I sent him a PM about it... I am not sure if he will see it or not, or if he is just too busy to keep all of his games in the air right now (happens to the best of us). At any rate, if this is the end it was fun playing with you guys.
Search Posts
The halfling looks equally perplexed. "Pun? Oh. I see. No, sorry, not that funny. At least not on purpose." Pash gives Yalyaane a quick smile before turning back toward the dreary woods they are passing by.
Pash shrugs. "Takes all kinds of gifts. Keep an eye out... no telling what else the gods will send our way."
Pash just shrugs at the sense of dread among his fellow travelers. What, were they expecting this trip to be easy? Caravans have been having issues on this road for a bit now... though I guess I was expecting more bandits and less extrapowerful creatures. Keeping his thoughts to himself, the rogue focuses more on the things outside the caravan, instead of within it.
Back. Most things have reached a positive conclusion, I appreciate your patience. Posted in game.
Pash looks back as it is clear that the others have not caught up yet. What is taking so long? Rushing forward to Dugal, he clears his throat to get the dwarf's attention. "Boss. Might want to slow down a bit. The others were checking to see if there were more of them. I might be somewhat capable with this crossbow, but I ain't gonna be able to defend the whole caravan by my lonesome if bandits decide to take advantage of the confusion."
Posting in all games (again). Thank you for all the prayers, thoughts, wishes, and good vibes. Things are... improving... between me and my wife. (Not through the woods yet, but I have a lot more hope that we will get through than when I posted last.) I am not quite ready to catch up and post again, but I am hopeful that I can be soonish. I will keep you posted as I can. Again, thank you for your understanding and patience.
Hey, posting this in all my games... I am going to need to take a hiatus for a while. Marital problems of the serious variety (ie: probably headed toward divorce) are consuming most of my time. I will try to check back in once things have stabilized, but I really don't have a timetable for that. I am deeply sorry.
Pash reloads his crossbow and nods at the druid. "Thank you for taking me seriously." Without further pretense, the halfling jogs back into position around the caravan, keeping his eyes open for any other threats.
Pash sighs, then takes aim and fires at the creature from the shadows.
Pash just creeps along the far side of the path with the wagons, trying to remain stealthy while at the same time not losing sight of the ... bear creature... or being left behind by the caravan.
Pash keeps low to the ground, keeping the creature in his crossbow's cross hairs. I'll give the druid a chance. No sense in just making it angry and letting it know where I am... but need to be ready if I need to be.
Pash just attempts to hide from view of the creature, so that he can (hopefully) get in an undetected shot should it prove more hostile than scared. Staying low, he moves toward the bushes at the opposite edge of the path.
Pash takes a breath, keeping his crossbow trained on the bear. Huh... just a bear. Or is it a werebear... or a dragon bear.... or... As he hears Ercio, his flight of fancy comes back to the situation before him. He nods wordlessly and starts backing up toward the others, motioning them to stay where they are.
Oh no... a weredragon! Pash waves frantically at Dugal and the others, putting a finger to his lips and then gesturing them to come over quietly. When they get to him he whispers, "Something up ahead was sleeping. Think you calling for the caravan to move might have woke it." He points to the bush he heard the sound from. "No idea what... not sure I want it to catch us off guard though after that worg."
Pash just looks at the wagon and shrugs. "Not much for pushing things that much bigger'n me. How about I keep watch around us instead... time like this would be too perfect for less savory types to try and make off with something." So saying, Pash crosses the small river to the best of his ability and takes up a spotter's position somewhere he can keep an eye on the wagons and their occupants.
Pash nods, breathing a sigh. "Good... what about werewolves?"
Pash shakes his head. "Game might be still in the forest, but that does not mean that worse things might not be. Can't remember all of my dream, but I saw all kinds of reasons for why the game might be eaten." He turns to Ercio and asks, "Say... this isn't dragon country, is it?" As they walk Pash seems a bit more jumpy than he has been the past few days, constantly looking around and gripping his crossbow tightly.
That being said, his jumping at every creaking branch or whistling of the wind makes him a bit less attentive to things he should be looking out for.
Pash shrugs and nods at Ercio's reasons. "I must just not have the brains big enough to understand that. The principle seems sound enough normally... but in the case of something fast enough and willing enough to attack a large group of humanoids... it just seems like you would be inviting something to keep hunting you tomorrow if you left it alive today. Perhaps that is just fluff brained thinking though."
Pash cannot help but think that somewhere, out in the forest, something must be watching them in the wet drizzle. Be it animal or otherwise, Pash just cannot shake the feeling as he walks throughout the day. That evening, the halfling sets up his tent once more, it doing little more than keeping the rain off of him as he eats his rations and sleeps on the drenched ground. He passes his shift on watch huddled close to the wagons, crossbow in hand.
Pash takes the time to try and shake his tent clear of the water. Satisfied that it is as dry as it can be, he rolls it up and packs it. Taking up position again with his crossbow at the ready, Pash smiles to his companions and says, "Well, at least it is nicer out today. Still, I expect we will find ourselves muddy after today's journey. No getting around that though. Shall we be on our way?"
Pash grows quiet and shrugs. "Elsewhere. Haven't seen them in years. Best that way." A brief somber look crosses his face before it is again replaced with a smile. "What about you?" As Dugal speaks, Pash just nods vigorously. "Barring any more sneaky worgs, we should be able to keep casualties down at least. Just keep us informed if you know trouble is a brewing, kind employer, so that we can better protect you and yours."
Being cold and wet, however, does seem to impact his ability to see much of anything. Pash grips his crossbow a bit tighter in subconscious response.
Posting in all my games. Last few days have had some personal issues that I have had to deal with. Hope to be able to catch up and post sometime tomorrow. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Pash looks up at the druid human with some curiosity. "Depends on what is needed, I suppose. And comes as a side effect of being overly cautious after a life of accusations and intrigue, so to speak. Besides, not like I am used to the big folk taking much interest in me. Which is fine, I may not be a halfling of much brains, but I am a halfling of enough brains to know when not to draw undo attention." He gives the man a once over, then gestures to for him to sit down if he wants. "Then, I imagine you have to be somewhat alone to volunteer to defend an expedition like this. Not like we will be having any comfy inns or family friends to spend time with for a spell. Or am I wrong? I do enjoy a good visit with friends, after all." He smiles and nods as if that should somehow need explaining.
Once again, upon setting up camp for the night Pash becomes a chatterbox, letting everyone who will listen know about the excitement of shooting the worg earlier, how they should all count their blessings for not being eaten by the worg, and how the woods really should have signs along the way indicating the presence of worgs. Once again he sets up his tent a bit away from the caravan itself but close enough to keep an eye on it, breaking into yet another ration and eating the nuts, meats, dried berries, and various side dippings (like honey) that he has.
My schedule is getting whacky... but beyond that, no impact yet.
As they walk, Pash listens to his fellow guards discussion on the virtues of eating wolf meat with one ear, using the other ear and his eyes to pay attention to their surroundings. As the previous day, while walking the halfling seems uninterested in making small talk with anyone, giving at most one word answers to questions. Feeling he is called upon to give his input, however, Pash just shrugs and gives a noncommittal "Eedenaugh," before continuing onward.
As the wolf dies, Pash shrugs. "Well. That is that, then." Lowering his crossbow, he heads back to the caravan and takes up his position where he was prior to the attack.
"I suppose we should probably be moving on soon. No sense in sitting here waiting for more trouble to find us. Or us to find it. Or its cousins and relations."
Pash shakes his head in agreement. "Yes, voting is fun. If the man had family, I think they deserve a vote as well, being the ones most deeply wronged by it and all." He looks at Ercio and raises an eyebrow. "Unless, of course, you have some way of bringing him back. Preferably in a less mangled state. I don't think anyone would thank you if you just forced him to try to go on living like that, after all. Oh, and we should probably have our employer get a vote too. Seems only fair given he is paying our bill. Not sure he is paying for funeral costs though." The halfling tilts his head to the side as if he is trying to remember something. "Oh, right. I vote to kill it. Preferably swiftly so that it doesn't have a chance to make anyone else into a snack. Possibly with the option of skinning it and turning it into a coat. Waste not, want not, after all. Not that I have much skill with such things." Pash nods to himself and falls silent, waiting to see what the others say.
Pash shakes his head. "And what about when we come back? Or the next caravan that comes through here? How are we to know that the next attack it won't bring friends, assuming that it has any to bring? That thing killed that man before he was even aware that he was dead... what are you going to tell whomever cared about him, that you thought the beast was 'too pretty to punish' or that he was 'just misunderstood' or some such?"
Pash just shakes his head. "Surely, would it not be safer to study it after we kill it? I mean, it has killed already, after all. I haven't seen any cages to keep it safely like a pet, nor muzzles to keep it from lashing out." The halfling nods and keeps his crossbow pointed at the creature, ready to shoot at the first sign of it stirring.
"Is it dead?" Pash asks those closer as he reloads his crossbow once more. "It looks dead from here. And I think I would rather stay this far from it, all things being equal. Which they rarely are, but that isn't the expression."
@GM:
Taking a new bolt from the quiver, Pash reloads his crossbow and takes aim once more.
Trying not to hit his fellow guardsman's pet, however, causes the rogue's bolt to go sailing above every one and every things heads into the forest beyond. "Well, not going to be finding that one again. Watch out, those teeth look sharp." It is not clear if the halfling is talking to himself or the others...
Pash takes careful aim and looses a bolt at the creature, watching with some satisfaction as it embeds itself into its hide. "Well, time to earn our pay I suppose."
True, but I also would like to know what his (her?) preference is, even if it is the opposite of what I would prefer.
Personal preference would be to go through them, though perhaps a bit quicker. Otherwise we will always know (at least out of character) that something is about to happen, and that kinda ruins the surprise. Maybe hand-waive a bit if we have several days in a row of nothing happening, just to keep things moving. My two cents on the matter. Will abide by whichever route you pick though.
Pash, having been on the left side but toward the back, barely saw the man disappear before him. Great. Invisible humans. The thought proves errant, however, as he soon hears the screams. The halfling immediately crouches down and starts tracking the woods with his hand crossbow. "Something caused someone to disappear. Anyone got eyes on it?" Perhaps I can get a clean shot on it if it doesn't see that I am there. So thinking, Pash keeps low to the ground, hoping that the larger folks might prove to be a more visible (or appetizing) target.
Pash, strangely enough, is silent on the trip once they start off once more, giving one word answers at most to questions... and sometime only grunts. This seeming embargo on speech ends once the caravan stops for the day. Pulling out his tent, the halfling begins to set it up with care slightly away from everyone else. Once set up, he lays out his bedroll and blanket, stowing the pack within it and pulling out the rest of his ration for the day he sits around with his fellow guards, munching away on bread, nuts, dried fruits, honey, and sausages. "I'm not a hafling that can see well in the dark. Well, any better than an average halfling or human I mean. Not like I can't see if the moon is out or if we have a fire or some other source of light." As he listens to the intricate calls from Ercio, he nods away enthusiastically, bits of his meal occasionally dribbling down his chin from the motion. "Those are some fancy sounds. Yes, very pretty sounding. That said, I haven't always the sense to listen to sounds like those. Even if I did hear one, I might sit and just listen to it for its beauty. Not a good idea if you are trying to warn me of danger or get my attention, sadly. Perhaps it would be wiser just to say so in a low tone. Or perhaps in gnomish... gnomish is a fun language, and I would understand without others necessarily being able to." Pash nods, as if this somehow settled something, and then sits next to his tent. "I will take first watch. I may not be sighted for darkness, but I am hard to see in the dark. I might get the drop on our friend if he tries something." So saying, Pash sits lower to the ground, almost blending into it.
Pash just cocks his head to one side. "Angrily? As in he was not happy with the person or the person was not happy with him? Was the other voice male or female sounding? Did you get a look at their size or just hear their voice? And besides, why would he deliberately hire guards only to try to rob the thing? Wouldn't it be easier just to say to his caravaneers that 'we don't need them' or 'we can't afford them, travel at your own risk', or even 'these dwarven muscles be all th' protecten' ye need' than to risk accidentally hiring someone to thwart a robbery he was in on?" Pash takes a breath, and adds, "Or better yet, wouldn't it have made sense to bring at least one of us in on it in that case, so as to have an inside man?" Pash nods as if that made the most sense... then after a moment thinks to add, "No, for the record I am not aware of any such plan. If one of us is 'in on it' it is not me. Promise." Satisfied that this should be acceptable enough, he nods again.
The halfling rogue smiles as he walks up to his fellow guardians, waving his free hand as he does. "Hallo all. Did you know we have a dead guy in our caravan? At least, that is what the big'uns attending to the second wagon told me. How odd is that, eh? Paying to have your body moved cities after you pass."
His smile wanes a bit as he sees the serious expressions on Adir and Mezdav's faces. "What? Is it somehow taboo to speak of such things? If so, why did the... I guess they would be priests or ministers, speak so freely of them to me? Do you have to have some sort of calling from a deity for it not to be taboo?"
Pash nods at the acolyte, though it is clear he is slightly confused. Why would someone waste their gold to have their corpse transitioned to another city... are there not clerics of Pharasma and Boneyards a plenty in Mara? He sighs. Rich people. Making problems for the rest of us even after their 'untimely' demises. His mental thoughts are interrupted by the call of Dugal to get ready to move out once more. "Well, that is my cue to start walking in a more vigilant and protective manner. May the road be a pleasant one to drive." With a nod, he walks back toward the others to take up his position in the detail.
Pash makes no move to go around the acolyte, though he does peek around his legs to get a better look. "No need to worry about that, friend. Creepy and potentially cursing items bear no interest to halflings with brains. Now those that have fluff in their heads are another story, and you had best make sure that you stand in between them and it for their own protection, mind you. But for those with brains we know not to invite Very Bad Things upon our heads." The rogue nods to himself as if this should explain everything, finishing up his snack as he does. "So what is so important as not to be disturbed, yet not so important as to be further back in the caravan? After all, anyone knows that you put the valuables in places harder to make off with. Hence all the valuables being dead center. Makes it so that bandits have to clear off multiple wagons and whatnot to steal easily, eh? Including your whatsits there, iff'en they want to go through the front instead of the back. Which might be easier, as those jugglers look like they mean business, if you know what I am saying." He smiles at the acolyte as he takes out his crossbow once more now that his snack is done, pointing it away from the man and his caravan.
As he continues to eat a small snack from his days rations, Pash walks over toward the second cart with all the strange imagery on it.
"What is all of this for? If it is designed to ward off trouble by being... well, kinda creepy to be honest," the halfling shrugs at the driver in a way to imply that he means no offense by that, "then I would say that Dugal wasted his gold in hiring us, I would say. But then, some things do not believe in curses or creepiness. And some things are already creepy or cursed, so what is a bit more on top of it? So perhaps our being here is a good thing anyway."
At the stop, Pash takes a look around their surroundings after stretching a bit.
"Thank goodness. That was a rather long walk so far. 'tis time for a bit of a snack if you ask me." Dipping into one of his rations, he takes a bit of the easier to eat dried food and munches quietly.
Pash just grins. "I find that talking makes people aware that I am there. This reduces the chances of them stepping on me or kicking me by accident. It does, however, sometimes increase the odds of them doing it deliberately... but that is a risk I am ok with. At least then I know where I stand with them, and what I should be standing on when around them. And who might have a good set of legs that might be useful for later if I need to get a more aerial view of my surroundings from such a swift punt. And.... I am doing it again, aren't I? I am sorry, too much coffee with breakfast. Or perhaps not enough."
Pash quietly approaches, looking around as he does. There may be many leagues of miles (and, at this point, a decades worth of years) between him and his past, but the caution never quite went away. Well, I suppose if it does I will soon find myself in a noose watching my legs twitch for the amusement of the big 'uns, he mentally amends. Presenting the dwarf with the flier, he smiles in what he hopes to be a disarming and innocent way. "Hello there. I hope I am not too late, my breakfast went a little long today. You are the one requesting an escort to Grayhaven, yes?" He sticks out his hand. "The name is Pash. Some friends of mine thought it would be a good idea if I came along to ensure your shipment made it to its destination. They might have mentioned I was coming, hence my not hurrying. I apologize if that throws off your schedule. Still, I should be close to being ready to set off now... though I might want to go grab some provisions if you are not sharing. I have some, mind you, but you can never have too many on a long trip." The halfling looks like he is about to continue on about the virtues of being prepared when he catches the look of those around him. "Ah, sorry, sorry. Force of habit. Talking a lot. Won't happen again. Unless it does." |