Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"Couldn't we just head back into town, stop at the tavern, and have a nice cuppa?" Sighing, Alec rolls his neck and looks towards the forest. "Nope. S'pose we can't, now that I've started this. I hope you can navigate a forest. Because I am USELESS in the woods."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
The two entered the fringe of the woods. The trail was indeed wide enough for a cart and there was sign of the attack ahead. Broken crates, another body. Their adversaries were nowhere to be seen though. Perhaps they fled when Rue killed the last one.
The woods were quiet though and anyone knows - that's not a good thing. The trail is relatively straight at this point and the hill had leveled out.
Rue laughed at Alec's statement. "But that's no fun! Why relax in a tavern when you could be in the woods, having attackers shooting at you from up in a tree? And as for navigating..." She peered through the woods apprehensively. "Uh... we'll be fine. Probably."
As they approached the site of the attack, Rue knelt down next to the body. She searched for anything interesting, and looked to see if the wounds on this one were similar to the ones on the bodies back in town.
The body was a bloody mess, a cross stitch of blade cuts, an arrow piercing his side. The wreckage from the attack had nothing of value, mostly broken crates and a couple sacks of spilled grain and wheat.
The woods remained quiet. There were no visible trails other than the trail the wagon had taken toward the town.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"Fine, probably? As in, probably fine? See, I don't like that. I don't like that at all." Tugging at his collar, Alec looks around watching for any movement. "I've been hit with one arrow today, and THAT is one too many."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
"I can get us through the woods fine, but I can't see through the trees and know where the attackers are hiding," she said with a hint of sarcasm. "Just keep your guard up."
She began searching through the trees closest to the trail for any signs of who the attackers are and where they were headed. She followed the trail up a few feet, still looking for signs. As she did this, she armed her bow, wanting to be prepared to fight at a moment's notice.
All foot trails lead on up the path. The signs of combat are everywhere around the cart, though they likely didn't put up much of a fight, but the enemy has come and gone down the main trail.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"Right. Deeper into the probably-bandit-infested woods." Alec glances around, watching the sides of the trail.
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
The two continue along the trail unmolested. Not that they weren't attracted to each other... well not that I am saying that they are. You know, young people these days and their free love and what not, sigh... anyways moving on. Or in. The forest that is.
So ayup, walk this way for a bit, very creepy being in the woods and so on and so forth and nothing spectacular happens until they come upon a side trail. It leads away from the road and is obviously the way their assailants have traveled.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"So," Alec begins, glancing at Rue sidelong. "Have we got a plan for when we run into these nasty folk? Just.....kill all of them? Because I know, that's what I said, in town." He holds his hands out, and shrugs. "But, I don't really like that idea, any more. Because there's bound to be a lot of them. And there's a grand total of two of us." He stops, turns to her and holds his hands forward, palms forward. "Hey, not to say we aren't badasses. You're an utterly amazing archer archer, I'm an unparalleled martial artist and a master at magically manipulating metal." Turning to continue, he shrugs. "But still. Quality over quantity and all that aside, I don't know if I can kill a hundred more guys." Setting his jaw, he stares forward. "Well. Not at one time."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Rue sighed. "I don't think we have many other options. We can't just turn back... I mean, we could, but we really shouldn't. We need to find out who these people are and what they want."
She then noticed a trail leading off of the main path.
"They went this way," she said, turning down the trail. "Hopefully, there won't be many of them so we can get our information, kick their asses, and leave."
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Following the small foot path, Alec continues "Normally, I'm all for roughing people up. But usually, there's not as many as I imagine there will be." He shrugs, and sighs. "But if that's what you wanna do, I'll not leave you hanging to dry. But, if it can be helped, I'd rather not kill anymore people. Perhaps try and resolve with diplomacy, rather than the blade. Or bow and fist, in our cases."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
"I don't know what to expect in terms of numbers. We already took care of quite a few, how many more could there be? But you're right, we shouldn't jump them right away. Let's just wait and see how many there are, what they want, and so on."
She walked a few steps before adding despairingly, "Any suggestions on what to do if we're hopelessly outnumbered?"
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Smiling, Alec turns to her. "Outnumbered, or hopelessly outnumbered? If we're just outnumbered, we surrender, hope they don't kill us on the spot, and take them apart from inside whatever camp they've set up." Facing forward, he continues "But if we're hopelessly outnumbered, we fight there. Try and get away, get reinforcements. If that's not possible, then we just take as many as we can with us. Like the sound of that?"
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.