Wenlan's Escape

Wenlan makes it pretty far into the woods before stopping for a moment to catch her breath. She hated the idea of coming in here at night, she’s heard the rumors, but it was the best shot at getting away from the locals chasing her. From the looks of things, Wenlan had successfully lost her tail. She's not even sure if any of the villagers were brave enough to follow her in anyway.

That rotten Garion may have taken the loot, but at least I have my pack with me.

She trudges forward, and momentarily loses her bearings in an exceptionally dark section of the wood. It all begins weighing on her... the lost score, the burned reputation, the untrustworthy partner... she balls her fists in rage and swears to settle the score, one way or another. After a couple deep breaths, she calmly and quietly makes it through the darkness and into a small clearing.



Maybe it's just her eyes adjusting to the light, but it looks almost as though some of the plants are glowing. Before Wenlan can investigate further, she hears a twig snap and spots some movement in the trees about 100ft away. It is a man with a shovel, and he doesn’t seem to be very good at treading softly or quietly.

When she sees the man, Wenlan's first reaction is to hide behind some bushes. She was chased after all.

Are there any less glowing bushes or tree trunks that she might be able to use for cover?

Wenlan ducks into a nearby bush, and gets a better look at the man as he gets closer. He is wearing fine clothes for someone travelling in the woods, underneath an exquisite cloak. Appears to be early 20s, muttering something under his breath while holding on to something that is hanging from his neck. The man is about 50ft away and is looking around frantically, almost paranoid.

Does Wenlan get a better look of the thing hanging from his neck?

Just in case She takes a tighter grip of her sword and readies herself to move quick if need be. At the moment she is still hiding tho', making sure that she keeps quiet.

The man continues forward, looking all around him. Closer Wenlan can make out his ramblings a little clearer: "...demonic mutt, doesn't even know what he's done...".

Let's do a DEX save to stay silent and hidden. Roll a D20, if you get under your stat you succeed and he walks on by without noticing. If you fail(roll higher than your stat), he won't necessarily see you but he will stop walking.

Wenlan's hiding spot is so fantastic, that the man gets quite close to her location without spotting her at all. Muttering to himself while looking around frantically. He heads to the south. Looking around Wenlan can see that the north and the east directions lead deeper into the wood, the west seems to get less dense.

For your 1, Wenlan gets an extra piece of information about the man. It can be related to his background, current situation, etc. You can just phrase it like a normal question in OOC, and the answer will be added to the next response.

As Wenlan goes deeper into the wood, she notices some of the plants really are glowing softly, it doesn't help her see very far but does help her see where she's stepping.

How long would Wenlan keep going for? It is her intention to possibly rest sometime soon, or not until the night is over and she's confident the tail hasn't followed her?

If there is something hunting the man who came from the north, Wenlan steers a bit to the east. She goes deeper into the woods for a while and if nothing suspicious turns up, she tries to catch some rest.

Wenlan goes further in, finding somewhere secluded to close her eyes. It's not a full night's rest, but it definitely helps her recharge a bit.

In the morning, she is awoken by some movement. A figure in a dark red robe is strolling through the area, as if on some type of patrol.

DEX save to avoid detection, failure means Wenlan is spotted but won't result in any harm (at least not yet).

The robed figure walks on by, missing Wenlan entirely. They are heading in the same direction that the muttering man went earlier.

As she makes her way down the path where the woods thin out, Wenlan sees a large valley. It is mostly open plains, at least as far as she can see from her current angle, with some small mountains on the horizon on the other side. This doesn't match with the geography Wenlan is familiar with in this area. Also notable in the valley, there seem to be well-tread pathways where the grass doesn't seem to grow the same way, creating kind of a pattern.

She sees some kind of ruins to the north, and to the south-west a small settlement. Wenlan could also try crossing the valley, but it looks large and would likely take most of the day.

As Wenlan approaches the settlement, a small scouting group of three men notice her. Two are in red robes, and another in more of a soldier's uniform in the same dark red color.

The soldier is portly with a dark brown beard, and waves toward Wenlan in a friendly manner before bellowing out, "Hail newcomer! Allow me to greet you."

He separates from the robed figures, which remain where they were, and lightly jogs in Wenlan's direction.

The man smiles warmly and waves Wenlan over, "It seems as though you've been through a lot. May I ask what brings you to our settlement?"

"Come, let us take you somewhere with food and warmth so that you may rest. I am Galen, and this settlement is called Valleyview. You no longer have anything to fear, The Order of Karkross keeps this place safe."

He guides Wenlan towards the settlement entrance, and waves to a few people passing by. Several are wearing dark red robes, or have dark red tunics like Galen.

Galen leads Wenlan towards one of the smaller buildings, and knocks a specific pattern on the door. An older woman in dark robes answers, and Wenlan can smell delicious food from inside. "Greetings Mara, this woman was lost in the woods and fortuitously stumbled upon our settlement. I am hoping you can provide her a place to rest, just for a bit."

Mara looks Wenlan up and down with pity, and waves her inside. "Dear look at you! Sit, join me for lunch. Unfortunate things happen to people in those woods, you're in luck. This is a safe place." From the doorway, Wenlan can see a table with three chairs, but there is only food placed infront of one at the moment.

"This is Valleyview, a settlement founded long ago as a refuge for those who are lost in the woods. I've been here many years, but not since the beginning." She sips a warm tea, and continues. "Many of us have seen awful, awful things happen out there. It's a blessing that The Order works so hard to keep us safe within these walls."

"How long have you been lost?"

The lady brims with excitement, Wenlan can tell she is passionate about this subject. "The Order of Karkross is a remarkable group, true heroes that bring order and calm to the harsh wildnerness among us."

"I think you've seen a few of them around, in dark red robes. They patrol the woods during the day, and guard this settlement at night. They are the reason we know safety, and we should be grateful that the spirits saw them fit for this mission."

As the woman continues, Wenlan can definitely tell that there is a cult-like tone to the organization. She also hints at "gifts" in a way that indicates some of them have access to some sort of power others do not.

She furrows her brow when you ask about danger, and speaks in a quieter tone. "There are some who don't have the faith that we do. They've given in to hopelessness, roam the woods in gangs participating in theft and violence. Awful business."

When asked about the ruins, she changes gears and is more upbeat. "It is a site of great magical energies, meticulously studied by some of our best scholars. You know... you're eager to learn miss. Why don't you rest today in my extra room, and in the morning we can go together to the Church and you can find out what it's all about?"

Oh no didn't mean to mix you up, the Ruins are interesting and holy, but no where for people like us to go. The Church is just here within the settlement's walls, a safe place to learn about the righteous work The Order partakes in.

After a bit more casual conversation, she shows you a modest room you can rest in. It has a bed, and a basin to wash in, and she says that she can have someone bring up warm water a bit later if Wenlan wants. Other than that, she leaves Wenlan alone for the rest of the evening to rest.

When the morning comes, she knocks on the door fairly early and leaves a brown full-length dress for Wenlan. "There are certain expectations at the Church, I trust you'll find this more appropriate." She also leaves some fresh bread and cured meats for Wenlan to help herself to before they depart.

As they head to the church several people offer morning's greetings to Mara, including one of the guards. The church is two stories, and upon entering Mara goes to the right and down some stairs, beckoning Wenlan to follow.

The stairs lead to a fairly large room, in it several chairs arranged in a circle with people in four of them. A man in a red robe stands up when he sees Mara, and encourages Wenlan to have a seat and join the group. Then, he walks to a hallway with Mara and they have a short conversation.

The others in the circle look solemn and are mostly staring at the ground, except for one younger lady who motions Wenlan to sit beside her. Upon doing so, she leans in and whispers "Don't buy it, they're cruel. Plan an escape.", and then sits back in her seat normally.

"I'm Tanya, been here a couple days I think. I'm really not sure. I don't know about this man, but the chaser sounds like one of the Robes. Do they have you at Mara's?"

She hesitates, but answers in a hurry as she's not sure how much longer they'll be able to talk. "Not drugged, but they threw me in kind of a cell for a bit. There was no windows, I just know it was a while. They keep us in the flat building across the settlement with a dark roof." She leans in and speaks extra quietly, "Stay for this meeting, say you want to come back, and when you do sneak me something I can use to pick a lock. You in?"

The man and Mara come back to the circle, and she announces "Everyone, Wenlan is new here so ensure she feels welcome. I need to run some errands, but will be back in a bit dear. Malkus here will teach you a bit more about our community."

She walks away and the man sits down among the group. He is middle-aged with a short beard, has dark hair overall with some grey throughout if you look close enough. Malkus seems charming and warm, but everything in Wenlan's bones tells her that they're trying to sell her on some form of con.

The meeting is structured with everyone taking turns describing a recent moment they were "tempted by the agents of chaos". If they prevailed, the group would praise the sharer. If they failed to "maintain order", Malkus solicits advice from the group about how it could be handled better next time. It usually ended with him tying the advise to some quote from a book he called The Teachings of Karkross.

The events described included someone wanting to smash something out of anger but didn't (this is Tanya), someone who encountered a beggar in the woods and correctly reported him to the authorities, and someone who let curiosity get the better of him and explored some of the woods without being authorized to do so.

Malkus turns to Wenlan, and asks her to share a story.

There is a moment of silence, and Malkus encourages everyone to applaud. "Thank you Wenlan. I believe the spirits guided you to us, and you'll find more meaning here."

The rest of the meeting was taken up with Malkus telling some fables about the importance of discipline and order, a theme that persists through almost everything he says.

As the meeting wraps up, Mara returns and tells her that it will be time for chores when they return to the house. It wasn't so much asked, as it was ordered, and Wenlan notices a more stern and direct manner from Mara. When you both get back to the house, Mara urges Wenlan to change back into her other clothes so she can help tend to the garden.

If you intend on helping Tanya, where does Wenlan plan to look for something that can be used as a lockpick? Does she ask Mara any more questions? Is there anything specific she'd keep an eye out for or try to figure out more regarding?

The garden has the sorts of tools you'd expect to find, wheelbarrow, shovel, rake, etc. Among them are a set of smaller hand tools, that Wenlan thinks would work quite nicely as a lockpick substitute.

Mara is eager to tell more about The Order, but remains vague on specifics. She explains that there's a council of four leaders who set the rules, all in an effort to maintain order amid "the wilds" as she refers to it. She says that people "always end up agreeing in the end", but doesn't explain how that consensus is reached and Wenlan suspects coercion is involved.

In terms of how it works, Mara explains that Order members in robes patrol during the day and disperse communities of violent bandits who roam the wood. At night, they stand guard protecting Valleyview on all sides.

The night is uneventful, another similar meal. In the morning, Mara encourages Wenlan to put the dress back on and head down to the church for another meeting. She says that she has more to discuss with Malkus.

The makeshift ties work perfectly, while not the most comfortable the tools stay hidden from Mara as Wenlan and her make their way to the church once again. Malkus greets Mara, and they have a conversation off to the side giving you a few moments to talk to Tanya. The others are zoned out or muttering proverbs, either way uninterested in whatever is happening with you two.

"Hey, did you find something? How's she treating you?"

Tanya grabs the tools from Wenlan, and whispers "Perfect, they lock my door because I kept sneaking out. If I bail tonight, you in?"

Roll a DEX save, if you succeed Wenlan slips Tanya the tools silently and Mara continues her conversation with Malkus for a few more moments. If you fail, some of the tools clink together and make noise causing them to end their conversation sooner (meaning you'd only be able to get one more sentence/question out without being heard)

Wenlan gets the tools over to Tanya, but they clank together in the process getting Mara's attention. She doesn't see what you're up to, but looks like she's wrapping up her conversation.

Wenlan has time to answer Tanya's question, and ask/say one more thing.

Tanya whispers "Sneak out tonight, around midnight. Meet me by the northeast wall." and then sits up normally in her seat as well.

Malkus joins the group again, and Mara announces that she's going to do quick errands today and tells Wenlan to head back after the meeting on her own.

The meeting itself goes very similar to the one yesterday, everyone seems to fall into a rote pattern saying similar things in slightly different ways. Tanya doesn't engage with Wenlan in any way, even eye contact, for the rest of the meeting and when it wraps up the other participants and her all head in a different direction than Mara's house.

Wenlan is left alone at this point, for the first time in a while. Is there anything she'd check out on the way back? How does she intend to sneal out?

Roll a DEX save and a WIL save, this will determine what you're able to see/find out without attracting attention.

Wenlan's room has a window with wooden shutters, which make quite a loud noise when opened or closed. She is confident she'd be able to fit though, but unsure how quickly.

Ooops XD

Looking over the locations, Wenlan sees guards around but can't determine where any station may be. She is also unable to determine anything notable about the house Tanya is being held in. The northeast wall has a opening that a small creature or person could slip though. Wenlan is confident that she can get herself and her pack through, but not all at once. Two of the guards kept looking in her direction, so she didn't stay in that area particularly long.

Once Wenlan gets back to Mara's house, she is told to tend to the garden once again while Mara prepares for an evening of baking. It seems that every few days, she makes large quantities of bread and delivers them to the guards in the morning. Mara hints strongly that Wenlan will be expected to aid in those deliveries.

Assuming you are still planning on escaping, let me know what your plan is suggesting a few checks (at least 2) based on what seems appropriate. I'll let you know what the stakes are if those saves are unsuccessful, and then you can either proceed or adjust accordingly. This isn't just a "now" thing, but generally how I kind of intend on doing these sorts of complicated actions so let me know if that's unclear at all.

Let's split this into the following saves:

DEX Save: Greasing the shutter (Fail means the escape save is more challenging than if you pass)
DEX Save: Stealing a loaf of bread (Fail means you don't get one, but you're not caught or anything)
DEX Save x2, and a WIL Save: The rest of the escape (Any failures mean you're noticed by someone, somewhere along the way. If the Grease DEX save is a pass though, it will take two failures to get noticed instead of one.)

Wenlan gets her gear ready, including a nice loaf of fresh bread, and tosses it out the window first. She follows with herself next, but the shutters make enough noise that Mara begin to stir.

Hurrying toward the north wall, she looks back and notices Mara is looking out her own window for a moment before disappearing. Wenlan is pretty sure that she's been spotted but she continues to the north wall.

Tanya sees Wenlan and gives a quick wave, before hollering "Hurry, they're coming!" and squeezing through a gap in the fence. Several footsteps are approaching from behind, but Wenlan should have time to squeeze through before they reach her.

Please do a DEX save. Wenlan will get through either way, but if it's a fail she might need to drop something in the process.

Wenlan squeezes tight, and even manages to get her whole pack through the gap without issue. Those in pursuit are too big to fit, so Elara and Wenlan have a few moments to spare before they make their way around through one of the main entrances. The woods are about 50 feet away.

"The Order avoid the woods at night, but they will come after us full force in the morning. Any thoughts?"

The pair of you run quickly into the woods, but the visibility is poor and you can hear guards coming. The whole force wouldn't go in, but a couple brave ones might try to hunt you down if they spot you.

Please roll 2 DEX saves to see how you fare. If you lose them, they will give up fairly quickly. There is also risk of tripping or falling as it is quite dark and you're both moving hastily.

Tanya manages to deftly make her way through the woods, but Wenlan notices herself starting to fall behind. She tries to push harder and starts to bridge the gap for a moment before falling flat on her face after tripping on a root.

Tanya turns around when she hears the thud, and sees Wenlan standing up right as a guard closes in on her. Tanya quickly yells "Behind you!" as a warning.

Please roll a STR save for the attempt to sever the guard's hamstring.

Channeling her rage at this entire situation, Wenlan grabs her sword and slices the guards leg. He crumbles to the ground with a yell of great pain and doesn't seem able to stand on it any longer.

"Come on, this way!" Tanya calls from further up ahead.

Tanya and Wenlan run deeper into the woods for a while. Convinced they've lost any tail, they slow to a brisk walk but continue away from Valleyview.

"I wasn't sure about you but that was badass back there. I don't trust these woods or those guards, I think we should try to go through the night to get a decent lead."

"I'm great now that I'm out of there, but these woods have a lot of funny things going on in them too. There's supposed to be some groups out here working against The Order though. The day patrols are supposed to be to root them out, but I heard they're having trouble with some that are 'getting too organized'... when I heard that I started planning on escaping. I don't know where they are though."

She looks around and seems a little more scared now that some of the adrenaline has worn off. Wenlan can see doubt start to creep across her face, but Tanya shakes it off and keeps going forward.

It's a clear night and quite mild, after going a bit longer you find a good area that's somewhat secluded but still has good visibility. Tanya hesitates at first, but quickly relents and seems relieved to rest once she is able.

After a quick meal, some fresh bread from Wenlan and jerky provided by Tanya, she seems quite worn down and you both agree that she should be the first to rest while Wenlan keeps watch.

The evening is quiet at first, just some small animal noises. A few hours in though Wenlan notices for the second time some movement in the trees just at her peripheral vision.

Let's roll a WIL and DEX save to see what she can make out.

Wenlan can't quite make out what it is, but some sort of creature appears to be leaping from tree to tree faster than her eyes can track it. Just when she thinks that she knows where it is, she suddenly hears leaves rustling and sees movement in an entirely different direction. Although she can't see the creature, she has the distinct feeling that these movements are bringing it slowly closer to her. There are no barks or growls though, just the sound of the leaves rustling as it moves.

Tanya gets up and looks around trying to follow the movement as well. She holds a dagger in her hand as gets close to Wenlan and whispers, "What the hell is that?" and tries to focus on where the creature is going, instead of where it is.

Following the movements despite the creature's speed, Tanya exclaims "There's at least three of them.... there... there... and there!" and points with each 'there' said.

Since she pointed them out and helped Wenlan see there are several creatures, as a bonus result of Tanya's Critical Roll Wenlan can do another WIL and DEX save.

Wenlan is able to pickup on the pattern and make out the three entities, they seem to be moving in a manner meant to confound and confuse observers. She tries to turn suddenly hoping to catch a better sight of one but accidentally trips in the process and ends up flat on her face.

As Tanya offers Wenlan assistance back in her feet, one of the creatures seems to scurry from the leaves in the trees to the ground, where they make movements in a shrubs about 50 feet away from their camp. The movement in the trees continues around them.

I'm awfully sorry about the delay. Had a busy couple of days but I'm still here!

Roll a DEX Save to try and escape as described

The smoke seems to bother whatever is causing the movement, and you see one of the creatures drop down a branch and try to wave it away by flapping. They look like blue monkeys, but with wings.

While their visitors are distracted by the smoke, Wenlan and Tanya make a quick dart into denser wood. After about half an hour of running they take a break to listen and are confident that the monkeys did not chase after them.

However, you both notice a haze in the air and smell smoke nearby. It's coming from the direction you're going, not where you came from, so you're certain it's not the fire set by Wenlan.

Wenlan and Tanya can go in the direction of the smoke to investigate further, or avoid it entirely and go in another direction looking for a place to finish resting or perhaps just getting an early start to your day. (An early start could result in taking fatigue if you don't rest by midday).

The smoke seems to be coming from a nearby clearing. As Wenlan and Tanya get closer they see several people, more than four, on the ground around some sort of smoldering pile. They are in the same red robes you saw members of The Order wear, the ones who patrolled outside of the town.

As they get closer to the edge, they notice another one of them a bit further up, looking around in a panic holding up a dagger. There is another one in red robes on the ground at his feet. It's still dark so it's hard to make out more without getting closer and potentially seen.

"This guy looks pretty freaked out," Tanya whispers back. "I don't like the Robes either but I'm wondering what caused all this if it wasnt him..."

She takes a couple steps further and squints for a moment. "Looks like there's some kind of building at the back of the clearing."

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on this guy." Tanya replies, before looking at the ground and flatly adding, "If you get captured... I won't come for you. Nothing personal."

As this person is quite distracted, Wenlan is easily able to sneak closer and get a better look. They appear to be ruins, perhaps some kind of old temple.

The paranoid man is looking away from that direction, so whatever he is expecting he doesn't think it's coming from there.

Please roll a DEX save to see generally how stealthy Wenlan is being.

The man doesn't seem to notice Wenlan, and now pacing back and forth, between the single body on the ground and the group of bodies right beside something that was recently burned. He still looks scared, but seems like he's trying to figure out what to do now about a situation that is way over his head.

I had difficulty on picturing the scene but now I read your former posts again and I think I have misread something. So excuse me for all these questions!

So there is only one man standing, the one who seems paranoid? And the rest are on the ground wearing red robes?

And the frantic man isn't wearing red robes?

A short sword deftly slides up to Wenlan's neck, as a woman with dark hair wearing leathers steps out of the darkness successfully sneaking up on her. Her other hand is holding a finger up to her mouth, indicating that Wenlan should remain quiet. She is not moving any closer, and doesn't seem to be threatening Wenlan (despite the blade's position), more just making sure she isn't about to make any sudden noises or movements.

When she can tell that Wenlan isn't going to do anything drastic, the woman loosens up a little and begins to speak quietly. "That group of guys will wake up in a little over an hour." she whispers as she points to the group of Robes on the ground, "And this guy is looking for my friends who just went in that temple." she says as she gestures towards the panicked man.

"I was about to knock him out, until you walked between us. Can I trust you to stay here, stay still, and stay quiet?"

As the woman speaks, Wenlan can see the man has stopped pacing, and is now very slowly surveying his surroundings.

The woman nods, and stealthily approaches the lone individual in Robes that's still standing.

She gets an attack off, but can't quite land a killing blow as he noticed her upon the approach. They exchange strikes quickly before Wenlan, it seems as though the Robed figure faired better in the exchange than the mysterious woman.

Since he's already kind of a mess, and now being attacked 2-on-1, consider all attacks against this enemy with a weapon as Enhanced until told otherwise. This means instead of your weapon's normal damage, roll 1d12.

Wenlan's surprise attack lands perfectly, causing great shock to the Robes' system. The light fades from his eyes as he bleeds out, making a gurgling noise as he slinks to the ground dying quickly.

The woman is stunned, and a mix of frustration, embarrassment, and appreciation is heard in her voice. "You don't listen very welll, but thank you."

She kneels before the body and begins to do a quick search for any useful items.

While the woman looks over the body, three figures emerge from the temple ruins. It appears to be an older man, a young woman, and a frogman. These are likely the friends the woman alluded to earlier.Wenlan's story will continue under the Thread "Hilmir Enters The Wood".

Wow, cool!