by Kelne » Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:32 am
The argument eventually resolved itself, not to Siolen's satisfaction apparently, with her husband taking up a place beside her in the lead wagon. As soon as everyone had gotten themselves settled, the caravan set out. Negotiating the traffic of the streets proved easy enough, and they were met at the city gates by a fifth wagon, belonging to a merchant who had felt it wise to seek safety in numbers.
Despite their proximity to Doma City, the merchants were keeping a good eye out for trouble for the first day. Those who asked about this were informed that caravans had been hit pretty close to the city, though not within sight of the walls. As to the identity of the attackers, little was known. They were human, and well-equipped, but there were no identifying marks, nor had any of the survivors recognised an attacker.
The first night was spent on a low hill, with the majority of the people gathered about the fires while others kept a watch. By the second day, the caravan had fallen into a routine. Jarl and a dour man by the name of Parril scouted ahead on chocoboback, while Silvanus watched the ground ahead from the air. Although they checked in at regular intervals, there was little to report save the occasional traveller.
Early afternoon on the third day saw the caravan passing between a pair of low hills. Having declared these safe, the scouts had moved on to the next potential trouble spot, a ravine at which a caravan had been ambushed the previous week. So far, the trip had been easy money, though the merchants weren't counting their chickens just yet.
It was Idran, in the third wagon, who got the first hint of warning, as a pair of Gateways flared into existence on either hill. Though the gates themselves were obscured by trees, they were like beacons to someone so attuned to them. And it was a virtual certainty that whoever had opened them meant no good.
(OOC: Party layout is as follows: Siolen and her husband are in the first wagon, Jaeko and Petty in the second, Idran in the third, and Assassin and Andre in the fifth. The other spots are filled by generic NPCs. Silvanus is ahead scouting with Jarl and Parril, and may return to deliver a report whenever Div gets back.)