PlanetADnD.com

Despite the offered hands being open and empty, the elven woman reacts to them as if to a threatening gesture. She drops into a fighting stance - left foot back, right hand raised - and places her left hand on her sword hilt, although she does not draw her blade. Muted metallic clanks and a chorus of weapons being drawn nearby, along with the unmistakable sound of several people suddenly drawing breath, announce that Angel and Liri are not as alone as they had thought and that the other as-yet-unseen people nearby are armed. Clearly handshaking is not a gesture the woman and her associates are familiar with.

Seeing no attack is forthcoming, however, she speaks quickly and quietly to her associates, and the nearby noises subside. She moves her hand away from her hilt.

"I threaten you not. Those who will take the body from you approach. Soon they shall arrive and end you." Her tone is quiet and matter-of-fact, as if the news had no more consequence than that of a loose shoelace.

====================================================

Back at camp, Maughus begins constructing a makeshift perimeter. In the legions, this work would be done nightly by two or sometimes three men from each squad of a century. Here it's just him. Needless to say, progress is slow.

=====================================================

[OOC] And just as I was about to ask everyone for some die rolls, Invisible Castle (the online dice rolling utility I have been using for years) has gone down.
We have a dice roller here on PADnD, which sends the results to the DM's email rather. Having to open several emails rather than seeing the rolls right in the thread is a bit less convenient than invisible castle, but it'll do until invisible castle comes back or until we find a suitable replacement.
My email address is: stikjock@aol.com

So, everyone please give me a d20, a d10, and a d6. Rest assured that I will let you know if anything important happens as a result of the dice rolls. Also be aware that I sometimes ask for dice rolls at completely random times, so as to make it easier to hide the times when I will ask for a die roll regarding something the characters have no knowledge of.

"I am sorry, my lady, but telling us people will »end us« IS threatening us. And I am also sorry we used a gesture you do not know as a greeting and startled you with it.

So please, would you tell us why we should be »ended«?"

Liri stands proud, her arms loosely at her side, looking the woman straight in the eyes.

"We mean you no harm." Angel keeps her face impassive, "This is a greeting of welcome, of one of.. I shall not say trust, rather acceptance."

She does not react to the weapons being drawn, any move she might make would only make them more jumpy.

There is a rustle nearby - someone approaching. Liri catches a brief glimpse of another tall, cloaked figure, slightly taller than the woman, carrying a long pole of some sort in a ring-covered hand. So much jewelery, like a rich merchant trying to show off his wealth, as if material things were true wealth. Like that one in the capital, called Macnicianus, who was murdered by enemies who as a sign of contempt did not even bother to strip him of his jewels afterwards. Nasty bit of work, that.

Liri is so distracted that she almost misses what the newcomer says. His voice is thickly accented and his old courtly elven is barely understandable, even though Liri speaks that language with some frequency: "They understand not, Dua. Your cautionary statement is perceived as indication that we intend them harm."

"Understood," she replies, with a small amount of frustration in her voice. "Others will end you for what you carry. Give it to us and be safe."

"I repeat, what is your claim to this body..?" She pauses, "What is this body?"

"Yes, please, tell us what this body is" Liri says, looking at the woman called Dua and the bejeweled man in turn. "In fact, this group is taking the body from where it was found to a place where the leader hopes to find answers as to what it is.

It has caused enmity and discord in the area where it was found, the humans thought it might be an »elven lich«" Liri continues, the last phrase with slight contempt as to the stupidity of humans.

"So we would be most grateful indeed if you could tell us what you know about the body we're escorting."

Liri looks back and forth from the woman to the figure with the ring-covered hand. He is tall, and slender, like the cyprus tree that grows near Orr's Bay, the one with the lightning-struck top. With the osprey's nest on top of it. Osprey. Fish hawk. Good eating, fish. Baked, fried, even raw if it's fresh. Some fresh fish would be good right now.

Liri pulls her attention back to the present, and the woman's angry voice. "The body is ours. Additional information is unnecessary. You will surrender it to us," she hisses.

Further conversation is interrupted by the sound of running feet. Someone is approaching rapidly from the woods. Certainly not an elf. Even at a dead run and elf would make less noise than this. Seconds later the runner arrives, and Angel and Liri catch a brief glimpse of a slender figure in dark close-fitting clothes wrapped in strips of cloth, like bandages. Camouflage, like that worn by imperial rangers in close contact with the enemy. Angel and Liri have both seen such runners in the past from different directions; Angel from having seen runners going in and out of the commander's tent, and Liri from having been the runner going in and out of commanders' tents.

By the time Liri and Angel have brought their attention back to the present moment they have lost track of the newcomer's location, although they can still hear his words.

"They are close, Dua. We must move."

The woman looks back at Angel and Liri. "Return to your cohorts. Gird yourselves for battle," she says, then sprints away into the woods, accompanied by several barely-seen companions.

Liri grabs Angel by the arm, turns her around, then lets loose as she begins to sprint back to camp. "Come. Let's run. This is serious."

Angel says nothing running as fast as she can.

As they come back to camp, Liri doesn't waste a moment. "Get ready for battle. There are enemies out there" she says, motioning for Salia and Fraso to get into the wagon. Drawing her sword, she walks back out of the firelight, towards where they came from, eyes and ears keen on anything that might tell her what's coming and where.

"You heard her, funny Elves, similar to our cargo, they claim the body is theirs, I tried diplomacy." She announces, drawing her blade. "Elias, Kutz you cover us with Bow fire, Bastian watch your back, Papa?" She looks around, "You know what to do."

She does not motion to Maghus, instead she keeps her sword level. "You will be distracted, don't let you attention wander, ever."

/ooc - as per instructions from Stik to just suddenly materialize in the story line as if I have been here all along ...

I'll be with Elias providing cover fire.


Edit, Jen: Added you into my last post.

Bastian leaps from the campfire and immediately goes to where his pack is secured. He fetches his leather armor (Body armor since there's no time for the rest) and throws it over his shoulders and adjusts a few straps. He slips his helmet on his head and grabs his flail. He returns quickly to Salia and her brother (WHY can he never remember his name!?). "Do you have weapons of any kind?" Hastily he looks around for a defensible area where Salia can stay during the altercation. Something with cover and a solid back to protect her flank. Maybe a rock outcropping or a fallen log. A bundle of roots from an uprooted tree would be ideal.......

Standing there, physically relaxed, but mentally ready for battle, Liri thinks their encounter over. These strange people were elves, but they had at least one non-elven alley: the messenger. Strange that they would choose someone who would be unnecessary noisy. Perhaps the enemy, whoever or whatever it was, couldn't hear well?

Liri tries to think hard, focusing her attention all the time, so it will be harder to plant these strange distracting false thoughts into her brain.

Sword raised Angel stands beside Liri, glancing quickly to check on Bastian and Salia (assume Fraso is nowhere to be seen.)

"They are coming, open your mind, perhaps we saw them because we were ummm relaxed." She blushes. "Perhaps in stressful situations your mind cannot open to see these things." With that she slides a hand through Liri's hair before turning to face whatever was coming.