Eberron: Merylsward Exhumed

[captain_decadence]

Delan

Delan realizes his mistake about the Duke/Baron problem but he doesn't apologize. It's already too late and he's never been good at keeping the strange hierarchy that humans use straight. It makes sense to him to have a command structure but the strange one seen in these lands is confusing at best to him.

Not needing to sleep, that night Delan walks around the town. He keeps watch for danger but he also takes time to keep his woodwork in practice. Whittling, strange as it may seem, is one of his favorite hobbies. He can make things as well, but the simple scrape of the knife calms him.

[Loquacius]

Aesop

Aesop shoots the Mayor a quick salute. "Looking forward to it, sir. No questions. Good day."

(OOG: If we weren't supposed to say how we spend the rest of the day yet, disregard the rest of this post.)

Aesop finds a secluded spot by some trees to pitch his tent, then spends the rest of the daylight hours walking around town and starting conversations with people--he always likes to make a few connections whenever he's in a new place, before he does anything else. When night falls, Aesop locates a campfire with lots of people around it, makes an entrance, acquaints himself with everyone present, and entertains them for the evening--he spins a couple of folktales, but adds to each of them a chapter entirely of his own design. He's trying to get into original fiction, and if he can win over a new crowd while simultaneously using them as a test audience, so much the better.

[Zoobity]

Orestes laughs. "I assure you that your beauty has nothing to do with my speechlessness. I've come a long way, you see." He opens his left arm to the woman. "I'm the house rep. I'm assessing this location's viability as a 'ship hub. Now, no offense to a woman such as yourself, but who are you?"

[FrereSebastian]

Ajaba

With the dismisal of the Mayor, Ajaba just sniffs and walks away. He pitches his tent next to Wrex and Bin if possible, if not then he sets it up close to the group. With the rest of the day, Ajaba goes to walk around a bit more and look at the construction of the new town. The information about the lizardfolk interested him...

I wonder if I should go take a look...

[King Tius]

XXVII The Tasks At Hand

OOG: Sorry for the hiatus. This post was five pages long in Word and the sheer enormity of it made it hard for me to sit down and write. Posting should resume normally from now on.

Aesop expends the rest of his day meandering about the town and taking in the sights (I’ll get to those). He finally settles for the evening around a campfire of masons. The group of men (and two women, mind you) are sitting around and talking about how they should form some type of guild or “house” as Aesop shows up. He finds himself incredibly well received among these hearty folk and manages to make fast friends as it were with a few of them. When he leaves them for the evening, they all entreat him to return again whenever he is in town.

Orestes flashes his dragonmark and queries the woman. “Well look at you, marked and all! No wonder they sent you out here on such a big and important job.” Orestes resists the urge to pull out a handkerchief to wipe off the dripping sarcasm. She adeptly vaults out of her hammock and approaches him, hand extended. He notices a little begrudgingly that she is taller than he is. “Daphne. Never mind what my mother named me. You can call me Daphne. Why am I out here? It was this or get married to some horrid cousin and I’m not the delicate marriage type. I heard my father talking about how we were sending someone out here and this is about as far from civilization you can get and still have a servant on hand, so here I am.” A light clicks on in Orestes head as he realizes who this woman is; Daphenia Maye d’Lyrandar, his third cousin on his father’s side. The two of you have never actually met (big family and all) but the name rings a bell. It would seem that Daphne is unaware of your familial connection.

Whether you spent the day actively walking around and shaking hands or got it all from Aesop, the following things are most unlikely to escape your notice….

”A Stroll Through Town”

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The Town Hall: The first building constructed in New Meryslward! The ground for the foundation was broken ceremoniously by Baron Ir’Kusk himself. A ten foot wall surrounds the modest courtyard of this sturdy building. Clearly it was built first to act as a fort in case of need (what with there being no acropolis to build). Most of the rooms are currently being used for dry storage or lodging, though Mayor Fryhle has taken an office for himself and one for his few underlings.

Elementally Unbound: The sign hung haphazardly in front of this half-finished building has its letters burned in the wood, though it looks like someone wrote them with a shaky blowtorch. The most notable feature of the building in its current state is the small swarm of elementals that seem to inhabit it. Around the outside two large sized earth creatures carry carefully hewn stone and place them along the walls. A fat and awkward looking homunculus teeters uneasily on the wall carrying a mortar board and spatula to secure the stones as the elementals place them down. Peeking inside from a safe distance, a small tornado whirls about the inside of the place moving crates and wooden beams with surprising accuracy. Once in a while a thin and unusually wiry and built gnome is seen scurrying about carrying an armload of tools or reagents. A cacophonous crash and a string of gnomish curses periodically break the dull rumble of the elementals. The curses seem to come from a particularly deep basement.

The Gilded Loon and the Red Moon Inn: The only other completely finished building in town, the Gilded Loon boasts a well crafted sign of a golden water bird spreading its wings before a crescent red moon. The sign is old and worn, clearly coming from some previous establishment. Upon the moon is painted the dragonmark symbol of House Ghallanda. Unlike most inns, the Loon holds no tavern or bar for rowdy clientele. It too is currently functioning as housing and storage like the Town Hall, though it still has a “vacancy” sign posted under the sign.

The Drunken Clam: (couldn’t help myself) Next to the Gilded Loon stands two walls of the town watering hole, still under construction. Inside the frame of the house a large pavilion style tent has been rigged. While the tavern may not be open yet, the bar sure is.

”Dwarves”: Another building with only one of its walls built has the name “dwarves” chiseled into a nice stone sitting in front of the lot. A large furnace is being built in the building by two dwarves, both with jet black hair and long braided pony tails. Unlike all the other buildings under construction, no masons are seen working on this building. Apparently these dwarves like to do things themselves. A large and sturdy wagon is parked inside the house’s plot which is full of pieces of metal and assorted weapons/armor. An anvil sits awkwardly in the ground where it was pushed off the wagon.

The Church of the Silver Flame: Though they arrived along with you, the Cleric of the Flame has taken his family to a double plot of land that appears to have been waiting for him. His children have helped him pitch the family tent and then they have immediately gone about erecting a primitive altar in the grass so they can begin holding services. Their arrival has spurred conversation among many of the mason workers and carpenters who feel that other house projects should be halted until the church is built. Quite a few more people seem to be grumbling that the church is that of the Flame and not the Sovereign Host.

Dockside Warehouse: Though no docks have been built yet, a large storage building is nearly finished being erected to encourage farmers to bring their wares to store here.

People of Interest

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Mayor Fryhle: Appointed by the Baron himself, Fryhle is a large and even-handed man. He was with the first group of workers to arrive at New Merylsward and has been leading the building of the town with an almost military efficiency. The workers revere him and though he keeps to himself he occasionally makes an appearance at The Drunken Clam. Nobody as of yet has managed to pry his past out of him, but he seems to know which end of a sword to hold and how to get things done.

Khayla of the Twin Oaks: When the first foundations of the town were being dug, the good folk of New Merylsward were besieged by a small band of crazed druids. Wearing skulls on their clothing and calling forth swarms of insects, the half dozen of them took the workers by surprise. Luckily Getty’s elemental friends stay close at hand or else the town might never have gotten off the ground! Not two days after the attack Khayla appears in town, walking with two doe (does?) flanking her and bearing an olive branch. The slender and beautiful Elf explained to the town makers that the Eldeen Reaches are home to many types of druids and that she is much different from those who attacked. Offering her services to the budding town as a liaison to the local friendly druids and fey, Khayla has begun building, or rather growing, her home on the very edge of town. With her magical druidic powers she is causing a great oak to grow at an incredible speed. She can often be found working her ways on the tree or wandering through the shallower groves of the forest line, always with woodland creatures in tow like Snow White.

Getty Ginglegrook: The curious owner of “Elementally Unbound,” this little gnome is surprisingly lean and well built for a gnome. He keeps a small cadre of magical companions ranging from two large earth elementals and an air elemental to his odd little homunculi. It is rumored that Getty used to be one of the chief elemental binders for the famous airship factories before leaving and joining some nut-case cult.

The Workforged: A group of Warforged, now out of a job with there being no war, have banded together and formed a contract labor company. Run by the Cannith artificer who claims to have built every one of them, the Workforged have been hired to help clear the opening to the ocean. The Workforged keep almost entirely to themselves and do not assist in defending the town or its inhabitants as it is not “part of their contract.” Their “father” Hugo d’Cannith does all the talking on their behalf.

Cliffwalker Tribe: While the lands around the lake have become mostly inhabited with monstrous creatures, a small band of semi-nomadic shifters have also claimed the cliffs as part of their home. They have done nothing to help nor hinder the budding town and have presently moved off towards the eastern seaside cliffs. The arrival of the Silver Flame has caused some unrest among them.

Haskul: A tall and thin elf who always seems far too busy to give you the time of day. He is the mayor’s assistant who has been assigned to managing your tasks. He will inform you of any jobs that need doing around town, provided you ask nicely.

NOTE: These sections will be filled in and updated as the game progresses. I will likely move these lists along with your completed character sheets to the front of this thread for easy access.

You pitch your tents on the northern edge of town and spend your first night in Merylsward (Orestes, will you be staying in the Lyrandar tent or with the party?). Ajaba makes sure his tent is next to Bin and Wrex’s. The two of them spent the better part of their day walking through town and glaring at the inhabitants.

Dawn of Sar the 16th of Eyre

The party regroups at the Town Hall and meets with Haskul, the tall and disinterested elf who has been burdened with the task of giving you your assignments. He looks disapprovingly over all of you (yes, even you Aesop) before sighing and sifting through some papers he is holding. “What a rag tag band we have here. I feel it is a waste of breath to read all these jobs if you won’t survive a one of them, but I suppose we must all do our duty. Can any of you brutes write? Perhaps you want to scratch this on a rock or something since I shan’t repeat myself.”

THE LIST:

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Lizardfolk Nuisance: Those lovely little mud dwellers have taken a liking to harassing the work crew clearing the rock debris at the opening of the cove. The lizards aren’t attacking the workers directly but are destroying equipment at night and dropping rocks from the cliff face above. This problem needs to be dealt with immediately. I’m not sure you’re smart enough to set a trap for these overgrown alligators so maybe you could just go knock on their nests and ask them nicely to stop? However you manage to fail to deal with this, the sabotage is delaying the opening of this town.

Ominous Cavern: Along the path to the bay’s mouth is a dreadful looking cave entrance nestled in the low cliffs. Howls have been heard coming from around the cave and many townsfolk are worried about such a den being so close to our dreary new home. It could also be used as an outpost or even a nice little home for you to go live in. You seem like cave types.

Moss Bandits: The mayor informed me that the Baron of Moss must have even worse recruiting standards than we do since apparently you dispatched a band of his men on your journey here. Since this is something you have proficiency for, one of the baron’s outposts is rumored to lie due east of here in the forest. If the Baron keeps attacking and taxing farmers and merchants traveling here, we will all be starving before the winter.

Missing Persons: Several workers and townspeople have gone missing in the past week. They have all been younger men and one was seen wandering off towards the great forest. I doubt you are any good at tracking, but you do have a dog with you, so maybe you’ll be able to find the missing men? Apparently the ladies in town report that they were the better looking of the hideous plebs.

Ir’Kusk Manor: Our Most Benevolent Benefactor Lord Baron Ir’Kusk has requested that the ruins of the old manner on the northwestern cliffs be investigated and cleared out of any new residents. He asks that any antiques or items bearing the Ir’Kusk family crest be retrieved intact. Stealing and grave robbing will not be tolerated.

Hammer Time: The pesky little gnome Getty has requested a few “able bodied fighters” to help him with an unbinding of some sort. Even if you die your corpses could act as shields for that little psychopath.

Farmer Dissent: While not every farmer in the Reach is overjoyed that we are building this town, one in particular is trying to rally the local dirt diggers against us. His farm lies a day’s ride south of here. This man goes by the name of Calhoun and needs to be quieted. If you can’t reason with him to join with us or bribe him to stay quite, bash his skull in. That, at least, I’m sure even you can handle.

Crazy Druids: Though we were able to repel those crazy druids that besieged us a week ago, many of them retreated back into the Towering Wood. They will undoubtedly strike again, probably in greater numbers and maybe even with those Lizards.

Haskul sighs deeply again and looks at you once more. “That should keep you children occupied for a while. If you manage not to get yourselves killed return here for your reward once a job is completed. If you need help, which you undoubtedly will, ask around town for information. Khayla or those cliff loving shifters know the area well, provided you can get anything out of those barbarians.” Without even a nod or disdainful sigh Haskul turns and walks through a side door, shutting it behind him before you can ask him any questions. Wrex chuckles. “Snotty little elf could use a few days in the pit, eh Bin?” Bin nods and looks towards the door. “Reminds me of my mother, that wretched whore.” The little goblin spits on the ground and looks around at the party. “So how are we deciding where we going? Drawings straws? Arm wrestling?”

[captain_decadence]

Delan

Strolling through the town:
Delan looks about the town and likes the diversity he sees around him. He watches the elementals work for hours and then continues to stroll.

At any building site he tries to strike up a conversation with the warforged but he knows that they will probably not talk much while working so he doesn't expect much. If they have any free time, he will return and try to talk to them again.

After the naming of the missions:
Delan laughs slightly to himself at the snootiness of the elf. It's almost refreshing to see someone who is rude to everyone instead of just him, especially because the elf is an underling in the middle of nowhere.

For the decision on where to go next, Delan thinks that we need to investigate the mansion first. Being a noble's manor, there should be interesting stuff and possibly they could use some of the things they find to help out the town.

He begins to ponder about building a temple for the Sovereign Host. There should be representation of his faith, he thinks, for him as well as for the others that follow the Host. After the decision of what to do next, he asks Haskul about finding a place in the town that he could set up a shrine, at least temporarily. He begins to think about carvings that he could for the members of the Host, at least until stonework or something else could be done.

[Loquacius]

Aesop

OOG: Luckily I found some Internet to steal. W00t.

Aesop is a little weirded out by the Workforged. He just has this thing about warforged from his experiences fleeing the Last War, and while Delan is personable and human enough, something about those silent automatons, working singlemindedly dawn till dusk, gives him the willies. He does a few double takes upon seeing Khayla for the first time, making a mental note to strike up a conversation with her once he's had the opportunity to build up a little local reputation.

Aesop doesn't bother to attempt to win Haskul over. He knows that changing an Elf's mind, particularly one as stubborn as this guy, isn't something easily done. To win his trust, they'll either have to cajole him for a few decades or get something accomplished, and a little common decency will probably be too much to ask until that's finished. In other words, it's time to do a mission or two.

To the group, after Haskul's briefing: "The lizardfolk and Moss's bandits seem to be the most direct threats. I vote we deal with them first. I see your point about gathering artifacts, Delan, but first things first--we have to protect our people. Soon as that's done, I'd love to sit down and have a chat with that Calhoun fellow--I was brought on as a diplomat, after all--but I doubt he's raised TOO large of an army just yet, so that can probably wait. Thoughts?"

[captain_decadence]

Delan

"You're right Aesop, I guess we better deal with dangers before we move onto things that are merely helpful. I think that we should probably deal with Baron Moss's group, as they are an organized threat that do attack people where as the lizardmen, up till now, have only attacked equipment."

[Zoobity]

Orestes

Orestes explains his relationship to his cousin and his appointment to Merylsward. He tells her that he'll be surveying the area and determining when they can start the construction of the site. He spends the night with the party.

After meeting the elf he leans over to Aesop and says, "Let's pray this guy is out of a job in a few weeks... for everyone's sake." Orestes agrees with Aesop and Delan, "I think we should deal with the moss bandit's first, then the lizards. I'd like to get up to the old manor before too long, however. That position is too valuable not to be in our hands."

[King Tius]

XXVIII Anyone Know the Way?

Contrary to what Delan initially thought the normally stoic Workforged come alive when they see him. He begins a conversation with two of them as they unload a large wagon which they pulled by themselves into town. “Hail Brother! Come to join us in our battle against the rocks? Or are you here for some other purpose, perhaps you bring word from the Lord of Blades?” At the Town Hall Delan tries to ask Haskul about a shrine but the Elf has already walked away, ignoring any questions that follow him out.

Orestes finds himself wrapped in a big hug after he reveals himself as kin. “I thought you looked a little like my mother! I almost feel bad that you got caught with some of her looks, too. Maybe I can help you out with your little building project. Being a Lyrandar daughter, I of course have wasted many days of my childhood being forced to draw and paint. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, since I’m not about to go lift stones and it is dreadfully boring out here with nothing but Baldric (the manservant).”

Wrex nods his agreement at the apparent consensus for heading to the Baron first. “Always best to kill the viper before it can strike. We’ll need to figure out where to start looking. Someone should get us a map and start asking around about this hideout.” Bin nods and drops to a crouch. “Bet you a pig’s tongue there’s a map in here.” He begins to sneak off into the Town Hall in search of such a map. Ajaba emits a low growl and pulls out a scimitar. “After we deal with these bandits we’re going after those lizards. A threat so close to den, no good.” He sheaths his sword and sniffs the air. “Where did the bandits attack you on the road?” “A day before we reached Owl’s Perch” replies Wrex. As if on cue Bin comes slinking back to the party, map in hand. “Let’s take this outside before they notice I opened the Mayor’s case.” Stepping out of the town hall, the goblin takes the map back to the tent and lays it out on the ground. Ajaba and Wrex begin to pour over it, pointing and talking about where the best location for a fort would be.

[captain_decadence]

Delan

With the warforged:
Delan chuckles lightly "I fear I was not forged to do war on rocks and I have heard no news of the Lord of Blades, only the rumors that always seem to float about. I have been hired to work for the Duke here, though I am still not sure what we'll be doing. I would like to hear about this place from all of you, how it is to live and work here? Could we meet sometime when you are not fighting the good fight?

While Ajaba and Wrex pour over the map:
Delan looks to see if he can help but the two seem to know what they are doing. He tells them that he will be back later; he's going to ask around for more information.

Figuring that the person that would know the most about people living in the forest is Khayla, he suggests to the others that they go see her. Hopefully she will have some information about the Baron and his hide-out.

Notes: Delan will be talking to Haskul after this is all sorted out, sorry if that seemed like he wanted to talk to him right then.

[FrereSebastian]

Ajaba


Ajaba scans the map looking at the point in the path where they were attacked before. He scratches his neck and mutter half to himself and half to Wrex. "Moss have long reach if he can attack here," He points to the attack point, "All the way to here." He points to New Merylsward. Ajaba looks to Wrex for any comment as he continues, "If Moss stationed outpost in forest, then it would be in easy reach of a path or way to town. Since most of activity and raids happen at road, the fort would be in a easily defendable part of the forest, that is close to the road. Do bandits attack at same point all the time? Or is it more spread out?"

Ajaba looks to Wrex to see if he is making sense and see what Wrex thinks.
After Wrex discusses with him, Ajaba says, "Maybe me and you search woods with Bin, scout along path... try to find fort while others look around town and talk to WoodElf (Khayla) to find more information?"

[Zoobity]

Orestes

To Daphne: Orestes returns the hug half-heartedly, not really tightening his grip as much as his distant cousin. "Yes, we're cousins or something like that. And shame on you, drawing is not a waste of your time." He scratches his head for a moment, "What the hell are you doing out here?"

As the party pours over the map and decides to talk to Khayla, Orestes volunteers to talk to Ginglegrook at Elementally Unbound. "You guys pursue that angle, I'm going to see if I can negotiate some kind of divination on the leader of the bandits. Sever the head and whatnot. I'll meet you back here in a bit."

[Loquacius]

Aesop

Aesop had hoped to postpone his first encounter with Khayla until he'd gained a little local standing, and he hadn't planned on involving his business with it, but duty calls and all that. "Okay then, I'll deal with the wild woman. Fairly good chance she knows exactly where he is."

Upon finding Khayla, Aesop takes a deep breath, gives Olladra a quick thumbs-up, and approaches the lovely druidess with a deep bow. "Your works, fair lady, are truly a wonder to behold. If I may introduce myself, I'm called Aesop Wynde--storyteller, adventurer, and your faithful servant. I'm afraid that the pressing manner of my duties force me to proceed straight to business-- I've been called upon by the good people of Merylsward to do anything I can to ensure their safety, and if you could be so kind as to offer your assistance in one particular matter, it would help greatly toward that end. May I prevail upon you for some information?"

[King Tius]

XXIX Helllllloooo Nurse

The Workforged gives a hearty laugh. “None of us were forged for moving rocks, brother, but what’s a soldier to do when there’s no war? You are always welcome to our barracks, brother. We will tell you all about this new town. Master lets us off work around midnight, so come by then. They call me Wedge. Never Rust, brother.” If Delan had ears, they would have perked up at the word “Master.” Though they were crafted by Cannith Artificers and are, in fact, golems of sorts, Delan has never heard a warforged refer to another being as his master.

Note: “Never Rust” is a piece of Warforged jargon, somewhat like “break a leg” and “cheers.” It serves as a general hello/goodbye/good luck between 'forged. It is one of the few pieces of Warforged speak that isn't directly related to war.

Ajaba and Wrex scan the map for a few moments and discern about where the outpost might be. Located not too far from the road or Merylsward is Stillwater Valley. Ajaba nods confidently after thinking it over again, sure that the fort is located in or near this valley.

Orestes looks questioningly at Daphne as she answers his question. “Weren’t you listening? I came out here so I wouldn’t have to get married.” The mage doesn’t buy it and it shows on his face. She falters a moment and bites her lip in thought. “Well, you see, my mother arranged my marriage with a cousin of mine, but he was nearly forty and dreadfully ugly! I told her I’d never marry him and I’d sooner die. She informed me that I had one day to come to my senses and obey her or she’d disown me. So I ran away. I’m sure she’s already made a huge fuss about the entire thing and has held a funeral service for me. Though we may be cousins, it looks like we’re in different families now.” She looks around sheepishly. “Should I leave? I don’t really have anywhere else to go. I had heard father talking about this operation, that part was true, so I grabbed a few things and made my way out here as far away from the city as I could before my mother knew I was gone.”

Later Orestes makes his way over to Elementally Unbound to inquire about some Divination. Dodging an earth elemental as he enters, Orestes finds himself caught in a small windstorm as the air elemental moves around him as if he was not there. Getty comes walking up from the basement with his hands full of tools and throws them up into the air as he sees Orestes. “Dragon Below, you scared me halfway back to Zilargo!” He drops to the ground and begins frantically picking up his tools. “What brings you to my humble abode? I hope my friends aren’t making you nervous! There have been some complaints. I assure you, they are perfectly harmless! As long as you don’t provoke them, that is. What can I do for you?” Orestes mentions purchasing some Divination and the gnome again drops all his tools, this time because he has fallen to the floor, grabbing his stomach and hooting with laughter. It takes him a minute or two to compose himself again. Still snickering, he asks “Do I look like some tea leaf reader to you? I’ve no skills or interests in Divination. Never studied the stuff. Too boring. Now if you want to know about Summoning, that we can have a good long chat about. Maybe over some tea.”

Aesop and Delan approach the large oak tree growing on the outskirts of town. As they approach they find Khahla with her arms up to the elbows inside the great oak. The normally loquacious (see what I did there?) bard is struck temporarily speechless by the woman before him. She is dressed in a simple green gown and has long golden hair that reaches down past her shoulders. She is barefoot and has piercing green eyes that always seem to be smiling. As you approach you see that there are two deer lying in the grass nearby who watch you intently. She does not look up until she has slowly pulled her hands out of the tree; a feat which would be absolutely impossible if not for her druidic magic. She smiles and nods to Delan before turning her eyes on Aesop. He has just delivered his complimentary introduction which drew the faint smile in the first place. “You walk with a lighthearted gait not seen much in these lands, yet still you bear the signs of an Eldeen. I know where this camp you seek lies, Aesop Wynde. I shall even show you there myself, if you’d like.” She rises to her feet and turns to face them. Aesop notes begrudgingly that the “wild woman” is taller than he is. “The outpost lies in Stillwater Valley. Tell me, Eldeen, do you know the way?”

[Loquacius]

Aesop

Aesop is taken aback at Khayla's divination of his personal history--sort of. He subconsciously drops his formal, rehearsed dialogue in favor of more relaxed speech. "Well, um, I was born in Aundair, actually, but I've kind of split my time between that land and this. The Reaches really are a... beautiful country, though. I grew to manhood walking its woods. It's, um, a shame what happened here during the war." Upon Khayla's offer to guide them to the camp, Aesop blurts out his response. "Sure! Great, I mean, we'll take all the help we can get, definitely!"

If Aesop knows where Stillwater Valley is (making a Bardic Knowledge check if necessary), he replies as such: "I do, but surely bringing along someone as... obviously capable as yourself would be to our advantage nevertheless. Moss is a cancer on this land. We must be rid of him and soon. Will you help, fair lady?"

If he doesn't know where Stillwater Valley is: "I'm afraid that I do not." Ajaba probably does, but instead of mentioning that, he continues: "But if you could show us the place, and help us strike at that foul cur, this country would be all the more beautiful in his absence." (and once again) "Will you help, fair lady?"

[FrereSebastian]

Ajaba

After seeing Aesop and Delan move out towards the druid's abode, and Orestes move out to the gnome's wierd home, Ajaba looks at the map one more time and adresses Wrex and Bin. "To get to Valley, stay away from path. Scouts must watch path for intruders." Ajaba smiled, "We come from townside of valley but spread out within birdcall of each other, just like in War. Once in sight, we scout out fort until others find it. Stay safe, of course there is chance they have guard patrols...." Ajaba grins. "We must get ready, meet at forest in an hour." With that he moves to his tent.

Before he goes, Ajaba checks his weapons, and rendez-vous with Ben and Wrex just before the treeline of the forest. He makes a motion to the goblinoids to follow. From this point on Ajaba only speaks in whispers, the Gnolls rarely speak when on the hunt, he only makes gestures unless nessecary. As they plunge into the forest, he almost breaks the silence trying to keep from laughing, there was nothing better than being on the hunt.

Once they reach the treeline towards the Valley, Ajaba checks to see if there are guards/scouts making rounds then procedes to scout out the fort until he can notice the others arrive, or Wrex and Bin have other ideas.

[captain_decadence]

Delan

Delan waits until Aesop and Khayla have finished talking and then says "Well, now that we know the location of the bandits, we should probably go back and meet the others. Let's find Orestes and go back to where Ajaba is."

[Zoobity]

Orestes

Back with Daphne: Orestes shrugs. "Sure, you can stay here, I guess. Why not? Alright, I'm going to be busy clearing the air, so to speak. If you want to play the part of my secretary and personal representative while I'm away, I'll let you stay here and I won't betray your identity to the house. Deal?"

Realizing that the gnome will be unable to provide the sort of subtleties that he's looking for at the moment, Orestes heads back towards the party tent. He's excited that they met Tom Bombadil's sister and gathers his gear for the quest.

[King Tius]

XXX Hey Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadil-o

OOG: Minus 50 DKP for your insolence


Aesop does in fact know where Stillwater Valley is located. Khayla smiles and nods her assent. “I will accompany you, though I doubt we will find the Baron himself. His hold on these lands is deep and long reaching. It will take more than wiping out an outpost to rid us of his influence.” The three of you head back towards the camp, catching Orestes as he leaves Elementally Unbound. You find Bin, Wrex, and Ajaba nearly ready to depart for their scouting mission. With everyone on the same page, you leave en masse. The trip to the valley takes just a day and a half of travel on foot. You arrive at the edge of the valley just as the sun begins to set. A thin column of smoke rises from inside the valley, near the far end of the basin. Khayla points towards it and raises her chin as she speaks. “Therein lies the blight of Moss. With nobody to challenge them, they make very few attempts at masking their presence in these lands. Nevertheless, they do patrol this valley.” Ajaba reiterates his plan to spread out and use birdcalls to signal one another. After a brief moment of selecting a few bird calls you spread out and descend into the valley, heading towards the smoke. Ajaba takes point of your spread out formation and Khayla stays towards the back. You proceed down into the valley and near the Stillwater creek. As you come to the tree line by the creek you hear Bin’s attempt at the bird call for “trouble” coming from your right. You can just make out one another in the fading light standing by the edge of the tree line. At the sound of the call you see Wrex hunch down and draw his greatsword as he slowly creeps in that direction.

[Loquacius]

Aesop

OOG: Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow.

Aesop follows Wrex's lead, drawing his rapier and creeping toward Bin's location.

[captain_decadence]

Delan

During the trip:

As the 'merry band' goes towards Stillwater Valley, Delan talks to Khayla about her beliefs. "How do druids see the gods or do your people not acknowledge any gods other than nature itself?" After he gets an answer to that, if she talks, he asks her about how druids feel about the warforged. He tells her that he knows she doesn't speak for all druids, but knowledge is power and he wants to at least have a basic understanding of what druids think about this stuff

At the base:
Delan tries (and probably fails) at being sneaky until he hears the trouble cry. He then moves slowly toward the sound, staying out of the way of the others and hoping the bandits don't hear him.

[Zoobity]

While the group travels Orestes remains reserved. He watches Goodberry closely, though he does whatever he can to be completely courteous.

After Bin gives his call, Orestes tries to sink further down into the shadows. If everyone rushes over to that location then who will keep lookout?

[King Tius]

XXXI Power Outage

OOG: My house has been without power since that colossal storm hit and probably will remain so for a few days. Hopefully I will still be able to post.

OOG2: Delan, I will continue your conversation with Khayla once I'm not posting from a Penn computer lab

Aesop draws his rapier as Ajaba pulls his scimitars free. The three of you (attempt to) sneak towards the sound of the distress call as Orestes remains back. Khayla also remains back, drawing nearer to Orestes. As you move through the underbrush you catch a glimpse of Bin scampering silently up a nearby tree. In front of you is a small clearing around the creek. In this clearing a small waterfall and natural damn have created a serene pond. Standing thirty feet in front of you are three men, all dressed similarly to the bandits who accosted you previously along the road. They are standing in a circle and arguing quite furiously and pointing towards the pond. "You idiot, I saw it land over here! It has to be in there." "Are you out of your mind? I'm not diving into some pond just because you think it's in there. You go get it if you're so sure!" As you approach Delan steps on a twig that snaps rather loudly. The three men quickly turn to face the tree line, drawing their weapons (two swords and a bow). "Who comes there? Show yourself!"

[Loquacius]

Aesop

Oh, for the love of... Aesop holds up his sword hand, palm out, and puts a finger of his other hand to his lips to indicate to Delan that moving at all at this juncture would be a supremely bad idea, then slowly removes a pinch of black powder from his materials pouch, which he throws to the ground at Delan's feet. A sound comes from the empty ground, which sounds exactly like an animal about the size of a raccoon or badger running away. (OOG: Ghost Sound.) There. Hopefully they'll buy that. Don't want them raising any alarms. He keeps his rapier at the ready, though, just in case his little gambit should fail.

[Zoobity]

Orestes

Orestes picks up where Aesop left off and casts Dancing Lights on the far side of his comrades, trying to get the brigands to show their flanks to the fighters with four torch like lights.

[captain_decadence]

Delan

Delan freezes as he is signaled to. He waits to see what the others do.

[King Tius]

XXXII Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound, Action!!!

Delan freezes in place as Aesop cats ghost sounds. A small snarl and the sound of rustling leaves emanates from between the Warforged’s legs. Orestes weaves his own dancing lights spell and summon four orbs of light off to the party’s right side. The three brigands seem to dismiss Delan immediately and turn to face the lights. “Damn fey! How many sprites and satyrs will we have to kill to clear these woods once and for all?” The archer lets off an arrow in the direction of the lights as the two others turn sideways and move defensively towards the lights. Apparently judging this as the appropriate time to strike, Bin takes a running leap off of a high branch and comes crashing down upon the archer, dagger in hand and arms cart-wheeling as he silently flies through the air. The goblin strikes the archer square in the chest and the two immediately tumble into the water. The two swordsmen turn around and face the water in confusion, glancing back and forth between the lights and the splashing mass of their buddy/Bin. Their backs are now facing you. Wrex suppresses a laugh and gets into a crouched position, preparing to charge.

Prior:
Khayla smiles at Delan’s inquisitive nature. “We Druids worship the Gods just as any other. Some of us simply acknowledge the existence of every deity while others tie themselves more closely to one god and his affects on nature. As for your kind, I must admit that when I first encountered a Warforged I thought it an abomination. I have since learned, as many of the Wardens and Greensingers have, that Warforged are people just as Elves and Humans.

[Loquacius]

Aesop

Aesop had been planning on waiting for the sentries to leave or become sufficiently distracted for the group to sneak past, but this works just as well. He joins Wrex's charge, introducing the pointy end of his rapier to whichever guard looks less crowded.

[captain_decadence]

To Khayla: "So, there are other groups that don't like warforged... Well, I can't do much to change that. I'm glad that your people have realized we are just like the other races. If all the druids of the forest were against me, I do not see even a chance at survival."

At the battle:
Delan curses lightly to himself, he didn't expect the others to rush out, just to distract the guards. He runs out to join the others, trying to look as big and intimidating as possible and maybe drawing some of their attention to him.