Search Posts
The hail stops suddenly leaving a heavy mist in its place. Brokk'r and Gefjun slow to get their bearings when they hear shouting in the distance. Brokk'r listens carefully, trying to figure out which direction it came from, but can't make heads nor tails of it.
But maybe Gefjun can point him in the right direction. "Which way are they girl?" the dwarf asks his mount.
Brokk'r peers through the downpour, looking for the tracks his friends would have left.
"Durnit!" Brokk'r curses, looking around.
"Hmm..." Brokk'r says. "Can't say I remember meetin' anyone by that name. A while back we found a man dead on one of his own reckless traps. Maybe that was him?"
"Sounds like everything's a part o' nature, so whatever ye do's natural..." the dwarf mutters, staring into the fire. He watches the flames dance as he considers his time with the group. He wasn't sure about this motley crew at the outset, but they've proven more capable and reliable than he'd expected. After a while, he turns and says, "Ike, I know I was hard on ye when we first set out on this little adventure, and I know ye were havin' a rough go of it for a bit there, but ye should know that ye're a part of this team. I'd risk my life fer you or anyone else here."
"Just easy ta find, I imagine," Brokk'r says. "Welp, better get a move on."
Brokk'r puts what he's learned about survival to the test as he examines the tree, following Rai to get a closer look.
Brokk'r has a little pent up aggression from the encounter with the mites. He had expected, and maybe hoped a little, that there would be a fight. To release it he climbs to the highest point he can find to get a good look around, taking the lay of the land.
Once everyone has climb back to the surface, Brokk'r pulls up their ropes and unties them. He hands one to Rai and then unknots his own before returning it to his pack. "Back to Oleg's then?" he asks his companions. "Should probably explore that one region we missed on the way. Maybe we'll finally find that boar... Tuskgutter was it?"
yeah, unfortunately not being a caster means i have to spend two feats to craft arms and armor which delays it to level 7, but that's the plan.
"Do ye see a kobold?" Brokk'r growls.
"Havin' the patience of a saint," Brokk'r mumbles under his breath. "Waitin' fer me friends! You don't like me an' I don't like you, so I'm waitin' up here. Do we need ta make that a problem?"
Brokk'r strains to hear what is going on below until Arlen's voice calls back clearly.
"They want ye ta wait outside," he says to Ike, "though it might be better if ye jes stop bein' a kobold; I'd like ta stick close in case our friends need help."
"Probably oughtta stay close in case we're needed," Brokk'r says to Ike. "But keep an eye on that other tunnel."
"Here," Brokk'r says, tossing his rope to Rai. "Ye can use this ta help ye get down."
Brokk'r pulls Ike aside as the others descend. "Hold on a minute, lad. Seein' you and me is just gonna make 'em nervous and Diceros wants ta be diplomatic. So unless yer wantin' ta change forms again—not sure how often ye can do that—why don't ye wait up here with me, eh?" Then, looking back the way they came, he adds, "Also, wasn't there another tunnel? They probably connect somewhere deeper. Wouldn't want to get flanked."
"Well, that didn't go well." The dwarf frowns. "Diceros, weren't you the one ta make friendly with the one them kobolds had locked up? Maybe he'd listen to ye if ye can find 'im." Brokk'r takes a look down the hole. "But seein' as they're all riled up, I'm not wantin' ta send ye down there alone... We could always just beat some sense into 'em."
"Keep talkin', lad," Brokk'r advises. "Don't give 'em a chance ta get spooked; Tell 'em what ye got ta say."
yeah, i figured you were saying it because the DC was just too high. i was just saying because if you had wanted one, you wouldn't have had to wait for it.
Brokk'r scrambles down the tunnel after his friends, ready for a fight.
"Go on then, lad," Brokk'r says to Ike. "Looks like we're going down. Though if we find those mites, I don't suppose they'll be terribly excited ta see me first... or you lookin' like that."
Brokk'r keeps a close eye on his non-dwarven companions as they move through this hilly terrain prepared to assist any of them should the climbs and descents prove too difficult.
Suddenly the dwarf remembers that they were supposed to be hunting a boar as well, and, while he doubts they'll find it in these hills, he decides to take a look around the area for tracks to see what does roam these parts.
Brokk'r looks down at the troll unconscious and dying before him. Mumbling a quick prayer of thanks to the dwarven gods that that didn't go much worse, Brokk'r pulls off his shield and uses both hands to bring it down as hard as he can on the creature's neck.
Despite the monstrous humanoid's vicious bite, Brokk'r continue's his assault, sliding over to help Sigurd press his advantage. "Get on the other side of 'im, lad! Diceros, get yer rhino ta move across from Ike ta box 'im in!"
Brokk'r roars as the troll ignores him, dropping its guard, to go for Rai. "Get back here, you!" He swings his shield again as it moves past him.
Then, the dwarf shuffles closer and unleashes his fury.
Brokk'r settles into a comfortable rhythm as Sigurd begins his song. He grunts as he charges forward hoping to distract the beast from his... softer allies.
"Aye, it would be nice ta find Svetlana's ring," Brokk'r agrees, "but Ike still seems a little rough from that whole mess. We should give him some time ta recover unless the two o' ye want to use yer magics." He offers Sigurd the cup from his mess kit and asks the large man for some beer.
"Aye, lad, he was," Brokk'r says to Ike. "But we need ta get some answers outta 'im," he lowers his voice, "if ye want te help these kobolds out. I thought that was yer plan."
At Arlen's question, it occurs to Brokk'r that Tartuk doesn't quite talk like the other kobolds though he can't quite figure out why. But that moment of hesitation is enough for him to shake off the rage. He runs up behind Sigurd. "Try an' take 'im alive, lad. If we're ta be helpin' these kobolds, seems we oughtta get 'em some answers."
The webbing dismissed, Brokk'r manages to get a little further down the tunnel. "Looks like it narrows up here, lads! Not if I'll be able ta catch 'im."
Brokk'r chases after Tartuk but gets stuck in the webbing. "Gah! Durn it!"
Brokk'r moves to a position where he can charge Tartuk as soon as the webbing is cleared and gets ready .
Brokk'r moves up next to Sigurd and peers into the darkness. "Looks like ther's a tunnel behind 'im!" the dwarf shouts.
Sigurd's usual song wash over the dwarf, but this time he feels as though there is something more than just the music. Something else seems to have manifested in the skald's music. Brokk'r hustles over to help Ike, who is surrounded by Tartuk's allies, and when he stops behind one of the offending kobolds it becomes clear what. An energy that seems to ride the notes themselves coalesces around the dwarf and forms into an angry spirit which strikes the unsuspecting reptilian.
As long as the kobolds are taking sides and one of those sides is them and Ike's, Brokk'r continues to play along and avoids taking out their unexpected allies in the chaos. Seeing no easy way to get to the big beastie without wading through a mess of kobolds, he starts swinging away. With two of the little buggers threatening Ike, he begins there.
Brokk'r follows Ike into the cave. Despite his annoyance at the ruse, he's not about to let a friend wander into unknown dangers on their behalf alone.
"Minions!?" Brokk'r starts, quickly catching himself. "Tryin' ta order me around like some sort o' underling... Startin' ta rethink that praise I gave 'im..." Brokk'r grumbles under his breath as he tightens the strap on his shield and follows suit.
"Thanks for the help. We might have to talk about berry identification some time. You can't really put nuts in beer." "Says who!?" asks the dwarf with incredulity. "When we're done with all o' this, I'll have ta introduce ye ta one o' my cousins! They'll teach ye what's what!" When Arlen points out the cave, Brokk'r gets excited. "Aye, let's take a look," he suggests. Hills are nice, but being underground feels a little more comfortable to the dwarf. "With that mite locked up, it shouldn't make much difference if I go along, but Ike should probably go first. He's made quite the scout so far even if I think he's a bit too diplomatic."
"Good ta see yer rhino's feelin' better." Brokk'r continues to note the landmarks as they explore. At one point, while keeping an eye out for danger, he catches a particularly impressive display of acrobatics from the half-elf. The third day, Brokk'r decides to practice his riding, so they don't let anymore bandits get away.
"Yer rhino's sick." Brokk'r tracks the landmarks to make sure they're not wandering in circles and keeping a keen eye out for caves or signs of mine-able ore. In a few places, he thinks he spots something valuable, but nature makes him work to find out, forcing him to climb into and out of crevasses.
i almost forgot about my feat! this is my "see! i really can do damage, guys!" level. finally picking up TWF and some nice static boosts to my weapon damage.
Brokk'r awkwardly acknowledges Arlen's comment, still a bit unnerved by his/her transformation. "Anyway," he continues more clearly to everyone, "It doesn't look like we can all cross here. Sure, Rai could do... whatever it is he does to get himself over, but we'd have ta rebuild the bridge ta get everyone else across and I don't think we want to spend that kind o' time." He grabs Gefjun's reigns and begins to walk southwest along the bank looking for a shallow place to ford.
"Huh?" Brokk'r cries out startled by the sudden vision. "What the!?" The dwarf hops about a bit taking various defensive positions as the Stag Lord and his men approach before realizing it is some sort of magically induced hallucination. "Well there's somethin' ye don't see every day..." Brokk'r looks around at his companions who seem to be taking the assault on their senses, this hijacking of their perceptions, very mildly. "Or maybe ye do..."
"Aye, lass, but why're we chattin' with a zombie?" Brokk'r says while getting into a defensive position.
"Ha!" Brokk'r laughs. He watches as Arlen approaches the bell "Don't suppose it'll do any harm... or anythin' at all."
Brokk'r pulls out his remaining curative potion and administers it to Rai forcibly. |
