Misha also stays to look over the journal, taking her own notes in her journal -- for her she focuses more on locations, any maps and sketches, and anything in particular about Mount Moru (location, dangers, monsters). She also pays attention to items of note about the local tribes--phrases best used to talk to them, customs of note, etc.
If they were in the room at the same time, although Misha focuses on her work, she will occasionally natter on about this or that aspect of study or ruins-delving.
Redona tells Borris "Well... Sarenrae, The Dawnflower, is the goddess I serve. I want... I want to show the world at least a little bit of her light..."
After awhile, she excuses herself to go to bed for the night, telling Misha to wake her if they needed anything.
After the guard politely informs him that it was not him who was invited to see the Venture Captain after dinner, Dain could not help but feel a little sheepish. He gets back to the main room where most of the party was still present and jokes a bit on his own account.
With Sezira leaving, Dain can not help but notice - What a wonderful smell this elf lass is having. A bit of daffodil...and is that green pepper maybe? Very nice...
He gives a brief smile at Misha's quip about "spy work", but soon finds himself almost alone in the room, with everyone else going after their business.
"But, but all this good ale...Well, it's a shame for it to go to waste. I better help myself on it"
So Dain remains alone with his drink until late hours, making sure that he visits Misha and Josef on regular basis, bringing them food and beverages, and unsuccessfully trying to engage them in a conversation (they are both obviously focused on the diary).
After everyone except Dain left, Josef and Misha tell the person outside the door that they are ready, and to please ask Venture-Captain Thorn for the journal. He excuses himself and returns after a few minutes.
Mistress Misha, Master Josef, he begins. Captain Thorn has marked certain pages in the journal with red thread starting and green thread ending pages that are very personal to him and Master Fiall. He requests that you simple skip over them. He hands you the journal, and you see three red threads and three green threads in the book. Looking at it, out of perhaps a hundred pages, there is only ten or so total that are marked thusly.
Taking turns, reading the journal, Josef and Misha, with Dains help keeping them awake, manage to read the entire thing during the night, and take notes in their own journals. They even manage to get a couple of hours sleep each, but both of them, and Dain, look a bit bedraggled in the morning.
As the sun has risen, breakfast is brought into the room, and all the others except Sezira enter the room and break their fast with the two scholars and their "keep them awake" person.
After about thirty minutes, Venture-Captain Thorn, and Dale enter the room.
Gather up your gear, as it is time to go to the northern docks and for you to leave for Meadowvale. I see that Sezira will meet us there. Thorn says. Holding his hand out, The journal please. I trust that you have taken notes that provide you with sufficient information about Moru Country, its people and customs, so this first quest for many of you will provide fruitful.
When all are ready, he and Dale lead the way to the docks.
Geography and People of Moru Country;
Mainly a barren wasteland of broken hills and rocky plains with Mount Moru in the middle of it. Despite frequent rains, the land remains dry and desolate as though affected by some curse.
The population is about 10,000, mostly in scattered settlements, and the village of Meadowvale, and the Last Shrine (Temple of Iri). Besides the human tribal villages, there is a dwarven stronghold, orc bands, and goblin raiders.
There are also rumors of giants, dark elves, dragons and other sinister folk, especially near Mount Moru.
The Dragon Stone is the sacred monument of the Dragon Stone Clan. It is ten feet tall and has a dragon effigy carved on it. It is also covered in poems and writings sacred to the clan, however it is written in the Old Morudhain script..The Sacred Stones are fourteen monuments, similar to the Dragon Stone. Morudhain legends state that the stones were put here by the gods as a sign that this was Morudhain territory. The Morudhains see these stones as their rightful blessings and inescapable curse. The stones are covered with mysterious marks and grass never grows near them. No Morudhain will approach them under pains of terrible curses from the spirits.
Stonehold; The dwarves are reclusive and do not let folk in. Fiall tried to enter twice and was not allowed either time. He could not even get passed the guards on the trail outside of the fortress.
Haunted Lake; Fed from an underground spring that gushes forth from the side of the mountain, falls several hundred feet to a small pond, that then almost a thousand foot waterfall to the Lake.
History of Moru Country;
5000 year ago, barren, desolate place where nothing grew.
Then the early settlers came, barely evolved from cavemen.
3000 years ago, a mysterious civilization flourished, and its people were called Athans. Unknown if they were from the original Morudhain or outsiders. They enslaved the Morudhain.
The Athans worshiped dragons and it is said that the chief priest-king at the time cast a great spell to enslave a powerful demon to do their bidding. Their god, the Dragon Lord, answered their prayers and sent his own spawn, a creature formed of deepest evil, death and darkness called Nightwalker, a demon whose powers rivaled that of the mightiest gods of evil. The Athans battled this creature, but it slew almost all of the priest-kings before it was defeated. Tales are that it still resides in the mountain, asleep and defeated.
At this time a great Morudhain leader, Luedhain arose to fight the Athans, and the Athans were finally were driven into the mountain. It is said that an ancient city of the Athans, called Archaneroth still is inside the mountain, in ruins but there.
A score of years ago, the great matriarch of the Dragon Stone clan, Aedhaine, had a dream and she and one of her sons, Aogarn, learned all they could from the Dragon Stone, and started a new religion of the worship of dragons. Eventually they took almost 2000 of their folk, who had broken from the Dragon Stone Clan, and entered Mount Moru. Two winters past they have all disappeared.
Gods of the Morudhain;
Fiall writes about the gods of the Morudhain, especially about the Dragon Lord.
He also wrote about Iri of the Blessed Horn and the Last Shrine just outside of Meadowvale.
Rumors and Tales;
Drowned Bride; tale of a beautiful woman who was loved by a poet lad, who never spoke to her but wrote letters. She loved the letters, but the young poet was too shy to say anything. She flirted with other men, and he was despondent. He ran away and rumor is that he killed himself, and she went to the lake and it is also rumored she drowned herself in the lake. Local fishermen found her body in a white wedding dress and the poets body floating in the lake.
Borris dreams of his old sparring match with his Grandfather Pikrak of the Shundar-Quah glorious will be our battles when I finally master thunder and fang piki (As he called him from childhood) I will make you proud, Father won’t have to wait much longer Boris continues to dream into the future where he can smite evil with Earthbreaker and Klar in hand
Misha scribbles notes furiously, and pauses on a few areas, trying to remember if she knows anything more about them--and asks Josef if he knows anything either:
-- whether there are any other known phenomena of statues or monuments where grass refuses to grow around them
-- whether she has heard anything else about the Dragon Stone clan or the Morudhain from other sources
-- whether she has heard of the Dragon Lord, or if there are better known gods he might be an aspect of
===
WHEN DAIN comes in to check on them, Misha asks Dain, "Dain, have you ever heard of the dwarves of Stonehold?"
===
Also, at some point in the evening, Misha looks with great temptation at the forbidden areas marked with the red and green thread. Clever, she thinks, probably fragile enough that it would be easy to see if someone had opened the pages there. Part of her wants to respect Thorn's privacy--doubtless at least some of the passages were about personal matters and had no bearing on their venture. Another part of her desperately wanted to know the knowledge being kept from her--no knowledge should be kept from HER, that was just unfair!
She does not touch the marked passages, although she does study them, wondering if she might be dexterous enough to open the passages without disturbing the thread.
She is not being subtle about staring at the threaded areas, and Josef is likely to notice her look of obvious longing if he looks up at her.
|
The extent of Joseph's conversation during the night consists of snippets of recently read information, barely parsed instructions, and doggerel rhythms recorded in the journal.
He fastidiously avoids the "personal areas" marked out by the red & green strings, and looks disfavorably on Misha when she appears ready to try to read them despite their instructions.
Every hour or so, he takes a break for some quick physical exercise. Push-ups, jumping-jacks, or other simple repetitive motions occupy Joseph for 10 minutes or so, before he returns to the journal refreshed and ready to study.
intelligence to recall particular details when requested, without consulting his notes.
Dragon Lord, not completely sure, but you remember hearing something somewhere that it may be connected to Rovagug
Arriving at the northern docks in the city, you see Sezira waiting for you at the entrance to them.
Greetings Sezira, please come with us and I will take you all to your ride upriver. He leads you to a keelboat, that is fifteen feet wide and almost fifty feet long. It sits shallow in the water, and the deck is open to the air, except for a small shack at the stern of the boat. You can see a hatch, that must cover the below decks storage area of the boat.
A lanky man, dressed in dirty work clothes, comes out to meet Thorn. Well met Cap'n. I see ye brought the landlubbers wit ye. Hope none of them git sick on the trip upriver. the man says.Turning to you all I be Cap'n Jones, lads and lassies. We be taken a twenty day ride up the river, n' I'll drop ye off with yer guide.
Thorn nods at him, and turns to the group. I wish you well. Remember why you joined the Pathfinders. Seeking knowledge, and reporting back to the Lodge what you have learned and found is paramount.. He starts to leave, and turns back to continue, I choose each of you for a specific reason. Play to your strengths, and remember your heritage. He then leaves the docks.
Lets go, lads and lassies. Time to head out, and Cap'n Jones shoos you onto the boat, settles you and the mule in for the ride, and within thirty minutes his four crewmen are polling their way upriver. Once underway, he comes to you all, We anchor in the middle of the river at night, so orces and other critters won't bother us, usually. However, as me men do the polling all day long, you will need to keep watch at night, just in case. Set yerselfs up and let me know. The shack at the back of the boat is the galley. Below decks is where the stores are kept. Cap'n Thorn let me know ye would be bringing a mule, so I have feed for it. Breakfast right after the sunrises, and dinner just before it sets.Do ye have any questions? and he waits expectantly.
The chiding look from Josef is enough to dissuade Misha from tampering with the journal. She sticks to the allowed parts only.
Misha, with one hand on the mule's harness, slowly coaxes the mule toward the boat. She shakes her head when asked for any questions.
No question's yet, they may come on the way Borris smiles I am eager to be on our way and test my resolve against evil foes
I hope this journey doesn’t take too long thinks Borris exited
Forgotten at breakfast by the good meal we were served Borris puts his attention towards Misha and Josef. Asking very curious and polite
Did the two of you discover something of interest?
Something we all could use or pay attention to.
Rikar strides eagerly aboard the keelboat, looking around with interest, as it is far larger than any vessel he has travelled on. He looks out at the river bank passing by and, laying a hand absent-mindedly on Goma's head and pulling gently on the dog's ear, Rikar thinks, Will this river take me to her? Will I find her at last? Or will I float right by her while I watch for her on one bank and she passes on the other? Ah, well, at least I’m doing something worthwhile now if I cannot find Noemi.
He gestures with his hand for Goma to stay by his side, then turns to Captain Jones and says ”Thank you for taking us, I look forward to the trip. Twenty days watching you and your your men work could make a man soft – I’d be happy to take a regular shift poling, if you’ll show me how it’s done. And is there somewhere we could use for sparring practice that we won’t be in the way? There are a few of us who’d like to move a bit during the trip, and a fight gets the blood moving, even a pretend one.”
Arr. Watch me men for a day, and ifen ye think ye can handle it, ye can let me men take a bit o' a rest during the day. As fer sparing, why waste time play fighting. But if ye want, to the side of the galley should work for ye. Cap'n Jones responds.
Dain is absolutely delighted by Rikar's proposals: "Aye my Shoanti-friend, you do have a point. I'd be willing to help as long as it does not require some prior sailing knowledge. And any kind of exercise, I mean sparring, could only help. As for the watches throughout the night, I can take the first shift. Or any other shift really, just to have something to do. Of course, my eyes and ears are not as good as with you pointy-ears (elves), but no way an orc could swim by me unseen or unheard."
Sezira pulls her cloak over her head as she approaches the others and resits her backpack to a more comfortable position.
"Goodmorning Venture Captain. Goodmorning everyone. I hope we all had a restful sleep. It sounded like it could have been a question.
"How was the dinner last night?"
"Any new insights from the journal?"
She asks any of the party that listening in an attempt to make up from not being there last night.
When the captain is introduced she nods, and again at Thorns admonition.
She offers gladly to be part of the night watch.
"Where do we sleep?"
Ye sleep on deck, missy. This ain't no special cruise, Cap'n Jones replies.
"Of course my good captain. I am very grateful to be able to share this trip with you. I will be standing watch every night so that nothing unfortunate befalls us. Mistress Shalan at your service."
She heads towards the front of the boat to watch as they leave the port.
|
|
"Venture-Captain Thorn, thank you for this opportunity. I shall endeavor to make you and the Society proud."
Josef stores his gear out of the way (on top of the galley roof, maybe) before touring the boat. Anyone who watches him closely realizes he is pacing the length, breadth, and perimeter of the vessel, mouthing as he counts his steps.
Rejoining his team shortly after, "We found lots of interesting information in the Venture-Captain's journal. How much is pertinent I cannot say. When we sit down for dinner, I can give you all a better report."
Doing a pull-up and leg-roll onto the galley roof, Josef says, "I'm gonna grab some quick shut-eye while we head out. Someone wake me in a couple of hours, please. "
On talk of the journal, Misha turns to Dain. "Oh yes, I was going to ask you, Dain. I realize it's a little unlikely since the only connection you might have is that you're a dwarf, but have you ever heard of Stonehold?"
Redona wakes up early the next morning, gathering her things into a large bag after getting dressed. She smiles happily as she looks out her window, excited to finally be going on an adventure. "Sarenrae, please guide our journey and keep us safe." she prays aloud before leaving to go find the Venture-Captain. She hoists up her rather heavy bag, which contains her personal belongings including things liker her armor, but not belongings that won't fit, like her spear. She quickly finds her group and waves 'hi' to Misha and Borris, who were rather nice to her the day before.
But... what if it rains? she wonders when the man informs the group where they'll be sleeping. it's going to take a long time to get there... she pulls her robe's hood over her head and finds a place to set her things, looking around obviously very interested in the boat. She's never been on one.
When the journal is mentioned, she listens for information, but since they decide to talk about it later, she instead goes and leans on the boat's railing and looks at the river's water. Finally, she goes and joins Misha as she asks the dwarf her question, smiling pleasantly and still looking quite interested in the activities of her new friends.
|
|
To all, around dinner time, assuming nothing untoward happens.
"This is what I recall easily. There may be more details still locked in my memory, but I won't know that until something prompts me to recall it."
Geography and People of Moru Country:
The population is about 10,000, mostly in scattered settlements, and the village of Meadowvale, and the Last Shrine (Temple of Iri). Besides the human tribal villages, there is a dwarven stronghold, orc bands, and goblin raiders.
There are also rumors of giants, dark elves, dragons and other sinister folk, especially near Mount Moru.
The Dragon Stone is the sacred monument of the Dragon Stone Clan. It is ten feet tall and has a dragon effigy carved on it. It is also covered in poems and writings sacred to the clan, however it is written in the Old Morudhain script..The Sacred Stones are fourteen monuments, similar to the Dragon Stone. Morudhain legends state that the stones were put here by the gods as a sign that this was Morudhain territory. The Morudhains see these stones as their rightful blessings and inescapable curse. The stones are covered with mysterious marks and grass never grows near them. No Morudhain will approach them under pains of terrible curses from the spirits.
Stonehold:
Haunted Lake; Fed from an underground spring that gushes forth from the side of the mountain, falls several hundred feet to a small pond, that then almost a thousand foot waterfall to the Lake.
History of Moru Country:
5000 year ago, barren, desolate place where nothing grew.
Then the early settlers came, barely evolved from cavemen.
3000 years ago, a mysterious civilization flourished, and its people were called Athans. Unknown if they were from the original Morudhain or outsiders. They enslaved the Morudhain.
The Athans worshiped dragons and it is said that the chief priest-king at the time cast a great spell to enslave a powerful demon to do their bidding. Their god, the Dragon Lord, answered their prayers and sent his own spawn, a creature formed of deepest evil, death and darkness called Nightwalker, a demon whose powers rivaled that of the mightiest gods of evil. The Athans battled this creature, but it slew almost all of the priest-kings before it was defeated. Tales are that it still resides in the mountain, asleep and defeated.
At this time a great Morudhain leader, Luedhain arose to fight the Athans, and the Athans were finally were driven into the mountain. It is said that an ancient city of the Athans, called Archaneroth still is inside the mountain, in ruins but there.
A score of years ago, the great matriarch of the Dragon Stone clan, Aedhaine, had a dream and she and one of her sons, Aogarn, learned all they could from the Dragon Stone, and started a new religion of the worship of dragons. Eventually they took almost 2000 of their folk, who had broken from the Dragon Stone Clan, and entered Mount Moru. Two winters past they have all disappeared.
Gods of the Morudhain
Fiall writes about the gods of the Morudhain, especially about the Dragon Lord.
He also wrote about Iri of the Blessed Horn and the Last Shrine just outside of Meadowvale.
Rumors and Tales
Drowned Bride; tale of a beautiful woman who was loved by a poet lad, who never spoke to her but wrote letters. She loved the letters, but the young poet was too shy to say anything. She flirted with other men, and he was despondent. He ran away and rumor is that he killed himself, and she went to the lake and it is also rumored she drowned herself in the lake. Local fishermen found her body in a white wedding dress and the poets body floating in the lake.
Misha smiles at Redona, giving her a wave back. She was glad to see the shy priestess was starting to warm to the party.
===
At dinnertime, Misha adds to Josef's notes, "I'm pretty sure I've seen in one tome or two that the 'Dragon Lord' is possibly another name for Rovagug. Which fits the lore we've seen here."
Gazing out over the water as they finally began this mission officially. Sezira's mind went back to when her own journey first began. Before she came here. Before she left her home. It was when her father first taught her to detect the truthfulness of others.
"Sezira watch their eyes when they talk to you. Do they make eye contact with you?"
He taught her everything she knew about people, and now she would have to learn about a new land, peoples and customs with only her own guidance and perhaps these pathfinders she was journeying with. They seemed to be deserving of some trust so far.
The young one, Redona I think, seems careful, or scared. Misha is an interesting character, the way she asked after my 'spy work', she likes to get in others business. But confident, probably been doing it for years. The dwarf Dain seems wiser than some dwarves, though gruff. I could find myself enjoying drinks with him. Though I'm not sure if that's because we are the odd ones out right now. The others I didn't get enough on, but I have plenty of time....
During dinner, Redona listens to what Josef has to say. He seems like a well-educated man, much like Misha seemed to her as well. She enjoyed learning, but she was aware that outside her obvious field of expertise she wasn't the most educated person.
"Did you find anything else out, Misha?" she asked quietly after she listened to Josef. She was curious if there was anything more, or if that was all the two of them had learned together.
When Borris notices looking over to the others he thinks. This is a cunning one and quite attractive I wonder where she was all night Hey Sezira how fruitful was your trip? Anything we need to be concerned about? [/b]
When hearing the information from Josef and Misha Borris tries to absorb as much as his limited brain could handle I really like the fighting part more!! Good thing I have a nice big hammer that they don’t have I’ll prove my worth grandfather!!
She smiled and turned her head towards Borris who had walked up beside her.
"Unfortunately I have no inside information for you. The one you may have seen waiting with me was my dear brother."
She turned back to face the water and pulled back her hood now that they were out of the port and to enjoy the breeze on her face.
"How long have you been away from wherever you call home Borris?"
She looks at him again to gauge his reaction. The wind wips her hair out and into her face. It doesn't seem to bother her at all.
Misha shakes her head at Redona. "Josef covered the bulk of what we both found. I think we can get a different perspective when we get there and ask some locals."
She leans back, stretching a little. She was stiff from poring over the books all night. "And it's a long way to go from there. How shall we keep ourselves entertained?"
A bit suprize by the question Borris realized he didnt realy answer fast wondering if his heart was not where his boddy was. My father is Alaric Livestrom High paladin and our mansion is close to the royal Palice. But i never realy called anny place Home, the warm embrace of the traditions of my Grandfather a chieftan of one of the lost shoanti tribes. this is where my heart lies Borris tried to explain almost convincing himself that he didnt feel at home anywhere.Father i do intend to follow you just not yet!
"Oh..." the young priestess sounds slightly disappointed that Misha didn't have more. It seemed like so little to go off of. But then she perked up slightly. The Society's books are packed with adventures that started on less than that! she thought to herself.
"...well, I'm sure we can work with that, with all of the scholars in our group." she smiles.
Misha spread her hands. "Well... there were some passages we were asked not to read. I managed not to let my curiosity get the better of me, but hopefully we were not denied anything we needed to know. My understanding is they were more personal notes, and I can understand the captain's hesitance in letting us read something like that. I wonder how close friends they were..." Misha waggles her eyebrows, but then shrugs.
She smiled broadly. "But yes, I am already filling my journal with notes, and after all this is an expedition for discovery. We'd miss the point if we already knew what we needed to know!"
and after all this is an expedition for discovery. We'd miss the point if we already knew what we needed to know!"[/b]
Rikar smiles broadly and says "Now that's a fine way to look at the world! I think I will enjoy seeing where your curiosity takes us, Misha. It's a fascinating world out there, especially when nothing's trying to eat you. Though that can be pretty interesting too."
Borris calls out to Rikar how about some practice I would like to give the hammer some practice and I need a target. Borris smiles
On talk of the journal, Misha turns to Dain. "Oh yes, I was going to ask you, Dain. I realize it's a little unlikely since the only connection you might have is that you're a dwarf, but have you ever heard of Stonehold?"
"Heard of it? Aye lass, I did hear of it. Bit the extent of what I know of Stonehold is even less than what Josef already told us of that place. Sorry, but I have spent good part of my days in and out Varisia, so there is very little that I know of Moru. Sometimes I wish that I have spent more time reading, but then again I love the foundry. I love the smell of fire melting iron, transforming it into steel. I love the feel of a good hammer in my hand, bending metal to my will. Just seeing it move slowly, strike by strike, sweat dropping from my brow and my muscles pumping like crazy, I get a good feeling in my stomach."
Dain raises his strange looking weapon, a great dwarven longhammer with a very long haft decorated in ornate carvings. Obviously a heavy-headed bludgeoning weapon, it had several holes drilled in it. With some amount of pride, Dain shows his weapon: "I created this one meself. Maybe not the best work in the world, and it is obvious I still have a lots to learn, but this is what I do. This is what I love"
Borris calls out to Rikar how about some practice I would like to give the hammer some practice and I need a target. Borris smiles
Rikar's smile grows even broader at this suggestion and he replies "That's a fine idea. I can wrap my sword so it won't cut you, how will you keep from killing me with that hammer? I guess I'll just have to hit you first, eh? The captain said we could use the space to one side of the galley, should give us plenty of room - though I think I'll shed my armor, in case I decide to take a quick swim."
Rikar pulls off his faded leather surcoat and shrugs himself out of his chain shirt, placing both neatly by his other belongings and leaving only a light cotton shirt on his upper body. From his pack he pulls a long leather strip that he fits around his sword blade and ties it in place with a set of thongs attached to it.
Turning back to Borris, he says, "Ready when you are."
Sezira turns to watch the practise. I has been some time since she actually had to fight. Her kind of fighting was quite different, though she preferred to spar for practise without weapons.
if a litle blood scares you we probably shouldnt sparr borris smiles it shouldnt be a problem to stop to strike trough when you obviously have a chance to maim or kill jou just tap on the body part you are able to hit undefended
Rikar assumes a low, almost catlike stance on the deck, his long-bladed sword gripped in two fists and held horizontally across his body. His eyes bright with anticipation, he replies to Borris "I've seen my own blood, and that of others, many times and it holds no fear for me. But cutting and bashing each other to pieces for our amusement will do our mission little good. And being dead won't give you much hope of living up to those dreams of your grandfather I've heard about. So a tap rather than a strike it is. Why don't you get your armor off and we'll get started?"
Borris takes his armor off and takes up the hammer with both hands when wielding it he keeps trying to one hand it but it’s just won’t work ha can wield it almost in 1 hand but the fines he has with another one-handed weapon is lacking so he grips it with two hands most of the time.
For me it’s is more of a training but my Grandfather Actually wielded this great hammer in 1 hand and the Klar you see there in the other. if you don’t mind I’ll be trying to wield my hammer in 1 hand as long as I can and we can do a second match where I wield my longsword and Klar so i can practice that too.
Borris gets ready and when Rikar nods he is ready he moves in and swings his hammer from upper left towards Rikar’s torso.
attack:
Rikar smiles broadly and says "Now that's a fine way to look at the world! I think I will enjoy seeing where your curiosity takes us, Misha. It's a fascinating world out there, especially when nothing's trying to eat you. Though that can be pretty interesting too."
Misha laughs. "Thank you! I like to see where my curiosity takes me too. And it's all the better if something's trying to eat you, gets the blood pumping!"
When Borris and Rikar spar, she sits back and watches, clapping whenever one or the other gets a good hit.
Borris obviously lost a bit of his grip trying to wield the hammer 1handed and borris avoided the hit with ease ugh doese Borris cry out when missing his target.
Rikar watches Borris awkwardly lift his hammer one-handed and attempt to strike with it. He scarcely needs to move to avoid the blow, and Borris leaves himself open to Rikar's counter-attack. Rikar brings his blade down in an overhand cut, slowing his swing just in time to thump Borris on the shoulder, in a strike that would have cut him deeply in a true battle.
"You'll forgive me if I use my sword the way it was made to be used, I hope." Rikar says, chuckling a little as he enjoys the mock fight.
Borris obviously annoyed by the comment and maybe even by the hurt in his pride swings the hammer from left to right while lunging forward
Take this you tattooed baboon then Borris smiles in his charge.
Again missing his target Borris gets frustrated and grips the hammer with both hands now
Rikar laughs at Borris' comment, neatly sidestepping his charging attack with the hammer at the same moment. Sweeping his sword from side to side, Rikar says "You have been away from the Shoanti life too long, friend. It has made you soft. And slow."
With this, he sweeps his sword in a lightning-fast arc and brings it to an abrupt halt with the blade resting against Borris' ribs. He draws back quickly and grins as he says "You would be dead by now, and then some, in a real fight."
Borris with 2 hands on the hammer makes another swing from high to low trying to corner Rikar Take THIS
HAH! A taste of your own medicine! Borris hits Rikar on the shoulder with the side of the hammer only scratching his ear.
Borris finally gets his sea legs finding solid footing.
Rikar is surprised by how much more effectively Borris can wield his hammer with two hands, and takes a solid blow to the shoulder. He makes a quick lunge while leaping backwards and fails to connect.
Borris finds his confidence again and charges hammer first towards Rikar
when he is close to Rikar he puts the top of the hammer forward and nudges Rikar with it checking if he didn’t hurt him badly he smiles I did not say I master Thunder and Fang yet but this practice really is helping
Rikar grunts quietly as the second strike takes him in the gut. He raises his sword between himself and his opponent to give himself space and says "You do learn quickly! Now watch carefully."
Rikar weaves his sword back and forth between himself and Borris, moving it rapidly despite its size. He swings the blade up, as if to strike again from above, but continues the circular swing and chops low and hard, taking Borris just below the knee with a powerful strike and dropping him flat on his back on the deck.
He laughs heartily and says "A fine match, well fought! I take it you're not hurt?" and extends a hand to pull Borris to his feet.
Borris a got the wind knocked out of him but no real damage is done he laughingly disregards Rikar’s hand, I’ll teach you some!! He puts the hammer down straps the Klar on his arm and unsheathes his longsword.
Congratz! let’s get this over with I need to work on 2 hand coordination! Let’s show him a bit of thunder and fang!
If Rikar agrees open spoiler!
2 weapon fighting with longsword and Klar
Longsword
Klar
Damage longsword
Damage Klar
no luck with the rolls!! :-)
After a few days traveling upriver, the trip becomes just boring. The crew, polling during the day, with breaks from the group. Letting down anchor at night, and keeping watch. Borris and Rikar spar most every day, with everyone else watching on. Routine, boring routine.
At the end of twenty days, Cap'n Jones announces, Well lads and lassies, that be as fer as this old tub will go. At best, I could bring you upriver a bit more, but with the lack of rain, this river be more mud than water, and ye will travel faster on land than the half day further I might be able to make. Dale agrees and with his help, you all leave the boat. Extra rations are packed onto Misha' mule, and you proceed further northeast.
About half a day of traveling, you come to where Dale points out, his would have been where we should have been dropped off, but as you can see, it is mostly mud. His boat never would have made it. He looks around, at the edge of the mountains that you will be in and warns, from now on, take care and keep a good watch around. Orcs from the Hold of Belkzen have been known to come this far into Varisia on raiding parties. While it is still early in the season, we need to be careful.
Borris:
Dain:
Josef:
Misha:
Redona:
Rikar:
Sezira:
Borris:
Dain:
Josef:
Misha:
Redona:
Rikar:
Sezira:
After two days of travel, only Misha seems to still be alert, when she shouts Orcs, behind those trees! and she points to some scrub trees just to the side of the trail, about 30 feet away.
Borris Charges drawing his earthbreaker atacking orc 3 from square d10