All the mighty bards of the ages will agree on one thing.

Timing is everything.

Jeath leads Erilyx towards Verdak's wagon, within sight of
Onyx coming close to AJ's wagon.

Onyx notes quickly that he sees no one and hears nothing
coming from AJ's wagon.

Foldis has her eyes on Onyx's approach to the wagon.

From the west, comes Darrin riding at full tilt, leading a
dark-haired man of sleek build and firm jaw.  Behind them
are a good hundred men.  All of them dressed in black riding
leathers and shields with a tabard of a great circle with nine
spokes leading forth from it.

All around the camp, several people emerge from their wagons,
even more from wagons in the vicinity that are not apart of
the carny at all, but drawn by the commotion to see what is
occuring.

"Where is the snake?" speaks the dark haired man as he slides
easily from his horse in front of AJ's wagon.  His hand goes to
a medallion around his neck and his other hand to the mace tied
at his belt.  His men easily take up positions strategically
around the campsite.  "Darrin, see to your cousin, lad." he
orders the emerald-eyed youth.  Without question, Darrin pulls
his horse over to Verdak's wagon.

I think maybe we are about to have an interesting show to watch.  I will
put the cooking pot down and position myself near AJ's wagon where I can get
a good view of what is happening.  I will not get too close to the
mercenaries since I don't want them to think I am one of AJ's men, but I
will be close enough that I can see what is happening and I can act if I
need to.<<Onyx>>

FOLDIS;
    I collect my weapons and join Onyx on the way I say to Verdak
"This should be interesting how about joining us"

Rein up the horses short of AJ's wagon, not so much out of sight as out of
the way.  To Erilyx:  "Let's stay back.  It looks like things are about to
happen.  That has to be Darrin's friend and his men.  We need to stick
around to bear witness, but we don't need to get involved in the fracas just
yet.  But keep a wary look out, AJ is too damn smart, and I can't believe he
would let anybody get the drop on him like this.  I doubt if he's in there,
but he may still be lurking nearby.  He seems the vengeful type, and we've
more than likely cost him his caravan, and his livelihood."  If AJ is there
I've got to see what happens next, but until I see AJ I'm going to be
scanning the surrounding area to see if I see him, or anyone else, lurking
in the background (the way I usually do).<<Jeath>>

Jeath calls my lead now.  Where he goes, I follow.

He says stay back.  I'm back.  White nuckled grip on my reign's though.

-As a note.  Erilyx's facial hue is back to it's normal (pale) flesh
color.

Christeel following behind Jeath and Erilyx will notice the
happening going on.  He will listen to the ongoings but will
focus his eyes on the out side of the area.  Noticing if any
are trying to leave, espcally if any are leaving in a hurry.

Christeel will trot his horse around the gathering and head
over toward the wagon while looking around.

Also when Christeel notices that Onyx and Foldis have left the
wagon unattended he will make sure that no one disturbs the
wagon.

At the sound of Lord Marquet's voice, several carny workers are
quick to come to the scene, only Darrin seems to be headed, under
orders, to a different wagon, where he meets up with Christeel.

The door to AJ's wagon does not open, even as the dark haired,
grim man says loudly, "Come knave.  It is to justice I will take
you to in the city.  Murder is not my game.  Open your door and come
out you villian."  Still nothing comes from the wagon, and jumping
off his horse, Darrin's friend leaps up onto the back of the wagon
and wrenches open the door for all to see.

No one. 

Nothing.

A blond haired man, whose horse sits just behind Lord Marquet's calls
out swiftly, "Search everywhere, men.  You have already heard his
description.  Glavin, Paulos, detect magic, perhaps he is invisible.
Head towards the city as well."

Marquet turns on the steps of the wagon, his face grim.  He spots Darrin
at Verdak's wagon, and pushes his way through the crowd towards him.

At the wagon, he looks softly down at his beloved and then softly draws
her to his breast.  "Mighty Tempus, I pray thee, let her come back to me."
Even as he speaks a tear falls onto her golden hair, and seconds later,
her eyelids flutter, and breath is drawn into her body.

Jeath...
I don't like that invisibility bit.  I stay as close as I can to Erilyx and
keep an eye and an ear out.

The first thing I do is look for a safe place to stash Erilyx.  Vea and the
girls seems like a good place.  If I find a safe place for him, and he's
agreeable to it, I leave him there.  I head for AJ's wagon and look for
signs of where he may have gone.  See if I can find any trace of a trail.
If so I'm off again to track him.  If anyone else finds a trail I'll ask if
I can accompany them on the hunt.

Mental note to berate the dwarves for not posting a watch on AJ.  I'm sure
he had one on us before.

The good news is the caravan should realize now we were the innocent party.
Maybe Onyx won't be beheaded after all.


        Erilyx's jaw drops as her eyelids flutter.  His even blink a
couple times.  The general thought is, "
                                                     wh..
                                ho...
                                        ".


And he will basically sit still like a rag doll until there is more
movement, (or whatever Jeath had planned) and gape.

Christeel solemnly looks over to Darrin, and then a grins slowly crosses
his face, "I believe that there will be a wedding after all"  Christeel
take the opportunity to announce there loud enough for all to hear, "THERE
WILL BE A WEDDING, BY THE GRACE OF TEMPUS ZEPTHA LIVES"  Christeel pats
Darrin on the back.  "If one has faith, all is not lost"  Christeel not
being one to try to steel the spot light will jump from the wagon onto his
horse and leave the love birds alone.

Christeel will guide his horse over to the wagon of the twins Rui & Meli.
Christeel  speaks to any party members that are near this wagon  "I wonder
what happen to A.J. and what’s this nonsense about hanging Onyx ? "

Meli and Rui are agape in shock at the incredible recovery.

Onyx...
I will undergo a few minutes of shock at the sudden resurrection of Zeptha.
Then I will go over to Verdak's wagon where Zeptha is, but I will stand a
respectful distance away.  If it appears that she recovers enough to talk, I
will ask her "My lady, could you tell us what happened?"  I will not try to
get any information out of her if she is too weak or disoriented to talk.

FOLDIS,
    After suffering the same shock as Onyx (us dwarves dont
like this magic stuff) I say to Onyx.
    "Did you see where he went?"
    After that I move over to Darrin and lay an arm over his
shoulder saying.
    "I don't like this magic stuff but I am happy to see it
in this instance."

ONYX,
"I don't know where AJ went.  I thought I was keeping a good eye on his
wagon, but I guess he is sneakier than I thought.  He probably ran off while
we were setting up camp.  Even though Zeptha is alive again I would still
not like to be AJ when the mercenaries catch him."

Foldis - to Onyx
    "If he's lucky someone will get to him before I do. It's
amazing how long someone can take to die if you're careful."

ONYX,
"We think along the same lines.  Promise you won't go looking for him
without me. I have always had a morbid curiosity about human anatomy.  I am
curious to see just how much a human can take before they die."

FOLDIS - to Onyx,

    "Rest assured I would not let you, or any of our
companions, miss out on the joys of taking retribution on
AJ. You never know they may know a few tricks we don't"

ONYX,
"What you say has merit.  I woul;dn't want the rest of our companions to
miss out on the festivities.  You never know, I suppose it is possible we
could come up against something that would give even two hearty Dwarves with
axes some trouble, although that would take much more than just AJ himself."

FOLDIS,
    "True Onyx but somehow I don't think AJ was working by
himself."

Even as this conversation goes on, Zeptha whispers hoarsely, "What is going
on.  Milord Marquet... where are we?"

"We are just outside of Waterdeep.  Rest easy.  All is well, now.  Do you
remember anything, my love."  Ross asks her gently.

Darrin keeps mouthing, thank you, as he looks on Zeptha with tears in his
eyes.  Zeptha sees him out of the corner of her eyes and looking up at her
cousin, her head nods slowly left and then right a couple of times.  "I
just remember thinking that something bad had happened to... Darrin, and
I was afraid for him.  I knew he would rescue me if he could.  There was
this evil man with a moustache, but I don't remember much.  He kept forcing
some water down my throat, but there was some drug in it to make me sleep."

Darrin takes her hand and says quickly, "I didn't find you in time.  I'm
just so glad you are alive, Zeptha.  Thank you, Milord," he says bowing to
Ross.  "You are a powerful man, and I... I failed you horribly.  I am so
sorry."

"You still got her here.  You and your friends," Ross says clasping the youth's
hand tightly.  "Everything is fine now, Darrin."

As Lord Marquet speaks a cry comes up of, "I've found tracks on horse over here.
This man says one of his horses has been stolen, but swears he heard nothing.
He's not with the carnival, Ross."  It's the blond haired man heading straight
for Verdak's wagon.

"Good, Faron.  Get after the scoundrel and take him straight to Castle Waterdeep
when he is caught," Lord Marquet calls out.

"No!" Darrin interrupts.  "Let my friends and I go after him.  Please, Milord,
to make amends.  Now that we know Zeptha is safe with you, we have but one goal.
Let me redeem myself and prove that I am not incompetent."

"Darrin, I think nothing of the sort.  But you must promise to keep your head,
and bring him to Waterdeep for justice.  Do not take his life, if you can help
it," Marquet tells him.  "Go, and bring yourselves back safely."

Darrin looks to all of you, and then runs quickly for his horse to follow in
the direction that Faron points out.

<<ONYX>>
I immediately get some horses and begin hooking them up to AJ's wagon.  Our
wagon is not here and Verdak might need his, so I will just take AJ's.
After all, it's not like he is going to be using it.  "Foldis, would you
like to help me hitch the horses up so we can get going as fast as
possible?"  If anyone objects to our borrowing AJ's wagon I will at first
just give them an angry stare to let them know they are on dangerous ground,
if they persist after that I will threaten them with serious bodily harm if
they don't leave me alone.

Snapping his jaw shut with a *clomp*, Erilyx spins his horse around,
scanning the area.

        "We haven't got time for a bloody Wagon!" His voice firm and loud
for perhaps the first time.

        "Lets ride!" he beckons, motioning to Jeath with a jerk of his
head, and getting ready to spur his horse towards these tracks.  "May
Tempus be with us!"


        He moves as if he's got something to prove.

"Onyx and Foldis will have a tough time riding horseback.  On the other
hand, the wagon will drastically slow us down.  I think it best if we press
on swiftly, and Onyx and Foldis follow in the wagon.  We may need the wagon
if this pursuit drags out.  Plus it will give us a handy place to put the
bound and gagged bastard for the return trip."

I dismount, say "Thanks for the ride" as I stroke the horse affectionately,
release him/her, and mount the horse I rode earlier.  "Let's ride."

<<ONYX>>
Since Foldis and I would just slow the group down more if we actually got
on a horse, we will just follow in the wagon.  Just leave a trail for us to
follow and we will catch up later.  That is if Foldis would like to come
with me.

I keep hitching up the horses and I will also see if I can have a few extra
horses to bring with us so we can switch them when they get tired.

FOLDIS,
    "Onyx, I will gladly ride with you. Although I am not too sure about the
wisdom of us splitting up"

Christeel hollers to Darrin and the Group, "Go ahead and I will catch up"
Christeel quickly dismounts in front of Meli and Rui with a smile.  "Since
there will be a coming wedding perhaps you (reaching an hand out to both
girls) would do me the honor of escorting me to this grand event.  With a
devilish grin he adds in a soft voice, "After all your Master Commands it"
Christeel then says with a wink, "I need to go, and catch the bad guys"
Christeel hands them a small bag, "To buy yourselves something nice for the
coming wedding" (20gp).

Both girls accept giggling and waving goodbye as Christeel rides off.

Christeel turns and goes and assists Onyx and Foldis in hooking up the
wagon to the horses and makes sure that they are ready before setting off.
"Follow as quickly as you can, Darrin could be in need of my ability to
track."  Christeel spurs his horse on to catch up to Darrin and the rest of
the party.

Foldis calls out, "We're coming!"  She clambers onto the seat of AJ's wagon
and as soon as Onyx is on, she gives the reins a sharp whack.

Darrin is talking to two of Ross's men a few dozen feet from the camping
area and looking avidly at the prints they are showing him, when Jeath,
Erilyx, and finally Christeel join them.  The tracks are from one horse,
and thankfully there is a brand on one of the shoes that is very distinctive.

"Now, you be careful.  It's going to get pretty dark tonight, don't let him
double you up, kid," one of the men says to Darrin, patting him on the back.

Darrin nods and heads off at as fast a pace as he can keep and still keep
his eyes peeled on the tracks of his quarry.

The tracks skirt the woods and with the care needed to keep on the trail,
Onyx and Foldis aren't more than twenty yards to the rear.  The moon is less
than half full and nearing midnight, the light it gives off is barely
enough to see the tracks.

The forest gets left behind and Northeast of Waterdeep, the land turns into
gentle rolling hills, perfect for families to go on picnic outings, young men
to race their horses, or for lovers to find a cozy hollow for an hour or so
from prying eyes.  Going over one such hillock, you spy a horse, standing
nibbling some grass unconcerned by your approach.

Checking the right hoof, this is definately your horse, but there are no
footprints near where he grazes.  His original tracks lead over the
hill still ahead of you.  Darrin grabs the reins of the stolen horse and
leads you cautiously up the next hill trying to find where the horse has
just come from.

<<ONYX>>
I will follow Darrin in the wagon, but instead of looking at tracks I will
be looking at the hills in front and around us.  Hopefully I will be able to
pick up any ambush waiting for us with my infravision before it is too late.
I kep all of my weapons handy in case I need them.

Christeel says, "He may still be invisible, this will make it very hard to
track him but I bet that he leaves foot prints"  Christeel will dismount
from his horse and spend a moment studing the ground trying to find any
track that the rider left.  Christeel will cast a spell bring into
existance an unseen servant.  Christeel hands the reings of the horse to
the servant and tells the servant to follow.  Christeel will start tracking
foot steps on foot if there are any to be found.

<<JEATH>>
I don't like this.  I'll try to keep a watch out to the rear and the sides,
knowing most of the group is focused on the tracks.

Do we want to spread out?  If he's a spellcaster us being bunched could make
an easier target than if we separated by twos.  If so, I'll take Erilyx and
we'll branch off to the left.