Ad Hoc Hack&Slash IC

[Stelio Kontos]

Crow ate his food with not the slightest bit of decorum, falling face first into the provided bed and snoring loudly within minutes. He awoke the next morning with a much more pleasant demeanor.

"So, we seem to have accumulated a fair number of trinkets" he said, placing the armor, the previously pocketed arrow magnet and the potion he had kept on the table. "I'm not the best with money, but it seems like these are of some use. I don't know what you all consider 'fair'. Far as I'm concerned we can sell all of this if you want. We also have that wand" (he shuddered slightly as he said this) "but, much as I'd rather not, if we are to continue together it would be sensible to keep it. I don't know where we go from here, but for that matter I don't know where 'here' is, so that's not much of a problem, now is it?"

[CasualViking]

"Well. Going into business for ourselves. I like the idea". Kratis looks around at the party. "Out of all this stuff, there's nothing I particularly want. But I'll hang on to this healing potion. For the rest, I say we pick a treasure-keeper among us to sell it at the first opportunity, once we're done poking at it".

[Tychris1]

Francesca quietly mumbled throughout her meal, her eyes darting about fretfully as if she were awaiting someome to try to snatch the plate away, and she viciously scarfed down whatever she could. At night she did not sleep immediately, rather she prayed and hymned for an hour thanking Immalach for giving her the strength to survive the wasteland of war, and for giving her an opportunity to claim yet more for herself. In the morning she donned her armor ceremoniously, cutting her hand and anointing her blade with her own blood, and rejoined her erstwhile companions around the table.

"Wand, potions, scroll, and campsite. Everything else is worthless to me. My shield is stronger than that cloak and I have no use for a light blade."

[Stelio Kontos]

"You can use the wand and scroll?" Crow queried with a raised brow. "That's great news, wonderful. I've been keeping the wand on hand, if you'd prefer to be the one to infuse people with those vile energies, please be my guest. Gives me the willies every time. Beats dying though, by a small margin. Probably makes sense to outfit most of us with a potion, and the other carry the wand. That way everyone can take care of themselves, yes?"

"Anyway, it seems obvious that we're not getting back where we came from any time soon, unless any of you have a magic portal home stuffed up your heinies, so we may as well make the best of it here." Not that there's anything to go back to for me anyway. "Most of what we have here we can certainly use, after a fashion. I wouldn't mind having any or all of this on hand for certain occasions -- the cloak and armor will be useful when I have exhausted my spells."

[Aaronmoze]

”I will take a potion to have on hand in case. Should we head to a larger city and see if we can find some work?” Fallyn suggests.

He spends the day walking around the temple trying to gather more information about the surrounding area and local rumors.

[Aaronmoze]

Spoiler: Diplomacy/Gather Information

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Diplomacy roll (1d20+7)[8]

[Geordnet]

Fallyn ends up with an earful of wildly exaggerated tales regarding Harr's past deeds and unflattering guesses of his granddaughter's sexual orientation.

[Tychris1]

"Not really. Or atleast not well. But no amount of gold will substitute being dead and that wand can help us not be dead." Francesca grumbled "Heading to a larger city makes sense. I've some friends in Old Don that might be of use if we're willing to brave the wild some more. Nothing ventured nothing gained and all that."

[Geordnet]

Dinner takes place in the largest hall of the temple, about 50' by 20'. It is not a private affair, as the majority of the temple functionaries and several townsfolk are present as well; of course, the best food goes to the lord's table, where you have been seated directly across from Harr and his granddaughter. (She is also named Misha, by the way. Don't ask.) You've been offered various dishes of wild fowl and mutton, and generous servings of brandy.

Out of his armor, you can see Harr is even older than he first appeared. Old enough that it almost wouldn't be rude to speculate how many winters he has remaining. Almost. You wonder how strong this man must have been in his prime in order to still have been able to stand in such heavy gear. He asks you aloud:

"So, do you know what it is you want from life, hmm? Fame? Fortune? If the former, you could get started right now." He points to the far end of the hall, where a few older boys are attempting to steal furtive glances in your direction.

"If the latter," he continues, "then I'm afraid and yet thankful that the panthan's trade has been rather slow in these lands. The Prince of Don has maintained his hegemony for the greater part of a decade now."

"Or, perhaps you've simply lost your way. Went out seeking adventure, and regretfully found it..."

[Aaronmoze]

”For this fame my lord, what do you have in mind?”

[Stelio Kontos]

Crow listened quietly as the lord spoke, preferring to see the reactions of his comrades in arms... until the lord's last sentence, to which the half-elf let out a loud, involuntary guffaw before sheepishly shoving another forkful of chicken into his mouth, bowing his head.

[Geordnet]

Harr stares blankly at Fallyn for a bit.

"Hm? I would have thought that were obvious. You've got some impressionable young lads over at the far table there: go on and impress them with your image, and they will no doubt repeat it to anyone within earshot for a week or longer."

[CasualViking]

"Heh. They are certainly no bards, but I suppose they'll do". Kratis pushes back his chair and gets to his feet, with just a hint of grunting and swaying. As he walks around the table, he rattles of an incantation in Druidic.

He walks down to the youth's table and grabs an almost-cleared leg of mutton. He gnaws a bit at the meat, and then cracks the bone in his inhuman jaws and bites through it. He tossed the bitten-through bone down on the table. "A bit undercooked for my tastes". He spits out the bone with the meat still on it in his hand, then walks up to the fireplace, and holds the meat inside the flames, not flinching as the flames lick over his hand.

"Now. Let me tell you about how we got here." Kratis tells about the armies of Goblin, and the horse sized spiders in the hall of human bones. He mostly focuses on his own prowess, but Crow's acid clouds get an honourable mention as well.

Spoiler: OOC

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Of course I cast Resist Fire first. My storytelling skills are +0.

[Tychris1]

Francesca greedily ate from the food given to her once more, her eyes darting about suspiciously with each vicious stab of her fork into the rapidly disappearing meat before her, and sputtering could be occasionally heard as she quaffed down mouthfuls of drink almost simultaneously. To a casual onlooker it would appear as if the muscular fierce beauty had never eaten a day in her life or were quickly expecting somebody to snatch he plate right from underneath her berween blinks. Lower half of her face smeared with food and liquids, she wiped it clean, and stared at the old warrior with an intense appraising glare. A panther eyeing a peacock in the wild.

"I care nothing for fame or gold. Battle needs no reason. The battle itself is reason enough. You don't ask why a plague spreads or a field burns. Don't ask why I fight."

She leaned back in her seat and placed her feet up against the table to steadily rock herself.

"Nothing in this life matters. All that matters is the next. Keep moving forward since you can't take it with you."

[Geordnet]

All eyes focus on Kratis as he boasts loudly of the party's deeds. Men laugh, women gasp, and children coo as he reveals his latest scar, courtesy of the spider that impaled him. But Harr seems lost in thought.

"So," he mutters under his breath, "it was that, then..."


Francesca's interjection snaps him out of his enrapt state. "Well then, young miss, you might stick around a while. I fear the winds of change shall blow one last time before I myself depart."


Dinner is starting to come to an end. If anyone has anything left to say, do so now.

[Geordnet]

Dinner wraps up, and you go to bed feeling stuffed and satisfied. And not in the least suspicious that you may have just been worked for information.

Kuro, who was silent and visibly uncomfortable during dinner, doesn't join you. He gives an excuse of finding local work for just one, then disappears into the night.

Kurasu Kuro has left the party.


You are awoken early the next morning, before even the crack of dawn. Which is to say, the usual rise time for a warrior in the field. Harr came to wake you personally. Notably, his granddaughter is absent; instead, he's accompanied by one of the senior guards. The sagely, paternal nature he revealed in the days before is totally suppressed by the cold, hard expression of a man conducting business.

"Two days for a pound of silver it was, and a bargain struck on a frivolous oath. Well, now five can see you a pound of gold, else I might see the mark made more binding."

"You're to take a message to my grandson, Jerun, who's learning how to govern in the court of Don. No return service required. Just go east until you hit the river, and you can't get lost."

Spoiler: Quest Details

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Objective: Deliver package to Jerun in Don.

Estimated Length: 3-5 days

Advance Payment: 5 days' worth of travelling supplies (~10gp value)

Payment on Completion: 50gp (collect from Jerun)

Bonuses: +5gp per day early

Penalties: -30gp if more than 2 days late


On Refusal: The party must affirm their pledge to fight for Misha in time of need publicly in front of the temple altar, or leave tonight.
If the former, Harr will continue to allow the party to stay for 2gp a night (common-quality meals included).

Spoiler: Region Map

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A note on distance:
The map is not to scale. The only place anyone's gone and measured the land is at the two roads, so everything else is an estimate.

• Don to Left Falls: 18 miles
• Vanagap to Craa: 10 miles

Spoiler: OOC

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Okay, first quest offering. You don't have to accept; there's plenty of other things you could do in the area. In fact, pretty much anywhere on that map you could just go exploring and find something interesting.

To accept or not will be a simple majority party vote. Meaning, just two "yes" and one "maybe" is enough to accept. I'll treat ambiguous responses as "maybe/abstain".


I'll be sorting out the record-keeping soon. All communal stuff (gear, supplies, and unclaimed loot) will be pooled for ease of weight-tracking. Some stuff in your kits is redundant as well. Fallyn in particular is very much overweight. Will post in OOC.

Edit:
So doing the record-keeping, I realized that you (more specifically, Buttercup) had a lot more carrying capacity than I thought, so it doesn't make sense to give you a free pack animal. (You can still buy one if you want.)

[Stelio Kontos]

Crow deeply pondered the offer for all of about half a second. "That seems entirely reasonable to me. Count me in. When we arrive in Don, could you suggest where we might find your grandson? I'm given to understand it's a rather large city."

Spoiler: What do I know about Don?

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(1d20+6)[21] Knowledge (local)

[Geordnet]

"Just tell the gatemen that you have a delivery for the Emissary of Misha, and the palace functionaries will take care of it."

Spoiler: Knowledge

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A century ago, what is now known as Urdon was beset by a horde of demons from the west. Treachery brought down the walls, and though the citizens were victorious, their land were ruined beyond recovery. These survivors migrated north, where they rebuilt their city under the protection of King Mughal.

Don is built like a fortress, with solid stone walls and a river on three sides. Its citizens are hardy and warlike, their ancestors having for generations served as a bulwark against the monsters of the Urdon Plateau. All the towns in Green Valley save Vanagap give Don annual tribute. The lords of Don possess the secrets of steelcraft and architecture, which they have used to build an impressive acropolis and road to their western colony of Left Bend.

You've heard of a number of sites you could visit, including a well-known tavern targeted specifically at mercenaries and monster hunters. It's called "The Shieldwall", after a monument made from the shields of those who fell during the ruin of Urdon. You've even got a lead on a black market for things generally forbidden by the Wizard-Kings (like gunpowder and history books).

Like most cities in this part of the world, Don is a centralized oligarchy with a heavily top-down structure. The lords have influence in pretty much everything, with total control over all food and iron. Population ~10k (including ~7k farming peons outside the city proper).

Where Fallyn got a lead on the black market, you've got one on a cabal of mages under the protection of the aristocracy. (Wizards sort of get persecuted a lot, as both those on top and on the bottom of society fear their knowledge. At least with sorcerers, having the blood of dragons or whatnot makes them understandable to the common man, especially given the number of magical hybrids running around the world. But for an ordinary person to learn how to shoot fire from their fingers? That's unnatural.)

[CasualViking]

Kratis shrugs. "That seems generous for a simple task. Does he expect bandits? Is he eager to see a pack of wolves gone from his sheep's pen? Is there some sort of insult here? Eh. Doesn't matter", he thinks to himself.

[Tychris1]

"I was going that way anyway. Some extra coin to help the travel is hardly something I could say no to. Consider your package safely and discretely delivered."

[Geordnet]

"Excellent" Harr says, as a wry grin returns to his face. "Now, come with me."

He leads you to the palace stables, where Buttercup has been tended to for the past day and two nights. Her injuries have been healed, and her mane plainly groomed. She has been already been barded and her saddlebags loaded with the heavy supplies for your journey. The stablehand brings forth a small strongbox and presents it to you.

"This is the package you are to deliver, you may keep the containers." He points to a pair of casks, which presumably carry well-water. "Oh, and do ration the water. It's the dry season, so you won't find any more until the river."

"Speaking of which, if you wish to perform an expedition to Urdon, make sure you're well-prepared. Nary a shrub grows in that blasted land of dust and rocks, and the river is inaccessible at the bottom of a steep canyon."

Harr sees you to the temple gate. "Fare well, for now. May we meet again in times of struggle."

"Preferably on the same side..." he adds with a dry chuckle.


With that, you embark. The citizens (who rise early also, hardy folk that they are) occasionally nod a greeting in your direction as you pass.

---

The first day passes with no sign of the river, as you traverse the bald foothills. When you make camp, the northern mountains are definitely closer than when you started.

The food supplies take the form of dried barley, so you split one-fifth of it with Buttercup, making the rest into porridge. The night passes without incident.


And the journey continues...

Spoiler: Supplies

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1 day firewood
1 day water
4 days' raw barley
2.5 days jerkey (trail rations)

[CasualViking]

The next morning, Kratis seems to be in a good mood. Maybe it's the open landscape or a sense of adventure, but he does seem to be smiling. He takes up an outrider position, occasionally calling out terrain features like gravel slopes or shadowed ravines to prevent accidents and detours.

[Stelio Kontos]

Crow, too, was in a fine mood, relatively speaking. It was the first time in days that he wasn't, as far as he was concerned, in imminent danger of death.

[Aaronmoze]

Bringing up the rear, Fallyn recites some stories to help his companions pass the time.

[Geordnet]

After a couple hours of marching the next day, you make it to the river, where the increased irrigation allows woodland to grow. In this season the water level is but inches deep and doesn't even fill out its banks properly, yet it gives you a chance to restock on water regardless. You continue along the river bank for a few hours before Fallyn notices the bushes rustling behind him...

Spoiler: Initiative

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Crow: (1d20+1)[8]
Francesca: (1d20+2)[19]
Kratis: (1d20+2)[14]
Fallyn: (1d20+3)[10]
CS01: (1d20+4)[12]

Spoiler: Surprise Round Proceedure

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Fallyn, Crow, and Kratis (but not Buttercup) each get one action in the surprise round. No shields are armed or weapons drawn, save for Kratis carrying his lance.

Spoiler: Initiative Order

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1. Francesca Deucateu
2. Kratis
3. CS01
4. Fallyn
5. Crowhurst

Spoiler: Battlemap

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The river and its soft banks are traversable, but difficult terrain.

Spoiler: Knowledge (Nature)

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Crow: (1d20+8)[14]
Fallyn: (1d20+5)[16]

The beast which stalks you has the appearance a dark-coated mountain lion. Streaks of white adorn its head and its small mane. But the most unusual thing about it has to be its two extra pairs of smaller forelegs jutting from its abdomen. The smallest pair looks too puny to do significant damage, but the second-smallest bears vicious sickle-claws.

Fallyn has heard of this creature before: it's called a Sleipard, and on rare occasions it is known to be a maneater. Its bite carries a weak venom.


Kratis moves first.

[CasualViking]

"Not this day, ugly!". Kratis sweeps his arm, and the plant shudder and stretch to grasp at the creature.

Spoiler: OOC

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Entange (ref DC 13), centered at CD 89. 40' radius of grasping difficult terrain

[Geordnet]

Spoiler: Save

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Reflex: (1d20+8)[25] vs DC 13
(If necessary:) Strength to break Entanglement: (1d20+3)[19] vs DC 13

The big cat deftly avoids the grasping limbs, escaping into the river where there are no plants to trip it.

Spoiler: Battlemap

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Fallyn Windsinger moves next.

[Aaronmoze]

”Stay behind me Crow.” Fallyn mumbles a cantrip.

Spoiler: OOC

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I cast resistance on myself

[Stelio Kontos]

Crow tried to stifle the laugh, but couldn't. "No problem."

"Armis arcanis" he muttered quietly with a quick hand flourish.

Spoiler: OOC

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Casting mage armor.

[CasualViking]

Spoiler: Premature declararation

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Buttercup canters forwards and hrumpfs at the predatory beast. Kratis changes his grip on the lance, preparing to spear the creature like a morsel at the table if it comes any closer.

Buttercup: Move to LM56. Ready action to attack. Kratis: Don shield. Ready action to attack.

Spoiler: Opportunity Attack (at reach)

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(1d20+6)[13], damage (1d8+4)[9]

Spoiler: Readied Attack (at reach)

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(1d20+6)[21], damage (1d8+4)[11]

Spoiler: Buttercup readied attack:

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Bite (1d20+5)[6], damage (1d4+4)[7]