Sorry, still had in mind we had to wait for the GM to post. Posted my next round's action.
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Ewan moves up the stairs, feeling useless down at a place where there is no immediate threat. At least up at the wall he would be more useful when Ivar breaks down the door.
@Clint Yeah it's been a great journey, can't wait for part two.
Ewan stays put close to the door and takes total defensive for now.
Back again, will take me some time reading up and posting a coherent post. Also Clint, I've been hiking in my home country of the Netherlands. Easy terrain, but walked about 240 km on a trail that leads from north to south. September I'll begone for part two.
Ewan moves closer to the entrance as well and looks along the battlements and ramparts. Nodding in admiration, his eyes wander along the bricks, but not really seeing anything that happens in front of him, not even noticing Ivar halting closeby and looking towards the ground.
"This should not be the ruins we are looking for right? This was to easy to find in my opinion." Glancing back he sees Nempura kneeling down and examining the ground. He kneels beside here and watches closely what she is trying to discern, only realizing later that there are actual footprints that might be followed.
Just a quick note, I'll be off for a two-weeks vacation until the 20th of May. I'll be going on a hiking trip, so I won't have access to a computer, please bot me if needed.
Ewan chuckles a little, mostly to himself, as now he feels embarassed about bringing it up. He doesn't feel like a tough guy himself, making other people view him as such brings him some discomfort. "W-well th-that owl-bear left me st-standing at l-least, I am sure I w-would not have f-fared w-well if all its cl-claws s-sank into me. Th-though I've s-suf-suffered an in-jury th-that m-made me l-lose con-scious-ness im-me-dia-tely thr-through the sh-sheer pain."
"The one re-spon-sible w-was like... like if a b-bear t-turned into a man and w-wielded an axe the s-size of a nor-mal man. One hit w-when I got in his w-way as I got out of my c-cabin. I don't kn-know how we got a-way, but I was one of the l-lucky ones to sur-vive. It was after-wards w-when my own due-ling lessons began. To h-help me sur-vive." Ewan unconsciously puts his hand to his left side, tracing the outline of where his wound was. "I only re-mem-ber w-waking up f-four days later."
"Th-thank you b-both Helgar and Nempura. Not t-the w-worst in-jury ever, b-but th-that beast s-sure p-packed a p-punch." As his wounds close he notices that only a few thin strips of red remain, but there's no bleeding anymore. He doesn't try to bandage the remaining parts though and puts away the cloth back into his backpack. Ewan returns to handling another machete to cut down the foliage in their path onwards. All the while he thinks about how ferocious Ivar himself was in that fight, nearly as ferocious as the owlbear itself. I wonder if Ivar could beat that beast one-on-one. He didn't seem fazed by it at all.
Ewan sheathes his rapier and wipes the sweat from his forehead with his right hand. His left hand still held clutched to his chest. "That w-was ter-ri-fying and quick." He looks on as Ivar decapitates the creature and does have to agree that leaving such a creature behind them, might become very dangerous. "I k-know the st-story. I w-wonder w-what the aim w-was. It is not so dif-fe-rent from a br-brown bear." Ewan strips from his armour, to see how bad the wounds are, he will try to bind the wounds with a strip of cloth from his backpack.
Even though Ewan expected the swing of the claw coming towards him, he attempted to deflect it at first, but found very quickly that that was an error as the blow was far harder than any blade Ewan had faced before, even a waraxe. Before he could sidestep the claw, it raked across his chest piercing the light armour he was wearing and tore at his flesh. "Gahh!" Holding one hand to his chest, to stelp the bleeding if only a little, Ewan continues the fight with his right hand. Aiming for the shoulder of the beast, Ewan thrusts his rapier as high as he can into the arm before stepping back quickly to avoid more pain.
Ewan makes his way over to the owlbear, shaking his head as he gets closer.
"An owlbear! Watch its bite and claws they are quite dangerous! Don't let it single you out!" Ewan gulps as he thinks how best to combat such a beast, if there is any combating it at all.
Ewan's eyes go wide as he hears talk about trolls. Wolves and bears are one thing, but a troll? I can't deflect any of his attacks or disarm him. Ewan looks to the ground as he notices the moist terrain beneath him and concludes that dodging might be somewhat difficult to do. Nevertheless he sheathes the machete and draws his rapier. "Let us h-hope it is not a t-troll. M-men and a-animals I can h-handle."
Ewan sticks up his hand as Albin calls out to anyone who wishes to aid him clearing the way and leading the front. "I haven't seen d-dense f-forests this cl-close, but if you ever s-sailed during a st-storm, t-tangled ropes, s-sails that c-came loose, it looks al-most the s-same." Ewan looks back at the others, realizing his comparison might be lost on his fellow travellers.
Ewan takes up Nempura's offer to ride together on her horse, after helping him up, Ewan holds himself on by balancing himself on the horse's flanks. Nempura: "No of-fense ta-taken. I kn-know fr-frus-tra-tion all too w-well." Ewan looks around to see when they are out of earshot of the others. "For me it is be-being mis-under-stood th-that fr-frus-trates me. Th-there-fore I t-tend not to j-judge others too h-har-harshly. Look at our m-motley crew. Every-one is from a dif-fe-rent w-walk of life, dif-fe-rent v-views and h-his-tories. I w-will not let th-that count a-gainst any-one."
Ewan taps Nempura on the shoulder as she intends to go shopping.
Ewan will pay for any other machete the group will buy with the 20gp he got from Saini Alanen. Plus he will buy 100 ft of hemp rope and 16 trail rations with the rest of the money.
Ewan lends Albin, or any other person heading the way the compass he has used on all his sea travels. Therefore helping them to find the way.
Hmm... I guess there is a misunderstanding here, Vongyth is the dwarven Stronghold, not the ruins Albin is looking for, those are the ruins of Valentin Ironwolf.
Ewan welcomes the break Merion and later Findal offered between the heated conversation he and Nempura had. Though not initially very much aware of the fact, he could see in Nempura's eyes the annoyance and Albin's discomfort. "It is for any m-maps th-that could p-p-point the w-way to-wards th-this old st-strrong-hold. Even if the m-maps are f-faint or w-worn out, th-they w-will count. It is more like f-fin-ding p-puzzle p-pieces to com-plete the p-puzzle to f-find the lo-ca-tion."
Ewan scratches his head as he thinks back to the days in Wellswood. "W-well I did t-tell every-one on the day we left W-wells-w-wood, the n-night after w-we all had th-that ter-rible dr-dream. So, I g-guess th-that m-might have cl-clouded over any-thing I s-said." Ewan wraps his mind around how Findal's inclusion could spell disaster for the group, but then, after some thinking, he explains.
Ewan takes out a few notes he had made about the woods while visiting the library yesterday evening.
Ewan sees Nempura eyeing Findal over at the other table with Albin and suddenly realization dawned on him. "I th-think I did m-mention th-this before, but Findal asked if he c-could join us wh-when we v-venture into th-those w-woods. Albin did sp-speak about th-the ruins w-wtih him. I s-said it w-was al-right, after all he did l-look l-like the type th-that kn-knows his w-way around any f-forest."
Saini Alanen's House:
Ewan smiles as Saini is as giddy to the possibility of the maps as much as he was about exploring overland.
AS Saini puts the small pouch of coins on the table, Ewan looks at her, then takes it from the table.
GM, the spoiler for Saini Alanen's House can't be opened.
Saini Alanen's House: Ewan looks up in wonder at Saini, blinks once, then looks back at the open book on the table.
"W-why th-thank you. I don't know h-how to re-pay you." Ewan takes care of listening to Saini's words, he hears the truth in it, but finds it difficult to listen the advice itself. "Per-haps in time." Holding his head slightly askew as he listens to the mage's question about the ruins of Valentin Ironwolf, Ewan questions himself if he should tell her as it seemed it should be kept more of a secret. Eventually he comes to the conclusion that it might be beneficial to have a friend in town close by. "So you kn-know a-bout the r-ruins." He states matter of factly.
Ewan twiddles his thumbs for a moment, then picks up his quill again and makes a note in the back of his book. "Any name th-this par-ti-cu-lar dw-dwar-ven hold m-might have? At l-least th-then we know wh-which m-maps and scrolls we sh-should take w-with us." When Saini agrees to give the name, Ewan will hold out his hand to shake it. "If w-we come a-cross any m-maps w-we w-will bring th-them here to you."
Sorry for my absence of the past few days, family and I finally contracted a case of Covid, so now taking more care of other family members while continuing working from home.
Saini Alanen's House: Ewan blushes slightly as Saini compliments him on being a scholar. "Only an avid st-student of cer-tain t-topics."
Ewan walks over to west side of the collections and browses briefly for a book about engineering and construction, before Saini mentions a book he might like to read. "Elorfindar Floshin? It is as you s-say, his n-name does not r-ring a bell." Ewan looks over the book and reads a few lines about the used to be famous swordsman, he looks Saini in the eyes and nods appreciatively "He is de-fi-ni-tely a r-role-model to be sure, s-someone to l-look up to. Th-though m-magic s-seems to be a l-lost c-cause for me." Ewan unslings his pack and retrieves a notebook from it and quill and inkpot, intending to copy certain aspects from the book.
Saini Alanen's House: Ewan peered through the window, seeing there was still light in the library and as he carefully opens the door , the softer voice of a learned woman calls out to him from over at the table with open books and lit candles.
"Per-haps a bit late to v-visit a-another's li-bra-ry, th-though it is never too late to st-study." Ewan replies to Saini's first remark, he flashes a smile back as he looks around her library and lets out a small whistle.
Ewan explains first that he is part of a travelling group, that just served as guards to a caravan, someone suggested that they should explore the woods in the south which they passed along the way. "And that m-might be the rea-reason w-why you h-haven't met me be-fore. I have tra-travelled quite f-far and w-wide, but only by sh-ship, n-never have made a jo-jour-ney by land. I w-would say th-that I am a st-student of the arcane, but I am not a p-prac-ti-tioner of the arcane."
Ewan walks across the rows of books in the library, looking for different subjects of his interest, mainly construction and engineering, magic and magical beings and about speech impediments, then he remembers something to ask Saini.
Ewan rides with Merion and Arren close together, intent on listening to both of them. Before he could get a word in on Ivar or Merion's appraisal of his fencing skills, Arren's words stop him dead in his tracks. Patiently he listens, each word striking true as Arren details her life's toils and troubles, particularly in terms of her magical powers. He looks at her with a mix of pity and admiration, as she still keeps herself standing like that in life, even willing to share these deep-seated feelings with people she had only recently met. There is a moment of silence between Arren spilling her secrets and his reply. Ewan lays his hands on the horses flanks, pats it on the side, then holds his hands in place there as he contemplates Arren's words, eventually he whispers so as only Arren and Merion can hear. "That... is qui-quite some-thing Arren. I have al-ways w-wished th-that magic c-could come m-more easi-ly to me, th-that I did not h-have th-this s-sp-speech pro-blem. W-when I w-was young I w-wanted to be a mage so b-bad, th-that I w-would have g-gi-given any-th-thing to be one."
"It m-must be hard. To not be able to ch-choose I m-mean. V-visions l-like th-that w-would sap the str-strength of w-will of any man or w-woman. I ad-mire y-your cou-rage, you st-still st-stand and you c-con-fide in us. I w-would re-reckon y-you could f-find a w-way to h-handle it if you w-wish it so. I'd be h-happy to h-help."
Ewan on the other hand notices people speaking about a possible library and decides to inquire at Saini Alanen’s House. "I th-think I'd w-want to see that li-brary. I l-love to read myself. P-perhaps I c-could f-find some-thing about th-those w-woods that we are in-clined to ex-plore." Ewan shoots a glancing look at Arren, thinking there could be perhaps something in it for her as well. Otherwise, Ewan makes his way to the sage's house and tentatively opens the door to the ground floor.
In response to Ivar's comment, Ewan's eyes are still looking upwards. "Quite... Different... Every... time..." As Nempura asks him about werewolves, Ewan nods enthusiastically. "Aye. W-were-w-wolves. Peo-people able to ch-change s-shape, th-this c-case into h-hu-humanoid w-wolves. St-stories t-tell of th-they can be only t-truly h-harmed by s-silver w-weapons." As Ewan inhales the air, he exhales deeply and inhales again, then rides up to Helgar and starts on a more cheery note with her.
I noticed Skaalhaft as more of a fisher's and hunter's type of settlement, so that's why I was asking if the raider's type background was still applicable to you. Perhaps we both know a crewmate or leader from your time there. @GM, any thoughts about if there are any sea raiders active in this (part of the) world?
@Ivar, not sure if that's a possibility, but Ewan might have met some of Ivar's kin or folk on the opposite sides of combat. Ivar has been with sea raiders in his background, did that include attacks on ships?
Listening carefully to Ivar's words in his thick accent, he silently nods as the great brave warrior explains his battle prowess and his history in combat. "It is a dif-fi-cult th-thing in-deed, to s-show m-mercy. Some-times you k-know the e-enemy in f-front of you w-wants to kill you. You only h-have the ch-choice to f-fight back the s-same w-way. It is l-less easy to no-tice them t-trem-ble, the d-doubt in th-their eyes, f-fear t-taking a h-hold of them." Ewan stares silently in front of him, then up as his eyes rest on a passing cloud.
Then he is taken back out of his own stupor as Nempura bumps into him asking about the silver-coatings. The young lad's mind races as he thinks about the possibility and practicality of such things. Eventually he comes to a conclusion and firmly shakes his head. "I be-lieve th-that is not w-worth the cost. I w-won't b-bring down a were-wolf w-with one s-strike. May-be some-th-thing for Ivar?"
Lycanthropes? That is not something I've faced before. I think I need Special weapons to fight them if we ever come across them.
Silver, that's it. Lycanthropes are vulnerable to silver or silver-coated items. Ewan is awakened from his daydreaming contemplation by Nempura's comments about another travelling merchant that is accompanying them on the next leg of their journey.
Ewan smiles at Merion and Albin's exchange of words, figuring the castle could be like any fairytale castle, but then it raises the question to himself. What if there are traps or magical monsters? He leans into the conversation between the two and whispers: "On the r-road and on the w-water we could f-face b-bandits or p-pi-pirates. Any i-deas wh-what w-we could face in th-those w-woods? Any other d-dangers?"
Ewan would agree to Ivar's thinking of getting to the destination at hand as we are hired to guard said caravan. After that, we can explore to our heart's intent, though Ewan would like to see missions come to completion before setting sights on the next interesting part.
Ewan nods in agreement to Merion's idea.
Ewan sighs as he realizes Findal is right, it might be good to charge merchants this price, though simple travelfolk won't often be able to pay such a sum.
Ewan looks up as Helgar mentions the merchant's way.
Ewan smiles a bit to himselfas he remembers his times on the merchants vessels of recent years.
Ewan takes stock of all the items the group has for sale, noting them down in a special travellog book he keeps on him. He looks to the rest as they're ready for travel and patiently awaits for the group to pay the toll and cross over towards the other side. He seems a little fidgety with his fingers on his rapier hilt. The air around this town seemed to be on edge, which made him feel ill at ease. Ewan settled into the cart and shook his head.
Also had the problem logging in, but couldn't make it to the forums at all. Eventually asking the customer service helped to log back in.
Ewan notices that almost everyone stays near the wagons without getting any food, he leans against the wagon for a bit before shaking his head and heading inside the inn to gather a few sandwiches for the group to eat. Ewan stays inside the inn for a few moments to purchase at least 6 sandwiches, more if there's a discount. He looks around the inn and notices the heavy-set man behind the counter and the large man on the other side of the bar getting into drinks an getting louder every minute. He leans unto the bar and asks the bartender if she can make 6 sandwiches for him and his companions outside. He waits for a moment and then asks the woman. "Any n-news around th-these parts? Th-things t-travellers s-should know?" Some time later Ewan walks out holding the sandwiches on one arm, supporting it with the other. Very carefully not trying to drop any of them, he moves over to Arren, Helgar and Nempura first to offer them one.
"I am also f-fine w-with eating in sh-shifts. I w-will take a f-first w-watch then." Ewan says as he makes himself comfortable outside, leaning against the wall of the Merry Traveler, somewhere close to the cart. A thought crosses Ewan's mind that Ivar is pretty practical, he might even be a natural born merchant, considering he spots an opportunity for making money.
Ewan rides along the caravan towards the next leg on their journey, he sees the forest to the south coming up and whistfully looks at it, daydreaming a bit as to what they might find there on their way back. Even though this daydreaming takes up a lot of his mind, Ewan does look up in awe and wonder as Longbridge appeared in full view. Ewan's mouth fell open and he couldn't stifle a "Wow...I wonder how they managed that." Ewan looks up at Longbridge and as the group would ride along the first part of the bridge he looks up at the architecture and studies it as they ride by.
Clearly too impressed by the masonry and the stonework, Ewan doesn't manage to notice that it might not even be made by human hands.
Sort of the same here, I sometimes read them, but I don't act on those spoilers.
Ewan nods in answer to Merion's question. "Y-yes I did. It is w-why I w-would like to s-study s-small m-magics again w-with you. Th-thanks to my s-stut-stutter I w-wasn't al-lowed into th-the a-ca-de-my. Th-then I be-came a p-purser and s-sailor."
Footsore Wanderer:
Ewan shakes his head as Findal exclaims that his quest should suffice enough for him to get an apprenticeship.
"I held that same hope... No matter my study and grasp, they didn't even wanted to allow me in." Ewan mumbles mainly to himself, not paying any mind to Albin still sitting at the table. Eventually Ewan looks up again and nods at Albin.
After that Ewan leaves the tavern and makes his way to the wagons, waiting on the rest to come back, when they eventually do Ewan will relay to the others that Findal wished to join the group on their expedition.
I believe so, I think I did spend a few gp, sp more. Let me check. Edit: yea should be 26 gp 6sp
Footsore Wanderer: "I am s-sure it w-will be a fun ad-ven-ture." Ewan leans in as Findal mentions him becoming an apprentice at the Black Tower. "A w-w-izard's ap-pren-tice? I h-had th-thought you w-w-were a druid. I w-wish you l-luck. T-the en-trance exams are r-really tough. I h-had h-hoped to study t-there myself. I didn't know A q-q-uest c-could also be enough to enter." Seeing the obvious use of magic, Ewan nods. "P-pres-ti-di-gi-tation right? It is one of my fa-vo-rite s-spells. Use-ful."
I think selling everything would be good, Ewan wouldn't use the +1 longbow I guess, he is not strong enough to properly use it. Maybe get a normal longbow instead of that, or a crossbow.
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