Eberron Adventures

[Asmodeus]

Wrench

Wrench, disturbed by the closing of the barn from his studies of its structure, heads over to find Butch. "Oh, is it time to leave already?" Wrench asks, assuming that Butch came to find him.

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

Butch looks up from his gear pulling a bit of jerky from his mouth. "Huh? What? No... We'll be spending the night. Actually, I should find a good spot in the barn. I don't feel comfortable in the house."

He then gets up and peeks outside, "Did anyone follow you?"

[Ishikar]

Nadeem

Having eaten lightly and had his bandages redone Nadeem exits the house. He makes a quick circuit of the homestead. After picking a low hanging apple from a tree he approaches the barn where he overhears Butch's last question.

Not followed, but someone did happen across your location. I also prefer the outdoors. They seem to be good people but I'm just not comfortable in that sort of environment, it's too different from how I've lived my life to fit in there. The eldest daughter was surprisingly adept with changing the bandages however. They must be used to the hardships of living in this area.

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

Butch starts to blush at the mention of the eldest daughter. "Yes... outdoors... that's it." He ponders a moment, then continues. "So, Nadeem... You're feeling better? I was just saying that I should find some place in the barn to sleep. I wouldn't want to impose on them."

[Asmodeus]

Wrench

"Yes, someone did follow me. You! But I thought you humans needed quiet to sleep. I doubt you'll find much of that in the barn tonight. Surely the house would be quieter?"

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

"Not at all, Wrench." Butch says smiling broadly. "I'm used to the sounds of a farm. Its like a gentle rain on the roof. Its actually very soothing. But we have several hours of daylight before nightfall. I'd like to get some work in before then."

Butch rubs his chin. "What about our prisoner? Is he awake yet?"

[Asmodeus]

Butch

"Not at all, Wrench." Butch says smiling broadly. "I'm used to the sounds of a farm. Its like a gentle rain on the roof. Its actually very soothing. But we have several hours of daylight before nightfall. I'd like to get some work in before then."

Butch rubs his chin. "What about our prisoner? Is he awake yet?"

Wrench

"Suit yourself.

I don't know what the prisoner is up to. I thought you were the one watching him?"

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

"Good point. Let's go find out."

Butch puts down his scythe and pulls out a sickle, gleaming silver. He calmy walks over to the captive, hoisting him up by his bindings and leans him up against a bale of straw.

Slapping the captive lightly, he speaks up. "Hey you! Wake up. You in there?"

[Bigmac]

Kuven

Kuven leans back in his chair and relaxes a bit. He smiles and says, "Well, since you put it that way, I think I might be able to come up with something agreeable. Tell ya what. You just let me know the particulars of operating a way station and I'll come up with what it's worth to me." Kuven then turns to address Azmirith. Well stranger, I'm Kuven, this is my wife Ilanna, you met my eldest daughter Emilia, the younger two are twins, Jessa and Juli. My two eldest boys are out helping our neighbors with their house. Len and Bubby are out in the pasture right now, but they should be home for dinner. Now tell me mister, why don't you take that mask off? It's bound to be hot, and I appreceate it if men take their hats off indoors. It's just polite."

The prisoner opens his eyes as Butch tries to wake him up. His eyes are a bit blurry and roll around a bit before going back up into his eyelids as his head limps off to the side.

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

Butch sighs and lets the captive slump down. "I don't reckon he'll be up for talkin' at least til supper time." He thinks for a moment. "Say Nadeem... Could you maybe see if you could get us some blankets for the night. We can set up some sleeping arrangements and then I'll go make myself useful. You seem to see better at night than me, so I reckon you should get some rest now and keep Wrench company tonight watching our prisoner. That way I can get a good night's sleep and not be so grumpy. Do you play cards? That might keep you entertained tonight." Glancing around, Butch assesses the barn. "Hey Wrench... Do you see any good tactical positions in here? We should be fine tonight but just in case someone comes a calling, I'd like to be able to spot them easy. Maybe up in the hay loft? We'll need an escape route too, just in case."

[Asmodeus]

Wrench

"The loft should do well as a lookout point, as long as there is enough light to see by. I'm not sure about an escape route though."

[KCiemir]

Azmirith
Looking at Kuven, He says, rather conversationally, A lovely family, good man. I hope that we can agree to something that will work to our mutual benefit. Oh, and while on no accounts do I mean to be rude, it is a matter of honer that I keep this mask on. Indeed, it would certainly be ruder to take it off.

[MandibleBones]

Cecil

Cecil explains the broader points of an Orien-sponsored post to Kuvan, and tries to address, or at least note, any concerns he might have. Otherwise, he'll talk to Kuvan as long as Kuvan needs to to feel comfortable.

[Asmodeus]

Wrench

Wrench figures he has some time to spare while everyone else rests and sleeps. He starts by gathering up his tools, sorting them, organizing everything for more efficient use, and will also check on the wounded at some point. He'll avoid poking and prodding them this time though, since they seem to be in good care.

Wrench will spend whatever time he has to spare working on the barn. He'll work on repairing it to the best of his abilities, thinking it will be a nice gesture to the farmers for allowing them to stay the night. He'll continue into the night, probably making it highly difficult to sleep for Butch, who apparently wanted to sleep in the barn, despite Wrench's warning. The work is very relaxing, and to be honest, Wrench feels better about working with these materials, rather than trying to stitch together pieces of meat that tend to bleed when you put the nail in the wrong place.

{OOC: Ok, with that, I'm all set to fast-forward, Mr. DM. Although I'd like to know if I can still recover my infusions or not.}

[Bigmac]

Kuven and Cecil spend most of the afternoon and evening ironing out the details of setting up a waystation. While the independent Kuven still has some reservations, Cecil feels like there is a good chance that a deal will get done. Azmirith is taken to a bed so that he can rest and Emilia tends to his wounds. She is quite skilled when it comes to the changing of the bandages and applying an herbal ointment that stings like a thousand bees and burns like the sun. It may hurt, but it helps to seal the wound closed and allow new skin to start to grow.

In the barn, the trio make some makeshift defenses around the grounds and the loft. If someone were to come in tonight, Butch would have a tactical advantage from being up in the loft, firing arrows behind his makeshift barrier. They move the prisoner from the horse so that it can rest with the other animals, but leave him tied up for when he wakes up. Apparently, Wrench hit him pretty good. A bit before dusk, the prisoner starts to moan and looks to be coming around. The group is gathered around as he finally wakes up and understanding comes back to his eyes. He shakes his head for a second and says, "Water. Please."

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

Hearing the captive, Butch gets a bucket of water from the trough. "Yea, I figured you'd be thirsty after that trip in the sun."

Tilting the bucket up to give the man a drink, he then sets it down beside him. "Listen. We captured you while your friends were trying to steal our horses. Your two accomplices are dead, so you're the lucky one. You're being taken to Orcbone to stand trial for the attempted theft. I know it looks grim for you, but you might be able to make a deal with the magistrate, so not all is lost. All I can say is that if you try to escape we'll have to put you down like your friends. The simple fact is that you're slightly more valuable alive than dead at this moment, but that's a delicate balance. I'm willing to believe you had some sort of justification for your attack on us, but I'm not the Law here, just a citizen. So save your pleas for the magistrate. All I want from you right now is your name."

[Bigmac]

The man gulps down the water and promptly spits some out as his parched throat has a difficult time with the liquid. He manages to get some down and shakes the rest off his head with a few shakes. He looks at Butch defiantly before saying, "Name's Tom. Not that it matters much."

[Asmodeus]

The man gulps down the water and promptly spits some out as his parched throat has a difficult time with the liquid. He manages to get some down and shakes the rest off his head with a few shakes. He looks at Butch defiantly before saying, "Name's Tom. Not that it matters much."

Wrench

Wrench takes up a position next to Tom. If Tom does anything stupid, like trying to escape, or attack, Wrench is ready to knock him back out.

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

Butch tips back the bucket, giving Tom some more water. "Well, Tom, I'm Butch... Butch Grimm. I hail from a plantation north of Shavalant. Over there is Nadeem. He comes from the far east I think. And you've met Wrench over there."

He puts the bucket down again. "I bet you're hungry, Tom. We ain't got much but there's still some trail rations left over."

[Bigmac]

Tom gladly accepts the rations and devours them quickly. As night settles in everyone finds a place to rest, either in the barn or in the house depending on whichever they find more accomidating. The night passes quietly for those in the house and not so quietly for those in the barn due to the noise wrench makes as he sets about shoring up the wall with whatever he can find around the farm. He manages to come up with a pretty ingenious way to graft some iron and wood together in a lattice pattern. It makes for a odd looking wall, but it should hold together even better than if the whole wall had been rebuilt.

In the morning, the crew is welcome to eat at the breakfast table if they so choose before setting off for Orcbone.

[Asmodeus]

{OOC: Cough-XP-Cough}

Wrench

Wrench starts the day off by checking on the wounded. He'll offer a potion to whoever is still the most badly hurt. (roll your own healing, 1d8+1)

After that, he'll offer to guard the prisoner while those who need to eat take care of that need.

[MandibleBones]

Cecil

Cecil is ready to head out after breakfast, wanting to make as good time to Orcbone as he can. He thanks Kuvan heartily for the lodgings, and promises to carry Kuvan's proposal back to House Orien.

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

Butch is up at the crack of dawn with a much better attitude. Before breakfast he makes sure all the horses are watered and fed, double checking their harnesses, but keeping the main load off the backs. He takes his breakfast on the front porch, enjoying the sunrise. While everyone else finishes breakfast, Butch loads up the horses.

Before leaving, Butch takes a moment to shake Kuven's hand. "Thank you so much Mr. Kuven. This really meant a lot to me. Thank you for your hospitality."

Spoiler

Show

Butch slips another 5 gold pieces to Kuven while shaking his hand.

[KCiemir]

Azmirith
After a brief breakfast, Azmirith turns to Kuven and his family and says
Good sir, you have been more than kind to us. This house was a welcome change from the cold dirt on the trail. My best wishes to you and your family, and I hope you and house orion can come to some agreement.
With that he bows, gives words of thanks all of the family, and leaves along with everyone else.

[Bigmac]

The horses move swiftly and gracefully down the trail leaving the ranch behind them. Kuven was very thankful for the repair of the barn and even left the money in Butch's hand when he left; while Emilia gave Azmirith a blushing smile. The corpses smell even worse today, and even those with poor senses notice it. The lack of wind doesn't help much either, and actually allows the flies to gather with more ease. Still the group is making good time and the trail conditions are good.

It is a few hours after midday that you see the fort in the distance. It is an impressive fortress surrounded by man made defenses used to channel traffic into the main gate. The walls have been damaged and repaired several times and what people you can spot seem to be moving with a purpose. As you come closer, you hear a lookout crying out that there are riders approaching. The gate is lowered but a large and imposing figure on top of a bear similar to the one that was traveling with you stands in the passageway and calls out. "State your name and purpose with Orcbone."

[MandibleBones]

Cecil

Cecil steps up. "Cecil the Gray of House Orien, here with my team to deliver these fine horses to the Lord."

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

"I am Butch Grimm. Escorting Mr. Cecil from Shavalant. The man in bonds is Tom. We apprehended him during an attempted horse theft. His two accomplices are dead on that rear horse. And we lost one of our men on the way as well."

[Bigmac]

The man stares at you for a second in disbelief. "Where have you been? Khyber? We sent a rider out to look for you when you didn't arrive yesterday. You were supposed to have a bear with you as well. Where's it at?" Before anyone can reply he cuts you off. "I don't really care. Just get these horses to the stables NOW. And you.. the main points at Cecil "The Lord wants a word with you." With that, the man moves the bear out of the way so that the horses can pass. As you move by the bear you can clearly see it's powerful claws and muscles, much like the bear you had to put down.

The fort proper is a very functional affair. It seems to have been built with typical Brelish practicality, every building or set of stairways serving some purpose. Most of the people moving about are dressed in some sort of uniform, identifying themselves as part of the Brelish army. Those who have served in the armed forces of Breland can recognize the ranks of those moving about. A group of young privates approach you to help you dismount from the horses under the watchful eye of a sergeant. One of the privates gasps, "Oger's Eyes! What the blazes happened?" as he sees the corpses and bear's head attached to the horses. "Stow it Jonz. Just get the horses to the stables and we'll clean 'em up there. Riston, you take the prisioner to the hold. I'm sure the inspector would like a word with him." The sergeant growls. He then looks at the group and says, "I'm to take you to see Lord ir'Tajar. Follow me." He turns quickly and begins walking towards the main tower.

The sergeant leads you into the main tower through a set of heavy darkwood double doors. As you enter you pass several guardsmen wearing half plate armor adorned with the bear of Breland who hold their halberds at attention as you pass. You are lead up a stairway that circles around inside the tower that is lit by everbright torches. The artificial light from the crystals serves to color the passageway a slight color of crimson. From the stairway you are taken down a hallway to your right before the sergeant opens a door for you. He stretches out his hand and motions you in. "Please wait here. I'll go get his lordship."

Inside the room is a large table with no chairs around it, but with several chairs alongside the walls. There is a large and detailed map of the surrounding area laid out on the table as well as several other maps rolled up and stored in a case against the wall. There are two tapestries hanging in the room. The one on the east wall depicts a king standing before a huge tower with workers around it's base. The second is a battle scene of a knight in golden armor with shield and axe fighting an ogre with a nasty looking club.

[MandibleBones]

Cecil

Cecil waits patiently for Lord ir'Tajen, a look of zenlike calm across his face. His eyes drift over the rooms accessories, and he lets his mind wander to the quick briefing on nobility he'd been given nearly a year ago. If any of the others are with him, he asks them politely to let him speak to ir'Tajen, looking pointedly at Butch as he does - but a glimmer in his eye and the barest hint of a smile says Butch hasn't done him wrong yet.

Spoiler

Show

Knowledge: Nobility and Royalty to remember anything I might know about Lord ir'Tajar (1d20+3=12) Knowledge: Geography and Knowledge: History, respectively. (1d20+3=14, 1d20+3=11)

[Asmodeus]

Wrench

Wrench walks over to the maps and scrolls rolled up. He starts looking at them to see what sort of scrolls are there and what maps there are. If he can find one, he'll try to pinpoint on it where the farmhouse is that they stayed overnight at.

{OOC: No ranks in geography. Just passing the time waiting for the lord. If possible, Wrench will just look and not touch.}