Nicholas de Courcy
“Could be that. And I don’t like the idea of leaving potential enemies at our backs,” de Courcy replies.
“But if people are heading straight to the fortress, well I can’t exactly fight or negotiate with the centaurs myself,” he says with a practically stereotypical Aralaise shrug.
Ranar Bolijyr
“So invite 'em down for a chat. Who knows, they might be enemies of the ones we encountered earlier. Maybe we did 'em a favor and they’ve come to thank us.” He shrugs, unslinging, and holding his crossbow casually. “But I wouldn’t bet on it.”
Blue Hawk
Hawk listens from atop the carriage, hearing what de Courcy, Thwip, and Ranar all have to say.
“We are invaders in centaurs’ land,” he contributes. “I do not think we should make a fight where there is none. Talk is better, but we do not know their speak.”
The shaman takes a deep breath, and sighs. “If we must fight, I will help as I can, but moving spirit into bird was not easy, and I am tired. If we must fight, I would like rest first, if I can.”
Jibrīl Al-Las’as
We did not come here to fight centaurs. If we must, we must. But I see no reason to seek it out.
I say we head onwards, but keep our swords loose and our eyes open.
Thwip
“Yeh, let’s keep on”.
Blue Hawk
As it looks like the decision has been made to move on, and no further input will be required from him, Hawk points to reminds the others: “That way, one hour, and we should be very close.”
His job finished for the moment, the shaman closes his eyes and enters the restorative trance, allowing the healing energy of the spirits to flow through him and carry his fatigue away.
GM POST
As you form up and head off westwards towards the saddle between two hills, Aronn remains silent and unseen inside the carriage.
The terrain is not too bad, but it still bumpy enough that Hawk has to wedge himself underneath a luggage strap to avoid being tossed from the roof as he meditates. Rabbits and other small wildlife occasionally scatter from your path as you travel.
Progress is slow; after an hour, you have still not reached your destination. However, you do come in sight of a chalk-topped hill that appears a likely candidate, and after another half an hour’s worth of bumping across the tussocks you finally arrive.
The scene is very different from what is portrayed in the painting; none of the fenceline shrubs are visible, and there is no sign of cultivation. But there is an appropriate-looking chalk topped hill ahead of you, and there are what appear to be the ruins of two large stone buildings and a tower.
All of them are nothing but patterns in the grass and foundation stones. Vegetation and soil cover the building footprints. There is no sign of the stone that should have made up the upper parts of the buildings.
As the carriage pulls to a stop, Aronn opens the door and leans out, speaking to Thwip.
“Well done! You seem to have found the place; now how about the door?”
Thwip
“Were gonna hafta do a bitta ivestigatin’. An we gottagit you’in t’ horses t’ a d’fensible spot n’case t’ centers decide t’ try’gain. I’m sayin’ we gittoo t’ ruins andin we start pokina round win we’re secure. There’s tat single buildin nexta t’ depressin too. Wanna know ifin tat was a pond or sumptin’ else like mebbe t’ door.”
Thwip looks around at his companions to see if they agree or not. He’s willing to go along with a better plan.
Blue Hawk
Hawk, after the first hour, decides to descend from the carriage roof and mount a horse again. Now that he doesn’t need to heal or trance or fly, her is able to give his full concentration to riding, and things go much better this time.
When they arrive at the fortress, Lord Arron asks Thwip to find the entrance, and Thwip outlines his idea of getting Lord Arron to safety before starting the search. Hawk dismounts.
“I think safety before search is a very good idea. Is there anything you want me to do to help?”
Ranar Bolijyr
Ranar glances around at the ruins. No real safety here. He looks up at the hill, but it’s too far away to offer cover. The shadows have grown long.
He looks over to Thwip. “We need to find an entrance. A doorway is something we can defend. Out here…” he holds out his arms, gesturing at the horizon.
Thwip
– Pity that my pond wasn’t a pond. That spot is suspiciously flat so I should make it a point of investigation. –
“Ting ‘bout a door going in t’ ground is tat it’s in t’ ground.” he replies to Ranar. “Hrm. Ifin I was t’ make a door t’ an unnerground fort, I’d put tit inna side ofa small hill witta wedge shape leadin’ t’ it so I kin move men an’ supplies innan out. Even ifin the entrance collapst t’ shape should be still tere. So keep an eye out fir tat ev’ryone.”
Thwip pauses and starts glowering at nothing and rubbing his head.
– If this was a vault instead of a fortress they’d want to hide any entrance. The buildings acting as a front for the entrance would make sense in that case. But an abandoned building would be the first place a scavenger would look for loot and in five hundred years someone would have found an entrance. But if it was a secret vault they would taken any treasure with them when they left. Yet if the buildings aren’t hiding an entrance then why were they constructed? What else could they have been doing underground? There’s some part of the puzzle I’m not seeing. What? What? What?–
Teeth gritting, breath growing ragged from the anger caused by him not knowing something. Realizing he’s making a scene, Thwip draws a deep breath and sighs.
He shrugs and smiles sideways at Ranar. “Foundation stones’r better cover thin t’ horizin, eh? I don think t’ centers could move fast up tere either so tere’s another advantige tey lose. Ifin teres no’ enuff cover ora door inda ruins we kin use t’ height advantige of t’ hill. Whatever we d’cide we should gitter’ movin’”
Blue Hawk
Hawk nods when they suggest going up the hill and setting up there.
“High ground is easier to fight from, and since this hill is highest, we should be able to see the centaurs coming. I do not think we fear them at night; if I had the legs of a horse, I would not want to step in a dark hole. But there may be other dangers.”
Jibrīl Al-Las’as
I agree with Blue Hawk. We should camp on the hill. The light fades, we should make ourselves safe for now, and explore further in the new light.
Ranar Bolijyr
“Eh, all right, guess we’re ah, moving up then.” He walks around to the front of the carriage and starts leading the horses toward the hill, looking for the easiest way to get up the slope. There appears to be a flat enough spot that would be ok to stop with the brake set and the wheels chocked. But getting up there might not be easy. “Stay c-close, guys! Might be needin’ a push.”
GM POST
Noting the rapidly fading lght, the group decides to camp rather than explore further this evening. Compromising between defensibility and concealment, you haul Aronn’s coach up to the flat shelf just west of the ruins.
Aronn declares that he will stay in his coach for the night; the rest of you hitch your mounts to the wheels and try to find comfortable spots that won’t get you trodden on by a horse. In order to avoid advertising your presence for miles, you do without a fire. Fortunately, it’s a balmy evening and the wind has died down.
De Courcy declares that two should stay on watch for three hours a turn; Ranar volunteers for the first shift along with Thwip, while Jibrīl and de Courcy claim the second. Hawk is left to sleep in order to maximise his magical pep for the morning.
[PLAYER CUE: Thwip, Ranar, are you going to just concentrate on guarding, or poke around while the others sleep? If so, where and how?]
Ranar Bolijyr
After getting the carriage secured and everything setup, Ranar paced carefully around the perimeter of the shelf. He wanted to know the edge well so so as not to make a misstep in the dark. Looking down the way they had come, and around the rest of the edge, he considered what directions would be bad if they had to move during the night. Upslope from here looked easier. He went to the inside edge and took a few steps up, then turned to Thwip. “Might be good to overwatch up here. Not too far though.”
Thwip
“Might be good to overwatch up here. Not too far though.”
Never having been in the military the term “overwatch” gives the goblin pause. The gears spin up as he pairs the suggested location with each part of the word.
– “Overwatch”? Ah! Yes! Over. Watch. To watch over from a higher position. A good plan, however I wonder if that’s the best spot.–
“Hm. Yeh. Gettin’ higher’s good. I’m notta soljah, but mebbe t’ carriage wood obscure m’ sight a bit? What ifin I got atop o’ it? Might be bett’r t’ shoot over evry’uns heads too.”
While Thwip has the knowledge of many things, military tactics are something he feels comfortable with leaving to others. He already ignored the expertise one of his partners today and deaths and injury came as a result. He will go where Ranar tells him too.
“Jussa sujjestion. Y’d know better’n me, methinks.”
Ranar Bolijyr
Ranar nods at Thwip. Although he had proven himself in a fight and capable with the gunnery, he didn’t think like a soldier yet. “Yes, you take the top of the carriage and keep the camp safe. I’ll go uphill a bit and try to get a bigger picture. I’ll yell if I see anything approaching the camp.”
GM POST
Thwip scambles atop the carriage, while Ranar settles in slightly uphill. Each keeps an eye on the other while watching the perimeter beyond, rifle and crossbow at the ready. As the light fades and the night sets in, all is quiet apart from the occasional fox or rabbit.
After a few hours, a sleepy Thwip suggests a change of shift. Waking Jibrīl and de Courcy, Thwip and Ranar turn in for the night.
[Player cue: @daneel and @Mitchell, how are you setting up your guard?]
Jibrīl Al-Las’as
“I say we arrange guard similarly to Thwip and Ranar. de Courcy, you have longbow - perhaps it is better if you take the higher ground?”&t
“Ah well, if I have to be awake, at least I may take some wine to stay warm.”
He takes a swig, and offers the skin to de Courcy. “It’s a shame it isn’t arak, but beggars can’t be choosers, eh?”
“perhaps I shall go see what there is to see around these ruins?”
