Act 2, Scene 1: "A Flicker of Hope" (Main Game Thread)

[Chris1234]

Upon reaching the parting of their ways Linar looks at the others and says, "I need to go west. need to go reinvigorate my spirit, as it were."
After a pause he adds, "May Corellon watch over you. I will be back this way in some number of days. I will leave the mark of Corellon upon that tree."
(The latter being aimed at the Jordek and Nocturno).

[Squirrellord]

Jordek will take note of their location and nod to the dark elf.
"We shall see you in a couple days hopefully." While curious about the nature of Linar's trip, he will leave it at that.
Turning to the armored elf "I'll scout until we get to the road." With a pause and a bit of hesitation in his voice he continues "We should probably travel as a group at that point though."

[Chris1234]

"Right," says Linar who then trots off silently towards his destnation.

[Nocturno]

Nocturno Nods.

[TristenC]

Jordek leads the now-quartet (including the captives) Eastward. The pair of newcomers retain a serious, watchful demeanor as they travel through the forest; not straying from the armored Fighter-Cleric. After an hour or so, Jordek successfully leads them to the road itself, where they turn southward. After no more than another hour or two, they come across a downed tree lying beside the road. It is not large, considering the other trees about, but it is long enough that it could cover the entire road. It appears to have once lain just so, but has since been dragged out of the way...

[Nocturno]

"Finally something in our favour. The road has been cleared already!"

[Squirrellord]

"Um.. perhaps. If you would be patient, I can make sure it is safe. I should only be a couple minutes."
Jordek will head off the road into the forest (the side the log is on). Once into the forest he will instruct Chitt to approach the log from downwind and to let Jordek know if he smells anything "non forestry" Jordek will work his way towards the log using every trick in his gnomish bag of skills to remain unseen.

[TristenC]

Jordek cautions the others before moving off of the road into the thick vegetation.

Chitt scampers up a nearby tree to get a higher view. He scurries, leaping across branches to get closer and finally creeping down another tree in quick bursts, followed by nearly motionless freezes.

Jordek catches a whiff of what might be... suit or ash... Not exactly non-foresty, but no signs of fire can be seen from his current position...
Creeping forward carefully, he finally finds the base of the tree through the thick foliage around. Exposed roots, some bent and partially split seem to indicate the tree was forced over by something, or simply lost enough ground support to topple. It is by no means the largest or smallest tree around, which begs the question as to why it alone was felled... there is an odd hole in the ground beneath where it was uprooted... It is almost as if something burrowed up beneath the tree, weakening its hold on the earth, and then forced it over with prodigious strength.

[Nocturno]

Nocturno watches impatiently.

[Squirrellord]

Jordek will carefully make his way to the base of the uprooted tree, freezing every couple of moments as he approaches to wait to see if anything is provoked. Assuming he makes it to the base of the tree he will give it a once over (climbing inside if needed) to determine what befell the tree.

Sorry Tristen, I didn't realize your last post put him at the base of the tree.

Jordek will see if he can determine how the tree met it's demise and then return to the party and inform them it is safe to proceed (If it is indeed safe to proceed.) though there is a hole beneath the tree as though something came from below and pushed it over. He will mention the last part as a curiosity.

[TristenC]

[Just close enough to see it, but no worries ]

Upon closer inspection, Jordek spots a large but narrow humanoid footprint, possibly that of a troll. The tracks seem fairly old. Even so, it would probably take several of the creatures to uproot a tree like this, and they would have to be quite motivated. In the hole itself there are burn marks, as well as some on a few of the upturned roots. The burns and tracks do not seem very fresh.

[Squirrellord]

Emerging from the woods to rejoin his companions, Jordek holds a hand aloft as he walks towards his companions for Chitt to land on as he rejoins the small gnome. Upon reaching the party, Jordek advises them that while it looks like the log was indeed the focus of some sort of activity, possibly trollish in nature, it seems that whatever transpired had happened awhile ago. It was indeed safe to proceed.

[Nocturno]

"Excellent." Nocturno will ease his grip on his sword hilt.

[TristenC]

Time passes relatively uneventfully, during which the road bears southeast at a shallow angle but otherwise doesn’t change. The day stretches on, and their passage seems to disturb little in the forest. Now and again the gentle rush of wind rising through the trees carries the promise of rain, but the sky holds off; still concealed by the forest canopy above.

The rest of the day passes peacefully, almost tranquil in the natural simplicity of forest life. As the light wanes the road seems to curve eastward, and a smaller road splits to run south. To the south side of the fork lies a partially cleared area, wide enough for a half-dozen carts and with as many old fire-pits surrounded by a circles of assembled stones. There is plenty of evidence that the area has been used many times as a camp, and dried wood lies already stacked under a makeshift shelter on one side.

This is the halfway point. Sherfan, the half-elf, announces. The cleared area there is where most travelers stop for the night when going north to Thel Jeers or far to the East towards Lunaflon. It’s one good day’s trek south to Bordertown from here. Dirk, the middle aged human, nods in agreement; though he remains silent.

[Nocturno]

Nocturno will nod also.

"I will start to collect some deadfall for our camp fire. Maybe we can pick the more sheltered sites so if it does rain we won't be soaked to the bone."