Kingdom of Arim I (IC)

[Keylac]

The Kingdom of Arim has recently fought a war against the neighboring Kingdom of Mizan. The war lasted barely a year, and was ended by the only major engagement, the Battle of Cold River. While Arim won the battle and the war, it gained little in the peace treaty which followed, leaving many to label it a hollow victory. Many of the common folk were left confused, unsure why Mizan had attacked the kingdom.

After the war, many soldiers, both regulars and conscripts, were discharged from the army without pay. Lacking either pay or the loot of a successful war, these former soldiers are now growing destitute. Many are becoming desperate and may turn to crime, from simple banditry to joining criminal organizations, in order to survive.

Times are not yet dark, but people's confidence in the steady course of the Kingdom has been shaken.




You are affected as well. You currently reside in the City of Kerist, and your purse seems to grow lighter by the day. If something doesn't change soon, you may be forced to leave the city to find opportunity elsewhere.

It is with this knowledge weighing on you that you take the parchment a temple ward hands you. It seems you have received a message from a Captain Kavaren. The Captain, a respected soldier before the war, was discharged from of the army after losing his arm defending against a flank attack at Cold River. Now, he asks for your aid...


***

The City of Kerist, in the Duchy of Kerist, Kingdom of Arim.
14th day of Blooming, 792.

The cool morning of late spring is already on the wane as you break the wax seal on the note the boy handed you. Unrolling it, you tilt it towards the light to read.

I Greet You, Stranger.

My name is Ryn Kavaren, once Captain in the King's Army.
I realize that you do not know me, anymore than I know you. What I do know is: when I asked a friend in the guard for a favor, he gave me your name. You see, I asked him who in town he would consider formidable. I am in need of such people.
I have recently come into some information that may lead to a large amount of wealth, at least as we measure it. It is imperative that I discover if this information is accurate, but I fear I cannot find out myself. I am still weak from injuries, and, were I recovered, still would I be unable to wield a sword.
I can promise nothing, but I ask that you come to the Cathedral of Krin, at 10th Bell, there to meet with me.

Krin's Blessings upon you,

Ryn Kavaren, Captain (Ret.)

The note isn't long, but it's plea is earnest, and something in it calls to you. Perhaps the potential for glory, the siren song of fame, or the hint of wealth. Perhaps you are moved by a desire to help a man, a good man by all reports, struck down by misfortune. Or perhaps it is the lure of adventure. Only you could say, but you find yourself checking the position of the sun, feet turning in the direction of the cathedral.


***

The Cathedral of Krin in Kerist is perhaps the most majestic building in the city. The triple spires, each one housing the largest bells in Kerist, rise high above, seeming to pierce the sky. Cleverly fitted stone without mortar makes up the entire construction, and beautiful stained glass windows line the walls.

For all it's beauty, the Cathedral is still a simple place. No precious metals reflect the sun from those towers, only the common brass of the bells. No gems encrust the walls, only the plain stone of masons. Even the windows, though ornate, show simple scenes of farmers and craftsmen, common guardsmen and foresters, not kings and lords. Yet, it has a presence that far outweighs mere gold and glitter, an aura of peace and safety, that reaches out even to non-believers.

Upon entering the cathedral, you're greeted by the quiet ringing of bells, clear notes, yet almost seeming hushed. The interior is bathed in gorgeous color from sunlight streaming through the windows and well illuminated by magical globes of golden light. Priests move about their tasks, while worshipers, scattered among the wooden benches, pray softly, ringing their bells.

The Captain - recognizable by his missing arm - is standing in the back, leaning against the wall. He is tall, with light brown hair to match his light brown eyes, like most Arimites. His frame, once well muscled, has weakened as of late, but he remains fit. But his face...

Momentarily unguarded, his face shows the despair which has been growing within him since Cold River. Eyes closed, his lips move slowly in a silent prayer while his his left arm unconsciously rubs the stump of his right. When he finishes, he bows his head for a moment, concealing his face.

When he raises it, banished is the despair. The face that turns to you is calm and clear-eyed; the face of a soldier and leader of soldiers. A movement of still powerful shoulders leaves him standing erect, and he moves over to a small table. He motions you to join him, in a gesture that includes maybe a half-dozen others. When you've all gathered around the table, he speaks in a clear baritone; softly, but you can tell his voice is trained to carry in battle.

“Thank you for coming. I apologize for not meeting you in a tavern, where we could hoist a drink. I'm afraid I live here for the moment, in the infirmary, and the priests don't wish for me to leave yet.” He pauses for a moment, meeting the eyes of each person gathered round the table. Satisfied by what he see's there, he continues. “Let me tell you a story.”

“During the war, I met a fellow, another officer. He claimed his grandfather was the last Captain of the Guard for the old Barons of Ashe Wood, before that line died out. After the last barons death, his title and all his wealth were turned over to the Baron of Stallman, including the estate here in Kerist. There was a second estate though, up in the Ashe Wood; the Baron's modest hunting lodge.”

Here a bark of harsh, almost rusty laughter. “Modest Hunting Lodge indeed. Having heard of the Ashe Wood's, it's probably bigger than the Duke's palace! Still, it was looted before Stallman could take possession of it, and he left it to rot. Turns out, the looters may have missed something. This fellow had a map, showing a treasure room hidden in the basement, and a key to open it. He claimed he got them from his grandfather.”

From his vest, he draws forth a folded piece of parchment and a large iron key, laying them on a table next to him. “He died just before Cold River, without any heirs, and I managed to retrieve the map and key when his gear defaulted to the army. What I need from you is to go and retrieve any valuables in the vault. In exchange, you can keep half the value of the contents, and anything else you may find along the way.”

He stops, staring down at the key, idly spinning it around. After a few seconds, he looks back up at you.

“It may not be true of course, though I've prayed to Krin daily since I awoke that it is. All I can offer you for your assistance is the share of the vault... and this. I called in one of my last favors to get it.” With that, he extracts a piece of parchment from his vest. Paper rustles as he places it on the table, unrolling it to display the seal of the Duke of Kerist. After a glance at you, his eyes drop to it and begins to read.


Let it be known that the bearer of this charter has been granted, by the Duke of Kerist, acting in all things in the name of His Majesty the King, Rahjyis the IV, and in all things for the good of the Kingdom of Arim, the right to adventure within the borders of the Duchy of Kerist.
The Bearer, and any Companions, are hereby charged with protecting the Duchy in the manner they see fit, acting always to Protect the Duchy, Maintain the Laws, and Uphold the Righteousness of Krin. So signed by His Grace, Lord Akos Tarsin, Duke of Kerist, and witnessed by His Excellency, Bishop Eridan, Bishop of Kerist, under the sight of Krin.

Coming to the end, he pauses a moment, almost not daring to look up.

“That's it. Truly, there's no more thankless task, in this world or the next, than adventuring. You're more likely to meet an early grave than anything else. But... you might not, too. More then a few have earned riches, fame, and glory as an adventurer. I suppose it comes down to if you're willing to risk everything for it.” For a moment his lips twitch in a small, sad smile, before his face returns to his confident mask. “I suppose I am. Maybe you are too.”

He gestures at a young man, sitting quietly on a bench a few feet away. “This is Brother Donat, an aide to His Excellency the Bishop. He's been graciously assisting me since I awoke from my injuries.” For a moment, the Captain's calm frays, mouth twisting into a bitter smile. “In fact, he's the one who transcribed the message you received.” Taking a deep breathe, he composes himself again. “If you agree, all you have to do is sign. Brother Donat will take it to the Bishop for his signature, and you'll be adventurers.”

A second deep breathe. “So tell me friends...”

A third. “What shall it be?”

[Comissar]

The sun had not long crested the horizon, but Darius was already hard at work. Since his "retirement" from the military, he'd been forced to find work where he could to keep himself fed. His current employment was as a farm hand, the labour was hard work and he wasn't paid especially well, but he wasn't going to complain. Times were tough for a lot of ex-soldiers, he had been lucky to find the work in the first place. Unfortunately, it looked like his work was coming to an end. He had been hired to help plough the field ready for sowing and there was very little field left to plough.

I'll need to remember to look for new work in town later...

The sound of somebody crunching through the undergrowth outside of the field caught Darius' attention. Looking up, he saw a ward of Krin coming towards him. Smiling slightly, he stood up straighter, resting his hands on the plough.

"Good Morning my friend!" He called out, "If you are looking for the owner of this land, I'm afraid you will need to look a little further."

"You misunderstand, you are Darius Strensson, correct?" Darius nodded, "I bring a message for you."

Curious as to who could be contacting him, Darius thanked the ward and took the letter. Whilst he read, the ward left, presumably to see to other errands.

Having read the message, he estimated how long he would have before heading to the Cathedral. Though he was not a greedy man, the promises of wealth intrigued him.

"Should be just enough time to finish up here." he muttered to himself.

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After thanking the farmer for the work he had given him, Darius headed back to his lodgings to pick up his equipment. Donning his armour always gave him some time to think. The note had said people rather than person, that suggested the Captain was assembling a group for some purpose, presumably related to the wealth that was mentioned.

Pulling on his gauntlets last, Darius shouldered his backpack and shield, strapped his shortsword to his waist and hefted up his Halberd, the bell softly ringing as he did so. He didn't know how formally Kavaren expected them to be dressed but, as the meeting was taking place at the Cathedral, Darius felt that the armour and weapons that signified his faith would perhaps be the best choice. His walk to the Cathedral was accompanied by a soft ringing the entire way.

---------------------------------------------------------

The Cathedral always brightened Darius' mood, the simplicity of it spoke volumes and yet it seemed to be grand all the same. After murmuring a quick prayer to Krin, he turned to one of the Priests.

"Excuse me, can you point me to Captain Kavaren?"

The Priest gestured over to the injured soldier at the far end of the hall. "Thankyou."

After exchanging greetings, he waited for the others to arrive. It did not take long and soon Karaven was outlining why he had requested their presence. The offer of an Adventurer's Charter was surprising, the deal seemed too good to pass up though.

"I for one am happy to help you with this."

[Archmage1]

Wandering through Kerist, Alexis was amazed at the beauty of the cathedral of Krin, as she headed towards the noble quarter of the city. She was planning on paying a visit to one of the nobles, as it seemed to be more fair than stealing from rich merchants, and begging, so that she could eat today. However, she also knew that most of these nobles had supported the war, and were most likely responsible for not paying the soldiers, as well as starting the whole war, so it seemed a fair exchange. However, as she passed through the northern end of Cathedral Square, one of the priests intercepted her.
"You are Alexis, right?"
Why would a priest of Krin be seeking me?
"Yes"
"I have a message for you" He hands her the message.
"Thank you. Was there anything else?"
"No, that was all I was told to do."
I wonder what this is about?
Alexis opens and reads the message.
Captain Kavaren? I heard of him on the way here. He did something heroic at the Battle of Cold River. This must be important to him. It is also a job that sounds helpful, and possibly fun. Hopefully the others he contacts are competent.
Alexis, after deciding that this is a good idea, heads to her stash, and gathers up what is left of her equipment. She then makes her way back to the cathedral, and enters.
She is amazed at the sense of peace and safety that comes over her.
She looks around, and sees an armless man in the back of the cathedral.
The poor man. I had heard that the Cold River was bad, but he looks like he has been through Hell. He looks like he is unused to being unable to do things for himself. If I can help him, I will.
She approaches him, and asks "Are you Captain Kavaren?"
"Yes I am."
"I got your message. This should be interesting. I suppose that we are waiting for the rest to arrive?"
At his nod, Alexis sits down, and waits for the rest of the group arrive. Once they do, Karaven explains what he wants, and what he expects. He also offers an Adventurer's Charter, which means that there is probably more to this than it appears. However, since she had no other real choice, the deal seemed to be acceptable.
"Sounds like an interesting adventure. I'm in."

[Holice]

As another day began to end in the city, Uriell began his trip back home. He had stopped in every shop, mill and forge he could find looking to find work. He would muck stalls or clean waste culverts if he had to, but there was nothing.

With the war coming to a close, many of the men of the city returned home, and when in times past, they returned with grandeur and riches, this time, they returned impoverish and disdainful. Thus, his family began to suffer as no one was looking to buy new clothes when they could barely afford to keep their own. And it wasn't just the tailors hurting, it was the smiths and millers and every other tradesman.

He just wanted to run into the forests and forget about this city life. Leave it all behind and live with nature. Aye, that would be the ideal life but sadly he could not leave his parents alone, in a time such as this. Thugs and other shady men shaking down businesses, stealing, and inflicting other ungodly harm. No, he must find a way to make some coin for the sake of his family.

These thoughts filled his head every evening on the way home. Walking with a frown, a gentle nudge on his leg brought a smile to his face.

"You're right boy, its not all bad," he said to his dog companion. A lean and muscular husky, who was originally trained as a riding dog, but apparently disliked the idea of having noble children treat him like a horse.

Finally arriving home and walking inside, he sensed something was wrong. Hu began to growl as the priest came into view.

"Easy boy", he said as he pet Hu on the side.

"Ah, you must be the one I am waiting for," the priest said.

Still surprised to see a priest in his home, Uriell responded with slight confusion, "I am?"

"Yes indeed!" Walking over to Uriell, the priest reached into his robe and began to pull something out, as he noticed Hu bearing his teeth and tensing to pounce.

"Hu!" Uriell exclaimed, and the dog quickly went back to panting, as if nothing had happened. Looking back to the priest, "You had something for me?"

The priest handed him the letter and quickly left, keeping the dog in his vision til he was clear out the door. Reading over the letter, he looked up and said to his parents, "I may have found a way to earn some coin."

---------------------------

On the way to the cathedral, Uriell could only wonder how exactly the Captain learned of him. Perhaps I am not as stealthy as I imagined myself, he thought to himself.

This was his first time at the cathedral, as he did not have much time or interest in attending any sermons, and he preferred to commune out in the forest, where he felt more at peace and one with the world. Taking a step to go inside, he looked at Hu and said, "Perhaps you should stay out here, we wouldn't want to offend."

Continuing into the Cathedral he saw a man with one arm ahead of him, and several other people scattered about. The one-armed man motions for the group of us to head to a nearby table and begins to tell us just why we are here.

Do I really have a choice? It's this or watch as we drift further into poverty, Uriell thought to himself.

With a definitive nod, "I too agree to join."

[Morbis Meh]

The loud but somehow meekish rap at the door awoke Anthony from his half drunk stupor. He looked around sharply for the source of the noise and his axe, most avoided trying to wake him up in the morning after he nearly strangled the stable boy to death. Anthony pushed the three women off of him unceremoniously and grabbed the wine jub to his right when the door opened. Lifting the jug to his lips he was agitated to discover the contents were missing... today was going to be a bad day"Skanks drank all my wine!" In a fit he hurls the jug at the door he hears the startled cry as the jugs shatters harmlessly against the wall. He turns his head and sees a boy of fifteen or so, in meager attire with a look of terror in his eyes and his trembling hands clutched for dear life to a letter. The look of terror transforms into one of shock then embarrassment as the eyes move from the bear of a man to the naked women lying on the ground. Anthony, though not normally observant did notice this and barked out "What's the matter boy? Never seen a tit before? If you want attention from these floozies you will need some coin, I recommend Rosy, she may not be the prettiest to look at but damn does she know how to use them hips of hers." The looks of horror returned to the young mans face. Sighing Anthony rose up stark naked and slogged towards the boy, he was growing impatient with this one "Spit it out boy what do you want and quit staring at my package!" The boy lets out a strangled cry as he hands over the letter and bolts through the door.

Anthony squints at the letter then roars in frustration "God damn tiny script, who writes like this? Hey do any of you trollops know how to read?" He walks over and kicks the woman who called herself Bethany in the side, not too hard but hard enough to get his point across. The woman, obviously startled scrambles up and rubs her sore side and blinks up at Anthony her gaze drift down to his hand. "Answer me, do you know how to read or not?" She gives a frantic nod and slowly reaches out a grabs the letter. Her rendition of the letter was poor, she stumbled over a lot of the words and her pronounciation was terrible but at the very least she got the letter's point across. Anthony muttered to himself "Damn old cripples, looking for me to do their damn dirty work and go into a church." Since the war Anthony continued working for his liege lord, he was one of the lucky ones to be honest. Though he was no longer required to continue serving he did it anyway because it kept him in enough coin to blunder about in brothels full of booze. Though the coin never lasted very long... what Anthony truly missed was battle, he lived for it in fact and he was damn disappointed that the war was so short. This propposition at the very least would get him swinging again. Hastily he donned his clothing and arms, the sable jerkin with crimson trim of his house was striking and made him look even more formidable. Before he left the establishment he quickly jotted down a letter explaining to his lord his request for leave, something his lord would most assuridly grant, and walked out the door.

Much to his chagrin, the day was bright and cheery, Anthony hated days like this and his demeanor reflected his feelings. Upon entering the Cathedral, Anthony noticed a bunch of people huddled around the cripple who he assumed was this former captain. Sure he had heard of him, he was the unlucky bloke who lead the company next to Anthony's during the initial charge. Anthony approached the basin of water at the entrance, the one worshipers used for blessings, grabbing the edges of said basin he procceeded to completely submerge his head into the cold water. He shook his head and wiped off excess water from his face before approaching the group.

Karaven eyed him warily but gave a curt nod signifying Anthony's approach. Anthony half listened and half stared at the rear of some fine lass praying at the altar, when a response was required he mumbled "Yeah, yeah, sure you got it...treasure, money, dead lodge."

[Electrobolt]

Tamni'el sighed as he began to head on his way to the local tavern, now that the war had ended. He had nothing left that he could really do, and even though the war was over, he felt as if it was a hollow victory. Even though he can go back to stroll through the woods, he just could not feel the same peacefulness as he did in the past.

Shaking his head, he looked up and saw the tavern was only a few yards away from him now. *I just wonder if I should go do something as opposed to just drinking my remaining coin away...* he pondered to himself. Letting out a chuckle, he added in his mind, *It's not like anything will come and offer me work, after all...* However, as soon as he started approaching the tavern, a voice had called out to him, effectively stopping him in his tracks.

"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be Tamni'el, right?" is what the voice spoke up. Quickly turning around, facing the person who had called out to him, noticing it was a priest. Nodding, he responded, "Yes, that would be me. Why do you ask, though?" As the priest came closer, he pulled a letter out of his clothing. "I was told to deliver this to you, should I find you." Silently taking the letter, he nodded as he opened it to read the contents. The priest's job done, he began to leave as Tamni'el poured over the contents of the letter. Chuckling to himself, he said, "Looks like work did find me after all..."

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As opposed to going to the tavern, Tamni'el instead decided to return to his home located close to the woods he frequented. Walking inside, he looked around at the empty, silent abode. "Now, where did I put them..." he asked himself, trying to find his old gear that he had during the war. As he walked into one of the rooms, he recognized a familiar sight: his armor. Looking around the room some more, he eventually found his weapons and the rest of his gear.

"Never imagined I would see the day that I would use these again..." he mused to himself as he eventually donned his armor. As he slung his backpack on, he grabbed his bow with his left arm. "Even though I still haven't recovered from that incident, I still trust that I can make use of my bow..." After grabbing the last of his gear, Tamni'el started on his way to the Cathedral of Krin.

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Even though he hadn't visited the town much, he was able to recall where the cathedral was. As he headed towards the cathedral, he recalled the note and all that it had said. *Should this prove good, then things will hopefully start looking up for me... And any others that were called up by him, assuming that he was calling for more than just one person.* As he walked inside, Tamni'el asked where he could find Kavaren, to which one of the church priests pointed him in the direction of the ex-captain.

As he approached the location, he noticed a number of people around as well. As he remained silent, he listened to the words Kavaren had to speak. Once he was finished speaking, Tamni'el thought for a moment. It was either he live his current life out, with little-to-no coin left to his name, or he goes and risks his life in hopes of finally being able to get a chance at earning some money. After thinking it through, he finally nods, replying, "I also agree."

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulare had been doing work as a hired sword in the last few months. With thievery and bandits on an increase, there had been enough need for muscle. Of course, his jobs were also the kind of thing that veterans would be attracted to, so he did have enough competition to keep him from prospearing from his work. He also played a hireling in enforce transactions of lawful and unlawful nature. Even so, he almost never saw action. His work bored him- which pissed him off- but he did need it to make his small income.

When the man came to him to deliver the letter, Tulkar was hardly surprised. He had worked with soldiers before, and accepted work like that all the time. What was surprising is that some soldier put in a good word for him. He eventually figured that he was in need of a bulk force, or was facing some kind of special danger. Tulkar certainly mistrusted the note. After his incident with the Mizzns, he dislike and mistrusted soldiers; beliefs that proved not to be unfounded from his experience in Arim. But alas, he figured he needed to go as he hadn't found work in several days, and would risk going without food if he went much longer. Besides, priests were generally worthy of trust. "I suppose I'll be there." he told the man with a sigh. He really did hate his work.

Approaching the temple, Tulkar felt none of its splendor. He just didn't care all that much about his surroundings. He had no special love for priests either, they were too good for his tastes, and everything could be taken as offensive to them. He just didn't get why they chose the lifestyle that they did.

When the rest of the group went up to Kavaren, Tulkar did the same. He thought he knew what to expect from this, the same old thing. An adventuring contract was not what he was expecting. However, it sounded like an improvement from what he was doing now "An adventurer... he said quietly aloud "I suppose I'm in as well. he continued with more resolution. But only as long as it suits me well he thought I can quit this whenever it benefits me best.

[Keylac]

As each of you agreed, signing your name or symbol to the charter, the Captain's mood seems to lighten. As the young Half-Orc signs, he lets out a breathe, shoulders slumping in obvious relief.

“Truly, I had not expected to find that all of you would be so willing to come here, so willing to agree. But... I thank you for it.” He picks up the charter, handing it to Brother Donat, who turns and heads for the right wing of the cathedral.

“The good Brother will return with the Bishop's signature in a moment, my friends. Right now, let me show you the way to the Manor.” With that, he pulls another paper from his pocket, unfolding it to show a map of the Duchy. He puts it down on the table, gesturing you all to join him, before leaning over the map.

“Here,” he says, finger indicating a recently added notation. “This is the Manor. It took me days to find it's location, looking through old archives here in the Cathedral. To get there, you could take one of two routes.”

“The obvious one would be to take the Kerist Road north to the village of Stallman,” here his finger traces the highway leading north, then the side road leading to Stallman. “From there, you could cut through the woods, to reach the Manor. It's the longer route, forty miles by Royal High Road, and another five or so through the wood, but you'll make good time along the High Road.”

“Alternately, you could cut straight through the Ashe Wood,” here, his finger taps the large wood north of Kerist. “It's twenty-five miles straight through, as the crow flies, but I've no landmarks to keep you from getting lost. I'd not try that way unless you knew what you were doing in the woods and had a good eye for terrain.”

“In either case, you should be able to make it in two day's travel or so. I'd recommend you approach it from the south; it's apparently backed up against some gullies and hills that would play merry-hell with horses, and could harbor unfriendly beasts.”

As the Captain finishes, you hear the sound of footsteps behind you. Turning, you see Brother Donat returning, accompanied by a stout looking, plain woman in the robes of a Mother. While he hands out a copy of the now-signed charter to each of you, she stands there, arms crossed, tapping her foot and glaring at the Captain.

“Here are the charters,” says Brother Donat, nodding at the papers you now all held. “However, I'm afraid that Mother Ilona here is insisting that Captain Kavaren return to his bed. He is still not fully recovered from his wounds. Now, I must bid you all a good day, Sir Paladin, Good Lady, Good Folk.” With a smile and a nod to each of you – though his smile is noticeably brighter when he looks at Darius, and seems to lose all sign of friendliness and become stiff when he looks at Anthony – he turns and walks back towards the right wing, giving Mother Ilona a short bow as he leaves.

As he departs, the Captain turns back to all of you, muttering something to soft to hear. “Well, there you have it my friends; you're now officially adventurer's. The map is yours, along with the key and the directions. Luck be with you, and Krin ward your steps.” With that he gives you all a crisp nod, and turns to the Mother, allowing her to badger him out of the room.

OOC
And once again, three things. I seem to have a lot of things to say in threes...

First, you guys are now the proud owners of four new items – or 9 if you count the copies.

Each of you now has:

Adventurer's Charter – This charter allows you to adventure throughout the Duchy of Kerist.

In addition, the party as a whole (no, I don't care who carries them) has these three items:


Map of the Duchy of Kerist (https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByxsmGLMsVmzNjY4Q1RsSDJZaHM) - This is a fairly detailed Map of the Duchy of Kerist. Notations along the edges lead you to assume it was used for military planning. Among the points of interest marked, a new one has been added showing the location of the Ashe Wood Manor.


Map to the Vault - This rough sketch shows the location of the rumored vault in the basement of the Ashe Wood Manor.


Key to the Vault - This large iron key supposedly opens the vault in the basement of the Ashe Wood Manor.

Second, we have also now reached the second part of the railroading. Specifically, Go ahead and discuss, describe, decide, etc to your hearts content, but tomorrow morning, you should show up at the gate outside of Kerist (I'll do the next post from there, and then let you guys talk a bit as you travel) at Dawn tomorrow. You also don't get to explore the city or buy anything, just get ready with what you've got.

Soon as you're on your way, the railroading ends and it all opens up, though I figure you'll still do the Manor. :smalltongue: Once you get back to the city, then the whole place opens up to you, and I'll post all the information on it when you do return.

Third, Travel. This is pretty much just a RP experience for you folks, since most of the mechanics for travel do not work very well in a PBP game. If you guys decide to take the highway, it's about 2 days to get there, no problems. The forest is also 2 days, though if you take that, someone in each group has to make a DC 15 survival check to follow the path. Somebody may even know something to allow you to pass through it more quickly. - he said in a very broad, one time hint.

Allright, enough explaining. I need to do less of that, or you guys will drown in letters. :smallwink:

[Archmage1]

Alexis accepts the maps and the key from Captain Kavaren. As he leaves, she says Thank you for the chance to succeed. Hopefully, we will not dissapoint

Alexis looks at the others that she just became partners, and observes each one carefully.

The first one that attracts her attention is a human knight.
He seems to be a veteran, and is probably fairly useful in a fight, although possibly not as useful out of one. He may be a good friend, or he may not. Only time would tell. Kaveran referred to him as Sir Paladin. Hopefully he will not be too aggravated at questionable behaviour
The second one seems to be some sort of ranger or druid.
He should be able to take us cross country, which would have the benefit of keeping this mission secret for longer. Hopefully he really is a druid, as healing may come in handy
The taller human knight seems to blame the world for something.
He had a reason to fight once, to have taken a beating, but is he still willing to go on? Considering the smell of alcohol on him, that is a major question. Hopefully his alcoholism will not prove a problem.
The green eyed elf appears to be a scout or ranger of some sort.
Hopefully he has not seen that bounty, as if he has he may be problematic, but if not, it would be good to talk to another elf after so long.
The final member, the half orc, seems to be quite angry.
The half-orc may be problematical. He seems to be quite angry. With luck, that anger will not be directed at me. If it is, he may... change his mind

Turning to the odd group that she just became a part of, Alexis introduces herself " My name is Alexis, and I am looking forwards to this adventure. Hopefully, together we can succeed at this mission, and have a good time while doing so."
With that, Alexis calmly waits for the others to respond

After the others have all introduced themselves, Alexis inquires
Which way shall we go. We could take the high road, it would be simple and safe, but also fairly obvious. I think we would be better off if "
she turns to Uriel and Tamni'el " one of you could guide us through the woods. There may be a shortcut, although if there is, I have not heard of it. Either way, we should leave in the morning. There is not much light left for today, and we may need the time to prepare. I think we should meet at the north gate tomorrow at dawn,"
She looks at Anthony "In a condition to travel".

[Comissar]

Darius smiles warmly back at Brother Donat, giving a small nod of acknowledgement as he does so. He makes no comment as Karaven is ushered back to his bed, but instead turns to the group he finds himself with.

"A pleasure to meet you Alexis, my name is Darius. If I may be so bold as to ask, is anybody here particularly well versed in navigating the Ashe Wood? I feel that we may be able to save a lot of time if we cut through the forest instead of taking a detour."

[Morbis Meh]

At the sound of the mention of another lady approaching, Anthony's head snaps back but is dismayed to see an matronly woman approaching. Damn it... hmm she's not that bad, I have done much worse (dear god don't think of that time with that giant and the donkey, find your happy place find your happy place) and the 'chaste' ones can be rather kinky after a mug of ale or ten... yes, I think it is time for a challenge, she can flog my bishop any day.

When the elf lass speaks Anthony refocuses on here but is not really listening to her speak, more of trying to undress her with his one eye Bah, what are you doing man!? You remember those elves are terrible in the sack not to mention this one looks like she has two pebbles on a cutting board for a chest! "Ahem ugh, yeah, I be Anthony, former Shield Warden of House Atreidies, most call me bull though especially the ladies ahahahaha!" He inspects the young templar before him This one is barely out of diapers, hopefully he doesn't panic mid battle like scared cattle... though he seems to be fine looking, wonder if he prefers brunettes or red heads, it has been a long time since I had a proper wingman...

"The only wood I know of templar is the one between me legs, though I can say they probably have been travelled more than the Ashewoods!" Grinning broadly, his splitting headache began to slowly disapate, though he was tempted to head back to the brothel...Damn, forgot to ask for an advance, bloody Thor playing a banjo! He breaks out of thought long enough to see the scathing glance thrown his way from the elf. He replies with an incredulous look "Why you be looking at me for? Do I have something on my face, a warrior never drinks before battle but then again since it be no proper battle I shall partake in a little company this evening." He turns to the youthful knight "Care to join me pup, I promise ye will see and do things that will make a demon blush?"

[Holice]

Looking at the charter in his hand, Uriel can't help but wonder if this will be the key to his family's future. It is. It HAS to be.

Nodding with affirmation to himself, he thinks about the Captain's proposal and the routes he offers. I really dislike traveling the roadways, but the Ashe Wood may not be much safer. I know I can navigate it safely and quietly, but with a group this large, we are bound to have something notice us.

His thoughts were interrupted as he hears Alexis indicate that either himself or the elf could guide the group through the forest. An elf that needs guidance throw the forest? he ponders, as he looks towards the other elf.

"I could...," he begins to say just as the giant of a man begins speaking. Listening to the man boast, he can't help but wonder if this man's actions in battle speak as loudly as his words of jest.

As the man finishes his remarks with a quip, Uriell continues what he was going to say.

"With the map in hand I could guide us to this location, but I must warn you, I have never been through the heart of the Ashe Wood, so we must be prepared for anything and everything.

"Speaking of which, I would truly enjoy knowing what everyone brings to the party," he then turns to look towards Anthony, "perhaps over a pint? My treat."

[Electrobolt]

Holding onto the charter in his left hand, his mind began to race with the thoughts of what they might see ahead of them. As one of them spoke up, a female elf by the name of Alexis, Tamni'el nodded as he introduced himself as well. "It's good to meet you. I'm known by the name of Tamni'el, but if you'd prefer, you could also call me by the name Niel."

After Alexis suggested someone guide them through the woods, he was confused. His confusion didn't show on his face though, but in his mind he, wondered, *She's an elf, yet she needs guidance through the woods?* Clearing that thought out of his head, he began to say something, until Anthony interrupted abruptly. Sighing as he finished, and after listening to Uriell, he spoke out, "I know my way through the woods, seeing as I frequented them before. So there's that option, if we decide to take it. And I agree, perhaps departing in the morning would be a wise idea."

[AvocadoAvenger]

"And i'm Tulkar" Tulkar says bruskly, jabbing a thumb at himself. He thought the notion of getting along and becoming close friends to be an absurd one, but not quite as absurd as the notion of cutting through the woods. Sir Paladin, The Pervert, The She-Elf, Mr. Tracker, and WoodsBoy he thought to himself with disdain, labeling each of them in his head. They may be honorable, or not, or adventurous, or simple, but gods know they are daft for that idea- every one of them. "So, what you think is- that we should cut through the middle of nowhere in order to save a few hours on a trip to an objective that is not going anywhere instead of using the roads that were intended for travel?" Tulkar asks the group, particularly Darius who was the only one that expressly voiced that they go that way. He portrayed quite a bit of irritation and mockery in his voice.

He eyed his companions once again, considering what he thought of each of them. He thought Alexis to be a bit bossy. What a man does with his free time is his own business he thought. She was, however, an attractive enough girl, so he figured he could forgive her that. Of course, Anthony had made it everyone's business, and Tulkar found his comments extremely obnoxious. It reminded him of what some soldiers talked of doing before they killed his mom, and he made a fist without realizing it. I'll have to teach him a lesson if he continues like this Tulkar thought. He wasn't sure what he thought about the rest of them yet. Uriel, at least, seemed agreeable enough.

[Archmage1]

After hearing each of their responses, Alexis continues to evaluate the others she has found herself adventuring.
Well, of all of them, Darius, Tamni'el, and Uriel seem to be fairl friendly, but Anthony and Tulkar will probably be a bit more of a problem. Good idea on Uriell's part, going to the tavern. Especially if he is paying, however, I should be careful to avoid getting drunk.


"Uriell, thanks for the offer, It would probably be a good idea to continue to discuss our options, and our abilities in a more private and less churchy location. Does anyone know a good tavern?"

I do know a few taverns here, but I am doubtful that Anthony and Tulkar would be... appreciated there. They may know a better location. Besides, better to give them some choices, rather than control everything. People tend to work better when they have at least the illusion of choice

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony looks at the half orc up and down A brooding angsty teen with little respect for elders, oh joy, I may have to put this one over my knee and spank it...

"People travel through the woods to SAVE time and as far as you know others could be looking for this location. Who knows if this man is the only one with this information there could be others and if we have people who know what they are doing we could save a lot of time. If you would prefer, you can always go back to your mother and suck on her teet, child." He turns to Alexis "The naked blade is a rowdy place full of disgruntled soliders, all in all a horrible place to discuss business. If you want to talk business in private the best place in not a tavern, too many people around who could be listening. I will hold the offer of a drink to this man when we get back, we have work to do and a man needs to keep his wits about him. "

[Comissar]

Darius gives Anthony a pained look at the tirade of double entendre's he was spouting. He got the feeling he was going to be the butt of many jokes to come. His reasoning seemed unimpaired by his obvious uncouthness though.

"I'm going to have to agree with my lewd friend here, it's well worth saving what time we can by cutting through the forest. I'm less worried about bandits spiriting away any treasures we may find and just more interested in travelling the more direct path personally, but he is correct that we don't want to leave it alone for too long."

Turning to face Uriell, he continued "I thank you for your offer, but I'm afraid I will pass for today. Now, unless anyone has anything to add, I plan to retire for the evening. I look forward to meeting you come the morning."

[Holice]

Shaking his head, Uriell ponders his new companions. So much for getting to know these people prior to the journey. But hopefully this Captain picked adventurers that can be trusted.

"Perhaps that is best. Plenty of time on our journey to acquaint ourselves with each other."

Not wanting to get into the any argument about our chosen route he quickly adds, "And I vote for forest travel if we are taking a vote."

With that he does a quick bow and walks out of the church. As he leaves he whistles and Hu pops up and is at his side faster than you could blink. Scratching him behind the ear Uriell says quietly, "Let's go home boy."

[Archmage1]

Alexis sighs
I suppose introductions can wait until we are moving. At least it seems that we will be taking the forest path. Still, to be able to do something will be a nice change. Hopefully this will end well

Alexis turns and faces the group "I think we will meet at the north gate at dawn. no point in wasting daylight, and this will be an enjoyable trip. I have not been in the forests since I was 16. It would be good to travel through them again."
With that said, Alexis turns to depart

[Electrobolt]

Nodding, Tamni'el responded, "So we depart tomorrow at dawn, then. I will be at the gate as early as I am able to." With that, he nodded once more as he went out on his own way. In his mind, Tamni'el thought, *If we are going through the woods, we best be prepared...*

[AvocadoAvenger]

At Anthony's insult, Tulkar is on his feet with his fist poised to strike, probably drawing quite a bit of attention to himself. It is then that he remembers where he is, and has the restraint to not start a fight in a church. "You had best watch your mouth" he said coldly through bared teeth. He sat down just as solemnly, and the incident was over.

Seeing as how every other group member had elected to take the woods, Tulkar knew he couldn't possibly win this. "fine" he conceded "we can take the woods, but don't blame me when it all goes sour. I'll be there at dawn as well." That was one of their better ideas, Tulkar decided. By leaving at dawn, they could make the best use of all their daylight.

[Keylac]

The bright light of dawn finds you outside the King's Gate, the northern gate out of Kerist. Traffic is sparse at this hour, with only a few farmers and tradesmen passing through the great gate. Only the guards appear rested and alert as they wave you through.

A few moments spent in adjusting packs and straps, accompanied by greetings, give way to the start of your journey. Like all traveler's, you follow the Kerist Road north, at least until you're past the farms that surround Kerist to the north and east. Once past them, you cut across the empty grasslands, interrupted only by occasional woodlots and small strands of trees.

The day passes quicker with quiet conversation among yourself. These, your new companions, are a diverse lot, each with their own tales and stories. For all their unknown nature, the trip is not – generally – unpleasant.

It's not long before the trees start becoming more common, and shortly after you reach the edge of the woods. Now, without a map to guide your steps, you will have to rely on knowledge and wilderness lore to guide you through to your destination.

OOC
Allright, so I'm going to need a Survival check from whomever is leading. Anyone who feels their character would have something to add, go ahead and roll Aid Another to give him a hand. If you've got Knowledge: Geography, you can also roll that to see if you know of an easier path.

[Holice]

The journey has been rather easy going and mundane, a few quick talks here and there, but it would seem that either most of us are a bit reserved about present company or simply still tired from an early departure.

Reaching the edge of the forest, Uriell quickly scans the tree line. Looking down at Hu, "You see anything boy?".

Hu has Scent ability, which can alert us prior to an ambush at 30' or if we are downwind, 60'

Recalling the directions as indicated by the Captain, while looking at the Sun's position and bending down to check the moss on the trees, Uriell turns to the group.

"I can lead us on a North by North-West pass in the direction of the lodge. However, as I said before I have never seen this place nor am I familiar with the area that deep into the Ashe Wood. If anyone has any recollection of this place or hidden paths to it, now would be a great time to let me know."

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony remains silent, an oddity for those that didn't know him, a great deal thought of his as some drunken beast but in reality he was a soldier through and through and an officer to boot. He was always very reserved and even a hard ass during campaigning but he was always fair and when called for courageous. He was an officer willing to go into the thinck of battle to save his men, one of the few reasons why his other activities were tolerated. His men loved him and Anthony was more at home on the battlefield than anywhere else.

He could guess the one who made the attempt to create solidarity among the group was a scout, which was good for lord knows Anthony was already at a massive disadvantage in that regard. The orc boy was actually really funny, oh the stupidity of youth, if Anthony hadn't laughed at the kid he probably would have knocked him out. Some people are just too serious for their own good, if the boy used his head at all he would know that he would be at a massive disadvantage against me. Not only because of my fighting experience but because of my ties, I was still acting Shield Warden of House Atreidies before I made it official last night...

[Comissar]

"I come out here from time to time, I don't pretend to be an expert map reader but I know a little of this area. I'd be happy to help you."

Darius walked towards the front of the group, giving his advice to Uriell when asked for it. As they walked, he turned to Anthony "Forgive me if you do not wish to talk about it, but you seem to have served with the military for some time. I am curious as to who you've served under."

[Archmage1]

(Before they leave Alexis hands the map to Uriell)
Alexis has stayed mostly silent during the trip, however, she has been smiling and looking around at the trees around her
It has been far too long since I was in the forest, I had forgotten how peaceful it is, at least when nothing is happening. I am glad we chose this route
Alexis looks distant, as though she is lost in the past, as she responds to Uriell's question "I am afraid that I don't have any real skill in the forests. It has been almost one hundred years since I left the roads or the cities. I had almost forgotten what it is like to be here."

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony turns his head and ponders the question "The past is the past, no harm in talking about it and it at the very least helps one from repeating the same mistakes. I told you already that I was, up until last night, acting Shield Warden of House Artreidies. I led a small contingent of men at arms for the house during the war that made up a part of a larger body of fighters from the noble houses. As for who I served under, it was the Shield Warden of House Barthor who oversaw the noble house contingent. His name was Elmar, we endentured servants have little use for surnames and generally just refer to what house we serve. He was a good man, didn't micromanage between the houses but instead acted more as a peace keeper between feuding houses. Why do you ask? I imagine you were sectioned off with the other templars and not the shock troops like we were."

[Holice]

Taking in the info that Darius gave him, along with quick passage ways he knows himself, he is confident he can get the party to their destination by afternoon tomorrow if we camp this evening.

That game trail Darius spoke of is an excellent idea, saves at least a day from walking east around the thorn thicket, he thought quietly to himself. And using the dry river bed is an excellent option, especially this time of year with the waters low. To think that all this time there was a manor only a few miles from places I have been and I never knew.

Looking again at the position of the sun, If we travel straight through it will be dark by time we make it to the manor. Much safer to camp, but let's see what the group decides.

"Stay on guard Hu," he says to his companion before walking back to the group.

"Pardon the interruption, but we are set for travel. The journey should be well as we will stick to lower lands already cleared of heavy brush. If we leave now, we can make it there by the night, but it will require some quick movement. If we want to camp prior to the the manor, I know a spot about a few miles out that should suffice, and then we can reach the manor by early afternoon."

As he goes to walk away, he turns and adds, "And while we may converse on this journey, please keep your eyes and ears open for anything unusual. The forest is home to many unsavory and wild creatures."

[Archmage1]

I am glad that Uriell is here. Without him or Tamni'el, we would most likely be hopelessly lost in these woods. As it is, we can travel fairly quickly, along fairly easy routes. However, we should probably camp, as it is never a good idea to head into a job tired, and with complete unknowns. It would give us an opportunity to learn about each others tactics and skills.

"I think we would be better off facing any dangers and threats inside the manor well rested, additionally, we also need to discuss how we are going to explore the ruins. I am sure that each of us brings different skills to the table, and knowing each others skills and abilities will improve our chances of success"

This said, Alexis returns to looking around at the woods, remembering her travels as a child.

[Electrobolt]

Tamni'el nodded in agreement as Uriell and Alexis suggested that the group rest for the night, not wanting to push themselves hard and wear themselves out before getting to the manor. Speaking up, he agreed, "Yeah, it'd be best if we set up camp here for now. If we were to arrive tired, we would most likely not have a favorable outcome." As he recalled Alexis saying that they should probably discuss what each person is good at, he nodded. *Wouldn't be a bad idea to know what everyone else is good at,* he pondered silently to himself.

[Comissar]

"Making camp seems like a good idea, I'd rather face anything that's made its home there fully rested."

Darius looked over at Alexis, "I'm sure you've probably guessed what my trade is by now. I'm a Paladin of Krin, my work is all too often bloody but I do what I can to ensure any blood spilled is only that which is necessary. I served with the army," he nods towards Anthony, "Much the same way as our friend over there did, I joined because I felt that the Army offered the path with the least overall bloodshed for our people."

A haunted look enters Darius' eyes, "I... would prefer not to talk too much about that."

A smile returns to his face, it appears slightly strained "As for my skills, I'm afraid I'm not good for much beyond fighting. I'm not entirely useless in the woods and I tend to be good with people. I think you'd be best off looking elsewhere for fonts of knowledge though."

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar heads into the forest with the group. Bugs buzz around him and land on his skin, and he begins to sweat in his heavy armor. The half-orc genuinely looks miserable. "I hate having to travel through the forest" he says to himself, not expecting an answer. Forested areas are all too familiar to him, and after a while his mood starts to lighten. His misery was likely more due to the fact that he elected to take the road.

He thinks about how to best respond to Alexis' question for a few moments. Deciding he doesn't want to tell them about his dark magic abilities, he says "I rely mainly on a good swing of my axe. Skilled at throwing a smaller one too, if need be." Not a complete lie, as he does primarily use his axes. He is glad with what he went with though, seeing as there was a paladin in the group. He decides that he is not very fond of Darius either. A paladin's morals are more like to get in the way than to smite evil. Besides, he was a soldier; and in Tulkars opinion, wrong. Despite Darius saying that he didn't want to talk about it, Tulkar responds anyways.

He gives a short laugh that could be mistaken for a grunt "Y'know, you've got it all wrong. Soldiers create bloodshed, not reduce it."

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony shakes his head at the half orc child Has the kingdom truly sunken so low? We now use child soldiers to fight a man's war? May god or whoever forgive us for that, he should be running around with some pack of children and botching attempts to talk to girls.

"I was a leader of a unit of fighting men, a respected one if you can believe it, I always led by example on the battlefield. I was always first to lead the charge and last to leave the field ensuring no man was left behind, the enemy learned to fear me and my axe. I am exceptionally hard to take down, the one that took my eye and ear learned that the hard way and unlinke standard soldiers I was taught to be a man at arms. Learning the art of war and several combat disciplines, due to the religious beliefs of the house I was also instructed in standard doctrine and history. I am also pretty good on a horse if that means anything to anyone though it isn't important at the moment."

[Keylac]

Though your conversation is at times strained, it does help the miles pass. Under the guidance of the druid Uriell, with occasional advice and assistance from Darius and Tamni'el, you move quickly through the forest towards your goal. As you move deeper into the woods, the trees grow larger and the underbrush things. While the edges of the wood is cut back by peasants collecting firewood and timber, the inside of the forest is mostly untouched by civilization.

The quiet stillness of the forest brings with it a kind of peace for those that enjoy the woods. Here, under the canopy, shrouded from the sun, is peace and cool serenity. The little signs of forest creatures tell you that all is well, and the occasional lazy call of birds speaks of contentment to you. The ground, made soft from fallen leaves and moss, eases your steps far more then the hard stone of a road.

For those among you unused to nature, the woods are more disturbing; a place of unnatural quiet and shadows, with no rhyme or reason to them. No landmarks exist to mark your passage, giving the sense that you wander in circles. As night closes in, you find yourself unable to tell if you've traveled a mile or ten, since nothing but your weary legs tells you otherwise.

Thankfully, the night passes uneventfully. The next morning, you're off again, covering the last few miles to the manor. It isn't long, perhaps a few hours after dawn, when you realize that you must have reached the outskirts of the estate. Trees, clearly growing younger as you move farther, block your view ahead, but their presence marks this area as once inhabited and cleared. You'll have to move closer if you want to get a good look, but it looks like you've found your destination.

All that remains is to discover if the Captain was correct.

OOC
As always, feel free to continue your conversations. I like the characters, and how they're responding. I also don't want to completely halt the game waiting for them to finish though, so I will still put forward new posts. Doesn't mean you can't continue to talk.

[Holice]

Reaching what seems to be the outskirts of the manor grounds, Uriell holds up his hand for everyone to halt and drops to a knee.

Looking intently at the grounds ahead, he asks for everyone to stay quiet a moment.

As he finishes his head swing from left to right, he looks to Hu and says quietly, "You smell anything boy?"

Turning back to the rest of the group, and continuing to speak quietly he says, "This should be the start of the manor. From this point on, the trees will be of little use for concealment so we need to be ready and on guard." He also relays any oddities or points of interest that he can make out.

[Archmage1]

(At the camp the night before, after others have spoken)
Alexis, after hearing the descriptions of the others abilities, replies to the unspoken question:
"I have spent many years acting as an... acquirer of wealth. I have learned to pick locks, disable traps, move quietly and unseen, how to get myself out of trouble, and a fair bit about magic. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve that I will use if necessary. I prefer to fight at a range with my bow. I will take the first watch tonight."
(at the manor)
After seeing Uriell's gesture, Alexis moves up quietly to get a better look at the manor.
"I can scout out ahead in a few minutes, to see if there is anything nasty outside the manor. While the cover might not be the best, it is a lot better than nothing. Does anyone else see anything interesting from here, or do we need to take a closer look?"

[Comissar]

(Before breaking camp)

Darius gives Tulkar a blank look. "That is not why I joined the army, and I believe I can say that is not why many joined the army." He shifted slightly, moving so as to be more comfortable sitting, "Tell me, if Arim had no soldiers then do you think we would know peace? Without soldiers, do you think Mizan would have been content taking only the same number of lives of villagers as they did soldiers before leaving us be?" Darius sighed quietly, his head hanging slightly.

How many times have I heard people describe soldiers as bloodthirsty warmongers? Too many...

"I respect the lives of every person I meet, there is never a single person who deserves to die simply because they draw breath. But there are many who do not see things as I do. I believe individuals should be treated as individuals, to stand or fall on their own virtues and flaws, instead many are raised on pedastels by right of birth whilst many many others are left behind. I joined the army, and became a Paladin, to protect those who cannot protect themselves. But enough of this, I'm sure I cannot change your mind on these matters in a single night. Perhaps we can discuss this at a later time?"

Considering the matter closed for the time being, Darius prepares himself for rest.

-------------------------------------------------------

(At the manor)

Darius' military training came back to him quickly as they came close to the manor, his time away from the fight barely dulling his trained reactions.

Keep Halberd at point, check shadows, listen for threats. He winced a little at the noise he was making moving through the undergrowth, Doesn't matter, advantage of armour outweighs loss of stealth

[AvocadoAvenger]

(In the woods)
"Fine" Tulkar says, seeing as he probably won't be able to change the paladin's mind about anything. Damn soldiers Tulkar thought They're thugs like the rest of us. Only difference is that they get glory and righteousness as shield. A justified man has no limits; one who serves himself won't do anything without good reason.

(At camp)
In his head, Tulkar tries his best to unravel the social equation of who gets what watch. "We should do a 12 hour rest with 3 four hour shifts, two people per shift." He trusts the rest of the group well enough. Alexis's 'acquiring of wealth' sounded a bit shaky, and he was wise enough not to put himself on the same shift as Anthony. Other than that, Darius and Uriell seemed like genuine characters. Neil seemed honest enough as well, although he hadn't told them much about himself yet. "I'll take the first watch as well," he said, finding an answer to his social equation. To be honest, he didn't distrust any pair of the four that were left.

[Keylac]

As you move closer to the manor, you catch an occasional glimpse of the roof from in between the crowns of the trees. There's more underbrush around, flourishing without the towering trees of an old growth forest choking out the light.

You're nearly to the edge of the forest when Darius, Aleixis, and Tamni'el hear a rustling from behind them. The others, alert to danger, notice when they're companions stop, turning to the rear. There, emerging from the underbrush, the party sees several short reptilian creatures, carrying freshly killed rabbits and pheasants.

When the short creatures catch sight of the party, they stop suddenly, game falling from their hands, eyes wide in astonishment. For a bare second, they merely stare at the party. Then, moving almost as one, they shake of their surprise, readying their spears and calling out in strange, yipping voices. Movement from behind them tells of more creatures, reacting to the shouts of the others.

For those that speak Draconic:

It's hard to make out exactly what they're saying, since many of them are talking at once, but it amounts to “Invaders,” “Kill the humans!” and various expletive expressions of surprise.

OOC
Your generally alert attitude (and some surprisingly good rolls) leads to you guys not being surprised when they come up from behind. That doesn't stop them from trying to kill you, of course. :smallwink:

So, combat has begun! The Initiative order is:

Group 1: Alexis, Uriel, Tamni'el, Anthony
Group 2: Kobolds
Group 3: Darius, Tulkar

Remember, you can go in any order within your group.

For positioning, the kobolds are about 30 feet behind the party. As you guys go, feel free to note in what general position you are, relative tot he rest of the party, since you have no marching order yet.

[Archmage1]

After the group started towards the manor, Alexis headed to the left front of the group, relying on her skill at hiding to keep her safe from harm. However, before she had gone very far, Alexis heard rustling in the trees behind the group, so she freezes in place, and turns.
What interesting creatures these are. Like lizardmen, but smaller. These would be kobolds then. Not as impressive as I imagined them. I wonder weather they are hostile.
The kobolds begin calling out in draconic: "Invaders", and "Kill the humans!" they cry, readying their spears as they come.
Well, I guess that answers that question. I think I will save my magic for now, however. If we can't take these without magic, we probably have no chance in the manor itself, which probably has more of these. I wonder if the others heard the noise.
Alexis, upon realizing that the others may not have heard the rustling behind them, calls out a warning "Hostile kobolds coming up from behind."
Alexis checks to ensure that there are no allies between her and the kobolds, and then she shoots at the closest one with her longbow.

[Electrobolt]

Upon approaching the manor along with the rest of the group, a slight sound had caught his attention. Turning around, he spotted a small group of kobolds, not too far off; maybe about 30 feet away. Upon hearing the terms "Invaders" and "Kill the humans", he figured they were rather hostile. Once Alexis alerted the rest of the group, he pulled out his bow and an arrow. As he saw that Alexis fired an arrow at one of the kobolds, he decided to target the nearby one. As he placed the arrow in position and pulled back on the string, he felt his right arm getting a little unsteady. Hoping his arm would last long enough to fire off the arrow, he aimed a bit before firing at the kobold next to the one that Alexis struck, assuming there is no one in the way.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony cannot but help laugh at the sight before him, really his first skirmish since the war are a couple of pip squeak lizards? His laughter is cut short as his battle hardened instincts flood through his consciousness. His vision narrows and his breathing slows, an eerie calm falls over the massive man. In the stillness of the moment a blood-curdling battle cry emerges from his lips "FOR PONY!!!" and in an instant the large man moves at an astonishing pace towards his nearest quarry. It is but a moment before he approaches the first victim, using his full weight he crashes mercilessly into the tiny critter, bending his legs and smashing his shoulder into the lizard.

[Holice]

As Uriell attempts to approach the manor, Hu begins a low growl and looks backwards. Instinctively Uriell turns to see kobolds emerging from the underbrush carrying some fresh kill.

As Uriell gets ready to attack he sees his large companion Anthony barreling towards the kobolds. As he watches the man charge the kobold he sees an arrow fly by his field of view at another kobold.

With relative ease, Uriell grabs a bullet from his pouch and fires his sling at the kobold to the side of the one Anthony is attacking. As he fires, Uriell yells for Hu to attack, and the dog is on the kobold in a flash. As Uriell hopes his bullet finds its mark, he can already see Hu positioning himself to bring the kobold to the ground as he has done with so many other creatures of the forest.

[Keylac]

As the kobolds charged forward, they had doubtlessly expected the party to be as surprised as they were. Before they had gone a dozen steps in their charge, the were proved wrong.

Alexis' arrow flew past the one closest to her, leaving a bloody wound in it's shoulder. Though hit, it's still alive, but the fear in it's eyes has grown. Only it's instincts to kill keep it from fleeing in terror.

Tamni'el's shot proved the better, or perhaps luckier. Firing an arrow at the next one in line, it sinks home in the kobolds throat, toppling it to the ground. The kobold drops it spear as it thrashes around on the ground and clutches at the shaft, gurgling out it's shock in it's last few moments of life.

The kobold charging towards Uriell appears to be quicker than it's fellows. He ducks under the druids sling bullet, bringing his spear around to block Hu from ripping out his throat. Uninjured, he spins to confront the dog, not daring to leave it's back exposed to it's jaws.

The kobold Anthony chose for a target stops in surprise – and terror – as it see's the large man roaring out in a strange tongue as he charges right towards it. With a yip of pure terror, it tries to scramble out of the way, but is far too late. The armored warrior slams into it with full force, not even bothering to use his weapon. The kobold's broken corpse is flung backwards by the force of the charge, vanishing back into the underbrush.

The other kobolds hesitate, staring at the giant in their midst. It's clear they're on the verge of breaking, when from within the shadows issues forth a series of yips and barks. Even those that don't understand the language recognize them as commands. Inspired by the commands issuing from the the unseen leader, they resume their attack.

Of the six kobolds that charged from cover to attack with their spears, two are now dead. Now, at the commands of their leader, they change targets, screaming out their hate and fear as they charge forward.

Two kobolds, including the one wounded by Alexis, charge Anthony, seeking to flank him. The wounded one, casting glances over it's shoulder at the elf who wounded it, moves first, rushing forward with a wild stab at Anthony. Still straightening up from his half-crouch, Anthony takes it on the armor, earning nothing but a slight cut.

Any pleasure he feels at his success there is wiped away in a moment by the attack of the one behind. This one, more experienced the other, steps forward and drives his spear into the gap between armor, twisting the spear before pulling it out and readying for another strike.

The kobold cornered by Hu attempts to stab the hound, joined by another who charges forward to deliver a spear thrust. The hound easily dodges both attacks, snarling and snapping at the two foes in front of it.

It is then that another yip emerges from the underbrush, followed by a small flight of sling stones and a bolt. One bullet nicks Tamni'el, barely bruising him as he dodges aside. A second bounces off of Tulkar's armor, not even leaving a dent, while a third sails over Alexis' head, missing her completely. The crossbow bolt buries itself in Uriell's armor, barely penetrating it.

A third yip calls out, as the party prepares to respond to the attack.

For those that speak Draconic:
Kobold Orders: “Be strong! Protect the lair! Tikak, Akrin, the big one! Wacin, help Sulu! Slingers, load! Gyrax will reward us for their deaths!”

Second Yip: “Fire!”

Third Yip: “Reload!”
OOC

Your turn: Jesu Christo Morbis, you pounded that kobold into meat paste. Arch, you wounded yours, Electro you killed your target, and Holice, you unfortunately missed, as did your dog.

They're turn: Morbis, you take 1 damage from the first kobold, and 6 from the second (critical hit). Electro, you take 1 damage from the stone that hit you, and Holice you take 1 from the bolt.

And it's now time for group 3.

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar surveys the situation. He is near the main section of the group at the beginning of his turn. Well, he thinks The pervert may be annoying, but he sure can fight. As for the rest of them, he was not so impressed. He figures he is quite a bit tougher than them in combat, and that they probably would do best with benefit from Darius, Anthony, and himself taking the heat of melee for them.

Seeing one shout commands, he figures him to be a leader, therefor the best target. He is too far to attack him effectively, but he does wish him harm done with passion. As a free action, Tulkar casts a hexblade curse on the Kobold leader. He must now make a will save DC 13, or take a -2 penalty on most things.

Next, Tulkar pulls out both of his weapons, and charges in to battle. Then, he releases a blow of his war axe onto the Kobold.

[Comissar]

The yipping of Kobolds, and subsequent battlecries, caught Darius' attention pretty quickly. Spinning around, he saw Anthony take a nasty jab from one of the diminutive lizards. Lowering his Halberd, he charged in silence. Battlecries had always seemed a waste of time to him. Using the tip of his weapon rather than the axe head, Darius thrust his weapon out to try and catch the Kobold.

Darius is charging the same Kobold that dealt a critical hit to Anthony, as I said in the OoC thread I forgot to add the charge bonus to the attack roll, so the attack roll should be 16 rather than 14. I don't know if that'll make a difference or not :smallwink:

[Keylac]

Seconds into the battle, Tulkar and Darius charge into the fray behind their faster comrades.

Tulkar glares at the newly revealed kobold leader, promising pain and death with his eyes. More then mere emotion seems to pass between them, and a cold feeling momentarily passes over the woods. The kobold shudders for a moment, staggering slightly. He looks up from his crossbow, eyes scanning the battle to try and find the cause of his unease.

Without even waiting to see if his curse would be effective, Tulkar charges across the battlefield. One of the kobolds fighting Hu manages to duck a savage blow from the half-orc's axe just in time.

Darius' charge to the aid of Anthony results in more success. Fixated on the massive, roaring warrior in front of him, the kobold never even see's Darius coming before the point of the paladin's halberd slices through his ribs and into his hearth, dropping him lifeless to the ground.

The kobolds start to show real signs of fear, but they continue to press the attack.

OOC
Okay then.

Darius, you hit and killed your target, the healthy kobold attacking Anthony.

Tulkar, unfortunately you missed, but the curse was effective.

That leaves 2 attacking Hu and the injured one in front of Anthony; and the ones in the bushes - you can all see 4 of them now, 3 with slings, 1 with a crossbow - since they attacked.

The ranged kobolds are about ~45 feet or so away from the ranged people, and the melee people (both sides) are about 30 feet away from the ranged party, 15 or so from the ranged kobolds. You cannot use Charge on them by the way, since underbrush counts as an obstruction, and they're hiding in it.

An on that note, it's now Group 1's turn again. Let's see if there's any kobolds left over to take their turn!

Group 1: Alexis, Uriel, Tamni'el, Anthony

[Archmage1]

Looking at the fight, Alexis sees that Anthony is in trouble, but there is not alot that she can do about it. The most that she can do is attack the other kobolds, so she shoots at the kobold with the crossbow, figuring that he was the most dangerous combatant left. She then drops prone, as the kobolds are shooting back.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony doesn't even feel the pain, he is in his element and his battle fury has been engaged! He doesn't skip a beat as one of the little lizard falls from an allied attack, using the momentum from his charge he swings his axe at the head of the scared creature. If one to were to look in his eyes they would see pure unaldultered joy.

If Anthony kills this little guy hey use his move action to get closer to one of the singers

[Holice]

Cursing quietly to himself, Uriell is not happy with his last shot.

I really need to practice some more with this, but for the time being I just need to focus.

Bringing his sling up again, he aims at one of the kobolds attacking Hu. Whirling the sling overhead, Uriell takes a deep breath and snaps his wrist and watches as the sling flies directly at its mark. There we go!, he thinks positively.

But seeing now that the kobolds are trying to flank Hu, Uriell begins to move in with spear in hand.


****

Hu seems to be having a rough time with these kobolds. Use to defending against larger creatures where his speed and agility count more, these kobolds are proving to be quite the handful. Snapping again at the one, he tries viciously to land a bite on any part of the kobold he can sink his teeth into.

[Electrobolt]

Tamni'el saw that a number of the kobolds were falling, and earlier he recalled hearing one of the kobolds exclaiming something about Gyrax rewarding them for their deaths, or something like that. Anyways, as he looked at the field, he felt he couldn't get a clear shot off from his current position, so he moved at least 10 feet to find a clear shot at one of the kobolds that still lived. Pulling out another arrow and setting it up in the bow, he pulled back on the string. *Don't waver on me now, arm...* he thought, feeling his right arm beginning to feel weak. Hoping he aimed good and quick enough, he let the arrow fly at one of the live kobolds, preferably a sling-shooter if any still lived.

Ok, since Tamni'el moved at least 10 feet, as a scout his Skirmish ability kicks in, giving him an additional 1d6 damage

[Keylac]

Alexis' arrow flies true, striking the kobold leader. He lets out a yip of pain as it hits, but doesn't fall, instead turning to find the source of his pain. He turns just in time to see Alexis drop prone into the grass, preventing an easy shot.

Meanwhile, the kobold in front of Anthony manages to scramble aside from his furious swing. Rushing back in, he thrusts at Anthony, but the plow is parried, with Anthony's great axe easily holding the small creature at bay.

Uriell's blow against the kobold on his dog's left succeeds, with the heavy bullet badly bruising the kobold. Hu's attack is less successful, the target managing to block his snapping jaws with his spear.

The kobold Uriell just injured glances at him, clearly worried by his attack, but they continue to attack Hu, clearly more afraid of the snapping, snarling canine then they are of the druid. Hu continues to avoid each of their attacks, leaving the fight there locked in stalemate.

The kobold with the crossbow, clearly realizing the battle will depend on the slingers, once again yips out another command; “Ixen!” In response, the slingers once again launch a small volley. As they fire, Tamni'el's arrow, intended for one of the slingers, misses, hissing through the leaves past their heads.

One of the slingers targets Tulkar, the second, Anthony, and the third, Darius. Once again the armor of the warriors proves greater than the slings can penetrate, with the ones meant for Tulkar and Anthony merely bouncing off. Only the one aimed at Darius does any damage, slightly bruising him where it struck his arm.

The kobold leader, crossbow raised, is clearly frustrated. He still doesn't know who's the source of the cold, uneasy feeling that fills him. Now, the archer who shot him has dropped prone, depriving him of a target. Snarling in frustration, he hesitates before swinging the crossbow around to aim at Darius, letting fly a bolt.

The bolt misses, flying past Darius' nose. The kobold, even more frustrated with whatever dark magic is causing his hands to shake, snarls out “Svent, svent astahi!” while reloading his crossbow, clearly goading his followers to greater heights.

For those that speak Draconic:
Ixen means “Fire” (someone provided me with a translator, trying it out)
“Svent, Svent astahi” means “Kill, Kill Them!”
OOC
Ouch, the Force was not with you guys OR the kobolds this round. I don't really expect them to get another chance to fix things though. :smallbiggrin:

Alexis hits the leader for 4 damage, then drops prone.

Anthony misses the wounded kobold.

Uriell hits one of the kobolds attacking Hu for 2 damage, Hu misses.

Tamni'el misses a sling-using kobold.

Wounded Kobold attacking Anthony misses.

Kobolds attacking Hu (Injured and Healthy) both miss Hu.

Kobolds attacking Tulkar and Anthony miss, one attacking Darius hits.

Darius takes 1 damage.

And the kobold leader misses Darius by one, thanks to Tulkar's handy curse.

Group 3, you're up!

Group 3: Darius, Tulkar

[Comissar]

Darius winced a little as the sling bullet bounced off his armour. That's gonna be a nasty bruise.

Seconds later, a crossbow bolt shot straight past his face, startled, he looked quickly to where it landed, before snapping his head back round and searching for the firer. A particularly noisey Kobold, presumably the leader, proved to be the culprit. Not wishing to take any chances, he left Anthony to handle his already injured opponent on his own and pressed through the undergrowth. As soon as he was close enough, he lashed out with his Halberd, the axe head whistling through the air as it swung closer to the target.

Darius will move to engage the Leader (I'm assuming I can reach him, you said the ranged Kobolds were 15 ft. from us) and then attack him with his Halberd. Darius has 12 hp remaining following that sling attack

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar makes a full attack on the Kobolds assaulting him using his war axe, and throwing axe. In the heat of battle, he has complete focus; thinking about little but taking down his foes.

[Keylac]

Though Darius rushes forward to attack the Kobold leader with great vigor, the kobold proves to be the quicker, nimbly dodging the blows directed at him, snarling at the human who tried to kill him. The kobolds to either side, ignored by Darius in his rush, edge away from the paladin as they reload their slings, clearly afraid.

Tulkar, focusing on attempting to smash his opponent, also meets with no great success. His rapid blows force the kobold to parry and dodge quickly, but aren't well aimed enough to connect. The kobold, worried over what will happen when the angry half-orc in front of it gets lucky, keeps glancing at the slingers, wishing they would kill either the half-orc or the vicious dog.

OOC
And both you guys missed. No additional glory for you! :smallbiggrin:

Group 1, you're up.

Group 1: Alexis, Uriel, Tamni'el, Anthony

[Archmage1]

Seeing Darius rush at the kobold leader, Alexis decides to try to bring down the leader, so that Darius can quickly finish off the slingers. She stands up, and quickly moves to the left(5 foot step) to ensure Darius is not in the line of fire. Once she has a clear shot, she takes aim, and fires at the leader again.
Hopefully those slingers will be too focused on the melee portion to go for me again. I don't really enjoy being shot

[Electrobolt]

As he pulls another arrow out, Tamni'el watched as Darius was rushing the leader of the kobolds. Returning his focus, he loaded the arrow into his bow and aimed at one of the kobold slingers. Aiming as steadily as his arm would possibly allow, he then let the arrow soar at any of the slingers in his clear line of sight. Regardless if his arrow hit the target or not, he dropped his bow to the side as he then drew out his scimitar, ready to go on the offensive in melee, and hoping he would have better luck landing his hits.

[Holice]

After seeing the bullet hit the kobold, he was hoping to draw its attention, but apparently it was more afraid of Hu than him.

Moving in on the kobold who he just hit with a bullet, Uriell grips the shaft of his spear tightly and drives it right at the kobold, hoping to catch it off guard while its focused on Hu.

Not knowing how much longer Hu can avoid these kobold attacks, Uriell fights with a sense of urgency. Hang in there Hu, I'll get these little buggers off of you.


****

Hu growls viciously at the kobolds as the try to hit him, but again he proves too graceful for them. Hoping to seize the moment and counter them, he again lunges at kobold, baring his teeth and looking for blood.

[Morbis Meh]

As Anthony parries the feeble attack he counters with a side swipe along the beast's chest hoping to drop it without overdoing it. The others didn't seem to be fairing too well and he didn't want to leave them in such vulnerable situations.

If it is dead he will move to the next closest, flanking if possible

[Keylac]

The outcome of the small battle had seemed inconclusive; the kobolds had lost a few of their numbers, but still nearly outnumbered the party, who were being slowly worn down. All at once, the odds swung to the parties favor.

Tamni'el's shot missed, but his target hardly noticed, distracted as he was by the paladin in among the slingers.

Uriell had just speared another kobold, the one he had wounded earlier, leaving only one kobold to face himself, Tulkar, and Hu. The kobolds lack of success against Hu alone hardly filled it with great confidence at the thought of fighting all of them alone.

Anthony, possibly irritated at the delay in finishing off his wounded adversary, attacks again. This time he meets with more success, with a solid hit that drops his opponent lifeless to the ground without wasting a single bit of effort.

The battle had just swung decisively to the parties side, when one last shot ended it.

A near perfect shot from Alexis, the arrow seeming to leap from the bow, slammed into the kobold leader in front of Darius, nailing the unfortunate kobold to the tree behind it. It was dead before it knew it, expression still locked in the snarl it had showed to the paladin that had thought to kill it.

The surviving kobolds seem to freeze, all fight gone with the direction of their leader. They hesitate for the barest of moments, then fling their weapons aside and flee, running straight through the party in an effort to pass through to the other side of the woods and the manor beyond.

OOC

Alexis kills the Kobold Leader with an excellent critical hit.

Tamni'el, apparently your arm is killing you, you missed again.

Uriell, you hit and kill your target, Hu misses though.

Anthony finishes off the wounded kobold

Okay, so this is a win for the good guys. Let's see if you can finish off the survivors. :smallbiggrin: Everyone just roll a hit, you don't need to pick a kobold. If you get more then one AoO, go ahead and roll all of them, even if you're using a ranged weapon. If enough of you hit, none get away. If too many hit, then you'll dismember kobolds in unison. :smallwink:

Oh and make sure to check the announcements.

[Keylac]

The outcome of the small battle had seemed inconclusive; the kobolds had lost a few of their numbers, but still nearly outnumbered the party, who were being slowly worn down. All at once, the odds swung to the parties favor.

Tamni'el's shot missed, but his target hardly noticed, distracted as he was by the paladin in among the slingers.

Uriell had just speared another kobold, the one he had wounded earlier, leaving only one kobold to face himself, Tulkar, and Hu. The kobolds lack of success against Hu alone hardly filled it with great confidence at the thought of fighting all of them alone.

Anthony, possibly irritated at the delay in finishing off his wounded adversary, attacks again. This time he meets with more success, with a solid hit that drops his opponent lifeless to the ground without wasting a single bit of effort.

The battle had just swung decisively to the parties side, when one last shot ended it.

A near perfect shot from Alexis, the arrow seeming to leap from the bow, slammed into the kobold leader in front of Darius, nailing the unfortunate kobold to the tree behind it. It was dead before it knew it, expression still locked in the snarl it had showed to the paladin that had thought to kill it.

The surviving kobolds seem to freeze, all fight gone with the direction of their leader. They hesitate for the barest of moments, then fling their weapons aside and flee, running straight through the party in an effort to pass through to the other side of the woods and the manor beyond.

OOC

Alexis kills the Kobold Leader with an excellent critical hit.

Tamni'el, apparently your arm is killing you, you missed again.

Uriell, you hit and kill your target, Hu misses though.

Anthony finishes off the wounded kobold

Okay, so this is a win for the good guys. Let's see if you can finish off the survivors. :smallbiggrin: Everyone just roll a hit, you don't need to pick a kobold. If you get more then one AoO, go ahead and roll all of them, even if you're using a ranged weapon. If enough of you hit, none get away. If too many hit, then you'll dismember kobolds in unison. :smallwink:

Oh and make sure to check the announcements.

[Comissar]

The Kobold in front of Darius fell to a well placed arrow. Without missing a beat, Darius swung his Halberd up in an arc, just as a Kobold tried to sprint past him. The blow connected with a wet impact accompanied by a grisly crack of bone. The creature died before Darius even completed his swing. As he did so, he noticed the remaining members of the attacking group fleeing the scene.

Without bothering to look at the damage he'd wrought, Darius wiped the axe head clean on the grass as best he could. This task done, he knelt down with his head bowed, holding his Halberd upright in front of him. In this position he muttered, "Krin of the Bells, forgive the killing I have undertaken, know that it was in defense of our own lives and was not a fight we sought. I pray that in your mercy you will see that I may still serve a greater cause in protecting against aggression."

His prayer continued for another few seconds before he stood once more.

[Morbis Meh]

The swift and effective blow gave a rush to Anthony, this is what he lived for! Nothing was more addicting than controlling life and death of others while throwing your own life to the roll of the dies of fate! Not even pausing to breath he dashes forward to hi next quarry, he could smell the stench of fear all over them but it did not stop him. He brings down his mighty axe yet again with expert precision obtained from many battles.

[Electrobolt]

As he saw the arrow soar past the kobold without so much as distracting it, Tamni'el shook his head. But once he saw the remaining kobolds fleeing after their leader had fallen, he gripped his scimitar tight with both hands as he slashed at one of the kobolds that tried to slip by, hitting it with precision.

[Archmage1]

Seeing the kobolds break and run, Alexis takes an additional shot at the fleeing kobolds.
If they run away now, they will probably be back later, either during our exploration of the manor, or when we are leaving. They will probably have gathered reinforcements as well. Better to get them now.

[Holice]

Thankful that at least one of the kobolds attacking Hu was down, Uriell was ready to turn its attention to the other one threatening his companion.

As he readied to attack, he noticed an arrow pierce the leader and kill it with such speed that it froze the snarl on its face. As he glanced to his side, he saw Anthony crush another one, as it dropped lifeless to the ground.

Looking back towards the kobold, apparently it was well aware of its allies dropping dead as well, and it begin to make a run for the forest on the other side of the building.

Twisting in an unnatural way, Uriell desperately tries to spear it before it can get away, but with the awkwardness of the situation and the speed of the kobold, his chances did not look good.

Meanwhile, Hu, still filled with anger in his eyes, that he has not ripped the kobold apart, makes a last ditch effort to try and grab the kobold as it flees, but simply snaps his jaws shut, missing the kobold.

Looking down at Hu, Uriell pets him, "It's ok boy, at least they didn't get us this day."

[AvocadoAvenger]

Fleeing Tulkar thought So we have won again. He knew that it was no thanks to Darius and Anthony, but hated that. They were soldiers, but they were very effective in that fight which made him angry in a way. If soldiers hadn't had as much power on the day his mother was murdered, he could have driven them back. But he was strong too now, and he wanted above all else at this point to prove to them that he could be just as strong of a warrior.

With that sentiment in head, he attacks at the kobolds again.

[Keylac]

As the kobolds flee through the forest, heading towards the manor, the party attempts to cut them down as their backs are turned. Darius, Anthony, and Tamni'el all kill one, dismembering them with well-placed blows. Kobold body parts and organs make sodden thumps as they hit the ground.

The final kobold, the one that had survived everything Uriell, Hu, and Tulkar could throw at it, demonstrates it's skill once again. It manages to parry Uriell's spear thrust, dodge Hu's snapping dodge, and roll away from Tulkar's axe swing. Up and running, it scrambles through the grass, getting ten feet away when it's intercepted by Tulkar's throwing axe, severing it's spine and bringing it to the ground.

OOC
Heh. There were 4 running Kobolds, and 4 of you hit.

Anthony killed a kobold

Darius dismembers a kobold

Tamni'el kills a kobold

Alexis misses

Holice and Hu miss

Tulkar leaves an axe buried in the back of a kobold

Okay then, I'll speed this next part up, since I'm sure you're going to search the bodies soon. Here's the loot list:



10 Small sized Short Spears
9 Small sized Slings
1 Small sized Light Crossbow
85 Sling Stones
18 Bolts

Each of the kobolds also has at least one small money pouch on them, but none of them contain coin. Instead, they're filled with bits of shiny metal and stones, all worthless.

The kobold with the crossbow is wearing a belt with some crude draconic stamped into it. For those that read Draconic, it says "Me Sharpbite, Leader of Hunters, Servant of Gyrax, Tyrant of the Clawed Fist"

There ya go, just make sure that someone searches the bodies, and then go ahead and decide what to do next/do it.

Oh yes, and minor update on the Cast section, for Alexis.

[Archmage1]

Alexis looks at the dead kobolds, and pinches her nose.
"I had better search the bodies, see if they have anything interesting.(One search later) Does anyone need a ranged weapon? The crossbow that the leader had, while small, is in working order, and there is a fair amount of ammo. You could fire off a shot right before going into combat, which could be helpful. Uriell, there is plenty of sling stones for you, if you need more. Unfortuantly, they don't appear to have anything of value. This may be a good thing, however, as they may not have broken into the vault. Apparently the leader was called Sharpbite, and was a leader of hunters and a servant of Gyrax, who is apparently called a Tyrant of the Clawed Fist. Looks like there are a lot more of these kobolds nearby."

Looks like this is going to be harder than I thought it would be. At least the others seem to be decent in a fight, although Tamni'el is not much of an archer. Perhaps his injury is a problem for him. The dog was a good distraction as well.

Looking at the others, Alexis sees that none of them are hurt too badly. She also moves away from the bodies, and stops pinching her nose.

"If we are able, we should probably head inside the manor. They are probably lairing there, so expect to see more of them. I will try to scout ahead when we get there, I should be able to avoid notice, and find any traps that may be armed. We may end up needing reinforcements to do this if there is a horde of the lizards here."

After saying her piece, she washes off her hands, trying to get rid of the smell.

[Holice]

After listening to Alexis's recap of the loot on the bodies, Uriell strides over to the sling stones she mentioned.

Picking up a stone, he feels the edges, not too smooth, and checks the weight versus a smith made sling bullet.

Clearly inferior to the city goods, but lightweight and could be useful if I ever ran out of proper shot, he ponders to himself, and then proceeds to fill a pocket in his pack with the stones.

Wiping the blood off his spear, he looks over at Hu, who it seems is trying to take a kobold foot as a trophy. "Hu!", Uriell says firmly, "Get that nasty thing out of your mouth." As the dog returns to his side, Uriell grabs some jerky and tosses it to Hu. He then thoroughly checks the dog to make sure he is uninjured.

Satisfied with the condition of himself and his dog, he turns back to the rest of the group.

"I agree, let's continue on with our mission at hand. Best case scenario is that the kobolds are lairing somewhere nearby but not in the home. Worst case," he pauses, "well let's just keep our weapons at the ready."

[Morbis Meh]

After felling yet another lizard pest, Anthony begins to whistle a merry tune then proceeds to wipe of his axe with a scrap of fabric that he took off of his foe. He casually looks at his wound and notices that it was healing nicely Another minute or two of fighting will clear that right up! Too bad it wasn't much of a challenge but oh well great way to start the day! Those around him will notice that Anthony now is very chipper and a has a bit of a spring in his step.

"Now that was entertaining, though they didn't put up much of a fight and fled like squealing pigs. Well shall we continue on and see what else this little gem of a hovel has in store for us?" He walks over casually to the kobold with the axe sticking out of it's back, it was whimpering in pain, something no creature deserves. With one smooth fluid motion he breaks the poor things neck like a chicken bone and takes out the axe from its back. He strolled merrily back towards the angry looking kids whilst inspecting the axe "Weight is a little off but at least your throw compensated for the lack of craftsmanship. A bit of advice kid, throwing a weapon is a great way to end up dead, real warriors don't toss away their livelihood away without thought." He tosses it gingerly towards Tulkar and turns away without another word.

He walks away from the obviously perturbed boy humming away with the occasional snippet of lyrics escaping.

[AvocadoAvenger]

"Real warriors don't toss away their livelihood away without thought." As if he meant to say that Tulkar was not a real warrior. That made him angry enough to follow Anthony in order to get a comeback in, even though he knew it was wiser not to. Real warriors?!" he objects. Tulkar pauses for a good long minute trying to think of something to say to the crusader. He couldn't well say that Anthony wasn't a good warrior, he had fought well and killed more Kobolds than anyone. "I can use two axes at once." he finally said, creating a lame insult. "and I'm a hell of a lot faster than you, old man" he added. That one was supposed to be a bit more hard-hitting, but Anthony could probably take it better than Tulkar had taken his insults so far.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony stops and turns around "Bwahahahahaha, that's what happens after a few campaigns my boy, your joints get rusty but they get rustier still when you sit around training mouthy little brats. As for the two axes, that is a matter of preference, from what I see you are having trouble making contact because your mind is split between two weapons. The soul of his warrior is his weapon, when it is split he is unfocused, undisciplined. You need to use them as one and not as separate entities, maybe with time you will learn to master your Kampfgeist and rejoin with your soul; however, before you can do that you need to get over your past, I have seen tempers like yours and it will destroy you unless you can come to terms with it."

A hint of a smile traces along his lips and he turns back around and continues walking. "I may be growing older but I've seen a great deal and learned a lot from battle, stick around and I will show you to use that axe properly. If you would be a warrior then you first must learn not to swing it like you're chopping wood."

[Electrobolt]

Tamni'el followed the group silently, deciding it would be best not to get involved in an argument. He felt that if he were to try and say something, more arguments might arise instead. That, and he couldn't really say anything at the moment.

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar's temper had calmed slightly. He wanted to be angrier than he was, but it was hard when Anthony just laughed, agreed with him, and tried to coach him. Besides, he was right about needing to come to terms with his past. "So maybe I've been a little off this fight," Tulkar replied "But I assure you, it's nothing that can't be explained by a little bad luck. There are benefits from a second axe, like having another attack, and throwing it at range." Tulkar was speaking calmly with his thoughts together, which surprised even himself at this point. "But i'm pretty sure you made up that Kampfgeist thing." That sounded more foolish, and like Tulkar to say in that instance.

[Comissar]

"A little bad luck is the difference between life and death, you'd do well to make your own luck."

Darius had a faint smile on his face, amused by the exchange.

"So long as we keep our wits about us, we shouldn't encounter anything we can't handle. I agree that we should head into the manor, I say we take it slow and don't take risks. Best try to avoid another ambush."

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony laughs heartily "Indeed young Templar, any fool that tries to rely on luck in Battle is bound to fall, a man looks at fate and laughs in its face. Kampfgeist is a man's fighting spirit boy, without it even the strongest of men are helpless, you would do well not to scorn the teachings of my master for his words were wise even if I am not. I already told you there is nothing wrong with fighting with two weapons it just requires more focus and discipline to properly master. Now unless you want to continue this exchange and notify every living thing withing a two mile radius then may I suggest we drop this conversation until a more appropriate time."

[Archmage1]

Hopefully the disagreement between Tulkar and Anthony does not become much worse. Both are prideful, and arrogant, and they could easily decide to prove that each is better than the other, with disastrous consequences. Probably not yet, however, as they have bigger concerns.

"All right then, I could take the lead, and scout ahead. Hopefully, I could avoid being seen, while seeing whether or not there are more enemies here. I would also try to keep an eye out for traps, but no guarantees that I would find them. If I am discovered, I will run back to the group. However, as a group, that would slow us down considerably. Alternatively, we could do it the hard way, and just walk in."

[Holice]

Nodding at Alexis, "That sound's sufficient. You take the lead to the front of the home, and wave us in when its clear. We can watch your back from here and have ranged weapons at the ready. When we get to the building thou, it could prove disastrous if you went in alone with no backup, so at that point, how 'bout we just give you 10 feet or so to check for traps?"

Looking at the rest of the group, "Close enough to be helpful but far enough to not stumble on any traps," and for some reason he lingers his stare at Anthony when he says that last part.

"Plus, Hu has gotten a fresh scent of these kobolds and he should be able to pick up on their stench if we get too close."

[AvocadoAvenger]

"Fine," Tulkar snarls at Anthony. "I just said I never heard of it is all" he says under his breath, still sulking.

"If you think you can handle scouting, then I have no objection." Tulkar replies to Alexis. If she died because she was too far ahead, or not sneaky enough, or activating a trap that would have otherwise damaged him, it was no skin off his nose. It would kind of be a shame if the pretty girl died though he thinks, shallowly. Girls always seem to die quicker. I guess that's why they don't put them in the army. Uriell's idea relieved him in a way. "If I were you," he advised, "I wouldn't go too far ahead." His voice was still grumpy from earlier, but far from hostile at her.

[Keylac]

As you continue moving through the woods, you finally break through the trees, into the courtyard of the manor house. From the looks of it, the estate has obviously seen better days. The courtyard itself is in ruins, garden beds either overgrown or dead, cobblestones cracked. The manor isn't in any better repair; the entire west wing of the house seems to have collapsed in on itself. In the center of the front, double doors admit entry into the manor.

Hu, trotting next to Uriell, sniffing for kobolds, growls at the manor. It's obvious that the smell he was tracking is strongest in that direction.

OOC
Allright, so I'm lacking the map I made for this place, as I didn't bring it. I still have the descriptions of the rooms, etc. but not specific sizes and distances. Don't expect a lot of exact numbers until I get back home. :smallbiggrin:

Also, it occured to me that I didn't give a very good explanation of what the Map To The Vault showed. Specifically, it's a rough sketch of what appears to be the cellar of the manor, with a marker showing a secret door that's supposed to lead to the vault. I'll get you guys an image of it when I get home.

Lastly, anyone with Knowledge Architecture and Engineering can tell that the ground floor is made from stone, and looks sturdy. The upper floors are wood and look very unstable.

P.S. I cackled at the thought of Anthony mentoring Tulkar. Loved the rest of the talk.

[Archmage1]

Well, we are here. Time to find the cellar. Hopefully we can avoid notice... *Looks at Darius, and winces at the noise* Maybe not. Well, maybe there is another way in. If not, well, maybe we can come up with a way to sneak in.

"Well, looks like those doors are a way in, but we may want a less obvious route in. There are sure to be kobolds on the other side of that door, and the fight would be easier if we can flank them. Tamni'el, can you scout the left half of the house for entrances? I will cover the right. With luck, there will be another way in. If not, I can open the doors at a range, and hopefully lure out unsuspecting kobolds. Any other ideas?"

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony looks at the woman "Well you sneaky types can go off and hide along the sides, I will be the bait for a trap if there are kobolds and I will take the templar and the kid with me since they're about as silent as I am. Just give us a signal if you spot any traps.

[Electrobolt]

After hearing Alexis' plans, Tamni'el nodded. "I will do just that," he responded. With that, he then went off as he tried to find an entrance on the left side of the building.

[Archmage1]

Seeing Tamni'el moving off to check his side, Alexis goes to check the other side. Before she leaves however, she talks to the group.
"Tamni'el and I are going to go and look for another entrance. Please stay here, and don't go for the main door."

[Holice]

Clearly agitated by the new residents of the manor, Hu's growl is deep and guttural.

"Easy boy," Uriell says calmly, "you'll get your chance." And with that Hu's body seemed to relax, despite the snarl remaining on his face.

Nodding at the searchers, "Sounds good to me, I'll stay back here with these others." He then looks at the eagerness on Anthony's face for battle and adds, "But please be quick about it."

[Morbis Meh]

Why on earth does everyone keep starring at me? Do I have something on my face? I could have sworn I shaved today, maybe I missed a spot, yeah that's probably it. Next time I will have to use something better than a rusty dagger...

He was obviously displeased with the current plan and it's lack of action, he grew uneasy when he was standing around like this but he made the best of it. Leaning on his large axe he settles for checking out the elven ladies rump, though there was not much there to look at, it was much better than the other views in the area. He hoped the kid would take him up on his offer, with the right training he could make a decent warrior but first he would have to learn to channel his anger into something more productive... maybe flower arranging?

[Comissar]

Darius chuckles to himself at Anthony's plan. "I didn't quite mean we should step into traps they may have set you know," he shakes his head a little at the boldness of the plan, "But you're right, of the lot of us we'll be best suited to handling any close fighting. I'd prefer not to make a habit of it though."

Stepping forwards with his Halberd at the ready, he prepares to move ahead try and draw out anybody who may be trying to catch them unawares.

[Keylac]

With the rest of the party watching, Tamni'el and Alexis move off, each checking the windows to one side of the front doors. None of these windows have any glass left in them, but some are closed tightly, with badly warped shutters. The rooms you can see all appear to be abandoned, stripped of anything of use or value. There does appear to be a decent amount of light filtering in through the holes in the ceiling - you suspect that even if you were in a room without windows, you'd still have some light to see by.

Neither of you spot any signs of kobolds through the windows, though there's several you could climb into if you wanted. The easiest would be the ones near the East corner - they're larger than all the others, probably to admit extra light. The shelves that still line the walls and rotten papers scattered over the floor suggest this was a library, so the extra light makes sense.

Having scouted the front, you must now decide if you want to swing around the sides and continue checking, though this will take you out of sight of your comrades.

OOC
Hmm. Nothing really to report here. Just lemme know what you're doing next.

[Archmage1]

After scouting out the front, Alexis continues towards the sides, intent on finishing scouting her half.

[Electrobolt]

Just as Alexis was intent on scouting out the entirity of her side, Tamni'el also decided to complete the search on his side completely as well.

[Keylac]

As they continue moving around the house, Alexis and Tamni'el lose sight of each other and the rest of the party.

Alexis continues checking windows around the side. First is what appears to be a dining hall, which still contains a surprising amount of furniture, or at least the rotten remains. It seems to occupy most of the east wing of the manor. All the windows past the dining hall, at the northwest corner, are all shuttered, preventing you from seeing into them. You do recall noticing doors leading north from the dining hall that would provide access.

Tamni'el also moves along the side to the back, though he doesn't have many openings to peer into. The collapse of this wing of the house has blocked off all the windows. The cracks and holes you can see show nothing but rubble. The rear of the house doesn't show anything more interesting at first; none of the windows along your side appear to be open.

Heading now along the back, you two catch sight of each other, just as you find what you were looking for - another entrance to the manor house. From it's utilitarian looks, you're pretty sure that the door is a servants entrance, or more likely the kitchen door. Around it is a hard packed circle of dirt that would have served as the kitchen yard. You note the signs of rot and disrepair, but what really catches your eyes are the reddish stains in the dirt, and the pile of bones that lie next to a run down shed.

Unfortunately for you, you don't have a lot of time to consider that fact, as you both hear a low growl from inside the shed. Looking into the gloom, you both spot what appears to be a large wolf, nearly four feet long and covered in black fur. It rises to it's feet, ears cocked, looking around and sniffing the air. For a moment, as you hold your breath, it appears that it hasn't spotted you. Then it's ears twitch, and it turns to stare directly at Alexis, a low snarl erupting from it's throat.

OOC
Okay, let's try not to get eaten, eh? On a funny note, something like 2/3rds of the groups that have been here send a scout out all alone to find another entrance. *shakes head sorrowfully* They lose so many scouts that way... :smalltongue:

You both get a standard action as a surprise round, since it just woke up - someone was a little less than silent walking around, unfortunately. Current initiative order after that is:

Group 1: Alexis
Group 2: Enemies
Group 3: Tamni'el

So Alexis, if you want to take both your standard from the Surprise Round and your regular turn in one post, go ahead.

Unfortunately, this is going to be something of a cliff hanger, since I doubt I'm going to get back to the internet before Wednesday afternoon, but I'll be back to regular posting then.

And lastly, anyone who wants to identify this IC, roll me up Knowledge: Arcana. If you can't see it yet, you can go ahead and roll and it will be applied if/when you can see it.

[Electrobolt]

Upon seeing this wolf pop out of the building, Tamni'el remained silent as he slowly pulled his sword out. Assuming the wolf is in the right position for him and Alexis positions herself accordingly, he would be able to engage in a flanking position against the wolf.

[Archmage1]

As Alexis comes around the final corner of the run-down, abandoned manor, she sees Tamni'el continuing to scout. However, as she starts to head for him, the large wolf shows up. Hoping that she would avoid notice, she froze, but the wolf sees through her feeble disguise, and looks straight at her.

Well, this is not good. Hopefully, however, this dog is vulnerable to magic

Surprise round: Alexis casts sleep
Assuming the sleep spell works, Alexis will go to the wolf, and next round, coup de grace the wolf with her longsword(Hopefully that is legal).
If the wolf does not go to sleep, Alexis will ready her sword, and send a message(the spell) to Anthony warning him of what she found, and asking the rest of the group to come(exact text will be done later)

[Keylac]

The wolf begins to crouch low, preparing to charge at the elf that had dared disturb it's slumber and violate it's territory. Alexis, staring straight at it, can see the malice and cruel glee in it's eyes as it contemplates it's meal.

As Alexis finishes her spell, the wolves eyes go unfocused. It shakes it's head, obviously trying to remain alert, and staggers a few steps towards Alexis, snarling. For a moment, it appears that it has shaken off the spell, when suddenly it loses the fight to stay awake, eyes closing as it collapses to the dirt.

OOC
Apparently, it's your luck day Alexis. This should go pretty easy for you guys now. :smalltongue: You'll even be happy to know that you made the Spell Botch check.

Go ahead and do your Full Round now. If it doesn't wake the beastie up, then Tam can do his right off (assuming there's a point).

[Archmage1]

As the worg starts coming towards her, Alexis looks around, obviously thinking of running. However, once the worg falls over, she draws a deep breath and calms herself visibly. Realizing that the rest of the party would be a helpful addition to the current situation, she sends Uriell a message:
"There is a door at the back. Come Quietly. Guards there disposed. Worg. Many bones. Safe for now. twenty five word response. Try being sneaky."
After informing the rest of the party of the changes, Alexis moves up to the worg, and contemplates how to kill it.(will coup de grace next turn

[Electrobolt]

Tamni'el, noticing Alexis was approaching the sleeping beast with blade in hand, yet not attacking, he was curious. What was she up to? Regardless, he did his best to not wake the beast up as he slowly approached the creature, ending up on the exact opposite end of where Alexis was.

[Archmage1]

Alexis, upon seeing Tamni'el in a position to support her should her attempt to kill the worg fail, attempts to cut the throat of the worg, figuring that that would be the fastest way to kill it.

[Holice]

Nodding to himself at the message he received from Alexis, Uriell is unsure if the others received the same message but he whispers to them the instructions he received. "Stay low, stay quiet, move swiftly."

With a gentle pet on Hu's head, Uriell whispers "Heel," and proceeds to walk around the back of the building as quietly as possible.

As he begins to near the corner, he sees the animal lying on the ground, clearly asleep, but never the less imposing. He notices the two scouts attempting to slay the animal.

Wait!, he was about to yell out, but quickly closed his mouth as he realize that not everyone can deal with the animals as he can. It's always a shame when he sees an animal die, but some instances can not be prevented, and while it pains him inside, he knows its for the greater good of his family.

Uriell then decides to wait at the corner of the house until they are finished with the sleeping wolf and the rest of his party catches up.

[Comissar]

Darius grimaces a bit at Uriell's instructions.

"I can do low, I can't promise quietly though."

He follows Uriell's lead as best he can, he still manages to make a lot of noise as he walks though. Figuring anything dangerous would be well aware he was coming, he grips his Halberd all the tighter in anticipation.

[Keylac]

Alexis' tactics are a success; it's throat slit to the bone, the Worg expires silently. A new red stain appears beneath it, joining the many others around the kitchen yard.

Alexis, before wiping her blade clean on the worg's coat, stoops to inspect something. When she had prepared to slit it's throat she'd noticed a collar, buried in it's fur. The collar, made of rusted chain, is simple, but unusual to find on a worg. It appears to be unmarked as well.

Tamni'el, no longer needing to concentrate on the Worg, can see Uriell standing at the corner of the house, waiting. Taking a moment to listen, he's also sure he can hear the clanking of metal coming up from behind Uriell.

OOC
Well, that fight was anti-climatic. :smalltongue: Combat's over again, so feel free to do as you want.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony just wanders over non chalantly, he wasn't exactly motivated to hurry do to the lack of noise and activity and upon reaching the site of the corpse of the worg all he could was shake his head while sighing "Slitting the throat of a sleeping enemy, effective but cowardly... it really 'kills' the fight. Though judging on your appearence you probably wouldn't last 10 seconds alone in a fair fight. Next time, no wandering alone, scouting has advantages but getting caught alone completely negates them especially if you're dead."

[Archmage1]

Breathing through her mouth as she does, Alexis moves to clean her sword on the worg's fur, but before she does so, she notices a collar on the worg. This seems unusual, so she takes it, as it may be magical. As she does so, Anthony wanders over, and comments on her actions.
"I would describe this fight as a reasonably fair one. True, In a physical combat, I would not be a match for this beast, barring the actions of luck, so instead I put it to sleep. It could have resisted the spell, and would have had it's chance to kill me. It did not, so I killed it. A fight where both sides have a chance is fair. Of course, it is not my goal to have a fair fight. It is my goal to win. (holding up the collar) This collar was on it, and it seems to be unusual for a wild animal to wear. It may be useful. Additionally, we should probably check that shed, as there may be something of value in there. I can check to see if the collar is magical, but I can do so only a few times a day, so it makes sense to wait until there are other items to check as well."

[Holice]

Displeased by the killing of the beast, Uriell walks over to it. Kneeling down he places one hand on it and says a druidic prayer in a language uncommon to Kerist.

He then looks the large black wolf over, wondering who would have chained this beast and why.

Looking towards Alexis, "It is most unusual to find a beast such as this as a pet. Is there anything uncommon or interesting about that collar you removed?"


***

Hu follows Uriell over, but clearly stays back from the corpse. After seeing Uriell touch the wolf, Hu gives a slight whimper and nudges Uriell in the back. You get the feeling the dog is not very fond of a wolf of this size.

[Comissar]

Seeing there's no immediate danger, Darius relaxes a little. Keeping his Halberd at the ready, just in case, he walks over to where the dead wolf-like creature lay.

"Was that all there was?" He scans the treeline quickly, trying to see if anything had been attracted by the smell of blood, "If so, it would probably be prudent to move on before predators come to investigate."

[Morbis Meh]

"Indeed, put that little pretty of yours away, we have more pressing matters to attend to. If that thing was a pet them I am sure the owners will be less that thankful towards us for slitting its throat" Anthony places his axe on his should and moves towards the manor door, waiting for the scouts to move on ahead.

[Archmage1]

Looking around, and moving away from the dead worg, Alexis seems calmer now.

I think we may want to check that shed before going into the manor itself. But, before we go in, I will try to find any traps on the door. Uriell, I wouldn't be so sad at the death of that creature: It was not a natural creature. It was a worg, and they are evil to the core. However, usually they pair with goblins, not kobolds.

After saying her piece, Alexis goes over to the shed, and opens the door, looking inside. She is holding her nose while she does so, as she is expecting it to stink of death

[Keylac]

The shed is empty, simply a convenient building to keep the rain off. Searching the pile of bones results in something of interest though. Near the bottom is a battered helmet. It's probably been down there for quite a while, though you're not sure who among the bones was it's previous owner.

A check of the back door finds no traps, but the door is a bit stuck. It will take someone strong to open it, and it probably wont be quiet.

OOC
Here's the stats for the helmet you found:

Battered Masterwork Helmet. This helm has certainly seen better days. It's badly dented, rather filthy, and it's surprising that it hasn't begun to rust yet. Still, it's of fine manufacture, and could no doubt help protect against blows to the head.

Weight: 1 Pound

Special: Enemies receive a -1 on attempts to confirm critical hits against the wearer of the helmet.

[Archmage1]

After leaving the shed, Alexis takes several deep breaths, as the stink had almost overwhelmed her. After she has recovered, she brandishes the helmet that she found
"It would seem that there was a purpose to searching the shed. I found this helmet, which seems to be of fine make, although a little battered. It would probably be an improvement for any of us. Who wants it? In other news, opening that door as is will make a lot of noise. When we go for it, we will need to be ready for kobolds or goblins. If they do not use this door, then there will likely be traps. It will take a strong pull to get the door open, but hopefully between us we can manage it."

[Holice]

It is not the beast's fault it is what it is, Uriell thinks to himself as he stands up and walks back towards the group.

After listening to Alexis's assessment of the situation, Uriell adds, "I guess there goes the element of surprise."

Looking towards the soldiers, "I believe this is the part where one of you takes the lead."

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony rolls his eyes and mutters Amateurs. Cracking his neck he picks up his axe and moves towards the manor "Would one of you be oh so kind to make sure this door isn't rigged? If we are moving on head I would prefer to have the templar in the year with the wolf and his pet, the elf or scout can come beside me, I don't care who just someone who has two eyes. The other can walk beside the moody kid. That's how I believe we should proceed, anyone else have any suggestions, if not then lets get a move on."

[Archmage1]

"I already checked the door. As far as I can tell, it is clear. No bets on what is inside. Can everyone see in low light conditions? Because I would bet that it is pretty dark in there."

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar became a lot more interested in Alexis when she revealed that she had spells. Magic was common enough that he didn't want to ask about it in the middle of their adventure, but he was curious.

He's worse than my mother, was Tulkars only thought when Uriell said prayers, and felt bad for the dead enemy. As a kid, Tulkar had often tortured animals in his free time with all of his pent up rage. An activity that his mother had in no way approved of.

Most of the points that Anthony had earned with Tulkar earlier were soon forgotten when the moody kid remark made Tulkar that much more moody. "I'm a man grown, i'll have you know," Tulkar said stupidly. He threw his smaller axe and caught it, as if the display made him more manly. "And i'll open the damned door if none of you are man enough to." It was a remark clearly targeting Anthony. "Besides, I bet I see better in the dark than the lot of you." That part was true enough, Tulkar had always been able to see at night no a reasonable degree. It was a talent that impressed his mother so much it earned him the nickname batkid. He felt sad remembering his mother, but there was no place for that in his unwarranted display of masculinity.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony rolls his eyes as he turns to the very silly youth "Quiet now child, the adults are talking, if you want to rush in head first into a spike trap or something worse go right ahead. It will save us the trouble of having to put up with your childish stupidity. Fear has nothing to do with it, only common sense and experience, both which you seem to lack. Now as for seeing in any form I can agree that I am at a major disadvantage. Do you want to see what stupid rash actions will earn you, hmm?" With his free hand he flips his eye patch over revealing scar tissue around the eye and an empty socket. This is what the price is for running into unknown terrain with your head down, best you learn that now or learn it the way i did. Now if you want to go out in front and act like a fool be my guest, a man doesn't need to show off by doing something stupid to prove he has a pecker between his legs."

He turns his attention over the the remainder of the group "Well if it is alright to go in let's get a move on while the sun is still shining."

[Archmage1]

Seeing the others fighting, Alexis seems... exasperated.
"If you are at a disadvantage, we should try to remedy that. I have an oil lamp, and oil, but I would rather not pinpoint my position: Whomever carries the lamp will likely be targeted a lot. Also, who wants the helmet? And, you two, stop fighting. There is a time and a place for everything. Generally, in enemy territory is a poor spot to have an argument, unless you have a death wish."

[Electrobolt]

Upon observing the conversations between the group and beginning to see it slowly get out of hand, Tamni'el shook his head. "Alexis is right. Now is not the time to have an argument, or a disagreement, or whatever you may want to call it. That is best saved for when we know we're in safe territory and not around any enemies, lest we draw their attention to us."

[Holice]

As Uriell stood back and observed the group, he could do nothing but wonder how any of them felt this was the time or place for discussion at all.

Thinking to himself, In nature there is no debating, there is only instinct. You are either the predator or the prey, and the one's standing in the open with their minds elsewhere are seldom the predator. No, the predator is the one lurking, waiting to pounce. And as he finished the thought he eyed the surrounding area with suspicion.

Sensing his uneasiness, Hu too looked around, at nothing in particular but wondering what could be.

With the spear at the ready, "Not to be rude, but I agree time for conversation is not now. Let us proceed?"

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony looks on the others and grunts "If you had been listening that was what I was trying to do before this lovely disruption, as I mentioned I will take point with either Alexis or Tamni over here. Now come on, if someone wants to light a lantern they can do so but I judge that until we actually get into the cellar that we will have enough light from outside."

[Comissar]

Exasperated at the arguments and debating around him, Darius said "Enough. We don't know what's further inside, we cannot afford to stand and talk all day."

He turns to face the young Half-Orc, "Tulkar, take the helmet, Anthony and I are already well armoured."

Looking at the group as a whole, he continues, "If any of you have any magical means of providing light, that would be best. If you do not, then Uriell, you carry the lantern. Anthony takes point with Tamni'el. You said you're a scout, your eyes will be the best use at the front. Uriell and Alexis, you stay in the middle. Make sure you keep the light where it will be useful. Tulkar and I will guard the rear. Tulkar, we need to be prepared for anything which may come from behind to try and attack us."

He walks over to the closed door. "Move in as soon as I open this door, we have to assume there will be creature's wishing us harm on the other side."

Darius will open the Door (or attempt to) as soon as everyone is ready to move in.

Assuming I need a Strength Check - [roll0]

[Archmage1]

Alexis, glad that it would appear that the party will be going somewhere, lights and fills the lantern, and hands it to Uriell. When Darius tries, and fails to open the door, Alexis sighs, and comments to the others
"Perhaps Antony and Tulkar could give you a hand opening the door, Darius"

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony almost laughs at the struggling templar, after barking orders that basically reiterate what he said the young pup looks silly struggling against a door. Moving beside the young one, Anthony throws his weight into the door.


strength check [roll0]
at the very least I will be as successful as Darius XD... this may take a while lol

"Bloody, why are we trying to open the door like this? Has anyone thought to try the door handle?"

[Archmage1]

Laughing, Alexis gives it a go as well, because she can't really do any worse than the others
[roll0]

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar sputters a series of defiant words under his breath when told to stop arguing, but complies. He sulks for a bit, and it is clear to see on his face.
His only response to Darius is a not, but he takes the helmet nevertheless, and dons it on his head.

When asked to, Tulkar steps forward silently, and looks at his companions. He meant it as a look of "get out of the way," or "anyone want to give me a hand so I can get a plus two on this check" look, but it could well be interpreted as channeled rage and hatred towards the group. With the deformed half-orc jawline, it can be so hard to tell sometimes.
Tulkar attempts to open the door as well; my roll will actually be in the dice thread :smalltongue:

[Electrobolt]

As he observes this, Tamni'el let out a chuckle upon seeing the two warriors' attempts at getting the door open. He felt like he could give it a shot as well, seeing if he can get the door open.

OOC
By "two warriors' attempts" I was referring to Anthony and Darius, and their low strength checks :P Also gonna post in Dice Roller

[Keylac]

With the group throwing their weight into it, the door groans and resists, before popping open with a sharp crack. Light spills in from outside, revealing the room inside. You all pause for a moment, listening, but nothing seems to have heard the door. Stepping forward, you're able to take a look around.

The room is quite large - nearly forty feet on a side, if you're any judge. There are brick cooking ovens, tables for the preparation of food, and cooking pits, many still hung with rusting kettles, everywhere. If that wasn't enough clues, the film of grease that still covers everything would convince you this was the kitchen.

There's two other doors in the room, both closed; one lies in the west wall, the other opposite it in the east wall.

OOC
Watching all the strength rolls was pretty funny. Especially when the elf with the bow and arrows came out ahead. :smalltongue:

[Archmage1]

Seeing that there is no threat in the room, Alexis checks that there are no unpleasant surprises in the room, before heading over to the west door, and investigating it.

Before she starts checking, "There may be traps here. Kobolds love trapping things. I will check for them."

[Keylac]

Alexis' diligent search of the room reveals no traps.

The door set in the west wall is in much better condition then the door leading outside, and appears to be unlocked.

[Holice]

Still playfully amused by the show of strength, or lack thereof, while trying to pry the door open, Uriell maintained a straight, emotionless face. Upon heading into the room, Uriell holds up the light to try and illuminate the room the best he can.

Seeing Alexis finish her search without indicating any traps, Uriell lowers the lamp, and places it on a nearby table.

"So two doors, East and West it would seem, any suggestions on direction?"

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony looks at each door then shrugs "Well it is still morning so if we go east there is a chance of better light in that room?"

[Comissar]

Darius nods in agreement, "It doesn't especially matter which way we go, Anthony's reason is as good as any for us to head Eastward."

[Archmage1]

"Seems a good enough reason for me as well"

Alexis heads over to the east door and has a look at it.

[Keylac]

Putting your ear to the door, you can hear nothing on the other side. A quick inspection confirms that there are no traps apparent, and that it's unlocked. All that remains is to pass through it.

OOC
Crap. Sorry guys, I meant to drop Alexis a note, forgot. For speeds sake, when you search a room for traps, I'm assuming you also check the doors leading out of said room (the visible ones at least). So as far as I was concerned, the door had already been checked.

For future reference, if you search a room for traps, I assume you search the doors as well. I do NOT assume that you search each item in the room (like say, a chest). Same goes when searching for loot - if you search the room, you check everything in it, and will be alerted to containers, but you don't search the containers themselves. Dead bodies are considered containers in this sense. :smallsmile:

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony steps through the door, his massive axe at the ready and his armor creaking.

[Archmage1]

"It would appear that these are some odd kobolds. The door appears to be clear of threats, and I can detect nothing on the other side. We may as well proceed."

Seeing Anthony heading through the door, Alexis follows, with her bow at the ready.

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar follows through with the rest of the group. He bears his arms as well, and is mentally preparing to invoke his hexblade curse again. He idly tosses his throwing axe just high enough to spit it a full rotation and catches it, a habit he has become fond of in the past few hours.

[Electrobolt]

Keeping his wits about him, Tamni'el also followed through, pulling his bow out as he awaited for any possible moment when the goblins would attack. "That may be, but they may potentially have some surprises in store for us, some we may not notice until we walk right into them." He then began to pay attention to the surroundings, to see if he could hear or see anything in the room.

[Comissar]

Darius was last through the door, making sure nothing entered the room behind them while they were in there. His movements were regrettably loud on the floor beneath them. They'd have to rely upon ferocity in combat rather than trying to sneak around any fights.

"Nothing's followed us in from behind."

He closes the door they just walked through. With luck, if anything had been watching them outside, they'd only have a 50/50 chance of following them through the correct door. Turning around to face the room, the bell on his weapon jingling softly as he did so, he took in the scene before him. Scanning for potential threats.

[Keylac]

Moving through the door, you find yourself in the dining hall Alexis had seen earlier through the windows. Most of the furniture in this large room has been reduced to splinters or is missing, but there's a bit left. Judging by the soot in the large fireplace that fills the east wall, some of the missing tables probably ended up as wood for more recent inhabitants.

The room has many doors leading out from it, in addition to the one you entered in, which appears to be the smallest - probably a servants entrance. There's two doors each in the south and north walls, opposite each other, and large double doors set in the center of the west wall.

OOC
Here's a map (https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByxsmGLMsVmzZGFuelZzWGFKcFE), showing the outline of the building (you walked around it after all) as well as where you've been.

I'll also take suggestions on how to speed things up, since room by room searches can take forever. When you spend a day between them.

[Archmage1]

Upon entering the room, Alexis searches it. Assuming that there were no traps detected, she heads to one of the doors in the north, checks it for traps, and opens it. If the doors there lead to different rooms, she will repeat the procedure on the other door. Assuming no kobolds in these rooms, she will check them for interesting things as well.

[Keylac]

Through the north door, the room is mostly empty, save for a few mostly rotted heads mounted on the wall. You're fairly certain that this used to be a smoking room for the men of the house; even after all these years, the faint smell of tobacco clings to the walls.

The only doors into this room are the ones on the south wall, leading back into the Dining Hall. A search for traps reveals none, but while checking the room, you do find something of slight interest. Hidden behind the wood paneling on one wall is a small sideboard, filled with bottles that once held alcohols. They're now all empty, except one in the back that remained sealed. Unfortunately, you can't be sure of the contents, since it bears to label. Perhaps a mystery for later, or a celebratory drink when the day is done.

OOC
And the updated map (https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByxsmGLMsVmzOHVWZnFqWldGVk0).

[Archmage1]

Well, this room was not interesting, but the contents were. I think I will take this drink for later use.
Alexis then returns to the Dining Hall, and asks the others
"I think that the south doors lead to a similar, small room, whereas the west door probably leads to kobolds, as it is the main entrance room. I will check the south doors, then we should go through the west doors prepared for combat."
Alexis checks out the southern doors, and the room beyond.

[Comissar]

"Sounds like a good idea to me, I'll remain towards the rear. If anything tries to surprise us from that direction I'll be ready."

He thinks on this a little longer before continuing, "Though if the Kobold's are truly camping in the main hall, it may be best if Anthony and I take the lead there."

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony spies the bottle Alexis snagged with his one good eye Wouldn't be surprised if that was kobold piss... at the mention of his name his attention focuses on Darius "A sharp pair of eyes would also be valuable since they would have procautions set up for protecting their nest. At the very least we could act as a human shield while Alexis set about her work." Anthony then lets outs a massive bout of flatulence and quickly moves out of the impending stench cloud.

[Holice]

Keeping a keen eye for anything suspicious, Uriell remains quiet as they search the house. Listening to everyone's suggestions, he has no qualms as of yet with their ideas.

Wondering to himself, Perhaps this is a good time to check the map, and verify our bearings.

He is about to say something when Anthony let's out a low rumble followed by a horrid stench.

As if being cattle prodded, Uriell quickly moves from behind Anthony, and even Hu whimpers as he rubs his nose trying to get the smell out.

"Well if your sounds don't alert the kobolds, that smell sure as heck will," Uriell says as he holds his nose.

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar stands around waiting for the scouts to come back, still on his guard. When Anthony farts, he takes the only reasonable action, and moves away as fast as possible. "Really?!"

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony chuckles "Better out than in, besides its not like I just shat an ogre or anything, it's a natural body function so get over it."

[Archmage1]

"Oh Gods, what a stench. What do you eat? Rotting Beans?"
Fort Save:[roll0] Alexis vomits, splattering Anthony
Alexis attempts to flee the smell by hurrying up on her searching.

[Electrobolt]

Seeing Alexis trying to search one of the rooms, Tamni'el figured he would help her out and move faster. Especially considering the circumstances with Anthony. "Ugh... Really now???"

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony hears the splatter hit his armour and once the smell hits him he frowns "Was that really necessary? I know you elves have weak stomachs but come now and you know what I ate because it was what you cooked. Sorry if my gas isn't pine scented, I don't have a pine branch shoved up my arse like you pointy eared folk."

[Archmage1]

Alexis ignores Anthony's reply, instead focusing on her self appointed task.

[Keylac]

The room to the south turns out to be the library Alexis spotted from outside. Besides the doors leading in, there's also another door set in the west wall. Bookshelves still line the other walls, but most of the books are gone; whether they were used for kindling or taken away is more then you can say. A few dozen remain, scattered around the shelves and on the floor, though from the state of the room, they're probably more damaged then whole.

Still, Tamni'el's diligent search reveals something of interest. One of the books, less damaged than the rest, is found where it fell behind the shelves. Inside is a piece of paper with strange markings that seem to crawl across the page when you look at it.

Meanwhile, Alexis' search for traps reveals nothing. Indeed, it's starting to become odd that there are so few traps in a kobold lair. They're well know for making them after all. Unusual behavior of this sort doubtless has an answer, but none has revealed itself to you as of yet.

A quick look into the room through the west door reveals it to be empty. There's not even enough refuse for you to tell what the rooms purpose was, and a search of it reveals nothing of interest.

Having satisfied yourself that there's nothing down there, you decide to go through the large doors leading into the center of the house. Expecting an attack, you open the doors.

On the other side is the largest room you've seen yet; it would have been the Grand Hall of the “modest hunting lodge.” Larger then the houses of peasants, the room is dominated by a pair of curved staircases leading to the upper floors. Between them lies a once grand fountain, now dry and dusty. The remains of expensive wood paneling, much the worse for the wear, covers the walls, except above the fountain, where the old family crest of Ashe Wood still hangs in all it's tarnished glory.

An entrance without a door leads south, in addition to two doors in the south wall (one on either side of the entrance), a small door on the west wall, and a door in the northwest.

Alexis' search for traps in the room again reveals none, though this time she finds signs that there might have been some, rigged on the Dining Hall doors, before being removed.

Tamni'el's search proves slightly more interesting. The stairs leading up prove to be rotten to the extreme - any weight placed upon them causes them to crumble. The room reveals itself to be empty, but while listening near the northeast door, you swear you hear something inside. You couldn't say what though; perhaps it's merely your instincts as a scout.

OOC
Here is the write up for the book:


The Tower of Legend. This book is battered and covered in mold, most of it destroyed. It seems to recount the tale of a group of 5 adventurers – a Wizard, Warrior, Scout, and Monk, all elves, and a dwarven Cleric of the Sun. The book becomes unreadable only a few chapters in.

Weight: 1 Pound.

Also contained within it is an Unidentified Magical Scroll.

In case anyone's wondering, the book is a bit of an in joke among me and some friends. We played in a campaign (I was the Elf Wizard) where the Dwarven Cleric was played by... someone of less than stellar intelligence. At one point he managed to get himself into some trouble, and convinced his "friend" the Scout to do something particularly stupid with him to get them out of it. This resulted in their near deaths and the party having to spend 75% of everything we had to rescue them. Once you figure out what's on the scroll, I'm sure you can figure out roughly what happened. :smallsmile:

Edit: Forgot, here's the next map (https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByxsmGLMsVmzRy1HLUU3aE9Nc2s).

[Electrobolt]

With the book and scroll stored in his backpack for later investigation and all, Tamni'el eyes the door where he thought he heard noises coming from. After seeing the stairs were in no condition to be walked on, he figured it'd be wise to warn the others about it first. "I would advise against climbing these stairs. If you were to step on it, it would most likely collapse under the weight. Now, I'm not exactly sure, but I thought I heard some noises from that door..." As he stated the last sentence, about the noises he heard, he pointed towards the door he assumed the sounds came from. "My guess would be that there may be more kobolds in there... Then again, I could be hearing things. Either way, we should stay on our toes."

[Archmage1]

This was a nice place, once. It is almost sad that it has been run down so. Still, it is odd. Nothing here but unanswered questions.

(Whispering)"It is odd that the traps here have been removed. Against kobolds, I was expecting to see traps everywhere, but there have not been any. Tamni'el, I can probably identify that scroll, if you will let me. If you are hearing things on the other side of that door, I will check it for traps, and then one of the warriors should open it."

[Comissar]

Despite himself, Darius grins at the fallout from Anthony's bout of flatulence. "You know, that's not even in my top ten for worst smells"

Deciding to hang back while Alexis and Tamni'el searched the adjoining room, he idly looked around the room he was in. Once he received the all clear, he moved on, not trying to hide the noise of his movements this time.

"You know, I'm starting to think this may not be a Kobold lair at all. We've not seen any sign of them since getting inside."

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony smiles "You see, no big deal, elves just have weak stomachs! As for opening doors... why do we have to do it? Not sure or your handy work are you?" His grin widens his comment meant to be a jest not a scathing comment.

[Archmage1]

"You should probably do it because there are probably enemies on the other side. I operate better at a range than in melee, whereas you are probably fairly useless at a range. Whomever opens the door will probably be attacked."

[AvocadoAvenger]

He ignored everyone's later reactions to Anthony's fart. How much this was starting to drag really annoyed Tulkar at this point. This whole place is slow and stupid, he thought to himself out of nowhere. "Lets just do this, then," Tulkar said gruffly with his patience suddenly expired. "If there's no room at the door for more than a few, i'll take the middle line as I can throw a weapon if need be." On the bright side, his sudden anger lead to just as sudden focus through desire to be done with this mission. Why didn't I bring a second throwing axe in case I want to attack from a short range again? Actually, why haven't I been carrying two all along? he would try to remember that when he got back to Arim.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony rolls his eyes "Fine fine, I will open the door if you're all afraid to do so, but if it's trapped you scouts owe me a drink." Axe resting on his shoulder and at the ready, Anthony opens the door.

[Keylac]

The broken furniture littering the floor leads you to believe this was a bedroom, probably for guests. Now, abandoned rats nests and strands of spiderweb fill the room. Hanging from the webs are small cocoons, perhaps holding the missing rats. Worse, hanging in one corner is a large ball of spider silk; something seems to be struggling inside of it.

OOC
Well, you found something. That might be good or bad, but you did find something.

Initiative Order:

Group 1: Anthony, Alexis, Darius, Uriell (and Hu)
Group 2: Enemies
Group 3: Tulkar, Tamni'el

Which means, Group 1, you're up.

[Comissar]

Darius moved to the front of the group as soon as the door opened, halberd at the ready. The first thing he noticed was the struggling webbed form. Grimacing at the thought of the size of a creature that could do that, he cast around to try and get an idea of where it might be hiding. Whoever, or whatever, was trapped could survive long enough for him to be sure of the danger.

[Holice]

Peering into the room from behind Darius, Uriell notices something moving on the wall. It appears to be something caught in a spider cocoon, but whether its friendly or something worse, how could anyone tell? But more importantly, what made a ball that big to house the creature inside?

Looking towards Anthony, "I bet you're thinking about opening that aren't you?"

Either way, Uriell grips his spear and awaits any possible danger. "Get ready buddy", he says to Hu, who seems tense at this moment.

OOC
Uriell will be fighting Defensively first round

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony shrugs "At worst it's a kobold caught in a cacoon and we're putting it out of it's misery, at best it's an egg sac and we kill a few baby spiders to draw mama." He moves over to the large sac and swings at it, using all of his weight to cleave through the silk.

[Archmage1]

Looking around near the party, Alexis realizes that the web-makers must be nearby, and are probably quite large. She considers lighting the webs on fire, but realized that she had no fast way of doing so.
"Watch out for the spiders, they are almost certainly here."
Alexis readies her bow, intending to fire at a spider when it appears, while moving to be near the exit.

[Keylac]

As Anthony slices through the spidersilk sack, he confirms that one of his guesses was correct. Hundreds of tiny spiders come boiling out of the hole, spreading out to cover the walls and floor near the sack. They spread up Anthony's legs, half covering him in crawling spiders, biting at his flesh, crawling under his armor, moving further up his body towards his face.

OOC
Fighting a real swarm would suck. A lot.

In any case, Anthony, you take 6 damage from the swarm, and I'll let you make the Fortitude Save vs Poison (DC 11) to see if you lose 3 strength.

Alexis and Darius, you didn't spot anything else in the room. Here (https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByxsmGLMsVmzNzU4NUwwNmIxaGM)'s a map of the room, with everyone's positions (as near as could be determined).

Group 3, you're up.

Group 3: Tulkar, Tamni'el

[Morbis Meh]

OoC well it was nice knowing you guys we are pretty much hooped since I doubt any of us have any means of doing damage other than weapons

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar was prepared to throw his axe, but Anthony was caught in the middle, which gave him delay. Seeing how small each of the individual spiders are, he thought better of it, figuring that he couldn't really hit one to do a substantial amount of damage to the lot of them. Instead, he did the best thing he thought he could do- he took a step back to be out of the way. Also, seeing as how Anthony was in a compromising position, he shouted at his crusader companion, "Anthony! Get out of there!"

[Electrobolt]

Tamni'el just watched Anthony barge in and sighed. *The fool just ran in without thinking things through...* he thought, before hearing Tulkar calling out. Figuring that would be for the best, he also moved out of the way. "Yeah, get out of there quick!"

[Morbis Meh]

Feeling his strength drained from him, Anthony limps out of the mass of spiders heading for the exit.

[Archmage1]

Seeing the others falling back, Alexis stays with them, but she does pull out a bottle of oil.

[Keylac]

Anthony limps away from the egg sac, shedding spiders as he goes. He reaches the door out, leaning hard on his axe as the poison saps his strength. As he passes Darius, the paladin pulls out his waterskin and dumps it over him, washing the remaining spiders off, before following past the doorway.

Alexis, Tulkar, and Tamni'el have cleared the door, ready to run or assist the others, as needed.

OOC
Okay Group 1 (those of you who haven't already gone) you're up. I'm curious as to which option you guys decide to take. Uriell/Hu and Anthony are in the doorway, everyone else is outside the room.

Oh, and I'm sorry about the late posting, Labor Day Weekend barbecue and the in person game I run delayed things a bit.

[Keylac]

Whoops *deletes double post*.

[Holice]

Uriell backs out of the door way, and yells for Hu to retreat.

Seeing Alexis and her oil, he doesn't know if she will have time to throw it and light it, but the first priority is getting Anthony out of the room.

"Get ready to close the door after you light that fire," he says as he falls back into the main room.

OOC

If Anthony doesn't have a move before the spiders, then if he wants I will assist him out of the room as needed, since he is in the doorway too.

[Keylac]

The swarm, still searching for food, move across the floor, following after Anthony as he limps away. They reach the doorway just as Uriell and Hu drag Anthony through it, clearing the way for Alexis to throw her oil flask.

OOC
Tulkar and Tamni'el, you're go. Assuming neither of you do anything I have to report on, Group One can go right after.

[Electrobolt]

Upon noticing Alexis having pulled out the flask of oil, he was wondering what she was planning to do. But feeling fire was most likely involved, he began to reach a hand into his pocket, before pulling out a flint and steel. He was still unsure of her plans, but still chose to pull the items out.

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar backs up a little again, seeing the fire devices; he did not want to get burned. "Send em to hell" he says probably a little too joyously than is completely healthy.

[Archmage1]

Seeing the spiders coming, Alexis throws the bottle of oil at them, and turns to Uriell
"Throw the lantern, Uriell. Hopefully, that will finish them."

[Holice]

Seeing Anthony had cleared the door way and the oil now splattered on the floor, Uriell holds the lantern high and brings it crashing to the floor.

He immediately jumps back to avoid any splash or sparks that might fly from the impact, and yells, "Close the door now!"

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony strains as he closes the door, his breathing labored as he moved. Once the door is closed he plops down with his back to a wall, sweat running down his face.

[Keylac]

From the other side of the door, you can hear the sound of the flames grow louder as it spreads across the oil. The crackling sounds of frying spiders accompany it, as they shrivel and burst under the heat.

It's not long before the sounds die down, the oil consumed. Thankfully, it seems the rest of the house has failed to catch fire. Smoke still leaks from around the upper corners of the door, but it seems most of that must have vented through the holes in the ceiling.

Darius, standing ready at the door in case of emergency, looks at the rest of the group before opening the door a crack and peeking in. Nodding in satisfaction, he opens the door the rest of the way. "I don't see anymore spiders. I think we're safe."

The room's appearance has changed drastically. The floor now has a large, irregular circle of burnt wood. Most of the spider webs near the flame are gone, and tiny dead spiders cover the floor. The smell hasn't improved at all either - a few of the rats hanging in webs caught fire, and the room now smells of burnt fur and charred meat.

[Archmage1]

"Anthony, you look pretty bad. Are you going to make it? I don't have any way to cure the poison, I am afraid. The best cure is probably going to be time. I hope that that got them all, as I am out of oil now."

Alexis heads into the room cautiously, keeping an eye out for any more spiders. She also searches the charred remains of the webbing, trying to find anything useful left after the fire.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony looked up and offer a wry smile "I can walk but as for fighting I do not know the young pup probably has a better shot than I do at the moment. Though I can still take blows so you people don't have to, like the lovely spider sac... just glad it didn't get one of you weaker types." As he speaks he removes his pack from his shoulders and slowly stands up.

Need to lose weight in order to remain in a light load... man I sure dislike stat damage.

[AvocadoAvenger]

"You'll pull through, old man," Tulkar says in a taunting way that could be interpreted as his friendly. He also takes up the backpack Anthony dropped without saying a word. He moves beside Alexis into the room with his weapons drawn, keeping an eye out for anything that may want to do them harm.

As they approach the webs, Tulkar stands back a bit, but he does grab one of the burnt rats. As he holds it for the group to see, blood grease and bodily fluid from the animal drips from his hand. He shifts so that he is now holding it by the arm, and the remnants of it's ooze from being grabbed drip to the ground. He grins evilly, and seems not to notice any smell it might have. "Who's ready for your dinner tonight?" Seeing the presumable expressions of disgust, he takes the rat's other arm in his other hand, and jerks lightly, causing the corpse to jiggle and sway. "Look! It even dances!"

[Holice]

Visually disgusted by Tulkar, Uriell peers into the room, trying to confirm no other movement or skittering.

Turning back into the main hall, with spear at the ready, he says, "You should finish your searching now and quickly, there is no telling what we attracted with that fire," he then cringes his nose, "or this smell."


*****

Hu creeps into the room, cautious at first and begins sniffing the charred bodies on the ground. Sniffing a bit too close, one of the spider bodies taps his nose and he jumps back immediately and growls.

Hearing a quick whistle from Uriell, he heads back into the main room waiting to see his companions next move.

[Electrobolt]

Sighing at Tulkar, seeing him play with the dead rodent, Tamni'el shook his head as he walked into the room. Not wanting to linger around for too long, he searched around the room as quickly as he could, trying not to miss any important detail.

[Keylac]

Alexis' search of the room has a fine, if grisly, result. Half hidden among other webs that survived is the remains of a man, probably an adventurer, trapped in cocoon. Most of his gear has rotted away, but some remains. There's a finely crafted scimitar, a sunrod, and a set of masterwork thieves tools. There's also a slender piece of wood, about nine inches long. It's covered in carvings depicting dead plants at the bottom, changing into healthy, blooming plants at the top. Alexis' experience suggests it's a wand.

Tamni'el finds something different; a hole in the ceiling that would be large enough to pass through. It was hidden behind webbing before, but is now visible. Nothing moves within the hole, but you're pretty sure that must be how the mother spider comes into the room. If you had to guess, it was probably frightened away by the smoke and flame. In any case, you wouldn't be able to follow her; testing the edges of the hole reveal that it's as weak and brittle as the rest of the ceiling, unable to support your weight.

It appears that this is everything of interest in the room.

OOC
You know, you're the first group so far to both find the spiders and not stick around to duke it out with the babies, so mama comes to join in. Common sense wasn't in huge supply previously, I suppose. :smallsmile:

Finely Crafted means Masterwork Quality. Since some masterwork quality weapons are magic, Detect Magic determines if it's Magical or just Masterwork.

Since this is your first magical item (yes, it is a wand), here's how those work. I generally put markings on them to hint at what it does, and with activated items, I sometimes include the activation word or something that hints at it. I loathe making people always use identify, so the testing method and the guessing method are both available. Of course, the images don't always mean the same thing to me that they do to you. :smallwink:

[Archmage1]

As Alexis finds the thieves tools, she pockets them, and pulls out her thieves tools, which were handy.

"Well, that was rather disgusting, but I found a dead adventurer with a very nice scimitar, a sunrod, and some thieves tools. As well as what is probably a wand. We are probably better off not trying to use it, unless someone can use it safely. The motif on it suggests that it is for something to do with plants, so probably an entangle spell. There does not seem to be anything else in the room, so we may as well leave."

[Holice]

Listening to Alexis recap what she found, Uriell speaks up.

"I'd like to study that wand if no one else minds," he says to her loud enough for all to hear.

That could prove useful if indeed it can summon plants to entangle what we meet. But best to err on the side of caution in case it's not what it seems, he thinks to himself.

Turning back to face more of the group, "So what's our next move?"

[Archmage1]

After a moments consideration, Alexis hands the wand to Uriell.
"If you can get it to work, go for it. I think that the next move is to heal Antony, if we can, before checking out the door in the southeast."

@keylac: Could we get an updated map, as to which room was the spider room. Also, in the interest of speeding things up, Alexis will check out the door is chosen for the next move.
spot[roll0]
search[roll1]
listen[roll2]
Disable Device[roll3]
open lock[roll4]
move silently[roll5]

[Comissar]

Darius grimaces at Tulkar's childish display, but he keeps his opinions to himself. The kid was a competent fighter if nothing else, he'd certainly known soldiers with a perchant for the macabre before. Listening to Anthony's account of how he was feeling, he turned to him.

"It may be best if we trade places Anthony. Meaning no disrespect, I think you may be better suited to rear-guard action at this point in time."

[Keylac]

Nothing can be heard while listening at the door, and a search reveals no traps. Upon opening the door, it turns out to be yet another empty room, with nothing of interest. At least the remains allow you to figure out that this room must have been a privy, or - more likely from the size - more than one.

Still, it's not all a waste. You all knew when you came here that the house had been looted and abandoned, so it's no surprise to find so many empty rooms. At least you've been over most of the first floor.

OOC
If there was something you wanted to do before moving to the door, feel free to post that. Otherwise, this post is for checking out that door. Since it's a dead-end, I'll wait till next time to update the map. :smallsmile:

[Archmage1]

Well, that was uninteresting. I wonder if the front door was really trapped.

"Well, Antony, we have a privy, so if you need to go... I kind of wonder if there is anything in the privy, but there is no way I am going to search that. I suppose the next move is to check out the entrance way, and any rooms along it"

Alexis heads to the entrance way, keeping an eye out. She also check out the doors along it, and if there is nothing interesting about the doors, opens them, starting with doors on her left, as she faces the door.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony's ashen face looks up but he doesn't say anything, he was on the verge of exhaustion and didn't feel like debating he merely just lingers behind until he is in the back of the formation.

[Comissar]

Darius walks close to the front of the group, ensuring he'll be able to react quickly to any trouble should it arise. Whenever Alexis pauses to examine something, he stops with her, careful not to move more than a step or two beyond where she was. Whilst he was sure he could handle any enemy that presented itself, traps would be a different matter.

[Electrobolt]

Trying to move things along quicker, Tamni'el joined in with Alexis in making sure the doors are safe and can be unlocked. Afterwards, he aided in looking around the rooms, just in case. After all, four eyes are better than two.

[Keylac]

Turning away from the empty privy, you move on, Alexis leading, heading towards the entrance way and the rooms off it. Moving ahead to check them, listening closely for any signs of trouble, she step into the entrance way. To her surprise, there's a sudden clicking sound as the floor gives way beneath her feet.

Only the lightning quick reactions of Darius save her from a bruising fall, as his gauntleted hand snaps out to grab her arm right before she falls into the pit. Her feet go out from under her, and she's left to dangle for a moment before being pulled back onto solid ground.

OOC
Man, finally a trap, (a Camouflaged Pit Trap)and you run right into it! *points out innocently* You said you were checking the *doors* not the entrance way itself.

Nah, just kidding. The real reason you walked into it is that you didn't roll high enough to see the trap on your first search rolls. Ah well. I rolled a Reflex save and grapple check for Darius, and he scored high enough to grab you anyways.

For reference by the way, the just revealed trap 1) Is 10 feet deep, and 10' wide (occupies the whole square between you guys and the door). 2) the DC to jump across is 10 with a running start. 3) There's a 6 inch wide ledge running along the sides, a DC 15 Balance Check to cross that way.

[Archmage1]

"Woa. That was close. Thanks Darius, falling in would probably not have been a good thing. Now, how to cross... We could try to jump it, or get around the edges, or we could just leave, and come in through the front entrance. I will clearly be more alert in this place. I was checking doors, not the floor."

As she speaks, Alexis is breathing quickly, clearly unsettled by her close encounter.

reflex save of 3 makes me sad :(

[Holice]

Looking down into the pit, Uriell shakes his head.

"That's a mighty far jump, and a mighty narrow ledge." Looking at Hu, "And even if I could make it along the edge, Hu would have no choice but to jump."

Thinking for a moment, "Perhaps if one of you feel more confident about the crossing, you could tie off a rope on the other side for piece of mind and added safety?"

[Comissar]

Darius released his grip on Alexis' arm once he was certain she had her balance back. "Not a problem," he peers down at the pit, "I'm afraid I don't have anything that will help us bypass it though, and I'm not sure I'd like to try and jump it in this armour."

[Archmage1]

"True, armor does make jumping a bit harder. We can take it off, and then just put it on again on the other side, or just leave it off. I would be surprised if there are any opponents in the rooms on the other side of that trap, so perhaps we should just come back here after finding the vault."

[Archmage1]

After the minutes of silence seemed to stretch onwards, Alexis seems to get a it agitated.

"Well, If no-one else will even try to think about it, I think we should ignore it for now."

Alexis goes and searches the south-west door.

[Electrobolt]

Seeing as it was decided that they would check the only remaining door out, Tamni'el decided to aid in the searching. But first, he would check the floor to make sure it wouldn't fall in on them like the other one had done.

[Keylac]

Leaving the pit trap for the moment, you decide to investigate the door in the southwest of the grand hall. A check of the door - and the floor around it - doesn't reveal any traps.

Through the door is another room, this one with the remains of bunks along the walls and a few broken tables in the center. This must have been the guardroom. There's two more doors in the room, opposite each other on the east and west walls. A sudden suspicion enters into your head, and you move across the room - carefully - to check out the east door.

On the other side is the entrance hall. The pit trap the kobolds made must have been designed to catch the unwary, not actually prevent entry into the house from the front.

At least now you can take the opportunity to investigate the room on the east side of the entrance way, as you'd planned to do before the floor gave way. Unfortunately, it's also empty, this one without any other doors.

Consulting the rough sketch of a map that you've been making of the manors ground floor, you realize that you've almost completely explored this floor. At least this way you can be relatively sure that no kobolds lurk behind you when you proceed into the basement.

OOC
Folks had already rolled to explore the room on the east side, so I had you move across to it. Here's a map (https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByxsmGLMsVmzRHFJZl9PZWtvcUE).

[Comissar]

Darius peers over at the map. Most of the floor had been covered now and, except for the traps, they hadn't seen any sign of Kobolds since entering. The lack of enemies was, although welcome, a little disquieting.

"I don't like this, if the Kobolds had been dwelling here then we should've seen some evidence of them by now. I think we should just get what we came here for and leave as soon as possible."

[Archmage1]

"I would say that that pit trap was the work of Kobolds, but I would have expected to fight them by now. But that hunting party we encountered argues that there are kobolds in here, whereas the worg argues that there are goblins here. I suspect that we will find out as we press on."

As she is talking, she is moving over to the door on the left side of the guard room, and investigating it.

[Holice]

Listening quietly while the others discuss the course of action, Uriell was not surprised by the lack of kobolds. Normally Hu would pick up on any pests or beasts in the area, and he was surprisingly quiet in here.

Scratching his pup behind his ears, "I will have to agree with Darius on this. Let's get what we came for and leave this place as quickly as possible. We may not have found much now in the way of kobolds and such, but things will only get worse as evening approaches."

[Keylac]

Once again, the door proves to be free of traps, driving home the unusual nature of a lair of kobolds without traps. Unable to answer the questions that provoke, you continue onwards. The room on the other side proves to be as empty as most, though at least there's some clues as to it's purpose; it appears to have been the house armory. A few armor stands still remain, and rotten weapons racks hang from the walls. The few tatters of leather and bits of metal that remain are all rotted or rusted, rendered useless by age.

Another door, plainer than most of the others, lies opposite the one you entered; a quick check of it reveals nothing interesting. Opening it unleashes a cloud of dust as the door grates, brushing aside some rubble. From the doorway, you can see that the collapse of the west wing seems to have taken most of the rooms with it. Rubble blocks your passage further west, but the hallway before you runs north as well.

Consulting your map, you realize that this must be a servants passage. It probably connects with the final unchecked door leading into the grand hall. Moving forward to confirm your theory, you stop. There's something wrong with the wall to your left, but you're not sure what...

OOC
Note, since there's no longer any real question as to which way you'd go, I just went ahead and moved you into the next room too.

[Archmage1]

Looking around, Alexis seems disappointed by the utter lack of anything interesting, until she looks at the wall.

"That is odd. That wall to the left, is wrong somehow. I am going to take a closer look."

She then approaches the wall carefully, examining it as she comes.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony didn't overly cares right now, today was shaping out to be a bad day, yes he succeed in keeping the others from harm, but he was starting to itch where he was bitten and he was starting to sweat profusely. This was starting to look more and more like a set up, he had a feeling the guy who had hired them sent them here with less than honest intentions.

[Keylac]

A careful examination of the wall reveals three interesting facts. The first is that you're fairly certain the room beyond isn't filled with rubble, unlike the rest of the west wing. The second is that you're pretty sure it's not a load bearing wall, though you're not sufficiently knowledgeable about architecture to be sure. And the third is that the wall was damaged in the collapse... and could probably be pushed in with the efforts of a couple strong members of the party.

[Archmage1]

"This wall, here, can be pushed down, and the room beyond is not filled with rubble. Tulkar, Darius, do you think you can push down this wall? It will probably take 2."

Alexis points out the odd wall, and then steps back from it, waiting for the others to have their go a it.

[Comissar]

Darius looks at the wall critically, trying to see if there's a weak point he can strike. Identifying what he believed to be such a weakness, he smashed into it with a shoulder with his weight behind it to try and break through. The impact was jarring, the wall failed to move under his attempt and left him with a large bruise for his trouble. Shaking his head, Darius nursed his shoulder and muttered "I'm no good at doors and walls, give me Kobold's any day..."

[AvocadoAvenger]

"Agreed," Tulkar replied to Anthony. He sounded mad at the challenge of the wall, but only moderately so, and those getting to know him understand that he sounds mad more often than not. "I'll take the fight I can understand over some ***** hiding in a wall any day."

[Archmage1]

"There may well be something quite interesting on the other side of the wall. Are you both going to give up now? Why not at least try working together to bring it down?"

[Holice]

Nodding at Alexis, Uriell agrees, "Let's give it a group effort here, and see what a little teamwork gets us."

And hopefully it gets us something other than a few hundred pounds of stone and wood falling on our heads, he thinks to himself.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony was not a happy man right now, nor was he a patient around and to be honest all of this talking and not doing anything was giving him a massive head ache. Despite his condition and common sense (which is generally in short supply) Anthony drudges over to the other wall and charges forward into the wall but his ailment effectively inhibits his desire. He crashes into a wall with a dull thud and his legs give out causing him to slowly slide down the wall until he is on the ground. "Damn people and their damn need to talk and want sick people to know down stupid walls...."

[Keylac]

The repeated blows against the wall, as each person gives it a try, weaken the wall. The final push by Tamni'el finishes it, toppling rubble into the room beyond. A cloud of dust obscures everything for a few moments, but fades to reveal a man-sized hole next to where Anthony, still muttering and now covered in rock dust, leans against the wall.

[Archmage1]

"Excellent. Hopefully, there is something in here that the kobolds have not been at, since they had no access to the room. Anthony, I don't think you are as weak as you think you are."

Alexis heads into the hole, and looks around.

[Holice]

Allowing the others to head into this new found room, Uriell looks to Hu, who gives a slight whimper.

"I know boy, its slow going, but better to be safe than sorry," he says quietly as he pets the dog's head.

Thinking to himself that he seems to be getting a little bored with his lack of involvement, Uriell remembers the wand. Good enough time as any to check it out.

Pulling it from his belt line, he begins to observe the small rod and look for anything familiar or unusual about it.

[Electrobolt]

After clearing the dust off of himself and looking at the hole that was made, he nodded. Then, looking at Anthony and seeing him completely covered in dust, he let out a sheepish chuckle before wiping the dust off of him. "Um, sorry about that," he apologized, after helping to clean him off. Afterwards, he joined Alexis as he looked around the newly-uncovered room.

[Keylac]

Confirming that you're in the servants wing, this room was obviously used as a laundry room. The rotted remains of wooden washtubs are lined up along the floor, held together only by rusting iron hoops. The entrance to this room is in the west wall, but you can see it's blocked by large amounts of rubble from the collapse.

A check of the room reveals two things of interest. The first is a hole in the wall to the north, large enough for a small creature to fit through - or someone bigger if they squeezed.

The second is a hidden stash beneath one of the floor boards, containing a small box. Inside the box are two small gems and some coin, mostly copper, and a faded note. It's difficult to make out most of the words, but it seems to be a warning not to steal too many of the loose coins that are left in the pockets of the clothes washed here, for fear of being obvious.

OOC
The box contains 2 small gems, 52 cp, 19 sp, 2 gp, and a faded note.

Uriell
As you listen to the Alexis and Tamni'el move around in the room, you concentrate on the wand. Within a second, you confirm that it's magical; a few seconds more reveals that it's a faint Conjuration enchantment. You also recognize the feel of this enchantment. It reminds you of other, simple enchantments done by mages and craftsmen in Kerist. You still don't know the command word, but you expect that if you knew what the wand did, it would be obvious...

With nothing else to be learned from the magic, you switch to considering the markings on it.

Slowly, you realize that there's something wrong. The wand depicts plants, but not of any particular type you've ever heard of, nor are they depicted like you would expect plants to be. It's hard to be sure, especially given how small the engravings are, but you feel a growing certainty that the image isn't meant to be descriptive so much as a metaphor...

[Archmage1]

"Well, I think that this trip was worth it. There are some valuable items here, as well as a way to another room."
As she is talking, Alexis holds up the gems, and coins, before pocketing them.

"I think I will see if I can get to the other side of this hole. Probably a bad idea, but where would the fun in life be if you were always cautious?"

Alexis tries to squeeze through the hole.

take 10 on the escape artist, so 12. Note that Alexis is already on the smallish side for a medium creature, which may or may not be relevant.

[Keylac]

It's not easy, but Alexis manages to squeeze through the hole, into the hallway beyond. Catching her breath, she can see that the hallway is blocked with rubble on both sides. It's only half-filled where she sits on top of a pile of rock though; a fallen beam managed to partially shield this area. Of more immediate interest is the broken door in front of her, hanging off it's hinges. It looks like there's at least one more room in the west wing you could enter.

[Archmage1]

Whispered back through the hole:
"I made it. There is a broken door here. I will investigate. Perhaps there will be something useful there, or at least, something interesting."

Alexis, careful not to disturb the rubble too much, heads towards the broken door, carefully looking at it to see if moving it would cause any problems, before seeing if she can get it open enough for her to get into the room.

[Keylac]

The door proves to not be holding any of the rubble up. In fact, it's only still attached at all by one of it's rusting hinges. Slipping in past the door proves to be easy enough. In the room, you slowly stand up and look around - only to jerk back in surprise as a crow leaps out in front of you. The crow screeches it's protest at being disturbed before flapping out through a hole in the roof.

Your pulse rate returning to normal, you get a look at the room. It's actually in worse shape than most of the rooms you'd passed through already. Obviously, quite a few animals have made this a home over the past years, and they've done quite a lot of damage to the furnishings. The crow had turned the dresser into a nest, and there's what used to be a bed laying against one wall. Still, it seems the room only had a single occupant, marking him as someone important. Not too important of course, or he wouldn't be in the servants wing...

Pushing the thought of who's room it is from your mind, you search the room. Your rewarded with the discovery of a small chest hidden inside the dresser; only the damage the crow had done to the furniture allowed you to find it. Opening it, you smile. Inside are three bottles of liquid. You cant tell what they are without study, but you recognize them as potions or oils.

***

A quick look at the map reveals you've explored almost the entire first floor. In fact, only one room remains that you haven't passed through - the other door leading out of the kitchen. If the entrance to the cellars isn't buried in the rubble of the west wing, it must be there. Hopefully, down in the cellars you'll find the treasure you came, and possibly answers to the questions of why the kobolds are acting so strange...

OOC
3 currently unidentified Potions/Oils.

[Archmage1]

As she investigates the door, Alexis swiftly realizes that it is safe to enter the room. When she enters the door, a huge flying black thing comes at her, causing her to fall backwards, before she realizes that it is a crow. Chuckling to herself, Alexis searches the room, finding the chest, and the potions. She then returns to the party, a job well done.

After exiting the hole, Alexis turns to the rest of the party
"I found three potions in there, but I have no idea what they do, yet. I think that the only other door we have not explored is in the kitchen, where we entered. We should go there, and proceed through the door."
As she is talking, Alexis holds up the potions for the others to investigate.
She also attempts to identify the potions, using her knowledge of magic. Afterwards, she starts heading for the kitchen, figuring that the others would follow her.

[Holice]

Thinking to himself, Uriell can't help but wonder how familiar this wand feels, but he still can't put his finger on the spell.

Shaking his head he puts the wand back in his belt line, and looks up to see Alexis making her way back through the hole.

"So the kitchen seems to be all we have left on this level, shall we continue on?"

But before he could finish Alexis was already making her way there.

"I'll take that as a yes," he murmurs.

[Keylac]

Moving back through the house, you quickly return to the kitchen to check the remaining door. Thankfully, everything is as you'd left it - no one seems to have noticed your entry yet. A quick check of the door reveals nothing of interest.

The room beyond must have been the manors panty. The shelves are empty but for some unidentifiable remains, and the crates and barrels that used to store food are now empty, most of them broken open.

On the far side of the room, a stone staircase descends down into the earth. A quick glance down reveals that the bottom is shrouded in inky blackness - the dim light you've been using doesn't extend down into the basement, so you'll need to bring a light source with you.

Your fight with the kobolds outside, combined with your exploration of the ground floor has left you reasonably certain there's no enemies behind you, but you'll have to be careful. If this place is truly inhabited by the kobolds, they almost certainly live in the cellars.

[Archmage1]

"Looks like we will be descending. Who wants to take a light? I still have that sunrod that we found, but I would rather not carry it myself. Light and concealment tend to not go well together. We should probably move in combat order, so either Darius or Tulkar should take the lead, followed by me, so I can look for traps. Still, for now, if there are traps here, I should try to find them."

Alexis strikes the sunrod, and checks the stairway for traps, keeping a wary eye out for kobolds as she descends.

[Comissar]

"I'm happy to lead."

Trying as hard as he could to keep quiet, Darius moved to the front of the group and started heading down. As he walked he kept a keen eye out for any signs of trouble.

[Holice]

With a slight whimper, Hu moves up along side Uriell.

Petting his friend behind the ear, Uriell says softly, "I know boy, its been a long day and you just want some rest....."

Uriell suddenly looks up and begins to think for a moment. I wonder.

Pulling the wand from his belt line, he walks over to Anthony and touches him with the wand, while you hear him producing various words and guttural sounds. Stepping back, he looks Anthony up and down.

"No offense if I startled you, but do you feel any different?"

[AvocadoAvenger]

"The dark has never bothered me much. Actually, I never understood how people need light all that much." Tulkar says gruffly. He shrugs, "It might be that I'm just special, but it would make more sense for me to be front so that we can make as little light as possible."

[Electrobolt]

As he followed close to the group, Tamni'el recalled that Alexis had asked if anyone wanted to take the light. "If it's fine by you and the rest, I'll hold onto the light for the group." He then placed the bow back into it's resting place, as he waited for an answer.

[Archmage1]

"Thank you, Tamni'el. I appreciate it"
Alexis smiles at him as she passes the sunrod to him.

[Keylac]

As the party begins moving down the stone steps, into the cellar, Alexis checks the steps leading down, watched over by Darius. Her continued caution proves itself again; halfway down, a scything blade trap is hidden in the wall, set to go off if someone were to step on the next stair.

Disabling it proves to not be difficult, but it's also revealed to be hooked up to a series of rusty bells. The trap is obviously meant as a warning device, so there must be someone around to hear it... If the noise from Darius' descent, as quiet as he attempted to make it, hasn't altered them yet, it almost certainly will before he reaches the end of the stairs.

Meanwhile, at the top of the stairs - perhaps not wishing to crowd the others - Uriell, Anthony, and Tulkar wait to move down. While they wait, Uriell has attempted to use the wand - and succeeded. Anthony cannot be sure of which word it was that triggered it, since they all sounded like nonsense, but he feels reinvigorated, the weakness left from the spiderlings poison washing away.

OOC
Uriell successfully used the wand (we've been speaking about it in messages if anyone was wondering) and it turns out to be a Wand of Lesser Restoration. Anthony Strength is restored by 3 points (which, if I'm remembering right, is also the amount he's missing, which is handy).

[Archmage1]

"Expect company at the base. There is a noise trap here, and I can't imagine that they won't hear the clanking of the tin cans."

Alexis tries to meld into the remaining shadows, ready to cast a spell, shoot her bow, or run, depending on what appears.

[Electrobolt]

Tamni'el nodded, as he held onto the sunrod while pulling his scimitar out using his main hand. It's always a good idea to be prepared, and seeing as they were approaching more goblins, this is a good time as any to get ready.

[Comissar]

Darius chuckled a little at Alexis' comment.

"Tell you what, when we're out of here you can show me how to move quietly in a suits worth of metal."

Moving cautiously again, he kept his Halberd pointed with the blade facing down the corridor.

[Morbis Meh]

Feeling his strength return to his muscles Anthony stands up, brushes dust off of himself and hefts his axe over his shoulder. "Well, let them know I am here, I can always go in ahead while you sneak. That way they may not notice you initially, seeing as Tulk the sulk, Holier than though and myself the drunken trainwreck can draw their attention." Looking down the stairs Anthony rubs his chin "This is one of the times I wished we had a dead body to throw down a flight of stairs..."

[Archmage1]

"Darius, it is easy. Step 1, remove the metal... Or use magic to silence your movements."

At Anthony's comment, Alexis pauses, and looks at him

"I have never ran into a situation where throwing a body down the stairs worked as a distraction. Then again, fot what I have done prior to this, having a body lying around to be thrown indicates a failure. Still, I think they will notice you three, and possibly ignore me, which gives me a better chance of enchanting them."

[Keylac]

As the vanguard of the party moves a few steps down from the trap, they hear movement and some confused yips from below; the presence of a guard has apparently been confirmed, but they're not raising the alarm yet. The party doubtless has only a few seconds before they attempt to determine what's happening...

Draconic Speakers:

1st Kobold: "What that? Intruder?"
2nd Kobold: "I no hear trap..."
3rd Kobold: "Maybe Sharpbite trip, fall down stairs?"

[Archmage1]

Alexis attempts to distract the guards for a bit longer by speaking in a draconic, kobold accent(like that Sharpbite fellow we ran into earlier...).

"You not mention this to anyone. If you do..."


trying to convince the kobolds that Alexis is SharpBite... somehow, I suspect this is not going to work...

[Comissar]

Tensing in anticipation for a fight, Darius looked to Alexis. Whatever she was saying, it seemed to be the same language as the Kobolds so it seemed wisest to follow her lead in this. He quietly lifted his halberd slightly, gave a questioning look and gestured softly towards the sound of the lizardfolk's voices.

[Archmage1]

Alexis holds up her hand, indicating Darius to pause, pending the outcome of the response.

[Keylac]

From the cellar come murmurs, the sound of the kobolds whispering in confusion. Shortly, you hear one of them say something to low to hear in a commanding voice, and then the sounds of one of them moving closer to the stairs.

[Archmage1]

Whispered:
"Well, it was worth a shot. I tried to convince them that we were that kobold hunting party. Looks like they did not buy it. Time for plan b."

Alexis prepares to fire her bow at the first kobold she sees

readied action to shoot the first kobold

[Holice]

Seeing the group tense up, Uriell is sure this means a confrontation is about to take place. Too far to see what is going on near the bottom of the stairs, Uriell grabs his spear with a grip meant for throwing, in case the need arises.

Looking towards Hu, Uriell whispers loudly, "Heel boy!", not wanting the him to go lunging down the steps at the first sight or smell of an enemy. Hu obliges and stands stiffly behind Uriell, but does not remove the snarl from his face, which only adds to the feeling that this is going to get messy...very soon.

[Keylac]

The sound of movement comes closer, and a few breathes later, a kobold steps into the dim light at the bottom of the stairs. It's difficult for most to make out it's expression, but Alexis can clearly see the shock on it's face, mouth agape, as it finds himself faced with the party.

Before it can voice it's surprise, it's expression is hidden behind the fletching of the arrow she fired straight into it's open mouth. Shouts of anger come from the cellar, as the others see the scout fall.

OOC
And with that, combat starts.

Groups are:

Group 1: Anthony
Group 2: Kobolds
Group 3: Everyone Else

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony lets rip a fierce battle cry and charges into the fray, striking the first kobold that comes his way.

I doubt if I can charge since I am on stairs... but then again i am going down so as long as they're directly in front of me. Will use a maneuver just need to roll for it.

[Keylac]

Antony charges down the stairs, pushing those in front of him out of the way, before rushing a few feet into the room. It's almost pitch black down here, the only light coming from the sunrod halfway up the stairs, spilling out to within a few feet of the bottom. In the dim light, you can see that no kobolds are within range, giving you a moment to size up the room - as well as you can.

The cellar is dark and cool, with crates and boxes stacked haphazardly everywhere, among the filth of habitation. Several intact barrels still sit in the back amidst a puddle of oil; from the smell, it's cooking oil that long since went rancid. Apparently, the current residents don't mind the smell. You could ask them, but they don't seem too happy to see you.

You don't have long to appreciate the view; within a breathe of you entering the cellar, you hear a hissed command come from the shadows to your left, to low to make out. The darkness seems to explode with kobolds as they charge towards you.

Four of them move to stop you from moving further forward, near surrounding you and stabbing at you with their spears. You manage to parry and block all but one of the blows, but the one to your left manages to get through your guard.

From the darkness, more kobolds send a flight of sling-stones at you. You can't see the slingers, but you can hear the clatter as stones that missed bounce off the stone walls. Another bounces off your armor, and one glances off the side of your head, causing a stining pain.

Just as you being to think you've weathered their counterattack, you hear the kobold to the left hiss more strange words. Before you can consider what he's doing, a ray of flame leaps out of the darkness towards you, dazzling you with it's brightness. Only a hasty duck on your part allows you to avoid it; you feel the heat of it's passage on your head as it passes over to strike the wall to your right.

OOC
Allright, Group 3, you're up. Anthony, you took 3 damage from the spear and 2 from the sling stone.

[Comissar]

Darius was surprised to see Anthony charge past him in the way he did, he'd expected a more co-ordinated assault down the stairs.

Reckless fool...

He followed the Crusader down into the chamber and, seeing how many Kobolds there were, attempted to get the attention of a few away from Anthony by lunging at them with the tip of his blade.