Time passes with idle chatter as the group continues forward, forging their way down the road that leads up and towards the mountains. The horses have a light sheen of sweat on their bodies, and those accompanied to riding feel the familiar jerks and movements of a mount between their knees while those not try ungainly to find a place atop their horse without falling or picking up too many bruises. The day is bright and you make good time as you continue deeper into the mountains, following the path and turning where the map says to do so. While at first much forest surrounded the path, as you continue to rise in altitude there appear to be more boulders, and the trees appear to be less densely packed.<br/><br/>Though there's nothing out of the ordinary, not the slightest twig or sound out of place, you begin to get a strange feeling, as though you were being watched or even followed. A heavy air begins to oppress you and the others, and your eyes dart from time to time around hoping to catch some glimpse of whatever might be causing the feeling, but to no avail. Instead, a dark mood descends on the group. You see a bend further up ahead curving into a flat area on the mountainside, trees and boulders dotting the way. You think you might see some movement behind one of the boulders or behind a tree, but from this far away it's very difficult to make out.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Alright folks, we'll be having our first combat shortly. I'd like to keep it moving, so I'm giving everyone 72 hours to post as of when I post to declare your actions. Once everyone's posted, I'll collate the results, and run a round of combat according to the initiative (you can add if-then-else statements if you want, or I'll do what's most logical if your action can't be done on your round). If you don't post within 72 hours I'll NPC your character for that round. If you miss 2 rounds without letting me know that you'll be incommunicado first (that's 6 days without posting) I'll drop you from the game, since I'd like to keep people active and the game moving forward.<br/><br/>Please roll initiative in your next post so I can have them handy and allow people to declare their first action at the start of combat rather than waiting a cycle to know when people go. Let me know if you have any questions or quibbles in the OOC thread!<br/><br/>As soon as everyone's posted their initiatives I'll move us forward.</div></div>