1.2 - The Missing Caravan

We set out without much fanfare, the Commander, Brynn, the blade-woman, the two rough men, and myself. It did not take long for us to find the site of the last wagon raid, and sure enough there was no sign of a battle, but we did find traces of something else: mysticism. Runes carved into rocks placed around the area where the tracks ended. So they were cowards as well. I did my share of raiding in the past and could hardly cast down on them for that, but to weasel about with magicks instead of proving your mettle? That was low. I too had some knowledge of mystic arts, but never would I use it to subvert a battle! It seemed they had some magick capable of transporting the wagon in its entirety.

They could not be moving them very far, such are the ways of mysticism. The more powerful the effect, the more limited the area it could impact, and moving an entire wagon full of goods and anyone else along with it would be a powerful effect indeed. With some searching we found a small valley between two hills, and in it lay several smashed wagons that had been picked over. It seems they were dropped from a height, and then the remnants dealt with swiftly.

It was while we were searching for anything remaining in the wagons that they attacked. At first I did not know where they got the spine for it as there were only four of them against our six, but as they came at us the two rough men with us turned with them, and now we were four. I told Brynn and the others to deal with the newcomers, and I would handle the turncoats. At the end the four of us stood over their six bodies, slightly wounded but largely none the worse for wear. This was a hearty group, the blade-woman hadn't even a scratch on her. Her name is Sera.

She pointed out that the raiders must have been keeping tabs on the settlement to make sure their hideout wasn't discovered, and if they attacked us it must mean we were close. It took little more searching before we found an old waystation, long fallen into disrepair.

Before I we went on I asked for a moment to prepare. kneeling on the ground I meditated over my axe for a few moments, then used the blade to cut the skin on my thumb. I marked the head of the axe with my blood then, forming a mystic rune. I also marked the rune upon my face, linking the blade and my body. I explained afterwards that the runes will drink the blood drawn from my enemies and bolster me greatly.

The few raiders left in the waystation did not put up much fight. One of them talked. Their leader wasn't there, they're just one of several groups operating in the region. Thanks to his information we knew we had to keep heading north.

Continuing on the road we came to a small hamlet that called itself Thornhollow. The matriarch there, 'Old' Mara, told us they were struggling since the supply wagon that normally comes through once a month hadn't been there and people have started claiming that a nearby Mining Camp in the western hills was haunted by something. Lights where there shouldn't be any, and the sounds of pickaxes ringing against stone even though there's been no ore taken out of there in anyone's memory.

We inquired about possible recent travelers, hoping maybe someone had seen the raider leader. As luck would have it, a boy named Toman had seen a suspicious stranger while he was out checking his traps in the woods. Mara told us he might be able to take us to the mining camp, but warned not to get him involved in anything dangerous.