A Thread in which a Fantasy Role-Playing Game is to be Played by People

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Ayup!

[Don't post quite yet, guys - I'm still getting the finishing touches on character sheets.

This is going to double as an OOC thread, so try to differentiate between the two with some sort of textual marker (like this section) lest you make my brain explode. The goal is to integrate IC and OOC without double-posting, or triple-posting, or bananafanafofippleposting.]

The Original Thread, Which Contains Some of the Matter from which This Thread Draws its Plot

Presenting our heroes:

Joruk

Renato

This Guy

Kyrst

[Vrok]

Are we RPing at all? Or is this closed?

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

It's late afternoon on the dusty trail. Within a couple of miles, behind Renato or before Joruk, lies the last 'normal' equestrian post, after which the landscape turns to desert. In the other direction, lush farmland dominates. Right here, though, we have but a few hardy ranches using the good grazing areas off in the background, and this one trail. You half-expect a tumbleweed to roll by with every breeze.

It's summer. It's hot. Not exactly the best day for travel, but one could imagine far worse, and dusk should come along and cool things down soon enough.

The road, really nothing more than a path of much-trampled dirt, is poorly-oriented and would be considered a design failure were it made on purpose. This conclusion can be reached based solely on the fact that the sun is currently in Joruk's eyes, which can be a very uncomfortable feeling for a dwarf. Through the glare, he can barely make out the small figure walking towards him.

The way his departure was timed, this is where Renato was supposed to find the cleric that Torchbrow recommended he meet. The sun behind the halfling lights up the stocky figure's squinting face with such a vivid glow that it would be unmistakable... that is, provided you'd met that face before and were paying some degree of attention. As it stands for the moment, one would suppose that he just looks like some dwarf guy.

[DJDeMiko]

Renato

Renato walks down the road barely noticing the heat. He looks out across the ranchlands and then back down the road seeing the dwarf approach.

Could this be the holy man I am to meet? he thinks.

As Renato nears, Jurok sees a short humanoid wearing leather armor and a dark cloth cloak with a hood drawn over its head. He carries no weapons, but walks with the confidence of a man not afraid of attack. As Jurok gets close enough to see Renato's face, he sees what seems to be an old halfling. Renato's face is so pale that it has an almost corpsish pallor and brackish blue veins show clearly through the skin.

[Vrok]

Joruk stomps almost angrily towards the tiny figure, and stops halfway between the and raises his gnarled hand in greeting. "Are ye Renato, sent forth from esteemed and blessed High Cleric Torchbrow?" He peers into the sun, obviously uncomfortable, but he manages a smile.

[DJDeMiko]

Renato

"That is indeed who I am," Renato answers, "I take it you are the holy one Jurok who I have been sent to for council?"

[Vrok]

He shields his eyes from the suns glare, and bobs his head, "Aye, I be Joruk of the Stone Temple of Moradin. From the message I recieved from my holiest superioers, we are ta be traveling partners fer a time." His voice lowers a bit, with a hint of sympathy or sadness in it, "Ye be carrin' an evil presance with ye lad?" He looks over Renato carefully, almost trying to see what the Hells have to do him.

[DJDeMiko]

Renato

Renato lowers his hood, revealing his pallid and veined face. He frowns and says "I used to be a very bad man and now I'm trying to change. Very, very bad. Your friend suggested that you might be the right person to help keep me on a path to righteousness."

[Vrok]

Joruk nods sagely, his expresion changing serious, "Aye lad, with the proper trainin' even the wickedest of beings can change thier life around. I'll try ta make sure that yer inner demons dinnea come back ta haunt ye. But I'll need yer word of honor that ye'll try ta behaver yerself, I can't help the unwilling, only show them how to change." He then grins broadly, And maby along the way we can kill some filthy Orcs Eh? Hahaha, and a' course we'll have ta stop at all the right taverns, fer every good person needs ta top of his mug every now and then!" He resumes his thunderous laughter as he claps Renato on the back, walking along side him, launching into a descriptive story about his first tavern visit.

[Vrok]

...




Sooooooooooooo...

[Vrok]

....yep....

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Just as the two begin to enjoy their long walk back to the city, the ground begins to rumble audibly, and a cloud of dust appears some distance away. It swells and roils, but can only obscure its source for so long, soon producing a horde of stampeding livestock, their stamping hooves getting louder by the instant.

Cows, sheep, goats, horses... apparently, all were allowed to graze together, and took to escaping together as well. A couple of the horses have riders - lads wearing ludicrous cowboy outfits that would befit an entertainer if only they weren't completely beige - both struggling to stay in place, lest they be trampled under the feet of their own charges. Their repeated screams of, "WHOAH," go unheeded, naturally, but they really can't think of anything else to do at this point.

This entire mess seems to be headed right in the direction of our heroes.

One of the boys calls out to you, but neither of you have the ranks in listen to hear him over the stampede.

[DJDeMiko]

Renato

"Those children will be injured if they fall under the animals . . . if I kill the animals then the children will be fine!"