Random Adventures IC (D&D 3.5)

[inexorabletruth]

The gnomish creature glances to Oscar from time to time as he speaks, but never really takes his eye off Richard.

At the mention of Alfie, he stops and puts his fists down. "Aw... lil Alfie ain't gonna hurt me. Are ya boy?" He smiles at the dog. Then looks up to Oscar. "Oh all right. I've nearly worn out my welcome with the lady anyway. Hang on just a minute."

He scurries off deeper into the cave for a few moments and you hear some rustling. He comes back with a small chain mail shirt draped over his shoulder, clasping a well kept short sword to his belt, and sporting a polished horned helmet on his head. The helmet pushes his long, bushy eyebrows down, giving him a "sad face" expression as he purses his lips while working the clasp. "So," he says with a sigh after cinching up the belt. "Where are ya tryin to get to?"

[Jungian]

"We are escorting Jarvis and his fellow merchants to Luskan." He takes a moment to prepare his various items, neatly packing them into his luggage. "We have suffered some...losses at the hands of some mountain curs." He turns to address Mr.Jarvis, "Sir I believe we should depart soon, lest we waste anymore of the precious day."

He goes about aiding the merchants with their various preparations, "Shall we establish a marching order?"

Unfortunately, the creature must be in front for safety and to guide the path....While I shall be downwind...lovely

[Croverus]

Feddin does a few stretches, flexing and performing some quick balance tests while everyone packs up. When they seem ready to go he grabs his pack and slings it over his shoulder. "I'll take up the rear, make sure no bandits try and sneak up from behind us. We should make good time today. I have a feeling the weather will be much more agreeable." He chuckles, waiting for the group to get under way, he'll fall in at the back of the group, about 10ft behind anyone else.

[Lexin]

Felix sighs and says, looking a bit tired "If we finally decided not to kill each other, I suppose we could focus on our jobs... I will check if the wagons can pass back to the road without any trouble. I will be back in a minute.
Ah, and I think I will keep my place beside Jarvis' wagon."

Felix walks outside to see if there aren't any problems with getting out after yesterday's weather.

[missmvicious]

"Hey...you still haven't given us a name, what do you want us to call you?" Gwen asks wondering about their newest traveling companion.

[Croverus]

Feddin looks at Gwen, saying nothing before he looks away and speaks. His tone is flat, like the conversation was a waste of time. "Feddin Silent-Tree. Now, we going to all hold hands and skip along or are we going to get some real trekking done?" He's returned back to his abrasive self it would seem.

[missmvicious]

"Skipping usually does go faster then trekking you know." Gwen said with a cheeky smile, Mister "I'm grumpy all the time" was not who she felt like dealing with right now. To the creature "Do you have anything else that might come in handy for the trip? I could help carry something."

[inexorabletruth]

The merchants, especially Jarvis, are quite eager to be off. Oscar's help though appreciated, is barely needed as they scurry to get their things together, and head out of the cave. By the time Gwen even address the gnome-like creature Jarvis is already rolling his two wagons outside with Felix on his tail.

Felix gets to enjoy a delightfully pristine vista. Although the sun cannot penetrate the low clouds, it's light infuses the gray sky with a radiant silvery glow with shimmering slivers of white light that denote where one cloud ends and another begins. The water soaked ground has washed away much of the winter's coat of snow and left behind lush shades of glistening green grass and moss and rich brown earth.

The only down side to this majestic view are the roads, which are saturated with rain and are sure to slow the caravan to a crawl until the sun can properly bake the roads.

The gnomish creature looks to Gwen with a shrug. "I've got a few things inna back, if you're interested." He thrusts a thumb over his shoulder to point in the direction he came from to get his equipment. "I don't have much use for 'em, but they might suit ya. May wanna' bring a torch to see it all though."

[Lexin]

Felix walks back to others.

"We would be slowed down because of all the mud, but there aren't any heavy obstacles blocking the road so we could move when you are ready."

[missmvicious]

"I'll grab my lantern." Gwen says pulling it from her pack and lighting the oil. "Lets check it out." Gwen follows the creature to the back of the cave.

[inexorabletruth]

Walking deeper into the cave, you turn a corner, and find a cul de sac with a small, but glittering hoard.

Gwen:

Spoiler

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Among the equipment, you find:

• 1 Medium Sized Full-Plate Armor (mundane)
• 1 Medium Sized Tower Shield (mundane)
• 4 Medium Sized Daggers (masterwork)
• 1 Wand
• 2 Outfits (1 Medium sized, 1 Small sized)
• 4 Gems (2 Snowflake Obsidian, 1 Bloodstone, 1 Almandine Garnet)
• 350 SP
• 723 CP

And several various odds and ends... empty bottles, a sack of coffee beans, 3 bags of barley, 7 tattered and empty backpacks, a crate full of various bottled spices and seasonings, a sack of dried apples, and 2 sacks of almonds.

It's evident he's been "taking tributes" from caravans who camp out in his cave for some time now.

[Jungian]

Oscar had been half listening to the creatures and Gwen's conversation. At the mention of items Oscar slightly shudders, A few filthy fungi infested chunks of deer hide, no doubt. He notes Gwen had moved into the cave keeping an eye on the entrance in case a situation developed.

[missmvicious]

"Oh wow" Gwen says under her breath "Someone has been very busy." She is looks over some of the things and the armor catches her eye. "Well I'd wager this would fit me." She thinks inspecting. She then pickes up the wand and looked over it.
"Hey Oscar" she decided to call, "Can you and our new friend come here? I have questions"

[inexorabletruth]

The gnomish looking fellow looks up from digging through one of the packs on Ollie's mule at the sound of Gwen's call.

"Does she mean me?" He asks, seemingly not feeling the least bit guilty for invading a merchants pack.

[Jungian]

Oscar quickly utters "I believe so...", before making his way to gene with a brisk walk. "How can I be of assistance?"

[inexorabletruth]

The gnome follows Oscar back to Gwen. "What?" He blurts, slightly miffed that he was disrupted from his activities.

[Croverus]

Feddin sighs, noticing they'd be taking their time leaving it seemed. He wanders over to a nearby tree and tests it's stability, then if it seems like it won't fall over he climbs up the side to get a good view of the surrounding area, keeping a look out for any sign of trouble.

Spoiler

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Jump (1d20+5)[23]
Balance (1d20+2)[18]
Spot(1d20+7)[8]

[missmvicious]

Gwen holds out the wand "Do you know what this casts? Could you identify it?"

[inexorabletruth]

The gnomish fellow shrugs. "No idea. I never could get the darned thing to work. But I'm no magic user."

[missmvicious]

"Oscar can you tell what it is?" Gwen asks.

[Jungian]

Oscar carefully plucks the wands from Gwen's hand. He raises the wand to eye level, caressing the wood with his fingertips before speaking. His speech is lower and full of anticipation as he says,

"Ms.Gwen the question is not if but when. Identification of an arcane item such as this can be accomplished with a myriad of different protocols. I could spend years conducting rigorous study of lore and the item in question, searching for a distinguishing idiosyncrasy of its manufacturer. I could test qualities of the object to various arcane phenomena or cast powerful divinations to unwrap the mysteries contained in its construction. A more barbaric method is to force the spell within to deploy. A dangerous method but exciting none the less.

Once upon a time, Magic was not so academic in nature...Some of the best methods of study are visceral and sensory in nature, using the tools bestowed by the gods upon us mortals. A reliance on instinct as much as wisdom and knowledge, a perfect amalgam of art and science. "

He lowers the wand slowly, his grip betraying his intentions before he says, "Allow me to retain possession of the wand for now. I shall focus on indentifying its nature as we travel."He eyes the ill gotten bounty behind Gwen, with a curious glance at their new traveling companion, "More boons I presume? No matter, let us take what is usable and enough to cover the cost of the wine. Ms Gwen weapons are not my speciality...if there is a knife or crossbow of quality, I kindly request you procure it for my use. Oh also any clothes or materials, if you encounter them. I could perform alterations and repairs to the clothes. The materials I could fashion into...perhaps a rugged vest of sorts or an overcoat. " He turns to return to the cart with the wand in tow, "I leave the rest to your experience and discretion."

[missmvicious]

"You know these trade good are only going to go to waste here, why not bring them along and sell them in Luskan?" Gwen suggests. "I'm sure the other merchants would feel better that way and they could help you sell them if you wanted." She picked up a dagger and looked at its finely crafted blade.

[inexorabletruth]

The creature shrugs. "Yer probably right. And I've got no use for 'em. As I said, take what ya want."

Simon finally has his stuff out of the cave, and is stretching a bit as he calls out, "Hey. Can we go now?" It would appear that Gwen and the gnomish fellow are the only ones still in the cave... except for a few small rodents still scavenging the crumbs from the group's breakfast.

Feddin:

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There is very little activity, but at this high perch you see another distant caravan plodding north. Apparently you weren't the only group caught on this mountain storm. The goblins that infest this mountain don't usually come out under the light of day, and the bandits won't likely be bothering you anytime soon. That leaves only a few basic concerns... mostly traversing the muck of the road and the possibility of giant types which have been known, from time to time, to hassle a slow moving merchant caravan in these peaks.

[Croverus]

"We should get moving now. I spotted another caravan heading north. There won't be much problems other than the slow going, which hopefully we can make a decent pace. Bandits won't bother us likely, and in this light we are not going to be troubled by any goblins or orcs I'd wager. But I imagine the caravan needs to make up for lost time. Let's go."

He waits for all to start off, hanging back to watch the rear of the caravan. Hopefully if any of the native beings of the mountains waylay the caravan he will be able to try negotiating with them.

[missmvicious]

"Oscar," Gwen says, her tone hinting at a pending question, "Could we please use your cart to carry this stuff?"

[Jungian]

Oscar ceases his quiet muttering for a moment, "Yes, yes" before returning his intention back to the wand

[inexorabletruth]

The gnomish looking fellow examines the road ahead. "Where're we headed again?" he asks no one in particular as he squints against the sky... not such a bright horizon, really, but perhaps radiant to one who spends most of his time in a cave.

"North." Grunts Jarvis with his face curled up in an unpleasant sneer, as if smelling something unpleasant. "To Luskan. But we stop at Port Llast for supplies and repairs first." It's evident that Jarvis isn't happy about being so close to the filthy creature.

"Ya got a long trip ahead of ya then. We'll make better time if we stay off the merchant roads. Rain's turned em to mush. We'll take the Old Road."

Jarvis tries to cover his scowl. "Well, we'd best get a move on then." Jarvis unfurls his map with his left hand and tries to find this "Old Road" which doesn't appear to be on the map. Jarvis pulls out a percolator and pours a cup of coffee, smiling at the presence of a welcome aroma.

As soon as Gwen is done loading her stuff onto Oscar's cart, the caravan lurches forward and upward, with the gnomish creature leading the way...

The adventure continues tomorrow. I'm awaiting a response to a PM.

[Croverus]

"Sure, it'll save us time, as long as we aren't walking into an ambush. Can never be sure with that path. I can't count the number of times I've gone down there and found what was left of a goblin attack on some traveling group. I have no problem taking it, I'm growing bored with this group as it is and the less time I spend meandering in the mud the better. But since I'm only a recent addition to the party, I'll leave it to the rest of you to decide."

Feddin lets the others go on ahead to work out the extra knowledge he has added. At least now if they follow the fey's direction they won't be completely surprised when they get attacked by bandits or goblins.

[Jungian]

Oscar sits in the cart, half relying on Maximus to guide the cart laddened with items. He suspends the wand at eye level before gently placing in his lap. He mutters an incantation, the words fluttering to his ears as his perception of the world is fundamentally changed. I may not identify the exact spell but I can narrow the possibilities.

DM

Spoiler

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Casting Detect Magic and studying it for three rounds
Spellcraft check (1d20+9)[13]

[inexorabletruth]

The caravan rolls on, curving off the main road and bouncing up the mountainside, until eventually the trackless terrain smoothes out into a warn and deteriorated, narrow cobbled path. The caravan is forced to re-order into a single file in order to fit, but true to the gnomish creature's word, it is faster, even if it's considerably more roundabout.

Oscar:

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The wand seems unimpressive. It's basically nothing more than a petrified twig with a blackened and gnawed on tip. Most likely the rodents of the cave got to it more than once and destroyed its potency. And with the rough and bouncy terrain, it takes longer than usual to understand the tool you hold in your hand, but as you sink further into the meditative gaze of the Detect Magic spell, the mundane world desaturates to gray and you notice a weak and pale glow emanating from the wand, as well as something on the peripheral of your vision that is also in the cart.

As you focus on the glow coming from the wand, you can see that, as the glow brightens, a faint undertone of green or maybe brown... or is it blue... begins to shimmer under the undefined sheen of the wand's aura.

Perhaps with further study, you could be certain. But at the moment, you are certain that the magic in this wand is still potent and possessive of some kind of magic from the school of Conjuration, Evocation, or Illusion.

You stop frequently to test the air and check for traps ahead, but the going is fairly smooth. By the day's end, the on-again-off-again sprinkling rain has turned into a steady drizzle and the gnomish fellow has taken a perch next to Percy, on his wagon, much to Jarvis's amusement, and his assistant's barely contained displeasure.

"Perhaps we could stop for the evening... next to a spring, or some other body of clean water. I'd like to freshen up a bit and wash some of my clothes," Percy shouts out to the caravan, though it's evident by his occasional sidelong glances at the gnomish fellow that he isn't talking about freshening himself.

"Nonsense," Jarvis retorts. "For once we are on schedule! And I firmly believe we are no longer the last caravan. If we ride through the night, we may be able to overtake the next one! If we must, I'm prepared to make clearings in my wagons for passengers who wish to take naps, but the sooner we get to Luskan, the more we can charge for our wares!"

What is the group's will: Ride on through the night, or find a place to make camp?