Tora no Senaka - The Back of the Tiger
Game Master Dreaming Warforged

Garand continues to search for Ameiko or the crow-shifter.

Since a 20 Perception check wasn't enough, he'll take time for a 'take 20' resulting in a 27.

If he comes across any of the caravan NPCs in need of immediate healing, he'll stabilize and / or heal them as necessary.

Raith will assist in securing the raiders and move to assist the other group if necessary, while scanning the area for more enemies.

1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24

While his spiritual longbow remains, Garand has it target different raiders that threaten Ameiko and the others, as he advances in that direction (preferentially targetting those not currently in melee, to increase his chance of hitting).

spiritual longbow attacks on perhaps unsuspecting raiders, +1 for bless 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
force damage 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Bear-spirit will advance as well, attacking the first raider he reaches, with his preference being one that *is* already occupied in melee, to surprise it with a flank attack.

bear spirit attack, +1 for bless counted, +2 for possible flank not counted...
bite 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

bite damage 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

The raiders onslaught is quickly broken once others support Ameiko and the others. Most raiders are dead or running away, leaving you with about fifteen prisonners. Despite Sorin's best efforts, they seem taken by their oath not to reveal a thing...

Raith disarms and searches the prisoners.

Perception:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17

Sorin leans back against one of the wagons, idly flicking one of the web strands while he thinks.

"You know, we could ask if they are under direction to attack us or merely not to reveal anything about the person who contracted them. Although, the fleeing warriors may indicate that they are not enspelled to attack us. The next question is do any of them want to be retained in service while I try to see if I can break the spell? I personnally would not wish to remain under a spell if I could avoid it."

"The trick is that I do not have the spell at this time to break magical effects. I hope to learn it in the near future however."

The Seal might be used to break the spell on these men, if it is a curse specifically. However, if I were attempting to attack us, I would try and trick us into using the Seal as well. We should avoid using it unless we are in dire straits.

Raith will point out he armband to Pavel, "Is that some kind of tribal symbol? Maybe ask the Ulfen woman about it."

Raith says to Sorin, "Magic is your talent, not mine. I have no way to help these men, yet we need to know where they come from and who sent them. This is no common raid. They came for us and what we have. If they don't talk, they are fairly useless to us. Then again, I'm not sure what we do with them."

Raith has pointed out a thin golden armband the Ulfen raiders all wear. Though it is common jewellery, theirs all harbour the image of a roaring lion's head.

"Curious. You men, what is the significance of the armband? Do you owe fealty to a lord?", Sorin asks.

One of the raiders falls on his knees: "Stop this nonsense! Can't you see that you are killing us with your questions. Let us fight our way to heaven, but do not slaughter us in such manner. We cannot. We will not speak! That is our oath!"

A little after, Garand is back, joined by the others and a few more Ulfen prisoners. Keldra offers: "They are all tribesman of the chieftain Asvig Longthews. The lion is its emblem. My father always had a good laugh at that, saying that Asvig had probably never seen a lion in his life, and probably would not survive the sight!"

The caravan seems to have remained unharmed, but the question of the prisoners remains...

Raith looks at the Ulfen raiders, an incredulous look on his face when he hears common, "Is this some kind of jest? If you wished to fight your way to heaven, why throw down your arms at he first sign of magic? Seems to me all I see are cowards. We've fought more dangerous foes and not thrown down our arms with such haste at the first sign of a sorcerer. You cowards had best find a way to tell us what we want to know or we'll send you on your way any way we wish. You can tell your gods why you were such cowards in battle. If I had such a tale to tell my gods, I would rather live as an oathbreaker than die as a coward."

"If they cannot speak, such is their oath, can they perhaps write down the name of the one we seek?" Garand muses.

Spellcraft or Knowledge (arcana) to indicate what sort of magic could bind men to such an oath.
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

To Sorin, he whispers, "I have heard of such magic, to lay a geas upon a man, but it requires a powerful spellcaster, and can only be laid upon a single man, not an entire raiding party. Such an endeavor would take the high priest of an entire region or faith or similarly potent arcanist many weeks, perhaps even months to perform... Know you of any means to bewitch dozens of men in such a fashion, beyond the work of the gods themselves?"

Sorin narrows his eyes for a moment, deep in thought.

"Unfortunately no. It may not be as strong as a geas however. I do not believe that these men were impelled to attack us, otherwise they would not have fled. I think that we can assume that this may be a strong curse however. Their clan lord might be subverted as well, and thus they are ordered forth to attack us."

"We might wish to ask Raith to not torment the prisoners, however affronted he might be by their surrender."

Kelda offers a possible way to deal with the prisoners: "As captured clansmen, they are in you debt for sparing their lives. You could ask for a Life tax to their family, but this could take a while and draw attention. Best would be to seize everything they have on them and leave them here. They'll find their way home! Meanwhile, we could go ask Asvig about a lion..."

Sorry about the mix up in languages. They should have answered in Skald.

Raith doesn't say what he says if he doesn't understand.

Kelda or Pavel would have translated though. It's not a big issue, just my own lack of consistency.

"These lands are unforgiving, made to forge warriors. Strip them of the warrior's weapons they do not deserve, perhaps, but we should at least leave them daggers or knives, so that they are not defenseless." Garand offers, at Kelda's suggestion. "With those, they can fashion clubs, staves or slings, if they wish to supplement their defenses or hunting options."

"You are a kind warrior. You show them more honor than they deserve."Kelda offers in a rude Common tongue. She seems nevertheless to respect Garand's proposal.

Raith squats looking the men over, " These men tried to rob and murder us. And we're going to let them go on their way and give them weapons. Hmmph. Doesn't seem like a wise choice. Then again, how much do we have to fear from men that throw their weapons down so easily. Let's not waste any more time with them. Send them on their way and let's get on with this."

I'll leave a bit of time for everyone to contribute. The recent storm might have cut the Internet to some.

Sorin shrugs as he watches the his companions deal with the surrendered warriors. He really didn't care what happened to the men as long as they were not summarily executed.

Got through Sandy fine, just a little preoccupied the last few days.

Pavel harumphs, looking sour. It's easy for his friends to see it's just part of his tough-guy act, though. He pulls his torch away and addresses the raiders in Skald, jerking a thumb at Garand.

Skald:

He consults with Kelda as well, translating for Varisian-speakers.
"Whuh'what else do you know about Asvig, Kelda? Where's their Chuh'Chief live?"

"I don't know, but we can figure it out in Kalsgard!"

Dawn comes soon afterwards, and the caravan proceeds west, following the river.

Perception please.

Perception:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26

Perception 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

Over the next few days, the caravan slowly makes its way towards Kalsgard. You don't spot the bigger raven during the trip.

On the last night before arriving to the capital of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, Sandru takes a moment to recite an ancient account of Kalsgard:

“When the breath of wolves rushes down
From the spears of the north,
There’s no easy place
To find safety and warmth.

"Hunters huddle in caves like bears,
Families crouch like shadows around pitiful fires,
And sailors shiver until their black toes
Feel cold no more.

"But when one finds a warm spot,
A place to a make a bed
And life free from the killing cold,
He can’t keep his secret for long.

"Kalsgard is the worst-kept secret in the north,
And in droves they come
For riches, for safety,
For warmth and feed.

"Many find none of these,
For on the banks of the Rimeflow,
Men have walled out the killing cold,
But become dangerous wolves,
Born between ice and stone.”

Ameiko applauds at the end of the reciting: "Ah! Ah! Sounds like your kind of place Sandru!"

Shalelu frowns a bit: "Kalsgard is a big city... The metropolis of the North. We don't wish to attract attention. How should we proceed? What are our objectives? And where do we go next? Should we ask about a passage north?"

Feel free to roll appropriate knowledge.

Know: Geo 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20
Know: Local 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

"How old is that song Sandru? If anything I would imagine that the city has had plenty of time to grow even more bloated with people scrabbling to survive on the edge of the frozen wastes."

"Aren't we headed to Kalsgard to find someone with something Ameiko needs to know about? Some sword given over to a Ulfen fellow?", says Raith. "I'm here for what needs to be done to put Ameiko back in her rightful place. I'm not one for understanding such affairs."

Sandru looks at Sorin: "Beats me, but the city is as old as the world!"

"You said there was a Tuh'Tien Quarter, right? Pruh'Probably a good place to start: they had to get there suh'somehow."

"There isn't a Tien quarter per say, it is known as the Jade quarter. The other quarters are named after natural materials as well: Bone, Stone, Oak, Ivory, Horn, Amber, Ice and Fire. Bone is the poor quarter, Stone has the old quarries, Oak is in the east and is where the woodworkers are, Ivory is where the trading expeditions and voyages are organized and financed, Ice is where the daily market is located, Amber is the industrial quarter, and the Fire district has entertainment along the docks. Ulfen congregate in the Fire district, Tien in the Jade, and Varisians in the Bone and Ivory quarter."

"My suggestion is that we park the caravan in the Bone quarter and work to organize an expedition in the Ivory quarter. I know Sandru shouldn't have too much trouble with that. We should try and quarter someplace out of the way, such as the Stone or Oak quarter. That way those that may be seeking us will not find our charge in any of the normal locations such as Bone, Ivory or Jade."

"As we seek the sword, that Raith so kindly reminded me of, and it was last in Ulfen hands, we should be searching in the Ulfen districts for word of it. I imagine that there will be stories or rumors of such a blade floating around with the bards or Pathfinders. I might find something in any written histories that I am able to peruse as well."

Shalelu is impressed at Sorin's depth of knowledge: "That sounds like a great plan Sorin! I'm only worried about how best to keep Ameiko safe. If they spot us and we lead them back to her..."

"Can we disguise Ameiko?", says Raith.

"Do we know if they even know what she looks like? We haven't been referring to her by anything but her name, she isn't running around in any clothes that would distinguish her, and we haven't brought out that magical-item-that-we-are-not-talking-about to draw attention to us. While I cannot say what the crow-creature knows, unless there is some uncanny...never mind...I forgot that she is the only Tien female here." Sorin says, smacking himself on the forehead.

"Glad I didn't have to do it",says Raith. "That bird creature sent those Raiders, of that I'm sure. It's been watching us a while. Pretty certain it knows who it is looking for by now. If you had magic to make Ameiko look like Shalelu or the old woman, that would be ideal. But any disguise might help."

Ameiko chimes in: "I like the idea. It would allow me to walk the streets and participate in the search."

"While I like the idea of utilizing magic, it may not be the best answer in this case. The populace here is intolerant towards the use of magic...not a surprise with Irrisen so close. I would not put it past individuals to have ways of dispelling magic woven as wards, or in magical items. If an illusory glamour was removed from Ameiko at an inopportune time, the results could be dire. A mundane disguise would not necessarily raise the same violent reaction..."

Pavel, Garand and Izumi have been silent these past days. I'll let them chime in before moving on.

Ameiko nods at Sorin: "Right. And I should probably keep my Tien looks. The disguise will be easier to believe. There is my white strand of hair... It's quite distinguishable..."

Garand has no strong opinion either way regarding the plan. Other than a frown when Raith refers to Koya as 'the old woman,' he reacts to the discussion with typical Shoanti stoicism.

He does however keep an eye out for the raven, or some other less conspicuous creature, observing them. It will do little good to disguise Ameiko's features if their watcher sees them do it.

Perception check 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

"We should remain together, regardless. Our watcher appears to be able to change it's form to a raven. There is no reason to believe that it cannot also change it's form to Sandru, or Pavel, if it so desires, and return from Kalsgard in their place, if they go to purchase goods alone. Perhaps we should have some means of identifying each other, in case of such trickery. Could you magically mark us in some way, Sorin?"

Perhaps a prestidigitation 'tattoo' in an out of the way place?

"If the foe has been to Kalsgard ahead of us, it may have recruited more locals to be on the lookout for people asking questions and using Ameiko's family name, and most particularly in the Jade quarter, since anyone who has a vested interest in opposing her return would be a Tien, not an Ulfen."

"That's sensible. Some means of making sure we are who we are." says Raith, "Speaking of Ameiko's shock of white hair, the Raven has a red feather. Not sure if the raven is a man in disguise or maybe one of them bird creatures we fought back at Brinewall that can change it's shape. But that red feather may be something it can't hide. If you see someone with strange red hair, a red birthmark, or some other bit of outstanding red, that might be our bird."

Please roll Knowledge (local or arcane). Looks like we might have lost Izumi...

Knowledge (arcane) 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22