Trifecta: The Iron Vault

[wxdruid]

Nothing from Imani. She sits and eats the food she selected earlier. She's signed the contract, all else will be revealed as fate wills.

[Deepblue706]

Baelham

Satisfied with Ker's answer, Baelham acknowledges him with a nod. "I believe it is settled, seneschal. We will make our best effort to fulfill the task." He anticipates to rise as Ker does, as he expects there to be no business left, but to offer the expected courtesy upon his departure.

[MOD]

Vafra

Vafra listens to the bickering and the deal making, her sight never leaving Ker. With negotiations concluded she stands from her seated position and gives a nod to the group. "Lohgren, which room are you in?"

[Diarmuid]

Branthyn

With a respectful nod and raise of his glass to their host, the cleric takes a drink from his glass and pushes his chair back. Standing he, offers a thanks to their host,

"Thank you sir. We will do our best, and will keep you informed one way or another. I would like to get an early start tomorrow, so let's know make too late an evening tonight, eh friends?"

With a warm smile to his companions he goes to the innkeeper to arrange for a room for the evening. Once that is done, he goes to the other inn where he made arrangements, pays for the room and gathers his things to be brought back to the inn where everyone else is staying.

[ooc] Spell List will be updated for travelling. About how long will it take to get to the first location on the map? [/ooc]

[Loghren the Barbarian]

Loghren

With a nod to his new employer, Loghren reaches over to the food and digs in. He seems to become a bit preoccupied with eating what will likely be his last good meal for a while. He pauses a bit when Vafra asks him about his room. Speaking with his mouth full, "I think it's the one second from the end. Or something like that. You?" He grabs at another bit of food, and seems to have totally forgotten any sort of manners.

[MOD]

Vafra

"I am going to get one right now I'll let you know." With that Vafra abruptly leaves, her plate of food untouched.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Ker departs, leaving you with the feast, and an opportunity to plan out your options.

(It will take a week's riding to make it to the first of the three sites listed.)

[Deepblue706]

[[OOC: My spell list has been updated as well]]

Baelham

With Ker's departure, Baelham returns to his seat, pours himself some more wine, and then gives a weary glance to each of those who remain in the room. "There's a lot we should discuss, before we run off to our rooms for the evening." He takes a sip from his glass, pausing only for a second to savor it. "Such as, if anyone has experience in the terrain we're about to venture into." He then leans forward, placing the glass back upon the table, and gazes upon Loghren critically. "You've always struck me as a man who knows the wild - do you feel confident going with just this map, or should we hire a guide?"

[Cybren]

Alphonse

Alphonse continues to go to town on the remaining food. Little bits of meat fall from his mouth as he talks. "We hafv a map. Whtf wouldb be teh poit of gettimg a guide?"

He swallows and washes it down with a drink, before continuing. "Hiring a guide could slow us down, and costs money"

[Deepblue706]

Baelham

Turning a curious eye to Alphonse, Baelham answers wearily. "Someone who is more familiar with the area could prove useful - maybe there are more efficient routes than others, that may not be readily obvious." He makes a weak shrug. "Maybe if we simply keep our bearings, the map will suffice. However, I don't want to be wandering in the wild any longer than necessary." He glances about at the rest of the group, his eyes finally returning to Alphonse before he continues. "Truly, I think a handful of coins from our collective purse to pay for a sure bet is well worth it. It may take time to find the right man - but then, will it not take us more if we take the wrong path?"

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

(For clarity's sake-- the locations are marked on the map, but there are no roads marked once you get into the high mountains.)

[Loghren the Barbarian]

Loghren

"I say we hire a guide. The map will get us part of the way there, but I'd rather have as direct a route as we can get. I know my way around the wilderness pretty well, but when you want to get to a specific place, you hire the specialist. I see no reason to go it alone and risk wasting a significant amount of time."

[wxdruid]

Imani

Imani nods at the mention of hiring a guide. That should save us some time. She doesn't have much else to add.

[Diarmuid]

Branthyn

Branthyn has already retired from the meeting and so has nothing to add to the conversation happening at this time.

[ooc] just a little, "im still here" [/ooc]

[Deepblue706]

Baelham

Seeming pleased, despite what he saw as the premature dispersing of some members of the group. Baelham continues with what he sees as necessary discussion. "Now, how much gold do we have between us? I don't want to meet with a prospective guide, and then when he demands his fee, we turn our backs saying "hold on a moment while we count what we have"." He smiles. "Additionally, if we have a good amount of spare coin, I suggest we spend it on special equipment that our new employer isn't readily supplying - alchemical potions, and the like." He glances about the room to those who remain, awaiting an answer.

[MOD]

Vafra

[OOC] Vafra still around doing her thing. Posting I'm still here.[/OOC]

Wherever it is that Vafra happens to be at the moment she takes her time making herself comfortable.

[Loghren the Barbarian]

Loghren

"I'm sure we have more than enough money. I'm going to go speak with the bartender about where to go about hiring someone to guide us through these mountains. Anyone who wishes to join me can."

With that, Loghren wipes his hands on the most convenient cloth (his own pants, if necessary), grabs his gear, and heads toward the bartender, or tavern owner, or anyone else who may know about hiring such a guide.

Spoiler

Show

Untrained Gather Information roll to find a guide through the mountains. (1d20 1=3)

I don't know why it doesn't say "1d20+1". But, no matter. Either way, I don't think I succeeded - unless a roll wasn't needed.

[Deepblue706]

Baelham

With a shrug, Baelham accepts Loghren's answer. "Very well. If none believe we've anything else to discuss, then I suppose we're set." He yawns. "Tell me how things fare, Loghren. I'll be in my room." He stands. "Excuse me." He says, making his way to the exit.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Loghren has little luck in finding a guide, although the innkeeper does suggest that he would have better luck in one of the small towns in the lower mountains.

(apologies for the delay. Work kicked my tail the last couple days. Anything you wish to do tonight or shall I skip to morning?)

[Loghren the Barbarian]

Loghren

Returning to anyone left in the meeting room, Loghren states his (lack of) progress and that they may have better luck getting a guide closer to the mountains. He grabs one last bite of food and heads off to his room for the night.

[wxdruid]

With that bit of information, Imani heads off to bed.

[MOD]

Vafra

As soon as Loghren arrives at his room he finds the door to be unlocked. Upon entering he notices that a certain halfling is lounging on his bed.

"That seemed to take quite sometime, Loghren, I have been waiting..." Vafra says with mock impatients.

[Loghren the Barbarian]

Loghren

Loghren pauses for a minute, enters the room, and shuts the door.
"For the amount of time I spend trying to convince everyone that you're really not that creepy . . . you sure don't make my job any easier."

He pauses, then looks around the room for a chair or good spot on the floor on which to sit.

"So, what are you doing in my room this time?"

[MOD]

Vafra

"Oh, just settling in for the night as usual. I thought you would be right behind me did I miss something?"

[Loghren the Barbarian]

Loghren

"Nah, you didn't miss much. Just that we can find a guide when we get closer to the mountains. Also, you missed the part where I didn't invite you to sleep on my bed. If you feel a need to sleep in my room, that's fine. But the bed is for me and me alone."
Loghren rises from wherever he was seated, looking to Vafra as if he expects her to get up off the bed.

[MOD]

Vafra

Vafra gives a little sigh and a wink to Loghren, "You always say that Loghren." Vafra hops off the bed and says a word into her cloak and it transforms into a small halfling sized tent that appears next to Loghren's bed. "I am worried though that this Ker isn't being entirely truthful with us but time will tell on that account."

With that Vafra hops into her tent, inside Loghren's room, for the night.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Morning comes, and the inn staff brings breakfast to your rooms-- a hearty meal of eggs, sausage, glazed ham, and griddle cakes. As you collect your things and head outside, one of the stable hands indicates a pair of pack mules as having been dropped off by the Hand for your party. Inventory of the supplies reveals the following:

Cold weather gear for each of you.
14 Winter blankets
7 climbing kits
500 ft of silk rope
7 ice picks
14 full water skins
7 full wine skins
30 flasks of alchemist's fire
Food and fodder for a month.
24 sunrods
a box of 100 tindertwigs
20 Cure Light Wounds Potions
2 large tents
10 vials of antitoxin
5 grappling hooks

[wxdruid]

Imani is up early and eats every bite of her breakfast, it's probably the last really good food she'll eat for a long time. Trail food has never been known for it's taste.

Once done, she packs up her stuff and heads downstairs. She gets her pony from the stable and gets him ready. She starts inventorying what the pack mules have and is keeping track of it all.

[Deepblue706]

With only half of his armor donned, Baelham enters the scene at a slightly rushed pace. The fast rhythm of clanking with his every step spoke his feelings about getting to work quickly and efficiently, a ideal that would have been easily traced in his steps since he had joined the party. He made time to relax and be easygoing - but he had distinctly different attitudes about work and play.

He makes no effort to correctly apply his pauldrons and other parts to his metal suit alone, simply carrying various assorted pieces inside a large sack slung over his shoulder. He cradles his visored helm under a ring-sleeved arm, which carries inside additional parts to his armor - including a few larger pieces balanced on-top.

Assessing the various supplies left for their journey, Baelham would appear fairly pleased. "Good, good - they've left us adequate supplies." He says as he scans the animals for expected equipment (however, a close observer might notice his eyes show a bit of surprise when he spots the large quantity of alchemist's fire). He soon turns away, setting down the various pieces of plate and mail that make of the remainder of his armor, and glances around. "Zadryn - a hand, if you would. Full armor takes more than a single man to apply properly."

[Loghren the Barbarian]

Loghren

After finishing off his breakfast, Loghren makes his way out into the commons area. He is fully equipped, wearing his armor, two large axes within arm's reach, and a pair of hammers not far behind. He wears his large, bearskin cloak but seems as if he's a bit warm in it. His long hair is tied back and his beard neatly groomed - the last time it'll look like that for quite a while.

He looks over the equipment provided, nodding his head in approval every so often. "Well, this should about do it. Course, once we get out there a couple of days, we'll realize that there was something else we should have picked up along the way . . ."