Gerran looks at the list as well, then asks "How quickly can you create more potions of...cure light wounds? We're already injured, and quite honestly might soon be more so..."
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"Two potions to Endure the Elements for when you... need to... avoid terrible ail-a-ments?" Aerynne offers with a grin. "Not perfect, but it'll do."
The half-elf glances over the list, nodding to herself. "I suggest we each put in say 10 gold to purchase both the light potions, with the rest coming out of the party funds. And hope that we don't need to come back and beg for the moderate one."
"Hm... no mints here..." Bokken says to Wallop, but at Aerynne's suggestion he nods, "Yes... that is much better! But I lost the rhyming game again! Damn you brother! Every time. Every time!"
He shakes his fist at the air, and you notice that his pinky finger is missing. He calms down a bit, and then says:
"Potions of cure light wounds you want? I can certainly sell what I have, and then make a new potion each day! If you want to order any, I have no more orders on my schedule."
"I agree Aerynne. We get the two potions now and split the cost between us. The more we keep all of us on our feet the better off we'll all be in the long-term." Marius says.
Scraps steps forward and hands Aerynne her 10g, ready for the "OMG, a goblin" litany. 8)
"Mr Bokkens, can you makes an oil that mends an object what be busted? Sometimes me rifle get jammed like and something that be fixin it be might handy."
To the group she says, "We really needs a drink what delay pizzen lessen one o you accidently eats me cookin. It be a long ways ta ride home when ye be dyin."
With her piece said, Scraps settles back on her heels to see what happens.
"What did the goblin just say? Something about poisoning my food?"
Gerran grumbles, "I...think...it was saying that we shouldn't eat any food it has prepared, lest it accidentally poison us." Then, to Scraps, "You, however, had better be careful not to poison us, on accident or otherwise. Understand?"
Somewhat annoyed by Gerran's reply Wallop pipes up "First off, the IT you are referring to is actually a she and she has a name; Scraps. A fine name and as it happens, Scraps is also a fine sharpshooter and quite possibly saved our bacon in that last little brouhaha. She is a fellow charter holder and is entitled to as much dignity and respect as any of us. From now on, let us refer to her by her name or even 'her' when the situation fits. You might even refer to her as 'shooter' or 'crackshot' or some other mark of respect. Heck, some of ya might even want to start calling her 'My Savior" as it were." Wallop gives a little mischievous smile knowing how these comments might grate on some of their members and chaff their pride.
"As to her last comment, I believe she is referring to us getting some antitoxin; truly handy stuff ... that last bit about poisoning food was what seems to qualify as goblin humor roughly translated into broken common."
Wallop gives Scraps a knowing smile and a friendly nod "I mean it was sort of funny in a way."
Wallop looks at Bokken and says "Well I'm wounded and so is the Dwarf so we will most definitely take the potions of cure light wounds and lets put in an order for a few more of them to be picked up at a later date. Also, might you have any healing kits for sale? One of those would be handy.
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Aerynne grimaces. "Okay, okay, while I agree with you, Wallop, I think we've had enough extended arguments for one day. As the dwarf so kindly pointed out earlier, we are on quite a delicate time limit; we don't have time to waste arguing about something else today. Let's leave that subject for when we return from our business, okay?"
Assuming no-one disagrees with the payment plan, Aerynne will collect the 10 gold pieces from everyone (plus another 7 gold if Bokken has a healer's kit) and 40 gold from the 'collective' pouch (or 48 with the kit) to pay the wild-eyed old hermit.
"Thank you, Bokken. We'll certainly be back. If you could brew us up some more cure potions, we'll return in a few days to organise payment."
"Healer's kit?! HEALER'S KIT?!
...
One moment please."
Bokken takes the gold and sprints back to his hut, but doesn't go in the door. He instead opens a window and dives through headfirst. You hear a crash of metal and glass breaking from the interior.
A few minutes go by and a small explosion rocks the hut. Moments later, Bokken emerges. His hair is now slightly singed and his nose has turned an odd shade of violet.
"Here you go. And if you should want a little more get for your gold, bring me some Fangberries! They're sofffffft and sweeeeeeeet just like the candy Mama used to make, rest her poor departed soul. CURSE YOU, BROTHER!
...
Anyway if you bring me enough for seven doses I'll give you a discount."
And with that, Bokken sets down two potions of cure light wounds and a Healer's kit, which is for some reason dyed the same color as Bokken's new nose tint, and hops back into his hut.
Overall, he seemed to be dreamily disinterested in minor conflict in the party, only interested in the business transaction itself along with his own ramblings.
Scraps nods her thanks to Wallop and gets back on her donkey. She at first appears frustrated and it takes almost five whole minutes for her cheerful demeanor to return. She spends the next five minutes, an eternity by goblin standards, lost in deep thought before making up her mind to try again.
Approaching Wallop she pulls her donkey next to his horse and waves for his attention. Pointing to a strand of trees, she carefully whispers, taking great effort to speak clearly and simply,
[ooc] DC 10 perception check for all but Wallop to hear. Even when whispering, Scraps is pretty loud and she is afraid to get too close to that horse. [\ooc]
[spoiler]
[b]"We gobbins be livin in woods long time. Many things eat gobbins cause we soft an small, likes halflins. There many scary things in woods but worstest be spiders big as a dwarf or mebbee even a catman."[\b]
Scraps pauses a moment, nodding sagely. She waits for the halfling to acknowledge her words and then continues,
[b]"Gobbins fear spiders so much cause they bites ya but doan kill ya. It wraps ya up like a birfday presence on accounts that yas kinnae move none. It den carries ye back to its chillins and hangs ya up ta ripen before yas become da family supper."[\b]
She gets deadly serious at this point and speaks very slowly,
[b]"Da crazy man be sayins he kin make a potion what delays pizzen. That be savin someone's life, mebbee a catman, or even a stumpy, if dey gets bit out in da wood. Mebbee we shoulda ask him ta make one fer later so it be ready fer nex time. Getten bit be worsen etin me dinner cause first ya can'ts move, den ya be gittens all hot, then ye turns all stiff like an we haves ta throws ye away."[\b] [\spoiler]
Exhausted from her fierce focus, the goblin girl sits back with a tired sigh, her good deed for the day finally done.
With the healer's kit in hand, Gerran gets to work on Morgrym's wounds.
.
Wallop listens to Scraps intently trying to piece together what she is saying. When she is done he nods in acknowledgement and says quietly to her good call little one ... feels kinda wierd me calling someone else little one. Hehe.
When he returns he looks on in admiration as Gerran plies his skills. Once the bandages are in place he lets out a whistle Weeeeeoooo! You've got some skills as a field medic it seems. Good to know. He nods appreciatively at the work the says to the group Scraps has pointed out to me that we ought to get some of that concoction Bokken can make that slows poison. Or at least have him make it while were gone. Death by poison isn't pleasant.
Bokken! Can you describe these FANGBERRIES you were asking about? So we know what to look for and all. Also, we could use something to slow the onset of poisons too. If you could brew up something like that we'd gladly pay you on the return trip.
Scraps sits over to the side watching. She's never seen anyone get healed. Wounded goblins are usually tossed away or eaten by hobs and orcs.
Morgrym is plainly not happy about having someone else tend to his wounds, but he lifts his chain shirt away from his wounds. When Gerran has finished he grumbles out a couple of syllables before walking back over to his horse and digging out his journal. It's hard to really be sure, but the grunted words almost sounded like "Thank you."
When Scraps and Wallop return, Marius is listening to his familiar, who is sitting on his shoulder. He smirks and nods at Cagnazzo who cackles and flits off into the grasses. You see him now and then throughout the day chasing dragonflies.
Observing Gerran's skill at healing, he smiles and congratulates the catfolk. "Watch yourself in the upcoming battle, Gerran. We can't afford to lose you, unless you want Scraps, or me, using that kit on you." he says with a laugh.
Gerran chuckles at Marius' jest. "I'll have extra reason to do so, now." With that, he holds the healer's kit up to Wallop. "Would you like for me to do the same for you, little one?"
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Aerynne follows after the grumbling dwarf, a faint smile gracing the corners of her lips that disappears entirely by the time she taps him on the shoulder. Best to not injure his pride any further by admitting she heard that admission. When Morgrym turns about, she hands him one of the two potions that they'd procured.
"You're good at hiding it, but you're still pretty sore, right? Take it."
The half-elf returns to the group, curiously eyeing the strangely-coloured liquid inside the vial. "I suggest we save this for an emergency. Who knows what's going to happen when we reach the bandit camp."
Not one to let an injured colleague suffer unduly, Gerran repeats his performance with Wallop.
Bokken shouts back out his window: [b"]If you want to know what a Fangberry is, just smell the damn healer's kit! Spilled Fangberry juice on it last week."[/b]
Sure enough, the healer's kit has an extremely sweet smell. You also note that even the bandages have been dyed pink.
"Now if that's all over and done, GET OFF MY PROPERTY please."
Gerran chuckles at Bokken's attitude, then stows the kit and mounts his horse. "Well, it would appear that we're ready to set out."
Gerran attempts to recall anything about fangberries - where they grow, etc.
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Aerynne likewise ponders the fangberries.
As she does so, she calls Cadeyrn to her side. "Cadeyrn, could you smell this? Yes, I know," she laughs at the fey-wolf's grimace, "but if you could keep your nose out for this scent it would be quite handy."
With the demand to get off his property, Aerynne waves jauntily to the crazy old hermit and re-mounts her horse. "The sun is getting low... but we should be able to make good ground before it gets too dark. Shall we go?"
Marius nods. He makes a note on some parchment about the fangberries and spurs his mount into motion. "Let's get moving." he says.
You continue riding, and the sun draws nearer to the horizon. Making camp before nightfall becomes a more and more appealing idea as darkness begins to fall across these grassy plains.
What would you like to do?
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With the sun setting, Aerynne reins her horse to a halt and turns to the group. "We should probably set up camp for the night. I think we should rest early and wake with the dawn, setting out as early as we can."
"Gerran, would you be able to find us a good place to camp around here? Cadeyrn can help you; he's got a good eye for that kind of thing."
"We'll need to set up a watch roster. I did not expend any magic today, so I'm happy to take a shift, but my understanding is that Marius will have to rest through the night." She smiles apologetically. "That'll be me, too, most of the time. Sorry in advance."
"I'll nominate myself for the first shift. Morgrym should take the mid-night shift-- it'll be too dark for the rest of us to see. Can you see in the dark, Scraps?" Aerynne glances at Scraps, and once she responds, continues speaking. "If so, you should be next, followed by Gerran and Wallop. Any complaints?"
Gerran looks nervously at Scraps when Aerynne suggests that she take a watch, then catches himself and nods to Aerynne. "I agree - I should be able to see well enough in the pre-dawn light."
When everyone is heading to bed, Gerran will make a point to pull Scraps aside.
He looks uncomfortable addressing the goblin in anything resembling a civilized manner. If we're going to be travelling together, and trusting our lives to this one, I should at least make an effort.
"Look, little one. We're going to be companions for some time, it seems. I realize that you may not be like the rest of your kind, which I can appreciate. I mean, goblins are filthy creatures. Vermin, really, like rats. They live in disgusting surroundings, eat the worst things imaginable, and ..." He stops. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. That didn't come out at all like I'd hoped.
"Just wake me when your shift is over, and don't get us killed. Okay?"
Scraps lets Aerynne know that she sees in the dark quite well.
When Gerran comes to speak with her, she seems somewhat confused.
"I be right careful mister catman and I wakes ye right upn when it be your'n turn. I not be killin nobodies tonight."
Scraps then goes back over to Aerynne and leans in close, "Missee, what time do I be wakin up and how is I supposed to be knowin? Ain't nobodies out here what be callin hours."
That night, Scraps sits up in a tree during her watch with her rifle across her knees. She is extra careful to stay alert and awake, understanding that she is being tested.
Marius nods at Aerynne. "Yes, I will need a full night's rest, but I am quite able to take the first or the last shift." he says. He is not much help in the woodscraft of setting up the camp or finding a site, but he is able to remain out from underfoot and doesn't make a nuisance of himself.
The night begins. Your group has found a nice level campsite through Gerran and Cadeyrn's efforts that is partially protected from wind by a nearby hill.
As things settle down for the night, Wallop tests out the bandages on his ribs and admires the quality work.
The catman knows his stuff. Tis a good skill to have for sure. He also seems to be coming around vis a vis Scraps ... slowly for sure but coming around nonetheless. Harmony on a crew is not only an asset, its a necessity. Still need to work on the finger wiggler and that stone headed dwarf though. Dwarves aren't bad folk, they just take to change and new fangled ideas slowly. I'm sure if Scraps and I prove ourselves in battle and otherwise he'll come round eventually.
Wallop quietly settles in to sleep without so much as a word to the others.
While he unloads his horse, Gerran speaks to the others.
"If we light a fire, we will potentially be targets for curious creatures, both four-legged and two. However, if we're set upon without one, those that can't see by starlight will be effectively blind. Unless you want to take those chances, or you have some way to create light instantaneously, I think we've no choice but to light one. What say you all?"
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"I can't light a fire instantly, but I can create light," Aerynne replies to Gerran, proving her point by causing her butterfly pendant to glow with a silverish torchlight. "I think it would be safer if we extinguished the fire overnight, or at least kept it at embers. We definitely don't want to attract anything dangerous."
---
Later that evening, when the goblin approaches her, Aerynne smiles gently; it seemed like common knowledge to her. "Let me teach you a simple way of estimating the time at night. Hold on, let me get some paper." She heads over to Brambles, currently tethered to a nearby tree and happily munching on some nearby grass, and retrieves a leather-bound journal and writing implements from the saddlebags. Flipping through to a blank page, she quickly scribbles a rectangle and divides it into four segments.
"Pretend this big rectangle is the sky. Now try and see if you can imagine splitting the sky up into this many smaller sections. Each of the smaller sections is counts for about an hour. If you watch the passage of the moon," she draws a circle on the diagram, "imagining it moving through these segments," she draws another circle further along, and an arrow in between them, "you can guess at how much time has passed. Does that make sense, Scraps?"
---
After setting up her bedroll on a soft patch of grass, Aerynne proceeds to finish off a traveller's meal made largely of berries and hard, flavourless bread. She spends her watch scribbling notes in her journal, making a record of the events that had occurred since she set out for Oleg's Trading Post. Cadeyrn rests by her side, much more alert than the farm-girl, ears perked for any sign of approach.
Scraps is very pleased with Aerynne's advise and follows it carefully. She wakes up Gerran when it is his turn and reports her experiences for the night.
Finished, she plops down on the ground, cuddles up to her donkey and goes to sleep.
After accepting the potion from Aerynne, Morgrym spends the trip to their campsite in silence. When his turn for the watch comes, he spends the night writing in his journal. When his shift comes to an end, he does not wake Scraps and will continue to keep watch. If she wakes on her own, he will still remain awake and keeping watch until it is time for Gerran's shift. Only then does he go back to sleep.
When his shift comes to an end, he does not wake Scraps and will continue to keep watch.
Scraps doesn't wake up then. If there is no noise to jolt her awake, no reason she would.
Morgrym, you hear the sounds of heavy footfalls approaching your camp. Many of them. You do not yet see their source, as they are too far away and the night is cloudy, restricting the moon's light.
Morgrym will attempt to wake the others as quietly as he can. His objective is to alert them to the possible danger without drawing the attention of whatever might be out there. He will wake them in the following order as long as secrecy is possible: Gerran, Marius, Caderyn and Aerynne, Wallop, Scraps. If there is any indication that secrecy is no longer possible, he will give a shout to alert the camp.
Gerran does what he can to make Wallop and Morgrym comfortable as they prepare for sleep, checking their dressings, applying simple poultices, and rewrapping their wounds. "Let's try not to poke ourselves full of more holes, shall we?"
During his watch, Gerran will spend some of the time checking on them as well.
As far as you can tell, Morgrym is successful in not alerting the intruders to your active nature. The footfalls are getting closer.
Gerran readies his bow and straps his sword to his back, then peers into the dark to see what is drawing near. In addition, he attempts to determine the type of creature by the sound of its footfalls.
Once he's made the attempt, Gerran falls back and to the side of the campsite, so that he might be able to get a clear shot if the creatures attack his companions.
Morgrym will also ready his axe and shield. Stealth not really being his forte, he doesn't attempt to hide but instead peers into the darkness, trying to see what's coming.
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"Hhwha..?" Aerynne mumbles sleepily as she is woken up, but quickly shakes the sleep out of her eyes when she realises the situation. Morgrym may have noticed that Cadeyrn is not currently present when he woke Aerynne up as well; he seems to have completely disappeared. She stumbles around in the dark trying to locate her crossbow and hurriedly slings the quiver over her shoulder. The half-elf remains close to Morgrym, trusting he would alert her if something comes close. Quietly, under her breath, she begins to invoke words of the natural world, imploring a friendly spirit to grant her its aid.
As soon as he is shaken awake Wallops martial training kicks in as he immediately senses the tension and jumps to action. Here grabs his greatsword and rushes over to where Scraps is sleeping with her donkey. Wake up shorty, we got company.
Once Scraps is awake and informed, he tells her to find someplace to hide and snipe from and he then takes up a spot next to the dwarf.
Scraps wakes easily and takes a second to get her bearings. Grabbing her musket, she rushes over to the base of a tree and crouches down behind it. She carefully loads her musket and settles in to wait.
Stealth