Old Ways IC

[Altair_the_Vexed]

Talsarios wrenches Gregoras's sword free of the goblin's skin and hacks down again, screeching incoherent curses with teeth clenched in a maddened grimace.

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Crazed sword attack - (1d20-1)[10]
Unskilled damage - (1d4)[2]

[Matthew]

Whoops, did not realise we had entered a new round. Nathros draws his sword and guts the nearest goblin in the fray:

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Nathros, Level One Dwarf: AC 5(3); HP 4(1); THAC0 19.

Attack Roll: (1d20+1)[21]
Damage Roll: (1d6+1)[3]

[Valameer]

In a burst of strength, Stefan pulls Gregoras out of the line of fire around the corner. Determinedly he looks over the fallen man, still futily trying to help him.

"I staunched the wound... I don't understand..."

Stefan puts his palms on the fallen man's chest and attempts to restart his heart.

"Petra... Thor... Freyja... Zirchev... Halav... someone, hear me!"

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It's in Stefan's nature and inexperience to try again, depsite the futility.
Healing roll (Int 9): (1d20)[13]

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor


Brandon curses volubly, using words that would get him spanked if he were still at home, as he tries to find a good place from which to throw a dagger or flask of oil.

Inanely, a part of his mind composes a letter to his mother, Natalya Bor nee Redmane, former fighter and now housewife and farmer:


Dear Mother,

I never really believed you but you were right, Battle is hell. It's very exciting at first, but soon enough you're wounded and at least one of your companions is dead.

In other news, goblins' reputation for cowardice turned out to be completely undeserved. Also, being short is a real problem when using missile weapons. Why oh why did I have to inherit Father's physique instead of yours?

Your son,

Bran

[jmbrown]

Jeanne draws her trident and takes any opening she can get. "Even a cornered rat will swipe at the cat..."

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AC 2; HP 1; THAC0 19.
attack - (1d20+1)[20]
damage - (1d6)[6]

[Roland St. Jude]

Despite Stefan's ministrations, Gregaros does not revive. The pressure seems solid, his wound abated, but the man's will had left him.

Nathros cleaves the nearby goblin in two, and while Talsarios' second blow was not as availing, Jeanne stepped in to plant a trident in the injured goblin's chest.

Brandon mounts the stairs but finds the path ahead of him crowded with allies.

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor

Brandon crumples to the floor and sits, giving into exhaustion once it appears all the goblins are dead.

In a gray colored voice, he mumbles, "Now that we have time, Stefan can look after Nathros' wounds."

"That poor man. Didn't I just say it would be better to barricade the door and rest? That poor man, skewered by a goblin arrow so young."

Brandon appears to be gazing at Gregoras' corpse.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"Rest?" Panting and shaking, the young scholar turns back to the stairwell. "Rest? He never knew the meaning of the word!"
Talsarios flings aside Gregaros's sword with a clang and clatter of ringing steel, and weeps, leaning his tearing eyes across one arm against the stone wall.
In a whispered, shaking voice one can barely make out his words: "Worked his hands raw for me, he did. Never shirked his duty... Never let up... He'd not be here now, if not for -" he chokes off the last word, and wipes his eyes with a heavy sigh.

Fragilely, he smiles round at the party of goblin slayers. "So, what do we do next?"

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Going for the Oscar...

[Matthew]

"He was brave, but reckless, trusting over much to fortune when a shield would be a better defence. Let us rest a moment and mourn his passing, then see where this passage leads."

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"You can rest, if your mourning can be so brief. I knew him from my childhood - my grief will not be as short. While I yet master it, I will continue. I must have something to occupy me, some fitting task..."
With that, Talsarios moves quietly up the illumined stairs, with his sling readied, seeking to peek into the light beyond.

[Matthew]

"I do not say mourn him quickly and let that be an end, but we must look to ourselves lest we end up following after his shade."

[Altair_the_Vexed]

And I must live to bear his body home, thinks Talsarios.

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Is there anything to been seen up on the next level?

[Valameer]

Stefan whispers quiet prayers for the dead man's soul, that he may find his way.

After a moment of silence, Stefan stands up to address his friends.

"We can't go further. We have to use what's left of our strength to protect ourselves while we make camp.

Gregaros didn't die for nothing. While his soul is at peace, his body still deserves a good burial."

Stefan directs a few of the lumbermen to carry Gregaros with them.

"We'll wait here until we're all ready to leave as a group."

[Roland St. Jude]

Sunlight shines down the stairway leading up, a slightly curved affair against the tower wall. It seems stable. Brandon, still midway up the stair from the first level hears no further activity and Stefan sees no further activity as he heads back out to the courtyard to fetch the lumbermen. They dutifully follow him into the keep and back to the tower.

"You want us here, or back outside?" Devin asks Stefan, as he and Lann pick up Gregaros' body.

Talsarios steps up the staircase to take a peek and finds the level above open to the sky. Poking his head above the surface, he can see that the top level of this small tower has sizeable crenelations, strewn scraps of wood, and a couple small pools of water.

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor

After maybe a quarter hour of rest and drinking from his waterskin, Brandon climbs back to his feet and begins the laborious process of collecting all the treasure from the goblin corpses.

After waiting for the fire to die out, he also goes into the room where he and Talsarios had thrown oil with such abandon and makes sure all the goblins therein are dead. Then he checks for treasure there.

He tells the workmen, "I'd like you to be in here until we've recovered a bit from our wounds. There could be goblin hunting or patrol parties out, not yet returned. I don't want them to catch any of us in the open."

To his companions, he remarks, "There is at least one upper floor, but I really don't want to explore it until we've rested and healed and Jeanne and Talsarios have recovered their spells."

To Talsarios specifically, he says in as tactful a manner as possible, "He was your friend, so it's up to you whether we burn or bury him. He should be laid to rest with the bow of one of his killers, though, to show that he conquered even in death."

After a pause, he adds, "You might want to claim his equipment, though. It won't do anyone any good lying in the ground or burned to ash. I think he'd like you to have his gear."

[Altair_the_Vexed]

Talsarios sits heavily on the stairs, silhouetted in the sunlight. He can't see those in the dark room below, nor the body of Gregoras.

"I would have his remains cremated - b-but let us bear him away from here: we've not conquered this keep yet. I must help to carry his body, and bear his ashes once it is done.
"His gear I would have little use for. Take whatever you feel you need, and let us sell the rest and give the monies to whatever poor-house you have in this land."

After a moment, the young scholar stands and wearily descends the steps into the gloom.

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Over the next few minutes, no matter what else is going on (unless it's combat, of course), Talsarios collects a goblin bow and several arrows, for kindling of the coming pyre, and he places two silver coins over the eyes of the corpse, and wraps the body in Gregaros's cloak, tied up with rope.

[Roland St. Jude]

Brandon finds each goblin with a spear or short bow, dagger, and small pouch of gold and silver. On the largest of them, the one who nearly killed Brandon, he finds a pair of keys.

The woodsmen set up a watch in the room below, with Devin and his readied bow watching the door back to the main room.

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There's at least some time here to dress Gregaros' body, divide his items, and so forth.

Total goblin loot:
seven short bows
twenty spears
twenty-seven daggers
200 sp
250 sp

NB: The large room has three unopened doors. A large set of double doors immediately opposite the door the party first entered, and a regular door opposite both of the guardroom doors the party opened.

[jmbrown]

Jeanne is silently solemn through the whole affair. "I knew him not but any loss of respectable life is regrettable. The elves say 'mourn not the dead for they are at peace; mourn the living for they truly suffer.' Let us make these goblins suffer."

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor


Brandon tests the keys on the doors they've already gone through. Perhaps one of them is a duplicate of the key or keys they already have.

He remarks to the others, especially to Jeanne and Nathros, "I wonder how much we can get for bows of goblin manufacture. The one I bear is of human manufacture and it cost a pretty bundle."

"Is it cheating to not tell a buyer that a goblin made it?"

Brandon equips himself with three of the daggers, for throwing when he doesn't want to relinquish his shield but still wants to attack with missiles.

He states a strong desire to rest until he's regained some of his strength and no longer feels half-dead.

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I am guessing one of those is gp. Do we have 200 gp and 250 sp or vice versa?

Do the goblin bows and other weapons look to of shoddy quality, or do they match the weapons and arms we have?

[Matthew]

"A bow is a bow, its quality should speak louder than its provenance. The rats are driven to their holes, I deem, but there is little to be gained by rest at this juncture, let Stefan search our wounds and then we may find where the last of these creatures hides. Perhaps we may yet find their king."

[Valameer]

To the woodsmen: "Wait in here for now."

To the others: "Those goblins mightn't have made the bows themselves either. Maybe they are human made."

"I think our options are either to hold this half of the gatehouse while we rest, or to go back out to the woods. This place might be defensible, but I'd rather return to the woods."

Stefan treats Nathros's injuries.

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I'm not 100% sure if Nathros took a new injury, so disregard this if he hasn't been hurt again.
Heal check (Int 9): (1d20)[5]
Damage healed (if successful): (1d3)[1]

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor

Brandon shakes his head and says with steady determination, "I want to rest in here. We can barricade the doors pretty easily and fortify until Nathros at least is back to full health."

Normally easy going and willing to accept what others want, Brandon really seems to want to stay indoors.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"If we rest, we should start now, while it's daylight. The goblins below the keep will be more active after dark, and we should be ready to deal with them. It will be half a dozen hours till sunset, I estimate. How long do you think you need to rest to recover, then?"

Talsarios resigns himself to waiting out the afternoon and moving on at nightfall.

[Frivolous]

Brandon Bor

Brandon looks a bit perplexed. "At least a day."

"I dunno why some of you want to go continue adventuring so quickly. I nearly died, and Gregaros did die. If we don't rest some and there are still armed goblins in this keep, some more of us are sure to die."

[Matthew]

"Resting gives our enemies time to regroup, summon reinforcements, dig in, refortify, slay prisoners, steal out by night, and any number of other advantages. At the moment they are in disarray, and easily scattered, if they concentrate in force around our position no amount of rest will save us."

[Altair_the_Vexed]

"Right!"
With a twisted grimace, part impotent anger, part grief, the slight scholar Talsarios tries to shove Nathros toward the stairs. "Go on then! Off you go! Go get 'em. Let's press our advantage while we can."

Suddenly he breaks off and shakes his head, turning away. "Sorry. I'm sorry. That's no help at all."

[Frivolous]

"Resting gives our enemies time to regroup, summon reinforcements, dig in, refortify, slay prisoners, steal out by night, and any number of other advantages. At the moment they are in disarray, and easily scattered, if they concentrate in force around our position no amount of rest will save us."

Brandon Bor

Brandon scratches his unshaven chin and remarks, "Some of your points might be valid, but some sure aren't."

"We're -inside- their fort, so there's no real way for them to refortify."

"They might have prisoners, but we haven't found any yet."

"We're not tasked to kill them all, just drive them away from the keep, so I don't really care if they steal out by night so long as they leave us alone and go back to where they came from."

"And sure rest will save us. I'll be stronger, you'll be stronger, and Jeanne can get her spell back by resting. She took out a dozen of them all by herself."

[Matthew]

"No way to refortify? Blockading doors against us, and preparing other defences are well within the abilities of these creatures, and the more time we give them the more trouble they will cause. If you do not mind them leaving this place to skulk about in the woods causing who knows what mischief, maybe even eventually coming back here once we are gone, that is your business, I suppose. Sitting on our hands for a day and a night in a self imposed prison in the midst of our enemies seems lunacy to me, but I will not oppose it if that is what the majority wish."

[Valameer]

"Sorry. I'm sorry. That's no help at all."

Stefan rests his hand on Talsarios's shoulder. "No, it's alright. And you have a point. We've paid dearly for the ground we gained today."

He moves to the door to peer out nervously while he speaks. "I don't see the sense in staying here to rest. It's a prison, and we're sure to be found." Stefan turns around to the others. "Why not return to the woods? Maybe they won't find us out there, and we have room to run away if they do."

"Unless being under siege works to our advantage in a way I'm missing..."

[Matthew]

"I agree, if we are to seek rest let it be in the woods, from where we can keep watch on the movements of our enemies."