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...I am pretty sure this is dead at this point. :(
Although suspicious, he stands and clenches his fist to his chest in salute of Sir Blackwood as he leaves. "The name is Rhane Far-Reach, good knight, and you have my thanks for the assistance of you and your scouts."
"Fortresses? This Grilakh must be quite impressive indeed... perhaps even a worthy foe to launch a campaign against once we've finished our business for the academy." He laughs at Mayor Boughart's joke, but does not make any comment. However, Sir Blackwood's sudden exit after the mention of the tower does not sit well with him. Sense Motive check:
Rhane's ears perk up at that last part. "An Orc tactician? Really? Oh, this should prove to be quite interesting, indeed... So, tell me - do you have any information as to the last known locations of these Red Fist's camps? The last thing we want to do is to blunder our way into the midst of an Orc village."
Rhane nods silently to Gliressa as she moves away from the table, and then turns back to their hosts with a smile and a raise of his glass.
"Now that we've cleared up the mystery of how we resolved the refugee situation, let's have a drink to our host's health! My lord, my lady, you honor us all by inviting us to dine at your table tonight. To the Bougharts!
Perception:
Rhane walks to the chair that is provided to him, setting beneath his seat the great helm that he has been carrying under one arm while they have been in the town. He nods respectfully at Lord Boughart before raising his simple tankard of ale in greeting to Sir Blackwood. "Come, good sir, and have a drink with me if you will. I am sure we have much to talk about, and my companions and I could use your knowledge of the North before we set out." Leaning in conspiratorially, he continues on in a lower voice: "Believe me, I chafe under social pretenses and forced attendances as well. But, you have my word - if there is any trouble that comes this night, I will gladly help you to right it, if you'll have me." With a pleasant smile, he takes a seat and looks around at his companions. Noting the subterfuge that Gliressa is putting forth, he decides to support her in at as much as he can - though he would choose when spoken to, to leave out certain details rather than to disguise them.
It's not just politicians and nobles that hide their emotions; most warriors learn to do it as well. It doesn't do to let your face betray your thoughts at an inopportune time - trust me. But, perhaps we should ask the Lord Mayor a few more questions, to ensure that everything here is on the level.
Noticing that Sevram seems to have disappeared on them, Rhane mutters to himself. I never would have thought Sevram to be the unreliable sort, but I guess he must have his reasons... On second thought, he pulls the rest of the group aside for a private conversation before dinner. Look, with one of our number disappeared already, we'd do best to keep information regarding the particulars of our quest to ourselves. If there is any sort of force perpetrating these events, they may have agents moving against us. They may have even taken Sevram out of the picture, and the rest of us may be in danger as well. I think that we should all stay close together from here on out - safety in numbers, and all that. What say you?
Rhane smiles and claps a friendly hand on Gliressa's shoulder. "...and by helped, she means that she stood toe to toe with a monstrosity of pure Magma. This one is a scrapper, my lord, as are the rest of my companions. Perhaps, would your town have anything suitable to aid such noble warriors in their quest?" Diplomacy Roll:
Rhane drops Misha's lead and moves up towards the mayor, having been listening from a short ways off. He stands silently so as not to interrupt the current conversation, but nods politely in greeting to the mayor. Misha snorts and tosses her head, slowly trodding over to a nearby clump of grass that she sniffs at once before grazing upon. She keeps one ear up and pointed in Rhane's direction, ready to come at his beckoning.
Rhane follows the troupe through the gates with Misha in toe, close on the heels of the others. "...I'll ignore that comment - not all of us give way to our baser instincts. But, on a brighter note, this certainly seems to have gone off without a hitch."
Handle Animal:
Perception: Having seen the crowds of refugees and the trail of destruction that they have left in their wake, Rhane is deep in thought as they come upon the scene before the city gates. He begins to follow Mayve and Gliressa through the crowd, intending to aid them in convincing the guards to open their gates to the crowd. After a moment's silent contemplation, though, he lays a hand on each of their shoulders and tries to halt their progress for a few moments of quiet discussion. "My ladies, hold for a moment if you will. I am certainly with you in wanting to aid these poor folks - and ourselves - to gain entrance to this city and bridge beyond, but a thought just occurred to me. We have seen that there are those amongst the throng that have no qualms about destroying other's property and stealing everything they have in their desperate flight... Can you imagine the devastation that would be wrought upon this little city if the floodgates were opened and all of these poor refugees poured in at once? Even if only a fraction of the crowd were desperate enough to try and take what they need by force, it would be enough to start riots and bloodshed - and the town would more than likely be overrun. I have an idea, though. Let us see if we can speak to the guards, and lend our aid in organizing this a little bit. If we could, say, arrange for smaller - and easily manageable groups - of refugees to be allowed passage through the town and access to the bridge beyond, it could help to get these poor people on their way to safety. For those who do not want to continue onwards, we could speak to the townsfolk about aiding the refugees with temporary housing in or near the city until they can determine their next step. Regardless of how we proceed, I see this situation turning into another catastrophe unless we intervene and help to calm this crowd."
Rhane laughs at Glee's remark, trying to bring humor to a bleak situation as he responds with a wink. "Don't say thinks like that, Glee - I might take you up on it someday." He nods to Irina as she takes the reins from him for her mount. "You're welcome. I think the healings you laid upon me yesterday were enough, but - as the resident healer - if you'd like to inspect me and be sure, I won't protest." (OOC: I am assuming I am back to full, but will take this opportunity for healing if I am not) After taking a few moments for the sage to check his wounds, Rhane climbs into Misha's saddle and walks her in a slow circle around the clearing, surveying the damages once again. To think that just yesterday, this was a bustling town with a thriving community of people of all trades... and now, save for a few notable exceptions, it is just a field of rubble. We have to swear to it, Rhane - if there's any way to reverse this and put things right again - we won't stop until it's done... or until we're dead. But we'll hope for the first one, aye? Keeping all traces of his inner emotions from his face, Rhane turns back to the group with a smile. "So, who's ready to go for a nice little ride? Better yet, does anybody have an idea where we should make our heading?"
Soo... what happened to Sevram? I haven't seen him post in ages. Also, I know I have been a little sporadic, but the Christmas shopping season is almost over! ...and then comes the post-holiday return season. >.< So, I should be able to be much more regular in a couple of weeks.
Rhane nods in agreement with master Lamere's words. "Then it is settled, we go to the tower without delay. I have but one last question for you, master; does your order have any information or artefacts that may help us in finding the tower? Or shall we just ride in it's direction and hope that the bracelets we have will work their magick?"
Nodding, he speaks again. "I follow you, Gliressa.. and I certainly hope that you are wrong, but that's where I was going with these questions. If it's possible that someone caused this to happen by going to the White Tower - and if it's possible that WE caused this to happen, as the man at the Inn suggested... then isn't it possible that the best course of action is for us to not go to the tower at all? And thereby eliminate the chance that we would do whatever we did?" He chuckles a little bit and stirs his tea before continuing. "Upon my word, it just sounds so mad when you say it, doesn't it.. but could it be true?"
Rhane, who up until this time has remained quiet while lending his assistance, speaks up. "It would seem that we are meant to go to the tower, but I must caution all of you: the White Tower holds a great power, and we must be careful with our actions there - should we reach it at all. The legends of my Order say that he who gains access to the tower will destroy the world..." Here, he trails off momentarily as a flicker of shocked realization passes of his face. After regaining control, he turns to Master Lamere and continues speaking: "Come to think of it, Master, this 'planar discohesion event' that the stranger in the inn spoke of - do you think that... perhaps the legends are true? Could it be that someone gained access to the tower and caused all of this to happen?"
Shaken awake by the tremors, Rhane surveys the area before gently picking himself off of the ground. Right, that was embarrassing. Note to self: do not go toe-to-toe with something more than twice your size... As he shakes his head in amusement at his inner dialogue, he catches sight of Gliressa speaking to the group a short ways off, just in time to see her hold up her bracelet. "...and Rhane has one too..." Ballocks. Well, let's hope that telling these people is the right thing to do, Rhane. I mean, they DID just save your life - so that has to be a little in their favour, right? Rhane clicks at Misha, who tosses her head and snorts as she falls into step behind him as he approaches the group. He gives Gliressa a reassuring pat as he steps up beside her - but on her pack, not knowing how she feels about personal contact. "Of course you know I'm with you, Glee. I agree - I don't think either of us would have chose this, but it doesn't seem that we are the ones doing the choosing at this point. And we do seem to work pretty well as a team..." At this point, his head drops a little bit and he clears his throat in embarrassment. "...and on that note, to whoever's aid it was that saved my life a few moments ago, I thank you."
Just... umm... just as a thought. If someone has the capability to douse or heal the burning knight, that'd be swell. I am currently stabilized @ -5HP, but am still on fire. On the elemental's turn, I will burn for another 5 damage, which will put me to -10 and dead. If not, it's cool. I understand.. just thought I'd throw it out there. Also: no matter the circumstances, I will not be posting my actions more than one round out, no matter what. That was a bad idea, lol.
Damage Track: Round 5:
Attack 2: HP 24/68
Round 6:
Contiunation of Burn damage from round 5 attacks: HP -2/68 Round 6, Initiative 9 Constitution Check to Stabilize: Pass
As the elemental launches a blazing assault upon him, Rhane tries to parry it's blows with his sword - but to no avail. Too many of the creature's blows strike true, and Rhane's strength begins to fail him. He attempts to fight back, but the strength of the beast is simply too much. When the fury of the elemental subsides, Rhane's body lies unmoving before it.
(Gonna go ahead and make my move for this round.) Ducking and weaving through the creatures burning attacks, Rhane's moves begin to flow together more smoothly as he adjusts his dance to suit the battle before him. As he steps in to launch his counter-attack, he laughs at Gliressa's speech. "Don't be so-" *swing* -HARD on yourself! You're doing just fine, really. Some things are just- *swing* -TOUGHER than others are. Attack 1:
Attack 2:
Just a little heads-up: I think I've mentioned it before, but I am a supervisor at a major electronics retailer. And we're two days out from Black Friday... so, I probably will not be able to contribute much until Monday when I have an off day. If I can at all, I will try and check in between now and then, but I can't make any promises. Just wanted to let you know that if I am holding back the game, feel free to make some attack rolls for me or whatever the situation dictates.
Round 4, Initiative 9 Ride Check for Fast Dismount (DC 20, if successful, free action):
Seeing that the uneven terrain could be disastrous to his steed's health, Rhane snares his sword from it's sheath by his saddle and vaults over Misha's head. He uses the momentum from his vault to carry himself into a low roll under the Elemental's blows and comes up sword first, driving it deep into the creature before him. Misha snorts and sidesteps away, out of reach but nearby should Rhane need a quick exit.
(Just as a note: when charging, I do not provoke an AoO from my target per the "Ride-by-Attack" Feat that I am using. If you want to do so since I shouldn't have been able to charge per the rule you pointed out to me, I am okay with this. Just wanted to give you a head's-up for the future.)
(About to head into work for the evening, so I am going to go ahead and post my action for whenever my turn in initiative comes up.) Rhane clicks his heels twice against Misha's flanks, prompting her to thunder forward into a full-tilt charge. He sights along his lance at the nearest elemental, focusing all of his strength and that of his horse into a single, overwhelming strike. Charge Attack!
Well, in the words of the ancient sage Mohandron... "if the firey creature will not come to Mohandron, Mohandron must go to the firey creature." Or something like that. Rhane chuckles to himself as he lowers his lance to point at the nearest creature and clicks his heels against Misha's side, sending her into a slow trot in it's direction. Moving: 40 feet towards elemental 2.
Initative: 8
Rhane comes around the corner of the inn, leading the string of horses behind him. Seeing the strange creatures in the square, he draws up short. What in the...? this day just keeps getting worse. Sensing the ensuing combat, Misha tenses up in preparation for the charge. Rhane leans down and ties off the horses that he was leading and then goes through his mental pre-battle checklist. Armor? Check. Banner unfurled? *looks over his should to ensure that it is* Check. Lance? Check. Sword? Check. Guts and glory? Ha, you betcha! Action: Depending on what you consider the action to be for tying the horses off, Rhane is going to ready himself for a charge at the nearest elemental. He is going to wait for it to make the first move, hoping that it will move to within 50 feet of him so that he can make a charge over the difficult terrain with his lance that will carry him past his opponent. Whenever the charge does indeed occur: Charge Attack:
(Oh crap... well, here goes nothing!) Initiative: (Well, that was abysmal. I suppose now is when I should inform you that anything dice-related hates me. Especially when rolls matter. ;) )
(sorry for the delay) Rhane rushes out the door to the inn, narrowly avoiding a gout of magma flaring up out of the ground. He sees Glee and Sevram and the other woman from the inn heading across the street to the academy, and waves them onward. Go, see if any of the mages can be of use sorting this out. I am going to get whatever horses haven't bolted from the inn so that we can make get everyone to safety. As he makes his way towards the southern end of the inn, towards the stables, he attempts to keep any traces of fear or nervousness off of his face. Please, Misha.. stay with me old girl. I am on my way! I know I promised you a few days of rest and nice oats, but it looks like neither of us will get the peace and quiet that we wanted... He enters the stables and attempts to calm the (I assume) spooked horses and get as many as he can on a rope to lead towards the academy. Handle Animal:
Perception: A temporal anchor? Hmm... that's interesting. If it does what I think it does, perhaps I'd better "anchor" myself, as well. Rhane slips one hand to the pouch on his belt and fiddles with something underneath the table. Sleight of Hand to put the bracelet on beneath the level of the table. Once on, it should remain fairly inconspicuous underneath the sleeves of the red tunic he is wearing. I am with you, Gliressa. Finding out more about what exactly is going on would be the wisest course of action, I think.
Reflex Save: 17 damage
Caught unaware by the violence of the explosion, Rhane is lifted from his seat and flung across the room by the force of it. He regains his feet quickly, assessing the damage and attempting to aid anyone he can see in immediate peril. What the devil was that?!
Rhane holds one hand up in a furtive gesture for silence. Shh! Not so loud, Glee. It's close. Believe me, after the price I paid for it, I am not about to let it fall into anyone else's hands. But, if I were you... he gestures towards her bracelet on the table. ...I would put that thing out of sight and try to not draw any more attention to it until we find out more about them. If they truly have the power that your drunkard and my legends seem to invest in them, it wouldn't do to draw notice to them.
(Only way I can get this is on a natural 20 - assuming our DM uses that particular rule. But, here goes nothing!) Sense Motive: Rhane eyes her curiously for a moment, his gaze shifting back and forth between her and the bracelet on the table. This is a sticky situation, Rhane. Come on, pull yourself together lad! You haven't known her very long, but she seems trustworthy enough. And everything is getting very weird, very quick. Might as well feel her out a little bit... As a matter of fact, yes. I have seen something quite like that. A twin to it, in fact.. and not very long ago. It seems a bit too much of a coincidence that they should both turn up here at the same time, doesn't it? He seems to be completely unaware of Irina's hex or the consequences it has wrought on the man in the corner booth, as he has a much more personal interest in the puzzle before him at his own table.
@Gliressa: When you place the bracelet before you, you see a momentary flicker of surprise pass across Rhane's face, and he quickly moves his hand to a pouch on his belt, as if feeling to ensure that something is still in it's rightful place. ...interesting. Now, where did you find something like that, Glee? Impossible, the legends only spoke of one bracelet, and I just killed an ancient friend to ensure it's safety. Now there's another! This can't be good...
Rhane picks his way back through the crowd to their table, cool grey eyes sizing up the new woman who is relocating to join them. Looking to Sevram, he speaks. So, what happened over there? He then quickly turns back to the woman, extending a strong, rough hand to her in greeting. The name's Rhane, ma'am. That one in the corner didn't seem too pleased with you, either - any idea what he's going on about?
@DM aLittleTooQuiet: (I forgot to add in the +3 from Specialized Knowledge (from Order of the Tome). It probably won't make any difference for this check, but it's good to know for the future.)
A... planar discohesion event? That doesn't sound good. Wait a minute, didn't I hear some of the Order scholars theorizing about something along those lines? Or was it a planar extinction event? Hmm... (It's a longshot, but...) Knowledge - Arcana: Rhane continues to monitor the events unfolding at the corner booth as he scratches his brain for the meaning of what they're talking about.
When Sevram directed his attention to the corner booth, he raised one eyebrow in curiosity at the man that seemed to have suddenly appeared there... but when the matron of the inn seemed to think the booth was empty, he forced clarity back into his fatigued mind. Leaning forward as his companion rose to start towards the booth, he whispered a warning. Careful, friend. Whether this really is a shared hallucination or someone who has veiled themselves with Magick, approaching them could go badly. Whatever happens, though, I've got your back. After delivering his message, Rhane took to his feet and started off through the crowded taproom at an angle from Sevram, moving to put himself between the corner booth and the door. Right then, lad, you have your fun! I'm off to get ush another drink! He attempts to project the image of one far more into his cups than he really is, slurring his speech and weaving drunkenly through the crowd in the direction of his travel as opposed to walking directly there. Bluff:
Rhane allows a tight smile to show on his face as he raises his tankard and shares a drink with his new companion. I am sorry, Sevram, truly I am. It's not some "vow" to my order that's got my stomach twisted in knots - just simple stress. Before we met on the road, I had some... misfortunes. His mind drifts back a few days to the final battle with Greygor in the ruins, surrounded by their slain entourages. Another duel between the two comes to mind, from much further in the past - when they were but two young pages, sparring with sticks in the stables of the Order. Catching himself staring deeply into his mug, Rhane shakes his head and faintly smiles again. I'll tell you the tale sometime, my friend. Suffice it to say for now that I lost many good friends in a recent battle, and just need some time to clear my head. But, you know what's good for that? ALE! Barkeep, another round if you will! Perception: Distracted by the heavy thoughts in his head and his desire to drink away the past days events, Rhane doesn't notice anything out of place and, in fact, feels quite safe here - although he does keep one hand near the pouch on his belt.
I am more than okay with this. Can't wait to hop into the world and get into some action! Also, the guy playing me says that he is "cool with it" as well. Whatever that means.
Alright, finally finished building the character and writing his (immediate) backstory. Profile is fully updated. Sorry for the delay, but it was a hellacious weekend at work. Gotta love retail at this time of year.. >.< I am okay with having run into Glee and Sevram on the road on my way South to Plaeton, if you two so desire.
@Sevram:
@Irina: Nah, you didn't miss anything. I've been too busy with work this week/weekend to sit down and write out his full background - I just wanted to clarify so that we didn't have any misconceptions going into it.I may just write down some rough details as they come to mind, and then fill in the blanks once the DM throws us a line with more info on this world and where we might fit into it.
@Sevram:
@Irina:
Really looking forward to playing this game! I almost have the last of my feats picked out, and then all of the mechanical stuff will be done.
@DM aLittleTooQuiet: Here you are, as requested: Silence. No sound other than the falling of rain passed between the two of them for a few long seconds. After a moment, the knight slowly took the heavy plate helm off of his head and let it dangle in one gauntleted hand. As his other hand slicked back some of the hair that had become plastered to his face, he fixed the guardsman with his steely gaze and spoke in a level tone. "I'm sorry, Sargent, but I am afraid that I must have heard you wrong. I mean, look at us - my men and I are drenched to the bone! Are you honestly going to deny us entry? You have my word that all we want in your town is a roof over our heads and a fire to dry ourselves by. We'll be on our way again come morning." Diplomacy Check: Edit: sorry for posting this so late after you asked for it. I was trying to recompile one my boxes and got caught up with that for most of the night. >.< |