Official Race Timeout

JP with Gonyaul, Alexis, Wim and Winteroak:

Wim look surprised at this. He as about to open his mouth when on of the foresters put a hand to his mouth. At some distance here was the sound of crunching leaves. Wim thought it could be a deer or a bear. He strained his eyes as the woodsmen slowly pointed and motioned to each other.

The man that put his hand on his shoulder leaned into Wim. "We were told to stick to your side like shit to leaves, but this is dumb." The man told him ensuring only he could hear. "They killin' bodies out here. Ya sure this is where we need to be? Who knows how many creeps are crawling in these woods..."

You all freeze at the sounds that seem to be coming your way. Suddenly you see a doe pacing across the forest trails. Relief floods you before you decide what to do next.

Gonyaul took a second to move even after it was obvious it was a deer. You never know if something may have been flushing the deer out. Satisfied that they were alone, he stood. He needed a quick stretch, he had been crouching low to the ground for an extended period of time.

“I go try better see, like squirrel.”

As he was whispering to them, he was simultaneously unwrapping the thick linens encircling his forearms. Without waiting for their response he found a suitable tall tree nearby and wrapped the linens around the tree and grabbed the tail end.

Gonyaul had effectively made a tree harness out of the wraps that you would see a lumberjack use to reach the tops of trees for chopping or pruning. With it around the tree and his waist; he placed his hands and feet onto the base of the tree and leveraged his body with the wraps to support his weight into the tree.

Gonyaul began walking and maneuvering his way up the tall trunk with no low branches for climbing. He was pretty agile getting up higher until he found a branch suitable to climb onto that would support his weight. He was over twenty feet up in the tree.

Gonyaul looked in the direction they had been going. And then in all directions. Nothing but black and forest silhouettes. He was hoping to see fire light, but there was nothing. The tree canopy was too dense and thick, or they were just not close enough yet.

Gonyaul was disappointed yet again.

He carefully reversed the process to make his way safely back to the ground. Once there he began very meticulously rewrapping his forearms in ceremonial fashion. He shook his head to the others while whispering.

“I see no thing. We must be patient for sun.”

Wim leaned back and in a whisper to the forester asking, “Do you know how many killer are out here? If you do, I would love to know the amount and how you got the information.” Wim looked around for a better place to hide the group. They needed to sleep at some point. Adrenaline only takes a body so far.

“Are you sure we don’t need her Holiness?” Wim asked.

Wim's two guards looked at each other and rolled their eyes, shrugging. They weren't getting paid enough to get murdered in the woods. One thing was to keep the young noble safe in the city around people, guards, soldiers and in their own patch. It was another story to be trampling in the dark looking for cultists.

Will assured the pair that he had no intention of getting any of them killed in a overwhelming fight with crazy madmen. He knew it was the sain ones you needed to work about.

Alexis put a gentle hand on Gonyaul’s shoulder, speaking in a hushed tone.

“We need to find a place to rest then, as hidden as possible. I trust you’ll memorise where you last had the trail.”

She turned to Wim.

“I’d love to have her here, but with how long we needed to get her and no one even in sight, I think we don’t have the luxury to go back and find her, and then come back here or wherever we need to get to in time.”

A look to the moon confirmed it. Next night would be full moon. She could only hope everyone was right, and they would abstain from their sacrifice until then.

“I am not going to risk that. But…”

She looked to Wim again.

“…If you need to go back, I’d appreciate if you pointed her or really any help the right way.”

There was no reproach in her voice. She knew this was foolish, most likely suicidal. But just as with Till… she had to at least try.

Gonyaul agreed with Alexis. The safest place would be to backtrack all the way back to his campsite. Yet he would prefer not to leave the trail in case it was difficult to find it again. While he could memorize their spot, everything was sure to look different in the day versus the night. Plus, his campsite was designed for one; though he could fit another in the debris shelter if they were right on top of one another.

He brainstormed that they could move off to the side of the trail a good distance and set up a campsite. Perhaps even build a fire if they could find an adequate way to block 270 degrees of the light from the vantage point of the trail. Or they could take to the trees. The latter option was safer but would be colder and less comfortable.

He leaned in closer to Alexis and whispered.

“We go this way and make fire camp out of view, or we sleep in trees. Trees safer, but colder and no comfort.”

He looked to see which option she preferred. Or did she have a better idea. Once he knew he would set to work.

Wim looked at the pair with a serious look and looks at Gonyaul and whispers, “Let’s go back to he camp site and I will think on he way.”

Wim thought about what is father and brother talked about in their we games. Cutting the order in half would put them at risk. Two of them could hide better than five… Then tell was the food issue, Gonyaul could feed two people easily.

He did not want to abandon his friends in he woods, he also knew that the foresters would report this activity to Master Sadrin when they had the chance and he had a wife to think about.

As they snuck back Wim’s mind started to click into gear. He had to go back! They needed those black cloaks that the attackers wore. That would let a few people walk right into the enemy camp. He also liked the look of them dark and mysterious. They needed better fire power and a distraction, a cross bow would be nice. Smoke would be nice. A hundred archers two columns of knights. He would settle for twenty kids with slings at this point. That would be a good weapon for him to learn.

There was two problems that needed to be addressed, the first was the spy in the keep. That could be handled by some good old fashion lying to authority and two brutes ambushing anyone who headed this way. Brutes he had and lying to authority was one of his better skills.

When they had withdrawn, he looked at them.
“I think I have to get us more help! I am going to get some of the men to go past this area making a lot of noise. Then we will start out raid with a small force and signal them to enter the fight. I am going to get the attackers cloaks which will allow some of us to walk into their midst without raising an alarm. Her Holiness will find you at the camp with some men and equipment.”
He drew out a plan in the dirt in very general terms. Showing where he planned to setup distractions to draw attention allowing the mall group to sneak in cloaked. Wim knew that his idea would go to shit in the first 30 seconds.

But it also meant that the cults plan would be going to shit too. Plus he liked the look those cloaks.

Wim looks at them and sees the consign from his four partners an sighs.

He draws it again in the dirt.

“The three of us are going to go get more fighter to help and come back with them,” he said.
“I am on to tip off the keep and send a distraction force that will flank them when we give a signal,” he said.
“If you see a single person coming through the woods, capture them they will know how to get in,” he said.
“Do not get caught or killed,” he explained.

“You are aware this is a convoluted mess, right?”

Alexis sighs.

“So the main point is:
You are going back with your friends here and try to get all this in motion, correct?”

Cheating at cards was easier..

While Wim is explaining his plan the first time, Gonyaul briefly makes eye contact with Alexis with a look behind his eyes that says, I have no idea what he is talking about.

The second take made more sense.

Wim smiled and said, “Of course it is. I want them to think we do not know where they are and put more forces in the wrong places so it makes it easier for us. I want catch the spy. It is like a woman wearing a low cut dress, you look one place and she picks your coin purse with the hand you are not watching.”
“A good rule of thumb, always watch the hands,” he smiled like gave them the secret of the universe.

Gonyaul did not grasp the common expressions, taking them literally. He was once again lost. Women in dresses, thumbs with rules about watching hands, etc?

The mental pictures were not connecting well. The message was once again lost in translation. He looked at his hands, following the advice for a moment to see if something would happen. It seemed strange how this was going to help them.

Alexis gave him a deadpan look. The little problem with this was that they did, in fact, not know where they were right now, merely the general direction.
She would be highly surprised if even a fraction of this worked. The boy loved his games to much.

“Very well. Gonyaul and I will continue to track them when the sun goes up. Most likely you won’t be back by then. I’ll leave signs so you can follow.”

She scratched the same symbol into the dirt that Tarmen had utilised on Sentinel Island.

“The long stroke tells the direction. I’ll leave them on trees below eye level.”