(011) The Expedition North

[waysoftheearth]

danhem wrote:
Ulric savors every bite of the stew.

"This is not what I expecting for the evening," Ulric says after swallowing the last bite. "You are most welcome Michele. That crossbow may come in as handy as those rabbits."

"I will take the dawn watch. It will be interesting to see this land during the sunrise."

Ulric scrapes out a dry patch near the fire in the small clearing then spreads his bedroll out.

"Enjoy the evening. Perhaps tomorrow will be drier."

[waysoftheearth]

tombowings wrote:
"Cheer up, Victor," Flewellen says,"I'll buy you a new helm as soon as we get to town. For now," Fewellen gets out leather his coin purse a single gold coin, "take this in compensation," and flips the coin to Victor.

[waysoftheearth]

heartless wrote:
"I will take the dawn watch", offers Padrig. "Do you Ulric and Flewellen want to join me for some quiet time to Mediate?", askes Padrig.

"Hello Michele, you are most welcome to join us. I am sure your sword will be of great value if we run into trouble. Now lets see how to best cook these rabbits?"

Padrig will see if he can find some dry wood to get a real fire going!

[waysoftheearth]

eris wrote:
"I'll join Anwyn on the night watch." says Olaf, "My eyes are not as good in the dark, but I'll do the best I can."

[waysoftheearth]

tombowings wrote:
"I will join your watch, Padrig," says Flewellen. "Thank you."

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
Very well. The company agrees that Michele and Dieter will take the dusk watch, then Anwyn and Olaf will take the night watch, and Ulric, Padrig and Flewellen will arise in the coldest part of the night for the dawn watch. Of course all three realise that whilst one is meditating one is not "on watch".

With the meal all done, the fire now crackling hungrily upon the drying limbs cut up by Dieter, and one lantern burning as low as possible and the other extinguished, Michele and Dieter find themselves a comfortable place to keep guard while everyone else beds down in their damp gear.

As the night turns, the cloud cover seems to clear some, and the night quickly becomes cold, and but for the wind break provided by the copse, it would be near perishing.

(1d6)

Dieter and Michele's shift passes without incident beyond the burning of two thirds of the fire wood.

They awake Anwyn and Olaf, and then hunker down in their own bedrolls, thankful to be sheltering at last from the night chill...

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
"All's well," reports Dieter quietly as he nudges Olaf and Anwyn awake, before he and Michele hunker down into their bedrolls.

In fact, the night air is crisply cold when Olaf and Anwyn haul themselves up after just a few short hours of sleep, and long, reaching fingers of a brisk wind are rustling through the canopy of trees in intermittent gusts to chill the sleeping company.

They find the fire has burned down to pile of hot embers, and there is scare fuel remaining. Anwyn wraps herself tightly in her cloak and declares that she is going for a quiet look around, and for more fuel, so Olaf busies himself with building up the fire with what little wood remains...

Some time later Anwyn returns quietly with a small armload of damp twigs that might see the fire burn for another hour, and the pair settle in for a cold watch...

(1d6)

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
"Did you hear that?" whispers Anwyn, sitting up sharply to free her Elvish ears of her blanket. Olaf, admittedly, had not heard a thing, but kicks himself to alertness and heeds his cold ears with renewed care... but all he hears for a long time is the reaching wind mixed with the gentle crackling of the dying fire and the low rattle of Taines' snoring.

"An animal, perhaps," shrugs Anwyn at last, and they equally breathe a sigh of relief and relax somewhat.

Then both distinctly hear a long, low moan, as if the straining timbers of a ship at sea had somehow reached them here, and this is then followed by a clearly audible and rather intimidating shlourph, a great shivering belch most foul that quiets the wind.

"Surely you heard that?" quips Anwyn with a foolish grin. The snap of breaking twigs and branches now reaches their ears from deeper within the cold, dark copse... "Shall you go look, or I?" she asks.

[waysoftheearth]

eris wrote:

"Did you hear that?" whispers Anwyn, sitting up sharply to free her Elvish ears of her blanket. Olaf, admittedly, had not heard a thing, but kicks himself to alertness and heeds his cold ears with renewed care... but all he hears for a long time is the reaching wind mixed with the gentle crackling of the dying fire and the low rattle of Taines' snoring.

"An animal, perhaps," shrugs Anwyn at last, and they equally breathe a sigh of relief and relax somewhat.

Then both distinctly hear a long, low moan, as if the straining timbers of a ship at sea had somehow reached them here, and this is then followed by a clearly audible and rather intimidating shlourph, a great shivering belch most foul that quiets the wind.

"Surely you heard that?" quips Anwyn with a foolish grin. The snap of breaking twigs and branches now reaches their ears from deeper within the cold, dark copse... "Shall you go look, or I?" she asks.

"Oh, yes!" says Olaf, "I did hear that."

"You look, but be careful, while I rouse Taines, Victor and Mads, just to be safe." Olaf says as he moves over to the sleeping men and shakes the shoulder of each whispering to them, "We have company. Anwyn is scouting it out. It might be nothing, but I think we best prepare for combat."

OOC: Taines, Victor and Mads didn't take watches, so Olaf is waking them first to "hold a line" until the other sleepers can wake and get organized *if* there is a monster out there. If there isn't, they can curse Olaf out and go back to their bedrolls. [img]images/smiley/smiley.png[/img]

[waysoftheearth]

verhaden wrote:
Mads the Fair

Mads rouses quickly, not being able to get much rest anyway. It's almost as if staying at the warm Inn was ages ago. At a whisper, Mads says "Thanks for waking me--I don't trust noises to the wind these days." Considering for a moment and wiping his yes, he continues "Do you think this Grendel-thing comes from the gorge Ulric spied?"

Mads forgoes his bow in the darkness, opting instead for his war axe.