Martika cautiously slices at the hideous vermin in front of her, to little effect.
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Sorry about the delay. I definitely would have followed up on the investigation, accepted Almah's offer, etc. but would not have looted the remains of the wagon.
When Martika finally becomes aware of the scorpions, she draws her scimitar and advances on the nearest one slashing at it somewhat mechanically. "Be careful. These vermin are mostly mindless, but still dangerous."
"Almah, I would like to follow up a few loose ends in this matter. While I agree that Dashki's name is clear, there may be some further depth to this matter. I know Eloias was a Harrower, but did he also use a crystal ball? Did he keep one in his wagon? I'd like to examine the remains of the ball and glass vials that Garavel discovered. It can, of course, wait until morning, but I do hope you will indulge my desire to be thorough."
**Warning: grotesque dog photo in link!** This picture has been circulating the Paizo boards for a long time. I'm laying money that it is the inspiration for the appearance of the pugwampi.
"Thank you Ikethru, I'm sure I'll be fine." Martika smiles and sheathes her scimitar. Staying clear of the thrashing goat, she picks up the strange creature by the tail. "I've never seen one of these 'pugwampis' before. Ugly critter." Showing a great deal more caution and forethought than before, Martika looks for a safe way through the cacti. When she reaches Dashki's position, she throws the pugwampi at his chest. "Here you go. I wasn't very impressed when I found out that you've been skulking in the shadows around the woman you supposedly love, or when you ran out of the camp during the fire. But I thought you'd at least participate in saving your own skin." Turning to the others, she says "Let's get back to the camp."
Martika flinches and shakes the remaining splinters of her javelin from her hand, then grabs her scimitar as she steps towards the hideous creature. As soon as she is within reach, she slices at it with her scimitar.
Martika steps back from the creature and hurls her javelin at it.
"Sarenrae bless us and end this creatures curse. Please shine on your devoted followers." With that, she shifts her scimitar back to her right hand.
"I don't see anything. Whatever they are, they are well hidden." Martika begins to slowly circle towards the ravine, looking around her for danger. She does her best to avoid the cacti while staying out of reach of the frantic animal. "Javeed, you know about animals, right? Can you calm this thing down? Khalit, are you still thinking about getting a familiar? Maybe you'd like a goat." As she approaches the ravine, she tries to peer in without getting close enough to fall over the edge.
Anybody ever read "Bored of the Rings"? For some reason Kara's last post just reminded me of the part where Frito says "Oh please Mr Nazgul, don't throw me in the briar patch!"
Martika stops abruptly upon reaching the clearing. Cacti were one thing, but a cliff edge was another altogether. And with the goat tied in place, this certainly looked like a trap. Transferring her scimitar to her shield hand, where she can retrieve it quickly, Martika instead readies a javelin and scans the area for threats. She focuses primarily on the ravine edge itself, imagining that these little rat-creatures might be clinging to the edge.
Oh, great the DM who's killed more of my PCs than everyone else put together! ;-P Thanks for taking up the colours Neil. I still really hope Mal comes back, and is OK, but I don't want this game to crap out when it was only just starting!
I want to continue this game as well. I really hope everything's okay with Mal. I certainly know how life can pull you away. I'll continue to check in here.
Thanks guys! Now we just need to set the cacti on fire! (please nobody set the cacti on fire)
Martika picks herself up and pulls Khalit up with her. "Sorry little brother!" she says with a self-mocking smile. "Only one way to proceed, but maybe I'll at least clear a path for you." She draws her scimitar and charges through the cacti, cutting and shoving them aside as needed. She makes her best effort to protect herself with her armour and shield, but the needles slide between scales and joints, and find the flesh beneath. Because sometimes you need to use the other way of getting through a crowd...
Hmmm... Perhaps I should have read this thread before posting in the other one! Well, as they say, Fortune favours the bold!
"It sounds like a child to me, but in either case we should investigate!" Says Martika as she carefully slides forward through the cacti. Not much different from moving through a crowded market full of potential pick-pockets and cut-throats
Martika watches their new guide in continued uncharacteristic silence. Many things about this situation did not add up in her mind, and she feared that this might be a wild goose chase. She certainly accepted that these pugwampis could be a danger to the caravan, and it was certainly suspicious timing that they had evidently stolen a goat at the time of the fire... but the fire seemed like to big a risk and too dangerous a distraction for the simple task of stealing a goat. She imagined a street urchin setting fire to a market stall to steal a loaf of bread. It was so... reckless. And too likely to draw retribution. Did the fortune teller really burn down his own wagon? It seemed unlikely one so experienced with candles would be so careless with them. Another thought occurred to her. The man used cards to read the future, but there were the remains of a cracked crystal ball at the centre of the fire. That bore further investigation in the morning. As for Dashki, she did not trust him, as her companions seemed to. She doubted he would murder a "rival" through Arson, or even that he would view Eloias as a rival in any real sense. He probably felt only disgust for the old scholar, judging by his behaviour. Still, a man who feared to talk to a woman he claimed to love, and instead skulked around watching her in secrecy... it was pathetic, and cowardly, and it showed he was not trustworthy. Still, he was probably not the murderer, and how important could this goat be? Martika elbowed Khalit and whispered [b]"We are getting distracted here. I am anxious to return to the camp. What is he doing now, anyways?"|b]
Finally, I am back! I'm going to dedicate the next chunk of my day to reading what happened while I was not available so I can catch up. I really apologize for missing so much! And again, I'm posting as Martika to create a marker for myself. EDIT: Weird aside, the last few days I've run into the names Khalid and Khalit in real life at least a half-dozen times, probably more. I had never heard the name before.
You are correct. I had reversed in my mind the penalty levels for having only TWF and for having a light off-hand weapon. I doubt I'll be doing any TWF until I get a little better at it! And, I'm really enjoying the game, and I like how you are using the DM alias to manage information, and including the pictures and everything. Your representation of the npcs is very engaging! Good Work! I never really thought about it before, but PbP has a real advantage for adventures that allow the PCs to follow multiple leads simultaneously.
Martika approaches the injured guards. "I judge by your injuries that you two were closes to the fire. I admire your courage. While I am sure you'd like to rest, I need you to tell me what you saw, where you were, and who else was nearby. And unfortunately I need to ask you these things now, while it is clear in your mind." Her smile is conciliatory and apologetic, but she looks each guard in the eyes in a manner that conveys her simple expectation that they will comply. "But first, of course, introductions. I am Martika Al-Raedoth. What are your names?"
I saw Erik's post in the recruiting thread. I hope he continues to look in on the game. Kinda cool. I'm also using this as a marker post, which is why I'm posting as Martika.
Martika looks over at the others, shaking her head slightly at her brother's faux pas. Seeing little value in commenting further upon it, she instead responds to ALmah. "We came here on a mission of justice, and arrived at the precise moment to witness a fire and a possible murder, and as you have said, to be the only witnesses above suspicion. Sarenrae has set us upon this path. We will go where it takes us. The signs are clear. We accept your request." Martika looks around for a few moments, and then gestures towards the two injured travelers. "I would guess that these two were closest to to the wagon, or likely inside it, when the fire started. We should speak to them first. Also, if you have a list of names of those traveling with you, it would be helpful. Otherwise, we should construct our own." Looking to her companions, she asks "Does anyone have any other ideas? Did any of you notice anything unusual?"
Martika carefully shakes out her now-singed cloak and spreads it out to dry. Stepping carefully through the burnt wreckage, she says a short blessing over the remains of the fortune-teller. As she does so, she looks for signs of anything unusual that might indicate how or why the fire started, or any other clues that may have survived the flames. In addition, she reaches out to Sarenrae, and allows the goddess to look out through her eyes and reveal if any fiendish force was responsible for the blaze.
Martika looks hastily for a large blanket or other piece of cloth, using her own cloak if necessary. Rushing to the water barrel she soaks the cloth, and then charges towards the fire and tries to beat out the flames. The glow of the fire lights her face as she stands closer to the flames than most would find comfortable, Although some might read her expression as grimacing against the heat, others might see an almost ecstatic glee as she faces the blaze.
Martika lowers her sand-veil and smiles at Khalit. "Soon we will have the answers we seek. Or at least more information. Sarenrae will guide us to Haleen. If someone has harmed her, we will bring them to justice." With that she rides on, carefully positioning herself slightly ahead and to one side of Khalit, where she can keep a protective eye on him.
Hi all, sorry I've been quiet. I've updated my character, and I think I'm done (although of course there will be evolution in play). Rambler, let me know if the bit about Nethys doesn't work for you. I tried to keep it my perception/justification for your character's nature in light of my own beliefs. Looking forward to the game!
So here are my stats. I have my background more or less worked out, but not on the profile yet. I'm kind of torn about the build. As always, there are too many things I want to do at once! I wanted to at least get the stats up so people can look at them! |