Red Dawn(not the movie) The cocks crow at the sun rises and the inn begins to waken with smells of bacon and eggs wafting from the kitchen. Onyx is awakened by the stable boys beginning their chores, and they point him out a side door to the common room. He enters the inn proper about the time that Jeath, Christeel and Darrin waltz through the front with a spring to their steps, though Darrin looks not so springy as the other two. Foldis rises from a sleeping mat and stretches and nods a silent greeting. Darrin says, "I'll go wake Zep. She hates mornings," he grins and quickly makes for the stairs. Some moments later, he stumbles back down the stairs, pale and whispers, "She doesn't answer, and I can't open the door." The key dangles in his hand, and he looks like the world has landed heavily upon his shoulders. Some of you are about to lend a hand, when Erilyx staggers in through the main door. There is blood seeping down the side of his face from a cut near his forehead, and he left arm dangles limply at his side. He looks like he is about to collapse, but he manages to whisper out "The Lady Zeptha Has Been Kidnaped." Darrin turns and runs back up the stairs and begins shouting her name and throwing his body at the door. Onyx Strongarm I will see if I can help Erilyx to a chair and ask the innkeeper if he knows anyone who can do first aid. I will try to keep Erilyx conscious long enough to get information out of him. I will ask him to tell us everything he saw and especially if he got a look at the kidnappers, which way they went, and if they were on horses or on foot. If he starts to fade out on me I will throw a bunch of cold water in his face to wake him up. If I hear anything from upstairs that sounds like Darrin is in trouble I will immediately draw my axe and go to help. I expect that there is no one in the room now, but being cautious can't hurt. Christeel Tavvic > Christeel wanting to go with Darrin but knowing that his aid is needed > elsewhere will rush over to Erilyx and quickly assist him to a sitting > postion or the floor whichever is more convient to us and cast a > cure light wound on him to help stablize him. As soon as this is done > Christeel will ask question of Erilyx along with Onyx. > "How many were there?" > "When did this happen?" > > If given a direction or discription Christeel will after making sure > the Erilyx is stabalized, take of out side and see if he can find > any evidence or a trail as told to him by Erilyx. If there is a trail > to be followed Christeel will rush to the stables and quickly get > his horse and see if he can follow the tracks for a while, once he is > sure of where the tracks are he will return to the inn and find out > what else has been found out and tell them weather or not he was able > to find any tracks Erilyx is easy to coax into a chair, and some color returns to his pale features as Christeel casts his spell of healing. Erilyx gathers his strength and says.... FOLDIS Foldis runs after Darrin up the stairs, shouting over her shoulder "Someone get Erilyx a healer!" she will then will help in opening the door. Jeath I'll head upstairs. First I'll calm Darrin down. Then I'll try to get the door open. Once the door is opened I'll lead the way into the room. I'll tell Christeel, or whoever is near, to deep Darrin back or at least slow him down till I have a chance to observe the room for hints of what happened, and more importantly who might be responsible and where they might be headed. As soon as we find any decent leads on where they may be, I suggest we mount up and get after them, the faster the better. Maybe we can still reach them while their on the road. If they reach a stronghold of some sort we'll have a devil of a time getting her back. STORYTELLER Jeath and Foldis, you run up the stairs to see Darrin crash into the door shoulder first. It is the third crash you heard as you came up the stairs. The door is just starting to splinter in the middle on his last attempt, but Darrin is staggered even as he steps back to the opposing wall to try again. Jeath asks Foldis to restrain their distraught companion, and Folds has no trouble grabbing Darrin and holding him against the wall. Jeath quickly explains that nothing should disturb the room, in case there are clues. Darrein slumps in Foldis's grasp and stops struggling, acknowledging this wisdom with a quick nod. Jeath, you check carefully for traps, but can not find any, and then testing the knob, you find it unlocked. You push in on the door, and it slightly budges, so you try again. The next shove opens the door to a crack that is wide enough to see partly through, but you can discern nothing. You shove one more time, and it opens wide enough for you to skinny through. You see a chair that was propped against the door handle, but that was partially dislodged, probably by Darrin's attempts to break down the door. You see a rope tied to the bed frame and lowered out the window. The only other thing is droplets of pretty fresh blood, on the floor, on the bed and on the rope. The window leads to a side street, but you see nothing that would indicate which direction Zeptha has been taken. Jeath opens the door, and Darrin visibly stops himself from trying to enter until he is told that he can. Aside from the drops of blood, there is no sign of a struggle. Foldis Foldis will not enter the room, instead she will try to coax Darrin down the stairs and into the bar, if he will not go down to the bar she will stand between him and the door. Darrin Darrin can see from here that Zeptha is not in the room, and it is with slumped shoulders and bowed head that he staggers down the stairs. FOLDIS As Darrin agrees to go to the bar FOLDIS will leave him with the members of the group there. She will then leave to try and find VERDAK and if she finds him go round the carnival staff to see if anyone saw anything unusual during the morning. >Gathering his breath, the youthful eyes of "Erilyx" blink with forced >concentration . . . yet once he begins to speak, it becomes more and more >sparced with less and less detail. > > > "There were three of them. . . I saw them sneaking around" > Swallows bile. > > "Just had a hunch..." > Quick breath. "Something was up." > > "Heard her scream... had to follow." > "Followed them. . . south of town a little." > > "Got in close, I could hear what they were saying... > Snapps a look to Darrin. > "She wasn't moving." > "Something about fetching a good price. . . > > "Then someone hit me. . ." > Looks around to everyone, pained - ashamed. > > "I never got a good look at them- > ... too dark." > > "It was too dark." Christeel I will ask Erilyx if they were riding horses or not. Onyx Strongarm If they were going to sell her then we can be certain they did not kill her. If she was dead they would not bother taking her body along with them. I say we get to the horses and head out after them. I will see if Christeel will give me a hand trying to get Erilyx patched up enough to travel. We could use his help leading us to where he was attacked and we can see if we can pick up their trail from there. While I am trying to help Erilyx get ready to go, I will holler at the innkeeper to have his stable hands saddle up our horses. We will have to have at least two extra horses saddled since Erilyx, Foldis and I don't normally ride. One of us can use Zeptha's horse. If the innkeeper makes a fuss about renting the extra horses or anything I will throw 5 gold pieces at him to shut him up and get him moving. I am planning on tying myself into the saddle so I will stay there while we are riding. We can also tie Erilyx in the saddle if we need to. Now let's get to work. We have some kidnappers to kill Christeel Tavvic Christeel ask further question You said that you saw three and yet you were hit over the head so that makes at least four, right? You heard the voices, did they all sound male? How were they carring Zep? in a bag or something? Are you able to travel? Christeel will cast another cure light if he thinks it will do any good Christeel hearing about fetching a good price "Darrin since they have kidnapped Zep, what kind of ransom do you think that they will ask.? If Zep is so important then why were we not told to keep an eye on her so that this might not have happen? Christeel says to the group "I agree with Onyx, we must get on to their trail as quickly as possible, before the kidnappers get to much of a head start also, Darrin should we send word to the caravan ahead of us and let them know what has happen here? Jeath I agree we need to mount pursuit as swiftly as possible. However, I will search the room swiftly but thoroughly. Then I will climb down the rope and search behind the inn and see if I find anything they may have dropped that could be of use, or if they left any identifying tracks. If we can follow a trail from here we may not need Erilyx help till he's had more time to recover. I also want to make sure they left together, I don't want to find out they've split up in hopes to ambush us, the way they appear to have done with Erilyx. I won't spend more than five or ten minutes in either place, though, as I hope to be mounted and moving now if not sooner. I would just as soon we didn't kill the kidnappers. At least, not till I've had some time alone with them. Onyx Jeath has a good point about searching the room and behind the inn. We don't want to go wandering into an ambush. They have to be expecting some kind of pursuit, so they have probably taken percautions against it. Phearez As Christeel incants his second cure light spell onto Phearez, his steel grey eyes will solidify once again, and his demeanor of calm will return. He will then recount his tale. . . in a more fasionable, yet curt, manner. (ERILYX) "Twas perhaps a few hours before the rise of the sun, and I was outside. I had been awoken by a dream, and I was quick to partake in some fresh air. Whilst on my brisk walk, I saw a man cloaked in black. . . at least I think it was a man, he could have had elven blood in him, for I could barely detect him. Unbeknownst to him, I began to watch him, hiding myself as well. It was then that I heard the cry - it was muffled, but came from the direction of the inn. At this signal, the form I was watching tore from the shadows, and headed out of town." "At a respectable distance, I followed him, and he came apon another man... He was atop a horse, and there were two other steeds behind him, from the looks of it. The man I was following quickly straddled a horse, as a third man came running into the small clearing, the Lady Zeptha over his shoulder. . . unmoving." "As they hoisted her onto one of the horses, was when I overheard one of them say, in an ordering manner - 'She'll fetch us a good price, unharmed'. It was then that I knew I had to act. I began to call to mind an incantation, when someone hit me from behind." " . . . that was all that I saw of them." Onyx >Since Erilyx is healed and ready to go, I say we have him take us to where he was attacked and we see if we can pick up any sort of trail. If we find a trail I say we follow it as fast as we can. We will be able to travel faster than them since one of them will be riding double with Zeptha. Let's Get After Them Red Foldis leaves the bar to head north to search out Verdak and see if any of the circus group saw anything. When Erilyx is feeling better, and a quick check around the inn shows nothing conclusive, the horses are readied and with Onyx strapped securely to the horse, and Christeel pulling the reins, you all head south in the direction that Erilyx indicated. Darrin, stunned barely has the wits to mount his horse, but he follows along behind everyone. Erilyx guides you quickly to the spot he described, but searching only shows that there is no body and there are horse prints leading to the west. Following them, the tracks turn to the North skirting around the village. On the other side of town, the prints enter the campsite where the circus performers were staying, a sight some of you recognize from your nightly activities. Foldis is there.... but no wagons. They have already headed out down the road. Foldis does not look happy about being asked to sit a horse. Darrin continues to sit numbly and when asked why he didn't have better protection, he can only shrug mutely and look down at the ground. Darrin can only beg Foldis to ride behind him. "We will never catch the kidnap...kidnappers, if they go on horseback and we bring the cart and carriage. It contains nothing of value anyway," he finishes morosely.