[Thorsten]

"We aren't going anywhere with that tree in the way," Thorsten said, pointing at the obstruction in the road. "The trees are too close together here to allow your cart to move around it and it's too large to lift. Or do you intend to leave the cart here?"

As he said the last, he eyed the stranger warily. The others might be ignoring the man, but he would not. His sword was also black with goblin blood. A potential ally, perhaps? He would see.

"You there, you're also heading to Riverbend?"

[Shane]

"Yes, I was headed there for some work. I know some back trails if you care to follow. The goblins are going to regroup and will probably try to attack you further down." ~These fellows seem more than capable of fending for themselves.~ With that he turned to retrieve his horse, who had killed at least one goblin who had made to take him as spoil.

[Mist]

The gnome ground his teeth in frustration. That was the nexus between physical magic and illusionism. Both can bring about factual corporeal results, but only the physical magics can directly affect inanimate reality. Repeeknon would have simply moved the felled tree with some inane spell, but Mirro's magic worked differently. An Illusionist had to rely upon subterfuge and deception. Alone, he was powerless to effect the tree's removal and he had no time to beguile the others into it.

To make matters worse, Teren apparently rejected the notion of having his horse pull the cart, for he had remounted Thunder and was intently watching the wood with bow in hand. These humans just didn't understand the importance of an Illusionist's cart, the spell components alone rendered the vehicle invaluable, not to mention a score of ingenious tools and reams of lengthy research.

As objectionable as the situation was, this sudden development was hardly unanticipated. Mirro stomped over to the dead mule and disconnected it from his cherished cart. Letting tongues pivot up into the air, the clever gnome then retrieved a series of bags from under the tarp and then manipulated something inside. Suddenly the upturned cart appeared to be nothing more than a small insipid thicket of moldering wood, complete with a dangerous nest of hornets, and a dead mule.

"Teren, tie this down!" Mirro commanded, tossing his partner the oversized carpetbag. The gnome quickly strapped on his belt pouches and shouldered a plain rucksack.

"The horse can jump the tree and the dog will find his own way. I assume you can get your fat arse over as well," Mirro said shouldering past Thorsten. "Don't touch my cart," he added while clambering over the obstruction

From the far side of the log, came the gnome's brusque commands. "M'Tago, we have to be going now. Teren, give that horse your heels!"

[M'Tago]

The artificer walked to his dead horse and bent to retrieve the animal's saddlebags. *Curse these delays!* he thought as he unbuckled the leather bags. *This is _NOT_ going as I had planned. Someone is going to pay for making me walk.*

M'Tago tossed the bags over his left shoulder and then walked to the tree blocking the road. He jumped lightly and, with a mental command to his cloak, floated gently up and over the blockade and followed the gnome.

[Thorsten]

Stiele wisely stifled a grin at Mirro's grumpiness. Instead, he cleaned his swords on the clothes of one of the goblins, then sheathed the two blades. With his horse gone, he was down to the supplies on his back, but that suited him just fine.

Rather than follow the others immediately, Thorsten made his way over to the stranger and stuck out his hand.

"You'll have to forgive Mirro, he gets a little huffy when things don't go his way. The name's Thorsten Stiele," he said. "Thank you for the help here. Your coming probably turned the tide."

He didn't really believe his last statement - his party had seemed to have things pretty well in hand when the stranger had arrived - but it never hurt to stroke someone's ego.

"Tell me about these back roads. We're unfamiliar with the territory and it looks as if you know your way around here pretty well."

[Shane]

Ignoring the obvious compliment, Shane frowned at the little man as he tromped down the path. "Well, calling them roads is a stretch, they're more hunting paths and animal trails. Most of them are a lot more clear than this road is and will provide a better vantage of what's around. I do know my way around I have worked in this area before, but I don't remember the goblin problem. They must have a reason to be marauding this area." ~Seems like there is probably more going on here than meets the eye.~ "Well, if you can reign in your little friend you can come with me." Shane reached down and retrieved something from one of the goblins, wiped it on his pants and shoved it in his belt. He jumped on his horse and started towards the thicket in the woods. He warily listened for a moment and turned to see if anyone would follow.

[Drageon]

The gnome's warning, of not touching the cart, was obviously aimed at Thorsten and my have included M'Tago. Nevertheless, Terentus could not resist a small personal rebellion and lightly touched one of the cart's dual tongues. It felt like a decaying tree.

Snaking a rope around a hind leg, Teren and Thunder pulled the dead mule away from the illusion-cloaked cart. He then dismounted and stripped the carcass of its pulling harness. Throwing the device under the unseen cart, Teren remounted Thunder and released Ice from his Stay.

With his ears laid back and a bark bursting from bared teeth, the dog immediately dashed into the woods, working his way around the felled tree. Trouble was swiftly approaching. As the gnome rudely suggested, Teren gave Thunder his heels. A djinni, newly released from its bottle, could show no more love of freedom than the muscled stallion as he charged and cleared the tree.

Wind in his golden hair and a smile lighting on his blood stained face, Teren saw his goblin-besotted dog. Like a fast flowing storm cloud, Ice rushed through the wood, his killing instinct aimed at the stranger.

"Ice, Stay!" Thunder skid to a halt near Thorsten and the stranger. Terentus signaled a canine command. "Ice, Heel! Ice, Stay!"

Bending down in the saddle, Teren patted the top of Ice's head and then wiped off the goblin blood on his breeks. With a gregarious smile and an open hand, Teren greeted the stranger. "Welcome, Friend. Does Riverbend have decent accommodations? Ice and I could do with a bath, and we need a few more horses.

[Thorsten]

Thorsten pulled back his hand, disappointed that the man had neither taken it, nor offered up his name in return. Still, his instincts told him that the man was only being cautious, rather than trying to hide something.

"The unexpected ways seem the logical choice," he said.

Thorsten turned to Teren. "Our friend here knows some less conspicuous routes to the town than that offered by the road. I think it would be wiser to follow him than to continue along where the goblins will know how to find us. Perhaps you could use your, ahem, _influence_ with Mirro to get him to change his route. M'Tago placed him in charge of security and I'm not so sure either of them would listen to me."

[Drageon]

Teren eyed Thorsten with an amused smile, not completely sure if he was being mocked, or not. Finally, he decided that the man did not understand Mirro's whimsical nature or their working relationship.

Tucking in his lower lip, Teren emitted a loud whistle, gaining the gnome's attention. "This way!"

Mirro Mist mumbled, grumbled, and kicked a stone, but in the end, he altered his course and followed the stranger's trail.

[Shane]

Shane watched as the group began to look to him to proceed. He motioned to the man who had offered his hand to join him at the front. When the others were behind him he led them through the thick brush at the road's side and they broke through to what was surprisingly a forest clear of most underbrush.

In a hushed voiced he explained, "The locals try to keep the brush down away from the road to make for better hunting. It also allows them to see approaching danger from a distance. They had began just to clear around the town, but then continued on until they cleared had large portion of the surrounding woods. It seemed to help keep down the bad element. We'll travel this direction till we cross a small stream and then we'll head towards town. Hopefully, none of the Goblins stayed behind to watch out for us."

He turned around in time to catch a glimpse of something not quite right with their little friend. As quick as it was there it was gone, and he wasn't quite sure if he really saw something or not.

~I wonder what these fellows are going towards Riverbend, there's nothing there for these type of adventurers. There may be some useful gain to be had, at least a good story to be told!~

[Thorsten]

Thorsten, too, kept his voice low.

"I counted about thirty or so bodies back there on the road. That seems about right for a small goblin raiding party. You seem to know a lot about these parts. Are such attacks common to this area, or are the goblins just establishing themselves?"

[M'Tago]

The artificer watched as Stiele and their new 'guide' walked out ahead of the group. He could tell that the two were discussing something, but their voices were too soft to be heard.

M'Tago didn't like it. The appearance of the man was too convenient for him. He wasn't WITH the goblins, that much could be seen by the multitude of the little vermin he had killed. Since it was highly unlikely he had simply ARRIVED at the scene in the 'nick of time', M'Tago decided that the man had been spying on them. But for what purpose? It was possible that the Count had arranged for spies to be placed at various intervals along his possible route. True, Riverbend was a bit off the beaten path, but the Count had managed such crafty maneuvers in the past.

There was only one way to be sure: keep a close watch on the man at all times. If he turned out to be a spy, M'Tago would deal with him appropriately. If not, well, he still needed another guard and the fellow seemed to be handy with a blade.

The artificer reached a hand into a pouch at his waist and pulled out a small earring set with a deep gray pearl. He clipped the earring to his right ear and concentrated, the enchanted item allowing him to listen in on the aforementioned conversation.

[Drageon, Mist]

The gnome was unaccustomed to walking with a heavy rucksack. The thing was lumpy, poorly balanced, and making his back sweat. The unremitting incline was taking a toll on his legs and to make matters worse, the long legged humans were steadily getting farther ahead while Teren and his horse were encroaching uncomfortably close behind. Mirro could practically feel the horse's breath on top of his head.

Ice dashed ahead, silently in pursuit of something unseen. Suddenly, Teren leapt from his mount, landing very close to the gnome. Without a word, the young man hoisted Mirro into Thunder's saddle and thrust the reins into his hands.

"Get closer!" With that short, softly spoken command, Teren scampered ahead. Clapping his hands twice, Ice rejoined his master as he walked immediately behind M'Tago. Mirro smiled at the archer's broad back; in half a dozen quick strides, the mounted gnome caught up to the others.

[Shane]

"I've not lived in this area for a while. I was contacted by officials from the city to help them with ridding the area of the Goblins. These Goblins have not been here long. They have raided the town surprisingly little. It seems they are just preying on travelers into the city as if they are looking for something."

While they were traveling birds began to appear in the trees. It was apparent that whatever had spooked them earlier was not near. They crossed the stream Shane had mentioned and turned towards Riverbend once again.

"Let's away from here quickly, someone help the little fellow..." he started, but as he turned to look at the others he saw the gnome mounted. "We're not far from town now." They rode quickly for a few tense minutes when they reached the edge of a clearing and saw the town of Riverbend before them. "Quickly, everyone to the town. He had stopped at the edge of the clearing and waited for everyone to pass before he rode towards town himself.

(to be continued...)