Martino arrived at the hideout after lunch, with a fragrant package under his arm. "Sweet rolls here, get them while they're hot!" he called, with the ease of long practice.
Search Posts
Mimazaran, I hope your new medication helps.
"Thank you, Tanrov. Now I need to get home. My parents would worry if I weren't there in the morning," Martino said. "I'm scheduled to work tomorrow, but I can try to get out early if we need to bring the head to the market." With that, Martino headed home to catch a few hours of sleep before starting work.
"I've picked up a scratch that could use healing, Tanrov," Martino said.
Martino turned and approached Larko, then drew and fired an arrow at one of the goblins.
Martino drew and fired on the goblin directly in front of him.
Martino drew another arrow and fired at the goblin standing beside the staircase.
Yes, I did get tied up IRL. Sorry. I'm back, though.
Martino moved forward and fired an arrow at the goblin facing Tanrov.
Martino emerged from behind the boulder, and began approaching the stairs.
Martino drew his bow, and crept into the shadow of a nearby boulder. He peered in the direction Rurik pointed, trying to spot whatever had drawn Rurik's attention.
I'm still around. Updating now.
"All right, let's go," Martino whispered.
Martino is staring around the bar, wondering whether a brawl will break out.
"My Mom would tan my hide for setting foot in that place. Let's go!"
"Talking with people in the market and trying to follow the marks we saw in the sewers both seem like good ideas to me," Martino said. "We could do both."
"I learned something, too," Martino says. "Although we often see them working together, the Dottari and the Order of the Rack might not be the best of friends." He describes the conversation he overheard in the bakery. Martino doesn't mention that he was caught listening, and he tries to suppress the blush rising on his face. "Anyway," he continues, "taking on a goblin king sounds good to me."
Maybe DM Dickie's life got hectic for a couple of days. Hopefully we'll be back on track soon.
Sounds good, and Scripa works well enough. A lot of blue-collar business and a lot of cops and soldiers. That sounds good.
Oops. It looks like Profession rolls are usually one per week, not one per day. I'd be fine with using my median roll (12) as the result for this week, and prorating it for 3 days instead of 5. For this week, I'll take the cash instead of earning downtime capital.
Two things I've had on my mind and to-do list for a while that I keep forgetting to address are the question regarding seasons/calendar/timekeeping and Martino's Favored Community. Well, I havent' gotten through enough re-reading to deal with the seasons question quite yet, but I did review where the AP predicts maximum level (should be about 13-15, depending on side-quests and the like). So because of that, I'm thinking that it would be best to apply that ability to the Paregos. So up to you how you'd like to proceed on that. Thanks for the update. For the moment, I plan to take Parego Spera as my first Favored Community (at third level). Does Rego Scripa seem like a good place for the Barzelli family bakery?
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," Martino said, with a look of genuine embarrassment and feigned contrition. Internally, he reveled in the knowledge that their rescue had been noticed. Perhaps it might be possible to drive a wedge between the Dottari and the Order of the Rack. He resolved to bring up the idea at a future meeting with Penumbra and the group.
Over the next couple of days, Martino casually eavesdrops on conversations in the bakery to find out whether anyone is talking about Arael's rescue.
"A name, eh? Let's see what we can come up with over the next few days, and compare ideas when we meet up again."
With the consensus running against taking a prisoner, Martino decided to skip tying Shanwen up. It would be fitting to leave him shackled in his own prisoner transport wagon, instead.
"Mathalen, are we interested in a prisoner of our own?" Martino asked, pointing at the unconscious Shanwen.
Martino flipped up the collar of his armored coat in an attempt to obscure his face, then emerged from the bushes. He removed a coil of silk rope from his backpack, and prepared to tie up the unconscious Signifer Shanwen.
When he saw the armiger on the cart draw a sword, Matino shrugged, muttered "I tried" to himself, and fired again.
Belatedly recalling Penumbra's request to avoid unnecessary deaths, Martino called out: "Step away from the arbalest. You've already lost the fight; you don't have to lose your life." He murmured a quick prayer of thanks to Milani when his voice remained level. This would have been a terrible time for it to crack.
Seeing that Shanwen is out of the fight, Martino shifts his aim and fires on the armiger attacking Cato.
The first arrow that hit the cleric kinda set the theme for me.
Still holding to the cover of the bushes, Martino crept a few feet closer to Shanwen and fired again.
No wonder it seemed odd!
Impressed (and more than a little intimidated) by Shanwen's fortitude, Martino drew another arrow and fired again.
Edit:
Tanrov, Rurik, and Martino may not act in a normal round. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with this rule. What determines who can act in both the surprise round and the first round of regular combat, and who gives up their first round of regular combat by acting in the surprise round?
When the dancing lights appeared in front of the horses, Martino fired at Shanwen.
Edit:
Edit 2:
Martino drew a deep breath to steady his nerves as he aimed his bow at the Signifer. Here we go, he thought. From now on, we're not just running from trouble. We're fighting back! The myriad injustices of daily life in Westcrown flashed through Martino's mind as he sighted down an arrow at the Signifer's chest. As he held the taut bowstring, he suspected that every second until he loosed the arrow would be burned into his memory forever.
I'll also delay firing until they reach the bridge.
Are there raised sides on the bridge? Would an unmounted, crouching human have partial or full cover vs. arrows fired from Martino's position?
That sounds reasonable. I won't worry too much about it for now.
Does the calendar have a strong bearing on this campaign? Kingmaker takes place in the far North, and often extends through several cold winters and mild summers. Skull & Shackles, on the other hand, is set near the Equator, where the passing of the seasons is barely noticeable. How carefully should we maintain the calendar in this campaign?
"Yes, I have some experience with locks. When she first caught me sneaking out at night, my mother tried to lock me in my room after dinner. Now she just sighs and gives me a martyred look when I come home near dawn," Martino explained with a grin. His face clouding, Martino continued: "I don't want to hurt the horses, but I've seen a kick from a war-trained Dottari horse break a man's leg. If one of you is in danger, I'll shoot man or beast to keep you safe."
"My specialty is the bow," Martino explained when Cato approached him. "I've practiced at firing into crowded spaces, so I'll be able to provide covering fire when some of us are fighting hand to hand. For things that aren't easily harmed by arrows, like the skeletons we fought yesterday, I also carry a morningstar." In reply to Garidan, he said "Mimazaran might be able to hide under the bridge itself until the carriage stops. If the rest of us are spotted too soon, he could still give the patrollers an unpleasant surprise."
|