Sorry guys - I really wanted to keep this moving but I think it's just not going to happen. I'll go ahead and move it to inactive.
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Ok guys, I apologize. Life's been pretty stressful the last few weeks, and unfortunately this game just fell on the ground as a casualty. If you'll bear with me, I'd really like to keep this going. I'll try and get rolling again in the next few days.
In a flurry of activity, another rain of meteorites just misses a kobold, odo flings a spell that barely connects with another, and one of the kobolds simply stands still for a moment, looking oddly out of place in all the movement. One kobold moves forward to engage Lillith, swinging its spear menacingly, while the remaining two spot Terri and move to her.
dice: - kp - kp - kp - kp - kr - kw - ka - ka - ka
The nearest kobold begins to speak, "Trade? You have shinies -" but is cut off by Muroi's spell as his companion yelps and jumps aside just in time to avoid a fiery rocks pelting him from the sky.
dice: - Ekan - Odo - Nazdip - Muroi - Lilith - Terri - Kobolds - kr
Finally noticing the commotion at the edge of their clearing, the kobolds jump to their feet (some more slowly than others) with some loud yips. "What you do here? You no steal our radishes!" They don't seem to have noticed Terri yet.
Following Svetlana's directions, the party heads south-west away from Oleg's fort. Around noon, you come to the edge of a forest, and as evening approaches you finally stumble into an arrowhead-shaped clearing, where you find a large patch of moon radishes growing. Amid the radishes are four moaning kobolds lying on their backs and three baskets overfilled with radishes nearby. misc rolls:
Sorry guys, everyone in my family including me got super sick the last few days and I've barely touched my PC. Still feeling quite ill but bear with me - I'll be back and get this rolling soon.
Thanks for letting me know. I'm working on a map of the area and will post as soon as that's ready.
Oleg takes Terri to the storehouse and opens a crate. "Don't have much your size, but take a look in here and find something you like."
Svetlana smiles proudly. "You know, I make such a moon radish soup! It's Oleg's favorite - I'd love to make some for him to help him relax from all this stress lately, but the moon radishes are rare. The only patch I know of is about 16 miles south of here."
While Lilith works on the potatoes, Svetlana cooks eggs and bacon, and soon the whole fort is filled with the savory aroma. Eventually the spuds turn into hash browns and she invites the whole group to sit at the tables for breakfast.
The prisoner shifts uncomfortably where he's bound, looking frightened and unsure of his future.
Svetlana smiles. "Certainly - I was just about to start breakfast. You can help me peel potatoes."
Oleg looks over the bandits' equipment, adding them up in his head. "I can give you 300 gold for the lot. I'd like to be able to give you more, but...well, you know. Hopefully things'll pick up after what you done." He considers a moment, then leans in close to Muroi. "My wife claims it's not a big loss compared to what they could've taken, but I know the loss of her wedding ring's grieved her terribly. She forbade me from risking my own life for it, but if you happen to find and return the ring, I'd be truly grateful. I'm sure I could find some coin to throw your way."
Oleg grunts. "Well, we ain't had any occasion to have to do anything with any living bandits before. I'd just as soon string his carcass up on the palisade wall as a warning to other bandits."
I'm sorry! I'm usually not so spacey. Detect magic came up negative on all their gear.
"He - he brought us to a camp off the Thorn River. 'Bout a day's ride southwest of here? Gave us work - kept us fed. There's a handful of others at the camp - hard to say how many, always coming and going. Kressle's in charge," he motions again to the dead hooded man "he an' her had somethin' going on, if you get my meaning. I s'pect she won't be pleased...please...what are you going to do to me?"
The man looks terrified. "J-it's just a job! I didn't mean nothin' by it!" He gestures towards the hooded man lying dead on the ground, "Happs was the one in charge - gave us all a share."
Oleg looks amused. "Sure, I'll trade for them. As for the lands round-about, there isn't much here. There's an old hermit, Bokken, lives a bit south-east of here. South-west are the Kamelands - mostly grassy hills. Heard there may be some kobold or such vermin living out there. To the west is the Narlmarches. Pretty thick forest. We've got some trappers who make a pretty good haul in there from time to time. Other than that, not a whole lot to tell."
Terri disappears in the main house for a few moments with Svetlana. When she returns her black hair has been cropped to her shoulders, but you can tell the woman spent considerable effort making it still look feminine. Terri: While inside, Svetlana was almost in tears as she cut away your once beautiful locks. She kept apologizing and the way she repeated "It'll grow back..." made you think it was more for her sake than yours.
Svetlana's eyes widen as most of Terri's burns disappear. "Does it still hurt? I have some ointment I was going to put on it to soothe the pain a little - I still can if you'd like."
The remaining bandit is easily subdued, and though silent his face is a mix of panic and confusion. As soon as they see there's no more immediate danger, Oleg and Svetlana timidly emerge from the house where they had been hidden. The last embers of the hay fire lie steaming as the sun peaks over the horizon. Oleg regards each of you carefully before speaking "You all risked your lives to help us, being complete strangers. I don't know how I'll ever repay you. I have fifty gold that I'd like to give you as a reward, and a few potions in my stockroom that I'm sure you could use better than me. You're all welcome to stay free of charge in my guest house as long as you wish." Svetlana speaks up "We'll also provide meals for you anytime you're here. We owe you a great debt and will be forever grateful to you all." Upon seeing Terri, she frowns and adds, "Come here dear - let's see if we can do something about those burns and your hair." Oleg, who had disappeared while his wife was speaking, returns with several bottles. "Here, take these." He hands you two bottles of cure light wounds and a potion of shield of faith.
Despite her attempts to put the fire out, Terri still gets badly burned. The remaining bandit takes one last shot before deciding he'd better flee, and strikes Lilith. The entangling vines hinder his escape though and he's not able to make it even half-way to the gate. Though Muroi also gets entangled in the vines, he manages to get a spell off and weakens the bandit with his magic. Odo also struggles through the vegetation but gets close enough to summon a large splash of water over the flames. As the fire is mostly quenched at this point, Ekan flings a stone at the fleeing bandit, hitting him squarely in the back. Nazdip unfortunately misses, but Lilith's bolt strikes true and brings the man down.
secret rolls: - br - ba - bd - mr - mc - oc - ea - ed - la - ld
Lilith's bolt misses.
Terri - 26
As Terri attempts to put out the flames, the bandit at the gate stands up and swings its fists at the raven, doing nothing but provoking its ire. The other remaining bandit shoots another arrow at Odo - this one flies dangerously close to the halfling's head. Odo's spell brings the bandit at the gate crashing back down to the ground, this time not to rise again while Odo wades into the magical vegetation and the rest work on putting out the fire.
secret rolls: - ba - br - ba
Glad you're still around. I was about to PM you to ask if you were still playing.
Sorry about that. Should be fixed now - same link.
Terri flings a tiny dagger at the hooded man, who grunts and curses again loudly. The bandit at the gates runs over and tries to hop on a fleeing horse, but misses badly and ends up face down in the dirt as the horse gallops away. The other bandit remains firmly rooted by Odo's spell, and tries to retaliate with his bow but the arrow goes wide, flying over the palisade walls behind him. Muroi's spell sends the hooded man reeling - he looks obviously in pain and barely able to stand, while a trio of ravens fly in from seemingly nowhere and attack the bandits. One goes after the hooded man, one after the one behind the cart, and the final towards the gate and pecks at the prone figure. In desperation the hooded man throws a glass container at the group in the stables, which shatters on Terri and ignites, covering her in flames. Ekan's stone strikes the nearest bandit as Nazdip strikes down the hooded man, cutting his torso nearly in half as he crumples to the ground.
Terri - 26
sercret rolls: - bri - br - ba - hr - ha - hc - hd
Haha, sorry, I'm here. I was waiting for a few more people to post their actions this round and then got distracted with work. I'll get something up soon.
Terri's dagger strikes the closest bandit, who along with his companions immediately drops the goods they were carrying. The wounded bandit breaks free of the clutching vegetation and makes a run for it, scrambling over the cart and out the front gate. The other draws his bow and takes a single shot at Terri which narrowly misses her head. Two of the horses break free from the vines and bolt, while the others struggle away in a panic, stampeding out the front gate. Another bolt of arcane energy streaks from Muroi to the hooded man, who curses loudly in response. Odo jumps up to the bench and begins casting a spell. The hooded man also drops his load and draws his bow, firing at at Nazdip but the shot goes wide. Ekan and Nazdip's attacks also just miss the bandit, while Lillith's bolt grazes the hooded man. Terri - 26
secret rolls: - br - br - hr - hr - hr - hr - hr - hr - ba - hr - ha
It's easiest to just post your intentions and then I'll put it all together in initiative order once everyone's posted. As for them acting this round...it's unlikely they're going to be going anywhere as they're pretty well entangled in Odo's spell at the moment.
Peering out the door quietly, Lilith chants a quiet incantation, causing one of the men to slump silently to the ground. Seeing the signal, Muroi casts his own spell at the hooded man, who yells both in surprise and pain. Odo steps up to the window where he can cast his own spell, and in moments wild vegetation springs up to fill the courtyard, entangling both horses and humans alike. Ekan, on cue, makes himself known by piercing the air with a rousing song as Nazdip throws the stable door open. Terri - 26
secret rolls: - w - w - w - w - Nazdip - Happs - B - Lilith - horse - horse - horse - horse - horse - horse - Happs - B - B
Sorry about the delay - busy weekend and then I woke up sick this morning. I'll try and get a post up by the end of today.
Haha, I wouldn't worry about it. Although if it becomes a common occurrence I might get suspicious...
Time seems to pass slowly in the chill pre-morning darkness as you lie in wait. Just as the first hints of light start to show in the eastern sky, your patience is rewarded as you hear the sound of horses galloping and quickly drawing nearer. The pack rides through the open gate of the fort, and you can make out four figures riding with several empty horses. Without delay, they jump down from their mounts and begin loading their horses with the pile left out by Oleg. You can hear them making crude comments about Svetlana and loud threats toward Oleg, taunting him to come out from his hiding.
You're awakened by Oleg while it's still quite dark. Silently, he gestures for you to follow. In the darkness, you see a pile of furs and other wares stacked on a cart in the middle of the courtyard. He motions you to the stables on the far side of the cart and in a low voice says "Hide over there or in the guest house. We'll be locked safely in our room - I'm trusting you on this. Desna's luck be with you." With that, he turns and leaves you for his house. You catch sight of a face in the window briefly silhouetted by a soft glowing lamp before it, too disappears.
The sun had just set when you first saw the fort. It's been dark for awhile, since it took some time to get settled and eat dinner. So if you're looking at a very early morning, sleep would be appropriate.
As you finish your meal, Svetlana takes you to the guest house and shows you your beds. She smiles warmly at you all as she leaves you alone for the night.
Oleg comes back around the corner and joins in on the conversation. "Bah! Those brigands are cowards at heart - only ganging up on us cuz we can't fight back. I reckon if we give them a good whoopin', they won't dare to come back again for awhile...'specially if I hang their bodies from the palisade wall as a warning to the rest. B'sides, by then the guards Restov has promised will be here for sure." At Muroi's suggestion, his eyes light up with a fiery grin. "That's it! We'll put out our wares like usual, and y'all can hide in the guest house or the stable, and rush 'em when their backs are turned!"
Svetlana rises to her feet, her teary eyes glimmering with hope once more. She turns toward Muroi, her tone more serious "They first came 3 months ago, threatening to burn down the trading post and abduct me for their amusement if we didn't hand over all the furs and trade goods accumulated over the past month. Since then, the bandits have been back twice more, always within an hour of sunrise on the first day of the month. There was a dozen the first time, including a woman who did all the talking. She was cruel - stole my wedding ring right right off my finger. Didn't come the other times though; just a crude hooded man and six others, then four. The woman had 2 hatchets, and the men all had bows. They come on horseback. We have to have the goods ready and hand them over quickly - the bandits seem eager to get back to wherever they came from."
Svetlana's once cheerful expression seems to drop with every second. The poor woman looks exasperated "Oh gods! When we were told Restov was sending a group of adventurers, we assumed it was to help with our bandit problem. They've been coming the first day of every month demanding tribute - they've threatened...horrible things, and nearly run us out of business!" She drops to her knees in the dirt and pleads "Please help us! Tomorrow is the first of the new month!" Oleg gives Odo what could easily been a grimace as a smile. "Heh, I came out to this fort to get away from all the people. I like the solitude." Hearing the commotion outside, he returns to see his wife in tears and demands to know what's going on. Svetlana explains the mixup as best as she can, at which point Oleg curses loudly and storms off around the corner.
Thanks for your patience over the long weekend. We had a con here that I didn't actually go to but watched the kids so my wife could, but it still made for a busy weekend. The good news is she won 2nd place in the fantasy mini painting competition. Anyways, post will be up soon.
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