"What the hells?" says Captain Antefalle as she watches Viralane disappear with her willing bodyguard, Nasir.
"So, what's the deal with the halfling? Are you going to keep her from dying?" asks one of the crewmen.
Another member of the crew shouts, "What about Elbows? Did he poison the water?"
Antefalle sheaths her partially drawn weapon and shouts
The crew calms and returns to work. Soon, the Whim is back on track, sailing on a close reach for Magnimar. "We'll be in Magnimar this evening! Late enough to avoid a day's dock fees, but early enough to drink our weight in ale at the S*%&faced Archon!"
A cheer goes up from the crew at their posts.
As Gregory heals the unconscious Corla, Roscoe finds comfort in the fact that he had already bound and gagged her.
He watches Gregory do his work. "Well, it was nice knowing Nasir. He was useful before he disappeared forever. Heh. Well, what should we do with her?" he asks, rolling Corla over on her back and then propping her up into a sitting position.
Corla possesses potions of cure light wounds (x3), blue whinnis (x7); +1 studded leather armor, a masterwork kukri and a handy haversack.
Nasir continues to fight for his life. Seeing that the elf is his most dangerous opponent, he focuses his attacks on them.
After striking the elf, he repositions to get out of the flank.
The half-elf staggers backwards, bleeding profusely. He moves away from Nasir, withdrawing.
"Damnit! Hold him there!" he shouts at the gnome.
The gnome presses the attack! MISS!
The dwarf points at Nasir and a flaming bolt shoots out of his fingers and unerringly strikes the Keleshite warrior!
ROUND THREE
—------------------------------------------------
Nasir - attacks and hits half-elf!
Viralane - ??
Dwarf - magic missile!
Gnome - swing and a miss
Half-elf - withdraw
STATUS
-----------------------
Nasir || -21-5hp
ROUND FOUR
—------------------------------------------------
Nasir -
Viralane -
Dwarf -
Gnome -
Half-elf -
may go!
STATUS
-----------------------
Nasir || -21-5hp
A damn wizard! How can I escape that?
Nasir steps next to the caster and attacks him hoping to drop him quickly.
The dwarf screams in pain as Nasir slices him with his scimitar. And then breaks his nose with his shield!
He stumbles backwards and flees.
Over his should, Nasir notices the half-elf grab a potion and drink it.
The gnome, left to his own devices, presses on! He steps up to Nasir and attacks with his rapier.
MISS
ROUND FOUR
—------------------------------------------------
Nasir - hits and bashes dwarf
Viralane - ??
Dwarf - retreat
Gnome - miss
Half-elf - drinks potion
STATUS
-----------------------
Nasir || -21-5hp
ROUND FIVE
—------------------------------------------------
Nasir -
Viralane -
Dwarf -
Gnome -
Half-elf -
may go!
STATUS
-----------------------
Nasir || -21-5hp
Nasir takes a breath as the caster backs off, but he knows he needs to get out of this fray quickly if he is to escape. Hoping to get the gnome to drop or retreat, Nasir launches an attack on them.
Frantino is concerned for the fate of Nasir and what might happen with Baraket.
"We should quickly tie up Corla and heal her back to consciousness. She may have information about where Viralane teleported with Nasir when she used word of recall! She might be associated with the same cult as Alden, too. So, who wants to interrogate Corla?"
Nasir takes a breath as the caster backs off, but he knows he needs to get out of this fray quickly if he is to escape. Hoping to get the gnome to drop or retreat, Nasir launches an attack on them.
[dice=Scimitar]1d20+11-2 [dice=Dmg]1d6+4
[dice=Shield Bash]1d20+10-2 [dice=Dmg]1d3+5
The scimitar swings high, but as the gnome ducks it he is smashed with the shield! It looks like his nose and shoulder are broken as blood pours out of one and the other looks... out of its socket. Nasir has done some serious damage. Another one like that or a bit stronger and the gnome will be down for the count.
Nasir can see behind him a small copse of trees in which he could hide. Above and beyond the forest appears the walls of Magnimar. He estimates half a mile at most.
Wary of the shield, the gnome tries again to strike with his rapier!
HIT!
He then pivots, attempting to block Nasir's escape.
The half-elf, having drunk his potion, pulls his bow and launches an arrow at Nasir.
MISS!
ROUND FIVE
—------------------------------------------------
Nasir - Hits gnome!
Viralane - ??
Dwarf - disappears inside the inn
Gnome - hurt, but hits nasir
Half-elf - shoots, misses
STATUS
-----------------------
Nasir || -21-5-3hp
ROUND SIX
—------------------------------------------------
Nasir -
Viralane -
Dwarf -
Gnome -
Half-elf -
may go!
STATUS
-----------------------
Nasir || -21-5-3hp
Nasir sees the wizard continuing to retreat and with that, his opportunity to overrun the gnome to make his escape. He launches his attack to overwhelm the gnome.
He then moves past the fallen gnome to make his way into the forest.
Nasir sees the wizard continuing to retreat and with that, his opportunity to overrun the gnome to make his escape. He launches his attack to overwhelm the gnome.
He then moves past the fallen gnome to make his way into the forest.
The half-elf shouts, "Damn!" and fires an arrow at Nasir.
MISS
Nasir heads for the nearby treeline and disappears into the forest.
Nasir sets in for a serious run through the forest to the walls of Magnimar. He sheathes his sword, but keeps his shield ready just in case more arrows come his way. He keeps checking over his shoulder for pursuers.
When his is certain that he does not have people chasing right on his heels, he will pull a potion of Cure Light Wounds and chug it on the run.
Corla wakens, healed of enough of her injuries to be conscious. She looks around.
"Where's Viralane, then?" she asks with a sneaking suspicion written on her face.
Nasir runs but it soon becomes plain that a dead sprint won't work in these woods. The trees are tight together and the ground is uneven. Nasir slows to a fast walk, so as not to trip on roots or run headlong into a low branch.
After a few minutes in the trees, he hears Viralane's voice and several others. And the sounds of horses.
While trying to evade his hunters, Nasir remembers that there is a potion of invisibility and a potion of cure moderate wounds in the bag of holding that no one claimed. He gets those out of the bag and puts them in his pouch to make it easier for him to get to.
[dice=Survival]1d20+9
While trying to evade his hunters, Nasir remembers that there is a potion of invisibility and a potion of cure moderate wounds in the bag of holding that no one claimed. He gets those out of the bag and puts them in his pouch to make it easier for him to get to.
Nasir stops and hides behind a large tree as he comes upon a narrow game trail. Immediately thereafter, he hears horses and somebody saying, "Shhh. He's here somewhere."
Two men on horses, wearing unobtrusive viridian badges on their clothing, slowly go by the tree.
Man 1: "Let's hope he doesn't see the Road to the Middle Gate. We'll lose him in the traffic."
Man 2: "Don't worry. He'll stay in the forest. People hiding generally stay hidden."
"Sounds like ye know where she might be. Where do ye think that might be?"
"Let me guess. She vanished in a big green light show?" Corla says. "Damn her."
I think at least 3 of us mentioned healing/stabilizing/whatnot. :-)
If she seems positively talkative, Ayita might even offer her some blackberry brandy...
Frantino kneels down next to the bound halfling. "You put up a heck of a fight, Corla, while Viralane acted the victim in order to take control of Nasir. However, when the time came she abandoned you. Was that your plan? Why were you trying to get Nasir's backpack? How much do you and Viralane know about our recent activities in Roderic's Cove? Who sent you to be with us?" Not being great at talking unless it's an academic discussion, Frantino looks to augment Ayita, Roscoe, and Doc's more persuasive personalities.
[dice=Diplomacy aided by booze]1d20+6
Ter sits nearby and says, "It's very good brandy. More please."... as Ayita gives her a bit in her Cayden mug.
Corla shrugs and takes the brandy. She's less hostile, but still unfriendly. You did try to kill her, after all.
The Road (conveniently called "The Road") leads from the hinterlands to the Middle Gate. It passes by some taverns and inns outside the walls. Much cheaper for merchants to stay outside, than inside. And when the gates shut for the evening, latecomers needs to lodge somewhere.
The Road is moderately trafficked. Much more crowded on market days, of course, which this is not. Nasir recalls being astonished that the City Watch only patrolled the walls and the streets of Magnimar, but left merchants outside the walls to their own devices. Definitely not a well-run city, he felt. Merchants either hired guards or paid the "hinterland tax" to local roving gangs of toughs to guard their caravans as they came through the final forests and fens bordering Magnimar.
Once the thugs move on, Nasir will continue through the forest. He will stow his shield and take out his bow and make his way toward the Middle Gate. He will look for opportunities to get on the road with a group of other travelers where he can blend in.
Once I'm in the city, I'll have more options to avoid the Peacocks. Hopefully, I can find a way to meet up with the rest of the group. The problem is that Viralane knows what vessel everyone will be on...
Once the thugs move on, Nasir will continue through the forest. He will stow his shield and take out his bow and make his way toward the Middle Gate. He will look for opportunities to get on the road with a group of other travelers where he can blend in.
Once I'm in the city, I'll have more options to avoid the Peacocks. Hopefully, I can find a way to meet up with the rest of the group. The problem is that Viralane knows what vessel everyone will be on...
This wet land offers so many more options for evading pursuers than the desert. At least I don't have to pray for a sandstorm to obscure my tracks here...
|
Ter sits nearby and says, "It's very good brandy. More please."... as Ayita gives her a bit in her Cayden mug.Corla shrugs and takes the brandy. She's less hostile, but still unfriendly. You did try to kill her, after all.
Facing away from Corla and towards his friends, Hatfield shakes his head as he opines: "Viralane's actions speak for themselves. That's one sneaky sneak." He sighs with disappointment at the way things turned out.
He turns to Corla and ministers to her wounds. "Hang on a sec. Ye've got a nasty head wound there."
Hatfield lets a moment of silence pass as he applies a bandage.
Then, he expends a 1st level spell:
He reassesses the injuries: "That should set things aright. Ye might hear a ringin' in yer ears for a bit. Try not ta exert yerself fer a couple o' days; high blood pressure--even momentary--can make it worse. I don' envy ye tha headache ye'll have today."
Then, the herbalist takes a few steps back and slumps down in a nearby seat (or on the deck/floor as appropriate). "Can ye tell us what was so doggone important that it had ta come ta this?" he asks, gesturing to Corla's bandage.
With the assistance of Frantino, Roscoe and Ayita, Doc's efforts with Corla pay off. His ministrations slowly change her attitude toward the team.
Corla, over the course of the day, reveals in her conversation with Doc, much of what Frantino and others are curious about.
"After Viralane's curse (all that was true, by the way)," says Corla. "Viralane fell in with a strange group of cultists in Magnimar who worshiped something called the 'Peacock Spirit.' Always wearing some bit of viridian, I noticed."
"Some half-elf woman, never got her name, promised Viralane a cure!" Corla laughs. "Ha. If Viralane will just perform this teensy tiny favor for the 'Cocks (that's what I call 'em)."
It turns out the favor was securing a magic sword from a group of adventurers up in Roderic’s Cove. Corla knows that the cult supplied Viralane with the one-time power to escape via a teleportation ritual. She doesn’t know much else about this ritual or the cultists, other than that she’s disappointed that Viralane didn’t honor her promise to take Corla with her when she used it to flee. "Oh no. She had to take the guy with the backpack. That was obviously where the sword was kept. The half-elven female 'cock (ha!) told Viralane that it would probably not look like a sword. Or be shaped like a sword. The easiest way to transport it would be in some magic container, like a box or a bag of some sort."
Corla, Doc finds, is a bit coarse. Double entendres, sometimes strait up cursing and "plain" words. Despite being abandoned by her mistress, Corla cannot help but feel protective towards her still.
"She's probably seducing the Keleshite, now. Off comes her dress and off comes the backpack, probably," she says unkindly. "Look, I understand yer probably angry at her, especially since yer friend might be in danger. Her ego drives her to do ANYTHING so she can perform for the adulating crowds again. But, please have mercy if you meet her again. Viralane ain't a bad person, she’s just... self-absorbed."
[dice=Survival]1d20+9
This wet land offers so many more options for evading pursuers than the desert. At least I don't have to pray for a sandstorm to obscure my tracks here...
Nasir dodges the horsemen just inside the edge of the trees and spots the walls of the City of Monuments.
A road runs along the forest edge, from the swampy expanse of the Mushfens and the coiling length of the Yondabakari River, to a stark and dramatic end in the shadow of a striking limestone escarpment jutting from the cliffs. There, at the walls of the city, stands the Middle Gate and a mass of people, carts, merchants of all sorts, waiting to pass through.
Here, close to where Nasir stands, is a motley caravan of sorts. A merchant. A family. A few horsemen. And flanking them all, a group of Szcarni toughs. Just as Nasir remembers. The group walks slowly along the road towards the mass of people at the Gate, in the distance.
Darting out of the forest's edge to join them, Nasir is intercepted by one of the toughs. "Oy. Mate. Stop righ' there. You lookin' 'a join ar upright li'l caravan, 'r yuh?" the tough asks, his hand holding a crossbow, pointed in Nasir's general direction.
He looks over Nasir's shoulder at the forest edge. Three horseman can be seen just inside the trees, watching.
Nasir looks over his shoulder at the horsemen.
"Listen, friend. I'm being hunted by bandits for the information I have, and I need to get into the city to escape them. Perhaps you and your friends would be interested in being compensated for your time and help me get through the gates? What do you say?"
Nasir looks over his shoulder at the horsemen.
"Listen, friend. I'm being hunted by bandits for the information I have, and I need to get into the city to escape them. Perhaps you and your friends would be interested in being compensated for your time and help me get through the gates? What do you say?"
He looks at you and makes the talky talky motion with his free hand.
"Yeah. Wha'eva, mate. Ten Sails. Standard price to join our caravan." He sticks his hand out, palm up. "Ain't got all day, bruv."
Nasir frowns and calmly replies.
"That's a bit steep, friend. For that price, I'd expect you to help me kill those guys over there right now. Hells...in Magnimar, I could get a gang of guys to kill my pursuers for half that price, and I wouldn't even need to lift a finger.
But I'm tired of killing those bandits today, so how about I give you the five sails I would pay a gang to kill them for me, and we just continue to walk down the road without having to sweat much? That's a good deal, is it not? Who doesn't like easy money."
Nasir sticks out his hand with the somewhat dried blood of the dead gnome on it to shake on the deal.
I forget sometimes how much I enjoy haggling...
Nasir frowns and calmly replies.
"That's a bit steep, friend. For that price, I'd expect you to help me kill those guys over there right now. Hells...in Magnimar, I could get a gang of guys to kill my pursuers for half that price, and I wouldn't even need to lift a finger.
"Oy, mate, for five you get to walk the Road wi' us. For seven you ARE one of us and get to walk righ' through the Gate with us 'guards,'" he responds with a smile and lifted eyebrow. "Or you could wait for somebody else to come along. Shouldn't be too long, now. I'm sure yer friends will wait wi' ya. Heh."
Nasir smiles.
"Ahhh...now that is an excellent counteroffer and frankly more than I expected. I accept your offer!"
Nasir reaches into his pouch and pulls out seven gold sails and hands it to the tough.
"So what's your name? Is there some water I can use? I couldn't properly clean my blade when I got away from those bandits. Generally, blood and guts don't do a lot of harm to a blade, but nonetheless it pays to take care of your weapon. I suppose I should try to clean off a bit too so I don't attract too much attention at the gate. I'm sure I look like an abattoir. One of their friends sprayed blood everywhere when sliced him open and smashed his skull in... "
I forget sometimes how much I enjoy haggling...