Prologue: The Barony of Harkenwold

He'd never met her, but Hunter's seen that look before. "Okay. That would be Tor's Hold..." He knits his brow in thought, counting. "Let's see. Ilyanna, Bill, Sarah, Manny, Maria... Okay, we've got room for everyone. We can drop you guys off there and then head back to Harken to report to the rangers."

Kat considers the state of the halflings and how traumatized they appear and shakes her head at the ranger. "Hunter, I don't think they're ready to travel. Not yet."

Sarah takes the offered water gratefully and drinks a lot. She dumps some of it on her face too, to wash it as best she can. It brings some color back to her cheeks. With a nod she hands it back and says, "Thank you. We'll see about heading over to Harken once I get things settled. We'll just need someone to stay with Manny and Maria." She looks at Bill.

"What? No! I'm not playing nurse maid. That would be a fucking disaster and you know it! Besides you can barely stand. You should take me along to help twist arms; I'll get these provincials moving when they drag ass."

Ilyanna thrusts her hand into the air and says, "I'll do it! All of you need serious medical attention!"

"See?"

"That works. Me and Bill then."

Kat elbows John's sides and purposely motions at Illyana with her head. It's clear that she means, "Come on, it's your chance!"

"Sounds like a plan." - Carlos hands his canteen to Bill next (he'll refill it if need be, there's a river nearby with Naiads in it).

Hunter takes note of the others offering water to the survivors, and follows suit, refilling from the river. Noble goes with him to take a drink. The city boy gives his pet a nudge lest the hyena drink a little too much.

It takes a bit for John to catch on and then he flushes red. That doesn't stop him from clearing his throat and saying, "I'll stay with Ilyanna too. I can make sure she gets home after." She smiles at him and he smiles back.

The halflings take some prompting to get drinking but once they do they eagerly gulp the water down. It seems to have helped a little bit. "Can I have some more?" asks Manny.

Bill takes the offered water and drinks deeply. He makes a sour face and hands it back to Carlos. "Wish it were ale. We'll need to get one later Carlos. I owe you lot for getting our bacon out of the fire. That goes for all of you."

Carlos takes the canteen back - "Aye, we'll get there." - he grins.

He then goes to refill it, and hands it to the Halflings.

"Totally, you're welcome. We sure weren't gonna leave you there." He turns and offers a salute to the naiads. "Oh, and thanks your help, ladies. It's been an honor."

Noble barks happily.

Kathryn discreetly smile at the interaction between John and Illyana. She then shifts her attention on Bill and nods at the tall fighter. "We'll be staying at Stockmer's Keep for the next few days," she says. "I think we'll have your share of the gold ready by tomorrow. John, Illyana, that goes for you too."

"If you could spot us some gold that would be helpful. We could see about replacing our kits."

"Good idea," says Sarah, "We can compensate folks for putting us up too."

The halflings both drink a lot more water. Maria asks, "Do you have any food? We've missed quite a few meals."

Calos whips out a couple trail rations and gives one to each of them - "Ain't home cookin but it'll hold you over till you can get some proper grub."

Hunter digs through his backpack and offers some torches to the survivors. "Here, you can have these for when it gets dark. I uh, don't really need them," he says with a smile.

(Hunter parts with 4 torches: two for Manny and Maria, and two for Sarah and Bill.)

The knight smiles at Bill's request and happily hands him ten pieces of gold from the bag of holding. "Here, take this. I don't think the prices in the Vale have changed much since I left, so that should be enough to cover room and board for the next few days."

"Thanks!" says Marie happily. The two halflings start destroying the rations. The color is returning to their cheeks and they seem sharper than before. Halflings are always tougher than they look.

Brooke smiles and says, "You did well. Give our regards to the Rangers. Move out everyone!" The naiads wave to everyone and then dunk under the river, moving towards Albridge at great speed.

Bill pockets the money. "That's a good start."

"Well then, shall we get going?" says Sarah,"I'd like to get back here and to the village before night fall if we can."

"I'm ready to go. Hopefully the horses are okay after that explosion," says Jojo.

"Oh crap, I forgot about that!" Zoe runs to the camp to check on the horses.

"Aww dammit, so did I!" Hunter runs off with the cleric.

Kathryn waves goodbye at the Naiads, only to be reminded of the horses by Jojo. She follows Zoe and hurries toward the clearing. "Oh no, Carrot!"

She goes to search for the mounts.

Carlos scampers off as well - "Judy, noo!"

When you guys get back to camp, you find that the three Corios--Judy, Flyswatter, and Carrot--have all broken their tethers. Mounting the remaining horses, the party spends the next twenty minutes rounding them up. Judy and Carrot are first and second respectively, but Flyswatter proves stubborn and requires everyone working together. By the time you guys catch her he's halfway to the split that leads to Tor's Hold or Albridge.

After riding back for your gear, the party sets off with Bill and Sarah on Flyswatter a half hour later. Ilyana and John wave to you guys as you leave. It takes another hour to reach the split. The north path leads to Tor's Hold. The west to the Kingsroad just north of Albridge. Before splitting off from you Sarah says from behind Bill, "Thanks again for saving us. We'll catch up when we can."

"Drinks will be on me! I might even return your sword Amblecrown," says Bill grinning and patting the borrowed sword at his hip.

Having forgotten about her sword, Kathryn blinks at Bill for a few seconds before she understands what he means. "Oh, right!" she says. "Don't worry about it; just give it back whenever you don't need it anymore."

Hunter smiles at them as they go. "Man, we did really good today. It's too bad we can't make it to dinner at Stockmer Keep. Let's head over to Meredith's Place. Uh, did I mention that my aunt runs the inn?"

Carlos waves - "You kids play nice, now!"

To Hunter - "Uh, sure. Let's dine at Aunt Hunter's."

"Hmm, I think you have?" Kat wonders out loud. She tries to remember the moment Hunter mentioned her, but fails to. "I might need a bath first though."

She looks at the coagulated blood covering her whole armor. The foul odor emanating from her is beyond unpleasant.

"Oof, you definitely do!" Hunter takes one look at her and makes a face. "You've got some commitment, but damn. Don't worry, Mrs. Howard also runs a bath."

"I hope she won't mind me taking one then." Kat rides Carrot toward Harken. "Let's go!"