Pent moves up on the suddenly-at-a-loss-for-words merchant, almost stepping in the piddlespot. "Oooo, uh, yeah. Listen, I'm talking pretty at you, least you could do is ignore the fella over there ignoring you and your fuss over here. See the craftsman gets paid now, and you'll not have to worry about the jump distance of rare scorpions. Unless you want to argue with fairness? I'm sure councilman Mahdi could be compelled to hear your side of things more intimately. But he'd have to get closer."
Snapped from his distraction by being directly addressed, the merchant does his best to cover his embarrassment. Quickly retrieves coin and pays the merchant before muttering to the group.
"Fine. Here's the payment. I'll be waiting near the stables for feed and the fixed wagon to be delivered. I'll be watching to be sure you don't try to rob me of anything else."
As the merchant hurries away, the larger man counts the coin and seems satisfied. He does his best to cover his laughter as he speaks to Pent.
"Thank you for your help. Payment is fair and I assure you that I will do as the merchant has asked. Whispering now and between you and me, thank your friend for showing mister money pouch there that there are worse things in the wilds than being delayed from his afternoon meal."
The wheel is in place on the wagon in quick order. As the man hops onto the wagon and guides the horses toward the stable, he gives the group a wave. He nods slightly toward Ami and smiles broadly in Mahdi's direction, though he doesn't seem to think his smile is seen.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The gnome strolls over to Mahdi, wiggling his finger. "Made the man ruin a perfectly fine pair of underwear, you mad man, you. You made swift work of the reconciliation, and for that, you have my thanks. And you cleared the bridge, so let's clear out!" Pent takes to the bridge, enjoying the river's run below. With the recent inspiration, he artificially imposes Aldi's stride on himself, dropping his drawers for a moment, and arcing an addition to the waters below. Once relieved, he redrawers himself, and joins the others.
"Where to?"
Perception (Ami)
Perception (Yeen)
Neither Ami nor Yeen see anything of interest.
Ami, still on Yeen, is happy to proceed and follow Kul or Aldebert wherever things may lead.
The gnome was useful there. *And* he mostly kept his underwear on. Well done.
As the group makes its way across the bridge the heat begins to penetrate the clouds. The road beyond the bridge is clear and seems to only have seen the traveler you just passed. Marks in the road remain were the wagon began to falter from the wheel that eventually broke. To your right there is the Mill and to the left is the Tannery. An older man and what appears to be his son stand outside the Mill, pointing at its far wall. Both seem perplexed at whatever it is they are looking at. Though the boy is excited, a hint of concern seems to be on the older man's face.
Ami and Yeen desire to run...to run and run, covering the desert as they scout. Ami keeps his own yearnings in check, trying to work with his slowly moving, two-footed brother.
Ami looks over at the mill, wondering what the commotion on the far wall might be about.
Perception
If his initial glance isn't enough, he and Yeen will outride to the far side, circling at a safe distance to see what might be on the other side.
Perception rolls:
Mahdi (normal)
Aldebert
Pent (low-light)
Kul (normal)
Yeenoghu attends to The One's mood, slothing along with the others, but it is sooo slow. A shadow passes to the left. Yeen bounds after it, trying it trap it like a cricket beneath his paws, but when he lifts them, it isn't there.
The gnome strolls over to Mahdi, wiggling his finger. "Made the man ruin a perfectly fine pair of underwear, you mad man, you. You made swift work of the reconciliation, and for that, you have my thanks. And you cleared the bridge, so let's clear out!"
Mahdi shrugs and examines his fingernails with false modesty. "It was quicker than lighting the far side of the bridge on fire," he jokes. Probably he jokes, anyway. "Whooo's a good little Sa'aam? Is it yoouu? Is it you, my poisonous little darling?"
****
Later...
He slows to a stop a second time, cursing another distraction beneath his breath, but when he takes a closer look, the firemage frowns.
"There's markings on the mill wall... and unless the youth hereabouts perform their mischief with blood, I would say it might be more than some simple prank."
Staff out, Mahdi strides that away, calling out to the two figures as he approaches.
"Peace on you! What troubles you on a day when all should be cheering the liberation of Kelmarene?"
The boy becomes suddenly shy, which the older man seems to take a bit of joy in. He slowly approaches, more out of tiredness than any assumed danger about the new comer.
"Freedom indeed. You see there seems to be a bit of a mystery surrounding a bit of drawing on the side of the Mill wall here. Whispering just loudly enough so Mahdi can hear There was a time not long ago when a gnoll made markings on the surrounding buildings More loudly I've never seen anything like these."
Mahdi, Knowledge (religion): , Perception:
Pent strides up to get a better look at the markings, hoping to see something truly worthy of artistic appreciation.
"Ah yeah... definitely a poor attempt at a duck. Got the feathers all wrong." Pent moves closer to the boy and old man.
"How long you reckon these have been rendered longsides this building?"
The old man laughs a bit before responding.
"I only just noticed them this morning."
Pent nods, then turns to the others. "Not much of a tracker myself, but I don't like the idea of gnolls in the surrounds, now that we've settled into Kelmarane properly. Perhaps this is a gnoll of a different sort, marking its territory crudely. Ami, you think Yeen could sniff around a bit?" Pent looks to the sky for a moment, remembering the harpy, Undrella, all foul and feathers. Should be interesting to see if they well and truly leave her alone to her devices, once the town becomes a center of worldly travel.
Kul examines the gnoll markings on the wall ().
Squatting, he then examines the animal tracks:
Looking at Pent, Kul pushes his hair out of his sweating face and says, "I may be able to help with tracking these animals. They appear to have gone this way."
Pent sparks to Kul's offer. "Ooooo, yeah! You're way more dogged than Yeen!! Have at, and we shall follow you as the hounds follow the fox!"
Kul can easily follow the tracks. They lead away from the Mill toward a rocky mound that can be seen not so far in the distance.
"Well done Kul - good eye."
Aldebert follows the most capable tracker into the rocks.
Ami nods at Pent when the gnome requests some snuffling.
Upon the gnome's request, Ami and Yeen will outride about 100 feet away and encircle the mill, looking for interesting tracks coming or going.
Take 10 Survival = 17. (Ami)
If he finds nothing new, Ami will follow Kul into the rocks, equally curious and ready for gnolls.
"Guys, do you know anything about a floating head? I found this piece of paper stuck in the bricks.", Kul says as he offers the paper to any who wishes to see it.
As we move on, Kul splits his attention between the tracks in front of him and Amiamble out front. Confident Ami is on the same trail, he picks up his pace.
As the group approaches the rocky mound a pair of eagles perched atop the mound can be seen. They seem intently focused on a small opening in the mound.
Mahdi frowns at the ritualistic nature of the markings, rubbing at his chin.
He takes the note when Kul proffers it-- reads it aloud to the others-- and makes a vague 'hmphing' noise.
He follows in thoughtful silence as Kul acts as a human bloodhound. Soon enough they reach the mound with its avian guardians. Sa'amm scurries further into Mahdi's robes, having no love of large birds of prey.
"Don't be a coward," Mahdi mutters. More loudly he says, "Birds such as eagles hunt snakes and rodents-- my guess is they've holed some sort of vermin in there..."
As the group reaches the mound, the distant sound of squeaking rodents can be heard. Moments later rats emerge from the opening, pursed by a snake. The snake is decidedly larger than would be expected. Seeing their prey flushed out of the hole, the eagles quickly descend. Just as suddenly as they emerged, the rats begin crawling on everyone present. Hungry as they are the snake and eagles attack the rats and those present in the process.
Initiative:
Mahdi
Aldebert
Pent
Amiamble (with Yeenoghu)
Kul
Round One: Ami (& Yeen) & Mahdi now acting.
Pent makes several 'thp thp thp' sounds, as he points his crossbow at the eagles. As long as the eagles are normal-sized, Pent has his ease on approach.
"'Floating head', you say? Well, when you're floating, like on a boat, then 'the head' is the pisspooper, or the poopisser if you're from southern waters. Seeing as we have no other ships around here, other than the floating ship that really begs further attention in the mists below the abandoned temple of Nethys, then I don't think the paper is talking about anything seaworthy."
Pent scratches his beard, and flicks away the wicking sweat.
"'Floating head', huh. The only floating, er flying, thing we know of is Undrella, and Aldi's all about her eventually betraying us, but I'd have written 'breasts' rather than 'head', since that's the most striking thing about her, especially if I was even interested in telling someone about my betrayal on paper, because it would explain not only what but why it was possible to betray me in the first place. Yeh, two whys, pretty well-shaped, and at eye-level. I can see them losing their focus, sure, yeah, uh..." Pent scrunches his brows, not convinced of his hypothesis.
"'Floating head', right. Yeah, I got nothing particularly insightful to lend to this speculation. Must be the heat. So, if the head floats, we shoot it. If the head is attached to the body while it floats, we shoot it. If the head spews root beer while it floats, we catch the root beer first, quench our thirst, then shoot it, with regrets for the fact that root beer is hard to come by in these parts."
Round 1
Mahdi's brows draw together sharply as vermin and pests spill out of the little crevice. More rats? He frowns, then--
--hm. Well, that's interesting.
"The rats aren't real," Mahdi says casually to the others. "Though... who would create a swarm of illusionary rats... I wonder if someone's hiding in that little hole."
He decides to focus on the snake... and maybe the eagles, if they get in his way.
Mahdi decides to focus on the snake-- he steps within twenty feet of the writhing reptile, points, and buuuurns.
Reflex: , 2nd round DMG: .
The snake is hit by the full force of the flame as it hones in on a rat.
Round 1, Init 19
Will save (Yeen)
Ami grumbles as the rats jump to his leg, swinging his slingstaff at the nearest bunch.
to hit;
damage.
"ICK!!"
Yeen, confused by Ami's attack at nothing, begins to back up, carrying his confused rider away from the invisible attackers. Yeen backs slowly, sniffing and snuffling, trying to locate the hidden foe that Ami swings at.
Round 1, Init 7
Kul draws his Falchion as he runs towards the snake, ignoring the illusions around him. He spring attacks, positioning himself to the right side of the snake, so that he and Aldebert can eventually maneuver into a flank.
"Mahdi, what's going on? Who would create these illusions?"
"If I knew precisely I would have volunteered further information," Mahdi says while blowing a stream of smoke off his fingertip. "I posit someone might be inside that little cubbyhole-- perhaps one of the small creatures like a kobold or something-- throwing illusion spells out, but I really couldn't say. The snake, I believe, is real. As are the eagles."
The eagles swoop down, one goes for rats around Pent, bearing it's talons and sharp beak ( (), ) ()). The other does the same, but seems interested in the illusory rodents on Kul ( (miss), ) (DMG: )). Meanwhile the snake lashes out at Mahdi with it's sharp fangs (, DMG: , Fort 13 Sv against poison, ). In a flash Kul strikes down the snake, leaving it in two pieces at Mahdi's feet.
Round: 1, Initiative: 4
Weapon Equipped = Guisarme
Conditions = None
Smite Evil = 2/2 (+2 attack, +4 damage, +2 AC)
Lay on Hands = 4/4 (2d6 healing +1d6 if not fatigued)
Spells (caster level 1, concentration +3)
1) Hero's Defiance
”Good eye Mahdi, good eye. So the rats are illusory? Excellent!”
Aldebert readies an attack on an eagle should one get within reach (He can also 5’ step as part of the ready and has a 10’ reach).
Round 1, Init Too Low To Be Toodled
AC = 13
HP = 25/30
Weapon Equipped = Light Crossbow
Condition(s) = Mildly peeved at being attacked
Spells = All, save the Lesser Restoration
Pent takes offense at being attacked, seeing as he was only pretending to shoot at the birds earlier. Well, he shoots now, and what a mighty shoot it is.
Pent studies the rat swirls only in passing, trying to understand why illusion is suddenly amongst them.
"Gah!" Mahdi yelps at the snake's fangs get past his defenses. Owww--
Pent's shot hits one of the eagles solidly, it returns to its perch atop the the rock. As the other eagle flies within Aldebert's reach it too is hit solidly. The second eagle barely makes it back to it's perch.
Ami hisses to his brother.
"Brother, there is an evil wizard to the other side of this mound, I'm sure of it." Ami points with his staff.
Round: 2, Initiative: 4
Aldebert, concerned for Mahdi's rather serious injuries, offers him a potion of lessor restoration, which he has handy for just such an occasion.
"You should get your own as well. In fact, we should really get scrolls of the stuff now that I can cast it myself. Save a few coin that way."
He then heeds his brothers advice, and carefully examines behind the mound, weapon first...
Mahdi looks a little woozy as he stares down at the relatively small wound the snake had managed to inflict on his hand. The skin is swelling around the injection site, and Mahdi has a seat on the dirt as he feels suddenly dizzy and out of breath.
When Aldebert offers him the potion, Mahdi looks up blearily. "...I... Mnh. Yes. Thank you. That... I suppose I get overconfident about poisonous creatures, with Sa'aam around so much..."
He uncorks the bottle with fumbling fingers and drinks deeply.
He still feels a bit fuzzy around the edges, but the potion helped. Mahdi nods his brusque thanks and gets back to his feet, then brushes off his robes of desert dirt.
He hunts for a small rock on the dry earth-- finds one-- and with a word causes it to flare with red, fire-hued light. Rather irritably due to the annoyance of a snake having actually BIT him, Mahdi chucks the pebble into the foot-wide hole in the mound, to shed some light on the subject.
The red hued light reveals a single rat, which begins to slowly crawl toward the opening toward Mahdi.
"One more rat," Mahdi frowns. "This one... miiight be real."
He murmurs a spell to look for magic as well, and backs away from the emerging rat. It's beneath him to duel with a single rodent. Or he's slightly creeped out as to why the rat would come towards him. One of the two.
Pent loads another bolt, fixated on the bolt still sticking out of the perched eagle. "It still has my bolt. What are the odds of me retrieving the one if I shoot the other? Rather, what are the odds of me retrieving both the bolts if I shoot another?" Pent takes aim at the eagle, and fires again.
"That'll do it! I'm sure of it!! Hey, Aldi, would you mind gettin' those two back for me? I'm injured."
The illusory rats make their way back into the mound. Of the two eagles, one flies away. The other doesn't look like it will be ready to do much of anything anytime soon. Pent's shot easily downs the injured eagle.
"Come brother, we hunt!"
Ami, trusting Aldebert to follow him, spurs Yeen to round the mound, looking for any foes that might need the offer of Sarenrae's redemptive choice: repentance or the sword.
Perception
"There's magic here and above the mound!" Mahdi calls as a warning, as one half of the halfing duo of doom starts scampering off. "If you would wait a moment!"
He feels he says that a lot to his colleagues.
Pent strains to see which eagle had his first bolt flowering from its side. He starts to make worried noises as he fears he may only be able to retrieve a single bolt.
"So help me, Sarah, if I shot and all I get is half a chance to take back the single bolt I shot, I'm going to be quite upset with myself, because I could have just as easily took a bolt out, waved it menacingly at the bird, then loaded it, ensuring that the bolt was in my possession, none the wiser, without the risk of fowl shots. So all I'm praying is that I just shot the bird with the bolt. I should be so lucky, eh?"
If there are no further hostilities, Pent closes the distance with the avian boltcushion.
Kul waits for an enemy to show itself, prepared to spring into action with his Falchion once he has a target.