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Hey all, hope you're getting ready for a great Christmas with your family and friends. I wanted to give y'all a heads up that I won't be able to post for a couple of weeks due to work and Holiday stuff going on. Bot me if needed.
"You said Maksim's father sends him to Hog Brook to look for truffles? I think you are right and that is the best place to start looking. Hopefully we find him unharmed and soon."
"I-if we help find this boy, Maksim, will you help us find Jenneleth," Ping asks.
Ping looks up at Mos, uncertain what to make of his show of support. It seems the past few days have well and truly shaken her and her world.
Ping hesitates, remembering what happened at the crossing, but after a moment, she sighs and steps beside Ulfbrecht. "She is. Taken by a demon in the middle of the night on her way home yestereve, as near as we can tell. She--" The words catch in Ping's through as she realizes what she is about to say. A friend? I barely know her, but--but I did trust her. That's as close to a friend as I seem to have. "She is a friend," Ping says softly after her hesitation, sounding almost scared by the words coming from her mouth. "She is a dear friend and I want to see her safely back to her home."
Hearing the ranger's name and his purpose does help Ping relax somewhat, but she still keeps close to Ulf as she reveals herself. "I fear we have not," she says. "Though given that we also didn't find him in these things' bellies, perhaps that is a good thing."
Before Ping can say anything to Ulf, she hears the apparent woodsman call out and tries to unobtrusively put the dwarven priest between herself and the large new comer. I don't trust this. Not at all!
Ping quickly kills the other two frogs before looking over to the others. "I-Is that it?"
Ping rushes up to the closest frog and slits its throat. All the while, she prays to whatever gods may listen to her that there's not more of the huge amphibians waiting to pounce.
Ping gulps down some air as her hands start to shake. She puts the marbles back in her pouch and reaches for her dagger.
Color Spray:
A rainbow cone springs forth from the caster’s hand, causing nearby creatures to fall asleep. The spell can affect a number of creatures equal to 1d4 plus the caster’s level. The cone is 5 feet wide and 25 feet long. The closest creatures in the cone are affected first. The result of the spell depends upon the HD of the targeted creatures. Creatures of 2 HD or less are struck unconscious for 2d4 rounds; creatures of 3 to 4 HD are blinded for 1d4 rounds; and creatures of 5 HD or greater are stunned for one round. Creatures of the same level or HD as the caster, and all creatures with 5 HD or greater may make a wisdom saving throw to shake off the color spray. Sightless creatures are not affected by color spray. The material components of this spell are small colored objects.
Ping fumbles at her pouch before pulling out several small, brightly colored marbles. She holds them between her fingers as she frantically chants and points her palms at the three closest frogs. "Պրիզմայի միջով լույսի ներքո համտեսեք ծիածանը: Թեքերը վերցնում են ձեր գուլպաները:"
No worries. Take your time my dude.
Ping keeps to the back of the group, staying by the mule and the horse. Being about the right size to be easily swallowed whole, she has no desire to get any closer to the frogs than she has to.
"Maybe we should see Kuiper, first. A guide could save us more time than it takes to secure his services," Ping says.
No worries, UDM. More than willing to let you catch your breath before the next plunge. ;)
Still here. I think we're ready to go after whatever stole Jenneleth away.
The GM's back from dealing with work. He'll probably be posting soon.
Ping relaxes some as it appears that she isn't about to be lynched. She holds her tongue, waiting for their answer to Ulf's questions.
Ping looks from the mob to Auld Grizzler, wanting nothing more than to hide somewhere, but the old dwarf had told them where to start looking. It would be a poor repayment indeed to let him be killed by misdirected outrage. She puts a hand on his arm, hoping that with Ulf's words that would calm him. "Not even three days have passed since we saw the bones of dead goblins rise, shedding their flesh like winter clothing. I wouldn't be so quick to judge what the Pickmaster here has sad as nothing more than the fruit of his cups," Ping says, silently wondering why she is sticking her neck out for someone she's just met. "We have a path to follow, and the trail grows old. Will it grow older while we argue over the fate of the one who has given us a place to start looking for your daughter," she asks Haldelar while hoping that none can guess that her heart is fluttering madly in her chest or how hard it is for her to keep her knees steady as she faces down the much bigger folk gathered to Haldelar's side.
Ping makes note of the name Ahlaksiz and of the mention of the Gleaming Glade. "I fear Spiro is right. We need to make haste. I just hope we're not too late to save Lady Jenneleth," the little gnome says, quietly amazed at what she's saying. Since when did she care about anyone else besides herself or her father?
"Um, isn't our lead that way," Ping asks as she points in the same direction that Auld Grizzler pointed.
Ping shakes her head, while no scholar, one doesn't study the arcane without learning a thing or two about demons. "I fear you're not. It makes too much sense with what Ulf has found," she says. She rubs her arms as she looks off in the direction Auld Grizzler pointed. "I know enough about demons to know they are real, and I've seen madmen before. They don't question their sanity."
My mother passed yesterday... so I'll be AFK the rest of the week. Thoughts and prayers with you and yours. I know losing close family is never easy.
Ping pales as she learns what Auld Grizzler truly saw last night. "I thought the goblin skeletons were bad," she says quietly as she watches the old dwarf with eyes as wide and round as saucers. "That's a lot worse! Which way did they go? That may be our only hope of tracking them and finding out Lady Jenneleth's fate."
Hearing the old dwarf's insistence that they wouldn't believe him and Ulf's description of the tracks, Ping's mind puts the clues together. "Someone came up to her and they both just vanished. Poof! Didn't they," she blurts out as things click into place.
I am. :)
After Ping finishes getting ready, she looks about fretfully for a moment before scurrying off after Ulf. The young gnomish woman is no tracker, but she does understand the dwarven tongue and grows curious at Auld Grizzler's hints of something queer happening in the night. She wonders if perhaps Ulf saw something that makes him more apt to believe in far-fetched tales that she did not have the skill to discern and tugs on his sleeve to get his attention before whispering her question to him. Ulf: "What did you see where you found Lady Jenneleth's locket?"
Woo! Just in time to catch up. :D
Ah man, I hope everything turns out well. I'll be praying for you and yours, Spiro.
Oof, sounds like we're both busy with projects. Also, hello! I'm still alive! I've got some good news on the job front, I'll be starting a new job that is much closer to home on July 14th, so hopefully I'll be back and updating soon after that. Thank you for your patience while I've been going through this transition. Looking forward to getting back to playing Ping soon!
Hey all, I wanted to apologize for being absent the past few days. I've been working on getting some things done around the house that have been sitting around not getting done, and that's been eating into my free time and energy. The bad news is that this is probably going to be the state of things for a little while, especially since there may be some changes coming up that will require a lot more focus and energy from me for a little while. That said, I'll do my best to catch up and be as active as I can. All I ask is that y'all be patient with me. - Adam
Last Night:
Ping listens to what Ulfbrecht has to say. It's clear that he's given her some food for thought, even if it is also clear that she's having trouble chewing through it. After a minute or so, she follows the dwarf back inside.
What is wrong with me?! The question echoes again and again in her mind as she goes back upstairs and prepares for the day.
Ping takes a moment to calm her racing heart after being woken up by the commotion downstairs. Once she's sure it won't be hammering her ribcage apart, she slips downstairs to see what is the matter, only to have her heart stop when Barthelew relays what's happening. She hesitates, being far too small and weak to help if it comes to a physical altercation, but she knows Andren is innocent. She saw Jenneleth leave shortly after returning with Ulfbrecht. Still, she sees the anger on Haldelar's face and quails. She can't do this. She's too small, too weak, and too frightened to do this. But Jenneleth is in trouble! If she didn't return home last night someone grabbed her, and every minute we waste, is one less minute she has. Hardly believing her own actions, Ping rushes down the stairs to tug on the hem of Haledar's shirt. "Please! Stop! If Lady Jenneleth didn't return to your home last night, then she went missing between here and there. I saw her leave, and I don't drink enough to muddle my wits," she says, praying that she can get Jenneleth's father to see reason.
Ping looks away as Ulfbrecht promises her that he'd protect her from Gulven or Prentyss should they come after her. It's unlike what she had been taught by her father. Others would trick her and use her, her father had told her, but when Mos, Hunidark, Jenneleth, and Spiro had learned of her plight, they'd more or less taken her side and promised to help her however they could. Looking back, she could remember dozens of times that her father had told her to not believe her own eyes and ears, and she'd wondered for a time if she weren't going mad. Since his death, however, she could only trust what she could hear and see, and that painted a very different picture. Still... "Trust--trust doesn't come easily for me. My father told me that everyone else would try to trick me and use me for their own ends. Mos thinks he did that to protect me, but I--I'm not so sure," she admits, the last four words coming out reluctantly, as if saying them will lead her down a path she could not turn from once they were spoken, and it is a path she is none-too-sure that she wants to head down. Still, it was out there, and while she is starting to accept that she likes Mos, she's still not sure how much she should trust him. Ulfbrecht, however, didn't seem the type to mince words, and maybe that is what she needs now, someone that will tell her the truth, no matter how ugly it may be.
Ping nods, grateful that at least she'd be able to speak away from the ears of potential eavesdroppers. Outside: Despite the lack of anyone around to overhear and speaking in fluent Dwarven, Ping keeps her voice low as she talks. "I suppose that's an apt way of putting things," Ping says with a wry chuckle. "An orc-blooded man, Gulven Malidont, is looking for me. My father owed him a lot of coin, and when he died, Gulven sent his men looking for me. I've been running ever since because he is the type that would sell someone into slavery, and I've seen the people he deals with." She shivers at the memories and wonders what her father was doing to get mixed up with someone like Gulven or his fellows. "One of them is one of the ones you're after, I think. The pretty woman with a broken nose? Her name is Prentyss, and--and if your niece is in her hands, she might wish she was dead, if she isn't already," Ping says quietly. Shadows of things seen in the past haunt her eyes as she looks away and rubs her arms to ward off a chill that has little to do with the weather. "I just hope my father was wrong about trusting others," she mutters under her breath in gnomish as she shivers.
The color drains from Ping's face as Ulf somehow guesses that she's running. She hides behind her mug of ale, hoping to buy time for her to think and come up with something to say, but she can't think of any lies or at least any that would be believed. She sets down her mug after pulling a long drought from it and stares into it. "It has been a trying couple of days," she mutters before looking up at Ulfbrecht. She tries to tell herself she should be cautious, that she shouldn't trust this dwarf, but she can't. No matter how hard she tries, she can't see him as anything other than the concerned and kindly uncle he named himself as. "Most of the others know bits and pieces, Mos knows the most. I would rather speak of it away from where others might take an interest," she tells the dwarf before switching to the common tongue and speaking at a more normal tone. "I think I need some fresh air, Master Ulfbrecht. Would you mind joining me," she asks.
Hey Ulf, I'll get a post up tomorrow I need to double-check a few things, and I'm too tired to get it done tonight.
At the mention of a shopping trip, Ping blushes, turning her face bright scarlet. I bought far too many clothes, but I'm not about to tell them that!
After Ulf makes his order, Ping tugs on his sleeve. "Um, y-you aren't the kind of person that draws a lot of attention, right?"
Ping shrinks down even farther into her chair as it appears that their table has become the center of attention. Is it too much to ask to be able to eat in peace. Maybe coming to a small town as myself was a mistake. I think we stick out more here than we would in a city.
Ping sinks lower and lower into her chair as Eireachdail sings of the virtues of eel. By the time his last refrain rings out in the large room, the only thing that the others can see over the table is the crown of fiery-haired head. I wonder if there's a spell that can make people not notice me, not that it'd work with Eireachdail belting out songs at the top of his lungs!
Ping blushes furious when asked how her shopping trip went. "I-It went well," she stammers before looking around for someone to take her order. "You said the eel was good, right?"
Ping's shopping spree:
Everyday Clothes 3x Tunic 3 sp, 0.5 lbs., EV 1 Robe 1 gp, 4 lbs., EV 2 2x Vest 2 sp, 0.5 lbs., EV 1 2x Trousers 4 sp, 0.5 lbs., EV 1 Leggings 5 sp, 0.5 lbs., EV 2 Skirt 4 sp, 0.5 lbs., EV 1 Fancy Clothes
Footwear
Outerwear
Stuff I don't know the price for:
Fancy Slippers to match the fancy dresses (the Frock and the Gown) Not sure if they count as a normal pair of the shoes or not, or if they are included in the cost of the dresses.
Rastifer's:
Ping winds up going through all of the clothes in the barrel sized for folk of her stature, curiosity and more vanity than she really wants to admit to having driving her on after she finds a lovely green and white frock under the first tunic she picks up. Her other finds were a deep blue gown with flowing sleeves, a deep pine green caftan that would go with either dress, and a white and silver girdle. She does also pick out some more practical clothing; a few tunics, a couple of vests and pairs of trousers, a skirt, and a pair of leggings in various colors; as well as a cloak, a hooded mantle, a set of robes, a pair of boots, and a pair of shoes. By the time she's gathered it all up, she feels a little abashed at how much she's gotten given how small she is and how much she had intended to get, not to mention the hair dye and looking for some slippers to match the dresses she'd grabbed practically on a whim. She finishes up just as Jenneleth stops by to help her find the Baron of Mutton, and after a moment to consider things, asks Rastifer if he'd be kind enough to send everything to where they will be staying the night and deciding that she needs to see if she can purchase a pack mule or something before they leave.
"Is the food as good as it smells," she asks them.
My thinking of taking the store credit is that we got more bang for our buck, and it'd be a good idea to stock up on the mundane sundries we need. If you'd rather take the cash, I'm alright with just retconning it so that Ping gets the cash. That said, I think we're better off with the store credit, since we can get twice as much with it as with taking cash instead.
Ping resists the urge to pull away from Rastifer as he inspects the robe she's still wearing. She nods in acceptance of the man's offer, after all the robe is far to large on her, and begins looking through the barrel of clothing sized for the little folk and children. After picking out what will suit her needs, she finds the hair dye to purchase as well.
Woo! Glad you emerged intact, though I hope what happened yesterday doesn't land another pile of work on your desk.
Ping feels a stab of panic when Mos asks if she'll be fine on her own. She really doesn't want to be alone, as strange as that thought is to her, but she isn't sure if its because she doesn't trust Mos or because she does trust the halfling. After a moment's hesitation, she slowly nods, though she seems unsure.
Ping, despite her more cynical and distrustful side, finds that she's starting to like Rastifer. The man's charm certainly isn't lost on her. Still, any temptation to let her guard down vanishes as he asks them what they would like. "I'm certain the others will have things they want, but there are a few things that I need, hair dye and a few changes of clothes that fit," she says quietly, holding out her arms to show the voluminous robes made for someone of a much heftier build and how they hang off her.
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