[IC] A Slithering Scheme (Ebonfort)

[Twhirtley]

Starting Date and Time: 41st day of Ceruleo, 300 DM

Starting Location: Green Fall

CS URLs: Chartose Treeshedder

The Surly Stump was quite lively for this early in the morning. The tavern was filled with a bunch of the citizens that would normally be working at this hour, talking excitedly, circling around a Yuan-Ti woman. She was a huntress, and had been living in the village for a few years now. And her name was Kladissa, and was never the most social creature.

A man shouted that he was buying a round for everyone, before the bartender boomed, "Quiet you heathens, let the woman tell her tale!" She smiled, "Thank you. So I was following a herd of Dander Deer. I'd been tracking them westward for about three days, when their habits suddenly changed. They began skirting around to the south, for no seemingly obvious reason. Being a fairly easy herd to find again, I decided to try and find what they were avoiding."

Many of the hunters nodded in agreement, for most would've done the same thing. Proper hunters were trained in Silent Fall, and knew that observing the surroundings and learning as much as they could was the most important aspect. She continued, "I noticed as I continued onward, that there were less and less creatures, until eventually it was completely silent. Then I came upon it. It wasn't much, about the size of the bar here, a stone entrance way leading underground. The closer I got to it, the creepier of a feeling I felt. And with that, I returned here, as night was starting to fall."

"So I come with an offer. I'm looking for a few, capable people to accompany me back to there, explore it, see if we find anything worthwhile, and split the finds evenly. I don't want more than four, so if you're interested, I'll be at my usual corner table. We leave at midday."

With that, the woman moved to her table, drinking from her goblet. There was a quick scramble, a few small scuffles, before a rough semblance of a line was formed, and the interviews began. She simply asked each person, "How can you be useful to me?" and let them answer it.

[Foster]

Chartose was enjoying a rather hearty meal, half of which he'd caught himself, the other half paid for, prepared most graciously by the well-paid innkeepers as the crowded hall of jovial gents listened to a huntswoman's yarn about a creepy little cave-entrance some three days worth of hard hiking right into screamer-territory.

The Charr scoffed, downed the last of his meade, and took a place in line. The Yuan-Ti huntress made quick work of dismissing much of the rabble as being fueled more from liquid-courage and hormones than an actual taste of adventure and exploration. By the time it was his turn the phrase "How can you be useful to me?" had lost all hint of emotion.

"You said there is a cave, a dark one. I can see well enough in the dark, I can cope and climb well enough with or without a rope. You had my interest at this place having the wildlife spooked."

Chartose then motioned for two more goblets of ale to the table as he pulled-up a chair, "So what sent you out looking for wild-game in screamer-territory?"

[Twhirtley]

Kladissa laughed in a way that only a snake-like person could. The Charr was so blunt with his advantages, and offered nothing else. There was a boldness about it that she liked. Her eyes passed over him, taking in the small details. She could make out the strong muscles beneath his fur, the nicks in his gear from use, every little thing led her to believe him quite capable of taking care of himself. And his question showed that he had some good sense about him as well. Yes, he'd do quite nicely.

Still chuckling, "I doubt there's a silent hunter here," knowing that those in the know would recognize the term. Silent Hunter meant ones recognized by those in Silent Rise, any others were mere amateurs. "That hasn't ventured into Screamer territory on a stalk." She took the ale that the barmaid brought, smiling at the Charr, a silent approval. This continued for a good while until her party was established. There were only three in addition to herself, a very pale human woman, with deep bags under her eyes, with an incredible assortment of knives hidden on her person, as well as a hatchet wielding Aaenshi. She left them with parting words, "Be ready, we leave at the twelfth stretch, meet me on the back fence of Greftin's bear ranch. If you're late, you're left behind."

The woman slithered her way toward the pub's exit, when a rather large man blocked her path, one of the many she'd denied. He was red in the face from drink, still holding a flagon in hand. "Oi! Ya oughta take me ya bitch. Aye'm -hic- worth mordan dose flea riddled pipsq -hic- eaks." Kladissa simple smiled, coming in close on the man, pressing her torso against his, an arm slinking around his neck, whispering, "Yesss... you're so right, you have skillssss that none of them have... a real man..." The man nodded, smiling like a fool in agreement. "You's rig-- ouch"

Kladissa slid out the way as he slumped to the floor, a hand on the back of his neck, snoring loudly now. She chuckled and left, now given a wide berth. She turned and disappeared down the dirt road. Back in the bar, the Aaenshi man turned to look at his new companions, "Think maybe one of us should follow her? We don't know if we can trust her or not." The woman just rolled her eyes, leaning her chair back, balancing on the two legs with ease. She didn't bother to comment, just crossing her arms. "It's not unreasonable! Screamer territory, everyone knows they kidnap people, she could be a spy."

The woman spoke in a low whisper, "Do you think you even have the skills to stalk a silent hunter? She'd probably hear you the moment you caught sight of her." The Aaenshi looked at the Charr, "Well, what do you think? Follow her or trust her?"

[Foster]

"If I'm left behind, I'll just have to follow you the hard way." Chartose huffed, amused by the threat of being punctual or being left out of the group.

Ther was a brief altercation between Kladissa and a surly fat man, which he watched from the sidelines mostly to see how she handled such things and maybe help if she somehow ended up at a disadvantage. The use of pressure-points was a new skill he hadn't really seen, mostly just rumors since the opportunity to use them in combat were so rare it was seldom taught or taken seriously. However, as she left, the Aeneshi beast-boy with a couple of cleaver-hatchets appeared to be having second-thoughts.

"If I were in her place, and came across a forboding hole... I know I'd have returned to it the next morning before journeying back here to scrounge up our sorry drunken asses, and wouldn't have come back without something to show for it. That is, if I were a silent hunter of any renown."

He walked for the door, letting the other two step aside, then faced the Aeneshi with a completely different train of thought to focus on:"That, or I'd have to just be that desperate for help. So in my opinion, I think she lost something valuable out there. And I'm willing to bet five silvers she wants it back... Also funny you aren't the one volunteering to find out for yourself what it is."

Chartose flamed the fans of mistrust, mostly just to weed-out the loads of dead-weight in the party, but also to make sure that all the others stayed on-edge with their wits about them and completely motivated to find out what they weren't being told. He also wanted to build some level of trust with them by showing signs of agreement. However, it was true he was going to follow her anyways, just because nothing she'd said had forbidden anyone from doing so; as long as they stayed out of her way.

However, what he failed to mention to the rabble still sitting cozy in the tavern, was that he wouldn't have made such a trip solo; she came back alone.

Besides, he wasn't being sneaky about it. If he was right, and she thought someone was following her back from the hole, he wanted to make sure she knew who was following her before walking into any reflexive ambush. The important part was to make it look as though one is not looking for them, just like hiding by looking as though you aren't hiding and totally belong up in the rafters just looking for a cheap place to sleep.

[Twhirtley]

The Aaenshi growled lightly at the Charr's challenging statement, though it was true, he had no intention of following the snake woman. He downed his drink and huffed his way out of the bar, clearly agitated. That simply left the pale woman sitting on her balanced chair. She continued drinking, chuckling to herself at the antics of her partners.

Kladissa continued alone, passing the various leather shops and ranches, having long since detected the footfalls behind her, keeping pace with her. She could tell from the softer sounds of them, the fact that they weren't clumsy from drinking, that it wasn't one of the other refused men. Too heavy to be the Aaenshi, not careful enough to be the pale woman's, so it must be the Charr. She stopped and turned toward him, her eyes a bit more pained than before, "Do you have more questions or something? I think we both have preparations to do." She was clearly wearing a fragile facade, that grew more steely with each passing moment.

Her face was growing intense, almost angry, "Well? Spit it out."

[Foster]

"Just a few things. I promise I'll try not to intrude too much on your time, but one of the other party members wanted someone else to follow you." Chartose said, taking a bow as he called Tricia over to feed her a lump of cheese rolled-up in a slice of meat, "I'm sure you can guess who." He said with a slight chuckle as he pulled-out and lit a candle-lantern, and hung it from his spear-point.

The light allowed Kladissa to get a better view of Tricia, a brown leathery reptile with a black strip running down its spine and large bird-like talons for feet, a large tail for balance whilst running on two legs, its short forelegs being more for the act of manipulating its prey and helping clear obstructions, while at the end of a long powerful neck stood the business-end of the carnivorous beast ended with a nose-ring to help mount a bridle without preventing it from biting any naysayers.

Resting alongside the saddle was a grapnel and a large coil of rope.

"I am however, wondering what the rush is to get back out there. More people are likely to pass through here soon, giving you a better pick of mercenaries. So I'm figuring there's some reason you want to hurry."

[Twhirtley]

She rolled her eyes, clearly agitated, "Everyone knows Aaenshi are skittish and distrusting. It's as much a part of them as being flea riddled. What I didn't expect was for the Charr to coming running to mommy with a mouse, thinking it a gift." She softened when she saw his companion though, a Scream Raptor. She moved toward it, hands out, body language suddenly much calmer. She always had a soft spot for reptilian beasts like herself.

"She's beautiful, what do you call her? How long have you had her? So rare to see them away from the plains." She moved closer, and patted the critter on the neck, nuzzling it, rubbing its leathery hide. "I apologize for my insult. And yes, there is a reason, a very important one, and it might already be too late. She... I don't know if she has long."

She turned away after pressing her nose to the creature's stout, having the slightest of smiles. "We need to get ready. Too important to do this half-cocked." With that she left.

Approaching the 12th Stretch...

Kladissa sat in her custom saddle, atop her large lizard. The pale woman was atop a simple brown horse, the Aaenshi atop a wolf. Kladissa was busy watching the rust red bears roam around behind their wooden fences. They were much smaller than their wild counterparts, but that was to be expected. When their final member arrived, she spoke to the group, "We ride fast and hard. It took me three days of winding paths, on foot, to find it. We can easily reach it by nightfall, stick to my lead, keep the gaps close. Remember, this will be in Screamer territory."

With that, she whipped her reins, and her lizard bolted forward in a surprising burst of speed. The trees shot past, and every so often they saw an individual sentry or patrolling company of Knights, until after a couple stretches of hard riding, the crossed a large fallen tree that passed over a small river, barely more than a large creek, signalling the end of Ebonfort territory. The path began sloping a bit southward from their westerly approach, the trees growing smaller, as they grew closer and closer to the Valley of the Screamers.

Kladissa was too focused on being fast and direct, she didn't hear the bird calls. The sounds themselves were normal enough, but the frequency in the replies were far more akin to conversations between men than birds. She continued forward, clouded by emotions and a singular task.

[Foster]

Chartose was somewhat surprised that Kladissa had figured-out that most of the party either mistrusted her, or simply didn't care; not so surprised to see her fawning over his scream-raptor.

"Her name's Tricia, had her for about four or five years; ever since she was able to walk." He said with a twinkle of pride as he gleaned from the rest of the conversation the stakes of the mission.

"So you weren't out there on your own. I reckon there's more to your story than what you said at the bar." He mused, trying to get a little more information. She could still be making things up, but the more he watched, the less he suspected this person of any treachery.

Later that morning...
^{((Huzzah for posting on both sides of a timeskip))}

Chartose was considerably more punctual than his bragging at the bar had promised earlier, despite even taking some extra time to make sure to lay-out extra provisions behind for Becker, a large wolf-husky mutt. He himself had packed incredibly light, figuring if he really needed more than his mount, armor, and weapons he could just summon it with Becker; although he'd make doubly-sure it was safe before doing so, as there was no point risking his friend on such a quest.

Everyone else seemed to be much more punctual than himself however, and had started either lazily watching the grazing cattle from the fenceline, or occasionally feeding a few of them some roughage (or chewing some for themselves).

Not soon after arriving, Kladissa gave a rousing speech that offered just enough time for everyone to mount-up before her lizard bolted down the path, followed by Tricia and Chartose, the woman on horseback, and the Aeneshi riding a beast that probably was suffering from fleas if Kladissa' estimate of him was correct; he'd have to find the time to collect on his bet later.

Several stretches later: Chartose noticed the bird-calls growing in intensity, not receding as the story had originally told. There were a few things Chartose was certain had an innate ability to drive-off wildlife, and one of them was a large settlement of people. And they were in screamer territory.

Being ahead of the other two, he raised his right arm from the reins in a fist, and signaled for them to fan-out to cover of a thicket to the right* as he then raced ahead to stop Kladissa from running headlong into an ambush, but she was moving too fast for him to gain on her, despite being only a few paces away, and with each pace they would fall further and further from the group.

"Kladissa, get off the road!"

_{*on the outside-bend in the trail, also likely a form of high-ground since the path is sloping downward into what looks like a textbook L-shaped ambush}

[Twhirtley]

The first bola whipped out from the trees, wrapping itself around Kladissa, and unsaddling her, slamming her hard into the ground, the breath painfully escaping her lungs. Her lizard immediately stopped, and took a defensive posture over her, hissing at the trees. The air was immediately filled with the gut-wrenching cries that could only be uttered by Screamers. Kladissa was already struggling to grab a knife from its sheath on her harnass, looking up the hill from where the ambush came from. She slid open the transparent eyelids all members of her race had, that were used as a filter. Normally the eyelids blocked her infrared vision, so she could see the normal spectrum more easily. But now, she could see the heat signatures of four Screamers in defensive positions behind trees and rocks up the hill, shining bright against the frigid landscape.

She immediately knew this wasn't a planned attack, but rather just the luck of opportunity. If it were planned, there'd be many more and this would already be over. "There's only four!" Not that it mattered to the Aaenshi, as he and his wolf were already bounding up the steep slope with ease. Bolas were thrown, but his wolf leapt aside of his own accord, the flea riddled pair screeching in glee. The pale woman, however, was missing, though her horse remained with the group, not seeming to notice, or perhaps care, that its rider was gone.

The Aaenshi engaged against two of the Screamers, both wielding shortspears, his battle lust quickly taking over. It seemed as though he would handle them just fine, and was holding back out of sheer enjoyment. The other two Screamers had already begun their descent on the party, one charging with two scimitars in hand, the other covering him with a shortbow. An arrow was shot toward Chartrose, purposefully aimed for a nonfatal shoulder hit. Clearly he was their target, as Kladissa was seemingly indisposed.

[Foster]

Chartose turned away to dismount and help Kladissa with the bolo, only to feel the dull *thuck* as an arrow embedded itself into several pounds of copper-pieces he just happened to carry in his rucksack. Still, the screamers must've seen the arrow stuck into him, and saw him get off Tricia. Most likely they thought themselves successful in wounding him, and would stop shooting as they went in to gather-up prisoners.

So the Charr laid his own ambush by smoothly pulling his crossbow from his scream-raptor's scabbard, and drew a quick aim and fired upon the rushing archer to the swordsman's rear. Unless the later turned, it would be hard to know the fate of his comrades. The state of the fight went both ways, however, as he quickly lost track of the Aaeneshi and the Human. Kladissa was obviously trying to free herself, and the best he could do was buy her some time.

And to be fair of the swordsman's obvious skill, buying Kladissa time was nearly the best he could hope for in a spear vs scimitar fight, he still had a hand-axe on his belt, but a good fist to the nose or a bear-hug would seem more appropriate if his opponent wished to get close and personal with him.

Tricia however, would not be content to remain a hapless bystander for long when her master was in danger.

[Twhirtley]

The bolt from the Charr's crossbow flew wide. It didn't stop the archer, but it did slow him, forcing him to seek cover behind a tree. One of the combatants that had been facing off with the Aaenshi broke away, as his companion kept the flea infested pair entertained. He charged down the hill, short spear and shield in hand. He wasn't heading for the Charr though, but rather the Scream Raptor. Screamers knew just how dangerous they could be. His shield was in front of him defensively, as he began taunting Tricia, loud guttural sounds, waving his spear menacingly toward her.

The swordsman quickly closed the gap to Chartrose, and swung his swords sloppily in tandem. One was faster, his right hand, likely the dominant, and that sword chopped for Chartrose's left arm. The other was slower, poorly angled at the Charr's right ribs. Kladissa finally freed herself, and popped her head up over her lizard, only to be sent scurrying down after an arrow nearly took her scalp off.

A pained scream came from where the Aaenshi and Screamer were fighting, but no one could easily discern who it belonged to or what it meant. It did cause the Screamer attacking Chartrose to just for the slightest of moments, hesitate in his swings.

[Foster]

A spear alone generally made for a poor instrument to block twirling blades with, even when swung haphazardly with seemingly blind abandon, and so Charotose backed-up to protect his limbs until he had his back against a fairly substantial tree. From here he had an amazingly good view of the battle, even seeing one of the screamers making a move for his raptor while Kladissa freed herself only to get pinned-down by the archer.

As fast as the spear-wielding screamer could run, Tricia would easily be able to run faster. With a nod, the almost-prehistoric lizard appeared to be chased-off to abandon her owner, but instead hoping to flank behind the archer that seemed a bit pre-occupied with trying to get a clear shot for Kladissa or her master.

At around that point things looked a tad bleak, even as screams could be heard as one fell. The tiniest bit of slack was all the Charr needed to fast-climb up the tree and pelt the poor lad from above with a few apples before lunging on top as well. He wouldn't go for the kill, however; instead he hoped to negotiate safe-passage by proving that continuing the fight would be much more trouble than it was worth for everyone involved, and best they just went their separate ways no worse for wear albeit a tiny bit wiser when picking their fights next time.

[Twhirtley]

The sword-wielder was surprised at the agility with which the Charr had scaled the tree, but cats were cats. Even more surprising that he'd found apples on this tree in the winter. He was lucky they were older, rotten, so they did no damage. But when they struck him, they exploded in a foul mess of disgusting juices, and served their purpose of distraction, for some of the juices got in his eyes. An arm shot up to his to try and rub them clear, when a body collided into him from above. He felt his sword cut into something, and it wasn't him, so he could only assume he'd managed to cut his assailant.

Then there was a loud female shout from atop the ridge. Kladissa looked up to see the pale woman standing there with several heads of Screamers being held by the hair. This was enough distraction for Tricia to maul the archer, ripping him to pieces with ease. The other screamer that had been after the raptor dropped his weapons and held his arms up, the universal sign for surrender. The man beneath Chartrose shoved hard and pushed the man off him and rolled away, finally clearing his eyes. He saw the heads of his fellow Kvaren and was enraged. But he was outnumbered, outflanked, and on his ass. He set his swords down, seeing that he'd managed a decent slash into the Charr's left bicep, smirking.

He didn't speak, expecting them to kill him. Kladissa slithered over, clearly other ideas on her mind. "Someone patch up the cat, wrap it up or whatever." She looked down at the man, wondering his use, "You will come with us. Should we encounter more of your kind, you will grant us safe passage to our destination. If not, you're dead." The Screamer rolled his eyes and nodded, they weren't knights, so not necessarily inherent enemies. Besides, if they came across other Screamers, it wouldn't be difficult to get them to save him.

The pale woman tossed the severed heads aside, and tied up the spear wielder's hands, and helped him into a saddle, which she tied him to as well. She repeated the process with the sword wielder, taking their weapons and storing them on the various mounts. "Can we get going now?" She sounded annoyed and impatient, returning back to her own horse.

Kladissa nodded, checking her lizard over before deeming him healthy, "Everyone good to go?"

Eventually, the group entered the zone where no animals dared go. All of the mounts were skittish and nervous, Tricia included, and each person could feel a deep, boding bloodlust in the area. Then Kladissa led them to the entrance. She dismounted, and the others followed suit, clearly leaving their mounts outside. "You don't know what will be found in there, so keep your eyes open and your reactions sharp." She untied the screamers from their saddles, but kept their hands bound. Smiling at them, then nodding at the entrance, after handing one of them a torch she'd just lit, "Lead the way."

The entrance led to a sloped ramp, heading deep into the ground, the aaenshi following the prisoners, poking at them with the head of his axes, laughing each time. Kladissa followed him, and the pale woman wait for Chartrose to head in, so she could bring up the rear. The walls were finely crafted stone, ancient, spider webs everywhere. As the group descended, a small ledge, barely large enough for a mouse to fit on appeared on either side of the hall. As they continued further, the ledges grew wider and wider. Ahead, they could see where the ramp ended in a large open door way, growing ever closer as the group progressed.

[Twhirtley]

.

[Foster]

Chartose dismounted at the entrance, and then nodded to Tricia, giving her a non-verbal cue to climb a tree and keep a good watch over the other mounts. The cut on his arm stung a bit, but the bleeding had been stopped and it was now covered; good enough to prevent infection, but anything with a scent for blood would know there was something wounded in the woods.

Not being huddled in the open like the other mounts, Tricia could hide up in the trees and be somewhat calm, and Chartose hoped that the smarter mounts would know they weren't being left totally defenseless as the rest of the party went inside. The architecture seemed a bit off-putting, with everything sloping-in to give a very claustrophobic environment.

Like trying to shove a cat into a box, the charr tried to do things differently by climbing upon one of the side-ledges to watch from above while they came to an open door to an unlit and non-descript interior.

"Whether that door was meant to keep us out, or keep something in, it appears it has failed." Chartose observed, again pointing-out the obvious as though he thought that giving someone a dead mouse was a present. Which was actually ironic since they haven't encountered any dead mice yet.