tomboys and troublemakers: a wfrp 2e game

[bramblefoot]

olga puffs on her pipe and asks "do ye have something of said creature? it would help me know what your up against" she steeples her fingers and waits

[wilphe]

Wighard tries to be at his ease, for if this woman has survived the interest of any passing witchhunter she must surely be either benevolent or powerful, or quite possibly both.

Also she has a raven, so she must be ok, right?

The alternative is that she is well protected by the locals, but the implications of that are something he choses not to dwell on.

And what is Olga's price for the asking?

I try to avoid open-ended commitments to old women who live alone in the woods, you so very rarely hear stories where that ends well

Assuming that her answer is acceptable he will unwrap the head

[bramblefoot]

olga cackles. "all i ask is that one of you let me read your palm" she sits forward, brown eye alight with curiosity. "so, who will it be? the brave knight, the stoic dwarf or the agitator?" she looks at each of you in turn, as if waiting for someone to step forward

Spoiler: palm reading

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please toss 1d100. lower is better as always

[-Sentinel-]

Emil, whose illness had made him a little bit grumpy, gave a skeptical snort. "No such thing as fate. It's an excuse used by weak people to justify their failures, in the same way that sore losers at the gambling table complain about always being dealt a bad hand."

He held out his palm. "Go ahead. Tell me some vague platitude that would apply to nine people out of ten."


OOC

Spoiler

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(d100)[66]

Hmm, that's not very good.

[bramblefoot]

as Olga takes your palm, she starts to mumble. "i see danger in your future. beware the man with the yellow eyes. he seeks to destroy all you hold dear. this is only the beginning; fail to stop him and worse will come"

Spoiler: emil

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you see a beastman with a double-bladed axe standing over sir bertelis prone form, the man with yellow eyes is chanting over wighards bound body with a sacrificial dagger in one hand and a book in the other. the vision ends with a greater daemon of slaanesh ripping its way out of wighards corpse. im gonna need a wp test or take a IP

[LarsWester]

There the price is paid, Witch. Show her the head Wighard. the dwarf grumbles. Once the head is exposed the dwarf questions the hag Now what is that?

[-Sentinel-]

Emil blinked and recoiled slightly at the vision. He was certainly not expecting that. He composed himself, but planned to tell his companions about it later.

"Hmm. I see. Not many men with yellow eyes," he said, attempting to sound sardonic despite the shock of his vision, "so I suppose it narrows it down somewhat."

OOC

Spoiler

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WP 46: (d100)[62]
Fortune: (d100)[45]

Oof, close one.

[bramblefoot]

Olga takes the head in her hands and examines it. "its some subspecies of troll. acid is probably your best option" she murmurs to grimgoth. her eye flicks to sir bertelis. "is there anything i can help you with, or are you done with the questions?" she sits in the rocking chair, waiting for answers

[wilphe]

Well unless someone is a doing a free offer on saffron eyewash I think they will stand out when we see them.

He looks at her with obvious respect

Also we found an altar made of meat, and it did not like it when I magically probed it. Any ideas?

He rubs his temple

This seems like there is some other directing intelligence at work and their plans are something other than We Trolls, We Hungry, We Eat People

And I don't know if you deal in such matters but I wish to restock my medical and magical supplies, possibly pick up a few healing draughts

[LarsWester]

Grimgoth lets out a giant sneeze. Have any nonmagical remedies for a cold? Some sort of tea or something? the dwarf asks the old lady.

[bramblefoot]

olga puffs on her pipe some more before responding. "i have supplies for healing and a pair of healing draughts for sale. i may also have a little tea for your colds. i will take coin for these services" she looks at wighard strangely "an altar of meat, you say?" she wobbles over to a bookshelf and pulls a heavy tome from the shelf. she flips through it muttering for a few minutes before finding the correct page "aha! the altars of the rotting one" she shudders and snaps the book shut "be careful. things are not what they appear"

Spoiler: prices for stuff

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healing draught: 7gc (olga has 2)
full restock of wighards kit: 20 gc
dose of tea: 2s (olga has 7) a dose of tea negates the cold penalties for 1d10 hours

[LarsWester]

I'll take all of that tea for a crown and the two draughts Grimgoth hands over fifteen of his newly earned crowns.

Spoiler: OOC

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Before leaving town again can Grimgoth purchase mail leggings for 20GC and two bottles of Good Craftsmenship Spirits for 6s total.

[bramblefoot]

olga scoops up the money and hands you a pair of small bottles and the tea in a small sack. peering inside, the tea is loose-leaf along with a small thing for measurement. the vials have have a dark red liquid that glows in the dim light of the house.

Spoiler: ooc

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wighard i assume your gonna spend the 20 gc for the medkit refill

so are we done with Olga, or is there anything else?

[MrAbdiel]

Bertelis has been remarkably quiet, unnerved by Olga's focus upon him specifically. But he takes out another gold piece, and adds it to the payment for the strange lady.

"Much appreciated, madame."

Spoiler: OOC Actions:

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Bertelis doesn't want to hang around with this lady any more than they have to. They'll head back into town if everyone's done; make a stop at the largest blacksmith shop to hopefully facilitate some purchases and also to set up the delivery and cleaning of the plate armor (I don't expect it back before we go on this mine-mission :( ) and then... anything anyone else wants?

[wilphe]

Thank you milady. The altar got set aflame, is that an appropriate reaction?

Wighard takes the fresh supplies, hoping that at that price he won't need run our in a hurry

Beats scrabbling around for moss

Spoiler: OOC:

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Did Bertlis share his instruction from the lady in 172

https://forums.giantitp.com/showsing...&postcount=172

[bramblefoot]

Olga takes the coin and hands sir bertelis a single mummified elf finger on a chain "for luck" she murmurs. to wighard "fire is the great equalizer, but be careful, as it can be a dangerous ally" as you leave Olga's hut, the raven caws twice. its a long quiet ride back to town, giving you plenty of time to discuss things on the way back, should you choose to.

Spoiler: wighard

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i i do not think he has had time to share it

[-Sentinel-]

With a troubled expression, Emil recounted his vision to his companions.

[wilphe]

Well, that was a thing. We haven't seen any beastmen yet thank Ulric, but if we see one like that make sure to kill him first

He pauses

I have some thoughts on how to retake this mine.

Taking numbers down there isn't going to help, as it will often be choke pointed and narrow

In addition we know there are at least two entrances so we risk them coming up another and either attacking the camp or getting behind those who are down there.

Therefore I suggest we forgoe any fee so long as the burghers will provide us with the support we need and we get clear title to anything we find

A few rangers

Some carpenters and labourers

Plan:

We arrive on site, construct a fortified camp outside the main entrance, send rangers out to scout for other exits from the mine or signs of other activity.

Construct a palisade around each entrance, this isn't to definitively contain it but it is to make any sortie more difficult, slow it down and give warning

Probe down carefully, avoiding losses, maybe take a rope for communication to the surface.

If we can be sure they have no other way out we can slowly starve them out and have them do something desperate, maybe even bait them out.

Basically I think we should be prepared to siege it rather than carry it by assault.

[MrAbdiel]

Bertelis, as miserably sick as the rest of them, listens with a thoughtful crease in his brow.

“It’s a good plan, Wighard; but I fear we may need an adjustment that makes it more conclusive. Siobhan said the creatures came out of the mines. That means the miners breached some pre-existing tunnel and that let them in. But it also means at the deepest part of the mine, there is a connection that could lead through miles of the underground, and back up to the furnace in another county, as far as we know. I think you are right to want to secure our own exits to minimise fear of reprisal; but to put an end to the threat, we might need to travel to the nadir of the mine, and collapse whatever tunnel is there. Once that is dealt with, it will be up to the burghers to plead their lord to hire a troop of dwarf tunnel fighters to come and do a complete clearing and mapping of the tunnels. At such a time, they may find the capacity of their mine greatly increased. For now, I think we establish our palisades like you have said, then begin making expeditions down to find where the creatures are coming through.”

[wilphe]

Sounds good to me. Also we have some fires down there maybe we can see other places smoke comes out.

Maybe the city has a map of the mines or someone who knows the layout. Retired miner perhaps.

But I really favour making this a siege rather than an assault, without needlessly risking lives and without letting our fallen be taken by the enemy for sustenance.

We might also think to take some sheep or cattle to lure them out, perhaps after giving them a slow acting poison?

Not an honourable tactic but we are hardly facing an honourable foe

[LarsWester]

Grimgoth snorts a bit at the mention of dwarven tunnel fighters. Lighting fires below the earth is dangerous business as it could just as easily lead to affixation from smoke inhalation as reveal secret entrances. I agree that most likely we will have to explore much deeper into the mine to find where the mine crossed over into some trolls territory. I think we'll need some means of collapsing the mine to close off the access point but there is still the danger that the creatures may now alerted to the presence of surface dwellers attack again.

[MrAbdiel]

Bertelis did not respond initially to Emil's recounting. How does one respond so such a thing; but after the preferred distraction topic has been mostly resolved, with a little discomfort, he circles back and glances over at his ... philosophical opponent, but comrade is arms.

"...Thank you. For sharing such, ugly as it is to say and must have been to.. witness. Perhaps, forewarned, we may survive these things - or even better, avoid them entirely."

[LarsWester]

Grimgoth's response to Emil's recounting of the vision was to slap the scholar on the back Fear not the Witch's tricks of the mind. Despite what you umgi think one's end is not fixed, for what would be the point of the Slayer's Oath, if that were the truth. the dwarf shakes his head in disbelief at it all- fate, witches, visions.

[-Sentinel-]

Grimgoth's response to Emil's recounting of the vision was to slap the scholar on the back Fear not the Witch's tricks of the mind. Despite what you umgi think one's end is not fixed, for what would be the point of the Slayer's Oath, if that were the truth. the dwarf shakes his head in disbelief at it all- fate, witches, visions.

Emil smiled back, though his smile was a tad brittle. "I've always made my own fate. Or at least, that's what I like to think."

"And speaking of taking things into our own hands, I guess I should start mobilizing people. It happens to be what I do best."

He spent the next few hours walking around town, loudly calling for all brave and able-bodied people to join them in retaking the mine from the monsters and avenging those who had lost their lives. He emphasized that fighting ability was no object, so long as the volunteers had skills to contribute to the expedition, be it as tradespeople, trackers, folk healers, cooks, or simply a strong pair of arms to wield a hammer or spade.

"This is your chance to make a difference in these troubled times, when you cannot rely on your lords to protect you! You may not earn a statue, but you will certainly have a tale to tell your grandchildren. Heroes are not born, they are made. Or more accurately, they make themselves. They are those who rise to the challenge."

[bramblefoot]

emil gets roughly 30-40 people mostly farmers and crofters, but 5-10 grizzled veterans of the beastmen wars will come out with you to the mine

onto the shopping spree.

at the blacksmith, the old dwarf heartily takes wighards coin (unless you care to make a haggle test) and agrees to forge him an "ax worthy of Grimnir". young mikel has already dropped off the suit of imperial plate. all that's left to do is agree on the price for the refitting and repair work. the old dwarf begins with 135 gold crowns as his opener (again reducible by a haggle test)

[MrAbdiel]

"A hundred and THIRTY FIVE crowns?!"

Bertelis is spellbound by the audacity of the offer. "Do you take us to be travelling Dukes, or total rubes? The suit's work is complete - it just needs a dedicated apprentice to work it with a stiff brush for half a day and oil it down, and then some minor, minor adjustments. What kind of man would pay more than forty crowns for such, and think himself anything but robbed?!"

Spoiler: A Galled Gaul Haggles!

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HaggleVs23 - (1d100)[23]
FatePointHaggleVs23 - (1d100)[88]

Bertelis is aghast. If the dwarf demands anything more than 50 crowns for the service, he'll withdraw the offer and try his luck with another blacksmith, or another town!

[wilphe]

Wighard speaks to the old dwarf, discussing configuration, Great. It does not need to be decorated, and please remember I may use it as a tool of surgery as well.

Sharp blade means a clean neat amputation

He looks at Siobhan, If you to travel with us you must stay safe, and it would be irresponsible of me not to outfit you properly.

Do you have any trade lass, or would be happy to be my apprentice? I fear much blood will need to be shed before this is done so we will have need of a nurse.

He returns his attention to the dwarf, You have a set of leathers in this lady's size? Preferably a little bigger to allow room for growth.

Leather has far more uses than combat, its easier to clean than cloth if you happen to get blood all over you - and if we end up doing battle surgery that will happen.

And it will protect you from a cookfire or other accident, I have treated almost as many camp-women for burns as I have soldiers for sword slashes

[bramblefoot]

the dwarf looks at sir bertelis "fifty crowns and not a crown further, lest grimnir strike me down!" hearing wighard's questions he nods and pulls a set of forge leathers out from a cabinet. "its twenty crowns" the leathers are a little big on siobhan, but not overly so.

siobhan says to wighard "i would happily be your apprentice" and hugs him tight for a second, before pulling away

[wilphe]

Excellent, we will pass by a scrivener and have the articles drawn up so everything is legal.

Now I would give you my sword, which I have born through many a campaign and it has always served me well but my new weapon will not be ready for a week or so.

Therefore pick something you like that you can carry in the meantime, bear in mind this will be as much a tool for chopping brush and the like as a weapon of defence.

So, like a hatchet or a seax or even an estalian machete

[bramblefoot]

siobhan picks out a seax knife from the blackmith. passing it to wighard she asks "how does this look?"