Xarafine bows and excuses herself from Lord Finnabar's office. She decides to use the time to catch-up on all the goings on in the hold. She makes polite inquiries about the status of provisions and equipment, as well as the general health and well-being of the inhabitants.
Xarafine bows and excuses herself from Lord Finnabar's office. She decides to use the time to catch-up on all the goings on in the hold. She makes polite inquiries about the status of provisions and equipment, as well as the general health and well-being of the inhabitants.
Having finnished to look at the March accounts, Finnabar seeks Xarafine again as he resolves to go and discuss with the new high priest.
"Cousin, thanks for your heads up with Teacher Saerin. I think I have to go and discuss that with him, now that all the other pressing issues have been taken care of. Do you want to come with me?"
"If I come with you, he will try to leverage me against you. He knows that I will have an obligation to the furthering of the faith and expect that I use our kinship to pressure you to acquiesce. Are you certain that is what you wish? If you go alone, you can tell him the truth, that I presented an argument for the new Shrine, and in weighing the circumstances, you found that it could not be the immediate priority."
"If I come with you, he will try to leverage me against you. He knows that I will have an obligation to the furthering of the faith and expect that I use our kinship to pressure you to acquiesce. Are you certain that is what you wish? If you go alone, you can tell him the truth, that I presented an argument for the new Shrine, and in weighing the circumstances, you found that it could not be the immediate priority."
"Once again your wisdom is enlightening. The gods have really blessed me with your presence.", replies Finnabar, bowing low to Xarafine.
Taking his leave, he makes his way downtown, waving off the guards that were ready to escort him. Once there, he walks towards the Inn, greeting every one with a nod as if unaware of the surprised looks of the people when they see his limp.
Eventually reaching the Inn, he opens the door and asks to be directed to Teacher Saerin.
"Once again your wisdom is enlightening. The gods have really blessed me with your presence.", replies Finnabar, bowing low to Xarafine.
Xarafine returns Finnabar's bow. "You now bear the weight and responsibility of the crown, my lord. Those around you will either help you bear that burden or add to it. It is my hope to be one of the former. May the Nine go with you in your endeavors."
She bows again, then gives him a familial smile before departing to resume her work.
Jack’s swing flies wide of the beast, while Bein lands a solid blow against its flank. In response the beast steps back and turns its attention to the armoured figure instead, managing to catch Bein's leg in its powerful jaws and attempting to pull him off his feet. Somehow he manages to stand firm, although the open gash begins to stain the ground red.
You make your way into town, eventually coming to the inn. Enquiring within, you are directed to a small house a little way down the road. Entering the building, you find several small children sitting on the ground in front of an older man – clearly the Teacher. One of the children, a girl of about ten, is holding a large leather-bound book, which she is hesitantly reading from ”… and thus it was that Emar, who called himself the se,.. serv,.. servant of Fillian and his br,.. brother Amer, be,.. bel-ov-d, beloved of Parfan deb-at-ed, debated the fate of the witch, for Amer knew the im-pur, impure he,.. heresy of the for-i-g-nn words. Emar made great spec,.. speeches to the people, telling them that even the sa,.. savages held k-now-leg. But Amer, justly rec,.., rec-og,.. rec-og-nis-ing, recognising the wik-ed-ness of the words….” at this point the Teacher looks up as you enter and interrupts… ”Stand children! This is your lord, Finnabar d'Orlovsky. We are honoured by his presence! Well children, what do you do?” At the priest’s words the children all stand hurriedly and bow low, before standing straight with their arms held firm against their sides. ”Welcome my lord.” says the teacher ”You grace us with your presence, you find us hard at work. We are learning the story of the great Amer and his foolish brother Emar – a story, I think, will be well for them to remember in these lands!”
Attack:
Dam:
Trip:
Dam: 11 / 14 NL
Yep. Xarafine's just doing generic management stuff unless someone engages her in some way or something unusual happens.
Yeah was waiting Jack to get a post in. But if you want I can bot him and do a dual post. Just didnt wanr to be rude. :(
Yeah was waiting Jack to get a post in. But if you want I can bot him and do a dual post. Just didnt wanr to be rude. :(
Don't bot Jack,... it hasn't been long at all. But you can take an action since there's only one enemy so Init isn't really that important.
Yep. Xarafine's just doing generic management stuff unless someone engages her in some way or something unusual happens.
Yeah, sorry that not much has involved you recently. It shouldn't take too long to get this fight over with, and then everyone will be back together again.
Despite his injury Bein kept fighting defensively using the flat side of his blade to batter the large animal into submission. If the creature got on top of him this battle would go badly really fast.
[B]"It's trying to drag me down..."[b] Hes barely able to speak as he brings his blade back around and tries to ready to attack again...
As she does her rounds, Xarafine finds the younger of the two sisters working with the horses. She stands and watches her for a few minutes.
She's a strong and capable child, with the potential to be a great lady.
Jack decides there is little to do but stop it before it kills them. He drops his bow and advances while drawing his sword, flanking the beast with Being and thrusting his sword at the creature.
(((Please roll for me. )))
Bot Rolls for Jack:
Bein manages to strike the creature hard on the side of its head, stunning it momentarily and leaving it open for Jack's sword thrust, which takes it in the flank. With a yowl of pain the creature finally drops, unconscious, to the ground.
Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Dam: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Trip: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Dam: 18 / 26 NL
Bein thanks whatever spirits allowed himbto escape relatively unharmed. He wrapped the gash the beast had given him and uses some rope to bind its paws.
"Hopefully that will keep it down for awhile. I was trying no to kill it..."
As Jack -Jack may change if he wishes... ;)
Jack sighs in relief while keeping his frustration to a minimum. "Try and keep it down. It may not be the only one so remain here... And don't move." He says the last part hesitantly not wanting to hurt his companion but the next task required absolute stealth so he could search in peace...
Bein will tie the animals feet and muzzle and wait for Jacks signal.
Jack climbs carefully down between the rocks to the entrance of a small shallow cave - clearly the creature's den. The floor of the space has a bed of dried grass and leaves and, towards the back of the cave, Jack's sharp eyes manage to locate a lone cub, somewhat different in colour from its parent and frozen at the back of the space, motionless and silent. There is no sign of any more adults.
Jack looks at the silently watching creature. Taking out a piece of jerky from his pack, he holds it out and starts cooing to it gently. Without imminent danger, he hopes he has time to communicate with the animal. He's not sure what they'd do with it, but he'd rather not have to kill it as well unless necessary.
Jack looks at the silently watching creature. Taking out a piece of jerky from his pack, he holds it out and starts cooing to it gently. Without imminent danger, he hopes he has time to communicate with the animal. He's not sure what they'd do with it, but he'd rather not have to kill it as well unless necessary.
Jack, keeping a good distance between himself and the cub, throws the first piece of jerky toward it and then pulls out another. He does his best to tap into his training, focusing on the cub.
I am here,.. just waiting too see if Finn posts so that we can get everyone back together. Will post again tomorrow regardless,....
The cub edges forward slowly and lunges at the jerky before retreating back into the cave where it starts to eat, still eyeing you cautiously.
You make your way into town, eventually coming to the inn. Enquiring within, you are directed to a small house a little way down the road. Entering the building, you find several small children sitting on the ground in front of an older man – clearly the Teacher. One of the children, a girl of about ten, is holding a large leather-bound book, which she is hesitantly reading from ”… and thus it was that Emar, who called himself the se,.. serv,.. servant of Fillian and his br,.. brother Amer, be,.. bel-ov-d, beloved of Parfan deb-at-ed, debated the fate of the witch, for Amer knew the im-pur, impure he,.. heresy of the for-i-g-nn words. Emar made great spec,.. speeches to the people, telling them that even the sa,.. savages held k-now-leg. But Amer, justly rec,.., rec-og,.. rec-og-nis-ing, recognising the wik-ed-ness of the words….” at this point the Teacher looks up as you enter and interrupts… ”Stand children! This is your lord, Finnabar d'Orlovsky. We are honoured by his presence! Well children, what do you do?” At the priest’s words the children all stand hurriedly and bow low, before standing straight with their arms held firm against their sides. ”Welcome my lord.” says the teacher ”You grace us with your presence, you find us hard at work. We are learning the story of the great Amer and his foolish brother Emar – a story, I think, will be well for them to remember in these lands!”
Jack throws a few more pieces of jerky on the ground, then looks around, without making too much noise or threatening movements. He looks at any animal scat he sees and for other signs as well of the creatures having fought or eaten humans.
When he is finished, he backs out of the cave slowly and returns to Bein.
"There is a single cub, and signs of no others. I calmed the cub a bit with food, but could not coax it near--though it might be possible if time was taken. I don't know if it will survive if we leave it, but in retrospect, I don't know if bringing it with us will be wise. I also looked for signs of whether they had attacked humans, and..."
Finn-Botting:
"Greetings to you, Teacher Saerin, and to all of you, children," Finnabar replies with a smile. "I am pleased to see you about your lessons. Take the Teacher's words to heart, and do him, myself, and your new country proud." He tousles the head of a young boy standing near him. "Now, if you children will run off and play for a little while, I must speak with your wise Teacher about an important matter."
Once the children have left, Finnabar begins. "Teacher Saerin, I have been made aware by Teacher Xarafine that you and she are both concerned at the lack of a permanent Shrine. I wanted you to know that it is on my agenda. I must, however, make securing the safety of the people my first priority. These lands are still wild. The surrounding lands teem with beasts, as well as men little better than beasts. They must be quelled. The land must be tilled. The roads must be secured. Once this is done, the people will be thankful for their prosperity, they will have no fear of travel, and they will desire to show their gratitude to the Nine for their benevolence."
Jack:
After searching around the area you locate several scats. Its hard to tell whether the bone fragments and bits of hair are human, but a scrap of cloth in one of them seems to suggest that it may have eaten someone. You can't see any signs that humans have been in the area.
"I fear at least the dam has eaten a person--there is cloth in the scat, at least. It may be due to new settlements encroaching on its territory--which has chased away its regular prey, but we did kill a creature preying upon humans. What do you think we do about the cub?"
"I fear at least the dam has eaten a person--there is cloth in the scat, at least. It may be due to new settlements encroaching on its territory--which has chased away its regular prey, but we did kill a creature preying upon humans. What do you think we do about the cub?"
Bein gives a heavy sigh before he lifts his greatblade off his shoulder and spins it point down, leaving it hovering above the unconscious dam's side. He aims to kill her in one stroke as he looks to Jack for confirmation first. "She still lives Jack, hence why I have tied her up... If she is the one hunting people then we end this here and now, yes? If the cub has learned to kill humans then it dies as well, shouldn't it?" He was trying not to sound cold hearted, he'd taken the hard route to follow one of the Teachers belief's and now regretted what he would have to possibly do next. Bein knew some domestic animals could be saved death through being trained but wild ones would do as nature demand, survive. It was the sad truth that he faced.
"I see. It is probably best to kill her swiftly... or we could try to knock out the cub and try to move them both while unconscious to a region far from the settlement. I don't know if we could do that easily. I feel they only attacked humans because the settlement has chased other prey out of the area. I do not know if the cub is old enough to hunt let alone to attack humans. It growled at me, but was more than eager to just take what scraps it could get."
He shakes his head. "I am sure you think me soft-hearted. But I struggle to desire to kill a creature committing only the sin of survival--when I myself am neither threatened nor hungry. Still, these are dangerous creatures. If you feel it is best to kill them now, I will stand by your decision."
The blade remains for a moment, Bein looks at his friend Jack, holding his gaze for a long time before stabbing the blade down in the earth near the dame unconscious form. "Go back to town and get a cart a cage and some men to help us move these poor beasts. We'll find a place for them that is suitable and release them. Or I can go if you are prepared to keep watch here."
He tests the bonds on the mothers mouth and legs ensuring they would possibly hold the big dame as he spoke aloud. "We can use herbs to keep them under when its time to move them and do the same when we release them. Safer that way."
Jack almost goes, then considers. "Maybe you should go. As general, the men will follow your command more easily. You may have to explain less than I would. And if I shout orders as part of my job, it undermines my role to listen. We can move the dam near the cave entrance and I can keep an eye on both mother and cub at the same time."
If Bein agrees, they can move the animal to the entrance, and Jack sits stealthily in the brush keeping an eye on things while Bein returns.
For those reading this as a player I felt this was too easy and I can't help but feel that way with Bein as well. However I will be more then happy to be wrong it just feels like something is off... DARN YOU HYMEN FOR BEING SNEAKY. Possibly. BUT YEAH! xD
Not that that is a bad thing. :P
Bein nods and pulls his sword from the ground without protest, he straps it back across his backside before turning to the heavier task. He helps drag the large dam back over to the cave entrance then and leaves his rations with jack as a way to keep the pup busy. After everything appears settled he turns to begin returning to the horses. He speaks aloud then, more to himself then anyone else, he couldn't help but feel ill at ease for some reason. "I hope this is where it ends my friend..."
Once he reached the horses he urged Arundel into a swift gallop, not wanting Jack to remain out there alone for too long. When he reached town he was surprised to find Xarafine with the girls at the stable. He dismounted quickly and approached her first. Blood streaked his armor where the beast had bit him. Unable to hide his worry completely as he spoke quickly. "Teacher, we found what we believed to be the creature attacking the citizens and brought it down alive. It's bound and under Jacks watchful eye along with its pup. I plan to return with a cage and some men to secure it while possibly moving it further away from the town later when we have time. I thought you should know Milady." He then shares his plan with her before trying to make it happen. He didn't want Jack up there alone for too long...
Xarafine lays a gentle hand on the knight's arm and begins to intone a soothing tone.
"Bind these wounds earned in courageous defense of your children."
"It is a relief to hear, Sir Bein. Is there anything I can do to assist with the animals' relocation?"
He shudders momentarily, the rush of healing magic always a strange but pleasant sensation. At the Teachers question he was unsure, shrugging his shoulders lightly as he answered. "I'm not sure milady... I have no experience in this honestly so I will have to rely on Jack and yourself if you have such training."
"I can certainly look at them. I may have come across some useful information about them in my studies."
Xarafine accompanies Bein back to where Jack waits with the creatures. She takes several moments to quietly study them.
Bein quickly manages to gather men and a cart with a simple cage and returns, with Xerafine to the copse where Jack waits. Without too much difficulty the beast is loaded into the cage, and the cub is wrangled from its cave and placed within with its mother. As this is being done Xerafine takes the opportunity to examine the creatures, announcing that she has heard stories of large beasts like this, although she's never heard of one being tamed. Soon enough the beasts are loaded and you make your way back to Stagwatch with the unusual cargo. As the wagon ascends the road through the township, locals gather to watch you pass. Several muttering that the creature should be put down.
Finn (Xerafine): The teacher seems to accept that the building of a shrine might take a little while. He doesn't seem pleased, but understands the need for defence. Following his meeting, Finn makes his way back to the fort, where he meets they rest of you unloading the wolf-like creatures.
"In lieu of slaughtering every unusual creature we encounter, or attempting to relocate them to the far reaches of the kingdom, perhaps we could establish a menagerie in Stagwatch, where the creatures could be observed and studied in captivity," Xarafine muses.
Bein pulls off the helm and grimaces as the clarity is robbed from him temporarily, he was coming to rely on the magical helm more then he liked to admit.
He nods to the Teachers suggestion. "It was your wisdom why I didn't put the large dame down Milady. If this studying doesn't harm them then I see no harm in giving them a sort of protection in Stagwatch. However such past times are beyond my grasp and I will leave it to my betters to decide on one condition. If they are to be put to death then I will relocate them personally as I didn't shed my blood only to see them die anyway... We also need to make sure she is the real culprit and not just a happy coincidence."
He looks to Jack then. "Not intending insult to you my friend but we don't know if she just happened by the remains and did what came natural. I'll leave nothing to chance and unless you have a better idea I will institute a curfew in the waning hours. Best people are in there homes and let the soldiers and myself do the fighting. Is there any problems with this comrades?" He intended to accompany the patrols for the next few nights to ensure that if she wasn't the culprit then the real one would fall beneath the Staglords blade.
Jack responds as they help tie up and drug the animals. "No, you make a good point, Bein. All I saw was her scat, containing a bit of bone and cloth... she could have found the remains and eaten them. And I think you are right, Xarafine, I understand we cannot move them all. These particular creatures are, at least, rare, I think. And studying them may do us some good."
"I think what this teaches us more is we must observe carefully how we change the environment if we settle the land. If we chase away too much prey, predators will come after us. If we chase away too many predators, deer and other plant-eaters will devour our fields and are newly planted orchards. We have to be careful to strike a balance. Not to mention, I presumed we had chased away the prey.... Bein's point brings up another possibility: maybe something else did. Although I think the need for us to remain observant stands."
He nods and silently sighs with relief, he was glad his somewhat pessimistic view was agreed with. By all means he hoped it was over. "The girls mentioned the Pigs were slaughtered in a Brutal fashion it took me far too long to realize that some of us should look at the corpses. Please forgive my morbidness but I believe the remains of the herder and girl should be looked at as well. I will commit myself to this and have a report to you by days end, as I plan to start my patrol without delay."
He taps his chin in thought. Trying to think of where the attacks were centered. Then he remembered the comment about the citizens attacked by the new bridge. "I will begin my nightly patrols at the New Bridge. I'll take a horn with me and Arundel."
"I think that is a good idea, you're right, we should have checked the bodies first."
"Not a matter of whos right my friend. Because I honestly have no real idea of what I would be looking for." Bein admits his weakness with ease despite feeling ill at ease at what he needed to do now.
He was hesitant even asking, not wanting to horrify the Teacher but he had to ask the question. "Any of you care to join me? Your experience may catch what my inexperienced misses..."
"I will accompany you, Sir Bein," Xarafine replies, as she moves to follow.