Thusly Bers (Jennifer's character) and Dead-Eye (Cris' character) marched along with Tyvan riding on his goat and his 8 scraggly deputies, criminals left to the same fate as our pair of heroes, on their way to farmer Mull's residence to track down the killer of livestock. Dead-Eye immediately volunteered to run ahead to act as scout to which Tyvan immediately relented with a shrug of his white mustache as he puffed away on his pipe.
A dirty faced red haired kid around 13 years of age armed with a knife, a pair of sketchy fighters with studded leather armor, clubs and wooden shields and 5 dirty, rag-wearing mooks with clubs and dull wood-axes (oh yeah and daggers but doesn't everybody got those?) composed the poorly drawn line of deputies. Bers walked along side Tyvan. It would be 1 days travel along East Bend ending at the roads dead end then another 2 hours the next morning through the forest arriving at the farm. As they traveled Tyvan kept taking shots from a silver flask he kept close to his heart. When Bers asked for a snort of it he made a weak excuse as to why he couldn't share.
As night fell and it came timne to find a place to camp Dead-Eye spotted a large camp fire not too far from where he spotted an ideal place to camp, someone had beaten them to it.
Dead-Eye ran back to Tyvan at the head of the column of deputies to let him know of the possible situation. To which Tyvan responded while stroking his white goattee, "Ah well then, good thing I've brought my wine skins. So let's withdraw a safe distance and hide out for a couple of days until they move on. Yup, that sounds good."
To that Dead-Eye proposed that he would go hail them while Tyvan and the rest waited right there. Tyvan agreed.
Dead-Eye sneaked up to the edge of the camp undetected where he spied three covered wagons circled about a large bonfire surrounded by a widely varied group of individuals most armed with simple clubs and wearing what amounted to rags drinking and preparing a meal. There were guards which were well-armed, six of them, guarding a single wagon their faces obscured by face-wrapping though he could see their eyes were reptilian and their swords of a foreign design (Tulwars). He recognized them as foreigners from the Mere, a far-off land of inhuman swamps. These were Reptils (the Lizardmen of this world) in lands where they should have no business. He spied another climbing from the guarded wagon. A scout wearing a scale-mail vest with a chainmail coif armed with a short-bow and a cutlass. Dead-Eye could see was half human. He lead a mysterious fully red-cloaked figure from the wagon to the only tent set up on the farside from the ranger. This is the moment Cris decided to announce himself, with his arms raised he approached the Reptil guards, their weapons drawn.
Dead-Eye was told they were traveling North-East to the Arns (mountains which form the Eastern border of the Cleft-Rills territory led by an egnimatic leader named Blackfork (the red-cloak). Tyvan came right up to them from behind Dead-Eye and heartily greeted them and through his sheer charisma got them to agree to let his band camp alongside them even share in their meal.
Bers came jogging up after him shrugging to the ranger.
While sharing the meal Bers and Dead-Eye were convinced they were among a cult its wide-eyed members talking euphorically about their enlightened leader Black-Fork.
Morning came and Black Fork's people moved on as did Tyvan's motley band. The band was short two souls, probably deserters, fortunately the pair of fighters were still with them. They came to Mull's farm. Tyvan took another snort from his flask and went to greet the farmer. The farmer and 1 son where there to greet them, the farmer bemoaning the loss of most of his cattle and of his 3 older sons whom went to track down what they believed to be a wolf or a roc. One came back suffering a missing arm and an open side telling of his brothers being snatched by flying creatures. Further prodding got the farmer to admit his son had mentioned the word "dragon". He also told them of a farm further North-East across Farm Creek which was also losing animals. The last time they talked with the patriarch of that family was nearly two months.
Tyvan set his men to gaurd duty and he himself took up residence in the farmers longhouse, Bers and Dead-Eye included. Night came and they found themselves eating the farmer's meat and drinking his wine, they felt a little guilty, Tyvan did not appear mind but he seemed a bit jumpy and more eager to grow fat at the farmer's expense and avoid his mission. So the farmer eventually asked them for a plan to which Tyvan tried to stall so Dead-Eye took charge and came up with a plan to carry out the next night granted the farmer could spare 1 more cow.
To Be Continued … (sorry ran out of time to blog, I'll try to make the next one longer especially since the campaign continues into its second part!)
