Outracing the Flames RPG

[Valier]

Wulfham

Vaenosa awoke to Incana shaking her violently. "Vaenosa get up, get up Dorran needs our help!" Vaenosa's first reaction was to stike out at whom ever was shaking her. But her head cleared and she suddenly remembered where she was. She was not at home in her comfy down bed, she was lying on the hard ground in a clearing not far from the road. The sun was beginning to illuminate the sky, morning was approaching.

Vaenosa jumped up, her head was whirling. The men were back and they were hurt? what is going on? Vaenosa saw Incana attempting to make her way towards the lone figure that was hobbiling towards them. Incana stopped, turned and slowly made her way back towards Vaenosa and sat down, defeated on to her bedroll."Please go to their aid, they need help and I am not able to do so!" Vaenosa stood for a long second, then made her way silently to Dorran.

She came along his right side and motioned for him to lean heavily on to her. He obliged and they slowly made their way back to the camp. Vaenosa stayed quiet on the trip to the fire, but it was not strained. She did not want these particular young men to be injured or die, even at those times she had been bold and mocking towards them, she found them both intriguing and wanted to see how far she could push them. She knew at some point they would snap on her,as all men usually did, but she was always curious to see how long it would take them. She brought Dorran to Incana who was waiting anxiously.

"Where is Brand? Is he greatly injured?" Vaenosa asked. Dorran pointed towards the direction to where they had gone. "I left him a distance from here in a small clearing, he is covered in my coat. He is injured! Please hurry!" Vaenosa whistled for Nay, leapt upon his back and headed down the path Dorran had indicated. She found him not too far, lying beneath Dorran's coat. His face was bloodied, as was the ground around him. She slid from Nay's back and rushed to the fallen man.

She was unsure of what all his injurys were and was insure how to get him back without causing farther injury. "Nay my boy, I need you again. Come here." She motioned Nay to lay down and she tried to move Brand. She used all her strength and rolled him onto Nay in a sitting position. She did not want him to fall or injure himself even more on the ride back. Before she left, she scanned the area. She picked up Dorran's bloodied coat and a knife she found on the ground. As she looked to see where they had put the cat, she noticed a large Willow tree growing not far off from the dead feline. She knew that the inner bark was an analgesic or painkiller. Seeing as they would definately need some pain relief she gathered some with her dagger. She again went to the feline, grabbed it by the scruff and dug the fangs from the jaw bone. She wiped her hands on her slacks, pocketed the teeth and started back with Nay in tow.

She had to stop a few times to readjust Brand's position,and now when she pushed him back into place he let out a moan. They were approaching quickly and Vaenosa could see the fire. She motioned again for Nay to come to Brand's bedroll. She positioned Brand over her shoulder, for the quickest decent off the horse. She laid him down without to much strain and turned to face the two concious people.

"Here I found these." Vaenosa said handing Dorran his coat and the knife. "Also I brought back some Willow bark. It will help with the pain. Steep it with some tea and see if you can get him to drink some. You two should have some as well. I will be back shortly, I need to wash the blood from Nay now before he attracts any more predators." Vaenosa turned wearily towards the stream leading Nay behind her.

[Maeggaladiel]

"I'd take the next watch," Fionn began, "but people tend to show up unannounced whenever I'm left in charge. I'm too tired to make any more introductions. We'll end up with an army a thousand strong if I keep this up." He lay down on his bedroll and closed his eyes. A moment later, his eyes reopened.

"Which would apparently suit the March-Warden just fine," he added, quietly and not without some ire.

He held no grudges against either Raedwald or the newcomer Sythric; he had always admired those who rode in the Mark. But it was quite disturbing to think that the council, all of whom had seemed perfectly happy to send the small party out to Edoras, was now doubting their abilities.

Why did Bregoware send a retired Rider out as "aid?" Did they think they needed a babysitter? Were they regretting their choice in messengers? Did they expect his party to be hopelessly lost and crying like children right about now?

Fionn forced his eyes closed once more, and sleep descended upon him.

[Nogrod]

Bregoware

The easterling cavalry was closing in, riding ever tighter around the perimeter of the refugee camp. They sent their lethal arrows one at the time, at least fifty arrows in the air simultaneosly. It was pure slaughter. The children were crying out in panic, their mothers wailing in agony. The men and the women were trying to find a shelter from the wagons, some of them trying to shoot back. Two or three of the wagons had already been lit by the flame-arrows, that a few of the easterlings used. The darkness of the night and the brightness of the flames made a stark contrast. Then there were those blood-chilling screams that came from the onfalling orc-army. It had emerged from nowhere, and was upon the people before they could come to grips with this new danger. Cwen was running towards her mother, face turned to despair, when the orc appeared from behind her, and swang its sword...

Sythric woke up, sweating, hearing his own heart bumping heavily and fast. It was quiet, and the stars shined calmly over the skies. He rubbed his forehead to ease the tension, but that didn’t seem to help. Slowly he rose up to sitting position and tried to relax. Nothing seemed to help: he was still shaking all over. Maybe it was just too little sleep or something...

As he seemed not to be able to get those images out from his head, he rose up, and thought of having a little walk. Maybe a chat with the guard, whoever he or she was, could release him from these dark visions. He would just have to occupy himself with something else. Sythric saw a figure standing, leaning towards a tree, some thirty feet away from him. He started to approach the figure carefully: not to make too much noise, but no to be perceived as stalking either. He would just need to have some company, not a third alarm for this party today.

[Arry]

Wulfham


Brand was barely aware as someone leveraged him up from his blankets to a sitting position and spoke to him. He could barely make out the words at first, but they were spoken in a soft voice, and he was very glad of that. His head was pounding from the fall he’d taken when the cougar landed on him. Brand struggled to open his eyes and he groaned as he raised his fingers to the back of his head, to the large knot there.

‘Drink this!’ he heard the voice urge him. It was a sharp taste on his tongue as he took a swallow of the warm tea. Willow bark! ‘Good!’ he said, his own voice barely above a whisper; the loudness of it as it rattled about his head made him wince again.

He took the cup in his hands, sipping at the brew. There was a bulky bandage of sorts on his left forearm he noted, and then recalled how the cat had clawed him. The gouges stung beneath the strips of cloth and he wondered if they would leave scars. Worse yet was his face. The right side of it felt on fire and the eye was swollen shut. Brand fingered the bandage that had been secure there. It seemed a little west, and drawing his finger tips away from it he noted they were stained with dark blood.

A grim laugh escaped him, causing him to groan again at the movement of his face. A bit of dark humor in the midst of present pain. Seeing as how he would most likely be scarred, perhaps his sisters would give up their quest to find a suitable wife for him. ‘Now that I am no longer suitable,’ he said to himself, ‘perhaps they will leave me be!’

He asked after Lady. And being told she seemed to have fared better than he, he heaved a sigh of relief. ‘Wake me at first light, then,’ he said. ‘We should get an early start.’ His voice trailed off as he lay back down; soon he was asleep.

-----

Next day . . .

He felt warm as he threw off his blankets. Opening his eyes, he could see the sun was shining brightly and already stood at the mid-day position. Brand raised himself up on one elbow and yelled out, ‘Hey!’ He was about to chastise his companions for letting him sleep when his head began to throb and his wounds ache. Brand lowered his voice and waved to someone on the other side of the fire. ‘Any of that willow bark tea left?’ he asked instead. ‘And am I still dreaming or do I smell something roasting over the fire?’

His belly rumbled hungrily with no accompanying wave of nausea. A good sign, he thought . . .

[Undómë]

Bregoware

Meghan

In the end it was Meghan who took the last watch ‘til morning. It was not an unfamiliar thing for her to do, for often in the summer when her goats pastured far from home, it was she and her dog who shared the watches. She’d brought her small skin of water and her worn leather case with its cherrywood pipe her brother had carved for her, and the sweet pipeweed that came from far off Bree.

She sat a little ways away from the banked fire and the bodies in their blankets. She could hear Rædwald’s soft snore and she chuckled to herself. They often shared pastures for their small herds, and he would swear up and down he did not snore though she teased him good-naturedly about it often. Some of her present companions slept like logs, barely moving, and some, she noted tossed and turned as if demons from the dark forests of the north pursued them in their dreams. And perhaps they did . . . who could know, save the dreamer . . .

It grew colder as the night waned and she was glad she’d brought her brother's woolen socks and his thick wool breeches to wear. The layers of clothes hid her slender body, and about them all she’d draped a heavy wool cloak. She looked much like a small woolen mountain when she was sitting on the ground, a volcano of sorts, with her little pipe lit and the pipeweed tamped in it giving off a bright orange glow. Her herding pole lay at her side; her bow and arrows near to hand.

Outside the snores and rustling blankets, there was only the occasional soft scurrying of some small animal making its way across the frosty ground to break the night’s natural silence. And so to keep herself awake, she would rise from her sitting position and stamp her feet a bit to bring back the warmth to them and walk about a bit.

She was just thinking of resuming her seat after one such walk-about when her eye caught a hulking figure back lit by the fire’s little glow coming toward her. Her eyes darted to the quilt wrapped figures about the fire, naming each of them. There was one place where the blankets were empty.

‘Sythric! Is that you?’ she called out softly as the tall man approached. Her thick wooden pole she grasped firmly in her hand, as she always did when on guard with her goats. ‘Come closer, man,’ she said, the starlight now making his features more recognizable. ‘Was it you I saw having the bad dream? You tossed and turned like a leaf on a rushing stream. Come sit and talk and smoke a while with me. I’ll have to admit I’m tired and it would be good to hear the sound of another voice to keep me from dropping off.’

[Tevildo]

Dorran leapt to his feet, raced over to where Brand was sitting, and held out a steaming mug of willow bark tea.

"You're alright?" Dorran's voice was tentative and strained. Obvious guilt was written over his face. "Can I get you something? Anything at all. I still have some of my sister's biscuits. Or maybe you are cold? You can borrow my blanket." The young man went over to retrieve his pack, fumbled around inside, and pulled out a heavy woolen blanket, despite the fact that the day was warm and the sun shone brightly overhead.

Dorran pushed the blanket towards Brand and then confided in a lower voice, "It's my fault, you know. You wouldn't be in this mess, if I'd managed to get out of the way of that cat. I'm sorry....really sorry. I won't forget how you've helped me."

The boy ploughed ahead without waiting for an answer. "I feel so silly. I was angry at Vaenosa for making herself a nuisance, but now I've gone and done something even worse."

"Anyways, I thought I should tell you something. Vaenosa was a real help last night. Without her, we would have been in serious trouble. She brought you back to camp single handed, stoked up the fire, tended the horses, and made all of us a healing potion. Incana and I were too weak and wounded to be much help, although I'm feelng better this morning."

Dorran pointed down to his bandaged ankle and then looked around to make sure that the woman was not nearby, "I wanted to speak with her and thank her. But, truthfully, she still scares me a bit. Once or twice, I tried to say something, but she glared and I ran away." Dorran privately promised himself that, sometime in the next day or two, he would try and approach the young woman again. Out loud to Brand, he merely said, "I guess we'll wait here for today? And maybe tomorrow too? It looks as if you could stand some rest."

Before Brand could respond, Dorran added, "Oh, yes, one other thing. Do you remember those traps you laid yesterday? I haven't checked all of them, but I did find this in one." Dorran held up a good sized hare. "Would you like some stew for lunch? I found a patch of thyme and turnips just a short distance away." Dorran had resolved to plug his ears and cook the lunch, even if Vaenosa called him names.

[Nogrod]

Sythric recognized the soft voice. It was she. Well, that was a relief. Someone he knew. He had so many questions to ask her, but then kind of refrained on them. He truly was happy to see her here on guard at this moment!

"Good night my friend", he said in a low voice, "Well, it surely was me having terrible nightmares. I just had to get away from them". He looked at Meghan with a smile. "I don't know why Raedwald is here, but I do believe, that Leof was overhasty: you seem to be doing fine."

He was silent for a moment, looking at Meghan. She offered the pipe to him, and he took it.

"Then again, I 'm not sure whether I would have to say being happy to see you here or not. I just don't know, which one is the safer place: ours' here, or being with the refugees behind us. You may deduct, that my nightmares concerned those who were left behind. I really do fear for our people".

Sythric sighed, and leaned to the tree, watching Meghan intensively, pulling the pipe towards his mouth.

"But how has your ride been? Everythings' allright? I surely think, both of us "old timers" appearing from nowhere must have begged the question. But remember, that we are two more guys to wield the sword, if it comes to that. I know your father, and Raedwald is my friend. How should we go forwards? I don't have any idea, about how have you declared yourselves during the first day. So who is the leader, which are the tensions?"

He looked at Meghan, quite amiably this time. Took an easy inhaling from the pipe and puffed some semi-fine rings fron it.