Hunted and Hounded

With the hobgoblin platoon slowly coming along the canyon floor, the group head eastwards. They hug the canyon wall where possible, and use the undulating surface to cover their escape.

They soon reach the end of the canyon and start to double-back west along canyon top. Suddenly a series of howls and excited barks can be heard. The group exchange glances and quicken their pace a little.

"Sounds like they've found the bear carcass; let's hope that the bear stench helps cover our scent for a while" says Hawk. The shifter then glances towards the canyon edge thoughtfully.

"I'm just going to check over the top of the canyon, see if I can get an idea of how much about us they have discovered."

He approaches the canyon top, wriggles on his belly and peers over the edge. Unfortunately a goblin below him chooses that moment to glance upwards and spots him.

A cacophony of noise suddenly rises from below and it soon becomes apparent that the pursuers are heading east along the canyon and following the trail. Hawk retreats from the cliff edge and reports the bad news.

The group spots a natural furrow in the land heading southwest and decide to use it to try and cover their escape. They avoid visual contact with their pursuers, but the sound of them is not far behind.

After about a mile the furrow splits in two. They take the right option and go west towards mountains. The pursuers are getting closer, by the sounds.

After carrying on for another mile a stream runs from north to south across the furrow. A quick discussion occurs as they approach the stream and they decide to head north up the stream, hoping to use the water to cover their scent somewhat.

Avalon tries to lay a false trail heading south down the river. He seems convinced that it should work well.

After forty-five minutes of tiring up-stream running they take a furrow south west again. The sounds of pursuit seem to be falling behind a little at this point.

They soon meet a fork in current furrow and have to choose between south and northwest. With trees covering them northwest, they choose that direction and continue; the sounds of pursuit growing ever more distant.

With the feeling of impending doom slowly passing, they run and walk until early evening and strike camp in a small hollow in the ground. The mood is sombre and conversation largely revolves around how best to escape from Darguun undetected.

Come midnight, Hawk hears Warg howls on wind. He points it out to his watch-companion, Dua, and wakes up Vaelas to tell him. Vaelas wakes Janin and after a quick discussion, they use a Darkvision charge each and continue westwards through the night.

The sounds of Wargs are getting closer and they soon guess that they have around ten minutes before they are caught. They spot dark shape on horizon and head towards it, hoping that it might be something that can provide shelter or a distraction. Their luck is in as it turns out to be abandoned building.

Quickly searching the abandoned building, their hopes beginning to fall. They look for places to hide, defend from, or set traps in, all to no avail. The forty by fifty foot, three storey ruin of a manor house looks like a lost cause.

Just as they are about to leave, they find stairs leading below and they explore in a vain hope of finding sanctuary. The steps go down fifteen foot and open into twenty foot by twenty foot room with two passages off it. Above one passage, written in blood, using the hobgoblin language is the message "Certain death lies this way".

Dua says right, let’s take the other passage then. Avalon does so, and the Halflinh and his dinosaur steed are impaled on a triplet of spears that suddenly shoot out of the wall.