GM Phntm888's Return of the Runelords (Inactive)

Game Master Phntm888

"In in Churlwood, according to this map," Henric explains, pulling the paper from his jacket pocket. (I don't recall who had it, but I'm as good a person as any.) "He wasn't giving up many details, but it seems important for saving the Cove. We would have already gone, but there were a bunch of dwarves being held prisoner by a small band of goblins that we had to take care of first. We were planning on making the trip as soon as we got some tasks taken care of in town."

Camellia scratches her chin. "Sihedron, huh...now you got my interest."

A chance to find out more about those Runelords a~*$+!~s, maybe? That what you thinking, Cam?

Camellia nods, playing it off as nodding to herself. "Whelp, we can work out payment and all those details, but I think this sounds like a mighty fine bit of work."

The woman nods and extends a hand in greeting. ”I am called Tellanya, and I was of the shoanti.” When Camellia explains that she is of the “grey”, Tellanya thinks for a moment.

knowledge (history?): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
knowledge (local?): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

She cocks her head and then smiles at Camellia, ”ahh - yes. You... we’re... a maiden? In Korvosa? That is a joke then!” She chuckles quietly at what Camellia said, then looks sad. ”oh - you must have had a terrible time. Are you ... okay now?” She looks concerned for Camellia.

When the others move along, she follows quietly, close to Camellia, who seems also to be an outsider. She seems to be watching the others quietly as they talk about their lost companion.

Rather than muddying the waters by trying to go back, I think I'll go from here.

"I think an equal share of anything we find would be fair. Y'all are going to be in the thick of it with us. Would hardly be fair if we didn't share the treasure when we're sharing the danger," Kiley says in response to Camellia's mentioning of payment before looking to Tellanya.

"I don't know if there's any armory like what the Gendarmes in Riddleport use, but Desna has a strange way of pulling the strings of fate to bring those that need to be somewhere at some time when and where they need to be. If it's not your armory, well, I'll be happy to help you look for it. The journey should be interesting at least."

Is there anything else anyone would like to talk about? Any questions to be asked?

Camellia chuckles at Tellanya's concern. "Well, it's a complicated situation. Ira's really the one who went through all that. She's in the armor. Appreciate your looking out for me, though."

Oh gods, I hate this patronzing s%#!. I'm a grown-ass woman and don't need people feeling sorry for me.

"Ira says she appreciates the concern, too."

One of Camellia's arms, seemingly entirely of its own accord, twists to make a rude gesture at herself.

"Don't worry none about that, y'all. She's just feisty."

She puts her helmet back on to cover her face. "You sure saved me the hard work of negotiating there, Kiley. More time to move on to the fun stuff."

"Well, Henric and I were going to do some shopping for supplies before we went back out. I wouldn't mind the company, if y'all want to join," Kiley says when Camellia mentions moving on to the fun stuff.

Audrahni begs leave, having duties to attend to, but the rest of you shop for supplies before loading up Maximus and heading back out into the Churlwood, this time to go seek the Stone House you've been told to find.

You make it back to Hallen's Ferry, where Hallen again waives her fee for the work you did to rescue the dwarves from the Bramblemouth tribe. She pulls you across the Chivali River to the other side, then you depart, walking the same trail you did before but this time diverting to the eastern side of the ridge.

As you move towards the stone house, Tellanya and Henric hear the faint sound of laughter coming from up ahead.

Despite what they had recently gone through, Henric was feeling good about getting back on the road, as it were. He holds his newly carved darkwood staff in his hand like a walking stick, his hat tipped back a little to let the sunshine warm his face. He's about to make a pleasant comment when he hears the laughter. "Someone seems to be having a good time," he comments, looking for the source of the laughter.

Tellanya says brightly, ”yes, a cheery noise is a good sign we are not going to be killed soon.” She smiles. ”Once, long ago, a god laughed so much, that his laughter brought spring to come, and flowers to bloom - opening up sky. Or at least, that is what the story says.” She looks at the stone house, ”I hope that this house does not have a god with an equally powerful reach - not all laughter is kind.”

Can I assume that the others in the party explained what happened previously during the walk? It doesn’t look like it was spelled out via RP.

Yes, you can assume that.

Definitely would have filled you in on all of the shenanigans. Henric would have to tell you what happened to the guards though.

After finishing up with getting supplies, Kiley finds someplace where she can get changed discretely and comes back out wearing the green and brown outfit she'd worn the day before. She still feels self-conscious about the tight pants, but the outfit did blend in well with the forest.

By the way, is Stryn with us, or has he ducked out until Dak gets back?

"Agreed," Kiley replies to Tellanya, "I'll get closer and see if I can tell what's going on."

She waits to see if anyone objects before slipping into the shadows of the tree boughs and moving towards the stone house.

Stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Stryn is with you.

Kiley cautiously approaches, and sees a campsite spread on a gentle slope in this hillside clearing. A single, ancient stone building and four old wagons give the place some shape. Tall grass grows around the wagons, as if they had been in place for a long time. A wide fire pit sits in the middle of these wagons, and a few thick logs provide places to sit around the fire.

Four men are sitting around a fire outside of it, with . They are dressed similarly to the Road Keepers she remembered encountering by the ferry with Lullaby. As she studies, one of them says, "What's that?", standing and scanning the treeline where she hides. His compatriots stop laughing, looking at him. After a moment, he says, "Eh, must have been a deer," and sits back down. Having avoided discovery, Kiley returns to the others to report what she found.

Henric ponders the information that Kiley brings back. "Road Keepers, huh? I don't think that they'll be any more susceptible to friendliness than the others. What do you want to do about it? I don't think this town needs any more highwaymen."

Camellia stands back with the rest of the group as Kiley explores. She knows she is not equipped for stealth. Her helmet is back on and her sword and shield are at the ready.

Oh thank f&!~ we finally get some action.

"Well, we could try tricking them. We set up an ambush then lure them in. What kind of magic do we have," she asks as she looks around. "If we can knock them out quickly, that'd be best, I think. We're less likely to take a bad hit that way."

So, what's the plan? Rush them and try to take them out quickly? Have someone lure them into an ambush? Try to sweet talk them? Let me know what the plan is.

Apologies. I think I was waiting for others to have their say.

Henric nods at Kiley. "Better to get them as far away from reinforcements as possible."

Okay, I was thinking y'all hide in some trees near a narrow part of the path and Kiley will play the poor, lost woodsgirl and get them to chase after her. Camellia and Stryn cut off the bandits from behind while Henric and Esmeralda hit them from range and Kiley and Tellanya hit them from the front.

Any thoughts?

Kiley is built for battle; Esmaralda would be a better bait, but are we sure we need to fight these guys? are they bad guys? what's the story?

They're bandits that have been extorting "tolls" from travelers near Roderick's cove. We ran into a trio of them that tired to give us a shakedown while we tried to talk our way out. We then proceeded to handle them roughly after the talking fell through. Kiley takes a rather dim view of bandits and thieves for reasons that haven't been revealed to the party yet.

As for why use Kiley. She's small, she's cute, and she can handle herself in a fight if she needs to. I'd leave the greatsword and planson with y'all and only take what she'd need to sell being a lost huntress. Her armor's hidden under her clothes, so she shouldn't arouse too much suspicion.

"Okay, I think if we set things up over there, I can lead them right to y'all. Can one of y'all hold onto my heavier stuff? I'd hate to scare off the prey before they get into the trap," Kiley says with a lazy cat's grin.

Thanks for the recap. Esmaralda still has a very urban view on relations with other people. She's seen her share of criminals but even in the most dire moments she didn't resort to violence to handle them, instead using her wit and charm to make deals. She's never witnessed things break down to a point where killing is the only way forward. I'm fully aware that due to the nature of this game she's probably in for a rude awakening on those notions, but for the sake of being true to her from a RP perspective, she'll still argue for peace at this time. Basically: if we're not fighting some horrible monster that sees us as food, she'll try to bargain somehow.

"Are you sure you want to risk your life alone up there against all of them? I would hate for something dire to happen up there while we are all here unable to assist you. How about we all walk up to them and attempt to talk? there's something we need that they have yes? I've been known to run circles around the boys of Erages Academy, and some of them were quite insistent and had quite the mouth on them, if you get my meaning..."

Tellanya will gladly rush in, though she can’t go in a surprise round, so it might be best if she attacks in regular initiative when possible (unless she’s just hanging back and doing support).

Tellanya simply smiles and watches as the others discuss their plans, content to follow their lead. If pressed, she will say, ”I do not have a problem killing bandits. They are like weeds, but still require pruning when they get out of control.”

Nothing wrong with that. I've played a paladin that tried to talk first even after getting her rude awakening. It's good grist for the RP mill. :)

Kiley looks at Esmaralda for a moment with a blank expression on her face.

"This isn't an academy," she says as a frown creases her brow. "These are people that rob others by threatening them or killing them and threatening the survivors. They won't listen. They'll try to kill us the second they think they have the upper hand. You're not going to get what we need by teasing them. They'll just take what they want from you. I'm a lot more dangerous than I look."

Just for reference, Kiley is five feet tall and slightly built. She's a small young woman and probably wouldn't be half as intimidating as she can be without the greatsword. Save for Stryn, she's the smallest of the group by a wide margin I think.

Henric just nods, not interested in getting caught up in this particular conversation. "Just be careful, Kiley."

Esmeralda appears shocked when Tellanya compares bandits to weeds in need of pruning, but tries to not make an obvious show of it. As she listens to Kiley and sees her get upset, she waits until she's done talking, then adds, "If you're dead-set on this plan, and since I'm new to the group, I will defer to your decisions, but please make note that I am opposed to this approach. I'm not a fool: I'm aware that probably most of these bandits are horrible men, but there's also the chance some of them have been pressured into this for other reasons. I'll be frank: when Audrhani asked me to help, I wasn't aware I'd be party to sneaking up on people to murder them on the off-chance they are dangerous. That doesn't sit well with me. Since I have no combat experience, I will stay hidden behind these bushes and be ready to support in any way I can... Do you have a wand of healing I can use in case... I mean WHEN someone gets hurt?"

Kiley's eyes narrow as she focuses on Esmaralda. "Have you ever been to Riddleport," she asks. Her tone is cool and calm, but her eyes glimmer like sapphires lit by a roaring fire.

Tellanya cocks her head, ”Esmaralda does speak with some wisdom. It is perhaps presumptuous to assume these are bandits exclusively. Are all of these ‘road keepers’ actually bandits? Maybe they were, but are no longer. Or maybe they will be. It is perhaps not our place to say. It may be prudent to give them a chance. Should they attack us - I am certain we could handle ourselves, yes?” She cheerily counts... ”we outnumber them.”

She plants her spear in the ground and cracks her knuckles and neck, stretching herself and standing up straight. ”It does no good to speak forever on the matter - too much planning can be a mistake.”

knowledge (local), road keepers?: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Kiley looks to Tellanya then to Henric before sighing.

"Alright, we'll try being polite about it," she mumbles before taking Maximus' lead and leading the others to where the bandits are camped.

Do you have a wand of healing I can use in case... I mean WHEN someone gets hurt?"[/b]

Hearing the new plan, Henric draws a slender wand from his trenchcoat and hands it to Esmaralda. "Here. If you can use it, you are welcome to it. Our former cleric seems to have left it behind."

He then turns to Kiley, speaking under his breath a bit, "They are probably right. We've been a little bit trigger-happy lately. Doesn't hurt to at least give them a chance."

You walk the short distance from where you spoke to the campsite. The four Road Keepers are laughing as they lounge about the fire. Once they see you, their laughter stops and their faces grow serious. They stand, each of them placing a hand near their weapons, and one of them says, "Who are you, and why have you come to our camp?"

Back in the woods at the bottom of the slope, Esmaralda casts two quick spells under her breath to make herself more amicable: aspect of the nightingale and tap inner beauty, total +4 to Diplomacy

After walking the short distance to the campsite, Esmaralda addresses the Road Keepers:

"Aye and well met, friends. We hail from Roderic's Cove, which has been plagued by a ghost lately. Some of the wise folks down there think the source of the ghost's problem is in this stone house here, related to a bad event or object from the ghost's past. Would you be so kind as to let us poke around and try to make sure this Roderic's Cove and these woods here are ghost free?"

Diplomacy, buffs: 1d20 + 12 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 12 + 4 = 29 +1 if potentially sexually attracted

Kiley hangs back and to Esmaralda's side, ready to step in front of the woman if things go poorly, though hearing how smoothly she operates, Kiley is quickly becoming convinced that won't be necessary.

Henric stands off to the side, his runed darkwood staff planted firmly in the ground, waiting to be used. The brim of his hat lowered slightly to cast a shadow over his face, hoping to hide his nervousness.

So, credit where it's due, you came a lot closer to the Diplomacy DC I set than I thought you would. Nice job, but not quite enough...

The Road Keepers seem to be responsive to the beautiful lady asking them to let the group look around, but after a few glances at the stone house and between each other, the speaker says, "Look, it's for the best if you just go on your way. If you don't, we'll have to do something you won't enjoy."

Tellanya tries to aid Esmaralda?

Diplomacy, Aid Another (DC 10): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

The odd woman nods, and says softly "nobody wishes for anyone to have a bad day. I think it is agreed. I am sure you mean us no harm, and we mean you none, as well."

HAH, fail.

Sure. Let's see if we can boost it a bit.

Diplomacy, Aid: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

"Look fellas," Henric adds to the conversation, a little hesitantly, "We had the ghost of Sir Roderick himself send us here. No idea what will happen if we don't, so why don't you just give us a break and let us have a look around, huh?"

Negative on my part, too.

Esmeralda nods to the man in deference and surrender, adding "Very well Sir, we understand. In life, one cannot always reach agreement, even when it's important for the community. We'll have to inform Roderic's Cove authorities that it was impossible to investigate the site as the owners of this land here did not agree. Hopefully the priests and mages in town find another way to get rid of that ghost. Now, before we leave, is there anything, anything at all we can do to change your mind? perhaps you are willing to make a deal with us or Roderic's Cove? it would perhaps be mutually beneficial yes?"

Esmeralda bats her eyelashes at the leader a few times, smiling...

Charm Hex (Su) on the leader: Will save DC 15 [DC 16 If the target is (or could be) sexually attracted to the seducer] The hex improves the attitude of the target by 1 step, as if the witch had successfully used the Diplomacy skill. The effect lasts for 3 rounds. A Will save negates this effect. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day. This is a mind-affecting charm effect.

Here we go... I was hoping I didn't have to do this... but love is better than war on any given day...

Well, here goes nothing.

Aid(Diplomacy): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

And I really should have refreshed. :D

Kiley opens her mouth to try one last attempt to salvage what looked to be a deteriorating situation, only to close it with a click as she watches Esmaralda do something she'd only read in bad romance novels, the kinds that she'd been given when she'd been bored out of her mind during the months and months she'd spent locked up in a room when she wasn't "performing" to help sweeten deals just a bit more.

Why?! I don't think this is going to work.

GM. do you want me to try aiding, or is it going to be a moot point if the leader makes his save?

If the GM allows for the retroactive aids from Tella, Henric and Kiley, and it somehow works, then please assume that Esmaralda didn't use her Charm Hex, as there would be no need then... geez I hate PbP sometimes, especially on things like that where the order of when people show up online can make a sea of difference!

Camellia takes up position at the front of the group, sword and shield at the ready for something to go wrong. Ira is hoping something does.

LOL!

Something going wrong is a pretty safe bet.

Slight Retcon I rolled a 19 to aid Esmaralda
Kiley, seeing the fast souring looks, steps and puts her on her sweetest voice.

"Surely a bunch of strong men such as yourselves have nothing to fear from a group of women and a scrawny man," she says, aiming to appeal to their egos. "As my friend here has said, we're looking into something that Sir Roderick's G-ghost sent us here to investigate. We aren't looking to collect any bounties or even evidence against y'all. We may even be able to give you something in return."

She bats her eyes and does her best to look coy while trying not to gag on her words.

I'd much rather be leading these oafs into an ambush and putting them out of their misery. The sour thought seethes in the back of her mind, but she keeps it from showing in her smiling expression.

Esmeralda smiles at Kiley as she begins to smile at the men, and giggles a little, then looks back at the men, smiling even wider.

CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARM!!!!

Henric gets a slightly mortified look on his face when Kiley refers to him as 'scrawny', but wisely keeps his mouth shut.

Tellanya and Henric’s Aid attempts fail. Esmaralda, give me a second Diplomacy check with Kiley’s Aid roll. The Charm Hex improves the target’s attitude, but you still need to roll Diplomacy to make the request.

The speaker seems quite receptive to Esmaralda’s charms.

Diplomacy, Buffs, Aid: 1d20 + 13 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 13 + 4 + 2 = 28

Does Camellia want to attempt an Aid Another, as well?

Camellia sighs as she walks forward.

Don't you dare, Cam!

She begins to open her mouth to speak.

Don't you f&+$ing dare! This is my chance to fight something! It's been too damn long.

"I think it would be mighty fine of y'all to listen to this kind woman here. Seems like the best result for everyone."

F&~+ you, Cam.

"Most everyone, that is."

Camellia auto-aids, as she can't roll below a 10 on diplo

The speaker considers your group, then says, "Hold on a moment."

He and his buddies huddle up, speaking quietly. You overhear, "...saw that ghost when we went to the cove..." followed by another saying, "...bosses won't like it...". The one charmed appears to be advocating for allowing you guys to be able to look around the area.

He seems to have had some success on one of his companions, although the other two are still arguing against it.

Esmaralda's Charm Hex has 2 rounds remaining. You have the choice of either attacking them as they discuss, which will give you a surprise round, or you can wait and see if the two who are in favor of letting you look around can convince the other two.