Chapter 2: The Trek to Myrefall

Horgurn stayed on one knee for a moment, chest heaving, eyes fixed on the treeline as if sheer will alone could carry him through it. When one of the others urged him to rest, his shoulders stiffened and his lips pressed into a tight line. For a heartbeat it looked like he might argue, but then the pain in his body caught up with him and the fire in his limbs dulled to a heavy ache. He let out a frustrated grunt, then slowly lowered himself back down beside the fire. "Fine," he muttered, eyes still scanning the horizon. "But not for long. They’re out there, and they’ll need me when I can stand."

It has been a battle day. :). Level 2 cleric of Artemis soon.

Kish will take a watch in the middle of the night and spends a bit of time to continue poking around the abandoned village before/after sleeping.

Horgurn settles onto the cold, uneven ground, the discomfort barely registering against the weight of his exhaustion. Every muscle aches, but he welcomes the stillness. The sooner he rests, the sooner he can stand again and do what needs doing.Horgurn was up before the sun, breath misting in the cold as he sat near the dim coals of the fire, a quiet rhythm already underway. He ran a whetstone along the edge of his woodcutter’s axe, then turned to his stout hammer, worn smooth from years at the forge rather than battle. There was a steadiness to him now, a focus that hadn’t been there the day before, and when the others stirred, they found him more alert, his voice easier, as if the act of preparing his tools had steadied something inside him.

Johan rising and eating a bit of breakfast"Maybe we should track them and see where they were taken. I think our new friend is dead set in doing alone if he has to."

"There is nothing more we can do here. Let's hope that we can save some of them. "

Sleeping like this, far away from the comforts of the Amberwhistle home, was nothing short of brutal. Waking with aching muscles and the beginnings of a cold, Nelie nonetheless concedes that an awful rest is better than no rest at all.

Stretching and straightening out her back, she nods towards Johan and Leta. "Council sent us to help the people of Myrefall, and to find out what's going on. Both those tasks still lie unresolved, I'd say." With a grimace she prepares herself for many more nights like this one.

The dwarf seems to have been up for hours before her. He at least appears to have recovered somewhat. She finds herself a seat nearby as she prepares as much of a breakfast as the others will let her. It won't be a proper halfling meal, but it will have to do.

"Y'know, I don't think I caught your name yesterday? What's your part in all this?" She thinks she has managed to scrape together a pretty good picture of the events, but a little confirmation surely couldn't hurt.

Horgurn looked up from his sharpening, the scrape of stone on steel falling silent as he met the speaker’s gaze. He gave a slow nod, then shifted to sit upright, setting the axe across his lap.

"Name’s Horgurn Loudbeard. Came tae Myrefall last harvest, bought a rough patch o’ land and worked it meself, stone by stone, tree by tree. Thought I’d found a place tae settle, quiet and steady. But then the sky turned strange, beasts poured from the woods, and some great twisted tree-thing marched through fire and screams. I tried tae stand against it, but it broke me down. When I woke, the village was ash. If there’s any still breathin’ out there, I aim tae find them."

Horgurn fell quiet and stared into the middle distance, his eyes unfocused, lost in a thought he kept to himself.

Johan after waking will check the wolf pelts that he sat up to dry after fleshing them then get a bite to eat."Well I found about two weeks worth of rations in the wagon where I found the armor so that should help us out."

Kish pockets all the coin and supplies. Listening to Horgurn he relays that he found 3 more rations as he stows them in his pack. When he is ready he suggests leaving immediately.
With prisoners there is only so fast the enemy can move. We should be able to catch up if we hurry.

"Let us hurry. May Artemis continue to bless us."