Kingmaker [Stolen Land] (IC)

[digiman619]

Beltin lets the horse go; it may end up running back home, but it couldn't give details of the who or what stopped the bandit party like a returning bandit could. After scanning for more enemies, he goes to check on his compatriots.

[lostsole31]

R4T10: Beltin lets the horse go; it may end up running back home, but it couldn't give details of the who or what stopped the bandit party like a returning bandit could. After scanning for more enemies, he goes to check on his compatriots.

R4T7: "The battle is over," says Lini to Beltin. Then, back to her patient she says, "With that, I need to keep my precious healing potion for emergencies. I'll go out and look for berries for you and tend to your wound. Your own bedrest as of now, Sajan."

R4T6: Sajan nods and says, "I still saw you cast magic, though. I did not recognize the spell, though."

R4T4: Because of the battle, Beltin hadn't really noticed Harrim saying anything, but with things quieting down now, with his final coup de grace Beltin hears Harrim muttering a short benediction about "all things to their end." And with another swing, the last bandit's head is crushed.

Combat Ends ...

All that remains is to check on the leader.

[digiman619]

Beltin surprisingly looks at his hand, not quite sure how he managed it. "Uh, yeah." he says to Sajan. Blinking back to focus, he turned to Harrim "Harrim, please do what you can to patch everyone back up. I'm going to check on the leader."

[lostsole31]

Harrim casts a spell over Sajan, healing him of 7. He casts it again for 4. Sajan is still wounded, but not badly.

Meanwhile, Beltin heads out to check the bandit leader. Now what? What does that mean?

[digiman619]

He walks over to the fallen bandit and checks his vitals; if he's alive, they may have a good source of intel on the remaining bandits.

Spoiler: OOC

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I guess that calls for a Heal check (1d20+4)[9]

[lostsole31]

So, Beltin doesn't have signs of life. But then again, Beltin has no skill in the medical arts, either.

[digiman619]

Beltin shrugs and heads back to the fort. He then goes to his hosts' room and knocks. "You can come out now. We got them."

[lostsole31]

Lini will have gone out and verified that the man was killed.

Oleg and Svetlana will go outside with Beltin to survey things. While Oleg worries that the remaining bandits might eventually come for revenge, he also suspects that they’re cowards at heart and won’t try anything against the trading post for some time—hopefully before then, the promised guards sent from Restov will have arrived to bolster the post’s defenses.

"Feel free to take any bits of gear you want from the bandits. If it's alright with you, anything they have that you don't need, I'd like to claim as new stock," says Oleg.

[digiman619]

Beltin nods. "Seems only fair. We'll see if there's anything we need, but you can keep the rest."

[lostsole31]

Oleg is more than happy with everything the heroes have graciously given Oleg. Oleg will give the group a reward of 50 gp and all three potions in his stockroom: (2) potions of cure light wounds and a potion of shield of faith. Further, he tells the PCs that they're welcome to stay free of charge in his guest house as long as they want. He and his wife will even provide meals for them. The only thing is that he does ask that the group find a way to make it to two rooms so he can get some business from the trappers and hunters that come through.

Sajan and Lini will take Linzi - more people, smaller people. Unfortunately, that leaves Beltin and the wet blanket Harrim to room together.

Oleg gets Harrim and Sajan to help him with a grisly task - staking up the bandits' bodies and a tarred plank saying "Bandits Beware." An equally grisly task is Lini the former druid ... who killed horses? Now butchers the three euthanized animals.

[lostsole31]

That night, at dinner .... which is "back" to how it is "normally" is ... is not in the dining room, for that is the Levetons escape from interaction with patrons, but the firepit outside. But the Levetons do eat with the group outside. The meal includes a choice: a normal stew, or a roasting that has horse for those that want it. Oleg and Svetlana know that most people are thrown by horse, by they understand that "meat is meat" and "waste is waste" and Lini worked hard to make sure that three large bodies were not sitting 30' from the gate to the trading post.

Oleg and Svetlana talk about a rumor that the last patron - a hunter - had mentioned.

Some people report that a unicorn lives in the Narlmarches, but sightings of the magnificent creature have fallen off in recent months. Perhaps the unicorn was driven out by the bandits?

[lostsole31]

No doubt the sudden burst of lightning was wild and confusing, albeit fortuitous. Still, for all of Beltin's training - masterful though it was - yesterday marked the first time he ever took a life beyond the rare times he went hunting on a swordlord-recruit retreat. First time he was ever even in mortal combat. The first two bandits he dropped, sure, he doesn't have to take on any spiritual debt for them because in a way, Harrim performed a mercy being performing coupes des graces on them, taking on the responsibility of having killed.

But the man that knew he was beaten and ran from the fight, there is nothing to filter that first time. That was Beltin's first real kill. His emotions .... being wherever they are ... Beltin retreats to the purity and sterility of psionic meditation to steel him for the morning as he prepares himself for the day.

Around the breakfast fire, just before it is served, Sajan is studying a large manual with strange writing and various diagrams, pictures, and semi-arcane bodily forms drawn within - the book on a log while he stands, attempting to mimic some strange maneuvers. Linzi and Harrim discuss spellcasting techniques, primarily how to keep one's head in battle. Lini is not there yet.

Once Beltin sits down to eat, Linzi goes up to him. She reaches into her pocket. "Oh, before I forget .... because of when I performed last night I mentioned Shelyn as my patron, this morning Oleg gave me something. Obviously it is for us to share in the bounty if we all get to it, but I think he gave it to me because I worship the Goddess of Love and Beauty."

She shows Beltin a wanted handbill [see Discord].

[lostsole31]

After much discussion about short and long-term goals, the Eternals realize that just blazing south is too hit-or-miss to catch bandits, at least assuming those in charge of the band have any sense of hiding out. Instead, the idea is to head in the southerly direction in the long-term, and actually explore the wide swaths of area instead of randomly zig-zagging.

But first, Lini takes a look and studies the weather before reporting to Beltin. "It's about 15 degrees right now. I doubt it will get above 30 today. Slight dusting of snow probably. So, with the horse blankets and our cold weather gear, we should be good .... I say should for the first half of the day. But if you intend to ride and rummage all day straight through, then you might be dealing with folks with mild hypothermia and frostbite - maybe even the equines - by the end of the day.

"Or, we could head out and stop midway and build a fire, warm up, and head out again, but have to end later in the evening.

"Or, we wait until the weather is better. What do you want to do?"

[digiman619]

Beltin exhales thoughtfully. "Two questions. First, how long do you think it'll take for the weather to clear? Because there's no need to wear out ourselves and the horses, if it'll clear up in a few days. However, assuming that nature doesn't play along with us and it remains cold, how well will the horses hold up if we stay out overnight and make a fire to warm up at midday?"

[lostsole31]

Lini answers, "First, I am not used to horses, so who's to say? Horses are tough, but they are no more inured to the weather than any of us. I don't quite know what you are, but you may be able to handle it better than all of us. Tomorrow, I could prepare a spell to help me read the weather, and it is good out to two days. Remember, it is still winter .... in a sub-arctic climate. Oh, yeah, it seems I have found my faith again. Speaking of which...."

She makes a strange noise, calling towards the guesthouse.

Bounding out from the guesthouse (remember, Lini wasn't there at first when you gathered together for breakfast), comes a large cat-like creature. It is about 3-1/2 feet long, and probably weighing in from 65-75 pounds. The one thing to note, however, as it bounds out is that a strange rune appears on Lini's forehead. At the same time, a similar rune is seen on the cat-creature's forehead.

Spoiler: Beltin

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That shared rune on foreheads is a dead giveaway for a summoner and their eidolon ... an outsider that serves a summoner. However, in this case, the cat-creature - with the exception of the eidoletic rune - is too perfectly natural to seem to be a summoner's .... even a nature-based summoner's approximation .... of a natural creature. That makes you question if it is actually an eidolon after all. So, that's a mystery. More data needed.

Sajan's eyes go wide. "Is that ...?"

"Droogami!" Lini calls. "Come meet everyone. <strange noises>" [The strange noises she makes seem to be in some type of cat-like ..... language?]

[digiman619]

Beltin briefly considers mentioning the rune, but decides against it. He didn't have enough data to determine exactly what it meant. Besides, whatever it was, it was a in the form of a pet, not a living sapient being. Even if it was only a simulacrum of some sort, that was probably close enough to substitute for the original. Beltin looked back to Lini "Well, that's wonderful! How'd it happen?"

[lostsole31]

"I had something like a lucid dream, and I was able to work some things out, and even get shown a couple things," Lini answers. "I think it was the same Norn who introduced me to 'my' Droogami a few years ago. If I am not mistaken, I can actually bring forth any mid-sized animal to act as a companion. I don't think I can bring forward little creatures, like housecats and songbirds and ferrets. Pretty much dogs and larger."

[digiman619]

Beltin just nodded. At least she had accepted that this was a duplicate of the cat she had before, not the original somehow brought back. "Huh. Looks like I'm not the only one who got power via a dream of sorts." He shook his head. "Well, we'd better get ready to go. I think the 'camp at midday' plan is our best bet for the moment. When you are ready, we'd best saddle up and get going."

[lostsole31]

"We'll need to purchase firewood from Oleg then. How many days do you want to be out, so we know how much firewood to purchase?" asks Lini.

"Oh, and feed for the mounts, too," she adds.

[digiman619]

"Two; it'll take about half a day to and from the center of that area, and a day to investigate." Beltin said, "We should be fine with such a short trip, but I will want you ready that weather-predictive spell just so we get warning if it's going to turn nasty, in which case we abandon the search and hole up at the trading post. Can I leave handling the necessary purchases to you on this?"

[lostsole31]

Lini nods, and using party funds (now that the party has some) she purchases the supplies from Oleg, making sure that Beltin understands that two fires a day is two days worth of firewood a day. ("A small fire isn't going to help anyone.")

The plan in place, the party heads out, with the clouds partially thick in the sky.

Just in four hours of exploration before the expected two-hour fire-break, the only creatures not suffering from any exposure or hypothermia whatsoever are Beltin, his horse, Lini, and Droogami. Harrim and his horse got the worst of it so far. Oh, Linzi's pony also lucked out.

At the end of the fire-break, only Sajan fully recovered.

[lostsole31]

In the afternoon, after three hours of travel, Beltin himself suffers 1 (mod) NL. For such a little bit of pain, the annoyance is real in fatigue as the cold saps his strength. He feels something about his hands shortly after this sets in. A roiling pair of black gauntlets formed almost from the cold around you pull light and heat from the air around him. Mind you, he barely sees this, but when he concentrates, the gauntlets suddenly become very real. And the more Beltin concentrates, the gauntlets then seem to be even .... more real? And spiky. He now has black spiked gauntlets.

But more than that. Even though he has fatigue and mild hypothermia, the spiked black gauntlets seem to protect him from further home. Beltin notices the cold, but combined with his own innate resistance, it no longer has any chance of harming him.

Spoiler: OOC

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Congratulations, you have unlocked gauntlets of the void (including binding).

"That .... that is akasha," says Linzi.

[lostsole31]

It snowed at about 1600 for a little while, but only a very light dusting on the ground.

At the end of a ten hours (8 riding/ exploring + 2 sitting mid-day in fire), the only creatures not suffering from any exposure are Lini and Droogami. Harrim calls on Groetus to infuse everyone with healing energy. Enough on a single burst to remove Beltin's exposure at least. Another two channels, and nobody is suffering from exposure anymore.

The entire area inclusive of Oleg's Trading Post has been explored.

[digiman619]

Beltin had been pretty surprised when he had manifested the gauntlets, needless to say. He'd actually spent a few minutes not looking at the path ahead and just poking and prodding them, trying to figure out how he had made them. He eventually figured out that he could make them more or less tangible by focusing on how much energy he put into it. He did decide to keep them on their maximum setting, for lack of a better term, but now he understood that he could move the energy to and from an item he made. Presumably, if he figured out how to form a second one, he could likely shift the power from one to another, but that is somewhat theoretical at this point.

After their exploration, he turned to Lini. "Let's make camp; we will need to do our best to keep warm before we make our way back to the trading post. Once we get back, I'll want you to cast that weather forecast spell again; if it's going to stay this cold for the next few days, we might as well bundle up; it's not like the bandits will be very active in this amount of cold."

[lostsole31]

Watches are set up (as discussed). Beltin's watch goes by uneventfully, and before midnight he wakens his relief, Sajan.

Beltin goes to sleep.

Sajan is heard shouting and seen waving around a burning log towards the darkness, waking everyone up as he does. Gifted as Beltin is with darkvision, he sees a strange creature 50' away.

[digiman619]

Beltin rolled to his feet. He saw his armor in a bundle next to him, but there was no time for that right now. He rushed to get next to Sajan, as he brought his sword to bear at the creature in the darkness. He readied himself to attack if it came closer.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Well, he won't realize it until after he goes back to rest and realizes he has a second longsword, but Beltin is taking a point of essence burn to create the weapon form of The Druid, but in longsword mode via Flexible Form. Otherwise, he is readying himself to attack it with Planar Detonation (NL electric; not spending any essence on it) once it gets within 35 feet.

[lostsole31]

The last night of the full moon was last night. Tonight, it is almost full, though quite cloudy. Still, that gives Lini something to work with.

"Beltin, can you do me a favor, please? Put your weapon away. Not down, but belted. Then, come with me, a few steps behind. I could use your darkvision, but I think that might be an animal, but I want to get closer. Perhaps I can get it to go away."

[digiman619]

Beltin goes to do so before realizing that he isn't wearing a belt. In fact, the belt he usually wore with his scabbard on it was still on the ground next to his armor. He was able to finagle a way to sheathe it by taring a hole in his left pocket (and pant leg) that he'd have to mend when they got back to the post, but it did the job. "Right behind you" he said after he got it into place "It's about 50 feet away right now."

[lostsole31]

With Beltin (quietly) informing her of position ... for it does shift back and forth like a wolf might ... with a calm demeanor and her own sickle at her belt, she finally comes within 10' of the creature. It makes more warning yips and growls.

Beltin mimics some of the soothing sounds (or at least tries to). That's not strange, really. When one person goes "Here, Kitty-kitty," others invariably do the same.

No, the oddity is .... not a doppelganger on Kakishon .... that Beltin almost feels his own pulse and breathing slowing in a controlled manner, calming the adrenaline of seeing the toothed beast ahead. It is a strange, almost serene feeling that--

"AH-TCHOO!"

There is complete silence and stillness from both beastie and Lini as both look right at Beltin, the faint echo over the plains from his sneeze echoi--

"AH-AH-AH-TCHOOOO!!!"

In the distance is the sound of a rumbling like the after-echo of a powerful thunderstrike.

Beltin, what do you do?

[digiman619]

Beltin actually covers his face for a moment, incredibly embarrassed at his complete botch of an attempt to help. However, his sudden outburst might have caused bigger problems, so he scans the horizon to see what, if anything, would decide to pay the source of the noise a visit.