"Well, battle is battle. And that's just part of life for me. The more you experience battle, the more you are able to withstand battle I find. And strategy is not my strong point compared to smarter minds. Though in my tribe, I am very good when compared, here I am not. I scream and charge. But people need to point me in the right direction."

Camp of fout:: Night passes slowly for some, quickly for others. Itn's that always the way of it? But the night passes quietly and peacefully for all. The night-calls of the animals in the area start later than usual. But at full night the tree frogs, and birds' calls become increasingly numerous and vocal, as if the late-midday's ruckus had been -- finally -- forgotten. The distant campfire of your companions dwindles to an undetectable glow after a while, and the night watch loses the reference point for where to look, although the gerneral direction is still watched, just in case.

Morning , however, comes early. Gunk had just begun his mornng regimen of stretcheing and limbering exercises when he spots four riders at the spot where you left the dead bodies of your former opponents.. Silently, Gunk rouses each of the rest oof you, each time motioning to indicate silence from you as soon as he can get your attention. He then points toward the road. One of the riders is obviousl;y intently watching your camp, seemingly guardng the other three. One of those three has dismounted and is examining the bodies closely, periodically glancing up at the "watcher" as if to gime him brief details of what he sees.

As you all stand to take in the sight, the "watcher" calls to the dismounted one, who mounts and joins the others. The "watcher" then appears to say tomething to the rest of the group, and the four riders pause for a few seconds before riding hard to the south, toward Waterdeep.

---

Camp of two:: Night passes slowly (and with great boredom) for some, quickly for others. Itn's that always the way of it? But the night passes quietly and peacefully for all. The night-calls of the animals in the area start later than usual. But at full night the tree frogs, and birds' calls become increasingly numerous and vocal, as if the late-midday's ruckus had been -- finally -- forgotten. The distant campfire of your companions dwindles to an undetectable glow after a while, and the night watch loses the reference point for where to look, although the gerneral direction is still watched, just in case.

Bearspaw, after an initial nap and a lengthy bout with insomnia, finally falls into a fitful sleep. But he is awakened easily for his watch when Velina gently prods him to be relieved so that she herself can sleep. Bearspaw spent his watching ohours mulling over the mage that was found and it's possible implications. It not only kept him awake, it kept him alert, with a nagging feeling that there could be more ot the old enemy about. But where/ Ahd wny this far south?

Befpre tjs sun eve breakls the horizon, in the light of the early dawn, Bearsaw notices four riders moving north on the road at a leisurely pace. One appears to spy Bearspaw looking in their direction, and the group turns to ride toward the camp, still maintaining their slow pace. As Bearspaw wakes Velina, though, and she rises, the riders spur their mounts into a full-out run toward the campers. While their intent is unknown, their actions do not seem to indicate a desire for conversation.

At approximately 350 yards distance and closing fast, there seems to be but two quick options: gather, mount, and ride to escape, or stand and fight ...

---

[[ I know. Such a short post after that lengthy wait? Necessary. A few things left unresolved, and I wanted to offer one more opportunity to resolve them without backposting ... (Q&A) ]]

"Looks like it just got less 'boring' my friend. Let's try to even the odds a bit if you don't mind before you worry about fighting 'fair'." Velina pulled out her crossbow and took aim at the nearest rider, she didn't really care if she hit rider or horse so she aimed basically at the center of the two combined. She let the bolt fly and hoped it found flesh.

Almyrikon's eyes lit up at the sight of the four riders. Time to try out this new longbow of his... Alright. He propped his axe up so that it was within his reach, and unstrapped that new bow that he received.

"You're calling for a fight. How wonderful. I agree. Keep your daggers close at arms though. This will go one way or another very quick."

Drawing another arrow out of his quiver, he pulls back the string on the mighty bow, which he had just received the night prior. Taking aim at the riders, he let fly, immediately reaching down for another arrow. At least there were trees as well. While he loosed his arrow, he smiled broadly. "You know, I never expected this from you... just didn't seem like the person."

Velina smiled, "Why thank you; saying I didn't seem the type means the look I was going for worked. Who knows, if they get closer you might get another surprise."

"I'm looking forward to it. However, I hope that it gets resolved before it gets that close."

"Although... my axe does thirst for more blood. It would be nice to experience this. But four to two isn't the best for a fight. You better have a plan in case they get too close with the four of them."

"Of course I have a plan if they all get close; we mount up and ride like scared rabbits to the other camp." Velina winked. She truely hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Grr... I don't like the sound of that. I don't think I could run. But I do know how to deal with it. Let's pick them off. And end this fast."

As Velina and Bearspaw drew their respective bows and prepared to fire, the riders had closed nearly half the distance between them. Both aimed high and long to compensate for the distance. Thankfully, the riders were approaching on a direct line toward them so they didn't have to allow for angular travel as well.

At the sight of bows being lifted against them, all of the riders stood in their saddles, supporting their weight on their stirruped toes. All nocked arrows, still acting in concert. All let fly their arrows, one after another, using a recognizable martial-arts-archery style.

One arrow passed between Velina and Bearspaw eith a faint, high-pitched whistling sound. One struck Bearspaw just below his ribs, just mere inches from being a miss [[ think right obliques ]].

Two arrows struck Velina, one a glancing blow, opening a minor cut on the inside of her knee. The second arrow struck Velina in the stomach, causing a serious wound and great pain to the crossbow wielder.

The strike on Bearspaw caused his first shaft to only narrowly miss one of the riders. It looked as if it may have even made a glancing contact. Velina's bolt, however, did not miss. Maybe the strikes against her caused her to flinch or jitter in just the right direction for her bolt struck one of the riders in the leg. The rider cried out at the contact, and immediately reached down to pull out the bolt, eliciting yet another cry. Both were clearly audible over the pounding stride of their horses.

After their first volley, some of the riders drop back, forming a single-file-line behind a lead rider, and they steered their mounts in a direction slighely away from the campers. Each of them begand to widen the separation between him and the rider in front of him, effectively lengthening the line of riders. But still they came, hard and fast, all of them again setting arrows to their bows.

After only a few seconds, it becomes obvious that the riders intend to "circle" you and fire from a distanc, without coming into melee range. They maintain a range of approximately 75 feet as they make the "circle", with all the riders evenly spaced at the quarter-points. This tactic makes you, basically, a stationary target for them, while at the same time providing only moving targets for your own arrows. Again in unison, they fire one more time, just before the"circle" closes. Through luck's grace *or that of whatefver deity is watching), Bearspaw is the onlyon srruck, again a relatively minor strike by one arrow to the calf of his right leg <.i>
[[ Remaining hp: Velina -- 6/11 Bearspaw -- 13/17,<.i> and the second round has begun. I'll prompt for a response from the "camp of four" for sunday's update ]]

Velina winced as the first arrow nicked her. The second arrow hurt like nothing she had felt before. She was in a bit if trouble and knew it. Quickly she pulled the arrow out and then downed one of her healing potions. Knowing it would take too long to ready her crossbow with all she had done so far she instead unleased a spell. Aiming for the rider she had wounded she sent Kelgore's fire bolt towards him.

"Well look at that, the little girl hit and the mighty warrior missed. I promise not to tell too many people."

"Yeah, yeah. Wait until they get close Velina. Then you'll see me in my true skill. That is, if they get close enough."

Almyrikon merely grunted. After he had been hit by the two arrows. Not truly wounding shots, but enough to jostle him. Alright, what had he learned again? Raise the bow... look down the shaft... with an exhalation release the arrow... And hope like hell it hits.

Observing their tactic, Almyrikon mused to himself. "Hmm... Clever. By staying far apart, it limits the possibility of us hitting them. I have a plan... Next shot one of us takes, go down. They're too far away to tell that we're not really seriously hurt. Then, the other drops our weapon, and surrender. I may not like playing dirty, but I have a fair guess of how to do it. Does that sound good to you?"

"That is pretty risky. I am not real sure they will buy it. But if you want to give it a try, you probably need to be the one to fake it as me giving up is more believable. Unless of course you manage to hit something this time and we even the odds."

"Alright, sounds good. But once again, you give the word, and we leave. Oh, and a little less being better than me, and a little more being better than them would be good." Almyrikon hope that Velina wouldn't get caught up in pride and wait until she was dead to pull out. It would be too late then.

"Trust me, I have no intention of dying today. I hope we are both better than them."

Ether arose to the sight of the passing mounted archers, heading straight for the city.

"They are likely scouts sent to report on our actions by the Lords of Waterdeep. We should simply stay put and let them be on their way. Velina and Bearspaw will have to come back this way to continue. Let's wait for them."