AZ's Kingmaker
Game Master Azure_Zero

Sighing overdramatically, Mikka returns Brightest to the stable and spends some time grooming and caring for him. Seeing the others are gone, he shrugs and grooms and cares for the rest of the horses in the stable, humming some tuneless song as he goes.

1d20 ⇒ 9

Suddenly you all hear the loud boom of thunder.

Mikka calms the horses quickly, then runs to the door to look outside to see if there was any damage from the lightning.

no damage was done, and it starting to really come down.

Mikka sighs, turns around and finishes taking care of the horses before shrugging and making a nice little nap spot in the hay...

Elaine heads for under cover to get out of the rain and asks Asok "DO you know how long the storm will last?"

"Until it's over, I think. It's no use waiting for the weather. I say we light a fire and tell some stories over a horn of ale."

Halloran will head inside and in answer to Asok's question will say, Not much to tell, I'm from Restov originally, born and raised in a family of carpenters. I studied magic there, because I wanted to do something different with my life. One day I saw a flyer from the Swordlords, calling for adventurers to "reclaim" the Stolen Lands, and the rest as they say is history.

I'll say one thing for sure, Halloran says as he pulls paper, pen and ink out of his pack, It hasn't been dull.

Halloran is going to attempt to compile a list of things he needs to repair the catapults and if possible draw up a plan to do so. Can he just use his previous Carpentry roll? or does he need to make an Engineering roll as well?

"No good doing something that doesn't make you happy." Asok says to Halloran. "Good on ya for going after what you want." He claps Halloran on the shoulder before he leaves him to his writing.

"What's this about games of chance?" he asks Alkaid with a smile. "Or perhaps you have a story to tell?"

"Since I have dice, the only games of Chance I know are Gem-snatcher and Bounder.
Gem-snatcher starts with a d4 and the last round happens when a player(s) has upgraded to a d20.
Bounder has a Dealer and Players, the Dealer uses 3d6, and the players use 2d20."

Following the thunder and sudden pounding rain, a groan comes from under one of the tables. "Stop the drumming! Stop it, I say."

A red faced Silstaren raises his head to look around, shakes his head to clear it, holds his head to keep it from falling apart, pulls his cloak over his head to keep out the light and sound, and subsides once more onto the floor.

Back from my weekend away. You've all been busy. Fun stuff.

At the loud CRACK of thunder Buckwell looks up at the ominous clouds and makes his way to the bunkhouse. Gathering some wood in the fireplace he snaps his fingers, producing small sparks from his fingertips which ignites the wood soon producing a roaring fire.

Elaine says "A fire on a rainy day is nice. Sometimes as a child I wish I had that out in the wild at least it doesn't get as smokey when it is protected."

Was Halloran able to compile a list and/or blueprints for fixing the catapults with his carpentry roll? or does he need to make an engineering roll?

I'll need an engineering check.

As the fire warms the room, Silstaren stirs and drags himself out from under the table. "Aye. A fire can be a friendly thing, especially during a mountain winter. In Coralesian we kept a fire all season long on the garden square or great hall if a snowfall was too heavy. All the folk would gather there."

Engineering: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

After a few minutes, Mikka rushes in, wet and smelling of hay and horses. "It rains like a waterfall out there! I swear we shall not have to worry about drought for a while!" Seeing the fire, he rushes toward it, using its warmth to heat and dry himself.

He steels himself, then says, "I feel I must apologize. I know that I might come across as... offensive, at times. It is not my intent to offend you. I have had time to think and I believe I owe you, in particular, Alkaid, an apology. At times I speak rougher than I should. And freer than I ought. I will do my best to stay my tongue in the future. I am sorry."

Having said this, he turns to the fire and sighs heavily, as if the effort of apologizing was mightier than it would seem.

"Apology accepted, Mikka."

Asok smiles companionably. "Good on ya, Mikka. Very decent of you." he says.

The Half-Orc settles in across from Alkaid. "What brought you out to Oleg's palace on the Greenbelt, milady?" he asks Her.

Elaine says to Silastren "Stay exposed in a mountain winter too long and you will end up with frostbite or maybe even your fingers turning green. Sorry to bring up some nasty parts of being exposed to bad weather."

...

The Half-Orc settles in across from Alkaid. "What brought you out to Oleg's palace on the Greenbelt, milady?" he asks Her.

"I'm a wandering Priestess. So I go, where I go and ended up here."

Elaine asks Alkaid "HAve you wandered around any other parts of the stolen land and encountered anything we should know about?"

"Sorry to say, but I have not wandered any other areas of the stolen Lands and just got here I think a day or two after Halloran and his group arrived."

Elaine says to Silastren "Stay exposed in a mountain winter too long and you will end up with frostbite or maybe even your fingers turning green. Sorry to bring up some nasty parts of being exposed to bad weather."

"Well I know it, lady. Preparation and prudence are the keys to surviving a mountain winter."

Höd, who'd been doing his best not to seem bored, looks up from his cup for the first time since coming inside.

"Do any of you know any songs? I'd like to hear a song."

"I know a few hymns, and a few dice games."

"Either or both suit me just fine." The Ulfen smiles.

she sings a hymn or two

Perform(Sign): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

and it sounds almost angelic.

Hymn 1

Hymn 2

"Now that's a fine rare voice you have, Alkaid. There's few among my people who could have done better."

Nice choice of music there AZ.

I'm a dot hack fan, and the series music is all great,
except the theme songs for Piros.

Halloran pauses in his work to listen to Alkaid.

I couldn't have said it better referring to Silstaren's compliment. Truly you are talented Alkaid.

He will then return to the task at hand.

Any progress with that, DM Azure_Zero? Was my engineering roll high enough?

you got the basics to go ahead.

Elaine says "As a child I did not hear much music but I wish I heard some more."

"How about the rest of you? What brought you all to this place?" Asok asks, sitting by the fire. He draws a flask out of a pouch at his belt and takes a sip.

Mikka shrugs. "I'm a second son. A spare heir. With my brother's marriage and pregnant wife, I am no longer needed or desired. Aside from horses, swordplay is all I'm good at. Well, I'm good with the ladies," He smirks slightly, but then cleans it off his face. "So I heard the Swordlords needed strong arms. Here I am."

Elaine says "It began when my first home I know in the icerime peaks was attacked by miners with a magic item spraying the hillsides. I began wandering and continuing to fish more streams and lakes and learning more about nature and how to live with it not destroy it. "

"I doubt many of you will have heard of Ragna Magnusdotter, but she was the best blacksmith in the north. No Linnorm King felt secure in his seat without Ragnastål at his side. She was also my mor."

"I was useless as a child, at least to my people. I was frail and sickly. I couldn't play with the other boys, because they were too rough for me. The smithy though, there it was warm and it rang ever to the sound of min mors ambolt. She taught me to swing a hammer too, and soon, I was producing fine steel: nothing brilliant, but strong."

"Then the gods took away my eyes. Overnight I was plunged into a cloudy hell on earth...but I could fight. Guder kunne jeg kjempe!"

"I abandoned the smithy and the warm forge for the training yard. I earned my stripes with best, but min mor grew sick and I was not there to notice."

"Hun døde, og jeg kunne ikke få meg til å bo."

His voice breaks and it is a moment before he can go on.

"I wandered around as a caravan guard, working where I could. Not so long ago I came to Restov, but these Rostlanders are a superstitious lot and my eyes betrayed me for one touched with magic and they would not trust me. I turned to banditry; I am ashamed to say it. I was arrested, and my pennace, it was determined, was to serve Brevoy by mapping these lands with you."

Having finished with his task for now, Halloran will move a chair over to the door, sitting down in the chair, he pulls out a hand carved wooden pipe, packs it, and lights it with a taper from the fire.

After shaking out the taper, he sits back and puffs on his pipe, watching the rain fall and occasionally blowing smoke out the door.

Pulling his pipe out of his mouth, he speaks to Hod, My sympathies for your loss Hod, it sounds like your mother was a remarkable woman. But if you'll forgive me for saying so, now is not the time for mourning.

Using his pipe he gestures to encompass the entire room and everyone in it, Look around you, we have a roof over our heads, a warm fire, full stomachs, are reasonably dry and are in no immediate danger. Whatever brought you here, whatever you were before, doesn't really matter.

Using his pipe to point out the door he continues, I don't know what we can expect, or what secrets, mysteries or dangers this land holds for us, but I do know this, there is a lot more for us to find. And we may not like everything we discover, cherish this moment my friends, for in the future they may be all too rare.

Having finished speaking, Halloran puts his pipe back in his mouth and continues looking out at the rain and smoking.

The elf stands, "Well spoken, Halloran, but I only agree in part. Let us live in this moment and for the next discovery on the road, but the past shapes us all. And on a story telling day like this, the curiosity of one's companions has some right to indulgence."

"I also foresee that these lands may not hold back the tide of human civilization much longer. This land will change. Heath, forest, and moor will drained, cleared, and ploughed. I would see what these lands hold before the hand of man changes them forever."

Elaine listens to the rain and says "Civilaztions should not just develop the land just for the sake of developing it. I want them to use the land and have happy lives."

"I agree."

"Thank you for you words Halloran. I know it is not the time, forgive me. In truth that was a few years back now that she passed. It's still hard though. Alle elsker sin mor."

"Sad stories, hopefully with happy endings, as we are here in the Greenbelt having left those legacies behind us." Asok says. "I myself was raised in bondage. I was granted clarity by someone who later became a friend, and I escaped my chains to enter into a better life." He smiles ruefully. "I made some mistakes, and found myself in a situation similar to Hod's. But now that I'm here I find I am interested in seeing what this land has to offer for me."

Halloran nods his head at Hod's statement,Indeed they do.

To Silstaren he says, I didn't mean to make light of anyone's reason for being here, one's past shapes who a person is. But the past is also unyielding one can not change it, anymore than one could change their race, indeed that might be easier! The past is history, the future is a mystery, only the present is certain.

To Elaine he says, I wouldn't worry too much about this land, if we manage to build some form of civilization, people will definitely come to live here. And they will almost certainly seek to shape the land to their own ends, they will not be the first and they probably won't be the last, either. But for all the people who have come before and all those who will come after, the land is still here, indeed the people might very well wind up being shaped by it!

As do we all Asok, as do we all.

"We'll have to see what the future hold with our own eyes."

Elaine takes a look out the door to see how hard it is raining. Then she says "I think the plants won't end up short of water with many storms like this."

after an other 15 minutes the rain starts to die down.

What time is it?

it's now noon.

Once it stops Elaine will looks outside to look at the sky to see if this is a temporary stoppage or if the storm has passed.