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Braiden proceeds into the castle, looking for whomever he has to talk to in order to meet with the King. He's a rather menacing figure among all the proper folk, and stands out from his peasant's garb and uncleanliness, not to mention the muttering and seemingly blind eyes.
Assuming the (suddenly appeared) Verderer's wife is referring to the Frenchie, Braiden moves to pick him up and haul him away. He's surprised at her spellcasting abilities, though it does explain a lot. He also heard the Verderer himself, though he cannot see the man. However, right now his only concern is getting the Frenchie and getting out.
Seeing the hag as the group's toughest target, Braiden instead focuses on her. He tries to cow her into fleeing with a spell. Braiden casts Cause Fear.
Frightened:
A frightened creature flees from the source of its fear as best it can. If unable to flee, it may fight. A frightened creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. A frightened creature can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, the creature must use such means if they are the only way to escape.
Frightened is like shaken, except that the creature must flee if possible. Panicked is a more extreme state of fear. Shaken: A shaken character takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. Shaken is a less severe state of fear than frightened or panicked.
Braiden cackles menacingly as he uses his Gift of Madness ability on the Frenchie.
He then puts away the crossbow.
-Round 1- Braiden draws the crossbow from his back and shoots it at the Frenchie.
Braiden starts within 30' of the Frenchie, and as his surprise action uses his spell Ray of Sickening on him.
Sickened Condition: The character takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
"'Fraid I'm no expert of the woods, but I can lead the way just the same." He gives a small smile, though with his tired eyes, unkempt appearance (and smell), and foetid breath it is more intimidating than comforting. As Braiden is incapable of seeing underneath the bridge until he's closer, he continues obliviously (unless, of course, someone else spots it and alerts him).
"Aye, the man was a Frenchman, I think. He put some life in a couple a skeletons and set them to attackin' us before he made off. We found their coven by followin' the tracks of the townsfolk, an' them tracks stopped dead right at the mouth 'a there cave."
Hearing someone announce the arrival of allies, and the clopping of horse hooves, Braiden moves to unbar the door and allow them in. He looks to the two newcomers and remarks, "Ho! The fates are not friendly today, friends. Best to tread carefully."
[spoiler=At the church]Braiden offers this as condolence: "We have men going to the castle to hopefully bring reinforcements. Let's hope we can bring back the village, eh?" He doesn't sound very hopeful himself, and that's because he isn't. Things look grim, and he doesn't think it likely that the villagers are still alive.
Braiden looks grim as he says, "We could not locate them, though we found their tracks leading to the mouth of a den of witches. We can only hope they are yet alive."
Braiden turns to Dougal and says, "It seems as though at least one has escaped whatever foul happening occurred here. This priest yet stays in the church." With that he'll help the priest to his feet, if he consents to it.
Braiden drops the crossbow and shields his face from the water, though moreso out of surprise and to keep the water out of his eyes than because its doing harm to him. He says to the priest, "Ahh, would you cut that out? I'm no harm to you." He picks up the crossbow and returns it to his back. Then he asks, "Well, you're the first living soul we've seen in this village. How come you didn't leave like the others?"
As Braiden waits at the church, carefully watching the witch, he busies himself with barring the door and blocking any ground-level windows with furniture. After all, there's still a hag about, and he is scared to death of her. When he hears the sound behind the altar, he wheels his head around fast. He slowly approaches from the side, looking underneath it for what made the sound. His hand unconsciously rests on the crossbow strapped to his back.
Acknowledging Hywel's point, Braiden assists in making the litter, and once it is created, in carrying it. He finds it ironic that they would be treating the witch so gently, though he understands the necessity of making sure her wounds don't open.
Braiden thinks about the situation, then offers, "Well, do we have a lead on where this plant is at? If we don't know where it is at, I can't see us doing much about removing it. I'd say we wait for the witch to recover, and interrogate her. If she reveals the whereabouts of the villagers, maybe we quest to find them now, an' if she doesn't, an' we can't find 'em, then we take her to the king. That sound fair?"
Braiden gets closer to Rashun to see what he is referring to, saying, "Oh? And what did you think you would find?" He grows more worried seeing that Rashun is kneeling near the strange sacks in the cave. This whole forest is very unsettling, and Braiden wants to leave already.
Braiden is convinced of the wife's identity, and wonders at the trust the Verderer must have in her to be fine with her coming along. Also, he wonders at how capable she must be. "My traveling companions, I may be able to assist in finding our missing village. I might be able to divine an answer to a question from the powers that be, though it would take some time. Perhaps if we do not find them soon, I could try at that?" He is referring to his Prophetic Visionary feat.
Braiden takes offense when Hywel seems annoyed that no one else jumped to his command, though he does not voice his annoyance. Instead he says, "Maybe someone should check the cave?" He regrets saying it, however. Because he was the one to suggest it, the others might think he'd be willing to do it, which he definitely is not.
Braiden mutters stutteringly, "H-h-hag?" He dreads that they didn't manage to get that one. He heard they can pass through walls to kill you in the night, and that they can cast powerful magics to know where you are at all times. He only hopes this one won't target him first. Braiden is about to scold Hywel for suspecting their ally, who just saved them from the witch, when he realizes that the Verderer's wife is there too. Now what is she doing here? He asks himself, then cautiously offers to the missus, "Ho, what are you doing in these dangerous woods yerself, ma'am? I am certain the good Verderer wouldn't want to risk you being out here at the witches' den." He finds her presence to be puzzling, and quickly thinks up some way to test whether she is who she looks to be. "Before you go anywhere, ma'am, that meal you made yesterday was really delicious. Pray tell me the recipe?" He's becoming just as suspicious as Hywel, and he wants to see whether she knows what they ate yesterday.
Braiden decides that standing around isn't helping anything, and he could try to help his allies even if he might not do much. He moves to help dispatch the skeletons (if any are still standing), charging the nearest with the longspear.
Braiden advances forward cautiously until he sees the skeletons, then stops where he's at. He can't do much currently, so he'll just wait with his readied action to attack any enemies coming near.
If a nearby ally is unconscious, Braiden draws his potion of Cure Light Wounds and moves to their side. If not, and a non-skeletal enemy is within 30', Braiden uses his Gift of Madness revelation on them (Fort DC 13 or confused for 1 round). If not, Braiden will ready his longspear against a charge.
Before the group leaves town, Braiden grabs a longspear and heavy crossbow. He slings the crossbow on his back and tightly holds the shaft of the longspear in hand while entering the forest. The mist isn't visible to him, though he can hear the sleet starting above him. His heart's pace quickens, and he gasps in surprise when he hears the twig snap. He can't see out to where he heard it, and his fear mounts as he speaks in a low tone barely above a whisper, "Oh, what was that?"
Braiden weighs either going into the woods with these fellows or chancing the church all by his lonesome. In light of this thought, he says, "Very well, I'll come in tow then." He thinks to himself, An' if we all get killed an' eaten by witches, it ain't my fault. With a grimace he follows after Rashun, presuming that he knows which way to go as he found the tracks. As they start off, he says, "Hey, any of you have a weapon I might use? Don't want to go wandering into a witches' woods without a weapon, right?" He gulps audibly.
Braiden looks agitatedly to the ominous treeline, then says, "Ehhh... Do we really have to go in there?" He thinks up many kinds of horrible deaths that might befall their group, and nervously clenches his hands together.
Braiden looks back to the bodies, and says, "Well I sure ain't goin' on my own. That ain't happenin' to me, no sir!"
Braiden mutters, "What in the Nine Hells..." as he peers down at the corpses from a safe distance away. He wonders at what could have not only infested these two, but also cleared out the whole rest of the town. He says to the rest of the group, "So, do any of you know what apparition spirited these folk away? I haven't a clue what could do this." He adds in a low, muttered tone, "'Cept witches." He watches Rashun as he moves about, tracing tracks in the ground, and says, "Should we just keep going to the king an' tell him about it?" He looks up to meet the gaze of his nearby traveling partners.
Round 1: Braiden can't see what's going on, though he senses the instant uneasiness of the others. After Tobar's comment, Braiden will say, "What, where are they?" as he turns to where everyone is generally facing. He squints, though he can see no people.
Round 2: If Braiden can see the people, and they appear hostile, he'll try to use his Gift of Madness revelation to cause 1 to be confused for 1 round (DC 13 Fort negates). If they don't appear hostile, he'll simply try communicating, saying, "You look horrible, what's wrong?" If he can't see them, he'll continue his total defense.
Braiden has a terrible night, as usual, staying up for most of it and screaming his way out of rest when he does shut his eyes for an hour. However, the lack of decent sleep is nothing new to him, and he's up waiting for everyone else in the morning. As he's being shoved out the door, he gives another thank you and a solemn farewell before heading off with the group. When they arrive at Hampshire around mid-afternoon, Braiden finds it very odd that no one is around. His mind forms devious connections between the mist and this, but he shuns the thoughts and says, "Well, 'ts awful quiet today." He'll continue into town as long as the others are.
Braiden seems to be less crazed at the moment, now that he's had a hearty meal and feels that he is safe. He replies to the Verderer, "Thanks for your offer, sir. Though, ah," He gives a small chuckle, the first sign of pleasant emotion from him yet, "I think that the darkness wouldn't make much a difference in my case." He points at his eyes, milky white as a blind man's. "That's not to mean I'd travel while witches are about, though." He looks over to Dougal, squinting toward him as he says, "I suppose the dark should be good enough to keep this one from running off an' getting himself killed, though. Lucky you, eh?" His facial expression seems to be a mix between sympathy and condescension. He coughs roughly before he gets a reply, though he straightens himself back up to meet Dougal's eyes.
Braiden looks up from his demolished plate, saying, "The name's Braiden." in a none-too-friendly tone before licking his plate clean. He hopes none of the travelers recognize him from his street-side doom-saying, or it might be an awkward stay.
Braiden helps himself to the fine food put before him, offering a short thanks before stuffing his face. It is plain from his attire and demeanor that he isn't used to food such as this, and he nearly chokes from eating it too fast. When he decides to take a short break, Braiden sits up in his chair and squints at the wife, "My thanks for the meal and hospitality. Such things are a blessing in times as dark as these." He doesn't crack a smile, though his appreciation is earnest. He looks almost pitiably to Tobar. Surely he wouldn't be so cheerful if he knew what was to come. If he had seen what Braiden saw... He shakes his head visibly before digging back into the food, trying to get his mind somewhere else.
Braiden takes the warming stone and puts it on his lap as he sits down, gladly accepting the warmth it provides. He says to the wife, "Oh, I'm so glad there is a house here. Who knows what might have become of us if they'd caught us first!" At Dougal's comments, Braiden becomes more dour, saying, "Jest if you might, but it matters not. Nothing you can do will change what those damned witches are bringing!" He pounds the table once with his fist for emphasis. As you sit with him, the wonderful smell of the food is paired with his own odour (not unlike the odour of a wet dog) to horrible effect. A pool is forming underneath him on the floor, as he had no cloak to shield him from the rain.
Braiden cannot hear Dougal's rebuttal, as he is already halfway between the group and the small building. You can hear him howl in fear once as he looks backward. His antics border on being humorous, though at the same time the sincerity of his terror is a bit unsettling.
Braiden quickly turns around to talk to the mounted figure, eyeing him as he exclaims, "But the witches! Those harbingers of doom are upon us! Swiftly, we must get to the shelter!" He resumes his scurrying anew, occasionally looking backward towards the mist with a panicked expression upon his face. The cruel images visited upon him nightly come fresh to the front of his mind, and he can do nothing except run in terror from the thick bank of mist threatening to envelop him.
The link you provided didn't seem to work, though I found it through your profile.
As the lightning flashes and he turns to look behind him, Braiden lets out a short shriek as he thinks he sees the witches from his dreams in the rolling mists. He hurriedly scurries toward the building, not concerned in the slightest about being presentable or well-mannered. |