Travels amongst the Border Princes (WFRP 2e) IC

[Shadowflick]

"Then I pray for your accuracy miss. I hope its good so I can live to see another sunny day on thee borderlands." He blows a bit of hair ou of his face " A shield would be nice. yes. I'd appreciate that. Better then nothing. And..are you sure its a good idea to risk injury before the grand fight? Maybe I can prepare myself properly with a bit of liquid courage huh?"

[rax]

"Let Morillo take his measure," Severin whispers back. "And he doesn't have to be like Toby to be a spy. He could just be an opportunist looking for an easy score. He certainly sounds the type," he continues, still whispering.

"If you liquor up before sparring, Morillo is probably more likely to injure you just to make a point about being sober when the blades come out," Severin laughs in reply to Rickon's entreaty.

[Haval]

"Let Morillo take his measure," Severin whispers back. "And he doesn't have to be like Toby to be a spy. He could just be an opportunist looking for an easy score. He certainly sounds the type," he continues, still whispering.

'Then I'd like to think the Duke pays better.' Gabriele replied. 'Perhaps if he's more worried about what the raiders will do to him if he gets too friendly.'

To Rickon, 'I sure there's beer at the inn.' She couldn't see the harm in it if it kept him occupied. 'I can't speak for everyone but I should able to avoid hurting you unless I accidentally have to.'

[dojango]

"Splendid." Sir Laurens says, "We have a lot of work to get done, so if you're going to get drunk, stay out of the way of the people doing the work." He orders the halflings back to hauling timber, and slides Rickon's sword back to him.

The next few days continue as they have been. The towers are mostly up and carpenters are quickly boarding up the platform to protect the archers from return fire. Hundreds of punji sticks have been sharpened and ready for planting. Gabrielle, Bert, and a few workers are out in the woods where the trail crosses a small ravine. There is really only one path up, and so the workers are digging holes and preparing to place the sticks. Bert grins for a moment, and says, "Can't wait to see what these seeds bring up." But then Gabrielle's sharp ears pick up the sounds of men pushing through the forest from the other side of the ravine.

[Shadowflick]

Rickon spreads his arms "Then I will fully accept the consequences of my actions. But If I'm liley going to meet my end in a few days then a least let me do it with some kind of...buzz going on, No? Any Objections? Good." He then picks up his sword, and cuts the rope binding his hands together "And might I say you are some of the least acomidating halflings I have had the displeasure of meeting" he says, looking to Severin


As the days pass, Rickon spends it drinking beers when he can, and when he cant, he's likely getting in some blade practice. He's a tad rusty, only really using the sword when absolutely necessary, but at least he's not pretending to be great. Still, he finds himself nursing a drink to himself as he stands watch, word resting on a nearby wall as he leans by his shield "Careful now, Those bandits could be anywhere! Keep your wits about you. And hh..watch your flanks or whatever they say."

[rax]

'Then I'd like to think the Duke pays better.' Gabriele replied. 'Perhaps if he's more worried about what the raiders will do to him if he gets too friendly.'

"Let's hope so, but best to not let him out of our sights too much. Him turning up right now is a bit much of a coincidence for my tastes, especially after what we pulled back at Colten's camp. Might have given him some clever ideas..."

"And might I say you are some of the least acomidating halflings I have had the displeasure of meeting" he says, looking to Severin

"Pleasure's all mine," Severin replies with a grim smile. "Stick around long enough, and maybe you'll wake up to why we're all a little antsy."

Once the business with Rickon is done, Severin goes to look for Flora Goodchild, realizing he never thanked her properly for sending Bert to watch out for himself and Gabriele.

Spoiler: @dojango

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I'd intended for Severin to talk to Flora earlier, but kinda lost the plot while we were discussing siege preparations.

If there's nothing much to it other than Flora being an all-round decent person, we can just gloss over it. In that case, we may as well time jump and have Severin be working on the traps with Gabriele so as to keep him near the action. Unless of course you feel there's a compelling reason for him not to be there.

[Haval]

Before

As Rickon leaves, 'And he hasn't even met Bert yet.'

As a peace offering and as an excuse to keep an eye on him, Gabriele will see if anyone in town has anything that Rickon can use as a shield. Failing that she'll bring him another beer.

To Rickon, 'You know, you're surprisingly relaxed for someone out here on their own. When we came over the mountains we were attacked before we made it into town. What do you normally do when someone tries to kill you?'

The Woods

Gabriele will hurriedly shush Bert and the others before pointing over the ravine. 'We're not alone. Everyone into the trees.' If she can she'll hide herself but will stay close enough that she can watch who ever was approaching.

Spoiler

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Assuming there's time

Concealment vs. Ag 48 (+10 for Rover)
(1d100)[22]

[Shadowflick]

Rickon seems quick to forgive, taking the beer and tipping a hat to Gabriele "Ah! One of the few mercies of the world has graced me with it's plesentries. A drink for a lone, wandering soul" he puts the mug to his lips and takes a swig "Oh, many thanks. many thanks." He smacks his lips one more time as he smiles to his newfound friend "Well, your expected to die one day, only makes sense you'd great it with a smile right? One of the few certanties of life. When someone usually tries to kill me I do what I can. RUn, pead, convince them I'm not worth the time, and if push comes to shove...I shove the pointy bit into there chest."

[dojango]

Gabrielle, Bert and Severin push and shove the halflings into some semblance of concealment. Rickon, dragooned into coming there unwillingly, is a few paces behind the group, trying to look busy. After a few minutes, a party of a dozen bandits emerges from the woods on the other side of the ravine and down the trail, directly to where the work crew is hiding! And directly through where they've already planted a few dozen stakes...

Spoiler: Severin

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The night before, Severin had gone to the inn to talk to Flora. She'd been busy serving tables, but blushed as Severin tried to thank her. After things died down for the night, she said she wanted to show Severin something. She led him through the kitchen, out the back door into the walled orchard. The centerpiece, of course, is the massive apple tree he'd seen before. At its base is a small menhir with symbols carved onto it. Flowers and bushes also grow in the garden. The walls of the garden are a good eight feet high, of sturdy stone. Flora says, "This place. Our family has cared for it for generations. They say our ancestor Leonidas Goodchild was given this spot as a gift by Heraklon himself. Just wanted to show you what we're fighting for... and why we won't cut and run." The two of you sit in the garden, the smell of ripening apple blossoms filling the air.

[Haval]

Earlier

'Well not dying is good, but I don't think everything that's out here is interested in talking. Maybe Ranald just loves you.'


The Woods

Well, she wanted to see if the stakes worked. Now was as good a time as any. Gabriele will watch the raiders to see if she recognised any of them from their camp and to see if they seemed to be aware of her and the others. She will ready an arrow just to be prepared.

[rax]

"If they discover the traps, we'll have to kill them all!" Severin whispers fiercely. "If they report back, all this will have been for nothing!"

He slips a stone into his sling and waits silently to see what happens.

Spoiler: dojango

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"It's a very nice spot," Severin concedes. "But surely the tree itself wasn't something given to Leonidas by Heraklon? Do you know how it came to be here?"

[Shadowflick]

Rickon stays crouched behind them, sword in hand. he'd been lollygagging earlier but with the appearance of bandits, he gets a tad more serious. He narrows his eyes. "Maybe we can lead them away? If we kill them here I think the bandits your worried about might avoid this is and find the traps anyway."

[Haval]

To delay the bandits because they were being careful would be something, but the whole idea was to take some of them out of the fight before they got to Stralwald. 'Fine. I'll do it if you want. I don't think they'll catch me. The rest of you be prepared to run for it if they don't find me interesting enough.' The idea was to attract attention so it didn't really mind if she messed up here, but she didn't want the bandits to notice the others either. Unless anyone chose to object she'll move away from where the others were hiding.

Spoiler

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Will roll Stealth again if it's needed.

Once she's at a safe distance away from the others she'll start stepping on dry twigs and making some noise. This was all an unfortunate coincidence.

[dojango]

Gabrielle quickly heads along the edge of the ravine, away from where the traps are, and the work crews. Once she's there, she clambers down the slope a little ways, making noise as she does so. There is a shout from the column of men, and a few of them point to where she is. The men start pushing up the ravine, away from the trail where the traps are hidden. One of the bandits says, "Hey, it's that girl!" Severin and Gabrielle recognize the young man that had lent her the whetstone.

Spoiler: Severin

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Flora thinks for a minute, and then whispers, "Granny says it's a witch's grave. That stone. The inn was built around it."

[Haval]

Suppressing an urge to wave, Gabriele will back away from the bandits and then turn and run if they make any threatening moves. The point was to get their attention after all. She'll make for the thickest part of the wood just in case any of them were actually going to take a shot at her.

[Shadowflick]

Rickon stays low, hearing the shouts from the bandits. He keeps his hand on his sword as they start moving out, chasing after Gabrielle "You sure she can make it? There's quite a few of them and if she gets wounded and captured it...well I doubt we'll see her again."

[rax]

"You any good at moving quickly and quietly through the woodland? Then you can tail the bandits and distract them if they start closing in on her. If not, best to let Gabriele do her thing while we finish up here," Severin mutters back quietly.

"Unless...Bert? You want to watch Gabriele's back for us?"

Spoiler: dojango

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"A witch?" Severin responds with a worried look, quickly making the sign of the hammer for protection. "Was she someone famous?"

[dojango]

Gabrielle twists and dodges through a dense stand of trees. After a few minutes she hears shouts from behind her. "Hold up, Hold up, you idiots!" The sounds of her pursuers dies out as someone seems to have gotten them under control. Gabrielle finds herself in a small clearing. Around her are a few kilns for burning charcoal. The enemy patrol is approaching, but more cautiously now. She's maybe half a mile away from the ricefields, now.

Back where the others are, Bert looks at Severin for a moment and grumbles, "Tryin' ta get me killed, eh?" before he ducks down and starts shadowing the enemy patrol. The rest of the work crew looks at Severin for instructions.

Spoiler: Severin

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She says, "Uh yeah, she was called the green witch when she was alive. She was one of Heraklon's companions as well! Helped him with her magic. There's a picture of them in the attic, you know. Supposedly there's a treasure map hidden in the painting! But that's just a legend. Granny thinks it's true, though."

[Haval]

Gabriele would like to keep an eye on these people but it would do her no good to get too close. She'll look for somewhere to hide where she's still close enough that she could watch them. It wouldn't do for them to run into one of the villagers out here either.

Spoiler

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Concealment vs. Ag 48 (+10 Rover)
(1d100)[62]
Fp if needed
(1d100)[28]

Fp 2/3

[rax]

"Nah, you're no good to us dead," Severin chuckles at Bert's grumbling. "Stay safe!"

"Someone should head back to the village and get the militia out. Have them come up to the edge of the woods so Gabriele can get some help if the bandits are closing in. Who knows, we might be able to catch 'em or kill 'em. That'd put a proper dent in Colten's plans. Fogger - you're quick on your feet, so you just volunteered."

"The rest of you - finish up what you were doing and let's put some extra effort into hiding the traps. Then we all head back to the village."

Spoiler: dojango

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"Was Leonidas one of Heraklon's companions as well?" Severin asks. "And come to think of it, I heard the same story just after I came across the mountains - that there's a bunch of paintings that make a map to Heraklon's last treasure if you put them together. Do you think Belisarius would let me have a look at the painting in your attic?"

[Shadowflick]

Rickon raises his hand "Why dont I go do that Huh? You know you halflings are a lot sneakier then I, you can just keep watching and following and I can go back to the safety of the village and get a few lads together to help outright? Much better for me I think"

[rax]

"You want to make your own way back through a forest crawling with bandits when you barely know the way? As I remember it, you've spent more time familiarizing yourself with the taproom than your surroundings," Severin replies with a grim smile. "Maybe you're braver than you pretend, eh?"

[dojango]

Fogger nods seriously and darts off into the forest. She quickly disappears behind a stand of trees with Severin's message. The other halflings resume their work, but their hearts clearly aren't into it. They are constantly looking around, jumping nervously at every sound, hands going to slings and clubs. Bert also disappears into the underbrush, shadowing the enemy patrol. Rickon, of course, is supposed to stay under Severin's close eye, but with the halflings and Severin busy working on the stakes, they are a little too busy to keep a constant watch on him.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle finds a place to hide and watches as the patrol approaches. Someone she doesn't recognize seems to have gotten them back in order and they are moving in a loose spread, bows out, arrows nocked as they follow her trail and scan for her. Fortunately, she's managed to conceal herself well enough that they don't notice her as they head past. "Orders are to bring her and her friend back alive so the boss can make an example of them," she hears the man leading them say. "But that don't mean bring them back unhurt."

Spoiler: Severin

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"He doesn't have to know. I can show you..." there is a shout from outside. "Flora! Time to close down! Where are you!" "Maybe another night" she says, and slips away.

[Haval]

Gabriele resolves to shoot the one speaking first if she had the opportunity, but there were probably a few too many of them at the moment to do much about. If they were systematically searching and likely to stumble across her hiding place, she'll back away and try to keep her distance. That might split them up a bit at least. Otherwise she'll wait till they're at a safe distance and lay out her animal traps again before covering them with leaves. It had managed to work well the last time

[rax]

After a short while, Severin sighs and signals the work crew to finish up. "Alright you lot, I'm calling time on this for today - I can tell your hearts aren't in it. Grab your gear, cover your tracks, and let's make our way back to Stralwald. Make sure you've all got a sling or a club handy on the way back, in case we need to defend ourselves in a hurry."

[dojango]

The searchers pause for a few minutes as the leader and a few others quietly confer. Some of the bandits, bored, begin defacing the kiln, scrawling vulgar graffiti on it, or trying to pull bricks lose and smash them. Simple, mindless destruction, employed by bored men the world over. After a few minutes, the leader gets them moving again, towards the village.

Spoiler: Gabrielle

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If you want to get ahead of them it will require some a silent move test, otherwise you'll be tailing them.

[Shadowflick]

Rickon quirks his lips when Servin points that out "...Right, you know what great point. I'll just stay here and guard right? Just watch for any odd-looking men that look like there going to commit...banditry yea?"

He stands around, watching for danger as the men work, but as Sevrin calls them to call back, he sighs, following along "Good work e everyone, really did a GREAT ob, bloody fantastic and all that. Lets just head
on home and put this behind us, yea? Great."

[Haval]

Gabriele watches the bandits vandalise the kilns with a certain amount of disgust. What was even the point in that? If they were heading towards Stralwald she'll see if she can get around and ahead of them. They was always the chance they would stumble across someone who wouldn't hear them coming.

Spoiler

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Move Silent vs. Ag 48 (+10 Rover)
(1d100)[28]
FP if needed
(1d100)[92]

[dojango]

Gabrielle slips away from them and works her way in front of the patrol. They are pushing through the forest in the general direction of north. Eventually, they come to the edge of the woods along the southern rice fields, and they started making their way towards the village, while trying to stay concealed in the woods. As Gabrielle is between them and the village, she can see a score of halflings standing awkwardly along the road, slings in hand. She can also see movement and the occasional glint of metal deeper in the woods between her and the village.

[Haval]

We should have worked out some signals. Too late now. Whatever else was out here would have to wait. Gabriele will move out of the tree line and wave down the closest halfling. 'They're coming. Get ready.' She'll try and find whatever cover might be available.