quietly, but his head finds a previously-unseen stone and in his pain and panic he sits bolt upright and draws a great, gulping breath. 

"HA!" comes the cry from a man's voice not far away.  "There's more here!" 


So, it looks like combat now.  New thread tomorrow (hopefully). 

[tomcat]

Awesome!!

At least fighting is something I know she is good at!

Having read up on this, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you - I'm pretty sure Athletics is the skill for this.  If you had more of a lead on them, I'd be more inclined to go with Travel, but once you're within earshot I think the ability to keep speed up matters more than the ability to keep hale and strong over multiple days in the wilderness.

That is cool. I didn't know how close they were to us until now. I was thinking if it came down to running, we would be Athletics, but if there was still a distance and she was going to lead them off, well then I hoped for Travel.

Either way, it works.

[tomcat]

As she ran, Esgalwen drew her own bow from her back and an arrow from its quiver. If it came to combat, she wanted to be able to feather as many threats as possible, before they were able to close.

With the announcement of Tate and the others being found, the Ranger skidded to a stop, turned and quickly let loose arrows into their pursuers.

[Eclecticon]

Battle rolls:

Esgalwen

1d12 : 6, total 6
Rolled 2d6 : 1, 5, total 6

Tate

1d12 : 12, total 12
Rolled 1d6 : 6, total 6