Moving
On
24/14/10,121 - Badger set, Thailot foothills
Waking to an overcast dawn, packs are quickly loaded & they unceremoniously escorted beyond the picket line under the unseen but watchful gaze of the defeated shaman. As Molin goes to mount Gunter he comes close to losing his hand as the bear snarls & snaps. Calming his friend Molin discovers an festering & untreated wound in the creatures rump, presumably from the earlier scuffle with the sky city riders. Expertly the wound is cleaned & stitched by Tharla whilst Illyra administers a cooling poultice.
An hour or so later than intended the crew move on, as with their approach progress is slow as they negotiate the narrow & steep sided gorge with the unwieldy wagon, dog sled & protesting bear, the passage is little assisted as they have to cross the swollen river several times.
Four hours later Kilite, who was taking a turn steering the wagon, cries out & clutches his head, Molin more alert than the others sees a figure high above darting along the overgrown & rock-strewn bank. Followed by Illyra, Molin pursues the figure but rapidly find he is chasing shadows. Kilite, shaken, attempts to join the chase but hampered by a splitting headache & an unwieldy poleax he falls behind however he is soon joined by a retreating Molin & Illyra returning to the wagon. Assuming it was a parting shot from the shaman they decide to make no issue of the matter & get clear of the valley as quickly as they can.
Once more during their escape they are magically assaulted by an unseen presence from above, Illyra drawing forth the tooth of a mountain cat from her pouch of summoning sends the animal in pursuit of their attacker. Watching through the animal's eyes Illyra sees it close upon their attacker, however the image fades presumably as the shaman has dispelled or undone Illyra's summoning.
Several miles later however their passage is barred by a lone figure standing on the track ahead, the shaman, for that is who it is, screams abuse towards Kilite. Halting the wagon Kilite dismounts & slowly approaches the shaman intending to try & pacify the shamans temper with conciliatory words, however he nears, the shaman draws forth a wickedly curved blade in one hand & a clawed mace in the other & launches himself towards Kilite. Kilite, deftly using his own knife & wishing only to defend himself, parries away the thrusts of the shaman.
Seeing his attack fail as well the closing figure of Molin the shaman nimbly scampers up the steeply overgrown bank. Again Molin pursue the rapidly disappearing figure & emerge several minutes later atop the lip of the gorge. The shaman can be seen some hundred yards or so further along the ridgeline heading back towards his set. Molin quickly gains on the shaman who turns snarling to face him, warily circling, Molin himself only lightly armed & without armour as well as unsure of what magic may assault him retreats back over the ridge whilst the shaman, now alone, to slips bank down the bank into the cover of the undergrowth.
Emerging atop the bank Illyra & Kilite stare around wondering where every body has gone, Molin reappears sheepishly asking whether they had seen the shaman on the way up, realising they have again lost their quarry the head back down the bank scratched, hot & bothered.
Tharla stands atop the wagon nervously listening for any sign of what has or is happening. Hearing the somebody descending she shouts an acknowledgment but as her calls go unanswered she drops from the wagon & crouches beneath & waits, she can feel the wagon rock as somebody first climbs upon it & then jumps clear. Slipping from beneath, dagger in hand, she sees the shaman wading across the river & climb the far bank. As Kilite, Molin & Illyra drop from the overgrown bank Tharla gestures towards the disappearing figure. Reluctantly the three ford the waters, never seeing the fleeing figure they follow his trail, which unsurprisingly leads back to the Badger set, as they watch from cover they see a figure slip from the water & across the picket line into the village.
Hoping that this ends the shamans vengeful efforts & with evening drawing in the three return to Tharla & the wagon only for Tharla shamefacedly to give the bad news that the shaman, whilst atop the wagon, had rifled one of their packs & taken several magical items, an inscribed Sun spear calling, a Red Clover potion & last but not least a certain flask for which they had risked life & limb. . . .