Lisabett dispells the entangle effect and looks to her companions. "This man knows me," she says and shakes her head. "Take his weapons, but do not kill him. There is no curse greater than being deprived Gorum's favor."
Lisabett moves away from the scout and casts and addresses the horse from a safe distance before approaching.
"Man no beat you. How many more men where he come from?"
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Sorin jabs his glaive in the ground and moves forward to deprive the man of his weapons. "Please don't move," he says, "I truly have no desire to bludgeon you into submission."
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The man does not respond, or even move. He seems barely conscious, if at all. You are certain that you can collect his weapons with no trouble.
Shortbow
18 Arrows
Dagger
Though it is no longer affected by the spell, the horse has hardly calmed. At Lisabett's overture, it takes an aggressive step forward and snorts.
Setomi also goes over to the now unconscious figure. She will help carry him out of the effected area.
The whipping grass stops flailing, and recedes back into the earth. Gazing at the ground, one could hardly guess that moments ago, it had sprung to life and taken hold a frightened horse.
Almar puts his pistol away with one fluid movement:"Well, seems like this went well. And about that "no greater curse" stuff... I believe I can think of a couple of worse fates... Try keeping that man company for some time... I dare say he'll beg to confess all he knows before too long...".
While Almar doesn't smile seems like this is his idea of a joke.
Lisabett does not step back when the horse postures that it will rush her.
"Back to your mate, then. Off with you."
Lisabett raises her arms and waves the horse off, and backs away from it on the balls of her feet, waiting till she has returned to the others to turn her back fully.
"I do not know that horses have the talent for lies, but if this band can spare three and three scouts, they arguably have a larger force than ours," she says and studies the fallen one. If she heard Almar's comment about her person , she does not appear to take issue.
"Also, it appears this one only speaks my milk tongue," she adds, "which may make interrogating him difficult. Regardless, we should get him to the captain quickly. We will have work ahead of us."
Raziel will wait where he is until the rest of the party gets to him, then return with the group.
"Agreed on that account. Let's bring him back to camp. He'll talk... if he knows what's best for him. And another thing: we could have kept the horse. You never know when a spare might be needed. Let's not take hasty decisions, next time please" adds Almar while taking away the rider's weapons.
Sorin grabs the other end of the man and helps Setomi carry him back to the wagons.
He turns to Lisabett, "Should we expect another attack soon?"
Lisabett schools her expression to absolute stillness as she regards Almar. "I will recall next when I am speaking with the animal that you are an expert trainer whose opinion should not be neglected when it comes to making such decisions," she responds. "Clearly, that horse's decision to throw its rider and to attack me in fear was evidence of its ability to work in a pack."
"Uncertain," Lisabett answers Sorin. "How many days rations did this man carry? A large group that could spare three scouts might be starving days away, or only hours," she shrugs. "We cannot spare me or Almar to discover their placement. We can only prepare ourselves for the attack."
"Umm, Lisabett. I could go and check out the area close to us, if you wanted." Setomi asks in a quiet voice.
The horse trots away into the darkness, without so much as a last look at Lisabett. The sound of it's hoofbeats fades quickly.
"Luckily, yes," Sorin responds, "this one's horse couldn't break out of Lisabett's magic and threw the rider. He spoke briefly before passing out but it sounded like Skald which I didn't understand.
Rumaging through the man's packs, "He had food for five more days. I don't know how long it will take the other two riders to go to and get back to where they came from."
"If the Elvish lands in these parts can provide trade, these men will probably not want to pursue us there. What do you think?" Sorin is looing at Sandru but the question is adddressed to the whole group.
"There are Elven settlements, but no Elven lands to speak of." Sandru chews his lip.
"Not alone," Lisabett tells Setomi. "It is likely these men are raiders, and they take all sorts, even the cannibals. A woman does not travel alone among them unless she is more repulsive than me."
Lisabett listens to Sorin. "This man knew me, Sorin. Beasts in the town before last mentioned a bounty had been placed upon my head by my captain. If you deem it necessary, I will track them alone," and allow Gorum to decide my fate.
"We'll have none of that." Sandru's airy tone becomes firm. "You are one of us, and will have the defense of all of us."
"Why would you say you are repulsive, Lisabett?? You are a very pretty girl...well when you clean up...". Setomi blushes as she says this, realizing that she probably just insulted the woman.
She listens as Lisabett offers to go out and track the horsemen, then blurts out, "But you just told me not to go out on our own! Let me join you!" She quickly quites as Sandru puts his foot down.
"Yeah... That captain of yours must really be anxious to get you back... don't ask me why... Tracking alone in this dangerous land doesn't seem the wisest of choices. As for the horse... I think panicking in that situation was more the rider's fault than the horse's... but whatever. By this time it's a moot point anyway"
"Aye, it is curious why I should remain here when everyone is so friendly and obliging, ikke sant?" Lisabett growls, slipping into her milk tongue.
Lisabett gives a faint nod in Sandru's direction, and bereft of any responsibility, tracks back to the caravan. She kicks out her bedroll and lays down but does not sleep. Her stomach is empty, and she will not put on fat. Should they go north, she will not survive a winter, even if her captain allowed her to live so long.
"Enough squabbling. You've done well." A half-smile comes to Sandru's lips. "I will sweep the perimeter with Walthus and Espen, and then prepare for watch. The others of you, see to it that the prisoner is secured. I would speak with him."
With that, Sandru collects the halfling and the Ulfen, and disappears into the night.
"Why would you say you are repulsive, Lisabett?? You are a very pretty girl...well when you clean up...".
Sorin starts to laugh and then tries to cover it with a cough. "See Lisabett, I'm not the only one to say such things."
He leans towards Setomi and says softly, "There are reasons to feel repulsive, whether justified or not, that have nothing to do with appearance. Scars on the outside mean nothing; scars on the inside are...difficult"
Seeing Lisabett in her bedroll Sorin says aloud, without looking at anyone in particular, "Perhaps the reason this "Captain" hunts Lisabett with such determination is because she is not like him. He fears that because he feels the need to prove he is stronger even when such actions show his weakness."
He then goes to Ameiko. He pulls out his flute and says with a smile, "I feel the need for music. Care for a duet?"
Setomi nod to what Sorin says, but the look on her face says that she does not truly understand. She smiles at the thought of music, and begins to gather the ingredients for the evening meal.
Ameiko is staring off into the darkness when Sorin approaches her. When he speaks, her eyes dart to him, full of surprise. A moment later, she smiles broadly. "Why, of course, Sorin. The Ballad of Mora Noa?"
"Sky and cloud and wind divine,
Does Mora Noa call,
Adrift upon the open sea,
The salty air his pall."
She begins with the first stanza, and with a glance, asks Sorin to accompany her.
Sorin will accompany with the flute.
Sorin's flute and Ameiko's voice fill the night as Setomi prepares something to eat before the caravan sleeps. Sandru and his patrol are not out long, and return, all but certain there are no other scouts nearby.
Andres and Espen both take an interest in the captive, but neither of them recognize him.
Lisabett growls from her bedroll as Ameiko and Sorin perform. "FÆN I HELVETES!" then jerkily rises. She goes to the prisoner, leans down and slaps him in his face.
"DU! VÅKNE OPP!"
She lifts her head and glares at the paladin and the lady interloper, then grips the man by his hair and presses her machete to his throat. "You have necessitated this," she hisses before she leans in close and begins speaking to the man in Skald.
"You, these folk you found, they're cannibals. You just missed their victory song. If you want to keep your legs, and have a chance to escape, you will tell me where your camp is, and when we can expect your band to arrive."
[ooc]Lisabett Untrained Bluff
Sense Motive -
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Lisabett spreads her legs and crouches over the captive's stomach, straddling him, lowering the machete so it pushes against the softest part of his viscera. The blow would not kill, but it would wound, and hurt quite a great deal, and when his insides came spilling out, and they would, it would require a healer to put back together again.
"Do not lie to me," she snarls and lets him feel the whole of her weight. "We both know you are not man enough to tame that horse," she says and relaxes her grip on his hair so that she can work her fingertips through it in a comforting fashion. "And the beasts that told you I was a witch only were unkind.
"I am a murderer. I will kill you and feel nothing, and I will roll you into a ditch and let the crows pick at your flesh."
Lisabett begins pressing the machete into the scouts stomach, placing both hands on the handle, poised to push with all of her strength.
"Enought Lisabett!" Raziel cries out, stepping out from where he was lurking in the background. "Effort was made to bring him back as a captive, so killing him now to suit your mood will not happen."
He steps to Lisabett, and places a restaining hand on her blade.
Lisabett looks up from her captive with a smirk.
"Aye, my effort, to spare this caravan, which was nullified with their song."
Lisabett leans forward and whispers a spell, then touches his face almost tenderly.
Lisabett cast Touch of Fatigue. She hits Touch Armor class and if it succeeds, the target must make a fortitude save DC 12 to avoid being fatigued for 3 rounds.
She stands and looks to Raziel, then tucks the machete back into her belt.
"I will be on patrol. Translate for Sorin when this one begins to squeal."
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Though he does not succumb to your spell, it nevertheless unnerves him greatly.
Almar follows the scene and just rolls his eyes as he approaches the prisoner:"Typical Lisabett. But if I were in you I would consider giving us some answers. You need some friends here, or she will really try to roast you. I can help, but I'll need something to show some proof of your good faith"
Bluff check:
Sorin is so startled by Lisabett's outburst that he simply stares in bewilderment for a moment. As the situation is resolved Sorin is still confused. He has no idea what Lisabett was talking about and, of course, doesn't understand Skald at all.
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Lisabett turns to glare at the prisoner when he, in his ignorance, asks if she has cursed him. She glances at Brother Holheim, then Almar striding up, and starts away. Noticing Sorin's confusion, she smiles wickedly and speaks to him in Varisian.
"You cannot reason with a raider. They do not care that your small folk have spent generations achieving your bounty. Gorum thrives on the murder they make, and in their blood they take women who birth their violent seed and this way continues."
"When I had a name, my father was a jarl. I was a defender, with my uncles. He cast me out, and now they call me witch."
Lisabett gathers her spear in her hands, and begins her patrol of the camp.
Setomi walks up behind Sorin, keeping in the man's shadow. "Why does she hate so?", she asks. Watching her stalk off to patrol the camp, Setomi sighs and shakes her head. "How do you help someone who has so completely given up on herself? Does she not know how important she is to the group?"
Sense Motive -
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Sorin hesitates before responding to Setomi in a quiet voice. "Lisabett has revealed only a little of her past to me. What she has said is tragic but I don't think it's my place to repeat that tale; I'm sure there's more to it than what she's said so far in any case. Her anger, I think, comes from the frustration and guilt of the past. Perhaps also a world-weariness that has come upon someone too early in life but that is only a guess on my part. My fear is that she is coming to embrace what she hates and, in time, she will end up little different than this "Captain" who pursues her so fervently."
"She is wrong about one thing though, Gorum does not thrive on what these men do. He is not Rovagug who destroys for no reason, nor is he like Achaekek or Norgorber who strike from treachery and deceit nor even the giant god Urazra who delights in crushing the weak. And he most certainly is not Zon-Kuthon who revels in suffering for its own sake. The Lord in Iron meets strength with strength and is at the forefront of fighting. He detests deceit and trickery. His priests wear the heaviest armors they can. These men," Sorin indicates the bandit, "know nothing of battle as Gorum sees it. They are weak in his eyes and are no more favored by him than I am. Their only strength comes from attacking those they feel they can beat easily and only talk of true battle when they huddle themselves together and the ale flows freely. They are cowards and bullies and Gorum despises them."
He looks over at Kisabett. "As for how to "help" her, I am ashamed that I have not found a way past the anger. When we first met, I saw someone who seemed to loathe herself and thought I was making progress against that. Instead I lost my temper and made things worse. Now she either ignores me or belittles what I say and do. If you find a way to reach past that anger, I will be glad to see it. I've faile to even manage a normal conversation with her."
Almar nods his approval to the captured scout:"Very well. As long as you keep your word we'll defend you from this captain of yours and will keep you out of Lisabett's clutches. Now, where is this new captain of yours camped? How many riders does he command?"
Bluff -
The captive clears his throat. "When we left him, word was he commanded fifty-some, though they were not all there, so I cannot give an accurate count. Please...turn south, or at the very least, make for Riddleport or Roderic's Cove. The Captain won't tangle with the privateers and their gendarmes."
Sense motive check:
"Fifty... a decent number for sure. But I know there's something you are not saying. Need I remind you if you want our protection you'll be expected to cooperate? I'm sure you think you are doing the decent thing but what you need tight now if for us to trust you. So... what is you are not telling us exactly?"
"It is nothing...it is..." He trails off for a moment. "The other rider. The other scout, is my brother."
Almar nods:"I understand. Unfortunately we can't do anything for him right now. But... was the other one with you really Lisabett's former chieftain?"
"He hasn't said as much, not even a name, but we were to look out for 'the witch that forsook him.' The girl matches the description, and brought her wicked powers to bear against us." The captive winces. "I can't see as she could be anybody else."
Sorin turns to Sandru. "Fifty men and they know where we are, or soon will. Perhaps making for Riddleport is the best option," he finishes unhappily.
Sandru frowns. "And if there is a price on Lisabett's head? On any of our heads? I would not deliver us to the pirate lords as refugees, much less as bounties. And then there is the matter of Shalelu, who will expect to find us bearing north."
"Sorin, you are right to be concerned, and if I thought it safe, I would alter our course on the morn. Alas, I think our wisest course is one of speed. They may know our location, but they are ranging wide. If we are swift, we may never come to face their full strength." Sandru speaks definitively as he finishes, making certain that all around hear his thoughts. A moment passes, and a sad smile comes to his face. He speaks just to Sorin, his voice hushed.
"Taht place... Brinewall, was it? Anyway, it seems our Ulfen friends consider it cursed. Maybe these other Ulfens wouldn't dare to come near it. We should try to get there as soon as possible. Then there's the matter of the curse being real after all..."
[oov]Almar is[/ooc]