Athas Unchained IC: Group B

[shugyosha]

Dorroku

The young druid heads to the northern gate meeting his comrade in arms. His eyes squint at the light of the sun strikes his face. He expects to hear the clamor of chaos considering the ruckus inside the arena.

Looking around he hopes to find a cart or wagon.

[Starbuck_II]

You sure, sound sure of yourself, Meg. Confidence can sometimes be foolishness, but I agree that Bazaar might be useful place to search.
Bathlazer said as he walked with them.

[nazgulnine]

Jabr and Dorroku
Your eyes take a bit longer to adjust to the light of Athas, but the sound of panic and chaos is no less audible than it was in the arena, if more-so. Hundreds of people are running and frantic, and it seems several of the black-cloaked psions have moved their battle with the emperor's eagle knights to the midst of the streets.

There is an empty cart, and it may be the one used to cart you to Draj. The mekillot that drew it is nowhere to be seen. Looking down, there is approximately a 10 foot drop from the loading area to the sand-strewn streets, with a set of stone stairs to your right. A blast of ectoplasmic energy overhead, coming from the arena, knocks a chunk out of the arena wall and down onto a stray citizen running out of the arena.

The psion who told Xiro and Argath of the Black Sun* runs past you now, offering a small salute before activating his psionic powers to leap the 10 foot jump and turn into the streets.


*OOC:

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I can't believe I forgot to post this one in this group's thread. You all definitely heard this from your former arena-enemy:

Once the man has lead you (Xiro and Argath) through the hallway and into the bloodworks, he quickly sets to work restocking on javelins and in finding some shell armor and a cloak.
"All right, those guys in black back there are bad news. Back when I was down in the brotherhood, that's the Brotherhood of the Mind, I first heard of these black-cloaked guys in Tyr. They call themselves the Black Sun. Psions with a real serious grudge against Defilers and Preservers alike. They don't discriminate, unlike the Brotherhood. Guys hate magic and all magic users."
He turns and sneers at your group.

[raspberrybadger]

Meg looks taken aback a moment at Bathlazer's comment, but then replies in a low voice, "My cousin told me a secret." Her voice adopts a higher pitch, and a more even rythym, as she quotes: "You want to guard something, look like you're not afraid to take out an army." Her voice drops back to normal, with a little hesitation, as she continues: "She's usually right. We're on guard now, so I hope it works here."

Drawing herself back up into a confident watchful pose, she hurries after Dorroku. When she sees the cart, she tries to figure out how well she could pull it, and isn't sure. She feels guilty for being glad the mekillot isn't here.

[shugyosha]

Dorroku

"There must be a stables nearby," he says as he begins to move down the stairs. He looks around to set where it might be and sniffs the air searching for the mekillot stink as well.

[ji9zo]

Jabr slowly follows Dorroku down the stairs, keeping his eyes out and particularly keeping an eye on the psion who just ran past them.

"What's your plan? Get out of the city as fast as possible?"

[shugyosha]

Dorroku

"Yeah, unless you have any reason for staying in the city?" he answers.

[ji9zo]

"None at all. Never been to Draj before. Never intended to come here."

Jabr replies before looking back down the tunnel, checking if any of the others are following.

[The_Shaman]

Ogalae looks quickly around for anything of particular value he could take as a "keepsake" of his time as a gladiator or some regular clothes that would make him stick out a bit less. Whether he sees anything or not, he quickly heads towards the exit.

[raspberrybadger]

Meg adds, a little confused Stables first then out? Or just straight out?

[shugyosha]

Dorroku

"We can spend a minute looking for the stables unless we find another mode of transportation sooner. We need something faster than our feet to make good time out there," he explains.

[The_Shaman]

"We should be able to arrange for something anyway. There are bound to be merchants or caravans leaving soon that wouldn't mind the extra guards," the young priest offers.

[shugyosha]

Dorroku

That was a good idea the druid hadn't thought of. "Okay stables first, if not then we head out and liberate transportation, if not then we go on foot and hope for a caravan that need us. Sounds like a plan."

[nazgulnine]

Ogalae
You immediately find a sheet which functions as an ample cloak; you suspect it will protect you from the sun and help you blend in more. It may have been intended as a burial shroud. Sadly, nothing of notable value sticks out to you as you exit the "Palace."

Meg

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You notice the faint smell of Crodlu dung lingering in the air. You suspect there may be crodlu nearby.

All
The battles seem to be providing a diversion for the city guards and a few drunken wastelanders looking for a fight after the interruption of the arena's show.
To the north and west is the bazaar, to the east are housing complexes and all around are panicked citizens and outlanders.
Exiting the Palace behind you are Xiro and Argath, carrying an ample amount of cloaks.

[raspberrybadger]

Meg is happy when people start talking about caravan guarding. She knows how to do that. With her mind on her caravan days, she recognizes something else familiar. Crodlu. Put enough in one place, and the scent is unmistakable. She tries to think: Would they be with a caravan? Stable? Bunch of people mounted for some reason? Time to ask, so she speaks up again, a little hesitantly, trying to be helpful, and not realizing others might not smell what she does...

"Ah, would the crodlu be in the stable we're looking for? Or is the smell because we're going towards a caravan now?"

She trails off, caught in a sudden thought: What if they don't have one big enough for me?

[Starbuck_II]

Smell, what are you talking about? You can tell by smell if they are present?
Bathlazer isn't sure what Meg means, but she seemed to have some imporant to tell.

[raspberrybadger]

When Bathlazer sounds confused, Meg picks up some of the confusion herself, but rallies and says "The dung is what smells. I don't know where it's coming from. It can't be far though. Where there's that much Crodlu dung, should be Crodlu too."

[shugyosha]

Dorroku

"It might do. Depending on how big or how many. Let's go find it."

[nazgulnine]

All
Following Meg's nose, you head to the north, where the bazaar is situated and where the stables are most likely to be kept. Through the alleys, you're surprised that you see no one except a citizen sprinting through an alley perpendicular to the one you're in, a man with what looks to be a machete chasing him, shouting obscenities.

The streets themselves are littered with shattered pottery and broken glass among bedrolls. It seems the warriors' city has its own problems with homelessness. You quickly come to the crossroads where you saw the two men running.

Meg:

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based on the lingering odor, you think you should just keep going north, ignoring the two men.

[raspberrybadger]

Meg tries to keep herself looking alert and ready to fight, hoping it will keep away trouble. It seems to Meg like there is plenty of trouble here to be kept away.

When she gets to the crossroads, Meg points north and says to Dorroku

"The smell gets stronger when we move this way. We want to find the Crodlu, we keep going."

[shugyosha]

Dorroku

The druid nodded and kept on going.

[The_Shaman]

Ogalae follows the large woman. She seems to know what she's doing. Besides, right now they don't seem to be in any serious trouble, and he doesn't mind walking.

[nazgulnine]

OOC:

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In case it went over someone's head, this was a Zork-style "while traipsing through the forest you hear a woman scream, what do you do?" mini-sidequest. If any of you, after reading this, feel like you missed out on something, no... you didn't. NOW LET'S GET THIS TRAIN MOVI--

Ignoring the two men you quicken pace and as Meg steps out from the alley, she's nearly beaned in the head by a stray arrow. The first thing you notice are the overturned bazaar stands... nearly all of them. Fruit is spilled along the ground from carts, and much of it has been trampled into pulp, but all of it looks ripe for the taking. Those of you with thievery on the mind immediately spot the perishable goods, but also some filled sacks stashed behind one of the nearby stands.
You all spot the foul stench of Crodlu that Meg had been smelling. Three dead birdlike lizards lay split in half and baking in the sun in the center of the street.

Bathlazer, Jabr, Meg:

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You also spot a caravan sneaking out of the city. You're able to count 5 crodlu, all with riders and laden with bags.

[shugyosha]

Dorroku

"Damn, I guess it is plan 'B' then. Okay, lets find some other transportation and liberate it... without killing would be preferable."

[raspberrybadger]

After that fight Meg really wants some fruit when she sees it, but she knows she needs to look watchful and ready. That pays off when she sees the Crodlu. She immediately says to Dorroku "Crodlu, not the dead ones, but live, with a caravan. Heading out, that way." She nods in the direction of the departing caravan, hoping the group will pick up on it. She'd really like to be a caravan guard again, and they might have plenty of supplies too.

[ji9zo]

Knowing that wherever they're going they'll need food, Jabr grabs a few pieces of fruit from the ground.

"Yeah, I see it too. Shall we 'liberate" it, as you said?"

[shugyosha]

Dorroku

"I was hoping to liberate something that was unattended. I've used up all my magic," he explains. Reaching down quickly he grabs some fruit and stuffs them in his quiver.

The young druid looks in the direction of the fleeing caravan and tries his best to spot anything that might show that they are fleeing thieves or anything else out of the ordinary.

"Let's hurry"

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(1d20+7)[12] perception
(1d20+3)[10] sense motive

[The_Shaman]

Ogalae takes a few things from a nearby stall, and walks on, looking for any other people nearby to judge from their reaction. "I agree. We have nothing else to do here."

[nazgulnine]

All
You dash across the street, making your way to the alley while managing to stay out of the blast of any loose psionics. The caravan merchants seem to be on edge as they witness you approach. One of the merchants draws what looks to be a sharkbone scimitar and shouts.
"Stay back, brigands! Scram or you'll get a taste of my Fang!"

Jabr

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You pick up enough fruit to feed everyone for one day, or yourself for a week. You might want to put it someplace safe.

Dorroku

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You manage to fit about 5 large fruits in your quiver without identifying their type.
You don't notice anything out of the ordinary about them (they're just as spooked as the other civilians), but they ARE carrying some amount of what you definitely know to be food that you notice peeking out from one of the saddlebags.

Ogalae

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You pick up one of the burlap sacks and three pieces of whole fruit without checking.

[shugyosha]

Dorroku

He was unsure if they were merchants or thieves but Dorroku decided to play them at face value. "We are here to help," he explained. "We can be your caravan's guards."

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(1d20+3)[13] sense motive
(1d20+1)[2] diplomacy

also 'sharkbone scimitar' in a desert?