Nathan The Lame's Campaign IC

[Nathan The Lame]

The sandy horizon glows a deep shade of orange as the setting sun disappears for the night. The various tents and campfires seem to spring up out of the desert as the merchants and camel drivers prepare for a rest after a long day's trek.

Your contact with the Merchant Guild, Bahman, an elderly bald man, points out to the west, to a lone tooth of stone jutting out of the ocean of sand.

"That," he says. "Is Mezzeret."

"The caravans used to stop there after the warrens were eradicated; there is a natural spring at the mountain's foot. But now that the Lizardman Histhlac has set upon the caravans, we have been forced to go around for miles.

Our caravan is leaving in the morning, and I suggest you set out for Mezzeret at that time. Another caravan should be passing through here every 2 days, and we will return in 1 weeks time, hopefully you will have eradicated the Lizardman by then. Are there any questions before I retire for the night?"

[Greenish]

Giving the rocky outcropping a contemplative look, the young half-elf dressed in the outfit of desert tribes scratches the back of his camel and leans forward in his saddle. "Does he have allies?", he asks.

(And I'm picking Dark Orange as Jin's speech colour. :smalltongue:)

[Nathan The Lame]

"We don't think so," Bahman replied. "He has only ever attacked the caravans alone, but we don't know. No one has been inside the dead warrens for 20 years."

[HempRope]

S'taaf

While the others confer, S'taff keeps his silence, mentally trying to gauge the distance from their camp to the promontory outlined against the setting sun. The elf's light blue robes, a sharp contrast to his dark skin, flutter quietly in the little breeze that arises as the desert cools. He scans the rest of the horizon, too, judging how hard it will be to find their way back to this spot when they're finished.

"Is there anything distinctive about him?" he asks Bahman.

Do you want us to spoiler rolls at the end or do them in the post where they occur?

Oh, heck, and a [roll=Knowledge (Nature)]1d20+6 re: Lizardfolk (nocturnal? work alone? habitat? weaknesses? intelligence? whatever else you'll give me...)
Oop, forgot the code doesn't take parens, I'll re-roll OOC.

[Nathan The Lame]

"Well, he's tall, and covered in scales," Bahman chuckles a bit, then becomes deathly serious. "Besides the obvious, he dresses in tattered clothing, and when he attacks he- speaks- in poem.

It's hard to explain, but he likes to taunt his victims with disgusting poems as he attacks from the shadows."

S'taff guesses that Mezzeret is maybe 10 miles away, but distances in the desert are always difficult. As to finding his way back, caravans are visible from miles and miles away, anyone in the foothills of the mountain would have a hard time missing a passing group.

Spoilers at the end of the post please.

[Greenish]

Jin

The young half-elf nods along. "Does he prefer bow or blade?"

[Nathan The Lame]

"Claws and teeth," Bahman says. "His victims... are truly horrifying to look at. He does horrible things to people."

Bahman's voice almost trembles as he speaks. He seems to be deeply affected by this.

[Jjeinn-tae]

A small gnome up until this point has spent most his time buried in a book looking over the same few pages. He looks up at the ongoing conversation, wearing a Grey scarf over his mouth, which he doesn't bother lowering as he speaks.

"How is it that he has managed to go through so many caravans? Surely your caravans have some protection normally."

[Lordof Dorkness]

Anin

A human in thin desert clothes is clearly distressed.
He is whispering a few things that are entirely inaudible to all around him.
His hands are clenched on the handle of his blade(one of his blades).

"He will suffer for his crimes."
"The Murderous Vile... ahem."
I call Red.

[Nathan The Lame]

"We are well protected, certainly of late," Bahman says, motioning to a nearby campfire, where half a dozen large, heavily-armed men sit. "But he is very- good- at being unseen. He attacks in the night, usually over several days time, wearing the caravans' defenders down. It took us several months to even realize he was a Lizardfolk."

[Greenish]

Jin

"We'll see how it likes it when we take the battle to him, then. We'll have to keep the initiative, and not let him pick us off one by one."

Jin shrugs. "Then again, the best laid plans…"

[Lordof Dorkness]

"If It comes within one inch of me, and my arms aren't broken, It'll bathe in it's own blood."
"The people that died at it's vile green claws will be avenged."
"I know what they felt..."
He pulls up one of his sleeves revealing several scars in the shape of claws along his arm.
On the man's wrist is purple/blue a scar.
"The sharp toothed (Insert Elven Curse here)s, they slit my wrists with a poisoned blade and left me to die."
"I should thank them, instead of biting my head off right there, they gave me the chance to kill them now."
"They thought I would die, but thanks to their sick cruelty, they accidentally let me survive."

Nutty Character Exposition is a wonderful thing, is it not?

[HempRope]

S'taaf

So humans do know honor.

Or perhaps just insanity, that one is not of the desert... the heat may have touched him in the head. It is all the same, though, really. He will not back down.

But he will need to be watched.

S'taaf turns to look at Jin.

"And we will need to keep our eyelids peeled back. Not just for him, but many lizard-men lay traps to protect their lairs," he replies. His Common is heavily accented, emphasizing the second syllables of words as most desert languages do.

"We might even want to approach the Mezzeret by night, or else he will be almost sure to see us coming."

Cocking his head, he looks back at the merchant.

"Bahman, sir, when was he last seen?

"And when he attacks, does he take treasure or... people?"

[Greenish]

Jin

Jin scratches his chin. "By night, by night… he hunts at night, as we learned. But it is true during the day we might be seen. Maybe we might even catch him outside of his hidey-hole."

[Nathan The Lame]

"It has been almost a week since we have heard of him attacking a caravan. As for why he attacks- it is strange what he does," Bahman answers S'taff. "He seldom robs the caravans, maybe taking food or water and the occasional weapon. He seems to mostly- destroy. He spills bags of grain into the sand, smashes glass and hobbles camels."

[Nathan The Lame]

"And I will also bid you goodnight," Bahman says, yawning. "We are getting an early start tomorrow and if you have any further questions you can ask me then."

With that, Bahman turns and enters into one of the various tents that have been set up. The stars twinkle overhead as the camp slowly goes to sleep, while various sentries patrol just outside of the firelight.

Tell me where your characters will be sleeping.http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2552/campnight.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/89/campnight.jpg/)

[Greenish]

Jin

Dismounting the parasol from it's place in the saddle and folding it up, Jin asks: "Shall we set out, then, or do you want to wait for the morning?"

[Jjeinn-tae]

The tanned gnome stands up and closes his book with a nice slapping sound. "If he is active in the night, it makes most sense for us too to be. That way he will not catch us unawares as he has the caravans."

[TheStillWind]

intended to post before we went to bed because thats what i get for having the reply to post open for 3 hours


Shvrock

With no weapons or armor on his person he seems an odd sight to his companions on this type of venture. He seems to only be carrying his share of water.

I favor approaching in the day. If he hunts at night he will more than likely be more aware of us in the darkness than we are of him. Daylight evens the playing field. Also darkness is not the only cover to hide under. If we were to somehow manage to appear as a traveling caravan we could surprise him.

[Lordof Dorkness]

"No objections here."

[HempRope]

S'taaf

"True, he's less likely to be secreted away in the heart of his den if he operates at night. Though lizard-men are not by nature creatures of the night," S'taaf says.

"On balance, I say we try and advance tonight, under cover of dark. If we are fortunate, the morning winds will cover our tracks completely. Ready yourselves, and perhaps we can set out in a quarter of an hour?"

I don't know which plan Anin is objecting to, but it looks like Shvrock is outvoted either way. Unless anyone else wants to change their opinoin now.

Could you guys please continue to put your characters' names at the tops of posts? It takes me a little while to commit them to memory.

[Lordof Dorkness]

Anin



"Whenever everyone else is ready."
He's not objecting "No objections here."

[Greenish]

Jin

Jin pats the back of his camel. "I'm ready."

[TheStillWind]

Shvrock

Very Well

[Jjeinn-tae]

"Mountain Peak"

The gnome leans over slightly and scoops up the strap to his backpack, hitting his back relatively hard, but little sound is made. "I have all I own. I am ready."


Switching color to green since someone else wants purple. :smalltongue:

[HempRope]

S'taaf

"Well then we are ready," S'taaf says. He smiles. "They will figure out where we have gone."

And with that, he steps away from the camp site and begins the trek toward Mezzeret. At his feet, his viper hisses and follows quickly along with him.

[Nathan The Lame]

The night is dark, and the starlight provides barely enough light to safely walk by. The party members with low-light vision have an easier time, but it is still difficult. Mezzeret is easy enough to find, a giant black triangle on the western horizon blotting out the starfield overhead.

The night is cool, but not cold, and the eastern winds seem to be picking up. The ground turns from fine sand into cracked earth, though the occasional gust of wind seems to still find something to hurl at your face. As you reach the foothills around Mezzeret (a couple of hours walk from the caravan), cacti and other desert plants begin popping up around you out of the darkness.

Those with low-light vision see giant rock formations between you and the slopes of Mezzeret, forming what appears to be a maze of rocky passages.

The silence of the night it broken by a particularly harsh gust of wind, kicking up dirt, sand and glass into your faces.

[HempRope]

S'taaf

S'taaf has covered most of his face, but winces when the detritus suddenly slashes his temples.

Aghh! What is that? Glass? Maybe left from when the Goblins were still here...

"Can anyone pick out any entrances?" S'taaf whispers, his own eyes roaming over the formation's surface quickly.

[roll0] as to why there might be glass about...
[roll1]

[Greenish]

Jin

Eyes protected by his goggles, Jin raises his scarf to protect the rest of his face, then scans the rocky outcropping.

[roll0]

[TheStillWind]

Face protected from most of the grit by his light silk wrappings Shvrock joins his companions scan of the surroundings.



Spot
[roll0]

If your getting at what I think you are getting at.
The presence of glass in the dessert doesn't necessitate life.


The dessert has sand obviously. Sand is primarily made of grains of silica. Glass is sand. Specifically glass is formed when types of minerals mostly silica are heated fuzed then cooled. This can occur naturally through lightning activity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgurite), volcanic activity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_glass), or meteor strikes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldavite).
We need to establish if the glass is worked or not.


If you know this then ignore me. And I'm not trying to be rude or anything.
I enjoy gaining new info about the world and watching others do the same.

[Nathan The Lame]

The winds seems to be picking up harder as the group scans the looming rocks. Nothing like shelter can be seen amid the darkness and sand, even the stars are beginning to become obscured.Yes, the glass is just naturally occurring. I intended it as a flavor, ambiance thing. Sorry for the confusion.

[Jjeinn-tae]

"The Lizardman knows how to pick a home. If he can reach the top of the crags we might have trouble passing through here. We might not have a choice now with the wind picking up."

Mountain Peak joins in with looking for a passage.

Spot [roll0]

And if he doesn't see anything like the others, he goes for a thorough search if we are close to it.

Search (Take 20 if possible for 23) [roll1]

[HempRope]

S'taaf

"What's that?" S'taaf says, pointing to something jutting up from the rock a few hundred feet away.

I just figured I'd make use of that Knowledge skill while I can. :smallsmile:

J-t, can you clarify what your character meant? Passing through what?

[Nathan The Lame]

S'taff points to a rocky outcropping, a couple of hundred feet away. It looks, odd though, like it might be an entrance to a cave.

[Greenish]

Jin

"Let's find out." Sword in hand, Jin starts trudging towards the outcropping.

[HempRope]

S'taaf

S'taaf draws his scimitar and falls in just behind Jin.

The viper at his heels hisses loudly and slithers along beside him.

[TheStillWind]

"Good eyes No other major landmarks around seems we have one choice."

[Lordof Dorkness]

Anin

"Onward."

Anin draws one of his short swords with his primary hand.

[HempRope]

S'taaf

"Watch for snares and traps," S'taaf reiterates, slowing to let Anin in front of him.

[Lordof Dorkness]

Anin's Camel lingers at the back of the party.

Anin

"I believe that it would be wise for me to stay a bit back, my eyes gaven't quite adjusted to the light."

[Nathan The Lame]

As the party approaches the rock formation, it becomes clear that it is a cave. About forty feet wide at the mouth, and narrowing slightly to at most thirty feet inside. It is pitch black inside the cave, and even those with low-light vision cannot see very far in, about twenty feet, but the floor is smooth and flat and relatively well protected from the winds and biting sand.

The winds let up a bit, but large dust clouds still obscure the horizon and stars.

[Jjeinn-tae]

"Well then, I suppose we shall venture in. Mountain Peak says as he pulls out his crossbow. "I do not suppose we have light sources. Regardless with the wind and sand we need shelter, let's not travel in far, and I'll ready some spells to light our way in the morning."

[Lordof Dorkness]

"Who shall keep watch?"

[HempRope]

S'taaf

"It hadn't occurred to me that we might stop and rest now," S'taaf says. "But I suppose we have taken advantage of what cover darkness provides, we need not press on when we cannot see. I would not mind taking first watch."

[Lordof Dorkness]

"I am not against second or third, depending on duration."

[TheStillWind]

"I'll be most useful in the early dawn hours."

[Greenish]

"Making camp does seem like our best option. I can take any watch, I don't mind." With that, Jin leads his camel into the cave.