"Well, we haven't time to bury them proper, and I feel almost bad about that," Staryth says, and he cleans his warhammer meticulously, "I suggest we loot their goods and add them to our own. We can sell those and the horses later for our own needs when we get where we are going."
True to his word, he starts to gather goods and coins from their attackers, closing their eyes as he does so.
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Marianne sinks to her knees, bloody glaive falling from her hands, tears welling in her eyes and wretches, spilling the contents of her stomach onto the earth. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, and that in turn on the grass, she looks up and says in a hollow voice,
"I just killed two men... I've never hurt anyone before, it was so easy. Oh, Shelyn it should not have been that easy."
Staryth looks up from his looting, and stops, he moves over to her Gathering things can wait. "Marianne,", he puts a hand on her shoulder, "I can tell you the things you already know. It was them or us once the fighting started. They were happily willing to slay us as they had, no doubt, slain many other travelers. I can tell you the roads are safer for our passing here now. But let me tell you what you need to hear most: There is no shame in a battle to defend yourself, friends, clan or cause. Nor shame in being better than your foe. The only thing that should shame you is if you grow to enjoy it to the point that you forget the cost. Clearly, you have nothing to be ashamed about, or you'd not have reacted so."
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Eyes gleaming with moisture she looks up at the dwarf, "But they just burst open like ripe fruit, and... No. no, you are right. They were ugly men doing ugly things, they gambled with their lives and were prepared to take our lives if they won - but they lost."
Rising still very pale, she cleans her glaive off in the grass and then asks, "Is anyone still hurt, if you gather around I can channel some more."
Jeggrim stumbles from the water, staggering onto the shore, visibly winded. Breathing heavy, the red-headed dwarf spits a mixture of blood and water from his mouth, sputtering and hacking.
Jeggrim wanders over to Staryth and Marianne, whose conversation he can't quite make out over the distance. Huffing and puffing, the crusty dwarf finds his way to their side just as Staryth finishes talking.
Standing before them, Jeggrim is a disgusting display. His beard and face are covered in blood that is already beginning to congeal, his long plait hangs heavy from his head, wet and covered in blood. His leather armor and kilt are slick with blood and gore, and his knuckledusters are caked with flesh, hair, and sticky with chunky bits of blood and brains. He offhandedly plucks a tooth that had lodged itself in the metal band around his knuckle as he speaks,
Nice job out there Merianne! I didn't take ye fer such a ferocious warrior! Yer quite the fearsome foe Priesty 'o love! Jeggrim bellows with hearty laughter. And yerself cousin! Yer the model 'o a dwarf fighter if meself e'r did see one!
Jeggrim stops seeing that Merianne is pale, he notes the pile of vomit at her boots, and sees the concerned look on Staryth's face.
Ye alright Priesty? Ye get hit in the gut? Ye can bind yer own wounds with that priesty magic 'o yers can't ye? Well it ain't no shame ta get a lick 'o two landed on yerself during the fray! Nay! Them scars ye should wear proudly! Trophies fer the battles one! Jeggrim laughs, flashing a smile, his teeth covered in blood appear monstrous.
Satisfied that he helped, he finally looks down at himself.
By Torag's hammer! Ain't meself a sight ta see! 'Spose I should wash those lyin highwaymen off meself eh? Jeggrim's laughter is honest and genuine as he slowly shakes his head.
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Marianne takes one look at Jeggrim, and her hands fly for her mouth even as her cheeks bulge. Then she runs for the river, wretches into it, and stumbles forth to begin splashing clean water on herself frantically - searching every last inch of herself for gore.
Back turned towards the party she calls weakly,
"Jeggrim, would you mind cleaning yourself up a little? I'm, oh dear, I mean, well, just please clean yourself up a little. But I suppose we did well, didn't we?"
Fulito stops his music shortly after the last enemy falls. but the tune lingers a bit longer in everones ears before the effect begins to fade.
Fulito can't help but notice Mairanne apparently upset over the killing.
He goes to her I'm sorry about all of this, I know.. I didn't make any of this happen, but many times I feel as you do right now. I really do not enjoy the death of others i ususally only cuase harm when I have no other choice, and even then, only until I can make my escape.
he pauses to reflect a moment. Come to think of it that may have been the first time I ever actually killed someone, well someone that wasn't an Orc, I really don't like them, but thats like killing a suffering animal, you know, a mercy killing, Its not like they can help being an orc, after all they were born that way, but maybe there s chance they can come back as something better, but then again why are there so many orcs... he starts to continue the ine sided conversation to hima self no appaerently lost in his own wierd logic. then suddenly...
Hey Marianne I know a perfrct song He twirls around summoning his guitar. [b] I hope this song can liven up your spirits. it goes something like this
"You might want to wash off a bit in the water there," Staryth advise Jegg even as he basks in the healing glow of the priestess. "Thank you, Marrianne."
"Once everyone's composed, we best get what we can and go. Time and all. Those old horses, will they be okay if we free them ? I doubt they can keep up and we only have so many pills."
Again he fights the urge to hum or tap along as the bard starts up again. Darn it.
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Still facing away Marianne smiles,
"Thankyou Fulito, that makes me feel a little better, I know I'm being... silly, I just wasn't expecting everything to be so visceral. And yes, I'd say we need to let the horses go, either someone will find them or they should be able to live off the land I would think. Its still a long way to Falcon's Hollow and we were told that even our healthy mounts would need a good deal of time to recover from those pills - it would probably be too much for these poor fellow. Lets use them to help move the cart somewhere hidden, then we could potentially pick it up on our way back - seems a shame to just abandon soemthing useful."
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Gilthanis thinks quietly to himself while gathering around Marianne to heal a bit more. He looks down to Marianne and in a calm voice says, My dear, one will not hear an elf say a dwarf is right very often, but Staryth is correct. You should not feel bad for protecting your own life or ones you care about Gilthanis says with a little smirk at the fact he admitted a dwarf was right.You and Damaran have restored a little bit of faith in the Human race and been a breath of fresh air. Thank you for allowing me to travel with you and meet your acquaintance.
The horses are old and I don't think they will sell for much if anything at all. I think we should let them go and nature will do what it will. If no one objects, may I have one of the longbows with arrows to accommodate. If no one else is trained in such a weapon I would like all the arrows otherwise I would be more than happy to share the ammunition.
Gilthanis will pull out a wand from his backpack, the wand of cure light wounds to be precise. Gilthanis will hold it to himself, speaking some words in elven in hopes that they are correct to activate his wand. Much to his own surprise the wand glows quickly and fades just as fast, but washes over him in a warm calm.
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Marianne smiles at Gilthanis,
"Oh, well thats a nice thing to say hon. I feel better, we should get on I suppose, we still have to hurry.."
When she sees Gilthanis pull the wand from his backpack she hurriedly interkects,
"Woh, honey! No need for that I've still got plenty of healing if you are hurt, and I'll have more tomorrow which isn't true of the wand."
"Hmmph."
"The horses are old and I don't think they will sell for much if anything at all. I think we should let them go and nature will do what it will. If no one objects, may I have one of the longbows with arrows to accommodate. If no one else is trained in such a weapon I would like all the arrows otherwise I would be more than happy to share the ammunition."
"Fine by me. I use a crossbow myself, and that not as well as I'd like." He takes one last peek in the cart, making sure they aren't overlooking some smuggler's cache hidden away, and then lays the stripped bodies in it like cord wood"Shame we have to leave the other cart here as well."
"We best get on the way again."
Jeggrim is splashing around in the water, doing his best to clean the gore from himself. On hearing the elf's sing song voice carrying on the breeze to his ears he calls out to Staryth;
Satisfied that he has cleaned the worst of it off himself, and dripping wet, he trudges over to the wagon to give it a thorough look.
there is only one thing worse that the smell of wet leather, its the smell of wet dwarf
His song for marianne completed Fulito assists Jeggrim out of the water whistleing a little tune (yes its whistle while you work). when suddenly Jeggrim feeels a warm breeze about him and his clothing is dry with a slight scent of Lavender.
What in the nine hells?!?! Jeggrim's large nose sniffs the air before turning his attention to his own armor, beard, hair, and pits...Who the...? What the....? Utterly exacerbated Jeggrim stomps his feet, completely confused as to what has befallen him.
This some sort of elf trick eh point-ears? I smell like a durned flower fairy! Jegg snorts loudly, as he looks around for not only the cause of such trickery, but also for a means to remedy the situation.
Bah! he throws his hands up in the air, eyes narrowed.
"Eh, at least the gore's gone, that would smell far worse on a long trip as we all know. Let's move." Staryth suggests in his no-nonsense way.
Jeggrim, with that check you notice the wagon itself is in a bit of a state of disrepair. You get the impression that both the wagon and the horses were just bait for this trap. You find no other items of value however. This particular crew doesn't look like it was able to profit much from the current political climate.
Gilthanis, sorry I didn't notice your question earlier in the hubbub of the last round of battle. The river itself is easily fordable. Yes it is possible to get your wagon stuck here but it doesn't seem like a big deal to get it unstuck either. Again, just bait for the trap.
Jeggrim's eyes narrow dangerously at Merianne. A long moment passes as those around him see the same look crossing his face that befell him in the moments before battle.
After an agonizingly long moment, Jeggrim finally bursts into insane and heart felt laughter. Doubling over and slapping his thigh, Jegg straightens, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.
Ha! I knew them point-ears had a thing fer men folk! His laughter takes over once again. Ye know Staryth, in all me years in the wilds, I ain't never seen a bear, o'r wolf, 'o giant cats worryin 'bout a bit 'o blood! But I 'spose the sensibilities 'o the "civilized" folk are different than me own... He breaks into more laughter as he imagines Gil coming on to him.
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Marianne cuts the horses free of their bindings, removing all tack and letting them go free. Then taking a deep breath she casts detect magic and surveys the items Staryth has collected and - going slightly green - the corpses.
Finding the magical dagger, and the potion, she holds them up so the group can see and says,
"These are magical. I'm going to see if I can identify them, but I'm not great at that sort of thing, so if anyone else has any ability in that regard they should probably try to. Well anyone? Hons?"
After focusing on the itmes for a while she shakes her head in frustration,
"I'm confident this is a potion of Bull's Strength, it makes you strong-like a bull, in case that was not obvious. But I know nothing about the dagger save that it is magical."
"Might be of use, regardless. Any one good with daggers? I prefer a bit of heft to my weapons."
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Marianne looks dubious,
"I could use something for close range combat, but I don't think there's much point it being magical as I can usually just back up. Maybe Jeggrim should hold onto it? I see you've got a couple of daggers hon. Though I would suggest since nobody uses daggers as a preferred weapon we ought to eventually sell it and split the profits. I sound like a seasoned adventurer don't I - if only that were true, I might have managed to keep the contents of my stomach.."
Fulito merely readies the party's wagon to fjord across the water. making sure everything is secure.
Everytime he hears Jeggrim complain about elf magic and flowers he struggles hard to keep from laughing out loud. maybe roses next time
knowing that nearly all the equipment obtained from the bandits are to unweildy for him to use Fulito decides it best to let the others have their pick of the prizes.
Once all is secure he climbs up into the wagon's front seat
well? we ready to move on? there be wine in the town ahead, and maybe some flowers, for those that like such things
Fulito wanting to be the most gentlemanly halfling that he can, will offer marianne a hand into the wagon. he will then whisper to her
what kind of flower do you prefer? I personally prefer lavender
"I'm not sure selling the only magic weapon we'd have would be wise. Never know what one might encounter in the wilds, but whatever the group goes with," Staryth gives his two coppers in on the question.
well? we ready to move on? there be wine in the town ahead, and maybe some flowers, for those that like such things
"Aye, time to move. Set those two horses bare and free, and maybe they'll do ok."
The journey north continues. With the sharp eyed elf scouting ahead you manage to avoid most trouble. On day 7 Gilthanas comes across an encampment of 5 tents . It appears to be the base for a much larger group. At the moment there are a few guards but the bulk appear to be out.
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"Well if they are bandits, we should strike if we can shouldn't we?" Marianne asks, biting her lip thoughtfully,
"It seems that if we have the chance to do something about them, and chose not to take it, we would be partially responisble for any further harm they inflict. Just how many guards were there Gilthanis? Perhaps we could take the camp, and take all their tents and equipment? That would surely inconvenience the rest of them. Or if we think we have the time to spare we could set and ambush for them when they return and finish off the whole lot of rotten buggers now. What do you think hons?"
"The big word there is 'if'. I'd feel right bad if we killed a bunch of fellows who did no harm to us and didn't originally mean it either. I respect what you say about wanting to spare others pain, but maybe we can back up a bit and circle around- Avoid the fight all together. That is the task we've being paid to do after all." Staryth glances to the others for their view.
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"Because they are probably out here for their health? You are being silly Staryth honey. We can always take them prisoner if we have any doubts, and if they turn out to be stealth paladins disguised as bandits I'm sure they will understand. Besides do you think a bandit camp nearby isn't going to notice a wagon passing that's what they are here for. I'd much rather face at least part of their number before they realize we are here than get raided by the whole gang."
Why don't someone just go ahead of us and see what they're about 'afore we jump ta conclusions? Maybe the little hair-foot bard would be a good choice? I'm thinkin he could pose as lone a travelin musician. I'm doubtin that if a camp 'o bandits is that large they would bother harmin a lone traveler. Seems like they wouldn't get much out 'o it. And if they turn out ta be friendly then we can just walk right in.
"Jegg has the right of it, which of you sneaky steps wants to risk getting closer?" Staryth asks, knowing it has dangers if they should get cut off from the group.
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Marianne frowns, with just the tiniest hint of a pout,
"Its not very heroic is it. We saw some bandits who were, probably, raiding and killing people. But we were a bit busy so we went around them. Well I guess you know where I stand hons, but this in Andoran land of democracy afterall so I say we vote. I'm all for someone going to get a better look, but honestly if we know there numbers and that they really are bandits - and I can't think of what else they could possibly be out here - I'm not sure I see the point in waiting. He who dares wins my daddy always says."
"Then I'm with the elf for bypassing." Staryth says. "That's two, but I'm not against spying if that vote wins. I'm not happy to attack em blindly."
Fulito, napping in the wagon awakens to a stoped wagon then soon hear about a hair foot bard. he pops his head out
Hair foot bard?, is she pretty?, oh, crap is my hair ok?, maybe I should just whoo her and she won't notice.
He soon realizes that they are talking about him.
He climbs out of the wagon checks his things.
so what's up? some wild badger that needs taming?, perhaps a hungry owlbear that like waffles. nothing that good ole Fulito Ferrywarden bard of the River Kingdoms can't handle
Staryth fills him in, "We've come upon a tent, could be bandits. We need your vote. Attack em to get the first punch in, though they might be innocent. Try to sneak in and figure out who what they are, or try to go around and keep on moving."
Well I am not one for unwarrented violence. but then again perhaps they are not bad men either. My vote would be to investigate. see what they are up to. maybe the have cake.
Fulitos mind soon goes to cake ummmmmmm caaaaakeeee
He soon comes back
I could sneak it if you want, I'm pretty good at that, you know avoiding the press, staying away from the wrong type of groupies, you know how it is when your as famous as me.
He looks at everyone seeing the disbelief in thier faces
Ok to keep from getting beat up by orcs. he soon confesses
Ok, the new map is up, sorry for its crudeness.
Ye all know I'd be the first ta itch fer a fight. I'm just fer knowin that in the wild lands there be all sorts 'o folks, and not all 'o them are baddie waitin ta spill yer blood. If its fightin that need done I'll be the first one in! But meself would have a problem if I stain meself wit the blood 'o those that didn't deserve death...
Jeggrim lets that hang in the air as he eyes the camp.
Hows about I just go knock and see whose home? I'm used ta huntin and trappin round this parts and meself can pass off as a lone woodsmen. 'Sides if any trouble starts I'm thinkin meself can take the most punishment 'afore help arrives!
Jegg shifts as he waits for a response, eying the camp. Its obvious that if no one stops him he means to make his move.
"Jegg, be careful," Staryth has some serious doubts about his 'cousin's acting ability, but he can't fault his courage.
Fulito will try and stealthfully position himself near the camp edge behind one of the tents. he will be ready incase something bad should happen. His trusty sling in hand
Jeggrim nods at his companions and moves forward to approach the lone guard.
Hail! Ye got room fer a weary hunter? Haven't had meself much luck today and a bit 'o company would be a welcome pleasure!
Jeggrim takes a look around the camp as he moves towards the guard.