Game on
Da... almost forgot, dotink now
"I was told to 'dot' here. What does that even mean? The holy book doesn't mention it."
Coughing and spluttering Balthe pulls himself out of the water
Hello!
"If I keep losing ships, I'm never gonna make captain. " Nils comments at he drags the skiff ashore.
Walk up the beach is a Kellid. At a distance he is an imposing figure; 6’ 5” in four mirror armor, wearing a spangenhelm with a full face mask and a roughly made cold iron great sword resting gently on his shoulder in his left hand. As he gets closer, you notice the grime in the nooks and crannies of his armor and the smell; the odor of sweat, liquor, vomit and urine; that even a dip in the sea was not able to wash away. When he removes his helm his long black greasy stringy hair clings around his face to his three day shadow.
His most disconcerting feature is his eyes; both grey, the left eye normal in every way. The right eye; floats and twitches sporadically, the iris grey, but in the shape of a mountain and the pupil the silhouette of a great sword. It is not an evil eye; it is the eye of his Deity: Gorum.
He nods and smiles showing missing teeth, looking at the gnome, his left eye focused on GowWabber, his right eye floating and twitching and say
Da, book good comrade, paper better than leaves or grass for wipink
As he says it he reaches around behind himself with his right hand and mimes a wiping motion. Smiling, he then reaches out with the same hand and offers it to Gow Wabber and say
where are manners, Wulfgar is name
Nils! You made it! Good to hear! I am Balthe, you might remember me tossing you out of the bar on occasion.
Balthe greets the others
The sea, it is a savior to some and a cruel mistress to others. It has been the latter to the lot of you. You all boarded the "dark ship", Blackrose. You set sail to anywhere not named Canorus. Unfortunately, the sea had other plans for you. After a couple days, the sea got rough, fog rolled in as thick as grandma's pea soup and visibility was nil. The Blackrose crashed against low lying coral reef bed, tossing the crew; all possessions; and all passengers into the frigid cold water.
The five of you are lucky to be alive, most managed to scavenge for some of your gear but lost a great portion to the depths of the sea.
Nils, wakes first. His head pounding from the sun beating down on his body and the rough waters bruising him on the trek to the rocky beach he now resides on.
Wulfgar, Balthe and GowWabber are the next lucky ones to realize they are still for the mortal realm. The too have sore bodies and heads. Mother nature was both kind and evil. At least they were able to claim they had aches and pains.
The group awake and conscious look around for any other survivors. Nils spots bits of debris from the wreckage; part of the mast, portions of what you presume to be the hull. A Halfling stowaway, not so lucky. His body is bloated and there is no hope of the lad surviving. His clothes torn and tattered, the only possession on him a plain dagger.
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Nils, GowWabber, Wulfgar and Balthe; look around at their current situation after taking stock of themselves and posessions. You are on a rocky beach, waves crashing on the shore. Birds flying above, cawing at random intervals. A couple hundred feet in from the shore, trees can be seen. Along the beach, a lizard scurries from rock cluster to rock cluster.
Wulfgar hears the stocky man name himself Balthe as he greets the Ulfen named Nils.
tossing out of bars on occasion Wulfgar thinks for a minute Balthe must have worked in nicer bars, still my kind of people
After greeting the gnome Wulfgar approaches the two human, smiling his right eye is rolling in a counter –clockwise motion, pointing to the remains of the Blackrose
Greetinks comrades, I am Wulfgar, search wreckage shall we ?
yes let's.
Balthe reaches for his pack but finds it missing, he finds all he has left are a few pptions and some alchemical supplies left over from his brief foray into adventuring.
I sure hope we find something...
"Might as well see if we can scavenge something, but we will need to head inland and get to work on a shelter soon. We also have to find fresh water or surviving the wreck won't be much of a boon. "
if we take 20 on perception, I get 32 (unless shoreline counts at water, then I get +2).
Wulfgar, as he looks around, says
Da, comrade Nils, shelter good, is wood from boat, how you say? usable for buildink?
"Hey Wulfgar, I'm Gow-Wabber. Nice to meet you. Oh wait, you've wandered off...."
The back of the Gnome's shirt abruptly bulges unnaturally before a hawk emerges. It squawks at Gow-Wabber, who does the same. After a moment, the bird flies off toward the trees.
Where did that come from?
yeshche net, not wandered to far, little comrade
as Gow-Wabber births the squawking hawk, Wulfgars focus is drawn to the event, his rignt eye almost coming into focus. When the bird flies off Wulfgar looks a little disappointed.
Bringink lunch maybe I though, little comrade, do not be worried that get away it did, raptors not good eating anyway
"Huh? ... Oh, you mean Birdy NumNum. He's going to look for a good campsite. Don't worry, he'll be back soon." Gow-Wabber grins, pleased at his ability to be helpful.
Num Num, Da, good name for bird, taste like chicken? Hard to pluck, though. Dog taste better, Da?
Nils and Wulfgar search the beach for suitable shelter materials. The mast and remaining hull of the ship could be used to create a makeshift lean-to. It should keep some of the elements at bay. Nils finds a few items in the wreckage: a fine crafted dagger, a compass, a fine crafted crossbow, 10 crossbow bolts, a soaked cloak.
Gow-Wabber, causes a hawk to wriggle from his cloak. It is slightly water-logged, but otherwise no worse for wear. He tells it to roam the skies above in search of anyone or anything. About eight minutes later, the hawk returns and sqwaks a few times to let Gow know it noticed something of interest.
Bathe makes a point to help carry as much as he can, knowing there is little he can do other be muscley
Gow's familiar returns and sqwaks a few times in his ear. His brain decides the birds response, as it was nothing. He learns that there are predator animals just beyond the treeline (ie. wolves, tigers, panthers, etc)
"Hey, there's dangerous animals in the trees, so stick together when the time comes for woodland foraging." As Gow speaks, his eyes change color to a vibrant green. Also, the hawk vanishes up his sleeve with an audible 'sucking' sound.
Balthe quickly steps in front of the gnome and pulls out a potion of enlarge person.
Is there a enough space clear of the treeline, but also above the high tide mark to put a shelter? Something like a large rock would be good to set up against to keep any wind down.
Also handy if we need to climb atop the rock for safety.
Wulfgar looks on in wonder as the bird disappears up Gow-Wabber's sleeve
bird tell you about animals comrade? too important to eat it is, afraid be not
pointing to Balthe and himself
Balthe the bouncer and I will safe keep you
he then approaches Balthe and puts down his pack pulling out his crow bar offering it to Balthe he says
comrade I have knife or crowbar you may use, throw shot glass not at animals, we may find vodka Ha Ha Ha
I prefer these. Balthe holds out his hands.
Wulfgar shrugs and places the crowbar back in his pack, he then continues collecting wood and taking it toward the large rock that Nils had identified as a good place to build a lean-to. He places the larger boards, usable for building in one pile, and the smaller boards suitable for the fire in another.
he turns and asks Nils
comrade will signal-fire be built or just cookink fire?
A splash is heard near the wreckage. Soaked and bruised, another survivor climbs out and gets ashore.
He wore a battered, but well-crafted, studded leather armor and had a buckler strapped to his arm. He had a rapier, a whip and a few chakram hanging from his belt.
He looked around at the others and at what was left of the ship.
"I only awoke just now. Are there any others left? Is anyone injured?"
"Just a fire for warmth and cooking should be enough for now. With that fog out there, nobody would see a signal fire. "
to set up a proper shelter.
"We're gonna need fresh water. Can you send your bird out to look for that?"
wulfgar nods and builds a small fire, he sets up a tripod over the fire and gets out his cooking pot, he then pulls out his water skin.
comrades who gathers water? I will accompany
Balthe responds to Liam. Just us. Balthe will take 10 to aid in the contruction of a shelter.
Is there a enough space clear of the treeline, but also above the high tide mark to put a shelter? Something like a large rock would be good to set up against to keep any wind down.
Also handy if we need to climb atop the rock for safety.
Yes, there is enough room above high tide to make a shelter. No, there is no large rock to brace against the wind, but you do have the portion of the hull to use.
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With the combined efforts of Wulfgar and Nils, they manage to lug the remaining hull up the rocky beach, and create a makeshift barrier to protect themselves from the harsh environment.
This takes some time to do, day starts to fade into the night and the weather becomes cold. Nils grabs a few pieces of driftwood, and creates a fire. The night is long, but everyone manages to survive the worst of it thank to Wulfgar, Balrhe, and Nils wilderness survival skills.
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percep
climb
Balthe will search with the others and PPP up trees on occasion to help look
Wulfgar awakens, scratching and belching he goes around to the other side of the ruined hull turned shelter and relieves himself. Returning to the shelter he puts on his armor and pulling a large helping of jerked pork out of his pack he offers some to the rest of the party.
A few rations I have, Eat a little, comrades and we shall explore, da?
When the party is ready Wulfgar will follow Nils into the wild.
"Best if we keep any rations in case we need them since they keep. I bet we will be able to live off the land without too much trouble. "
Wulfgar belches and takes a large bite, chewing while he talks
suit yourself, more for the rest comrade, da
After introducing himself as Liam, he helped where he could with making the shelter, offering to use parts of his old tent if necessary.
In the morning he woke up, now fully realizing it wasn't just all a bad dream. At the mention of food, Liam looked through his backpack.
"I also have some rations if needed and I think Wulfgar is right. It's best we eat a bit now, so we have some much needed strength. For the rest we can live off the land."
Liam tucked his backpack in a nook of their shelter and followed the others, his whip in hand.
The group, sticks together for they know that splitting up with barely any gear would be a death wish. Nils walks on, keeping a keen eye on his surroundings. Balthe and Nils go trucking along through the wilderness. They both come upon a pile of downed trees Balthe, decides to go up an over; while Nils decides to go around.
Balthe gets to the apex and surveys his surroundings. Most of the landscape is trees, with his keen vision he can see what appears to be a cave or dwelling off in the distance to the northeast. He looks to the north, in from of Nils and sees some discoloration on the ground. He warns him that it looks different and to be careful. A few moments pass, and the ground crumbles where Blathe mentions, a natural sinkhole is seen. Nils was sure to step in it if it weren't for Blathe.
Rain starts to fall shortly after midday. The rain isn't suffocating, but it is unpleasant to travel in. Clouds obscure any traces of sunlight, the Forrest is getting colder quicker due to the rain. Is the group going to seek the premade shelter or make their own?
Wulfgar, happily following along, His greatsword resting on his shoulder and his spangenhelm hanging from his belt, he has a piece of jerky hanging from his mouth, occasionally gnawing on it. He looks around with his left eye, turning his head left to right to keep a good view, his right eye rolling and twitching. When Blathe points out the sinkhole Wulfgar slaps him on the back and says
Good eye bouncer Blathe, every pinch and pat barmaid endures you see, Da?
As the day passes and the weather turns uglier Wulfgar asks
Comrade Nils see cave did you? Why build when we can occupy Da? Perchance find bear, good eatink bear make fine borscht
"You just explained the reason it might not be so good an idea to go for the cave. Any good shelter which exists probably already has something living there. Though you are right we could use some fresh meat. Let's try the cave. I've fought bears before. "
If there is something there and we defeat it that would make us the alpha dogs of this area of the island. Let's do it.
"I've always wondered why the phrase is alpha DOGS instead of alpha CATS or alpha FISH or something. Common is such a strange language. But, yes, a cave would be a nice place to stay for a while. Very homey. Do you want Birdy to scout ahead?"
"Sounds like a plan to me."
as they head to the cave Wulfgar, his mood lightened with the idea of fighting something, contemplates the term "alpha dog" and asnwers Gow-Wabber, a light smile on his face and his right eye almost focused with his left.
comrade Gow-Wabber, phrase alph dog, is simple, da, it means first ingredient in proper borscht, Bwa Ha Ha Ha
Nils looks over at the little gnome with some measure of contempt. "Dogs are pack animals, cats are not. Alpha refers to the leader of the pack. No pack, no leader, no alpha. And I don't east borscht. Fermented herring though, now that is good eats. Not a bad idea to have the bird scout ahead. "
Gow and the others slosh through the wet forrest, towards the cave. A dry place with a fire sounds good to all involved. When a couple hundred paces from the cave, Gow has his feathery friend scout ahead. It circles above the cave entrance for a few minutes but nothing stirs, not even a mouse for the little guy.
The group heads towards the entrance and when everyone is about 30 paces out, it seems like they are not the only ones with the idea to get out of the rain. Across the forrest, on the opposite side of the cave is a pack of wolves. It is apropos that Wulfgar mentioned "alpha dogs", for they bear their teeth and let you know you are on their turf.
Liam looks across they way, and realizes that one wolf is bigger than the others. He thinks for a moment and realizes that the "alpha" in this pack is a Dire Wolf.
Init
Init tracker: round 1
Dire wolf: charge Wulfgar (AC -2)
Reg wolf 1: charge Balthe (AC -2)
Reg wolf 2: charge Balthe (AC -2)
Balthe: go (6 dam + prone)
Gow: go
Nils: go
Liam: go
Wulfgar: go
The wolves, seem to be slightly quicker to react than the adventurous group. The alpha wolf charges across the clearing and sets its sights on Wulfgar, while the lesser wolves go after Balthe. The dire wolf takes a mighty chomp at its potential meal, lucky for Wulfgar his armor protects against the mighty jaws. Balthe is not so lucky. The two lesser wolves both latch onto Balthe legs, and ripping him to the ground. He has a gash in his thigh, and ferocious jaws are salivating over him.
Toting a large hunk of timber from a mast around as a club, Nils will strike back at the big wolf.
rage, ranger focus, power attack
Bad dog!
69 /75 HP
Wulfgars right eye joins the left coming clearly into focus, he lifts the greatsword off of his shoulder and begins to laugh
Bwa Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Wufgar steps forward and attacks the nearest wolf