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Zapolas


"With my Elven eyes, perhaps I can take a watch that's more deeply into the darkness of the night." The Wizard says, lacking confidence.

Albrecht will take the watch after Kane. To Theo, he quips, Maybe people in their right minds won't be out in those hills or ruins, but they're not the kind of people I'm worried about.

The cleric says his prayers for the evening, then gets in a few winks before his watch.

There isn't much small talk as everyone is tired from the walk, and everyone happily turns in for the night. The wind picks up a little, and the whistling of the wind and rustling of trees lulls everyone to sleep. The night is uneventful, the only thing of note is a small herd of deer who wander into the clearing during Albrecht's shift, but almost as quickly as they come, they are gone.

By the time Theo wakes everyone up, he's already broken down the tarp and eaten, and after a restful night's sleep, you all eat quickly, anxious to get moving. Within about a half hour, you are packed and ready to go, almost sad to leave the peaceful stand of trees. Theo dons his hunters cloak, and urges you all to do the same. The skies beckon you, with sun and only traces of clouds.

You march on, Theo reminding everyone that the plan is to hug the treeline or vegetation versus marching directly in grasslands or clear hills. About two hours into your trek, you are in a transition area of grassland and rocky grass covered hills. The sun has been partially obscured by encroaching clouds and even more ominous clouds to the northeast, the wind has picked up gradually and it's gotten a bit cooler. Theo sighs and says "there's a storm coming. We'll just keep going and maybe it'll pass us by, or we can move into the trees for a little more cover." About a minute after the words leave Theo's mouth, there is a blood-curdling scream or howl that comes from your left - toward the rolling hills. You stop and stare in the direction of the hills, but you don't see anything other than clumps of bushes, boulders or sickly looking small trees. Theo motions for everyone to regroup about 50 foot away in a thick stand of bushes and scrubby trees.

Everyone crowds together in the trees, the wind moving the leaves enough to cover your entry to the area. You look about, 5 minutes pass, and you see nothing and hear nothing.

The wind has picked up a bit, and the grey clouds are ominous on the horizon, but not an imminent issue. Any special actions? Or carry on?

Kane is ready to move on, but as we travel he continues to dart suspicious glances back in the direction from which the sound emanated.

Albrecht wonders at the sound of the scream, but is ready to continue with the plan.

Zapolas tightens his Hunter's Cloak about him and follows the party.

You continue to move along, nervously glancing back toward the direction of the scream. Theo nods back in the general direction and says "My dad says there are burial mounds over there, quite a few of them. And ever since I was old enough to go hunting he told me to stay clear of those hills. I don't know anything about em', but no one goes over there, I know that much."

You continue on, the clouds slowing getting darker and darker. You hear thunder in the distance, and the occasional lightning flash, but no rain for you thus far.

You push through without eating lunch, anxious to get to the area of the old mine, and as the sun starts to gradually get lower in the sky, Theo says "we're here." The hills have been gradually changing from scrubby bush to trees, and you step into a slight bowl depression in the middle of several small hills. Almost as soon as you enter the light tree cover you can see scattered bunches of stones and weatherbeaten wood. Once you get your bearings, you realize you are standing at the edge of a ruined encampment, probably about 20 small structures, the remains moss covered and going back to nature. About 1000 feet away, at the base of the largest hill encircled by some cedar and pine trees, Theo points out a shadowy opening with some old timbers framing it. "There's the mine. I didn't think it'd be this easy to find." You approach the entrance, and you don't need to be a tracker to realize that this entire area hasn't seen any traffic in a long time. The entrance to the mine opens up about 10 feet inside the hill to a large 40x40 chamber, and there are 2 tunnels branching off to the northeast and northwest, but both are collapsed with masses of rock, dirt and timbers protruding.

Theo drops his pack in the middle of the large chamber and says "We've still got a little daylight, we can either call it a day and set up camp and gather some wood, or we can go to the top of the hill and see what we can see from here. The temple should be easy to spot from the top."

Theo takes a slug from his waterskin and waits for direction.

Zapolas


"Theo, I wouldn't mind taking a look from the top, see what we can see; that is, if there's a good 360 view from up there? Can we get up there, have a look around, and then get back to this mine before dark to setup camp?"

Kane is keen to ken the competition.

Theo smiles slyly at the suggestion of climbing the hill. "We have time. Let's take a look, eh?" Theo drops his pack in the mine entrance, and dons his hunter's cloak. He urges others to do the same. "we might be exposed on the ridge up there, so let's go lightly for our first trip up there."

Once everyone has had the chance to drop their extra gear and put on their cloaks, Theo points up the hill through the trees. "Probably a ten minute walk up there." Theo takes the lead, and you all trudge upwards, the hill is rather steep, and is covered in small trees and brush, so it's slow going, but the cover is excellent. After about 10 minutes, you get to the top of the ridge. The scrub brush is thinner here, but still plenty of places to hide. Theo points to a small copse of trees, and says "Let's go there." You all make your way to the trees, Theo urges everyone to be hasty as you are all silhouetted against the hilltop. Conveniently, the stand of trees is spaced widely enough to allow room to sit and observe, but there is plenty of leafy cover. You get settled and look out on a wide valley, hilly but covered in patchy groves of trees and bushes. Theo points to a large hill about a mile and a half to two miles away and says "There it is." The hilltop he points to is large and flat at the top, and you can clearly see a sizable footprint of some ruins on the top.



You stare at the hilltop for a few minutes, but see nothing moving among the ruins. The sun starts to get low in the sky, and Theo says "well, it's been a long day, let's eat and get some sleep and then we can investigate more in the morning."

Theo looks to each of you as he starts to get up for the descent.