[5e] Shackles of Blood

[WhismurWanders]

Gai takes a moment to repeat what he had told the others: that a halfling by the name of Tenan would be driving you into the valley where Tinfellow Farm was located. He sweeps up his bowl and utensils and takes his leave with a curt,"Good day, and good luck." With that, the large man is gone, leaving you all to discuss anything you with to have said before you depart.

---

When you do decide to gather your things and leave the roadhouse, you all quickly notice a large, wide cart waiting out in front. Sitting in the dirt with a straw hat covering his face is a halfling, making use of the shade while he's able. The hat twitches as he looks up upon hearing the roadhouse's door opening, and he stands up and stretches both arms over his head, his eyes focused on you in recognition. He calls out, "I reckon you're the folks headed out to the Tinfellow's. The name's Tenan, Tenan Goldfoot." He tips his hat back, forced to look up slightly at the taller of you. "I just need to get the donkeys hitched up, the big fella didn't say when you wanted to leave. Just climb in back and we'll be off." He gestures to the wagon, and walks off to go gather a duo of donkeys grazing nearby.

[Detective]

Zilo waves a greetings to the fellow halfling as he introduces himself. "Name's Zilo Neverfall, well met." he says with a smile. Seeing as Tenan went off for a moment to gather the pair of donkeys first, Zilo opts to get in to the cart, putting his backpack over his lap as he waits for the others to sit in as well.

[Awful]

Ophine merely nodded and climbed in.

[Spore]

Ah my good man, pleasure to meet you. Name's Ferrin and well, I'd be damned I don't recognize a face but are you from around here, Tenan? I don't know the farmers very well I am afraid but I assume you work outside the city majorly. Ferrin follows him to the donkeys. If I can help you with the donkeys, just tell me what to do. I don't usually handle animals. He looks towards Ophine. Those donkeys don't kick like the ones I know, do they?

[WhismurWanders]

Tenan snorts and gives Ferrin an amused look. "There ain't much callin' for me in the city these days." He gives one of the donkeys a firm pat on the side before fiddling with a bridle and getting the donkey to accept the bit in its mouth. He seems to have little trouble convinging the animal to do so. "I mostly just transport building materials from the docks to whoever needs 'em. Timbers, bricks, sometimes even grindstones. Got me a nice little house due east from Hillsfar proper." He's since finished getting each donkey bridled and leads them over to the cart, beginning with the hitching when he hears your offer to help. He picks up a pair of padded collars made of leather which seem pretty well-worn and holds them out for Ferrin to take. "If you could get these collars on 'em, I'll get the knots tied. They don't kick, but they might bite if you're not gentle about it."

Spoiler: Animal Handling

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DC 5 to not get bitten. They're tame animals used to this whole procedure, after all.

[Xantin Rahl]

"Ah on the road again" Miras says climbing into the cart, he looks for a comfortable spot to sit. "Did you all sleep well, I could use an hour or two more myself to be honest. As we will be traveling together would be nice to know a bit more about you. I am Miras and sometimes I see the future, Alos sticking around me is Said to give you luck but I don't always get lucky" The last part is said with a wink at the druidess

[Spore]

I am always gentle until it's time not to be anymore. He strokes the animal. At least you know that, don't ya?

Spoiler

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Handle Animal (1d20)[8]

[Dr.Samurai]

Guro Level 3 Ranger | HP: 28/28 | AC: 18 Greetings Tennan Goldfoot, I am Guro. As the halfling tips his hat up, Guro's head cranes down on his long neck and he touches foreheads with Tennan in greeting. Guro almost offers to help with the donkeys but Ferrin is the quicker to speak. Instead, Guro climbs up onto the wagon and finds a spot, trying to take up as little room as possible. I slept very well, Miras, thank you. And well met. I am Guro, he touches foreheads with Miras. You can really see the future? What a gift! Very few of our elders can do this back home. His countenance turns a bit grim, Do you know what we will find at the Tinfellow's?

[Awful]

"Ah on the road again" Miras says climbing into the cart, he looks for a comfortable spot to sit. "Did you all sleep well, I could use an hour or two more myself to be honest. As we will be traveling together would be nice to know a bit more about you. I am Miras and sometimes I see the future, Alos sticking around me is Said to give you luck but I don't always get lucky" The last part is said with a wink at the druidess

Ophine gave the prophet a flat look from behind her mask.
"I am Ophine, the Oak-Crowned. That much you know. There is little else of import to share."

[Xantin Rahl]

Well met Guro, Ophine. The future is like a branch of the tree , splitting into smaller and smaller parts until a leaf is reached. Which leaf depends on the branches you chose along the way, my gift allows me to se the correct leaf sometimes"

[Detective]

"Claiming to see the future? Hope I'll get to see it in action then! As for luck..." The halfling lowers a hand into his right boot, pulling out what seems to be a gold coin, with the face of a smiling lady decorating one side of it. "I have my own lucky charm..." Smiling with a wink, he crouches down to tug the coin back in.

Once he sits back up, he turns towards the druidess "And I have to disagree on this! What is your favorite song, favorite food, favorite place... Back at seas, me and the crew kept sharing stories and tales with one another, helped us keep tight."

Spoiler: ooc

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The face of the lady on the coin can be recognized as Tymora's symbol for anyone that is familiar or knowledable enough with it.

P.s: Wrote from the phone, I'll color Zilo's sentences when I'll get on the computer.

[Dr.Samurai]

Guro Level 3 Ranger | HP: 28/28 | AC: 18 Guro looks off into the distance, squinting a little as he tries to understand Miras' explanation. Which leaf will it be when we reach the farm I wonder, he says, mostly to himself.

[Awful]

Ophine considered the halfling's words for a moment, then nodded slightly.
"Very well. My favourite song?" She inclined slightly her head as she thought, then continued, "Perhaps the Blackcap. It has a sweet song, and the harmony of it flitters through the branches. I do not have a favourite food, though I enjoy that which is sweet, as many creatures do. And my favourite place..."
She smiled then - a small, secret thing, for a secret place.
"I shall keep that to myself, for some things are to be kept in the heart, not shared lightly."

She turned her green eyes back on Zilo. "And so your answers, Zilo Neverfall?"

[Detective]

Zilo smiled back at Ophine as she brought up her favorite place- Whatever it was, it seems she had fond memories of it, if it brought a bit more happiness shown on her expression.
"Well, I can't ask such sudden questions and not expect to answer them as well now, can't I?" he winks with a smirk on his face. "Now where should I start? Since I used to travel by ship throughout the last couple of ships, we often sang sea shanties as we worked the ship. One favorite I can think of at the top of my non-existing hat is the "drunken sailor". One heck of a song to get the morning going- And scare any would-be-drunkards from what we might do them if they'll doze off!" The halfling breaks into a quick laughter before regaining his composure.

"Now, favorite food? A bit cliche, but that would be my mother's. She's a herbalist, so she learned how to use the leftover herbs in soups and other dishes so that they won't go to waste. Good thing she taught me a bit on how to handle myself in the kitchen too, else we would have kept eating dried meat and fruits throughout all of our voyages!" A proud smirk peeks through.

"Now, as for favorite place... I don't really have "favorite" place, so much so as I liked the travel itself and seeing both new, and different locations... That said, the ocean is the main, and sometimes only, means of travel to those locations. That, and the fact I had some of my most memorable times thanks to this sea..." He says, looking with a wistful smile towards where the ocean is ought to be.

"Well... I guess I am making the answer quite obvious now, aren't I?" He says with a light chuckle, his eyes are still gazing towards the sea...

[Awful]

Ophine did not laugh as well, but the smile returned.
"I do believe I could guess."
She shrugged lightly.
"I cannot say I understand it truly, however. I have never been on a ship, never mind over the unsteady sea. Perhaps some day I will swim the waters, but it is a not likely a day with nearing dawn."

[Spore]

Should've thought about all that sentimental stuff beforehand. Girls always fall for that. Ferrin thinks to himself. The rogue shimmies over to the humanoid turtle. Uh, Guro was it? You are a peculiar guy. Where are you from? Unvoluntarily Ferrin crosses his fingers for Guro's backstory not to involve any alchemical liquids or sewages or mutated rat monks.

[Detective]

"And if you'll ever need some swimming lessons, I can teach ya!" Zilo responds back with his usual cheerful mood, turning his gaze back to the group, and towards Guro in particular. "I'm curious too! I can't recall the time I have seen someone like you, and I did my own fair bit of travel!"

[Dr.Samurai]

Guro Level 3 Ranger | HP: 28/28 | AC: 18 Guro looks off whimsically, I don't stand out too much where I'm from. I come from an island known as the Snout, or the Snout of Ogmar. It is near the land you know as Chult. I was a guide there for explorers for several years, before deciding to do my own exploring. Now, here I am. Hmm, let me think about these favorite things. My people do not have songs like you do in these lands. We do have something like chants that we sing to the spirits of nature. My favorite food is fire beetle grubs. Not really a meal but very delicious. As beautiful as Chult is, my favorite place is still on the Snout, the Moonwell. A pond beneath the Glittering Falls where the algae glows silver-blue at night. It is where Quee gave me this, he says, fingering a fibrous bracelet on his wrist interlaced with smooth stones.

[Spore]

Sounds almost unreal, this place. This Quee, is that your...uhm....mate? Ferrin inquires. He quickly checks the necklace of it is of any worth. If it were, Ferrin would keep an eye on it. He is in the company of a few men he doesn't know, and few things destroy a budding friendship as easily as a small theft. Then he could wave his reward for the mission good-bye.

[WhismurWanders]

With the pair of donkey hitched up and the lot of you settled into the wagon, Tenan gives a sharp snap of the reigns and the cart lurches forward as the two animals adjust their pacing and pull everything behind them. Tenan doesn't speak much as you converse amongst yourselves, whistling a simple tune to himself, interspersed with the occasional instructions to the donkeys followed by a light snap of reigns.

The ride over the next few hours is pleasant enough. The sun is high in the sky, but the heat isn't overbearing. A light breeze from the cart's motion combined with the wind keeps the air comfortably cool. The landscape is mostly flat with the occasional hill, and if any of you strain your eyes slightly, you can see the glimmer of water from the Moonsea. The road is only broad enough for your cart, but the road is well-rutted from use. Occasionally you pass by others who are traveling in a similar direction, or in the one you just came from. Most of them are on foot, and give polite greetings before the donkeys whisk you apart again. Yet as you continue on, a pair of humans on horses call out ahead of you. "Wagon-driver, hold for a moment!" The pair are both wearing red riding capes, iron brastplates, and helms upon which two large red feathers sit. Those of you familiar with Hillsfar recognize them instantly as Red Plumes. Tenan sighs quietly, but pulls back on the reigns nonetheless, and the donkeys oblige, bringing the cart to a stop. "Woah there, steady there," he commands, and the donkeys simply flick their heads and tails as they stand still.

The riders spur their horses towards the cart, each of them flanking one side. One of them speaks with Tenan directly, and asks, "Mind telling us where you're headed with this bunch?" The other pulls his horse closer towards the back of the cart, and looks over each of you silently. His gaze lingers a bit longer on Zilo and Guro, as if measuring up the pair. Tenan answers plainly, "Tinfellow Valley. These folk have business out there and asked if I could drive them." The man asks in response, "Oh aye?" He jerks his chin, and addresses you all in the back. "What business would that be then?"

[Detective]

Having listened to Guro's story, Zilo has last the rest of the conversation between Guro and Ferrin play out, and then went along with idle banter with the rest of the group as they took to the road.

----------------------

Having been stopped by what appears to be as two red plumes, he gets closer to one of the red plumes flanking the cart. "Ahoy there!" he says with a cheery smile. "Just heading out from Hillsfar to find a nice new place to stay in for the time being, now with all the ruckus going on with that "great law of humanity." he says, gesturing to the tortle behind him with his thumb. "That big fella is from the Snout of of Ogmar. He wanted to go out and see new places, and since he seems like a big friendly guy, I invited him over!" In a way, he isn't technically lying, more like subverting the truth by some margin...

This sounds reasonable enough in my head-Here's hoping they won't start questioning the other two too much Zilo thinks in his head, trying to maintain a friendly smile throughout this whole ordeal.

[Dr.Samurai]

Guro Level 3 Ranger | HP: 28/28 | AC: 18 Guro nods in agreement with Zilo, I have found the food in your lands to be delicious. Especially mutton. And ale.

[Spore]

Officers. Ferrin exclaims while elegantly jumping onto the ground near the Red Plume officers. They are just simple folk, looking for a place to work, and sleep. And I - well, let's just say, I benefit from their problematic situations. Ferrin smiles an evil smile. Those poor subhumans. They cannot live in or around Hillsfar, so I take it as my duty as a proud citizen of our great city to bring them away. As far as possible.

He pulls one guard a bit away at the shoulder and starts talking half-silently to pretend that the group would not hear them. The others are also tainted. Can't you see? The girl is orcish, her whole demeanor is rugged and ape-like. And I am sure the robed guy deals with demons. You and me both know we should simply just pass. The city's not in that direction anyway. With dexterous fingers Ferrin quickly picks up two golden coins and puts them into the guard's hand.

Spoiler

Show

Deception (1d20+6)[22]

[Xantin Rahl]

Miras - will listen to the conversations more then he speaks - he does not like sharing too much about himself.

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When the red plum approach the wagon he will start mumbling some Elvish poem under his nose trying to make it seem scary.

[WhismurWanders]

The guard Ferrin has pulled aside tucks the two coins into a pouch on his belt and snorts derisively. A slight grin can be seen on his face, but it quickly vanishes, staying just long enough to signal to Ferrin that an accord has been struck. He looks back over the wagon and gives Guro and Zilo a small glare, and treats Xantin and Sigrid to a look of disappointment as well. "Helping the likes of these? Far be it from us to tell you your business, but you best stay out of trouble. That goes for all of you." He spurs his horse to the back of the wagon and calls out to his companion, "Guardsman! We resume our patrol. They're not harming anyone, after all." Said guardsman wheels his horse around as well, and the two continue down the road in the direction you came from without another word.

Tenan's shoulders relax slightly once the guards are out of sight, but with a command to the donkeys sets the cart back in motion once Ferrin has climbed inside again. "Thought for sure they'd ask more questions than that.
What did you tell the one fellow?" he asks, curious to learn a method for speeding up any future inspections.

[Dr.Samurai]

Guro Level 3 Ranger | HP: 28/28 | AC: 18 Guro sits still until the wagon starts moving again. He lets out a breath, I have seen looks like that before. On my way to Hillsfar, I met a traveler on the road. He said he was a hunter. We shared stories of our trade. His name was Scathe. Guro pauses for a moment before continuing, I told him my name, but he said he had already heard of who I was... Guro, the turtle that walks and talks like a man. He said he had come to hunt me down and mount me on his wall. He tracked me for days, and came close to... well, he came close. He had that same look in his eyes, though I don't think you could have made him leave Ferrin. No offense meant but, something about Scathe makes me thinks words won't stop him. I lost him in the swamp, I think you call it the Farsea Swamp. What do you think the Red Plumes would have done if you hadn't sent them away?

[Xantin Rahl]

Yhat leaf, shows me the would have died, which is unfortunate.... for them"

[Awful]

The druidess had watched the Red Plumes with seeming disinterest as the others had talked their way out of any problem.

"A hunter..." Ophine murmured, her mouth quirking down into a frown. "To hunt to live is natural, whether beast or man. For trophies, however..." she practically spat the word.
On the topic of the Plumes, she shrugged lightly.
"They were but two, and we many; I doubt they would have forced their own defeat. Likely they would have asked more questions until conclusions were reached, one way or the other."

[Spore]

Ferrin leans over to Tenan. I don't think my path of action would be feasible, Mr Goldfoot. I basically told him I was abusing you, that you weren't worth the trouble, and then I filled his hands with a bit of coin. Ferrin bites his lip. This is about the only nervous reaction he allowed to show himself in front of his new friends. If the guards could pinpoint any minor crime on him, the effects could be disastrous.

Ferrin then reacts dumbfounded at hearing someone is hunting humanoids. Really? People start a manhunt now? This Scathe guy sounds like a determined guy. Miras, if it is not too much trouble can you see if Scathe's path intertwines with ours? Or even if he uses magic to find our buddy? He pats on the tortle's back. Thinking for a bit, Ferrin then asks sheepishly. Do you even feel that when I touch it, Guro?

[Xantin Rahl]

In a myriad of possible universes it does cross our path, but in a myriad of others it does not, More can be told wen the time arives"