GM Jacob's E6 - Everyday Heroes

Game Master Jacob DeCourcey

Polo remains hidden behind the group. While confident in his own ability to hide, he doesn't want to risk Bourbon following. He spits on the ground, and grinds it into the soil with the tip of his boot as the others observe what remains of Rush.

Malakai's string of what seems like obscenities draws his attention back up. "A dwarf...?" The question was clearly rhetorical as his mind reels for possibilities. "Then perhaps the next town is our best course."

Hanging back with Polo, Ralf snorts at Malakai's outburst. "Am not needing to speak Dwarven to know is one very angry little man up there," dipping his head towards Malakai as he speaks. "Why you are thinking 'next town', ursar?"

Thank you, Qorinae. Link established. Jacob, if the distance between them grows to 100' or so, Ralf will move forward so as to not let it exceed that.

"They seem to be taking it back to their mines," Qorinae says, scratching his chin, thoughtfully. He turns to Malakai. "I suspect it would take a great deal of your alchemical powder to fire such a big boomstick. If the hobgoblins had a large store of such in their mines, it could be ... dangerous, if saboteurs were to find their way to it, do you think?"

"I can't even imagine what that explosion would look like! It wouldn't do to leave such a dangerous weapon in hobgoblin hands, though. And no one else is around to take care of things, if anything's to be done it's up to us."

A big smile crosses FireFox's face. It's hard to tell if there's any maliciousness in it or not.

"Yes! Let's go to the caves and blow them up! Wow, what a big boom THAT would be!"

Malakai smiles at Qorinae, and pulls out a small torch that is unlit as of yet.

"Ah like da way yea think lad. Why dinea we go down there, and show da wee hobs why yea shouldn't put alchemical powder in a cave."

"Cool! Sounds like most of us want to go to the caves. How about we sneak in quietly tonight, when they're likely to be sleeping? I could even send Fox in before to check it out, probably lots of animals wander into mines."

A smile creeps across Polo's face beneath his firey beard. "I like that idea far better. Always been a bit partial to action."

So, what's the plan for right now? Just waiting around until night?

-Posted with Wayfinder

I believe we're in agreement on going to the caves. Though I'm not sure if we intend to go there now or at night. Night might be better as we wouldn't want to get caught between the caves and returning raiders, however there are a number of us who don't see so well at night.

I'm for making hay (or moving) while the sun shines. Won't night hinder us more than them?

Does everyone in Rush just know where "the mines" are? Or would one know with a successful Know/Local roll? If so, we don't have to follow anyone, we can take our own off-the-beaten-path route to get there. FF has no ranks in Know/Local, so I won't even try.

"Sorry, I forgot a lot of you tallfolk don't see well at night. But the mines will be dark no matter when we go, and wouldn't it be more likely that more of them would be asleep at night?

Hey-it looks like there's 3 of us that can see with just a little light, and 3 that can't-so maybe we could lead you if we need to sneak around without any light?"

Anyone have the right Knowledge skill for the sleeping habits of hobgoblins? :)

"Are we knowing these things things are not... awake at night, what is word... 'nocturnal'? Am wondering if time of day even matters to them, underground."

Whoa, did you just ninja-edit that ooc in about sleeping Knowledge, FF? I'd swear it wasn't there when I started my reply! Or maybe it's just that I'm still asleep this early in the morning...

Ralf, see my reply in Discussion, it has nothing useful to the game.

"No I can't see well at night, friend gnome. But you and I can make magical light if necessary. As to the location of the mines, it seems like my employer had a concern there at one time..."

Know Local: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

"Yes, I think I remember the location."

So, we're agreed? "Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to the mines we go..."

We have 1 clear vote for night (FireFox), and 1 clear vote for now (Qorinae). Polo had pro and con arguments for nighttime. Right now we're kind of "tied".

Anyone else care?

Anyone know whether hobgoblins are diurnal or nocturnal? That to me would be the most important factor...

"Day or night, must still be going there. We decide on way, this is wasting time," Ralf proclaims bluntly.

He grabs Guilford's sleeve and turns to start walking. "Come magicker, show where are mines."

..."are we there yet?" :)

Since no one's objected, I guess we're heading to the mines. Off the beaten path, since Guilford knows where they are. Do we get there without incident?

The party heads in the direction of the mines, making sure to stay out of sight of the hobgoblins. The mines are several miles out of town, and the slow pace means that it is mid afternoon by the time you are near. The entrance to the mines is a simple one, originally just a hole in the ground, but expanded over time to accommodate greater projects. A basic structure had been erected over the entrance to keep it from washing out, but the hobgoblins have torn it down to better make easy for their troops. There are dozens of hobgoblins roving about, although you have outpaced the broken siege weapon by a good deal.

would any of you have knowledge on the mines?

-Posted with Wayfinder

I hope you're OK with me taking the liberty of assuming I could find them. Maybe I should PM you with some ideas. I'm wanting to play up the idea that "Bancroft Co." was the primary mercantile enterprise in Rush, and had their hand in most economic activity in one way or another. As a low-level clerk, Guilford would have seen deeds, contracts, etc. As to the actual mines, he probably wouldn't much of a clue as to their physical layout.

No knowledge skills. Not really sure which would be relevant anyway, but Qorinae has been a scout in the region for some time. I doubt he'd have gone deep into the mines, but there's a reasonable chance he'd know where they are and the land around them.

I never have an issue with you guys taking liberties. I encourage it, because it helps me better see how the game can be enjoyable for you.

-Posted with Wayfinder

As the sun continues it's trek across the sky, Polo can feel is stomache rumbling. Even as the group observes the mines from a distance, he can feel it churning and moaning. "There's still quite a few guards," Polo pipes in, stating the obvious. "I don't suppose we know of any other entrances, or brilliant strategies?"

"Funny you should ask," Qorinae says to the halfling. "I practically broke my neck once, falling through what I guess was a service entrance of some kind."

He stands up, shading his eyes and looks around, getting his bearings, and then ducks low again.

"It should be about half a mile south of here. I can't say what we'll find when we get there, but it could be a bit easier than going in the front door." He glances in a dwarfwardly direction, and shrugs.

Haha, I honestly don't look at those spoilers if my character shouldn't know it... not sure I trust myself with knowledge I shouldn't have. But after your response I had to check it out, and it looks like I must have planned that all along. I promise that wasn't the case.

"In a dwarfwardly direction," heh.

As Ralf's fairly new to the area I figure his Kn:Local (such as it is) applies more to his homeland and places he's spent some time, than wherever the "here" of the moment might be. So no help from this quarter. Lead on, McQorinae.

Jacob, how many hours would you say have passed since the melee? I'd like Ralf to recover some of those nonlethal points before he has to spend more of them.

Malakai was going to this village purely to investigate whether, or not the mine had the minerals he was looking for, so I think he would be familiar with the place.

Malakai grins at the elf revealing his blackened teeth.

"Yea be talkin' aboot me lad? Ah dinnea know what yea might be sugestin', but ah do know how tae be silent as a weevil. Yea shoold joost worry aboot da hobs."

Malakai pats his 'new' crossbow as he speaks a bloodthirsty gleam entering his eyes.

Ralf casts a glance at Malakai. "You are angry, dangerous little man, dwarf."

He returns his gaze to the direction Qorinae had indicated. "Am liking that," he mutters.

It's been about 6 hours.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Qorinae grins at the dwarf. "I am worrying about the hobs. I just hope you have a quieter weapon than your boomstick. You might scare them all away before I get to kill any."

Staying low, he makes his way south, towards the service entrance to the mine.

"Into the proverbial hornet's nest then, eh chaps? I will follow your lead. But yes, let's attempt to make a stealthy entrance!"

Not much time today, so :

Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20 Heh. Gnome? What Gnome? You'd swear there was a Gnome around here a second ago...

FireFox also has a gleam in his eye, but you can't tell from what.

"Once we get close, let me send in Fox. A tiny woodland creature (and a burrowing one at that) checking out a hole in the ground won't be very suspicious, don't you think?"

"And what do y'all think of waiting until dark? Probably more of them will be alseep..."

Yes, he said "y'all" - he's not from around here, his accent and wording is a little odd...

To go far enough around the main entrance to the mines takes a few more hours, and, by the time you make it to the area where the second entrance is, the sun is beginning to turn orange. Sunset is an hour away. The second entrance is little more that a hole covered with planks. It is hidden in a ticket that is easily pulled away by two people. There are no recent tracks around it.

"This looks much more promising..." Polo whispers, as they pull away the brush around the boarded up hole. He looks up though at the amber sunlight peaking through the trees. "But it's going to getting really dark here, really fast. We might be able to set up a camp here for the night, even let Fox there check out the immediate area inside there. I'm just not sure I want to go bounding in there quite yet."

Qorinae looks at the halfling with his brow furrowed.

"I think sending the fox in is a good choice, but it seems to me that the longer we wait out here, the more chance we have to be discovered. If we are to make camp, I would suggest we pull back, stay low, and no fires."

Ralf grunts in agreement with Qorinae as he surveys the area.

"No fire. No light at all. Not this close."

Jacob, for those of us with LLV : cloudy night, stars, moon, or what?

So, whether we un-board the hole now, or go off to make camp and come back, once the opening is clear, I'll send Fox in to scout, with instructions to stay hidden, and come back immediately as soon as he spots anyone.

Fox Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

What does he report when he comes back? [Post-preview : IF he comes back...at least it's a good thing that 1's on skill rolls aren't "fumbles"...]

If we make camp first, and anyone wants to say/do things there before this happens, please jump in.

I'd say we'd probably send in the fox before we pull back and camp. Or maybe AS we pull back? Anyway... might make a Perception roll for him as well?

Sure : Fox Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

The fox comes back with little information. It's pitch black, and there's almost no scent at all. There are hints of human, but they are old and faint.

Relaying that info to the group, then

"So it looks like we've stumbled on a branch of the mines that the hobgoblins and their friends either have not found or are not bothering to use. What do we do now?"

"I trust your fox." Polo states, as a matter-of-fact. "If it catches no traces of the goblinoids, than I believe that section is safe... or at the least unexplored at the moment. Perhaps that would be a better place to spend the night then. We could strip the boards and bunker there outside of the weather."

Gah! Ninja'd by Polo!

"Or is isolated by cave-in or barricade. If not so, this is good: We can be not above ground and visible. Have staging area, fallback space, good tactics."

Ralf turns to FireFox. "Cikneja, your weshjook can smell hobgoblins, aiwa? Can know when is close to them so we know to use extra caution."

How close Fox got to a hobgoblin in their fight on the other side of town, or have FireFox and Fox run in to hobgoblins before :

1d20 ⇒ 20

FireFox looks puzzled. "I thought I understood this language pretty well, but you sure do use a lot of words no one else does. If I understand you correctly, yes. I can tell him to freeze when he smells them."

He kind of whispers as an aside, "Would you mind teaching me some of those words later, so everyone will understand me better?"

Ralf grunts and returns his gaze to the entrance. "You understand better than you think, cikneja. Very different, Omani and what is spoken here. Am still not knowing many of the words, or always the best order for them in this land."

He looks down at the gnome again. "Am unwise choice for teacher. Would make you less understood, not more. But when is question of Omani word, ask. Will explain if knowing your same words."

Thinking back to the question he'd asked earlier, he points at the fox. "Is 'weshjook' in Omani. Meaning... how to say? 'Jook' is dog. Weshjook is like... 'forest dog'."

He frowns a bit. "In Omäña, would be called 'mókadi jóok' - same but also marim..." Ralf pauses to search for an equivalent in Common. " 'Unclean?' Not pure? My people believe weshjook, jook, mac'ka, wéshimúlo, many animals are tainted."

Ralf surveys what he can still see of the darkened landscape as he mutters quietly, "Am knowing better. Only willfully evil animal is man."

Um, guys? So what are we doing? Making camp away from here, or making camp inside the emergency exit tunnel?

Polo looks up again at the sunlight disappearing behind the canopy of trees. "Let's start pulling up some boards." He says, Bourbon grunting behind the bearded halfling. "I'll feel a lot less exposed if we can get inside for the night. Oh, and we may want to keep voices down, eh? Sound may carry pretty far through those tunnels."

Ralf nods as he pitches in to help dislodge the planks and set them aside. "Is good idea, staying quiet. Light kept dim and shaded too."

"Right, I suppose the quicker we're out of sight the better."

Guilford will help as best he can, and then check over his few belongings before entering the mine.