Rhees catches himself turning his head from Forte to Ullar and back repeatedly as though he were trying to follow the ball in a hurley match. With what he hopes is an appreciative smile he interjects, "My friends, I thought my own people had a monopoly on emotional rhetoric - clearly I was mistaken. Let us not forget, as we discuss our differences, that we share many beliefs as well. We agree that the Bishop's forces must be stopped; we agree that, as a group, we must honor the words we speak; we even agree that certain circumstances warrant killing an enemy - we just don't agree on what circumstances. Forte, I have agreed with a large part of what you have said. A little too typically perhaps, I must now question your extremes. What about Rhune? You will remember that Pietro detected a charm on her as well. What if the worse case is true and at some point the Bishop exercises control over her. Speaking of which, Rhune, would you return the blue tube to Ullar; if we're worried about the tube wandering into combat too much I submit that Pietro could carry the tube. But back to my point - Forte, if Rhune, under charm, acts against us will you do everything you can to kill her too?"
"Probably not," Forte answers flatly.
Ullar starts to smile, with the smile growing into a grin and after a few seconds the warrior laughs out loud. "You're ok Forte. You have a heart of gold when it comes to your friends."
Looking at Rhees as he speaks, Rhune starts to blush remembering a certain time when she was sort of controlled and did everything in her power to kill the party. But still she rummages in her pouch and gets the tube and gives it to Ullar, "Here Ullar hold the tube for awhile."
Rhees flashes a relieved smile at Rhune as she hands Ullar the tube, "Thank you, Rhune. I hated to bring up the topic again and any concern I have is over the aura about you, not you per se. Still, you would have been within your rights to be more difficult. We could all learn from your willingness to keep the groups interests foremost."
Pietro looks at Rhees. "If you want me to carry it, I will. I think Ullar is the best candidate for it though. His motives are pure, he is his own man. My motives are pure, but I am a priest to Hermes. I always have a higher authority to answer to."
Pietro looks at everybody. "Let us discuss this later on, hearing the voices of the others. When I will have the chance, I will pray to get more insight regarding my own perspective on this important topic."
At the end of the long conversation, you notice that Arkady has finally roused himself from Golthar's magical spell. Awakening, he lets you know what he saw in the mist. Moving along, there is no sign of Gactis and party anywhere, though you are sure they lurk about somewhere, only hopeful that they run into a pack of gnolls before you do.
Daegwyn continues to press northward, paying careful attention to where the howls are coming from and hoping to be able to avoid them for as long as possible. He does not plan on stopping unless someone from the group stops or an enemy comes into sight.
"Daeg!" shouts Ullar, ".. we'll have to speed it up a little. Those Gnollish creeps are getting way to close and we're much harder to hit when we are traveling with some speed. Is that possible?"
Ullar tries to keep the shaman steady on Zephyr, talking a little to the animal, trying to calm it a little as the stench of blood is surely not something which improves the already tense mood of the horse.
Taking Ullar's cue, Antonia does not ask if there will be any attempt at communication and instead concentrates on moving faster and quieter if that is at all possible.
"Aye," replies Daegwyn, picking up the pace considerably. He hopes that they will not come upon something they cannot ride around, or through. He makes no attempt to remain quiet. Any hope of remaining undetected has long since gone. His focus now is to get the group as far north as possible before having to stop or make some type of confrontation.
Pietro looks at Daegwyn. "Please take us out of here fast as fast as possible, I do not really fancy being a pincushion."
Rhune rides along with the others intent on putting as much distance as possible between her and the pursuing gnolls.
Casting a look back and around at the howls all around them Rhees adds, "While we're asking the impossible of you Daegwyn . . .we'll eventually need a place to hole up and prepare for the inevitable. If losing them becomes impossible, we should try and find the largest concentration of them possible - there'll be a better chance of addressing a chief or someone else who understands Italian then. Oh and let's make sure we don't lose any party members as we pick up the pace." Rhees looks to Rhune and Arkady to make sure they are still with the group. He then looks to Ullar, both to make sure that the large man is faring well with his package and to see if he has any comments on Rhees' suggestion. Seeing Tolik carrying the club and rattle he smiles, "I haven't thought this all through, but haven't you always wanted a chance to be someone else - say a gnollish shaman?"
Daegwyn replies while keeping his eyes focused ahead, "I intend to drag this out as long as possible before confronting them. While I am focused on moving us forward please keep an eye on the rest of the group and let me know if I need to slow the pace."
The ex-gladiator is doing his best to keep up with the increased speed and nods towards Rhees. A smile appears from his lips; a smile which has not been there for quite some time.
The group, abandoning the plan for communication for the nonce, flees headlong north, throwing caution to the wind for the sake of speed. And it seems to pay off, as the howls from behind grow more distant.
Some hours later, the party takes a moment to catch it's breath, confident that they have evaded pursuit for the nonce. Fortunately, the mist has largely cleared by now, and they are able to see down into the southern valley. It appears that as the valley heads north, it must be slightly inclined, as you are definitely higher up than you were.
Judging by the crashing river still to your west, now visible again, you would estimate that you have gained quite a bit of altitude. This enables you to see a quite unwelcome sight. Down below you see several distinct orange lights. Torches! A score or more, and right in the center, one is being held by a massive humanoid, larger than any you have ever seen, must be ten feet in height, four times the size of a normal man. All around the giant are dozens of the gaunt gnolls.
"Oh brother." Rhune murmurs as she sees the torches and the large humanoid. She looks at her companions with very tired eyes. Her complexion is very wan and ashen, and for those who might look her way, they see her rub both her belly and her then tightening her hold on the reigns leans over to rub her ankle, though she rises quickly. Almost to quickly it seems, as she sways on her horse a moment before straightening up, "Let's get going. There is no way we can fight all of them." she says to the party.
"A giant? Is that really the case? They DO exist? Giants?" Ullar shakes his head in disbelief, before encouraging Zephyr to ride on. The world of the ex-gladiator has expanded in such a way that he finds it hard to hold on to the few certainties left in his life. Briefly he closes his eyes and thinks back of the time when he was safe and secure in the Arena in Florence.
However, two piercing eyes emerge in his mind, the eyes of Mr. Morphius. A big sigh escapes the warrior and with his head slightly bowed he continues his travels.
They are rushing northward, some type of war-party. On horseback, you are outdistancing them easily, but if you falter, you know they will be in hard pursuit, leaving little margin for error in your retreat. But you are confident of your trusty steeds, and turn to continue the headlong flight. Rounding a corner, Daegwyn sees the point of a spear protruding from a rock ahead. Quieting, he hears some very subtle movement. An ambush!
Daegwyn holds up his hand for the others to stop with him. He leans to whoever is closest to him and points ahead to the opposite side of where the ambush lays. Quietly he speaks, "There is an ambush set just ahead opposite of where I am pointing, let the others know."
"We don't have time for this," mutters Tolik, but he turns to relay the message anyway. "Ambush ahead." he says quietly.
He pauses for a moment, then whispers, "What if I disguise myself as, say, a gnoll, and ride by. That will either draw them out or let me get in their midst, depending on who it is. Then the rest of you can act and we can move one quickly before the giant can catch up."
"That might work but we should still be ready just in case." Rhune whispers as she very quietly draws her sword. Pulling up her horse for just a moment as they round the corner, Rhune listens intently to see if she can tell how many are around them and where they are.
However, the ambushers have quieted down enough that she cannot make such an estimate, only that there are more than a couple of them.
"I don't cherish the possibility that you will be the sole target of an ambush and I wonder what you'll do if you do get among them." Says Rhees with genuine concern. "But you're right we have previous little time. If you are willing to take the risk, try and draw them out so we can ambush them." With that, Rhees dismounts and prepares (quietly) for combat.
Rhees finds that the aching weariness inflicted upon him by the shaman back at the valley has not gotten any better with time. Expecting it was a temporary effect, he wonders how long he will be in such miserable condition.
Rhees only saves himself from an embarrassing fall while dismounting by leaning suddenly and heavily on his spear, "Ugh! The shaman's curse is still upon me. I don't think I could last a dance with a pretty girl, let alone melee with a squad of gnolls." Ashen faced, Rhees adds with downcast eyes, "I'll be no use to you in combat, I may as well stay and mind the horses."
"It's risky Tolik, but if you are prepared to do it, great. We have very little time!" says Ullar, while dismounting and trying to hide the body of the shaman from sight. The warrior readies his greatsword.
Putting her sword away, Rhune quickly draws her bow and dismounts, "Let's make this quick, we don't have a whole of time here." she whispers repetitively to the others.
Following Rhune's lead, and trying to be as quiet as possible, Forte dismounts and prepares his bow as well. He keeps his mace close by for the inevitable melee.
Tolik takes this as a sign of agreement, and as such begins to make his preparations. First, he climbs off his horse, bringing the looted club and rattle. Then, he transfers most of his belongings to his horse's saddle, saving his daggers and a handful of something out of a pouch. Giving a distasteful look at the skull, he steps over to the body Ullar is carrying. He carefully takes notice of the dress and general appearance. He bites his lip, deep in concentration.
Under his breath he begins mumbling in elven. As he speaks, mists, not completely unlike those from the graveyard, swirl about him concealing him completely. They stay for only a moment, seeing to meld with his body as they fade away. By the time they are gone, Tolik has disappeared, leaving an aged, female gnoll in his place. The gnoll steps over to pick up the club and rattle, and then takes a bow. She winks at the group, then walks toward the awaiting ambush, but not getting too close to the rock with the spear.
The similarity is not terrific, as those of you looking at the shaman, then at Tolik, see some difference, and you are not gnolls. However, hefting the items he looks somewhat similar. You only hope that the dog-men are surprised enough not to delve too deeply into the illusion before you spring your own ambush on them.
Watching as she replaces her sword with the bow, Rhune quickly gets into a position where she can use her bow. Well she moves as quickly as she can given the fact she is limping and rather badly it seems.
Stepping around the corner with a hushed growl, the Tolik-shaman turns to face the awaiting ambush.
Caboto, despite the weariness and danger, cannot help but admire the effectiveness of the spell. Illusions can indeed be powerfully effective. Tolik's likeness to a gnoll seemed good enough to him, how will the gnolls react?
Tolik, disguised as the gnoll, steps amongst the gnolls. He shakes the rattle at them growling softly as he does so, doing to his best to mock the movements of the shaman of earlier. He stops growling, he continues to shake the rattle, but very quietly begins to whisper the words to a spell as his does so.
The squad of a dozen gnolls revealed behind the boulder leap to attention with spears above their heads, but seem perplexed by Tolik-shaman's appearance. Several bark with questioning tones, something which sounds like "Krasgat?" This is one of the first times that the tones have resembled language. A name? However, they are stunned enough by the appearance to not attack, giving Tolik the time to complete his enchantment.
As he wraps up the spell, he opens drops the club and sprinkles the sand which was palmed. Then he prepares to deal with the consequences.
Rhune prepares several arrows knocking one in her bow, hoping that she has good line of sight to help back up Tolik.
Tolik completes his spell, affecting only one of the dog-men, who falls over. Not reacting the way he expected, the gnolls look even more confused at that, and it gets worse as the rest of the party rushes in to help.
Rhune and Forte lean over the rock to fire arrows at the ambushers, which seems to finally bring them out of their confusion. One of the enemy falls with two of Rhune's arrows and one of Forte's sticking out of him, leaving ten remaining. They still do not understand Tolik, pulling him in while they rush to engage Ullar and Arkady, who have rushed toward them with menace. You note that they bear ball and chains, having dropped the spears they intended to ambush you with.
Rhune sighs deeply as she had not wanted to kill any of the gnolls but unfortunately time is not on their side here at the moment. She just hopes that they can still somehow pull this all out.
Seeing that the odds are still very much in the gnolls favor, Forte drops his bow and helps with the mace, leaving odds about three to one, instead of five.
Tolik finds himself alongside a slightly larger gnoll, who seems very perplexed. It barks and growls with some urgency at him, still obviously confused by his appearance. The other non-combatants (including the enfeebled Rhees) stay close to the fray to lend assistance if necessary.
Ullar misses his first target badly, though Arkady slashes the leg of his, not quite felling him. Fighting together closely, they are able to somewhat limit the gnolls flanking ability, though they are quickly surrounded by half the squad, the other half rushing toward Forte and the others. One stumbles over the victim of archery, and falls into the path of another. Growling and snapping at each other, these two jump up quickly to rush in where they are most needed.
Arkady and Ullar manage to avoid the furious attacks of the gnolls, who seem to have a bit of trouble fighting in close formation with the unwieldy morning stars. Ullar has similar trouble, but can stay to one side of Arkady, hacking the other direction at the numerous opponents.
However, he misses badly once again, his bad luck continuing, while Arkady exults in the combat, hacking completely through one enemy and finishing the stroke in the side of the injured one, killing both. The two that had stumbled rush in to the fill the open spaces. Ullar pays the price for his ineptitude, as the flying ball smashes into his upper chest, only narrowly missing pulping his head like a melon. He reels back from the impact. Meanwhile Arkady pays the price for his valor, as a smaller dog-man cracks him in the back, pushing him forward into the bumblers.
Forte rushes into the three that have broken off, engaging them alone, as Rhune cannot move along quickly enough to assist. He manages to stay defensive and keep them from hurting him any further, hoping for a bit of help.
Limping along as best she can with her sword drawn Rhune tries to help.
The slightly larger gnoll that was talking to Tolik apparently has come to the decision that his shaman is under the influence of some magic or senseless, and he puts her behind him in order to join the fray himself, howling to exult his troops. All of you note with some dismay that there are answering howls coming from not terribly far behind you. The war-party apparently has gained some distance! As he does so, Tolik sees that he is relatively alone nearby the sleeping gnoll.
Meanwhile the fiercer combat continues between Arkady, Ullar, and the other gnolls continues. Arkady hacks down yet another as the two stumblers rush toward him. Ullar finally manages to hit an opponent, but the things chain shirt repels the stroke. Not the ex-gladiator's day, apparently. However, Arkady's valor has reduced the number of opponents to four. They seem a bit dismayed at the fury of the mad Slav, and are unable to mount an effective response.
Forte continues to fight defensively, and finally gets some help. As one of the hyena-men smacks it's ball and chain into his chest, which elicits some pain, Rhune and Daegwyn come to assist, both with success, as Daegwyn smacks into one and Rhune lunges into the one that hit Forte. Neither do lethal damage, but the odds are much better now.
The gnoll leader rushes in to help against Arkady, who as he comes up slices a gnoll's head in two, then turns with equal fury against the leader, hacking at his leg and giving him a minor wound. Ullar finally decides to join in the fun, cutting completely through one opponent, then slashing in a wide swath and cutting down another, whose guts spill across the rocks. This leaves him only one opponent, who is starting to look a bit panicked, but the leader engaging Arkady seems to have enough power to keep him there until death. Neither of them manages to injure either of you, though, and this part of the combat appears close to over.
Forte hits his, pushing it backward, but Rhune and Daegwyn do not. Their opponents do not make them pay for it, though, as they seem more prepared to die than kill. Daegwyn provides his that opportunity, smashing it in the abdomen and felling it.
Arkady howls with the Gnolls, his madness finally given free vent, Gore and bone fly from the mad Slav as he hacks and howls.
With a nasty thrust, he finishes the leader, skewering it like shish-kebab, but the others, amazingly, continue to fight, howling in a dirge like tone. As the howls from south of you grow louder, you see that they are just trying to delay you long enough that you are overwhelmed. Ullar misses his opponent again, but Arkady, the voices not satiated quite yet, slashes the thing almost in half. Looking about, Ullar is dismayed to see that Arkady has felled six to only his two.
Forte and Rhune finish their two opponents with expediency, leaving you with no more ambushers. All in all, Tolik's plan seemed to work, though it was more bloody, and considerably slower, than you wished. The howls of the pursuers seem almost on your back now, and among them you can hear someone yelling, in a much more human tongue, but incomprehensible, deep and rough. Certainly not a hyena-man.