I'm here, too.
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Sid nods. "Probably, if he's the kind of man we need to talk to." He gestures at the door. "Let's see if we can get across town without kicking up a ruckus."
At the woman's off-handed identification, Sid leaned back in his chair and nonchalantly looked at the rest of the bar, wondering if they had been lured into an ambush.
Sid laughed. "I'd be hard pressed to call this village 'out of the bush.' But sure, let's get a drink. We can ask if there's a hedge wizard or a herb witch around here."
Sid nods and sighs. "They're under a magical effect. I can't tell what, exactly, but it moderately powerful."
Sid nods to little boy and goes with him to examine his father. He sings a short spell under his breath and looks for magical auras around the man.
Sid nods at Xune. "Here, there's a pattern to the patrols. Look here," he points at a group of Zhents, "and then they come from over there... one second... now." The bladesinger nods again, this time to himself. "It should be easy enough to slip in without being seen."
Sid tries to see what exactly is happening in the town.
Oof, multiclassing in 2E. I think this is right for me: Ftr 798/2000
Not as bad as a dragon, but I'm not sure being a bladesinger is half as good as being able to fly. ;)
Sid sighs. His preference was treetop homes full of the sound of rustling leaves and suspended bridges creaking in the wind, but he had spent enough time with the shorter lived races that he'd become used to walls of stone. At least this was living stone. But this period would pass soon enough. He nods at Xune. "We need to find that lord's men, the ones who are running a guerrilla campaign in the woods." The bladesinger gestures at the empty halls, the unmanned defenses. "This place is fine as a secret hideout, but it's not much of a fortress with just a handful of us here. We need manpower here as much as we do out there. Let's see if we can get some people to follow us." "More immediately, we need to camouflage the head of that trail better. We spotted it while barely searching. If we start poking the Zhents they'll send platoons out here and they'll find us soon enough."
Sid nods. "Let's see what's down there."
Sid draws his sword and moves up next to Beau. "That hammer might be more use than my sword on these things."
Sid nods. "If anyone here should get that hammer, it's you. Take it."
Seeing that Alyna has it well in hand, Sid moves back from the hole and cleans his sword.
Sid deftly draws his blade out of the bug's body and swipes at the remaining beetles as they squeeze out of the wall.
He grins at Alyna as they engage the huge bugs and she outperforms him. "That classic style seems to be quite excellent against things without swords," Sid quips in Elvish.
Sid had been standing by while Xune did her thing, and burst into action when the bugs emerged from the door.
Sid looks over, then at Beau. "I'm no expert, but it looks rusted shut to me. Do you think you can get it closed, Beau?"
Sid looks curiously at Xune. "What do you mean by 'pass'? Did I miss a patrol going by?" He gestures at the arrow slits. "The closest ones I saw were all the way down by Daggerfall. Which, incidentally, makes this a great watchpost even if we don't decide to make this our base."
Sid hangs back to let Xune ghost ahead, sword ready to assist if anything jumped out at them.
Sid draws his sword as he continues into the cave, elven eyes gleaming red in the dark.
"Clearing out the area before we start trying to fortify it makes sense." Sid nods at the cliff. "Could you see if you can find a way in there, Xeno? Slits imply this tower is a decoy of its own, or at least not the only place we need to check out."
"That tower is a good sign. It sounds like a watchpost to me. Let's see what's up that trail. Even the ruins of a fort would be a big step up from trying to build a base from nothing."
"Well, if the Freedom Riders are heavy in the heart of the dale, we could set up here a base on Eagle's Eyrie and range in from here. That would keep us away from Daggerfalls and hopefully give us and the Riders a fallback location as we poke the Zhents." He looks up at the rocky peak. "That will make a fine and defensible redoubt, but getting up there is going to be a pain."
Sid chuckles and shakes his head as he sheathes his sword. "You'll have to teach me how to say that, Beau. They could've been nasty." He nods at the wagons. "Now let's get out of their territory before they decide they're hungry enough to brave the dwarf's wrath."
Sid steps up next to Davin and readies himself for the onslaught, holding his blade in a defensive posture.
Sid starts helping Xune unload the boat back into the wagons.
"Whatever those 2 dangerous men really came to Shadowdale to get, I would wager." Sid shakes his head. "Even if it was helpful to them to identify us as their enemies, I can't imagine this was all staged just for our benefit. We just arrived in Shadowdale yesterday."
"That sounds more likely." Sid nods at Beau. "I've never met a Harper, but from what I've heard they wouldn't orchestrate a massacre like this. Zhents aren't supposed to be too picky about the lives of their hirelings." He looks back at the half-orc. "So you're running? If I were you I'd sign on with someone who's already demonstrated the will and ability to fight the people who might be coming after you, but it's your call." The elf gestures at the trail back to Shadowdale. "Good luck in Maztica."
Sid shakes his head. "Could be magic, could be a diversion." He looks around the woods. "It's certainly not an ambush, unless they're just trying to see who might follow the package."
Sid nods. "Odd that they'd be collecting such simple supplies from a virtual enemy." He looks back at the half-orc. "How many times have you done this run? Do the Zhents get supplies from Shadowdale often?" The elf was thinking that this could be a cover operation for whatever was in Xune's leather satchel.
Agreed, it seems like a home base boost.
Sid nods in the direction of the boat. Wary of traps, he says "Why don't you show us this package?"
Sid, impressed with the half-orc's ability in spite of the fact that she's trying to kill him, nods appreciatively at the skilled slash. "You're good." He gestures at the rest of the caravan- particularly the fact that she's alone. "Too good to die here, alone in a forest. Put your sword away."
Sid swings at the retreating guard but his attention is mostly for the half-orc attacking Beau and he quickly but cautiously moves in.
I don't think I understand how to do initiative. How are you guys getting such high bonuses?
Sid briefly looks up into the sky and, hoping the dragon is somewhere close enough to hear, shouts "Don't let them push the boat away from shore!" He switches to a two-handed grip and aggressively goes for one of the two guards facing Davin, hoping to finish off the small fry quickly and then turn as a group to the half-orc. "We'll be with you in a second, Beau!"
I'm good with nat 20 is a crit instead of the 'anything over 18, as long as it's also 5 or more over the target AC' thing, then consulting crit tables. We could also use just one of the online crit roller pages if we don't want to have to consult the tables in the book, for ease of use. Most of them are geared toward 3.P/5E, but they should mostly be easy conversions.
The moment the half-orc orders the guards to attack, Sid's hand goes to his sword and he lashes out at the one he, Beau, and Davin had walked up to. Not knowing what to expect and seeing the mass of guards descending on them, he starts conservatively.
Sid walks up alongside Beau, attempting trickery rather than stealth to get close.
Sid shrugs. "Let's hope they don't spot us back here while you're getting into position." He nods at the front of the column. "Go on, let's set up as fast as possible."
Sid shakes his head. "It can't be for any good reason, Xune. I've never heard of a merchant caravan going off-road like this. At least they're making themselves easy to track. We should be able to catch them pretty quickly." He nods at Alyna. "Xune found a pair of Zhents trying to smuggle something out of Shadowdale. Her contacts say they linked up with this caravan. They're certainly acting suspicious here."
Sid nods. "Caravans don't move too fast, it shouldn't be hard to catch up with them on the road in the morning if we set out early. I can pick out some good horses for us. I'll get a gentle one for you, Beau. One closer to the ground." The moon elf grins at the dwarf. "We'll make a rider out of you by the end of this." He looks down at the gems and back at Beau and Xune. "How much did you say you thought those were worth?"
The elf frowns and shakes his head. "That's not going to be enough to get us all mounted, much less on fiery desert windrunners. Maybe we can acquire some horses from the caravan."
Sid nods. "Let's go see what the Zhents want badly enough to come to Elminster's back yard to get it." He gestures at the gems. "We could probably trade one of those for a horse and tack. I can ride fairly well, if we need a rider."
Sid nods at Lhaeo as he leaves. After Elminster's assistant walks away, he turns to his companions. "We should ask around to see if we can find any Zhent-supporting targets here in Shadowdale or closer to here before we head off to Daggerdale."
Sid nods. "If there are closer threats we can deal with before heading into their territory, that would be a good way to start."
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