Moon Cat, well that was he ame in common that she had used when out of the elven kingdom, in her own lands her name in the simplified form was A'lyndara Isilifeline Jaele of Hous Starwinds had been paying attention to many things since leaving. the city. When Garrick asked Talon if he could not discuss the Priestess, her attention was drawn to the conversation. Talon started speaking, Moon Cat listened.

After Talon finished his story Moon Cat thought over what was said before replying. She will only be true to the King and the Kingdom as long as he is alive--interesting.

"So, if we find out the King is dead This Priestess may reverse her current loyalties. I am not sure I like that sounds of that."

"I have been thinking a lot since we received our quest yesterday. There are two possibilities. The King is alive, or the King is dead. The former though has various aspects that could be why he has not returned to his throne. One, he is injured and cannot return without aid. Two, he is a prisoner in some way. Beyond those basic premises is too much conjecture to waste time on that for now."

As for that Priestess,m that we will have to decide about after we find out whether the KIng is alive or dead.

Clearwater reined his pony in. The discussion on the priestess did piqué his interest, so he wished to hear what everyone had to say.
"I have been thinking a lot since we received our quest yesterday. There are two possibilities. The King is alive, or the King is dead. The former though has various aspects that could be why he has not returned to his throne...” Moon Cat stated. Bruno gave his grunt of approval. The worst case scenario right now was not really that the King was dead, but rather was alive and in enemy hands. However, worrying about an unknown situation was to be pathetic and cowardly.
“Dwelling on the unknown is frivolous my friends.” Bruno inserted. “All we need to worry about right now is getting to Leafhaven in one piece.” It was ironic. This advice would have to be applied to himself as well. His wife could be dead or alive; but it mattered little if he was not in the condition to save her. He had a possible lead: as far as he knew, Gnolls were not as common as air, and so he could possibly catch wind of some clues. However, he needed to clear his mind and get out of this despair. He needed to be ready for anything. Nudging his horse forward, Bruno took point for the group once the conversation came to a close.

"I did but offer suggestions it is true that the truth of the matter must wait until we uncover what is the truth, Though you are right in that we should keep it in mind but not dwell on it now."

Suddenly Talon seemed a bit on the spooked side. He sat upright and in a hushed voice he says,"Yeah, it's a good idea at this point not to dwell on anything right now, but keeping your eyes peeled. I just recognized a marker I was told by one of me fellow merchants to keep on the look out for. This is the spot where the last merchant convoy was ambushed."

After making that statement, he quietly parks the wagon as far off the road as possible, gets down and says,"Keep your weapons at the ready. If any of you are any good at tracking, now's the time for it. If you've never tracked Gnolls, you are looking for a very large canine print, but only one pair per gnoll, for they are like jackals that stand on their hind legs."

Still in a hushed voice he says sort of as an after thought,"THIS is why I was quiet for so long. I figured there would time enough for talking, when we were off the road and safe and warm around a campfire."
There was a rustling in the bushes.

((DM says: Ok heres the deal, I need to know who stays with the wagon and Talon who is readying for battle with his duel punching daggers, to guard them, and I also need to know who to roll search checks for if any of you are tracking Gnoll prints or signs of gnoll activity. Remember, even if no gnolls are present, In character, it is important for Talon's piece of mind.))

Talon interrupts the small argument between the two party members. "Yeah, it's a good idea at this point not to dwell on anything right now, but keeping your eyes peeled. I just recognized a marker I was told by one of me fellow merchants to keep on the look out for. This is the spot where the last merchant convoy was ambushed."

Well, I guess its time to find out whether or not the gnolls like to stick to the same hunting grounds and patterns.
Talon continues talking. "Keep your weapons at the ready.
Mine already is. If any of you are any good at tracking, now's the time for it.
I don't think we have a tracker with us at the moment. If you've never tracked Gnolls, you are looking for a very large canine print, but only one pair per gnoll, for they are like jackals that stand on their hind legs."

Still in a hushed voice he says sort of as an after thought,"THIS is why I was quiet for so long. I figured there would time enough for talking, when we were off the road and safe and warm around a campfire."
I didn't realize the gnolls were this close to town. That priestess must not care about the people much at all to let this happen so close by.
Upon hearing the rustling in the bushes Garrik keeps watch in that direction from where he is behind the wagon, unmounted, and ready for battle. He uses some of his innate magic abilities to create a faintly, glowing, vaguely human shape in the bushes to possibly startle anything that may have been hiding in them. ((OoC Dancing lights spell like ability))

The rustling has evidently caught everyone’s attention, not just the nature-bred Halfling’s. With his Fox head helm-hood swiftly placed on his head, Bruno Clearwater draws his great two-handed axe. There was too much foliage about for him to activate its dormant enchantment, so the Crimson Chin would have to play it rough without a flaming blade. He looked to his companions. They knew how he liked to fight: outright and in a blaze of glory, but this situation probably called for a bit more finesse as it was not just them versus an enemy. The enemy was unknown in nature and in location. There was a possibility that it was not a threat at all that made that noise... What was more however, was the need to protect their ‘employer’. To this end, it would hardly be smiled upon if the Halfling charged forward blindly in a fit of rage, initiating combat before everyone was ready. No, now was the time to plan silently.

Garik had used his inner power to replicate a humanoid figure with his witch fire. An excellent way to start the possible encounter: if it was a sentient being that wished to do them harm, he/she would most certainly be attracted to the new source of light and possibly make his/her location known; if it was a natural animal of minute intelligence, then the illusion should scare the creature from the area unless it is feral/starving. It was only now that Bruno found an error with his own means of fighting: he was on a pony and required both hands to fight! How could he have overlooked such an obvious detail! Placing his weapon on his back once more, Bruno took hold of his pony’s reigns. The horse was bred and trained for combat, so there should be little to worry if this creature hears a fight going on. To be on the safe side, Bruno trots the creature to the rear of the wagon and slips off the saddle.

Now he could actually partake in the fight! The Crimson Chin withdrew his great ax and leaped back to the front of the cart (being sure to go around enough not to scare the horses). Making eye contact with the largest of the dog-men, Bruno started to get angry; they were ugly, tall, and probably smelly. To think that such creatures had whisked his love away from him. He kept eye contact with the large (presumably) alpha of the pack. those eyes continued to feed the flames of rage starting up inside. He wanted to challenge that creature to mortal combat, but right now may not be the time.

Bruno was weary that creatures such as these did not fight fair; their intelligence may not be the grandest in the world, but their craftiness could be astounding. Bruno looks at the distance between the two parties, making sure that nothing had been placed on the road, or if the road had perhaps been tampered with.

ENCOUNTER MAP
As you are all attentive to the brief rustling and shuffling of the bushes to your immediate left, some of you closer to the front of the wagon pick up on movement out of the corner of your eyes. Apparently, while you were distracted, five jackal-like creatures wielding javelins and battle axes, were trying to sneak up on you. They failed. So now what? You're staring at each other across at least a 50ft expanse of trail. Who makes the first move?

((OOC: Dont worry. ill roll inits for everyone and we keep those inits throughout the fight(unless otherwise instructed). post me what you do IN THE Q&A THREAD and any contingencies and Ill do the rolls and post the results in story form here. So are we having fun yet? ))