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Likewise hoping you're okay GMMichael, definitely let us know! I know I'm new to the party but I'd absolutely join another game with y'all, seems like it'd be a lot of fun! I'm not at all familiar with 2e but other than that I'm down for just about anything.
Eva moves quickly toward the ruins of the orphanage as well, ears peeled for any sound from inside. But if there is a sound she doesn't hear it. Her mind is suddenly occupied by the memory of different ruins, a cabin that had also been home to children, now with blood pooling out from beneath the shattered wood. Eva shakes the image from her head and starts walking even faster.
Eva heads out with the others, following the tracks as quickly as possible.
Got it, perfect!
As soon as the group is finished setting up camp Eva eats some rations, mixes herself a drink, and quickly retires to bed. She is up before dawn, working by candlelight with several vials of liquid and a strange funnel.
Thanks, I think I've joined, my username is Naomi.
"Then let's try to close some distance in the time we have." Eva continues on with the others at as brisk a pace as they can manage without losing the trail.
Thanks! Wikipedia page on grape chemistry + wikipedia page on alchemy = perfect magic vintner technobabble.
Eva's eyes light up at the question. "Grape skins and seeds, mostly. Part of the effect is just physical — the powder is fine enough that it can closely adhere to indentations to increase their visibility without smoothing them over. But the oligomeric proanthocyanidins in the grapes also form a slight alchemical bond with living souls through their shared anima mundi, allowing them to selectively drift onto tracks left by creatures as opposed to natural disturbances in the ground." Eva stops talking and looks up from the tracks to find that most of the group has continued on. She hurries after them up the rise, frowning when she sees the remains of the camp.
Eva spends most of her time on the river in silence, clearly not exactly used to traveling in a group. As soon as they spot the other boat, though, she's as active as ever, offering Helgash a pinch of the powder from her pouch when they get to the bank.
Eva can't contain herself any longer. "I don't get it. If no one knew they were missing until today, what makes you think they're looking for the ingredients — rather than, say, kidnapped or enchanted or murdered? Did they leave a note?"
"Excellent." Eva's speech gains a bit more warmth as she holds up a small leather pouch. "I made some alchemical powder that should help with finding any tracks the children left, in case that's all we have to go on. I guess we'll find out soon enough." When they reach the gathering Eva stays quiet at first, her eyes fixed on Kreed. Resisting her typical urge to cut to the chase, she waits for one of the actual heroes to speak.
"Your family? As of last Sunday they were all alive. No clue what's happened since then." Her answer hangs flatly in the air without words of reassurance to accompany it. What else do I say? The silence drags on until Cathoris calls Helgash and Marvin over. Eva starts to reach out a hand as he makes introductions, but stops and stares at him. "Falkwyn... the hunter? He's gone?" She grimaces, then swiftly pivots back to the others. "Pleased to meet you. Nice canids. Can they track?"
All of the tension and concern that have visibly eased out of Eva at the completion of the antidote come snapping back when she hears the first rumor of the missing children. As soon as her final delivery is finished she rushes back to give Laurel the news, then gets to work in the shop. Eva empties a pouch of grape pomace on a small tray, repeatedly pressing and drying it over the next few hours until it is brittle enough to grind down into a fine powder.
The powder is complete just in time for Eva to accompany Laurel as she goes to wake the others from their makeshift beds. Eva looks them over with curiosity — in the rush to get the antidote out the door there hasn't even been time for proper introductions with the half-orc or the dwarves. Still, she speaks up when Laurel is done. "Don't know if I'm invited, but five kids are missing so I'm coming. And I'm taking this." She plucks her vial of smelling salts out of Laurel's pocket. "I might need stimulants, and you definitely need sleep."
Eva has clearly gotten little sleep, but when she sees Cathoris she smiles for the first time in a while. "Hey, glad you made it. I owe a certain someone four copper pieces." Her eyes widen as her fey sight registers over a dozen magical auras scattered around the five adventurers. "And it looks like you've got some stories to tell." She spots his wincing movement and starts to ask about it, but halfway through his words to Alexander register and she decides they're more urgent. "Are you — wait, Kreed's coming here?"
Eva is well suited for distributing supplies, not so much for providing comfort and sympathy to the townsfolk. She doesn't voice any of her thoughts on the likelihood of the search party coming back with the ingredients. But she does take a moment to speak with Kimi, assuring her that she knows her uncle well and will keep her eyes and ears pealed for any sign of him. She also gives Kimi a signal whistle and tells her to use it if she or Mikra or any of their friends are in danger. After all, if Laurel could be attacked in the middle of town, clearly Falcon's Hollow is even less safe than it used to be.
"No... my understanding was that I'd be safe as long as I only ate or drank what I brought with me." Eva stares, suddenly alarmed. "Have you seen the illness spread beyond those who initially drank the tainted water?"
"No coffee I'm afraid, but a whiff of these should help in an emergency if you feel yourself nodding off." Eva draws out a small bottle of gray crystals sealed by a cork stopper. She sets it on the counter, then lays out three vials of cloudy liquid alongside it. "And these three are antiplague — I wish it didn't take so long to brew. Let me know if there's anyone in town who needs a dose tonight, or if there are any other local deliveries I can help with. I don't plan on heading out until tomorrow, so as soon as I swing by to give Ergin and Jak their wine I'm all yours." She glances around the room, her brow furrowing as she takes in the nearly empty shelves. "Any word on those men you sent after the ingredients?"
Eva barely acknowledges the guards as she strides into town, Merlot safely tucked under her backpack to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. Though the pack tends to attract more than enough attention on its own, with a strange assortment of weapons and bottles strapped to every available surface. Eva travels prepared. She glances toward the Sitting Duck, where Ergin is no doubt awaiting his share of her delivery. But she continues on past, making a beeline for Roots and Remedies and hurrying inside. "Laurel? How much worse have things gotten since we last talked?"
It's a deal, I promise the grapes in her wine have only been feeding on creatures that are dead, ground-up, and turned into fertilizer. Isn't agriculture wonderful?
I wonder if they're dead yet. Eva ponders the fate of the ingredient search party as she adjusts a valve on the pipe in front of her. I mean, it really can't be that common for half a dozen plucky townsfolk with little to no training to succeed on their quest into the dangerous forest. The success stories are just the ones we hear about. Most of the time they probably just freeze to death or get eaten by wolves. Still, they were apparently capable enough investigating the initial outbreak. "I'd put it at 2:1 odds they make it back, Merlot, but 4:1 they won't get there with all the ingredients in time to use them. Cathoris is sweet, and Alex is almost as clever as he thinks he is, but neither of them really strikes me as the wilderness explorer type." It's unclear whether Merlot has been following her train of thought, but he does reach out a tendril to correct a filter that had shifted slightly off-center. The device before them is not making wine, although that was originally its intended purpose. In fact, Eva has had to somewhat neglect her winemaking over the past fortnight, and tomorrow's delivery will be pulled from stockpiles she'd been hoping to age for a bit longer. Instead she is putting finishing touches on a third vial of antiplague, in case her prediction holds true and a generic treatment is needed in lieu of an actual cure. Eva's no doctor but she can follow a recipe, and she's not about to just sit by when she could be helping shore up Laurel's dwindling resources. There's not a lot that can phase Eva these days, but this disease... well, it frightens her. I hope they're alive.
Just finished my full read-through of the gameplay thread and let me just say, this looks like an awesome group. Can't wait to meet everyone when you get back to town! In the meantime, here are Eva's stats. The biggest news is that there was space for an extra discovery, and rereading the background I wrote for her she seemed kinda lonely — so I gave her Merlot, the sentient grape vine familiar growing out of her back. Eva Bentham:
Female elf expert 1/alchemist (grenadier, sacrament alchemist) 1
N Medium humanoid (elf) Init +5; Senses Perception +9 —————————————————————————————— DEFENSE —————————————————————————————— AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +3 Dex) hp 28 (3d8+6) Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +1 (+3 vs. enchantments) Immune sleep —————————————————————————————— OFFENSE —————————————————————————————— Speed 30 ft. Melee elven branched spear +3 (1d8+3) cestus +3 (1d4+2) Ranged composite longbow +4 (1d8+2) Special Attacks alchemical weapon, bomb (1d6+4, DC 15, 6/day) Alchemist Extracts Prepared (CL 2st; concentration +6) 1st (3/day)—blend, long arm, [empty] Elf Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd, concentration +0) Constant—detect magic —————————————————————————————— STATISTICS —————————————————————————————— Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 7 Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 16 Feats Alertness, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Deadly Aim, Extra Discovery, Power Attack, Throw Anything Traits Pragmatic Activator, Warrior of Old Skills Acrobatics +5, Appraise +8, Climb +7, Craft (alchemy) +12, Craft (winemaking) +8, Disable Device +5, Knowledge (arcana, geography, local, nature, planes, religion) +8, Heal +3, Linguistics +8, Perception +9, Profession (vintner) +3, Sense Motive +5, Sleight of Hand +5, Spellcraft +9, Stealth +7, Survival +3, Swim +4, Use Magic Device +10 Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Sylvan SQ alchemy, discoveries (explosive bomb, precise bombs, tumor familiar), fey-sighted, keen senses, martial weapon proficiency (elven branched spear), sacramental cognatogen, weapon familiarity Other Gear leather lamellar, cold iron cestus, composite longbow (+2), arrows (10 cold iron, 5 dye, 5 smoke, 20 stone, 5 tangleshot), elven branched spear, hybridization funnel, traveler’s any-tool, acid, alchemist’s fire, alchemist’s kindness (10), alchemy crafting kit, antiplague (3), bandoliers (2), bombchucker, burst jar, candles (10), canteen, chalk, charcoal, earplugs, flint and steel, ghast retch flask, glowing ink, magnesium (20 gp), masterwork backpack, monk’s outfit, powder, signal whistle, silver weapon blanch, smelling salts, spring-loaded wrist sheath, tindertwigs (5), unstable accelerant, vermin repellent, wandermeal, 20 gp-worth of wine and alchemical ingredients, 1 gp, 6 sp, 9 cp, traveling formula book (blend, comprehend languages, crafter’s fortune, cure light wounds, enlarge person, long arm, monkey fish) Merlot:
Male creeper ivy familiar (mauler) 2
N Tiny magical beast Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +6 —————————————————————————————— DEFENSE —————————————————————————————— AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+1 armor, +2 Dex, +2 natural, +2 size) hp 14 (29/2); fast healing 5 (when attached) Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +2 Defensive Abilities improved evasion; Immune plant traits —————————————————————————————— OFFENSE —————————————————————————————— Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft. Melee slam +5 (1d2-2 plus grab) armor spikes +5 (1d3-2), slam +0 (1d2-2 plus grab) Ranged Special Attacks constrict (1d3-2), grab (Medium) —————————————————————————————— STATISTICS —————————————————————————————— Str 7, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 5 Base Atk +1; CMB +1 (+5 to grapple); CMD 9 Feats Deadly Aim, Martial Weapon Proficiency (armor spikes) Skills Acrobatics +6, Appraise -1, Climb +10, Craft (alchemy) +1, Craft (winemaking) -1, Disable Device +3, Knowledge (arcana, geography, local, nature, planes, religion) -1, Heal +1, Linguistics -1, Perception +6, Profession (vintner) +1, Sense Motive +1, Sleight of Hand +3, Spellcraft +0, Stealth +16, Survival +1, Swim +2, Use Magic Device +0 Languages Common (cannot speak) SQ bond forged in blood, empathic link, share spells Other Gear nonhumanoid spiked leather armor, acid, alchemist’s fire, bandolier, burst jar, ghast retch flask, shard gel, silk rope (50 ft.), specialty smoke pellet (smog) Eva AC:17(FF:14/T:13)CMD:16 HP:28/28 Saves-FO:+4 RE:+6 WL:+1
Merlot AC:17(FF:15/T:14)CMD:9 HP:14/14 Saves-FO:+3 RE:+5 WL:+2
Hi everyone! Glad to be on board. I'll look over the story thus far to get up to speed, and post full stats when I've got them put together. Here's my character description from the recruitment thread in case you missed it.
Eva: Eva Bentham is a blunt and pragmatic elven winemaker who runs a small, makeshift vineyard tucked between the trees on the outskirts of Falcon's Hollow. Loggers and minor fey alike stop by to barter for her wares, united in the simple desire for alcohol. Eva remains on decent terms with most but is close to none, seeming mostly interested in her plants and her recipes. Yet she is fiercely protective of the precarious existence eked out by her vineyard and the area as a whole, and when violence is needed she proves deadly with bow, spear, or molotov cocktail.
Eva is a true neutral elf expert / alchemist with the sacrament alchemist and grenadier archetypes. Mechanically she'll function as a switch-hitter and skill monkey with a bag of alchemical tricks. Her patron deity is Halcamora, the Lady of Ripe Bounty — empyreal lord of gardens, orchards, and wine. Eva is nearing middle-age as she approaches her 165th birthday. Eva came to the Hollow in the early days of the Lumber Consortium's operations, working as a mercenary to support her family. But the occasional clashes between loggers and the denizens of the forest only escalated, until her husband and children got caught in the crossfire. She found them dead in a pile of smashed timber, and to this day she has no idea who was responsible. Besides herself, of course. That was the end of her mercenary career, ever since the plowshare has been the only blade she trusts. She's kept herself somewhat isolated from the people around her. Her grapes keep her occupied — and sometimes, even, happy. But now odd things are happening in the Vale, and everything is about to change. Her traits are Warrior of Old (for her mercenary background) and Pragmatic Activator (for her no-nonsense approach to problem-solving). |
