Thraim turns in his saddle and has a very concerned look on his face as he says, "we must find high ground and shelter immediately."

By Moradin's hammer, I'm not going to drown out here and become vermin feed! Thraim thought to himself grimly.

Thraim looks around and scans the area for the highest ground that would offer shelter from the storm, and the very real possibility of the swamp level rising several feet or more.

Sander yells in agreement with Thraim, then scans the area for any higher ground they can reach.

(Do I have to roll for what I see?)

If you are looking for something specific, I would have you roll.  What you see in general depends on how much time you want to spend.

You are standing on about the highest ground in the area.  As you scan for details, you notice that the road on both sides of the hummock, while elevated several feet above the swamp, shows signs of erosion on the sides, as does the mound upon which you stand.  It seems the road has been submerged or near submerged at times in the past.  Being a trade route, it seems unlikely people would allow it to be completely washed away, so you guess the road is repaired on occasion.  The level of stagnation in the surrounding water leads you to believe the swamp would drain slowly, perhaps a day or more if it rose above the level of the road.

From the north, you see flashes of light in the clouds, followed by low rumbles.  In the ten minutes or so you spend reconnoitring the area, you begin to see lighting leap from the sky, and the rumbling becomes a sharp crack as the black clouds advance on your position.

Icerick nerviously jerks his body and almost dumps Semina and Adarleigh.  Taking up the slack on the reins, Semina calms the horse down as he prances around in circles due to the encrouching darkness.  

Semina over hears the other party memebers, and begins to look in all directions for a safe haven.  " I think Naren is right, these clouds came upon us to quickly, almost like they are being driven." Semina shouts.  "Thriam, all I can see is the hillock before the forest," she states  "although I fear this is where the storm is driving us."

Semina rides up towards Sander, "Were you able to find other shelter?"

"We have no time, we must make preparations for the storm here and now!" Thraim yells to the others over the whipping winds.  

Thraim dismounts and starts removing his gear and tack from his horse.

Don't worry good friend, I won't let you drown here or become gator bait, Thraim thinks to himself as he removes the saddle and bridle from his horse.

Semina contemplates Thraim's orders to prepare for the storm but the sight of water damage on the sides of the road, toys with her emotions.  She walks Icerick around a bit and takes inventory on how high the water has risen, especially on the mound where she stands.  

Semina looks warily towards the forest again.  She tries to make out the tree line to see if water damage is visible there as well.  Even though the wind is quite fierce and there is lightning dancing about, Semina still feels there is a fair amount of time to make a run toward the forest. Seeing that is is only about a mile away.

(OOC: Can I see the tree line?  Is there considerable water damage showing,?  Also...I read back on Storm's description that we had about 2 hours before the storm advances, so maybe we have time for alternatives..just feeling the group out is all? )

Squinting at the far shore, it looks like the large pine trees have exposed roots, but you can't see more than the second line of trees from here.  The hillock slopes down somewhat gently, but about two yards along, it becomes quite steep and looks like it would become treacherously muddy if covered in water.

Ahead of you, it appears the road might start sloping up into the woods right before the entrance, and it looks like there might be a ridge a ways into the forest.  Whether the road skirts the ridge or crosses it is impossible to say.

Semina finishes her observations and notices a road sloping into the trees.  She rides over to Thraim position, "Thraim, I will  do you bidding, but I did see a road winding into the trees."  "Our luck might be a better within  them, against the raging storm."  

Icerick prances around in a state of panic waiting for Semina's command.  "This swamp  looks like a death trap and I feel that we can beat the storm on horses,"  Semina shouts through the howling wind.

Thraim squints against the rising winds and says, "lead on Semina if your eyes spot better ground.  Take the others and I will catch up once I saddle back up."

Semina nods to Thraim's request and glides Icerick back over to the others that are huddled together.

"Listen!" she shouts, " I can see a possilbe road in front of us sloping up towards the forest."  Icerick sways from side to side, showing more aggression towards the darkeness forming. "I can kind of make out what looks a ridge a ways in, and we may be able to create cover once inside the tree line," hollering once more.

"I will take the lead, unless there are other suggestions to be heard," Semina smiles.  

(OOC: If everyone agrees, Semina will be riding towards the road, into the trees.)

"Yes! Let's not die!"

*Pause*

"I still have books to read!"

Sander joins Semina in riding towards the cover of the trees.

Despite the grave circumstances and the need for quick and decisive action, Thraim took a moment's pause from saddling his horse to laugh out loud and hard at Naren's off the cuff remarks.

Hehehe... that man has the gift of comedic timing! Thraim thinks to himself in a jovial mood.

Being a druid and a halfling at that, Heathcliffe ponders leaving the others to fend for themselves while quickly absconding to some comfortable earthen nook. He then thinks better of it, absolutely hating the idea of having to track them down afterwards, and thus simply follows, not volunteering any ideas, instead curious of where he might be led.

(OOC: I tend not to detail my characters beforehand, because they always end up changing - Partly to fit a character I'll enjoy playing; partly because they just do)