"I'll leave Maff up here, I don't think it will be easy to get him down and I'd bet it will be damn near impossible to get him back up in a hurry." he says, giving maff a stay command inside the building by the well.
as Emre goes down he leans over the well, handing her a Darkflare,"If you happen on another orc down there toss this at their feet and it might be he cant see in the dark anymore eh?" he says as he draws his sling to provide what little cover he can see.
Years of living with a skunk enabled Tacitus to stomach the horrible stench, but the burden of the sight was too much for him and he stood awestruck and the scene before saying to Antonio,"Close the door... we can't do anything here."
He then followed Kunala back to the Coins and responded, "A terror like that.... I don't know maybe burning the whole building is the best option?" he said inflecting a question as he looked to the Amelia.
"If you can really hold the rain that would be great but maybe don't hold it too long. Rain would do wonders to cover our tracks as well." he said, dubious as to whether she could actually affect the weather like that though he does thank her profusely for restoring Maff to his normal self.
-------------------------------------
Antonio Nedraid wrote:
Antonio nodded at Kunala.
"Yeah, let's sneak up close and listen, check for any obvious sign of occupation."
"sounds good, Maff stay here and guard the Coin's okay Bud?" he says scratching the skunks chin before setting off with Antonio and Kunala to scout.
As soon as the last orc falls Taddy rushes over wordlessly to Maff, pulling out first a scroll over him,
last clw's scroll:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
and then feeding him his last cure potion as well,
clw's potion:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
causing the skunk's eyes to blink open into consciousness. Tacitus hugs him tightly, inspecting the remaining wounds and bandaging them up as best he can he realizes the party has been discussing the next action. he said nothing once he realized the were leaving the mine, and carefully led Maff after them, following them back to the druid's sanctuary.
The Next Morning:
Maff stood outside, puffing his morning pipe while maff still slept, Maff almost died yesterday. I've got to do better for him. he deserves better than to be cut down by disgusting orcs. he chastised himself privately before tamping out the bowl and heading inside.
He made himself a plate of flapjacks a foot tall, another plate of bacon and ham, a plate of eggs, and 1 more plate of hashbrowns; his appetite was so small after yesterday.
"to tell the truth Sara, He dinnae seem interested in being a halfling at all; but I didn't see what happened to him either."
Tacitus's heart drops as Maff falls to the floor,"NOOOOOOOOOO, Get up big guy!" he shouts as he cast stabilize on his friend after taking a 5 foot step out of the pink orcs reach.
Befuddled at the fact that the orcs stopped to pick up their winnings, Kunala held his sword at the ready. Pleased that Taddy had wounded one, he chuckles. "Hit 'em again Taddy."
"On it, Maff get in there too!" Taddy says as he loads another bullet into his sling and lets it fly at the same orc, next to the red one.
My understanding of the plan is for me to wait until the outside team has attacked and drawn attention before sneak attacking from inside.
I think that if things get too hot for me inside, I can always dive out the window again acrobatically.
this was my understanding as well, I assumed that you went around to the back door, or at least came in through one of the doors to the left of where Maff is parked on the map.
"I doubt this is the only entrance to the mine.... it seems more like an air duct or place to lower supplies, best to pull the rope up at least to start," Taddy says, trying to think of where else an entrance could be based on what he knows about the area.
K(geography):1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
but he can't remember much about mines it seems.
"The Coin's are right. If we go down now we are walking into a trap. We could cut our losses and take the carts full of supplies in the stables and head back to camp with them." He suggests.
Tears well up in Amelia's eyes as her expression crumples into one of relief, residual fear, and desperation. She sobs as she wraps Emre up in an embrace that for all its lack of strength is no less fierce.
"We're alive," she whispers, "By Abadar's will, we're alive!"
Kunala wrote:
Not wanting to interrupt the sisters, he looks towards Taddy "We should get to the mine entrance."
"Agreed," Taddy said to Kunala before pulling out a scroll of cure light wounds, and handing it to Amelia,"See if Abadar can will us a little more help for your brave sister, catch your breath and meet us at the mine." he said, trying to sound reassuring to the distraught half elf, but also honest with her,"I'm afraid there is still more blood to be spilled today." he said before mounting up on Maff and following Kunala.
Seeing Érme go down launches Taddy into action, NOOOO!! Not another one!!!! he thinks to himself, casting stabilize on her to stop the bleeding, hoping her sister can do more as he mounts back up on Maff.
"Maff Lets go, front and center we have orc's to slay!" Taddy says directing Maff to attack the orc that Kunala is attacking, touching the skunk with Acid Maw as he passes by.
Maff stayed back to allow better stealth-characters entered in stealth order to get max benefit of surprise round. With a surprise round he can't enter and spray.
ok so It sounds like Maff is in the kitchen and I am behind Kunala right now on the map, and we have a full round now?
Surprised when Taddy tells the rogue to 'get back in the kitchen' Kunala moves forward, asking "What's the plan Taddy?"
Taddy makes room for Kunala to get by, saying "Chokepoint is easier to defend, remember, take your shot on the elk when the elk is where YOU want it to be"
he then looks around the kitchen and sees the grill still cooking the questionable meat would that be enough to torch the whole building... he wonders to himself trying to figure out how to get out of this fight alive.
Taddy winces at the sound of Antonio kicking over the bucket, before leaping into action he enters tiger focus, orange streaks now filling his hair and beard, he flings a bullet at the nearest Orc screaming "FOOD FIGHT!!"
Spying something, she adds her own canny senses to the collective tracking, pointing out previously missed prints and indications;
"See here, here... and there. Orc Tracks. Leading to and from this building in a westerly direction."
Tacitus looked up with a smile at the orc, "And so they are, Thank you for your help, I missed them entirely on my first lookover." he said turning a few shades redder. How did I miss those? Thank Erastil we have an orc to track orcs.
"We should go round the back, less foot traffic means we'll be less likely to be spotted, and more likely to survive whatever does see us."" he whispers as he nods for the others to follow him round the back going as quietly as he and Maff can he approaches the back door and looks around through a window or keyhole if possible.
Scent
This extraordinary ability lets a creature detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell.
A creature with the scent ability can detect opponents by sense of smell, generally within 30 feet. If the opponent is upwind, the range is 60 feet. If it is downwind, the range is 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at three times these ranges.
The creature detects another creature’s presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If the creature moves within 5 feet (1 square) of the scent’s source, the creature can pinpoint the area that the source occupies, even if it cannot be seen.
A creature with the Survival skill and the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Survival check to find or follow a track. A creature with the scent ability can attempt to follow tracks using Survival untrained. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. The DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry’s odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Survival skill in regards to tracking. Creatures tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.
Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights.
Water, particularly running water, ruins a trail for air-breathing creatures. Water-breathing creatures that have the scent ability, however, can use it in the water easily.
False, powerful odors can easily mask other scents. The presence of such an odor completely spoils the ability to properly detect or identify creatures, and the base Survival DC to track becomes 20 rather than 10.
Maff's Survival:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Maff accidentally snorted a fly and can't smell much of anything right now apparantly...
Smiling at himself for his use of 'accounting terms' in reference to the two Abadarans, Kunala holds his ground while drawing an arrow. Looking back and forth from one small window to the other he asks, "Does anyone know anything about these bugs? Will running make them more interested?"
K(nature):1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
"I don't think so, but lets not stick around to find out."
Survival to track:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18
Could use an aid, but keep in mind Tacitus is paranoid so aiding him is DC15
you're not being curmudgeonly, we definitely do need to be more conscious of what's already been put down. I'm going to try to refrain from posting unless its been at least 30 minutes or an hour after the last just to be safe from any edits as well.
It's amazing how many times we post, and someone gets a post up while we're preparing ours. Instead of waiting to make sure no one is editing, I just check back and see if I missed anything. Mostly because I'm bored and have little to do other than fret over posts :)
Ya I almost feel like our little nation should be called the kingdom of Ninjapost or something like that lol
you're not being curmudgeonly, we definitely do need to be more conscious of what's already been put down. I'm going to try to refrain from posting unless its been at least 30 minutes or an hour after the last just to be safe from any edits as well.
Sorry Everyone, I think i posted after GM had posted but only by 7 minutes so I missed the edit that added the K(nature) to ID centipede tracks. Hopefully we can escape this for now.
Looks like my last post was too early and a K nature check got added in haha
K(nature) vs DC 16:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26 K(nature) vs DC 14:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Taddy realizes now, and maybe too late, the tracks are that of a nest of giant Centapedes, he tugs on Antonio's sleeve and hisses out of the corner of his mouth, "Poisonous...we need to go, block the door on our way out. NOW!" as he doubles around and retreats out the door, ready to slam it shut as soon as Antonio is out of the building.
stealth:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19
Deadeyes bow that's alot of legs! Might have to torch the whole building to get that infestation out.
Following Antonio into the building, Kunala furrows his brow. "I think your right Taddy, looks like their planning something big."
Lifting one of the quivers from the pile, Kunala begins stuffing it full of arrows. "Do you think we can fit all this in a wagon when we leave, or should we burn it?"
"Those wagons weren't empty, but not laden to burst either. If we do abscond with the wagon's we can certainly take what we can and dispose of the rest."
"I 'spose its best to let this sleeping dog lie... we'll worry about them coming up when we know they know we are here." he whispers as he follows Antonio to the next building.
"doesn't looks like they were looking to outfit a mine as much as a small army." he wonders aloud before looking to Antonio,"Ready to go to the next building? he ask pointing south to building 7.
Taddy whispers to the group after opening the door and revealing the shaft,well.... it looks like rest might be down in the mine.... maybe that orog was supposed to be on guard duty? Bully for us if he was. do we want to descend now, or check out the rest of the facilities?" he asks while taking a look around the room for anything that could be used to cover or block the shaft until they are ready.
Taddy notices Amelia’s aversion to the violence and thinks to himself, ”Is she really in this? Her one side of the coin seems perfectly suited to this work but this one… not so much. Perhaps thats the intent…
Kunala wrote:
Seeing the Orog sink back into his bed, Kunala turns to his friend smiling, "Your still a much better shot than I Taddy!"
Taddy smiles at his friend. ”Aye well missing that shot would have been embarrassing for both of us. You’re still a fine shot with your bow.”
Kunala wrote:
As they finish up, he asks, "Should we follow the tracks to the stables, then see where they lead?"
Antonio Nedraid wrote:
Antonio can't see tracks, so (unless overruled) he'll go over to cabin 3 to listen and disable locks.
Taddy puts a hand on Antonio’s shoulder stopping him, ”hold on there Taldor…. Let’s not rush into a camp of Orogs eh?” he says pointing to the tracks and trying to discern where the tracks go past the stable.
Tacitus looked at the rest of the group with an arched eyebrow but also nods to Antonio as if to at least give his approval to quickly and quietly dispatch the orog.
while Antonio works on the lock, Tacitus and Maff circle the building, looking for another way in. Maybe I can climb in a window, or down a chimney....
Tacitus entered the room, sling relaxed in his hand, "It seems we've lost one companion and gained another. I'm Tacitus, and that", He gestures to the giant skunk just outside,""is Mafetous. Stay on our good side and you wont smell him. much." he adds mischievously.
he begins reporting his findings to the group,"The wagon in the stables loaded with supplies that I'm sure we don't want the Pitaxi to have, but more importantly there are Orog tracks around that stone building out there. As of right now I think they are the primary concern," he glances at the halfling called Drektan,"We know what they can do when unchecked."
Taddy decides to report back to the group, slinking his way out of the stables quietly when he sees someone enter the office the group is in from afar,And who might this be.... someone looking to sneak up on us huh. Lets take a closer look... he thinks to himself as he hurries back to the office, taking extra care to be quiet and go unnoticed by this newcomer with his sling loaded and ready to fire....
stealth vs New guy:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31 stealth vs New guy:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Taddy is taking a precaution and is trying to quietly listen in on what happens as the newcomer arrives before announcing his own return.
Taddy and Maff snuck their way around the edge of the compound to the stone building, Deadeyes empty quiver! More damned ogres... Moving on towards the stable he thought I wonder if there is anything in the wagons... we can either take them, or at the least disable these wagons he mused as him and Maff Snuck their way in for a closer look at the wagons.
Taddy Stealth:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24 Maff Stealth:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
If I'm not caught by baddies in the stables I'd like to check out the wagons to see if there is anything useful on them before heading back to the party to report.
Go for it that sounds fun to get to play out, and I don't think it's going to hurt us here, with 20 foot squares mapping out the compound it's range wouldn't be nearly as useful as it usually is.
As far as level 2 stuff, for spells I Grabbed Acid Maw just to buff the damage Maff can output, and stabilize, so no one bleeds out. I also got precise shot for free as a class feature and get to add half my level tracking rolls like right now, yay!
Tacitus takes a look outside for any tracks or drag marks or anything indicating there was any traffic from this building to another,"Let me take a look here Kunala, if there is a fresh track, Maff should be able to follow it's scent."
"Agreed, No sense waking up a swarm of rats or bats when we can keep whatever stealth advantage we have, shall we move on to another building?" Tacitus says after he is convinced there are not valuable documents, "those kits could come in handy though, lets get them set up by the door so we might grab them on our way out? he suggests.
"Of COURSE it matters who paid! Whether I am a slave or not, I have a significant debt. More if not, honestly. Would Abadar want me to ignore that debt, or to find a way to honor it?"
"Abadar be damned!" Tacitus bursts out before glancing sheepishly at the Coin sisters,"A Catfolk by the name of Drektan was a slave. now there is a Halfling. By any name the halfling is not a catfolk named Drektan. I believe this is what the Abadarans reluctantly call a loophole in the law my friend."
---
Drektan wrote:
Drek lets Tacitus ramble on, as he's obviously excited. At the end of the day, though, all his ramblings and teaching is more about accepting information that Drek might need later. There's nointerest in Drek's thoughts to working towards being a "proper halfling." He eventually shakes his head as Tactus is running through the listof names. "No, I'm still me, even if I'm in . . . THIS. I have no reason to insult my parents by throwing away the name they gave me. Yes, I know, in many societies, it is normal to take different names when something significant happens in your life. That's not how I was raised. I am Drektan."
Tacitus was taken aback by Drek's spurn of the halfling ways, I suppose you can put a cat in a halfling but you cant put the halfling in the cat?, he thought to himself while smiling at Drek, "Then Drektan, I will call you Friend."
Drektan wrote:
As for the question about how to approach the mines . . .. "I suppose we'll have to work the details once we see the condition of the equipment. The better shape the mining gear is in, the easier it should be to look around."
Kunala wrote:
As the half elf Coin sister asked about how they were going to handle the mine, and Drektan mentioned equipment, Kunala shook his head. "Our maps are incomplete, we'll need to see the lay of the land before we figure it all out."
Looking around the group he asks, "Who has the Map? Once we get close we'll need to get real quiet. Ms Coin was right, our best chance is to go unnoticed as long as possible."
"If anyone notices a good tall spot that has a birds eye view, I can cast spells that will help me climb up, and stay hidden, even appear as a statue or weathervane as long as I don't move around too much, but It would only last for about 20 minutes, I don't know if that will be long enough to be useful." Taddy responds in a hushed wisper as they look on at the mine.
