Salazar has to dig through his gear to find some gems to pay the big Mr Little for his goods; if necessary he’ll go over a little to ensure he’s paid in full.
From the way he swings onto the horse, he seems to be remembering some past training which is rusty, and the horse quickly settles as they ride.
He recognises, and tries to hum along with, the gnome’s singing - not knowing any of the words.
It’s only to be hoped that we’re both off-key by the same amount.
Once clear of the town he asks for a brief halt, just long enough to ensure there are no scrying eyes on any of the party.
You can battle-train horses using your [COLOR=Purple]Animal Training (Horse) proficiency.
However you need time and calm conditions - not available for example when chasing bad guys.
If you have a full free day, load + cast Speak to Animals (obviously horse!) and make an Animal Training (Horse)* roll, you can turn a normal riding horse into a battle-trained one. (The rider needs to be present most of the time.)
The horse will not be able to fight (that’s a matter of breeding), but will :
carry its rider into battle (and face fire / loud noises etc without fear)
allow its rider to swiftly mount and dismount
allow its rider to guide it with their knees
allow its rider to cast on horseback (but not while galloping)
*If your battle-trained mount (Felarof) is present, I’ll give you a +4 bonus on this roll.[/COLOR]
Given Erdj, Cullen, Hans, Aciyras and Cadogan (at least!) have already stated they want to pursue, the chase is on…
Jack Baker is going back to his family. Simon Smith is going to spread the word about the heroic deed of Crumlin and his friends. Marian has already left to gather the votes of the forest workers. Crumlin is coming with the party for many reasons:
it’s the morally right thing to do
he knows John Baker (so could reassure him the party want to help him)
he has 3 [COLOR=Blue]Cure Light Wounds loaded
he knows the road well
he’s a candidate for Sheriff of Rutland, who should look after the people
Crumlin tells you the road is easily wide enough for two riders all the way through the forest (past the Heimdall Shrine) to Uppingham.
The trees vary in density, from sparse to ideal ambush spots**.
It’s about 6 miles to Uppingham.
Cadogan says as long as he is in the front line that he can track even at a trot (which would mean the party would arrive in Uppingham in less than an hour.)
**Erjg says he might well spot an Ambush, but would have to go at the front to do so.
The party have riding skills as follows:
Cadogan: Horse Riding and battle-trained Warhorse (will fight)
Salazar: Horse Riding and light riding horse
Hulgfar: sitting clumsily on light riding horse
Cullen: sitting OK on light riding horse (friendly and helpful because Cullen has Spoken to it)
Erjg: no mount (but can easily keep up with party)
Aciryas: Animal Training (Horse), Horse Riding and battle-trained Warhorse (will fight)
Hans: sitting clumsily on battle-trained pony (won’t fight)
Crumlin: Horse Riding and battle-trained pony (won’t fight)[/COLOR]
The party form up and set off into the forest, with Cadogan following the tracks.
Crumlin suggests most casters in the middle go in the middle, giving this riding order:
^^
| |
Cadogan Erjg
Salazar Cullen
Crumlin Hans
Aciryas Hulgfar
(Please feel free to change who goes where - N.B. two abreast is fine.)
Salazar makes an Ancient History roll.
He vaguely remembers a song with that tune from years ago … something about ‘with his band of men’ and ‘feared by the bad, loved by the good’…
Salazar makes a Spellcraft roll.
He is confident nobody is scrying the party.
Once we get moving, I will frequently send the Kestral, GraKaww! aloft to look around.
I will ask the Bloodhound Finn to stop sniff along the pass for recent human/humanoid activity. I will also ask if the family has any of the boy’s belongings, especially worn clothing.
Sneakers the Weasel will of course ride or play during the ride. I have some small treats for each animal and a bit of string with some fluff for the Sneakers.
Cullen loaded two [COLOR=Blue]Speak to Animals this morning and has already used one to sort out top-quality horses (and make friends with his mount. So you can use the other Speak to Animals either to ask your Kestrel what exactly he sees, or ask your Bloodhound what he learns from tracking (Jack Baker can bring you one piece of his brother’s unwashed clothing).
You have command words to get the Kestrel to Scout* and the Bloodhound to Track.
*Note that the forest road is open to the sky throughout, so the Kestrel can see anything ahead on the road all the way to Uppingham. However the forest canopy means the bird can only additionally see into the few clearings that there are.[/COLOR]
If ambushed, Cadogan will let fly with one bolt from his crossbow, then switch to sword and shield, taking care to protect Salazar until the mage is out of danger.
Cadogan is welcome to do this in principle, but at present he is leaning over the side of his Warhorse, staring at the ground to follow the Wain tracks.
Therefore he is relying on Erjg to spot an Ambush.
The party enter the forest and travel smoothly along the road to Uppingham. There are no overhanging branches (nor plants growing on the road itself), so clearly someone keeps the path in good condition.
Cadogan is still expertly following the Wain tracks, while Erjg’s gaze continually flicks from side to side of the trees up ahead, watching for Ambush.
Cullen’s Bloodhound makes a Tracking roll.
He obviously has the scent of John Baker, but is happy to follow the same path as the Ranger.
Cullen’s Kestrel can be seen hovering high up above the road.
Cullen’s Weasel, sitting comfortably in the Druid’s pack, plays with his toy at first, but seems to catch the intense mood of the party and simply looks alert.
As the party are moving at a steady trot, all the casters (Salazar, Cullen, Crumlin, Hans and Aciryas) are ready to cast from horseback* if needed - provided their mount is not spooked** by nearby combat or fire.)
*They all have either [COLOR=Purple]Horse Riding, a **battle-trained mount ** or have Spoken to their mount.
**Salazar and Cullen would need to dismount before casting if a combat started close to them. (They would have time to do this immediately, just before their riding horses moved swiftly away from the noise.)[/COLOR]
The party travel for about five minutes. Nobody says anything and there is a real air of concentration.
The path is fairly straight and smooth, with occasional bends past large trees.
Birds chirp cheerfully and a squirrel dashes across the path and shoots up a tree.
Then a rhythmic sound is heard from up ahead.
Hans makes a Hear Noise roll and mutters calmly “Sounds like someone chopping wood.”
Crumlin says it’s probably a Forester (he knows them all by name).
Soon the party see a man in leather lopping off a branch overhanging the path.
Crumlin greets him and asks if he’s seen anyone else today.
The Woodsman says he wasn’t as close to the path then, but that he saw a horse-drawn Wain go by a short time ago, with two or three men on it. They didn’t return his friendly wave.
Crumlin thanks him - and reminds him to vote in the election! (The Woodsman nods and says he’ll ask Marian’s advice.)
The party ride on. (They are certainly moving slightly faster than a loaded Wain.)
After another few minutes, Cadogan signals the party to halt as he wants to inspect the tracks more closely.
Simultaneously, the Bloodhound wants to turn off the path into the forest (which is easy to do as the trees are not closely packed here) and the Kestrel comes gliding down and lands smoothly on Cullen’s shoulder.
Cadogan fails a tracking roll.
He apologies, but says all he can say is that around here the Wain tracks are suddenly much harder to see and that there are new marks of a few booted feet, plus many bare feet…
GraKaww! says he can see many two-legs in a clearing not far away from the path. (It is in the direction Finn wants to go.)
The large wooden thing you are chasing is there too and a small body almost hidden under cloth is on it.
He adds there is one much bigger two-legs than the rest, that they have started a big fire and have a dead deer cooking.
All the smaller two-legs are about the size of Hans and have shiny metal things like some of you carry at your sides.
Cullen will try to narrow down the number of small two-legs by comparing it to the numbers in our party first. Then if it is less, I will ask our party to split into two groups real quick for another comparison. etc.
“GraKaww!, we will be heading that way, please keep yourself safe, but help us head the right direction by leading us.”
To the party, “There is a clearing not far away with a wain that probably has young master Baker in it under a blanket. Many gnome sized guards and one human or large are in the clearing. The have a big fire going and are cooking a deer. I think we should go fast and follow the animals. Who is stealthiest among us?”
) , when told to Track will follow the scent until something happens (e.g. you call him off).