Thanks, I really do appreciate it. Enjoy your vacation Nayr! We can definitely chat if you'd like when you get back. :)
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Seeing as I'm getting back into PbP around here and all that, I thought I'd check in. I'm in a much, much better place overall than I was when I stopped posting, which makes gaming actually feasible again. That said, I'd like to apologize to you all for kind of just vanishing the way I did. I realize that I may have left the group in a bit of a lurch (for a time, at least), and the utter lack of communication almost certainly didn't help much either. I know I'd alluded to some mental health struggles before, which may have caused some extra worry as well. For all that I am really sorry. I know it's been a while, but I owe it to you anyway. I've been doing some catching up on the story and I'm quite enjoying reading the story and how things are progressing. I'm glad Tallvar has managed to be of some use along the way, too! I'd love to return to playing him, but I'd also feel incredibly rude asking GM Nayr and the rest of the group to actually accommodate something like that. Besides, a quick look ahead of where I'm at suggests he's already left in-game. Ah well, such is life. :) But yeah, I just wanted to say that, and you were all definitely owed an apology. Either way I'm looking forward to fully catching up and continuing to follow along with you all as you move forward!
Tallvar spends the first part of the journey quietly. Idly stroking Ember's fur, he watches Sandpoint intently as it recedes into the distance and finally fades from view entirely. Though he finally had the adventure he'd always wanted -- and with Ameiko, at that -- the young half-elf finds himself filled with a bittersweet sensation as he leaves behind the only home he's ever known. --- When the caravan stops for the evening, Tallvar tries to find some way to make himself useful, be it in carrying water, piling wood, or especially inspecting the wagons' condition. Not gonna have any wear on them after one day, but it doesn't hurt to get in the habit of doing this. Once he finishes with whatever chores he can help with, Tallvar finds himself a comfortable spot and begins idly whittling away at a small piece of wood he finds nearby. He hums a tune softly as he works, and often he stops to look around and watch other members of the caravan. He perks up when he hears the others discuss hunting. "If you wanted a little company on your hunt, I'm sure Ember could help," he offers with a smile and a gesture to the fox lying at his feet. He taps one finger to his nose. "She can probably smell prey better than most of us." The creature responds to this idea with a huff and a look at Tallvar. "Oh, what? he responds. "You could even find your own dinner out there, too. You know, like a fox." He laughs lightly and pokes her, eliciting another sigh.
"I'm coming too," Tallvar chimes in after a moment's hesitation. "No way am I letting you solve this without me." He flashes a smile in Ameiko's direction before turning to look down at the map.
"Brinewall, Brinewall..." Tallvar scratches his head. "I think I've read about Brinewall before. Or heard stories, maybe. I think its last commander's name was Andril Kortun, if that means anything to any of you. It was destroyed on the first of Sarenith in 4687. No one's really sure what it was that did it, though." He pauses and looks back at Ameiko. "Wouldn't that have been just a couple days after that letter was dated?"
All right, caught up with the thread. Other than possibly playing out a brief scene with Tallvar's mother, I think I'm good to fast forward. Most of what I've seen about the caravan system is that it's totally broken -- but I'm willing to give it a shot and see how it goes.
Checking back in. Managed to pull myself back up enough for the moment, so I'll start looking through what I've missed and try to get back into it. Sorry again for the absence.
Just checking in to let you all know I'm still around and planning to get back to posting soon. Going through a bit of an episode lately, but it's being handled.
Tallvar raises his crossbow again, but stops when White goes down. He raises a hand and gestures toward the tiger, speaking a short incantation.
If she's not dead I'd be happy to run over and stabilize her.
"Come on, come on," Tallvar mutters. He fumbles with his crossbow, considering shooting again, but instead turns toward Madir. He weaves a gesture with his hands while uttering an incantation, then places a hand on the man.
Welcome aboard!
With Madir stabilized, but still unsure about healing him more, Tallvar lifts his crossbow and fires again.
"T-That's a lot of skeletons." Tallvar's eyes widen and he swallows hard. He glances over his shoulder at Gruhx. "Go get 'em, big guy." With that he ducks low, scrambling between Gruhx's massive legs, past Oren, and into the cavern beyond.
Tallvar trudges along behind the others, keeping his eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary.
Tallvar squeezes forward, hands clutching his crossbow. As soon as he gets clear, he raises his weapon. Before he can consider whether attacking the spider while Gruhx has it in his arms is actually a good idea, he fires a bolt at the creature.
Tallvar squeezes forward after the others, stopping short of Madir in the cramped corridor.
Tallvar closes his eyes, focusing on the feelings being sent to him by Ember. "Careful," he says quietly, opening his eyes again. He gestures toward the western passageway. "Ember senses something. Smells it, maybe. Some kind of lurking predator hiding in there somewhere."
Tallvar nods. "That's probably smart. Don't want any surprises back here." He glances over his shoulder briefly, as if expecting some shambling monstrosity to leap out at that very moment. The half-elf kneels down beside his fox companion, placing one hand lightly on her back. He strains his eyes looking around into the darkness, then whispers to Ember. "What about you, girl? See anything? Smell anything?" As he says this, he sends apprehensive, questioning emotions to her to help communicate his thoughts.
Tallvar enters behind Oren and Madir, being careful not to touch the plants indicated by the dwarf. "Ugh, can't see too well in here," he grumbles. He makes a few gestures and says a few words, then holds out his hand. Several orbs of light shoot out from his hand to hover just above the group.
"So uh..." Tallvar trails off. "There's a chance even I could follow this trail for a while, but maybe someone with experience wants to take the lead?"
Tallvar tenses some at seeing Madir enter the camp accompanied by a huge cat. His fox companion tilts her head curiously at White, then stands with a grunt. Ember approaches the tiger, leaning forward and sniffing it a few times. Apparently satisfied, she sits down where she is, continuing to look at White. The half-elf receives feelings of comfort and curiosity from Ember, and even a hint of amusement, but no fear or apprehension. He relaxes. "I have to say, I didn't expect you to have a friend like this lurking in the marsh," Tallvar remarks with a smile. "Any more out there we should know about?"
I'm in favor of investigating these bone men. Tallvar's only real concern is that we're rested and healed enough not to get immediately ganked by whatever's lurking in the wilds. If we can do that without going all the way back to Sandpoint first, all the better.
Yeah, shame about Eli. Hopefully he's all right, and hopefully we'll be okay with only one caster as is. And yes, the slumber hex is upon us. Should make things... interesting. :P And hey, a new friend for Ember to get into shenanigans with!
Rolling...
That works! Added some skill ranks, got two new level up spells (Cause Fear and Command) plus a patron spell (Silent Image), and a new Hex (Slumber). I think that's the major stuff for this level. Edit: Oh and I should add that I corrected one thing in my stat line: I had my Sense Motive as a +2 but I'd forgotten to take into account that one of my racial alternate features made it a class skill, so it should have been +5 and is now +6.
Tallvar kneels down in front of the chest, speaking a few words and passing a hand over the items inside. Ember comes to stand beside him, poking her nose in and sniffing at its contents.
"I'm willing to go do something about the undead before they start hurting more people," Tallvar says as he looks at the goblin loot. He glances down at one of his wounds, then shakes his head quickly as if to dislodge an unwanted thought. "I feel pretty beat up, but if everyone feels we should continue before returning to Sandpoint, then I can keep going."
"He's not the first to mention bone men." Tallvar rubs one of his wounds gingerly, wincing. "That other goblin talked about walking bones too. It could be an actual problem and not just the rantings of mad goblins." He steps over to the captured chief. Goblin: "Tell me about the bone men. Who or what are they? Where did they come from?"
Tallvar follows behind Oren, peering over the dwarf down at the goblin chief begging for his life in the mud below. "He's begging not to be killed," he translates for the others. "Offering treasure in exchange for his life." The half-elf's gaze shifts to Oren, his eyes suggesting some uncertainty. "We can't just let him go, can we?"
Tallvar's nose crinkles in disgust as he enters the chief's room. "I can't wait to be out of this place," he grumbles. He grips his weapon a little tighter and nods to the others.
Trying his best to control a growing sense of fear, Tallvar retrieves a pinch of wool from a pouch on his belt. He makes a few gestures and mutters a few words before pointing at one of the goblins and casting his spell.
Still bleeding, Tallvar hesitates to move forward. Instead he readies a bolt in his crossbow, waiting for one of the goblins to come into view.
Seeing Madir fall, Tallvar feels frustration and anger welling up in him despite himself. "Die already!" he shouts as he raises his shaking hands and steadies them long enough to fire again.
Tallvar winces at the goblin's demise, while Ember circles around beside him, yipping softly in excitement. "Glad someone's having fun," he mutters with a sidelong glance. The half-elf loads a new bolt in his crossbow, then looks to Oren. "Where to? Into the building?"
Tallvar raises his crossbow and lines up a shot, taking aim at the goblin archer.
Tallvar gulps and nods, clutching his crossbow tightly in his hands. He moves forward with the others, preparing to attack the goblins.
Tallvar tilts his head quizzically at the goblin's words. Even having learned to understand their language didn't mean what they actually said made sense all the time. "He's saying something about bones. Coming here, killing friends." The half-elf scratches his head. "It doesn't make a lot of sense." He steps closer to Gruhx and his tiny captive. He begins speaking in the goblin's chattering tongue. Goblin: "What do you mean? Who brings the bones? What do they do?"
Sorry again. Been dealing with pretty severe depression lately, but I'm still around.
Tallvar hesitates, crossbow in hand, trying to find an appropriate target. Deciding against firing into the melee happening near him, he instead turns south and fires at the lead goblin there.
Chiming in to let you know I'm still around and finally caught up with stuff. Healing there is cool, so I'll wait for my next turn to come up to post something.
Tallvar takes a good look at the halfling, icy blue eyes examining him closely. "Erm, forgive me if this is rude," he says, "but are you ill? You look... unwell."
Tallvar sighs in relief. Fighting the little monsters was bad enough; they definitely didn't need one escaping and warning all its little goblin friends. The half-elf hurries across the bridge to catch up with the others. "Sorry, Gruhx," he says with an apologetic smile. "No time for a nap yet. Maybe in a little bit."
Apologies again. There's been a lot of personal stuff happening lately, and balancing has been difficult. Then the holiday comes up and so on. I'm going to do my best to get back on track this week, though. And yeah, I'm fine with the marching order and all that.
Tallvar tenses at the sight of the goblins, memories of his night in the woods flashing through his mind. It's one thing to see them in Sandpoint itself, but the wilderness is different. No time for cowardice. I knew what this would mean. He swallows hard and steps forward, focusing his gaze on the nearest goblin. Ember follows close at his heels, yipping.
Still here, just had some stuff going in IRL. Hopefully I can get a post up this evening.
Tallvar smiles back at his mother and nods. "I'll make my way back toward the square. Maybe more people will need help." Ember yips and runs off in that direction of her own accord. Tallvar waves and chases her back toward the center of town. Along the way he stops to aid anyone he finds who may need his assistance.
Tallvar sighs in relief, both to see his mother okay, and because being beheaded by her after the goblins failed would have been a ridiculous way to die. "Sorry I couldn't get here any sooner," he says. "Ember and I were by the Cathedral when it started. There were a lot there..." he trails off, taking a good look at the woman before him. "I was worried, but I guess I shouldn't have been," he chuckles.
As the combat ends, Tallvar still looks about the clearing, trying to find others he recognizes. His breaths come short and quick, and his pulse races. Even if the fighting in Sandpoint is dying down, that doesn't mean no one got hurt. The young half-elf merely nods at Aldern Foxglove's thanks and subsequent invitation; he hates to seem rude, but much more pressing matters occupy his thoughts. "I have to check back home," he says quickly, already backpedaling away from the rest. "I'll see you all later!" With scarcely a wave he turns and runs off, Ember following closely at his heels. He steers in the direction of his own home, hoping to find his mother alive and well.
Tallvar maintains his gaze on the goblin, cursing it with sluggish reactions.
His spells exhausted, Tallvar again trains his gaze on the only goblin not napping or dangling from Gruhx's hand.
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