The Company met off with the rest of their men on the outskirts of the valley. Surrounding the Host were more of the large spiders all slain. None of the Company were any worse for wear, though all were weary to the point of utter exhaustion. That and the fact that some of them were wounded brought the same conclusion to the commanders of the Host... they needed to rest.
And so the rogue and Durgil set out to scout the region north of the valley of Dol Gormain for a suitable place to make camp. The forest south of the valley offered the best place but Dirnhael did not want to take any chances with the spiders that inhabited the region.
By mid-afternoon Durgil returned with word of a location that would allow them to observe the lands around them but also offer shelter for the men, elf and dwarfs to rest. Not long after, the entire host - what was left of the twenty-five troop - mounted and moved north following the scouts. They rode until it was late in the evening and took refuge in an area of broken land. Large rock outcroppings jutted from the ground and sparse trees grew throughout. They would provide limited cover but there would be fuel for fire.
The Host dismounted and set about making a camp. Dirnhael and the rest of his comrades spoke and it was decided that unless necessary, they would not leave for five days. That would give the men time to heal including Daelhun and Edrahil.
The days passed for the Company and Durgil and his soldiers spent them ranging far from the camp. Any information that could be gleaned could be very useful. Joining him on many trips was Daelhun. Though the young soldier needed some time to heal, he was well enough to ride, and he was the best at moving with stealth.
So it was that on an evening ride back towards the encampment, Durgil and Daelhun caught sight of two men riding west. They were alone and appeared to be riding with great haste. The two Dúnedain thought it might be interesting to follow them for a while and so they did.
The two Easterlings, as it was apparent where they were from by their garb, rode for a few miles north and west into the dusky night. When the darkness of night set in full, the two men came to a halt and made a quick makeshift camp. Not far away, the two Dúnedain observed them...
:arrow: OOC:
Matt and Shawn W., you guys will need to give me a Stealth roll to try and remain unobserved. I will use your score to roll an Opposer Observe test.
If for some reason you guys do not want to follow the two Easterlings, let me know.
Thanks
OOC: The sword Durgil grabbed was a longsword. btw thanks for the info about it. The runes you spoke of, are they dwarven?
Stealth (Sneak) - (4+2)+3+2+3 Courage=14
Quote from: GandalFOfBorgOOC: The sword Durgil grabbed was a longsword. btw thanks for the info about it. The runes you spoke of, are they dwarven?
Stealth (Sneak) - (4+2)+3+2+3 Courage=14
Hey Matt,
Yes, the runes on the blade are written in the Angerthas along the length of the sword.
As far as your sneak goes, can you give me a bit of narrative on what Durgil is doing. After you guys followed the Easterlings to the camp, are you just sitting and watching? Are you sneaking up on them to listen to them talk? Or what?
Thanks
OOC: What is the land in this area like?
Exiting the pit and breathing fresh air again was like being reborn for Daelhun, the air here was still stale, but the horrid smell of the giant terror that they had just escaped from was now gone and that made the air seem as if it was pure.
As they exited the pit something else was different, the sense of being lost that he felt the last time they were above the cursed ground no longer afflicted him, nor any of the others it seemed. Daelhun cared not what had caused the strange feeling to go away, just as long as it was away.
"If I never see this terrible place again then I shall be able to die a happy man." He said to noone in particular.
Later, having made camp and had time to heal and rest Daelhun was in better spirits, his mind was now clear from the foul thoughts and dreams that had plagued his sleep for the first two nights after the battle with the spiders.
It felt good to strech his legs and be on the back of a horse again, the rest waa doing all of them well and soon they would be ready to continue on their mission to find Camentir.
As they crested yet another hill on their scouting of the nearby area Daelhun saw them again, the same men that had attacked them on the road. Seeing the two riders made Daelhun immediately think about their death, he would strike vengance upon them...
"No, there was valuable information that they could obtain from them." He thought to himself. "My friend, we should follow them and see why they remain in this area, perhaps we can find out more about others of their kind that are nearby, so that our company may bypass them without incident." He says quietly, making sure nothing could hear him.
He then started to trail after the two, seeing them make camp he began to sneak up to them, quietly and effortlessly.
"Perhaps you should stay back and use your bow in case they hear me." He says in a very hushed tone to Durgil. As he inched closer he strained to hear what they were saying, his sword was strapped securely to his back.
Stealth: Roll(2d6)+6: 3,6,+6 Total:15
OOC: Left my chainmail back at camp so I could be more mobile and agile.
OOC: well whatever the terrain, we are going to be downwind of the horses.
"No, I think we should wait awhile longer until they are asleep to take them prisoner. Less chance of anyone getting severly injured and it'll be easier to get information out of them back at camp," says Durgil. Quietly, he grabs the reins from his horse (unless we have some rope with us), "We can use these for bindings."
Quote from: GandalFOfBorgOOC: What is the land in this area like?
The land around you is broken and rolling. There is sparse trees that grow about. There is sufficient hiding spots.
"Very well...." The Arthedainian says, giving into Durgil as he outranked Daelhun.
Durgil and Daelhun sit and wait while the two men that they watched cooked a meal and then ate. They then hunkered down into their blankets and chatted softly as the stars crossed the sky. The two Dunedain shivered in the cold, both envying their enemy for their hot food and warm fire. Thus their wait continued...
It seemed as if it was in vain, as the two easterlings kept watch on each other while the other slept, but then Durgil heard the soft, heavy breathing of the two men. They had their opportunity and they needed to take it. Durgil nodded at Daelhun and the two men moved out to capture their quarry.
***
:arrow: OOC:
I will use your Stealth (Sneak) tests that you guys rolled earlier to roll my opposed Observe tests:
Durgil- Stealth (Sneak) - (4+2)+3+2+3 Courage=14
Daelhun- Stealth: Roll(2d6)+6: 3,6,+6 Total:15
Easterling's Observation test
Observe (Hear) +3, Asleep -5
Roll(2d6)-2: 3,2,-2 Total:3 FAILED
Roll(2d6)-2: 4,3,-2 Total:5 FAILED
***
Daelhun and Durgil came into the Easterlings camp, moving quietly as they approached...
Durgil motions for Daelhun to take one while he takes the other. Once Daelhun is in position, with short sword in hand, he lays it to the dark man's throat while he puts a knee to his chest and other hand over his mouth.
OOC: If the man tries to speak or goes for a weapon, Durgil will further press the blade to his throat, but won't harm him unless aboslutely necessary.
The Easterling's eyes popped open as he felt the weight on his chest and then the cold steel to his throat. He tried to make a move to shove his attacker off but the keen edge stopped the effort before it started. Both Durgil and the man he pinned looked to their left to see that Daelhun had the other man subdued as well. In fact, the man had been bound and then gagged as he awoke.
The two Dunedain had them, now the question was what to do with them?
***
Back at the main camp, the rest of the Host relaxed and healed. It was time to start making some plans. How to assault a castle (built by the Dunedain) with only the meager force that they had?
Dirnhael took a stick and dragged it through the snow-covered ground. He had not seen Barad Eldanar before so it was difficult to plan any type of move on the fortress. He called over his stone mason and began to question him, he needed some answers.
"We should tie them to one another, and hold tight on the rope, they will not be able to escape us. Perhaps also covering their eyes so they cannot escape and give away our camp." Daelhun says, still holding the blade to the now bound man's throat.
"I don't think we need to worry about that considering the darkness. Binding their hands should be sufficient." Durgil ties the men's hands together behind their back and afixes the other end to the saddle on one of their horses. "I'll keep an eye on them, you go get the horses and we'll make quick work of their camp before we set out."
Nimbleness to tie rope - (6+3)+2=11
"You're going to assault a castle with this motley bunch? Humph. I'm beginning to think that I'd be better off with my brother. You're cracked!"
Looking around a little Nain ponders the attack.
"If the Castle had been built by the Dwarves at least there'd be escape tunnels that we could use to get in without alerting the whole garrison."
Before he heads out he makes a quick search of the camp looking to see if there is any intelligence they can gather from the Easterlings before they destroy the camp.
Daelhun then runs back to the horses and bring thems back as quickly as he can.
Search Camp: Roll(2d6)+6: 4,2,+6 Total:12
Quote from: Stefan
"If the Castle had been built by the Dwarves at least there'd be escape tunnels that we could use to get in without alerting the whole garrison."
The statement jars Dirnhael out of his reverie.
"My friend, you may have something there," he says while stroking his stubbled chin.
Though most Dunedain fortresses were nigh impenetrable, there was always the possibility that some egress point would be more vulnerable.
The key, of course, was finding one...
"Since this was once the Castle of your King did he perhaps send with you a Map? Or are we to guess where this point might be?"
Nain appreciated the man listening to his thought, but still didn't have too much confidence in his ability to lead them anywhere other than their doom. At his young age he'd probably only seen a few battles. A dwarf would barely have broken in his first suit of armor at that age.