Action 2:
When Jonas came to tell them about their rooms, Zeljka asked, "Are rain storms common here? Just wondering if the rain will stop by tomorrow."
tag Jonas
Jonas cocked his head and tried not to sound too condescending, "Well ma'am, we are in a tropical area so yes, rain is fairly common. However, there's a nasty storm brewing off the coast that just doesn't seem to blow over. We're hoping our local weatherman is right and the storm will turn into a little rain."
He looked outside, "It will probably be raining tomorrow but it's dry inside, right so cheer up."
tag?
Zeljka's voice rumbled almost as deeply as the distant thunder. "Good to know. The north isn't so wet. Something to get used to."
"It looks like we'll be leaving soon," Nsizi said to Jonas. "With good fortune we will return tomorrow - we will certainly need lodging then." And a hot bath, from the sounds of it.
Turn 009 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
"...and then, boom! The fuc- the silly thing blew up, right in my face! I'm standing there holding the thing, soot stains everywhere, head ringing with the noise, burns all over my face and arms I'd not even noticed yet...and do you know what my first thought is? Oh, no...this was my favorite shirt!"
Alleria's gun had kindled curiosity when she'd hung it high off the floor next to the door and warned the children sternly not to touch it; when it was clear that just saying "no" wasn't going to do the trick, it was time for more...illustrative examples. But just to be safe...she'd left it unloaded, and kept her cartridges in her pockets. Better that way. (She didn't like leaving it unloaded and that far from her, but they were guests in someone else's house - it would have been rude, and dangerous, to carry it at hand. And it was close enough by that she could run for it if the need presented itself.)
Of course, she left out the part where that first shooting practice had been at the age of five years old. That she'd been fooling around by herself while her father was distracted sailing himself into lordship of a spit of rock jutting into the Shackles. That her target had been a wine bottle she'd drank the bottom quarter of herself. And that the gun she'd been playing with was purloined from one of his mates, who at the time had been slumped over the table holding a bottle of rum they'd used in a pinch for cooking fuel. Those...those were details best left out. Tender ears and all.
Leaning in close, she stage-whispered the conclusion. "It took weeks for my eyebrows to grow back."
I've got a bad feeling about this. Alleria's low mutter was joined by a soft thump as she jammed a small ramrod down the pistol of her barrel, tamping her bullet and powder in place. This doesn't look like animals - what kind of animal smashes through a door like that? That means we're likely dealing with something that really meant to be in there...come on. Let's see if there's any windows we can get a peek through, see what we're up against.
Sorry; I had two chances to sit down and get online yesterday, and both times, the site slowed to a crawl and then crashed to the goblin screen before I could finish a post.
The good news is that my busy week is over.
"Banker, who is the governor of this colony?" Min asked.
"Well, that would be the honorable Count Lethar Narus, II. His father died a couple of years ago from malaria before we struck upon the bark of the fever tree."
"We met a man when we disembarked," Min went on casually, "whose wife had died of malaria. I had the impression that his grief was recent. How long ago did this medical breakthrough occur? And is the fever tree rare and difficult to find?"
If the medicine is unavailable to the working people, it could explain Theos's anger at another rich man landing, Min mused.
boy 4, girl 6, girl 12, boy 13, boy 15
The older boys usually go to the colony and have seen half-orc sailors every once in a while but they never'talked' to them.
You know the deal with me, feel free to make up names and personalities. I am always looking for NPCs for you to get attached to. so I can later kill them :)
"Banker, who is the governor of this colony?" Min asked.
"Well, that would be the honorable Count Lethar Narus, II. His father died a couple of years ago from malaria before we struck upon the bark of the fever tree."
"We met a man when we disembarked," Min went on casually, "whose wife had died of malaria. I had the impression that his grief was recent. How long ago did this medical breakthrough occur? And is the fever tree rare and difficult to find?"
If the medicine is unavailable to the working people, it could explain Theos's anger at another rich man landing, Min mused.
The old cleric paused fora moment trying to remember, "Well it must be close to three years that the halfling found the tree and figured out how to make the tonic. The tonic is free for those affected, but it is not foolproof. Some people still die, especially if they are not treated right away."
OOC:
That's fine. You told us you were busy and I knew you weren't going to disappear on me. But frankly, with four out of five players posting, it was OK to move things along.
Action 1:
Zeljka handed the seedbags over to the boys and couldn’t help but notice the younger children were hiding behind their mother as they got a good look at something they’d never seen before, a half-orc. The youngest daughter whispered rather loudly, ”Mamma, is she sick ‘cause her skin’s grey? What is she?” The mother quickly silenced her daughter with a look and Zeljka kept her face schooled. It wasn’t a question she hadn’t heard before and children never meant any harm, they were just curious. ”Name’s Zeljka and I’m what they call a half-orc.”
tag?
Zeljka knew how much work choring animals were on a farm and so she offered her help to Mr. Witterwil. ”Thanks for opening up your home to us. I know farming is a lot of work. I’m strong and good with animals. I can help if you like. An extra pair of hands will make the work go faster.” It felt good to do some honest labor for an hour or so. As they worked, Zeljka asked questions about the soil and what crops grew best in this climate as well as whether it was better to grow crops or raise animals in Pridon’s Hearth. It had been too long and the half-orc actually had to admit that she had missed the farm. Or maybe it was just because it reminded her of her own family and made her feel closer to them in some strange way.
tag Mr. Witterwil?
After their hearty and delicious meal, everyone sat comfortably around the table. Since it was dark outside, it was finally time to relax because work couldn’t be done in the dark – at least, not by humans. As she sat and listened to the stories shared around the table Zeljka was surprised to feel a tug at her arm and looked down to see the youngest boy, Tonmoy. She knelt down to put herself on his level and asked, ”What can I do for you, young man?” He stared at her with wide eyes but said nothing. Zeljka waited quietly and soon he tentatively reached out and touched one of her tusks. The half-orc smiled and the exposure of more teeth caused him to quickly pull his hand back. ”Would you like to play a game with me that my sons used to like to play?” He heard the word game and nodded enthusiastically. Zeljka sat back in her chair and crossed her legs leaving one dangling. ”Climb on the bottom of my leg, sit on my foot, and give me your hands.” Once he was in place, he looked at her expectantly. ”Now you need to stay on the ‘bucking horse’.” With that she began to move her leg up and down, side to side. Soon Tonmoy was giggling as he almost fell off numerous times. Of course with Zeljka holding onto his hands there was no danger of him hurting himself.
I'm not sure if it was from you but you do use it to good effect.
It took me a while to find out the code, which is not explained below.
BTW: I hope you all noticed that Marcallon is NOT with you. We'll see if he comes back but I'm not holding my breath.
Questions?
Game on!
Action 2:
As soon as Zeljka saw the state of the Fort's gate, she signaled the others to stop. "Let me take a look at the ground before we disturb it more. It may tell me something."
Zeljka carefully approached the remains of the door. She squatted at one point and studied the markings made in the ground to get a better idea of what happened and where the threat had come from.
I've got a bad feeling about this. Alleria's low mutter was joined by a soft thump as she jammed a small ramrod down the pistol of her barrel, tamping her bullet and powder in place. This doesn't look like animals - what kind of animal smashes through a door like that? That means we're likely dealing with something that really meant to be in there...come on. Let's see if there's any windows we can get a peek through, see what we're up against.
"It's a fort; I very much doubt there are any windows in the outer palisade. That's what the watchtowers are for, and they'd get light from windows on the interior courtyard...." Min trailed off, nervously fingering the scrap of cured leather she had removed from her spell component pouch. She was anxious to invoke a spell of physical protection in the light of the violent aftermath they had stumbled upon, but she reminded herself that it was reasonably likely that whoever had done this was already gone. "If they'd stayed and taken the place over, surely they would have tried to repair the doors or made some sort of barricade," she murmured, as much to herself as to anyone else.
There seemed little she could do immediately, other than stay out of the way of those with relevant skills, so she drew to the side of the road, where the bare, trodden mud turned into weedy mud and waited under the drumming of the rain on her umbrella. If it was good for nothing else, the soft ground ought to have made Zeljka's job of finding footprints easier. She watched the towers warily for arrows or javelins.
Please embellish in your description but you do find footprints of what seems to be halflings coming from the northeast. However, they seem to be at least 4-5 days old.
No windows on the fort. Only six wide arrow slits in each watchtower (three facing each direction) seem to be the only 'opening' (other than the smashed front door).
There seemed little she could do immediately, other than stay out of the way of those with relevant skills, so she drew to the side of the road, where the bare, trodden mud turned into weedy mud and waited under the drumming of the rain on her umbrella. If it was good for nothing else, the soft ground ought to have made Zeljka's job of finding footprints easier. She watched the towers warily for arrows or javelins.
I like the image of the 'sophisticated' wizard with the umbrella. Good job. :)
Zeljka's careful examination of the ground is rewarded with evidence of small footprints coming from the northeast. Based on trampled vegetation and the current weather, the half-orc estimated that the tracks had been made 4-5 days ago. The size of the footprints also suggested a gang of children, or more likely, a tribe of halflings.
Zeljka remembered one of the colonists in Pridon's Hearth mentioning nearby halfling tribes. "These tracks were made by halflings. I remember someone mentioning the Song'o halflings live in the jungle close by. The tracks are about four, maybe five, days old. When did the sheriff say the Fort went silent?"
tag everyone
"I guess it's time to explore the Fort. I'll go first."
"When did the sheriff say the Fort went silent?"
"I believe she said there hadn't been a report in two weeks, though I don't know how often she was accustomed to hearing from them."
"Could halflings do that?" Min asked skeptically, nodding at the smashed door. "Seems more likely they happened along after the fort was attacked and went in to investigate."
Four or five days. Min relaxed a bit and slipped the leather strip back into her pouch. Whether the fort's attackers were halflings or otherwise, they were unlikely still to be inside after so much time.
"...and that's when I learned never to go outside without an umbrella, no matter what the weather!" Min concluded a story about being caught beneath an airborne skirmish between pseudodragons and imps in the streets of Korvosa, much to the amazement of the Witterwil children (and the evident incredulity of their parents). "But that's not all. Miss Greenfoot lived in a city in the north with a bridge built by giants."
She nods the children to the half-orc and sits back to take a sip of currant wine: no patch on the plum wine at the stone hall, but not bad, in a rustic way. 'Sons.' How old is the half-orc? She had assumed they were all in the same situation -- starting out in adult life -- but if Zeljka had already raised a family....
Watching the children play with the hulking Bibi Ibamba brought a genuine smile to Nsizi's face, the first in a long time. The younger two wrestled over whose turn it was to ride the bucking horse, chasing each other like small birds. "You remind me of a pair of undlunkulu," he chuckled.
The youngest, Tonmoy and Lissa, stopped immediately. Turning to the lean Bas'o, Lissa asked, "What's a lunduku?"
"The undlunkulu are tiny birds, blue-feathered. They are the ones that helped my ugogo - my grandfather - make the first rainbow." This had their complete attention, so Nsizi smiled and said, "Ibori ibori, I'll tell you a story.
"One day my ugogo went to the waterfall to pick river flowers for his bride, my uhulu. But all the flowers were white. So he took his paints and started to colour them all. Red for the rossa, purple for the violet, yellow for the danlissa,"
"But that's my name!" said the little girl in wonder. The older sister, Deni, said, "Mine too! And anyway, shush!"
"Indeed, two flowers, each of you," Nsizi said with a smile. "As ugogo worked, two curious undlunkulu swooped down to see what he was doing. The first dipped his wing in the red paint as he flew by, and his sister accidentally splashed in the yellow. They kept swooping and chattering, and by the time ugogo was finished with the flowers, their wings were covered. The paint was heavy, so they flew to the waterfall to wash it off. As they streaked through the spray, the paint came off in the water droplets, making a beautiful arc of colour. Ugogo brought uhulu to see it, and she was delighted. She praised the undlunkulu for their artistry, and they silly birds were so pleased that they flew off to paint another one. Now, whenever there is rain in the sky, the undlunkulu paint rainbows for my family. It is very fortunate that I am here with you, as we will probably get to see one tomorrow."
The children laughed and chattered, asking if it were true, and Nsizi pulled a small medicine pouch from one of the straps that held his neswambi together. Tugging the drawstring open, he pulled out a roll of waterproofed rabbit leather. Unwrapping it, he showed them three dried flowers, still brilliantly coloured. "You see, here they are. The very first red rossa, purple violet, and yellow danlissa. My uhulu kept them close to her heart, and passed them to my mother, and then to me." The children reached out gentle fingers to stroke the soft petals, then he carefully replaced it in his pouch.
"Why do you wear all those layers?" Lissa asked, as she stroked the red and orange fabric of his neswambi. "Doesn't it get all tangled up?"
"Sometimes, it is true, my arm gets lost inside and I can't find it for a week," Nsizi said, pretending his arm was trapped in his clothes. The children laughed and poked and pulled at his clothes, trying to find the arm, until at last it was located. "The neswambi is traditional clothing for people like me. It keeps the sun and rain off my head without never needing a hat. I like the way my fetishes dance when I walk. And it has many pockets and folds to keep treasures in, like these." He pulled out another pouch, this one with hard candies. These were passed around with great delight, and soon the questions moved on to somebody else.
"Look! A rainbow! It's true!" Lissa shouted, dancing in excitement. Her eldest brother tried to tell her that there were always rainbows after a rain, but she was having none of it. She and Tonmoy ran about, looking for the tiny birds with paint on their wings.
Action 2
Nsizi leaned on his iwisa and rubbed his aching leg. It has been a while since he had done this much walking, and struggling through the mud hadn't helped at all. At first he felt guilty for slowing the party down, but now he was too sore to feel anything but sorry for himself.
"I guess it's time to explore the Fort. I'll go first."
Nsizi fell in behind Zeljka, switching his grip on the iwisa. His limp was bad, but he pushed the pain away and focused on looking for danger.
Akosua nodded to the children, casually pulling faces at the younger ones when no adults seemed to be looking her way. She strode to the center of the welcoming group and called up the power of her manyfold goddess, it will do them good even if they are not injured, and hard working people often carry niggling injuries sending out an invisible wave of fresh ocean breezes and the soft scent of dew dappled flowers that washed away minor aches, pains, cuts, and bruises.
"Thank you for offering us your home for the night. I am Akosua a healer, by the blessings of Shimye-Magalla, so if any of you, or your animals have an injury I would gladly offer to heal it, provided it is within my abilities."
Once the introductions have been made she, took the mother aside for a quick word, then beckoned over the smallest girl asking, "How would you like some magic to make you bigger than your sisters? But only for a minute, and it only last while you are good."
When the girl nodded wide eyed affirmation she chanted, "Tna h'pele E-zis!" Smiling as the child grew to near adult size and raced off to show her sisters her new found stature.
The following morning Akosua prayed, a more informal comfortable process than for most Clerics, and more a matter of drinking in the beauty of the natural world around her than the po faced piety she had seen in those who followed other gods.
Bidding the children goodbye had sent a pang through her soul she had thought long past, and she was quiet for the rest of the journey contemplating old wounds. If anything the rain was a comfort a link to the more accustomed waters that had always been her true home.
Once they reached the Fort Akosua tightened her focus, "I will follow behind you Zeljka, if need arises I can grow and strike over your head - if the space is not too tight."
"...and that's when I learned never to go outside without an umbrella, no matter what the weather!" Min concluded a story about being caught beneath an airborne skirmish between pseudodragons and imps in the streets of Korvosa, much to the amazement of the Witterwil children (and the evident incredulity of their parents). "But that's not all. Miss Greenfoot lived in a city in the north with a bridge built by giants."
Zeljka wasn't one for telling stories but knew from the looks on the faces of the children that they expected to hear more about the bridge. "The bridge is so big that no one but giants could have built it." The half-orc left out the part of the story that the giants had been slaves. The half-orc stood to her full height, towering over the children. "If you had 50 half-orcs standing on each other's shoulders, that's how tall the bridge is."
Excellent story-time so thank you for that.
Turn 010 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, fail
, hit
, hit
Action 1:
“We could always use an extra hand ‘round here. Have you settled in the colony yet?”
Zeljka shook her head, "I just arrived in the colony. I haven't had a chance to settle anywhere. I do have experience with haying. But we were tasked with checking out the Fort by the sheriff. When would you be needing help? I'd do my best to help out but life has been unpredictable lately."
tag?
Action 2:
Zeljka angrily staggered to her feet after pushing the splintered beam off of her and growled, "I should have seen that...sorry. Seems like whoever attacked the Fort mean business." She rubbed her shoulder and when she inhaled she thought she felt a couple cracked ribs as pain shot through her side.
Action 3:
Oh sure, three wild animals get through the trapped gate without setting it off but not me.
Action 1:
“We could always use an extra hand ‘round here. Have you settled in the colony yet?”Zeljka shook her head, "I just arrived in the colony. I haven't had a chance to settle anywhere. I do have experience with haying. But we were tasked with checking out the Fort by the sheriff. When would you be needing help? I'd do my best to help out but life has been unpredictable lately."
The boy was happy, "OK, great. Just come and down to the farm. My mom is a real good cook and we'd all be glad for the extra pair of hands."
His dad nodded in approval.
Action 3:
Oh sure, three wild animals get through the trapped gate without setting it off but not me.
The animals are small, that's a human finger in is mouth. Besides. it probably has trapfinding, something you ought to consider as your first slayer talent. :)
It's hard to tell about the spear from this distance. It could be a halfling longspear or a regular sized short spear.
Questions?
Game on!
Action 3:
Oh sure, three wild animals get through the trapped gate without setting it off but not me.
The animals are small, that's a human finger in is mouth. Besides. it probably has trapfinding, something you ought to consider as your first slayer talent
Game on!
Min removed the strip of leather from her spell component pouch again. Booby trap, not barricade, she reminded herself nervously. If there were still attackers in the fort, you'd think they would rather prevent entry than maliciously harm anyone who happened along. Still, she kept the spell component handy as she cautiously advanced to where the beam had fallen to help lift it off the two women.
Splintered wood embedded in her flesh, and the telling ache of a great an painful bruise across her chest and shoulder Akosua gritted her teeth and rose, waving off Zelkja's words,
"Let me channel my goddess, then tell me how you feel," she called forth the gentle power of Shimye-Magalla the wave if fresh natural scents spilling over the group and healing restoring both Zelkja and Akosua to full health.
"Better? You are sure? Then lead on."
Seeing the strange lizard creatures Akosua used her ability to speak with animals, looming over them brandishing her trident "Go away or we kill you all. Come for this meat later we do not wish it. Now go! Go or die, go or die! We are strong we have longer hard metal teeth and claws, we are bigger! Go!"
I hope they are bright enough to understand...
Action 2
Nsizi found himself in the dirt, staring sideways at the post that had knocked Akosua and Zeljka to the ground. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he seemed unharmed. Slightly embarrassed, he picked himself up and limped over to help the others move the beam from their companions.
As he attempted to brush mud from the folds of his clothes, Nsizi asked, "What would be the reason for such a trap? What has happened here?"
Action 3
Seeing the small dinosaurs, Nsizi took a step to the side so he stood shoulder to shoulder with Zeljka. Swinging his iwisa once in his fist, he murmured, "Spirits, strengthen my weapon." The asymmetrical club glowed briefly with a pale blue light, and he prepared to fight.
Turn 011 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, Nsizi
Zeljka had never seen such creatures before in the north but they had hurt Nsizi which was enough to make her retaliate.
Unslinging her falchion and grasping it with both hands, she brought it down on the closest reptile.
Her blade cut deeply into the creature causing it to screech in pain. Zeljka growled at the three and put herself between them and Nsizi.
Her blade cut easily through the creature's neck, cleanly decapitating it. Both body and head slumped to the ground and Zeljka growled at the other two before stepping in front of Nsizi.
Nsizi felt himself weaken, and knew that at least one of the bites had managed to envenomate him. Struggling to keep his feet, he swung the iwisa at the (nearest/remaining) reptile. He connected solidly to the side of the dinosaur's jaw, and the creature stumbled but kept its feet.
Irked Akosua snapped, "Do not say I did not warn you."
Then she stepped back to her right and called, "Re e'fwo' N'K! As she cast a spell seeking to fill the closest uninjured lizard creature with fear. Better to have one flee rather than die, these things should learn fear of humans it will serve them well.
Three posts down, two to go.
I intend to recap later tonight...
Questions?
Game on!
Min's stomach turned at the grisly scene, but the compys' attention and appetite turning to the newcomers gave her little time for either nausea or pity. Quickly, she cast the spell she had been considering since seeing the broken-in doors, hoping a thin arcane layer of force between her tender flesh and the small dinosaurs' teeth would prove effective, and regripped her walking stick in the manner of a weapon, ready to bring down one end on any marauding lizard.
Turn 012 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, fail
, Nsizi
, hit
As the other compy retreated, Min edged warily around Akosua to get a clear shot at the lizard still savaging Nsizi. Pronouncing the words of a cantrip, she conjured a wobbly orb of acid at her fingertips and flung it in the direction of the dinosaur. Unfortunately, she was so nervous and afraid of hitting her companions by mistake that the blob of acid sizzled harmlessly into the mud well behind the lizard.
Zeljka raised her weapon against the reptile that attacked Nsizi. He really didn't look good and she did what she could to protect him by doing what she knew, she brought her falchion down on the creature.
Zeljka's blade had barely sliced through the reptile before she was on the move towards the other one. "Help Nsizi! I'll deal with the last one."
The dinos' sudden appearance had surprised Alleria, and it had been hard to get a clear shot at the beasts in the melee that followed. But with two of the dinosaurs taken care of, Alleria shouldered past Akosua and Min, taking aim and shooting. Ugh, this shot loses half its power this far off...
For some reason, one of the small dinosaurs attacking him suddenly backed away. Nsizi swung his iwisa at the creature as it ran, but was unable to connect. Unfortunately, the last remaining creature took advantage of his momentary distraction to tear into his thigh, and Nsizi's head started to spin.
The spirits were with him, however, as the half-orc beside him killed the reptile with a mighty blow of her weapon. Allowing himself to sink to the ground, Nsizi closed his eyes and murmured, "Spirits, close my wounds." With a whisper of warmth and power, the worst of the bleeding stopped. He remained where he was for the moment, his had still spinning, trusting his companions to keep him from being killed.
Ensuring that the nearby lizard creatures were truly slain with quick trident thrusts Akosua moves to Nsizi's side summoning the power of her goddess and the now familiar wave of natural scents. Once she was done she examined Nsizi for injuries again,
"Is that sufficient Nsizi? You do not look well, poison perhaps? I think so. If that is the case, I cannot help you quickly, rest is needed to recover, and I may be able to speed recovery then, but this does not seem the time or place..."
She pushed her anger at the fleeing creatures death down, it is a small matter, it makes as much sense to slay such a creature, though perhaps it could have passed on its new found wariness.
Ensuring that the nearby lizard creatures were truly slain with quick trident thrusts Akosua moves to Nsizi's side summoning the power of her goddess and the now familiar wave of natural scents. Once she was done she examined Nsizi for injuries again,
OOC: this doesn't make a difference now but in the future be careful about channeling where there are 'dying but not yet dead' enemies.
We now have five places to potentially explore: two doors which are closed/locked, one door that is 'ajar', the well, and the corral.
If anyone cares to weigh in where to go next that would be fine. If not, I'll roll for it.
I intend to move this along later today.
Questions?
Game on!