Despite his fury at the traitorous Dwarves, SparkleEye still can't bring himself to fire on his 'kinsmen' if he can at all help it, especially when there is still so many nice human targets around.
2nd Ranged touch:
Fire Damage:
Kib aims the wand and two tongues of fire come out. One incinerates the wounded human, the other narrowly misses another as Kib has to be careful to avoid hitting Kragg.
Magnum tosses two hatchets at the injured rider. One hits him square in the chest and takes him down.
Magnum prepares to throw two more.
Per
"Wulfson, is that you. Don't you think this fight is too much for your boys? We have taken no casualties."
One of the human riders responds, "Magnum, is that you? I heard you were dead."
The leader points to the downed dwarf, "With our employer down, we are ready for a cease fire."
Magnum points to Brask and holds two more hatchets ready to throw.
"That is who you need to convince."
The human yells to Brask, "I just want to treat my injured men and go."
Brask seriously considers ignoring the man's words for a moment, but good sense got the better of his hatred.
"If I have yer word that I won't see yer faces followin' us then consider this a truce."
Despite ending the fight, the dwarf keeps his bow ready and his hand is already reaching for another arrow.
Khazad moves on, almost reaching the tents.
"Not before you tell us who ordered you to spy on us!"
"That dwarf hired us to follow you and help recover items you shouldn't have. " He points to the downed dwarf.
At the human's words, Kibibblepep has a flux of mixed emotions flow through him. For on the one hand, he completely see now why these dwarves were here. There was a human now in possession of a sacred Dwarvin heirloom, and in any other situation, Kib would himself very likely been joining their cause to get it back. On the other hand, that same human was more Dwarf-like than at least one Dwarf he could name, and moreover, had quite possibly just saved his life.
Still not at all sure how he feels at this point, the Gnomish sorcerer leans forward to follow the conversation between the various leaders. At the same time he loads his sling, getting a bead on the human leader's head, in case hostilities should break out again.
"Thograt, Fix up humpty-dumbass. As fer the rest o' ya. Ye got five minutes to pack up an' leave without tha dwarves. We thought ya were a bunch o' bandits after tha caravan, if we see ya again, we will not hesitate to assume that ya are. Got me?"
Brask replaces the arrow and puts his bow back in it's sheath. He pulls his pack around and fishes out a rope.
"Hon, follow me, we's got us some s&!~-fer-brains dwarves to tie up an' take back to Rock."
Brask moves towards the three dwarves that are apparently the ring-leaders of this little group. Once he gets there he pulls one of them aside and begins his question softly and quietly, but his voice gets louder as he goes on until he's bellowing in the dwarf's face.
"Now, tell ol' Uncle Brask why "
Kragg will not say a word during the exchange. He will simply stow the greataxe and pick up his Urgrosh. While Brask is interogating the other dwarves, Kragg will sharpen the axe portion waiting to use it on anyone Brask indicates.
Once Brask is finished with the negotiations, Kragg will ask Thograt to for some healing. If Thograt does heal Kragg (down 14hp) Kragg will suggest to Brask that We hurry up and return to the caravan before anyting else happens to it. Like those humans taking off without us. Don't know about the rest of you but I want to be back guarding that loot that is left in the chests.
The human rider, obviously the leader, as he has fine armor and a missile weapon, states "Stay outside our camp and we will pack and leave this dispute to your dwarves."
This causes some problem when one of the dwarves mentions that the human camp still contains some of their armor and possessions.
The human leader speaks to the two protesting dwarves, "Your armor and possessions may cover the costs of my loss of men and promised reward for reclaiming what these dwarves should not have."
The human speaks to Brask and Magnum, "Hopefully the possessions in our camp will cover the obligations of these three dwarves."
"If not ye'll have ta talk ta Rock 'bout gettin' the rest from 'em. We won't mess with yer camp, just let us gather our people an' those idiots an' we'll be outta yer hair."
He shouts so he can be heard by the rest of the group.
"E'rybody hear that? Stay outta the humans' way an' outta their camp. Hon this means you!"
Brask turns to talk to the dwarves his demeanor is decidely not friendly.
"Now that we've got that li'l problem squared away, lemme tell ya what's gonna happen. We're gonna try and fix up yer friend, we're gonna go back to tha caravan we are guardin' and you're gonna be comin' with us. After we get some shoppin' done, we're all gonna go back an' have a nice li'l chat with Rock about this whole gods-be-damned mess. If ye don't like it, I's got plenty more arrows, an' me axe is just a-itchin' fer a fight right now."
Magnum sheepishly asks Kib, "Can you detect magic? I seem to have lost an important hammer."
The humans pack up their camp in record time. They are ready to move in about four minutes.
Wulfson, the leader, speaks to Magnum. "If I knew taking this job would put me at odds with the Dark Owls, I would never have done it. I thought you were dead and the Dark Owls only a legend. Never trust a dwarf too eager to part with gold."
The two dwarves are somewhat confused by events. "The humans have most of our stuff in their camp, you can't just let them ride off with it."
"Oh an' I suppose that we shoulda let ya kill us an' take our gear, eh? If ya got a problem ya come talk it out with words or fists, ya don't go hirin' a bunch o' mercenaries ta do yer dirty work. Yer supposed ta be our brothers, not our enemies. Hon, Help me bind 'em an' their 'ands together."
Brask is in no mood to put up with a bunch of whiny dwarves. He pulls out a rope and starts to bind their hands with the length. He asks Thograt how the other one is while he works.
"Thograt, can you put Humpty-Dumbass back together again or is he a lost cause."
Thograt inspects the fallen dwarf and stabilizes him.
The dwarves do not really like be taking prisoner, but glare daggers at Brask as they are bound.
The human cavalry leaves bringing much of their wounded with them. It is your strong feeling they do not want to meet dwarven steel any time soon.
As soon as the dwarf awakes, he is furious.
"How dare you attack us and hold us prisoner. You are making a huge mistake. We have come to retrieve two things. The most important is the journals of the Dark Owl. The second is THE HAMMER. Who is in charge of the circus, I want to speak to him now. And it better be a dwarf or there will be some more he$$ to pay!"
By his frothing tirade and red face, the dwarf with the tattered beer mug pajamas is not in any way happy.
Magnum continues to search through the snow for the hammer that passed over his shoulder while he was stunned.
"That'd be me, Humpty-Dumbass." Brask moves in front of him, His gray eyes fix the dwarf with a menacing stare.
The dwarf doesn't seem too impressed, but Brask continues on.
"Lemme ask ya somethin'. If yer guardin' a caravan an' ya see 'bout a score o' men on horseback, what are ya goin' think they are? If ya have a lick of sense, which I doubt ya do, yer goin' think they're bandits out ta raid yer charge. We thought we'd get the drop on them, but then we find ye three idiots. Ye best be thankin' yer lucky stars that I ain't gonna kill ya out here, or that I only aimed at tha humans."
He pauses for a moment before continuing, just to let it sink in.
"From what I've been able ta gather, ye three were gonna attack us, with overwhelming force, ta take, no, ta steal somethin' which was gifted ta two o' our own by Malgrim hisself. Now we're gonna haul yer asses with us ta tha city, then we're gonna haul 'em back ta Rock so he can decide what ta do with yer sorry hides. An' ye best be hopin' he don't ask me."
Brask's voice takes on a grim, icy edge and his expression makes it clear he is not going to put up with any arguments.
Kragg will switch out weapons and hold the greataxe. Trying to help Brask, Kragg will assit the intimidates. If ya want, I can swing this here axe again and make sure ya don't wake up. Otherwise show some respect to your superior.
Kibibblepep nods at Magnum and begins using his detect magic to sweep the area for sign of the hammer. As he and Magnum get out of easy earshot, he says quietly |"Ah, I'm guessing I owe ye me thanks, Magnum. Yer the first human what has ever risked his own life ta save mine. I guess ye truly do 'ave a Dwarven heart, so from now on, I'll be treatin' ya like one. And, well, I'd be pleased ta call ya friend."
Once they find the Hammer, he also uses his detect magic to scan over all of the rest of the gear and equipment Brask and Hon took off of the bound Dwarves.
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Hon materializes from behind, passing into the cavalry's focus matter-of-factly, yet still enshrouded by the elven cloak. Acknowledging the critiques of his peer with a casual shrug, he binds the hands of the newly-met dwarves behind thier backs and links them together via a rope-chain around each of thier necks. All without commentary or rough-handling. He turns to Brask and whispers to him out of earshot about hyperthermia, martyrs and incompetent lackeys with information. Having stated his opinion, he indicates the embers still glowing from the now abandoned campsite.
The search for the hammer is successful. Kib also finds that the spear one of the dwarves had also detects magic. The dwarves are taken back to the caravan.
The larger dwarf, nicknamed Humpty by Brask, continues to rant....
"Kidnapping dwarves, taking their stuff, and countless actions of a disgrace to all dwarves--you should have your beard shaved and be cast out. Let me go you shavers--respect the old ways. That is why I had to intervene in the first place."
The rest of his rant is 90% profanity.
The other two dwarves state, "I guess he will miss the next dwarf council meeting if we are headed to town. I hope you know what you are doing. If Durnak doesn't get that Owl Book, he is not going to be any fun to work for."
The humans welcome you back and had posted a watch for your return.
"Where did you find more dwarves? I didn't know any were out there.", says the carvan master.
Warmed up hot cider of somewhat high quality and hot rum with maple sugar are awaiting your return.
Upon noting you are somewhat scuffed up, the human guards toast you into the night, delaying the start by at least three hours the next day.
About five minutes before arriving at the camp, Brask's patience with Humpty runs out.
"Rock didnae 'ave a problem with Magnum usin' tha hammer, tha same hammer that was gifted ta 'im by Malgrim. Tha lad's saved our lives moren once. Ye, on tha other 'and, hired a bunch o' sellswords ta rob us an' probably kill us. An' if ya want tha damn book so bad, why don't ya ask Hon for it? far as I can tell it's 'is by right anyway. Now if ya don't shut yer yap I'm a gonna give ya a shave an' a haircut. A li'l off tha top, jus' below the chin should do it."
If the dwarf keeps talking, Brask will gag him.
"Foun' 'em payin' tha men followin' us. They're tha reason we thought we 'ad a bunch o' bandits on our trail. Dunno who tha other two are, but this one here is Humpty-Dumbass. Kragg did a right numb'r on 'im. Lad laid 'im out like 'e was an elf."
Brask points at the dwarf that has been b@*$&ing most of the way back. He won't partake of the festivities much. The vision of the Giants is still on his mind, though he will enjoy a mug of rum.
"Storm's abrewin'. I don't like it."
Ninni gets the feeling you don't want Humpty talking anymore and lays him out again with a well placed open hand.
Well done Ninni, well done indeed. I would've wished to give him that honor myself, but its probably best coming form you.
Kragg will skip the festivities and gain some much needed rest. He wants to be alert and ready when his watch comes in case the humans are going to still try to strike back while we are celebrating. On watch Kragg will wear the cloak of elvenkind.
perception
stealth
Seeing that Brask is of like mind in abstaining from the party Kragg will approach him. I'm worried about these here dwarves. If there 3 here now how many more at back home broodin. I think whatever spoils we get for a bit might be best used back home to keep the clan happy. I know we are going to need better equipment so I'm fine with this purchasing trip, but we can't go upsetting our kin. What would happen if we started givin say 25% of the take as a tithe back to the homeland. Think that'll do?
"'Tain't tha dwarves that worry me. I 'ad a vision o' a couple o' giants. There's a storm comin', Kragg." Brask sighs, he looks worn out from the last fight. "I want ya ta promise me somethin', If we get inta a fight we can't win, promise me that ye'll get everyone else out."
I'd like to make that promise, but I think it might be me that would be up front keep'n something at bay. I will do what I can though. That I can promise. Wait...what giants? We haven't had a run in with giants in quite some time. Kragg appears visibly shaken at this news. This des not bode well for the group. Hostilities at home and now giants are moving.
Thograt grabs his holy symbol and channels a double dose of healing power.
Kibibble hands the hammer over to Magnum and the spear to Brask. Once they get back to the caravan though, he requests the spear back temporarily, spending the time to identify it properly.
As Humpty continues to spout off Kib's face gets redder and redder until he is about to finally do something himself when Ninni takes the matter into her own capable hands first. Clapping his fellow Gnome on the shoulder Kib says with a grin "Nice job! I was about to cram his hole full of grease myself and let him choke on that!"
For the rest of the trip though Kib is quiet and introspective. There had been several things about the recent combat which had bothered him, largely his own perceived ineffectiveness. Even more so though, he could feel the power welling in him again, as it sometimes did. Perhaps if he moved it that way, and concentrated in this manner...
By the next morning, after his meditations are complete, it is a noticeably more confidant Gnome who greets his companions. There seems to be something slightly different about the way he moves, although it's hard to put one's finger on exactly how that is. As well, there is definitely a new sparkle in his eye.
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Hon will keep his distance from the other dwarves as his presence tends to set off Humpty. Taking stock of his skills and knowledge of the nearing human settlement, he heads over to the guards and caravan master, graciously accepting the cider and rum. Telling tall tales of a long-ago era in trade for whose who and where-its-at of all the caravan stops. Laughing in disbelief, lulling the guards in his niavete of the surface world. Grinning drunkenly at everyone, his thoughts are on another matter...Encouraging more boasts along with camaradiere and perhaps setting himself up as a sucker born yesterday. What better way to connect to certain elements of society.
Kib, oblivious to the workings of the inner mind of the canny Hon, looks over and spits in disgust as he witness more of the rogues offensive fraternising and, even worse, self and dwarven depreciation amongst the humans.
"Will you look at that!" he remarks to Kragg "Maybe we can find him a dagger to turn him into a human, he obviously likes them so much! Course, then he'd probably use it to stab us in the back. Damn human loving #$@^ard!"
After going outside to get a breath of fresh air, Big Mug the bannerman sees a huge black bird racing for the caravan ahead of the coming storm. The bird easily catches up to the burly dwarf as he rushes back to the caravan. All the flustered dwarf seem to get out is 'Bird, bird, bird' as he rushes back. You see a quick glimpse of majestic black bird as he alights on the ground and quickly changes into a portly dwarf with some flecks of white in his beard and hair.
Strolling into the camp, the dwarf looks around and his face lights up when he sees the cider. He pulls a battered mug from his pouch and looks serious.
"Business first. Rock is fit to be tied and had me get you a message in weather I can't trust my apprentices to fly in. Unfortunately for me, the message is hours late and gold pieces short as my da used to say."
"Better word for word an no laughing at what you already know. Brask, there are dwarves out to meddle in your business as much I have tried to keep you sheltered from the squabblings in the dwarven council. These dwarves are defying my authority and are acting outside the clan. They are solely responsible for their actions."
"These dwarves belong to the Traditional Old Hall, a faction of dwarves that do not like what they call progressive dwarves. Progressive dwarves are any dwarves that try anything new. The Traditional Old Hall dwarves had a majority in the council and the ruling king was of this faction for years. This stopped when a certain king ran afoul of the Dark Owl and since that day no king was has come from the Traditional Old Hall faction."
The portly dwarf hands some dispatches to Thograt and Ninni, and as they read them they prepare to depart quickly. Thograt leaves to change into plain robes and warm clothes and returns with his gear for Brask to give to his replacement. The dwarf druid points to the hasty actions of Ninni and Thograt.
"They are ordered to rush back to Hon's ancestral home and stop the human barbarians from trying to burn it down. It seems these Traditional Old Hall dwarves paid the human barbarians to burn the Dark Owl stronghold to the ground. Obviously it is not easy to burn down, but the humans are still trying to do it."
Good luck and teach them humans a lesson for meddlin in affairs that are too big for them. Stay safe and remember the code to get in. With that Kragg wishes the 2 fairwell knowing that he will see them again surely when the group has to venture farther out and need a safe spot to rest.
The news about the Traditional Old Hall being opposed to the new ideas presented is not that troubling to Kragg. It has always been like this since he coud remember. However, he has never known them to be this active in their opposing any other faction. This is going to cause trouble, more so than he even figured when he spoke to Brask earlier confidentially. Kragg will remain silent however and wait for Brask to ponder this new information. Perhaps later the group can figure something out. Until then, though, Kragg is more concerned about Brask's last command/request in protecting the group if something should happen.
Brask wishes the two luck and good ale before turning to the newcomer.
"Damn, I always 'ated politics. Thanks, fer tha word, if ye could follow me."
Brask will lead the fellow dwarf to where the three dwarves that were planning on raiding them are at.
"These them? The ones ye were talkin' about? Ya mind takin' back with ya. Ninni clocked Humpty-Dumbass here when he got a li'l too mouthy 'bout an hour after Kragg laid 'im out cold. An' if 'e's gonna be like that tha whole time, I may make it three times 'e gets knocked on 'is arse."
Brask points to a particular battered looking dwarf, from the black eyes and puffy lip, it's pretty obvious this one's been on the end of a losing fight.
The dwarf looks at the three captives and sighs and shakes his head. He points to the two younger dwarves.
"You are going with Thograt and stop the foolishness with the human barbarians. Listen to his every word or I will drop you from as high up as I can fly."
After the younger dwarves leave, he points to Durnak,
"You are going with Brask to meet the new religious leader of the group. He and Brask will decide your fate."
Durnak retorts, "I am on the council, they will hear about this."
The druid hands Brask some papers, "Durnak here is no longer a dwarf. He is clanless."
For the first time the dwarf with the tattered pajamas with beer mugs on them is speechless.
During the exhange with Brask and the druid, Kragg face starts to get red. without seeming to notice he is doing it, Kragg draws the Urgrosh and starts gripping it tghter and tighter. He appears to be ready to unleash a malestrom of rage upon these stupid upstart dwarves. Shaking himself to control his quickly rising anger, Kragg storms off a couple of yards and plants his body in the snow. Hopefully the cold will wash away the sudden outpouring of anger that sprung up within him.
Later, after he has cooled somewhat, he will tell Brask why he felt the way he did. Somehow, I don't think Magrim's too happy either with this group. Don't know why, its just a feelin' I have.
The dwarf druid fills his mug with cider and asks, "Where is the music, we need some music. I didn't race a storm to brood in my cups or worry my race is heading to extinction because of sots like Durnak."
Magnum gets out his mandolin, and rather than his typical brooding ballad, he collaborates with some human musicians to sing a much more lively tune.
Magnum's song with human backup singers and musicians.
Strangely, the druid really likes it.
Magnum thanks Kib profusely for helping find the hammer. "I think if I lost that, I would definitely get a special place in dwarven infamy. Hey, when we get to the big city we have to get another wand that shoots the fire. They can be pricey, but I think we can afford it."
"Can't say I'm surprised. A'ight, we'll fish up some clothes for him so he won't be freezin' his arse off."
Brask blinks a couple of times to try and get over the surprise. He takes a long sip of cider before talking.
"Heh, guess them pissin' off Magrim shouldnae be too surprisin'. We're too few ta be fightin' among ourselves. I better be gettin' some gear together for Humpty-Dumbass, jus' try not ta kill 'im, a'ight."
As the stormclouds roll in the lightning hits hard and the rain falls. Magnum and the caravan workers manage to get another song about riding a storm out before the worst of it forces everyone to batten the hatches on the trailers. The horses are even put in one of the cargo containers.
The carvan master breaks out winter clothes for the dwarves, and Thograt and Ninni with their dwarf escorts delay their departure until morning.
After everyone is in their cups a bit, Kibbibblepep approaches Thograt and Ninni. He reaches into his pocket and somewhat shyly but still loud enough for everyone to hear says "Ah, I had planned to give each of you one of these all at once, but now that Thograt and Ninni are leaving, I have to give them the only two I've made so far" and with that the small Gnome pulls his hand out of his pocket and opens it. Upon his palm are two shinning rings made of a dark metal that all the party instantly recognizes as adamantine. Carved into the rings in exquisite and finely crafted detail is the image of an owl, an exact replica of the images the party saw in the Dark Owl Stronghold. All the dwarves present can easily see that, with the value of the metal and the fine workmanship, each ring is easily worth over a 100gp.
As he holds out a ring to both Thograt and Ninni to take Sparkle Eye explains, his voice and demeanour still somewhat shy, yet the simple and honest pride of good craftsmanship in his work evident "You see, I thought that, what with all we've been through already, we should have something to remind us, and, well, to bind us to each other. And what is more strong and lasting than adamantine? I would have liked to enchant them as well, but, alas, I do not possess such skills as yet. Please take these those, Thograt and Ninni, to remind you as you defend the stronghld that you are not alone, and never shall be. The band of the Dark Owl shall endure forever!"
Easily excited as he is, the little fey sorcerer nearly shouts his last words. Almost as quickly though he becomes shy and quiet once more. He is about to step back out of the way again when he suddenly seems to remember and says "Oh yes! The rest of you shall get one as well, as soon as I have the time to make them. And, uh, I guess that's all for now."
After his speech Kib grabs a drink and settles in to enjoy the music, his small feet tapping away to the beat. As the drink catches up to him, he starts to dance a little jig and sing along, a big smile upon his face.
During the incident with the 'Old Hall' dwarves Khazad did not make a sound, with the possible exception of teeth gritting. He had quite enough of that nonsense during his military training, and he always thought that he left it behind with joining Brask's group. He always admired Rock for being the one to start leading the dwarves away from their isolationism, and was a believer in his vision of the bright future where dwarves will once again be treated by humans as equals, and show those dimwits the true road to progress. And it was quite painful for him to see that some retrogrades would go so far as to plot an assault on fellow dwarves, hiding behind human arses to boot. So when the druid announces Durnak's exile, Khazad cannot contain his joy and even claps his hands.
"Ha! That'll teach you what happens when you piss against the wind!"
Khazad is sorry to see Thograt and Ninni summoned back. "Give those stupid barbarians a hearty kick from me! I hope to see you again when we return to the Dark Owl stronghold, friends!" he says, blowing his nose.
He then realizes the druid still didn't name himself yet. "Are you going to stay with us to aid us in our journey? How should we address you in the heat of battle?"
Thograt and Ninni thank Kib profusely for the gifts. They each keep a single cloak of resistance. Ninni takes her defending dagger.
The druid smiles and drinks the cider almost as fast as it can be poured in his mug.
"My name changed as the huge bird I am named after and the first name of our king are pronounced the same. I go by 'Hunter' now."
The night passes without incident and watches are set in each wagon. No one can go outside in the blizzard. Upon waking up over two feet of snow and iced cover the landscape.
With that the next morning the trail is completely covered with snow and ice would slow travel immensely. Hunter transforms into a creature of earth and plows the road ahead. After Hunter outdistances the caravan easily it is obvious he isn't coming back soon. He actually leaves the road in better shape than it was originally and cleared of snow. As you camp for the next night you realize the next evenings storm doesn't even catch you as you outdistanced it during the day. The caravan makes record time both days as it heads toward the largest city in the area without any more incidents. As you camp for the last night before the big push into town, you realize the next evenings storm doesn't even catch you as you outdistanced the storm during the day.
Sleeping fitfully through the night, Kragg awakes to the notion that he is a stone being tossed amongst giants. At first, the giants were just playing with him. A nice game of catch that suddenly and without warning tumbled out of control. The giants weren't playing anymore. They were furious and throwing the rock against the ground trying to break it. However, the rock took a funny bounce and rolled away from them and out of their reach. That is the last that Kragg could remember of his dreams.
Kragg keeps this to himself for the time being however as he has already told Brask about his 'feelings' of Magrim. If he starts talking about dreams of rocks and giants he is pretty sure that everyone will think he is losing his mind. Better to find a cleric and ask him what to do and if near-death experiences that occurred in rapid succession could cause thses phenomena.