Richard unties the rope from the door. He places it over the opening. He points to the desk. That will secure it. Grelda and Jolis, if you'll help move the desk over the door? Careful of the lamp. He looks over to Lera, but he can barely see her eyes in the ever darkening room. Actually, Jolis will be doing the negotiation. I'm sorry that wasn't clear.
As they put the heavy desk in place, Richard lights the lantern. He looks around and coils up the rope. He looks up at the next floor. Richard was well aware that there were a total set of four tracks that they followed. Grelda, I'll need your eyes to see if the other two will be joining us.
Handing the lamp to Lera, He heads up the second set of stairs, carefully.
Seeing the need for more light, Vitranna illuminates the second floor area with her Dancing Lights cantrip, wondering what Richard has up his sleeve for these monsters.
She then monitors the impromptu barrier, her spear ready in both hands.
Actually, Jolis will be doing the negotiation. I'm sorry that wasn't clear.
Jolis's eyes flash at Richard. "Oh! Now you tell me!"
Looking around at everyone, Jolis second-guesses the idea, "Are we sure we want to escort 3 otyughs to Junk Village?!"
It's four, and only two are here right now. But only one needs to be shown where it is. He pats him on the shoulder and smiles. So be convincing.
Richard looks back and adds. Just pretend, you want to sleep with it.
"Actually I think it's more your type, Richard. It's got a big mouth and limited intelligence, just like you."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Richard grabs his chest as if wounded. If negotiations don't go well...Lera could get naked and put them off their appetite.
Richard grabs his chest as if wounded. "If negotiations don't go well...Lera could get naked and put them off their appetite.
"So if these things eat s~@+ and I would put them off their appetite, that must mean I'm really attractive and pleasant," Valeriya says pretending to ouzzle out Richard's insult. "Thanks for the compliment, Dr. Queasy, but I hardly think this is the time and place for flirting."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Propping the couch against the door, Jolis chides both Richard and Valeriya.
"Bickering doesn't right now!"
Gathering his thoughts, the big warrior considers his options.
"Okay. We lead them back to Junk Village, they eat the garbage, everyone's happy. If they go berzerk, we at least have some tactical support from the village, and we're never allowed to set foot in the village again. Gods damn, I need a beer!"
Gathering his wits, Jolis runs up the stairs to address the apporaching otyughs. Taking a deep breath, Jolis begins negotations.
"Otyughs! I know you are mighty and have been feeding on bad food for a long time now. We will take you to a place where it's people will leave out good food for otyughs to eat. You must not eat us or the people or else the good food will stop."
Hearing the basic tenet of Richard's plan, Vitranna turns and yells up at them.
"The village leaders SPECIFICALLY told us NOT to lead ANYONE back to the village! That was their ONE real requirement! Are you two INSANE?"
She had gone in the tower and strait up to the second floor, then past that to the next. Light shining in meant a view. So up she went, looking around to check nothing had made it home there. She could hear the others coming up and talking. She then took out her bow and got ready to shoot down at the otyughs. Aiming for the hurt one.
She could hear Vitranna talking some sence into the boy playing kiss kiss, be nice[/ooc]
Well that did it, so she waited for the right moment then shot one in the eye.
With the arrow shot, she reloads and says out aloud.
"You keep attacking us and you will die her today otyughs"
[ooc]Intimidate
She waited to see how the would react.
Hearing the basic tenet of Richard's plan, Vitranna turns and yells up at them.
"The village leaders SPECIFICALLY told us NOT to lead ANYONE back to the village! That was their ONE real requirement! Are you two INSANE?"
Not me I specifically mentioned the town we are going to, not the village
"I don't think any of this matters anymore given that someone just shot one of them!"
-Posted with Wayfinder
"I don't think any of this matters anymore given that someone just shot one of them!"
Jolis whispers under his breath.
"Let's not bring that back up right now, shall we?"
Valeriya wrote: "I don't think any of this matters anymore given that someone just shot one of them!" Jolis whispers under his breath. "Let's not bring that back up right now, shall we?"
"Not you, dummy. Our missing monk."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Chuckles to herself as she hears Valeriya complaining below and takes aim at the next one.
The third floor of the tower looks like the remnants of what was once some sort of laboratory. There are no signs of traps up here either. Broken glass and rusted instruments are scattered around the room. The remnants of another flight of stairs suggest there was once another floor above this one, but they now only lead to open sky. The eastern wall is completely missing, allowing you to look out over the surrounding jungle. You see the pair of otyughs below, pacing back and forth in front of the too small doorway. You don’t see the others yet.
Taking a deep breath, Jolis begins negotations.
"Otyughs! I know you are mighty and have been feeding on bad food for a long time now. We will take you to a place where it's people will leave out good food for otyughs to eat. You must not eat us or the people or else the good food will stop."
The monsters turn toward the sound of Jolis’s voice. They mutter back and forth, considering the offer. You can’t make out much but you do catch a few words. ”…easy food…no hunt…”
However, before they could answer, an arrow flies seemingly from thin air towards the one Jolis hit earlier. The magically enhanced arrow pierces the otyugh easily, going straight through it and into the dirt. It collapses, dead before it even knew what happened. The other one backs away slowly, clearly afraid and unable to fight back from that distance. It turns and runs back toward into the jungle, towards its den.
Jolis, looking perplexed, poses a question.
"Um..what the fu<* just happened?"
The big warrior looks around the see where the arrow came from.
Richard rubs his head with his open palm. Someone Just murdered every person the otyughs will come across from now on. He says with a sigh.
"It looked like it was going to work", said the stymied warrior.
Scratching his head, Jolis continued, "For a while there, I was beginning to think I could sweet talk the infernal panties off of Queen Abrogail II!"
Once happy they have run off, she looks around at the lab like thing.
Having seen what she needed she goes down the steps from above with her bow in hand to see the others. She hears Richard complain.
"Don't be dense Rich-hard, they would breed and soon you would have a town surrounded by them."
She went and looked our the windows to check others where not about.
"But that is mute now, one dead the others gone. If they come back we kill them. O and up above is a lab of some kind. I think it may have stuff you would like"
She says pointing upwards, then moves her hand in a patten her clothing changing color to match the walls. Then goes over to the way down to the next floor.
Have to see of they have all gone
She whispers, nodding her head at
Jolis as if to say, 'you coming?'
then she heads down to the floor below, bow ready.
Having seen what she needed she goes down the steps from above with her bow in hand to see the others. She hears Richard complain."Don't be dense Rich-hard, they would breed and soon you would have a town surrounded by them."
The Nazi's said the same thing about the Jews. It wasn't that Miya undermined the groups efforts to broker a peace. It was that she seemed so callous about killing something sentient. What's worse was that she seemed to enjoy it. Whatever good feelings he had towards Miya turned to revulsion at the sight of her.
Richard sets himself to work in order to avoid his unpleasant feelings. He searches the desk. Maybe, Hopefully he could find something to read.
Lera sighs but doesn't appear all that sad. "What a waste. They could have been handy. But I guess when our monk decides to murder someone, there's only so much we can do."
She joins Richard in his search, looking for scrolls and other magic items. "Magic be direct; I command you to detect."
Viska joins in sniffing for scrolls too.
Looking around the second floor for anything dangerous first, she otherwise quickly settles in for the night, eating some of her precious preserved food first.
"Get some rest while you can. We can search the place better tomorrow with the light. Jolis...you can volunteer for the first watch. Wake me in two hours."
Shrugging, Jolis goes back up stairs, crossbow in hand, and watches for any attackers.
Miya can hear them talking and see the looks in a few eyes.
She understood them, she had seen the reaction before.
She was a trained killer, killing to her was part of a her culture.
Vitranna understood, she was the only one who Miya felt did.
She moved down to the lower floor then outside, to collect her arrow.
she was careful, and when sore nothing was there she pulled the dead otyugh off to one side so that anything coming in the night would eat it and not them.
Then she headed back into the tower, making her way past the others sleeping on the second floor to Jolis at the top.
She took out her bed roll and laid it out. She looked over at him.
"I have a thing, something on me that keeps watch at night. So I will sleep here."
The tattoo on her skin moved shifting.
She lays on her back looking at the stars.
"I think the others think me bad for killing that Otyugh, but I acted in what I thought was the best way. Would you trust something like that? They know nothing of honor or duty"
She says to Jolis.
Miya's second shot doesn't connect as the Otyugh disappears back into the jungle. There is no sign yet that it plans on coming back, or that it's bringing company. You can spot a few familiar constellations, though their positions let you know you're far from home.
Searching the furniture, you can see that almost everything of value was cleared out some time ago. However, you do manage to find a hidden compartment on the desk that remained overlooked. Inside are a pair of scrolls.
While nothing approaches the tower in the night, it quickly becomes obvious that the jungle this far inland is more savage than what you've seen so far. You hear roars and cries throughout the night from all manner of nocturnal creatures. Thankfully, morning comes without another incident.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"I think the others think me bad for killing that Otyugh, but I acted in what I thought was the best way. Would you trust something like that? They know nothing of honor or duty"
"Wait! You have the means to go invisible? You killed that otyugh?" questions Jolis.
The absalomian sought to berate her for keeping such a secret, but remembered he had a few of his own, decided to drop it, unless it becomes a real issue later."Next time, please tell us what you are going to do, okay? We ain't gonna last too long on this island, if we can't trust others to watch our backs. Understand?"
"Wait! You have the means to go invisible? You killed that otyugh?" questions Jolis.
The absalomian sought to berate her for keeping such a secret, but remembered he had a few of his own, decided to drop it, unless it becomes a real issue later.
"Next time, please tell us what you are going to do, okay? We ain't gonna last too long on this island, if we can't trust others to watch our backs. Understand?"
She looks at him a moment.
Was he going to say more?, What could that have been?But she hears what he says, it was hard for her to trust, she had rules and they needed to be stuck too. She also found it hard to trust others, but he was right, they needed each other just to live here. She agreed to this one request, she would let them know.
"Understood Jolis, I will from now on."
The statement is simple, she would.
She calls Richard up and points to some of the stars.
"I know that constellation, bit its off. We seem to be a long way from where we set off from. Your a man who knows things. Can you work out from the stars where we are on the glob?"
She asks him. She can tell he is still angry at her from not going with his plan, she blurted out.
"I am sorry Rich-hard, I shot that thing, it was... instinct on my part. I should have told you what I was going to do. I was... trained from birth you see, Trained to act fast so as to save lives. I have been places and see things others would find... hard to deal with. I know from experience this world can be a very trying place to live in... so I act fast sometimes to fast. Your idea had merit Rich-hard, I should have waited, that was an error on my part."
She says, in way of apology for actions.
As soon as light comes she wakes and puts her bead roll away. She looks out for anything broken that could hold water. Things of use, like viles and containers, that could hold water. She then strips while at the top of the tower and bring water into being washes and using prestidigitation cleans and drys her clothing. She is not bashful when she dose this. Taking her time, her odd looking tattoos cover her modesty so she is not truly naked. As she cleans herself she calls out to the others.
"The Sun is up, and its time to get ready."
After Vitranna relieves his watch, Jolis does his best to get some sleep, but sleep didn't come easy with the myriad roars and growls of the jungle's inhabitants.
In the morning, Jolis is woken by a small steady drip of water coming through the ceiling. Getting up to investigate, the big warriors happens upon Miya's shower. Common courtesy demanded Jolis excuse himself from the scene, but the absalomian was intoxicated by the exotic beauty before him.
"Not a bad way to start the morning", smiled Jolis to the naked monk.
She dose not turn look at Jolis, but the odd looking fox tattoo on her back dose, it meets his eyes and watching him back.
"Do you wish some water to wash with, I can make some for you, spit and I will"
She says to Jolis,
"I found some broken containers for the water, it dose not last long but you can wash. Trip and I will make you some"
She says, winging her hair with a cloth.
"Hmm."
A magical shower might be a great way to feel refreshed and awake.
"You know what, Miya. I will take you up on the offer."
Jolis climbs the stairs completely and begins to remove all his clothes. Miya isn't the only one who doesn't have a problem with modesty.
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22 -Posted with Wayfinder
"Score! I'll take these scrolls. I'll see if I learn the secrets of the spell within," Lera says swiping the scrolls before Richard can react.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"You know what, Miya. I will take you up on the offer."
Now she turns and carers over the water container. Some hand movements and water fills it. As he undresses she looks him up and down, impressed by his physic.
"Well a god-kin indeed, I can see why the village girls where so interested."
She says with a smile,
"Shame Valeriya is more into old scrolls, she's missing the view"
She says with a joking smile, before bringing bunch of water into being over the top of his head. Giving him the shower he wanted.
She skips out the way of the falling water than goes to her cloths, starting to get dressed. All the while her fox tattoo is looking at him.
She calls down to the others.
"Do any of you wish a wash and shower before we start off? now is the time"
"Well a god-kin indeed, I can see why the village girls where so interested." She says with a smile, "Same Valeriya is more into old scrolls, she is missing the view" She says with a joking smile, before bringing bunch of water into being over the top of his head.
-Posted with Wayfinder
She calls Richard up and points to some of the stars.
"I know that constellation, bit its off. We seem to be a long way from where we set off from. Your a man who knows things. Can you work out from the stars where we are on the glob?"She asks him. She can tell he is still angry at her from not going with his plan, she blurted out.
"I am sorry Rich-hard, I shot that thing, it was... instinct on my part. I should have told you what I was going to do. I was... trained from birth you see, Trained to act fast so as to save lives. I have been places and see things others would find... hard to deal with. I know from experience this world can be a very trying place to live in... so I act fast sometimes to fast. Your idea had merit Rich-hard, I should have waited, that was an error on my part."
She says, in way of apology for actions.
Richard is scraping off some rust from a broken condenser. He knew that it would never work again, but he needed to work. The scientist ignores Miya's questions about the constellations. In fact the little girl voice in juxtaposition to her murderous personality only manages to make his skin crawl.
Her apology was devoid of a true understanding of the situation. She seemed to think others thought as she did. He looks at her for the first time since the events unfolded. I could give a sh!t about my plans. It would have been better for you to say that you were going to kill them, and that you will not be swayed. Instead you betray and backstab without a second thought. The fact is that I don't trust you anymore.
Looking away he says. But I don't need to like someone to work with them, however, I do need to trust them.
---------------------------------------
Richard is looking at the map. Thanks to Grelda's marching beat, We have moved a two day walk in one day. We should make it to the 'Old Man' city before sundown. Are we ready to go?
"But I don't need to like someone to work with them, however, I do need to trust them."
As her apology is thrown back in her face her manner changes. as his last words come out of his mouth she moves
Over the short space between them, so she is right by his side, she leans in an Whispers, so only he can hear.
"Understand this strange man!, when your life is in danger and your facing death. You will be more than happy to have someone like me by your side."
It is the hard pitiless voice of a stone cold killer, there is no hope or empathy in that voice. It may remind Richard of the TV shows and films with involving Mafia gangsters and contract hit-men. A business voice where death is just work. Then just as fast the moment is gone and she with it.
She is once more back at her bed roll.
After Rirached talks to Miya and tells her of his feelings she stands by by her bed roll. with a sweet smile one her face and in a girl like sweet voice she says so other can hear.
"I you say so Richard sweetheart."
In a jokingly light voice, but her cold killers eyes meet his.
"Well I can see why the village girls where so interested."
She says with a joking smile, before bringing bunch of water into being over the top of his head. Giving him the shower he wanted.
She skips out the way of the falling water than goes to her cloths, starting to get dressed. All the while her fox tattoo is looking at him.
Jolis feels refreshed by the shower.
"Thanks you, Miya", said the big warrior, as he gets dressed. "Hopefully, if circumstances are right and you're agreeable, we can share the shower tomorrow morning: start the day out right", smiled Jolis, with a sly wink.
She winks back, and in a joking voice says.
"Yes and maybe we can ask Valeriya to join us?"
She grins and picks up her bow again.
She winks back, and in a joking voice says.
"Yes and maybe we can ask Valeriya to join us?"
She grins and picks up her bow again.
Getting her kit together in the morning, Vitranna forcibly ignores the other's by-play and moves outside the tower to take a good look around once the group manages to get ready to leave. She looks to Richard once he asks his question and nods.
"Yes. We should get going sooner than later."
Comes down and is ready to go.
She moves the rug just to check there is no trap door under it.
"Yes and maybe we can ask Valeriya to join us?"
Jolis nods, "Hmm. Now that's an idea! I'll let her know."
The big warrior follows the monk downstairs, and gears up to move out.
Grelda had been prepared to talk to the otyughs when Miya suddenly assasinated one. The half-orc shrugged, not particularly caring too much about the monstr's death. She was just glad the situation was resolved.
When Jolis seemed surprised that Miya can turn invisible, the skald grunted. "It's not so big a deal. I can do that, too."
Night passes, and the morning comes. Grelda shakes her head as Miya and Jolis get naked and pour water on themselves. "You humans and your incessant need to bathe more than once a month. Waste of good water." She seemes unimpressed by their nudity, though she does appear to be somewhat interested in the blonde monk's tattoos.
The skald prepares her drums as they get ready to set out.
"No need to make Jolis green with envy, Grelda."
Lera doesn't eat any breakfast thanks to her ring but feeds Viska some of her rations, doting on him like a child. She is packed and ready to go whenever the group is.
She uses message to whisper to Richard secretly. "Glad to see someone has an appropriate reaction to Miya's assassination."
Though you may not have realized it yourselves, the last few weeks have already made you stronger, wiser, and better prepared for the challenges ahead.
Richard, for all his knowledge, is only now beginning to understand how deadly this world is outside of the libraries of his patrons. But rather than let it defeat him, he has learned to survive.
Jolis, perhaps for the first time, has found himself in a place where is might is not his most valued asset. Yet he has proven himself an effective leader.
Miya, ever a weapon, seems perfectly at home in an environment as dangerous as she is. Though whether this is a boon or a liability remains to be seen.
Valeriya, too, grows ever more comfortable in her power as the whispers of her patron drive her forward. To what end, they do not say.
For the first time, Grelda finds herself in a place where she is not a stranger or an outcast. Perhaps more than anyone, she has flourished on the island, welcomed as a companion and a friend.
Vitranna's conviction in her quest and drive to escape the island are unshakeable. Every obstacle in her path only strengthens her resolve.
-Posted with Wayfinder
She uses message to whisper to Richard secretly. "Glad to see someone has an appropriate reaction to Miya's assassination."
Richard whispers back. I've seen behind the mask. I'm sure normally that I'd get my throat slit while I slept for seeing, but she knows that I'm probably her best chance to get off the island. You, not so much. Be careful. Keep silent, and watch your back.