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  1. - Top - End - #151
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Kuros chows down on the stew vigorously after passing out portions to the Company. After recalling what his mentor taught him he says to the others, "I remember my teacher telling me about Moon Radish! This might be why the kobold tribe in the area has been riled up. Apparently Kobold's just can't resist them."

    He then looks to Ruk as if to confirm his conjecture.
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  2. - Top - End - #152
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Ruk was too busy gulping down stew to respond at first. He finished his first bowl and hurredly went for a refill. With his second bowl in front of him he finally took some time to breathe. He sat in silence for a moment, then turned his face towards Kuros. His eyes beginning to well up with tears.
    "Y-yes. I've only had it once before. The adults of my tribe managed to scrounge some up for the 10th anniversary of my brood. They insisted on giving me a larger portion on account of this." He gestured towards his colored scales, "I felt bad, but damn are those radishes something." He wiped his eyes and smiled. "Ah. I miss them."
    He was about to continue eating his stew when his gaze shot up to his party mates again. "You don't think... Svetlana! Where do you usually get your Moon Radish?" He looked at Three, "I'm sorry I keep harping on this, I think having some Moon Radish on hand would do wonders as a peace offering for that tribe in the belt."
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  3. - Top - End - #153
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Oleg's Trading Post, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
    Eventide, First of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)


    Svetlana was spooning up Oleg's portion. "It's nothing to apologise for, saer Ruk, I only wish I had a little more to give you. I don't pick it myself - trappers or hunters sometimes brought a small bushel through. While the bandits were waylaying the trails around here, our visitors and the trade dried up. So did the supply of moon radishes. The hunters tell me that around here it only grows within the Greenbelt itself, within the forest perimeter, but they weren't very specific about where they'd find it. Wait - no. Therek Caymore told me he once found a little patch of them inside the forest - I think it actually wasn't that far from here. This side of the Thorn River, I remember that much."
    "Haven't seen Caymore for months either," said Oleg gruffly, stomping in and collapsing himself into a chair. "Gods know whether the bandits got him or whether he just decided to clear out. Wouldn't be the first."
    "So the Greenbelt doesn't just harbour bandits?" asked Korlann.
    "Gods, no." Oleg took a big spoonful of the radish stew. "But those who're crazy enough t' live out there are fairly few and far between. Too many monsters. And somethin' else besides."
    "Something else?" asked Three.
    Oleg looked thoughtful for a moment. "We've not been here long. I'll admit that. But the stories we get through this place are consistent. And they all hold there's something about the Greenbelt. Something that overcomes most people who try to tame it. I dunno if it's as haunted as the stories tell it, but you'd not be the first people who've tried to explore the Greenbelt proper, map it, under charter from the Dragonmount Throne. They sent colonists out here long ago, have to be back before Belder the Sly died of the bloating plague in Themasulter. They all left, eventually. Some left things behind, some didn't. And they tell there's all manner of leftover ruins from that time and times before that. Nobody ever held the land long enough to claim it for a kingdom. So in the Greenbelt all ye have is mostly little single houses and poor men half-mad. Old Bokken's one of them, and he went crazy without ever settling in the Greenbelt himself."
    "What about the Sootscales, the kobolds you've a bounty on?" asked Ruk.
    "I didn't set that bounty, saer, that's for sure. It's been in place since well before winter set in and the scum you've seen off started shaking us down. Before then, the kobolds mostly kept to themselves, they've never come this far north. And whether it's instinct or brains, they don't go in the Greenbelt much at all. Kobolds don't tend to like the forest from what I hear. Now -- well, least before the winter -- it seemed like every second traveller in the plains and hills was running into them. Anyway, they're meant to be holed up in some cave somewhere south of here, but I'd say it's fair and natural that nobody I've met knows exactly where 'tis - like as not they hide their territory well and guard it 'gainst intruders. That piece of dirt y' ended in the yard out there told it true that far."

    He seemed to overhear himself. The big man got up, left the room for a moment, then came back with a ragged-looking piece of parchment, which he rolled out across the table. It was a very crude map sketching out in vague details the forest and rivers of the area. He sat back in his seat, looking at them again. "A crazy old hunter gave me this. Not real accurate, not enough to navigate by, but way I hear it, it seems to tell the rough places of the streams at least. Anyway, I couldn't help hearing but that y' seem to be planning on raiding that Thorn River camp soon. If so, then seems to me you'd have two ways to go. One you could cut southwest from here and straight through the wood to close on the Thorn River's source. I'd guess that's probably the way the scum came this morning or day before. That's through the wood and there's probably more trouble that way, but it'd be faster. Or you could skirt the forest's edge and wait 'til you hit the Thorn River, then track it back. Longer, take you more than a day that way, but you'd be more like to see trouble coming, I'd guess."

    Spoiler: OOC
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    Consider the map Oleg's rolled out is a dirty, very rough approximation of the same map I've given to track your exploration of the Greenbelt. Not a lot in the way of landmarks beyond the rivers and lakes you can see on it. For ease of reference:


  4. - Top - End - #154
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Three watched the party eat, happy that there was no bowl in front of her to feel awkward about. The conversation they were having was an important one, but she wasn't sure when to jump in. When Ruk gave her look, she began to gather her thoughts to support his peace idea. Then Oleg started to speak, and returned with an old map.
    She looked down at it, and quickly compared the amount of time it would take to pass through the forest compared to walking around it. Three shook her head, to send off any sense of worry. Her party should be more than enough to handle whatever they ran into. They can hit the bandits as soon as possible, but there was no reason to take risks after that- they could take the long route back to here.
    She looked at Korlann. “I think that we should eliminate Kressle's band as soon as possible. We can just pass on through the woods- Kerwin mentioned that whenever the bandits entered it, they went in groups of two. We're six. We can take the longer, safer, route back, afterwards.”
    At that, she turned her head from Korlann to Ruk. Three didn't forget her promise, and had no intention of breaking it. “And maybe she or one of her men might know where the Sootscale tribe lives, or at least where to get the radishes.”
    The artificer looked down at the map, looking South of the Trading post. Unless they're closer than she thought, going after them would take the group off route to get to the bandit camp by at least a day. “I agree with Ruk. We should make peace with the kobolds- or at least try to. If not because of Kressle, than at least because of the Stag Lord or other possible threats. It sounds like the the Sootscale have been here a while, and could be useful to be friends with. But we need to know where they are first, and Kressle is a definite threat, where they are only possible allies. ”
    Last edited by almondsAndRain; 2018-05-24 at 04:17 PM.

  5. - Top - End - #155
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    OrcBarbarianGuy

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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Dergosh was getting lost in all the names—Caymore, Bokken, Sootscales—but when Oleg spoke of all the many earlier failures to tame the Greenbelt the cleric just laughed. “One thing different this time: they send orcs. Orcs of the Wolftooth tribe. We do not fear forests, or ghosts—Gruumsh makes them fear us!” he boomed.

    When Three laid out the probable plan for going after the bandit camp, Derosh slammed a meaty hand down on the table in satisfaction. “Good! We go after rest of the goblins in the morning then! I will listen to Gruumsh, and have surprise ready for worthless goblin thieves.”
    Dergosh the Loud M Half-Orc Clr 3/Bar 1 | HP: 38 (26 with rage)| Init +10 | AC 17 T12 FF15 | Fort +7 Ref +3 Will +6 | Listen +1, Spot +4 | ATK +7 (+9 w/rage) melee 1d8+3/x2, +5 ranged 1d6+3/x2 | Cleric Spells: 0--guidance, guidance, light, resistance; 1st- summon monster I, cause fear (DC 15), sonic blast D (DC 15), resurgence; 2nd-restoration, lesser (x2), sonic weapon D
    Domain ability: piercing scream (DC 15)


  6. - Top - End - #156
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Korlann nods at Three and Dergosh, saying, "Yes, we'll want to eliminate them first, before we worry about any other concerns. We can travel at a decent pace, rest on the way, and then reach them tomorrow, I'd thnk."
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  7. - Top - End - #157
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Oleg's Trading Post, Southernmost Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
    Dawn, Second of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)


    The night passed quietly. Dawn brought a clear morning and birds singing in the distance. By that point, the Wolftooth Company was already prepared to leave for the day, for their first foray into the Greenbelt and the lands they had been promised to explore and exploit.

    Oleg and Svetlana were at the gate to see them out. The big man and Kerwin awkwardly pulled the locking bar from the trading post's gate, and laid it off to one side. Svetlana pulled back one door, then the other. A wind billowed out of the south and into the yard, and far ahead the Greenbelt was a black, thin line on the horizon. Three's mules nodded their heads, hitched up to their cart. Dergosh's horse twitched its mauled ear and gave the Company members a foul look.
    "Tymora, Waukeen, and the Great Mother go with ye, saers," said Oleg. The man's hand was on the gate's edge and he looked younger than he had when they'd first arrived. Svetlana dabbed at her eyes with a stained little handkerchief. "We'll be here when ye come back, I've no doubt. Just make sure ye all come back."

    It was time to go.

  8. - Top - End - #158
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Kuros ties his pack horse to Three's wagon before they set off. Kuros will not have time to track and forage should he be guiding the beast all day. Examining for signs of the bandits arrival the other day, Kuros attempts to follow the tracks back from whence they came. While they travel, Kuros keeps his longsword drawn to clear a path once they reach the forest and a javelin at hand to throw should they spook up any small game fowl, or something more dangerous.

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    Survival to follow Tracks: (1d20+9)[22]
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  9. - Top - End - #159
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    OrcBarbarianGuy

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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    “Come on, Bahgtru, time to go smash rest of the goblins,” the half-orc said, giving a few tugs on his horse’s lead to get him started. As the company moved out, he cast a stern glance back at the newest member of the Wolftooth tribe. “Ho! Kerwin! I expect to be able to fling rocks when we get back.” While it was primarily a statement, there was also an unspoken threat underlying his words.

    When the company had gone a hundred yards or so from the gates of Fort Oleg, Dergosh took his mace and pounded three quick beats on his shield drum in farewell. Then he got down to the important business of watching the passing countryside for signs of that dragony creature.
    Dergosh the Loud M Half-Orc Clr 3/Bar 1 | HP: 38 (26 with rage)| Init +10 | AC 17 T12 FF15 | Fort +7 Ref +3 Will +6 | Listen +1, Spot +4 | ATK +7 (+9 w/rage) melee 1d8+3/x2, +5 ranged 1d6+3/x2 | Cleric Spells: 0--guidance, guidance, light, resistance; 1st- summon monster I, cause fear (DC 15), sonic blast D (DC 15), resurgence; 2nd-restoration, lesser (x2), sonic weapon D
    Domain ability: piercing scream (DC 15)


  10. - Top - End - #160
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    About ten miles southwest of Oleg’s Trading Post, Beyond Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
    Late morning, Second of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)


    The Greenbelt grew from a smudge on the horizon to a thickening green line. The lands they passed over waved and rippled in the breeze; emerald tallgrasses stood three feet high in some places, and small copses of wind-leaning trees dotted the plainslands south of the trading post.

    As the miles rolled on, though, the gentle, rolling plains gradually grew steeper. It was fairly clear that somewhere off to the southeast, the plains and moors would eventually become the hard lines of hills. The slopes began to become pronounced enough to put the lees of the larger hillocks into shadow. The breeze began to pick up.

    The Greenbelt’s edge was no more than a couple of miles away when the Company first came to the marsh. Descending down into the final collapse of the moors into the vales and deeps of the Greenbelt, there were bowls of moist chill left strewn in the deepest dips in the earth. White stalks of dead elm and beech rose in supplication from the ground. It was clear the water table had risen, bringing enough salt to kill every elm or beech that lay in here. The rich, pungent smell of stagnant water and decaying leaves was all around them like a cloud.

    Still, the ground was still firm enough to walk on and bring the cart through without it bogging, and there was no squelch of mud around their feet as they moved down and into it. Their course still lay southwest and the bandits’ trail lay straight through the marsh, Kuros noting that the hoof marks of the bandits’ horses lengthened here.

    Copses of dead trees became more frequent, brown overgrowth slowly dying atop them. And in one little dell, it was Three who noticed it: a wink of illumination no stronger than a lantern, difficult to see in daylight, visible about a good hundred feet off or so to the southeast through the trees. A moment after Three noticed the gleam of light, there came a sound, a hoarse, brassy cry. Kuros and Dergosh had heard similar sort of noises in times past: it was the sort of cry that came from a pregnant cow, or rothe, as it struggled to give birth.

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    What do you do?

  11. - Top - End - #161
    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    His raven returned just before dawn, gently tapping him to wakefulness. With the answer he'd been after in hand, it was a simple matter to catch Kerwin asleep and alone.

    He woke to a hand clamped to his mouth, and a claw gently pressed to his throat.
    "Shh... No need to panic now. I just thought that you and I should have a little talk." He practically purred it, face pressed to Kerwin's ear, as he let the hand drop from his mouth and come to rest on his shoulder instead, squeezing just hard enough to not let him forget it was there. "Don't worry, you aren't in trouble. I just wanted to make sure you knew what's what, and share a little proposition with you. I know the others have already made it clear that your life hinges on your cooperation, and I'm happy to agree." He began to gently massage the shoulder, pressing himself even closer. "But I find desperate men don't tend to value those as highly as they should. How is Karina?"

    What colour was in his face drained completely.
    "I... I never told you her name-"
    "I know." He let the silence hang agonisingly in the air. "You see Kerwin, I might only have one eye in my head, but that's because I have them everywhere else. So, while I'm sure you wont, before you do something stupid, think of poor Karina. Because I can make sure your screams are nothing compared to hers, while you have to sit and watch, and hear, every last torturous second of it... if we weren't friends. We are friends, aren't we Kerwin?" He pulled even further forwards as Kerwin nodded vigorously, letting his arm drape across the bandit's chest, his face pressed against the side of his, watching his movements from the side of his one good eye. "Glad to hear it. And I'm good to my friends, you know? I can get you back in contact with your family, help them get here with you, if they're willing. I'm sure I could even pull strings to get you pardoned. You'd like that, wouldn't you? Being able to see them again, a free man, not a criminal because of what some other terrible person did to you? And I'd be happy to do that for you. Because friends help each other, don't they?"

    He paused. "But that does mean I'll need a little something from you in return. Nothing much, a token, a trifle. You see, I have eyes everywhere, but, well, this little corner of the world doesn't seem to be anywhere yet. And I think you can help me with that. You don't have to do a lot. Just keep your eyes and ears open of anything interesting happening. So that if I ever need to know something, I can just ask you. That's not too hard for you, is it?"
    "N-no..."
    "Perfect," he replied, drawing out the word like silk running along a blade. "And of course, no one else needs to know about our little arrangement, or this conversation, do they? It'll be our little secret, between friends. I'd hate for you to get a little gift like, oh, say, Karina's tongue, after all." Kerwin blanched, as Gakan finally removed the claw from his throat, gently tracing it down his chest. "Don't worry. I'd never let something horrible like that happen to my friends."

    Gakan finally let him go completely, but paused before he left the stable.
    "I'll be heading out for a while tomorrow, but don't worry. Old Gakan never forgets a friend. Goodnight, Kerwin," he added, as the door softly clicked behind him.

    ----------------------------------------------

    "Huh? You okay, you look at bit pale," he said, as he finished loading up for the trip the next morning. "Didn't sleep well? I know I always get restless when I'm somewhere new at first," he continued, smiling at Kerwin. With the eyepatch on, there was no way to know if that was a blink or a wink.

    -----------------------------------------------

    Gakan stopped at the noise.
    "Uh, maybe I'm being a wimp, but that kind of sounds like the kind of thing we don't want to go look at? In case it, like, kills us? Plus, we've got a big fight coming up, so wouldn't we be better, like, not being beat up before we get there?"
    Last edited by kjelfalconer; 2018-05-25 at 08:28 AM.

  12. - Top - End - #162
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Kuros is scanning about, keeping an eye on the bandit's tracks while glancing about for any food or water that he could find with the woodlore his master taught him. Upon reaching the swamp, Kuros mutters aloud, "A swamp, should have lots of water around which is good... though drinking it would likely leave you leaking from both ends which is bad." Kuros talks slightly louder as he notices the change in the bandit's stride, "The bandits were moving fast through here, seems rather risky as swamps can have sinkholes and mud that cou-"

    Kuros is interrupted by the cry that sounded out as he looks around while asking, "Umm, what was that?"

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    Knowledge Nature to have an idea what that was: (1d20+3)[18]
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  13. - Top - End - #163
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    OrcBarbarianGuy

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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    "Sounds like dinner," Dergosh responded to Kuros. Mmmm, tender newborn calf. But then a frown inched its way involuntarily across his face. Cow...or more like pig? he wondered. He turned his one good ear towards the source of the sound and tried to figure out if he needed his mace or his mess kit.

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    Trying to determine if it really sounds like a cow, or maybe like Tusker
    Last edited by Mercurion 2; 2018-05-25 at 12:40 PM.
    Dergosh the Loud M Half-Orc Clr 3/Bar 1 | HP: 38 (26 with rage)| Init +10 | AC 17 T12 FF15 | Fort +7 Ref +3 Will +6 | Listen +1, Spot +4 | ATK +7 (+9 w/rage) melee 1d8+3/x2, +5 ranged 1d6+3/x2 | Cleric Spells: 0--guidance, guidance, light, resistance; 1st- summon monster I, cause fear (DC 15), sonic blast D (DC 15), resurgence; 2nd-restoration, lesser (x2), sonic weapon D
    Domain ability: piercing scream (DC 15)


  14. - Top - End - #164
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    About ten miles southwest of Oleg’s Trading Post, Beyond Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
    Late morning, Second of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)


    When the adventurers spoke, the light winked out.
    Suddenly; completely.
    There was a sudden silence.
    Then the brassy, hoarse cries continued.

    Spoiler: Kuros and Dergosh
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    The best indications both adventurers could make of the noise were that it was some kind of bison -- be it rothe, elk, or otherwise -- in agony.

  15. - Top - End - #165
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    The mules pulled the wagon and Three along with it. It was a quiet trip so far- or as quiet as it could be, when six people and a handful of animals travel together- but Three was worried that the wagon would get stuck in the bog. Still, it and Mule One of Two and Mule Two of Two seemed to be doing fine. She glanced behind her, to see how Kuros' horse was handling itself, when she noticed Ruk. Remembering her promise to teach him to read, she spoke. “Could someone else lead the wagon? I just remembered that-”
    Three noticed a light a good distance away from the Company, and paused. Then she heard an animal- or perhaps a monster- cry out. Three listened to the others speak, but agreed with Gakan. This was none of their business, and they were better off avoiding it. Before she could voice her sentiments, the light went out and the creature fell silent.
    She tugged on the reins to slow her Mules to a stop. Worried, Three drew her crossbow out of its holster and whispered to her companions. “Well, now. This is ominous. If you want to go see what is happening, I'll help you, but I would prefer if we moved on.”

  16. - Top - End - #166
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Korlann brings his horse to a stop as the cries sound out, his gaze shifting towards the direction they're coming from. He watches the light as it winks out, and after another cry, he looks over the group. "Do any of you know what that is, by chance? If not, maybe we should go and check it out..."
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  17. - Top - End - #167
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thr

    Ruk reached into his bag and grasped an acid flask nervously, "No, I don't know what it is, and frankly, I'd be fine with not finding out. Ambushes are one thing, walking in a spooky bog to investigate an unearthly light and pained screaming are another entirely."
    Quote Originally Posted by Deeds View Post
    Caster backstories require a reason as to why they can cast spells. Wizards study hard to learn spells. Sorcerers often learn of their powers and then hone them through traveling. Clerics use piety to find the gift of spells through the gods or their ideals. Druids shun deodorant until a riding dog appears and they learn Entangle.
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  18. - Top - End - #168
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    OrcBarbarianGuy

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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    “Huh, cow has lantern,” Dergosh observed, genuinely surprised. He gave a sidelong glance to Ruk, who appeared to be nervous. “You want to go with one of my spells now, little dragon?” he said with a smile.

    The half-orc squared up in the direction of the sound and began to bellow. “Cow! Know that you have privilege of being eaten by the Wolftooth Clan! It is great honor we give you, lucky cow!”

    “You stay here, Bahgtru,” he said to his horse. “Gruumsh One-Ear, defend your servant as he fetches dinner,” he intoned, then raised his mace in the air and waived the group forward as he stomped into the marsh

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    Casting resistance on himself. If Ruk, wants, he can take Dergosh’s bane spell. He’ll move in to the swamp, and if he hasn’t fallen in a bog or been attacked before then, he’ll stop when he is within range to cast detect magic in the direction of the sound (or light, if he sees that again).
    Dergosh the Loud M Half-Orc Clr 3/Bar 1 | HP: 38 (26 with rage)| Init +10 | AC 17 T12 FF15 | Fort +7 Ref +3 Will +6 | Listen +1, Spot +4 | ATK +7 (+9 w/rage) melee 1d8+3/x2, +5 ranged 1d6+3/x2 | Cleric Spells: 0--guidance, guidance, light, resistance; 1st- summon monster I, cause fear (DC 15), sonic blast D (DC 15), resurgence; 2nd-restoration, lesser (x2), sonic weapon D
    Domain ability: piercing scream (DC 15)


  19. - Top - End - #169
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Three did not like this idea at all. This was needlessly dangerous, and almost definitely a waste of resources they could use to fight Kressle. She watched Dergosh trudge forward through the swamp, but could feel her conscious tug her into acting. If this was something dangerous, which is not a guarantee, he might not survive on his own.
    She slid down off of her seat and took a few hurried steps to catch up with the half-orc, ready to back him up in... whatever this was. But warforged's boots sunk a little deeper into the earth than they should, and she realized her backpack was weighing her down a bit more than she was comfortable with. Not because of the mud, but because she may need to run, and the extra twenty-pounds wouldn't help with that. Three turned around, threw her backpack into the wagon, and then waved the members of the Company that weren't already coming on. “We can't let him go alone.”
    Shaking her head, Three moved to catch up with Dergosh, closing in on the side with his good ear. She put her hand on his shoulder, to catch his attention. “Be careful. Cows can't use lanterns. Someone is with it.”
    As she waded through the swamp, she tried to get a look at whatever they were heading towards.

    Spoiler: Mechanics
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    Spot roll: (1d20+1)[4]
    +1 from her Wisdom modifer

    Taking off the backpack:
    Object: Weight
    Quarterstaff: 4
    Longspear: 9
    Magic Item Compendium: 1
    Scroll Case: .5
    Hempen Rope: 10
    Flint and Steel: 0
    Dergosh's 14 coins + Glove: .2
    Total weight: 24.7

    27 pounds held now. Three is carrying a light load, so her speed increased from 35 ft to 50 ft.
    50 ft from Fleet of Foot feat and the Quick trait.

  20. - Top - End - #170
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    Kuros begins preparing his equipment. He stows his bow and caps his open quiver afraid the swampy terrain would make him lose them should he need to drop them. His Hammer makes it's appearance, alongside his Longsword and shield. His last open hand pulls out a Javelin as he rushes forward to keep up with the others, his tread steady but slow.

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    Move Speed 20 here so Kuros will be hustling to keep up (and perhaps running at times).
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  21. - Top - End - #171
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Korlann quickly dismounts, moving forward to join the group as they head towards where the light was.
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  22. - Top - End - #172
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    Planetar

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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    About ten miles southwest of Oleg’s Trading Post, Beyond Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
    Late morning, Second of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)


    Even as Three stepped forward, foot by foot, step by step into the marsh, following Dergosh, Kuros and Korlann next to her, she couldn't shake the sense of familiarity. Ruk and Gakan seemed to be hesitating, staying close to the cart.

    Lantern lights in marshes. What was it? Three's memories fought to reach the surface, of midnights in unattended graveyards. Campfires and stories from faces chalk-white in the telling. Her train of thought broke as ahead of them came another cry of animal agony.

    Their path took them slightly oblique to a couple of the obscuring trees. Fifty feet out from the cart, Korlann saw it. Amidst a copse of withered white elms writhed the elk. Its great horns weakly rose and fell as it tried to reach its feet. That was highly unlikely. Half its long, strong form had been blackened. Most of its body was marked with scorches that were still smoking. It was as though it had been struck with multiple bolts of lightning.

    And Kuros understood, in a sudden intuitive rush that brought a chill to his spine. Lantern light. Marshland. A creature that killed by lightning and would prolong the agony of its victims ahead of their deaths ... in order to skulk nearby and feed off the fear, anguish, and utter despair of a being in its last throes of life. He knew the name of the horror that had produced the light they'd seen.

    It was by pure coincidence that Gakan's memories fired at the same time: of a small band of rangers back in Dunbridges getting off-their-faces drunk and spilling their guts about the reason for their drinking. They'd lost one of their companions, they said, to a creature that wasn't properly known to be of these planes, or of the undead, or of the fey. A ball of light that appeared and disappeared in marshes, and was far more deadly than it first appeared.

    It had many names: ignis fatuus, falsefire, Min Min light, Hitodama among the Shou. But its most common name, the one that inspired the most dread in travellers for its ability to appear and disappear, its speed, its ability to destroy people with lightning it produced of itself, its ability to evade all but the most cunning blows, was the one that the rangers had whispered after their eighth drink or so to commemorate their slaughtered friend:

    Will o' the Wisp.

    Spoiler
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    Feel free to consult the Monster Manual entry, page 258 or so, or on the SRD. What do you all do?

  23. - Top - End - #173
    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    "Get back, now!" he barked, not even bothering to play dumb. "That light could slaughter the entire bandit camp by itself, we don't stand a chance! It's got it's meal, just turn around, and let's go before it gets hungry again!"

    He wasn't hopeful the orc would take the hint, but that wasn't his problem now. They'd have to continue as five if need be.

  24. - Top - End - #174
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Three still couldn't quite place the name of whatever it is that she was seeing. Regardless, this was dangerous, like she was worried before. Gakan had the right of it, again. She shook her head slowly at the scene in front of them, before addressing Dergosh. “Something else is eating those. Let's just go.”
    The warforged's grip tightened on her crossbow, and she took a few nervous steps back away from Dergosh. If anyone was going to attract its attention, it would be him. Her conscious had been appeased, and the smarter part of her was screaming to get back to the wagon.

  25. - Top - End - #175
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    OrcBarbarianGuy

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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Dergosh made sure to splash extra loudly as he plodded into the marsh to get the company’s dinner. Catching sight of the burned elk, he stopped and put his hands on his hips, a scowl on his face. “Someone already cooking cow. That not how to do it,” he said with disgust.

    He began to reach for one of the two spears strapped across his back, then thought better of it. Casting about the party, his eyes settled on the crossbow in Three’s two-fingered hand as she stepped backwards. “Shoot it in the head, Three,” he said, jerking his chin towards the elk. “Not even goblin should be cooked while still alive.”
    Dergosh the Loud M Half-Orc Clr 3/Bar 1 | HP: 38 (26 with rage)| Init +10 | AC 17 T12 FF15 | Fort +7 Ref +3 Will +6 | Listen +1, Spot +4 | ATK +7 (+9 w/rage) melee 1d8+3/x2, +5 ranged 1d6+3/x2 | Cleric Spells: 0--guidance, guidance, light, resistance; 1st- summon monster I, cause fear (DC 15), sonic blast D (DC 15), resurgence; 2nd-restoration, lesser (x2), sonic weapon D
    Domain ability: piercing scream (DC 15)


  26. - Top - End - #176
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    Kuros upon realizing what is happening here, and what they might be facing, quickly stows his gear about his person, walks up to grab Dergosh with all six of his arms, and turns back to the wagon while following his master's advice to turn and flee silently should he come across such a horror unprepared.

    Spoiler: OOC
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    Basically fleeing back to the wagon dragging Dergosh along. If Dergosh doth protest too much Kuros will let him go to flee alone.
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  27. - Top - End - #177
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    Three stared at Dergosh in disbelief. She's sure that if she had them, her eyes would be bugging out of her head. If she killed the elk, the ball of light would just eat them, instead. She wasn't sure how to explain to him how bad the situation was, and doubted she had time to try.
    Fortunately, Kuros grabbed Dergosh, and she didn't need to form a response. She nodded in thanks to the six-armed man, and followed him to the wagon.

  28. - Top - End - #178
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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Korlann frowns as he notices the unease of his companions, and at Gakan's comments, he nods, taking a moment to make sure everyone is with them as he backs away, before turning and joining the rest of the Company in returning to their cart.
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  29. - Top - End - #179
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    OrcBarbarianGuy

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    Default Re: Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

    Dergosh allowed himself to be pulled backwards by Kuros, though his eyes remain fixed out over the swamp. He briefly shrugged himself free, however, and grunted, “Yurtrus take the cow,” and flicked his fingers open, palm out towards the dying animal. The shape of a chalk white hand, the Hand of Yurtrus, the Orcish God of Death, zipped from his open palm towards the elk, changing as it went into a more beastly shape, one with a stinging tail.

    The cleric nodded in satisfaction and followed the rest of the company back to the wagons.
    Dergosh the Loud M Half-Orc Clr 3/Bar 1 | HP: 38 (26 with rage)| Init +10 | AC 17 T12 FF15 | Fort +7 Ref +3 Will +6 | Listen +1, Spot +4 | ATK +7 (+9 w/rage) melee 1d8+3/x2, +5 ranged 1d6+3/x2 | Cleric Spells: 0--guidance, guidance, light, resistance; 1st- summon monster I, cause fear (DC 15), sonic blast D (DC 15), resurgence; 2nd-restoration, lesser (x2), sonic weapon D
    Domain ability: piercing scream (DC 15)


  30. - Top - End - #180
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    Planetar

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    100 XP each for good common sense.


    The Greenbelt, Beyond Emmerock, the Border Kingdoms
    Late morning to eventide, Second of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)


    The scorpion scampered forward, a man-sized creature, black and glossy from the realm from which it had been summoned. It reached the elk. It tail lashed out in a single whipcrack of blurring motion, and the elk gave a final cry, then collapsed to the earth.

    A breeze of air whipped past Dergosh’s face. Something had been between the four adventurers and the cart. And almost as suddenly, it appeared again, a lantern-sized ball of pale green light that shone without flickering in the midday light. It darted in towards the body of the elk. Lightning crackled.
    Too late; a doorway between the planes opened, and the scorpion was gone again.

    So too was the Company.
    The cart had taken a few moments to load, but they were already rolling away, pack animals and mounts clopping wetly through the marshy ground. When they looked back, the lantern-light was now just a malignant blue-white spark visible like a gleaming eye through the trees, a good half mile or so back, where the elk’s body would be lying.

    The marshlands lasted about another mile or so before giving way to the forest proper. The bandits’ trail continued southwest or south by southwest, beneath an emerald canopy of beech and elm with dark green undergrowth brushing noisily against the cart’s wooden sides. Such sunlight as reached the forest floor was in mottled and blurred by leaves far above. Wanderwoods passed them by on both sides, gigantic white pillars of trees reaching skyward, birds singing in their upper branches like sparrows in the rafters of a cathedral. There wasn’t much in the way of landmarks to guide them, but at least the land wasn’t also hilly beneath the greenery, and their journey was straightforward for the remainder of the day.

    It was around sunset that Korlann got the feeling that he was being watched.

    It was not so much a thought that went through his mind as a growing intuition: a sense that the forest was drawing closer around them, an awareness that the space between his shoulders presented a wide target. Nothing challenged them or sprang out of the brush at them; the birds in the canopy sang on happily, increasing their chorus as the light faded and insects started coming out, and there were likely squirrels in the undergrowth that scarpered as the Company came through. But still the feeling remained.

    It persisted all through the remainder of their travelling day, and to the point where the daylight failed so completely that even the mules decided to call it quits and stopped right in their tracks. Fortunately, they did so in what appeared a fairly convenient spot for a campsite: a small, roughly circular, leaf-blanketed clearing amid a stand of elms, through which the bandits’ trail passed. And though there wasn’t much in the way of landmarks, there was one encouraging noise that had been more or less inaudible during the day, but in the evening stillness could now be heard: the noise of running water, a river – most likely the Thorn, though still a good distance off, maybe a mile or less. If so, the bandits’ encampment couldn’t be far either.

    Spoiler
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    So, you’ve likely gone as far as you can today, or at least to the point beyond which some of you may be stumbling around in the darkness to continue further. That said, if you want to look around, you can. We’re basically around the time when you’d normally be settling in for the evening, cooking, getting ready to head off to sleep.

    Aside from anything else your characters are doing, it’s now time to see how your foraging went. I’ll need Survival checks from everyone (bar Three, of course) – these will be at -4 because of the pace you set. I can pick up these rolls if you want, but the DC to beat is 15.

    Also, I’ll need a Navigation check from Kuros. This will also be a Survival roll - don’t worry, I won’t forget you’ve been following tracks all day.

    And finally, a volunteer/s for who'll be on watch at midnight and in the predawn darkness.

    Over to you!

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