Kingdom of Arim I (IC)

[Archmage1]

Idiotic Shaman. I am glad that he is not fighting very well. Makes this much easier.

Alexis takes another shot at the Shaman, trying to put him down quickly.

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar could have easily decided to lay back after the fire struck him, but he was too high on combat, and now high on rage. Curse that bastard shaman to the abyss! he thinks, and he releases his second curse for the day on the shaman. "asdf asdf asdf asdf!" Tukar shouts, drawing his weapons again. Next, he moves towards the shaman with surprising fury for the small amount of distance to cover, and attacks with his war axe.

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This is a DC 13 will save, or be -2 at most things.

He's not really saying "asdf," by the way. It's whatever the shaman was saying in draconic. Unfortunately, I don't speak draconic IRL or IC.

[Electrobolt]

Seeing as the shaman was the one causing more trouble, Tamni'el dropped the sunrod in his place as he approached the shaman. Then, scimitar gripped in two hands, Tamni'el hacked away at the kobold.

[Holice]

Watching the battle unfold, Uriell notices everyone attacking a particular kobold in the rear, but realizes there may still be too many between him and that one to risk a charge. Instead, he heads for the nearest kobold engaged with one of his companions, thrusting the spear at the back of one.

***

Hu lets out a howl and snaps his jaws viciously at the nearest kobold, trying to tear muscle from bone.

[Keylac]

With a final effort, the party moves to finish the kobolds.

Alexis, still sniping from the stairs, fires off another arrow into the shaman. This one flies true, sticking in it's chest. It's robes seem to have blunted the impact, but they couldn't have stopped it. It stops it's chanting, hissing in pain, and turns to the stairs, madness still filling it's eyes.

Tulkar and Tamni'el, seeing the shaman still standing, rush towards it. A savage curse from Tulkar precedes him, sending a wave of ill omens at the shaman. The shaman shudders as the wave passes over it, but Tulkar, impatient as always, doesn't wait to see the effect of his curse, instead driving his waraxe down into the shamans chest and out it's back. A moment later Tamni'el's scimitar slices through from the other side. As they withdraw their weapons, the small body simply comes apart into a pile of gore.

Uriell, still somewhat dizzy from the blow to the head, forces himself to concentrate. Seizing upon the sight of a spearman - the same one, though he doesn't know it, who injured him - he charges to his friends aid, impaling the kobold. Meanwhile, Hu, freed from his task of guarding his master, rushes across the cellar to fall upon the sleeping kobold, ripping out its throat before it can awake.

Lit by Tamni'el's sunrod and the flames, obscured by gathering smoke and shadows dancing away from the fire, the cellar is the scene of a bloody victory. Kobold corpses - and pieces of corpses - lay all around, some smoldering from the flames

OOC

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Okay, combat is finished. There's a small update to the cast page again.

[Archmage1]

"Well, that went... decently. Is anyone badly injured?"

As she is speaking Alexis is searching the area, looking for anything of interest, as well as traps.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony sets to the task of cleaning his axe Why do these small folk alway have so much blood and why does it cause an axe to rust so quickly? he looks up at the sound of Alexis' voice but only grunts in response. Giving up on his axe he walks over to Tulkar "So you finally hit something boy, not bad, see what happens when you concentrate with one weapon instead of two."

[Comissar]

Darius slowly got back onto his feet, wincing in pain as he did so. He takes a moment to clean his weapon before kneeling on the floor once again. His eyes closed, he silently mouthed a prayer to Krin. After finishing his prayer, he turns his head towards Alexis slightly "I have certainly seen far better days."

[Archmage1]

Well, I am ok, and other than Darius we all seem to be in a reasonable condition.
"Are you able to continue, or do you need healing?"

As Alexis walks around the room searching, she is careful to not step in the blood that is everywhere.

[Comissar]

"I would greatly appreciate some healing, thankyou."

[Archmage1]

"Well, I have a potion of healing, but hopefully, someone else has an actual healing spell."

[AvocadoAvenger]

Tulkar could not say why, but it felt good to receive Anthony's compliment. He certainly did not want to want, or understand why he wanted the respect of Anthony so badly. He even idolized him to an extend, which he understood much less since he was a soldier. "I guess I did, didn't I?" I did my job; I defended this group. I did what I had to do... but gosh did it feel good.

Gloating, Tulkar sets to the task of cleaning his weapon as well. He cherished being able to set to the task alongside Darius and Anthony. See? I got a kill too. I am no less skilled than the rest of the group; I am just as worthy of glory. You may be soldiers, but that does not make you better than me. A smile creeps across Tulkars face. As per normal, it looks creepy, as if it could be in some sort of sadistic joke. In truth, as those who are able to read him well enough can recognize, it is a smile of pride.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony lets out a hearty chuckle and pats him on the back "We can celebrate your first kill later when we get back to a city, I know of a particular dive that would be just right for the occasion. The ale tastes like piss but the wenches are particularily easy on the eyes... my treat.

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And so begins the corruption of another poor soul by my lecherous soldier...

[AvocadoAvenger]

"I'll take you up on that, but I have killed before." Tulkar sounds defensive now, but still proud and happy. Suddenly, his kills are fresh in his mind. Three of them, not counting the animals or the shaman.

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Indeed, it'll be interesting to see how this turns out.
This is just a little more background on a grey area of Tulkar's life I haven't fleshed out very much, you guys don't have to read all of it.

The first kill he counted was when he failed at defending his mother from the Mizan soldiers. He never saw the man die, but he did see his entrails as Tulkar lay on the ground next to him, defeated. Even is he did receive some sort of healing at the last minute to save his life as he bled out, Tulkar still counted him as dead. He would have been no less a kill as someone who had been killed, then resurrected, the way Tulkar saw it. It was an easy kill, it happened so naturally, and without regret. If anything, Tulkar regretted not taking the lives of more of those men that were there on that day. That one brought back emotion- both his love for his mother and his hate for soldiers- that the later kills didn't.

The second kill had been on a job. He was fresh on the market, and was fortunate enough to find his way into a long-term agreement. His boss was involved in an underground trade of illegal goods, and required plenty of protection. Tulkar was hired to work beside soldiers, mercenaries, and other
unsavory characters. After his first gig, which went smoothly, one of his fellow hirelings and he had rubbed each other the wrong way. Long story short, they wound up in a street fight that night in an empty alleyway. Tulkar emerged victorious, but it cost him his job, and gave him a bad name on the market for sellswords permanently. That was partly the reason why he was so poorly off for the rest of hi time at the city.

The third kill occurred later in his time in Arim. He was working as someone who threatens people into paying their debts for someone who was essentially a loanshark. Tulkar had beaten up the guy pretty bad, but had no intention of killing him. The next time he stopped by the remind him of his debt, he had hired thugs to protect him. They were weak things as he was in debt already, but three of them to Tulkar's one. So he did the only thing he could; he threw his axe, then ran. He must have landed a critical, because it hit one square in the neck, and bought him the jump he needed to escape. He remembered all the faces he killed, but felt sorry for the last one less than the first two. It might have been because his hand was forced, but he was slowly becoming desensitized to killing. Now, thinking back to his recent kill of the shaman, he felt sorry for the Kobold even less than the people he had slain.

[Archmage1]

Disgusted at the Antony and Tulkar's reactions to the combat, Alexis speaks her mind

"Death is not to be celebrated. True, they were our enemies, but there is no need to rejoice in their deaths. rejoice in your survival, sure, but not in death."

Shaking her head at their lack of shame, Alexis finishes searching the room, carefully stepping around the puddled blood on the floor, before she checks the regions near the door/doors leading out of the room for traps, and other potential listeners.

[AvocadoAvenger]

If Alexis had been a man, Tulkar probably would have berated him for his sissy ideals. Outside of Tulkar's consciousness, he reacted more warmly towards girls, and pretty girls like Alexis especially. If truth be told, he wasn't exactly used to being around girls, and certainly not on a job. In effect, he found himself unprepared for social interaction, his sexism showing through. "But it was our good skill that killed 'em!" Tulkar called as she walked away. Surely if he had worded that better like one of his companions might have, it would have made a lot stronger of an argument.

[Archmage1]

At least his words show that he is more concerned with his skill than with death.

Alexis seems to be talking in low tone of voice, so that Tulkar needs to listen to actually hear her, and actually pay attention. Her voice seems surprisingly calm for someone who moments before was in a fight to the death.
"Then celebrate your skill, not their deaths. From my perspective, killing someone means that you have already failed, but, I suppose that as a fighter you have a different perspective on that."

Hopefully, Alexis finishes searching the room at some point.

[Keylac]

Alexis' detailed search of the room doesn't reveal a whole lot of interest to the party. The crates and boxes stacked everywhere are either empty or filled with the sort of bulk goods that adventurers would have little use for. About half of the crates seem to date back to when the manor was inhabited, but there are more recent additions; apparently they were able to bring in more goods.

The barrels of oil in the back are the only ones of any immediate interest, and only because it's necessary to make sure the flames the shaman created doesn't spread back towards them. The smell of the rank oil probably convinces everyone not to linger in their vicinity however.

The bodies of the kobolds are much like the ones you encountered outside. They have their weapons, their tattered armor, but their money pouches contain nothing of value, only shiny stones, bits of metal, and the like. This is unusual; you know that kobolds do understand wealth, and prize metals, so why would they carry around junk?

The shamans body is more interesting. Layers of dirty robes shroud the body, and a well-worn staff, sized for the shaman, with crude runes decorating it, is slung across it's back. Beneath all the cloth you find a spell-component pouch and a leather scroll tube. Inside the tube are two scrolls. Both seem to contain spells, but one is written in a blocky language you don't recognize; the other, draconic in a scratchy, crabbed hand.

The door further into the cellar is found behind a stack of boxes, opposite from the stairs. It's a simple wooden door set into a wooden wall, apparently built to divide the cellar. Like most of the house, it's free of traps and unlocked, though you do find a small bell on it. Removing the bell takes only a moments effort.

OOC

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Yes, you finished searching the room. But I figured I'd just let you guys talk for a bit, since there was no fight anymore

[Archmage1]

Alexis casts detect magic, and goes over the area again. She also looks at the collar that they found on the worg.

(Because 1st level characters can always find magic, right?)

[Keylac]

No magical auras can be seen as Alexis re-checks the room. The worgs collar also fails to show even the slightest glimmer, revealing it to be ordinary, though rusted, chain.

The pieces of parchment taken from the shamans scroll tube show more promise. Both glitter with a faint aura of magic. A closer look at them makes it obvious that in between other writings, both contain at least one spell, maybe more.

[Archmage1]

Interesting. Well, let's see what we have here

Alexis will read the scroll in draconic, and try to use her spellcraft to identify the scrolls. When that fails, she will cast Read Magic, and try again.

[Comissar]

Darius walks slowly over to Tulkar and puts a hand on his shoulder. "You did well, I think it's fair to say you spared me a lot of pain, and I'm grateful you did so."

He bows his head slightly in thanks. After doing so, he turns back towards Alexis.

"I think the potion may be the best course if healing magic is not forthcoming." He extends a hand, palm open, "May I?"

[Archmage1]

"Of Course."
Alexis hands over the potion of clw.

[Morbis Meh]

Anothny chuckles at the mention of celebrating death "Of course you wouldn't understand woman, we are merely celebrating our survival and the glory that comes with victory. Also keep your ideals to yourself elf, there are no ballads sung about cowards sneaking through the night or yellow bellies that run from battle in fear. Glory is given to those who take it with sword and axe!"

[Archmage1]

At Anthony's comment about the lack of ballads about sneaking around, Alexis bursts out laughing.

"That was pretty good."
She wipes some tears out of her eyes
"No ballads about sneaking. Priceless."
After a minute or two, she calms down, and explains herself
"Of course there are no ballads about sneaking around. If there were such ballads, they would mean that you failed to sneak. Silence is the ultimate ballad about stealth. And as far as glory goes, well, you can rely on having it handed to you, whereas I will simply take it, should I want it. It isn't cowardice that has me being stealthy. It is intelligence. In a straight up fight, any of you would kill me easily. Sneaking as an easy way to change that."

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony shakes his head "For someone who claims they sneak you sure as hell are loud and like most women you don't listen or see so well do you? I just finished saying that glory is seized through victory, whichever manner it comes from is not the point. It is through skill in arms or in guile, I myself was born with a strong arm and back so I use what I was given. As you can very well see, I wait for no one to give me anything.

[Archmage1]

"Well, to each their own, I suppose. I was born fast and smart, so I use what I was given. I suspect that I will be seeing and hearing a lot more than you will, and I have yet to meet the man who can find something without being told exactly where it is first. Still, shall we move on?"

[Keylac]

Attempting to decipher the spells on the scrolls proves fruitless before casting Read Magic, but afterwards, the meaning becomes clear.

The scroll written in the blocky language proves to contain some spells for priests; Cure Light Wounds and Bless are both found on the scroll. The rest of the writing is still undecipherable to you.

The scroll written in Draconic is more interesting. It has the spell Burning Hands on it, but it also contains a considerable amount of research written in Draconic. It seems that the shaman had been attempting to create a new, more powerful version of the Burning Hands spell. He must have been working on it for years, and he believed he was nearing a breakthrough.

[Archmage1]

"Well, these are interesting. This sheet has a cure light wounds and a bless spell on it, and this one has a burning hands, as well as some research on how to improve the spell. I might be able to use them, but not reliably."
As she is speaking, Alexis first waves the scroll in the blocky language around, and then waves the scroll in draconic around, letting the others know which is which.

[Morbis Meh]

Anthony doesn't bother looking "Bah, it's just paper, after you do your weaboo magic finger waggling it may as well be used to wipe your arse. Give me four feet of sharpened steel any day over paper."