Wild Adventures IC

[Gray Mage]

You three proceed through the Timberway Forest, miles and miles of a cold, unforgiving, dense forest during most of the year. Now, however, winter has almost left these woods and while it's still cold enough to numb less prepared travelers, judging by the few pathes of snow on the ground and trees it has been some time since it last snowed in these parts. This is sign that the hunting season for the Timberway lion, known for its pelts, has started.

Your destination is the Bluerock Lodge, a small shelter for those hunter in search for the diminishing population of lions in the area. You've met on the trail on the way, and deciding that it's safer to travel in a small group instead of individually, started to keep company to each other.

You've already travelled a couple of days now, and are bound to reach the cabin in a couple of hours.

OOC

[Lady Moreta]

Bethany trudged along, staring absentmindedly at the backs of the two men in front of her - the solidly built half-orc in his armour and the slender human wearing robes. She gave a sharp jerk on the lead as Indy - true to his nature as a mule - stubbornly slowed and tried to stop. She carefully stepped over a patch of snow in the path, musing on the ability of the body to be both cold and warm at the same time. It's odd. I'm cold because - well, it's cold out here. But with all this walking, I'm getting warmer and I want to take my cloak off. But if I do that, I'll freeze.

Still, at least she was prepared for the cold this time. Her current employers had informed her that the weather was likely to be bad and there would be snow on the ground and she had prepared accordingly. "Not that it's made much difference. It's not like I've had anything to do," she mused aloud to herself. Apparently the university were all a bunch of innocents, since they hadn't realised one of their hard labourers was nothing more than a simple opportunist - at least, they hadn't realised it until after he'd run off with that little key - thing. "And so I trudge through the snow," she muttered.

She gave Indy's lead another sharp tug as the mule flickered his ears irritably. She complained long and loud about Indy, about how slow he was and how stubborn, how he never did what she wanted him to. Truthfully, she was very fond of him, which was why she'd brought him with her. All she was doing was tracking (and hopefully finding) the man who'd stolen the key from the dig site. Her own employment hung on it, and she would have moved faster without Indy. But she couldn't bring herself to leave him behind - or perhaps it was that she didn't want to leave her gear behind. Giving up, Bethany walked back to the animal and started rubbing his cold ears. The mule huffed happily into her hand and Bethany leaned comfortably against his warm side.

[The_Admiral]

Shivering in his winter coat, James trundles foward drawing his cloak closer around his body.

[Jjeinn-tae]

Sir Rashduk walks ahead of the group. In contrast to his companions, he seems quite partial to the weather. When he stops, it's often accented with a deep breath, partially because he likes the air, but also because wearing his winter clothing under his armor might not have been the best idea as far as his lungs are concerned.

Seeing the trail run as long as he can see, he decides to try and break up some of the silence with conversation. "We have a good ways left till we reach Bluerock. What brings you two this direction?"

[Lady Moreta]

Bethany pulls herself out of her reverie at the half-orcs words, she gives Indy's lead line one more hard tug to get the mule moving again and rejoins the others. "I've been doing work for the university on an excavation - out that way," she waves one hand vaguely in the direction that may or may not be where the excavation is located. "Right now, I'm tracking a thief. Some idiot doesn't know how to make a proper lock..." her voice trails off and she rolls her eyes. Shaking herself out of apparently gloomy thoughts, she looks up at the half-orc, "What about you?"

[The_Admiral]

Grinning at the half orc James say's Sorry i'm not at liberty to say. Let's just say it's something my employers wants very badly.

[Gray Mage]

On the corner of your eye you spot a medium quadrupedal cat like creature some sixty feet ahead of you trying to mingle with the surroundings but failing terribly, it looks awfully thin, with its bones visible through the skin here and there. Its thick fur covers the whole body and by its stance it's ready to fight. Bethany's mule lets out a terrified braying, it recognizes a predator when it sees one.

((OOC: Please roll for initiative. Currently you three and the beast are in the five feet wide trail, anywhere else counts as rough terrain. You three are in a single line, with Rashduk at the front, James in the middle and Bethany and her mule right behind. The beast is sixty feet away from Rashduk, sixty five from James and seventy from Bethany.

(1d20+4)[8]))

[Lady Moreta]

"What the-- stupid donkey!" Bethany snapped, as the mule started up a terrified braying and began yanking desperately on the lead rope. "What is your prob- Oh." She stopped abruptly as the animal ahead of them became visible. "Stay here, you stupid creature," she said flatly.

With a nonchalance she undoubtedly wasn't feeling, Bethany tugged free a light crossbow from among the many many bags astride Indy's broad back. With quiet, calm movements, she took a bolt and carefully loaded the crossbow.

Spoiler

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Initiative:(1d20+2)[10]

[The_Admiral]

Upon seeing the beast, James mumbles strange word's and moves his finger's in a strange way. His hand begin's glowing a bright blue and he turn's around, reaches out and touches Bethany's forehead. When he touches Bethany's back, a blue wave of a strange energy run's over Bethany's body. Having done that he say's You'll thank me later then he turn's aroud and draw's his crossbow.

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mage armour on Bethany

[Gray Mage]

The beast charges at the fearless half barbarian that just stands there, waiting, claw and fang ready to meet soft flesh, but unprepared for hard metal. All but one swipe fails to meet a gap in his armor that now has several scrathes, and even then it's barely a flesh wound.

((OOC: Rashduk get's 2 HP damage.

Since you three go before the beast, feel free to act in any order.))

[Lady Moreta]

Bethany eyed James oddly, but chose not to say anything. Instead she moved forwards a little, away from Indy, and took careful aim with her crossbow.

Spoiler

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Attack: (1d20+4)[14]
Damage: (1d8)[8]

[Jjeinn-tae]

"Ah!" Rashduk exclaims at the unprovoked attack. Being attacked by the first large wildlife he saw was definitely not something he was expecting for the day.

Still, wasting no time, he draws his falchion, and in an elven fashion uses this motion to swing it in an arc striking at the creature with the flat of the blade.

Spoiler

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Move Action: Draw Falchion
Standard Action: Non-Lethal strike with falchion (1d20+5)[25](2d4+4)[9]Crit: (1d20+5)[25](2d4+4)[10]

[Gray Mage]

The crossbow bolt soars through the air, hitting the beast in the shoulder and making it scream in pain. However, the pain wouldn't last long, for the next, and last for the imediate future, thing it saw was the figure of the tall, strong half-orc in mid swing, followed by a close up of a fair amount of metal.

*Bump*
*Bump*
*Bump*
*Bump*
*Bump*
*Bump*

The hit echoes in the forest. The beast lies motionless on the ground, dropped on the ground so fast and hard that a few snow flakes were thrown up high, almost like a cloud of dust, and it gives the slight impression that it's snowing on its body. Against all odds (and common sense) it's still alive, even if it won't get up anytime soon.

(200 XP for you three.
A spot check would be cool. But seriously, please roll one for me.)

[Lady Moreta]

Bethany blinked, the only sign of surprise she made. "Well, that was unexpected," she said mildly, "though it doesn't look very heathly, does it? Poor thing." Lowering the crossbow and looking around her, Bethany walked back to Indy and picked up the lead line, tugging on it to get him moving again.

Spot: (1d20+6)[17]

[Gray Mage]

The stark black-and-white of the wintry forest is broken by a splash of color in the landscape toward the left. A man's body sits upright but slumped against a tree. Around him, the snow is stained a briliant red.

[Lady Moreta]

Bethany paused in her struggle with the mule, staring off into the forest towards the left. "That doesn't bode well," she said in a carefully neutral voice, gesturing with one hand. "I guess he was lunch- dinner... whatever." She remained still for a moment, then went to one of the saddlebags and pulled a magnifying glass from one pocket. Carefully picking her way through the snow, she made her way to the man's side and knelt.

OOC:

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Heal: (1d20)[3] (because I shouldn't assume that my first assumption 'he's dead' is correct)
Search: (1d20+8)[16] (to find out what killed him)

And while the magnifying glass gives no mechanical benefit, it's appropriate to the character to have grabbed it. So she did.

[Gray Mage]

Bethany

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He is most certainly dead, that's for sure. You find an ugly bite wound in his shoulder and blood seeps from his ears because both eardrum's are pierced, most likely by a sharp object, but you can't tell which wound was the responsable for his death (you'd need a heal check for that). The bite wound was bandaged, but it's torn now.

You also find a dagger of outstanding quality with a finely detailed hilt, surely belonged to the deceased, still tinted with blood. His heavy winter clothes are still in a decent enough condition and should fit most humanoids.

[Lady Moreta]

Bethany frowned as she washed her hands and a small dagger clean in the snow. Tucking the magnifying glass into her belt, she stood up, the dagger lying flat on her palm. "Well," she said, "this is -- odd. He's dead, obviously. But I'm not sure what killed him. He's been bitten, presumably by something like our friend there," she gestured towards the animal lying supine in the snow. "On the other hand, both his eardrums are pierced - and you'd need a sharp object for that... I'm not honestly sure a lion's teeth would be capable of doing it. Besides, the bite was bandaged." She stands silent for a moment, idly tapping the hilt of the dagger against her lips.

"Are either of you any good at determining cause of death?" she asked finally. "Because something doesn't add up here."

[The_Admiral]

Keeping his crossbow, James raises his hand's and say's Don't look at me I was doing arcane research before this

[Jjeinn-tae]

Sir Rashduk sheathes his falchion, immediately calm again. Looking at the lion first, and then finding out about the corpse at Bethany and James' conversation. "This, actually was why I was travelling this way. I think I might be able to figure out what killed him."

Spoiler

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At first, Rashduk uses Heal to see if he can figure out why the lion attacked him. He performs another to see if he can figure out what killed the man. (If you rule Heal can be used that way of course)

(1d20+7)[19]
(1d20+7)[26]

[Gray Mage]

Sir Rashduk

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The lion that attacked you appears to show signs of starvation, with some of the bone's shapes showing through his skin. Your best guess is that he was hungry and desperate.

Through a close examination you conclude that the man died due of severe blood loss coming from his shoulder wound that had been treated but were reopened. Surprizingly, it appears that the man himself opened up the wound with his own bloodied frostbitten hand.

[The_Admiral]

Turning to Bethany, James say's Do you have a shovel?

[Lady Moreta]

Bethany raised an eyebrow, "I do yes," she replied. "But why do you want one?" Despite her skepticism, she went back to her mule and retrieved the shovel tied to his back. Returning, she set the blade on the ground and leaned on the handle.

[The_Admiral]

James say's This man need's a proper burial. After saying that, he grabs the shovel and start's digging a hole next to the road.

[Lady Moreta]

Bethany looks a little startled as the shovel is grabbed out of her hands, however she says nothing about it, simply shrugs and moves towards the half-orc, "Can you tell what killed him?" she asks.

[Jjeinn-tae]

Sir Rashduk bites his lip for a moment before responding to Bethany. "Blood loss from his wound here on his shoulder." The half-orc points at the rather obvious wound. "But he reopened it himself, that's curious. He was frost-bit, that can cause some strange actions in people, so that might explain it... I do not know about the ears." He pauses for a bit, before taking off his pack and starts looking in at his travel rations, trying to figure out if it would seem appetizing for a lion.

"Traveling around here is going to be dangerous for us and others. That lion seems to have not eaten in a long time, if that's typical we're liable to see more. I'm sure they've probably noticed the easy prey on the roads. Anyone have any meat we might be able to distract others with?"

[Lady Moreta]

"That's... odd," Bethany murmers, looking suspicious, though a little baffled. "Unfortunately, meat is one of the few things I don't have with me."

[Gray Mage]

Digging through the soil is easier then expected, the melting snow turned it softer then usual, and there isn't almost any ice in the ground to make the job harder. A sixth of the hour later and many tree roots after he began, James finished making a hole big enough for the man to fit below the tree you found him. Buried beneath the place he choose to die, the man would probably apreciate that.

[Lady Moreta]

Straightening up after helping James bury the dead man, Bethan retrieved her shovel and used melted snow to clean the dirt from it. Dusting off her hands, she regarded her two traveling companions. "I don't really think there's anything else we can do here," she commented pragmatically. "I suggest we continue on to the Lodge."

[The_Admiral]

James say's I am in agreement with you Bethany and I need a warm drink and a soft bed right now.