Ailetha nods in agreement:
Yup, if they took over the fort and have fortified it, I doubt that the six of us would be able to do much. A siege on the other hand would be quite effective. We all know that ogres eat and eat and eat. It will not take a very long siege before they are crawling out one by one looking for food.
Bluff:
The myor takes the offered wine and joins the toast
Peace and prosperity it shall be.
Oh, that's a good wine!
I'm really sorry, but I can't tell you much about the ancient history of these lands...yet I do know somebody who does...north of Fort Rannick is the Valley of Broken Trees. There you find my most unlikely ally: Razmus the Reaver. He's a hill giant ranger who has always fought the Graul, but he is also a collector of nearly everything and I know that he has some very old books about the history of Hook Mountain there...I guess he can help you. But beware, even though he is one of our allies, he is stilla hill giant.
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Vale looks at the sky again
It was there, only five minutes ago - maybe 30 feet long, a snake-like body and mostly invisible. Only the rain made it visible...uh the ogres..ok: I think there were about a dozen of them, but I don't know anything about their tactics, I can't explain how they were able to enter the fort...Magnimar? I doubt they will be able to send troops so late in the year...soon the snowfalls will start and Turtleback Ferry will be isolated from the outside world.
"That's their problem. We need a map of the fort, and any other information. Weaknesses, entry points, all that. Can you provide it or not? Magnimar will thank you for it"
Bluff - Cajoling him along, whilst we are still patient enough to remain nice.
"Perhaps you could show us just where on a map?"
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Vale looks a moment longer at the sky and then shakes his head
Plans, maps? Mhm...I could try to draw some from memory - but I can't guarantee that they'll be correct. Get me some ink and parchment and I'll see what I can do.
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Maelin Shreed nods and opens a large chest next to the fireplace. He takes an old parchment out and places it on the table
right here, just north of Fort Rannick.
Maelin Shreed nods and opens a large chest next to the fireplace. He takes an old parchment out and places it on the table.
Right here, just north of Fort Rannick.
Celestra takes another sip of wine and leans over looking carefully at the map.
"Very nice map! This is exactly what we were looking for, Maelin! I cannot thank you enough for this information! May we keep this map?" Turning to Alana, Celestra says, "Even though this will help us get there, we will still have to figure out how to negotiate with this Razmus character. I wonder what we can offer a giant to sweeten his pot? I wonder if he likes ale?"
Maelin grins and hands you the map
Besides his open-mindedness towards humans, Razmus is the archetypical hill giant. He loves all kinds of roasts, ale, jewellery...
"Besides his open-mindedness towards humans, Razmus is the archetypical hill giant. He loves all kinds of roasts, ale, jewellery..."
"Well at least we have that going for us! I can brew him up a keg for the start of our talks."
Celesra stays with Alana and finishes their wine in a civilized conversation. When at last the wine is finished, Celestra bids farewell to the mayor and departs with Alana.
"Thank you again, Mayor Shreed! We will have to do this again sometime. Until that day, fare thee well!"
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Celestra returns to the Turtle Parlor hanging onto Alana's side. Once inside she sits down with her companions and orders another glass of wine. With a wide grin on her face she says, "Good day, my friends. How is everybody today?"
Alana thanks the Mayor for the map and offers to pay for it as well.
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KArlan sidles up to the barman and orders a drink. Not entirely sure how to begin he simply blurts out what he's after. "So how many casino survivors have died violent deaths in the past few weeks?"
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No no, you don't have to pay for it - just give it back to me when you return - that would be invaluable!
Mayor Shreed says and leads you to the door.
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The barkeep gives Karlan a "what the hell?" look and replies
How do you know that?
"Just an educated guess until you told me." KArlan says with a small smirk into his cup. "But given all I've seen the past, particularly in MAgnimar, my guess is most if not all the casino survivors are huddling in their respective homes or trying to grow eyes in the back of their heads."
The barkeep throws the piece of cloth he uses for cleaning the tankards away in frustration
Too true...but those who tried to hide are already dead...I guess because they were alone...oh and there were Wilbur and Garret...their house burnt down while they were inside...hiding...that counts too, eh? I have a freakin' bad feeling about this all, so maybe you shed some light and tell me everything you know about "what happened in Magnimar"?
Harry gets Vale his ink and parchment, quietly looking to Ailetha and then to the sky questioningly.
While Vale draws, Harry continues his banter, "So why do you reckon your fellow Ranger friends were so keen to head off ahead of any reinforcements, all alone and in such a hurry? Doesn't seem sensible does it?"
Ailetha continues to watch Vale:
You are telling me that a mere dozen ogres took over a fort which had stood for nigh on two centuries? The had support, we both know that. What else do you recall? Was there any magic? Other monsters? Powerful weapons?
Did they breach the gate? Or just appear within the fort?
Ailetha is starting to get a little frustrated as rangers are supposed to be watchful and aware of what is around them, even novice rangers.
Vales takes ink and parchment and begins to draw
Ha! I'm not a great artist, but I think I can come up with something...uh...and here...yeah, looks about right!
Vale says at last and presents: Map of the fort
In a hurry? Well Jakardros is obsessed by the idea of retaking the fort...don't count on his sanity in that matter, hah.
Mhm? Other monsters, magic? I don't know, we were patrolling when it happened. When we returned, they ambushed us before we could get a good look of the fort.
Celestra looks over Vale's shoulder and when he presents the map, she asks, "So what is kept in that crypt there to the left? There sure are a lot of secret passages that lead that way."
Ailetha looks at the map.
What is this concealed entrance under the waterfall?
"Interesting, wonder if having such an easy side door helped the Ogres take the fort".
"Butchery. A killer was slaughtering wealthy people with bad reputations. Ritual killings where he would slaughter his victim and carve that symbol you had etched on your arm. CAme to sandpoint where he was finally caught. But their was a conspiracy behind him and as you can imagine it was never really found out just how big or how far it went. Suddenly I find myself here where a bunch of yahoos drunk off their minds and gambling to their hearts content decided to get an interesting tattoo just before the lot of them are drowned, eaten, or burned to death. And come to find out it's like having the mark of death upon you and soon some ogres have moved in and people are being hunted down one by one. Then just to exasperate matters the local rangers have all but been wiped out."
The barkeep grows paler by the minute as you retell the happenings in Sandpoint and Magnimar...unconsciously he rubs his skin where the tattoo is and replies
...shit...ok, how can it be removed?
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Vale hesitates, but then shakes his head
The secret entrance underneath the waterfall is not passable for the ogres, even a human has to squeeze through...I bet they don't even know about its existence.
"That's lucky, the forces from Magnimar will want to know of this, you have been a great help, I expect the fort will be retaken after a few weeks when the reinforcements arrive."
nless Ailetha has any more questions, Harry lets the fellow go.
Ailetha looks straight into Vale's eyes: It would be best that nobody else knows of the information you have provided for us. If the ogres know Magnimar is sending troops and have time to prepare, it could be very messy for . . . everyone. AND we don't want that do we Mr. Vale.
Bluff:
Intimidate:
Marek listens in on the conversion, his lips tightly sealed so as to not damage the delicate web of secrets the mercenaries spun. He peeks over the map, committing it to memory as closely as possible and working diligently on a copy.
Might I ask what kind of "aeries" you refer to at this point, ranger Vale? Also, which way is north?
Vale seems a bit lost and hesitates before he answers
Uh...but it's too close to Winter for Magnimar to send troops! Either we do that on our own or we rally the people from Turtleback Ferry.
Then he looks at Marek and starts to explain
The aeries are the homes of the giant eagles of Hook Mountain. They are long-term allies of the rangers. North? Here, upper left corner of the map is north I think.
His curiosity picked, the outsider follows through:
Might they be persuaded to help on the situation, considering your long-time alliance?
I fear they fought side by side with those who were at the fort when the Grauls attacked... Vale says quietly.
"That's unlucky..."
...
Vale looks at Harry but does not say a word...
Alana returns and takes a seat near the others. She sees that Vale has drawn some sort of map, so she looks at it quietly for a moment and then up to the others waiting to hear what the others have uncovered.
"Hello everyone!" Celestra greets everyone pleasantly. "We're back and we have a lead on a contact that may be able to help us find what we are looking for. He goes by the name of Razmus the Reaver. I can show you where he lives on a map, but I hope you have all taken your etiquette lessons, because this is going to be a challenge in diplomacy. The problem is not his name or where he lives. The problem is that he is an archetypical hill giant!"
"And we have a map and some answers about how the Magnimarian re-inforcements can enter the fort, in a month or so..."
"Vale you have been a great help, go fetch yourself a few Ales, just tell 'em Harry will pick up the tab"
Karlan shrugs. "I don't think that would do much good at this point. I did mention the symbol was "carved" into the victims right? Really the only way to handle the problem is to face it down. There's what, nearly a hundred men here with knowledge of the woods and skill with bow and trap? That's an army in some parts of the continent."
"Vale you have been a great help, go fetch yourself a few Ales, just tell 'em Harry will pick up the tab"
"Could you be a darling, and pick me up one as well, dear!" Celestra chimes in.
Once Vale gets up and leaves the table, Celestra quickly slides the map across the table to Harry."Mayor Shreed has lent us this map and told us that Razmus is very knowledgable about the ancient history of these lands. He lives just north of Fort Rannick right here." Celestra whispers as she points on the map. "So tell me quickly, can we trust Vale yet, or should I be watching my words carefully?"
Ailetha looks at Celestra and quietly says: Considering that we have no idea who is on which side, watch your words with everyone.
"I don't trust any bastard in this town, the only ones I'd trust with more than a copper piece was the crew I rolled in here with, with the exception of that Ranger woman hanging on our aft. Notice she's not here either, haven't seen trace of her since we've been back, pretty unusual for a know it all ranger not to notice our return, then again, noticing things doesn't seem to be these Rangers strong suit"
"We can stick to our tale of going hunting for something while we await passage to Magnimar, try keep these villagers well and truly in the dark"
Vale nods and walks over to Karlan and the barkeep and orders a round of ale.
As Vale aproaches, the barkeep looks at him and says to Karlan
We had an army when the Black Arrows were still at Fort Rannick...now they're all dead...
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Vale won't be away forever, so you should make a decision rather quick :)
"We leave as soon as possible to go see this Giant, we just stick to our story of a bit of sightseeing and maybe some hunting before we board a ship to Magnimar to go get reinforcements. Anyone we find following us once we leave is probably an enemy, so we can place an ambush on the trail to catch any some ways down the trail"
"The problem may not be a real problem, but the giant lives north of the fort. Should we stop by and see lies within Fort Rannick first?"
"I'd prefer not to move to the fort unless we are assaulting it as the more signs of passage we leave, the more likely they will work out our plan, or even catch us red-handed and force our hand to attack in a manner not of our choosing"
"Very well. Let's do it! Will that map be enough for you to guide us around the fort and get us to Razmus?"
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"I'm hoping it isn't too hard to find a Giant walking around with teh aid of a half decent map and Thumpers nose, otherwise Thumper and I need to talk man to hound about his laziness"
"Well, if Thumber starts digging up bones, then we'll know he's only got food on his mind."
"Both master and hound have similar instincts I admit, so that might well be a problem" Harry laughs. "Let's get those ales washing our bellies and then head out eh?"
"Let's get those ales washing our bellies and then head out eh?"
"Agreed!" Celestra replies as she gets up, pats Harry on the back and walks over to help Vale with the ale.
"Let me help you with those," she says as she grabs a few tankards in each of her hands. "We sure are lucky to have such a nice place to enjoy ourselves and give Cayden Cailean a toast before we head out into Graul country, wouldn't you say, my friend?"
Ailetha nods as the ale is brought and loudly raises her mug in a toast: To a successful scouting mission, hunting big game and to a return to the City of Monuments.
"...and a return of fine ale and wenches on tap! The sooner we arrive in that alabaster city the better!"