Jenna nods as she reaches for one of the arrowhead pins.  Mercy has never been one of my stronger traits, she says.  On the matter of the gnoll I'm searching for, have you seen an gnolls about in your dealings with the slavers here?  If you find any I will need to question them.  I speak their language so it will be beneficial to both you and I if you keep them alive long enough for me to speak to them.

     Looking over his shoulder he sees some of the wagons start to glow and smoke rise from the straw,make sure you search the dead...get  weapons   so we can hand them out to the  people we saved....Then head down to the lower  road...

 He started down the  mountainside  as well where the  people and Arrows  where gathering, he says to Jenna...My Village is  in the BAlck Timber...there  has  been a Band of Gnolls and Cat-folk hunting   around the forest..they seem to try to hit the  caravans  coming from the desert. to the coast...every now and again, they are foolish  enough to try a trip through out Forest...we get   finished with  our Mission, we will head to the Village and see what  folks have hear lately...for that matter, when  we reach Ironmound, we can see what the City Guard has up on the Bounty  Board, sometimes there is news about slavers, bandits and such.

Jenna walks alongside the elf as he heads down the road with a scowl.  And what is your 'mission'?  More to the point, how long will it take?  I took your pin so I will honor my word to help you, but I cannot be long off the scent of my prey.

After removing her shafts from the fallen slavers Myranda assists the Holy roller to search the bodies, recover weapons and fire the wagons.  Once her task is completed she slips alongside Kree. Another nick at the slavers then Cousin dear, one that has brough increase as well she smiles indicating the two new arrows

    as they near the Gatherer  people, Kree says to Jenna,The Lady and her Companions, thjat where guarded by Luthien, are, our mission, we needs  get them to Ironmound..

 The Slavers had them, and we were asked to get them back.Along the way we have  found  and lost, some comrades...so..it is not rare , that someone seeks  greener pastures.

 Pointing out over the Lands, she can see a Large walled  city ( that looks about as big as copper piece, from where they stand) it straddles the River Storm.That is the  City.... , turning  .45 degrees to his left he says,..That is Ironwood. We go there, to  leave off these escaped slaves, In hope the Ironwood Elves will aid them...

 Ivy laughs  from a few paces away,he shakes his head as he says,What makes yuoou think the Ironwood elves  would aid these people?..Ironwood  is more noted for helping..Ironwood...

 ..THey have Ties  with Human cities to the north and east...it would do them  good to aid them, if Nay? we will have a longer journey taking this small horde to Ironmound...

 In Answer  to Myra's words he nods,..Aye Slaveers  dealt with....slaves freeds, and  a solid  slap in the face , for whomever ios the Leader inside that mountain....We will be adding to the Totem..that is for certain...

Jenna tracks with her eyes in the directions Kree points, taking little notice of the others speaking to him.  When he finishes she says, Fine.  What would you have me do to get us moving?

  Once  we hand out weaposn   to those who are able to carry them, we will movbe down through the trees, in the direction of Ironwood..I suspect  scouts  will see  us soon, with this large of a group..Then we shall see how  much  the Ironwood elevs  honor thier treaties....

 Turing to  the Group he says, Brie, Myra and   Jenna will scout  ahead  On Horse BAck.... Lucy and Ivy will take the right Flank, Diana and  Myself  will take the left flank...

 looking at the Former prisoners, some look shaken, some  relieved,You folks will stay together in the Middle, our   Holy warriors  will stay close to you...Good Rolf will be rear Guards..Mia? You stay witht hem as well, thus we wil have most of our spellcraft in one place

 Mounting up on one of the  captured Horses , he  begins to  head to the Left flank. Iv  grins,..Hey Cousin?...I thought you could not ride?

 Kree wheels the horse around , and says,I said i did not like to ride....I am 120 years old..I learned to ride when i was 20..in that space i have  had over 40 horses....that is not.....a good set of numbers...


 The Horse snorted and shook its head, Kree began to move off to his position

Diana fetched her used up arrows, cleaned them and put them into away.  She then went to follow Kree's orders.  Right Flank it was.  She took one of the slavers horses.  My, it felt good to be on horseflesh again!

She gave a "gidyap!" and the horse began to gallop off to the right flank.

Brie looked back as she remounted Quickshadow and passed Kree on the way.

Oh there are quite a few stories I could fess up to with the right bribe about his horse riding skills, she said with a grin and gave a low whistle to egg on the horse to scout away.

She took a more easterly direction.

In reply to Diana Hunt (msg # 271):

Mira pins the small ruby arrow to her robes. Full length robes are simply not suited to the road, and Mira had been made painfully aware of. She had donned a tunic cut with slits for riding which went only a little lower than her knees. Though the trunk of the tunic looked like ordinary robes, the sleeves were cut more slimly around the lower arms and wrists; again conducive to riding.

Though she balked at the idea of a blood oath, this Kree Quickshadow demanded none from her. Why not join these people for a while? After all, she had nowhere to go, and knew nobody. She would not admit it openly, but the world outside her academic circle had been very lonely so far. She dipped her head at Kree's order.

A deep brown gelding was still milling about on the edge of the caravan, discoordinated by the sudden scuffle and quick departure of the familar slavers. Mira snatches the reins, trailing loosely in the dirt. She pats the animal's neck, letting him get a good look at her and leading him back, rather than mounting, to the equally discoordinated group of freed slaves. Once the gelding seems more comfortable, she mounts in a practised motion. Her teacher had insisted on a "rounded education", though she could not have imagined before now why riding would have been useful to her. She takes up a middle position with the other casters, guiding the gelding effortlessly.

She stays silent, feeling rather shy amid new faces. She steals glances at her companions. The freedmen look to be lost in their own thoughts, and she does not disturb them.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:10, Sun 29 Mar 2015.

 the  Group is   a bit North and East of Trader's rest..( a K in the faded part of the Mountains.) The scouts  lead them  to the southeast a bit, trying to get to the MAin Road, and Ironwood  beyond that.

 As the  Group spreads out  to  Handle their duties, Kree Adds, ..If you find  Game? Bring It down, these people  are Going to eat well this night...

Rolf uses his hand ax to make short work of any wagons before getting ready to move on.  He agreed with Kree on one score, he agreed with killing slavers because they deserve it.  If there was a reward to be collected, he would take his fair share, but if there was not then still he would put them down.  But that's a job, not his life's mission of killing the damned Catfolk.

Jenna nods when directed to scout ahead.  At the mention of wood elves, she wonders if they speak the same Elvish as the ones in her homeland of Andoria.  Guess we'll find out, she thinks as she heads back toward Bailey who hasn't moved a step since Jenna dropped her reigns.  As she walks among the bodies and burning wagons back to the horse, she pins the red arrowhead onto her shirt under the cloak.  He said plain sight, but I'll be damned if I'm switching this thing every time I remove my cloak.

Mounting Bailey she pats the neck of the dark mare and says, Well, we've picked up some new traveling companions.  Seems like they know what they're about.  I guess we'll see.  Bailey shakes her mane and nickers as Jenna lightly prods her toward the woods in the direction Kree had indicated her to scout.
Oh stop your complaining, she says in mock reproach, I know you'd rather have me all to yourself, but sometime it's good to share.  Once again we're the point of the spear girl.  Supposed to be some kind of elves out here.  Let's hope they speak the Elvish we know.  C'mon.

Jenna and her horse move up ahead of the rest of the group and begin scouting ahead on the trail.  She makes little effort to be hidden or quiet, knowing full well it would be a fruitless effort.  Riding through unknown woods belonging to wood elves made it a nearly sure thing that she'd be surrounded and either dead or subdued long before she knew they were even there.  Subconsciously, she touched the punch dagger hidden at the small of her back, sure it was well hidden incase she had need.

Her mind drifted to Cracked-Fang and the possibility that she'd finally picked up his trail once more.  After months of searching for any sign, or anyone who'd even heard of a group of gnolls in this land, she'd finally run across someone who'd told her about Kree and his Crimson Arrows who were mostly slave hunters.  In Jenna's experience gnolls worked well with slavers as guards.  Their hideous features usually so frightened commoners that they set aside all desires to try escaping, and if the sight didn't dissuade them enough, the growling, slobbering voice that would issue from them as they promised to chew the feet from anyone trying to escape would seal the deal.  They were god's awful abominations, and Jenna would rid the whole world of them if she had her wish.  I'm coming for you dog, she muttered as Bailey carried her along into the unknown forest.

The group heads  down through the Trees, a few  hours , they come Up , what passes  for the MAin Road of the Furman's Chain.. . Kree  Call out for them to travel down the Road until they can see the smoke  coming from  the  Buildings at  Trader's Rest.

  they then turn east, Into the trees of Ironwood. Quickshadow rides in and  says,These trees  Belong to the Ironwood Elves....I have a brace of rabbits, see if anyone else can bring down some game?...we will travel until we hit a clearing, and we will camp there....we should be visited sometime after   we eat...

 He Pivots the Horse away , heading back to his  flank...

Mira checks her horse's pace several times to match more closely with the ambling crowd. Though surely they must be glad to get out of the wagons in which they had been captive, many of them did not seem used to walking for long periods. The children present especially, fell silent after a time. Mira scooped two of the youngtest into the saddle, herself dismounting to lead the gelding.

The silence presses on Mira, and she falls astride with Luthien. She had wondered how an armored knight had found himself in such company. With some time and bordom her nerves had calmed and she asked Luthian with a gentle voice Where do you hail from? How did you come to be in this company?.

"Here's another.  Rolf holds up another rabbit.  He moves to the side and starts to dress the rabbit for cooking.

  As they reach a small clearing,  Kree Rides in once more , and ties his horse to a tree.

 Ivy  comes in as well, he  has  a Turkey hanging from his  saddle. He  Dismounts and takes Kree's  Rabbits, Joinng  Rolf in  dressing the game. Ivy points to some of the  freed people who are in better shape then Most..Gather  fire wood...only dead  wood, branches and Limbs lying about, do not cut  anything alive...

 Isra  and her Ladies   have  ried to be  busy as well, Gathering some Tubers  as they moved  through the forest.

 Kree looks around, MAking sure everyone is  accounted for,I'll do a ciruit around the clearing...though i do not think we will be bothered...

 Ivy Looks Up,How soon?

 They will let us  eat...rest...then someone will come around to ask us why we are in thier Trees...

 ivy smiles and goes back to work, Kree Moves out to the  treelines  and begins to walk around it.

Brie had busied herself making note of the vast forest of the Ironwood elves, not much unlike her old home.  Yet, vaguely still not quite like home.  She looked back in the direction of where Kree and the group should be and could mentally picture them there.  She closed her eyes and reflected back on everything that has happened, also listening for easy prey that she could hunt.  She also took this time to practice up on things Kree had taught her early on, even a few things that his own tribe, family, had taught her.  It was a wonderful time she had, and she didn't want to forget any of it.  So practice, she does.

She could hear animals scurrying around and took aim at them when any entered into her personal space.  The gentle caress of the breeze as it floated over her skin.  The moon lite highlighting up her face.  She opened her eyes and blessed the Gods and Goddesses for providing for them this evening and letting her find her way back to the people she belonged with.  She then moved back towards the group with her hunt dangling along on strings at the back of her saddle bags.

Quickshadow naying and prancing about knowing he too, for the most part, was safe and felt it.  She saw Ivy and Rolf fixing the food and Kree checking on everyone.  She dismounted and walked the black stallion over to the tree near Kree's own ride where they could communicate and jest about.  A pawing and tapping of the horseshoes echoed in the air to Brie which adding a wider smile to her face.

She sought out Kree after handing the game (1 grouse) to the fellows.  Wish me to follow with you as you go out?
This message was last edited by the player at 03:51, Tue 31 Mar 2015.

  You can if you wish, I do not know  how foolish thos e slavers are, I cannot see them entering Ironwood,, but there  are other   things to be wary of..

Jenna came to the clearing before the others and dismounted.  Well girl, she said, I guess we didn't have to worry bout the elves after all.  I suppose this is as good a place as any to sleep the night.  You go ahead and graze before the others arrive and I'll stake out a spot for us to rest.  With a quiet nicker Bailey strolled off toward a patch of green grasses that looked appetizing and began to munch.  Jenna had seen some game, but since she never had taken time to learn the bow she figured the rest could shoot dinner.  Later in the evening she would go out on foot and set a few snares to catch game for herself and replenish her pack.

When the others began to file into the clearing, Jenna already had the beginnings of a fire started and an her bedroll laid out.  When Kree arrived she approached him and said, Nothing but animals and plants out there tonight.  I'm sure your elves are out there too, but they're keeping their heads down for now.  The other young elf girl approached and spoke to Kree, answering Jenna's next question of when they should expect the Ironwood elves to make an appearance.

When Kree speaks of walking the perimeter, Jenna says, <darkgreen>Why don't you let me do that.  You probably got your hands full with all these... she trails off gesturing toward the "freed" slaves that seem more lost now then they probably where in the hands of their keepers.  It'll give me a chance to set some snares and catch my share of the game.

    why don't you take the   east side of the Clearing, I shall take the North...the  west side leads to the road, and i do not fear anything that might be coming from the South. Just be careful, should you run  into an Ironwood Elf.

  with a flick of his hand , he  says to  Brie, Shall we...

 .........

 Ivy looks over the  people, and  at the Game as begins to sharpen  sticks to use  as Spits, we shall use the   spits  to cook the Rabbits, we will cut up the Birds   and tubers to make a stew..the little one s can eat the  stew, the older ones can eat slices of   Rabbit...Unless  someone  brings  down something bigger..

Brie paused as Jenna came up for the next set of steps for checking the outlying areas.  She gave the other girl a friendly smile but a warmer smile to Kree when he motioned for her to follow.

Careful there boys, she said to Ivy in particular.  Let's not have another incident of nearly cutting off your thumb.

She waved at them as they headed off towards another part of the forest and took out her bow, but left the arrows in the quiver at her back

Miss me much? she asked softly so as not to alert any one that may be trying to sneak up on the group or them.

Jenna nods to Kree and, catching the smile toward her from Brie, gives a nod of greeting but no smile crosses her lips.  She turns and heads back toward her bedroll.  From her saddlebag she takes a pouch that attaches neatly to her belt containing all her supplies for snare making and heads out toward the Eastern side of the clearing.  As she passes Bailey she says, I'm going to set some snares and take a look around.  Keep an eye on our stuff and don't stuff yourself.  I don't want you gassy or nobody will sleep tonight.  The big mare snorts its derision in her direction and then goes back to grazing on the lush green grass.  She smiles at the horse and then turns for the woods.

Lucy had a frustrating hunt.  Twice she had lined up a rabbit, and twice arrows had missed, and not even been close.  That is what frustrated her the most that her arrows were not even close to the target.

She spent a frustrated hour hunting before giving up and returning to camp, bashfully empty handed.

Diana had been successful in her hunt.  Although, it was rather limited.  She had targeted three rabbits, but could only make a kill of one.  After an hour, she returned to camp, adding the rabbit she had managed to kill to the pot.