The Cyst: Monasteries and the Militant [IC]

[byzantineblue]

OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?406233-The-Cyst-Monasteries-and-the-Militant-OOC&p=19026255)

The morning is filled with the sounds of birdsong and rustling leaves. The sun is warm and the sky is nearly bereft of clouds. But this peace is broken by a strange grumbling sound.

It comes from deep within the earth, accompanied by no movement except a deep, deep vibration you can feel in your guts and your bones. It's unclear from which direction the sound originates, but it sounds like something big.

Fort Laine is situated in the light forest just to the north of the small town of Rockford. It's a quiet posting. Ostensibly, it is meant to be protection for the town against attack from the barbarians of the Highlands. However, as the Highlands are somewhat bereft of barbarians these days, the fort's main function is as a waypoint for travellers to Rockford. The soldiers posted there have almost nothing to guard against beyond the odd bandit attack, and even those usually go unpunished.

Today is different, though. The whole world seems to have recoiled, somehow. It's unclear what happened... but it was something big. The captain of Fort Laine stayed in town overnight, meeting with the local sheriff. The only occupants of the fort are the members of a small caravan heading north, and you, the players.

What will you do?

[PurpleSocks]

Jortnar stifles a yawn as he wipes the sleep from his eyes, his uniform was chafing around his neck and it was putting him in a bad mood. Not for the first time he wished that his uniform fit better, but he guessed there weren't too many 10ft tall recruits in the army so he could let things slide.

Sighing loudly he turned to face the caravan leader yet again.

"No sir I don't know what happened last night, my commanding officer is in the town as we speak trying to figure it out. Whilst I understand your concerns there is no reason to suspect that the roads aren't safe. You and your men are welcome to stay out here for a while, but you'll have to give up your weapons if you want to come inside the fort."

[byzantineblue]

The caravan leader is indignant. "Did you not hear that?" he sputters. "It was probably a rockslide. They happen around here. Don't you know that? I guess we'll just have to give up our defenses if we want to get in this tumbledown shack." He turns around and begins instructing his followers to turn over their weaponry.

[PurpleSocks]

Jortnar tries not to smile at the mans obvious irritation, while he was clueless as to what was really going on he was dead certain that it was several orders of magnitude beyond a rockslide.

"You are probably right sir, just a rockslide." He gestures for his fellow soldiers to collect their weapons, before singling out a weedy soldier who looked closer to 13 than the 17 years he claimed to be.

"Private Clyffe, escort these men the mess hall and see that they get something warm to eat." While Jortnar was of equal rank to the rest of the men standing guard, he had the advantage of being 4ft taller, having a commanding voice, and being significantly stronger than any of them, which generally meant they would follow his orders in the absence of a superior officer despite his lack of seniority.

[bcool999]

Joshua

It is around the time that the trade caravan is disarming in preparation of entering the keep that a man in his mid twenties approaches.

"Greetings, guardsman." Joshua begins in a deep gravelly voice that almost constitutes a growl, "Quite a rumble we had not some time ago. Considering the fact that I have been traveling alone for quite some time I thought it would be wise of me to take refuge at your mighty fort whilst news trickles in on the matter. I promise to not be a bother and to compensate for any food and lodgings that I require."

With Nabarius I can take 10 and with beguiling influence I have a +6 for a total (with skill ranks and ability score) of 21 on diplomacy

[PurpleSocks]

Looking down at the oddly intense man with a strange voice, Jortnar offers him his best insincere smile "Good day to you traveller." Scratching at the base of his left horn Jortnar yawns loudly. "Excuse me its been a long night..."

"Ugh yes it was, although if your going to bring it up inside the fort I would consider it a personal favour if you would call it a "rather signficant rockslide", we wouldn't want to cause a panic. Our offer of shelter of course applies to all travellers on the road, but I am afraid I must ask that you hand over your weapons for the duration of your stay."

"If you would rather hold onto that morningstar of yours, you are more than welcome to stay out here in the courtyard or alternatively try your luck in the town just a few miles down the road."

"While we can feed you hot porridge, you would have to stay in the common room with them, this is a military installation of course, not a hostel and we can't provide private rooms to guests, no matter how charming they may be." Gesturing at the travelers from the caravan who are making there way inside the fort.

[Still_I_Rise]

Silvia glides over to the guard collecting their weapons, and hands in her two scimitars with only a small grimace.

"That was some rockslide, sir," she says lightly. "I hope it doesn't interfere with our travelling on..." She shoots a glance at the caravan leader. She'd really only signed on to help the man guard his caravan in hopes of seeing the interesting things in the world. This scraggly middle of nowhere fort didn't exactly qualify. Still, staying a little while wouldn't hurt, at least until they figured out exactly what the rumbling was. Silvia wasn't entirely convinced that was a rockslide, but she wasn't inclined to argue with the ten foot tall man who now had her scimitars locked away.

[PurpleSocks]

Addressing Silvia "The captain should be back in a few hours, hopefully he will know if the road is clear..."

"These are a nice pair of blades, if you want them back just ask anyone in a uniform when your ready to leave the fort." Looking admiringly at her scimitars.

[Seharvepernfan]

Celrak walks into the fort from just past it's gates. He was hoping to join with the caravan for a bit of extra safety while traveling, perhaps offering his services as a guard or scout for a bit of coin, but he never got that far. Arriving at the fort just as the ....what was that? An ogre? was taking their weapons, Celrak walks into the fort, un-nocked bow in hand, and heads towards the ogre-looking person and the caravan leader. After learning that they do not know what the strange rumbling is, he speaks, "I began to hear it while coming here, ..." He turns to look out the gates as if trying to find a sign of the cause of the rumbling, "Are any of you going to go check on Rockford? You should find your captain, at least." Mild derision coats his words.

He was surprised to find the fort still chock full of soldiers; he had expected them to be out in force, or at least sending scouts out to see what the hell all the noise was. Instead, he finds them sitting on their hands with their captain missing. He ought to be a bit more diplomatic, he knows, but he simply cannot abide inaction....or he's just a slave to his own curiosity. Either way, he's clearly about to head towards the town, and has no intention of handing over his weapons, and no intention of staying if they try to make him.

[PurpleSocks]

Jornar looks impassively at Celrak unsure as to whether he should make an issue about the mans tone, he walks towards Celrak, standing much closer than would normally be considered polite before speaking "Sure why not, my shift is almost over and I could do with stretching my legs. If you'll give me a minute I'll happily join you on your walk to town."

Not waiting to hear the mans responce Jortnar strides into the fort to collect his things, whilst inside he flags down a nearby soldier who doesn't appear to be doing anything "Could you fetch sister Mamellek, tell her I'm going to go look for the captain, and I figured she might want to join me."

[Sønderjye]

Journey out in the world he said. Get away from the books and get some practical experience he said said, Felos mutters to himself as he sends light-hearted ill wishes to his master. He couldn't really hate his master for doing what he thought was best for his young pupil. Even if that "best" was sending him far away from his beloved books to the middle of nowhere. Useless practical experience.



The boy takes a long look at the caravan leader wondering if the man was stubid or if he was trying to convince himself that it was just a rockslide. He had read that people had a tendency to avoid the truth if the truth was unpleasant.

Finding the thought of staying in this boring fort the entire day unbearable he quickly graps the opportunity.
Mind if I join you? Celdrak hears a young voice ask from somewhere close to the ground. Should he look he'll find a young halfling showing a friendly smile and intelligent eyes. The raven on his shoulder suggests him being a mage. A well made crossbow with a pointy end hangs over his shoulder and looks as if it had never actually been used.

[byzantineblue]

The rumbling stops abruptly. The surroundings are eerily silent.

[PurpleSocks]

Jortnar exits the fort this time carrying a well worn backpack, he is also out of uniform wearing some plain travelling clothes instead. Approaching Celrak and Felos "Shall we depart? I don't see a point waiting for the rumbling to start up again"

[Still_I_Rise]

Silvia grins as Jortnar compliments her scimitars. "Thank you. They were a gifts from my father."

She doesn't progress far into the fort however, before she notices another group intending to go check on the town themselves. She wheels around promptly.

"On second thought, I think I'll take my blades back now and join you on your walk to the town." No way was she staying around in an all but deserted fort while others got to see what had actually happened down there.

[whoiam]

By human standards Mamellek was tall and well-built, combining the sort of physique you'd expect of a professional soldier with the sort of face you'd expect to see buried in a giggling posse at a high society party. She even looked every bit the soldier, bearing sword, polearm and armor, each in good condition. Although a closer examination would reveal that, again like most soldiers, there was nothing special about the equipment - it was just being cleaned and polished frequently.

In fact, the main reason she couldn't make an impressive entrance here was... well, the caravan had met Jotnar first. It didn't really matter how well you looked after yourself, a human soldier simply wasn't that impressive to people who'd been greeted at the gate by an Ogre Mage...

When she passed the gates herself, Mamellek saluted Jotnar. Technically she probably didn't need to - she'd been assigned here as the priest, not as one of the soldiers - but she'd been raised to think of herself as a soldier-in-training, and with this being her first proper posting she was still getting used to the idea that the regular soldiers no longer outranked her.

"May I ask who our company is, Sir?" was her response to the situation, taking a good look at Celrak, Felos and Silvia. She had no idea why they were taking strangers along to look for their Captain, but surely Jotnar had his reasons...

[PurpleSocks]

Jortnar returns Mamellek's salute with one of his own, albeit a far less practiced one "Sister it's a pleasure as always, I must confess I have not yet asked their names, but for the most part they are simply civilians who were travelling with or in close proximity to the caravan." Eyeing the group warily "No doubt you encountered the caravan master when you passed through the mess-hall, yet despite their unfortunate association with that man they do look like they can handle themselves."

[whoiam]

"I have no idea which was the Caravan Master, as I passed several unfamiliar faces on the way here." Mamellek pauses briefly, taking a moment to examine the two humans and the halfling. The lady's two scimitars looked useful, as did the man's shortbow and tomohawk. But the real standout seemed to be the heavy crossbow the halfling had.. Hmm.... She'd have to see if she could fire a few bolts out of that one later. Maybe if she asked nicely?

Snapping her thoughts back to the present, Mamellek introduces herself. "My name is Mamellek, and as you could probably guess from a combination of my weapons and the honorific used by Mister Jotnar, I am a member of a militant order. Who got assigned here as the fort chaplain, because someone apparently has a sense of humour. May I know each of your names?"

[Still_I_Rise]

"Silvia Tauber, pleased to meet you," she says, inclining her head slightly.

"I'm working as a guard for this caravan, but I think they'll be safe enough in your fort while we go check out the town."

[Seharvepernfan]

Celrak looks down at the halfling with a smile, "You don't have to ask permission."

"Celrak Lendaxaer, of Lendaxaer Ranch." He responds to the question from the chaplain. "There might be serious trouble; we can become acquainted later." The young man turns to walk towards Rockford at a steady pace. It doesn't seem like he intends to be rude, but he still comes off as knavish.

[PurpleSocks]

Jortnar shrugs and smiles playfully at the others "How very polite." before setting off after him, his long stride easily keeping up with Celrak.

[bcool999]

Joshua looks intently at the Ogre as if unused to not getting his way before drifting into silence for a time. When talk of the trip into town comes up, he smoothly attaches himself to the group saying when asked, "Jotnar's suggestion of finding lodgings in town seems all the more reasonable when one has an armed group heading in that direction anyway."

[Sønderjye]

Felos notices the attention on his crossbow and a smug smile finds it's way yo his facr. It took him forever to craft that crossbow and it was worth all the work.

I'll remember that the halfling responds to Celdrak with a smile that promises all sorts of mischiefs.

My name is Felos Lionheart, apprentice in the Immortal Guild, he presents himself.

[byzantineblue]

It's about a two-hour walk to the town. It's surrounded by a stockade of wooden pillars, although the gate is open and there is only one guard. Most of the buildings are made of wood, and there is a slight tension in the air this morning.

[whoiam]

The guard was the first place Mamellek stopped. No particular preference for talking to guardsmen, she/he was just the first person available.

"Greetings, Master Guard. Have you seen our Captain? Fort Laine has guests tonight, but he has yet to return from last night's visit to your sheriff..."

Not sure if this is necessary, depending on how well the soldiers in the fort know the guards of the town. But just in case: [roll0]

[byzantineblue]

"Oh," the guard says, surprised to be addressed, "he's probably at the main guardhouse, then. Or at least they'll know where he's boarded." You know where that is from previous visits here.

[whoiam]

"Thank you," Mamellek replied, before heading on to her new destination.

If it's guarded, she'll stop and repeat the question to the guard(s). [roll0] Otherwise she'll try and have a look inside...

[bcool999]

Joshua follows Mamellek to the guardhouse, his curiosity as to whether or not the fort commander will have any insight into the recent tremor overcoming the fact that he has moved beyond his excuse for accompanying the group.

[Seharvepernfan]

Celrak tags along, relieved that the town is seemingly safe.

[Still_I_Rise]

Silvia moves along as well, following Mamellek to the guardhouse. Hopefully someone there would be able to tell them what had just happened.

[PurpleSocks]

Jortnar follows quietly keeping an eye out for anything untoward.

[Sønderjye]

As everybody else Felos is on /follow, interest caught.

[byzantineblue]

The guardhouse is a small building made mostly of stone. It's in a central location, and one of the oldest areas of town.

[Sønderjye]

Felos looks unimpressed at the small building, again regretting that he had to go to this place. He then looks at Mamellek, expecting the guard to know what to do in this situation.

[Seharvepernfan]

Celrak walks up to the door to knock, wearing a slightly angry look, "If he's drunk..."

[byzantineblue]

The sheriff opens the door. He is a short, bearded man occasionally mistaken for a dwarf. He seems tipsy and does not recognize you. "Are you... the messenger?" he squints.

[whoiam]

"No, Sir, we have yet to run into a messenger. We do, however, have a trading convoy our Captain should probably be attending to. Have you finished your..." Pause, sniff, "business... together?"

[byzantineblue]

The sheriff is not a stupid man. He takes a step back. "Now, listen," he begins, but he seems to lose the thread of what he's saying. Your captain's voice comes from behind him.

"What are you doing down here, Mamellek? You should be manning the fort." You can see that his face is flushed, and he looks worried.

[whoiam]

For some reason, Mamellek was just going to assume that his 'flush' was that of a very happy drinker interrupted mid-very-happy-drink. An assumption that couldn't possibly have had anything to do with the state of the Sherif...

"That's odd, Sir. I could have sworn that the post of 'Fort Chaplain' did not actually include 'manning the fort' as part of its duties. Seeing to the physical and religious health of those who do so, yes. Speaking of which, the fort does seem rather overstaffed at present, on account of the Trade Caravan we've just 'acquired'. So unless they are an especially well disguised barbarian horde, our fortress is rather safer than it typically would be.

That said, we were looking for orders as to what, if anything, we are expected to do with regards to certain, ah, 'earth-shaking' events but recently halted. Assuming there are some for us to retrieve?"

[byzantineblue]

He ignores most of what you said. "The quake? We don't know what all that's about yet. Town watch are investigating. We're... Waiting for a messenger to tell us, yeah?"

[whoiam]

"...How very pro-active of you, Sir." Briefly, Mamellek toys with the idea of asking him if he's waiting for a messenger because he has an actual reason to expect one... or just because that way, he has an excuse not to do anything.

In the interests of not making her regular working environment even less friendly, she restrains the urge.

"In that case, Sir, if you are only waiting for news from elsewhere, may I request your presence at the Fort? We have, as I noted earlier, several unexpected guests and no officer dealing with the situation..."

[byzantineblue]

"...How very pro-active of you, Sir." Briefly, Mamellek toys with the idea of asking him if he's waiting for a messenger because he has an actual reason to expect one... or just because that way, he has an excuse not to do anything.

In the interests of not making her regular working environment even less friendly, she restrains the urge.

"In that case, Sir, if you are only waiting for news from elsewhere, may I request your presence at the Fort? We have, as I noted earlier, several unexpected guests and no officer dealing with the situation..."

He stands up and gives you an icy stare. He's as tall as the sheriff is short, and has short hair and a large scar on his forehead. "You couldn't handle it yourselves? Surely it's nothing beyond what we deal with on a weekly basis, man."

[whoiam]

The returning stare from Mamellek is no more warm, but the indication that he, at least, might still be somewhat sober is enough to soften Mamellek's tone a little. "They're spooked, Sir. Or some are, and most of the rest are curious. We don't have answers for them and being met by half a squad, an ogre and a priest is not especially reassuring. Some indication that the situation, whatever it might be, is 'in hand' would not go amiss."

[byzantineblue]

The returning stare from Mamellek is no more warm, but the indication that he, at least, might still be somewhat sober is enough to soften Mamellek's tone a little. "They're spooked, Sir. Or some are, and most of the rest are curious. We don't have answers for them and being met by half a squad, an ogre and a priest is not especially reassuring. Some indication that the situation, whatever it might be, is 'in hand' would not go amiss."

"All right, all right. If you think it's really necessary, I'll be on my way," he sighs. He stalks toward the door, when a cough comes from behind you.

"Excuse me..." A man in blue, green and white livery is standing behind you. "I have a message for the sheriff." He doesn't look like one of the town guard.

[whoiam]

"I think maybe we can stall them for a little longer, Sir." Mamellek conceeds wryly once the messenger interrupts them. Standing aside, she gestures towards the short, drunk man. "There is the Sheriff, master Messenger."

Turning back to those that had accompanied her into town, she adds "Perhaps we should give them a little space? I am sure they will pass along whatever information is relevant out of the messenger's report. Is there anything else the rest of you wanted to look for in town while we wait?"

[Seharvepernfan]

Celrak merely shakes his head at Mamellek. He is clearly listening intently to what the messenger has to say.

[byzantineblue]

The messenger only hands the sheriff a large envelope. He rips it open, begins to read it, and goes pale behind his bushy, black beard. "You! Out! Everyone out!" he hisses, herding everyone outside except the commander.

[Seharvepernfan]

Celrak moves out of the door, but immediately turns to stand beside it while the others come out. He leans against the wall, putting his head as near to the door as possible without being seen, and listens intently.


Perception (Listen): [roll0]

[PurpleSocks]

Jorntar stares his mouth hanging open in bewilderment at Mamelleck's outburst, when the door is abruptly slammed shut he collapses into hysterics, his loud booming laughter drowhing out anything else nearby.

Looking up at Mamelleck from his bent position "That sister was truly brilliant, I couldn't have said it better myself. Of course, talking to a superior officer like that was probablly not your wisest move."

[whoiam]

"Oh, I don't know. I'm not a regular soldier, so it's not as though he can order me to scrub latrines. The most he can do to *me* is request a replacement, and honestly I wouldn't much mind being sent back to my convent. This post is boring, and having a small squad of soldiers desperately failing to come up with fresh jokes based on the theme of 'impure thoughts' to use on me is not much of a help."

There's a slightly guilty pause as Mamellek remembers she's got company other than Jortnar.

"I'm sure we can trust in the rest of you to have not heard that exchange? Perhaps to the tune of a round of drinks in the tavern once Celrak is done with his impromptu round of slumped-against-wall devotions over there?" Mamellek extending the traditional bribe a soldier has offered any of her fellows to conceal their true opinions since time immemorial...

[byzantineblue]

The messenger sighs. "Well, it has been a rather hurried morning." He is a lanky twenty-year-old and he has a horse hitched to a post across the street. The horse is in the same blue, white and green livery as he is.


Celrak moves out of the door, but immediately turns to stand beside it while the others come out. He leans against the wall, putting his head as near to the door as possible without being seen, and listens intently.


Perception (Listen): 11


You can hear them talking quietly, but you cannot actually tell what they're saying.

[Sønderjye]

Felos is suprised at the sherif not being sobor, mentally chants "fight fight" when the tension between Mamellek and the captain rises, is annoyed at being shoed out and kept in secret and is suprised again when none of the guards seem to care that Celdrak is indescretely listening to their superiors conversations.

I don't like alcohol, Felos says, do you know if they have fruit juice?

[bcool999]

Frowning at being unable to obtain any information from the sheriff or guard captain, Joshua tries a different approach. Smiling, he starts up a conversation with the messenger. "Hurried? In what way? How far have you had to ride this morning?"

Taking 10 on diplomacy for 21

[Seharvepernfan]

Frowning in frustration for a moment, Celrak moves from the wall to stand near the mounted messenger, "And any word on the source of the rumbling?"

[byzantineblue]

"All the way from Hammer's Glade," he sighs. It's the largest town for a hundred miles and is about twenty-five miles away -- at least four hours by horse, at a fast pace. "How about that drink, then?"

[PurpleSocks]

Jortnar smiles warmly placing a large muscular arm around the shoulders of the lanky messenger "Of course, you've had a hard ride and must be thirsty. Why don't you tell us what it was all about it while we get you that drink? One soldier to another eh?" As he casually tries to extract answers from the young man whilst leading him towards the nearest tavern.

Jornar is going to use his 1/day SLA of Charm Person on the Messenger CL5, DC15 will. As an SLA there's no incantations or whatever so it's casting should be fairly subtle.

Also in case you wan't a diplomancy roll [roll0]

[byzantineblue]

"Well, I guess it can't hurt to tell you. I don't know much about it, after all." You enter the tavern, which is empty except for two hungover people in one corner. "I'll have mead, if you're buying. Anyway, when that rumbling started, it took some time before we got the message. And then we at the garrison sent out messengers to all the towns around here. Spelled horses aren't very fun to ride," he adds, rubbing his back absentmindedly.

[Sønderjye]

Felos follows, eager to get his juice.

[PurpleSocks]

Jortnar laughs loudly as if the messenger said something funny "I'm afraid I wouldn't know, I've yet to meet a stablemaster who'd trust me not to break his horses back with my weight" exchanging a few silver coins Jornar orders a round of Meads for his companions, not bothering to enquire about their selection of juices, he instead offers a cup of mead to the messenger asking "I don't suppose you know anything about that mysterious rumbling then, or the contents of that message?"

[Still_I_Rise]

Silvia agrees with the suggestion of finding a bar, ordering a small glass of wine once there. She leans forward at the table, trying not appear too interested in what the messenger might say, but still intent on not missing a word.

[byzantineblue]

The messenger shrugs. "I can hardly open sealed, official correspondence. But it must have been something a long way away. I didn't see anything wrong on the way here."

[bcool999]

Joshua follows to the bar and listens to the messenger as he feigns drinking the tavern swill (which would likely rot his palate), and when the man balks at giving the slightest bit of useful information he says with all the camaraderie he can muster, "Yes of course you wouldn't do such a thing. You are a fine upstanding example of duty and valor. However, before you were dispatched there must have been something? Whispers? Mages going pale? A sudden call to readiness in the army?"

Still rocking the 21 diplomacy when talking to him and a 21 bluff while I am at it to fake drinking and... exaggerate the truth about what I think of him.

[byzantineblue]

"Everyone certainly seemed upset," he muses. "But it stands to reason they would keep it hush-hush."

[whoiam]

"If we soldiers go around tearing our hair out and wailing at the skies, it makes the civvies nervous" Mamellek noted, grinning as she quietly pushing a second mead in front of the messenger.

For anyone wondering where she'd gotten him a second cup from without ordering it... well, she wasn't much of a social drinker. And Jortnar had bought them all cups of mead. She'd put the two together and come up with a far better use for hers than just gathering dust on the bar counter.

[byzantineblue]

He downs the last of his own cup, then makes a start on Mamellek's.

[whoiam]

...With there seeming to be little more news to be gained from the Messenger, Mamellek pats him on the shoulder briefly. "I'm going to go back and camp outside the guardhouse until our glorious leader works up some orders for us. You may want to join me when you're done with the drink - wouldn't want to be caught in here if they've got a return message to send to Hammer's Glade, after all..."

[byzantineblue]

He nods in agreement and takes another swig.