Jory continues to circle the undead, taking another cut with his blade.
Team Schmoozer
The Undead warrior is now free of the magic binding, he swings savagely at Darian
The large, broken weapon just going wide.
The party may now act.
Freya
Narthropple rolls his eyes and pompously announces that he didn't head up into the wilderness just to sleep in a bed. You note several of his crew look less convinced.
What are you doing now?
Darian moves opposite Jory, keeping this thing mostly surrounded as he continues to cleave into it with two-handed attacks.
__________
"Narthropple, you misunderstand my intent. I am simply offering a location for your expedition to re-provision and perhaps find a simpler route across the river." Freya says, glancing over at her companions to see if they have anything to add to the conversation.
(spending inspiration)
Lisl lashes out with her shield to bash the undead monstrosity.
Team Asking for it!
Darian Just a standard hit, Lisl you missed.
No longer Dazzled the undead howls and swings again at Darian
The party may now act.
Freya, not much else you can do here, even if you were a Diplomat Narthropple is too self absorbed to respond to any sensible suggestions.
What are you doing now?
Darian swings his body sideways to avoid the undead’s attack, then retaliates with a swipe of his own.
__________
"Thank you for the meal." Freya says. "Do with my suggestions as you will, of course, just try and stick to less stout sections of the River if you seek to cross in the future."
With that Frey looks to the other as if to say, "it's time to go."
Since her best swings cannot harm the undead, Lisl falls back on blasting it with holy energy once more.
(Will save DC... uh 14 I think? for half)
Team Schmoozed out.
.
Jory moves to keep flanking with Darian
With a tired, defeated moan the undead finally gives up it's existence, collapsing and crumbling into dust as time finally catches up to it.
Leaving behind it's equipment for you to study.
Loot.
Broken chainmail,
Heavy wooden shield,
Broken +2 (fey bane) bastard sword
What are you doing now?
Freya
You cross the river at a ford and travel south, the ground in this area seems to be low lying and is soggy most of the time, swampy when it's even wetter.
Finally you see a dilapidated mud-brick hut squating atop a small hummock in the middle of a fetid marsh, a thin tendril of bluish smoke trickling through a gaping hole in its mosscovered roof.
A wooden fence surrounding the perimeter of the mound is festooned with crude fetishes crafted out of sticks, feathers, and animal bones. A lone crow caws noisily from the top of a nearby cypress tree.
A pumpkin headed scarecrow appears to be propped up midway between the gate and the door to the hut.
What are you doing?
Darian kneels down next to the thing and studies it, shaking his head. He scans the gear for magic, and his eyes widen as he looks over the broken sword. He picks it up and says ”Yeah, we’ve done what we came here to do. Let’s let the true dead rest. But this sword...if we can get it repaired it is quite powerfully enchanted...”
"Hmmph...someone obviously lives here." Freya says to Josef and Akiros. "I suppose we should find out who."
Calling out to the hut from her current location she says, "Hello in the house. We are travelers from the newly formed settlement on the north shore of the Tuskwater. It would be an honor to get to know our new neighbors."
Quickly disregarding the vanquished undead creature, Jory surveys the barrow room with a practiced eye.
"Fascinating. I would hazard to say that this was some chieftain of old, from a tribe that had a particular... history with the Fair Folk," says Lisl.
"Given a day or so I can repair these items, though if their magic has passed it will not return."
Team Freya and the toyboys.
Noticing that there is a bell mounted on the pole by the rickety gate Freya gives it a solid shake and calls out to the occupant of the shack.
A moment or two later a window slams open and a scary face peers out suspiciously. Swamp witch
"Who are you? What do mean bothering a peaceful old woman?" She shrieks in a very unfriendly tone.
Akiros and Josef sidle behind Freya.
What are you doing now?
Team Tomb raided.
It takes you several days peaceful ride to return to the growing settlement, Kesten reports it has been quiet and the work is proceeding well.
"We mean you no harm, nor do we wish to bother you for too long. As I said before, we are travelers from the newly formed settlement on the north shore of the Tuskwater." Freya reiterates.
"We are exploring the surrounding area in order to know the terrain as well as any friends or foes that may inhabit the area. We would hope to count you among the first group."
(spend inspiration)
Darian is grateful for a peaceful ride back to Silverhold. He checks in with Kesten and Oleg upon his return and is equally happy for a positive report. He then spends time doting on Isabel, as well as to see how well Lisl can repair this sword.
Freya
The old woman glares at at you, the position of her head suggests she's hard of hearing and struggling to understand you. "Not interested. Go away!" She finally snaps, slamming her window shut again.
The Scarecrows head shifts to watch you now.
What are you doing?
Freya's eyes widen as the scarecrow's head turns.
"Alright, I suppose that our intended mission is accomplished, we've scouted out the area around the Tuskwater. I suppose it's time we headed back to Silverhold." she says to the others.
Darian finds himself walking through town the evening they returned to Silverhold. He was walking along through what was soon to be a bustling residential area for the common folk, watching them get settled in to their new homes and their children playing in the streets and yards. He smiled reflexively at the kids as he passed, and made certain not to offend anyone by stopping to talk or share a greeting whenever someone addressed him or had a question for him.
Eventually he passed by the Silver Raven and turned back toward the castle. It was coming together very nicely...the old run down fort was almost undetectable now, having been subsumed and incorporated into the much larger structure. The flags of Silverhold, a banner of light blue with a white shield centerpiece emblazoned with a flying silver raven upon it, fluttered gently in the wind from the finished parapets.
He made his way through the gates and into the main structure, eventually coming to what was soon to be the gathering room. It had once been referred to as the Throne Room, but such a title to the chamber sent a twist through Darian’s stomach that he wasn’t quite comfortable with yet, so he refused to refer to it as such as of yet. The room wasn’t quite finished yet, but it was still an impressive chamber. He paused just for a moment to take it in, before continuing on to the Council Chamber.
It was a large chamber with a large table of polished cedar. Embedded into the center of the table is a large bit of glass made to match the Silverhold banner in color and style. Darian runs his hand across the surface, feeling how smooth it was. The union between the glass and wood was so well designed that one could almost not tell where one ended and the other began. It brought another smile to his face.
After a bit of time, Darian made his way to find Jory, Lisl, and Isabel. ”Well?” he asked aloud as he approached, ”What do you think? Should we ride out to find Josef, Freya, and Akiros? Wait for their return? I hear they came back once while we were out on our recent mission. I wonder how long their second expedition will last?”
|
Isabel is sitting on a large block of stone, looking out of the lake and seeming very relaxed. Her husband receives a kiss on the cheek as he joins her.
"We should stay here. If we go out again then we could easily miss them and the whole cycle would start over again. They'll be back soon and we can regroup there. Besides - Silverhold is going to need our full attention for some time yet I think."
A companionable silence falls between them for a while.
”True enough,” is all he replies as he sits beside her. He sits quietly with her for quite some time.
”Have you considered possible names yet?” he asks eventually.
Lisl idly says, "I agree we should wait for the others to return. If they don't show up in a few days, we should see if we can follow them and find out what happened."
"I feel like I had something to say but I forgot it," she says wistfully. "Oh well, I'm sure it will come back to me."
|
|
"Not yet." Isabel smiles back at him. "I'm very glad we went on the expedition though." The thin copper ring on her middle finger, next to her wedding ring, seems dull by comparison but Isabel rubs it appreciatively. "I've been asking around and apparently most mother's eat like a horse from about this time. I've been hungry but no more than normal - I think the ring is keeping one of us fed, so I'm only eating for one, not two."
She leans on Darian's shoulder, "Do you want a son or a daughter? I can't make any promises..."
”Healthy. I want them to be healthy and strong. That is all,” he replies.
Freya returns to Silverhold to find the rest of the party has returned. Darian has a shiny now sword. Isabel is a bit rounder.
The month draws to a close as you go over what you have each discovered. It's marked by the arrival of a small and nervous group of Kobolds looking to trade with the new village. They eye everybody nervously and cluster together. They have bought silver ore, dried fish, pelts and hides to trade though.
Oleg is a bit nonplussed by this, but his trading instincts are as always good and soon he and the Kobolds are engaged in some serious bartering. The Kobolds want tools sized for their small stature, cloth and alcohol in trade.
Currently you are using the Silver raven as your lodgings while the Castle is being constructed.
The map is up top, so please place yourselves in a room of your choosing.
Darian & Isabel are on the map already, though you can change the room if you wish. Once placed can you all give me perception checks please.
.
Freya as you get ready to retire for the evening you are aware of stealthy footprints in the hall outside your room. They stop by Darian & Isabel's door.
What are you doing?
Hearing something sneaking around in the hallway, Freya taps Fenrir on the shoulder and grabs her staff to go investigate.
Freya, you see a Half-elf male, clearly some type of spellcaster. He has a potion in his hand and was just preparing to use it when you opened the door.
He steps back and casts a spell on you.
Charm person
Will save DC15 Please Freya.
As he has Cast everyone can make another perception check. DC20 to hear him through closed doors.
If you make the save it's your action Freya.