the Grooms shot flies wide as he tries not to hit Kaul in the frenzy of falchion and fang. The dino lays into the burly thug, but can't seem to get a good strike past the wily rogues defenses. Its partner appears to be elsewhere.
Seeing the oversized scaly chicken launch out of the shadows and begin savaging Kaul Dibbs shakes his head Bloody hell, first skeeter men an now big-arsed chickens. He stumps closer so he can intervene if needed... bloodied skeeter man head still dangling from one fist.
Move around the burning skeeter to H,12, Total Defence
Dingus will likely post 10 minutes after this, but in case he was wondering...he's up. I can't wait to see what he'll do! ; )
To be exact 27 minutes later. :-). Yeah I'm having fun with this game because of the characters in it, but although playing Dingus is fun for RPing use, Sorcerers are kind of one trick ponies in some ways. I doubt I'll play one again...still he is better the higher level he gets. I just have to keep spending all my feats on Expanded Arcana, to give him a little room for utility spells.
Dingus reaches into his bag of tricks, and to nobody's surprise pulls forth a two headed vapor viper.
Another blast from Dingus and a well-placed rapier in the gizzard finishes off the rampaging dray dino. Its companion fails to show and perhaps already fell to the Spawn of Ghlaunder which continues to burn at your feet. All is quiet again in the smokey village.
Jim cleans his rapier before sheathing it. "Well, that was a mite easier than the last few of those we faced. Anything else out there going to try for us?"
Spitting on the dino's corpse Dibbets is forthright "Skeeter head onna pole in the middle o' tha village then lets get us gone.... I'm tapped out Kaul, ye might look tae the drowned one... unless you want a poke o' me stick?" Standing like a macabre diminutive scarecrow before having a lightbulb moment "Say, where the feck did Half-Inch scarper to this time?"
Casting your memory bak, you don't recall Half-Hitch actually left the house with you. You imagine he's likely back there hiding under the couch or something.
As you approach the manor you glimpse an anxious face and then Half-Hitch opens the door and after carefully looking up and listening a moment, he grins as he hefts a sack nearly as big as himself, "Just grabbing some grub for the journey home, mates."
After the healing Kaul shakes off the cobwebs, cracks his neck and knuckles and grins as Half-Hitch appears;
"Ain't often I agree with Half Inch, but he's got the right idea sure enough... Iffen we're tae clear land, best we take everything we fancy is o' worth..."
He rubs his scarred chin in thought...
"How much you reckon them cultists are worth tae a slaver or brothel? Tainted meat or a fervent treat hur-hur-hur!"
Not sure what's the stance o' flesh markets in Freeport Cap'n...
Knowledge: Local to recall???: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
"Over and above any moral objections to slavery any of us might have, getting them there may be a mite problematical, being as we're severely lacking in the ship department. Unless they have one concealed hereabouts?"
"Why kill the golden goose? We sell them and get a one time pay off. Or we come back yearly to collect our tribute. We can even make it all nice like, take care of anything that is harming them and keeping them from prospering. In return, we take a share of their goods to market. And well, I guess if they don't produce enough, then we make up the difference, with a pound of flesh."
I am tapped out spell-wise, so that poking Kaul took was necessary
My 8-year old inner child suggests making a raft out of the people. I think we tried to do something like that in 1st edition...oh wait, it was to build a bridge with a bunch of dead kobolds AFTER we waited for rigor mortis to set in. We knew the concept of rigor mortis, that the corpses stiffen, so we thought if we arranged them with interlocking hands we could build a makeshift ladder. The DM didn't go for it, but it didn't stop us from trying.
Not sure what's the stance o' flesh markets in Freeport Cap'n...
Folks make money any way they can, but it being called Freeport and all, it's better to sell your wares elsewhere or get them on a ship and call them crew.
"Aye, I'm with Jimmer. Feckin raft will be crowded enough wivvout havin tae stare at inbred the whole way back." rubbing his mangled leg to work out the kinks as he walks Dibbets is looking forward to wet land ahead, given the adventures they'd recently had on land.
"Less get back tae the raft quick like n' make sure its still there."
"Hur. Whatever yee's think is good 'nough fer me lads... just thinking how we can top out our profits... But I likes Groomy's idea o' making this a regular stop fer tribute..."
People raft sounds the biz :) I likes yer thinking Groom!
Agreed that you've had enough of the strange village for now though it might be worth a raid later on, you gather what you can and head through the smoke to the gates. No one comes out to check as you remove the heavy wooden bars and exit out into the marshland surrounding the compound.
Leaving the smokey, quiet village behind, you make your way back to the beach and sea cave without any problem. The raft is in the same condition you left it and you are left to determine which direction you'll be heading.
Sentinel Island and Ollo are the closest likely settlements to the west and east respectively. However, heading to Ollo will mean braving Sahuagin infested waters. Freeport is about twice the distance northeast past The Smoker.
Leaving Raptor Island and the village of wierdos behind, the crew crowd on their raft and drift eastward. The goblin built raft looks more like a random collection of flotsam, but holds together well enough. A steady drizzle and unseasonably chill weather accompany you, but little wind. It takes over four days before you see the two barren peaks that frame the two-story stone fortress in the dim morning light.
All is still as you paddle toward the deserted docks except the gentle crash of the breakers and the call of sea gulls. Suddenly a loud ringing from the belltower breaks the quiet! It rings five times before a large winged form slips from the low clouds into the tower and all is eerily quiet again.
After four days on a crowded raft with the rest of the freebooters, Jim is looking forward to elbowroom. "Feckin'...I am tired of this s+#+e! Just once I'd like to make a peaceful landfall, go drinking and whoring for a week or three...."
"Ye gots my vote Jimmer" grumbles the diminuitive ornery halfling. His wine ran out about a day ago and Dibbets is plumbing new depths of despair. His weathered eyes squint at the winged form as it enters the lighthouse "But whatever the feck it is less still pull up at the dock..."
Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (6) + 12 = 18And effectively another +10 for ignoring distance modifiers. Does Dibbets notice anything more about the winged thing? - animal, vegetable, shapeshifting monstrosity that's going to talk Jim up then abandon him just before funtime?
Cap'n - I'm assuming everyone is back to tip top HP and chipper?
It happened so fast it's hard to tell, but it looked to be a hawk or something only it was about as big as a man and had...a wolf-like head and antlers?
Blinking fast paced before using the back of a weathered shivering sunburnt hand to work some life into his eye sockets Dibbs puts down the strange sight to his lack of drink and onset of the D.T.s
"I'm ready to get off this piece of trash raft as well". "Maybe they'll have areal ship on this island". "Plus I've heard every shanty and bad joke you guys have so many times my head is about to explode". Dingus then picks up a paddle, and actually attempts to speed their progress.
At the site of land even Richard get's excited. He slithers off the raft, and swims directly behind it trying to push it along with his head...till a big fish nearly swallows him whole, then he retreats to the middle of the raft.
Dibbs stumbles onto the dock and stretches out, joints popping and crackling like dry bones being crushed underfoot. Spitting into the water he adds "Summat ain't right here mateys..."
Smiling at Tum-Bobblehead's crack and gradually warming to the coconutted sentinel Dibbs pipes "Well I ain't feckin gettin back on the raft until we at least figger out iffin there's any booze in there - so ye ken come wiv or stay." and starts his laborious stump towards the lighthouse.
The Groom will help with the raft, pulling it up past high tide.
"No monsters or people.....or boats. He pulls his crossbow off his back and snaps a bolt into place. "...Like all the people left with all the boats because of all the monsters."
the Groom smells a familiar scent...blood. Taking a closer look at the boards of the rough hewn dock, he spots a tint of red in the puddles. Blood has recently been spilled and a lot of it.
He's about to mention it to the others when a strange high whistling sound comes from the belfry and a winged form leaps from the tower. It circles above and again gives its weird whistle something like a cross between an elk call and that of an eagle.
The creature circles about 50 feet overhead and the Groom shudders as it passes above him, almost as if the day were warm and sunny instead of cool and drizzling and the creature had passed between him and the sun.