As Kranzer is rewarded with a satisfying *clink* of the tumblers loosing on the locked chest. Sheila Heidmarch walks in the room. All eyes turn to her. Her lips are a bit pursed at first then relax. Hmmm, I see you're resourceful...that's good. I believe Kalkamedes would forgive your making use of anything in his cabin. Remember, to return what belongs to him when you return him back to us. The Venture Captain looks at the half dressed Kalkamedes and says, you'll need to hurry, it's already getting dark outside. We don't know how far his journey is. We do know he consistently wakes at dawn and forgets everything about the previous night.[/b]
Inside the chest is the following:
an irregularly-shaped mithral flask with jigsaw-like edges. It's liquid contents radiate magic.
2 potions one Dark blue the other light blue
A magic mud spattered cloak
Some magic wrist bands
And another cloth wrapped object that radiates magic.
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When is able to, Hudor will wrap the rope around his waist once, then from his waist, wrap it over both of his arms individual to his waist, then wrap the rope around his waist again.
Occasionally looking back to see what they found, "I recommend we put that equipment on to him. The wristbands and cloak. They might have some magical protections available to keep him alive."
; Success (Hide from Undead)
; Success (Elixir of Swimming)
; Failed
; Failed
; Success (+1 Cloak of Resistance)
; Success??
; Success (Flask can be used as Caltrop or Improvised Dagger)
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“Let me give you a hand there, Kranzer…Hudor!” bellows Vulf, obviously trying to draw attention to himself as he crosses the room towards the sorcerer.
”Should a Pathfinder need to dress or, should the circumstances dictate… , Vulf Sorgrim is at the ready to assist!” says the northman, adding the latter in the hope of getting a rise out of the women in the room, as he pulls Kalkamedes' breeches over the older man’s restless right foot.
Trying to ascertain, surreptitiously, whether his words had garnered the women’s notice, Vulf continues. ”We would do well to heed the wisdom of our mages, Farlen and Hudor.” Unsure, of his success with words, the Pathfinder pushes on while trying, without success, to slide a bracer over one of the wrists of the struggling sleepwalker.
“For a Pathfinder should also make sure that his companion stays well-armed or, should the circumstances dictate… .” Vulf says with a smile as he recalls his initial meeting with Carini. Suddenly, Kalkamedes' arm breaks free of Vulf's grip and strikes the northman square in the face. Vulf mutters something in Skald under his breath and returns to the task at hand.
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As Vulf continues with his attempts to slip the bracers over Kalkamedes' left hand, the sleeper lashes out with a swift knee jab to the northman's stomach.
"Oooolf!" the cleric huffs in response as he tries to recapture his escaped breath. "These magic items may afford some protection you, but, at the moment, it would seem that what is needed more is protection you?"
Vulf repositions his weight in an effort to keep Kalkamedes held down.
with the permanent broken condition.
Hudor fashions a harness to fit around Kalkamedes with Kranzer's silk rope, leaving about 44ft' feet of rope dangling behind the poor afflicted man. Mentys is currently struggling to hold Kalkamedes still. Sheila Heidmarch clears her throat and speaks up. I think your preparations are over. It's time you were on your way. She holds the bedroom door open un-ceremoniously. The kitchen door beyond, is propped open with a chair. The Venture Captain's body guards can be seen outside enjoying the cool evening air. One of them is smoking a pipe.
As soon as he see's the open door Kalkamedes tries to break free of Menty's pin.
Kalkamedes burst through Menty's pin and heads strait for the outside.
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Realizing that Kalkamedes is attempting a break for the door, Vulf attempts to seize the rope tied around the sleeper.
When his hand pulls around the chord, even Vulf is surprised by his own speed. He starts to smile when he feels the sleeper start to pull him outside.
"I've got you!" the northman cries out, quite pleased with himself as he manages to hold his ground against the struggling sleeper. "More slippery than an eel, this one is." Vulf says, before adding, ""That reminds me. I am a bit hungry. Why its sundown and I have yet to eat a decent supper!"
Oh give over! Sheila Heidmarch says. The object of the exercise is to have him lead you to where he's trying to go! Sheila remarks exasperated. Enough delay! All of you get going and stop holding him back! Or you can report back to the grand lodge and wait for the review of the Decemvirate! If I wanted him restrained I would have left him tied to the bed! You're wasting time! The Venture Captain is obviously irritated at the mention of stopping for dinner and tying more ropes. Indeed, Kalkamedes is already trying to paw at the make-shift harness, making desperate high pitched sounds like a trapped animal.
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Hudor will hold onto the broken sword, realizing the blade is not that useful for combat. He wraps it back up and puts it in his backpack. He will also hold onto the Elixir of Hide from Undead just in case he needs to quickly pour it down Kalkamedes' throat.
"I suggest one or two of us get in front of Kalkamedes while two hold on to the rope but give enough slack to let him lead us. I and another will walk beside Kalkamedes to provide some cover and grab onto the rope if need be."
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Farlen pulls a wand and taps himself. "Protect." He then quickly stow it away .
"I am not the greatest at wood craft and can't see great in the dark, but I will take a flank. How about the left?"
He positions himself about 10' to the left of Kalkamedes and shadows his movement.
"Someone good at woodcraft and who sees through darkness should probably lead ranging ahead to warn us of hazards." "Or just use a light source." Farlen cast light on a stone and puts it under his cloak to hide it. "I'll start with my night vision but I have a light ready."
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Kranzer's a bit too slow catching the rope as the others dive for it and hold Kalkamedes back. He shrugs when Heidmarch grows flustered. He goes up to her and shakes her hand. "Good meetin' ya Miss Heidmarch! Request me by name if ya need help out this way again." Then he saunters past her, out the door following the others.
He says after a minute of walking, as if someone were talking directly to him, "Yeah, I got good eyes for the dark. Don't know much about woodcraft, but I bet my wayfinder'll help out with that. Besides there might be more levers to pull somewhere ahead!" He says the last bit with unrestrained hope.
Kranzer's stubby dwarf legs take him further ahead of the group , scouting for possible dangers with his darkvision. He has his bow drawn in case of enemies, and stills his breathing, jogging at a steady clip.
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Carini takes up the rear with Mentys, keeping one hand on the rope so that she can quickly respond if Mentys loses control, but the other hand remains on her guisarme so she can respond to a threat if need be.
She nods at the easily frustrated Venture Captain as the procession moves out the front door.
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[dice=perception]1 d20+0[dice]
Farlen attempts to not use light but if thinks get to the point he can't see he will shine the stones light in front of him.
"This is not how I imagined my first night back under retainer from the Society." "It always amazes me how rude the venture captains are to those who risk their lives doing their bidding."
The night sky is clear with a waning quarter crescent moon that provides dim light, but the minimal illumination is of no help to the sleepwalking Pathfinder, whose staggering gait propels him blindly forward with closed eyes. It is obvious that, in his present state, Kalkamedes has no sense of self-preservation, and that his somnambulance
might make even the most mundane acts of navigation surprisingly difficult.
About a half hour in to your journey, Kalkamedes stumbles along as if possessed. Quite suddenly he trips, and wedges his foot in a rabbit hole Kranzer missed in the low scrub. You hear him grunt as he falls but, Kalkamedes just as quickly picks himself off the ground, and begins to stagger forward again. At first with a limp he moves a little slowly, he then gains momentum, building back to his steady gait.
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About a half hour in to your journey, Kalkamedes stumbles along as if possessed. Quite suddenly he trips, and wedges his foot in a rabbit hole Kranzer missed in the low scrub. You hear him grunt as he falls but, Kalkamedes just as quickly picks himself off the ground, and begins to stagger forward again. At first with a limp he moves a little slowly, he then gains momentum, building back to his steady gait.
Strange, Vulf thinks, a misstep such as that could possibly cause a break or sprain, which could be consistent with the grunt he gave. However, despite an initial limp, our sleepwalker appears to be doing fine--gaining speed in fact. The cleric tries to get a closer closer at the foot of Kalkamedes that went down the hole as the sleepwalker moves onward.
Vulf replays in his mind what he has just seen. Could it be, the cleric wonders, that what I just witnessed was, indeed, a spell?
Or was it something natural?
What might be other indicators that divine healing magic is at work?
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"Perhaps", Vulf says aloud, "The Father of Creation can help guide our sleeper's footing."
With his left hand the northman clutches the hammered-symbol on his necklace and with his right, he forms a fist. Vulf lowers his fist onto the shoulder of Kalkamedes mirroring the manner that a smith strikes flaming metal in his forge.
The cleric watches Kalkamedes carefully to see if his divine magic has any affect.
Vulf's heal check recognizes that, Kalkamedes did sprain his ankle pretty badly. However, Kalkamedes somnambulism, has made him almost immune to pain. If he continues to walk on the ankle without healing, it could cause lasting or even permanent damage.
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Farlen venture over as Vulf checks Kalkameses ancle. And hearing Vulf's exclaimation at seeing the sprain says, "We need to heal that. A wand would be easiest of the ways. Or you could ask your god to do it." "I have a potion but getting him to drink it might be tricky." "Does anyone have a wand that heals that Vulf could borrow briefly?"
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The cleric watches Kalkamedes carefully to see if his divine magic has any affect.
"Hold onto your liquids, water-wizard." says Vulf. “It appears as though our sleeper requires more than merely Torag’s guidance to get him through the night. Keep him still.” directs the cleric.
Vulf kneels down and grabs hold of Kalkamede’s injured foot, then once again takes his holy symbol in hand.
“I lift up to the God of the Forge the injured foot of my dozing colleague, Kalkamedes. “ Vulf prays. “As men temper steel with fire, may the Divine Smith mend this wound with the flames of energies divine.”
“ En tur ned et kaninhull og ikke engang et måltid å vise for det.” the cleric grumbles under his breath before saying aloud, “Let us move along.”
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"Not quite as good as new", Vulf concedes, "But he should be well enough to walk and lead us to... wherever it is we are going."
As Vulf rises to his feet, he shouts up ahead towards Kranzer, "Keep those beady eyes out for hazards, Dwarf!". When he is once again standing at his full height, the northman shakes his head. “Dverger ...", the cleric mutters softly, "de eneste hullene i bakken som de kan finne er de som fører til gull eller sølvårer.”
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Otherwise, Mentys stays the course, tugging a bit more on the rope to slow Kalkamedes a little. "I complain a lot about this shell, but to see in the dark is a great boon."
After seeming to think about it for a moment, the oread draws his wand again and hands it to the Ulfen. "Actually, could you hold onto it for now? I don't use it during a fight.
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After seeming to think about it for a moment, the oread draws his wand again and hands it to the Ulfen. "Actually, could you hold onto it for now? I don't use it during a fight.
"I can keep it safe for you and put it to good use when necessary." replies Vulf. "But first, just let me make sure that there is enough room for it in my pack." The cleric pulls out sizable hunk of dried meat, brushes it off to remove a few clinging pieces of string and other debris, and then plops it in his mouth.
"Thwere wih gome", the cleric manages to get out between chews, "nohnm thwers pwlemmty ov rmmmmm." He continues to chew noisily for a few moments then swallows.
After wiping his mouth with his sleeve, the northman looks over to Mentys. "So, tell me my stoney friend", Vulf inquires, "What do you mean about 'this shell'? Were you not born a creature of the earth?"
Vulf has a group of you hold Kalkamedes while he calls on his God's aid to heal the man's ankle. The divine healing stops the swelling but the area is clearly still tender so Mentys uses his wand to heal the rest of the injury. Mentys then gives his wand to Vulf to hang on to.
After healing Kalkamedes your journey resumes. An hour later, Kranzer notices that, Kalkamedes’s path takes him straight into a thick copse of thorns. Kranzer can't tell how deep the thorns are but he can tell that it's about 40' in either direction to angle around the patch.
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"What do you mean about 'this shell'? Were you not born a creature of the earth?"
"Nope. I was born human; Qadiran, to be exact. I was a bounty hunter by trade, a particularly long and profitable venture brought me to Absalom. The mark was a Pathfinder, so joining up seemed a good way to get to him. When I took him out, the higher-ups weren't even too angry; he had a bounty for a reason. So I ended up staying. It wasn't half bad, always a hot meal to be had.
"Later on, I was 'lucky' enough to get a senior agent as a mentor. Turns out I wasn't and he was mad; some raving halfling who thought he was a goblin. Talented with magic, when he knew what he was doing. But one day he comes back from some mission to an underground library or vault. Gives me a high-five and the next thing I remember is waking up to look like this!" Mentys seems very distressed by this, but looks to calm himself. "So, that's what happened. Like I said, it has its upsides and downsides. But there is little use griping about it."
After some period of silence, the oread notices the thorny bushes. "No!" he growls as he grabs Kalkamedes from behind. He looks to further restrain him as the group figures out a plan.
Round 1
Kalkamedes breaks free of Hudor and Nero's grapple.
Round 2
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Farlen seeing Mentys grab Kalkamedes and looks for a way to get around or through the thorns. "I think two of us should clear a path while we hold him, or we should tie him up and carry him around ... and release him again."
At the last minute Farlen throws his weight in to help Mentys bare Kalk down.
"Those thorns are like razors and can cut legs to shreds."
After breaking free of Mentys first attempt to restrain Kalkamedes, the rest of you rush to aid Mentys as he grasp for the sleep walker again. Carini holds the rope just in case Kalkamedes breaks free again. THis time you're all able to stop his progress. But the question remains, what do you do now? You're about 80' from the bushes and Kalkamedes is tugging on the rope violently.
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”Aye. Tie him up, but not so tight that he can’t take us to wherever it is that he seems to so badly wish to go.” responds Vulf. “I certainly have no desire to go traipsing through that nest of thorns.” the Ulfen man adds pointing to the foreboding bushes ahead.
Vulf continues to look at the bushes. Absentmindedly, he raises his big, beefy hand and places it on the back of his neck. “Say… the Lady Heidmarch noted Kalkamedes’ prior nocturnal expeditions led to encounters with cliffs and bogs, but she made no mention of any run-ins with rabbit holes or thorns.”
”Sure, rabbit holes may be dug quickly, but a copse of bushes that thick doesn’t just appear overnight. Perhaps, our sleepwalker takes a different path every night.” The cleric turns toward his companions, somewhat ominously. “What if our friend here isn’t trying to run something, but is instead trying to runaway something?”
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"That is possible. He could be running away, but always the same direction and what of the drawing of the Thassilian fortress .. that looked like a cat?" "No, I think he is called towards something."
Farlen being caught up in the dog pile can't get to his backpack and his rope. "Vulf, in the pack is some rope, could you get it and tie his legs."