Shayliss Vinder is the daughter of Ven Vinder, the owner of the large warehouse (SM 26). I heard Shayliss was rather "easy" but honestly, she is pretty and the other girls might just be jealous.
Anyway, I'll meet you tomorrow morning at the "Goblin Squash Stables" (SM 38). I already spkoe to Daviren Hosk, the owner of the stables and bought a horse for each of you. Until then, enjoy your shrimps gentlemen.
Aldern departs and you enjoy your meal for the rest of the evening.
One of the things people who have not grown up by the sea hardly get used to is the immense speed with which the weather changes. Heavy clouds hang above Sandpoint and the sun is mostly obscured today. Yet the rain stays over the Gulf and you don't expect to get wet feet in the forest.
Without Gerlick you all meet at the Goblin Squash Stables, a long white building with about two dozen horse boxes. Above the entrance is a colourful sign showing a goblin being stomped on by a massive warhorse.
Aldern is already there and his face mirrors an expression of disgust. As you approach, he walks over to you
'Morning Harry, ready for a hunt?
"A good day for hunting no doubt Mr Aldern, well not so much the hunting, but the drinks in the tavern and the laughs later while we try to dry out by the fire, drinking tall ales and telling taller tales"
Harry maintains his upbeat airs, not letting a small thing like the rain dampen his enthusiasm.
Ever cheerful Karlan smiles broadly."A little damnpness won't bother me. To be honest I'm more concerned about the horses..."
"Sir Karlan I am pretty sure they are waterproof, more so than the last ship I was on I'd wager"
"Sir Karlan I am pretty sure they are waterproof, more so than the last ship I was on I'd wager"
"It's not that. Well, I just hate horses."
"It's not that. Well, I just hate horses."
"Well I suppose we could just let you spear a couple of those, bit of a short hunt though after all the lead up and preparation"
"Hadn't had the joy of conversing with that many of them myself to see if I might also form a hatred, not many of them around Riddleport in the alleys, but they day is still fresh eh?'
"They're all over Lastwall." Karlan said. "They smell, they're ill tempered, they're unpredictable, they kick you to death as soon as look at you. I mean their brain is smaller than either mine or yours yet they probably weigh more than all of us combined in a single animal."
Karlan shook his head. "It's just not right."
Harry roars with laughter
"Sir Karlan, I think you just summed up the Overlords law enforcers in Riddleport!"
Aldern eyeballs Karlan with a mixture of surprise and puzzlement
Aren't you a knight? I mean does the term "knight" not include "sits upon a horse, can wield a lance, is a good rider"?
Anyway, here are the horses I bought for you, of course you can keep them afterwards.
Aldern whistles and two stable boys bring your horses to the front of the stable. They all look sturdy and healthy, while not very fast...With a fluid move Aldern mounts his horse and trots some metres north.
Mr. Kanyk, I think you're taking the lead?
Harry falls in behind the leaders, keen to see how this whole hunting caper is supposed to work.
"Indeed, though I'm not much needed until we reach the wood. We are simply following the coast road for a couple of miles."
Kanyk vaults onto his horse and trots out ahead of the group, leading them out of the town and along the coast road. He keeps his horse to a fast trot as they covered the few miles to the Tickwood, watching the clouds shift and darken out over the sea.
"You'd think so wouldn't you? I mean there's certainly enough big armored guys on horseback using ridiculously long lances to run people down but..." As Karlan spoke he gingerly placed one foot in a stirrup and stiffly lifted himself up, placing one leg over the horse he found himself sitting and looking at the horses rear. Muttering he slowly corrected his action until he was facing the right way. "There are people who also think that knighthood is soemthing only nobles can attain but myself and at least two others who've shared that information with me come from common stock. Knighthood is defined by how you live." KArlan said matter of factly. "Not by the trappings of tradition."
Nieve finds himself quite admiring the horse he's been allowed to borrow, though he keeps quiet during the conversation. Elyn is packed tightly into a ball underneath Nieve's shirt, which is no longer the extravagant multi-coloured one-sleeved shirt. He is dressed in a light brown tunic and similar trousers and his hair is no longer braided.
The Lost Coast Road is a well kept broad cobblestone road. Even though you only travel two miles on it, you meet several wanderers and small wagons. The Lost Coast really seems to be a thriving place. The road leads you through small foothills, but the Gulf stays visible to the north all the while.
You leave the road at the western end of the Tickwood. A deciduous forest with large oaks, beeches and birches and nearly devoid of underwood: A perfact place for a hunt.
The forest is humming with life and the calls of jaybirds, bluethroats and woodpeckers echo through the trees.
During your ride Aldern keeps the conversation up
Ser Karlan, Golarion was a worse place if birth would determine our later fate. Even the Foxgloves weren't noble when Cheliax was young...but Harry, you surely have the blood of a nobleman running through your veins! You're strong, handsome, courageous, in short: the perfect leader!
Nieve smiles, almost mischievously. "Someone appears to have a crush on you, Mr. Harry."
The song of birds makes him feel all fuzzy and warm inside; the area around Sandpoint is a sight. He strokes through the horse's mane.
As they draw to a stop on the verges of the the Tickwood Kanyk climbs down off his mount and hands it's reins to Nieve.
"As we've no dogs to pick up the scent of any nearby boar I'll go a little ahead of the group and see if I can find any signs of them before we scare them away deeper into the woods with the horses."
He moves a ways away from the group before beginning to examine the forest floor for the signs that any boar had passed through the area recently. He covered the ground methodically, looking for the torn up earth caused by a foraging pig or the tell tale two toed footprints they left behind.
...but Harry, you surely have the blood of a nobleman running through your veins! You're strong, handsome, courageous, in short: the perfect leader!
Harry bursts out laughing a deep rich laugh of almost weeping amusement.
"Nobleman? Too kind Mr Aldern, my bloodline is about as pure as a bowl of porridge""I'll heartily agree with the other points though, if you don't mind"
At Kanyks mention of Dogs...
"Thumper was trained as a Tracker first and guard second, a great way to catch fleeing men trying to escape their debts hiding outside Riddleport..and he needs the practice after that Goblin incident!"
Thumper
Aid Another: Tracking V DC10
Karlan kept to himself while the trackers tracked absnetmindedly whistling the goblins tune.
With the aid of Thumper, Kanyk is able to find some boar tracks very close to the road which lead to the east into the forest proper.
As Kanyk points to the heart of the forest, Aldern remarks
Thumper is a good dog, hardly in the forest and already found some game! Let's advance!
You leave your horses bound to a tree stump and follow the tracks. It takes about two hours until Kanyk raises his right hand signalling everyone to halt.
You spot a group of five boars about 110 ft away from you.
@ Gerlick:
Together with Naffer you spend the morning with cleaning the tombstones, at some point Naffer asks thoughtfully
Gerlick, do you believe in redemption?
Stopping momentarily Gerlick looks up into the sky. "Honestly? I am not sure. I think some people can redeem themselves, and others cannot. Why do you ask?"
Naffer sweeps sweat from his forehead, follows your gaze to the sky and says
I hope I can...I mean, some years ago, around the same time of the year, I stood on a Korvosan marketsquare, fixed by a pair of hellknights to a block...people were screaming and then the hot pain as they chopped my hand off...and now, today, I'm working at the temple graveyard...Gerlick do you think I'm already redeemed?
Gerlick glances at the stump, and then seems to think for a moment. "Are you redeemed.... I would say in the eyes of the gods, most likely. The universe is in a balance, good and evil, right and wrong. By losing your hand you balanced your act. I assume since then you have done no other wrongs?" Gerlick grins slightly. "Now whether or not you yourself feel redeemed for what you had done? That is a different story."
Naffer laughs mockingly
I do, I paid dearly for being a cutpurse...I wonder if Jervis Stoot will ever find some kind of salvation...wherever he now is. Souls are immortal Gerlick, aren't they?
Gerlicks nods. "Souls are indeed immortal, and when you die your soul will go to the realm that whatever god you venerate rules over. There you will spend the rest of eternity with your god." Gerlick frowns a bit after saying this. "I of course am not going to be that lucky. I don't even know where I will end up. You will be fine though Naffer."
Kanyk carefully pulls a tapered wooden staff and a small packet of waxed paper from his pack and strings his longbow. He pulls an arrow from his quiver and whispers to the group as he draws back his arm.
"Boar 100ft ahead, don't think I can sneak around them so I'm going to make a noise them over the other side of them to spook'em toward us. Might want to spread out a bit."
He releases the arrow and sends it arcing above the boar to land with a crash in the leafmold on the other side of them.
"Be careful, Mr. Kanyk."
Nieve is careful to keep behind the others as the half-orc rushes off for the diversion - he's not here to hunt.
@ The hunters:
Alarmed by the arrow the boars start to charge into your direction!
Initiative Order:
Kanyk
Boars (resolved)
Karlan
Harry
Nieve
@ Gerlick:
Good to know, but why don't you know where you will end up? he looks profoundly confused Don't you have a god you worship?
Watching the boars stampeding towards them, Nieve attempts to guide the horse away. "Please be careful. I...I don't want to see any of you hurt."
You leave your horses bound to a tree stump and follow the tracks.
You leave your horses bound to a tree stump and follow the tracks.
Kanyk draws another arrow and sends it whistling toward the lead boar. He then drops his bow behind him and pulls his boar spear from his pack and crouches ready for their prey's charge.
Gerlick shakes his head. "Unlike priests of a temple my powers were given to me by several gods, and are a mystery even to myself. Furthermore while I am acutely aware of the gods existence....I hate them. And they hate me. Its a mutual thing, so because of that I have no idea what will happen when I die." Gerlick continues with his cleaning while speaking.
@ Gerlick:
They hate you, yet still grant you the power to cast spells?! Hey, next time you speak to them, tell them I'd also do your job, but without the hate part, heh. he goes on cleaning and makes some more mocky comments, but then his voice becomes more serious But Gerlick, what happens to those souls no god wants? Those of murderers and lunatics?
@ Gerlick:
Before you can answer, Father Abstalar enters the cemetary and strolls over to you
Ah, enough hard work, you two must be hungry, I brought lunch for you.
He places a basket with smoked fish, fruits, bread and a bottle of wine between you.
Now, what were you speaking of?
Naffer is quick to answer
I was just about to tell Gerlick the story of Jervis Stoot, Father.
Abstalar furrows his brows
Really? Isn't it too early for such creepy stories Naffer?
You notice an admonishing tone in Father Abstalar's voice.
Hastily Naffer replies
You're right Father.
Abstalar nods and wanders off, checking the grave of Ezekiel Tobyn.
Gerlick's eyes narrow at the fathers comments. "Go ahead Naffer, I would love to hear this story. I don't scare easily either." Gerlick watches the father intently, and then sighs. "Oh, and as far as granting me power goes? They sorta stuffed power in me, and it grows on its own. They have nothing to do with me beyond that. And you don't want my job, cause it comes with this lovely face!"
Karlan sees the boards running and quickly takes his own shot at the lead boar to help bring down the beast.
Than dropping the bow he quickly readied his shield and reached for his sword.
@ Gerlick:
Father Abstalar shakes his head and while leaving mutters Siome things are better to remain unsaid...
Naffer watches him go, then takes out the bottle of wine and takes a deep gulp.
It's quite a long story, but I'll try to cut it short:
Sandpoint has never been a stranger to crime, or even to murder. Once or twice a year, passions flared, robberies went bad, jealousy grew too much to bear, or one too many drinks were drunk, and someone would end up dead, like always when alot of humans live together, eh? But then, about five years ago, the body count suddenly began to mount and the town had no idea how to react.
Sandpoint's sheriff at the time was a no-nonsense man named Casp Avertin, a retired city watch officer from Magnimar, yet even he was ill-prepared for the murderer who came to be known as Chopper. Over the course of one long winter month, every few days brought a new victim to light. Each was found in the same terrible state, bodies bearing deep cutting wounds to the neck and torso, with both hands and feet severed and stacked nearby and the eyes and tongue missing entirely, plucked crudely from the head.
Over the course of that terrible month, Chopper claimed 25 victims. His uncanny knack at eluding traps and pursuit quickly wore on the town guard, taking particular toll on Sheriff Avertin, who increasingly took to drinking. Many believe that he even took to beating his wife and daughter, and that, in its own way, may have been the genesis of the Sandpoint Fire. In any event, Sheriff Avertin himself became Chopper's last victim, slain when he finally caught the killer mutilating his latest victim in the side street that would come to be known as Chopper's Alley. Yet in the battle that followed, Avertin managed a telling blow against the murderer. When the town guard found the sheriff dead with another victim several minutes later, they were able to follow the bloody trail left by the killer.
A trail that led straight to the stairs of Stoot's Rock, the prominent stone outcropping just north of the Old Light.
At first, the town guard refused to believe the implications, and feared that Chopper had come to claim poor Jervis Stoot as his 26th victim. Yet what the guards found in the modest home atop the isle, and in the larger complex of rooms that had been carved into the bedrock below, left no room for doubt. Jervis Stoot and Chopper were the same, and the eyes and tongues of all 25 victims were found in a horrific altar to a birdlike demon whose name none dared speak aloud. Stoot himself was found dead at the base of the altar, having plucked his own eyes and tongue loose for a final offering. The guards collapsed the entrance to the chambers, burned Stoot's house, tore down the stairs, and tried to forget. Stoot himself was burned on the beach in a pyre, his ashes then blessed and then scattered in an attempt to stave off an unholy return of his evil spirit from beyond the grave. In the months to follow, Sandpoint did its best to forget the terror, although even today, children who remember the dark times only five years ago sometimes wake with nightmare visions of Chopper hiding under their beds.
The funny thing is, Jervis was always very popular among the sandpointians. He was a great artist could carve wonderful bird figures from the tiniest peice of wood and it was counted as a blessing when he chose one's house to decorate it with a wooden bird. Maybe you have already noticed the strange polished parts at some wooden house? That's where once a Jervis' bird was...The people even made the isle habitable for him, heh...quite cynical, isn't it? Now, what god will take his soul?
Rd 2:
Kanyk (resolved)
Boars (resolved)
Karlan
Harry (resolved)
Aldern (resolved)
Nieve
While Harry and Thumper skirt the boars on the south, Kanyk's arrow misses but Karlan's hits its mark. The onrushing boar jumps right into Kanyk's spear, ignores the hot pain and tries to bring its tusks in!
The titanic charge misses the ranger just barely.
The other boars attack Kanyk, Harry and Thumper
Obviously the party is already defending its ground, Harry moves to a vital spot enabling Thumper and Kanyk flanking and strikes back:
But both miss!
Aldern meanwhile draws his shortsword and runs past Nieve to attack the boars from behind.
Maybe the death of the heavily injured lead boar can turn the tide!
During the story, Gerlick's face is unreadable. At the end of the story, Gerlick ponders for a moment, and then finally speaks. "Not all gods are good Naffer. One of the evil ones is most likely the owner of that soul."
Kanyk roars in pain as the second boar's tusks rip into his thigh. He yanks his spear free from the animal he had impaled and rams it straight back down through it's body with all his strength.
"Mr. Kanyk!"
Nieve immediately begins to weave his fingers together, muttering a hurried spell under his breath. A pearl of energy forms betwixt his palms, and he throws it forward, past the boars and the wounded half-orc. It explodes in a wave of exhausting energy.
Please work...
Surprised by the ferocity of the boars Karlan steps in wiyj sword and shield swinging. Stumbling he flails weakly instead.
Nope.
Rd 3:
Kanyk (resolved)
Boars (resolved)
Karlan
Harry (resolved)
Aldern (resolved)
Nieve
Nieve's clever spell sends two of the beasts to lala-land, while Kanyk is able to finish the leading boar...but then, the ferocity of the beast keeps it alive even though it suffered a mortal wound (ferocity ability).
The other two animals reach a state of frenzy and hack wildly at Harry and Thumper
Both wounded, Harry and Thumper try to retaliate.
but their strength dwindling they are not able to score a hit.