3.5 Monk Campaign: A Boot to the Head (IC)

[PSinger]

"I'm done toying around," says Necahual, and she resumes walking down the path.

[odigity]

Ulyono whispers: "I am the most non-threatening member of the group, being small and carrying no weapons. If I present myself and they attack, we will know their intentions and can respond accordingly. Shall I put them to the test?"

Spoiler

I have great AC, init, and can turn invisible. I'm not good offensively, but I should be able to avoid their initial attacks safely.

[zever]

Han is a bit confused about what to do now. He knows they have to work as a team, so he tries to indicate to Li to quickly join them while he advances with Necahual towards the fire.

[inexorabletruth]

As you approach the group near the campfire, you see the one packing up is the first to notice you. He curses through hissed teeth and draws his short sword.

Thrusk, back turned to the monks, tenses a bit in surprise, thinking that a fight might actually begin between between him and the jumpy heckler. "Ya' think y' c'n poke me with that knife, love? You'll have t' get closer 'n that!" He spreads his arms wide in an over-confident gesture. His feet are spread wide in a strong stance, eagerly awaiting the fight to come.

"At yer back, you dolt!" The sword-wielder hisses. The rest of the group looks past Thrusk as well, comprehension sinking in a bit slower. Another one of the campers begins rummaging for his weapons, staggering toward a wobbly stand, leaving three more still bracing the ground for stability while they try to make sense of what's going on.

"HA! Drunk, I me' be, but not s' drunk fer that old trick! So's t'be two 'gains one, then! Knew, ya' wouldn' share yer winnin's with an orc-blooded. Come then! Let Chopper have a taste o'ya." He pulls his axe from his belt and staggers a step forward.

[Man on Fire]

Vir-Sashi decides it's now time to observe and stay quiet. A group of what can as well be a bandits or poor adventurers (master Qui always preffered to call them "murderhobos" for some reason. He decided to stay close and wait. If the situation will get ugly and life of one of these people will be threatened, he will then enter the battle. Unless they shall attack them, of course, in which case he will have to defend his friends. That's how a true Friend of Justice would act, at least Vir-Sashi thinks so.

[Azoth]

'Li curses silently in his head. He had no time to report his information before the group started waltzing right up to the group and sighed heavily. This bunch was going to get him killed and he knew it. As weapons were drawn, he remembered he was still holding his bow and decided to hang back off the front lines in case the birds joined in.

He took a deep breath before speaking. "If they attack, the one in the heavy cloak is hinding something monstrous under it. Be careful."

Spoiler

Standard action spend 1pp to manifest Inertial Armor

[zever]

The moment Han saw the drunks, he sighs. There is no honor in taking these drunks out, and we are still not sure about their motives he thinks. He steps in front empty handed and tries to eye the one who saw them first. Sir, I don't know why you are taking your weapons so quickly, but there is no reason for us to fight, and from the state your brothers are in, I don't think they are in a state to fight either. We are just passing through here on a mission for the monastery. We don't mean you any harm but we will defend ourselves when necessary.

Saying he doesn't want to fight, doesn't mean he is careless, and he prepares to act as soon as they will advance with their weapons.

Spoiler

Prepare action: Invisible fist

[inexorabletruth]

Thrusk, a little startled by your arrival, snorts and turns about with a "Meh?"

The others on the ground have struggled to a stand, but haven't readied weapons yet. They look to the one brandishing a short sword and then back to the assembly of Monks.

The one holding the short sword hears Han Chun Li's offer and appears to relax his stance some, though he tucks his left arm swiftly under his cloak. "So... you just... want to pass through?" He gestures with his sword to the bridge.

Thrusk lowers his axe some and takes a step back, acting somewhat like a cornered animal. He clearly is not at all pleased by the sight of five monks at his back. He peers into the trees looking for signs of the disembodied voice talking about his cloak.

[PSinger]

Necahual looks at the one with the short sword that is going for something with the other hand. "Our desire is irrelevant. We are crossing that bridge. And to cut any attempt off at the pass ... no, we're not paying 'toll' to anyone either .... just in case you were going to ask."

[inexorabletruth]

The cloaked sword-wielder bristles a bit at Necahual's aggressive tone, but his smile remains intact.

Necahual:

Spoiler

Please roll an Intimidate check.

Thrusk is clearly not enjoying the fact that Necahual is getting closer. He crouches to a ready stance, fear oozing from him in beads of alcoholic sweat. He appears to be more ready to run than fight now, but does not take his eyes off the woman monk.

[zever]

Han advances together with Necahual.
What she is trying to say is that we really need to cross that bridge, and we seriously hope you will not make any trouble out of that.

He tries to read of their intentions from their actions / the way they speak.
Sense motive:

Spoiler

(1d20+2)[8]

[inexorabletruth]

The leader shifts his eyes from the brash female, to the more diplomatic male, unsure of who demands more of his attention. "I can see that you are monks from the Abbey. We've no quarrel with the Flame," he says, dipping in a half-bow half-nod. "Carry on, then. We were just leaving." He turns to the others standing around the fire and hisses through clenched teeth. "Pack it up, swine! It's time we got home."

The group, shaking the drunkenness from their heads and sobering up fast from the tenseness of the moment make open, deliberate gestures to gather their weapons and supplies.

Han Chun Li:

Spoiler

In their current state, they're struggling with subtlety. However, it is obvious by their actions that they're trying to hide something.

One of the cloaked men in the back rummages around more desperately, patting the ground as if he lost something. "Hey! My share! Where'd it go?!"

"Quiet Gib! Shut your mouth!" the leader snaps harshly, glaring at him with burning eyes.

"Easy for you to say. You've got yours," the former grumbles.

Another of the men starts looking frantically. "Mine's gone too!"

"I said shut it! All of you!" He looks back at the monks and smiles broadly, "Long day, is all, and too much to drink. We'll be out of your way shortly."

Thrusk turns and runs north at full tilt. Those who are standing, suddenly comprehending the half-orcs actions, make chase charging northward in pursuit with angry shouts of protest and leaving the leader and one other alone at the campfire.

Map

Spoiler

The leader, nervous before, now utterly unnerved at how quickly he was abandoned, curses his luck and grabs his compatriot, pulling him to a stand. "Leave it! Let's go!" He says.

[PSinger]

The half-orcs are acting quite suspicious, but it doesn't matter. Until they flatly prove - not suggest - that they've done wrongdoing, then us chasing them down, beating them up, and seeing what they have makes us bandits .... even if they stole from someone else.

Necahual says as much to the others to move on. "Their quarrel is their own."

[zever]

Han nods agreeingly to Necahual and starts walking towards the fire.

Spoiler

Unless something spectacular happens in the meantime, I walk to L13

[lostsole31]

Coanacoch follows his sister and guides the mule.

[Man on Fire]

Vir-Sashi ponders for a moment, then looks at his brothers, then moves towars the leader of that group (J9).

What was this all about? It looks to me like you have something you don't want us to know about. Why?" He asks, completely obvious to the fact that his cloak has slipped when he ran towards the man, so he saw him, in all his ugliness, running at him from the darkness.

Spoiler

Roll to intimidate the guy.
(1d20-2)[13]

[Azoth]

Li smirks and knew he shouldnhave let an arrow fly already, but at least now it did not seem likely their blood would be shed this day. He continued to move quietly through the brush in case his brothers from the abbey needed him.

Spoiler

Hide (1d20+11)[31]
Move Silently (1d20+11)[17]
Taking a double move at half speed to reach L6

[inexorabletruth]

Seeing the half-naked broodguard charge at them, the remaining two characters scamper wildly across the perch of their logs and run headlong into the trees, letting branch and bramble slap at their skin and tear at their clothing along the way. Phrases like, "What the hells was that thing?!" and "I don't know! Keep running!" trail behind them and fade into the distance.

Before you reach the campfire, the birds above now seize their opportunity and swoop down upon the remnants of wild pig roasting on the spit. You now have a clearer view of them:

Spoiler

You see that they are massive, almost as long as a man is tall, with an even longer wingspan. Shunned by the waves of heat coming off the cracking fire, they hover just above the meat for a moment, shrieking at it in anger, and then fly away, most likely looking for a bite with less burn.

Spoiler

180 XP Each
20 RPXP to Li for the skill challenge and amusing banter
10 RPXP to Vir-Sashi for the hilarious imagery
20 RPXP to Necahual for the bold leadership
10 RPXP to Han for being the soft center in that ego-oreo.

[PSinger]

Necahual makes no move to liberate the meat. To her, this was the half-orc's camp and our group chased them off. Just because they left in fear, it was not their fault, and Necahual will not steal it. Nor, however, will she do anything to keep it from burning on the spit. She continues forward, extolling her brother to move forward with the mule.

[lostsole31]

Coanacoch sees and smells the roasting game, and then sighs and guides the mule, following his sister.

[Man on Fire]

"I didn't wanted to scare them. How can I become a Friend of Justice, if everybody is afraid of me?" Vir-Sashi starts mumbling to himself.

"Beware, these birds may come back." He says to his companions. He realizes that on some lever he wishes them to come back, so he can fight them and prove himself to be a Friend of Justice. But he immiediately gets mad at himself. True Friend of Justice wouldn't wish for danger to threaten his friends so he can prove his worth.

[lostsole31]

"It's okay," says Coanacoch consolingly to Versace. "Being a Friend to Justice isn't about hoping injustice occurs, but being there when called upon ... and yet hoping that there will be no need."

[inexorabletruth]

As the sun begins to set, weariness from a hard day's travel through mud and snow give weight to your legs and eyelids.

You reach a temple of Fharlanghn,... more a bench and a campsite with an idol of the crescent moon on the horizon nailed into a tiny, weatherworn canopy over the bench, than any real place of worship, but you know it as a common rest spot for traveling merchants and free spirited adventurers. It is a place of truce among civilized beings, where the greedy thief can rest for the night less than 20' from a paladin without fear of being taken in for a bounty, nor does the paladin have to watch his purse so closely.

From this point, you can trudge on through the night, and likely reach your destination at dawn, or you can rest here and make it to Cliffside by midday.

[lostsole31]

Coanacoch hasn't enjoyed a good campout in awhile, so he's interested in staying here. No need to go into town and make a first impression looking like hammered doggy-doo.

[Azoth]

Li emerged from the bushes and was tempted by the game. A fresh meal and one they happenen upon without a fight would be nice, but he doesn't wish to fall behind the others. He jogs to catch up with them for their walk.

When they near the tentple he lets out a soft sigh of relief. While they could all survive the night and make it their with little harm to themselves, a rest sounds good.

"I say we rest. No sense showing up tired or scaring them at an ungodly hour. We would all be best served with a good rest and a meal. Here we will be safe enough for a night."

[PSinger]

Necahual is more than ready to press through the night, but knows that her brother is not nearly as resilient as she, so she quietly relents and says nothing. She nods to him, and then Li, as they mention camping, and starts to help to set up one of the two tents.

[zever]

Han is visibly relieved when they reach the temple. After 9 years at the abbey, he wasn't used to these long treks. So, from the moment someone mentions camping, he agrees and eagerly helps set up the tents.

[Man on Fire]

Vir-Sashi nods to his companions. He too, is tired and wants to sleep. And try to forget about his recent humilation.

[lostsole31]

Coanacoch will take the first watch, in case there are bandits about.

[inexorabletruth]

Lost internet and got ninja'd, but oh well... I already typed it out:

Rest Area Picture (don't know how to resize images yet):

Spoiler

Winter has taken it's toll on the camp site, but it's serviceable for the immediate task. You notice that you weren't the first to arrive today, and some group of traveling merchants have nailed a bit of vellum to the sign post warning of highwaymen at the bridge. Next to it is an old pole with twine and hook attached to it resting below a faded and cracked wooden sign in common, which reads, "For the hungry traveller. Please leave this for the next visitor before you leave."

After clearing out the clutter and setting up the tents, you find that the cold mist of night has quenched the warmth of the sun. The moon is bright and full above you and the stars shine like the eyes of angels. A chill wind tickles the hairs of your nape and brings with it a damp smell of spring. The birds have stopped their song, but secretive crickets take their turn in the song of the land. You can also hear the tinkling sound of a nearby brook. By your map, that means you must be near Diamond Creek, made famous for the occasional gemstone that washes out from underground springs into it. Though the occurrence of such a thing is rare, tales of panhandlers trying their luck in the region and making it rich have made this quaint spot a local tourist attraction during the summer months.

Spoiler

If you wish to do anything (explore, hunt, fish, chat, set up traps, whatever) before going to sleep, now is your chance.