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Hellw (also ow) - thank you for your good wishes. I am back but easing my way in slowlly. I appreceiate Atlas inviting me to this game, but it has a loong history and I think getting back in is going to be a lot of work. I see you dropped Mara somewhere and I think that works for the best. It was fun gaming with you and I'll either see you int the other games we have together or somewhere else on these boards, Im' sure. Thanks, Sarah
Mara nods at Ingold's words, her axe in both hands as she looks around, alert for troulble.
Hello I'm ata wedding this weekend - my first real social event since March 2020 - so I will be not posting until Monday. Please bot me as needed :)
Mara just nods. As one of those who has avoided the infection, she is sympathetic to those who are sick. She doesn't expecct finding a cure to be easy. After all, nothing else is.
"I've also had a feeling we're being followed. Not seen antyhing though. Best to be careful anyway."
Mara has almost been turned to stone, it takes her so long to react. "Well. Now we know for sure he is allied with the shadow. The question is frsit, what do we do with this... thing? And second, what do we do about him?" She doesn't want that coin anyehwhere near her. She can still feel the gaze of that Eye.
MAra isn't goig to beat her head against a wall. Thorgirm is convinced he did the right thing, she's convinced he acted rashly, and they're never going to agree. What's done is done, and she lets the conversation drop, focusing on her beer instead. When the hobbit retruns with his tale and the pouch, she gives Doderic a respectful nod. "Resrourceful, althgou let us hope we are not caught with stolen goods." She looks through the contenst of the pouch with interest - dwarves know the scent of gold, after all. Second only to dragons in that regard.
Mara drinks her beer at the same pace as Thorgrim, without slowing up. She listens carefuly. "It sounds to me like we chanced upon some usefl information that he didn't know we had, and we could have followed him unawares to see what he's up to, or who else he's dealing with. Insted, now he knows we know something, and we're none the wiser what he's up to. Plus, the townfolk now think we're the ones in the wrong." She sheks her head. "Oh well. You can't fix what's past."
Mara has no idea what's going on, but she trusts her copanions. They woudn't have started a fight unless the stranger was more than he seemed. But she knows how these things go - there's nothing they can do here by force alone. She houlds up her hands to the stranger. "I'm sure this is a misunderstanding and they menat nothing by it. Come now, frineds. Let's get back inside." She then walsk after Thorgrim. "I'm sure you had a good reason for what you did. Care to share it? I'll buy the ale." This - from a dwarf - is true friendhsip, not lightly earned.
Isn't this supposed to be heroic fantasy? I do't think attackign someone or hoding them agaisnt their will is going to cut it here - it could jsut get us all a bunch of Shadow Points. We've no proof he has done anything wrong, only suspicion and that isn't really enough. Wormtonuge was clearly a bad guy but they didn't kill him because that would be wrong - they had to play within the rules, and I thik we do too. Can I get a chck on that from the GM? I want to have some idea what our options/limitations are.
Mara beocmes aware that from the noise that there is trouble brewing outside. She does her best to ignore it as long as she can, but ultimlatly her annoyance gets the better of her. Setting her feet down on the floor, she clumps out of the tavern. "What trouble have you gotten yourselves into now?! I'm trying to enjoy my first stay under a roof in weeks - months, even - and you're spoilign it!"
MAra isn't lookin for more adventure right now, or in fact at all. She's warm, she's dry for the first time in weeks if not months and she is well-fed up and agreeably drunk/smoked. She doesn' notice anything out the ordinayry, and if Thorgrim and Cereidh and Ingold want to go looking for trouble that hasn't crrossed their paths, well that's on them. She puts her feet up, orders another round of ale from the barkeep and refills her pipe. Anyone trying tot take her away from this with words like "danger" or "adventure" or "excitment" will get very stern words.
Hello I've come down with a bug - nothing serious, I just feel grotty - I should be back up and posting agin tomorrow.
I'm very happy not to track gold or XP :D
Mara's much less intrested in bathing and much more in the food, drink and pipeweed. Sitting with her feet up after supper, surrounded by empty tankards, and smoking as muhch pipiweed as her lungs will tolerate, she feels much better about life in general.
I haven't ben tracking XP at all, I din't realise it was a thing in tihs game.
Mara nods at the Inkeeper. "Mara Stonehand at your service and your family's. I used to be of the Iron Hills but have spent most of my life on this side of the Misty Moutnains. I wolnd't say no to several ales, hot food and some pipeweed to smoke."
Mara has spent the last few days in an unusally pensive mood. The thought of the dwarves, her kin, being caputred and enslaved for so long that they missed the death of Smaug and the retrun of the king under the moutnain has left her in a grim mood. What can be done against sorcery that powerful? She listesn with half a mind as her companions continue to talk. At the menton of the taint thta hangs over the pendant, she stirs herself into speech, the first she has spoken in some time. "Perhaps it ccould be destroyed? Teh fires of Erebor are hot, and I have no doubt that the Elf-msmiths in Rievendell have a craft to them."
Mara coughs sliglty and spits plehgm onto the floor by the dead body. "Ha, call that poison gas? My gradnfather's pipe was worse than that, thick black clouds you could hide in." She cleans the mess off her hammer, before shuldering it and giving Cereidh a nod of approval for srking the killing blow. "That'll do, Pixie." She looks arounds. "Right, shall we get moving? See if that curse has lifted off my kin?" She scowls. "Never thought I'ds see the day one of my own folk couldn't recognise the mother tongue when it's spoken to them plain as day."
Mara gives an approving nod as Throgrim still stands. "Good enough, tallfolk. Good enough." She wasts no more time in words. Her focus is on trying to spot the next enemy, whereiver he is hidden.
Underdground, few can see beter than a dwarf. Especially when it comes to looking for enemies and things to fight. With a cry of anger, she charges forward at the so-called dwarf. "Outcast, I name you, outcast and accursed!"
Mara gives an angry war cry as Thorgrim takes a deadly wound. "Hey, skull-face! I'm the one you want. Show me what you can do against steel and stone." She presses forward, attacking furiously with her great weapon.
@Tareth - that is some great writing! I'm making noteas as we speak :)
Ouch
Mara flinches back as the undead queen shrieks her rage and ruin. She is only dimly aware of the blood that gushes from her ears, and even less aware of the shards of bone that hve gashed her cheeks and face. She growls with a fury and shakes herself like a dog shedding water, before moving forward with the unstopability of a lava flow. "Now, you die. Again."
Mara trusts the others to deal with the twisitsed dwarf, as she focuses her anger on the wights. "Back to teh grave, you fools! Time has passed and so must you."
Mara loses sight of the dwarf as everything twissts and fades and warps. When she opens her eyes again, se sees things clearly as they are. She gives a short barking laugh. "Ha! Barrow wight, I see you. You're lost, most of your lot are that way." She points in the drection of the infamous barrow downs. "Still, I can ssend you to join your ancestors, no problem." She swings her mattack at the wight.
"Right. B*gger this." Mara has no clue what is going on with the resurrection of a party that happened ceturries ago, but she knows an enemy when
Direct action is best action!
Mara givesa slight smile. "Lady of Warfare? I can live with that title. I've had worse." She doesn't explain. Instead she keeps her eyes and ears open for troulble. It doesn't take long. She spots the signla that one man passes to another, she doesn't know exaclty what it means but she knows trouble when she sees it. "There's something happening. Stay sharp." With thtat said, she moves as closely to the queen as she can get - she's the obvious target, after all. Any signal is almost certain to be abuot her.
Mara stares for a moment or tow longer than the others. "Well if this doens't beat evertying." But dwarves are nothing if not formal on the occasion demands it, so she gives a bow to teh man. "Mara Stonehand of the Iron Hills, at your service."
Mara scowls at the other two. "I'm not interested in kinslaying. We end the curse, somehow. And can this princess or queen be any help to us now?"
Mara looks grim as shshe replies to Cereidh. "Evil is good, and good is evil in this place it seems. I would not look for help from anyone we find here." She grips the waepon in her hand tightly, looking for something to vent her anger on.
"These dwarves have been enchanted by the power of the shadow, their views on good and evil inverted. We must back off before they become violent so we may destroy the evil being that has enchanted them." Mara nods. "You mean kill Nilm. I was going to do that anyway but it's good to know I have an excuse now."
Mara taekes a step back in confusion, before shaking her head. She speaks in Common this time, to her compananions "No. No. I am not picking a fight with my own kin. Let's just leave while we can." She keeps backing away, hoping that they can avoioid a fight.
Mara shoulders her way forwad boldly, to talk to the dwarves in their own languagae. Dwarven: "There is no good King Nilm! He is not one of us, he is a fallen and evil petty dwarf! Listen to me. Erebor has been restored, the dragon Smaug was killed. There's a king under the monuntain again. Nilmholme is a lie, and Nilm is not your friend or your king."
"I am Mara Stonehand of the Iron HIlls and I swear on my life that I am telling you the truth."
Mara is grateful for her dwarvish strenght to resist the poison. She moves fowrad, in search of their opponent. It does at least look like they went the right way.
Mara nods in agreement with Thororgrim. "Yes, we need to stay focusesd." She keeps moving with the others, keeping an eye out for more trouble.
MAra's not much aof a leadeer and she's new to the group so she's happy to go whereever.
Mara nods. "I can see what looks like two more rooms down there, like this one. Be carefule, Fuzzfoot. If you get into trouble, shout and I'll be there." She claps the hobbit on the shouldter.
Mara shakes her head in disgust as she looks at the scene. "Do not try to understand the madness of these fallen dwarves. You'll just go crazy yourself. Let's keep going." At the passageway, she peers into the darkness to try and see if she can spot anything by the light of their torches. "I'd hate for something to creep up behind us wihile we were looking at the obvious trouble."
Mara nods in agreement with Doderic. "Yup, that's the way I read it too, although it's not teh language I was brought up spleaking so it's hard to be sure." She grabs her mattock. "One or many, it doesn't matter. Let's catch up with them. Time for some bloodshed in the name of retribution." She moves forward into the tunnel, relying on her eyesight and the light being brouthg up behind hier to keep an eye out.
"Think you that Nilm is at your mercy. Think again o nasty elves, dwarves, and wretched menfolk. Nilmhome will mark your doom and your bones will decorate my hall. Ahahaha!" mine is an evil luagh I like when it's clear who the bad guys are. None of this moral ambigituity nonsens :D
MArra is about to run in when the other longshanks warns of more poison. She relutctanly moves away, although it's clear she doesn't want to. "What now, then? Just wait for the air to clear?"
MAra's about to smash the door down when the longshans gets in there first. She gives a grudging nod. "That'll do, manling." With the dor now out of the way, she mraches in. "I warned you. Ready or not, you can't hide now."
Mara couvghs slightly as the gases pour down around her, but she is mostly unaffected. "So be it. You have brought this doom on yourself, you fool." Sjhe swings her mattock against the door, trying to breakt it down.
MAra gives a short barking laugh as Doderic addresses her. "Ha! You got that right, Fuzzfoot. Trouble to spare. Looks like a barrow was once built here, if I'm reading the rocks right. Plus that building leads to a cave or tunnel, unless I miss my guess copmpletely." Here eyes narrow as the voice inside reaches her. Marching forward, she stands to one side of the door (she saw what happend to the others) and knocks on it hard with the pointed end of her mattock. Dwarfish: "Here is one who's no elf! You can come out and talk here, but if you make me walk in then I'm walking out with your head on a spike!"
MAra holds a hand up palm out, fingers spread as the elf talks. "Peace, Pixie. I've no quarrel with you and yours. I've never been to the stronghold of River & Dell but I know where it can be foudn and I've bumped into a few of you out on business over the years. We have the same eneemies, after all." "Anyway. I'm Mara. Stonehaned. I'm the idiot that the elders send out when there's work to be done over hill and under sky." She looks at the house once more. "Hm. Petty-dwarf, you say? Never known one of them come to good." She unslings her mattock from behind her back and grasps it with both hands.
Ah, that is good to know. Thank you :) I will keep my Known Lands as they are for now but leave open tehe possilityb of adding more at 10th level.
Mara curses to herself as she walks along the trail. A simple job, they sayd. Won't take long, they said. Well, three months or more and she's none the wiser as to who's been attacking her folk. And the elders don't like to hear I don't know. They like certainties. As does she.. She's slmost certain that this is a waste of her time, for instance. She growls as she feels the mist condense onto her skin and trikcle dwond the back of her neck, and as she crests the hill she wipes the sweat off her brow with the back of one hand. Wait, now. What is this? Mayhap not scuhc a dead end, after all. She stays back in the fog for a few moments as she looks over the group and the position. It seems unlikely that this assssortred collection of oddfolk is reasponsible for stealing dwarf weapons from traders. She looks at the dirt house, trying to get more information on it.
wait, what? Stone what now?:
Stonecunning – Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) ability check related to the origin of stonework, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus. Eventually, she calls out to the group, keeping a reasonable distance in case they aren't waht they seem. "Well-met, I hope? And if we're not well-met, can we skip the insults and just get to fighting? I could do with a good scrap. But truthtfully, I don't think you're the foes I'm looking for."
Thanks, I've stayed away from using the lone lands as they're a bit nodescript, i mean if they don't even have proper names then how can you truly say you know them? :)
I like option 1 there - I've arrived at the same place but from a differt route :) Do you want me to post, or will you do an intro post that I then work from? Also, in terms of knownn lands I've gone for a mix of flavour but not really useful (the areas around the Blue Mountains) and areas that I hope we will actually get to use (the Downs, Trollshaws). Can you let me know if there's anywhere I should add that woulr make sense?
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