Upon seeing the elf fall, Tak’ allowed himself a moment of rest, his slight shoulders lumped, and he expelled a long breath. Thankfully he only had one minor wound to worry about - but his companions were far from as lucky as he. Aryus looked as though his wounds had only stopped bleeding because all the blood now soaked his cloak. Elric was only barely conscious, Gaigin and Chit-Zik, while still standing could do with attention from elemental healers or a shaman.

Gaigin winces in pain as the adrenaline of battle seeps out of him. Arrows and sword-wounds that didn't even slow him down in battle finally take full effect. Looking around him, he sees that his companions aren't much better off. Chit and Aryus in particular looked badly wounded, and Elric had wounds that would have killed many men twice over. Sheathing his weapons, Gaigin turns to Chit-Zik.

"Well, that was a bloody piss-up. I guess we'd better get organized... You think you kin make it to that roof top and grab that Elf's stinkin' corpse, May Mad Mekillot's Piss on his Wanderin' Spirit... I wanna see if he's got something on him that'll tell us why he went through the expense of hiring Mercenary's...this could have been just an act of revenge, but I've never known the Elf that'd loose his purse strings enough to pay for something like this without a damned good reason... and I have a suspicion that this little ambush wasn't paid out of that Elf's purse..."

Chit-Zik, the nimble ‘kreen, quickly bounds over, his mandibles clicking with the excitement of the hunt, and the biting pain of his many wounds. Frowning at the state his hunting-partner is in, Tak’ asks; "Would you carry me on your swift legs with you to examine the prey I have brought down? It may be less taxing than bringing the elf down, I will check for anything of interest."

Now that the threat has passed, Chit-Zik rests, leaning on a nearby wall. He listens to the others, and nods to Gaigin when he and Tak' give him orders to jump on the roof.

Slumping fully to the ground Elric breathes heavily. "My thanks good comrades the Elf was not merely boasting of his abilities in the mindscape though he was little match for Tak. I would have surely fallen to his Will had you not been here to aid me."

Noting Elrics' word, Tak', with a serious expression on his face, offers a different perspective on the battle in the mindscape, "He was strong in the mindscape my friend. If it were not for his preoccupation with you, he would have been a mighty challenge. I had the first, and the most decisive blow. Of course, he had to respond to not only my harbringer but also your flashing blades..."

Surveying his many wounds Elric looks up in surprise "It seems I am in the land of the living by a thin margin. I will slow the group if we travel this day, though I would rather head into the desert if you are willing for the delay. I wish not to stay here in Tyr any longer." Elric looks down in disgust, "I have become a liability to the company and for this I humbly apologize. I have bandages and will wrap my wounds as I gain my wind so I will be ready for travel."

Elric's hands go to his empty scabbards. "Chit, The spell I cast allowing my jumping skills has expired. When you are at the roof top, could you please pick up my dropped swords?"

Clutching the halfling with all four arms, Zik leaps up onto the roof, breathing hard and straining from the effort after losing as much ichor as he had.

Carried by the ‘kreen aloft for a short while is a new experience for Tak’. If it were not for his stoic nature, he would have cried out with surprise and anxiety. As it was, he landed on the bare roof, and walked slowly to the body of the elf, his spear held forth. A combination of arrows, sword cuts and internal injuries had felled the elf, but Tak’ was taking no chances.

Checking for breathing, Tak’ found none, and spat onto the corpse, "Not only do you fight with servants, you fight with no honor, and for no tribe. You shame your race."

Chit decides to grab the dead elf and the halfling and bring them both down albeit Tak's complaints. They were on the ground before the halfling finished his objections. When the kreen lands back on the street he drops the halfling, lowers the body of the elf, and waits for Elric to finish retrieving his equipment, taking the opportunity to rest.

The dead elf was a sorry sight and his terror-stricken face did nothing to lessen that effect. Everyone looked towards Tak' and assumed it had been his psionic might that gave the dead elf his post-mortem look. The rogue still had his dagger firmly clutched in his hand and it took Gaigin's considerable strength to pry his hand open. The effort seemed well worthwhile.

The dagger that fell out the elf's hand was of an exquisite make with a blade made out of the horn of some unknown animal. The sharp blade fit perfectly into the pummel, so much so that pummel seemed "grown" around it. Such a crazy notion was quickly dismissed as a closer inspection of the pummel revealed that it was made out of a porous stone. The broad blade was as sharp as Gaigin's obsidian razor but as sturdy as Koreth's bastard sword and ended in a wicked curved point. The pummel was worn by what seemed ages of handling and, curiously enough, handling done by children's hands. Tak' picked up the dagger and his hand slid right into the worn handle.

The light stone pummel and the horn blade portrayed intricate carvings of what seemed to be a hunting scene. The lack of trees and plants betrayed the fact that it was an aerial combat. The scene must have carved by a crazy artist since no one could place the prey being stalked. It looked like a large flying mammal whose snout ended in a long horn. The featherless creature had small appendages instead of wings that did not seem at all appropriate for flying. As if that wasn't strange enough, the beast was surrounded by three flying warriors. Two of these warriors carried daggers similar to the one you are looking at while the other one was barehanded. The warriors were dwarfed by the beast's size and the weirdest part of it was that they had no appendages whatsoever for flying, they looked like normal humans.

Rummaging through the rogue's pockets Koreth found a pouch which when pulled forth gave forth a familiar sound. He opens it up and spills forth its content onto the ground. A few bits fell out and 9 round silver pieces as well. He looked at a silver piece closely, nodded and handed it over to Gaigin. The ex caravan guard smiled and silently agreed with the noble warrior. All of the silver pieces sported on one of its side the mighty lion-king, Hamanu, in all his splendor. Both warriors knew what this meant and where these coins came forth. (DM note: These are silver coins used in Urik and by their merchant houses (Gaigin, Koreth and Elric (when and if he sees them) recognize this).

After Elric retrieves his equipment, the druid goes over to Gaigin and then Koreth, healing both of them in turn.

The druid works his magic even to the extent of sacrificing his own well being for the pack. Both warriors fall prey to the kreen mesmerizing spell and are greatly alleviated by the spirit of the land working through the druid. Both warriors stretch their taught muscles as they go about cleaning their weapons.

The air cleric seemed aloof when the warriors searched the dead elf. He had his own body to think about and his former cerulean cloak. The air priest went about calling forth his patron and asking for some healing. The air spirits must have been pleased with Ayrus and gladly lent their strength to him. Ayrus then went to the kreen and kindly repaid him with some healing of his own. The cleric slowly blew away at the mantis' shell and it slowly mended back together.

Koreth looks at the blood covering his hands and spattered across his armor, and then to the bodies lying about on the street. "We should search these men, perhaps we will find something of use...."

Koreth squats down next to one of the slain assassins and lays his spear down. He rifles through his pouches, emptying them upon the ground so that everyone can see their contents.

Both warriors, Gaigin and Koreth, rummaged through the dead assassins but basically came back empty handed. Their search only surfaced 6 cp besides the men's weapons and armor. Perhaps some more money could be had by disposing this in the right way but that was hardly on anyone's mind right now.

"Why do you need their things too?" Chit-Zik asks, noticing the others taking equipment from the fallen attackers. "You seem to have all you need already. I do, and I'm ready to leave this place." He gets his chatkchas from wherever they ended up after the battle. "Perhaps in the desert we will be the hunters, not the prey."

Elric retrieves his blades from Chit and cleans them on the cloak of a dead assassin. Returning his blades to his scabbards Elric bows his head in thought. Looking up with a slight grin, "I’m sure I will learn one of these days and I hope today is the day, cause’ it sure wasn’t yesterday." Elric burst into laughter, which quickly turns into a harsh cough. He steadies himself, the grin still on his lips and heads towards the gate into the desert.

"Not so fast Elric, relax a bit." Gaigin turns back to everyone else, leaning hard on his long-spear, favoring his arrow-pierced leg.

"I'd guess that ruins our plans for today. Way I see's it, we've got two choices. One, we turn back to Koreth's place and see if we can't recover enough to leave early tomorrow morning. That would probably be the smartest course. On the other hand, we could wrap our wounds as best we can manage then head out...I'd leave this city in a second, even if it means a hard march on a wounded leg, but some of you are worse off then I. I've been blooded twice in three days in this city, and I don't want to stay here any longer than necessary... that first fight may have been coincidence, but this second one wasn't by any means. We could get as far as possible away from this city, find a good spot for a camp, then rest for a day and recover out there. It'll be hard on our water, but we should manage...so, do we stay and rest here, risking further ambushes, or do we go as far as we can and rest out in the badlands, risking whatever beasts lurk 'tween here and the mountains?"

Walking quickly to Gaigin, Tak’ tapped him on the leg to catch his attention, "Gaigin. We are wounded sorely, and those who are most in need are those who are able to manipulate the forces of the elements and of life. It would be foolish to press on into the harsh wilderness with our companions as they are. The dangers of the city have been many, and it may be best to press onwards. Chit-Zik and I know of a watering hole not four hours from where we stand now. The only living thing we say there were wild erdlu. As dangerous as the wilderness is, it would be safe to rest there." Bowing slightly, Tak’ finishes with a solemn incantation, "You lead, you decide. I stand by your honor Gaigin."

Koreth views the aftermath of the battle with a steady gaze and a slight smile on his face. He leans on his new spear somewhat wearily, "Now that was a rousing fight," he winks "I think that the water hole is the best idea. The sooner we leave Tyr, better in my opinion."

"It seems our course is set then...we bind our wounds as best we can and make for the place Tak knows...besides not much else to do here since we have already searched these Gith-Spawned would-be assassins..."

Gaigin grimaces as he sets about cutting the arrow-head's free and binding his wounds with strips of cloth ripped from his robe, which has gone from being brand new to being a blood-soaked and torn rag. When all is set, he sets off for the west gate with long, limping strides...

Grunting audibly Elric staggers to his feet, were he sways heavily. He slowly steadies before he falls back to the ground. Taking a few tentative steps Elric gains confidence in his abilities to walk. "I amready to begin our journey, again. If we keep a slow steady pace we should still be able to make decent headway this day."

Cracking a wide grin at the hobbling of Elric, Tak' laughs a little, "Elric, while the young of the Tigeone pack are the most energetic and courageous, it is the oldest who present the most danger to the hunter. Age is an indication that they have survived all of life's challenges..." Tak' skips on ahead, still laughing, leaving Elric to digest what is probably a well-used halfling cliche.

WEST GATE

The sun was already out when the companions finally reached the West gate. Ptellac with two templars was there to greet them. Gaigin sneered at the templars and quickly explained what had happened to the pterran. The pterran trader excuses himself for not being able to help out mumbling something about the templars not letting him go. Slowly but surely, the odd group started their trip out West, the long shadows that walked in front of them grew shorter as the air grew warmer. They made their way though Tyr's outlying farms without any problems, no one recognized nor greeted Gaigin's pack as everyone kept to their own business. The land grew less fertile and the brown rocks had started to win out over the scarce green bushes. The majestic Ringing Mountains came no closer to them; they seemed just as far away as a few hours ago. The size of their task loomed bigger as nature seemed indomitable here as was seen by the shear size of the mountain range.

Elric had fallen into a steady gate as his backpack was being tossed around as everyone except Tak took turns carrying his things. The pterran contrasted greatly with Koreth. The saurian trader had little more than a small pack apart from his bone long sword at his side and his hide armor as opposed to the noble warrior who lumbered around with many weapons and a large pack. Everyone else seemed comfortable and the water went around lavishly as Tak assured them that a water hole was to be found in their next camp. A few of desert travelers went back to their old tricks to keep out the harsh sun. The companions kept to themselves for most of the trip, each one preoccupied with his won thoughts and merely trying to put one foot in front of the other.

AT THE WATERHOLE:

Right before high sun, Tak indicated that they must veer off the main road to reach their destination. The halfling hunter excuses himself and scouts ahead to make sure everything is in order. As one of the party still in capable condition Tak’ takes a quick look at the waterhole, checking for tracks of any predators in the area. In particular, Tak’ searches for the three-toed webbed trail of the lizard he and Chit had sought so unsuccessfully the day before. Satisfied that nothing stalks at the hole, Tak’ returns, and welcomes the party to the makeshift camp, "You all honor me with your presence. While not as grand as noble-Koreths palace, it is the best one can hope for away from village or city."

Everyone stops and rests under the small tree clump near the waterhole. The muddy pond was empty at this time of day but Tak assured them that they would eat roasted erdlu tonight. He and Chit would bring down one of the featherless birds and cook it under a campfire. Tak had other worries at the moment, his head recalled wild stories around campfires told to him when he was a child about his ages-past ancestors. After a short rest, the halfling decided to try out his Will to examine the dagger found. His depleted Will seemed to groan in pain as it was called upon once again. Not since, his harsh training with his psionic master had Tak felt so taxed. He reminded himself to thank his master next time he had an opportunity. He looked at the dagger with his new awareness and determined that, indeed, the weapon had magic cast upon it…

Elric and Ayrus merely sat down and stayed away from the sun. Gaigin, the leader, asked everyone to take care of different chores to set up as comfortable a camp as possible. Maybe over dinner, it would be a good opportunity to try and get to know each other a little better, tell each other of the different findings, set up plans and routines for the following weeks, and specially talk to this strange trader with a toothy grin…

Your actions…

OUT OF CHARACTER

HEALTH STATUS

Remember the scale:

Healthy (H) 100% hitpoints remaining

Slightly Wounded (SiW) 75% to 100% hitpoints remaining

Wounded (W) 50% to 75% hitpoints remaining

Seriously Wounded (SeW) 25% to 50% hitpoints remaining

Mortally Wounded (MW) 0% to 25% hitpoints remaining

Gaigin (SiW)

Koreth (SiW) (SeW for PSP)

Chit (W)

Elric (MW), mind breached

Elric's body will not accept any more magical healing until it gets at least a 12-hour "real" (not even traveling) rest

Tak (SiW) (MW for PSP)

Ayrus (W)

Ayrus is being played as an NPC for 3 weeks by me so don't expect a post from him.

POSTS

When you post think of:

• immediate actions
• actions from this moment (high sun) to tomorrow morning

Next turn will have you guys traveling towards the mountains.

Maybe we can start some role playing here a bit. Please, let me know if these "stops" are "fun" or not. I like to leave you guys hanging on the edge since I seem to think that there is not much to do in these stops but then you guys surprise me and start roleplaying these scenes really well.

The trip will take approximately 1 month of game time so I won't stop the post every night. There will be time when a few days go by in just one post and other times when a post will be 2 minutes of game time. Let me know how you guys feel about this and if there should be any change.

Questions, comments, and suggestions please.

L8r,

Fabian