[4e] We sail from Llandrinwood (IC)

[SeanMcShambles]

The trees and mountainsides outside the window begin to blur together into dark and unrecognizable shapes, propped against the pitch black night sky as the rain from the storm blankets the countryside and batters the outside of the carriage you are all aboard.

It had been a long an tedious journey to get to Maine, and the dwarven coachman that collected you all at Maine's plaza was rather uncouth and (both literally and figuratively) short.

Some of you quietly reveled in the fact that the dwarf would now be freezing and drenched to the bone as he guides the carriage to Abergard Manor.



There wasn't much of a chance for any of you to speak to each other inside the carriage as the roar of the lightning and rain outside, the heavy trudging of the horses hooves against wet mud and stone, and the clanging and clicking of various parts of the large carriage had made any form of verbal communication inside the carriage all but audible.

But you'd all spent the last half hour inspecting each other and trying to determine if you had all responded to the same notice.

http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/rookworth/PbP/00000.jpg

As the carriage pulls up to the estate, you see a tall, blonde man standing in front of the large open gates of the manor. His posture is like that of a flagpole. Rigid and proud. An even taller man stands next to him, holding up a large umbrella to shield the first man from the rain. The second man is hunched forward, desperately trying to cover himself with the umbrella as much as possible without encroaching on the blonde man's personal space. His subservience is immediately apparent.

Though visibility outside from within the carriage is diminished due to the heavy rain, you're able to make out the large silhouette Abergard Manor creates against the evening sky. It's reminiscent of a castle. The tall stone and iron gates do not seem inviting at all.

http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/rookworth/PbP/00001.jpg

Both men slowly approach the carriage and the blonde man addresses the dwarf. Though his voice booms and cuts through the storm's roar with ease, you can see that he had not labored himself to make his words heard.

"Do not remove their belongings from the carriage - their stay will not be long. Wait here if you wish to be paid".

The dwarf grumbles, and a few of you revel some more at the thought of the him sitting out in the storm.

The blonde man motions for you all to step outside and follow him, and without skipping a beat, he and his large assistant then turn around and begin making their way past the gates towards the front entrance of the house.

"This way. Lord Van Gerrawey is waiting."

http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/rookworth/PbP/00002.jpg

They both stop at the large archway leading to the front door and turn around. The large man closes his umbrella and they both wait patiently.

The OOC Thread is located here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?358382-4e-We-sail-from-Llandrinwood-(OOC)).

[GPuzzle]

"Lord Van Gerrywey is waiting, ain't it? Open the door, I think these fellas here don't like standing out in the rain."

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

Flashing a wan smile at the group as he draws his coat tighter against the rain's onslaught, Dox voices his agreement. "Much as we've all been waiting to meet him, it seems. If nothing else, I will surely appreciate His Lordship's hospitality." He speaks with precise enunciation and with just a hint of insincerity in his obeisance.

[Tris]

Alha Nebinson
The halfling doesn't say anything. He simply hops out of the carriage carrying his backpack, and follows the tall thin man.

[tbergman92]

Erthafein had managed to keep his features concealed throughout the ride, his thoughts occupied with planning for how best to handle the inevitable unveiling of his identity as drow. As such, he was slightly startled when the carriage came to a stop. To make up for his lack of attention, as he stepped out of the carriage, he examined his surroundings as well as he could. Unfortunately, though his ability to see in the dark made the twilight sky inconsequential to his vision, the heavy rain had an equally obscuring effect as the darkness did to most other races.

Following the two men to the house, Erth kept to the rear of the group of adventurers, observing them as they walked. He usually found the mannerisms of the surface-dwellers a little odd. Between his youth in the society of the dark elves, and his time spent in the wilderness of the overworld, the behavior of the "good" races was a bit unnatural to him, though he was usually able to intuitively grasp of the meaning of their actions.

Adding his voice to the mix, Erthafein spoke up. "I agree. Let us continue to the master of the house. I would hear his proposal." He was pleasantly surprised to find that his voice had maintained it's deeply musical tone, despite its disuse.

[Refrigerator]

Deyna (Channeling Incarnation "Mildred")

Deyna scans the party suspiciously, clutching her purse tighter as her eyes flit past the hooded figure in the back of the group. Her slightly hunched, scowling demeanor contrasts with her tall, youthful frame. Curling her free hand into a fist, she shakes it emphatically at the blond man.

“You there! Beanpole. No manners these days. Making us wait outside in this despicable weather. In my day, we only waited seconds to be received by manor lords. Phaw!”

She spits out the last word in a dismissive tone, then crosses her arms, muttering under her breath.

[SeanMcShambles]

Raising a single eyebrow to Deyna, the tall blonde man then turns his head subtly and leers distastefully at Bram.

"Indeed."

With great ease, he pushes both of the ornate, heavy front doors open and saunters into a vast hallway. The large man does not follow, but continues standing just outside the door under the large archway - eyeing you all intently.

Inside the hallway, you see that the tall blonde man stops and turns to face you in front of a coat rack and a large table located 10 feet from the front door on the right hand side.

Just beyond the coat rack, and to either side of the hall, you all notice 10 large ornamental suits of plate armour. For some of you, it strikes you as odd that a dwarf would even have suits of armour of this size. Each suit carries in front of it a broadsword, with the blade touching the ground and the gauntlets holding the hilt of the swords firmly.

"Cloaks and weapons here, please..."

Raawki and Erthafein, you both could swear one of the suits of armour in the distance moved slightly. As if adjusting its grip on its sword.

The blonde man's voice refocuses your attention. He addresses Erthafein directly.

"... except you. Leave your hood on."

He plucks a scarf from the coat rack and throws it towards Erthafein.

"Lord Van Gerrawey is not fond of the denizens of the Underdark. Cover your face, keep to the back and say nothing."

He then places his hands behind his back and waits to see if you all comply to his request to leave your weapons at the table.

[GPuzzle]

Bran places the weapon at the table, before turning to the blond man and muttering:

"You disappear with my warhammer and I won't need it to kill you. I'm not leaving my shield. It was my father's second best shield, and I'm not leaving it."

[Tris]

Alha Nebinson

Alha holds his hands up and says "I have no weapons." He isn't counting the small wooden wand in his pocket as a weapon. He then, quietly awaits the arrival of their employer.

[tbergman92]

Shrugging slightly, Erthafein deftly caught the scarf in his free hand. As he tucked the scarf into his hood to hide his features even more completely, those observing closely could catch a momentary glimpse of skin the color of the darkest night, shock-white hair, and piercingly blue eyes before he resettled his hood to fully hide his face.

"That lasted about as long as I thought it would." he replied nonchalantly. Reaching into his cloak, he quickly deposited 10 daggers onto the table, and stepped back, leaning heavily on his staff, as usual.

"Let's get on with it."

[Neil1889]

The kenku had stayed quiet for the moment, checking out the people he might be working with, head cocking from one side to the other as he considered the situation and those around him with his beady black eyes. Like the Halfling, he'd also brought his pack with him, not too happy about leaving it there in the carriage. Besides, he'd got that letter of introduction in his pack and he was possibly going to need it.

He started and hopped backwards when he thought the suit of armour moved, but then acquiesced to the request to leave his 6 daggers behind. He was impressed at the strange dark skinned creature's dagger collection and wondered if he'd merely bought them or acquired them as trophies.

The Kenku fished around in his pack for the letter; better to have it to hand in case any nervous guards were about.

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

Disarmed already, hm... ah well, even if I was here for that, I'd hardly use a weapon to do it in front of so many... mercenaries.
He looks thoughtfully at the others, wondering what exactly did bring them here when the blonde man's words catch up to him. Underdark? Interesting.

"Why are you up here? Haven't seen many of your kind..."

It was a lie, of course, as was the accusing tone he'd said it in. He had been involved in some small-scale smuggling ring with the Drow some years back, and, well, he was hardly about to start making judgements based on appearances.

He untied his dagger's sheath and placed it in a pocket of his coat, before removing that too and placing it upon the racks.

[tbergman92]

"What can I say, the fresh air called to me." Erthafein replied in a cavalier tone that belied his inner awareness of the potential for this situation to go downhill very quickly. He paid careful attention, the focus and movement of his eyes hidden by the hood and scarf, both to his fellow visitors and the guards in the hall.

[Refrigerator]

Well I never! Were you speaking to me young man?
Deyna looks at Bran, affronted, then unstraps the glaive and dejada from her back and throws them onto the table.

[GPuzzle]

Well I never! Were you speaking to me young man?
Deyna looks at Bran, affronted, then unstraps the glaive and dejada from her back and throws them onto the table.

"What the hell... I wasn't speaking to you, uh... milady, but rather to this man over here. You're starting to disturb me."

[SeanMcShambles]

The tall blonde man, again, leers over at Deyna and Bram, then clears his throat.

"Ahem. If we're all ready, please follow me."

He leads you all through the hallway past the suits of armor and several large doors. At the furthest end of the hallway on the left there is a final large wooden door. The man opens the door, walks inside and stands in the middle of the room. Gesturing to the seats he speaks, and you hear genuine warmth in his voice for the first time.

"Please make yourselves comfortable. Lord Van Gerrawey will be with you shortly."

Those of you who walk into the room notice it is large. Larger than an average commoner's house. The ceiling-high bookshelves that line the back and two side walls indicate that it is a study.

In the middle of the room, atop a shaggy bear-fur rug and facing a large, inviting hearth, is a vintage red leather sofa. It would seat about 4 people, comfortably. To either side of the sofa, facing slightly towards the hearth, are single seaters, both with matching red leather.

There are a few large chests (large enough to sit on) propped against areas of the walls where there are no bookshelves, and in the back left hand corner of the room is a stuffed black bear, posed as if it were ready to attack.

Mounted atop the fireplace is the head of a large dire boar. To either side of the mounted boar's head are two large vertical dwarven tapestries, almost like banners - the images of which seem to be telling some sort of story.

Direclty to the left side of the fireplace is a another door - the blonde man makes his way towards it but gestures at the table on the opposite side of the fireplace before he exits. He is pointing to tray with a large glass decanter and some glasses on it.

"The finest brandy in Maine. You've had a long journey, Lord Van Gerrawey wishes for you all to make yourselves at home."

He walks through the door, leaving you all temporarily alone in the study.

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

A genuine smile forms on Dox's face. "Well enough then. I won't lie, I'll be keeping an eye on you, but that doesn't mean we can't be friendly if we're going to work together."

After their host left them, Dox gave the brandy a cursory dismissal and seated himself comfortably on the middle of the sofa.

[tbergman92]

Completely ignoring the offer of brandy, Erthafein calmly walked over and sat atop the chest nearest to the door they had come in.

Quietly, he replied, half to himself, "I expect nothing less," and silently awaited the arrival of the master of the house.

[Refrigerator]

Deyna makes a beeline for the single chair to the right of the sofa muttering under her breath again. The group can catch words like "hoodlums" "party beverages" and "waste of time" as she passes. Then, she sits hunched over, arms crossed, glowering at the fire waiting for someone to speak.

[GPuzzle]

"You know what's a waste of time, miss? To hire us to explore this archipelago, keep us waiting and not even have the decency to serve us something that's actually filling. This "Lord" probably is one of those men in fancy pants who know thirty three different ways to hold a teacup but don't know how to hold a shield correctly. He probably thinks we're selling our bodies or something."

[SeanMcShambles]

"I heard that!"

Calls out a muffled voice from under Erthafein.

"And there's only one real way to hold a teacup, young man."

The chest Erthafein is sitting on starts moving as the person inside tries pushing up on the lid (only to be met with resistance by Erthafein's weight holding it down).

[Tris]

Alha simply takes a seat on the sofa quietly and waits.

EDIT:
When the lid of the chest starts moving, Alha exclaims, "Oh! Well, I wasn't expecting this!" He grins widely.

[tbergman92]

Erthafein lightly jumps off the chest as he hears the voice under him, quickly remembering to lean on his staff to hide his nimbleness.

Without speaking, he retreated to the next chest in line, standing next to it this time. I'd rather not sit on another creature.

[SeanMcShambles]

The chest bursts open and a old dwarf dressed in dark crimson satin robes and pajamas (complete with fuzzy slippers) leaps out, gracefully landing on his feet. Stretching out his arms and grinning wildly, he yells:

"TADAAAA!"

The blonde man re-enters the room, this time holding a serving tray. On the tray are six bulging leather coin pouches. His stoic facial expression has not changed much as he extends his free arm to motion to the dwarf.

The blonde man speaks in a monotone: "I present to you: Lord Gerin Van Gerrawey."

He pauses briefly and half-heartedly for any applause. You all get the feeling that this was rehearsed, but that the blonde man was not particularly keen to play his part.

Van Gerrawey closes the trunk and promptly sits atop it. Pulling a pipe out of his pocket, he glances Erthafein up and down quickly, wondering if he was the one who had delayed his glorious entrance, then turns his attention back to the tall man.

Van Gerrawey: "Get on with it Claudius."

As Van Gerrawey lights his pipe, Claudius (the tall man) begins walking over to each of you - handing each of you a pouch. After he's done, he walks over to the decanter and pours a glass of brandy. He brings it over to the dwarf and then walks over and stands near the main entrance to the room.

Van Gerrawey winks at Bram's direction: "Fifty gold pieces, just for showing up! Is that hospitable enough for you, rugrat?"

You all notice the pipe in his mouth is upside-down.

[Tris]

"Thank you very much!" Alha says very amused. "That was quite an entrance!" He stuffs the money away in his backpack.

[SeanMcShambles]

Van Gerrawey: "Why thank you, sprout."

The dwarf hops off the chest and walks towards the hearth slowly, inhaling his upside down pipe which no longer contains any of the tobacco that was there when he plucked it from his pocket. He stops in front of the fire and places the pipe and both his hands into his robe pockets. He stares up solemnly at the tapestries. His voice is low and you get the faintest hint of sorrow as he speaks.

Van Gerrawey: "Listen up.. I'm going to tell you an epic tale of betrayal... Kings...dark dwarves and magic..."

Claudius: "Sir, Ignatius the cook informs me that your dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

The dwarf spins around excitedly to face you and clasps his hand together.

Van Gerrawey: "Oh JOY! YAMS! Ok. Scratch the story: here's the gist of it. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-granpappy was a king and I want you travel back to the abandoned Dwarf Kingdom with Claudius, here, to fetch his long lost crown. QUESTIONS?"

Hands still clasped together and with an excited look on his face, Van Gerrawey starts inching his way slowly towards the door near the fireplace.

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

Without ceremony or hesitation, Dox opens his bag and starts counting out the coins inside.

"It would seem generous indeed, but with your permission I'll withhold judgement until I've heard your proposal."

If this strange little man is so free with his coin, perhaps it'd be worthwhile to develop some kind of position here...

He shifts his attention to Claudius, idly making a mental map of the man's features. It was more habit than practical exercise, the dwarf didn't give the impression that he was oblivious to his attendants like some other aristocrats.

--

Offering a thin smile, Dox replies "None that need delay your feasting, Lord. May we keep the company of your servant in order to work out the finer details?"

[tbergman92]

Erthafein remained silent and motionless, though he mentally echoed the half-elf's question. He was also curious to see what Claudius' interest was--was he truly just a loyal servant, or was there something more going on? He decided to maintain his position and observe.

[Tris]

"Maybe you can tell us the rest of the story later. I'd be interested to learn more." the halfling comments.

[Refrigerator]

The shock from seeing an old dwarf in fuzzy slippers suddenly shoot out of a nearby chest startles Deyna into silence. As Lord Gerrawey speaks, her eyes seem to glass over for several minutes. Then, shaking her head once, twice, she gawks at her surroundings, thumbing the pack of coins in confusion and catching only a few words at the tail end of the conversation.

"What was...? Where am I? A crown...yams?"

Rubbing her temples softly, she appears flustered, but resigned to her fate.

Mildred, you dried up old hag. What have you gotten me into? Ah well, no use making a scene now, and this is a fair bit of coin for a simple yam expedition.

[SeanMcShambles]

Van Gerrawey: "Yams! Excellent. Good. Great! And a story for later. I'm sure you're all now familiar with my aide-de-camp Claudius Kline over here. He'll nut out the details with you. He'll be heading up the expedition and I expect his safety to be paramount! He's like a son to me. A really tall, rigid and skinny son devoid of any love or warmth.

In short the deal is this: 50 gold each up front. Another 1,000 gold each when you return with Claudius unharmed. and another 1,000 gold each if you return with the crown."

Insight: 1d20+9: (25)


Erthafein - You feel Lord Van Gerrawey is not being entirely forthcoming with the details of the expedition and sense there is more to his story about the Dwarven King ancestor.

Van Garrawey winks at Claudius and darts off through the door.

Claudius sighs.

Claudius: "You must excuse my Lord Van Gerrawey. He's quite fond of yams."

He stands in front of the fire and faces you all.

Claudius: "I've been under the employ of Lord Van Gerrawey since I was a born. My father served this family, as did his father before him. Thousands of years ago, the Van Gerraweys once were the rulers of a proud Dwarven kingdom, built upon and into an island in a distant archipelago to the west. This kingdom was unique to dwarves for most Dwarven societies are usually found inland due to their affinity with the earth. But the kingdom flourished, nonetheless.

The tapestries above me depict the final days of the kingdom. The kingdom was at war with neighboring Sahuagin who believed that their patron Shark-God Sekolah, along with the Goddess Melora, wanted the Dwarf kingdom destroyed as they saw the city as an abomination to the natural beauty of the archipelago.

It is said that the king was betrayed and while the Sahuagin secured the coast, ancient rival Duergar were allowed to pass through the city's gates wherein the dwarven people were all slaughtered.

Out of fear and sadness, the dwarf king abandoned his throne and fled on a boat loaded with a chest full of jewels and a handful of coins taken from the treasury, like a coward - the only survivor in the genocide. The entire island was then thought to be sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

There is tell that the lineage of that king was forever cursed that day, and those with the blood of the Van Gerraweys would never find peace when they die until a Van Gerrawey takes up the crown and restores the honor of the dwarves.

A few months ago Lord Van Gerrawey came into possession of some coins. Dwarven coins. They were identical to the ones in his vault. The coins that had been passed down to his family throughout the generations. Several months of investigation later we determined that these coins originated from the Islands of "Two Hundred Suns". And so this expedition was put together to find out where the coins truly came from.

Gerin is the last of his line, and he believes this curse on his family to be true. And fears it.

This is why we need you."

Insight: 1d20+9: (19)


Erthafein - You sense that Claudius is being genuine in how he carries himself around Lord Van Gerrawey. This man appears to be completely loyal to the old dwarf, almost like a son.

Claudius picks up a fire iron and pokes at the fire.

"Regardless of whether you choose to accept the Lord's offer, the carriage outside will take you back to Maine tonight. As you may have surmised - Lord Van Gerrawey is not accustomed to company, so you will be staying at The Seasick Boar Inn, near the harbor. There the owner, Guillemin Lamar, has been instructed to provide you with a warm meal and lodging for the night.

My man will be in at first light the following morning with contracts for those of you who would join the expedition.

We sail from Llandrinwood harbor in the morning."

[tbergman92]

Erthafein wasted no time in replying. His decision had been made long before he had heard the proposal. "I, for one, need no time to think it over. I will take the job. However, I will not be staying inside of Maine--I am far more comfortable in the wild. I can either sign the contract now, or in the morning I can meet your man in a private room at the inn or at the harbor to sign the contract. The choice is yours."

The drow slowly walked toward the rest of the members as he awaited his new companion's response.

[Tris]

"Well, that is a lot of money! I would certainly like to take that offer. Interesting story as well."

History check to see if I know anything else about this story.
[roll0]

[SeanMcShambles]

Alha - you know that the story of the Island of Dwarves is one told to children around these parts. You'd never heard it in such detail as Claudius had just given - but the story told to kids went that the Dwarf King, in his cowardice, sold his soul Laduguer - the Duergar god - in exchange for immortality and then took command of the dark dwarf army to slaughter his people to seal the pact. The moral being that fear leads to evil.

Claudius takes a contract from the serving tray, and produces a pen from his person. He hands both to Alha.

He then turns Erthafein, and offering another contract he asks:

"Are you sure you would stay the night out in a storm such as this, Dark Elf?"

[Refrigerator]

Retrieve a crown for a large sum of money...

Deyna shuffles to her feet, extremely disappointed that the request does not involve tuber foraging.

But having company would be nice for once...and Mother could use the gold to care for Father.

She steps forward, cautiously approaching Erthafein and Alha.

"You can count me in as well, sir."

[tbergman92]

Taking the contract and quickly signing his name, Erthafein handed it back to Claudius as he replied. "I am certain. As you can see from the state of my cloak, the rain doesn't bother me. And the wilds have far less risk for me than a town does. I will meet you at the docks at first light. I will be wearing the form of a midnight black cat with a white marking in the shape of a spider on its chest."

Bowing a fraction of an inch as he backed away, the drow waited for the rest of the group to either make a choice or postpone their decision for the morning, his mind running through the possible locations he could sleep for the night.

[SeanMcShambles]

Claudius also hands Deyna a contract, then turns and receives Erthafein's signed contract from him.

"Suit yourself. Just speak to the dwarven coachman. He will drop you off at any point between here and Maine...." he stops and reads the signature

"...Endhenfair. "

[tbergman92]

Erthafein smirked slightly. "It's an easy mistake to make when a non-native reads the Rellanic script. My name is Erthafein."

[SeanMcShambles]

Claudius looks awkwardly at the signature.

"Look. It clearly reads--"

The door near the fireplace swings open wildly and Van Gerrawey absentmindedly strolls through holding a large bowl, shoveling its contents into his mouth.

Van Gerrawey: "Oh my gods, Claudius. Ignatius' yam casserole is to die for. You simply must -- oh balls."

Van Gerrawey's eyes widen as he realizes that the meeting was still going on and promptly turns around and quickly walks out back through the door.


Claudius pauses for a moment, and then just stands in the middle of the room with an exasperated look on his face. He sighs heavily. He then produces a whistle from his person and blows into it - the noise it makes is shrill. He then collects the remaining contracts (signed or unsigned).

Claudius: "Ok. I think we'll get these contracts sorted out in the morning. Thank you very much for your time --"

The large man lumbers in.

Claudius: "Thomas, please escort our guests back to the carriage. Tip the coachman. The one with the scarf on his face is to be dropped off at any place he chooses between here and the city.

He turns back to the rest of you.

"Your meal and lodgings for the night have already been paid for. If there are any further questions, I'll answer them at the dock. My man will be at the inn first light to collect you. Safe travel."

He turns and heads through the door near the fireplace.

There is a brief moment of awkward silence before "Thomas" brutishly grunts for you to get out of the room.

[GPuzzle]

"That's a LOT of coin. Also, miss, why aren't you acting like a crazed old lady anymore? Split personality or just downright insanity?"

[Tris]

Alha had signed the contract by the time they were collected. He leaves the room when asked.

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

Having remained silent throughout the exposition, Dox bids Claudius a good night, assuring him that he will have his decision by the dawn.

During the carriage ride through the storm, he mentally composes the correspondence he'd have to send back to the court to maintain his most recent cover.

Count Malavi, my friend,
I have discovered the cause for Lord Gerrawey's call-to-arms,
And noble indeed have I found his quest that I must lend aid.
On the morrow we sail for the Islands of Two Hundred Suns,
Seeking to recover the ancient crown, his lost birthright,
And we shall restore to him status worthy of his grand stature
Dox smirks at his private joke
I look forward to sharing the tale at court upon my safe return.

Your ally, Sir Digby of Hallowcrest

Realizing, as he concluded, that he had already made his decision, Dox secures the bag of coins into his backpack and awaits their arrival at the inn.

[tbergman92]

Erthafein decided the argument wasn't worth it. After all, Erthafein (https://www.dropbox.com/s/u3kcnmcfjajf672/Rellanic%20Erthafein.png) and Endhenfair (https://www.dropbox.com/s/vm2zwtqp2p8id7z/Rellanic%20Endhenfair.png) were quite similar in the Rellanic script.

Following the rest out of the house, he gathered his daggers and resettled them about his person, before climbing into the carriage so that he was near the door. He remained silent throughout the ride, until the carriage approached an appropriate distance from the city of Maine, at which point he called out to the driver to stop.

After exiting the carriage, he began running into the wilderness to find a suitable camp. As he ran, he ate some of the food he had collected in his travels. After searching for a short time, he found a comfortable tree branch to utilize as a roost. Climbing the tree, he transformed into a great horned owl, fluffed his feathers for warmth, and entered his trance state.

[Neil1889]

The Kenku had watched the goings on without saying anything, but he did take a snifter of the brandy and had reactively hopped backwards when the dwarf made his appearance.

Raawki made sure the letter he was carrying had been passed to Claudius when he handed the signed contract back to the human.

The letter was addressed to the dwarven nobleman, so the Kenku spoke for the first time, "Master Claudius, please make sure Lord Van Gerraway gets this letter from his cousin Threlgard. It contains what he called my bona fides."

Scooting to the table, the Kenki deftly grabs a pouch of gold, weighs it for a second in his talons before sequestering it into his backpack.

Raawki then heads over to examine the tapestry for a moment.

[Refrigerator]

Deyna smiles sheepishly at Bram while taking the contract from Claudius.


"It's...complicated. Let's just say I am periodically possessed by my past lives. It looks like you all met Mildred already. Please accept my apologies in advance if I accidentally offend anyone during my episodes."

Signing the contract with a flourish right before Claudius collects it, she then grabs her weapons and trudges out of the mansion towards the carriage.

[SeanMcShambles]

Raawki - Claudius skims the letter briefly and glances back up at you.

"This letter is missing Threlgard's house seal... which, to be perfectly honest, is just like Threlgard. Very well. I shall see you tomorrow, Master Raawki."

---

After having dropped Erthafein off, the rest of the carriage ride was quite uneventful. The storm outside had even subsided.

As the guards cautiously let the carriage into the city, you all notice that even though it is not that late into the night the streets have been left quite empty after the storm. The carriage horses' hooves echo down the street as your coachman takes you towards the harbor. Were it not for the lights illuminating the windows of the surrounding houses, you'd almost think that this city was abandoned.

As the carriage pulls up to the Seasick Boar Inn, you start seeing signs of life. The dwarf stops the carriage across the street from the inn and points towards it, grumbling.

Those of you that alight the carriage and approach the inn are met by the opening of the inn door and a rather drunk tiefling being hurled out onto the street in front of you.

"AND STAY OUT."

The tiefling hits the cobbled street hard. He looks up into the inn, looks up at you, and then content to sleep where he lies - he closes his eyes for the night.

Those of you that peer into the Inn can see that the scene inside is bright. You now know where all the night owls of the city have gone. Inside people are singing and dancing, the minstrel plays a jig for the halflings to dance to and the gigantic half-orc body guard is eyeing the room for more rowdy patrons to eject.

Once you've all alighted , the dwarf immediately takes off.

[Tris]

Alha scurries up to his room, not wanting to be festive tonight. Besides, he has a book he has been wanting to read. He pulls out of his backpack, a small book titled Magic Theory. He will have plenty of time to get to know his new companions later.

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

Throwing his pack over his shoulder, Dox leapt off the carriage and headed into the inn, and immediately sought out the proprietor.

"Good evening, my man. You should be expecting us - Gerrawey's man took care of the tab? I'd be happy with whatever room and supper you have available, but would it be too much to ask you to gather some parchment and arrange a courier for me as well?"

[GPuzzle]

Bram walks towards a table in the corner, and ask for a beer and some meat, before asking if anyone else wants to eat anything.

"Who knows, this might be our last decent meal. Let's try to keep our last memory of food a good one, shall we?"

[SeanMcShambles]

From behind the bar counter, Guillemin Lamar, the Innkeeper watches you all as you enter the Inn. He finishes wiping the flagon he's holding and slings the wiping cloth over his shoulder. He watches on as Alha scurries upstairs and then turns his attention to the Elf (Dox).

"Ahh yes. Claudius' explorers. Me wife Margery 'as watching ye from upstairs as Lunkthorp brought ye in on 'is carriage."

He reaches under the counter and produces some rather tattered pieces of parchment and a feathered quill and inkwell that both looked like they had seen better days.

"'ere ya go, mate. That'll be 5 copper for the paper. But 'taint no couriers this time of night and in this weather. Ye'll 'ave to wait till the morn'."

---

Guillemin smiles courteously at Bram's request.

"Tonight's special is Smoked Partridge with carrots and taters. There's also Margery's mystery soup if yer interested. Claudius wanted me to make sure the lot of you was stuffed and 'content'."

He pours two tankards of ale from one of the barrels behind him and places it in front of Bram and Dox.

"Take a seat and Margery'll bring the food out for the four of you. Should she bring something up to the halfling?"

---

Meanwhile on the other side of the bar, a drunken sailor stumbles over to Raawki. His friends in the background cheer him on as he raises his hand to Raawki's face. In his fingers is a half-eaten biscuit.

"Pretty polly want a cracker?" he slurs out.

He has a bit of a chuckle to himself before suddenly noticing Deyna.

"ULLO ULLO ULLO, what do we have here then?"

Without really looking in Raawki's direction, the sailor flicks the biscuit and it just so happens to hit Raawki on the chest.
The sailor then licks his hand and slicks back his hair - as if attempting to make himself more appealing to Deyna.

"By the looks of your skin, I can see the storm's left you a bit cold. I can warm you up darling"

He leans ever so alluringly on a pillar next to him.

[GPuzzle]

Trying to see if I can notice anything going on with Deyna.

[roll0]

EDIT: SECOND SKILL CHALLENGE CRIT IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS!

[SeanMcShambles]

Trying to see if I can notice anything going on with Deyna.

[roll0]

Bram - you notice that there is commotion on the other side of the of the Inn, where Raawki and Deyna are standing. There is a man leaning seductively against a pillar, and his body language would indicate he's making the moves - so to speak. A few feet away on the table to right are a group of 7 men, cheering him on and drinking copious amounts of ale.

You also notice a several feet to the left of Deyna and Raawki, tucked away in the back corner of the Inn are three figures in hoods, watching the commotion from their table. Their table is empty save for a piece of unrolled paper in front of them.




EDIT: SECOND SKILL CHALLENGE CRIT IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS!

Guillemin raises an eyebrow and isn't sure to make of this action.

"Settle down, laddy."

[GPuzzle]

Eh, sorry, it was OOC, I just forgot to point that out.


"Davith, do you mind watching for my food for a few minutes? I've got somethings to solve."

Bram stands up and walks towards the drunken man, warhammer and shield ready to engage.

"Oi, what've you been doing with this miss, drunkard?"

[SeanMcShambles]

Guillemin tries calling out to Bram as he walks off.

"Don't be doin' anything stupid now, boy"

---

The drunk sailor spins around offers Bram an obscene gesture.

"Back off, Stench Kow!"

The mood in this part of the inn suddenly changes. Raawki, you notice that the drunken man's sailor buddies put down their drinks and try to stealthily ready their weapons.

[GPuzzle]

"You're not touching anyone here without going through me first."

He readies his weapon in his hand and looks around to see Raawki's, Deyna's, and the Hooded Figure's reactions.

[SeanMcShambles]

The drunken man pauses for a bit and then looks at his friends, as if for confirmation. They shrug in confusion, return to scowling and continue gripping their weapons firmly under the table.

The drunken man turns back to Bram.

"..Y-you... want me to touch you first? ..."

Bram and Raawki, you notice that the hooded figures on the other table are now staring at the scene you're all in the middle of.

The man in the middle rolls up his parchment and tucks it inside his cloak.

I'll wait till a few more people post their reactions before posting again

[Refrigerator]

Indignation flashes across Deyna's face and she raises her chin imperiously, readying a few sharp words in defense of herself and the Kenku. Something perfectly clever, such as how the sailor's mother has such a magnitude of girth that she requires latitude and longitude to acquire the location of her..."rear entrance".

Before she can speak, her face slackens and her eyes glass over. A few seconds later, she bats her eyelashes charmingly at the sailor and titters in an odd falsetto.

Oh deaaarr meeee must we come to blows my good man? Why don't we all sit down and have some wine instead? I absolutely adoooooore a good wine.

Fanning her face with a clearly soiled napkin she sits down and pats the seat next to her invitingly and gestures at everyone to join.

[roll0]

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"Of course. Our departure will be quite early in the morning; if I leave the letter, with payment, in my room could you see to its delivery? I'd be sure to make mention of your hospitality to the Lord Gerrawey. And do please send something up for the little man. He seemed preoccupied, but I'm sure your wife's fine soup will raise his appetite." Dox gives the man a charming smile as he takes a seat, and begins to write out his letter.

--

Distracted by his task, Dox only looks up as Bram gets up from his seat.

"Mm? You what? Oh, sure, I'll watch it..."

He returns his attention to scribing the excessively ornate script that "Sir Digby" used in all his writing.

[tbergman92]

Erthafein quietly continued to perch on his branch, occasionally turning his head to observe his surroundings and hooting out of instinct, as he continued his trance.

[Neil1889]

"He's got armed friends, Bram," warns Raawki, keeping watch. The position of his eyes let the Kenku watch over different parts of the room. The Kenku doesn't move, but he does tense up, ready to act if he has to.

[GPuzzle]

"And I have a shield."

[SeanMcShambles]

You see the drunken man relax upon hearing Deyna speak.

"Sod off, mate. The lady wants to drink wine with me. GILL! Some wine here, mate!"

The drunken man turns his back to Bram and sits next to Deyna, his attention fully focused on her.

"Do you come here often?"

Raawki you notice the rest of his friends eyeing the situation cautiously but they are starting to relax their weapon hands and slowly returning to their tankards.

---

As Margery carries a tray with a plate of partridge and a bowl of soup on it upstairs, Guillemin carries a plate of Partridge over to where you're sitting, Dox. He coughs slightly to make himself known so as not to jar your out of your concentration. Once he has your attention, he places the plate down carefully on your table. He leans in and whispers to you.

"Rowdy lot over there. Ye should control yer hammer-wielding friend."

He motions to the three hooded men in the corner with his head.

"See those three 'ooded men in the corner? They're 'envoys' of King Leganna's Hand. Darkblades. So named for the poisoned obsidian swords they's wieldin under their cloaks. Folk round 'ere reckon they're former assassins. The King's Hand's been cracking down 'ard on all crime - some say without the king even knowin'. Even misdemeanors end with 'angings these days. Just a tip."

He shuffles off to the kitchen to fetch the rest of the meals.

---
Alha, you hear a hard knocking at your door. A rather harsh female voice calls from the other side.

"Oi. Your friends wanted us ta bring ya dinner."

More hard knocking.

---
Erthafein, with the rain having subsided - from the tree where you're perched you notice down below a rabbit hole and a family of rabbits popping in and out of it periodically through the night. They forage the area, you presume because they were unable to do so earlier because of the storm.

Above you in the dense foliage you can hear rustling as something moves downwards.

It seems all the nocturnal animals of the area are finally starting to come to life.

[Tris]

Alha looks up from his book. "Oh? Just a moment!" He sets his book down and walks over to the door to open it.

[SeanMcShambles]

Alha, as the door opens you see behind it a truly beautiful creature. Her hair is gold like the morning sun, and eyes blue as a polished sapphire. She is dressed in plain commoner's clothing but she is radiant nonetheless. She is carrying a tray of food.

The moment seems like it goes on forever as you both exchange looks.

You long to hear her speak, but when she finally does does it makes your spine tingle for all the wrong reasons. Her voice is that of a cheese grater and fingernails on chalkboard.

"'ere ya go, mate. enjoy. Leave the tray in front of your door in the morning."

She hands you the tray of food and walks away, leaving you rather confused.

[Tris]

Maybe I should socialize with the others. They were nice enough to send me food. My book can wait 'till later. Alha walks down to the common room with his tray in hand.

[GPuzzle]

"Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was this one girl who was seduced by a drunken man. That man raped her. 9 months later, she died giving birth. And I saw it all. Deyna, I don't think it's a good idea to invite these completely drunken man to drink wine with us."

[Neil1889]

Raawki moves away to see about the food. "Bread and meat for me, please, Inkeeper. Not really into crackers; I prefer eyeballs - they're quite nice if steeped in ale," he says, only just loud enough for Guillemin to hear.

[SeanMcShambles]

Alha - as you descend down the stairs, you notice that the minstrel is now playing an upbeat song and many of the patrons are being merry and dancing a happy jig. These dancing patrons obscure your view of the Deyna, Bram and the sailors.

---

Raawki, as you're walking, you're met by Guillemin who is carrying with him (with quite a degree of skill), 3 trays of food - one of the partridges still has its head attached - and 2 tankards of ale.

"Ah, master Kenku. Was jest about to hand you yer meal. Yers is the one still with the head attached. Naught the first time we've 'ad raven folk about this place. Many pass through here on their way to and from Rythol's. Where will ye be seated, lad?"

---

Bram and Deyna - the drunken sailor listens to the story and afterwards stands up, now looking rather indignant.

"YOU SAW IT ALL? You watched on as a woman was raped ? Did nothing and then stalked her for 9 months to watch her die at child birth? You DISGUST ME SIR."

He flips the table in drunken outrage.

The minstrel stops playing and the inn goes deathly quiet as the table hits the ground. The sailors all instinctively get on their feet and the three hooded figures again watch on in anticipation. The middle hooded figure rolls up the parchment again and sighs heavily. Dox, you notice him grip something tight under his cloak.

Guillemin: "ahh bollocks."

[GPuzzle]

"You moron, I watched her giving birth, not being raped! She was my sister! She was raped because I wasn't there to protect her! I will not allow that to happen again!"

Bran throws a cup towards the drunkard's face, and readies up the Warhammer.

"Deyna, behind me!"

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"... I see. Thank you for the information. I shall see what I can do to return your hospitality."

This is why I work alone...

Dox folds up his letter, seals it, and slips through the crowd toward the others. As he passes by Bram he whispers, "Remember that you aren't just representing yourself right now. Stay calm, and don't draw on anyone unless its to save a life. There are consequences for bad decisions..."

Ignoring the drunk and his friends, Dox heads straight for the Darkblades. Pulling up a nearby vacant chair, he drops confidently into it, leans forward and rests his hands on their table.

"Good evening gentlemen. I'm Davith Vicelor, and I have a proposition for you. What say I buy you a round, and you give me until you finish it to take care of this little situation in a way that causes the least trouble for yourselves and the kind man that runs this establishment. I'm confident we can come to some kind of arrangement that benefits us all." He beams brightly at them, hoping that if they recognize his name they'll believe he has something better to offer them than a tavern brawl.


Diplomacy: [roll0]

[GPuzzle]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"... I see. Thank you for the information. I shall see what I can do to return your hospitality."

This is why I work alone...

Dox folds up his letter, seals it, and slips through the crowd toward the others. As he passes by Bram he whispers, "Remember that you aren't just representing yourself right now. Stay calm, and don't draw on anyone unless its to save a life. There are consequences for bad decisions..."

Ignoring the drunk and his friends, Dox heads straight for the Darkblades. Pulling up a nearby vacant chair, he drops confidently into it, leans forward and rests his hands on their table.

"Good evening gentlemen. I'm Davith Vicelor, and I have a proposition for you. What say I buy you a round, and you give me until you finish it to take care of this little situation in a way that causes the least trouble for yourselves and the kind man that runs this establishment. I'm confident we can come to some kind of arrangement that benefits us all." He beams brightly at them, hoping that if they recognize his name they'll believe he has something better to offer them than a tavern brawl.


Diplomacy: [roll0]

Before Dox leaves, Bran whispers back to him.

"I'm saving more than one person's life right now. Might not save mine, but at least I'm saving someone else's."

[Tris]

Alha watches from the foot of the stairs unsure of what is going on.

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram's cup smacks the drunk sailor square in the forehead and he teeters for a few seconds before toppling over and landing flat on his back. His compatriots stand up and draw their weapons.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, STENCH KOW!"

---

Dox, you can see the middle man raise his eyebrow as he looks you square in the eyes.

"Master Vicelor, your reputation precedes you." he says sarcastically.

"As does ours if you're here trying to bargain with us. We're going to have to politely decline your drink as we're on duty.

You're going to attempt to diffuse that? This I'd like to see. You have 5 minutes before I cart these hooligans off to the dungeons."

[Refrigerator]

After hearing Bram's story, Deyna leans back leisurely and emits a vacuous giggle.

"Ha ha ha. Whatta story, Mark."

The ringing of steel as weapons are drawn (and a table to the face) seems to break Deyna out of her trance, and she curses as her eyes refocus on the advancing sailors, quickly positioning herself behind Bram.

"Oh for the love of...what in Moradin's soiled underpants is going on here?!"

[tbergman92]

Erthafein found his mind returning to a peaceful state as he soaked in the sights, sounds, scents, and atmosphere of the wilds. Even as close to the city as he was, the natural world still had a strong presence. The familiar rhythms of the forest soothed his concerns about traveling with people, who would inevitably take issue with his race.

He heard a familiar growl from beneath him, as a languid black shadow flickered by beneath his perch. He smiled internally. "Hello, Imdiira." his voice, quiet and melodious--coming, oddly enough, from the owl's beak--seemed such a natural part of the forest that it had almost no effect on the busy life of the nocturnal animals.

His companion of many years growled softly in response as she patrolled the area around the tree, protective as usual. Trusting in her senses, he tranced in peace, allowing himself to become completely immersed in the sounds of the forest.

[Neil1889]

Raawki takes the opportunity to relieve the innkeeper of his designated plate, "I'll take that off your hands, thank-you very much."

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"Normally I'd be happy to let you do your job, but I've been hired into some honest business with some of these fellows, and well... I appreciate the chance. Drinks aside, perhaps I'll be in a position to help you someday."

Rising quickly from his seat, Dox approaches the drunk, keeping his hands clear of his blade's hilt so as not to give the wrong impression to his friends. Crouching down, he speaks in a low conspiratorial whisper. "Listen, friend. There's something you need to know. That creature is no woman. She... it, is a monster, a succubus. My friend and I are monster hunters, and he is trying... in his thick way... to keep you from getting hurt. Now, I'm going to help you up, and you're going to lose interest in all of this and go back to your evening. If she figures out that we know what she is, she'll go berserk and probably kill half the people here before we can take her down. If you play along, my friend and I will set a trap tonight and we'll all be safe. Okay?"
He extends a hand toward the man, ready to either help him up or subdue him, depending on his response.


Come onnnnn Bluff of the year! A liar's best friend is a drunk audience, right?
[roll0]
I had way too much fun deciding how to try to handle this. :P

[SeanMcShambles]

The drunk man slowly gets up to his feet with Dox's assistance, never once taking his eyes off Deyna as he stands up. He whispers to you.

"Thank you..." and starts to walk off back to his friends, signalling for them to put their weapons away. He eyes Bram as he walks past and whispers, "Good luck, pal."

---

The three hooded men stand up and start walking over to Deyna, Bram and Dox. The middle hooded figure lowers his hood to reveal a tall and rugged man with dark brown hair, and a strong beard. He starts clapping slowly and sarcastically.

"Well done, Master Vicelor. You managed to save those sailors from spending the night in the dungeon..."

He then pauses and the man behind him hands him some manacles.

"... but not your hammer-wielding friend here." He points at Bram.

"In the name of King Leganna of Maine, you're under arrest on the charges of assault and battery, and disturbing the peace. Put your hands behind your back and come with us quietly."

[GPuzzle]

"You'll thank me for this later. Just try to help while I'm in prison by, I don't know, rescuing me or something." He whispers to Deyna, before giving his weapons to the figures and putting his hands behind his back.

"If the king ordered, who am I to complain? Let's go, His Majesty is waiting, ain't he?"

[Refrigerator]

Deyna raises an eyebrow at Davith as the sailors leave and speaks quickly under her breath.

"...A succubus? Well, I can't deny that the bluff was effective...but what can we do about him?"

She jerks her head towards Bram, as the king's men move to restrain him.

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

Dox flashes a wicked smile. "Well we've only just met, who am I to say it isn't the truth?"
The smile however is a brief, and his tone becomes much more serious. "We'll have to gather the others, first. It's a shame we don't have a way to contact the Drow... maybe the spellcaster can do something about that. Claudius's - and his Lord's - expectations were clear. We're all supposed to get this crown together. As far as I'm concerned, solving this problem just became part of the job."

That said, he casts a surreptitious glance around the room, hoping to spot any of the others.

[Neil1889]

Raawki manoeuvres around the inn with his plate of food to appear nearby the cloaked figures and says, "This fellow is to set sail in the morning aboard a ship. Could you not leave him there instead of some prison? At least then he'll be out from under your feet, come the morning tide."

[Tris]

Alha approaches the others with his tray still in hand, and asks, "What exactly happened? Why is he being arrested?"

[GPuzzle]

"If you're going to put me on a boat, then give my shield back. You can keep the warhammer."

[SeanMcShambles]

The man glances down at Alha and then turns and leers at Raawki.

"He'll spend the week in jail, to be sentenced by the High Inquisitor at the end of the week."

The two other men cuff Bram, pick up his equipment and lead him outside.

The man squints his eyes and looks around the inn one more time before walking outside with the others.

---

Bram, the men escort you several hundred feet down road to a waiting carriage. It is drawn by two black horses and there are no windows on it save the one on the back, which is closed off by bars (the carriage is the equivalent of a medieval police van). You're loaded into the carriage and one of the three men climbs into the back with you. Closing the door behind him.

You hear the other two climb the front and start whipping the horses to move.

[GPuzzle]

Bran looks at the man who's with him at the carriage, and says:
"If that's the treatment that saving someone's life gets, then I'm wondering what doesn't get you into jail. Care to tell me?"

[SeanMcShambles]

The man glances over at you, Bram, and smiles. He produces an obsidian dagger from underneath his cloak and twirls it around skilfully between his fingers.

"Do you have any dwarves in your lineage?"

[GPuzzle]

"No. But I was raised in a dwarven town. My father died, so I had to protect my younger brothers and sisters. Got into the military to protect people, since that seemed to be the only thing I did well. Well, until my sister was raped and died giving birth. And now I'm here, locked in a carriage for trying to save people. But you didn't awnser my question. What doesn't get someone into jail here?"

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram - the first hooded man, who is sitting further away and across from you, smiles and stops twirling his dagger. He now grasps it firmly in his hand. You notice as the blade stops twirling that it's actually coated in some sort of liquid - somewhat transparent so not entirely noticeable on the dark obsidian.

"Oh. You're not going to jail, my friend."

He chuckles and exchanges looks with the other man sitting next to you.

"You're a bit of a story teller, aren't you?

Let me tell you a story.

To the west of here is an archipelago - thousands of islands, they call them the two hundred suns - several hundred of these islands are unexplored. My cohorts and I were sent to one of these "unexplored" islands a few months ago, chasing myths and a madman.

What we found there was a village of lizardfolk. But they weren't like any lizard folk I'd ever met. They were placid. Some of them seemed like they were in a trance. Soon we learned that their docile nature was induced - and that they would be succeptible to suggestions spoken in their tongue.

We investigated the cause and what we found was a plant. The lizard folk called it 'Korrasherro'. 'Devil's Breath.'

Now, you see... Devil's Breath is a very interesting plant.

The dust-like seeds that come from the flower of the plant causes creatures to become docile and relaxed. In higher doses it induces a dream like state while awake. The target of the dust feels as though they are spectators to the world - even to themselves.

But the most fascinating portion of the plant is actually the root.

You see, the root of the Korrasherro secretes a unique clear fluid."

He raises the blade so you can see it clearly and smiles.

You feel the carriage speed up a little.

The second man grabs you holds you down to your seat, as the man with the blade points the dagger in your direction and slowly gets up off his seat.

"Would you like to see what it does?"

[GPuzzle]

"Well, I wouldn't be able to see if I was the subject. C'mon, stab me. I bet you, you won't. I've gone through worse in the wars. I will endure that plant of yours."


[roll0] Athletics to kick the guy away if he tries to stab Bran.

I'm gonna see what happens after that.

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram - The dagger-wielding hooded man deftly avoids your kick and brings his dagger close enough to your face to have been able to pierce your eyes, but he stops short and instead nicks your neck, just under your jaw instead.

He grins at you.

Bram, please roll a saving throw (either here in a Spoiler box or in the OOC thread).

---

Back at the inn...

Everything has returned to normal. The sailors leave for the night, having had their fill of merriment and Guillemin cleans up the mess they've made. A few of the patrons start making their way home, but there are still a few stragglers who take a chance to sit and savor their meads and ales.

---

Meanwhile in the forest

Erthafein in your trance like state you see a group of a dozen or so dark-hooded figures on horses race past a nearby road leading to Maine. They seem to be in quite a rush and you overhear one of them say:

"The hawk's note said the plan is ready to go ahead. The King will soon be at the jail to meet with the High Inquisitor. Ride hard, brothers. Tonight, we take Maine!"

[GPuzzle]

[/roll]1d20[/roll]

Can I make an Endurance check instead, please? Just add +6 to that and change it to a High DC skill check instead of a saving throw, perhaps?

[GPuzzle]

The forum roller hates me deeply.


[roll0]

[GPuzzle]

Third time's a charm?


[roll0]

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram - you start to feel light headed and the carriage feels like it's spinning around you, rapidly. You hear the man who cut you with his blade speak, but his voice sounds like a distant echo.

"Relax. We're almost there. You are about to be part of something great, my friend."

Your vision starts to blur and you lower your eyelids as your eyes grow heavy. You fight to open your eyes again, but as you do - you notice you are now standing, un-manacled and watching... yourself and the two men standing next to your body. The carriage is hazy, as if you were dreaming.

You hear the man's echoey voice again. "What is your name?"

You watch on as your body speaks without your consent: "Bram Storn"

Hooded Darkblade: "Stand, Bram Storn."

Your body stands.

Hooded Darkblade: "His irons."

The second man complies, and replaces the manacles with another pair of manacles that he produces from his cloak.

The man leans in and whispers something into your body's ear, Bram, but you do not hear what was said.

The carriage comes to a stop.

Bram, you are currently both Dominated and Charmed by the man who cut you. You now consider him an ally, and he has complete control of your character's body's actions (I will allow you to roll some more saving throws later, but for now - you're super dominated by this epic toxin).

The drug's effect is that you feel like you're having an out of body experience, like you're watching yourself in 3rd person. The reality is that your senses are extremely heightened to the point where your mind makes you think you are no longer in your own body.

I didn't get you to roll endurance because it doesn't affect your stamina. It's more of a really potent poison.

[tbergman92]

At first, when Erthafein heard the voice, its significance did not sink in--he observed the men, noting their hoods and their rush's effect on the forest life.

A brief moment later, he realized that the fall of Maine would likely impede his journey to the archipelago. Growling in a decent approximation of Imdiira, the owl morphed into Erthafein's own dark-hooded figure, which quickly climbed down to the forest floor. Kneeling at the his friend's side, he looked deeply into her eyes and began speaking clearly. He knew that she would not understand his words, but that she would understand his intent.

"Imdiira, I must run to a city nearby. You may accompany me, but as soon as we are within sight of the city, I need you to return to the feywild. I must be unseen in the city, and you would draw attention. I will call you back once I am able." She shook her head and snarled her displeasure at the idea of leaving him, but silently began scouting around him as he took the form of a midnight black cat with a spider shaped mark on his chest.

He immediately began running in the direction of the city, hoping that he would be able to find his new companions and warn them of the impending chaos in time.

[Refrigerator]

In the inn, Deyna turns to Alha and speaks quietly within earshot of Raawki and Dox.

"It seems our fighter friend has gotten himself in a bind with the king's lawmen. Davith is right, we'll need to regroup and gather information...see what we can do to help him."

She pauses, tapping a finger thoughtfully on her chin.

"Did anyone notice where our hooded companion was let off?"

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"Unfortunately, I was preoccupied during our trip here. However, while his involvement would be ideal, I have a greater concern for the whereabouts of our apprehended associate. I confess I wasn't paying enough attention as events unfolded, but the men that took him were not mere wardens. When the proprietor brought them to my attention he identified them as Darkblades... and, well, our friend has no guarantee of safety in their care. Hmm. You know, I'll bet that innkeep has heard more about them than he told me... maybe he'll have an idea where they're headed..."

He trails off as he scans the room for any sign of Guillemin.

[SeanMcShambles]

Dox - Guillemin was actually close by, sweeping the floor, and overhears the last part of your conversation.

"'eaded? Your mate would be on his way to the 'igh Inquistor's Office, I reckon. 'Bout 6 blocks north of 'ere. Ye'd 'ave passed it on yer way 'ere in Lunkthorp's carriage. I reck'n they'll throw 'im behind bars for the night and take 'im to gods know where in the morning. Very few people who've been arrested in the last year ever been seen back wanderin' Maine's streets.

Folk 'spose they just been executed. 'Em darkblades got a reputation for it. Former assassins y'know. Practicin' their secret dark magics."

He continues sweeping, mumbling to himself.

Outside the Seasick Boar Inn - Dox, Deyna, Alha and Raawki, you all hear the sound of a dozen horses marching past the Inn.

[Tris]

Alha responds to Deyna by saying, "But, do you know for what he is getting arrested?" Then, when the horses ride by, "I wonder what's going on out there" he inquires. The halfling pokes his head out the door to see what the commotion is outside.

[Neil1889]

Raawki looks at his plate and decides to make a start on his dinner before events whirl him away from it.

[Gavran]

Dox

Dox calls after the halfling as he heads toward the door "It's quite late for that many riders... what do you see out there?"

[SeanMcShambles]

Alha - you manage to catch a glimpse of the last few of the dozen hooded riders as their horses march past. They are dressed in similar attire to the three hooded men who were in the Inn with you earlier in the evening.

One of them turns to look at you as you peer out the window, then he turns his attention back to the road in front of him.

[Tris]

[roll0] to see the attitudes of the riders and how they bear themselves.

[SeanMcShambles]

Alha - you can see that the riders are riding with intent. Their pace, while seemingly normal to the untrained eye, is actually somewhat hurried - as if they're marching to a place they need to be before a specified time.

You can also tell that they're also making their presence in the city known to those who are able to see them. The one who looked at you wore a look of agitation and impatience.

[Tris]

"It's more of the people who arrested our companion," Alha replied after backing away from the door "They seem to be hurried, like there's something important going on. I wonder what it's all about."

[Refrigerator]

"I don't know about you fellows, but my interest is piqued. Master Guillemin!"

Deyna waves the innkeeper over to the door and points to road down which the riders are disappearing.

"Do you know where that path leads?"

[SeanMcShambles]

Guillemin looks out the door, broom in hand.

"Why... they'd be heading to the High Inquisitor's Office."

He continues sweeping before thoughtfully adding

"S'not good news for your friend. If them Dark Blades is congregating, you can be sure there be something big brewing. In which case they'll 'ave no time for a fair trial. Yer friend is likely to just be executed t'morrow for a misdemeanor."

[Neil1889]

Raawki briefly looks up from his plate, "Ivgockaproriattoolsinmibagforthat," snap, snap, rip, snap goes his beak.

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"Then it seems we have to make a choice. Do we think Claudius would prefer a possible delay in our leaving, or to leave one man short? I can't say I'm certain, but the gold is enough to keep me in either way."

[Tris]

"I still don't know what he got in trouble for. Could someone explain?"

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"He was... nearly involved in a brawl. The Darkblades objected to his aggressive behavior. Nothing to justify what they'd likely do to him, certainly."

[Refrigerator]

"We could leave a note for Claudius and leave tonight to locate the fighter...Bram I think was his name."

Deyna furrows her brow, Guillemin's warning of execution unsettling her.

"I know it's a lot to ask, and I am not confident we will come out of this unscathed...but it's the right thing to do. We can follow the path the Darkblades took to the High Inquisitor's office. Perhaps we'll find our hooded friend along the way."

[Neil1889]

Raawki, beak still full of his dinner, appears to give an affirmative hand signal to Deyna's proposal.

[Tris]

"I'll get my stuff then," Alha says before going up to his room. He returns carying his backpack.

[Neil1889]

Raawki's head swings back as he swallows the contents of his beak before filling it again with the last of his dinner. He makes a gesture of appreciation to the innkeeper and makes ready to leave.

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

Pulling his own bag up from beneath the table, Dox nods his agreement. "I'll ask the innkeeper to inform Claudius, then. And we should probably hurry."

He moves off to Guillemin, passing him his letter and five gold coins before explaining their departure (leaving out any incriminating details), then returns to the group.

[SeanMcShambles]

Dox, Alha, Deyna and Raawki - Guillemin pockets Dox's letter and gold and bids you all farewell. He closes the door behind you as you leave.

Outside, you can see that a coastal fog has started drifting in. It makes the path ahead of you hard to see, as there are very few streetlights on this street to light the way, but you can hear the plodding of the horses' hooves just north of you, in the distance.


Erthafein - the entrance to the city you walk through in is quite deserted save two guards at the gate who look rather bored. They seem to not pay much regard to you in your cat form as you casually stroll through the gate. As you travel further down the street, you notice that being the middle of the night, the streets inside the city are now quite deserted as well, but you can hear the clopping of a few dozen horses' hooves approaching just south of you.

Bram - The carriage driver alights from his station and opens the back door of the carriage allowing you and the two other darkblades with you to alight. Though your body's still charmed - you can see in front of you that you are in standing in front of a very official looking building. The man who drugged you whispers into your ear:

"It's show time, my friend."

You may roll a saving throw to see if you can snap out of the charm/dominate

http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/rookworth/PbP/0003.jpg

[Tris]

"It's rather dark out here," Alha comments "I'll light the way." He pulls out his small wooden wand and gives it a little flick. The wand illuminates an area of about 20ft around them. "That's better."

Using the cantrip, Light, of course.

[GPuzzle]

Damnit, I'm on my on my phone... I won't be home until the next 2, maybe 3 hours. Mind waiting?

[SeanMcShambles]

no problems

One thing I forgot to mention, Bram, is that across the road from you - you also see another carriage. There is no one inside it. It is quite regal and adorned with jewels and embellished with fine ornamental carvings. The horses that pull it have feathers decorating their blinkers (the patches on the horse's eyes that prevent them from seeing back and to the sides). Standing in front of the carriage's door, there are two men dressed in bright red uniform, holding large decorative halberds. You can see the King's sigil and House Leganna's coat of Arms on the side of the carriage.

[SeanMcShambles]

Alha - As you light up the surrounding area, you hear a disgruntled voice coming from upstairs in one of the adjacent buildings:

"Gods dammit all! Turn off that damned light! We're trying to sleep!"

Through the fog, you, Dox, Deyna and Raawki hear the horses' hooves slow a little and eventually stop. In the distance, the voice of one of the dark blades follows and calls out, cutting through the silence:

"Where's that light coming from? Who's there?"

[GPuzzle]

Hoping for a nice saving throw...

[roll0]

[SeanMcShambles]

As the doors to the High Inquisitor's Office open, and you and the three darkblades march through a small hallway into the main Office ,Bram - you come to. You fight off the effects of the toxin and are slightly sluggish at first but you eventually regain full control of your body. You notice the manacles you're wearing are currently not locked in place, they're just loosely wrapped around your wrists. You can feel a metallic object lodged on the inside of your boot - a dagger.

A few seconds later it all comes together and you realise what the Darkblades are doing when you see King Leganna and his Hand standing inside the High Inquisitor's Office arguing with the High Inquisitor. Inside the office, along with the three officials are three of the King's guards (dressed in the same bright red uniform).

King Leganna: "I will not condone anymore of these so called 'Acts of Justice', Tyrone. You've been murdering my citizens under the guise of justice. You and your Darkblades will be disbanded and control given back to the City Watch. Then you will all be tried for your crimes!"

The King stops yelling as you and the three Darkblades enter the room. The High Inquisitor glances over at you and the three Darkblades.

High Inquisitor: "Yes? What is it? We're in the middle of something."

The words the Darkblade whispered into your ear earlier circumnavigate your thoughts until they're brought back to the forefront of your mind. Once you're in the Inquisitor's Office - Kill the King. Kill the high inquisitor and then kill yourself.

The Darkblade who cut you, under the assumption that you're still charmed whispers to you:

"Do it now."

He then addresses the High Inquisitor:

"What would you do with this man, High Inquisitor? He's a serial killer. We've been hunting him for months. We found him tonight cannibalizing the remains of a child near the docks."

[GPuzzle]

Bram whispers to the Darkblade.

"Next time, try to fool someone that isn't from the Dwarven army."

And he tries to break the shackles and hit the Darkblade in the head, followed by him raising his shield and turning his back to the King, in order to protect him.

"King, behind me! I'll tell you what these motherf*ckers were planning to do later, just try to keep yourself safe!"

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram - you easily wriggle your wrists out of the unlocked manacles and swoop around and land your fist into the Darkblade's surprised face. As you draw your shield, the King leaps back in fear and his guards draw their weapons - unsure of what's going on. You start wishing your hammer were with you, but you realise it was left in the carriage outside. The King's guards point their swords towards you and the Darkblades, anxiously.

The Darkblades draw their obsidian swords.

Can I get you to roll a basic unarmed melee DAMAGE (i'm letting you auto hit for this one) to the darkblade, Gpuzzle? This'll basically be your surprise round action (assuming that raising your shield is a minor action and moving towards the king is your move action).

[GPuzzle]

Bram - you easily wriggle your wrists out of the unlocked manacles and swoop around and land your fist into the Darkblade's surprised face. As you draw your shield, the King leaps back in fear and his guards draw their weapons - unsure of what's going on. You start wishing your hammer were with you, but you realise it was left in the carriage outside. The King's guards point their swords towards you and the Darkblades, anxiously.

The Darkblades draw their obsidian swords.

Can I get you to roll a basic unarmed melee DAMAGE (i'm letting you auto hit for this one) to the darkblade, Gpuzzle? This'll basically be your surprise round action (assuming that raising your shield is a minor action and moving towards the king is your move action).


[roll0]


"Majesty, these Darkblades of his are liars. Filthy liars. Bram Storn, lieutenant of the Dwarven army - and these fellas tried to drug me and force me to kill you. Guess these guys have never heard of honor."

[Tris]

"Oops!" Alha quickly extinguishes the light.

[SeanMcShambles]

Alha, Dox, Deyna and Raawki - as Alha's light goes out, you hear the sounds of about five pairs of boots hitting the ground as riders alight from their mounts. The rest of horses hooves continue to plodding along again northwards and you hear faintly in the distance:

"Go check out what that was."

The footsteps now sound like they're headed in your direction.

before I get you to roll initiative, do you want to try to roll diplomacy to convince the King that what you're saying is true?

[Refrigerator]

"Someone's coming. We should hide."

Deyna's voice is barely a whisper as she attempts to squash the panic rising in her gut. Being caught out in the open like this by a large number of armed men might prove difficult. Squinting at the surrounding area and up the foggy path, she attempts to locate a place for cover.

[roll0]

[SeanMcShambles]

Deyna - you think you see a figure in the distance, and you're a little startled.

It's actually just Raawki. He's standing right in front of you.

This is some pretty thick fog.

[Neil1889]

Raawki.

Raawki moves forwards in a diagonal to the right to position himself flat against a building with a dagger ready under his cloak.

Stealth check = [roll0]

[SeanMcShambles]

Raawki - as the footsteps approach closer you start seeing shadowy figures against the dim light that barely penetrates the fog in front of you. You judge them to be about 75 - 90 feet away from you.

If anyone would like to move or make any further checks (perception, arcana or otherwise) or do some sick acrobatics - please do so now as things will start heating up SHORTLY.

[Refrigerator]

Squinting at Raawki's back like a blind bat as he retreats, Deyna's face slackens again. When she comes to, she appears to be whispering furiously in an odd accent to no one in particular, referring to herself as "Ze Black Cat" and instructing everyone "not to worry" as she has "ze...how do you say... reflexes of ze feline graces haw haw haw".

She then attempts a theatrical backflip into a tuck and roll to gracefully(?) land behind and around the corner of the Seasick Boar Inn to obscure herself behind the wall.

[roll0]

[SeanMcShambles]

Dox and Alha - you're both a little incredulous as you watch Deyna twirl in the air and vanish out of sight behind the building.Then as you both stand in the middle of the road listening to the footsteps approaching, you start wondering where the hell Raawki went.

[Tris]

"Let's just pretend we're just out here for a breath of fresh air," Alha quietly says to Dox.

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"I suppose it's as good a plan as any. So long as the others stayed close in case there's trouble... and, a little tip- don't use your real name, you don't want these men to remember it."

Dox takes a few steps ahead of the halfling and pulls his hood over his head, trusting that it and the thick fog will keep Alha and anyone else from noticing his shifting features. When he is finished, he appears as a middle-aged human, only bearing a resemblance to Davith Vicelor in height and build. He pulls his blade from its sheathe, checking it for the reddish hue visible with a sufficient density of poison then, satisfied, replaces it and conceals it under his cloak.

[GPuzzle]

[roll0]

In case it fails but it is within 4 points of it suceeding, I'll use Heroic Effort. Otherwise, nope, won't be using.

[SeanMcShambles]

Dox and Alha - One of the Darkblades appears out of the fog and you can see that he is a Tiefling. His robes are slightly lighter in color to the other Darkblades and his face is much younger. You see the silhouettes of his compatriots just several feet behind him.

"You there!" he says, pointing to Dox and then glancing over to Alha, "You're not supposed to be out after curfew. You're coming with me"

He draws an obsidian dagger, which you notice, Dox, is glistening. Whether it's with the moisture from the surrounding fog or something else, you're not so sure. He starts cautiously making his way towards you, his blade arm raised.

"Come quietly, old man. We might have use for you..." he says under his breath.



Bram - The King crawls backwards in fear of you and bumps into the legs of the Hand, behind him.

The Darkblades tighten their grip on their weapons and the man you punched says

"Well that was only the first time we've ever used that toxin. Now I'll know to use a stronger dose, next time."

He motions at the men behind him.

"Kill the guards and the High Inquisitor. I'll take our new friend here."



Let us all roll initiative! (preferably in the OOC thread so as not to spam this thread with initiative rolls)

[Tris]

"We just got here and were just about to check in that inn over there. We don't mean any trouble." Alha says while looking at the tiefling with the peculiar dagger. He prepares to attack should things get out of hand.

Bluff
[roll0]

Readying Magic Missile should the tiefling attack.

[GPuzzle]

"High Inquisitor, these man were supposed to do what, exactly? What's their function?"

[Gavran]

Dox - "Villager Guy"

Dox spits at the ground near the approaching man, using the insult as a cover while he draws his own blade, concealing it behind his arm.

"No lawman approaches unarmed travelers with weapons drawn. You'd better scurry off, brigand, before the real guards show up. I've survived worse than you."

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram - The High Inquisitor squeals like a school girl upon hearing that the darkblades want to kill him. He's in too much of a panic to answer you at the moment.



Alha and Dox - The Darkblade smiles at Alha and says

"Looks like your friend here is looking for trouble, halfling. We are the new order in Maine, old man."

[tbergman92]

Erthafein padded silently down the street as he entered the city. His feline form slinked with hackles raised, keeping to the shadows. The guards apathy was noted, as it implied nothing untoward had occurred that evening from their perspective. He decided to ignore the potential implications of that information for the time being, as he was distracted by the sounds of horses.

Freezing momentarily in the shadows, he watched for the horses to pass by--seeing that they were the same people who had earlier roused him from his trancing, Erthafein made the decision to attack, instead of allowing them to reinforce whoever they were obviously heading to assist.

Decision made, Erthafein carefully crept near to the darkblades at the rear of the squad. Once between the two darkblades he summoned his innate connection to the powers of shadow and erected a cloud of impenetrable blackness around himself. Smiling mentally he silently attacked the two darkblades with his claws, bouncing between them and scratching across any exposed surface of their bodies and, more particularly, their faces.


Move action: Move 7 squares to L7 (potential OAs from 2 darkblade initiates if they are so inclined to hate cats).

Minor Action: Cloud of Darkness Racial Power:

Minor Action Close burst 1
Effect: The burst creates a cloud of darkness that remains in place until the end of your next turn. The cloud blocks line of sight, squares within it are totally obscured, and creatures entirely within it are blinded until they exit. You are immune to these effects.

Standard Action: Scattered Form
Close Burst 1: Attack vs. Reflex
Attack vs. Darkblade 3: [roll0]
Attack vs. Darkblade 4: [roll1]
Hit: [roll2] damage, and Erthafein takes half damage from the next melee or ranged attack that damages you before the end of your next turn.

[Tris]

"It seems to me like you're the ones looking for trouble! We were just minding our own business, and you come here looking for a fight! Just leave us alone!" Alha says indignantly.

Magic Missile still readied.

[GPuzzle]

"Someone get the king out of here! Out of this city, even! You guards know he's in danger, why haven't you done something yet!"

[Neil1889]

Raawki had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well with these Darkblade types, whatever happened, so he decided to act. He decided to distract the lot of them with a bold move through the middle of the Darkblades towards the rearward figure that he could make out with his fine vision.

"Spinning Blade Leap!"

Almost flying through the middle of them, Raawki almost landed next to the rearward figure to slash at his hamstring before almost flying away again towards the harbour.

With a swirl of his cloak, Raawki then ducked low and disappeared behind the crates and barrels on the quayside.

Raawki wasn't so sure about these fellows motivations, so he'd tempered his viciousness somewhat for the moment.

Standard Action: Raawki attacks using Spinning Blade Leap (Standard Action), augmented with Inevitable Strike (No Action).

Inevitable Strike
Theme: Ironwrought Attack
Encounter ✦ Elemental, Weapon
No Action, Personal
Trigger: You make a melee weapon attack roll.
Effect: Make the attack roll twice. If both attack rolls hit,
the target takes 1d8 extra damage.

Spinning Blade Leap
Rogue Attack 1
Daily ✦ Keywords: Martial, Weapon
Standard Action
Range: Melee Weapon.
Requirement: You must be Wielding a light blade.
Effect: Before and after the attack, you shift your speed.
Target: One creature.
Attack: +10 vs. AC
Hit: 2d4+5 damage.
Miss: Half damage.

Raawki shifts his speed before the attack from L11 to G6 (5 squares) and on to F6 (total 6 squares).

Raawki attacks Darkblade 2 (who is granting Combat Advantage for +2 due to Rogue's First Strike class feature) - Total to Hit = (Inevitable Strike grants two rolls) 1st Roll - [roll0], 2nd Roll - [roll1]. Not striking to kill if the opponent is dropped.

Potential Damage = [roll2] (Light Blade Expertise feat gives an extra +1 damage if foes is granting Combat Advantage).

If hit, Sneak Attack damage = [roll3] (Backstabber feat).

If both attack rolls granted by Inevitable Strike hit, then extra damage = [roll4].

Raawki shifts his speed after the attack from F6 to G3.

Move Action: Stealth roll = [roll5] and Raawki moves two squares from G3 to I4 (to behind the barrels and the crates). {OOPS WRONG - DICE SEE POST BELOW}

[Neil1889]

A theatrical swirl indeed...

Correction - I used the wrong dice for Stealth roll = [roll0]

[SeanMcShambles]

Erthafein - The sudden appearance of the black cloud startles the horses the two Darkblades are on. They neigh wildly and buck their riders off their backs and then run off into the night. The two Darkblades hit the ground hard - both winded from the fall. As they lie there, you scratches manage to hit their mark with one of the men but the other simply shields his face with his gloves.

Darkblades 3 & 4 hit the ground after being bucked off their horses and are now prone. They both take damage from the fall and Darkblade 3 takes further damage from Scattered Form's hit.

The man who was clawed yells out

"I'M BEING ATTACKED"

He and the other man swing wildly at the darkness, hitting nothing as they do so.

The other men alight from their horses, unsure what to make of the sudden cloud of darkness. They draw their weapons, anxiously.

The Darkblade Initiates aren't sure of what to make of the dark space, so they just draw their weapons. You may move again, Erthafein.



Bram - The guards just stare at you, frozen with anticipation.

And then they respond with "because it's not our turn in the initiative order! It's totally yours." They then pull out their smartphones to check the OOC thread to confirm this fact.



Raawki - the Darkblade feels the sting of your dagger and doubles over in excruciating pain. He clings at his hamstring which is now bleeding profusely - you must've hit a major artery.

"ARGHHH. SOMETHING STABBED ME."

The others turn around to see what the commotion is about but only see the Darkblade holding onto his hamstring.

This guy took...a LOT of damage... Alha you're up.

[GPuzzle]

"Someone give me a weapon! And fast!"


Move to G4, attack Darkblade 2 with Steel Serpent's Strike, AP, and attack Darkblade 1 with Footwork Lure.

Darkblade 2: [roll0] vs AC, [roll1] damage, if hit, Darkblade 2 is slowed and cannot shift until the End of my next turn.

Darkblade 1: [roll2] vs AC, [roll3] damage, if hit, I shift to F3, and slide him to G4.

EDIT: First roll was a crit! Which means it does 12 damage.

Damnit.

EDIT #2: If I missed the second attack, add a +4 from Heroic Effort.

[Tris]

Well, there's no point in avoiding a fight now! It's already started!

Alha waves his wand at the darkblades, conjuring up a great pillar of fire that momentarily lights up the night. Then he quickly runs back to hide behind the nearby cart.

Scorching Burst centered at K8
Vs. Darkblade 1: [roll0] vs. Reflex
Vs. DB In. 3: [roll1] vs. Reflex
Vs. DB In. 7: [roll2] vs. Reflex
Damage: [roll3]

Move to S6

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram - The two Darkblades stagger a little from your attacks, but they hold their ground and grimace at you. You notice one of them smile and look up at the King's Hand.

The King's Hand draws a steel dagger, similar to the one in your boot and says.

"Long live the King."

And he brings down the dagger, aiming to plunge it into his heart. The King manages to move slightly and the dagger pierces him in the shoulder. He screams in pain.

The Hand screams out: "JUST DIE, WILL YOU??"

The Guards, seeing this, make for the Hand. The first guard swings his sword wildly, but misses. The second manages a glancing swipe at the Hand - who seems to just laugh it off.

The King scrambles and tries to move towards and between the chairs to put distance between both the Hand and yourself, Bram - but the Hand swipes at him as he runs. The King staggers before he makes it to the chairs and leans heavily on table, breathing heavily from the injuries he's sustained.

The High Inquisitor picks up a gavel from the table and moves to the back of the room, away from the Darkblades.

The Hand attacks the King. The guards move - Guard 1 to C3, and Guard 2 to D3 to attack The Hand (one of them misses). The King moves to E5 but provokes an OA from The Hand. The High Inquisitor moves to A8.


Two of the DarkBlades converge on Bram and swing their weapons at him furiously. The ferocity of their attacks and Bram's training cause both to miss their mark.

The Third Darkblade walks over to the High Inqusitor, stops several feet from him and flings his dagger hard at the High Inquisitor. This dagger hits its mark and the High Inquistor goes limp and drops dead as the blade lodges between his eyes.

DarkBlade 2 moves to G3 and attacks Bram with his Mace. +4 vs. AC. Miss.
DarkBlade 1 stays in G4 and attacks Bram with a poisoned dagger. +6 vs AC. Miss.

DarkBlade 3 moves to C8 and throws his poisoned dagger at The High Inquisitor. The High Inquistor dies.

annnnnd it's your turn again, Bram



Alha - The more experienced-looking Darkblade sees the pillar of fire before it's fully formed and manages to cover himself with his cape before he's engulfed in flames. He's a little singed, but more aggravated than hurt.

The two less experienced-looking Darkblades (including the Tiefling that threatened Dox) were not so quick to react and both manage to inhale the fire, burning up their lungs and killing them instantly.

Darkblade 1 takes damage.
Darkblade Initiates 3 and 7 die...

Dox, I believe you're up!

[GPuzzle]

Can I try to kick the Darkblade with the Mace, to see if he drops his weapon so I can pick it up?

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram, you look down and notice that the Darkblade holding the mace has a rather flimsy grip on his weapon.

Sure - I'll let you do it as a minor action so you can still do something cool afterwards. Just make a basic unarmed attack roll vs a DC of 16.

[GPuzzle]

Thanks!

[roll0] vs 16

In case I miss and I still have Heroic Effort, I'm gonna use it.

EDIT: Nope. Not gonna use Heroic Effort if I still have it.

[SeanMcShambles]

You try to kick the mace from his hand but he dodges your boot and tightens his grip on his weapon.

Heroic Effort was expended hitting Darkblade 1 with Footwork Lure, earlier.
It's still your turn.

[Gavran]

Dox

Dox slips past the two dying men and circles around behind the man hiding under his cloak. Without ceremony or hesitation, he lashes out with his blade at the man. Then, pulling his blade back he shifts into an aggressive stance, ready to stick his poisoned blade into anyone who makes a move within his reach.

Move:
Walk to I8, going to the right to avoid OAs.

Standard:
Light the Fire targeting Darkblade 1
Attack: [roll0] vs Ref
Damage: [roll1] fire damage
Effect: Aura 1 until my next turn starts, any enemy that starts it turn within it takes 5 fire damage (fluffy as a minor cut)

Flurry of Blows (if the attack hit):
Darkblade 1 takes 5 ongoing fire damage.

Edit:Pff, that's not hitting anything... The Aura is the only part that happens if the attack missed.

[GPuzzle]

"Betrayal from a high officer? I wouldn't expect anything different from such a low organization. AND LONG LIVE THE KING!"


Bram moves to D5, and attacks the Hand with Villain's Menace.

[roll0] vs AC
Hit: [roll1] damage, and I get a +2 power bonus to hit and a +4 power bonus to damage against the hand until the end of the encounter.
Miss: +1 to hit and +2 to damage instead of +2 to hit and +4 to damage.

[Refrigerator]

Deyna - Channeling "Ze Black Cat"

"My companions...zey are in danger. I must assist!"

Deyna leaps (figuratively) into the fray, moving into line of sight of the Darkblades and her allies. With a flourish, she brandishes her dejada attaching it to her arm and loading it with what appears to be a medium sized spiky rock.

Drawing her arm back she lets it fly attempting to fling it into the face of the Darkblade standing across from her.

As the pebble whistles through the air, Deyna crosses her arms and looks out into the darkness.

"Eet looks like you, monsieur Darkblade, just got......


(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)

...rocked."


Move action: Moving 5 squares from S12 to O9.
Minor action: Draw dejada (10/20)
Free action: Load dejada

Standard action: Ranged Basic Attack
Dexterity vs. AC, +2 weapon proficiency
Attack vs. Darkblade Initiate 2@H9 (I think): [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

EDIT: Wow that was terrible.

[SeanMcShambles]

Maine Docks (Lower)

Rejigged the map so it's a little easier for me to control. The grid has changed a little (and got a little scronky with the numbering at the top and bottom, but I'll find a way to fix that later - hopefully it's legible for now) but your chars should be in the same positions.

http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/rookworth/PbP/Battle0001-1-02.jpg~original



Dox, Deyna, Raawki & Alha - The pebble from Deyna's dejada flies true and cracks the skull of the young Darkblade. His eyes roll to the back of his head as he draws his last breath and falls forwards onto his face.

The Darkblade you swung at, Dox swings around and cracks you in the chest with his mace.

He screams out "WHO ARE YOU, PEOPLE??"

As this is happening, the severely injured Darkblade behind you drags himself over, focusing all his rage at you. He also manages to slug you hard with his mace.

Darkblade 1 will stay in place and attack Dox with his Mace. +4 vs AC. Hit. Dox takes 7 damage.

Darkblade 2 will move to from H6 to I6 and also attack Dox with his Mace. +4 vs AC. Hit and Dox will take another 6 damage. Should leave you bloodied on about 9 health, I think Dox.

Raawki, it's your turn.



Maine Docks (Upper)

Even though the Darkblades are focused on the strange cloud of darkness that has engulfed their comrades, they also look south into the distance as they hear the commotion of the battle near the Seasick Boar Inn.


Here's your new battle map, Erthafein. It's your turn.

http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/rookworth/PbP/Battle0001-2-02.jpg~original




High Inquisitor's Office

http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/rookworth/PbP/Battle0001-3-02.jpg~original

Bram as you move away towards the hand, both Darkblades swipe at you with their weapons as you expose your back. The Darkblade wielding the dagger seems to only knick your the metal of your armor. The mace-wielding Darkblade, on the other hand manages to club you in the back as you stagger over towards the Hand.

One of the guard yells out to you.

"FOOL! If you're on our side, protect the King!"

Darkblade 2 will take an Opportunity attack at Bram as he moves away. +4 vs. AC. Crit! Bram takes 9 Damage.
Darkblade 1 will also take an opportunity attack at Bram with his poisoned dagger. +6 vs. AC. Miss.

The Hand takes your attack in his stride and with some frustration in his voice he yells out to the two Darkblades in front of him:

"Take care of this imbecile."

He then swings furiously at one of the guards. The guard is struck and reels, but holds his ground.
Both guards then swing their weapons at The Hand. While he's able to swiftly deflect one shot, the other strikes him and draws a little blood.

The Hand will swing his dagger at Guard 1 and hit for 8 damage
Both guards will then make basic weapon attacks at The Hand. One misses and the other hits him for another 5 points of damage.
The King will just keep leaning on the table, desperately trying to catch his breath and clutching his wounds.

The two Darkblades by the door rush towards you, the one with the knife attempts to pierce your armor yet again, and misses wildly.
His compatriot beside him also attempts to clobber the Guard beside you with his mace, but the Guard tilts his head back in time to avoid the blow.

The Darkblade who had just earlier murdered the High Inquistor turns his attention to the King. He climbs the table and draws his mace from his belt. He holds it high and lets out a chuckle, but this moment of hubris costs him the killing blow as the King moves out of the way and the mace just chips away at the table instead.

Darkblades 1 &2 now move towards you and the guards (E3 and E4).
Darkblade 1 will swing at you with the dagger and miss (yet again)
Darkblade 2 will swing with his Mace at Guard 2 and also miss.
Darkblade 3 will climb the table, draw his mace and swing at the King, and miraculously miss.

[GPuzzle]

The Hand was Marked by me, and him attacking the guard triggered my CC.

[roll0] vs AC

[roll1] damage, the Hand is pushed 1 square.


"What the hell do you guys think I am trying to do? It'd be a lot easier with a weapon!"


Bram will shift to D5, attempt to take Darkblade 3's weapon ([roll2] vs 16), and then attack Darkblade 2 with Cleave. The rolling for Cleave will be in the next post due to the fact it can go up from +5 vs AC to +8 vs AC if I can get that weapon.

[GPuzzle]

Cleave against DB2

[roll0] vs AC
[roll1], target is marked, and PC1 takes 4 damage.

[Neil1889]

Reappearing from behind the crates and barrels, Raawki returns to attack his previous target and he has a go at the Darkblade's other leg with his knife.

Move Action: Raawki starts in H3 and moves to H5. With Dox's current position, Darkblade 2 is flanked.

Standard Action: Raawki attacks Darkblade 2 using Sly Flourish (who is granting Combat Advantage for +3 due to Flock Effect: +3 bonus to attack rolls against creatures you flank and have Combat Adv. against instead of the normal +2.) - Total to Hit = [roll0]. Raawki is still not striking to kill.

Potential Damage = [roll1] (Light Blade Expertise feat gives an extra +1 damage if foes is granting Combat Advantage).

If hit, add extra Sneak Attack damage = [roll2] (Backstabber feat).

Sly Flourish
Rogue attack 1
At Will✦ Keywords: Martial, Weapon
Standard Action
Range: Melee Weapon.
Requirement: You must be Wielding a crossbow, a light blade or a sling.
Attack: +10 vs. AC.
Hit: 1d4+8 damage (Dexterity + Charisma.)

[Neil1889]

Raawki totally mistimes his approach and his thrust goes so very wide. In his excitement, it is all Raawki can do hold on to his dagger.

[Tris]

Seeing that Dox is taking a lot of blows, Alha rushes towards the fighting and yells, "Hey! Over here!" as he shoots a blast of energy out of his wand towards the more injured looking Darkblade.

Move to N6

Magic Missile vs Darkblade 2
Attack: [roll0] vs. Reflex
Damage: [roll1]

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram - The Darkblade standing on the table is much less cavalier about holding his weapons and is actually gripping on them tight. You're unable to pry his mace from his hand. His attention shifts from the king and he smirks at your direction.

You wild swings with your fists to multiple enemies are met with air, creating deep swooshing sounds.



Raawki and Alha - a bolt of energy flies from Alha's wand and connects with the neck of the darkblade in the rear. There is a loud SNAP as his head goes flying. Blood sprays viciously from the stump of his neck, splattering all over Dox and Raawki like crimson rain, before the body crumples into a heap on the street.

The remaining Darkblade looks on in horror.

"OH MY GOD."

[GPuzzle]

This was my last choice, but I guess I'll have to pick up the Dagger.

That'll just put more stuff against me.


Bram takes a step back, raises his foot just a little, grabs the mid-air, and spins around, targeting the Hand.


Shift to C5, Footwork Lure against the Hand.

[roll0] vs AC
[roll1] damage, I shift to D5, and slide the Hand to C5.

[SeanMcShambles]

It's actually my turn, but I'll let you slot in due to the confusion regarding marks and all the tomfoolery of me not providing you with weapons for half the fight hahaha

The dagger pierces the Hand and you see blood drip from his mouth slightly. He clutches at the wound that was made as his pupils dilate. He stares off into space and you notice a familiarity about the way he's now standing.

It takes several seconds but it hits you that the blade is coated in the same toxin used to control you earlier.

The Hand is now dominated and charmed by Bram.

He treats Bram as an ally and does not choose his own actions until he escapes via a saving throw at the end of his turn.

It's actually the hand's turn now but as he's dominated you may nominate his actions (roleplayed by you speaking to the Hand), Gpuzzle. The nature of the toxin will allow you to tell the character to take his normal At-will actions besides Action Points.

[GPuzzle]

"Tell the Guards and the King any info about what you were planning to do. Now."

[Gavran]

Dox

Gritting his teeth against the pain of the beating he took, Dox quickly glances at the others.
"No survivors. If any lived to remember this, they'd hunt us all for the rest of our lives."

Putting words to action, Dox feints a punch at the last Darkblade, then lunges with his blade, aiming to plant it in the man's belly before rapidly withdrawing out of the enemy's reach.


Minor: Changeling Trick (feint)
[roll0] vs passive Insight
Gain CA until end of next turn if successful

Standard: Five Storms: Attack Technique
Attack: [roll1] +2 if CA vs Reflex
Damage: [roll2]
Flurry of Blows: Ongoing 5 fire damage if hit

Move: Five Storms: Movement Technique
Shift 2 squares to L9

[tbergman92]

Erthafein's blood thrilled with the primal joy of feeling his claws sink into the flesh of the rider's face. No matter how long he was away from the Underdark, he still felt the insidious joy of battle that was instilled into all drow through the culture set by the Matrons and their Goddess. Fighting down his desire to continue indiscriminately stripping flesh from the injured rider, he went for a more tactical blow--one that was reinforced by the primal spirits to drag the rider across the ground.

Realizing that his darkness was about to run out, Erthafein quickly recalled the training of his early years as an Underdark assassin, and utilized the shadows of his quarries and his Drow magic to silently disappear and reappear on the other side of one of the still-seated riders.


Standard: Savage Rend vs. Darkblade 3
Attack vs. Reflex
Attack: [roll0]
Hit: [roll1] damage, and the enemy is slid to K7

Move action: Shadow Step Power
Effect: You teleport 3 squares from a space adjacent to one creature, to a space adjacent to a different creature.(L7 to I10)
Stealth check to become hidden: Assuming the night, fog, and distraction are enough, if not, i'm just being super quiet for no reason other than being a cat. [roll2]

[Refrigerator]

Observing the blood seeping from Davith's wounds, Deyna inadvertently sends a surge of concern towards the monk. The psionic energy begins to siphon away feelings of weariness and pain.

Seeing that the Darkblades have nearly all fallen, she hesitantly unstraps her weapon, replaces it in its holster, and calls out to her companions.

"Eez everyone alright? I cannot see anyzing in zis awful fog."


Minor Action 1:
Ardent Surge (Burst 5)
Targeting Dox at L9
Effect: Target can spend a healing surge and regain 1d6 additional hit points.

Heal Amount (where +5 is Dox's healing surge value): [roll0]

Target also gets Mantle of Clarity:
Gains a +1 bonus to all defenses until end of your next turn.

Minor Action 2:
Unequip Dejada

Edit: I left the RP part open ended if Dox doesn't want to use a healing surge.

[SeanMcShambles]

New Map is now located HERE (https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1EXDJLS3w0utfvJVUlYpjMg3T15fsOCXJ8UPA9dn_Q6M/edit?usp=sharing) and also in my signature.


Dox, Deyna, Alha and Raawki - Dox's attempt to thrust his blade into the Darkblade's belly falls short of its mark.

The Darkblade watches Dox as he moves away, and sensing that he's now heavily outnumbered, he staggers backwards a little bit.

He turns around in mild surprise as he approaches the Kenku behind him.

In what seemingly looks like one swift move, he draws an obsidian dagger from underneath his cloak and slashes at Raawki - desperately attempting to even the odds.

As the dagger cuts Raawki, the Darkblade confidently turns his back to the Kenku. "End his life" he says, motioning at Dox.

Darkblade will move from K6 to I5, draw his dagger (+6 vs. AC) and hit Raawki for 5 points of damage.

Raawki - can you please roll a saving throw (preferably in the OOC thread)?

If you fail the saving throw, you will become Charmed and Dominated- your actions on your turn (which is next) need to be to move as close as you can to Dox and to attack him with a basic melee attack. After taking those actions, you may take another saving throw to shake off the effects.


Erthafein

The fallen Darkblade slides across the ground and yowls in pain as his wounds become more severe. Both he and his other fallen comrade drag themselves out of the cloud of darkness and bring themselves back up to their feet.

The initiate near where Erthafein, snaps out of his engrossment with the black cloud that had surrounded his comrades, to notice a midnight black cat appearing next to him.

"ARGH CATS. IM ALLERGIC TO CATS! KILL IT!" he screams as he swings his leg and tries to kick you (barely missing).

The others laugh heartily.

"20 silver if you if you can kill the cat from where you're standing with only a dagger!" yells one of the Darkblades in the back, playfully.

With that, the Darkblades all draw daggers and attempt to hit you from where they stand.

Hiding only works if you've got total concealment or superior cover at the end of your turn, so everyone will see you at the end of their turns but none of them saw you teleport into your current space.

Darkblade 4 will move from L8 to L9 and use a second move action to stand.
Darkblade 3 will move from K7 to J7 and use a second move action to stand.

Darkblade Initiate 1 will attempt a Unarmed Melee Basic Attack on Erthafein. +6 vs AC. Miss

Darkblade Initiates 4,5,6 and 8 will draw normal (unpoisoned) daggers and fling them in Erthafein's direction.
4. Crit. 7 hp Damage.
5. Miss.
6. Hit. 6 Damage
8. Miss.

'Tis your turn again, Erthafein.



Bram

The Hand, in his trance-like state, moves over towards the Darkblades next to you and starts swinging his dagger randomly in their directions. The Darkblades realise what is going on and avoid his blades at all costs.

He starts rambling.

“You want me to tell you all the information? It's probably best to start at the beginning, then. You see, it all started 15 years ago, when the Ayjaszent Leganna first took the throne of Maine. At the time he was serving as the Arch-chancellor to the reigning King - the last arch-chancellor of Maine, in fact, as the title would be retired and the role of the Hand to be created in its place--"

One of the guards looks on in confusion and swings his sword at the Hand. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??"

The other guard, on the other hand does not take his eyes off his Darkblade opponent - still swinging his sword wildly. Bram, you wonder if these guards are even actually trained.

Meanwhile the Hand continues his monologue:

"-- At the time of his service as the Arch-chancellor, there was another man on the throne. A man named Brienne De Wagielle Garaneau - also known as "the Usurper". So called because he himself took the throne by blood from the benevolent King Arn of Maine and drove Arn's children from the land. But I digress. Leganna and the Usurper had a very good relationship over the years --"

Both Darkblades, while avoiding attacks whisper to each other: "He's been compromised. Take him out."

The first lunges at The Hand and pierces him.

The Hand flinches and winces, clearly not being able to withstand much more, he continues speaking in a very weakened tone:

"Almost like brothers. The Usurper's hedonistic lifestyle had taken its toll on his health and when faced with his premature death, having born no known heirs, he named Leganna as his successor. But--"

The second goes in for the kill and drives his dagger into the Hand's throat to end his rambling.

The Hand chokes on his own blood.

The Darkblade on the table points to Bram and says.

"You are next."

He drives his mace into your chest.

One of the other Darkblade yells out to him. "NO, you fool. We can still take advantage of this situation. Take out the guards!"

The Hand shifts from C5 to D4. He takes a swing at Darkblade 1 and misses.
Guard 1 attacks The Hand with his sword. The Hand is hit.
Guard 2 will continue attacking Darkblade 2 with his sword. Miss.
Darkblade 1 will attack the Hand. Crit. The Hand teeters on the brink of death.
Darkblade 2 will attempt to finish the hand off. Hit. The Hand dies.
Darkblade 3 will swing his mace at Bram. Crit. 9 points of damage.

Bram, it is your turn.

[Gavran]

Dox

Frustrated by his slippery foe, Dox is caught unaware by the psionic intrusion. Though his first instinct is to try to resist, once he notices the apparent benevolence he relaxes and lets the energy ease his pain. As Deyna pulls from him, she can get a sense of his anger at the Darkblade, and beneath that, a small taste of his ever present fear of being caught in his deceptions.


Burn surge, heal 6. Up to 15.

[Neil1889]

Raawki's eyes glaze over at the Darkblade's command and he moves towards Dox with dagger in hand; the kenku thrusts his blade towards his new companion.

Move Action: Raawki starts in H5 and moves to K8.

Standard Action: Raawki attacks Dox using Melee Basic Attack - Total to Hit = [roll0].

Potential Damage = [roll1].

Saving Throw at end of turn = [roll2].

[Tris]

"What's going on!" Alha shouts when he sees Raawki respond to the Darkblade's command. He sends blast of energy at the remaining Darkblade.


Magic Missile vs Darkblade
Attack: [roll0] vs. Reflex
Damage: [roll1]

[SeanMcShambles]

The Darkblade casually sidesteps the energy blast and glares at Alha's direction.

"I'm going to prolong your death, halfling."

[Gavran]

Dox

Though surprised when the Kenku turned toward him at the enemy's command, whatever effect is controlling him seems to dull his speed, and Dox is able to dance out of the dagger's reach.

"Whatever treachery this is, it's the Darkblade's doing. You don't turn traitor when the fight's already over."

Hoping that the effect will end if the Darkblade is taken out, Dox maneuvers past Raawki and stalks after him. Once in range, he strikes once more, arcing his blade in a quick side slash.



Move: Walk from L9 to J6

Standard: Blistering Flourish Attack Technique
Attack: [roll0] (+2 if last turn's feint worked, I wasn't sure) vs Reflex
Damage: [roll1]
Hit: Melee attacks deal 3 extra fire damage until end of next turn

Flurry of Blows: 3 fire damage and 5 ongoing and shift from J6 to K5

*Note: See OOC for some Monk stuff.

[SeanMcShambles]

Dox - The Darkblade staggers from the inflicted wound. You see his eyes flickering as if the light was fading from them.

"... end .. f-finish... him, kenku...I can't--..."

He leans against the crate next to him for support.

[Refrigerator]

Unstrapping her glaive from her back, Deyna dashes towards the wounded Darkblade in an attempt to finish him off. With an exaggerated sigh, she thrusts the blade towards the man's face, still speaking in the odd accent.

"Mon ami, why don't you be more accommodating and just...die already?"

Pure adrenaline fills her veins as she strikes, and a sudden rush of exhilaration (with a touch of smugness) begins to electrify the air around Dox.

Minor action: Equip Glaive
Move action: O8 to K7
Standard action: Attack Darkblade 1 with Energizing Strike

Energizing Strike
Charisma vs. AC
Hit: 1[W] + Cha modifier (+4) damage, and one ally within 5 squares of you gains temporary hit points equal to 1/2 your level + Cha modifier (+4)

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

If it hits, I'll give the 4 temp HP to Dox.

[SeanMcShambles]

Dox, Deyna, Raawki and Alha - The Darkblade manages to avoid Deyna's glaive strike. As he starts staggering forward to attempt to strike Dox, his blood boils from the wounds inflicted upon him and he collapses to the ground, face-first.

Blood pours out of his mouth as Dox's poison finishes him off from the inside.

The Darkblade will take his on-going damage at the beginning of his turn and... die.

The combat in this area is alllllmost over... right after Raawki takes his turn and carries out the Darkblade's last command to him by attempting to hit Dox again. After that Raawki, you'll shake off the effects of the Charm and Dominate.

[tbergman92]

Erthafein evaluated his options. He was able to cast some primal magic that would allow him to better deal with so many enemies, but it required him to be in his drow form. He was fairly sure that alerting the cloaked figures that he was drow would have serious repercussions for their planned departure the next morning. Decision made, he hissed at the two who had thrown knives at him, and leaped to attack the one who had kicked at him, before running away from the battle slightly.


Free Action: Hiss, Hiss.

Standard Action: Savage Rend vs. Darkblade Initiate 1
Attack vs. Reflex:
Attack: [roll0]
Hit: [roll1] and the target is slid to K8

Move Action: Walk to G15

Minor Action: Curse myself inwardly for my life choices.

[GPuzzle]

That attack that went towards the Hand?

It goes to me, and I switch places with the Hand.

And I make an MBA against that Darkblade.

Does the attack hit vs an AC 19?

[roll0] vs AC, [roll1] damage.

[Neil1889]

Raawki

Raawki's moves towards Dox once more and slashes at Dox with his dagger before suddenly realising what he's doing.

"Goodness gracious! I've been accursed! A madness took me! Oh my!" he exclaims.

Move Action: Raawki starts in K8 and moves to J6.

Standard Action: Raawki attacks Dox using Melee Basic Attack - Total to Hit = [roll0].

Potential Damage = [roll1]. Will be 4 damage because of critical. Sorry!

SeanMcShambles, can we intervene on the above map to help Erthafein. Can we hear anything?

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

Distracted by the dying Darkblade, Dox doesn't catch the attack coming until too late, but reflexively draws away before the blade can sink in too deeply. Looking down as if to examine the cut, he shifts his features back into the familiar half-elf and offers the Kenku a bitter smile. "How fortunate that the affliction seemed to wear off before I could return the favor..."

Though it was a relatively small effort to alter his body to stop the bleeding from a shallow cut, the pain of the attacks he took remained. Grimacing, he addresses the whole group- "I'd say you've all proved your worth here, though. I don't know that I'd have made it out of this without you all. Glad we're all on the same side."

[SeanMcShambles]

Erthafein - As you cut the man next to you with your claws, the Darkblade's cat allergies get the better of him and the cut you inflict him with immediately starts to fester. He sways a little and then loses consciousness, toppling over and hitting his head on the ground hard. Blood gushes forth from his cracked skull as you move away from the fray.

The others look on in amazement.

"Now that's a helluva way to go..."

One of the other inexperienced-looking Darkblades turns to his commanders (who were still trying to figure out what the deal with the black cloud was).

"Should we kill the cat?"

The man that looks to be in charge, snaps out of his incredulity at what was happening, turns back to the initiate.

"Leave it. We've got bigger fish to fry. Whatever attacked us just now might have something to do with what's going to go down in the High Inquisitor's Office. We need to go there and check it out now."

Those who still have horses remain on foot and start leading their horses north. The two commanders follow behind - one of them spots you in the nearby lane and leers suspiciously.

Darkblade Initiate 1 dies.



Deyna, Dox, Alha and Raawki - the fog, at this time has started to lift a little and you can see to the north of you vague silhouettes of more figures. You thought you had heard some commotion that way, but were rather distracted by what was occurring closer to you at the time.

Now that there was less noise around you - you're all pretty sure you could now hear the distinct echoing clap of horses' hooves on the cobbled streets.

You may indeed move to Erthafein's map.

As you're all currently out of battle - you may roleplay how you get there freely (running, acrobatics, jumping etc) - but if you move to Erthafein's map, I'll need you all to start anywhere between S4 and T10 if you're travelling via the road in front of you.

The new initiative will then be:


Erthafein - already acted.
Raawki - already acted.
Alha
Dox
Deyna






Bram - you manage to pull the Hand out of the way in time and the blade hits you instead!

The Hand continues muttering:

"--on the eve of his death, and on the night of my appointment as the new Hand of The King - I was contacted by one of the sons of Arn, the old King. They had moved to far away lands during the time of the Usurper's rule and acquainted themselves with a group of assassins called the Acerbius. In that nation's native tongue: "The Dark Blades"..."

Bram, it's still your move, if you'd like to do something cooler. The Hand is now still alive (!) and you are currrently sitting on 4 hp, i believe.

[GPuzzle]

Bram looks to the guards, with several wounds all over his body, and nearly whispers, so low his voice is:

"Show them what you've got. I will endure."

Then he turns to the king and says, trying to appear confident:

"Come with me if you wanna live."


Second Wind, gaining 8 HP in the process, and raising all defenses by 2. Followed by a shift to C4.

And that's it.

[Tris]

"Do any of you need to rest before we move on?" Alha says to the group. "You took a lot of injuries," he adds addressing Dox. "I don't want to rashly run into another battle without recuperating first."

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram - The Guard looks at you confidently. He pulls out a horn from behind him and blows it hard. He glares at the Darkblades and continues fighting valiantly.

"The fury of the King's Guard will be upon you soon, would-be-assassins."

The Hand moves closer to the the Darkblade on the table and swings his dagger at him, before fighting his way out of the toxin's effects.

"What is... what happened?"

The Darkblade hisses at him.

"Fool! you almost ruined everything. And now the King's Guard will be here any minute! Finish the King NOW!"

The Hand looks down at the King and around the room. Panic fills his mind and he drops his dagger and runs towards the window yelling "Finish him yourself!!"

As he dives out the window, his robe catches on a broken piece of glass and he's pulled downwards mid-jump onto another protruding piece of jagged glass which pierces his belly.

One of the Darkblades closer to you, Bram, growls his displeasure at what is transpiring.
"That cowardly idiot! Retreat, brothers. We cannot win this."

He throws his dagger through the window nearest to him, but as he does so he leaves himself exposed to one of the guards, who thrusts his sword into his chest - ending his life.

The Darkblade near him sees this, and bolts for the broken window. He dives cleanly through it and disappears into the night.

The Darkblade on the table hisses at you, Bram.

"I shall mark your face, warrior. When next we meet mine will be the last you'll ever set eyes on"

He leaps off the table and runs towards the window the Hand tried to escape from. He uses the Hand's corpse to vault out of the window and into the night.


The Hand will shift from D5 to D6 and attack Darkblade 3 and hit for 4 points of damage. He will then snap out of the effects of the toxin and he is now no longer Charmed or Dominated. He'll then burn an AP to charge through the window (D6 to A6) - but will fail his saving throw and take damage from the glass and die anyway.

Guard 1 will move from C3 to D2, draw and blow his horn as a minor action and then swing at Darkblade 2. Hit for 7 points of Damage.
Guard 2 will stay where he is and swing at Darkblade 2 as well. Crit. 13 points of damage.

Darkblade 2 will shift from E3 to E2 and throw his dagger through the window to break it as a basic ranged attack. This incurs an OA from both Guards. Both hit and DB 2 will die.

Darkblade 1 will shift from E4 to F3 , then use a second move action to charge through the broken window (F3 to E1). He'll incur an OA from Guard 1 as he does so and take some damage. Then he'll vanish out the window.

Darkblade 3 will shift away from E6 to D7, then use another move action to run over to A6, climb over the corpse of the hand and vanish out the window.

Deyna, Dox, Alha, Raawki and Erthafein - you all hear a low and deep horn blow from the north.

[GPuzzle]

"Thank you, gentlemen. Warn the Dwarven Army of the North when you need help, we shall come to help you. The King is in good hands by now. I'll get my warhammer, and I'll probably need a lift to the Seasick Boar Inn. I'm taking a boat this morning. Mind helping a fellow soldier?"

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram - One of the guards helps the King onto a chair as the two guards who were waiting by the carriage run in, weapons drawn.

The man who blew the horn takes off his helmet and you see long blonde gold hair flow from his head down to his shoulders.

He turns to one of the carriage guards, speaking firmly.

"Secure the building. We were just attacked by the Hand and the Darkblades. When the rest of the Kings Guard gets here, have them arrest any Darkblades on sight."

"Yes sir!"

He turns back to you.

"While I thank you for your help in saving his Majesty's life, and would gladly return you to your hammer and the Inn, I am rather confused as to who you are, exactly.

My name is Oderic Graw - captain of the King's Guard.

What is your part in all of this, stranger? Did you know the Hand? What do the dwarves have to do with all of this?

...and what of this boat?"

He points to the corpse hunched over the broken window sill.

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"I think we'd better find out what's going on. I can hang back if more fighting breaks out, but I think it's important that we all stick together in case there's more of them wandering about. And besides... I'd rather not be found resting next to these bodies..."

[GPuzzle]

"It's complicated. My name is Bram Storn.

You see, I am a Lieutenant of the Dwarven Army - the first human one, actually.

Every five years, they switch between two Lieutenants - the other one goes to his home or acts undercover. The last switch happened a few years ago.

I've taken on the adventuring career, and I was hired by Lord Van Gerryway - funny little man, I tell you - to secure his family's ancient lands.

Unfortunately, I have to take a ship to it - and this was the northernmost port available.

I was here with the other ones who were hired, having dinner - and then this drunken sailor comes in and tries to charm this sweet girl who was in my group. I refused to allow that, due to similar stories in my family not going so well... and I thought the Darkblades were the police. Guess I was mistaken.

I am taken to a carriage and drugged by the same toxin as the Hand was when I attacked him with that dagger, and managed to shake it off at the last second. I decided to protect the King by honor - no face was familiar in that room.

I guess that from then on, you know what happened."

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram - Oderic scratches his chin and stares at you for several minutes, pensively at first... then blankly.

It becomes a little uncomfortable before he eventually responds.

"... I see."

You hear a voice from behind you.

"Oderic, stop pestering the boy. He nearly died saving my life."

It's the King.

"Bram. It's a very noble thing you've done today. I will not be quick to forget it. Take this with you."

He hands you a golden ring with the King's crest on it.

"I've never met Lord Van Gerrawey, but I know of his man Claudius. He is well respected in this city. Your journey sounds urgent, so we will not keep you from it.

When you return, come to me with this ring and you will be properly rewarded for what you have done for me this day.

Until then, kneel before me Bram Storn - that I might bestow upon you a title worthy of your deeds - Knight of Maine."

He draws Oderic's sword from it's hilt and holds it before you.



Erthafein, Dox, Deyna, Alha and Raawki - as the sound of the horn fades, you hear the shuffling of footsteps and the galloping of horses' hooves.

You hear in the fading fog: "DARKBLADES AWAY!"

And then further in the distance: "Don't let them get away! For his Majesty and Maine!!

There are more horses hooves galloping in the north, you hear them moving away from your general direction.

[GPuzzle]

Bram bows to the King, showing total respect to him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will bring the ring back to you when I return. But now, I must reunite with my companions."

[tbergman92]

Good. It sounds as if they have been discovered. Hopefully our venture has not been disturbed. Erthafein thought to himself. Stretching, he noticed that dawn was close enough that he might as well wait in the city instead of leaving to find a place outside of it.

Walking slowly to the street, he looked up and down it in both directions before sitting on his haunches and resting for a moment to lick his wounds.

Gonna go ahead and short rest here, after a free action perception check on the surroundings for anything of interest.
[roll0]
2 surges= +14 hp, or full health, and regain encounter powers. And Erthakitty is good to go as soon as his rest is over.

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram - The King taps the flat end of the blade on your right shoulder twice.

"Arise, Lord Bram Storn. Thank you."

Oderic nudges you, as the King takes a seat again.

"Not bad, new guy. Not bad.
Come on. Let's get you back to your friends."

As more guards start to fill the room, he motions to a few of them to look after the King.

He leads you back outside to the black wagon you arrive in. He reaches inside and picks up your hammer. Tossing it back to you, he beckons two more Kingsguard to come over.

"This is Bram Storn, a Knight of Maine. Make sure he gets back to the Seasick Boar Inn, safely."

They release three of the four horses from the carriage. The two mount their horses and Oderic hands you the reins of the third.

"Safe travels, Lord Bram. I shall see you on your return."



Erthafein - In the distance, as the fog clears you see some familiar looking silhouettes.

Right in front of you, you see the corpse of the Darkblade who had succumbed to his allergies and the subsequent pool of blood from his head wound.

On his person - aside from the charcoal grey cloak all Darkblades wear - is black leather armor (complete with gloves and boots). On his bandolier/belt, sheathed in a holster and small scabbard, respectively, are a mace and an obsidian dagger. Also protruding from his belt, from a smaller holster is a vial of clear fluid.

There is not much else of interest on the street besides a few barrels and sacks under a dying street lamp, on the promenade near the water's edge.

[Refrigerator]

Deyna shakes her head as "The Black Cat" slinks back into the recesses of her mind, bored from the lack of battle.
Seeing the corpses littering the ground, she looks startled, then resigned, as she replaces her glaive into its straps.

"Well whatever happened, it looks like it's over now. I agree with the halfling, a quick rest would be wise."

Leaning over one of the mangled Darkblades, she begins to rifle through the clothing of each of the corpses looking for items of interest. Glancing at Dox, Raawki and Alha from the corner of her eye, she half-smiles.

"My name is Deyna by the way, I don't think I've properly introduced myself."

Just trying to see if there's any good loots to be had :). If not then I'll post again to do my resting actions to reset abilities and whatnot.

[SeanMcShambles]

Deyna - as you rifle through the corpses, you find small vials of clear fluid on each Darkblade corpse that was not burnt to a crisp (three vials in total). You also find on their person that they are each carrying a mace and an obsidian dagger.

One of the corpses also has a spiky pebble lodged in his head.

You also find a coin pouch on the headless corpse - it's got 15 gold pieces inside.

[Refrigerator]

The vials clink in Deyna's hand as she pockets them with the intention to figure out what the contents are later. Plucking the coin pouch from the headless corpse, she plops down on one of the barrels and begins counting the coins inside.

"15 gold coins total...split amongst four...I'll take 3 and the rest of you can take 4 pieces each."

She removes her share of the coinage and thrusts the purse out at the others.

Taking a rest on the barrel, restoring encounter abilities.

[GPuzzle]

Bram will take a short rest at the Inn, then go outside and start looking for his friends.

[Tris]

"My name is Alha, Alha Nebinson," says the Halfling. He then adds "It would seem whatever commotion was going on over there is heading away now. I say we head to the Inquisitor's Office, and see if our friend is still there."

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

Watching carefully as Deyna packs away the vials without comment, Dox grabs the bag and counts out his own cut before passing it on.

"Alright, Deyna... I'm Davith."

Or that's close enough to true for you, at least...

Dox crosses over to the building and leans against its wall.

"Makes sense to me." Dox nods at the halfling wizard.


Simply because better safe than sorry, short rest, burning 2 more surges up to 19 health.

[Neil1889]

Raawki.

Raawki has a quick rest to catch his breath, but also agrees with the wizard, "Yes, yes, to the jail! The horn that we heard blow was in that direction," and he points northwards.

Raawki spends a surge, regains 8 and is now on full.

[SeanMcShambles]

Bram will take a short rest at the Inn, then go outside and start looking for his friends.

It's the better part of 3am as you all discuss heading over to the High Inquisitor's Office to search for Bram, when three horses and their riders amble over to the Seasick Boar Inn, which you are all (with the exception of Erthafein) standing in front of.

You all notice Bram is atop one of the horses, but before words or greetings can be exchanged, he immediately dismounts his horse, opens the door to the inn (breaking the flimsy lock Guillemin had put on it after you all left) and proceeds to sit down on a chair inside - reflecting deeply on the events that have led him to this moment in his life.

Guillemin gawks incredulously at him from behind the bar.

The guards who accompanied him sit atop their horses silently looking at the rest of you resting in front of the Inn for answers, unsure of whether anything should be said or done.




Several awkward minutes pass before you hear the thunderous galloping of more horses hooves.

Two horses and their riders appear suddenly from the corner behind Erthafein, completely ignoring the cat. As they pass you with haste, Erthafein, you recognise one of the riders to be Claudius Kline. The other, smaller man, you don't recognise.

As they approach the promenade close to you (Dox, Deyna, Alha and Raawki), Claudius leaps off his horse, completely ignores all of you and sprints straight for a nearby boardwalk. The smaller man casually dismounts his steed and lowers the hood of his cloak. You see that he's a short man with dark hair and a thick beard. He'd almost be mistaken for a dwarf, but his limbs are too proportionate.

He looks around and meekly says "Good morning." He then traipses after Claudius.



Those of you who attempt to follow the two are led to an adjacent pier, where a large and elegant brig is anchored.
From a distance you can hear Claudius arguing with a man standing atop the gangway that is leaning against the brig and the pier.

"WHAT?? NO!!", you hear from Claudius as the man on the gangway shrugs.

There are several more minutes of arguing before Claudius eventually tosses his hands in the air and trudges back over to you all.

He breathes in deeply and takes a few seconds to compose himself.

"While I appreciate your eagerness to start the expedition, I regret to inform you all we are currently experiencing unexpected setbacks at the moment."

He starts walking back to his horse, combing his hair with his hands as he walks.

"I'm not too sure of the details myself - and will be heading to the Castle to speak to the authorities shortly, but apparently an incident transpired last night wherein the High Inquisitor and the Hand of the King were slain and there was an attempt made on the his Majesty's life.

Needless to say, the royal council was roused from their sleep in the dead of night and they all decided that Maine was at war. All of Maine's borders are currently shut.

... as is all of Llandrinwood bay."

He breathes deeply again.

"The captain of our ship has just informed me that he will not be taking the boat out of the bay as he's been warned that any ship that tries to pass the gates near either side of the coasts of D'Ruune will be bombarded with canon-fire.

So, as you may have surmised... the expedition will be delayed."

He pauses and scratches his chin, deep thought furrows his brow. After several minutes he raises his head.

"We will not however be waiting several months until they open the coasts again.

Lord Gerrawey owns another ship that is harbored at Hallowcrest. I can make the necessary arrangements for us to sail again in a fortnight.

In the meantime, this is my man Gorn.", he says pointing down to the bearded man, "Those of you who would still continue on the journey will speak to him. He will provide you with what you'll require for your journey to Hallowcrest."

He mounts his horse, reaches into his robes and produces a scroll of paper, sealed with wax. He tosses it to Gorn.

"Orders from the King. These will get you out of the city."

He turns and starts riding away, offering only a slight hand wave to acknowledge you all.



Gorn opens his mouth to talk, but as he does so the door of the Seasick Boar Inn swings open and Bram saunters outside, hand to his forehead, searching for you all.

[Tris]

"Hey!" Alha says to Bram, "What happened to you? Why did they let you go?"

[GPuzzle]

"Long story short, I was poisoned with a weird toxin, ended up part of a scheme to kill the King, saved the his life and became a Knight of Maine. So, when are we leaving? I'll be picking up our stuff, the Captain of the boat must be waiting."

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"Hold on- weird toxin? Poisoned how?"

[GPuzzle]

"The Darkblades? You know the bastards, right? They stabbed me with a dagger, just like this one-", says Bram, as he promptly takes the dagger out of his boot and shows it to the group "-and this weird toxin of theirs let me completely dizzy, like I was out of my body. My body followed their commands, and I was told to kill the King. Managed to shrug it off at the last second available. The King was pretty lucky I managed to do so, otherwise he'd be dead."

He looks around, trying to see the group's reaction to his story, before asking:
"So, enough about me. What happened to you guys?"

[tbergman92]

Erthafein, having followed Claudius to the front of the inn, and then the pier, sat in silence close among the others.

This is becoming more complicated by the moment. What did I sign up for? he thought to himself as he watched Claudius throughout his speech. As Claudius rode away, he stretched languidly and looked intently upon his companions to listen to their respective stories.

[SeanMcShambles]

The two guards who had been standing there the whole time, salute Bram and then ride off.

Gorn points to Erthafein.

"Dis your cat?"


And as you start seeing hints of the soon-to-be-rising sun in the morning skyline, the weariness of the events of the night starts hitting you all one by one.

Most of you (with the exception of Erthafein and Raawki) also feel somewhat hungry.

Gorn then looks around at the Darkblade corpses.

"You keel dis mens?" He points to the one Deyna took the coin pouch off. "Dat one have no head."

[GPuzzle]

"Yes, it's our cat. Quite fierce.", mutters Bram, before turning to the dead bodies. "Seems like they did. They were trying to kill the King, though, so I guess they deserved it."

[SeanMcShambles]

Gorn runs his eyes over the two charred corpses with holes burned through their throats.

"I not so sure anyone deserve somesing like that..."

He turns his attention back to Erthafein.

"... dis cat. Look like he evesdropping."

[Tris]

"We came out to see if we could rescue you, but I accidently drew attention to us, and they came over and threatened us, so we fought back. One of them had a knife that that one, and stabbed him." Alha points to Raawki. "That caused him to follow his orders and attack us just like with you. There's also been a change in plans. We're going to have to go to another town with Gorn here because we can't leave from here anymore"

[SeanMcShambles]

Gorn snaps out of his trance and looks back at Alha.

"Oh. I not take you to town. I give you map."

Opening his backpack he pulls out a rolled up map of the county

The same one found on the first post in the OOC thread (http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/rookworth/Llandrinwood.jpg).

and hands it to Alha. He then points to the east.

"Then we go stables and I buy horses and wagon. Then you go to Hallowcrest.

You tell Gorn when you're ready to pick horses."

He goes back to looking at the charred corpses.

[Refrigerator]

"A kitty!"

Deyna exclaims happily bending over to pet Erthafein, completely unaware that the cat is not a cat at all. She perks up at the mention of Darkblade poison and removes a vial of clear fluid from her pouch, waving it in front of Bram, Alha, Raawki and Dox.

"Interesting that you mention toxins. I picked this vial off of those Darkblades."

She peers over at Gorn, who is still inspecting the dead, then back at the vial. Pulling off the stopper, she coats the tip of her glaive with a few drops and shrugs.

"Only one way to find out if this poison is one and the same."

She suddenly jabs the blade at Gorn's backside, then whistles innocently.


Basic Melee Attack Roll: [roll0]
But not intending to do damage. Just a small poke. For science.

[SeanMcShambles]

Gorn immediately jolts upright and his pupils dilate as the toxin takes effect. He sways a little before becoming eerily still and he commences staring off into space.

[GPuzzle]

"Yeah, it's the same toxin. Can someone tell him to shrug it off? I'm getting dizzy already and I'm not in the receiving end of it, for once."

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"Hold on... you remember everything that happened while you were under its effect? Maybe it'd be a good idea to try to explore its limits in case it's used on us again..."

Dox eyes Gorn thoughtfully.

[Tris]

Alha is startled by Deyna's sudden jabbing of Gorn, "You probably should have gotten someone's consent before you did that." He looks a bit disturbed.

[Neil1889]

Raawki hops away out of sight into the fog, equally startled by Deyna's actions. He tilts his head to one side to listen to the conversation.

[SeanMcShambles]

A few minutes pass and Gorn shakes his head vigorously and glares at Deyna.

"Hey. Don't do the silly things."

He then smiles and points in a general eastward direction.

"You come with me, now. We get you horses.

I'm busy man. Need to do shopping for Dwarf lord while Claudius not here."

and without even waiting for a response from any of you he starts walking towards the direction of the town stables.

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"Agreeable fellow, at least. As you say Gorn, we can go."

[GPuzzle]

"Let's go. I guess we've got some walking on the way. And let's pray we don't encounter more Darkblades on the way."

[tbergman92]

The midnight black cat padded silently along in the midst of the rest of the group as they walked towards the stable.

[SeanMcShambles]

Gorn walked at a leisurely pace and it was about 4am by the time you reached your destination. Those of you who had followed Gorn are led to Maine's stable.

Built near a large corner of the eastern-most gate of the city walls, the stable looked nothing more than a giant open shed built to shield the horses housed there from the rain, with dividers providing partitions to keep the horses separated at nights.

The familiar smell of hay and musty horse hair, and the familiar clapping of fresh horses' shoes against the cobbled ground fills the air - this portion of town being so tranquil that you almost forget that the events from last night had occurred.

Several horses are tied to nearby hitching posts, grazing peacefully on bales of strewn around the stables.

A little to the right of the stable/shed is a humble looking shack, a old man - wearing overalls and a large straw hat - sits in front of it on his rocking chair, whittling away at a piece of wood while smiling pleasantly at you all.

He tips his hat at Gorn.

"Up with the birds today, Master Gorn?"

Gorn waves warmly.

"Early bird gets worm, Hamish.
Claudius wants horse and wagon for dis peoples."

Hamish slowly gets up and out of his chair and makes his way down from his shack to meet you. He places his whittling knife and the carving into his back pocket.

"Some good timing, Gorn. Darkblades hired a wagon and two horses last week. Won't be needing 'em now, i 'spose."

Gorn raises an eyebrow.

"You hear about Darkblades already?"

As Hamish turns to lead you all to the waiting wagon, he takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and removes his hat to wipe his forehead. He leads you a little further away the stables closer to the eastern gate where a two horses hitched to a sturdy looking wooden wagon are waiting. The two guards near the gate eye you all suspiciously, but seem to placated by Gorn and Hamish's presence.

"News travels fast 'round these parts. Gossip's pretty much all we folk got round here to keep us entertained.

Anyways, this here's the wagon. 'Spose I'll put it on Gerrawey's tab?"

Gorn inspects the wagon, and after being satisfied responds.

"Yes. thank you."

Hamish tips his hat again and walks off back to his shack.

Gorn leaves you all by the wagon momentarily while he walks up to the guards and hands them the sealed scroll Claudius had tossed him earlier.

As he returns to you, he pulls a leather coin purse from his person and hands it to Dox (it contains 20gp).

"Enough gold to buy you meals and lodging at local inns for a fortnight.

You have map. Take care of wagon.

Make your way to Hallowcrest. At gates, speak Claudius' name and ship name: The Dark Rook"

He then puts his hands to his hips and smiles warmly.

"Any question?"

[Neil1889]

"The Dark Rook? Nice name," says Raawki, who'd followed along in the rear.

[Tris]

Alha does follow Gorn. When Gorn asks for questions, Alha simply says, "No."

[Gavran]

Dox - "Davith Vicelor"

"Just one," replies Dox, a mischievous gleam in his eyes "How is everyone else going to pay for their room and board?"

[SeanMcShambles]

Gorn flashes a grin at Dox.

"You a funny guy."

He then walks off without saying goodbye.

[Refrigerator]

Deyna rolls her eyes at Dox's quip, but you can see that she's hiding a smile. Clambering gracelessly into the front of the wagon she takes the reins of the horses and waits on the others to join.

"My family lives on the outskirts of Hallowcrest. I may be able to help navigate once we're closer to our destination. Sounds like we're to be heading east? Alha, what's the next town over?"

[Neil1889]

Raawki

Raawki discreetly pays attention to which pouch or pocket the money goes, just in case.

He hops up on to the back of the wagon and shuffles forwards.

[SeanMcShambles]

As the wagon is being boarded, the weariness of the night's activities hits all of you (with the exception of Erthafein) and those of you who had not eaten (ie. everyone except Erthafein and Raawki) also start to feel peckish.

[GPuzzle]

"Is there any food here? We need to eat, don't we?"

[Tris]

Looking at the map Alha says, "The next town shown on the map, Llangford, is 200 miles away. There's no way we can make it that far in one day. Castle Maine is about 50 miles from here"

[GPuzzle]

"Wait, we didn't bring provisions?"

[SeanMcShambles]

There are five of you carrying 10 days worth (each) of trail rations in your adventurer's kit. The cat doesn't look like he's carrying any rations...

[GPuzzle]

Bram starts unpacking his rations, and eats them - not a lot, just enough to stop the peckishness.

"I've eaten worse."

[Tris]

"Does anyone have a way of contacting the drow?" Alha asks.

[Refrigerator]

Deyna yawns and rubs her eyes tiredly, then looks back to her companions.

" It looks like the journey to Llangford will be long. We'll need to visit the town to stock up on supplies- we'll run out of food and water as it stands. The more I think about it, the more I feel like we ought to return to the Inn for now to rest as nothing will be open now."

She grins widely.

"Unless of course, you lot want to stand outside the store, unmoving, for 8 hours and wait for the store clerks to open shop."

[Tris]

"I think we have enough food to last the four days it would take to get there, but we could use some rest, and that way we can inform the drow when he comes in the morning." Alha agrees.

[GPuzzle]

"Agreed. But does the cat come with us while we're traveling or do we leave it here in the town?"

[tbergman92]

The cat stared back and forth between the other party members, appearing amused by their responses.

These guys need to learn how to listen. I told them back at the mansion what form I would be in...I guess I'll just follow them back to the inn and reveal myself there.

Here. (http://media.giphy.com/media/2rfhCBEr5dA1G/giphy.gif)

[Refrigerator]

Deyna suddenly smacks herself in the forehead then looks at the cat with white markings and back to Alha and Bram.

"I'm an idiot. Or senile. Possibly both. Didn't the drow mention he would be taking the form of a cat?"

She squints at the cat as if unsure of what to say.

"If you're uhh...actually NOT just a cat...could you, I dunno, give us a sign? Meow twice? Do a backflip? Tap dance?"

[Neil1889]

Raawki

Raawki eyed the cat with a certain amount of suspicion, but said nothing.

[tbergman92]

"Mrroow."

"Mrroow."

[GPuzzle]

"He might be. You deal with it, I'm horrible dealing with people, with a cat, I screw everything up."

[SeanMcShambles]

The guards stare at you all and wonder why you're having a conversation in an idle cart in front of the gate.

One of them calls out from where he's standing.

"Are you guys staying or going? Cause... like... Gorn gave me this thing... I'm-- I mean he said you guys were headed out...but you're all just looking at a cat.


...Bill and I are getting uncomfortable."

Bill offers his comrade a contrary look "Oh, no. I'm ok, Ron."


Ron: "Oh. Well. Ok then, I guess."

Bill leans over, and most of you manage to hear what he tries to whipser to Ron.

Bill: "...They're not Darkblades are they? I heard Hamish mention Darkblades before."

Ron: "They don't look like Darkblades. And Gorn gave us this letter. That'd mean he and Claudius are Darkblades. And this thing has the king's signature on it."

Bill: "Well if they was Darkblades, obviously that letter would be forgery. And it would mean Mr. Gorn was in cahoots with the Darkblades!"

Ron: "Well, there's five of them and two of us. You going to to try to determine if they're Darkblades?

Bill: "'..."

The two resume their stations and continue eyeing you all suspiciously.

[Tris]

Alha asks the guards, "Will we still be able to leave in the morning?"

[GPuzzle]

"Let's go to the Inn. I want to sleep."