I'm sorry to hear that. Here's to hoping the bad weather moves on by soon enough.
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The farmer-priest draws in a deep breath and nocks another arrow. Draw, pull, exhale. release. There was a certain rhythm to archery and, knowing your ability with the bow could be the difference between being taken by pirate-slavers and staying free, young Ehiz had imprinted it onto his very soul. And so an Andoran prayer leaves his lips as death takes wings. "As freedom takes flight, so ends the slave's plight.
Sorry, Murob. Didn't mean to wake it up, but I figured it was best to just 'roll' with it as endless retconning and what not is bad for the flow of the game :(
Erastil's light bobs about in this gruesome night as if it were storming. Ehiz, heaving his chest with effort, nocks an arrow and releases it. Before the beating of his heart manages to count to three, another arrow is nocked and subsequently released. Yet, in this horrific vision of aquatic crocodile-dogs caught in magical webbing, Ehiz found his footing to be anything but steady.
Ehiz clutches the glowing light stone in his hand so it doesn't give away their position. Carefully he listens to Murob and considers her words. "If all goes well with our magicks, we might be able to take out four or so of them before the fight really gets going. Ogres rely on brute strength so overwhelming them with such might cause them to break and route."
Ehiz nods at Murob, agreeing with the words she speaks. "Alright, let's move to the slave housing. After all, we are here to free them and if that requires us to overcome a couple of ogres, we will do just so. Let's not, however, use them as a sort of bait."
Ehiz scratches his temple and frowns. "Alright, so we move. Do we hit up where they house the slaves first? I know we had a plan, yet here we are."
The farmer-priest moves up to shed a light on the ongoing melee. Careful steps bring him closer to the carnage and, once in position, he deftly nocks an arrow. Upon release, it sings a song of sorrow.
'Stand or fight?' is the question Ehiz had wanted to ask, but Sulan's madman rush answers that one succinctly. "Let us be a beacon of hope!"
"Oh Father Above, lend us your eye and make us strike true."
Ehiz stops in his tracks when one of his companions accidentally makes some noise. Oh boy.
"I can create magic light, if need be. Sadly, I cannot work Erastil's magicks to create pure daylight or bind a spiritual flame to an item." Yet.
Ehiz stands still and holds his breath, hoping to somehow evade the senses of whatever is burrowing on by underneath them. Curiosity and survival instincts clash, but Ehiz remains quiet. Whatever questions he has will have to wait.
And thank you for the awesome campaign.
Ehiz stares at Arven. What in Erastil's name made the lad think there would be a gillmen-killing superweapon down there? "One man's weapon is another man's demise, but the blanket of night might still make for the best moment to do what we must. However we do this, we must first agree upon what will be our priority and goal and, upon achieving that, what to do next. We might not have the luxury to discuss that once we're in the thick of it."
Ehiz follows Murob and, with curiosity screaming at his tongue why it isn't already asking Murob a thousand things about the encounter they just had, he remains quiet until they're out of sight and hearing distance of the dark folk.
Ehiz stays vigilant, but relaxes his grip on his bow now that the situation seems to be under control.
"Hrm", responds Ehiz to Murob. There was little he could add to the discussion and whilst observing Murob doing her thing, the priest hoped the 'dark' part of their name wasn't an indicator of their moral inclinations and behavior.
"Alright. Erastil, show us the way." With that, and an intricate movement of his right hand, the priest conjures forth a magical light that radiates from the antler-like amulet that hangs around his neck. "I'm not sure how to feel about this, but there's no way back now I'd say." Just in case, the priest readies his bow.
"Shadow Count? That sounds ominous," mutters the priest when the lights go out. It is clear that the Andoran has no clue who this 'Shadow Count' might be.
"Gillmen tend to swim, a lot, no? Putting one and one together, you'd expect this odorous artifact to belong to a land dweller, which makes it more likely that the person is indeed a slave. Regardless, I doubt we'll have the good fortune of said person coming in right now to pray or contemplate at this whatever it is. Best keep our eyes open in case this sign," and Ehiz points at the rune, "is some sort of rallying cry for a slave rebellion."
The farmer-priest frowns at Arven, but knows the lad has been doing well. What excitement he feels now is best cherished, for it might cushion the memories of what's still to come. "Erastil has bestowed upon me some of his blessings and when we get into the thick of it, weave spells of healing and support. And, of course, my bow."
Ehiz rubs his wrists over the knuckles of his hands, hoping to alleviate some of the aches that will surely come to haunt him tomorrow or the day after. He flashes Gwen a grin. "Heh. In a way, this place ain't all that different from home. People back home hide in the porous cliffside when pirate and Chelish slavers raid the region. Only this time, the raiders will be the liberators. Black and white thinking tends to lead to conflict, but slavers truly are a blight."
Together, he explores the cave with his companions and frowns at the strange rune. It is clear the farmer-priest knows not what it means. Victor then brings him back to the discussion on what to do next. "Hrm, a disguise, that might be useful. Thing is though, we know the place harbors more forces than we can realistically expect to beat if it comes to an all-out confrontation. I .." and he tries not to sigh, but the multitude of things to consider are weighing down on his mind with horrific force. "If we go down and liberate only part of the populace, the remaining slaves will be punished in return. If we cripple their system, they'll come and attack First Landing not only to retaliate but also to find the means needed to fix their system. Perhaps I'm thinking this through too much, but I am of the firm belief that we need to somehow take this into consideration now we still got a choice in the matter."
It was totally on purpose, what with Ehiz being a rural Andoran farmer priest, ha. Sorry.
"Sure, Zachary, go for it and scout ahead." The words are accompanied by a groan as the farmer priest starts climbing up, up and away.
"Evil's ability to blend in is truly astonishing. A slice of paradise at first sight, but a harbor of mortal wickedness lies underneath it all. Heh, it's time to act so I can stop having these old man thoughts." Ehiz then takes a moment to soak up the details of the place. "Going up means figuring out how to tackle the climb, which in reverse, means we will have to figure out how we can get those we intend to rescue back with us. Additionally, it means that if we decide to camp here, we ought to expect any and all hostiles to come from the water and not the steep hillside."
When the light of day finds its way to Ehiz's eyes, the man had already been awake for quite some time. Thoughts, contemplation and prayers filled that extensive period of time: today would be the day. And he couldn't help but feel that they were ill-prepared. Doubts? Now? The priest had seen them almost lose a new companion only the day before. Today's excursion might very bring an end to all of their lives and, if the evil spirits have their way, turn the gillmen's focus onto First Landing. With a grumpy demeanor and cold eyes Ehiz joins the others on deck. "Let's do this."
Ehiz needs a moment to recollect his thoughts and, after a thorough sigh that helped cleanse his mind, he nods stoicly. "Alright, that could've gone worse, but we're still here. Let's get on with it again?"
"Always an even exchange, Victor. It is good to know we can count on one another and it is even better that the monster didn't get you."
"By Gozreh's wicked breath, what in the name of all that's Holy was THAT?!" The farmer-priest's eyes are wide open and, while not scanning for wounded companions, are staring at the sea which had spat at them a hellish monster.
The bow's string whines when Ehiz pulls it back. A quick prayer is uttered right before he releases, hoping the arrow finds its mark. "The righteous whispers a prayer..."
Ehiz grabs his bow and, after taking a couple of steps to be closer to Victor, kisses the tip of an arrow. He then invokes a prayer to Erastil which causes a burst of positive energy to wash out over the deck and across the water.
"What in tarnation?!" But before a coherent thought can be produced to answer that question, Ehiz is already moving forward with healing magicks swirling around his hands to help and aid Victor.
"Hrm. I'd hate dragging others into this, but it seems that we have mutual goals. Rescuing prisoners together might forge a bond of trust and friendship between First Landing and Yosiah's people ..." muses Ehiz.
"So, ogres. Trained sharks. A farming estate. You'd imagine that if we were to attack them, they'd come looking for their lost slaves and the insolent few who helped them escape. Do we want to paint such a target on First Landing's back? Yet, if we don't, they might find and hear of us eventually and decide to strike first. I feel it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't type of situation."
The farmer priest nods at Victor. "Aye, though we knew not its name nor the numbers of slave we'd encounter there. Five, ten, fifty? Sure, but hundreds? No, I would have never expected such numbers. Perhaps, and I mean no offense, these numbers are the result of separation and exaggeration, but regardless of the actual number we can safely assume that there are many people needing and deserving of rescue." Somewhat nervously, as the thought of how to feed such a population strikes him, Ehiz eyes their surroundings. No way First Landing could deal with such an influx right now. It is a truth he isn't comfortable with.
Ehiz calls upon the blessing of Erastil and touches the conscious man. "Here, let a friend of the Lady of the Spheres give you sustenance for your body isn't in the best of places." He then turns around to his comrades and muses his thoughts out loud. "Corinth, huh? And hundreds of slaves? Gods above, perhaps we ought to rethink our plan and give it a bit more finesse before we see it through ..."
Welcome! I won't join in on the mechanical discussion of your char's creation, but I do want to say I'm looking forward to playing with the both of you :D
Awesome! I keep checking out the recruitment tab, whether or not it has new posts, but I figure everything is happening thro PMs :) keep us posted!
I think it's best to wait, unless the process will take a long time. Either way, I'm also fine with moving on now if the others prefer that.
Hrm, this would be an opportune moment to recruit new players. After all, any of the present colonists could have a reason for wanting to tag along on this mission: from freeing a family member or friend, to wanting to 'do something for the community' or .. well, whatever it is the player comes up with ;) I usually prefer keeping the original people onboard, but I'd really like for this campaign to keep on rolling.
"Hrm, you make a good point, Sulan. I'll have to contemplate on what blessings I can ask of Erastil that might help us during our times ... at sea, I suppose?"
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