The Winding Road

[sparky9042]

"Ah...ambush?" The thought of combat more menacing than a barfight scares Hansi, who's had no real combat experience in his life before. "Great. Okay. Wonderful. This is no different than drunken inn patrons except they aren't drunk and are competent fighters." The bard stops sarcastically reassuring himself to draw and load his crossbow.

[Diful Takveh]

Fle:

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You escape from the woman's grip, and jump out of her reach. "Fine, but I'm keeping my eye on you." She leads you to the end of the cart and pours you a mug of cider. She holds her hand out for payment. You reach for your coin purse, but find it is not on your belt. "I'll cover this for him." Menarh is suddenly standing over you and takes a few copper out of what appears to be your coin purse. He hands it to you, slowly bringing his hand to yours, "You left this in my tent. Alelsews are nothing without these."

Anna/Elastial:

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Because her balance is so precarious, Anna can do little but guide the tabletop into position. Elastial lifts it with all his strength, and they both work to keep it from blowing in the wind. After a few minutes of struggling with them, both of the tabletops are on the roof, ready to be nailed in place.

Osha/Hansi/Sin Je:

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You walk deeper into the forest, and the patches of light become smaller and fewer in number. Osha hears something up ahead. It sounds like someone is barking orders, but she can't quite make out what they are saying. She knows one thing, bandits wouldn't usually make this much noise.

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

I am so terribly sorry, wagon etiquette is not my forte, she thinks sarcastically. At the mention of "men-Seqy'e", Charlize takes a moment to compare the term to her bank of language skills.

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Knowledge (Local): (1d20+7)[15]
Knowledge (History): (1d20+7)[23]

Interesting. She turns to Menarh, watching him as he works, the sounds of his labor mingling with the symphony of the caravan as it rouses from its slumber, the banging of the pot setting a rhythm for the song of the workers as they go about their business. It seems you already know quite a bit about me, she ponders as she watches the halfling slip from the Whitebirch woman's grasp, observing amusedly as she walks after Menarh, who then appears to pay for Fle's drink with the little man's own coin. Tell me, why do you call me "from the Frost"?

[Diful Takveh]

Charlize:

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Menarh suddenly walks away toward the Whitebirches' tent. <Come, watch this.>

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If you decide to go with him, you see what happens to Fle.

<It is a rough translation of the surname you gave yourself. A true translation would be much too long for practical use.>

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

You have quite the deft hands yourself, Sir Menarh, she observes. Being a thief himself, Fle would never have so carelessly relinquished his own purse. She appraises him. I suppose the dexterity comes with the title, does it not? The intelligence was a fortunate bonus - your father must be very pleased with your qualifications for the job.

[sparky9042]

Hansi looks deeper into the forest, making sure to check behind him as well, all the while on edge.

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Following Osha's lead and taking 20 on Spot and Listen as well, and I've got no modifiers either. The mule has a +6 to both, though, if you're wondering.

[Bowbreaker]

I try to walk on casually, but I stay alert and my grip tightens around my weapon.
"Best we stop talking now. But walk on steadily. Don't look afraid." I whisper.

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I continue taking those 20s.

[Shinovar]

Elastial, worn out from the work, looks up at Anna. "I assume you also want to be the one to nail the things on?" Elastial retrieves the hammer and nails and passes those up as well.

[Saskia]

Uhm, sure, yeah, Anna says, taking the hammer and nails, unsure of whether he's upset with her. I'm not trying to emasculate you or anything, I was just worried about you falling again.

With some hesitation she gets to work hammering the boards into place.

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Balance 12 or (1d20+2)[4] again if necessary

[Bladehunter217]

"Wondering about how you knew alelsews. Guess everything even them alelsews like company." Fle looks back towards him, "Well, is there a party, Fle was under the impression party was tonight."

[Diful Takveh]

Charlize:

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<Yes, he was indeed pleased. One must know a target as well as the target knows himself. There is a tale of the first Raven. He could steal the purses of everyone at a party, and know who each purse belonged to by name, societal position, associations, physical appearance, and line of work without asking a question.> He looks down at the halfling, "Alelsews are common in my country. You could say it is my job to keep track of them." He glides over to Blaire and stares into her eyes, "The elf is with me. If you have any complaints about her, please take them up with me." The woman visibly shrinks back and becomes pale. "Of course, sir."

Hansi/Osha/Sin Je:

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You are getting closer to the source of the shouting. You can start making out what is being ordered. "Faster, faster. Pull that tree out of the way." You hear the braying of a mule off in the distance. Hansi's mule bolts in the direction of the cry, no longer able to keep calm.

Elastial/Anna:

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The woman turns to Elastial, extending her hand, allowing you to shake it, "I'm April Church. You must be new in town for you not to know of Elbert's trickery. Why don't you join me inside and tell me of your story?" Anna maintains her balance on the roof, knowing that anything that could distract her from her work could result in a disastrous fall. You start nailing the boards in place.

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Make a craft(Carpentry) check.

Fle:

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He looks down at you, "Alelsews are common in my country. You could say it is my job to keep track of them." He glides over to Blaire and stares into her eyes, "The elf is with me. If you have any complaints about her, please take them up with me." The woman visibly shrinks back and becomes pale. "Of course, sir."

[Bladehunter217]

Fle laughs and quickly empties the mug before him. He then tapped his nose with one hand, checked his purse with the other and walked to where he left his backpack with tools and lantern. "Goodluck finding what you are looking for human, I hope you a swift journey."

[Saskia]

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(1d20+1)[11] craft

[Diful Takveh]

Fle/Charlize:

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The rest of the camp is starting to wake up now, packing up tents and other supplies. You will be leaving soon.

Anna:

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You start nailing the first board in place, remembering everything Arthur taught you. You successfully nail down the long edge of the first board. You move on to the opposite side to affix it to the roof.

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--EDIT-- Make another craft(housebuilding) check.

[Bladehunter217]

Fle wanders the outskirts of the camp, staying far from the others while he waits, impatiently, for everyone to be ready enough to leave.

[Saskia]

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(1d20+1)[5] housebuilding

[Diful Takveh]

Fle:

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You exit the main campground, making sure nobody is following you and sit under a tree. You watch the group pack up their tents. There are about 150 traveling either to or through Hillingshire, much more than you remember lived in that town. The morning world is quiet and peaceful, but you have a long road ahead of you.

Anna:

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You bend about half the nails you put in this time. It's a good thing Arthur gave you plenty of spares. The tabletop would stay in place as long as there weren't any strong winds. The wind starts to slow down, and you reflect on your days in the temple of Wee Jas. Your work for the Stern Lady continued even now, as you used your hard-working and helpful attitude draw the people to the faith. The wind picks up, and you decide it best that you secure the tabletop.

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Another craft(housebuilding) check please.

[Saskia]

And Arthur makes this look so easy... Anna thinks, trying to emulate the form she's seen him use so often as she tries again.

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(1d20+1)[9] house building.

Addendum: If that doesn't work, just assume she keeps going until she gets it. Take 10, take 20, whatever, because she's not leaving that roof until her neighbor isn't going to get rained on.

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

My, a warrior, an intellect, and now a knight in shining armor to boot, she thinks, you are full of surprises. Noticing how busy the camp was becoming, Charlize bows to Menarh. "I shall not trouble you much longer," she says to him, "the caravan will be moving soon, and I would not want you to keep you so long that you are not ready when it does." Let us speak again once you are ready. Before she leaves, she also bows to Blaire. "I apologize for any trouble or misunderstanding I have caused, Miss Whitebirch," she offers apologetically, "I meant no disrespect when I entered your tent unannounced - this is my first time in a caravan, and I simply did not know the proper etiquette."

Soon, she wanders away from the camp, finding an isolated spot on its outskirts. Closing her eyes, Charlize concentrates and mouths the arcane words for a Detect Magic spell. Invisible tendrils reach out from her mind, seeking out any nearby sources of magic. Specifically, she focuses on her belt, at the bag of tea which Menarh had given her.

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Cast Detect Magic.

[sparky9042]

"Dammit!" Fear turns to frustration as the mule sprints off. "There goes my gear..." Hansi begins chasing the mule, not wanting to lose it or his possessions to whatever he's looking for out there. Besides, he tells himself, he can talk his way out of whatever's ahead. Right?

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Still making Spot and Listen checks, though I guess at a -2 penalty for being distracted.

[Gem_Knight]

Sin Je grumbles under his breath in Draconic. Something about stupid mule thinking with wrong head. He picks up his pace after Hansi, "Be careful human, gear can be replaced, life not so much." (Assuming Sin Je hears the voices ahead). Sin Je pauses, "Human be careful, someone is ahead, sounds like they're moving the logs so it may not be bandits, but better safe than jumped."

[Diful Takveh]

Anna:

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You continue nailing the roof.

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You will take about 6 minutes to finish the job, so for timeline sake, you'll just stay up there for a few posts.

Charlize:

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You retreat into solitude to both concentrate on your spell and get away from Menarh. You detect a faint magical aura on the bag. After you focus on it for a while, you understand that it is an aura of transmutation magic.

Osha/Sin Je:

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Hansi takes off after his mule. Osha and Sin Je remain together, moving only slightly faster than a normal pace. He soon disappears from your sight.

Hansi:

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Your mule has a substantial lead on you, but you should be able to catch him soon. Up in the distance, you can see a cart. "Good boy. It looks like you found a friend." The voice is high and squeaky, completely different from the voice you heard giving orders, and if you would hazard to guess a race, you would pick a gnome.

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

A transmutation spell? Charlize cautiously opens the bag again, peering inside to make sure that it in fact held regular tea leaves, or if it had more to it than meets the eye.

[sparky9042]

Hansi continues chasing the mule, slowing down once he approaches the cart. As he draws near, he makes an attempt at stealth. Time to figure out how to get out of whatever this is somehow... he thinks, realizing that running ahead of the group may not have been his best idea.

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Still making Spot and Listen checks. Once Hansi starts slowing down, Move Silently (with a +2 modifier unless there's a penalty I don't know about).

[Bowbreaker]

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OOC: Damn. I wanted to run behind Hansi but wasn't able to post. I'll either do it retroactively or in a delayed fashion.

I swap my greatsword for the lighter bow and run behind Hansi, trying to catch up with him. As we were able to hear the person further down the road, I assume that he should be able to hear us from here.
I shout "Who goes there?" in an as authorative voice as I can.

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Intimidate: (1d20+1)[18]

[Shinovar]

Elastial looks over at Anna to be sure she isn't going to fall.

"I am indeed. Just got here yesterday. My name is Elastial Kepler. It is good to make your acquaintance under better circumstances than before. I would be delighted to take you up on your offer, as long as we keep Anna in sight. We can't really do much down here to help her, but we can at be ready if she falls."

[Saskia]

Though her focus remains on boarding the roof, Anna calls down cheerfully to Elastial. Don't worry about me, I'll be alright! I'll pop my head in when I'm done if you're really concerned!

[Diful Takveh]

Charlize:

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Inside you find only the tea leaves that Menarh gave you. As you focus more keenly on the bag, you realize that the bag itself is emitting the aura, not the leaves.

Hansi:

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You hear a voice that you recognize as Osha's behind you, "Who goes there?" Her announcing of your position means that you'll probably have to get off the road to avoid being seen. You hear the voice up ahead, "Who is your new friend?"

Osha:

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Even after yelling after Hansi to stop, he continues running after his mule. Your authoritative shout receives no response as far as you can tell.

Anna/Elastial:

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"Kepler, as in Sir Kepler, shieldbearer to Hill?" She asks this with high expectations. You know that Hill was the great hero of the realm who cleared out the original empire and settled in Hillingshire, giving the town its name.

[Gem_Knight]

Sin Je sighs in frustration as he continues after Hansi, cautiously listening for what lies ahead.

[sparky9042]

Hansi ducks off the road to the right, unsure if he's been seen or not by this mysterious figure who seems to have intercepted his mule. He continues moving forward slowly enough to keep quiet.

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Hide check at a +2 Modifier (I'm assuming that's done like Spot and Listen), still Spotting, Listening, and Moving Silently.