The Other Axis

[Apollyon]

Captain Squarejaw

"I didn't acquire the rank of Captain by basing plans solely upon people failing. In fact, I hope that you are correct more often than not. It means fewer pushups for you and less time that I need to waste making sure that you don't cheat on them."

The edges of his lips curl upwards in a small but unmistakable smile, the skin pulling taut across his cheekbones, chin, and jaw.

He pulls out a cylindrical case, commenting "As for your question." He loosens the leather strap and buckle holding one end, and lifts the end. His hands deftly extract a large piece of parchment. His gaze shifts over to Luz, his left eyebrow raising, as if to ask permission. Seeing no response, he slides the bowl of milk out of the way and places down what appears to be a map.

He turns to J'barnabar, "We have an acronym in the military. The 6 Ps. Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance."

[Hydra]

Sigurds

"Suspicious eh? In that case I should see to it that I accompany you all on this quest. I can't have anyone thinking low of my good name, even if it is a ghost."

Sigurds adjusts the clasp on his cloak before continuing.

"Besides, if this del Destrehan is the one holding our dearly departed comrade my unique talents would likely be to everyone's benefit."

[Ephraim]

Patchkin licks his lips as he looks over the map that Heironymous has spread on the table. "Well," he says, "Nestor isn't featured on this map." He points to a forest in the southwestern quadrant. "It's located south of here, though. As you can see, the fastest way to the highway is to travel north."

Indeed, you can see that the highway forks at Wellsaid City, near the border of Zazoo and Gateau to the north. One spur tends southwesterly before turning due west a few days north of the forest's southern edge. Another spur tends southeasterly for a short distance before turning due south.

"This is the route that Elmo took," Patchkin explains. "The distance is greater, but that branch of the highway is more heavily traveled. I believe that he had decided to pose as a peddler, so it made more sense for him to be traveling on that road."

North from where the two forks of the road meet at Wellsaid City, the highway heads north to the Lambert River, which marks the boundary between Zazoo and Gateau. A few more days travel would bring one to the city of Farlangh's Footstep at the Great Northern Crossroads. Three days farther along the road to the northeast is the ducal capital of Bellflower.

[Hydra]

Sigurds

"Taking the road more traveled certainly does make sense in our particular situation, as we're a rather eclectic looking lot to begin with, no need to draw further suspicion. I'd also recommend we wait till morning, my abilities work their best when I've had a good night's sleep and it would allow the good captain to practice his six P's."

[Apollyon]

Captain Squarejaw

"Getting an early start tomorrow is certainly a good idea. I'd much rather not camp on the road for longer than necessary. You are correct, Sigurds, attention is quite unwelcome. An extra day of travel is nothing compared to a couple of months in some prison cell."

He falls silent for a short time, then stands, and moves towards the door.

"I have a room at the Troll's Jaw for the night. I shall wait for you here after breakfast."

[Akiata]

J'barnabar

"Very well, tomorrow morning it is," J'barnabar gathers up her things, and makes ready to leave.

"I might check in to the Troll's Jaw for the night too. I'll return in the morning with the Captain here."

[Ephraim]

After an evening of rest, you gather again in the morning at the chapel of Ehlonna. Patchkin and Monsignora Marqueen await you in the dim light of dawn.

The priestess curtsies as you approach. "Before you depart," she says, "Denali and I would like to give you a few things to assist you. It is less than you deserve, but I hope you understand that I must also see to the needs of my flock." She retrieves a parcel from the steps of the chapel and offers it to you.

Patchkin shuffles nervously while Luz offers her gifts. When she has finished, he pulls a pair of pouches from his belt. One is black and the other brown and their drawstrings are knotted together. "It is just a little bit of money," he explains. "Also, we thought that you should have what was left behind of Elmo's adventuring gear. I think that he'd find it fitting and I daresay, you'll put it to good use." He gestures to a plain, pine chest resting on the chapel's steps.


OOC:
Each of you gains 700 experience points.

The parcel that Luz Marqueen gave you contains six (6) blessed bandages
and a set of Vials of Everhealing along with a note from Luz explaining how they work. A blessed bandage automatically stabilizes a wounded person with no heal check required. Vials of Everhealing come in sets of three. One of the vials has three gold spheres for a stopper; one has two silver spheres; and one has a single copper sphere. The copper vial heals 1d8 damage, the silver vial heals 2d8 damage, and the gold vial heals 3d8 damage. Once a vial has been consumed, the stopper takes on the appearance of iron. When full, the set contains six charges. Every morning, the set regains one charge, beginning with the gold vial. After one day, one of its spheres will turn copper (and two will remain iron); after two days, two will turn silver and one will remain iron.

The pouches that Denali Patchkin gave you contains 200 silver "ermines" and 5 gold "stags" (currency of Zazoo) and also 250 silver "freren" (currency of Gateau.)

Elmo Contanz's chest contains a pair of acrobat boots, a suit of shiftweave, an elixir of hiding, and a potion of darkvision. Acrobat boots grant the wearer a +2 competence bonus to tumble checks. They also have 3 charges each (renewed each day at dawn.) Charges may be spent to increase your speed for one round. 1 charge: +10 feet; 2 charges: +15 feet; 3 charges: +20 feet. Shiftweave may be made to resemble one of five preset outfits by a mental command (swift action.) This particular suit of shiftweave has the following five outfits: the vestments of a bishop of the church of Wee Jas, the work clothes of a groom (as in stables and horses) with attractive livery, the work clothes of a butcher (ordinary laborer, with a stained leather apron), the uniform of a courier of the Bardic Colleges, and homespun monastic robe with a cowl that conceals the face. Elixir of hiding gives the user a +10 competence bonus to hide checks for 1 hour. A potion of darkvision gives the user darkvision to 60 feet for 3 hours.

[Akiata]

J'barnabar

Barnie looks over all the items presented and smiles in gratitude. "If there's a way to release Elmo, we shall find it. He will be avenged."

She picks up two of the Blessed Bandages and slips them into one of the pouches on her backpack. Of all the other items, she only shows interest in the boots. Picking them up and measuring them against her current boots she looks up and asks,

"Anyone mind if I wore these?"

[Hydra]

Sigurds

"I have no objections to that," Sigurds states as he puts two of the bandages into his own gear, "As far as my own interest is concerned, the Shiftweave is an intriguing item. The potions would be clearly more suited for the stealthy among us and the the vials will no doubt benefit the group as a whole."

Sigurds finishes fiddling with his gear before glancing over at the small amount of funds left.

"The money would probably be best used for buying necessary provisions for the trip, such as food. Whatever is left should likely be donated to a cause Elmo believed in," Sigurds glances around at his companions, "unless someone objects to that."

[Apollyon]

Captain Squarejaw

"I'm also interested in those boots. Perhaps you would be interested in an Everfull Mug to concede the Boots to me? It makes water, decent wine, or cheap ale, at your will."

The Captain is wearing mail for the journey, the links shining, even in the dimness of the morning. He's freshly shaven, even though it was difficult to find stubble on his jaw last night.

"That's a very good idea, Sigurds. I have no objection to you using the Shiftweave."

Turning towards Patchkin, he asks "Any suggestion for a worthy cause to donate the rest of his money towards after we are done?"

[Ephraim]

A mixture of surprise, sadness and shame cascades across Denali Patchkin's face before he can compose himself to reply. "I don't really know," he stammers. "I don't recall Elmo being charitable in that sense of the word. Oh, I don't mean that he wasn't generous, but he always took a personal hand in the use of his money, you see."

Seeing Patchkin flounder with the explanation, Luz puts her hand on his shoulder to quiet him. "What Denali is trying to say is that my husband was a man of action and very proud. It would have hurt his feelings if one had suggested that some other agent could put the money to better use than he could have. Use it wisely and well to liberate the oppressed and you shall serve his will far better than would any donation."

[Hydra]

Sigurds

"Elmo is a much wiser man that I had thought. Why trust others to handle a job you can do yourself?"

Sigurds turns to face the Captain and Barnie.

"Are there any potions, scrolls, or similar trinkets that we can acquire that you feel would be recommended for this journey? I of course carry my own supply of scrolls but it never hurts to have an extra option or two in a sticky situation."

[Akiata]

J'barnabar

Eyes narrowing at the Captain's words, she gives him a long stare, obviously unimpressed by his offer.

"I can see that we're going to be butting heads a lot, aren't we Captain?" She relaxes a little and lets out a sigh. "Very well, I accept your offer of the mug for the boots. And I guess I'll claim the Elixir of hiding, and the Potion of Darkvision as well."

"Sigurds, I don't need anything else - I'm keen to get moving."

[Apollyon]

Captain Squarejaw

"I'd offer you one of my wands, Barnie, but I'm not sure that you would be able to use it."

With that, he drops his backpack onto the ground, opens it, and quickly retrieves 2 mugs and hands them to Barnie. He then unpacks everything, and repacks everything. It is possible to hear him mumble something about "left in Troll's Jaw".

"As for your question, Sigurds, the answer is that your talents are more needed elsewhere. I certainly could lower a sail, but there's no reason for me to do so any more, not when I'm much more useful to everyone as a Captain."

[Ephraim]

You are walking east out of Nestor toward the more-frequently traveled spur of the old highway. There is a dirt road that you could follow east until it intersects the highway, but it is not the straightest path. Alternately, you could travel across the open grasslands toward the town of Genma, which lies on the highway. Making a beeline for Genma would be a shorter trip, but you'd travel faster on the road. It's impossible to estimate which route would be faster. What do you do?

p.s. I will have a map for you guys tomorrow.

[Hydra]

Sigurds

"Well my friends, I would prefer to stick to the roads. My sense of direction is, shall we say, not quite there. Besides, it's in our best interest to not draw attention to ourselves, so we should take the road more traveled. I may not be wanted, but I'd rather not give anyone a reason to look closer than they would normally chose to."

[Akiata]

J'barnabar

"I've always been more comfortable taking off road routes, I find attention is more easily avoided that way. Roads don't suit me so much as grasslands and woods."

She looks from Sigurds to Captain Squarejaw.

"I'm not too fussed either way though. Captain - what do you think?"

[Apollyon]

Captain Squarejaw

"I'm certainly in favor of taking the roads. I have no real interest in going through the backwoods and finding the troll to whom the inn-named jaw belongs."

[Ephraim]

The morning is cool and there is a light fog that clears quickly as the sun rises in the sky to the south. About a half an hour east of the village, the gurgle of water and the sound of axes and saws indicate that you are approaching the river and the sawmill. The tang of sawdust lingers in the air here. You cross a sturdy, stone bridge and put the mill behind you without incident.

As midday nears, the forest recedes northward leaving fertile meadows dotted with farmsteads lining both sides of the road. The day remains cool and there is sporadic wind from the west.

Ahead on the road, you see a person pulling a hand cart, the first other traveler that you have seen all day. As you get closer, you see that the person is a short, lean, fair-haired woman and that the hand cart is filled with carrots, onions, and a clay jar sealed with wax.

[Ephraim]

You pass the woman on the road in silence and continue on your way. By early evening, you leave the forest behind you entirely. The wind changes direction and without the trees to act as a windbreak, a warm, dry gale from the south is soon sweeping across the road, carrying with it the scent of ripening wheat.

The sun still lies above the horizon and you have a couple more solid hours of travel left in you. The monotony of the wheat fields and the roar of the wind is almost unbroken.

OOC: Everybody, please roll spot and listen for me.

[Akiata]

J'barnabar

Being on the move seems to suit Barnie, and she has a tendancy to range around the road a bit, sometimes ahead, sometimes behind the others. She definitely seems to be in her element in the great outdoors.

Spoiler

Show

Spot: (1d20+8=25).
Listen: (1d20+8=26).

[Apollyon]

Captain Squarejaw

Spot: [roll]1d20 + 10[/roll]
Listen: [roll]1d20 + 10[/roll]

[Apollyon]

Captain Squarejaw

Spot: (1d20)[20] + 10.
Listen: (1d20)[13] + 10.

OOC: Stupid dice roller. Ephraim, could you please delete the last one? Also, this party seems to like rolling Spot and Listen. The average die roll is over 15, so far.

[Hydra]

Spot: 1d20=10, Listen: 1d20=4

Alert Zigurds is not.

[Ephraim]

J'barnabar Ripley and Captain Heironymous Squarejaw are not to be underestimated! Despite the tall wheat and the noise of the wind, both observe an out-of-place rustle in the field north of the road and glimpse a flash of movement just seconds before a female lion bursts from cover and charges Zigurds. A moment later, a second lion emerges from the wheat as well and menaces Captain Squarejaw.

Please roll initiative. Captain Squarejaw and J'barnabar, you will act in the surprise round. Zigurds, you are surprised and will act in the following round.

[Apollyon]

Captain Squarejaw

(1d20+4)[15]

OOC: I also have Uncanny Dodge, in case they beat me on initiative.

[Hydra]

13 (rolled a 6 with a +7. Apparently the dice don't like me much today).

[Akiata]

J'barnabar

Battle sense takinng over, Barnie reacts quickly, drawing her bow, and nocking an arrow.

Spoiler

Show

Initiative: (1d20+9=24)

[Ephraim]

The order of combat will be as follows: J'barnabar, Lion I, Captain Squarejaw, Zigurds, Lion II. Zigurds, remember, you will not act during the first round of combat.

Here is how I am going to try to run combat. Each round, I want a PM from each of you describing what you are attempting to do, including rolls for your actions. If you think there's a good chance that another player is going to interfere with your actions (killing the monster you're fighting, running into the area of the spell you wanted to cast), provide me with a backup action as well. I will adjudicate the round holistically, honouring initiative as much as possible, being fair, and promoting drama. I will PM each of you back whether you succeed or fail and also any relevant results (like damage, the outcomes of failed saves, etc.) Then, in turn order, you may each post in your own way the results of your action.

Round 1: J'barnabar and Captain Squarejaw, please PM me your actions.

[Akiata]

J'barnabar

The training and combat experience kicks in immediately, and J'barnabar takes swift action. Moving nimbly to the left, and falling back slightly, she sights the lead lion and fires and arrow which finds its mark, burying deep into the beasts' flank.