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"Don't worry Salador we won't leave the Lord of Cups without his proper worship! We'll drink to his health together."
With that Olik makes his way to the temple of Gorum. Once there he stops the group short of entering. "Before we enter a fortress of the Lord in Iron we must prepare. Gorum cares little for prayers or placation, for gilded decoration or fanciful speeches. Only the ring of steel on steel and call of battle find his ears. Before entering we must see to the only implements he finds holy." Drawing his blade the bard takes time to clean and shine the already well kept weapon. He then goes over his buckler, armor and secondary weapons checking that all is in order. Finally, when everyone is ready, he stands and walks boldly through the temple doors, blade still in hand, resembling a man going to war more than one going to pray.
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Tamarie walks in, behind Olik and ready for battle.
When they have reached an appropriate place, she pushes down Olik and sneers at him.
"Let's dance bloodbrother. Time to show poor little old me that you have trained as you said you would, last we saw eachother."
She allows him to get back on his feet, before assaulting him once more. Her knuckles graze his face as she attempts to drag him down again. Their is a wide crazed grin on her face, as she does not seem to want to lose!
Let's see if you can beat that magic number! ;)
5d20 + 5*bab + 5*str :D
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Spitting blood and saliva on the hard stone floor the bard only nods before joining the fray, a feral smile on his face. Circling the half elf he begins to sing the Gorumskagat in a low powerful chant. The sound of his voice echos off the stark walls, folding upon itself again and again until it sounds like a hundred voices joined marching to battle and glory.
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As Tamarie and Olik are wrestling and throwing punches, the strong man seems to be handling the situation well. He takes the punches to the gut with a grunt, only to follow them up quickly by sweeping the feet out from under her. He did not however anticipate the swiftness with which Tamarie would cause his face to follow suit, and connect harshly to the ground.
Spitting out blood, they both get up and circle around eachother once more, waiting for the perfect moment to grab the other and finish the fight. As Tamarie dives left Olik is too fast for her and initiates a perfect grapple, certain this would end the friendly battle. He had however left his groin open, and as Tamarie's knee connected with it, he lost control over the situation. The growl that follows from his sore throat ends the song he was singing so beautifully, as he is pinned to the floor.
Tamarie has her full weight on his shoulders and neck, his arm twisted in a very painful position, as she whispers in his ear:
She then stands up, and shouts to the others: "The hairier they are..." before bowing one time, picking up Olik and walking back to the group, arms on each others shoulders.
"Good fight, Gorum be praised!" she smiles, and wipes away some of the blood from the corner of her eye.
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Out of respect for his friend, Jirani follows his lead, checking his own weapons and gear before entering the temple. Though not as attentive as the Gorumite bard, his tools, as he considered them, were serviceable. The blades remained sharp and the armor and shield remained secure. He kept his weapons sheathed as he followed Olik into the temple.
Jirani's taken aback when Tamarie and Olik begin their wrestling match, but satisfied as he watches that their sparring is friendly and limits are respected. He cracks a grin. I didn't realize Gorum was also the God of flirting! he thinks, but thinks better of saying it aloud. Instead, he looks sidelong at Salador, to see if he's thinking the same thing.
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Malik has a bad time trying to be beefy and physically imposing, but can have an aura of menace around him when he wants to. He cloaks himself in this aura now as he follows the others. He holds his Morningstar in his hand, and one can't help but notice how cruel and vicious the spikes on the weapon appear in the Cleric's hand.
From out of a back room, behind the shrine a dwarf in full battle regallia emerges, clapping gingerly at the end of the fight "Aye a proper show of faith! I am Brother Eldrast warrior of Gorum. Welcome to my temple."
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Olik turns and faces the dwarf unashamed of the blood, sweat and dirt that coat his skin. Stepping forward he clasps arms with him.
"Well met Brother Eldrast. I am Olik Vogenson. My companions and I have come to pay our respects to the Lord in Iron before setting off into the Echo Woods. We've been told it holds many dangers and so I do not doubt that we will soon take part in the rites of conflict and strife, may it please Gorum."
Catching his breath the bard pauses a moment to take in the temple itself. While not a large building it is stoutly made with stonework rising a significant way up each wall. The doors the party entered through were of heavy iron plated oak but swung easily. Archer slits and murder holes are all that allow light into the main chamber making torches necessary even during the day.
At the center of room is a round depressed area where Tamarie and Olik so recently competed. After a bit of consideration it becomes plain that this is exactly the sort of exercise the fighting circle is meant for. Beyond the circle is a raised dais with an imposing suit of armor standing behind an alter. The suit is all black iron perhaps fifteen feet tall. Braziers burn within the closed helm giving the impression of fiery eyes within and the hands rest on the hilt of a massive great sword.
To the sides of the colossus are a pair of doors, one on each side, that lead back to another section of the shrine. The walls are covered in war banners and weapons of every sort. Some show symbols of Gorum or Thornkeep but many carry the insignias of other deities, cities or nations. A closer look shows that many have been broken in battle and quite a few have obvious dried blood on them.
Turning his gaze back to the priest Olik says, "It is my hope our acts will be pleasing to the Battle Lord and that we might count on his aid in our need."
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Sitting inside the temple of Cayden with the party, a youmg man walks up to Caradeum, handing him a missive. The stren elf takes the missive, a quizzical look on his face. He opens the letter and reads it twice, absorbing the words. He glances sidelong at his companions as he stands and begins to gather his belongings. I'm afraid I have been recalled back to Absalom. The Society has something else in mind for me. I has been a pleasure meeting each of you. Caradeum then turns and walks out the door....
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As the elf has left, Tamarie grins and smiles at Olik and Jirani.
"All right, who had their money set on the mage? Or doesn't this count as 'out of the fight'?"
She smirks, and pours out some water from her hip flask to clean the dried blood from the side of her face and left eye.
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At the sight of the cleric of Gorum, she smiles and replies in kind: "To each god their playground, my auntie always said. And it's rude not to play when you are invited into someone's house."
The dwarf grins "Well from the little I saw I think the Battle Lord will be pleased and I pray he grant you a good battle and a solid victory or if not at least an honorable death."
The party takes some time to reconnect and relax a bit. After awhile you head back to the Hunter's Lodge to retrieve the map. Mardesal hands you the map and wishes you luck, although seeming reluctant he will ever see you again.
You make your way into the woods not too far out of town you run across a group of 4 hunters on their way back to town. They carry several pelts and some amount of game meat back with them. They ackowledge you as you pass but not much more. Continuing to follow the map you come across a logging camp where 7 men work the forrest. Stopping to ask and make sure you are on the correct path they steer you towards your intended destination which follows along with the map you were provided. Eventually you find a set of ruins. It looked to have once been a cathedral of some kind though it is very worn and damaged now. You hear noises coming from deeper in the ruins.
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Once Tamarie and Salador have taken up postions Olik looks to Jirani and Malik and says, "Well shall we go and introduce ourselves to the locals?"
Moving forward closer to the "entrance" of the ruins Olik draws Sea Reaver and then calls out, "Hello, anyone in there? We're from town looking for Jharun or Tiawask."
Shortly after Olik's inquiry a booming voice returns "There is none by that name here. Begone from this place. I do not need any interloppers disturbing my work."
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"Well that's interesting." the bard says to his companions.
A bit louder he calls, "Our apologies for the disturbance but if we might lean on your hospitality for a few moments, would you happen to know either of those gentlemen? Perhaps you might come out for a few moments and give us the benefit of your knowledge? We're quite interested in the ruins and such of this area and I would hazard to guess you are quite informed about them."
The ground shakes as you hear footsteps approaching from out of the ruins a huge man easily twice or more the size of any of you. Standing tall and graceful, this sharp-eared giant's skin is pale. Its large brow gives it a somewhat primitive visage.
"Bah if it will get you to leave then fine. As I said I don't know these people you talk about. I simply tend to these ruins and the surrounding forrest."
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A bit taken a back by the appearance of the giant the bard quickly recovers. "A noble task it is that you have taken upon yourself. I am Olik Vogenson." he says with his customary bow and making a point to sheath his weapon. He gives the giant a moment to provide his own name if he so chooses before continuing. "My friends and I are new to the area and doing some research on the ruins. If you don't mind my asking, is there any particular reason you've chosen this area to receive the benefit of your protection?"
He shrugs as if it is common knowledge "These ruins fall under my area of protection. Others of my tribe preserve other areas of these woods."
He shakes his head "Why all these questions do you not see I am busy... I couldn't say about others of my kin. We stict to our own parts of the woods unless a great burden comes."
He waves his hand dismissively "Do you know the secrets of the wilds? Do you know how to revive nature and tend to the forest? I think not. There is nothing I need your assistance with. Be gone and let me get back to my work. As I said there is no one here for you to seek."
You head deeper into the woods. The forest although not directly changing begins to feel more foreboding.
A bit down a path you spot a gang of 4 bugbears trying to hide as if to ambush you, but you are quick enough to react.
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As the group gets some distance from the first ruin, Jirani agrees with Olik's summation. "I hope the other giants are as... accommodating, if we're going to find one at each fruitless ruin."
When Jirani sees the bugbears, a quick glance to Olik and Salador tells him that they saw them, too. Before he can suggest that the archers and bombers take their shots first, he sees they've already gotten underway. With a smile, he follows suit, drawing his ranseur and charging the nearest.