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Girvan Adventure VII
Missiledine: When we parted company, Ferric had flown up into a tree to spy on mostly unknown group of... whatevers, in hopes that they will lead
you to an old watch tower on the Varsol River....
Dukejr01: you will live....
Missiledine: I will be placing 'players wanted' ads over the next couple days
ElwingFD: M.H.I.P......Magic Has Its Privlidges :-)
Missiledine: Ferric, you have found a comfortable perch above the thickets... Corren and Rolb are out of sight... you wait
Dukejr01: Corren practices patience.
Missiledine: A little over an hour passes and you see the ratty looking guy you talked to earlier stick his head out and look around for a few minutes
ElwingFD: I make a hand gesture to Corren pointing in that direction
Missiledine: After a long look about, which doesn't include up, he takes out a whistle and blows it three times, two short, one long
Missiledine: A few seconds after he does, a hitherto artfully camoflauged section of the forest floor, not far behind where Corren and Rolb had
stood while you negotiated, opens up and two more ratty looking guys with bows and swords climb out
Missiledine: The three meet near the entrance to the thicket and have a hasty conversation while looking furitively about...
Dukejr01: <cool>
Dukejr01: <ah, to be a lip reader>
Missiledine: Ferric, being right above them you can hear...
Dukejr01: <the suspense...>
Missiledine: The three men all withdrawl back into the thickets
ElwingFD: I wait for a good ten more minutes to see if there is any movement
Missiledine: no one shows themselve
ElwingFD: alright, I attempt to stealth back down to Corren
Missiledine: stealth? or fly?
ElwingFD: fly
Missiledine: okay, you don't crash and soon you are with Corren
Dukejr01: Corren raises an eyebrow.
ElwingFD: "Well...It seems that this Hunchback does have the kid, and the one said to the other that hey wern't going to send anyone to warn him...seems they
would like him out of the way too...hoping we take each other out"
ElwingFD: "They are afraid we'll get there stuff, whatever that may be"
Missiledine: "Did ya get any idea as to what they are up to in there?" Rolb asks
ElwingFD: "None"
Missiledine: "Mebbe we should pay them a visit some time, I be a thinkin."
Dukejr01: Corren shrugs. "We have work to do."
ElwingFD: "I'm thinking the same"
Missiledine: "Aye... after we sort this Hunch back laddie out."
Dukejr01: lets take the round about way.
Missiledine: Oh? So you aren't taking the shortest route to the river?
Dukejr01: we should take an evasive way away from here.
Missiledine: "They think we left an hour or more ago."
Dukejr01: "Lets not disabuse them of the notion"
Missiledine: Rolb shrugs, "All right by me..." He leads his horse
Missiledine: Assuming you still want to go south to the river, your choices are South East, deeper into the penninsula that is the Girvan Forest or
South West, back in the general direction you came from
Dukejr01: I would say southeast. we know there is no tower the way we came from
Missiledine: Not really, you came from due west
ElwingFD: how were we going to go last time?
Missiledine: due south to the closest point of contact with the river
Dukejr01: south then
ElwingFD: sounds good
Missiledine: The Varsol river forms a V that point east. The entire V is the Girvan Forest. At its widest point it is 12 to 15 miles, at its narrow point
it is 1 mile. The depth of the V is 20 to 25 miles. The closest side of the V to you is south
Missiledine: The Girvan to Drunmore road crosses the top of the V outside of the forest
Missiledine: South it is... You set off. The two hills are soon lost to sight and you find that the forest floor is fairly smooth and free of underbrush
here abouts
Missiledine: You figure your only three or four miles from the river and soon the terrain starts to descend down towards the water which youcatch
glimpses of throiugh the trees
Dukejr01: Corren takes point.
Dukejr01: Move more cautiously.... look for sentries.
Missiledine: About an hour and a half later you are at the banks of the Varsol river
Missiledine: you don't see anyone on the ground, but there is boat traffic on the river
ElwingFD: is there a way to travel there without being seen from the river?
Missiledine: travel where?
ElwingFD: our destination
Dukejr01: parallel the river.
Missiledine: which is where?
Missiledine: you know it's along the river, but you don't know where or how far back from the water's edge
Dukejr01: the signs of a shift in river should be apparent
Missiledine: you could ride the ridge line above the river
ElwingFD: I'm assuming were a good 15 or 20 miles from where we think it is, can we travel without being seen?
Missiledine: Oh? Maybe if it wasn't too long ago
Missiledine: You don't have to ride along the water's edge... the trees go right up to the water
Missiledine: it is fall and many trees have lost their leaves, but many still have them. Concealment is possible, but its impossible to be certain
ElwingFD: well, we can try
Missiledine: are you going east along the river or west?
Missiledine: there is more forest to the east then to the west
ElwingFD: well, if we pick the wrong direction, we'll never get there
Missiledine: that would be sad
Dukejr01: well, I JUST loooked at the effing archives. the yahoo said the tower was east.
Missiledine: lol
Missiledine: ok, east it is
Dukejr01: its on the "other side of the forest. which I take to mean it is in the Girvan forest. which means its on this side ofthe river.
Dukejr01: right. pick the route with best cover.
Missiledine: you set out eastwards following the river but trying to keep from being seen by boat traffic while at the same time watching for sentries
Missiledine: you have been moving like this for about three hours, it is getting into late afternoon and the air is getting cooler as the sun starts to
set. Suddenly Rolb, who is on horseback and a bit higher, pauses and sniffs. "I small wood smoke."
Missiledine: smell
Dukejr01: which way is the wind coming? shift that direction
Dukejr01: move quietly
Missiledine: its copming from the east and down slope
Dukejr01: peer east then
Missiledine: working your way along with greater care then before, Rolb dismounts, you push apart a particularly dense bit of thicket and see about
three hundred yards away and a bit up hill, the top of a stone towere.
ElwingFD: "well, that was easy...if that is indeed the tower"
Dukejr01: Corren shrugs off his backpackand stashes it.
Dukejr01: He leaves his bow and spears too.
Dukejr01: "We better scout while its light" hs whispers.
Missiledine: "What do we ken about this Hunchback fella?" Rolb asks as he tethers the horse
Dukejr01: "dunno. we shouldn't do anythign til tomorrow. I think. Ferric needs to rest."
ElwingFD: "Only that he's a mean tough pirate-type"
ElwingFD: "Yes...plus we can use the time to stake out the place."
Missiledine: "Lovely." Rolb mutters
Dukejr01: "don't forget the albino"
Missiledine: "Right, lets go have a wee look about."
Dukejr01: Corren crawls forward. pausing frequently and moving between cover.
Dukejr01: Look up into the trees from each vantage point, looking for sentries.
Missiledine: Rolb will head off, up slope, trying to work his way around
Missiledine: So far you see nothing
Missiledine: You do notice a hint of smoke rising from somewhere in the top of the tower
Missiledine: Ferric? What are you up to?
ElwingFD: I will stay put, wait for them to return...keeping an eye on things from a distance
Missiledine: ok
Missiledine: Corren, you continue crawling towards the tower, watching the trees and bushes etc for signs of guards
Missiledine: correct?
Dukejr01: yes. Corren is taking as much time as needed. no rush
Missiledine: You are maybe 175 to 200 yards out from the tower, as you make your way from the cover of a fallen log to the cover offered by some
dense brambles, still crawling, your right hand passes through the leaves and what seems like solid ground, into a space underneath
Dukejr01: corren bits his lip, withdraws his hand.
Dukejr01: he looks around, how much noise did he make?
Missiledine: nothing happens, but you can see darkness through the resulting hole... not much that you heard
Dukejr01: Corren recovers the hole he made, and retreats to teh log. then picks a different route.
Missiledine: up slope or down
Dukejr01: upslope
Dukejr01: Corren tries to cover any tracks he made to the trap as well,
Missiledine: ok, you crawl upwards maybe forty feet, when you notice a foot off the ground, a trip line that rouns between two saplings to your right
Missiledine: runs
Missiledine: <My typing sucks tonight!>
Dukejr01: oh. I forgot to mention. Corren will try to fix in hios mind where the pit trap is. note features. same for this one.
Dukejr01: hois = his
Missiledine: uh huh
Dukejr01: Check that trap briefly. what does it do?
Dukejr01: drop a log?
Missiledine: <Near a log in the Girvan forest... Make a note.>
Missiledine: can't tell, but there is a deep layer of leaves here about
Dukejr01: relative distance from tower, near an oak with a gnarled branch and a lightening struck birch. that sort of thing.
Missiledine: right
Dukejr01: Corren doesn't go near that.
Dukejr01: Upslope again. mover slowly and crawl.
Missiledine: continue up slope?
ElwingFD: brb, Brendan is stirring (good thing I'm staying put behind the rest of the party :-) )
Dukejr01: yes. he is trying tp reach rolb
Missiledine: ok
Missiledine: ahead of you, you can see several boulders, partially covered by brambles and fallen leaves... do you go around or through them?
Dukejr01: around to the side away from the tower. he will pause to look in.
Missiledine: can't see anything but dead leaves
Dukejr01: might be a sentry post. corren is especially quiet
Missiledine: boulder aren't big enough to hide a man
Dukejr01: k.
Dukejr01: Corren looks around for Rolb
Missiledine: working your way around the boulders, do you return to your original course?
Missiledine: No sign of him yet
Dukejr01: yes. he angles toward the tower again figuring that rolb will have gottern ahead of him
Missiledine: crawling along your hand again passes through the leaf layer, but this time it's a shallow depression lined with sharpened sticks... you
cut your hand slightly <Not seriously>
Dukejr01: corren stopsimmediately cleans the wound.
Missiledine: with what?
Dukejr01: is the stick smeared with anything?
Missiledine: It looks very dirty... like maybe feces soaked
Dukejr01: crap. use first aid kit
Missiledine: exactly... crap
Missiledine: First Aid kit is basicly bandages
Dukejr01: well, wipe off the hand, clean it with beer.
Missiledine: lol... okay
Dukejr01: if rolb were here corren would use VV
Missiledine: <Like Hell!>
Dukejr01: repair damage to trap
Missiledine: right
Dukejr01: Corren would buy him a freaking quart in compensation.
Missiledine: lol
Dukejr01: move around trap,
ElwingFD: back...and catching up...
Missiledine: a few feet further on you find another... more carefully this time
Dukejr01: re, move around the cra[
Dukejr01: crap
Dukejr01: hmmm...
Dukejr01: Corren thinks all these traps are a good sign.
Dukejr01: Corren proceeds
Dukejr01: Corren finds a nice vantage and looks at the tower, checks all the trees he can see.
Missiledine: it will take you some time to zig zag your way through this area. All together you discover eight traps along your line of travel. there
may be more tho...
Dukejr01: I think that is likely
Missiledine: the trees seem empty, but you do notice, now that you are aware of the existence of man traps, that there are a large number of bent
saplings and branches that seem to be inexplicably touching the ground between here and the tower
Dukejr01: heh heh
Dukejr01: 'inexplicable"
Missiledine: the area seems to be infested with man traps
Dukejr01: okay. what do we see of the tower?
Missiledine: it looks to be three stories high.. you can't see an entrance but there is a one story attached building extending to the north
Dukejr01: any movement?
Dukejr01: flat roof?
Dukejr01: chimney?
Missiledine: there is no sign of any movement in, on or around the tower
Dukejr01: move around to the north
Missiledine: the tower has a flat roof with crenellations, the addition has a peaked roof
Dukejr01: unless its getting too dark. then Corren will head nack
Dukejr01: back, even
Missiledine: it is getting dark and to moth far enough north to see the other face will take some time in such trap infested woods
Dukejr01: return.
Missiledine: move
Missiledine: working your way back will tak awhile as well... when you finally get back to Ferric and the horse, Rolb is not there
ElwingFD: "How was it?"
Dukejr01: "Lots of traps. I am going to look for Rolb."
Dukejr01: Corren takes a spear.
Missiledine: And goes where?
Dukejr01: "If you make it hard to get in, you make it hard to get out. I don;t think we will be bothered here.
Dukejr01: Corren tries going t owhere he saw Rolb last and try to retrace his route.
Missiledine: getting to dark for tracking
Dukejr01: most of these traps would make noise when they are set off, how far would it carrt?
Dukejr01: carry
Missiledine: depends on how much you screamed... maybe a couple hundred feet
Dukejr01: okay. corren just goes to where he saw rolb last and listens.
Missiledine: the woods are quiet except for a few late season crickets and a distant owl....
Dukejr01: Corren returns to "camp"
Dukejr01: Cold camp,. no fire.
Missiledine: Ferric and the horse are still there
Dukejr01: Corren eats trail rats and tendshte horse.
Dukejr01: "Get some rest. I will take first watch."
Missiledine: About fifteen minutes later, its really dark now, Rolb materializes silently out of the gloom. "Anything left to eat?"
Dukejr01: any astringent in the first aid kit?
Missiledine: no
Dukejr01: Corren grins and hands him some food.
Dukejr01: Corren checks his cut
Dukejr01: washes it out again.
Missiledine: "Lad could get bloody knackered wanderin about these woods."
ElwingFD: "you seem to have pretty good night vision, Rolb"
Dukejr01: leave it open to air. that is the main thing with shit poisoning.
Missiledine: "Aye, I get along pretty good in the gloom."
ElwingFD: "Can I guess you found as many traps as Corren did?"
Missiledine: "There's a bit of a trail comin into the place to the north. A lad in a blind with a bluddy great crossbow is watchin it."
Missiledine: "Gettin up to im will be tricky since the ground is fairly hoppin with pit traps and such not."
Dukejr01: "It may be that they don't have many men and substitute traps. Then again, they could be cautious."
Missiledine: Rolb shrugs and eats. "Mebbe.. what did ya to your mit?"
ElwingFD: "maybe...if I could take him out, would that leave a trail clear for you two to make it to the tower without worrying about the traps?"
Dukejr01: scrapped it on a stake pit. stakes covered with shit, I expect"
Missiledine: "Aye, that would probably work. The trail is pretty plain. They must have orses, from the look of it. Ye can'y have nuthin too fancy on a
path horses use regular."
Missiledine: Rolb will pass across his flask of VV, "ere, use this to wash it... inside an out."
Dukejr01: "the job of guards like that is to give warning of attack, not stop it. Hmmm.... could lure out some of them by catching a rabbit or something and setting
off a trap"
Dukejr01: Corren nods and does so.
Dukejr01: <as long as its not a puncture, it should be fine>
Missiledine: <just keep telling yourself that.:-D>
Dukejr01: <anaerobic bacteria and all that.>
Dukejr01: <okay. there;s no place like home *click click click*>
Missiledine: "Need sumthat bigger than a rabbit I be thinkin.... They must get their own share of game in that nest of traps."
Dukejr01: "the trick will be getting in the tower, in the face of oppostion. maybe spend all day sneaking up to the southern face, and the mage fly up to the top of the
tower, then dops a rope to us. he hit them in the evening when they are relaxing."
Missiledine: "Aye..." Rolb says thoughtfully... "Might work... They have to change the guard at some point too... might catch two at once that way."
Dukejr01: "good idea. and they will be expecting someone to come in the door. tho they might have a pass."
ElwingFD: what's the roof made of again?
Missiledine: "Course... we really dunno ken who or what is in there..."
Missiledine: the peaked roof seems to be of slate... tower roof, no idea
Dukejr01: "Betcha a penny whoever it is is not supposed to be there."
Missiledine: "Well, Ah can say that they dunno care for peddlars an tinkers..."
Dukejr01: "could take out the sentry then wait for his relief. that way we only need fight one at a time."
Missiledine: "... tis a fine, warm welcome mat they've laid out fer the like of that."
ElwingFD: well there goes my Fuller Brush man disguise
Missiledine: lol
ElwingFD: "makes me want to sneak in the back door even more"
Missiledine: "There must be another path inta the tower... only a fool has no retreat." Rolb agrees
Dukejr01: "If we do hit them from the roof. they could just scurry out the froint door on horses. while we work our way down."
ElwingFD: "I would venture a guess that one of the traps is really a trap door. Did either of you run into one that could qualify?"
Missiledine: "I wonder if they ave themselves a pleasurecraft down along that wee brook..."
Missiledine: Rolb shakes his head. "No, not that I was aware of."
Dukejr01: "there were a couple things I was going to take a closer look at later." got dark too soon."
Missiledine: "If they have a boat, there will be a way to get to it."
ElwingFD: "maybe we need to check on that first thing in the morning"
Dukejr01: "spend tomorrow scouting?"
ElwingFD: "may save us some unpleasantness if we have to go in the direct route"
Missiledine: "No more than we need to..." Rolb says with a head shake. "I think that we'll be seein company along here afore too long."
Dukejr01: "I would like to check a place where there might be an escape hatch. and we should check for a boat."
ElwingFD: right...let's set watches and get some sleep...I need to recover so I'm fresh for a fight"
Missiledine: "We canna be the only ones in Girvan Forest who ave heard of this place... Won't belong before somebody comes a trampin
through the woods."
Missiledine: Rolb will take third watch
Dukejr01: "Right. shall we figure on assaulting tomorrow? which a quick scout along the river side of the tower?"
ElwingFD: "guess I'll take first"
Dukejr01: Corren takes middle"
Missiledine: "See what the morrow brings."
Dukejr01: zzzz....
Missiledine: Ferric, you have been sitting quietly for about a half hour, when you notice light in a second story window of the tower
ElwingFD: can I make out people?
Missiledine: you catch a glimpse of some one crossing between the window and the light a few times, but that is all. The light remains all through
your watch
ElwingFD: ok, I make a note to tell Corren about it when he awakes...not that he won't notice it :-)
Missiledine: other then that, your watch passes quietly
Dukejr01: Corren takes watch. he is surprised that they would be so careless.
Dukejr01: hmmmm...
Dukejr01: Corren watches the sky too
Missiledine: your watch passes quietly as well
Dukejr01: k. Corren wakes Rolb. kicks his boots, avoids the reach of his weapon arm.
Missiledine: Rolb gets up and takes over... the next thing you all know, it is the hour before dawn and Rolb is waking you
Dukejr01: Corren stretches and does his morning salubations.
Missiledine: "Rise and shine lads! Fortunes to be won, people ta be killed."
Dukejr01: corren eats quickly.
ElwingFD: good time to end
Dukejr01: We should make shure that our camp is not noticeable.
Dukejr01: sure
Missiledine: ok.... kill you all next week....
Dukejr01: I love GMs who say lovely things like that.
Dukejr01: really
ElwingFD: good night Wesley, I'll most likely kill you in the morning
Missiledine: makes ya feel all warm and fuzzy, don't it?
Dukejr01: Inconcievable!
ElwingFD: You keep using that word, I don't think it means what you think it means
Dukejr01: Oh, have it your way
Missiledine: Karyn's favorite movie... after Jaws
ElwingFD: Never mess with an Italian when death is on the line!
Missiledine: Sicilian!
ElwingFD: Sicilian
ElwingFD: sorry, tired
Missiledine: lol
Dukejr01: a likely story
Missiledine: You know how much she likes that movie!
Dukejr01: Think <we'll> make it?
ElwingFD: Her and Kris both
ElwingFD: It would take a miracle
Missiledine: The music was our wedding theme, remember?
Dukejr01: well, enough, it silly
ElwingFD: yep
ElwingFD: well, night all
Missiledine: "Have fun storming the castle!"
Missiledine: ok, good night
ElwingFD has left the room.
Dukejr01: night
Dukejr01 has left the room.
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