Seth Conmong |
I awake in mist, using only my eyes I look around afraid to move even so much as my head. Afraid to be seen, afraid to be herd, straining to see or hear or even smell a possible warning of impending danger. Nothing but my eyes move in the mist, no smell, no sound, no swirl in what appears to be an endless void broken only by the fact that I exist... Pain blooms like the lighting of the beacon in a light house. Pain blooms again as I am pulled more completely into a more corporal body. Pain becomes my power to act. Real physical pain of one laying too long in one position on sharp rocks. Grit between my teeth and what feels like a sunburn on my face and hands. I roll over on to more rocks and open my eyes blinking back the blurry...
perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20 What do I see and understand about the world around me?
Herkymr the Silly |
The mist finally clears as something wet slides and then slithers along the side of your dry face. The feels, feels some how familiar. Like something brushing a memory before the mists. The soft push and a sound of a nicker bring you back to reality although a different one from what you....well what you should remember.
The air is moist almost dripping into your lungs as you inhale slowly. The sweat coming down your face and rolling across your already smelting skin tastes bitter,acrid almost like blood. Your hand almost reacts on its own to the acid rivulets sliding up across your brow and coming down RED!! It is blood and the gash you explore with your fingers seems only moments old.
Again the feel of .. leather..you place it this time...brings you back to your here and now. Turning painfully to the right you encounter the nose that pushed you gently before. It is Buck your companion who has been with you since....well since ... your mind seems to forget the next part as the pain sears across your brow and leaping across your shoulders like lightning arcing between two condemned pine trees on a lonely hill.
When the pain fades you see that you are in a small copse of tree or atleast in the roots of it and below you is water. Not the clear water you think you remember but a brackish grey water where things lurk just under the murky crests. Buck is standing on what appears to be a pile of mossy grass and twigs not really natural but not completely well...Human either. Just below you snagged on a sharp twist in the wood. is a pack. Your recognize it as something you need. And with some severe pain and long periods of recovery you are able to serpentinely slide it from the wood and retrieve it to your side.
You make a small fire, not sure how with all the wet around, or even why with all the heat but the inner animal takes over with its need to survive. So fire and water come first. Once liquid pours down your parched throat, you have a few moments of semiclarity and visually search your area. In the fading light of the day, you can see lots of the trees dangling their limbs into the murk beneath. You hear a din in the distance that might be the sound of civilization.
The light fades leaving the night an eery dark purple...not right ... not right for what night should be. The sounds of crickets, frogs, and bats punctuate the air insinuating themselves between the sounds of water, wood, and a creature you cant identify. Buck seems very uptight with the sounds around him and on a constant aleart.
Jerram |
Climb(Take 10): 10 + 13 = 23
Stealth(Take 10): 10 + 9 = 19 Just for moving quietly. Not actually trying to remain hidden.
Perception(Take 10): 10 + 8 = 18
Jerram moves through the thick mangroves. He moves among the branches, keeping clear of the water below. Small noises accompany his path of travel, but most could be easily dismissed as the natural sound of the world around. In the fading light, a fire sparks into life in the distance and dances in and out of sight behind the trees. Jerram's progress through the trees brings him closer to the light. Jerram climbs down a nearby tree and steps into the clearing, where a man and a horse sit huddled around a fire. The red streaking across the man's forehead shines in the light and makes a deep contrast to the brown muck smeared across his face and clothes. Jerram looks down at his own clothes, where a small bit of bark has stuck. He brushes it off. Then he reaches into his pack and produces a chalkboard and chalk.
After a few moments of writing he finally approaches the ring of firelight, his fresh sign held out in front of him.
Do you need help?
Sleight of Hand (back): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Sleight of Hand (breast pocket): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
Sleight of Hand (breast pocket): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
Sleight of Hand (belt): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Sleight of Hand (belt): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
I EXIST! THEREFORE I MUST PERCEIVE!
Perception:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Unk. |
Unk walks through marshy grass towards his new destination. Fifth Port. The biggest city in the continent. I'm tired. Unk sits down in the driest place he could find and looks around wondering what all the noises were.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Shadara Windless |
Shadara sits on a small log next to a tree watching the strange and wonderful beings walk to and from what can only be described as a stone corral. Such a strange practice to put up walls and then stuff as many beings in it as possible that they have to leave as fast as they came in. She giggles softly as a man tries to adjust his pack and stumbles. Her smile dies as she notices two others behind the man laughing, pointing, and starting to make rude comments. Quickly and quietly as she can she gets up and hides behind the tree. She peeks out slowly to see what is going on with the men.
Stealth: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17 This is to try to hide without being noticed
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10 This is to see if the two men have malicious intent
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21 to see if any of the three have noticed me yet
Clarification
Herkymr the Silly |
Unk.
You sit on a small upturned root attatched to one of the neighboring mangroves and listen intently for a few minutes. There are just to many noises that intrude and constantly draw your attention elsewhere that you struggle to place all the sounds around the encroaching city. People of all races and garb crawl down the road towards the docks and boats are either tied up or headed to port for the evening. You wonder once again why Alandra told you about Fifth Port when she seemed to avoid all others who wandered into her territory....then the thought flits across your mental screen...why did she not merely ignore me?
Shadara.
The men making light of the others travail seem to be malicious in word only as they continue to heckle the other traveler. Several pouches of items dangle out of the readjusted pack and a few are hastily picked up and crammed into half filled pockets as the older man tries to ignore the jibes of his assailants.
Jeram
The man before you appears to still be in some type of daze or trance resulting in no forthcoming response to your query. The horse calms though at your presence and seems to enjoy the more alert company.
mang
The roads seemed somewhat crowded for dusk even for this big of a city. Several caravans converge into larger and larger groups as they approach the populated areas of the city. From the camaraderie of several of the joining groups you get the feeling that they are large segments of a working whole.
Unk. |
Oh well, whatever, it's time to find a place to sleep anyway. Unk gets up and starts walking into town looking for an inn. On his way he looks at the people bustling around him.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21 This is to find an inn.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17 This is to see what people are doing.
Jerram |
Jerram bends down in front of the man, trying to catch his eyes. He waves his hand in front of the man's face and holds out his sign again, this time, with a little more urgency.
Clarification
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
I will follow the caravans further into the heart of the city.
Herkymr the Silly |
Unk // Mang You follow the crowds in to the city and wonder at all myriad of races darting, plodding, and moving in and out of the city.
The crowd slows seeming to congest at a certain point by a small thick walled stone building. Armed with pikes and thick leather jerkins, dwarven and human guards move strategically and formally to each group and non-grouped individuals. After a brief exchange of both words, each guard hands over a small circular disc and moves on.
Perception roll
For all as they reach the guards . “Stop! Why have you come to Fifth Port? How long do you anticipate your business taking? You'll need a copy of the basic laws and regulations of our metropolis..”
*No bladed weapon may be drawn with in city limits.
*No excessive drinking and providers of such intoxicants can be fined as well as the violator should this occur.
*Proof of Legitimacy must be with yo at all times and shown when asked by government officials.
*All purchases as sales are taxed 5% paid to the accounting house each Monday for city maintenance. Failure to pay taxes results in immediate revocation of license and seizure of property.
*Poisons are strictly forbidden for any reason including sale or purchase.
*All magic practitioners are required to register with a local guild immediately upon entering city. Failure to do so will result in a "band" being enchanted upon such practitioner that will prevent further use of magic. This can only be removed after registering with a guild of appropriate type and paying a hefty fine. [i]
The gruff but kind guard then asks,
“Got any questions? Better ask them now for you will be expected to adhere to the laws.[b]
He proceeds to answer relevant questions about the rules.
ask in character I will answer in discussion and your character will know,
[b] if you are looking for suitable rest and recovery then check the inns and taverns up the road just a little way. Linder Lost is a personal favorite for fine wine women and food, Discreet as well. Winking he walks off to the next group.
Herkymr the Silly |
if you pay him
You are handed a small tattered paper with the following scribbled in sloppy excruciatingly lazy script-
*No bladed weapon with in city limits.
*No excessive drinking and providers of such intoxicants can be fined should this occur.
*Proof of Legitimacy must be with you. and surrendered to officials when demanded..
*All purchases or sales are taxed 5% paid to the accounting house for city maintenance. Failure to pay taxes results in immediate revocation of license and seizure of property.
*Poisons are strictly forbidden to purchase.
*All magic practitioners are required to register with a local guild.
If you want directions to a place of abode then ask some one else or pay me 3 coppers and I'll recommend a couple.
If you pay him
Linder Lost, Dear Heart, and Goblins grub. They're all down that way.
The guard then walks off dismissing you from his mind.
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
On the East side I guess.
perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
I came to seek any knowledge I might find about the magical storms that threaten the balance of nature, I do not know how long this search will take me.
On receiving the coin and copy of the rules, I put the coin in my breast pocket underneath my armor along with the list of rules. After listening to the recital of the rules.
The Gods of nature have gifted me with magical abilities, a druid, in your tongue. Where must I go to seek out the others like me as you require? I also desire to know if such a "guild", as you put it, exists for ones who cut stone.
Seth Conmong |
A bird with a bright blue beak scratches the ground reminding me of a worm I saw earlier when I was gathering fire wood. Walking over to a log that I had broken limbs from, I dig down into the decaying fibers and find a living neon blue gummy worm. It wriggles between my thumb and forefinger. Turning I notice the bird tracking the worm with its head. I lay down on the ground so as to appear as unthreatening as possible holding the squirming worm toward the bird. In an instant the bird swoops in, pulls the worm from my fingers, flips it in the air and devours the entire worm in one gulp. Shooting straight up into the sky the bird does three loop tee loops and plunges down into a cave or small hallow in the ground. Following the bird I craw into the hallow until I can’t see my hands in front of my face. Off to my left, the faint sound of muffled gurgles and deep breathing catch my attention as I am straining to make out what is sleeping over there a pale light slides into the darkness. Looking through my now back lit fingers I see the slimy light is being squeezed from the birds feathery poop hole. I watch in amazement as the luminescent substance shifts and takes on the shape of a miniature landscape complete with trees, hills, small pools of water but no animals. I see the clearing I made camp in and understand that it is a map of the land the bird has flown over in the last few days. Light in the cave increases as the map grows larger showing more and more of the surrounding area. A change in the breathing brings me face to face with a set of sleepy eyes blinking out of a lighter shadow that looks very much like a bear and her nursing cubs…
A very intelligent looking monkey is peering intently up into my face. Jerking back and reaching for a throwing ax… kindness burns so brightly in those eyes that it is etched in the face. Pausing in the very act of reaching for a weapon I notice the sign in its hands, “Do you need Help?” The fire has hardly burned down at all and the light has not completely left the sky. Fear soon leaves me completely so I take the chalk board and write, “Do you have any living gummy worms?”
Jerram |
Jerram holds his sign, and looks at the words. Without shifting his shoulders, he tilts his head until his ear touches. Jerram shakes himself. In a flurry of action, he wipes most of the board clean, then scrawls quickly at the top and bottom of the board. When it's finished, he turns it for the man to see.
What are living gummy worms? The last three words seem to have been left from before. In tight letters beneath this another sentence is written, I can hear. You speak. I'll write.
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
After looking in the direction the guard points to I turn back and nod in gratitude toward the group of four guards, and then to the observer looking him/her straight in the eye.
You have my gratitude, I will be on my way now.
At that I make my way in the direction the guard indicated.
Shadara Windless |
As they get closer to where she is hiding, Shadara steps out and walks slowly toward the man with the pack. Hello traveler, would you be able to stop for a minute and help me. I have a nice place for you to sit. I have never been to a place like this. Shadara gestures toward the city. Are you a trader? I have been travelling for months would be interested to trade with you. As Shadara is talking to the man she is slowly guiding him toward where she was sitting all the while looking at the man with a smile and noting the reaction of the two hecklers.
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 To help with persuading the man to come and sit with me
perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10 to watch the movements of the other two men to see if they might be getting ready to be hostile.
Herkymr the Silly |
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11 bff youngish
Thank you young mistress. I am getting to be an old man even with my inherited Elvin long live. Kindness is never ..... a sudden burst of coughing wracks the trader.
swta=perc heck 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
mfmr sm 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
You think the elf may be aware of it but you are not sure from this distance and you cannot hear the conversation
Shadara Windless |
Please sit here, Shadara gestures to the log,here, take a drink, it may help your cough. As the Elf sits she crouches next to him and offers her waterskin to him. After letting him drink and catch his breath Shadara asks,Are you a traveler or tradesman. I couldn't help but notice that you have a very large pack. I am interested in the wonders that are all around us. This place is very different to me, what is it called? Is there anything interesting going on in there, as she points to the city. Did you find anything interesting while you were there?I will need to keep my eye on those other two as well as this one. I could be outnumbered very quickly. He seems to be trying to deceive me about his age, I wonder why? I will play along for now and give a little back, this could be fun
Herkymr the Silly |
shadara
"Sure I am a trader of sorts. Mostly deal with liquids and so forth . Have a few other baubles I have acquired from here and there. If you will show me what you have to trade I am a;ways more than willing to make a deal. I'll even give you a bonus for assisting me away from those" With a small flourish of movement he opens several pouches and a flap on his pack revealing a myriad of vials and flasks. Along side these often all but buried underneath them are several small sheaths containing wands and dagger like weapons. Scroll cases bang around intermingled with the odd assortment.
swta perc 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 8 - 2 = 20
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
I will continue walking along paying close attention to the scene playing out ahead of me. Unless I see something obviously amiss though, I will not stop.
dice rolls if needed
Me Perception (taking 10): 10 + 7 = 17
Strong talon perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Shadara Windless |
Shadara pulls a paper candle firework from her pack and flint and steel as she re-orients herself between the man and the two other men with her back to the two men.
perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19This is to judge the distance away the men are to shorten the fuse so that the firework will explode when it reaches them
As she finishes positioning herself, she adjusts the fuse, lights the fuze, and throws the firework over her shoulder toward the two men trying to have it explode somewhere near head level. All the while she is talking to the man as if she does not know that the men are even there.
Have you seen these in your travels, maybe you have but these are handy for any party, you just light it and, Oh No! this is where she throws it behind her Shadara cringes and turns around darting toward the tree as if the firework going off scared her. She looks from the side of the tree making her eyes wide and trembling as if it really did scare her.
Unk. |
I'm entering through the East side
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
I'm just here to rest and buy supplies, it shouldn't take more than couple of days. Thank you, I will definitely look into Linder Lost. Taking the coin and walking the direction the jovial guard pointed, Unk then hears a loud bang, and he looks around wildly.
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
Opposed sense motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
Strong talon perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
As Mang Fu Ha Saan continues on his way he watches the woman and the group of three play out their game of deception with each other. When he catches the elf trying to fake accidentally lighting the firework he stops and watches the rest of the scene fold out with her throwing it and feigning surprise. He feels Strong talon suddenly shift as he notices an object being thrown just in time to look in the direction to see it burst. Calming the somewhat startled bird with one hand he quietly readies his weapon with the other.
Jerram |
Jerram lets out a breath in a barely audible whisper. His calloused hands grab at the cloth to erase his chalkboard again only to replace the words. I am Jerram Wylder. Do you need help? Were you robbed? Flipping the boats around, Jerram touches his own head in the same spot Seth is injured. He rubs his hands there momentarily as if he were also wounded.
Herkymr the Silly |
Mang, Unk, Shadara
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
Disoriented from the vision collapsing to reality Mang Fu Ha Saan takes a moment to reorient himself to his surroundings. Then upon hearing Strong Talon trill and shift his weight in response to something he looks carefully for what caught his attention.
Seth Conmong |
Feeling my forehead for the first time. I seem to be a bit short on memory. Looking around the camp and surrounding trees. It appears to me that my forgetter is working rather well as of late... For all the dreams and whatnot that is in my mind... I might as well have been born a bit ago when Buck here licked my face awake. Reaching up and petting the horses shoulder. I heard you coming in before I faded out you move like a fish through water in them trees... Picking up a small log and setting it on the fire. What has you out and about this time of the evening?
Jerram |
Until we come up with a better solution, I'm going to put my stuff in spoilers, unless y'all are there. You can still look, just know that you're not there.
Herkymr the Silly |
Seth Conmong |
Herkymr the Silly |
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
Jerram |
He stops, dropping, chalk and board as a screech rings out through the trees. Jerram steps back, melting into the shadows, and looks around for any discernable cause.
Knowledge (Nature) to see if I recognize the sound as any particular creature: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
Unk. |
Unk jumps out of the way of a nearby rolling barrel. What's in them?
Mang Fu Ha Saan |
Not wanting to look suspicious, he decides that now is a good time to speak a prayer to linger in the area without seeming to have an ulterior motive.
***NOTE!*** I can't nest spoilers, the following is in druidic. Praise the sun and moon, for light and tide. Praise nature, for the balance gifted on life. Praise the ancestors for their knowledge, wisdom, and continued guidance. We take and return alike, given only to give in return.
When he is done, he takes another close look at the group examining every small detail about them. Gait, stature, height, nuances, clothing, anything that might serve to give their identity away if they seek to hide their true appearance. After noting these details, he turns to continue on his path toward the mangroves.
Herkymr the Silly |
a squirmy little hobgoblin rushes up to the brute. It was him that dids it. Them ropes is cuts or the barriiils not just roll around. Have you caught the rest of his crew yet then? Or do we just have to settle for skinning this one til he talks?You sense more than see tmore of the merchants group forming up behind you at this tirade and accusation. Many of the barrels broken on the streets or jammed up against a variety of objexts: walls, carts, rubble, and even a drunken dwarf apparently passed out from a revelry that he should have waited to join. No weapons have been visibly drawn but a few of the caravan hustlers are standing way to close to work implements for your comfort.
You turn your attention back to the two in front of you and evaluate what exactly you see. A scrawny over worked underfed sniveling groveling slacker of a hobgoblin with ragged clothing if it can even be considered that draping over his loins and part of his upper body. His face is a conglomerate of scars but it is his back that defies all description. Scars spiral, dash, crawl, etch, stagger, and melt into one almost incomprehensible blob of skin. Obviously the tongue hasnt always worked for this one or maybe it didnt use to. The brute, a rancid 8ft bulk of sinew and hide, ogre of some sort you are fairly certain.You recall however that ogres are physical brutes but lax in the brain pan. This fellow defies those facts in the mere poignant boarish gleam that he bores into you from his steely grey eyes. He definitely is ogre but definitely not dumb. His clothing is that of a wagonneer Master. Fine leather, stained from hard labor but still immaculate considering its length of service, clings easily to the huge frame. A hooked staff rest to casually in his arm and you remember Alyanda describing this tool as a merchants hook or bale gaff. His boots are well worn from heavy use but still displayng the care and cost that went into their acquisition. Knotted red and blue braids fall from the shoulders of the brute in a pattern that can only be a explanation of rank and employment. You! Scaly one... you can stand here by me now until my cretins finish correcting the error. If you or any possible cronies attempt anything...well you should just hope that all of my barrels can be accounted for. Unlaboring his hook, the ogre motions to you to join or be made him. He motions for you to sit on the nearest wagon seat with in more than a short spitting distance from him.
1d20 + 1 - 5 ⇒ (11) + 1 - 5 = 7 brte sm
Seth Conmong |
Well if that didn't sound like grandma Bessy hollering as she clanged the dinner Iron... Reaching over to scratch behind the horses ears... Buck here doesn't seem to concerned Watching what bucks ears do I adjust my sitting positing allowing myself to keep one eye on the direction he is listing and the other on Jerram's hiding place... The way you are hiding over there tells me either you are a cautious fellow or you know something we referring to the horse with a nod of my head... don't about what made that sound? I grab a rather large fairly straight limb and begin trimming the smaller branches off with a throwing ax and toss them into the fire. I finish sharping what now looks like a tapering weavers beam to a point on the small end and stand leaning heavily on the 8 foot walking stick. Walking around the now much incressed perimeter of the fire light finding nooks and crannies that help stabilize the bottom of the staff. So Jerram Wylder what can you tell me about this here world of yours and the trees you used to live in?
Herkymr the Silly |
Mang
You arrive at the Druidic farms about an hour later of leisurely walking. As you arrive a flurry of kids dash out and around you then are gone in a game of some sort of hoop and ball.
You glance up the street watching their dust fade as Sharp Talon creens and begins to clean his "feathers" completely unperturbed by the sudden change of situation. Turning you look out across the area cultivating most of the perishable comestibles for 5th port.
The Mangroves have been cultivated so that their roots intertwine in a set of levies and tiers. Each tier has been carefully planted and cultivated with different plants. The vast array of vegetables, grains, legumes, tubers, ascomycota, nuts, and herbs assault your olfactory nerves with a pungent yet tangy and pleasing mishmash of waft of festivity.
You take a moment to enjoy the variety before moving on. As you walk through the "streets" you see many houses built into the folds of the trees often nestled with in the myriad of growing plants as well. Soft moss pads the pathways absorbing all but the heaviest of foot traffic noises.
In the trees above are nets filled with collected spoils from the days harvest and near the top of each net, resting against a warm wing, a hippogriff rider waits for the completion of the gather so that his squadron can deliver the goods further in city. Birds of all shapes and sizes dart to and fro within the vegetation. Many of them carry paper or small packages with them as they fly.