KM Devon's Kingmaker: The Maker of Kings (Inactive)

Game Master PirateDevon

I was under the impression that there were trees about, but it wasn't in the woods, per se.

+1. Copses of trees and the like... Shrubbery even? ;)

Yes there are but they are infrequent and poor for cover which is why Mattrim put the cat and horse a fair distance away. So yes, its not EXACTLY Kansas but close for our purposes...

It's always the GM, never the player ;)
So let's see what scene we arrive at - running like the forces of hell are behind us

With a resigned sigh, Anton sets down his cup of tea, straightens his back, and grasps the amulet around his neck, bony fingers closing around the eerie green glow that it takes on. His eyes slip closed as he mutters a few words, before he turns to Svetlana.

"Try to see that nothing is disturbed, please." With a wry smile and a nod to his papers, he takes off after the others at an alarming pace, his feet a mere blur that carry him with alarming haste.

Using my bonded amulet to cast expeditious retreat, increasing my movement speed to 60 feet, then moving that much closer to the action.

I'm not sure how Ra'hl will react when he sees the sickly wizard flying past him at that speed.!

I'm paying attention I swear. Somehow I missed Sabers last post, otherwise I wouldn't be twiddling my thumbs. Whoops.

Hah, sorry, I was wondering if I should have said something.

OooooKAY!

As the rest of the group moves Anton comes peeling from behind everyone, his movmements aided by supernatural force. Aleria, with Natasha in tow keep Cuddles and Ra'hl in sight but the monk and bloodrager get farther away with every step. Everyone hears a desperate scream in the air in the direction of the action but it will be many moments still until the group can see what occurs...

Depending on Mattrim/Saber's next couple of actions I should get everyone reunited in my next post or two ;p

Ra'hl and Cuddles continue their quick pace and its a few seconds more when another round of tiger roars and screams punctuate the landscape. Anton, propelled by magical speed, also begins to close the gap to the bloodrager and monk who can see Mattrim on the horizon under a copse of trees, apparently kicking at and menacing a hunched over figure. A large cat clearly moves about the hunter without issue and a horse is pulling against its reins that are tied to one of the trees.

Two other horses thunder at odd angles to the group moving on the easiest path away from the scene.

Natasha and Aleria make up the rear of the group hustling as best they can, forced to resort to a more mundane pace that sees them left behind. Though the cavalier and the cleric don't quite see what the others due with Mattrim, both of them do see the horses running "away" from where they are going.

I'll pase a beat to see if Matt gets one more post in before the first three close, otherwise I will start merging scenes tonight...

Anton overtakes the others and arrives first with Cuddles and Ra'hl arriving a few seconds later and Natasha and Aleria arriving a few more seconds after that.

All of the group sees:

• A tiger stalking around as though on patrol.

• An exceptionally agitated horse that Mattrim cannot seem to get to calm down.

• A man in forest garb sporting a silver medallion shaped like a stag's head who looks as though he should be dead from being mauled by the aforementioned tiger but is just barely clinging to the last few threads of life he might have.

• Another man who you all can assume is dressed like the first man but its hard to tell because he is balled up in a fetal position and sobbing to himself.

• Previously mentioned horses running away in two different directions.
  

Annnndddd go.

Ra'hl finally arrives seeing the situation well in hand. He gasps for air, lungs burning after such a long run. He stares at Cuddles in amazement. "By the gods! I've never met anyone able to keep up with me in a run that long! Gods help whoever makes an enemy of you. That inhuman strength and speed will decimate them!"

Ra'hl stands back a bit from the prowling cat and panicked horses, letting the others approach and deal with the situation.

Cuddles barely hears rahl. He has eyes only for the biggest, most amazing cat he had ever seen. KITTY!! He roars and throws out his arms. Such specimen of nature's patient fury must be hugged!

Natasha arrives a bit later, with Aleria and Duska in tow. She was running at top speed and is obviously out of breath, sweating hard.

"Oy, Cuddles!" she shouts when she realizes what the orc is about to do, but doesn't really expect him to listen anyway. Not after what she had seen of him.
"What happened?!" she shouts towards Mattrim, rushing to the heavily wounded man and checking his vital signs, her healing wand ready if needed.

Heal: 1d20 ⇒ 9

Arriving before the others, Anton staggers to a halt, a coughing fit briefly overtaking him, shaking his chest and shoulders. "Well," he manages finally, "it seems you're already making trouble for yourself." He glances at the bolting horses, briefly considers going after them - he could probably outpace them while the magic lasted - but to what end? He certainly wouldn't be able to bring them back.

Instead, he places a hand on the back of Cuddles' shoulder. "Not yet. Kitty surprised. Might scare Kitty. Wait," he explains, struggling to keep his words small.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Duška arrives with the others, lightly stepping and barely looking drained from their sprint to the scene... (Endurance feat :)

Bow drawn she takes in what has happened, noting with interest that Mattrim had not butchered the wounded bandit.

There may yet be clemency in The Hunter...

She moves to assist Natasha, pulling forth a healer's kit from her pack;

"Let me help Mistress..."

Heal (Aid Another): 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 5 + 2 = 14

Natasha and Duska are able to see that the man has been stabilized but he will need either magical healing or long term rest to heal.

Giving up on the horse for a moment, Mattrim turns back to the others, realizing Cuddles had taken an interest in Saber, Mattrim quickly calls for Saber to return to him.
"Come Saber." Saber eyeing the Cuddles with cautious eyes quickly trots over to Mattrim's side.

Turning to the rest, in particular Natasha since she asked:
"I'm not sure entirely, I was walking back here to get Saber and the horse, when I heard Saber let loose a mighty roar. By the time I arrived he pointing towards the barely alive man was like that and the other was curled into a ball.

My guess is they either tried to attack Saber or steal the horse, they're lucky to be alive in either case. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing them dead yet he adds coldly, before continuing but a promise is a promise. Though if they try anything I won't hesitate to finish what Saber started.

More importantly, that one indicating the balled up man said he would trade information on the Stag Lord in exchange for his life."

"Is that so?" Natasha says with a glimmer in her eyes, turning to the bandit.
"I think we will have a talk. A long one. Stand up and follow, or I'll have you dragged behind us." Her voice is hard and merciless. She looks the man deep in the eyes while talking.

"Bring your animals into the trading post Mattrim. And someone pick the other bandit up. This might get interesting."

"Cuddles, I think the other bandit wants a hug all the way back to camp." Ra'hl says still trying to catch his breath.

Mattrim shrugs, "no problem, I might be a minute though.

My horse is being difficult." He adds dryly.

Mattrim will continue working on calming down his horse, if nothing else waiting for it to grow too tired to keep prancing about.

Cuddles nods his acknowledgement and ship's up the bandit in his large arms. His hold is gentle, in no way risking further injury to him.

Duška stands at the towering woman's shoulder, eying the bandit with a hard stare.

The ranger nods her head toward Natasha as she bids the robber follow with cold words of warning;

"Listen. Walk. Then loosen that tongue when bidden yes..? You may keep both tongue and life if you do yes..?"

Intimidate: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Duška will follow Natasha and the bandit, keen to hear what spills from his lips...

Aleria arrives, breathing a bit ragged. Seeing most everything else under control, she notices Mattrim struggling with his horse.

She comes over, slowly whispering to it, and reaching out tentatively for the reins as she tries to calm the horse.

Animal Handling: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

She slowly brings her azure eyes to meet the horse's eyes, reaching out to pat her head and produces some dried apple slices from her belt pouch. "There there precious one..., it is all over now. Calm down, settle down. Just relax dearest one."

Bandits are intimidated, horses are calmed down and Cuddle is able to provide a surprisingly ginger carrying of the wounded bandit back to Oleg's.

As the group returns Osk raises an eyebrow but makes no move to intercede, content to let the group handle things its own way. Oleg does move to help Svetlana bring a cot to the lodge to place the wounded bandit down and the trade post owner does fetch a couple of large jugs of water and wine with cups to help parched throats and frayed nerves...

After the group has had time to calm their nerves a bit after this surpriseing encounter, Natasha walks towards the concious bandit - having him wait for the whole time in a corner.

"What was your purpose here? Best you tell us everything before we make you." She draws her sword and starts sharpening it before the man's eyes.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Cuddles has been through this before. He knows the drill. He stands behind Natasha and crosses his arms across his huge chest.

Heading back for the outpost at a leisurely pace (which, thanks to the magic, is roughly equal with the speed of Cuddles and Ra'hl), Anton picks up his still-warm cup of tea and watches the interrogation.

Duška watches silently at present from beside Natasha, she plays idly with her deck of cards, whilst intently watching the man before them and his bearing;

"Speak truthfully for my fey eyes can see into your very soul yes?"

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

Ra'hl makes his way back with the others. He still keeps his distance from the cat and horse. His eyes scan the others watching how they deal with the bandit. He keeps himself out of the conversation and out of the way of the others. He seems more interested in how his companions will handle the bandit than the bandit himself.

The bandit shakes a bit at first, clearly still rattled by the initial encounter in the woods, as the various folks take position around him his eyes grow wide and he does his best to not stutter, We been keepin eyes on the place. Makin sure we had a sense nothin too big was happenin. There was...well...we thought....well we was watchin to see if new people showed up, what with some of the figthin an stuff. Jarek saw the horse, thought it would be something easy to bring back to show we did good work. That sort of thing... he man offer a hopefuly look his eyes red and irritated from the obvious crying he has been doing. Take away the dirt and the few day shadow of beard and you might think this man was closer to boy, probably no older than 19 or 20.

Natasha looks a bit pleased. "So, tell me what your boss was up to the last few months. I was part of a failed attack at his fort back then." Her arms crossed before her, she tense up with these words, until her claws dig lightly into her arms through the gaps in her chain shirt. She is slightly startled from this, straightening her arms again and continuing.
"Did this cause him to fortify his defenses, or rather inflant his ego and make him believe to be invincible?"

"She's rather forward in her failings. Its rare to find someone willing to be so honest with their shortcomings. She truly is a rare breed in a noble house."

Ra'hl continues to watch the exchange, he is clearly not thrilled with the manner in which the interrogation is being done, but he clearly regards Natasha with respect.

Aleria sighs, moving over into the post as the others interrogate the boy. It is a wonder the Stag Lord commands the amount of fear that he does. Though I suppose it is also a wonder that Rogarvia or Natasha haven't taken his arms off yet.

She goes to the bunkhouse, grabbing a pail, and filling it with water and grabbing a few rags making sure they are clean. The boy hasn't washed in who knows how many days. He's looking for approval, and he gets that from the bandits. And I suppose that in the grand plan, we need to show them that there is a better way. Pray that great nobleman understands that. Erastil preserve he's not that much of a fool.

Gathering up her things, she gets some basic food and drink from Svetlana, and comes back over setting down the things she is working with. She starts to gently wash and clean the wounds and the body of the young man that was tiger mauled, listening to the others talk, but not at this point directly engaging in conversation.

Oddly, the treatment might put Aleria into a different light, as her touch and manner shifts from a much more rough exterior, to something more akin to either a motherly affection for a son, or perhaps the devotion and care for a lover.

A small smile lights on Ra'hl's face as Aleria sets to aid the boy.

"The boy is scared. Threatening him with death and blade, what difference is there left between us and the bandit 'lord'. If they wish him put to death, then so be it. Justice needs to be dealt, but I can't find myself in agreement with tormenting him. Justice or mercy, and a strong distinguish between the two. There can be little grey in this area."

He still continued to watch, musing to himself. He was not speaking a word. Though he clearly favored this approach. This is likely Ra'hl's first experience with forest banditry. With true poverty, and it is a world he can not yet judge. But he was motivated to learn, and learn quickly. There was too much at stake not to.

The boy winces at Natasha's slightly pleasured look and more so as the cavalier seems to grow more intense. The young man struggles to look anywhere but at the changeling as she questions him, his eyes growing wider and wider. He is clearly quite intimidated, You were one of the? Oh I had heard...I...um...well the place is a fortress, so much so I have only been in there once or twice since I joined up two months ago. They had me mostly riding patrols round the fort, I'm a hunter you see. This was my first trip north....but uh we have more men since you were there I think, a lot more maybe...I'm not sure....but not confident as you say...uhm...angry. Lookin to bring the whole area to its knees...

Sense Motives 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Ra'hl shakes his head, but he still can't bring himself to involve himself in their affairs. Remaining quiet, complacent to just watch.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

Aleria sighs, watching the young man for a few moments then calls over to him, giving Natasha a firm but understanding look. "Come here boy. Sit. Wash yourself. You look like you need a good rest."

She nods to the ground next to herself. She indicates a second pail of fresh water and a couple extra spare rags. She also on a fresh cloth sets a hunk of bread and some cheese, with a bit of dried fruit for him. "Wash yourself and eat. We have a lot to talk about, you and I and the rest here. My suggestion to you, is that you calm yourself and let us talk. And perhaps, if you and your friend have good heads on your shoulders, you might walk away with them and your hides intact. I'll need you to help me calm your friend here in a moment."

Aleria finishes cleaning and balming the young man's wounds, and instinctively reaches down to the holy symbol around her neck, offering a soft prayer to the Elkheart for his guidance and mercy.

Duška continues to watch the interplay, scrutinising the young man as he utters words dripping in fear;

Sense Motive DC15: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21

Tired and scared this one. Ayi Maminka, perhaps food in his belly and rest will make him remember with more clarity...

As Aleria tends to his wounds and offers words of clemency, the lithe half elf pulls a card from her deck. She looks at it intently, then approaches the lad, showing him its back;

"The Chosen of the Elkheart speaks wisely... as does my Harrow card..."

The ranger deftly turns the card over, showing the lad its image - It depicts a melancholy woman delivering a tiefling babe, with the glitter of magic upon her fingertips.

"Porodní asistentka. The Midwife. A good card. The bringer of new arrivals, new information and new lives... All three I think are you yes?"

Her words are hushed, and she taps with card with a fleeting smile.

1d20 ⇒ 18

Cuddles relaxes a bit. The others have this. He turns away and goes back to his post. Soon, hollow cracking sounds can be heard as Cuddles practices upon his wooden nemesis.

The young man willingly follows Aleria and seems to gratefully accept the offer to wash up and potentially eat. He nods as the cleric indicates that he may need to help calm down the other man but is otherwise quiet.

The other man, for his part, does appear to be older and certainly seems to be more seasoned, both in his obvious scars and callouses but also his age and the wear on his body. His breathing remains shallow but stable as Aleria does some basic tending to the bandit in preparation for next steps....

Ra'hl will keep up with the young bandit. He gives him some privacy, but he refuses to turn his back on the bandit. Quietly watching and keeping guard on young man.

Mattrim would have taken his horse and Saber into the stable, checking both over twice to make sure no serious harm had come to either that he might have initially missed. Satisfied he brushed the horse and Saber down, not wanting to go near the bandits again just yet, his hands shaking in anger at just the thought of them.

Finally he gives the horse some feed and Saber some dried up meat to eat while he cleaned off his claws and mouth. "Good boy Saber, you did well, stay here and take a rest while I go see what's going on with the bandits."

Returning to where the bandits were being kept, passing by Cuddles on his way out, Mattrim does his best to smile at the Half-Orc, though it looks more of a grimace.

Finally he walks quietly into the room, to see how things are going, taking up residence on a nearby wall.

Leaning up against the wall he eyes the boy with a look of distatse. That one looks young, I wonder how he got mixed up in all of this?

For now satisfied, Natasha sits down with a mug filled with water and watches the scene calmly. The "bandits" may be young and foolish, but at least a bit useful.
Anger has gripped the old staghead. She would show him anger in due time.

Once she has finished cleaning and binding the wounds of the bandit that is unconscious, she takes her silvered holy symbol in hand and starts muttering a soft prayer.

Channel Positive Heal: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 2) = 4

After a moment, a warm surge of energy, accompanied by a bright glow emanates from the symbol in a burst, a wave of healing energy spreading out from her washing over those close by.

The older bandit sputters awake as the light of Erastil mends his broken body. He attempts to rise as he coughs the healing mending many ills but the bodies natural reaction to clear still kicking in. As the bandit sits up and winces at light and sensation he notices the younger man first and then his surroundings and the myriad people around him, Bugger me...

Now you have TWO bandits. Ah Ah.