Scouting Mission ↠ The Army Vanishes

[hassaran]

SCOUTING MISSION: The Army Vanishes

WHAT: Travel in pairs by griffon to search designated areas north of the city of Ghislain to try to determine where the Tevinter/Ander army that slipped the siege of Ghislain has gone (and ideally how long ago). Lowkey CR-building outing with modplot tie-in is the name of the game.

WHO: Any official Griffon Riders (it's only 10 AC points to become one!) or anyone willing to ride an unfamiliar griffon. This is not limited to members of Scouting.

WHEN: Almost immediately. These are not designed to be long outings and should not conflict with other plots (including the other March Scouting missions.)

HOW: Sign up below by end of the day on March 4. Each person to sign up will be randomly assigned a partner and a location to search and a few sentences about what they'll find there. Whether there is anything useful to be found will vary by location. Assignments may be handed out on a rolling basis rather than waiting for sign-ups to close, we'll see.

<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Griffon Rider:</b> If yes, which griffon? If no, will this be their first time on a griffon?

Comments

QUESTIONS

[hassaran]

SIGN-UPS

[hassaran]

[rowancrowned]

Player: Katherine
Character: Thranduil
Griffon Rider: Yes, Coupe 2.

[faderifting]

Team 3 (Thranduil & Ellis) - Searching due north from Ghislain will initially look like a bust. This area is all farmland, and the villages and small towns that dot it have suffered under occupation much the same as those in the lower Fields of Ghislain that Riftwatch visited in August/Kingsway. There are occasional burned fields and ruined buildings, even one whole burned and toppled village, and one hilltop gallows, a skeleton in a gibbet still swinging. What there isn't is any clear sign of an army having traveled this way. But once they get the equivalent of a day's ride on horseback north, they'll find what they're looking for: the trampled grasses, cold remnants of campsites, and abandoned odds and ends of gear that demonstrates that a significant number of soldiers passed this way. Their path is not along the main road, staying wide of settlements to avoid easy notice. But that route does eventually steer back toward Perendale, indicating that as their destination.

[sulahnan]

Player: beka
Character: athessa
Griffon Rider: yes, chawcey and idr which other one but she can ride two griffons

[faderifting]

Team 4 (Adrasteia & Athessa) - Searching north/northeast from Ghislain toward the Tevinter border and Lake Stelle. The whole area they're flying over is farmland, and they'll notice spring work beginning in the fields below them. The villages and small towns that dot it have suffered under occupation much the same as those in the lower Fields of Ghislain that Riftwatch visited in August/Kingsway, and they'll fly over occasional burned fields and ruined buildings. But further south and east they'll also see signs of rebuilding in progress, and may spot a Nevarran patrol or two. They'll also get hassled by one when they camp for the night, rudely awakened by a party of Nevarran soldiers with Van Markham insignia. But once they convince them that they're Riftwatch (the griffons won't hurt), they'll be allowed to go, with assurances that no big Tevinter force has passed through this area, but a note that their surveillance has seen an uptick in traffic heading from Perendale to Tevinter.

[luaithre]

Player: Brooklyn
Character: Marcus
Griffon Rider: Yes, L.W.M.*

*but because I only just decided this, I don't mind this being his first adventure if you need more No's

[faderifting]

Team 1 (Marcus & Darras) - Searching West/Southwest from Ghislain over the northern end of the Nahashin Marshes. They will find nothing to suggest any significant number of travelers have passed this way, let alone an army. But they can spot signs of habitation deep in the marshes, what look like the roofs of huts that very nearly blend into the landscape. There aren't any known settlements there according to the map, but it also does not look like a recent construction and there's no sign of military presence or activity--if they stay high enough to go unnoticed and watch closely they'll be able to spot some women and children to confirm. They'll get to spend a lovely night or two camping in the marshlands while they search. The terrain is soggy to say the least, with little cover beyond a few spindly trees, lots of bugs, exceptionally loud night time frogs, and of course the possibility of snakes. Finding patches of solid ground large enough to permit griffons to take off won't be easy.

Re: SIGN-UPS

[heorte]

Player: eppy
Character: ellis
Griffon Rider: not a griffon rider, hangs out and nudges butterball into exercise but nothing official.

[faderifting]

Team 3 (Thranduil & Ellis) - Searching due north from Ghislain will initially look like a bust. This area is all farmland, and the villages and small towns that dot it have suffered under occupation much the same as those in the lower Fields of Ghislain that Riftwatch visited in August/Kingsway. There are occasional burned fields and ruined buildings, even one whole burned and toppled village, and one hilltop gallows, a skeleton in a gibbet still swinging. What there isn't is any clear sign of an army having traveled this way. But once they get the equivalent of a day's ride on horseback north, they'll find what they're looking for: the trampled grasses, cold remnants of campsites, and abandoned odds and ends of gear that demonstrates that a significant number of soldiers passed this way. Their path is not along the main road, staying wide of settlements to avoid easy notice. But that route does eventually steer back toward Perendale, indicating that as their destination.

[hassaran]

Player: Cass
Character: Yseult
Griffon Rider: Yes, Pockets

Re: SIGN-UPS

[muckspout]

Player: Lana
Character: Edgard
Griffon Rider: Yes! Sunbeam

[faderifting]

Team 2 (Thais & Edgard) - Searching West/Northwest up the Imperial highway to Churneau and Andoral's Reach. The trip is dull and dusty, the countryside all but empty and travelers on the road below few and far between. The road between Ghislain and Churneau is wide and (in other times) heavily traveled enough to make it impossible to tell whether the army passed this way, but once they get beyond Churneau, nearer and nearer to the end of the road, they can begin to spot hints. Flattened ground and blackened campire rings in a sheltered position a day's march out, an unusual number of broken snowshoes and an overturned sledge abandoned along the road. This should all be enough to suggest approaching Andoral's Reach with caution, from a distance. If they do, they will see signs of activity in the fortress. If they don't, they'll get definite confirmation that Tevinter troops are in the fortress when they spot the griffons and attack.

[lumelume]

Player: Cami
Character: Mado
Griffon Rider: No, and could just be a ride-along as part of his Scouting training (if you think this would be a bad mission for that, feel free to ignore)

[faderifting]

Team 5 (Mado & Diana) - Searching east/northeast from Ghislain to the Minanter, things below will appear pretty much business as usual. Signs of previous occupation have been, if not erased, at least partially cleared, with work underway in burned fields and most settlements that suffered damage already mostly rebuilt. They'll see a number of small military patrols, Orlesian nearer Ghislain, but Nevarran as they get further north and east. There will be plenty of villages where they can spend the night rather than camping out, and though some locals will be spooked by the griffons, others will be fascinated, and letting their allegiance to Riftwatch be known will see them mostly welcomed for their work in the region in August/September. They'll encounter (either in a tavern, or somewhere on the road) a non-violent but unfriendly little clash between a Nevarran patrol and an Orlesian one, the Orlesians seemingly objecting to how far southwest the Nevarrans are covering. But both will agree, if asked, that they've seen no sign of any substantial Tevinter force passing this way.

[staysail]

Player: cee!
Character: Darras Rivain
Griffon Rider: yes, Hugo

[faderifting]

Team 1 (Marcus & Darras) - Searching West/Southwest from Ghislain over the northern end of the Nahashin Marshes. They will find nothing to suggest any significant number of travelers have passed this way, let alone an army. But they can spot signs of habitation deep in the marshes, what look like the roofs of huts that very nearly blend into the landscape. There aren't any known settlements there according to the map, but it also does not look like a recent construction and there's no sign of military presence or activity--if they stay high enough to go unnoticed and watch closely they'll be able to spot some women and children to confirm. They'll get to spend a lovely night or two camping in the marshlands while they search. The terrain is soggy to say the least, with little cover beyond a few spindly trees, lots of bugs, exceptionally loud night time frogs, and of course the possibility of snakes. Finding patches of solid ground large enough to permit griffons to take off won't be easy.

[kantikoy]

Player: Era
Character: Andrasteia
Griffon Rider: No and yes, first time!

[faderifting]

Team 4 (Adrasteia & Athessa) - Searching north/northeast from Ghislain toward the Tevinter border and Lake Stelle. The whole area they're flying over is farmland, and they'll notice spring work beginning in the fields below them. The villages and small towns that dot it have suffered under occupation much the same as those in the lower Fields of Ghislain that Riftwatch visited in August/Kingsway, and they'll fly over occasional burned fields and ruined buildings. But further south and east they'll also see signs of rebuilding in progress, and may spot a Nevarran patrol or two. They'll also get hassled by one when they camp for the night, rudely awakened by a party of Nevarran soldiers with Van Markham insignia. But once they convince them that they're Riftwatch (the griffons won't hurt), they'll be allowed to go, with assurances that no big Tevinter force has passed through this area, but a note that their surveillance has seen an uptick in traffic heading from Perendale to Tevinter.

[truthtied]

Player: iggy
Character: Diana
Griffon Rider: no. it's def her first time in this world

[faderifting]

Team 5 (Mado & Diana) - Searching east/northeast from Ghislain to the Minanter, things below will appear pretty much business as usual. Signs of previous occupation have been, if not erased, at least partially cleared, with work underway in burned fields and most settlements that suffered damage already mostly rebuilt. They'll see a number of small military patrols, Orlesian nearer Ghislain, but Nevarran as they get further north and east. There will be plenty of villages where they can spend the night rather than camping out, and though some locals will be spooked by the griffons, others will be fascinated, and letting their allegiance to Riftwatch be known will see them mostly welcomed for their work in the region in August/September. They'll encounter (either in a tavern, or somewhere on the road) a non-violent but unfriendly little clash between a Nevarran patrol and an Orlesian one, the Orlesians seemingly objecting to how far southwest the Nevarrans are covering. But both will agree, if asked, that they've seen no sign of any substantial Tevinter force passing this way.

sorry i cant read

[infantes]

Player: k2
Character: Thais
Griffon Rider: First time

here's a picture then

[faderifting]

Team 2 (Thais & Edgard) - Searching West/Northwest up the Imperial highway to Churneau and Andoral's Reach. The trip is dull and dusty, the countryside all but empty and travelers on the road below few and far between. The road between Ghislain and Churneau is wide and (in other times) heavily traveled enough to make it impossible to tell whether the army passed this way, but once they get beyond Churneau, nearer and nearer to the end of the road, they can begin to spot hints. Flattened ground and blackened campire rings in a sheltered position a day's march out, an unusual number of broken snowshoes and an overturned sledge abandoned along the road. This should all be enough to suggest approaching Andoral's Reach with caution, from a distance. If they do, they will see signs of activity in the fortress. If they don't, they'll get definite confirmation that Tevinter troops are in the fortress when they spot the griffons and attack.