Ironhouse on the Road

At day break Thane Valtore leads the kinsfolk he had brought to Shadowdale out of town. Their armor shining in the morning rays, packs loaded with tools and supplies. East of Shadowdale a few dwarves and wagons head for Rimwood while the Thane and the rest turn towards the Crossroads. A hearty dwarven marching song on their lips.



Thane Valtore accepts any who wish to join his group as they head towards the Lyon's Forest. Once they reach the Crossroads he looks about...

"Anyone know how ta get ta their forest?"

"I know the way Thane. The shorter path goes through the dead forest... the longer path we would pass by the Halls and circle around through the forest. However, there's no telling how many undead we will encounter on the short path."

as the group of roughly thirty dwarves pass the Akh´Velahr Soldiers on their way out of town..

Many elves would nod in respect and watch them walk by.

As the Ironhouse leave Shadowdale, people furrow their brows in concern. The citizens whisper back and forth, some of them muttering that maybe the Ironhouse never cared to begin with. Others say maybe money was involved. Others still mutter that maybe it's time to leave.

Overall, there's fear and concern written across people's faces. The guards look none-to-happy. The last thing that the Ironhouse could likely see would be a small group of children following them just to where there parents can see them. They stop as the Ironhouse continue and then run back to their parents, disappointed.

Bryanna turns from Valtore looking like she was just gut-punched and asks the nearest Shadowdale guardsmen..

"I thought all the children were taken to Myth Drannor with the noncombatants?"

Hurrying after the dwarves a figure comes along late, catching up as they leave Shadowdale.

She looks for the Thane and for Bryanna as she comes to their ranks. "Sylira Fry, priestess of Torm, volunteering to aid in this fight against those walk in the darkness." A gasping pause for breath. "If you have need of a priestess, I will do what I can."

DrunkenSolamnic wrote:

Bryanna turns from Valtore looking like she was just gut-punched and asks the nearest Shadowdale guardsmen..

"I thought all the children were taken to Myth Drannor with the noncombatants?"

The guard looks at her and shrugs. "Some o' the families refused ta leave their homes. Can't force em' ta leave."

"But... don't they know the line can't be held /and/ people in the houses defended?" She looks to the children then to Valtore, then the guard. "Thane... we need to go talk to their parents... get them to send the children with us.. and we'll take the long road to the Lyons. Aye?"

She looks back to the guard.

"Can you tell me the names of the families?"

The guard gives another shrug. "They ain't too keen on leavin their homes after everything they've gone through. They're tougher people than ye give em' credit for. They ain't jes gonna run away." When she asks about the families, he shakes his head. "Can't say I know em off the top o my head. Yer on your own, Lady Bryanna."

"They're tough.. but they didnt see what happened in Freehaven, we have to try." She looks to Valtore. "I have to try, Thane."

She approaches the children, greeting them.

The hunter Hun-Balam is at the gate, watching the dwarves take the road. He seems to be readying to depart as well, most probably on another hunt to procure fresh meat for the families of Shadowdale staying behind, as he's started doing recently. After strapping a few empty cloth bags onto his own backpack and making sure he has enough darts and arrows; he calmly takes a moment to fill in a pipe with chopped, dry tobbaco, lits it and smokes slowly.

He takes particular interest in the Thane, Bryanna and the whole situation with the children, but he merely stays quiet while they talk about what to do.

As Bryanna approaches the children to talk to them, the hunter makes his way towards the Thane. With no hessitation nor formal introduction, he speaks bluntly while holding his pipe with a gloved hand:

Quote :

"This hunter hears of your plight, honored dwarf... he knows his way through the dead forest well. If time is a must, this tracker can help you pass through the dead forest while avoiding most undead that dwell there. This one's services are for anyone to hire, for a price."

The savage looking man takes a long draw from his pipe and puffs out the smoke slowly through the nostrils, as he looks at Thane Valtore with a stern expression.

Valtore just stands there and listens as Bryanna begins to talk about the children. When asked about the path they are taking he just gives the peasants of Shadowdale a hard look.

"We will take tha path ta Rimwood and then on ta tha Lyon's forest. We will travel under normal march." He looks to Bryanna "if they want ta join tis their decision. If not we will na wait."

He then turns to the out of breath woman. "Yes Lass we would welcome ye ta join us. Another priestess would be most welcome!" He then offers his hand to her with a smile.

"I understand. I'll catch up as quickly as I can. I'm sure Nadin will let the families leave with the elves when they march should I convince them to change their minds."

Bryanna turns back to the children and gets down to their level.

"Hello my friends.... I know you remember me aye? I need you to take me to your parents so I can talk to them."

The children nod in remembrance of her, then lead her to their parents who watch the dwarves leave with a frown. As Bryanna approaches, a few of them actually simply leave, not caring to listen to a word she has to say.

"Hello." Bryanna nods respectfully to the parents she is taken to. "Can we step to the side and speak?"

Bryanna had met with the families that would speak with her and talked with them about why they were staying. It had actually made her proud that they had found their feet, but she was saddened they had chose this time to find them. She had done her best to convince them to at least send their children to Myth Drannor and safety. She had recounted the battle of Freehaven, explained how even with the new defenses that inner Shadowdale would likely be devastated if the undead attacked. She explained how even seasoned adventurers had small hope of making it out alive if they stood and fought the undead.

The families seemed thoughtful when she left, and she could only hope they changed their minds as she moved past the elven camps. Once she was well clear of town, she broke into a long loping stride as she moved quickly to cover the ground. Kalthanar's jokes that she was made of "bricks" coming to mind as she set into the best ground-eating pace she could manage. She'd do her best to catch up to the dwarves quickly, and hopefully Valtore wouldn't be too put out with her for leaving Ironhouse to make the attempt one last time.

Once the group arrives in Rimwood they stock up on tools and supplies for the coming battles. The Thane waits for Bryanna and others to arrive. He sends q scout ahead to the Lyon's forest to inform them of their coming. He also looks for his bride to be Silphie.

Bryanna isn't likely to be far behind, one person traveling on foot rather than an entire group. When she arrives she checks on her cat, renews arrangements for its care-taking, then seems rapidly ready to depart again. Her mood seems more even than it has been in the last few days as she approaches Valtore.

"Anything special we should be taking with us?"

Lira spends a few minutes catching up on the news at Ironhouse then pens a couple of letters quickly. She asks the long-term residents of the Clan how best to get the missives sent to the Dawnspire and Shadowdale, and gets them off as quickly as possible.

Silphie would be within the halls - greeting Val with a big affectionate hug when he finds her.

In the small hours of the morning movement can be seen outside Ironhouse. The double doors open and a handful over a score of dwarfs march silently out of the Halls with Bryanna walking alongside. The formation is fully armored, each carrying their packs, a stringer of holy-water weapons at their belts, a dwarven long-hammer, a warhammer, and their shield. Bryanna looks up at at the Halls taking a deep breath as she and the dwarfs pass by, heading around the keep and into the forest. On the path to the Lyon's wood. They move at a steady pace, clearly intending to force march if needed to reach the Lyon's with expediency.

As the sun climb's the sky the remaining dwarfs can be seen going to work on the exterior defenses of the Hall in Rimwood. The Clan's golems put to the task of helping the laboring stouts move the great blocks as needed.

((The guild would like to extend their apologies. This was intended to be posted last week but there was a miscommunication between Jalmyr and myself as first he was unavailable and then I was suppose to have internet access while I was out of town but didn't.))

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