Kyran Semnir's page

"Bluffs, is it?" Erylium says, flitting forward abruptly to hover in front of Umlo's face, "Care to test them, do you? Hmm? See, we soon shall who is making the bluffs."

"I'm certainly not, you little abyss-spawned maggot." Kyran says bladly as he steps around Umlo and attempts to run the little menace through. Unfortunately, he telegraphs the attack and the little menace's speed and small size spare her the touch of his steel. (Attack Roll: 8)

[ooc]Hey, somebody had to do something more than trash talk.[/occ]

Can Kyran get some sort of bead on what the two larger evil things are?

Kyran Continues to concentrate, moving in the general direction of the mobile spot of malevolence, but not straight at it."So Tsuto is your prisoner?"

Kyran keeps concentrating, trying to lock down the source of the evil, as he follows Grond.

Kyran quietly growls out"There is something tiny, fast, and evil in here with us. I'm not sure where, exactly, but it's here." Given the cramped conditions, he takes the opportunity to swap his bow for his sword & shield.

Kyran "scans" the area with his detect evil ability, arrow nocked and ready to fly.

"That logic works fine for me. Let's go have a look."

Kyran pipes up. "I have a feeling if we keep moving, the answers will become apparent soon enough."

Kyran doesn't say anything, but he draws his sword, shrugs his shield into place, and starts using his detect evil ability. That hard set has crept over his features again. He's confident his teammates can handle the search; he's going to handle security from the rear and make sure they don't get jumped from behind by any stragglers.

Kyran nods and follows the dwarves.

Kyran scraps the idea of sweeping the town for the time being, and retires along with the rest of the party.

Ready to move on

"I'm fine. Really.", Fern insists. "Don't worry about me. I've been through worse, and I'm still here."

Is Korpi with us? What's he up to?

Kyran nods. "Well, if you need someone to talk to, I think you only need to chose the closest one of us except maybe Korpi... and we'll be more than happy to lend any help we can. Hey, pass me that serving plate and I'll put it back for you." Kyran indicates a high shelf.

Kyran agrees with the others. "I can walk through the town and give it a sweep. Erastil seems to have seen fit to give me the ability to ferret out wickedness where it hides, at least some of the time, anyway. It might be worth the attempt."

---

Later, Kyran, not content to just let things slide with Fern, waits until everyone is sitting around in contented comfort after dinner, then asks Fern to help him with the dishes. Once they're about a third of the way into the dishes, he turns to her and asks in his typical kindhearted fashion: "Are you okay, Fern? Our ordeal over the last couple of days seems to be extracting a high price of horror and grief from you."

I adapted it from a funeral hymn, actually. I imagine I'll be doing a bit more of that, as she has actually taken a level in bard.

Fern stammered a little at Umlo's outstretched hand. "I...I can find those things, I think." She places her tiny paw in his big mitt, and shakes it a little before grabbing her cloak and running out the door toward Kyran's farm.

Kyran calls after her as she's heading out. "The mint leaves are in the herb garden next to the house!"

He walks back into the kitchen and comes back with three massive glass jugs. "Will these work?" Glancing around to confirm that Fern is gone, he approaches Devrin quietly. "Fern seems a little torn up emotionally. Is there anything we can do? She seems sword-sick."

Kyran looks over at Fern as she sings and weeps and quietly (probably too quietly for her to hear) says an old proverb of Erastil: "The weeds of evil must be pulled, lest they strangle the three of innocence." He looks concerned, obviously puzzled by her zeal in the field and her regret afterwards. He quietly puts down the mutton he is cutting up and walks over to Umlo, then leans in close.

In awful Dwarven:

Did you just write that song? That's awesome. The RP in this game continues to be amazing.

"We can certainly ask him. I have a sneaking suspicion that by the time we get back, many of the goblins will be long gone. The force manipulating them, however, will likely still be there, and that's what we're really after."

More heavily-accented dwarven (He'll get more fluent as he gains levels)

"Anyone have objections to mutton stew and some greens tonight? One of the other farmers owes me for some chickens I traded him, and all I'd have to do to collect is swing by his house briefly." He looks at Grond."I'll be more than happy to furnish you with grain for your stout, but I'm definitely no dwarf, so I'll leave the actual brewing process to the two of you."

More dwarven:

Kyran gives Grond a mirthful look and says in slightly-broken, heavily-accented dwarven:

Kyran gathers up his scattered weapons and surveys the group.

"We've given them something to think about. Let's head back. I offer my hospitality to any of you who want it; at the very least let me serve you a meal."

Kyran thinks to admonish Grond for his words, and then thinks better of it. The dwarf, he reasons, probably has more than a little adrenaline pumping. Satisfied that Grond isn't going to actually harm Korpi, he lets the dwarf be.

As he walks back, Kyrand feels a strange, comforting feeling. It's almost as if his god is saying "Good job. Let's see how you do with a bit more responsibility." As the group chatters back and forth, he suddenly realizes he can understand Grond and Umlo, even when they switch to dwarven, he feels his resolve tighten, and he gets the uncanny feeling that if the situation required it, he could heal wounds with a touch. Ding! Kyran is leveled.

Kyran nods approvingly at Korpi. "Good combat skills there, friend."

Well now, I have some levelin' to do. I'll be able to heal people! W00t!"

Kyran tries toget Korpi's wounds stabilized, but in his haste, he only manages to tangle a hand up in the makeshift bandage. Heal check: 6

"And thanks to you Ulmo, I'm hear to provide Desna's blessing that we might all feel patched up before storming the castle." says Devrin. First he tends to Korpi and Ulmo with direct blessings then sets to providing a general infusion of Desna's power to all.

How are people doing? Devrin has a couple of clws for Korpi and Ulmo then a number of channels.

Korpi, Ulmo (1d8 1=3, 1d8 1=8)

Kyran smiles at Devrin. "Thanks to Erastil's protection, I have no need for Desna's healing at the moment."

Kyran calmly shifts fire to other hostiles when Ripnugget goes down. Again, Chris, go ahead and roll for me if applicable.

Kyran stays out of the way on the bridge repairs unless asked for help, opting to fire more arrows at Ripnugget. If he is asked for help, he stops shooting and helps. Go ahead and roll my attacks, Chris. However many would be appropriate.

Kyran is completely unscathed when Devrin looks at him. Not even any bruises or cuts.

Kyran lines up another shot on Ripnugget. Then he spots Devrin climbing over the cliff, sighs with relief and ruins his shot, which goes low, hitting the ground somewhere in Ripnugget's general vicinity. (Attack: 6) Silently cursing his lapse in discipline, he refocuses and calmly nocks another arrow.

Kyran will continue to fire arrows at Ripnugget until the opportunity to do something else presents itself. (Once Devrin and Umlo are up from below, he'll tie his rope to an arrow and shoot it across to Fern so she can tie it to a bridge support and they can get moving again, but I imagine that's a few rounds out yet.) One important caveat: if it looks like Fern is in worse shape than Korpi, he'll shift his fire to support her instead. He's going to attempt to keep his friends alive with his bow as much as possible.

Kyran notices Fern's anguish and a little pang of sympathy lances through him, but he's already used his rope and there's nothing he can currently do.

Kyran lines up another shot and fires again.

Another miss, sadly (Attack: 12)

Kyran calmly lines up a shot at Ripnugget and lets fly.
Attack: 14, Damage (if applicable): 1

Remember, Umlo's got one of Gogmurt's healing potions. This might be a good time to use it...

Kyran locates his bow, snatches it up, nocks an arrow, and shouts across the chasm. "You're not just facing one of us today, 'Ripnugget'!" (The goblin's name is said with an audible sneer)

I figure that's a round's worth of actions.

Kyran climbs carefully up the bridge remains and goes for his bow, wherever it landed. He's acutely aware of the presence of hostiles in the area.

Kyran climbs down the bridge's remnants, ties his rope to the sturdiest-looking point he can find, and drops the end into the water.

Upon seeing his friend hit the water and not come back up again, Kyran shouts down to Umlo. "Can you see Devrin from where you are?"

It should be fairly obvious to Kyran what Umlo is thinking of doing, I'd imagine. Would it be possible for him to lash a rope either to the bridge supports or a surviving part of the bridge that would reach the water so Umlo has something to climb? He's willing to climb down as soon as Umlo lets go, and judging by the distances in your posts, if he goes about 15 feet down, that'll leave 10 feet of rope past the surface of the water for Umlo to grab onto/tie Devrin to, whatever. I know Umlo's prodigiously strong, but he's wearing armor and will sink like a rock unless he rolls really high on his swim check.

Assuming it is at all feasible to do so, as soon as Kyran clears the bridge, he throws whatever he's go in his hands at the time (sword, shield, bow, etc.) "inland" or away from the bridge. (Yes, not drop, throw; he doesn't want to be tripping. He's not aiming at all, just chucking the stuff in a general direction; think of it as dropping with feeling, I guess) then whips around to help anyone within reach who is dangling from the bridge. (Probably just Umlo, I'm thinking) His first instinct will be to brace his feet against whatever supports the ropes were tied to, grab the ropes, and pull (In other words, do exactly what Umlo is asking him to do). If that seems to be ineffectual, he'll go fishing for the rope in his pack if there's time. If he does that, Umlo should be fine. He's got 50 feet of hempen rope, minus, say, 5 feet used to tie Gogmurt up, so he's got 45 feet to toss to the dwarf and then rig a makeshift pulley off the bridge supports with.

Kyran, realizing his weight is the proverbial straw breaking the camel's back, launches himself back the way he came.

Reflex save: 20! (About friggin' time!)

Kyran mutters something unintelligible even to him under his breath (Rackum Frackum), stows his bow, and switches to his sword & shield, then follows Umlo.

Kyran calmly nocks another arrow and waits for a target to present itself. (Holding an action this round)

Kyran lines up a shot on one of the sentries. "Now." And with that, he lets fly.

Attack: 12, Damage (assuming a hit): 3

"I made it clear from the very beginning that I signed on with you guys to prevent the goblins from causing any more harm. I'm starting to see that we had different ideas in mind regarding what that meant. I will stick with you guys, but when push comes to shove, you must know that I am not here to parley, or hold their hands. You heard their singing. They would have set the whole town on fire, if we hadn't stopped them. They're not children. Capturing them, spanking them on the butt, and sending them on their way is not a solution that will last for very long."

Fern turns and points to the bridge and the goblins in the watchtower.

"Now, about this bridge. There are some guards posted on the watchtower. I need to know from you right now if you deem them as innocent."

Fern loads a bolt into her crossbow, sliding it into place with an audible click.

Kyran nocks an arrow, turns toward the towers, and pulls back his bowstring. "No, I do not. These are enemy combatants and we are within our rights to use deadly force. Granting quarter and accepting surrender are necessary, avoiding all violence is neither necessary nor smart. Do you want the one on the left, or the right?"

If the others allow it, Fern will spend a moment with the items. Casting Detect Magic, she will scour them. There are 11 items in total, and she will make rolls for each of them. The first set of rolls are the Know:Arcana checks to reveal the school of magic associated with them, if any. The second set of rolls are the Appraise checks to try and identify them.

8,14,11,24,16,6,22,24,15,8,19 and 16,13,7,2,7,2,19,19,8,14,18

"Sounds fair to me, Kyran."

Kyran, looking drained, rubs his face and sighs. "I don't think he'll be causing any more trouble any time soon or anywhere around here. I think the only fires he'll be setting will come from his tracks. He was running pretty fast when I left him." He looks at Fern. "But you have to understand something: I may be a warrior, but I'm not a murderer. There is a difference. I won't harm prisoners, and I won't tolerate others doing so.[He looks around at the others]Look, I like and trust all of you. But we need to be better than what we're fighting. Just because goblins will harm helpless victims doesn't mean we should. We came here to insure the safety of our hometown, not to match atrocity for atrocity." He pauses. "Didn't we?"

Fern has no intention of chasing the poor thing, but it doesn't stop her from counting;"One! Two! Three! Four!..."

Turning now to Kyran; "If this comes back to us, I hope you can see clearly then. Now. Let's shake this place up."

"He's been given every chance. If he comes back, I'll kill him myself if you or Umlo don't. I promised him as much."

Okay. I need a clear picture of where the line is, Chris. Not so I can dance on it, so I can stay well back from it.

Kyran crouches down grabs Gogmurt by the sides of the head and looks the goblin square in the eye, his features contorted with barely-restrained rage (only some of it is with Gogmurt, but he doesn't need to know that.). "I'm going to let you go. If you ever come back here, we will kill you. If you go and cause problems for other people, be they longshanks, stumpies, halflings, or anyone else, and we find out, and we will find out, we will find you and kill you. I am very good at finding hiding goblins. I am done with your excuses, and we are all done with your pleas. You get one chance to do this correctly and you do not get to stop for anything on the way out. Don't even try to convince me you can't survive in the wild. If you're looking for some idea of where to go, I suggest warning the other goblins in this area to clear out as well." With that, he hauls Gogmurt to his feet and marches him back to where the party entered. "Run, you vile little git. Run and tell all of the other little green skinned bastards in the Inner Sea that Sandpoint is off limits. Permanently. If we see any of you in the city limits again, we will slay you like wild beasts." Taking his knife from his belt, he cuts the goblin's bonds and gives him a very hard shove in the direction of the exit. "Now GO."

Will that work?

"No. We're not going to execute a bound captive. We'd be no better than the goblins themselves if we did that." Kyran looks around. Is there anything sturdy Gogmurt could be lashed to?

Work with me here, guys. Kyran is probably dangerously close to falling as it is after that verbal exchange with Gogmurt a few posts back.

"Well, if we charge in now, what are we going to do about this goblin? As soon as we get into a battle, you know he's going to be a liability."

Fern has two spells left for the day.

"I say we tie him to a solid object and leave him here. We can always collect him on the way out. If we don't move now, we lose the element of surprise, and whoever is directing this rabble will be ready for us when we come back."

What do you guys want to do? Umlo's chewed up and our spell casters are getting low.

Kyran thinks for a moment and then replies to Fern with: "No, he's not a criminal, per se, unless he was part of the initial raid. He is, however, what I would consider a prisoner of war. We were attacked, this is a counterattack. That said, I think he's somewhat important. We could consider him an enemy officer. He's also helpfully provided us with the location of some of his own superiors. I say we strike while the proverbial iron is hot. If we can take the head off of this beast, it probably won't bite us again. We're not prepared to fight an entire nest of goblins alone, no, but we're more than scary enough to not have to. Goblin morale is nowhere near as solid as, say, hobgoblin or devilish morale is, knowledge you seem to already possess and have been exploiting to great effect."

Kyran looks down at the cowering goblin. "You're not worth killing. Don't make yourself so while we're gone, and I'll consider letting you go free to warn the other tribes in the area. Try to escape or cause trouble, and I will let him,[he points at Umlo] her,[he points at Fern] or him[he indicates Korpi] decide what to do with you. If you're especially lucky, they may just throw you in the hole..." With that, he gives Umlo a knowing wink out of Gogmurt's line of sight and moves off in the direction the goblin indicated.

Kyran's face softens ever so slightly. "He's restrained, Fern! Even I know those with the gift of magic have to be free to move to conjure it forth.[He gestures over at Devrin]I have a childhood friend who is a priest, Fern. i have some experience with this..."

Kyran steps in front of Gogmurt and locks eyes with Fern. "Yes. One. Mine. If you want to harm a disarmed and restrained prisoner, you'll be going through me first.[He takes a step towards the gnome to emphasize this point.] I have no problem striking down enemies in honorable combat, but it is another thing entirely to summarily execute a surrendered captive without trial. If he needs to die, I'm sure the proper authorities will be more than capable of handling his execution.[He pauses, looks off to the side and then looks back at Fern] But if you really must kill him now, there's only a farmer with his father's sword standing in your way. I leave it to you." Kyran's eyes bore into Fern as he waits for her move.

Hey, he's a paladin. What'd you expect? On a side note: WOW, I had no idea there'd be this much inter-party conflict. This is good stuff, but egads, we're bickering a lot...

As a side note, Kyran has Improved Unarmed Strike and may feint with his sword but won't use deadly force on Fern, even if she comes at him with full magical force.

Kyran, having secured his prisoner, searches him for anything he might use to escape. Thoroughly. (Taking 20 again)

Relieved that the slaying of helpless foes will not soon commence, Kyran mentally sighs with relief and sets about thoroughly restraining Gogmurt. Take 20 on a survival check to tie Gogmurt up GOOD, and he'll enlist Umlo's aid if he's willing. In this latter case, allowing Umlo to tie Gogmurt up and using the aid another action to ratchet the escape DC up past what Gogmurt can (hopefully) actually escape from.

Have a good trip, Chris!

Kyran puts himself between Korpi and Gogmurt and makes very sudden, very intense (very shocked!) eye contact with Fern. "WHAT?!" Have you no sense of honor?" He looks back at Gogmurt. "Throw your weapons over there [he points to an unoccupied corner]. You've surrendered, I'm not going to harm you unless you restart the hostilities."