As the low moaning wail of the last zombie dies off the unnatural mist clears and Brynden begins a serious effort to track the invisible halfling. The Ekujae, still wary of the zombie bodies, seem to make some effort to assist him but in the end they are more of a distraction than a help.
Impeded by the chaos of the battleground it takes the ranger some time to pick up what he thinks must be the freshest trail, which he follows back to the small hut near the edge of the clearing. As he approaches he definitely hears muffled noises, which he first takes for the sound of another zombie. This zombie, however, sounds strangely like someone urgently screaming through a gag.
Please re-roll Garruk's hps. I don't accept ones for such things.
Garruk uses his greataxe to hack one zombie nearly in two while Jaine drives the point of her blade into the prone, crawling form of the final undead creature.
After the intense combat the group instinctively gathers together and watches the trees surrounding the clearing warily, but no one detects any sign of the crazed halfling adept.
Garruk, however, detects some muffled noises coming from the hut.
That was an intensely long combat way above your CR level. Everybody advance to level 2!
Jaine's sword bites deep into the zombies chest, but the necrotic flesh seems oddly resistant to Loras's attack as he tries to use his grappling to literally tear the creature in two.
Brynden's sidestep maneuver works perfectly and he nearly separates one of the zombie's legs. A grayish ooze seeps out of the wound and though the creature's low moans never falter it slows visibly.
Round 8 (Loras and Brynden have already gone)
Zombie 1 attempts to escape Loras's grapple 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15 and barely manages to throw the monk off.
Zombie 2 lunges at Brynden 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 but the sudden movement tears its already terribly wounded leg off and it falls to the ground.
The first zombie swings at Loras...
attack 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7...MISS!
The second swings at Brynden...
attack 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8...MISS!
Their low moans travel out into the forest, and time seems to slow eerily.
round 6
The halfling swipes at Jaine as she tries to stand...
attack 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16...Miss!
Then as Jaine opens another nasty wound with her smiting blow the halfling screams in a strident voice"I am not yet worthy to join my master in pure unlife, but my servants will leave that blessing on you!" He utters some arcane words before seeming to disappear into the misty air.
round 7
Loras
Brynden
Zombies
Jaine
Garruk
Zombie #1 attacks Loras 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Zombie #3 attacks the flanked Brynden 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Both zombies miss!
Might disappear for a couple of days due to computer virus dealings. sorry in advance.
Round 6
Loras's attacks miss and he searches for that special calm place inside.
Brynden outmaneuvers the priest and manages to hit him, though the mist causes him to misjudge his footing and he fails to cause the damage such a swing would normally do.
Zombie #1, smelling blood, strikes at Jaine...
attack 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21...hits!
damage 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6...
...The repeated attacks are too much for Jaine's young body and she falls to the enemy creatures blow, her armour a mess of blood!
Zombie #3 takes a 5 foot step and attacks Brynden from a flanking position!
attack 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12...miss!
The halfling priest, further emboldened by the paladin's fall, also stabs out at Brynden...
attack 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10... but misses.
"Your laughable attacks only demonstrate the weakness of your faith, Paladin! You will bow and rise under the will of Walkena, to walk the world and serve his will for all time, just as we all will" Cries the maddened halfling priest as he strikes out with his dagger...
attack 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19...hits!
damage 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
As he draws blood he follows with "neener neener neener!"
Round 7
Don't forget your bonuses from the bard, everyone.
round 6
I don't think monks using shuriken draw AoO, but I can't bothered to look it up. Also, looks like somebody has been reading the hp spoilers hahaha
Loras hits the priest with his second shuriken, and Brynden fells the already damaged zombie in front of him.
Zombie #1 Attacks Loras 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19...hits!
damage 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Zombie #2 collapses in a heap.
Zombie #3 takes a swipe at Garruk 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5...miss!
Wow, two rounds of no love. That makes up for my zombies all failing.
The halfling priest pulls a dagger and stabs at Jaine...
Attack 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18...hits!
damage 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2hp
The Ekujae seem uncharacteristically reticent to approach, perhaps they are fearful to come into physical contact with the undead.
Round 6
Loras
Brynden
Zombies
Jaine
Halfling Priest
Ekujae
Garruk
round 5
The zombies lash out...
Zombie #1 attacks Jaine with a vicious swipe from it's scimitar...
attack 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5...miss!
Zombie #2 attacks despite the brutal wound from Brynden's sword, as only the undead can...
attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14...miss!
Zombie #3 swipes at Garruk...
attack 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3...miss!
Round 5
Loras
Brynden
Zombies
Jaine
Halfling Priest
Ekujae
Garruk
Round 4
Loras seeks cover but fails to improve his wounded condition.
Brynden comes forward but is unable to reach a target for his wrath.
The first zombie takes a five foot step and tries to protect it's foul master by drawing its scimitar and attacking Jaine...
Attack 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3...miss!
Zombie #2 tries the same strategy...
Attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6...miss!
Zombie #3 attacks Garruk...
Attack 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3...miss!
Jaine's sword flashes brilliantly as Iomedae grants her divine blessing, but even so she is unable to hit her tiny enemy.
The halfling priest cackles and screams in a shrill voice "Go forward, my people, and wipe these non-believers from our lands! The glory of Walkena has been bestowed upon you!" And a ripple of dark energy flows outward from him in a circle.
The Ekujae, frustrated by the mists and unable to find viable targets without running the risk of hitting their new friends, run to Loras's aid and give him a small bottle, indicating that he should drink it.
Garruk attacks the nearest zombie but misses.
haha it is 1:30 am here and i am piss drunk but it basically looks like no one has hit or done damage here on the good guy's side. that is freaking hilarious and i think you guys are awesome. here is hoping the zombies don't rip you apart...
Round Three
As Garruk wades into the enveloping mist he sees the halfling priest preparing to cast a spell. He lunges at the lurking figure of the halfling priest but misses, and the halfling completes the spell in front of him.
Garruk recognizes the spell immediately, though the name becomes superfluous as the defeated Zenj cultists surrounding him rise again in zombie form: animate dead!
Garruk gets an AoO as the priest moves to touch the other cultists...
Attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5...miss!
Round 4
Loras
Brynden
Zombies
Jaine
Halfling Priest
Ekujae
Garruk
Dear bard: Great question! Maybe the warriors would feel more comfortable charging in, however, if the only person with access to a healing wand didn't choose to stand toe-to-toe with the two highest CR creatures in the whole encounter rather than use it to heal them above 1 hp. That's just a guess, though hahaha.
Round two
Garruk, unable to identify either of the spells cast by the priest, rushes forward and plants his axe into the vicious lizard's skull. It reels back, spraying warm blood from the mighty wound, and as it's roar of pain dies you know the battle is almost won...
Round Three
Seeing the lizard drop, Loras refocuses his aim on the last cultist but his shuriken goes wide of the mark.
Brynden likewise changes targets but his arrow bounces ineffectively off the lizard hide armor the cultist wears.
The final cultist steps back into the obfuscating fog and fires an arrow at Loras...
Attack 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
confirm critical 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11...hits!
damage 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 61d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Loras takes a whopping 13 hp of damage, and barely manages to remain standing!
Jaine runs her full move and just barely manages to arrive back at the edge of the clearing, breathing heavily.
The Halfling priest's actions are hidden from you.
The Ekujae each attempt to hit the dim figure of the remaining cultist...
attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23, chance to miss 1d10 ⇒ 5 hits
damage 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19, chance to miss 1d10 ⇒ 10 hits
damage 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
The figure slumps to the ground as the twang of bows fills the air.
Just need Garruk's round 3 action now
Jaine Normally I would allow a handle animal check to calm her (ex. if she was afraid of the lizard) but since she is magically feared I won't.
Jaine regretfully leaps from her fleeing horse and moves back to aid her new companions.She will have to spend her whole next round running back since she was on a fleeing horse for the better part of a round
Just need Garruk's actions then on to Round Three
The priests mutters strange words and a thick mist suddenly obscures him from your vision...
All 3 Ekujae fire at the lizard...
Attack 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
damage 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Attack 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19
damage 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
Attack 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Doing 13 points total damage. The lizard is bleeding but far from out.
The rest will have to wait for Jaine and Garruk's round 2 actions. Not sure how much Jaine can actually do at this point, though.
Round Two
Loras
Lizard
Skeletons
Brynden
Zenj Cultists
Jaine
Halfling Priest
Ekujae
Garruk
Having watched Jaine's contribution to ridding the world of undead, Loras wastes no time in cementing his own burgeoning reputation by absolutely pasting two skeletons of his own.
The lizard runs forward, it's tongue flicking, tasting blood in the air.
The skeletons... are all dust.
Brynden drops his second cultist in as many rounds.s
The last cultist standing, perhaps spurred by the sight of the fleeing paladin, perhaps driven only by the madness of his own dark god, fights bravely on against all odds...
Attack (Loras) 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
...and misses.
Loras wrote: NO I didn't include Brynden's damage bonus against humanoids, forgot about that. It's +2 damage. ...and the gravely wounded cultist realizes firing a bow with an arrow already so close to his own heart wasn't such a great idea as he nicks his aorta and drops dead.
Brynden wrote: Not sure if the first cultist I hit is dead, but hopefully he's wounded as s%&@ and won't be rushing back into battle He's not rushing anywhere but the afterlife.
Knowing their bows are nearly useless against skeletons, the Ekujae each pick a cultist and fire...
Attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
Attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
Attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
damage 1d8 ⇒ 1
...but only one manages to inflict a small flesh wound.
As Earlina rushes past, Garruk wishes he had been a bit quicker with those drums.
From behind the hut, a large lizard pokes it's head out...
Initiative 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Jaine's powerful sword arm slashes downwards, smashing through the nearest skeleton's clavicle and blowing its ribs into pieces. Earlina rears and charges the next skeleton, trampling it to the ground with her flailing hooves before it can put Brynden in any further danger.
The Halfling priest casts a spell and a dark cloud of oily air flies towards Earlina...
saving throw 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
...who immediately panics in fear for 1d4 ⇒ 2 rounds and flees.
Jaine Makes a ride check to stay on her horse 1d20 ⇒ 14 and manages to do so easily.
The first skeleton brandishes a rusty scimitar and closes with Loras...
Attack 1d20 ⇒ 13
...but he slashes at nothing but leaves as Loras easily avoids the blow.
The other skeletons close the distance, brandishing nasty looking blades of their own.
Brynden places an arrow expertly into the chest of one cultist, and had his internal organs not been freakishly reversed in a bizarre birth defect he would have been dead. As it is, the man is gravely wounded yet staggers forward with a fervent look in his eyes. Did Loras include his bonus against humans?This brave action, however, draws an attack of opportunity from one of the skeletons...
Attack 1d20 ⇒ 10
...but the attack goes wide.
The uninjured cultists move into range and open fire with their shortbows...
#1(Brynden)1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
#2(Jaine) 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
damage 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
#3(Jaine)1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
...Jaine is hit once for 4 points of damage. (ride check 1d20 ⇒ 19)
Initiative is as follows:
Loras
Skeletons
Brynden
Zenj Cultists
Jaine
Halfling Priest
Ekujae
Garruk
Loras, please declare your action and move your piece on the map.
Once your intentions are made clear to the wild elves they seem willing enough to follow your lead down the trail and your small band makes good time on the more open terrain.
After nearly an hour of cautious but steady travel you crest a hill and immediately recognize the familiar shapes of skeletons wandering through the trees. You aren't fooled by their seemingly aimless movements, however, and your eyes are immediately drawn to a small hut beyond them that they are clearly circling around.
As careful as you all are, however, there is no way to quiet the horse and with Jaine in the lead the skeletons are every bit as aware of your presence as you are of theirs. Their low moans are not the only welcome you receive, however, and with a sharp cry of warning several men pour out of the hut...
Everyone roll initiative and check the combat map in google...
And, um, try to ignore the lizard. It was really annoying to resize and I don't want to remove it.
I suppose I could just assume the group follows the path, but I'd rather have one of your chars actually declare it.
While Garruk examines the wand the sober-faced Ekujae follow Brynden’s indications and examine the trail presumably left by Tchi’ana’s killers. They discuss it seriously, tracing and retracing their steps, and though the afternoon sun has burned away most of the swirling mists the humidity and heat of the day seems to be fraying their nerves.
Jaine, encased in armor, feels the worst effects of the oppressive heat but it is the Ekujae who begin snapping and bickering amongst themselves. Finally the female amongst them spits in disgust and stalks back to the gathered group just as Garruk finishes his healing tasks...
She kicks a patch of ground clear of debris and uses the butt of her short spear to draw four crude stick figures. “Unclean,” she declares with a heavy accent, pointing at the image briefly before drawing three more figures a short distance away.
“Zenj.”
Then, beside those, she draws two similar figures but half the size and says a word none of you recognize while pointing to them.
The potbellied fellow suddenly runs up and kicks at one of the smaller figures, erasing it from the dirt. “One,” he says, “One!” She immediately cracks him hard over the head with her spear and he yowls, covering his head and dropping to his knees. Calmly, she re-draws the figure and points to it with an expression that brooks no argument. Whatever she believes them to be, she is clearly convinced that there are two of them.
Just in case you're wondering, I am waiting for Garruk to declare something regarding the magic items before I continue with the Ekujae's actions. Things will likely move pretty quickly from there.
Seeing that the situation has calmed the Ekujae step out from the trees, although they appear no less nervous at being so exposed in the clearing and are ready to leap back into the cover of the forest at a moment’s notice.
Garruk surveys the area, noting that there are faint auras of transmutation coming from around the strange charms hanging around each of the Ekujae’s necks. Made of sticks, bones, and stones they look vaguely like bird’s nests adapted into necklace form.
He focuses his attention on the enamelled wooden dowel that Brynden presented to him...
Spellcraft + bardic knowledge 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
He is able to discern a faint aura of conjuration. The wand looks very familiar and is likely some kind of a healing item, but he can't determine how to activate it. Perhaps given enough time he could divine how it works.
To be clear, Garruk is aware of the Ekujae's actions behind him. I don't think we need to describe L, B, and J to him at this point, but since L&B are so weakened it is probably a good bet that the Ekujae could drop them. Whether Garruk would survive the impending counterattack from Jaine is a different story, however.
Brynden & Loras
As Jaine draws her blade, you both notice the tell tale sounds of bowstrings drawn taut... it seems the wild elves in the trees are prepared to defend this strange half-orc.
Jaine
Jaine remains unaware of the presence of wild elves in the trees, but it is clear to he that the half-orc is playing dumb.
khaldun wrote: I imagine both my guys see the Ekujae in the trees? Because I'm pretty sure they'll be a bit more skeptical about his story after noticing a huge squad of ekujae trying to stealth in the trees... Both Loras and Brynden are aware that there are three Ekujae hiding in the underbrush. They seem to be watching, but haven't made any overtly aggressive move to flank the party or anything like that.
Clearly this half-orc's behavior is suspicious but neither of you are able to discern the true nature of what he is trying to hide... you both assume it to be the Ekujae.
Please sense motive, all ye weary travelers.
Jaine, Loras, Brynden
Glad I won't have to separate these much longer, haha
As you approach the clearing Jaine is barely able to contain her eagerness and thus the two men on foot are periodically outpaced by the woman on her fine charger. The end result is that the three of you become aware of a half-orc standing at the edge of the clearing at about the same time. He is well within bow shot and looks like he has been bush wacking for the better part of the day.
You are unable to take 10 at the moment, so I will require perception checks if you wish to detect the Ekujae, who have gone into hiding.
Garruk
Though you beckon, the Ekujae make no response and most certainly do not enter the clearing.
I don't *think* that Loras and Brynden were sneaking along with Jaine there, but if they do wish to remain hidden please declare it now and make a stealth roll. They became aware of Garruk just an instant before he became aware of them.
Garruk
The ersatz Ekujae leader wrinkles his brow in consternation as he regards your hastily scrawled map, then calls over his pot-bellied fellow to have a look. The two of them confer in serious tones, but you also detect an air of bewilderment. They turn the page first this way then that, pointing at various features then looking around themselves.
Just as you are starting to wonder if you made a mistake bringing out the map, their female companion lets out an exasperated huff of air, stomps over and snatches the paper form their hands. She looks it over briefly, points at you-know-not-what and barks a few words while pointing deeper into the jungle. Finally, she crumples up the map and turns on her heel, plunging into the trees even as she throws the paper to the ground.
With a quick gesture towards you, beckoning you to follow, the two hunters make haste to follow hey trail. Having no idea as to what you present location is, you wisely decide to follow.
Just make mention of it if you decide to pick up the discarded map.
The next hour is a fast paced slog through some of the worst undergrowth you have ever traversed, and the sounds of the surrounding jungle recede as your awareness gets filed down to the small space in directly front of you. It takes all of your concentration to keep pace with the experienced trackers, and you begin to wonder if they would even slow down, let alone stop, if you were to twist an ankle or gouge out an eye on a meandering branch.
Just as quickly as she set off, however, the female Ekujae chirps a signal that you recognize yet cannot yet fathom and before you can bring yourself to a skidding halt you rush headlong past the hunters and into a clearing.
Your suspicions as to what the Ekujae meant when they were referring to the “unclean” are horribly confirmed in a single glance: the clearing is littered with the remains of what look to be a dozen skeletal warriors and another form that you take to be a single dead zombie.
Momentarily stunned, you barely have time to gather your thoughts and recognize the jingling sounds of tack and harness. You look towards the noise and see a path not so very far away along the edge of the clearing, and just above the tall graze bobs the armoured helm of someone riding on horseback. Something pulls at your memory, but you don’t have time to worry at the knot of images.
You must taken action quickly, the rider is nearly upon you...
Loras wrote: Should I just randomly be posting perception or sense motive checks as we go "Just in case" you may need a roll or just go about my business? Nameless gave me some good advice the other day, so I will generally assume that you "take 10" during general interactions and activities that do not require being in a hurry (like combat or ptential combat, running away, forced march, navigating whitewater, etc.) or that are not in direct competition with someone actively trying something
This means that in general your perception checks are considered to be Garruk 14, Loras 16, Brynden 16 & Jaine 9
Bluff and Sense motive get a bit more complicated but if we consider that...
Sense Motive: Loras 18, Garruk 10, Jaine 9, Brynden 12
Bluff: Loras 9, Garruk 16, Jaine 12, Brynden 10
We can see that pretty much no one but Garruk should even bother trying to actively lie to Loras. Everyone else is fairly even, so I will assume everyone believes each other as long as no one says anything outlandish... I will definitely allow any lies of omission to work on anyone but Loras, who will as a result generally suspect that the person is hiding something.
Once your characters know each other, if I do consider that you are actively trying to hide something that you know to be extremely valuable to your allies and that they would reasonably be suspicious about--like trying to hide a quiver of magical arrows from Brynden after fighting an amazing archer, say--I will roll dice for both PCs unless you do it first. Considering this is a fairly good-aligned party I don't think it will be an issue once you have spilled some blood--or dusted some cadavers--together.
Garruk
The Ekujae consult among themselves briefly, then put together a strange play act in front of you as you watch... two of them begin moving rather less gracefully than moments ago, their herky jerky movements accompanied by low moaning sounds and rasping squawks. It quickly becomes evident that they are stalking your new friend, who play acts a desperate fight against them but as he throws various weapons and mimes shooting arrows the other two are unaffected and keep pretending to attack him, undaunted.
Finally he succumbs to their attacks, then rises himself with the same strange movements, and they all stalk towards you. Just as you start to think they expect you to play into the act as well they stop as abruptly as they began and the young leader points deeper into the woods, his face a strange mixture of hope and fear.
"Unclean," he explains.
khaldun wrote: even though I doubt a paladin with hair over her ears would hear a guy whispering to his friend from thirty feet away lol Welcome to D&D, where we let the dice decide and remove all doubt! You have to put your storyteller/writer self aside and just go with the flow, my friend hahaha
Hmm, I think you are right, it should have been a bluff check. I am used to playing pretty fast and loose with rules, so I just decided his WIS would be good enough since stealth didn't really seem to cover it. You can either accept the 14 or go with the 6 bluff haha.
Also, rather than perception I think it would make more sense for Jaine to do a sense motive check in that case.
Also, unless B&L have objections I think we can assume they explain the events of the day to Jaine if and when she asks rather than play out the whole conversation one post at a time. If B&L want to change any of the details, you can just post what those would be and make another bluff check for her to sense motive against.
And, just to make things complicated, I discovered that we can get the message board to post dice rolls like this: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 you just use the dice bbcode tag
The two parties are within comfortable speaking range, which I would guess to be about 30 ft.
Jaine may make a perception check vs. Brynden's WIS (14) in order to catch the b~%@@ comment if she cares to.
Brynden & Loras Neither of you get the idea that there is anything fishy about this woman, but you don't get any strong sense about her really. Though she is clearly dressed as a representative of Iomedae, symbols can be faked.
It is perhaps best to take her at face value for now, and reserve final judgment for later after you've seen her in action. Sometimes paladins can be... troublesome (at least for Brynden).
Garruk
The Ekujae don’t seem to take your meaning at first, but with a few gestures you seem to convey the general message and their young leader makes a great show of spitting towards the guards for you and his friends, though not so great a show as to attract their attention. A wide grin splits his face from ear to ear and he gestures eagerly for you to follow him.
After a brief period of time you are completely lost and realize your life might well be in the hands of these elves. The forest seethes around you almost seeming to be a single living creature and you can feel drops of sweat as they drip down your back, soaking your tunic. You can’t shake the mental image that you yourself are little more than a droplet of sweat on the back of the beast Mwangi.
Just as you start feeling truly nervous about your decision to follow these young warriors the leader calls a stop with a low hiss and addresses you in a version of broken common that is clearly more earnest than your own and is accompanied by wide gestures. His friends gather round, kneeling on their haunches and nodding gravely.
”Unclean... see...we... bad... see... find.”
Garruk
The dwarf’s eyes widen momentarily in surprise, then his face darkens and he stomps away from you. Leaving him to stew in his ignorance, you hurry to catch up with the elves before they completely disappear into the woods.
The one you encountered earlier is the first to notice your approach, and he stays his friends with a low, muted whistle. They turn in their tracks, eyeing you suspiciously.
After a moment, the young one takes a few steps towards you and holds his spear at the ready, his slight body half turned and ready to flee. Clearly ready to take their cues from him, his tribe-mates—a potbellied male and dark featured female—keep their bows ready but have yet to draw arrows from the small quivers you see poking over their shoulders.
Diplomacy check 1d20 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (19) + 2 - 1 = 20 (CHA bonus, negative circumstance modifier)
Sensing the change in your attitude, the young leader straightens his back and relaxes the grip on his spear. He chirps a snatch of birdsong over his shoulder and his companions relax noticeably, though they do keep an eye on the guards still gathered in the distance at the Land Gate.
Jaine, Loras & Brynden
Jaine of Riverton seems more focused on the trail than her surroundings and remains unaware of the two approaching strangers until Loras Martell steps out onto the path and addresses her.
Brynden, however, remains hidden behind the sprawling branches of a decrepit old tree.
Jaine and Loras, please describe yourselves to one another
haha, the reason I brought it up was because you called him "she" a few times in your posts and I wanted to make sure the scene was set properly.
btw, as I was walking my dog I realized that even though we are not posting the character actions as spoilers we should still post our rolls as
in the off chance event that PCs will have competing rolls, like in this situation right here. It will also streamline the storytelling aspect. During combat I will also post actual hp damage in a spoiler rather than in the description of the action.
phew, that's a big chunk of OOC!
Just to be clear, Tchi'Ana is actually a male of the Zenj tribe, not that it really matters to the story that much.
Garruk
The stout guard rolls his eyes and mutters one of the handful of Dwarven epithets that you have come to recognize by rote, "Stupid orc." Nevertheless, he squints up at you and steps to the left, using your shadow as a shield for the sun, and shakes his head. "Nothin unusual 'cept these durn tree fairies yappin with their 'unclean' nonsense. Fr'm what I hear, ain't much those boys DON'T consider unclean. 'Sides, Aspis would be in a tizzy if'n there was any trouble."
He seems to be done but you wait expectantly. Playing up the slow Orc angle has worked wonders for you in the past, and indeed after a pregnant pause he sighs, "Well, aside from yer typical lizardfolk messes and wild animals, there was that one priest come in all banged up last night, talkin' how there's undead out there. Don't see as how that c'n be true, though, since the rangers ain't reported nothin'. 'Sides, undead ain't makin' it past this gate so what do I care, we ain't paid to patrol them damn trees." He fixes you with an evil grin, "You enjoy your stroll, orc, and let us know if'n ye see sumthin' spooky when ye get back." He barks a short laugh and walk back to his station, clearly bored of the subject.
Meanwhile, the Ekujae make their way into the woods, casting sulky glares back at the guards and Land Gate. They seem to bicker briefly before ignoring the various trails and step directly into the forest. They almost seem to melt into the trees, and you are briefly carried away by the image before you realize that if you mean to catch them up you had better act quickly or you will lose track of them utterly.
Jaine
As you hack your way into the surrounding trees, taking care not to disturb the snake and attract it's ire, you encounter a dense pocket of briars and brush that you must circumnavigate, then one of the thickest trees you have ever seen, with low lying branches as big around as a frost giant's leg. Once you have made it around these obstacles a putrid pool of water stands in your way. Unwilling to risk Earlina in the fetid swamp you make your way around this as well, over a small hillock and back to the... path?
You carefully look left, then right, searching in a small circle for where you thought the path would be in relation to how you traveled. You see a clearing with a small rise and make your way towards that, hoping for a better vantage point, but still you can't find the path. Worse, after all that searching you're not quite sure which way to go to retrace your steps.
Steadfast as ever, you consult your map again, mentally walk through the course you made through the brush, and pick a direction that makes sense. You commit your energy fully to this new route to it, trusting that whatever reason brought you on this new path was a good one.
Within the hour you spot a break in the trees on your right, but you don't immediately make your way to it, instead trusting your direction of travel and keeping your course. You make steady progress, and your single-minded focus pays off when you spur Earlina over a fallen tree and end up on a clear path.
A swath of fairly new growth approximately 40 feet wide, the footing is more sure here. A footpath runs up the side of the open area, which stretches back in the direction that you take to be Bloodcove and forward in the same general direction of the Mwangi river itself. The overhanging branches make following the footpath on horseback difficult, but riding alongside it among the newer growth seems like it would be a simple enough task compared with what you have traveled through the past few hours.
If you are reading the priest's map correctly, this route is the one he followed while fleeing the skeletons and the clearing where he and his ranger companion encountered them shouldn't be very far away, in the direction opposite Bloodcove.
Due to Brynden's and Loras's actions below, please include a perception check in your next post
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