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31st July 2013

The group settle down for what turns into an uneventful night, and wake to a misty, overcast morning. Disheartened by the weather they all set off certain that the cloud would burn off as the day progressed. After a few hours heavy going through boggy tracks the gang are rewarded with a stunning view of the entire valley including their current goal - the horse farm.

The elation from the view is tempered somewhat as the trail down the hills turns into a narrow, shaded frost-covered track. As they travel along, switching back and forth along the slope the troupe ropes themselves together for safety. Rounding yet another bend Mardram calls a halt as the deeply shaded path is almost invisble. A swift spell later and a lit rock is thrown down the track illuminating a partially frozen trickle of water covering the next stretch.

Mary has a flash of brilliance and gathers sand a grit from the path to give grip on the trecherous surface.

The rest of the descent passes uneventfully and the party soon find themselves striding through the long grass of the plains when out of the corner of his eye Mardram catches flicker of movement off to the side. He barely has time to shout a warning and Bless the team before they are pounced upon by three Hill Cats

Madram dodges the first attack. but Mary was not so lucky and lay unconscious under the cats paws. Andrei being mounted was saved by his horse, but had to jump to safety as the beast like Mary collapsed to the ground.

Mardram backed away and channeled divine energy, rousing Mary and Andreis horse back to their senses.

The cats pressed the attack, pinning Mary and grappling Andrei however failing to hit Mardram.

Andreis horse, freshly healed, kicks out at the nearest cat however Mardrams pony is made of lesser stuff and bolts. The sudden motion catches the attention of the cat pinning Mary and it gives chase felling the pony in one attack.

The other cats see the tender morsel and converge to feed.

Seeing how close they had come to death, Mardram decides that they should flee as soon as possible, ie right fecking now! To this end he summons a large ape hoping to distract the cats, and heals the others as best he can.

In a fit of rage Mary rises to her feet and makes the fatal choice to shoot one of the cats. The arrow pierces its rump and draws its attention back to the Elf. The cat clears the distance between itself and the Ranger in a single bound and rips her asunder. Andrei, clinging to conciousness by his fingers takes revenge with a death dealing stab at a vital organ.

Mardrams simian summon grapples one of the cats, while the halfling stuns the other.

The cat wriggles free, but Andrei charges it down, killing it with a single thrust.

Between them, Mardram and the ape finish off the last feline and the remaining party members sit and contemplate the death of their companion.

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