I'd be happy to pick it up when things get more manageable, Daniel Stewart
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Sorry for the delay guys....stupid real-life dropped in and messed things up...will try to get something up shortly Thanks for letting us know, Daniel.
Brother Jacob stands guard of Dzhimburt with his shield held high, waiting to swing on anyone who approaches him or his charge. ,
Hey folks! My head is trying to explode so I will likely be asleep all of today. Sorry for the inconvenience. Hope your "exploding head" got better.
Brother Jacob moves in front of Dzhimburt and raises his shield, ready to protect the wizard from any foe who might threaten him. "Stay behind me as best you can!" he shouts at Dzhimburt.
Brother Jacob slowly picks himself up off the ground and silently nods at Sigfried's commands, preparing his flail and shield.
Brother Jacob motions for the others to be quiet and assume his supine position while the halfling does his halfling things.
Brother Jacob stops and drops to the ground when he hears the large group, motioning for others to do the same.
Brother Jacob sits on the remains of the burnt outer wall to catch his breath. "Thank you for that good scouting, Master Twiddletoe. What would we do without you?"
Brother Jacob's eyebrows raise in surprise as Sigfried passes him. "Sorry, sir," he mutters under his breath as he grimaces in embarrassment at Dzhimburt. He hefts his shield higher and reaches into his pocket to pull out a rosary, sliding it around his wrist and starting a series of silent prayers.
Brother Jacob is equally fascinated and scandalized by Dzhimburt's description of Juju. "And who practices this religion? I have never heard of it."
Brother Jacob gives the wizard a quizzical look as they carefully make their way through the overgrown forest. "Juju? Isn't that a kind of candy made from sugar and gelatin?"
Brother Jacob turns to Dzhimburt, a quizzical look on his face. "What are the Horses of Misfortune? Are they omens of ill fate?"
"Aye, and watch out for any roots and rocks sticking up out of the ground as well," Brother Jacob intones as he rubs the back of his sore head.
Brother Jacob bows low to the Baron and keeps his own council, not wishing to interrupt the noble or his companions. When the nobleman is finished he politely inquires "May we see the document, sire? It might give us some clues as to who is helping the Goblin King in this endeavor. I am intimately acquainted with paper, vellum, and papyrus from my time copying the holy texts in our monastery library."
GM, I think we need a bit of goosing to get this going again.
Brother Jacob coughs, "I don't think we've discovered the location of this lost shrine, so heading out may be a bit premature. Should we ask around, or has someone found any further clues?"
Brother Jacob takes a look at the map, trying to make heads or tails of it.
Brother Jacob recounts the story of the shrine to Father Murphy and with his encouragement then brings it to the rest of the group later that day in the inn. "It seems that Father Murphy was sent to us for a reason. The rediscovery of this shrine is a clear sign from G*d. But where would we learn more about it? The Dolmenwood is large and searching it all would take years."
I'm still here and interested.
"Unforgiven Acolytes of the Flayed Lord?" he repeats back, tasting the name on his tongue. "That is a...rather unusual name for an order. One might think that more apt to some company of Deathdealers, wading through a throng of villagers with flame and spikes," he muses. Brother Jacob smiles as he often has to clear up confusion surrounding his monastery. "We are a mendicant order that largely comfort the poor and afflicted of this land. We follow in the example of the Flayed Lord, thrice-blessed be his name, who took on the wounds of the world in order to bring peace and health to all. We are not death-dealers, but death-forestallers, you might say." He listens eagerly to Fr. Murphy's depiction of his dream of his companions. "It seems indeed you were sent by the gods, but to what purpose? Did the the dream foretell a reason for meeting them?"
Brother Jacob tracks down Fr. Murphy using the description Sigfried gave him as he comes from the keep. "Pardon me, Father," Jacob says as he makes a formal bow to one of superior rank, "but I was sent by our mutual acquaintance Sigfried to track you down. My name is Brother Jacob of the Unforgiven Acolytes of the Flayed Lord. I was accompanying Sigfried and the others before I was separated from them by accident. I was hoping we could have a short chat about what brought you to this out-of-the-way hamlet on the edge of the Dolmenwood." Jacob looks around and seems to just realize that they are standing in the middle of the road. "Not here, obviously, but perhaps at the inn?" He holds out his hand and points in the direction of the inn, hoping to draw Fr. Murphy in.
"The divine scroll holds a blessing, a protection charm, and a healing prayer. This will be very useful for us in the future. We certainly have had our share of evil foes in the short time we have known each other." Brother Jacob then excuses himself to track down the new addition, the man who had had a dream about this place. He knows that dreams often are sent by the gods to lead mortals down their true paths.
Brother Jacob takes a look at the scrolls. "The first one is written for wizards and is anathema for all priests. The second one, however, is interesting. It was written by a priest long ago, judging by the decay of the vellum. We had quite a few of this age in the monastery library where I came of age."
Jacob nods at Sigfried's report on all he has missed. "I'm glad to hear that everyone else made it out of the woods with their life. It certainly is not a place for the unprepared. Does the Count want us for another task, or were we released to do as we please?" The monk gets the details on the new arrival and where he might be found and heads off to find him.
Brother Jacob's eyes light up as he sees Sigfried approaching.' "Ah, there you are, Brother Strong! Yes, it was only thanks to the blessings of the Martyred One that I still remain in this world. I was able to fend off the warg but then had a nasty encounter with a steep hill and a hard rock," he says rubbing his head. "Did everyone else make it back in one piece and what happened with the dark armored figure?"
Brother Jacob had been wandering through the woods all night after one of the wargs at the windmill dragged him off screaming to make a real dog's breakfast of him. Luckily he had been able to get in a few good punches to its sensitive nose, and the creature had finally dropped him to go after softer prey. As he was getting back on his feet, however, he tripped on a root and fell ass over tea kettle down the steep hill. His descent was painfully stopped by a large thicket of briars and he hit his head on a rock, knocking him unconscious. He lay there for much of that night and didn't awaken until after the others had left the area. After cleaning and dressing his wounds in the grey mist of morning, Jacob headed back through the Dolmenwood, but got turned around and was soon lost, spending the rest of the day wandering down game trails. It wasn't until evening that he smelled the smoke from a farmer's hearth and headed toward the unmistakable sign of civilization. He arrived in Kolstoke but found the village practically empty. When he asked the innkeeper where everyone was, he was told that a local group of adventurers were receiving "some sort of medal or something" from the Count, and that everyone had gone for a "look-see". "Thank you very much, sir," he said, quickening his step to reunite with his lost companions.
Hi there folks, First of all, sorry for my very, very long absence. I've been dealing with personal issues and the overall stress caused the pandemic. The election didn't help much either, of course. I'm also sorry for not having chimed in before now to let you know what's going on. Let me explain. The main issue is that I get anxious about doing a good job in these games for all of you, and if I take more than a day off from doing that I begin to feel guilty for not participating in our joint adventure and that leads to more guilt in a quickly accelerating downward spiral. It ends up with me terrified of posting due to guilt and anxiety. This is not said as an "excuse", but simply to let you know what is going on in my head. As I can see you've moved on without Brother Jacob, I don't expect there to be room for me, but if you'd have me back, I'd be happy to rejoin.
"I don't like this one bit. Should we flee? These wolves seem untouchable and the knight looks like he'll be no picnic as well!" Brother Jacob flings another sling bullet at the nearest wolf, but his aim is quite poor and the shot goes wide, whizzing past the left ear of Pickles.
Brother Jacob is terrified of the large beast so instead focuses on the smaller wolf, loosing a sling stone at it. He hits it on its flank, but the angle is not head-on and barely glances off the creature.
Brother Jacob is distracted from his amazement by the appearance of the large armored man and his mount. "That's a pretty big animal," he mutters as he stands up from tending to Siegen and holsters his flail on his belt while pulling out his sling again.
Brother Jacob's eyes are still wide as he gazes at his hands and looks over Siegen's healed wounds. "Could it be, could it be," he mutters, not believing what he is saying, "that the Flayed Lord has let me back into his graces?"
"Erm, that doesn't sound good at all," Brother Jacob mumbles as he moves over to Siegen. "Hold on, Brother Dwarf, let me tend to your wounds." As he leans down to expose where Siegen has been wounded, he hand brushes against his exposed flesh. There is a sudden flash of light and warmth as the dwarf's wounds knit themselves back together magically.
Brother Jacob is completely taken aback and stares at his hands in amazement. "What was that?" he mutters in disbelief.
Confronted by a spearman in front of him, Brother Jacob drops his sling and draws his shield and flail. His swinging arms gets caught on his robe, however, and his attempt to brain the goblin come to naught.
Brother Jacob looks around and fires off another sling bullet at a nearby goblin. ,
Sorry about disappearing. I'm in GenCon heaven/hell and busy running two games a day. I'll be back next week, I promise!
Not wishing to expose himself quite yet in battle, Brother Jacob will fling a sling stone at the nearest goblin.
Brother Jacob follows along in back, but is sure he can't be as stealthy as his companions.
Brother Jacob carefully tries to keep the pup silent whilst Pickles go scouting about. He whispers to the others, "So what should our plan be? See if we can sneak up on the gobbers before they know we're around?"
Brother Jacob happily offers to hold the pup while Pickles goes a-scouting. The puppy seems to enjoy the priest's company, and bites his fingers. Jacob lets him do so, but grimaces at the small dog's teeth and claws dig into his flesh.
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