One-Shot Adventures IC

[Rizban]

A small caravan of merchants and travelers has been on the road for the past week moving goods from one large city to another in the next country. With another five days travel ahead, the caravan plans to stop at a small town nearby to rest and purchase additional supplies for the trip. Your group travels with this caravan, though in what capacity is up to you. Are you a merchant? Guard? Traveler taking advantage of safety in numbers?

As the caravan approaches the town, they encounter a road block about a half mile away. A crude gate has been built and two men wearing the uniform of the local militia call out to the lead wagon.

"Halt! Keminster is under quarantine. I suggest you turn back or go around."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Thorn


Thorn stepped forward a bit from the caravan. He eyed the militia suspiciously.

"Quarantine ? for what may I ask ?" Thorn asked. He looked to the left and right for any ambush or sign of trouble. He had been hired to help protect the caravan and so far things had gone smoothly, perhaps too smoothly.

[Rizban]

The militiaman looks over to his companion who just shrugs, as he leans on his spear, obviously bored.

"Don't know, really. Sickness, I guess. I heard rumors, but that's all I've heard. Haven't been to town to find out, or I'd be part of the quarantine rather than standing here."

[TheFallenOne]

Solstafir

Solstafir scowls in annoyance, the two parts of his cleaved eyebrow pulling together as his face contracts. Disease. Not a problem, as far as he is concerned. At least the sickness itself, it would cost him some hours to prepare and one of his melds, but afterwards he could bathe in zombie guts and the only thing to worry about would be the stench. "I don't mind, really. Give me a bit to prepare and even mummy rot couldn't touch me," he finally says, giving air to his thoughts. "I'm more worried about getting out again if we go in."

[Rizban]

"If the quarantine is lifted, I'm sure you'd be allowed to leave. I mean, there would be no reason to stay... Right?"

[Meth In a Mine]

Earl

Earl scowls as the caravan is halted due to "quarantine". He shucks his shield onto his back and leans on his Greataxe. He thought to himself "I suppose the it's a perk of being a guard that I don't need to worry with this kinda thing. Guess I'll just let the others work out the problem" And with that he started looking about, just in case any bandits were stupid enough to attack a caravan not only guarded by mercenaries but also in clear view of a local militia unit. Any such highwaymen would not last long.

[Jormengand]

Zilani

The mage-priest had been eating dinner, and a very nice one too. He continued to munch away as he considered from his platform strapped to the Dwarf's back, as he was startled to attention by the shield being added to it. "Any sickness worth quarantining is one worth avoiding", he opined once he had an empty mouth and a full mind. "And I am afraid that even such a healer as I cannot cure your sickness, only your wounds." The latter was surprisingly necessary for travellers, which earned Zilani more than a few rides and more than a little money in his time. "Then again, I don't know what we can do for supplies if we don't go in."

[Rizban]

After considerable debate and arguments, the caravan splits into two parties of roughly equal size.

One group, including the merchant who has until now led the caravan, has decided to risk the quarantine. The next leg of the journey through the mountains isn't going to be easy without fresh supplies and rest. He figures that a slight delay will only increase demand on his particular goods and doesn't expect the quarantine to be that severe or last that long. If it was something truly serious, surely there would be more guards or at least better informed ones.

The other group decides to press on despite all arguments to the contrary. They plan to rest and water a bit further down the road overnight before pressing on into the mountains.

You may, of course, travel with either group.

[Meth In a Mine]

Earl

As the decision to split up is announced, Earl scowls again. Now he had an unenviable choice to make: risk suffering the danger of the quarantine, or have to face the rest of the journey low on supplies. He spat on the ground and spoke to the frog mage he was carrying "Well green thing, what do you think? I think we should go on ahead, a quarantine is something I don't want to deal with."

OOC: How well do the characters know each other? I assume in at least some capacity since Earl us carrying Zilani already.

[Rizban]

The characters know each other precisely as much as you want. It's entirely up to you whether you knew each other prior to joining the caravan and if you've interacted at all during your time with it. It's large enough that you could conceivably have not actually met before now.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Thorn

"I'm inclined to go around" Thorn says quietly. He wasn't sure he trusted these militia but he had no reason to suspect them.

[Jormengand]

Zilani

"Just as the knight goes the way of the horse, so is our path a decision of yours," smiled Zilani. "And I'm averse to going through any place full of such presumable sickness - or whatever the real reason for our being unwelcome, if it isn't genuine - in any case."

[Rizban]

The caravan leader makes the final arrangements as the caravan splits. If you're going to travel with one or the other, now is the time to decide which.

[Meth In a Mine]

Earl

Earl chuckles at the Mage-Priest's remark about knights and horses and turns to the Gnome outdoors-man. "I agree. I don't much like the idea of getting diseased or whatever's going on in there. Let's keep on the beaten path." He straps down his greataxe, pulls his shield off his back, and draws his waraxe, before clapping the two together and rumbling "Ready when you are."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Thorn

Thorn helps lead the group out. He keeps an eye out for traps or ambushes as he carefully picks his way. He stops every so often looking for tracks. "Follow" he says quietly.




Any crazy tracks on the road or on the path we are heading down ?

Apparently there isn't a survival DC for finding obvious tracks. *shrug*

[Rizban]

There's a faint trail of beaten down grass and the occasional deep rut when the ground was too soft. It's obvious that travelers before you have ventured off the road and around Keminster this way. If the quarantine isn't lifted soon, this will become a fairly well worn path, as it seems that this road has pretty steady traffic.

It's slow going along the new path, because there's no proper road, hardly even a trail, although there are good markers showing the way you are meant to go to get back to the road. The caravan travels about an hour, making it about halfway around the detour, before the new leader calls for a halt. He's found a good field to circle the wagons and make camp for the night. Exploring the area, you find the remnants of a stone foundation and a brick oven and chimney, still standing long after the wooden structure has collapsed and rotted away.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/20/d7/e4/20d7e41341bde652eb6fa23e726a92cd.jpg

The oven looks to be in good condition and shows signs of recent repair, and the area in general shows signs of others having camped here recently. Looking around a bit more, you find an old well with clear water in it. A bucket and rope have been left behind by someone, making it easy to draw water for the caravan.

[TheFallenOne]

Solstafir

After examining the stone structure for a bit Solstafir gives an appreciative nod, the craftsmanship seems decent enough to have stood the test of time. Who might have been the other party that made camp here not long ago, other travelers diverted by the quarantine, trappers, bandits? He reaches inside the oven; if the embers are still warm it would mean it was used quite recently. "Best not split up too much. I'll go get firewood, anyone coming with?"

[Rizban]

The embers are indeed still warm. The fire is no older than the night before.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Thorn

"I'll go" Thorn says simply. He figured it was probably best to not leave anyone alone in the uncharted wilderness.

Thorn shrugged and plodded along, keeping his eyes and ears perked.

[Meth In a Mine]

Earl

Earl shrugs and leans on his greataxe once more, and replies with a degree of indifference "Then I suppose I'll hold down the fort here with the green one. My survival skills are most suited to... craggier climates anyways."

[Rizban]

Solstafir and Thorn take a short walk over towards a stand of trees on the edge of the field. They start to gather a few sticks before spotting a large tree stump with a axe wedged in the top. Walking towards the axe, the two of you round a thicket of brush and spot a small, covered shed with what appears to be a full cord of chopped, dry firewood inside.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5016/5430465104_47b7d3d331_z.jpg

http://www.motherearthnews.com/~/media/Images/MEN/Editorial/Articles/Magazine%20Articles/2008/10-01/Build%20a%20Timber-Framed%20Woodshed/build-a-timber-framed-woodshed.jpg?h=411&la=en&w=550&hash=C306EFF627EA3DA2AB3A7F4DC463660CABBB9DD2

[TheFallenOne]

Solstafir

"This is concerning," the dwarf says with his gaze wandering from the lodged axe to the shed and back. "The oven could just be occasionally used ruins. But this here points to permanent habitation. Someone lives and and they'll be back sooner rather than later. And their reasons for remaining isolated out here might be far from innocent."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Thorn

Thorn wasn't sure what to make of it all but his paranoia was running rampant with all sorts of sinister plots. "I'm sure its all perfectly innocent." he says wholly unconvincing.

"Leave the piled firewood, gather our own just in case. Tell the others to be watchful." he suggests quietly.

[Rizban]

If you don't take the firewood, you'll need a survival check to gather enough dry wood for your group. The other members of the caravan, totaling 4 wagons, 14 other people, and 20 or so assorted animals, primarily draft horses, will also need firewood...

[TheFallenOne]

Solstafir

"Don't be a wuss, you think anyone's gonna be up in arms about a bit of chopped wood unless it's a bloody dryad?" Solstafir says rather dismissively. Far as he is concerned if that is enough to set them off conflict will be unavoidable anyway. Without bothering to wait for further objection he grabs an armful from the pile. "If you're that concerned throw them a couple coppers on the ground."

[Rizban]

You gather an armload of wood and begin walking back to where the others are setting up camp. As you pass by the stump, the axe slowly rises into the air as if under its own power... Taking a few practice swings through the air, it starts to fly straight at you!

It swerves at the last moment, avoiding you and slamming into a piece of a nearby log. The log segment is dragged back to the stump by the axe where it begins to methodically chop wood to replace what you have taken. Once it finishes chopping, it makes several trips to the wood pile, bringing one or two pieces with each trip until you can no longer see the gap left by the wood you took.

[Meth In a Mine]

Earl

OOC: Do either Earl or Zilani notice the shenanigans occurring with the ax? If they don't Earl isn't going to be doing anything of interest.

[Rizban]

Earl

OOC: Do either Earl or Zilani notice the shenanigans occurring with the ax? If they don't Earl isn't going to be doing anything of interest.
If he hasn't busied himself doing something else, the Axe should be in sight, though the woodpile itself is not.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Thorn


"That is ... handy" Thorn says simply motioning towards the axe. "Almost too handy." Thorn helps to gather the needed firewood for the rest of the caravan and informs the others of what he has seen.

He takes an extra two to three minutes to look around the immediate area for any dwellings they might have missed.




If nothing eventful happens after gathering the firewood, Thorn will take a few minutes and look for any structures or campsites they might have missed in the immediate area, say 50 feet around the wood pile and the oven.

[Jormengand]

Zilani

"Just for your information, Earl, there is an axe moving of its own accord some distance thataway," gestures the mage-priest, adding "I thought you might consider keeping an eye on it," and then returning to his general state of complacency.

When Thorn returns and explains the situation, Zilani smiles. "Ah. That is interesting, and potentially useful."

[Rizban]

The cleared land, oven, and remnants of the building's slab all lead you to believe that this was once a farmstead that was abandoned long ago. Other than signs that the area has been used recently as a campsite, there doesn't appear to be anything of note nearby.

Meanwhile, the other members of the caravan have unpacked and setup tents for the night then started preparing to cook dinner while others have seen to the animals. Several others have collected wood from the pile for their campfires, and the axe has dutifully replaced it each time without fail. Two of the younger boys have set to hauling water up from the well and distributing it around camp to the others... for a copper or two, of course. Enterprising merchants at such a young age, you're sure they make their father proud.

[TheFallenOne]

Solstafir

"Whoever leaves something liken that just lying around, can't be cheap an axe like that," Solstafir says with a shake of his head. "Well, I guess it resists any attempts to be taken. I'd rather not try, I'd only end up burning the thing." If he has any concerns about his own well-being in such a scenario they remain unspoken. The work done for now he sets up his own tent and settles down for a bit of warmth and food in front of the fire, sitting so close the heat would be uncomfortable to someone not of his kin.

[Meth In a Mine]

Earl

Earl's eyebrows raise as he notices an ax dancing around doing lumber work as if wielded by an experienced woodsman. "I don't want anything to do with that thing. Best leave it be, it's probably some wizard makin' up fer his lack of muscle. Nothin' wrong with that I s'pose." Earl spits on the ground and watches the ax carefully. He was secretly somewhat paranoid that it would come to life and chop them up in their sleep, so he made sure to lay his bedroll down on the far side of the camp so if it did start hacking people up, hopefully he'd hear it before it got around to him. He slept in his armor, as per norm, but kept his axes and shield in arm's reach.

OOC:
If we're going to sleep now, Earl will do so in armor, since he has Endurance.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Thorn


"Magic isn't really my strength. Probably best to leave it alone. I will take first watch." Thorn offers.

He slowly picked at his food and hoped the other half of the caravan was making out as well. "I hope they all aren't zombie now." Thorn says motioning in the vague direction of town.

[Rizban]

Assuming you do nothing else of note for the moment, you find a meal at the caravan's common cook fire and settle in for the night. The new leader works out watch rotations with the guards who travel with this portion of the caravan, and the night passes uneventfully.

The next morning, people begin to pack up camp in a hurry to leave this place and get back on the road. As preparations begin to progress, it's noted that three of the people are moving slower than normal. They complain of having not slept particularly well but otherwise feeling fine. Others tease them a bit as they offer assistance, and soon the caravan is ready to move.

[Jormengand]

Mage-Priest Zilani

Zilani looks a little concerned at the trio of people, trying to discern what's the matter with them.

I can only guess that Heal or Sense Motive would be correct, but the modifiers for anything else would be -14 jump, +5 concentration, +2 ride, -2 STR, 0 DEX/INT, +6 WIS and -1 CHA instead of the +6.

[roll0]

[Rizban]

They let you check them over. You can't find any sign of injury or a familiar disease, but their skin does have a slight blue tinge in places as though they weren't getting enough air.

[Jormengand]

Mage-Priest Zilani

"This is a familiar condition, I think. Tell me, did any of you have any difficulties with breathing? Because it looks as though you were not getting enough air. This concerns me."

[Rizban]

Morton, the man you're currently examining thinks for a moment, takes a few unhindered deep breaths, and shrugs.

"Nope, no breathing troubles. I'm just... tired. Very, very tired."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Thorn


Thorn hoped they weren't sick with what ever it was. "We should probably keep moving." he says.

[Meth In a Mine]

Earl

Earl eyes the oddly-behaving men with some measure of interest, but ultimately shrugs and follows the gnome tracker. They had a long day ahead of them. It was best to get moving.

[TheFallenOne]

Solstafir

"Let's see how long it takes for the first to drop," Solstafir says all too casually. Whatever caused the quarantine, to him it very much seems their detour didn't bring them out of its reach. That morning his shoulders are adorned with pearly white pauldrons, seeming to hover about an inch above his shoulders instead of actually touching them. Sharp runes of midnight blue are etched into the alabaster, reading as invocations of the mountains' eternal strength and the indomitability of life and soul. The aura of blue flame dancing about his skin though is gone, having given way to a more immediate need and desire.

Pauldrons of Health shaped, immunity to disease, being sickened and nauseated from now on.

[Rizban]

You travel for nearly an hour, rounding the village and making it back to the main road again. As you continue northwards, Morton suddenly stands on the front of the cart he's riding, screams up into the sky in what sounds like pure rage, and promptly falls to the ground. Terrified, the horse pulling his cart bolts, dragging the bouncing vehicle along behind. The caravan devolves into chaos as people scramble to get out of the way or draw back from the unknown.

[Meth In a Mine]

Earl

Earl jumped slightly at Morton's sudden outburst, jostling Zilani in his palanquin as it happened. Earl finally saw fit to speak on the matter "Barzûlegûr!" he shouted, lapsing into Dwarven for a moment before rushing over to Morton to check on the man. He gestured to the mage-priest riding on his shoulders to dismount "This is more your arena, little one." He looked at the gnome tracker and said "Should we even try to catch that cart?"

I just noticed all four of us have base move speed less than 20 ft. Earl technically has 30 ft. but that's only because he's a barbarian. We may be doomed if we have to outrun a rolling boulder lol.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Thorn

"The wagon will tire the horse out enough that he should stop running in a minute or two and the cart will either be along our path or easy to track if it takes off in a random direction. " Thorn says evenly. "We should pursue it, but not chase it as we might further spook the horse. Take care of him, I'll fetch the wagon." Thorn says simply and plods off at his own pace. "If I'm not back in 10 minutes, the zombie werewolves got me. Tell the grieving ladies of Brinport I died a hero." Thorn announces.

[Rizban]

As Thorn trots off after the wagon, Earl approaches the fallen man. Just as Earl reaches him, Morton leaps to his feet with a howl of rage and attacks Earl with his fists. Fortunately his attack batter harmlessly against his intended victim.

Initiative
[roll3]
[roll2]
[roll1]
[roll4]
[roll0]

((Go ahead and post in any order, and I'll resolve actions in appropriate initiative order.))

[TheFallenOne]

Solstafir

"This all just sucks in ten different ways." For a moment Solstafir contemplates whether no longer having his Mantle of Flame shaped is good or bad. On the one hand seeing people who attack him burn to death from their efforts is quite amusing. On the other hand it might not be well received in this case.

The questions becomes moot anyway as his Incarnum weapon flies into his hand as if it were alive and he smashes the flail's bottom against Morton's forehead, trying to knock him out before he can do any real damage.

2 Essentia in Incarnate Weapon. Move as necessary.
Stone Bones, -4 attack to deal nonlethal damage
[roll0] [roll1]
If hit benefit from DR 5/adamantine until my next turn

[Meth In a Mine]

Earl

Earl snorts with irritation as the man tries impotently to do him harm. "What's gotten into you, umgi?" He throws a punch aimed at Morton's nose, hoping a nosebleed will bring him back to his senses.


Attack Roll: 1d20+5=18
Damage Roll (if applicable): 1d3+4=6 Nonlethal (http://www.coyotecode.net/roll/lookup.php?rollid=147760)

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Thorn

"Huh?!" Thorn was confused. He moved to help flank the enraged man but didn't lash out yet. "Calm down! or we're going to have to put you down." he warns. Thorn wasn't convinced he could subdue the man with his tiny fists but wanted to refrain from gutting him straight out of the gate.




Thorn will move into a flanking position (taking a double move to do so.)

He'll draw a sword as he moves.