Heroes IC Thread

[Raynn]

Heroes:
A Prelude To Great Things


This story begins, as so many do, with a sigh.

An old man stood at the foot of a long and winding stone staircase. The years had been kind to him and a deft hand with a razor that morning had left him with little more than even stubble but still, it could be seen, something weighed on him.

Slowly, but with steady purpose, the man began the long climb. He passed stained glass framed in stone and balconies over looking the city and sea below, but continued ever upwards, unceasingly. He passed sculptures and paintings, gilded weapons and busts, but rose on-wards.

At each landing he tarried not at all, and servitors and staff bowed their heads in respect as he passed, though he lent them no reply. Today, unlike all other days, he paid them no mind. He rose.

When finally he reached the apartment at the towers peak he passed through the entrance way in silence. He was uncharacteristically reserved as he did his best to open the door in one slow and quiet motion. Once inside his every step was measured. He moved with practiced grace as he treated the well furnished space as just another of the battlefields he was so used to.

When it came at him from behind the sofa and latched onto his back he was surprisingly unprepared.

"GRANDPA!" The tiny assailant yelled, with the glee oft reserved for birthdays and snow days.

"Off me you brute!" The man barked as he turned on his attacker and threw up lightly into the air.

"It's just me grandpa!" The little boy said with a giggle as the man caught him.

"Oh? I was convinced it was a dragon," the man said with a laugh as he set the boy down.

The little boy's eyes went wide with wonder "You fought a dragon before then?"

The man seemed to smirk and repress a laugh "A few. More than a few."

With that he plucked the boy from the floor and carried him into another room. It was vast and opulent, filled with more toys than most children could ever hope to own, and then again with books. Stacks and shelves of the things, so many as the room was half a library.

He set the boy down in the large bed and with the grinding of hard wood on hard wood pulled an armchair to its edge. The child scrambled to tuck himself in as the man pulled a single tome from the smallest shelf and took his seat. The child, disciplined as he was, sat in anticipatory silence. The man in his turn fondled the old tome contemplatively as another man might do a tumbler of fine spirits. He ran weathered fingers over the fetching of the pages and the worn edges of the hard cover. He move their tips down along the spine, feeling the indents of the book's name. The cover was blank of course, aside from some faded gold filigree in one corner, like a journal, and black, or as black as such an old thing could be. It was the boy again who broke him from his reverie.

"Is this one about you grandpa?" The boy asked leaning forward, eyeing the strange volume with innocent curiosity.

The man smirked "Not as I remember it, not me."

"Then who?" Asked the small boy as he brushed white tipped brunette bangs from his eyes.

"Heroes," the man said with a laugh as he parted the faces of the book to find his page "Of a sort . . . eventually."

The man tapped his finger to his tongue and turned to the first page "now rest and listen . . ."

The man smiled a knowing smile, as one about to impart a great gift "For this story begins, as so many do, with a sigh . . ."

Captain Driftbern sighed as he looked over the prow of his brig, the 'Flight From Stonewall. He was uneasy. The seas beyond the Gray Coast had never been particularly friendly, and the weather was abominable year round, but even by those standards it was unkindly at the moment. Fog had come down from the north that morning and had held through till dusk, and then again till now, not far off from the dawn. If it was not for how close they already were to the coast the Captain might have feared they might lose their coarse but instead he was more concerned with the omen that such dubious weather might purport. He was anything but a spiritual man, it was a relic of his traditionalist Dwarven upbringing, but still such weather left him ill at ease. If not only because it was pirating weather, in pirating waters, and they were woefully unequipped to defend themselves against such marauders.

Every season Captain Driftbern told himself he'd call it quits, but he had wives to feed and a dragon's sickness, so each season he delayed again his early retirement till now when it would be a rather late retirement. He supposed this unease was the price of his procrastination.

He fumbled with a pipe and some flint as he leaned back and spotted one of the deck boys approaching. A scraggly half-elf with more hair than sense, he turned his mind over looking for his name as the boy made his way up the stairs from the lower deck but nothing came to him.

"Captain, some of the men were wondering how long you think it might be till we reach land? Seemed we were close before the fog came down on us," the youth stumbled over his words, intimidated by the captain despite that as a dwarf the boy towered over him.

"We'll get there when we get there and not a min-" the Captain stopped as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

From the mists came a prow, worn as it was by age, flying black sails.

"Wake the adventurers," the Captain said slowly.

"What sir?" The Youth hadn't noticed the oncoming ship yet.

The Captain turned and barked at the boy "WAKE THOSE SEVEN HELLS DAMNED ADVENTURERS! NOW!"

With that the boy broke into a run as a human rushes past him. The man was burly and dark skinned, wearing little above the waist despite the cold night air "Captain, did you see-"

"Aye. They'll be on us shortly. Vultures, me thinks, too small a craft to be the sort to intend us harm . . ." The Captain replied to his first mate somberly.

"They'll pick us clean though, last time we had barely enough rations to make it all to land, or at least those they left us with," the First Mate replied.

The Captain nodded "Aye, but we haven't the distance to flee against the wind, and if we make them work for it . . . well you know they're sort. They do easy jobs or they do bloody jobs."

The First Mate nods as he takes up a spot beside the Captain "And if they're not vultures? If they're the other kind . . . ?"

The Captain only offered somber silence in reply, before eventually shouting back over the deck to the Youth "ARE THOSE DAMNED ADVENTURERS AWAKE YET?!"

. . .

Below decks There is a commotion as most of the crew, save the Captain and the First Mate have descended. It seems most of the crew are green youth and so have been instructed to hide, as much as they can, 'till the situation is resolved'.

One of the youths approaches the area of the lower deck where the adventurers hammocks reside. One by one he hurriedly shakes each of the adventurers awake, a look of fear in his eyes "the Captain be needin' each of yeh on deck. There's trouble with another boat, I think he needs some help."

. . .

Those that eventually come up the stairs are able to see another ship has come to latch itself to the 'Flight from Stonewall'. Both ships' sails have been closed and have come to a relative halt. Only the Firstmate and Captain remain on deck.

Across a pair of blanks that have been made to connect the ship are a half dozen or so grizzled and vicious looking men, but only one stands at the foot of a plank. He is lean and well dressed, if a little grizzled in his features. He is a hungry sort of handsome. He seems to leer at the flight like fresh meat before a hound.

When he finally speaks, in a thick foreign accent, he does so with a lopsided, sly grin, outstretched arms and a cutlass in hand "MY friends, my friends. My apologies for the intrusion on your business but you see you have entered foreign waters, and as such certain tariffs apply to your goods of trade. Merely business you see. Merely business. I have no intention of making trouble my friends, just a humble tax man, a humble tax man. Simply allow my men aboard to take our intended taxation and we will be out of your hair, no trouble, no trouble."

He continues to smile revealing gilded teeth, twirling the blade in his hand, and speaks again "unless of course you intend to resist the law, and be criminals, terrible criminals."

He leans back and allows himself another grin "Then, my friends, we might have trouble, terrible trouble."


What do you do?


The Map (https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1SrGcrsRLkxfECQoBzPVAGsEtI6SKijJQFR9b1WKOezE/edit)

To Be Clear . . .

You are not in combat time, as the enemy captain fully intends to take the cargo and not start a fight unless he meets resistance i.e. unless you do something to help the Captain.
When using the map make a circle in your speech colour to mark your initial location.
You may enter the top deck from either of the stairs to the lower deck but as you are not in combat yet you may move to any spot on your deck as you act, presuming you don't provoke combat and thereby initiative before you move.
If you post before we find our forth avoid mentioning how many are in the bunks with you for continuity sake.
While your characters are presumed to know each other enough already to have formed an adventuring party that doesn't mean they have to have known each other super well. So while you know each other on first names basis you may still not be experience working together.
Ask any other questions in the OoC and I'll answer ASAP.


POST AWAY!:smalltongue:

[Green Bean]

Grundnash awoke quickly enough; not being a seafarer, he found it difficult to get a good night's sleep on a hammock. He yawned and almost stretched himself to full height, but recalled that the ceiling was not meant for people of his stature. The boy who woke him seemed overly excited, and Grundnash had to make him repeat himself a few times before the wizard understood.

In his brief experience aboard the ship, these young sailors seemed prone to overreaction and superstition, but just to be safe he wove a brief spell of protection before he stepped out on the deck. The man was clearly not a tax official. This far out at sea, one couldn't enforce tariffs. Such a thing was contrary to legal and religious traditions going back centuries. It was honestly a bit of an outrage, and he simply had to put forth his thoughts on the subject. "Grundnash no understand. Gozreh tax seas, not puny human. Are puny humans priest?"

Mage Armour-ing up, +4 to AC and all that.

[SuperCracker]

The Half-Elf

In his hammock, the most human-looking of this bunch of misfits was snoring away the drunken night before. When he would wake, he would wonder how he even made it on board this vessel. Of course, Lydia was always the type to feed him one ale too much to get him to agree to her schemes. Fortunately, she had a soft spot, and as he awoke with a start, he’d find his knapsack a little heavier than it was the night before.

“Trouble?” He says grogilly. He rubbed his face with both hands. “Yes. Trouble!” There was excitement in his voice as the slightly hung-over adventurer leapt from his hammock and stormed up onto the deck.

Up top in the stand-off.

Standing with the Captain and the other aforementioned adventurers was a young half-elf. He had a well-defined jawline, slightly pointed ears, handsome features, and bright violet eyes. His hair was short, but messy—black as night. He was tall and strong for a half-elf, at 5’11, and dressed in a chain shirt with black mesh under-armor and a blue bandana hanging around his neck. Crossed behind his back, at his hips, were a pair of foreign short swords – wakizashi.

After hearing the spiel of the pirate captain, the young man stepped up onto the plank, at the edge of the Flight.

Grundnash spoke first, and the half-elf just patted him on the shoulder twice as if to say let me try.

“The only trouble I see,” he said, speaking with a clear, confident (if not cocky) voice, “is for whoever crosses this plank here. Because I’m gonna throw them into the water. So take your parrots, peg-legs, and scurvy and get the hell out of here before you find out what real trouble is.”

He then drew those swords, spinning them once.

Edit: Made sure I drew my weapons before combat starts. >.>

[Raynn]

Up top in the stand-off

The 'Tax Collector' turned up his nose at the half-Orc as he arrived on deck, clearly perturbed but not intimidated by Grundash's arrival "Gozreh? Oh. That filthy Orc deity. Yes, in fact, I am a Priest, a Priest indeed. I worship the almighty gold piece, half-blood but-"

When Curinir buts in the 'Tax Collector' is so shocked it takes him a moment to reply. When he does his men begin to draw weapons.

"Real trouble eh? Real trouble does not look so tough, no?"

As the situation seems to barrel towards an obvious climax Captain Driftbern leans back and whispers to Curinir and Grundash "J'ievra, yeh mad fool. You sure about this?"


Making up minor things about the setting, like Green Bean just did, is not only fine it is encouraged! Bar really nutso stuff like a spirit who gives rings of wishing to low level half-orc wizards it will be considered Canon.
If you want to make a meaningful attempt to scare these guys off give Intimidate, if you want to deflate the situation to where they'll accept the cargo, or maybe a smaller precentage, roll Diplomacy, otherwise . . .

[SuperCracker]

Curinir Ji’evra

“Oh, I’m sure about this. I could fight these guys in my sleep,” he says, giving a pointed look towards Gundnash. Otherwise, Curinir settles into a loose defensive stance. He didn’t have any formal training, just a knack of beating people up.

Still… seven guys at once was a tall order on his own. It’s a good thing he has knives, guns, and spells on his side… especially if Grundnash takes the hint.

[Phase]

Bradack yawns and stretches as he awakens, glancing over at his compatriots. His hands hit the ceiling of the cramped room, and so he hunches over a bit in the gloom. Bradack has always been tall, for a Hobgoblin, though his fellow goblin-kin tend to notice first how lean and skinny he is, then the height, then the knife.

Well, no. They never notice the knife. They notice the knives. On him, at the moment, Bradack has tucked away at least four daggers. Two more sit under his pillow. He strides over to his belongings and pulls the last four he brought with from inside his travelling pack and hides them in various folds of his outfit. With a twirl, he pulls on his cloak and wraps his scarf around his face. With a quick pull of the hood, he's ready.

"<Now.>" He says in his native tongue. "<Let's see what all the commotion is.>"

He makes his way through the crew milling about, avoiding them deftly with the grace of a big cat. Despite his awkward proportions, he was the best acrobat in his tribe, bar none. The fact that he liked blades a little more than he liked the trapeze was his only shortcoming.

He arrives at a staircase up to the deck. He pokes his head out, just barely, to see what's up.

Rolling Stealth to be out of sight for flat-foot reasons, should it be necessary:

Roll: [roll0]

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak-Tekkatak

"No...don't...wanna....get up...CA-CAWW!!!" Tektak yelled as one of the young crew members jarred him from his slumber, causing him to leap up and tangle himself in his hammock. Quickly finding out the situation going on above deck and extricating himself from the hammock, Tektak straps on his holster, pulls his poncho on over his chain shirt and dons his wide brimmed hat.

Stepping out onto the deck, he strides next to his companions to face the pirates. "Looks like trouble it is then. For you." the tengu says, lifting his poncho up to reveal his sidearm, feathered hand above his pistol ready to draw.

Drawing my weapon, but just for cinematic effect we'll pretend that I can quick draw it :smallbiggrin:

[Raynn]

Up top in the stand-off

The 'Tax Collector' brushes aside his long coat and draws a coat pistol and reveals a bandoleer wrapped around his waist "We have the numbers my friends, I recommend you all end the bravado before you get your reasonable Captain friend killed for tax evasion."

The tension reaches boiling point and the shipmates on the 'Tax Collector's' ship are all leveling their weapons. Obviously they are waiting for the adventurers to push this over the edge or back down, as unlikely as that seems.

What do you do?

Once someone makes an attack or attack like action and starts the fight then we roll initiative and act in initiative order; and yes this does mean that if someone is lucky they might act twice in a row.

[Green Bean]

Grundnash shook his head regretfully and murmured in Driftbern's ear. "Much sorry, captain. Him no know Gozreh, on sea. Him on board, very bad. Gods no like." Taking a pinch of fine sand from his pouch, he stepped smartly behind the mast before muttering a few words and flinging the sand at the pirates. Then he hunkered down; mystic protection or no, being shot hurt.

Stepping behind the mast, then initiating combat by casting Sleep on the pirates, see the map for details. DC 16 Will Save.

Initiative: [roll0]

[Raynn]

Up top in the stand-off

A burst of magical sand flows across the gangplank towards the pirates but sadly the magical sand finds no purchase and the 'Tax Collector' and his cronies remaining standing and awake. At that all hopes of calming the situation are thrown out the window "See boys! The green-skin is trying to bewitch us! Criminals the lot of them! Seems we'll have to do our civic duty my friends!"

With that they prepare to charge onto the 'Flight From Stonewall', but luckily for our heroes they are not as quick on the uptake as a certain pair of Hobgoblin and Half-orc.

What do you do?

Bradack (Phase) is up in Initiative, so throw some knives bro! :smalltongue:

Bradack & Grundnash have Partial Cover.

Partial Cover: +2 to AC and a +1 bonus on Reflex saving throws.

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack curses silently to himself that he hadn't the foresight to strike first, but the traded lines of intimidation tactics were too funny to interrupt. He shrugs, then hoists himself up over the side of the staircase. He was in a better tactical position down below, but again, more fun.

"Hey now!" He says in common. "Identifying people by the color of their skin?" He raises his arms up in the air. "How last century!" He bows slightly, one hand out behind him. "I suppose that would make me 'The Orange-Skin' to you."

He looks up. "Though I would prefer to be known as..." He grins under his scarf and twists his wrist, a dagger jumping immediately into his hand. With a mighty FWOOSH, he flings the dagger at the Tax Collector. "That bastard whose knife is sticking out of you."

The knife flies right past the guy, falling with a splash into the ocean. "...<Crap, I liked that knife.>"

Rolling to-hit, 2 range increments away.
Rolling Damage, assuming Sneak Attack for a whole bunch of reasons. [roll]1d4-1+1d8+1

EDIT: Welp. I guess it doesn't matter that the thing is broken.

[Green Bean]

Grundnash frowned at the pirates shaking off his enchantment. And with Bradack's rare misstep with his knives, it seemed bad fortune was plaguing their company this fine morning. Fortunately, the echoes of the spell still resounded in the air. He gripped his staff and muttered a few words of power, drawing the spell in and unleashing it once more on the pirates.

Using my Arcane Bond to recast Sleep on the pirates, see map for AoE.

[Raynn]

Up top in the stand-off

A second burst of magical sand flows across the gap between the two crafts and one of the pirates snores comically before hitting the deck in a heap. Simultaneously a knife drifts farther down into the Gray Sea. In response a pair of pirates shamble across one of the gangplanks towards Curinir. The second can't reach Curinir but the first manages to slash his blade across Curinir's arm.

Towards the other gangplank another pair rush across to attack Tektak and Bradack, one leaving himself open to reprisal from Tektak as he does so. Both attacks leave their targets unharmed due to wide swings of their scimitars.

Lastly an arrow embeds itself in the mast nearest Grundnash while another shoots over the head of Bradack.

What do you do?

Tektak (SuperMuldoon) is up in Initiative! :smalltongue:

Tektak must make an AoO against one of the Pirates.

Curinir takes 7 Damage.

Grundnash has Partial Cover.

Partial Cover: +2 to AC and a +1 bonus on Reflex saving throws.

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

The Tengu is a whirl of black feathers as he bobs and weaves, dodging the pirates' blade. Suddenly he draws his pistol, firing off a quick shot at the pirate with a burst of smoke and gunpowder.

He then scrambles to reload his pistol, leaving himself open for attack - hoping to dodge this one as well - before levelling his pistol again, this time at the pirate standing right in front of him.

[roll0] against touch AC, [roll1]

move action to reload, provoking an AoO

[roll2] against touch AC, spending a grit point to do extra [roll3] damage, half that on a miss.

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Bravado can be painful sometimes, as evinced by the blood spilling out of his arm onto the deck of the ship. Not a great start to this adventure, but it’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. And Curinir intended to finish this guy directly.

And he misses both attacks. Hooray.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4199924/

[Raynn]

Up top in the stand-off

As the pirate attacking Tektak misses so does the 'Tax Collector' as he fires off a shot from his coat pistol in Tektak's direction "You fools! Kill them already! They're coming out of the woodwork!"

A moment later pale light emanates from the barrel of his pistol as his bandoleer around his waist glows in the same shade. Clearly the bandoleer is some sort of magical item.


What do you do?

Bradack (Phase) is up!

[Phase]

Bradack takes a step backwards as the pirate advances, only to flinch at the gunshot. Guns. Such inelegant weapons. He sometimes wondered why he traveled with such a noisy bunch of people. Oh well. He smirks under his scarf, and nods. "Right then. I'm uncomfortable with our current proximity. How would you feel about us parting ways, hmm?" He looks up at the pirate. "...Right."

He backs up a bit then, with a mock salute and a bit of fancy footwork, he leaps towards the other ship...

And promptly trips over the edge. "<Ah, crap.>" He plummets quickly towards the water. With some quick thinking, he manages to twist his wrist to unsheathe his reserve knife, plunging it into the wood of the enemy ship. He looks up at the pirate he just barely dodged.

"...So this is not me best day." He twists himself around, bracing his legs against the side of the ship and leaping sideways onto the gangplank with ease. Twirling his now significantly duller knife, he looks at all the pirates surrounding him.

"...And it would seem that's not gonna change any time soon."

Rolling to move through a threatened square without provoking, DC=CMD: [roll0]
Rolling to jump the ten feet across the gap, DC 20: [roll1]

[Green Bean]

Grundnash wasn't the most tactically minded sort, but Curinir looked to be in the most danger. After all, Tektak and Bradack seemed to have their foes well in hand. Sure, the hobgoblin had almost drowned himself, but minor missteps aside, neither of them were actively bleeding, right? The cramped confines of the gangplank made his next decision easy. He summoned up his magic once more and coated the narrow plank in a thick layer of slippery grease.

Grease-ing it up in here!

[Raynn]

The Onslaugt On Deck

What follows the orc magic is nothing short of comical. In one odd moment the two men on the gangplank in front of Curinir slip to either side and fall thirty feet into the water. Another moves to replace him with his sword drawn but follows them into the drink, leaving Curinir standing there looking like the star of a slapstick comedy.

On the other side of the deck one of the pirates drops his bow, draws his cutlass and moves to flank Bradack on the other gangplank. He doesn't have time to draw his weapon, move into place and attack though. His flanking partner does though but doesn't come close to hitting Bradack as he slashes the air near the too-fast-Hobgoblin.

Another of the men moves away from his fellows towards the Half-Orc wizard but his cutlass clinks away on the glowing translucent mage armor that appears as he brings down his blade.

"This is . . . Inconceivable! INCONCEIVABLE!" roars the 'Tax Collector'.


What do you do?

Tektak (Phase) is up! :smallsmile:

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Seeing his hobgoblin friend 'gracefully' position himself on the gangplank, Tektak moves to flank the pirate between them.

"Hey, look at me! I'm reloadingggg!" he taunts the pirate as he loads another round into his pistol.

5 ft step to flank, and spending action to reload, provoking AoO

[Raynn]

The Onslaugt On Deck

The shipmate arks around and slashes across the chest of Tektak "I see you, you ugly goddamn boomstick flinging bird!"


What do you do?

Attack Roll: [roll0] vs. DC 19
Damage: [roll1]

Tektak takes 3 damage.

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Bracing himself for further pirate-sworded pain, the half-elf was pleasantly surprised when his prior threat to toss people into the drink was made good – granted, not the way he said it would be.

“HA!”

So eloquent.

Curinir turned back, hearing the sounds of combat coming too close to his studious half-orc companion, then bolted towards him, swinging around the combatants and delivering a reverse-gripped wakizashi slash to the villain, tearing through his abdomen and dropping him like a sack of bloody potatoes.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4200255/ 15 to hit.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4200260/ 6 damage.

[Raynn]

The Onslaugt On Deck

As the man attacking the Wizard is brought down by a strike from Curinir the 'Tax Collector' realizes that following his allies over the gangplank would be folly. Instead he turns and moves over to his sleeping compatriot. A slap rings out as the 'Tax Collector' shouts "get up you worthless fool! They've just damn near killed one of our men! And they'll do the same to the rest of us if we don't soon put them down!"


What do you do?

Bradack (Phase) is up! :smallsmile:

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack glances over the pirate's shoulder as he attacks Tektek. He would throw the bird a grin for the distraction, but his scarf sorta defeats the purpose. Instead, he tosses a thumbs up with his knife hand, then plunges the blade down towards the back of the pirate.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] Sneak Attack [roll2]

[Green Bean]

Grundnash gave Curinir a grateful nod before turning his attention back to the increasingly chaotic melee. His Grease spell had helped turn the tide somewhat, but there was still the matter of their leader. He furrowed his brow and a small green light appeared in front of him. This was a little different from his normal book magic, a spell of will, focus, and nothing else. With no more than a glance, he sent it flying off at the pirate leader.

Acid Dart as a ranged touch attack vs the tax man.

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

As the pirate leader gracelessly ducks an acid dart Bradack spins and occupies the space between two descending blades for an instant, dodging two attacks simultaneously. As this is going on an arrow from the newly awakened pirate arches far over Tektak's head.


What do you do?

Ranged Attack Roll: [roll0] vs. DC 19 (Tektak's AC)
Damage: [roll1]

Melee Attack Roll: [roll2] vs. DC 17 (Bradack's AC)
Damage: [roll3]
Melee Attack Roll: [roll4] vs. DC 17 (Bradack's AC)
Damage: [roll5]

Tektak (SuperMuldoon) is up! :smallsmile:

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak returns the thumbs up to Bradack, and points the gun point blank at the pirate and squeezes the trigger. The report booms through the air and the smell of gunpowder enters his birdy nostrils.

He loved guns.

His hand darted back into his poncho to retrieve more ammo, and began reloading.

Firing at the pirate in front of me [roll0] vs touch AC
[roll1]
move action reload, provoking another AoO

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

The man spun around as the shot tore across his side but his slash in Tektak's direction as he left himself open was nothing more than a slice through open air. The man seemed too pained for quips, realizing that at some point the fight had turned wholly against his side.


What do you do?

Attack of Opportunity:
Melee Attack Roll: [roll0] vs. DC 19 (Tektak's AC)
Damage Roll: [roll1]

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Curinir wasn’t weak, he just had to build up the momentum. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Turning from the fallen pirate that had been harassing the wizard, the fighter made a quick series of steps towards the pirate being attacked by the rest of his crew.

He slashed twice, the pirate evading one and taking a slash from the other, raking open another would on the pirate’s leg. Unfortunately not as deep as the fighter had hoped.


“Tougher than they look, aren't they?”

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4200434/ Miss the first. Hit the second.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4200438/ 3 damage.

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

A shot from the 'Tax Collector's' coat pistol cuts across Bradack's shoulder as the weapon glows again with his bandoleer a moment later "It's kill or be killed my friends! Keep it together! Keep it together!"


What do you do?

Melee Attack Roll: [roll0] vs. DC 15 (Bradack's Touch AC)
Damage Roll: [roll1]

[Phase]

Bradack catches himself inches from the edge of the plank. It's wide enough, but he'd prefer not to have pitched combat over such, ah... distant waters. It's not that he's unable to balance well, he's probably the best of the bunch...

But he's not a strong swimmer.

He's nearly stable when a jolt of pain ripples through his body. He winces, grabbing for his shoulder and falling to one knee. "Graha!" He shouts, eyes clenched shut. He glances up at the two pirates on either side of himself, then nods. He twirls his knife in his hand, then attempts to slash it across the pirate in front of him's tendons.

But the pirate steps forward just too soon. "GODS DAMN IT CAN'T ANYONE STAND STILL?" He frowns and reaches into his coat, pulling out another knife.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Sneak attack: [roll2]

Then, if successful, following up by five foot stepping up and using a move action to pull out another knife.

[Green Bean]

"Grundnash no want to kill puny humans. Drop weapons, be safe." Should that entreaty not succeed, Grundnash decides to see if the second time's the charm with regard to the application of acid darts to pirate leaders.

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage Roll: [roll1]

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

Bradack and Tektak's attackers go wide of their marks as the acid art sears across the 'Tax Collector's' arm with a pained scream. Simultaneously another arrow embeds itself in the mast beside Grundash, barely missing his head.

Ranged Attack Roll: [roll0] vs. DC 19 (Tektak's AC)
Damage: [roll1]

Melee Attack Roll: [roll2] vs. DC 17 (Bradack's AC)
Damage: [roll3]

Ranged Attack Roll: [roll4] vs. DC 20 (Grundnash's AC)
Damage: [roll5]

Tektak (SuperMuldoon) is up!

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

The bird raises his gun again, aiming to put down the pirate in front of him for good - so he can move onto the next one.

[roll0] Hero Point reroll in OOC: 19 vs touch AC
[roll1]
move action to reload

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

With a point blank shot to the gut Tektak sends the man in front of him to the deck to start bleeding out over the hard wood deck.

A moment later another shot goes wide over Bradack's opposite shoulder as the 'Tax Collector' fires off another shot in his direction. From the look on the man's face he has come to realize how far the tables have turned out of his favor.


What do you do?

Bradack (Phase) is up! :smallsmile:

Attack Roll: [roll0] vs. DC 15 (Bradack's Touch AC)
Damage Roll: [roll1]

[Phase]

Bradack's eyes go wide, one knife-wielding hand pressed to his bleeding wound. "Crap, this is a bad day for me..." He glances at the tax collector, sighing, then does a sort of makeshift, one-armed cartwheel back on deck. He drops low on the floor and spins his knives once in his hands.

"But not as bad as yours is about to be!" He shouts to the gun toting extortionist.

Taunting the taxman as a FEINT: [roll0]

[Green Bean]

Still hiding behind the mast, Grundnash maintains his barrage of acidic missiles against the pirates' leader

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage Roll: [roll1]

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

As the rogue ducks out of the way, the fighter came storming through the opening, stepping over the down and bleeding pirate as he rushed the gang-plank, feinting a horizontal slash with his off-hand weapon before coming down with a hard downward slash with his right hand, carving deeply into the pirate's shoulder and chest.

I hit a 16 and do 8 points of damage.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4202098/

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

An arrow shoots past, barely three inches to the right of Curinir's eye while the badly wounded pirate he is fighting swings meekly as he tries to keep his blood in his chest.

Tektak (SuperMuldoon) is up! :smallsmile:

Attack Roll: [roll0] vs. DC 17 (Curinir's AC)
Damage Roll: [roll1]

Attack Roll: [roll2] vs. DC 17 (Curinir's AC)
Damage Roll: [roll3]

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

And another one bites the dust. Dramatically blowing the smoke from the barrel of his pistol, he moves into position to line up a shot on the tax collector himself!

move, then shoot!
[roll0] vs touch AC, spending another grit point to add 1d6 to damage, half that on miss.
[roll1] [roll2]

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

A shot from Tektak rips across the Pirate Leader's abdomen as another of the 'Tax Collector's' shots go wide of Curinir as he continues to hold off one of the pirates on the gangplank. The Tax Collector is clearly unfazed by Bradack's threats "I'll cut you in half myself you filthy Hobgoblin!"


What do you do?

Bradack (Phase) is up! :smallsmile:

[Phase]

Bradack raises one eyebrow. What's wrong with him today? Surely it's not that he accidentally threw his lucky knife overboard... Hmmm...

He looks at the knife in his right hand, sighs, and kisses it. "<Fly true, baby.>" He says, then lets loose the dagger at the heavily bleeding pirate thug before circling around Tektak.

Throwing to hit, for what little it's worth, at the -8 thug:
To hit [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

The blade embeds itself in the chest of the pirate with obvious force and he only manages to cough up blood before slumping over on the gangplank.


What do you do?

Curinir (SuperCracker) is up! :smallsmile:

Only one Pirate and the Pirate leader remaining.

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

The pirate in front of him going down in a bloody heap, the pathway was clear now to the pirate leader himself. The man liked shooting that little gun of his. Curinir wondered how much fun that would be with swords in his face.

"I'm coming for ya, pegleg!"

The half elf pointed one of his wakizashi's at the pirate as he shouted, then crossed the plank and hopped down onto the deck, slashing at the Tax Collector as he came down.

16 to hit http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4204562/
7 damage on a hit http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4204563/

[Green Bean]

Seeing that the fight was on the verge of finishing, Grundnash came out from behind the mast, chanting as he went. He stopped just short of the greased gangplank and unleashed a riotous display of colour on the two remaining conscious foes on the ship.

Colour Spray vs the two baddies still in play. DC 16 Will Save.

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

"Aaaaagghhh!" The 'Tax Collector' screams out as the only remaining Pirate manages to cover his eyes, barely protecting himself. Meanwhile the Tax Collector has dropped his pistol and his cutlass in his confusion and pain.

A moment later that last pirate flees to the other end of the deck firing off a shot that goes nowhere near Curinir as he tries to put some distance between them.


What do you do?

Tektak (SuperMuldoon) is up! :smallsmile:

Will save (Pirate): [roll0] vs. DC 16
If knocked out . . . [roll1]
Will Save ('Tax Collector'): [roll2] vs. DC 16
If blind and stunned . . . [roll3]

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

"Nice job guys!" he yelled to his comrades while he crammed a fresh round into his gun before raising it up and sighting the pirate leader.

"Now let's end this!"

Bang.

Move action: Reload
[roll0] vs touch AC
[roll1]

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

Bang.

The 'Tax Collector' clutches his chest. He tries to scream but his mouth wells up with blood. He falls but barely feels the floor as he hits it. He thinks of things no one else will remember. He falls, with little pomp.

The 'Tax Collector' is down. One Pirate remains.


What do you do?

Bradack (Phase) is up! :smallsmile:

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack grins underneath his scarf. Score one for the... good... ish? guys. He twirls his knife in his hand before throwing it up and catching it again, securely by the point. He walks forwards, slowly and carefully, across the gangplank, approaching the remaining pirate.

"Here's how it's going to be, khralick." He says, cursing in his native tongue. "You're going to surrender your ship to us, so we'll patch up what companions of yours are still alive, and we can take all of you back to shore." He spins the knife back around and touches the tip playfully to his nose. "At which point you will walk away scot free. With some stab wounds, but none you didn't incur right here, right now."

He pulls down the scarf, grinning, his pointed teeth glinting. "Sound fair?"

Bradack is LYING. He intends to exchange these pirates for BOUNTY.

Bluff Check [roll0]

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

The Pirate spits on the floor in Bradack's general direction "You think I'd buy that line from a Hobgoblin? Nah! I ain't making this easy for you adventurer skum!"


What do you do?

Curinir (SuperCracker) is up! :smallsmile:

Sense Motive: [roll0]

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Seeing that the pirate didn't believe his friend, Curinir turned towards the man and glared at him. "Don't trust the dirty hobgoblin, huh?"

He sneered and erupted from where he was standing, speeding towards the bowman with deadly intent, punctuated by that wakizashi finding purchase in the pirate's abdomen, inflicting a grievous wound and sending red blood splashing out onto the deck of the pirate ship.

"Well how about the half-elf who's going to kill you if you don't drop that weapon? Come on, chummer, don't be stupid."

Charge. Crit threat, no confirmation.
27 to hit. 8 damage.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4204881/

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

The pirate stumbles back "I also ain't dumb to think you all are the sort to let by gones be by gones!"


What do you do?

Grundnash (Green Bean) you're up! :smallsmile:

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Free action to speak!

"That's right, which is why you're getting turned into the authorities. But that's better than certain death, ain't it?"

[Green Bean]

Grundnash crossed the ungreased gangplank, but didn't press the assault. His fellow adventurers seemed to have things well in hand, but there was no taking chances. He concentrated and fired another acidic dart at the last pirate.

Move action, then an acid dart. Rolls in the OOC.

[Raynn]

The Onslaught On Deck

The dart goes just as wide as the Pirate's slash at Curinir's throat "my main issue is that I doubt you'll be as reasonable as you claim if I did drop my weapon!"


What do you do?

Tektak (SuperMuldoon) is up! :smallsmile:

Attack Roll: [roll0] vs. DC 17 (Curinir's AC)
Damage Roll: [roll1]

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak frowned, well as much as someone with a beak could frown, as he strode across the gangplank toward the last remaining pirate.

"Hey buddy, you should really reconsider. My friends here are being pretty generous." he sighs and reloads his pistol.

move action to move closer to the last pirate, standard action to reload. Darn these reload times! :smalltongue:

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack ponders for a moment, flipping the knife high in the air and catching it again. Over and over and over.

"You know, he does have a point..." He says, hand thoughtfully placed against his chin.

He quickly throws his knife at the pirate, it embedding in his sternum.

"Luckily, I had one more."

To hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Raynn]

They're On a Boat, Yeah

Thunk.

Thud.

The battle ends.

Slowly Captain Driftbern walks over the gangplank and stares at those bleeding out "At least he can bleed out knowing he might have been right." Driftbern shakes his head and turns back to the adventurers "though, messy as it had to be, thank you for everything. We'd likely be dead if not for you lot, or at least missing a few of the boys below decks . . . speaking of . . ."

He waves over his First-mate "Bring up the men still in the water and tie them up in the storage room, one at a time of course, then get the older boys from below decks, the spare rope and any weapons we have below deck. Save any of the men bleeding out you can, but tie them up first. Have the boys do the same to the older ones below the deck. No doubt we killed some of their brothers or fathers, can't be trusted. Even a child knows which end to hold a knife when we're all asleep."

The First-Mate nodded "We don't have the crew to bring two ships to port, even if all the boys below decks on their ship helped we don't have enough older boys or weapons to oversee them."

Driftbern thought for a moment "Let the adventurers take anything they can sell or spare gold lying around, we'll take any ship supplies or food, and let the adventurers turn in the bounties on these. We'll leave the ship and if it hasn't sunk or been taken by the time we get back with more crew, we'll take it."

He nods somberly "Jievra, Bradack, Grundnash and Tektak, that seem like an alright plan with all of yous? Of course we'll offer work to the younger ones, free any slaves." He glances around again "Have to say though, it was mighty impressive. Thought they had us dead to rights they did, numbers and swords for days."


What do you do?

COMBAT OVER! You are out of combat time; except another post in the OoC thread soon detailing XP.

Also someone might want to search the area for TEH LOOTZ!

[Green Bean]

Grundnash surveyed the blood-soaked battlefield with some distaste, clearly wishing things had turned out a little more peaceably. He looked down at the bloody and broken leader of the pirates at his feet with a sad expression on his face. Then he raised his staff above his head. *SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* He drove his staff into the man's head until the body stopped twitching. Then, he used the man's own knife to cut off a lock of his hair. Grundnash placed it delicately in his spell component pouch.

"Grundnash not search ship now. Must prepare ritual, appease Gozreh, protect ship. If find anything magical, Grundnash look after."

[Raynn]

They're On a Boat, Yeah

Captain Driftbern tries and fails to hide his distaste as the half-orc bashes the man's brains out "Al. . . Alright then . . . that's a sight. Think I saw something magic on . . . the fellow you just gave a haircut."


What do you do?

[Phase]

Bradack

As soon as his quarry is down, Bradack gives a single curt nod of approval, pulls his scarf back up, then leans down to pick up his knife, wiping it on his cloak and sliding it carefully into his wrist sheathe as the captain blathers on about something or other. He then goes over to his new lucky dagger, smiles, and puts it in the other sheathe.

He winces as Grundnash beats in the man's think pan. He likes violence, sure, but blunt force is just... messy. Plus, it's some weird religious deal. Pass.

"<Superstitious old fool...>" He mutters in Goblin, starting to head below deck to search for any extra knives booty.

Perception Check below decks, taking 20 to search thoroughly: (20+4) [24]

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

The knife came sailing out into the chest of the pirate he’d been fighting/trading words with. And thus, it was all over. The half elf grinned, quite pleased with himself and his troupe, spun his wakizashis and sheathed them back behind his waist once more.

“Good fight, fellas. Hopefully there’s plenty more where that came from.”

After drinking one of the vials of green liquid he had carried with him, Curinir started to pick over the pirates, taking their gold, their gear, etc. It wasn’t polite, and it wasn’t the behavior of a knight. But he’s not a knight. He’s an adventurer. And this is what adventurers do! What he’s more concerned with was Grundnash’s splattering of the Tax Collector’s head.

“Bit extreme to appease some god that probably ain’t watching, ain’t it?”

Curinir was a little displeased, but not enough to go at his party-mate. The man did try and murder/enslave them all a few minutes ago.

Looting/aiding with looting in any way I can. Also, drank a CLW potion. Healed 7. Back to full. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4205146/

[Green Bean]

Grundnash nodded in acknowledgement at the captain. "Grundnash thanks. Will look closer when done here."

He took Curinir's comment with a helpless shrug. He didn't like doing it any more than the others enjoyed watching it. But the lack of god-fearing among his companions left their safety from divine retribution up to him. He walked to the pirate ship's bow, taking out the lock of hair, as well as a seagull feather and a short length of baling twine. He used the twine to tie the feather and hair together, and while he did, he uttered a low chant in Orcish. It was sonorous and repetitive; a prayer, not a chant. Then, with great ceremony, he dropped the little bundle into the briny deep.

He stood up, muttering a brief spell to himself. As he walked back towards his captain, the bloodstains and tar that had accumulated on his robes began to fade away. Reaching the man's body, he gently picked up the gun from the deck and muttered a cantrip of identification. He gazed at the weapon carefully, taking in every mundane and arcane detail.

Casting Prestidigitation for a little self cleanup, then Detect Magic to look at the possibly magic gun. Taking 10 on the Spellcraft roll for a total of 19.

[Raynn]

They're On a Boat, Yeah


http://i41.tinypic.com/2qu14eq.png

Bradack and Curinir search the second ship for about two hours, though they're slowed by the young sailors from the first ship dealing with the slaves and other crew who were working under the older pirates. Most it seems are in their mid-teens, almost men, but many are much younger.

By the time all of the men are tied up in the storage rooms most of the supplies have had to have been moved onto the deck under a tarp to make room. Thankfully most of the youngest on the second ship agree to work under the older boys and don't have to be thrown into the makeshift brig. By the time all is said and done the second ship is virtually stripped bare and the first ship is packed and back on its way for its intended destination.

Bradack and Curinir find enough goods and loose coins to fill up a coin purse with about five Platinum Phoenixes and seventy five gold measures (125 gp), as well as the magical bandoleer the 'Tax Collector' was wearing, his coat pistol, his Large Cutlass and two Potions of Cure Light Wounds he never got the chance to use.

When Grundnash examines the coat pistol he discovers that while it is in good condition, which is saying something with how rare firearms remain beyond the Dwarven lands in the north, it is not magical or master crafted. He then moves to the bandoleer which he detects a moderate Transmutation aura from but is sadly unable to discern more about.


What do you do?

Treasure:
Masterwork Large Cutlass, Coat Pistol, 2 Potions of Cure Light Wounds, Coin Purse containing 5 Platinum Phoenixes and 75 Gold Measures (125 gp), Unidentified Magical Bandoleer (Belt Slot).


We'll do the time-skip to the landing on the Gray Coast as soon you guys give the okay. :smallsmile:

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak twirls his gun on his finger feathers in a fancy display, spinning it behind his back and around again before holstering it. He tips his hat to the captain and crew in return for their kind words of thanks and their plan to allow the group to collect any bounties or loot. "All in a days work, friends."

He spares a sidelong glance to Grudnash and shares Curnir's sentiments but chooses not to say anything. Dead man is dead.

Tektak then moves to assist the group in plundering whatever plunderables there are!

[Phase]

Bradack

The hobgoblin smiles as he comes out of the hold flipping a gold coin. The rest are in a small satchel, which he keeps plainly visible on his belt for all to see he's not stealing it. He flips the coin, snatches it from mid-air in his right hand, then shows both balled up fists to a working sailor, who grunts.

"Come onnnn, if you get it right, you can keep it!" He grins, reaching up and pulling down his face mask with his hand still balled up. He grins slyly at the sailor.

"You tried this same trick on me two nights back..." The sailor says, grumpy, but he puts down the barrel he's carrying and ponders a moment anyhow. "You're too tricky to leave it in the hand you caught it in..." Bradack grins. "But you also pulled that stunt on me last time. I'm not falling for it again. And you know that." Bradack grins wider. The sailor taps Bradack's right hand, looking self-satisfied. "Reverse reverse psychology!" He says, smirking.

Barely holding back his raucous laughter, Bradack opens both hands to the sailor, both empty. His laugh escaping his mouth, he sticks out his tongue, on which cleanly sits the gold measure.

"...Orange bastard." The sailor says, walking away from Bradack, bent double with laughter.

[Raynn]

They're On a Boat, Yeah

The night descends.

To an onlooker the adventurers are a strange bunch, an Arvanian born Half-Elf with a trio of savages, but the half-Orc is cultured, the Hobgoblin is rapidly friends with all but the most timid and fearful of the crew and the Tengu is followed by a gaggle of fans through out the night. The adventurers make fast friends; friends that will remember them long after they depart.

Starkark the cook alone will make sure no one ever forgets Bradack's one liners.

Captain Driftbern treats the adventurers as honored guests, ensuring them as close to a feast as he can provide. Once most had eaten their fill the older men and the adventures drank till late upon the deck, trading sea shantys and old stories. Berbaz the dark skinned First-mate drank with Curinir and laughed as Curinir made joking threats to one day introduce himself to Berbaz' triplet daughters, while Bradack played cards with the boys still young and foolish enough to agree to such folly. Tektak showed boys who had never seen guns up close his weapons and spoke of his people, as they had also never encountered a Tengu before. Grundnash was Grundnash, saying much more of note would be needless. All in all the night was merry and full of fond memories recounted and made.

When dawn finally broke the adventurers rested, though Grundnash woke early and identified the magical item they had 'found'. It was not till the late afternoon that the ship reached the coast. What was there to meet them was little more than a large wooden walkway, barely a port at all. Whoever Lydia had told to hire them the adventurers likely hoped that they didn't originate from some where so . . . 'rural.'

Once unloaded half the crew, mostly the older men, loaded the goods to be sold into a wagon, while the men to be handed into for bounty were bound in a second wagon. The wagons and horses to pull them were rented from a farmer a little ways down the road from the coast as the only horse that had remained on the ship was Tektak's.

When the group set off Berbaz was left with the ship, while Driftbern moved with the small caravan. While he walked he whistled old Dwarven tunes. There wasn't enough room with the fresh goods and the pirates for most of the men or the Adventurers to fit into the wagon so they were forced to walk.

"Be a half hour, an hour's walk at the longest, to Guldenberg. There'll you'll be able to sell what you wish, be on your ways and that, but if you ever need travel between here and Norport again consider travel on the 'Flight From Ironwall' free for life. Least we could do after all of that nonsense."

Driftbern takes a swig "there's only one inn in the village, 'The Travelling Man', I suspect it's the one that girl Lydia you mentioned Jievra, intends for your client to meet you at. There's a stable there too, for the horse."

It takes about as long as Driftbern presumed for all of you to reach the end of the well worn path over the beach, field and eventually forest to reach Guldenberg. When you come over the hill into the valley it resides in then entire town stretches out before you.


What do you do?

So what do you guys want to do first? Any questions?


Map of Guldenberg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2nrodw8.jpg

Identified Magical Bandoleer
http://oi42.tinypic.com/n50zk5.jpg

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack blinks, looking down at the village, then back up at his party, scratching his head.

"...Is this gatkha supposed to be a joke?"

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak grinned at Bradack's comment. "Aww it's not that bad, it looks quaint!" he says, his horse neighing it's agreement.

[Phase]

Bradack

With a grunt and a shrug, Bradack continues down the path, descending carefully into the valley.

"If they don't have a seedy underbelly!" He calls out behind him. "I'm sure as Hells starting one!"

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

“Seedy underbellies are fine and dandy, but what I’m really hoping for is a good tavern and some jobs.. or quests. Extra-special if there’s a fine, rural damsel in distress.” He grinned as he continued walking along, like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

“And hopefully gold to pay us, too.”

[Raynn]

The Town

Head to the appropriate store to buy or sell any supplies or goods, head to the inn to rent a room right away or head to the Temple meeting hall to see if there are bounties on the pirates' heads?

What would you like to do first?

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack double checks that all his knives are safely hidden, pulls up his face scarf, and gestures an "after you" to Cuirnir. "Come on." He says, following the half-elf to the nearest shop. "To the winners went the spoils, so to the pawn shops go the winners."

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

The half-elf was a pretty strong guy, as evinced by the large sack of clanking weapons he was carrying into the shop. “Waste not, want not. Well… maybe not. I want a lot of things.” And that’s why we’re selling stuff!

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

The premise of money brightened the Tengu's day considerably. His horse's saddlebags clanking alongside Curnir's bag. "To the pawn shop it is! Maybe they have some shiny things to buy too..." he mused.

[Raynn]

The Town

The party moves on into the town, briefly parting ways with Captain Driftbern and the other men, to sell off what they had no need of. After a little haggling they managed to get a tidy sum for what they had but he sadly didn't have anything magical in the price range of the adventurers for them to buy, though he did seem to have most mundane weaponry, save firearms.

Moving on to the general store they found it well stocked with potions and scrolls, along with general bits and pieces and a few minor wands. The adventurers found a few things that might be useful but nothing mind blowing. The store seemed to belong solely to a young Elf woman, apparently in her 20s by human standards, named Avaria. An oddly Avandian name for an elf, as they originate from another continent far to the north west. She wears what might have once been a kimono but has been altered to seem more like a loose jacket, over some work pants and a loose work top that is marked with stains from brewing numerous potions. She is clearly a wizard or alchemist of some kind and has created at least some of her wares herself.

When the group finished up, buying nothing yet, they moved onto the meeting house and passed off the criminals to what passed for law enforcement this far out in the boonies. The Town Warden was more than a little shocked when a half dozen tied up men were carted in and processed but he was more than happy to pay out what he had, about thirty two Platinum Phoenixes.

From there the group continued on to 'The Travelling man'. Within a half-orc with a thick black beard tended the bar, while two humans dressed in thick travelling gear sat at the bar. Otherwise the inn was mostly empty, aside from a Tiefling man smoking something pungent in the corner and an ifrit girl, maybe sixteen, poking the flames of the fireplace.

There was one problem. Lydia told them the date, tonight as they had arrived later than expected, and the inn that their employer would come looking for them by name, but not who exactly that was. It could be someone in the inn already, in a room upstairs, or who hasn't even arrived yet as it was still only late afternoon.


What do you do?


Party Account
{table]Income||Expenditure|
Opening Balance|125 gp||
|||
Masterwork Cutlass, Large|165 gp||
Assorted Weapons|180 gp||
Pistol, coat|375 gp||
Assorted Bounties|320 gp||
------------------|-----------|-------------|-----------
Closing Party Balance|1,165 gp||[/table]

The Blacksmith lacks any magical items in your price range but the general store does have at least a few of most low level potions and a 50% percent chance to have any particular 1st level scroll and an 80% chance to have any 0th level scroll, in stock. It also otherwise has most mundane gear worth less than 100 gp.

Anything you'd like to pick before you head onto the meeting hall?

Gave the description of the General Store owner in case you wanted to interact with her, doesn't mean you have to, before buying or moving on.

Post away. :smallsmile:

[Green Bean]

Grundnash, for his part, lingered behind in the general store when the rest of the party moved on, talking shop with the Elven proprietor, being especially curious about potions. After a little bit of fumbling around in Common, he ended up switching to Draconic, a language with a syntax he could handle, and one he was grateful for the practice in. He also perused her inventory of scrolls; if there were to be more fights like the one on the ship in the future, he had to be prepared for anything.

Checking for the following spells in her inventory; 2 means she has it, 1 means she doesn't.

Enlarge Person - [roll0]
Obscuring Mist - [roll1]
Comprehend Languages - [roll2]
Silent Image - [roll3]
Feather Fall - [roll4]

[Raynn]

The Town

Grundnash is able to purchase scrolls of Enlarge Person, Obscuring Mist, Comprehend Languages, and Silent Image, though the one for Feather Fall is sadly out of stock. The proprietor helps in anyway she can and is surprised by how eloquent Grundnash sounds in Draconic in comparison to in Common.


What do you do?


Party Account
{table]Income||Expenditure|
Opening Balance|125 gp||
|||
Masterwork Cutlass, Large|165 gp||
Assorted Weapons|180 gp||
Pistol, coat|375 gp||
Assorted Bounties|320 gp||
||Assorted Scrolls|100 gp
------------------|-----------|-------------|-----------
Closing Party Balance|1,065 gp||[/table]

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak breaks off from the group for a moment to head to the inn - specifically the stables. There, he inquires about stabling his fine steed Ser Patch for the night.

[Raynn]

Tektak

Next door to the inn a stable boy, a sable haired half-elf boy of ten, takes the steed and sets him up in a stall "No cost mister, presuming you're getting a room inside."

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

"Yes, of course, I'm about to head inside to take care of that right now in fact." he says to the lad. The tengu tips his had and flips him a shiny coin as a tip. "Make sure Ser Patch gets a nice comfy stall! He's a knight you know?" he says jokingly and makes his way next door to the inn.

Tektak pushes open the door to 'The Travelling Man', striding inside confidently and heading right to the bar, hopping up onto a seat one apart from the two human travelers. He waved a feathery hand to get the bartender's attention. "Excuse me sir, do you have any rooms available tonight?"

[Green Bean]

Grundnash exited the shop, scrolls under his arm and a spring in his step. He led Agnes, his donkey, to the stable near the inn, noting Ser Patch had already been dropped off. He tipped the stable boy with a silver coin and a minor feat of prestidigitation before heading into the inn.

[Raynn]

The Stables

"Thanks mister!" The boy says earnestly as he catches the coin with a smile.

. . .

The Travelling Man

The bartender gives a toothy grin to the Tengu "Aye, we've got rooms, best in town. Awful too many empty rooms at the moment. Little steep though I must admit, with travelers being so few at the moment. Two gold measures a night a head, and not a copper piece less or more. Stabling, dinner and breakfast included of course. Drinks ain't included . . ." he sets down a mead in front of Tektak with a smile ". . . but this one's on the house. A Tengu aye? You from the Rookery in the northern mountains? Or you one of those city birds, from Ironwall? Either way, don't see your kind round here much. Don't get me wrong, it's great to see new faces. Name's Gerk by the way. Your's?"

At that he sees the other Half-Orc enter the Inn through the front door. Gerk nods to Grundnash and asks Tektak "friend of yours?"


What do you do?

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

"Tektak-Tekkatak at your service, though you can just call me Tektak." he says, his avian vocal cords clicking out his name. He grabs the mug and takes a long swig, tipping his hat in thanks to the friendly half-orc. "I hail from The Rookery, though my travels have kept me away for some time. I've been meaning to return for a visit for some time, to write my hopes and give them to Altikka's Wind." he says wistfully, and takes another sip of his drink. "Ah yes, so two measures a person yes?" he rummages through his coin pouch and produces eight coins, laying them on the table in front of him. "There will be four of us staying tonight." he says, and turns and waves at Grudnash. "And yes, he is one of them."

"So." he says, turning back to Gerk. "What's on the menu? I'm starving."

[Green Bean]

"Grundnash much thank for paying." He patted Tektak on the back, careful to avoid mussing the wings. He nodded in the direction of the bartender and dropped into Orcish. "<A thousand apologies for my presumption, innkeep, but do you perchance speak Orcish?>"

[Raynn]

The Travelling Man

Gerk smiles and replies leaning on the bar "You're actually in luck that way, we're better stocked in meats than normal. We got some fish, can't remember the sort, a bit of velociraptor that's still good, and most of a boar. We'll serve one of them up with some bread and potatoes and whatever's left we'll make a stew of for the morning. I'm not one for the porridge or buttered bread breakfast, though that might just be my green blood talking."

He then turns to Grundnash "<of course fellow green-blooded! Hah. Always nice to meet another civilized one of our people!>"

Gerk seems about to continue when he stops, mouth open, and lets his eyes drift to the stairs. From them descends a young woman (http://images.community.wizards.com/community.wizards.com/user/cailte/b5fdf55be44d062c5efe0ba848a1921f.jpg?v=157050) in a long golden silk dress, with blonde curls that fall almost to the small of her back and scarlet and orange eyes. She is a Tiefling but she seems so angelic in her appearance that you can't help but wonder if there is some Aasimar blood in her ancestry as well.

She approaches the bar and takes the seat between Tektak and the two humans. When she speaks her voice betrays the upbringing of a noble, and her accent is clearly of Ironwall as despite her eloquence here and there her pronunciation causes Tektak to think of Curinir "Gerk, has that man I asked you to look out for arrived yet, perhaps?"

Gerk immediately becomes reserved and polite "No M'Lady. I've been keeping an eye out like you asked for a man with an ouroboros pin but I ain't- I mean haven't seen none. My apologies, M'Lady."

She nods and smiles politely "No apologies necessary, Mr. Gerk. But if perhaps you had a clean glass and some more of that Rookery white I might sit and keep an eye out myself, please and thank you."

Gerk immediately rushes to find a clean cloth and wipes down a glass before pouring something for the woman from an expensive bottle. He sets it down in front of her and she gives a polite nod of thanks. She sips at it only occasionally.


What do you do?

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

The half-elven hero of the seas sold those scavenged items with great glee, and then had gone to cash in on the bounties of the pirates. This was more gold than he’d seen in months working at his parents’ inn back in Ironwall. After settling the accounts, he milled about the town for a few minutes, until he passed the inn. He stopped in his tracks.

“I feel… a presence…”

In the inn…

The door burst open!

“Meat and ale, good innkeeper!” It had been a long day of fighting evil, and he was in need of some sustenance.

Well hello tiefling.

Curinir walked right past his compatriots, moving to stand beside the lady. “Good evening, madame,” he said, his voice less boisterous and a little softer.

[Raynn]

The Travelling Man

Gerk gives Curinir a sideways glance before putting an ale down in front of him. After that he moves into the backroom to start getting dinner ready for his many new guests.

The girl smiles in Curinir's direction "Madame? Heh. Makes a change from M'Lady, I suppose. And who, boisterous stranger, might you be?" She leans lazily on her hand of her arm that rests on the bar counter, as she looks Curinir up and down with a smirk while sipping at her drink.


What do you do?

[SuperCracker]

“Curinir Ji’evra,”

he says to her, holding his head up high. He may just be getting started down this path of adventure, but he would be proud of what he’d accomplished, “And if you would do me the honor of your name, I would be pleased to make your acquaintance.”

He gave her a small half-grin.

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak is about to welcome his friend to the bar when he is ignored in favor of the stunning tiefling that sat down next to him. Bet Curinir wishes he had my seat! he thought to himself smugly and turned his head to watch Curinir work his 'magic'.

[Raynn]

The Travelling Man

The girl smiled at that, finding Curinir amusing "Lady Anemone of the House Dominie of Ironwall," while the others might not know this, not being from Ironwall, Curinir knows that means she's a member of one of the most powerful noble houses in the region. The Dominie hold one of the seats on the 'Court of Seven Princes' that rules the city-state of Ironwall, and indirectly through vows of fealty and protection the provinces of Armaí, Perlore and Ermíer. Guldenberg is in a county of Armaí so is likely ruled by a Duke or similar that swore fealty to one of the seven seats of the court.

To cut it short Curinir knows how important this girl is, and might be a little surprised she isn't surrounded by a small army of guards.

"you sound like you're from Ironwall yourself, Mr. Ji'evra. Might I ask how you ended up so far west of there? I thought the boats that docked near here came from the north? From Norport near the Rookery? Seems a round about journey."


What do you do?

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack scoffs, leaning against the wall in the back of the tavern. Any patrons who see him now could swear they hadn't seen him come in through the door.

"Hey!" He whispers loudly as the noblewoman speaks. "Tekky!" He gestures for the bird to join him in the shadows in the corner.

[Green Bean]

Grundnash had heard of House Dominie, and was surprised at the woman's presence, but said nothing to interrupt her conversation. Himself and Curinir had previously established some very clear guidelines on approaches (or lack thereof) while one party was engage in conversation with the opposite sex. So instead he turned back to the bar. "<Pardon me, innkeep, but would you happen to have some good cider? I'm afraid I'll be reading a great deal tonight, so I shouldn't have anything too strong.>"

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak was drawn from the scene in front of him by Bradack's whispers. Taking his mug with him he (reluctantly) gave up his seat to see what his hobgoblin friend wanted.

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack glances back and forth, conspiratorially. "So, uh, not that I'm all that big a fan of noblepeople in general..." He begins. "But is it just me, or did that lady say she was from house Dominie?" He pulls down his scarf. Also known as house 'Let's sacrifice the poor to Asmodeus in exchange for eternal beauty'." He glares in her direction.

[Raynn]

The Travelling Man

The bartender pops out of the kitchen and sets down a cider in front of Grundnash "<Here's some cider, not so sure about the good part though, my apologies. There's more than enough candles upstairs if you need them, but there are plenty more in the storage closet in the hall between rooms if you need more to read by tonight.>"


What do you do?

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak nods back at Bradack. "I knew something was strange about her! That's probably how she got her own good looks, at the expense of some poor sacrificed orphans!" he says, and joins Bradack with his glare.

[Green Bean]

"<Thank you, good sir, the gesture is much appreciated.>" He took a sip of cider. It wasn't great; obviously from a good harvest, but a little tart. He concentrated his magic for a moment and took another sip. Now it tasted like the finest ambrosia, a cider fit to serve at a king's table.

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack nods, still whispering. "And you can bet those weren't no human or dwarf or elf orphans, nooooo. Those were 'disposable' children. Goblins and gnolls and tengu." He pulls a flash out of his cloak and unscrews it. "And there Cuirnir is, chatting her up like a lovestruck kengma." He shakes his head, taking a swig.

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

"Some people are just unbelievable." he says and shakes his head. "We gotta get Curinir out of there, he doesn't know what he's getting himself into! Maybe she's going to sacrifice HIM!"

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack shakes his head, taking another sip. "Naw, naw... He can take care of himself..." He stares at the woman for another moment, before chugging the rest of the contents of the flask. He wipes his mouth and narrows his eyes at her. "Besides..." He says, reaching far more clumsily than usual into one of his pouches. He pulls out one of his daggers, concealing it from view. "We need him as a distraction."

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

The tengu's eyes go wide as he see's Bradack pull out a dagger. He nearly spills his drink as he goes to grab his friends hand. "Whoa whoa whoa! You can't be pulling out live steel here! We'll get kicked out of here for sure! ESPECIALLY if you kill one of the guests, devil worshiping orphan sacrificer that she may be!" he says in a loud whisper.

"Listen, we know that she's staying here. We can take care of it cleanly and quietly, without spoiling dinner."

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack frowns, but nods, releasing the dagger, which drops neatly into one of his sheathes around his body. "Fine." He whispers. He clumsily screws the top back on his flask and tucks it back into his cloak. "So long as my blade tazes corupbtlood." He blinks. "Coorobloordha." He reaches back into his cloak and pulls out his flask, frowning. He unscrews it and turns it upside down, empty.

"...Thawuz s'pposta lasta WEEK." He says, lower lip trembling.

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak steadies his friend. "C'mon, lets get you something from the bar. Food should be ready too." he says, and leads Bradack over to the bar to sit as far away from the tiefling as possible.

[Green Bean]

Grundnash leaned over to speak softly in Tektak's ear. "Bradack, him okay? Him usually take hour to drunk this much."

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack allows Tektak to lead him to the bar, onto which he slumps forward. "BARKEEB!" He says, a bit too loudly. "Your finest whatchumcallit!" He presses his finger into the bar. "But I am a VEGETARIAN." He snorts.

"I should not have drank that all that all of it." He says, laughing.

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak shrugs to Grundnash. "It was his own special stash. I have no idea what was in there!" he says, and makes sure Bradack is ok. Leaving him on his own for a moment, he pulls Grundnash to the side. "See that tiefling over there?" he says and makes a motion with his head to indicate said tiefling. "No don't look! Can't let her know we found her out...she's a member of the Dominie! Those devil worshiping orphan sacrificing tyrants! Make sure you have your best spells prepared tonight...for we shall end the threat to this town." he says gravely.

[Raynn]

The Travelling Man

As Tektak and Bradack return to the bar a draft enters the room. Gerk looks up as he starts to set down your plates on the bar counter. A strangely attired sholar (https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rG1O4xuivAg/TugV4mDzuTI/AAAAAAAAY5k/NdVoPGuHgak/w368-h552-no/alzaroth_01.jpg), another noble or high level retainer more likely, enters the bar slowly. On his lapel he bears a golden ouroboros pin. He takes a seat at a table alone and nods to Tektak as he sits.

The man carried an old black leather case (http://images.lilypix.com/albums/userpics/10038/normal_Doc.JPG) in one hand, which jingled as he walked. He set it down in a seat beside him and motioned for Gerk to bring him an ale.

Lady Anemone glances at him and shifts in her seat, but the man doesn't appear to recognize her.

Gerk glances at Bradack as he returns to the bar "Uh . . .I'll sort you something out yes. Would you like a jug of water . . . ?"


What do you do?

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack sits up, wobbly, and grins at the bartender. His teeth clearly evolved for a very different purpose than the consumption of vegetative matter, but he doesn't care about that.

"Please." He says, charismatic charm oozing through his inebriation.

[Raynn]

The Travelling Man

Gerk sets down an entire jug of water for Bradack alone, and then a plate mostly of potato, buttered bread and gravy.

He takes a wary step back, before returning to the kitchen.


What do you do?

[Green Bean]

Grundnash squinted in confusion at Tektak. Normally, his ability to understand Common was excellent, but in this case, he was sure he hadn't heard right. "Yes, her Dominie. But family very big; not orphan. Devil long way back."

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack raises the jug to the barkeep in thanks, then begins working away at his meal, chugging the water. He should be fine, by the time the dark acts they've conspired to commit will commence.

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

That was a very long--- waaait a minute. House Dominie? She’s a regular noble lady, she is! And that only made Curinir press ahead with his attempts at charming. He leaned against the bar with his elbow as he spoke with her, only to slide smoothly into Tektak’s seat the moment he got out of it.

“Anemone,” he said, foregoing the formal title, “you are correct. I am from Ironwall. I have recently begun the life of an adventurer. It has taken me from place to place, which is how I have arrived here. In fact, we battled pirates not even a full day ago.”

He noted how she glanced away. His eyes followed hers to the scholarly man, and it lead into his next question.

“What of yourself, dear lady? If my presence here is odd to you, yours is doubly so. After-all, I’m sure my lodgings were never as comfortable as yours.”

And yeah. He’d noticed the other guys. Jealous. All of them.

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

He kind of stared confused at Grudnash for a moment. How he wished the half-orc spoke Tengu. "Nonono...she's evil! She kills babies for power!"

[Raynn]

The Travelling Man

She raised an eyebrow with an amiable smile "Pirates? Impressive. In regards my presence here . . . well I'm more capable than one might assume, in my own ways, and I understood that travelling alone would leave me more leeway and covertness then bringing an entourage. Mostly I'm traveling by request, family stuff mostly, visiting old friends and allies, doing favors, that sort of thing. All boring politics really. Though I do ask that, as a gentleman, you don't spread it around that I am here. The worst sort of brigand could come upon me sleeping alone in my room and leave me for dead. With no one to watch over a young lady like myself I must be careful. No second chances."


What do you do?

[Green Bean]

"Huh? They just big noble family, they no sacrifice babies." But then he looked a little unsure as his academic interest in accuracy came to the forefront. "OK, Grundnash never heard sacrifice babies. Never met Dominie before now. Me no be sure, me never met them. But baby souls not very powerful. Devils no want babies unless important father."

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak looked similarly unsure now, Grudnash was one of the smartest individuals he had the pleasure to know. "Well, I guess you would know about the soul power of babies...anyway, be careful around her. Bradack and I've heard some nasty things about Dominie..."

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

By Cayden… he’d only known the woman for a few minutes and she’d thrown the door wide open for him to say it. In the words of a great philosopher… YOLO, b****!

“My lady, I would never spread gossip about such a fair maiden,” he really hopes she isn’t a maiden. “If you feel unsafe, though, by yourself, perhaps you could use a bodyguard for the night. I’m quite talented, you know.”

[Raynn]

The Travelling Man

Lady Anemone smirked "I have no doubt. I suppose, to be prudent, I could allow you to watch over me for the night. I would not want to be a foolish girl and leave myself unprotected. Though . . ."

She motions her head to the scholar who was currently staring over at the group of adventurers ". . . I think someone else might need your . . . assistance first, but perhaps . . . later."

She raises, elegantly, from her seat and takes her glass with her "First room on the right Mr. Ji'evra."

And with that she leaves the common room and heads back up the stairs.


What do you do?

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Score. “Dear lady, I won’t tarry long. Please get comfortable and know that your protection will arrive shortly.” He continued to keep his suave (or attempt at suave) bearing until she left the room, then he fist-pumped and slammed down his drink. He spun around towards the man looking at the group.

“Good evening, sir. Is there something we can help you with?”

[Green Bean]

Grundnash shrugged. "They powerful family, take taxes, arguments with other nobles. Makes people angry. Always rumours then."

[Raynn]

The Travelling Man

Gerk rolled his eyes at the fist bump but turned away as Curinir moved to approach the man sitting with the black leather bag. The man looked up and adjusted his glasses, then looked again from Curinir to Bradack, Tektak and Grundnash "Hmmm. Yes you may if you are Curinir, though I was told there would be five of you? Never the less . . . " the man rifled through his bag and pulled out a large coin purse, more a bag than a purse, and drops it on the table with a jingling thud "Of course, this is only the down payment."

Curinir glances to the bag, likely more gold than he's ever seen in one place "my employers need something acquired. This is the thousand gold pieces up front, a thousand more on delivery. Is your business interested?"


What do you do?

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack, mouth stuffed, struggling with a whole potato, suddenly brings his jaws slamming shut, cleanly bisecting the tuber. He coughs, turning to look at the man and the purse. He gingerly swallows what he can of the potato half and chugs the rest of his water.

"Did I..." He says, more coherently than a moment ago. He clumsily moves himself to the next barstool, closer to the man. He continues in his conspiratorial whisper. "Did you just say one thousand gold??" He asks, mouth somewhat agape. He stares at the purse.

[Starsign]

Selmeriel

At the end of Bradack's agape reaction bursts in the doors of the inn. Inside enters a young female woman, ears indicating her to be an elf. What is notably apparent about her is her equipment. Barely visible past the torn layer of white cloth is Erefu armor made from hexagonal iron plates sewn together by light red cloth. While the armor itself seems of fine condition the layer above seems filthy, badly worn, and in a dire need of a replacement. On her back is a brown bedroll and blanket presumably for sleeping in the wilds. a large leather traveling satchel hangs from her side, bottles hanging partly out of some unknown liquid. To the right of her hip is a weapon resembling a longsword in the sheath and on her back is also a shortbow not commonly found on this side of the land. Her arrows and quiver are held on a belt behind her hip for easy access to her arrows. The features of her head is of simple elven elegance. Her eyes are soft, smile not stuffed to the brim of arrogance, and presents a carefree look overall. Green eyes and tan-colored hair that is combed to a long braid down to her neck match and make up her overall look.

What follows however is nothing of elegance. She almost stutters into the inn, slightly hunched over and panting as if she had ran a good deal of distance, and her voice more like that of a female barkeep when she speaks up. "Whew, finally! This town is a maze I tell you all." She looks up and sees each of the group. Her eyes dart on Curinir for longer than the others until she lazily walks past them to the bartender. "Let's get some mead runnin' here! Extra berry concentration! A girl's gotta have her drink before she finds her contact." For all she looks, this person isn't so much an elven princess as she is the third daughter's cousin's long-lost daughter of a queen, twice removed.

[Raynn]

In The Inn

The scholar looks Bradack up and down, returning a genuinely amiable smile "Well, I hope it's not too little, but I DO want to be clear that this is only the first half of the payment, the second thousand will be given upon delivery. I'm sorry if this is less than you would normally expect with your skills but I hope it's enough. My employers thought you might want half up front to cover expenses such as a wagon or horses to the coast."

The man seems kindly and polite, like a well spoken older relative "I also have a map to be given to you, and a small boat in place for you to cross the ocean. We can discuss the details of the expedition if all of your party would like to take a seat at the table."

At this Gerk sets down what Selmeriel ordered with a nod to the scholar and a smile to Selmeriel. The scholar looks over to her and speaks up "Would you be Selmeriel? I believe my employers were told by your sister that you worked with Curinir? Is that all of your party then? Hmmm . . . I have that note that girl Lydia gave Bronté . . ."

He shuffles in his bag again and pulls out a piece of parchment "Curinir the Bold, Bradack the Shadow, Tektak the Hawk-eye, Grundnash the Mighty and Selmeriel . . . Selmeriel the little . . . "

The scholar begins with an impressed tone but as he got to the end he embarrassingly finished reading Lydia's note as his cheeks went a little red. Clearly Lydia had done more than her job of building all of you up in the eyes of whoever was indirectly employing you, especially given how much they were planning to pay you.


What do you do?

To be clear 1,000 gp is an order of magnitude more than you've ever been payed for a single job, and more gold than you've ever see in one place. So TWO THOUSAND gold measures for one job is the jackpot of jobs for you guys. You guys could buy a house with that much and still have some left over.

You guys should probably thank Lydia next time you see her. :smalltongue:

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak is quickly drawn from his worries about the tiefling woman at the mention of 1,000 gold pieces.

His beak drops as he then sees 1,000 gold pieces!

"So...so much...shiny... he says, his eyes glazed over seemingly in a trance at the sight of the money.

Tektak quickly composes himself and interjects. "Oh no no of course, this amount shall do nicely!"

"Wait, this is only...half?" he says, and his eyes glaze over yet again, thinking about the shinies...

[Raynn]

In The Inn

The scholar nods again with the same sincere smile "Yes, indeed. As I said we'll supply the rest of the payment upon delivery."


What do you do?

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Two thousand gold pieces. “Why yes! Yes we are the right men for the job. I am Curinir J’ievra, and these are my cohorts: Grundnash the wizard, Bradack the knife-thrower, and Tektak the gunman. I’m afraid we weren’t given you name, Mister---?”

Curinir moves to stand by the scholar, managing to only sneak one glance at the sack full of gold.

[Starsign]

Selmeriel

Slemeriel joyfully dips into her mead as the scholar tries to speak with her. The taste of the alcohol and the berries is just too much for her to resist immediately pouring down her throat. She drops the mug down on the table as she finishes the mead in a single series of gulps. Her tolerance for these kind of beverages has been pretty good due to how much she'd had this in her life. It's only when Curinir introduces himself and the rest of the crew that she speaks up. "Oh, hey me too!" As enthusiastic as she sounds Selmeriel can't help but be a little annoyed to be left out of Curinir's introductions. She had expected Curinir already knew about her, false as it is. "Selmeriel, oracle of the unknown and beverage-maker ready to serve."

She looks at each of the members she will be traveling with. "Oh, this is who I'm with?" She speaks in curiosity as she notices that among the half-elf and half-orc is a hobgoblin and a tengu. She thought the nickname "Hawk-Eye" wasn't literal. She sparks another, somewhat less sober smile as she changes language. <Well good to meet you all anyway.> Anyone who understands it can tell she's speaking the Goblin language right here.

[Raynn]

In The Inn

The scholar gives a slight bow and in reply to Curinir introduces himself "I am Ser Aylmer Voyce, Sworn Mage-Knight of House Aureate of Ironwall. Representing a consortium of scholars who would prefer to remain anonymous. It is no slight on any of you my new friends but such consortiums prefer to remain relatively unknown lest the local thieves start making house calls. It does not pay to collect magical items and tomes and then advertise it to the masses."

As Selmeriel introduced herself to the others Ser Voyce looked a little confused "Forgive me if I am mistaken but I was led to believe you were all experienced adventurers who had done several jobs of this caliber before? How so is it then that you require introductions among yourselves?"


What do you do?

Mage-knight; A typical feudal knight who serves his lord in a martial sense in times of war and otherwise rules a portion of his domain (in the case of a landed knight) like a traditional knight, and trains others. As Mage-Knights are more difficult to train to train on site than traditional knights, most Mage-Knights supply their levy of trained soldiers for their lords in the form of Knights rather than other Mage-Knights, keeping their numbers low.

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack, eyes still fixed on the bag of gold, raises his eyebrows. Well, what eyebrows he still has, at least. He seems to have sobered up a bit, perhaps simply by introduction to such a massive amount of money. Eventually he breaks off eye contact with the sack and looks at Selmeriel.

If he doesn't think we're the serious mercenaries we're supposed to be... He thinks, thoughts miles away, for now, from the the assassination attempt later that night. "Then we don't get the money. He opens his mouth, pointed teeth gleaming, and slowly curves it into a grin. No money? That's no good.

"Ohhhhh." He says, reaching over the table and grasping the Elf's arm lightly. "That's just our auld... ould... old pal Sellie, for ya!" His words stumble over his tongue on the way out his mouth. "She's a bit of a weird one, you know." He releases her arm and speaks in a conspiratorial whisper to the mage-knight. "One too many tugs on the old Shireflax, if you know what I mean..." He grins, winking.

[Raynn]

In The Inn

The scholar smiles relieved as Bradack finished, too polite to make reference to his drunkenness "Ah. Of course. My apologies, I didn't mean to doubt any of you, just checking. Can't be too careful. I have every faith in you all of course.

So if we're all ready then we can move on to the details?"


What do you do?

[Starsign]

Selmeriel

Seeing the hobgoblin hold her arm in a completely drunk fashion, Selmeriel goes to lean back on her chair and wrap her arm around his shoulders, raising her mug with the other hand in the process. "E'yup!" She responds in something of a drunk fashion of her own despite not being even the slightest tinged yet. "Me and ol' Brady go farrrrr back. Taught me everythin' he knows 'bought war!" Her words are about as truthful as a stinky weasel to Bradack. Sure Selmeriel has been with goblinoid creatures before but never with this specific hobgoblin. She does look like she will get along well with the other members though, so long as she doesn't drive everyone else nuts.

[Raynn]

In The Inn

Ser Voyce nods "Well then, we best get started."

He reaches into his bag again and draws a map from it. He lays the map out on the table before all of you.


http://i41.tinypic.com/214qoeo.png

"This is Felspyre Island. Named, of course, for the spire that towers over it's northern coast. The spire was built by a powerful wizard but who that wizard was is lost to time, as is the original name of the tower as 'Felspyre' was a colorful title applied by those who passed it on voyages. Some of my employers believe that the library in the tower may be intact with three rare volumes they are interested in, 'On The Habitats of Trolls,' 'Golems; A Treatise On Bringing Motion To The Motionless,' and 'Lycanology Volume III; Were-bats, Were-sharks & Other Infamous Breeds.'

Sadly there are several hurdles to this. One is reaching the island. No ships land or pass it from Guldenberg so you'll need to head south-east from here and find a crossing of the Long Arm. From there you'll need to head east again to the eastern end of the Gray Coast where will have a small boat waiting for you. You'll only need a rowing boat to reach the island from there thankfully so you won't need to go any further east.

Once you reach the island you should know it is full of all manner of beasts and creatures, but the only 'intelligent' threats we know of are a backwards, violent, savage tribe of Goblins known as the Redknife Clan. We're not sure if they've gotten into the tower but we hope not.

Obviously you no doubt have questions at this point, so ask away. I'll happy to answer any I can."


What do you do?

The Long-Arm; Largest river running from the Gray Sea.

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack nods, listening as carefully as he can in his current state and attempting to ignore the elf on his back. He raises his hand at one point.

"Not to say that the payment isn't..." He hunts for the right words. "...Satisfactory. But I have a questiorn." He barely stumbles over any words.

"If we were to find any valuables, aside from the targets of course, could we, perhaps...?" He leaves the question hanging open in the smoky atmosphere of the tavern.

[Raynn]

In The Inn

Ser Voyce doesn't seem to take the question as odd at all "Ah, yes. Bronté mentioned Lydia said you all specialized in the acquiring of items of antiquity. I have a contract here for you to sign, but it enumerates your possession of any other goods you wish to find as well as a right of first refusal in regards the sale of anything you find, at expected sale price, though that is only on tomes found in the spire, and not say magical weapons, not that the consortium wouldn't be interested in buying those too just that we assumed you might already have someone who buys those that you no longer need.

To simplify, you own anything you find, but we get the chance to buy any other books you find at the price you'd otherwise be likely to sell them for, for anything other than books our contract doesn't even say you have tell us about them."

He shuffles around in his bag again looking for a quill "By the way, for tax purposes we'll need to make the contract with your business rather than all of you together. Bronté didn't seem to mention your adventuring party's name when he wrote me the letter after his meeting with Miss Lydia. So I'll just need that name and the signature of whoever is registered with the Heroes Guild in Ironwall to represent the party?"


What do you do?

[Green Bean]

Grundnash, silent up to this point, interjected with a question. "Grundnash wonder, what in tower? Old wizard, library biggest treasure of all; Grundnash would put many traps, much magic on. Do bosses know if any traps in tower?"

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Honestly, he has no idea who this supposed fifthy person is, but whatever. Two thousand gp (plus whatever they can loot from this island) is two thousand gp. First things first was to go over the map wit Sir Voyce. After listening to the possible threats of the island, as well as the clarification of the unwritten rule of adventurous looting (a noble thing, mind you), Curinir was ready to sign on the dotted line.

“Good sir, we have been a party for some time. And considering I love parties… well, this is easy.”

He then scribbles down on the paper his signature, and the name of the party.

The Party.

"A fine name, to be sure."

[Raynn]

In The Inn

Ser Voyce replies to Grundnash "Well it is a wizard's tower, and they are notorious paranoids in their old age. I would expect traps at least, but sadly we don't have any knowledge of the specifics."

Once Curinir has signed Ser Voyce rolls up the contract and stows it in his bag "Is there anything else to discuss? I presume you'll be leaving in the morning, or after a few days rest and preparation?"


What do you do?

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

“Yes. We need a night to rest,” he made a little bit of a sheepish face, “before we can set out on our journey. But I do believe we can set out on the morrow. Best not to keep the client waiting.”

The half-elf offered a hand to Ser Voyce.

“We look forward to meeting with you once more. The member of the Party – us Party People – take great pride in our work.”

[Raynn]

In The Inn

Ser Voyce took the offered hand with a warm smile "I to look forward to when all our paths cross. With that I'm away, I've had a long journey and I need my rest."

He takes his bag, leaving the sack of a thousand gold measures, and heads for the stairs, waving back as he reaches the top "May Cayden, Bahamut and Arvandus guide you in your journey. Goodnight new friends."

With that he is gone.


What do you do?

I remember there being . . .


A young heiress upstairs . . .
A planned hericide . . .
A new party member . . .
A healer & some hurt folks . . .
A big sack of gold . . .


Deal with these in whatever order you prefer.

:smallsmile:

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

After handing the sack of gold to the party treasurer, Bradack, Curinir finished the rest of his ale and glanced towards the stairs. After drinking his potions earlier, he is not one of the hurt folks. And honestly, he’s never met the sudden new party member.

“Well, you all have some catching up to do. I’ll see you all in the morning.”

And with that, he was going right up the stairs to a certain lady’s room.

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack happily gulps the rest of his water, grabs the sack of gold, and tucks it into his pack next to the rest of the party treasury. He yawns, stretches, and attempts to stand before bracing himself on the bar.

"Right, kiddos. I've gotta sleeps to do." He points at Selmeriel. "Did good, kid. Maybe we'll see you around sometime. Have a good life." He staggers towards the staircase and ascends. Before turning the corner, he looks down at Tektak and winks.

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

As Bradack walks up the stairs, Tektak turns to Selmeriel. "He's still probably sorta drunk...anyway, welcome to The Party! I'm sure we'll get to know each other more on our journey." he says with a tip of his hat.

He drains the rest of his drink. "I believe I am going to check on my room, I will see you in the morning!" he says and makes his way up the stairs as well. When he reaches the top, he makes eye contact with Grundnash and waves for him to follow.

[Raynn]

In The Inn

As Bradack and Tektak stand in the barely lit hall, the only light is moonlight from a window at one end, they over hear rustling and movement in the murderer's room. They are far outside the range of hearing of those downstairs and those inside the room . . . sound occupied.


What do you do?

[Starsign]

Selmeriel

The elf watches as each one says their good-nights to her as they head off to bed. Selmeriel, while tired still had a good deal of vitality in her for the day. She happens to find the moment to respond to Tektak, "He's a cute hobgoblin I say," in a amused tone. Before she goes to bed she decides to order another mug of mead or two.

After a good deal of traveling randomly around the world it should be good for her to travel in a group. She'll get along just fine.

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack keeps walking past the room. "Cuirnir is keeping her distracted, perfect." He closes his eyes and strides forward as self-assured as he can in this state. "He's clearly got his part of the plan in mind. Elsewise how can he stand such a monster?" He nods, content, before smacking into his door. "This is meeeeee." He says, scratching at the doorknob. "I promise no knives! Too obvious."

[Green Bean]

Grundnash approached mid-conversation, and after listening only briefly, any number of trenchant questions came to him. What was this plan? What business did they have with the Lady? Why was Cuirnir the distraction? Why would Bradack not use knives? What Grundnash ended up asking, however, was the most immediate and informative one. "This Bradack plan, Grundnash think. Yes?"

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack tilts his head at Grundnash. He grins and indicates himself and Tektak. "Naaaaaah, man. Both of us." He slips into Goblin for a moment. "<Meeting of the minds, you know? Slay the oppressor!>" He hiccups.

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

"This is what I was talking to you about...the baby sacrificing lady...we have to confront this evil in our midst..." he whispers.

[Green Bean]

Grundnash opens and closes his mouth a few times without saying anything. Finally, he managed to get his Goblin together enough to actually speak. "<I wasn't aware you were so...political. While the oligarchal system is certainly an imbalanced one, on the individual level you can't just assume...>"

He trailed off as Tektak whispered in his ear. He bit his lip for a moment and muttered some dark obscenities in a language he knew neither of the two spoke. "<This is unfortunate. Sometimes it is a challenge to be virtuous. The beauty of this day is difficult to see at this moment.>" Celestial was not very satisfying to swear in.

He took a deep breath, and spoke slowly, enunciating as if talking to children. "Lady not sacrifice babies. It rumour, and fake rumour. Grundnash very disappointed."

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack pauses, leaning back against his door. He stares for what feels like a full minute. After the minute passes, and the awkward silence starts to ferment, he lets out a snort.

"PffhahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAA!" He laughs, bending over double. He smacks the door with his closed fist and takes a deep breath, looking up at Grundnash. "..."

"BahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He continues laughing, fumbling for the handle to his door behind him. He gets it open a crack and nimbly slips inside. "HHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" He laughs, turning around and closing the door behind him. After a few moments his laughter dies down.




The door suddenly opens a crack. "But seriously, **** the nobility." He slams the door shut again and the clicking of the lock is audible.

[Green Bean]

Grundnash stared silently at the door for a second. "That went better than Grundnash expect."

[Raynn]

It Begins


http://i40.tinypic.com/11mgaza.png

South they must go, through the forest of Kemi, then east across the rushing waters of the Long Arm, and east again to the Gray Coast, across the Gray Sea to the island of the Felspyre; a long journey and back again, an adventure.


http://i41.tinypic.com/2ebz7h4.png

It was late morning when Curinir descended the stairs, alone. Grundnash had prepared his spells and the others had gathered their supplies. The route had been decided and little was left to be done.

The party met outside the tavern, ready to depart, just after noon.

And DEAR GOZREH was it pouring.


What do you do?

You may purchase any mundane goods you desire for the journey off screen i.e. over the course of the morning before you meet to leave Guldenberg.

You currently have a mule and a horse, but no wagon or similar unless you buy more mounts or a wagon that morning, so you will be travelling at foot pace.

If you have any questions ask away.

Whoever is wishing to lead the group as it makes the journey should make a Knowledge (Local), Knowledge (Geography) or Survival Check.

Anyone wishing to act as a scout should make a Survival or Perception Check, as well as a Stealth Check if they wish to remain hidden from anything they might discover.

[Phase]

Bradack

The Hobgoblin seems more his usual self this morning. Well, this noon. He stands, hood pulled up in front of his face, leaning casually against the side of the tavern. From here, he barely looks inhuman, the protruding bump on one side of his head the only thing that betrays his pointed ear. His hands are hidden somewhere beneath his cloak, and his pack sits at his feet, defended from the pouring rain by his body. He's the first one to start waiting outside the tavern, and if one were to get close, they might potentially hear the faint whine of a Hobgoblin snoring.

[Green Bean]

Grundnash stood under the eaves, Agnes in tow. He was waiting for the others to return from their supply run, and to while away the time, he was giving his donkey a thorough brushing. It was looking to be a long, wet journey.

In advance, here's Knowledge: Nature to lead us around: [roll0]

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Having made a few last minute purchases around town, Tektak hurries back to the tavern with his cloak pulled close to keep the rain off his feathers. Getting Ser Patch out of the stables, making sure he was well taken care of, he approaches the two members of his party already waiting.

"Lovely day for a journey, eh?"

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

The triumphant fighter came walking down the stairs after everyone else had awaken. He’d had quite a lot of fun the night before. And again in the morning. After such a relaxing night’s sleep, he was ready to sate his appetite for adventure!

Too bad it was a downpour. Ah well.

As Curinir was headed out the door, he saw the other members of The Party. He walked over to them with a particularly chipper grin on his face.

“Good morning, fellas. Hey Bradack, I think we should invest in a wagon to haul all the stuff we’re gonna take.”

Silence.

“Bradack?”

Snore.

Curinir lightly punched the hobgoblin in the shoulder to wake him up.

“Hey. Shopping. Let’s go.”

Purchasing a Pole, Climbing Gear, Grappling Hook, Waterproof Hooded Lantern and 5 pints of oil -- 93gp, 5cp

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack starts awake, nearly slipping on the slick mud. He grabs his hood and reflexively reaches for his pack. "Whoa, yes, what? I'm awake!"

He blinks, taking in his surroundings. He focuses on Cuirnir. "Oh, yeah, course." He straightens up, slinging his pack over his shoulder. "I'm game. Everything that's not nailed down, 'til we come back with pliers, yeah?" He grins, patting his bag. "A cart would be an investment."

He looks over at the other two. "Looks like everyone's here if you wanna go now..."

[Starsign]

Selmeriel

The young elf had gone to bed late in the night, flopping down asleep in her room like a snoring giant. When she awoke she feels an intense thumping on her forehead. Once again it seems like she had more to drink than she could take for a good night's sleep. She wakes up tired, stiff, and all in all not in the mood for a good day of adventuring. Her lack of foresight however has put her in the unfortunate situation of having to do this job in her current state. At least the gold will be worth the effort... if she remembers how much that was. A good deal of events from last night are fuzzy to her now.

Selmeriel opens the door out of her room before realizing that the others have left as well. In a hurry she suits up and runs out of the inn, scrambling to the group. "Wait wait waitwaitwait. Don't forget me!" She pants a bit as she holds her forehead. Despite her gear she doesn't look like the most capable adventurer right now. "Could've been nice to let me know you were already set," she responds only somewhat irritated. She still looks positive despite it all. "Wish I could laze about in bed listening to the rain. Ah but a job's a job. Let's get off before I get thirsty now."

[Phase]

Bradack

As Selmeriel suddenly enters the scene, Bradack blinks, nonplussed. He looks at her, then at Cuirnir, then at the others, then back at her.

"Who, uh..." He asks, adjusting the cloak to be closer around his face. "Who's the Elf?"

[Green Bean]

Grundnash shrugged. "Her Selmeriel." That seemed to explain it, so Grundnash went back to brushing Agnes.

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Curinir glances over to the elf he had never seen in his entire life, who is now suggesting that she’s in on the job – and thus, the cut of the profits! Grundnash happened to know her name, but that didn’t really answer Bradack’s question.

“Seriously, who is she? I’ve never seen her before, and she’s not on the Party Charter.”

He unrolls the scroll containing the Party by-laws.

“And you fellas know the drill. No scabs. We’re a union outfit.”

In short, she’s going to be forced to sign the charter before they took off.

[Starsign]

Selmeriel

Selmeriel frowns when everyone mentions that they have absolutely no idea who she is. "Really? Lydia didn't tell you I would be joining? I thought she wasn't one to surprise her clients." This explains why the rest have been acting less-than-understanding about her presence. She perks up once more, happily stating, "Well nothing wrong with telling you all along the way, right?" She looks over the scroll before signing it, placing her as a member of the group now until her inevitable early death. Since when do adventuring elves die of old age anyway?

"Good to meet you all then!" She says her word in the common tongue, then io Elven as she looks to Curinir, in Orc when looking to Grundnash, in Goblin when looking to Bradack. If anything she knows the tongues of their language. When she looks to Tektak however, she tries blurting out her words in Tengu... and ends with a result that sounds something like bad blabbering. She scurries with a look of embarrassment as she demonstrated her severe lack of knowledge in the Tengu language. She leaves out a short pause before shortsightedly stating, "I think I'll stick with the common tongue actually."

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

He held the charter in place until she signed it, then he rolled the charter back up and placed it once more within the scroll-case and then within his backpack. “Excellent! Welcome to The Party. I must now inform you that we work on a seniority basis. You are the most junior member. And you’re on your probationary period. So try to make yourself useful!”

After arranging everything, it was then time to go!

That’s your cue, Raynn.

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak grins as Selemriel attempts to talk in Tengu. <It's ok.> he says in Tengu. <I don't think anyone here speaks the language anyway, so it's not a surprise you can't.> he says cheerfully before switching back to common. "Common is more than okay. Tengu is a difficult language to speak for those without a beak - or so the saying goes." he says with a wink.

He watches her sign the charter. "Welcome to The Party pal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD94dVu8lqQ)!"

[Raynn]

The Forest of Kemi


http://cdn1.cdnme.se/145277/7-3/ghost_1_51e2cb0e9606ee1032f47a6c.jpg

The Forest of Kemi is a forest drenched in stories, soaked through with them, from canopy to root. It is said that when Io created the first dragons to end the dominion of the First-Men over the world that their first act was to burn the Forest of Kemi to the ground in a day, only for it to grow back by the next morning. It is said this continued till the end of the Arvandian-Io War, and the onset of the Age of Dragons.

It is also said that with 616 trees within the forest Djinn are bound, and if one releases them they will either slay their rescuer on the spot or offer them three wishes.

Indeed, it is even said that at the center of the forest there is a secret glade where a spirit older than the Age of Humanity waits, with the knowledge to answer any question.

These and a hundred other stories are told of the Forest of Kemi. It is then easy to understand why some among the party, especially those more boisterous members, are a little disappointed at their journey so far. After they left in their wagon, pulled along by Ser Patch, they journey south down a mostly dirt road, passing little of note, and since entering the forest they've seen little beyond a few stray birds.

The uneventful trip so far has seemed less like an adventure and more like drudgery. It is good then that it is at that moment that a ten foot insectoid, specifically a giant mantis with giant mandibles and bladed limbs leaps out of the tree cover intent to cut Selmeriel in half.


http://paizo.com/image/content/CrimsonThrone/PZO9009-MantisGod_360.jpeg

It seems the forest is not as empty as it seemed and at least one predator is intent to prove that. Sadly Bradack is scouting ahead while a giant bug tries to cut his new friend-come-intern's head off.

The creature catches Selmeriel between its blades, slashing her sides badly, grabbing her and pulling her from the back of the wagon where she sat a moment before beside Grundnash!


What do you do?


ROLL FOR INITIATIVE!

THE MAP (https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1IBRFgbai5tCJD5JUnVVBJrfNo6aTfhc7u1O9ErlCOUU/edit?usp=sharing)

Giant Mantis Initiative:[roll0]

Attack Roll: [roll1] vs. DC 15 (Selmeriel's Flat-Footed AC)
Attack Roll: [roll2] vs. DC 15

Damage: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

If either attack hits, free action to start a grapple;
Grapple Roll: [roll5] vs. DC 15 (Selmeriel's FCMD)
Grapple Roll: [roll6] vs. DC 15 (Selmeriel's FCMD)

The Mantis can move and use a standard action in the surprise round due to its ability Lunge.

[Green Bean]

Though Grundnash had always been the smallest and weakest of his tribe, he'd gone through the same training as all of his peers. He was by all accounts awful at it, but some lessons had stuck with him. Which is why when a giant mantis struck out of nowhere, his first instinct was to unleash a blood-curdling war cry and try to smash it with his wizard's staff.

Of course, immediately afterwards he remembered that in fact he didn't know the first thing about close quarters combat, so he bailed out of the carriage and ducked behind its wheel.

Attacking, then shifting.

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Starsign]

Selmeriel

The young elf hadn't expected herself to get caught in trouble so quickly upon setting out. She had just gotten out one of her bottles of liquid when she is suddenly beset and attacked by the giant mantis. With a painful yelp she is forced off and held by the horrible blades of the creature. She had trouble trying to look away from the mantis so she could get a look at how bad her wound is. Her armor really did not do enough to prevent such a injury but medical attention will need to be put aside to kill this creature first.

Selmeriel reaches for her blade, a eastern longsword with only one side edged known as a Hwandudaedo. Getting a grip on it, the elf unsheathes her blade and slashes downwards on the mantis before following up with a stab aimed at the chest of the creature.

Alright I will attack the mantis with my own sword, in a attempt to kill it as fast as possible.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit Confirm if needed: [roll2]

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack perks his ear as he hears some unearthly shriek from elsewhere in the forest... somewhere alarming close to where...

Crap... CRAP. Bradack ducks low to the ground and hurries as fast as his Hobgoblin legs can take him while still remaining hidden in the underbrush.

[Raynn]

The Forest of Kemi

With a keening and pained screech the mantis clings Selmeriel's form to its chitinous chest and slowly raises itself into the air as Selmeriel dangles beneath it.

It seems to intend to finish its meal elsewhere.


What do you do?


THE MAP (https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1IBRFgbai5tCJD5JUnVVBJrfNo6aTfhc7u1O9ErlCOUU/edit?usp=sharing)

The Giant Mantis will attempt to maintain the grapple;
Grapple Roll: [roll0] vs. DC 15 (Selmeriel's CMD)

The Mantis will fly upwards, 20 ft., and end his turn there.

Selmeriel gets a free attempt to break free, 1d20+6 vs. DC 18, due to the new position being hazardous.

[Starsign]

Selmeriel

The poor elf, injured already, finds herself lifted and dragged up and into the air. It quickly dawns on her that she's going to be taken away from her group to be horrifyingly munched and chomped on. In any sort of way she would die, she'd rather not have it be done by being eaten. At the very least she would like a drink first.

Instead however Selmeriel attempts to wriggle herself free of the mantis' chest. In something of a panic she uses her Hwandudaedo to wriggle a space between herself and one of the claws keeping her held. Successfully she manages to break free... Only to find herself in freefall. She screams for a second before hitting the forest ground on her back, finding herself knocked out and unconscious all too quickly in this fight.

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

"Let's go!" he says to Curinir as he leaps from the wagon. He hops over to Selemriel's fallen body, hoping to distract the giant mantis from his fallen companion. In a flash of feathers and iron, Tektak's pistol is drawn and fired with a thunderous bang.

[roll0] vs touch ac [roll1] using a grit point for an extra [roll2] which is halved on a miss

[Raynn]

The Forest of Kemi

The shot roars out and the mantis screeches in fury and pain. Another shot like that is indeed more than the mantis can hope to survive, and it knows that.


What do you do?

Grundnash is up!

[Green Bean]

Grundnash edged further away from the mantis before unleashing a deadly dart of acid at it. He roared out a warning to his party-mates. "Mantis no hunt alone, little things follow behind! Must careful!"

Ranged touch attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Raynn]

The Forest of Kemi

The acidic dart slashes across the chitinous exoskeleton of the mantis but doesn't cut deep enough to take the creature down. Sadly.


What do you do?

Bradack is up!

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack rushes as quickly as he can through the undergrowth, careful to remain silent.

"crap crap crap crap crap"

Well, mostly silent. He coasts along, eventually getting close enough to see the mantis looming between the trees. "Well..." He says quietly. "Huh."

[Raynn]

The Forest of Kemi

As Bradack moves through the treeline the creature swoops down for another pass, letting out a keening screech as it does. It lands over Selmeriel and makes a long slash at Tektak. Thankfully the slash went far wide leaving Tektak unharmed.


What do you do?

Curinir is up!

Attack Roll (@ Tektak): [roll0] vs. DC 19

Damage Roll: [roll1]

Grapple Check (@ Tektak on a Hit): [roll2] vs. DC 15

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Swords are awesome.

This is an undeniable fact. A law of physics. Decreed by the universe before the gods themselves.

Yet, swords can't hit things that are out of reach. And flying Mantises are out of reach. Until now!

"STABBING TIME!" is cried out with glee as the fighter came charging out of the wagon, leaping through the air towards the monster and stabbing down with one of his wakizashis.

Charging attack.

21 to hit. 7 damage.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4257601/

[Raynn]

The Forest of Kemi

As Curinir attacks the Mantis is left barely standing, a stiff wind would knock it over now, but in its soon to be near to final moments it swings a massive bladed limb towards Curinir, hoping to take someone down with itself.


What do you do?

Tektak is up!

Reach 10ft means AoO on that charge attack sadly!

Attack Roll (@ Curinir): [roll0] vs. DC 15

Damage Roll: [roll1]

Grapple Check (@ Curinir on a Hit): [roll2] vs. DC 18

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak watches as the mantis is doused in acid and stabbed by his friends. Swords and magic were awesome.

But guns are flippin' sweet as hell.

The mantis takes a swipe at him, but he manages to avoid it and scrambles backward, using his magical bandoleer to teleport a new round into the chamber of his trusty sidearm. Taking aim at the monstrous insect, he squeezes the trigger.

5ft step away from the mantis. [roll0] vs touch AC [roll1]

[Raynn]

The Forest of Kemi

Bang.

A gaping whole in the creature's chitinous shell was left ragged in the chest of the creature. It collapses into the grass and mud and twitches violently near Selmeriel's unconscious form.

It takes about a minute before it stops twitching.


What do you do?

Combat is over. Just given you sometime to deal with a Selmeriel and have a reaction to the attack.

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Owie. Pain and blood. Still, Curinir had stabbed the frak out of that carapaced creep. He kicked the body once to stop it from twitching.

"Serves ya right. Good shot, Tecks." He said, giving a thumbs up to his feathered friend.

Curinir then uncorked a potion and knelt down by the healer. "Newbies. Something always goes wrong when you bring newbies." He opened her mouth up and force-fed her the potion.

Cure light wounds, star. 1d8+1.

He waited to see if she could get up, or if he'd need to feed her the other one.

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak tips his hat to Curinir, and with a flourish gunslinger style, holsters his pistol. Seeing Selemriel being force-fed a health potion, and not having any medical knowledge (of non-feathered races at least) Tektak decides to take a look at the giant mantis monster they just killed. Grabbing a nearby stick, he pokes around at the huge insects corpse.

I guess a search? Not really expecting to find anything but hey, might as well give a look. Not everyday you see a bug this big! Maybe it ate someone who had something good on him :smallamused:[roll0]

[Raynn]

The Forest of Kemi

As the potion runs down Selmeriel's lips and throat Tektak kicks through the underbrush and searches the Mantis' remains.

After a few moments Selmeriel comes to with a cough with Curinir looming over her.

At about the same it quickly becomes apparent to Tektak that the Mantis wasn't adorned with anything valuable and likely wasn't in some way sapient.


What do you do?

I'll end the scene and move us on as soon as you're ready. :smallsmile:

[Starsign]

Selmeriel

For what felt like a good nights sleep at first ended up becoming a rude awakening as the elf feels bitter liquid come down her throat with a pumping migraine as an accomplice. Several coughing fits later, she finally manages to speak. "Ugh..." She makes a audible groan as she comes awake, sitting up upon the grassy earth of this forest. Her voice is plainly sick, under a mood of unease that will wear away in time. "Bluh. Who thought medication should taste so bitter?" She makes the attempt to stand upright, only to find herself in pain trying to do so. She looks down at her body, still fresh with various wounds, even if mended. Without saying a word, she lays her hands on the injuries, channeling energy from her hands to heal away the wounds. When all's done and said, Selmeriel simply looks like she's been rolling around in the grass rather than skewered.

She brushes out a smile as she's able to stand on her feet. "Okay, that's better," she says to herself, holding her head due to the migraine. She ponders whether she could use a drink, then decides it'd be best to wait until after they've arrived at their destination. She looks in gratitude at the others. "Thanks... Shall we head off now? I'd rather not stay here too long after that harrowing experience."

[SuperCracker]

Curinir

Newbies. The half-elf was glaring at Selmeriel, holding part of his bloody clothes in the process.

"Oh yeah. We're all just peachy, now. No problems that I can see. Nope. No other injuries at all."

Glare.

[Starsign]

Selmeriel

For a moment Selmeriel simply nods. Then she looks down at Curinir's clothes. "Oops. Missed that," she proclaims quietly as she goes to heal the half-elf's injuries as well. Her hands place upon his injuries as they close up and repair the lost flesh in a jiffy.

Cure Light Wounds again: [roll0]

[Phase]

Bradack

Bradack, a dagger brandished menacingly in each hand, bursts out of the underbrush.

"RAAAAAAAaaaaaaaoh it's already dead." He coughs, sliding the daggers back into their various hidey-holes. "Right then. Um, good work, team!" He sniffs the air. "Smells like guns." He scratches the back of his head.

"Look, next time you guys get attacked by something, try to make sure it attacks from the front so that I've already spotted it?"

[SuperMuldoon]

Tektak

Tektak finishes poking the bug carcass with his stick as Bradack comes charging out of the woods ready for battle. "Yep, already wasted the critter." he says, and finding nothing interesting about the bug, flings his stick into the woods.

"We ready to get this show on the road?" he says, seeing Selemriel and Curinir all patched up.

[Raynn]

Further Down The Trail . . .

http://i44.tinypic.com/2imb6ur.jpg

It takes the rest of the day and most of the next to leave the forest of Kemi behind and continue the journey. This of course gives the oracle enough time to heal the heroes up without risking leaving herself without magic, when they came to make camp that night.

Thankfully, aside from a few eyes noticed peering at them from the bushes the rest of the journey in the forest was uneventful.

It was not long before sun down the next day, at the edge of dusk, that they came upon the bridge of Perpesno, over the Longarm river. They needed to cross it on the way east to the beach, before they set sail to Felspyre Isle.

The wagon comes to stop on one side of the bridge.


What do you do?

Anyone who wishes may make a Knowledged (History, Local, Geography or Religion) check about the bridge and the area.