1d6
As Biter begins he Dance and Song to Elorin, he turns on the Goblin in anger, No more of this you little Goblin...BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH not able to keep his charade of being mad up, he drops to the deck laughing until it hurts. Gasping between breaths
never...before...have...I been serenaded...by a lady...of such...beauty. BAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Make him stop please....
Pete smirks at the goblin, then proclaims loudly, "Aye, 'tis true, I neveah met a damsel more fair than ye, me lovely lady!" He turns to Elorin, barely supressing his bellowing laughter, "I fear I must challenge ye ta a duel, fer th' ladies favor 'and 'er blessin's!"
Alexis giggles quietly at the men's hi-jinx. "I see that Harrolayne and I have a new rival to contend with for the title of top fashionista. Biter, you simply never cease to amaze with your talents!"
Alexis giggles quietly at the men's hi-jinx. "I see that Harrolayne and I have a new rival to contend with for the title of top fashionista. Biter, you simply never cease to amaze with your talents!"
"Most impressive wordrobe I must say" as he passes by the rest having fun showing some of their new things reading and writing in his diary about currents event every day event.
Meanwhile, before all these shenanigans...
It doesn't actually take all that long for Harrolayne and Camder to arrive at the conference, and before long, you are all finding seats or lounging against walls.
"Well," Lord Brycen begins the meeting, "Thanks to our Pathfinder crew, we now have a beachhead in Arcadia. Our soldiers are securing it as we speak, and we shall be getting some tents put up for shelters and loading colonists onto launches. Many of them are eager for land beneath their feet once again - as are we all. I believe that our first priority should be the construction of a pallisade and a thorough scouting of the surrounding terrain, perhaps starting with a half-day's hike radius and moving outwards to a two or three day march. To that end, I'd like to put some scouting parties together, to explore the coastline to the north and south, and to explore to the north and south wests, as well as due west along the river."
"How many individuals do we have capable of that sort of scouting..I mean, besides the Pathfinder group?" Harrolayne asks.
Banker Camder begins flipping through the colonial registry. "Hmmm...hmmm...several lumberjacks, not really scouts, Mylene the herbalist, also not really a scout...an elf named Hildandi listed his occupation as scout and tracker, so perhaps he could be of some assistance. Of course, several of the prisoners have survival skills, even if most are not woodland trained."
Harrolayne nods. "Yes, it would be good to start integrating those people, and letting them contribute. Perhaps they could form one scouting party...the Pathfinders could make up two or three groups, if we supplemented them with soldiers, and this Hildandi person."
Alexis nods in agreement with Harrolayne's assessment. "Elorin and Biter are each capable of leading scouting groups. Burnsten together with Tracant may also be capable of such reconnaissance. Lastly, our naturalist, Gregor, is capable of gaining a bird's-eye view of large areas without interference from foliage thru a divination he has aptly named, 'Eagle Eye'. Have a look..."
With that, Alexis unfurls the map Gregor drew from his spell the day before.
"Obviously, it would take many castings to map out to a day's march, but this might be a useful tactic for getting the lay of the land upriver to the lake that Grey noted there."
"Very nice, indeed. I am hesitant, however, to lump all of our prisoners into one scouting party unto themselves without supervision, though I agree they should be used. There are eight in the Pathfinder group, plus Hildandi makes nine, and there are 6 prisoners for a total of 15, and five directions to scout. Seems to me we could make 5 groups of three, spreading the prisoners out as best as we are able to be supervised by Pathfinders. And not a day's march, though, let's start with a half-day's march, and if anything of interest is detected, the Pathfinders can make a more thorough assessment the next day."
"So we shall have parties for North, Northwest, West, Southwest, and South then. That seems workable..."
.
.
.
.
Group 1 — North:
Alexis
Ravarath
Imogene (Human Sorceress)
Group 2 — Northwest:
Biter
Abbas
Kuras (Half Orc Thug)
Group 3 — West:
Gregor
Pete
Nate Hogginside (Halfling Bard)
Group 4 — Southwest:
Elorin
Goon (Mute Human)
Wat (Human Boy)
Group 5 — South:
Burnsten
Hildandi
Carylis (Sorceress' GF, Half-Elf Rogue)
- Given Alexis' strengths with swimming, she'll take one of the coastal routes.
- Gregor would be well-suited to heavily forested terrain due to his special abilities and spells that bypass foliage. Given that he and Pete are also good swimmers, I think the River is their best course.
- Since Burnsten can summon Tracant on the far side of a river if need be, that will make tying off ropes for fording easier. I'd suggest he take a coastal route.
- Groups without a healer will need to have extra healing potions reprovisioned to them.
Hello, we have met before, I am Elorin. I have heard some of the other passengers call you Goon, I would rather know your real name unless you prefer to be called that? If not you can write it in the sand here. Listen to me carefully, the woodlands here are quite dangerous so far, stay quite and listen and watch. I will be about 50-60 feet ahead of you and will be circling back every now and then to check up on you. I will never be too far that if you encounter anything just yell for me. We go southwest, I will try to leave a trail for you to follow.while walking to the woods I understand you are a smith, so am I. I am actually going to try and make a rare Elven blade for the little Goblin, Biter. If you are interested, I might be able to show you as well? Not many people outside of the Elven lands know how to make them.
Biter stands thinking for a few minutes, fingers running the length of his new white feather in his ear, flamboyant red hat standing out starkly from his rough appearance. Finally, inspiration hits, his lips widen in a smile,and he dramatically strolls over to the elf, reaching up to take his hand.
In an over-dramatic yet piercing voice, he begins what you at first think is a serious love song, but you realize as it progresses is some kind of bawdy dock-side tavern song put to dramatic music. As he gets into it, his speed quickens and he begins a dervish dance of hammering feet and pinwheeling arms.
"I'd spin a tale for a Varisian's lips;
I'd punch a Kell for a dwarf lass's hips;
but oh what I'd do for the soft white bosom of a fair elven maiden;
The travels i'd make; the risks I would take - for a fair young elven maiden."
"I'd spend a coin for a Chell's fine dance;
I'd wrestle a bear for a Vudrani's glance;
but oh what I'd do for the soft white bosom of a fair elven maiden;
The travels i'd make; the risks I would take - for a fair young elven maiden."
"I'da' run a mile for a Halfling girl's wink;
and truth be told, give no damn what you think;
cause oh what I did for the soft white bosom of a fair elven maiden;
The travels i've made; the debts i've repaid - for a fair young elven maiden;
Those eyes so deep, that golden hair, which shines with a brilliant sheen;
That waist so slim, those legs so long, but to be honest, it's what's in between…"
"oooohhh…
but oh what I'd do for the soft white bosom of a fair elven maiden;
The travels i'd make; the risks I would take - for a fair young elven maiden."
Biter finishes the song at the top of his voice, shrieking out the song while he capers around LongEars. His finale flourish is dramatically grandiose - whipping off the red hat and dipping into his best parody of a courtly bow to Elorin, breaths coming in heaving gasps.
Biter accepts the task he is given, and is surprisingly welcoming to the ex-con half-orc. He will, however, spend nearly as much time keeping an eye on him as he does the area of his patrol.
As he, Abbas, and the newcomer set out, he dons his new war-mask and moves ahead of them to take point in the scouting trip, with warnings for both of them to do their best to "keeping their feets light and eyes open."
Biter also takes any chances he has to try to get the convict to open up a bit. He assumes his rough demeanor will be a platform of similarity from which to grow at least a passibly amiable relationship.
Biter's serenade.
Alexis is quite glad that all eyes are on Biter because she turns beet red at his lyrics, particularly the parts about bosoms, legs, and golden hair. Note to self: EEP!
Pete laughs uproariously at the song performance from Biter, as a matter of fact, he nearly ends up chocking on his ale. Only the timely intervention of Gregor and Rath prevent an untimely end for the doughty dwarf.
Once he is ready to depart with Nate, he is all business, he only says to the annoying bard, "When I tells ye ta shut up, ye shut up."
Rath claps Biter on the shoulder with a big smile as he reclaims Alexis' hat and gently returns it to its box. "Good song, Biter! Have to teach me words some time. This explains your success with ladies all cross Avistan! None can resist Biter the Bard."
With Alexis' permission, Rath returns the hat to her room. For the next week or so, Rath is heard humming snatches of the tune with the odd word thrown in... lips... hips... sheen... between...
With Alexis' permission, Rath returns the hat to her room. For the next week or so, Rath is heard humming snatches of the tune with the odd word thrown in... lips... hips... sheen... between...
Before he does so, Alexis first uses prestidigitation to turn the pink hat back to it's proper shade of sea-blue. For the next week or so, Rath is heard giving a slight "oof!" and chuckling when he catches pointy little princess elbows in his side. ;)
"Rajkumari, maybe should train you as monk. You put those elbows to good use already!"
Bearly containing his laugh "Fair lady in did, so if ya need a witness to your contest for her let me know" as he goes away to get ready for his next activities.
"Hello, never meet with you before and as proper intructions I am Burnsten and this is Tracant. I've only heard of you as prisioner but I am not here to accuse you nor judge you of your crimes, I am to work with you will do so as equals" as he starts taking them towards the south "I will be honored to know your names from your own lips even tho I have been told, and what kind of skills or how good are you at work if you may" after reciving any kind of answer "Let us begin our jurney to explore around here, Tracant will serve as front line explorerfor us about 50-100 feet around us as we explore the area. I advice you with not braking formation there are beargles roaming the area we already encounter a few of them" as they start advancing in the south.
"Rajkumari, maybe should train you as monk. You put those elbows to good use already!"
"Oh, don't you know Rath? I already do prefer fighting without weapons in hand!"
With a wink, Alexis uses a telekinetic impulse to send a small flat stone skipping across the waves.
After receiving orders from Alexis Abbas meets up with Biter and Kuras.
To Kuras: Hail, friend....Kuras is it. I'm not sure, we didn't spend much time together during our voyage. Anyway I am Brother Abbas of Sarenrae and I will be joining you on this mission.
Heeding Biter's warning Abbas keeps his eyes peeled during their scouting mission. Trying to stay between Biter and Kuras while marching so he can rush to their aid if they run into any trouble.
Need to have a scout (when possible) with each group, so Hildandi will go with Burnsten, not Elorin. Also, since Elorin has no PC to go with him, I don't want to double-up him with 2 NPCs lest one or both be non-trustworthy.
.
.
.
Group 4 — Southwest:
Elorin
Carylis (Sorceress' GF, Half-Elf Rogue)
Group 5 — South:
Burnsten
Hildandi
Daciana (human fighter)
Group 1
Imogene is quite haughty as the three of you meet up early the next morning for departure. She is slow about getting her things ready, as if to say to Alexis that the group will depart when she deems it ready. She does not react well to any prompting (polite or not) to move faster.
When you do get moving (after Imogene has said her very fond and very public good-byes to Carylis), she complains constantly about everything imaginable, starting with her position in the marching order. She doesn't want to be in the front (she's not a front-line fighter-type), doesn't want to be in the back (get's quite indignant at the thought of bringing up the rear) and doesn't want to be in the middle (doesn't trust the two of you not to gang up on her and double-cross her). She's also not keen on being off to the side (too dangerous) and insists that Ravarath act as her personal bodyguard (except if he gets too close, she starts acting suspicious of him and warns him away). And that's just one example of her griping.
After Rath estimates you've traveled a mile, Imogene (currently in the rear) gives a brief yelp of fright and points at a hideous, grotesque mask that has been fastened to a tree (facing the direction you're going, so you have to turn around to see it). Wizened hair cascades down the sides of a snarling visage. You don't know what it means exactly, but it definitely looks like a warning.
Group 2
Kuras is equally (surprisingly) friendly with Biter, in a jovially-brutish sort of way. Abbas, on the other hand, receives little more than a sniff, scowl, and then some sort of sound not-unlike a cat with an enormous hairball. When Biter hushes him, he scowls and spits, but nods.
You've traveled about a mile before Biter, his eyes keen, notices a shape hiding behind a tree. It looks like a person with long hair. Biter's hunter senses go on alert. The hiding shape never moves, however, except to twitch from time to time. After a short while, Biter realizes that the shape only moves with a breeze, and Group 2 discovers a warning mask, similar to group 1, fastened to a tree.
"Excellent find," Alexis comments. "Given its orientation, it looks like perhaps this was meant to be seen by anyone traveling in the direction from which we just came. Given what we uncovered, I wonder if it could be a warning sign to keep away..."
Alexis thinks back to the notes she has read and also casts detect magic and detect poison.
"Rath, let's ensure that we have some of those white feathers from the beargles we defeated clearly visible..."
With that, Alexis takes a moment to fasten some to the wide end of her wand and affixes some to her hair or circlet in a fashion that seems to be in-line with Ranadur and Falcon's notes.
Group 3
"I'll f&^@&ing shut up, when ever I f&$##ing feel like it." He yawns a large, boarish yawn. "F@%$!! Man, I was up late last night, I'll tell ya. Yer mother surely likes it rough. Not too bad once ya get past the smell of 'er."
Once you've set out, Nate seems to delight in picking at and taunting Pete, targeting his body odour, his race, his intelligence, his size (of all things), and of course his masculinity. Lots of barbs about the fearsome dwarf doting on the fair elf maiden, fetching her panties for her whenever she crooks a finger, etc.
He does shut up for a moment, however, when (1 mile out from camp), Group 3 discovers a mask of their own, fastened to a tree. After the moment is up, though, he blurts out, "Yeah, that's what she looked like when I finished inside of 'er!" and he gives Pete a hearty slap across the back.
Group 4
Carylis pulls herself away from Imogene's embrace to follow Elorin into the forest. She seems to actually be a quite pleasant scouting companion, in that she moves silently through the brush, keeping slightly behind Elorin as he leads the way. After an hour, he comes to realize that it's him that she's scouting, when she comments, "Anybody ever tell you ya got a cute bum?"
From that point on, no matter what he tries, she always seems to be able to position herself to get an excellent vantage point of his posterior. She begins humming softly to herself anytime she does get a good view. At one point, as you stop for a water break, she sidles up next to Elorin on a fallen log and asks, "So, handsome, are you serious with anybody at the moment?"
Both Elorin and Carylis notice the warning mask at the same time and move closer to check it out. As he's examining the mask in closer detail, he feels her hand gently caress one butt cheek, and she giggles. "Very nice indeed. I'm going to have to keep an eye on you. Let me know when you get tired of catering to Princess Primrose, and we could have some fun."
Pete at first has the overwhelming urge to take his pick and start hunting for the skymetal in between Nate’s skull. After a while he decides to simply ignore his constant prattle. I wonder if’n she caught me makin’ fun o’ her b’fore, mebbe that be why she gave this one ta me. Glancing at Gregor, and noting the human gave him a look of sympathy, Pete nods back.
Once they encounter the skull mask, Pete remembers the warning Alexis gave him about the white feathers being needed. He takes a pair of white beargle feathers, and hands one over to Gregor, while affixing one to his pick. He then turns to Nate, a grin on his face, but not mirrored in his eyes. ”So Nate, ya t’ink ya is gonna need a featheah, so ye kin make peace wit’ th’ natives?”
Group 5
Daciana is all business as Burnsten explains about himself and Tracant. She has the look of a seasoned soldier to her, and instantly puts herself under his command. Hildandi, whom you have not yet met, is also a seasoned professional woodsman, gliding through the trees with ease. Group 5 makes excellent time, and, as all the others, finds a warning mask one mile from camp.
"Interesting," Hildandi says. "Are there not Shoanti tribes in Varisia who use similar methods of communicating messages with others of their kin, through carvings or some such? This looks like a warning, to stay away, or perhaps danger, go no further."
All Groups
Up until this point, none of the groups have seen or heard a single shred of evidence of animal life, except perhaps for a bird song or two just as you arrive at the masks. Shortly after moving on, however, you begin to see signs of animal life as per a normal forest.
Nate laughs. "It's not likely any natives would attack us, anyway. They'll smell you from a mile off and assume we're nothing but carrion."
Pete shrugs, and carefully stows the rest of his feathers away in his slingpack. "Heh, jes askin' Nate, I'm sure if'n ye run inta any natives, ye kin always use yer natural charms on 'em."
After doting on the mask for a while, Alexis motions for Rath to approach and she whispers to him (just barely loud enough for prying ears to overhear, "I'm not entirely sure we made the right choice. If the cannibals opt for sport instead of a peace-offering for their chieftain, we won't get much of a headstart with the princess here. Let us hope that their penchant for <insert color of Imogene's hair here> haired companions is still as legendary as father's note's indicated..."
Bluff Checks:
Imogene's hair is fiery red. She squeaks, though quickly stifles it and pretends she wasn't trying to eavesdrop.
Sense Motive:
Imogene pales, slips off to the side a short ways, and attempts to stuff her voluminous brassy locks inside the hood of her cloak.
"Very nice indeed. I'm going to have to keep an eye on you. Let me know when you get tired of catering to Princess Primrose, and we could have some fun."
At Imogene's yelp, Alexis looks up and about for savages leaping from the shadows. Upon noticing that Imogene has concealed her fiery tresses she pouts a bit and absent-minded fingers her own short blonde locks. "Hmmm, your hair looks quite lovely when you wear it down for all to see. No need for modesty here in the wilderness, right?"
After the trio have concluded their search of the area for any further warning signs, they continue to make their way north along the coast, going no further than half-a-day's travel from the landing site.
Rath nods heaping on the fear, "Yes, red is nice color for hair. Very visible from distance too!"
"Glad you've noticed we might still need to check other areas or talk to the rest if they have seen a similar marking or any other for that matter" as he congratulate him for a good job "Are you some sort of soldier or mercenary of sorts? what did you do before becoming a prisioner?"
as he congratulate him for a good job
Group 4
Carylis pulls herself away from Imogene's embrace to follow Elorin into the forest. She seems to actually be a quite pleasant scouting companion, in that she moves silently through the brush, keeping slightly behind Elorin as he leads the way. After an hour, he comes to realize that it's him that she's scouting, when she comments, "Anybody ever tell you ya got a cute bum?"
Actually they have, I was surprised that you were the first to notice on this voyage sigh it has been hard to find good travelling "companions" on this voyage. smiling at her in feigned innocence.
From that point on, no matter what he tries, she always seems to be able to position herself to get an excellent vantage point of his posterior. She begins humming softly to herself anytime she does get a good view. At one point, as you stop for a water break, she sidles up next to Elorin on a fallen log and asks, "So, handsome, are you serious with anybody at the moment?"
Not really, you?
Both Elorin and Carylis notice the warning mask at the same time and move closer to check it out. As he's examining the mask in closer detail, he feels her hand gently caress one butt cheek, and she giggles. "Very nice indeed. I'm going to have to keep an eye on you. Let me know when you get tired of catering to Princess Primrose, and we could have some fun."
My duties as bodyguard are over, but you seem to have a companion of your own, have you decided that you tire of Carylis or maybe you just want to move up in the world? this time he smiles with no innocence.
Carylis to Elorin:
"Oh, Imogene is all well and good, but I do like a little variety in my life. Imogene hates all things male, but you might be just the spice I've been looking for." Carylis, all subtleties gone, pushes herself right up against Elorin (and him against the tree with the warning mask) and begins tugging at his clothes while her lips reach up to lock on his.
Hildandi to Burnsten:
"Oh, I'm not one of the prisoners, no offence Daciana. Just sick of guiding some rich yuppie merchants off into the woods so they can shoot some big deer or boar (or rather, so I could shoot it for them while they pretended to be the big hunters), and was looking for something real. This," he says, pointing at the mask, "is definitely something real."