DM Ameiko's page

Ameiko opts to show some mercy to these raiders, allowing them to run back to their boat and sail away.

There isn't a town nearby, but after putting some more distance between yourselves and the river, you rest again, with a bit more unease. After a few more days of travel, you begin to see other caravans.

"We'll see more and more of these as we get closer to Kalsgard. This is the biggest city in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, so no one will notice one more caravan with goods to trade coming into the city." Sandru says.

And his words prove true, as little if any notice goes to your caravan as it rides through the city gates and into the city's Bone Quarter, a name that you quickly discover is quite apt, as many of the locals are malnourished and the homes appear to be cheaply made out of mud and straw.

"I would strongly suggest finding a better place to stay if we're gonna be here for a while." Sandru says, sheepishly.

Lyraesel: You spot no signs of being watched (being a foggy night, it would be hard for anyone to spy on the party), but as you look around, you suddenly recall how a few days ago, you had an encounter with a raven tailing you that warned you of a group called the Frozen Shadows. Could this somehow be connected?

Zaraleva: You take a look at the deceased individual, trying to figure out what could cause someone to die like that so suddenly. As Aiko said, they don't appear poisoned or to be suffering from any disease, they just suddenly began to profusely spew blood from the mouth and from their orifices, as if something inside them had burst.

One of the raiders begins to respond to your question. However, as they do, they appear to be overtaken by a great pain and suddenly begin coughing violently. Blood begins to spew from their mouth, then from the other orifices on their face, before they fall down dead.

The remaining two raiders stare in shock and horror, as does Shalelu, Sandru, Koya, and Ameiko

Got a little scarce after the new year. What questions do you have for the raiders. since it sounds to me like you mean to interrogate them.

"We took a few hits, but nothing that can't be fixed with a good night's rest and some magic from Koya if we need it." Ameiko says.

"We certainly turned out better than them. As for why they attacked us, can't really say. These raiders weren't the type of people that enjoy telling you their motivations mid-fight."

The remaining raiders drop their weapons and pick up their boat. They follow you, albeit slowly, because there's three of them and the boat was made for 12.

Nevertheless, they follow you and you meet back up with the main caravan, which is surrounded by the corpses of even more raiders. Ameiko and the others appear to have been fighting. "You too, eh?" She says when she notices the raiders you brought.

Lyraesel takes down another raider, while Aiko wounds one with her strike. They raise their hands in surrender, giving up their attempt at escape.

"What are your terms?" One of them asks.

Zaraleva's shot connects with her target, but the wound isn't enough to slow her quarry down, let alone drop them. Lyraesel, however, is able to kill another raider outright with her charge.

The raiders continue to flee, making it towards the shore, where they've docked their boat.

I'm gonna say that you've got this turn and next turn before they go off, as they had to double move to get to the shore. Up to you whether you want to finish them off or try to take them alive. They stand no chance of beating you either way.

With some assistance from the divine, Lyraesel cuts into the raider attacking her, trips him, and then finishes him off with a bite, while Adrian and Zaraleva team up to take down one of their enemies.

Seeing that three-fourths of their fighting force has been destroyed, the remaining Ulfen raiders begin to retreat back to their boats, opting to try and escape with their lives instead of dying in a futile attempt to take at least some of you with them.

The raiders are all taking Withdraw actions and using their movements to get as far away as they can while avoiding moving through threatened spaces. Combat is essentially over, now it's just your choice whether to let them flee or not.

Fort: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Adrian fails to stun the raider in front of him, but it proves to be moot, as his blows take the man down. Aiko strikes a glancing blow at a raider, while Lyraesel and Byron team up to cut down a raider that had attacked the druid, and Zaraleva finishes off a raider that she had wounded earlier with her spell.

Two more raiders run up to get in combat with Adrian and Zaraleva, provoking as they do so.

Kelda AoO: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

The raiders proceed to strike at their enemies!

vs. Kelda: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

vs. Byron: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

vs. Lyraesel: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Damage to Byron: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Kelda Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Kelda Confirm: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Crit confirmed. Kelda guts her attacker because the DM has had to refresh this page every time he's tried to add a dice roll to this post and doesn't want to do so again. Plus, you've got this battle in the bag.

Actually, a 15 hits and so does a 16

Byron's second shot strikes true as well, downing his already wounded foe. Adrian strikes one of the raiders twice and Zaraleva's flames finish them off!

Reflex: 1d20 ⇒ 19
Reflex: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Three of the raiders sprint towards Byron, Lyraesel, and Aiko, but Kelda takes a swing at one of them as they do so!

AoO: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

And misses.

Three of the raiders run up to Zaraleva, Kelda, and Adrian and take a swing at them with their axes!

Vs. Zaraleva: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

Vs. Adrian: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Vs. Kelda: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Kelda then retaliates against her attacker!

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

Technically, there should've been a 20% miss chance because the mist is granting concealment, but this time I'll let it slide.

Byron can hear the telltale sound of an arrow piercing flesh in the distance and from the sound of it, the arrow went in deep.

Adrian and Kelda opt to hold formation and wait instead of suicidally charging at 12 raiders. The raiders however, show little of that same tactical sense, charging at you all and screaming as they do so. As they come over towards you, they bang their axes against their shields, making as much noise as they can in an effort to disorient and demoralize before they begin their assault.

Demoralize v/Kelda: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Demoralize v/Kelda: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Demoralize v/Adrian: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Demoralize v/Adrian: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Demoralize v/Aiko: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Demoralize v/Aiko: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Demoralize v/Byron: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Demoralize v/Byron: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Demoralize v/Lyraesel: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Demoralize v/Lyraesel: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Demoralize v/Zaraleva: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Demoralize v/Zaraleva: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Despite being momentarily thrown off by the shouting, Kelda lets out a battlecry of her own and rushes towards the nearest raider, bringing her sword down at him!

Power Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Adrian also rushes into the battle, punching the enemy nearest to him!

Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Kelda fails to connect, as the disorienting shouts throw off her swing, but Adrian is able to strike true!

The rest of the party is up

Kelda init: init: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Not going to bother with Perception rolls, since the enemies can't make them.

Aiko init: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Adrian init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Byron init: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Lyraesel init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Zaraleva init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
Ulfen Warriors: 1d20 ⇒ 6

The dice are really not on these guys' side.

The sounds of night are muted amid the freezing fog that clings to blankets, cloaks, and Varisian mustachios alike. The dull silence is suddenly broken by the scrape of wood upon the gravel bank of the river—a boat has beached just beneath the bridge—quickly followed by the splash of feet in the shallows and the oath-cries and battle-songs of Ulfen raiders!

But the party is ready for this onslaught, having heard these raiders before they could get the drop on them!

Everyone is up. Map incoming

The bloodfeather raven does not respond, but pulls back out of bow range and continues to fly behind ominously, until it vanishes after the next day. That night, the caravan sets up camp at the Skalsbridge that crosses the Thundering River.

The night is cold and misty and the normal sounds of nature are muted by the frosty fog. The mist clings so low that the campfire is able to do little more than provide a dim light.

Lyraesel casts her spell, speaking to the raven in its' own 'tongue'. Which makes it shocking when the raven speaks back in the Common tongue, for all to understand.

"Beware the Frozen Shadows." It says, with intelligence that is greater than that of a common raven.

Sandru wrinkles his nose as you approach, Byron, and does a small gesture with his head to indicate that it might possibly be a good idea to follow your partymates and take a bath.

Needing supplies for the journey, you all make a quick turn-around to Sandpoint, allowing Sandru to trade some goods for food, while Ameiko designates some employees to take over running the Rusty Dragon and the Glassworks while she is away "for a time", withholding the full details of her departure. Once that is taken care of, the caravan leaves Sandpoint again and makes its' way back towards Kalsgard, passing Brinewall again as it does so.

As the caravan passes through the desolate lands north of Brinewall, the weather gets colder going through the Nolands. Just as Kelda predicted, you don't see any fellow travelers on the road, save for predators such as mountain lions or bears, who leave your caravan alone in favor of weaker, less numerous targets.

Five days into the trip, you pass out of the Nolands and into the Land of the Linnorm Kings, at which point you begin to notice that the birds of the region, scavengers such as ravens and crows begin to fly behind your caravan, hoping to catch some of the scraps you leave behind.

Shalelu laughs. "Sure thing. You don't have to tell me how filthy the adventuring life is, though the bards somehow always leave that out." She leads you off to go take a swim and bathe.

Ameiko looks towards everyone else. "So does my royal journey begin with us all taking a bath?"

Sandru scratches his head and makes a face in thought. "Well, if it's like Kelda says and we'll be traveling two weeks through lands with no settlements, we'll need food."

Ameiko makes a face when the subject of buying the sword is brought up. "That's a really good question. You're probably right, since my grandfather used it to buy a ship with...you guys didn't happen to find any old treasure in there that we might be able to sell in Kalsgard, did you?"

She waves dismissively when the subject of Brinewall is brought up. "Leave it and never come back. I'm not really interested in owning a castle where a bunch of people died horribly. If someone else wants it, they can take it."

Ameiko makes another face, this time slightly annoyed when Zaraleva refers to her as 'Excellency' "I'm serious. Save that title stuff until I'm actually on the throne. But if you're gonna play Royal Servant, then my first order is to watch over Aiko and make sure that no one tries to sneak a glance while she's taking a bath."

In case it wasn't clear, Kelda said all that.

"You were right. Kalsgard is about two weeks north of here, through cold, unsettled lands. My clan hails from Kalsgard, I can serve as a guide there."

Indeed they are, which is why I wasn't planning on bothering with them.

Ameiko is startled and overwhelmed by the sudden rush of attention, especially when you all speak to her like she's someone high and mighty. "Thank you, all of you, but please just call me Ameiko. Especially since there's a ton of people between here and Minkai that would like to see me dead before I reclaim the throne."

She pauses for a moment, still getting used to talking about the throne like it's hers. "The city in the vision, Kalsgard, we need to go there and get the sword that my grandfather sold."

Kelda looks up at that. "Kalsgard's a big city, you know who you're looking for?"

Ameiko nods. "Fynn Snaevald. He was a merchant and I'm guessing a rich one."