[5E] Princes of the Apocalypse (IC)

[Hawke62]

Red Larch is a town on the Long Road, a few days’ travel north of Waterdeep and a few days’ travel south of Triboar. It’s a way stop for caravans coming to or from the cities of the North, with an inn named the Swinging Sword, a tavern called the Helm at Highsun, and many craftspeople who cater to travelers. Caravans, travelers, and all manner of wanders have made stops in Red Larch, and you're no different.

Regardless of what brought each of you to this quiet town nestled up to the Sumber Hills, you've each had your attention grabbed by fliers posted around town.

http://i61.tinypic.com/2w32wcn.jpg

Boredom, civic duty, altruism, the allure of reward, or perhaps something else altogether brings each of you to Jalessa's butcher's shop. The cramped, stone building is buzzing with activity, as Jalessa oversees several men moving supplies and animals throughout the shop. After a couple quick inquiries you find Jalessa's husband, Constable Harburk, salting some pork cuts. He looks up from his work with a look of relief, and washes his hands in a basin as he addresses you.

"Well you folks must be answering my posters around town. Thank the gods somebody offering help actually looks capable for a change! If I had a copper for every so-called adventurer that headed out into the woods to get themselves killed..." he sighs heavily, "but regardless, the seven of you ought to be able to take care of these brigands without too much trouble. "

"Bandits keep hitting the more rag-tag caravans heading in and out of town to the south. We don't have the man-power to root them out, and sending patrols along the road is spreading my men too thin, so I've convinced some of the traders that travel through frequently to put up some gold pieces as a reward to anyone who can track down their hideout and either arrest these no-goods, or force 'em out of the area...one way or another."

He finishes washing up and looks over your little group again, and a little grin manifests itself on his stern face "I think these bandits won't be giving us any more trouble if you lot feel up to this little errand. So how about it? Think you can do us Larchers this favor?"

[Estralita]

Kethra nodded tightly, glancing down at Maria when the man mentioned the deaths. One of her duties was to expose Maria to adventuring work so she might be able to defend herself better. Reasonable adventure work. But on the other hand, there were 6 of them, and Kethra was going to make sure nothing happened to her. The more people around, the safer she would be.

[Arbeitus]

Aeofel looks to Lorelei and shrugs.
"Just a few bandits, right? I could do with some more gold."

[missdbug]

Lorelei return's Aeofel's look and glances at the other people around. "There's certainly enough of us that I doubt these bandits would be much of a problem." She leans in and whispers to Aeofel: "Plus, it'd be good to have people owe us a favor, yes?"

[onlie2005]

When Maria was told that she Kethra would like her to tag along, she was delighted. A chance for adventure and excitement and a minor break from her studies. MInd you she never hated her studies, but this sounded like fun! Not many 9 year olds were given a chance to go with an adventuring group. Like any child she was brimming with excitement and enthusiasm. She did not even react to the words about death. As a child sometimes you tend to see the straight and narrow too much and not see consequences later.

But that did not mean she was not thinking ahead. The girl had an analytical mind which meant she tended to also think things through. She may be overenthusiastic but she was also very smart. Inwardly she was thinking ahead. Where would the bandits most likely being holding their hideout given her knowledge of the area. Mainly she was thinking of caves or maybe a nearby ruins.

[roll0]

At the same time an idea pops into her little but very bright head.

I have an idea. Although I don't know if it is a good one. Why not make a small caravan of our own in some way. Pretend we are heading south, and wait for them to come to us?Then we can ambush them instead, and maybe...., Maria frowned, Nah bad idea. And we want to locate their base of operations. If we win we might have to have one of them escape and leading us to....stupid idea.

Maria shakes her head, the lack of confidence because of her age and inexperience.

[JNAProductions]

I like it. In fact, I love it! Ambush them when they think they'll be ambushing us. Let one of them loose, like a fish on the hook... Then follow them back, and WHAM! hit them when they aren't expecting it. Bari smiles at the little girl. You're a smart little girl. So long as you stay safe, I'll be glad to have you along.

[Arbeitus]

"I agree; the girl's idea isn't bad. As long as we keep a survivor, we should be able to find their base, one way or another."
Aeofel says this with an indifferent, calculating tone.

[Estralita]

Kethra's smile tightened as the dwarf addressed Maria. She was young. Didn't know the dangers of trusting people you just met, or the hidden barbs people could place in complements. As far as she could tell, he wasn't mocking of humoring Maria, but people didn't always say what they meant. Like now.

She better stay safe, or she'll be in big trouble later. Kethra replied lightly.

[Hawke62]

Having lived in Red Larch for many years, you know that caves aren't uncommon in the surrounding countryside. Additionally, the area south of town is primarily small thickets of dense woods interspersed across fields and dells with dense undergrowth. Lots of potential spots to hide a small bandit camp.

[Gorgon_Heap]

Asriyah

The small woman in brown robes stood silently along with the rest as the hulking man addressed the group. Quiet and unmoving, she showed a quiet respect until the discussion turned to attack options.

She'd come to the meeting for several reasons; boredom, curiosity, the need for money. She was far from home and unaccustomed to being adrift. But at a request to deal with local brigands she was surprised at how quickly these folks turned their minds to violence. And especially as it was instantly advocated by a mere child. The girl may have a quick mind, but Asriyah felt it folly to encourage bloodthirst in children. While violence is sometimes inevitable, considering no other options is irresponsible.

“If I may,” she says lightly with an exotic accent, pulling her hood back to reveal thick brown hair over wide eyes and olive skin, “I would suggest a less direct method, at least at first.” She briefly and respectfully meets each of your eyes as she talks, but appears to take that heartbeat to judge your eagerness or agitation. She even casts an eye over Harbuck.

“I am Asriyah Badri, and while I have experience fighting when necessary,” she indicates the shortbow on her back, “I have learned fighting an enemy you know nothing about can become … complicated. If these thieves are disruptive to the community and you have no better option, then I’ll help get rid of them. But simply walking out into their own territory to kill them is a terrible risk. These are men accustomed to combat and fear; the direct approach is what they expect.

“Constable, what else do you know, or who else can we speak with? What are their numbers? What weapons or magic do they possess? What have they stolen and where or how can they be selling it? If they are selling their stolen goods, perhaps that is a way to information.”


I’m willing to take a capsule explanation from the constable or just some names and time to make inquiries on my own. Any little bit is better than nothing.

[Hawke62]

Constable Harburk rubs his chin thoughtfully for a second before answering,

"Well, the caravan leaders have had their fair share of employees killed by these bandits, so I'm sure they'd rather see them killed than arrested, but just because they're putting up the bounty doesn't make them the law here. If you could stop these brigands without getting anyone killed, well that'd be damned impressive and you'd have my thanks. Just make sure they don't come back."

He thinks again for a minute before continuing,

"As for their numbers, well rumors range from caravans being attacked by two 8 foot tall half-orcs," he laughs, "which I'm sure is just tavern-room talk, to about a dozen well-armed men. If you want to know specifics I'd go talk to some of the caravan guards that drink at the Helm at Highsun. The Thelorns are wagon-makers here in town, they're usually well informed on whatever's ailing the caravans these days."

His facial expression becomes a bit more stern, and looks past you toward the front of the shop where most of the activity is taking place, before lowering his voice and continuing,

"I've been doing a fair bit of thinking about where they might be fencing their stolen goods. I'm hoping they're taking everything to some other town, maybe all the way out to the coast to Waterdeep, plenty of theives and no-goods out there," he sighs, "but it's probably more likely someone here in Red Larch is helping them. I have no idea who it could be, but if you could figure out who and persuade them to stick to legal business I'd be in your debt."

[Arbeitus]

As Asriyah's eyes fall on the Eladrin, she notices that he shows little to no signs of either eagerness or agitation. Aeofel looks curious at most. At the very worst, he looks bored of this challenge.
"I won't argue if you think that we can handle this without killing anyone, Asriyah. Even bandits have their good reasons to raid. I agree with you, though. We should gather as much information on these bandits and their business before we try anything."

[Rofltrollcopter]

Baern leaned back agianst the wall, content to let the others have their say. He wasn't a pleasing sight to look at. He had a fact that only a mother could love, a tusk curled out of the left side of his face, given his left lip the appearance of a perpetual sneer. He adopted the hunched bent-forward posture that he had been his mainstay in the dwarven mines. It served two practical purposes, it had made it easier for his 6'4'' frame to maneuver around the mines, and it lowered his profile so it made it less likely that others would notice him. Baern did not have many pleasant interactions with most of the dwarven children in the community where he grew up. Several of them voiced that he should have been left to die when his parents had found him after the Orc raid on the Dwarven settlement. Baern knew that he was dull witted which wasn't helped by the fact that he had trouble expressing himself in conversations. His brother was always the more social one of the duo.

[onlie2005]

Maria's parents always taught that listening was the best way to help a team tackle a problem. It did not mean that she had to agree with everything. Just that it enabled good plan making. A lot of what was being said made sense. But she wanted to contribute and help out.

Sir can you provide me with a map of the area and maybe perhaps information on where precisely these attacks may have occurred? Perhaps if I knew those locations I can correlate where their base of operations most likely be located based on distance, time in between attacks, and best ambush sites?, she asks the captain.

[Gorgon_Heap]

Asriyah offers the constable a warm smile in thanks for providing some helpful information while hinting at some unspoken annoyance at the rest of you. She nods agreement with the girl, but has something else on her mind. "Yes, a map will be very helpful. Perhaps at the general store? It's [whatever time it is, presumably near one meal or another], so why don't we go to the tavern. We can eat, make some inquiries and get to know each other a bit. Our specialties. Our experience. Our names."

[JNAProductions]

What's in a name? It's just a bunch of sounds used to symbolically associate with a person, animal, or some other such noun.

All the same, he offers with a grin, the name is Bari. And this big lovable lug here, he says, clapping Baern on his lower back, is my brother-at-heart Baern.

[Arbeitus]

"My name is Aeofel, and this is my traveling companion, Lorelei."
Aeofel gestures to the high elf.
"Sitting down and talking will do quite a bit of good, Asriyah."
A slight smile forms on Aeofel's lips.
"Perhaps the girl can tell me more about her plan to find the bandits' base. If they're bad criminals, then it will prove to be too easy to find them. If they're good, then there will be quite a few confounding variables, and I do love a good mental exercise."

[missdbug]

Lorelei scowls at Aeofel. "I can introduce myself, Aeofel." She turns to face the others and gives them a warm, friendly smile. "Getting to know each other better sounds lovely."

[Gorgon_Heap]

OOC: We don't have an OOC thread; How do we handle discussion?

I was hoping to just of assume that if people would agree we could explain that most of this discussion is actually happening at the tavern. I just don't want to make assumptions on other players' or the DM's part. That way we can get in the talk - discuss some tactics, etc. - and we can surround ourselves with NPCs for questioning. Do you want rolls, Hawke? Can we do a communal roll if most of the party agrees to hobnob a bit around the room?

[Hawke62]

"Hmm, don't have a map on me," says the Constable, "but the attacks have all been on the Long Road leading south of town, about 10 miles or so out of town. That's about all I know, good luck, and thank you."

I put up an OOC thread here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?416668-5E-Princes-of-the-Apocalypse-(OOC))

I'll assume you guys are heading to the tavern from here? Go ahead and chit chat among yourselves and make your full introductions as desired, and when you're ready to start asking questions just say so in the OOC thread and I'll give you a run down of who's at the tavern that looks prime for questioning.

[Gorgon_Heap]

Asriyah

The young woman, though poised and quite pretty, didn't seem the type to enjoy being the center of attention - she seemed more like a calm presence that politely listened until making herself known was necessary. She hesitates when she realizes all eyes are on her, but accepts it with a shrug. She nods to the constable and, raising her hood again, leads the others away to the tavern, making inquiries about the local flora and fauna - what you are most likely to encounter in these northern lands.

Some of you quickly realize this is both idle conversation to build a rapport and honest curiosity - she has little experience with northern wilds and is intent on learning about her surroundings.

Once at the tavern, Asriyah scans the room and finds a table with plenty of seats but someplace halfway between the front door and any other exit, and situates herself so she has the widest possible view of the room. She asks for light fare and appears wholly dissatisfied when whatever it is it arrives.

Throughout the meal she succinctly explains herself so you might know what to expect if a fight is unavoidable. “I spent my childhood in Calimport, surviving as best as I could. Being no warrior, I learned the art of the soft approach – to combat opponents with my mind and from the shadows. I think it’s usually less violent than a stand-up fight, though maybe not as decisive in the end.”

She later asks somebody else to make inquiries about locals’ experience with the bandits. In her own questions around the room/town she exploits her obvious foreign nature in asking about the sale of rare or exotic goods, hoping for a lead on a local fence.

[onlie2005]

Maria is somewhat disappointed that they were not going to go after the bandits immediately. But then she could not go alone and do it herself. She was not that young to think that way. Even at her young age she and her prodigious abilities she knew restraint. Also the idea of killing, now that she thought about it abhorred her. She wanted to help, but she also wanted to be well prepared. So she temporarily took her leave from the party to visit the general store and she bought a map of the area, As she was going to the tavern she looked it over concentrating on the area 10 miles south of the town along the Long Road as the captain said, looking for specific sites that would make very good bases of operations such as a dell, or ruin or caves.

[roll0]

[Arbeitus]

Aeofel follows the others to the tavern. He takes a seat and looks around the room, trying to get a sense for what people are here and what kind of conversations they are having. He takes in the unfamiliar human culture that is now surrounding him, almost wishing to be back with his own fey brethren.

[roll0]

[Rofltrollcopter]

Baern nods when his brother introduces him. Hello He says a bit slowly, and doesn't speak up any further.

[Estralita]

Kethra walked with Maria, staying close by, but working to stay out of her way. Kethra was smart enough to know how ignorant she was of most things not directly related to her goals, and Maria would work best without Kethra's interference.