[IC] Crestfallin' - The Land of Magical Adventure!

[Dexam]

Syviraux keeps her loaded crossbow trained on the Orc as she emerges from the smoke-filled room.

"He looks reasonably bright - how about we try good old-fashioned Trader's Common first?" She turns her attention to the subject in question. "Care to explain why you attacked us? And where are the miners?"

The small Dragonborn waits patiently for a response. If there is none forthcoming, she will repeat the questions in crude Orcish: "Why you attack? Where diggers?"

[3drinks]

The Orc stares blankly at Syviraux in response [or lack thereof] to the first question. His ears perk up at the sounds of his own crude Orc tongue and while he starts to open his mouth, instead he stops, not interested in talking. He shakes his head and slowly moves his hand down to his belt by the hilt of his ceremonial blade.

[Dexam]

"No move!" Syviraux pleads, desperately trying to remember the Orcish word for "please", or if there even is an Orcish word for "please". "Talk. You name?" she points a talon at the Orc, then at herself. "Me name Golden Scales."

Spoiler: OOC

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Rolling for Diplomacy: (1d20+8)[28]

Edit: holy moly! Golden scales and silver tongue!

[3drinks]

The sergeant runs his hand to the hilt and stops. He grips handaxe tightly, but keeps it hooked on his belt.

"uu'a kraltch! uu gib chu'lursk eem ee! Goth choom the kobold r'hir'a! shu'uk Uruk'hai meet Sh'kah'r Gruumsh make clomp! R'hir'a the humies! In Gruumsh Klerggoth! Ogtuuk Klerg!"

Spoiler: Orc Speakers

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"You are diseased mongbat (orc insult)! You give mine crossbow me! Boss say to destroy completely the kobold to burn to the ground! To gather Orcish race meet Shaman Gruumsh make total destruction! Burn the humans! In the Gruumsh Warlord name! Prepare for the Ascension of Gruumsh!"

[TheLiquidSnake]

"DOES HE OFFER US INSULT!?!?!" Cassie will shout at the orcs rantings.

[3drinks]

The sergeant turns to the Dwarf's shouts in anger

"choom lagh jat! pulga lagh for Gruumsh!" eem ggrultuk trok uu'r blud lagh! r'hir'a erd'a dwarven shu'uk'a-b'hai! Ogtuuk Klerg!"

Spoiler: Orc Speakers

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"Destroy the 'ice demon' (obviously playing on Cassie's Arctic lineage) now! Capture the ice demon for Gruumsh! My axe will drink your blood ice demon! Destroy by fire Dwarven city! For Gruumsh name!"

(I always imagined an Arctic Dwarf would look noticeably [and obviously] different from a standard Dwarf).

[Enyalius]

Tightening his grip on his blade (but not moving it from it's place at his side) in response to the perceived threat to his ally, Reaven speaks, his eyes hard, and his voice set in a cold and even tone, "I don't know what you just said, but it sounds like something someone can be stabbed for."

[Dexam]

"Oh my!" Syviraux seems somewhat taken aback at the Orc's rantings. "It seems that we've stumbled into the middle of a religion-fueled race-war between orcs and kobolds... and the human miners here have been caught in the crossfire."

She ponders the rantings for a moment. "To put it concisely, he says that the orcs have been ordered by their Shaman and Warlord to destroy the kobolds and humans in the name of Gruumsh - I take I don't need to let you know who that is? He also make mention of an 'ascension of Gruumsh'... it may be possible that their deity has chosen this Warlord as a Champion or Herald, and he's been set the task of kobold genocide to prove his worth. This is... worrying, to say the least."

"DOES HE OFFER US INSULT!?!?!" Cassie will shout at the orcs rantings.

"I don't know what you just said, but it sounds like something someone can be stabbed for."

"Uh, yeah. It was nothing complimentary." She looks to her dwarven companion. "He seems to think that Cassie here is some sort of dwarf ice demon. He wants his axe to drink your blood, and to destroy the city of the Dwarves with fire. He seems to be very set on burning things."

[Enyalius]

"So we're dealing with gods... great this is just what I needed." Reaven says in a sarcastic manner.

Continuing to face the orc, but turning his eyes to his draconic ally, he asks " So what's the plan?"

[TheLiquidSnake]

"Let's just have his head and be done with it."

[Dexam]

"I'd rather not kill a defenseless opponent," Syviraux remarks, eyeing the orc's handaxe. "Well, relatively defenseless. Can we just take his weapons, knock him out, tie him up, and move on? There are lives that could still be saved."

[TheLiquidSnake]

"If he is some kind of super zealot for this cause of gods and whatnot why should we risk him coming back to stab us when we dotn expect it?"

[Dexam]

"Because it shows that we are better and more honourable than he is. Because I will sleep better at night, knowing that the blood of the defenseless is not on my hands. Because I will go before my god, when my time comes, and say unto Him 'yes, it wasn't the smartest move, but I did my best and my conscience is clear'. Because there is always a chance, however slim, for redemption and change; and the dead cannot be redeemed or changed. Take your choice - I could offer more reasons if you really want. If you decide to kill him as he stands, I cannot stand in your way; I can only express my sorrow and disappointment."

[TheLiquidSnake]

"Fair enough, but at least make it clear to him that he he does try to come back after us what we will do. Then he will know he has it coming to him shoudl he try it."

[Dexam]

Syviraux nods gratefully. She turns back to the orc, a menacing expression on her face.

"You lucky, you live today. You live cause we say you live," she growls in orcish. "You attack again, you not so lucky. Be smart, not attack."

She turns back to Cassie. "If you don't mind?" Syviraux mimes a hit-over-the-head-motion. "Then we can get on with our real mission of rescuing these miners."

[3drinks]

The Orc "zealot" was angry with Syviraux's one-sided decree. He gripped his Axe tightly, but then released it. Though he is a brave warrior, he is not a foolish warrior - he knew he wasn't going to beat three warriors without some benefit of surprise or concealment. Begrudgingly, he takes his Axe and tosses it on the floor as a sign of surrender.

[Enyalius]

Well, now that that situation is resolved, let's go on ahead." Reaven suggests, keeping his hand on his blade, still eyeing the orc warily.

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm sorry for not posting, but by the time I figured out what I wanted Reaven to say the problem was over.

Along with a few thing in real life that keep me away, and distracted.

[TheLiquidSnake]

Cassie will walk up to the orc and say in goblin "Thank you for cooperating, but seeing as we cant have you following us..." She will procees to use the haft of one of her javelins to knock him unconcious.

[Dexam]

Once the orc has been rendered safely unconscious, Syviraux invokes her magical insight to determine the presence of any magical auras. She also relieves him of any weaponry, and searches his body for anything that might be of use or give further clues as to what the orcs are up to in the mine.

[3drinks]

Syviraux riffles through the Orc's posessions taking both his armour and his axe. Upon further inspection Syviraux digs up a small book with a spear-wielding Orc on the cover. The Orc is depicted as standing above a slain Elf body in victorious conquest. The title is a bit scratched but, looks like it's sprawled in a crude Orc dialect as "Mirdautas Vras".

Spoiler: Orc Language

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"It is a good day to kill".

Spoiler: Syviraux

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No magical auras in this area.

Spoiler: OOC

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A simple DC 7 Knowledge (Religion) check could be used to tell a bit more as to what the cover of the book is depicting (if any of you have ranks in that skill).

Loot obtained: Handaxe, Studded Leather, 10 gold coins, and Cassie or Reaven already obtained the Great Crossbow.

Is there anything else the three of you would like to do in this room before moving on?

[3drinks]

Spoiler: Dexam

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Your knowledge serves you well. The Orc on the cover of the book is clearly a depiction of Gruumsh standing over the body of an Elf he just killed with his own hand. From there you'd ascertain this to go hand-in-hand with the conversation earlier (first kobolds, now elves?!)

[3drinks]

After Syviraux, Reaven, & Cassie touch up the Orc's ambush team's "hideaway" spot, they determine it is time to move on. A fifteen foot jog into a left turn and another forty foot or so, leads the team to yet another fork. To the right is about forty foot into a right turn, while the straightaway that extends, gosh, you'd estimate a good 80 or 90 feet at least.

The three of you should make a DC 20 Perception check. Please.

[TheLiquidSnake]

(1d20+1)[13] HOOOO!!!

[Dexam]

Perception: (1d20+8)[26]

[3drinks]

Spoiler: Syviraux & Reaven

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You can make out the feint groaning coming from the corridor to the right. It's hard to tell what it is precisely, but you can tell it is something.

[Dexam]

"Hold up," Syviraux says, as the trio comes to halt at the fork in the corridor. "Do you hear that? There's someone, or something, down the right hand tunnel..."

As the small dragon-lady peers into the darkness, her claws pass through arcane gestures and her eyes shimmer with eldritch energy.

Spoiler: OOC

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Magic Insight invocation to detect any magical auras down the tunnel; and looking (Darkvision 60') to find the source of the noise. Perception: (1d20+8)[21]

[3drinks]

Spoiler: Syvirayx

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Magic Insight Invocation does not register any magic auras in that vicinity. The lighting is also a feint torchlight, so Darkvision is a no go here -although as a dragontype I suppose you have low-light as well.

[Enyalius]

"Yeah, I heard it too, do you want to go check or should I?" Reaven asks, responding to Syviraux.

[Dexam]

Syviraux flutters her wings nervously. "You should go, Reavan... if you don't mind? I'm not much of a scout."

Spoiler: Syvirayx

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Magic Insight Invocation does not register any magic auras in that vicinity. The lighting is also a feint torchlight, so Darkvision is a no go here -although as a dragontype I suppose you have low-light as well.

Spoiler: OOC

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Yep, Darkvision and Low-light vision from the Mind aspect of Dragonborn of Bahamut. And eventually Blindsense, but that's a while away yet.

[Enyalius]

"Fine, just be ready to back me up if need be." Reaven says, moving closer to the source of the groaning sound, keeping an eye open for dangers.

Spoiler: Rolls

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perception (1d20+7)[17] for anything that might be dangerous.