@DM DoctorEvil: Thanks for running Velas for the first round. I should be more available again.
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Hope that busy stretch wasn’t too stressful!
Last day of vacation is today and a long travel day back tomorrow. Might not be able to post until Monday.
After wiping the gore from his blade and examining the fallen creatures, Velas concurs with Scarlet. "Better to venture into the other path before heading down deeper. We haven't made a very stealthy entrance so whatever might be in that other direction may have heard us and could be ready to follow us down." Assuming no disagreements, Velas readies himself to take point again into the other area.
Staying quiet, Velas uses Teela's attempt at talking to these creatures as an opportunity to hide and stay out of sight. He squeezes into the nook that's out of view and tries to blend into the roots and other foliage.
Long travel day tomorrow to start a family vacation until the 10th. Still expect to check in, just might be slower than normal.
Velas chuckles and smirks as Scarlet refers to him as a leader. "Just because I'm the first one to climb down doesn't mean I'm the leader. Looks the same either way to me. May as well flip a coin." Velas pulls a single copper from his pouch and flips into the air, plucking it out of the air but stopping short of showing the result. "Crowns is east. Swords is west." Velas waits a moment to see if anyone objects to picking direction this way before revealing the result. Crowns or Swords:
Velas looks in between the vines and roots, shrugging nonchalantly. "With Teela's rope ladder and those roots, I don't think it'll be too difficult. I'll go down first." Velas gets on his hands and knees, peering down into the opening to see where he will end up. Once he feels confident enough that the ground isn't too far away and that a group of kobolds or worse aren't immediately visible, Velas starts the climb - remembering to cast Light on his armor first. "Whose next?" he says with a smirk.
Velas looks at Scarlet and Quintessa in surprise as they talk to the woods. "Do you expect the trees to talk to you? I sure hope not!" Teela seems to speak more plainly, at least to Velas "Elly did say that something lived underground. There must be an entrance somewhere." Velas doesn't immediately walk away though, and instead waits to make sure the group stays together.
Velas whistles softly in surprise at the size of the tree. "Elly said the tree was large, but I assumed he was exaggerating." Joining Scarlet, he looks around the area for signs of tracks or discarded valuables. When Scarlet calls out in his sing-song voice that he's found a corpse, Velas motions to Alvis. "I don't have an eye for injuries. Maybe you can tell how they died." While Alvis and anyone else look over the body, Velas keeps a wary eye on the surrounding area. "Where there's death, there's usually more."
"Hasty was the incorrect choice of phrase. My apologizes, Graham. I mainly said that to remind myself to avoid running off without the support the group. I forget that sometimes."
Velas enjoys the friendly banter back and forth, but stays quiet while the other converse - not sure when to interject and with what topic. He does, however, interject when Alvis brings up fighting tactics. "You are correct that we could stand to improve our tactics as a group. While it has been some time since Faen and I joined the group, we are still learning how each other works in a fight and how the pieces fit. Perhaps one change is for Graham and I to stop being so hasty to take the fight to our enemy. That would give Alvis, Teela, and Quintessa an opportunity to help set the stage."
Velas rummages around his pack for some dry clothes and finds a relatively private area of the cave for a quick change. Then he lays out his wet clothes so they might dry out overnight. "I'm glad we aren't stuck outside during this storm. Well spotted, Scarlet. I need to tend to drying these clothes. Happy to take an early watch tonight."
Plus, having 4 Heal’s just based on being a cleric is a lot of healing already. BUT, you pick your spells as you see fit.
As The Scarlet Knight identifies shelter for the party to wait out the storm, Velas looks for a good place to tie up the horses and keep them from getting too frightened.
Busy weekend coming up. Might not have time for an in-character post. Velas would agree with the idea to head south along one of the rivers.
Velas laughs along with Graham at his playful antics. "Ha! Before for you to take me down like that than for it to happen for real. Definitely good to practice against such tactics given bandits seem to be a continued threat." After the sparring matches and training exercises are complete, Velas finds Oleg to purchase a repair kit and then finds a quiet corner to start repairing the Scarlet Knight's shield.
He doesn't seem to make much progress over roughly 10 minutes of work, likely due to new tools. After taking a walk around the fort to clear his head, he tries again.
Welcome back Faen!
Faen, glad you are back. Hope IRL stuff wasn't too terrible. FWIW, I'd be up for a 7 person party. Likely makes it easier to more fluidly deal with the inevitable absences due to vacations, etc.
Velas agrees with Quintessa's remarks about the ring. "Speaking of Svetlana's ring, I just remembered what that bandit Elly said. Alvis is right - the ring was stolen from them. Apparently by some 'grelins' that live under a big sycamore tree. Elly said it was east of their camp. Seems like our next best lead. Following the river, like Quintessa and Teela said, is a safe bet." Velas nods at the suggestions to use today as a recovery and planning day. "Plus, our new friend needs to get back on his feet. Let me see that shield, sir. Does it need repair?"
With news from The Scarlet Knight that he may have come across bandits from the same group, Velas suggests that he join them in searching the area. "Once you are ready for travel, your previous run-in with those bandits may help us find another bandit camp." Velas turns to the others to see how they feel about that suggestion. "Perhaps we want to start our next excursion by heading slightly south of here and then back to the east? There is a lot of ground to cover, but we may just find more bandits."
Glad you back. Hope your family situation ends up well!
Velas uses breakfast as an opportunity to have a conversation with the newcomer. "Scarlet Knight, eh? That's a funny name. Well no matter. What brought you out to the middle of nowhere? Not too many folks come wondering this way." As conversation goes back and forth, Velas tries to weigh the man's responses - can he be trusted.
Been a busy holiday weekend and ran out of time before I got to this game. I'll post ASAP tomorrow morning.
Velas thanks Svetlana for her help in sending word back to Restov. "Thank you, Svetlana. My family will appreciate hearing from me. Here are the letters I'd like sent." As the group shows Oleg the items they'd like to sell, Velas sees the few magical items the group hasn't identified yet. "Given some time, I should be able to figure out what these are." Assuming no one objects, Velas spends some time identifying the items.
Oh, I forgot about the offer to have 100% of the value if we use credit at Oleg's. I think that's the smart option since I don't we'll be finding another shop for awhile. Objections?
I'm good with that plan for our inventory.
Oh nice, adding a Champion of Arazni to the party!
As the others haggle with Oleg over the prices for selling the gear they found and exactly which items to buy for mapping supplies, Velas retires to the group's sleeping arrangements for a bit of privacy. After being gone for about 15 minutes, Velas pulls Svetlana aside to ask a question. "Do you and Oleg ever send mail back to Restov? I have a couple of letters that I'd like send home."
Welcome! Looking forward to having you join the game! Unrelated: moving the discussion on mapping the area & items to purchase here. If I'm understanding exactly which items we are purchasing (basically a cartographer's kit), then I think the main skill we need mechanically is Survival which Alvis is likely the best at. So, Alvis to survey and Teela to draw the map perhaps?
Velas quickly walks over to the other dead beaset. "Yes, of course. I don't mean to hurry us along. Like Teela, I'm looking forward to an actual bed soon!"
After Teela dispatches the beast between them, Velas spins to see Graham hacks at the final thylacine as it runs away. For a moment, Velas thinks about pursuing, but thinks better of it. "Well done, all. It's nice when we can get the jump on them!" Velas cleans blood and fur from his blade before heading back to the horses, making sure that his horse is calm and not frightened. "Back on the trail to Oleg's, yeah?"
On my side, slower posts are mainly related to summer travels. We've taken advantage of no school to do a bunch of travel. I've also had a couple family members in the hospital which has meant some unavailability. That said, I'm still dedicated to this game for the long-term. RE Faen, I noticed the same thing when I checked their posts. While I hope they are able to come back, I have to assume they are focusing on IRL stuff for the foreseeable future.
Velas comes out of hiding to attack the beast that's after Teela. He rears back with his Aldori dueling sword and slashes at the thylacine with magic enhancing his attack. ◆ Step
Taking advantage of a quiet advance and catching the thylacines unware, Velas lies in wait for the other two creatures to come closer.
Hope you enjoy the time away! I'm also traveling this weekend so the timing work out. Have a good weekend, all.
Velas dismounts his horse and hands the reins to Faen. "You stay with the horses and make sure one these creatures doesn't harm them." Velas nods to Graham. "You and I at the front? Let's make sure they don't eat any of the farm animals at Oleg's." Velas attempts to sneak up on the thylacines before springing the attack.
Velas quietly asks if anyone knows what these things are. "I've been city folk most of my life. Are these creatures predatory? If they are, better to be rid of them now. They could cause some issues this close to Oleg's." He doesn't immediately charge the creatures and waits for the opinion of someone with much more experience in the wild.
Velas nods in agreement with the others. "As long as these radishes won't go bad in a day, I agree with we should explore this area. It seems to me that we'll be making regular trips back to Oleg's post, so it's even more important to the area close by."
Hey all, thanks for the thoughtful words. My father-in-law is doing better, but still hospitalized. For now, I'm back!
Family emergency on my wife's side. Not sure if I'll be able to checkin today.
Velas relaxes as the kobolds leave and disappear into the foliage. "Well done to talk our way through that one, Teela and Quintessa. I thought I was about to be a pincushion for all those kobolds." Velas looks at the last kobolds to leave and his eyes size up the potential foe. "Eh, I'm sure we'll run into these kobolds again. But, no need to seek a fight. We've had enough of them without looking." Once it's clear that the rest of the party doesn't pursue the departing kobolds, Velas starts harvesting radishes, adding the root vegetables to his pack. "How many did Svetlana say she needed for her soup? Certainly looks like this patch has enough for her."
Velas nods in appreciation to Teela and then Quintessa to thank them for their quick wits and quicker words. He continues to adopt an nonthreatening posture in hopes that the group's current situation is defused without incident, but he readies himself to draw his blade in an instant.
When his attempts at civility are met with aggression, Velas puts his hands up and freezes. "I meant no disrespect." He stares at the party with wide eyes, hoping he didn't just step on a hornet's nest. "Uh, Quintessa, Teela, think you could talk us out of this one?"
"Fat kobolds and moon radishes. I think these are the radishes that Svetlana was looking for." Velas hops off his horse and walks towards the kobolds, speaking in Draconic. "My name is Velas. My friends and I are new to this area. We met some other kobolds recently, the Greenbacks. Seemed like a friendly bunch. Anyways, a different friend of ours is wanting moon radishes for a special soup. Do you mind sharing some of those radishes with us?"
Sorry for my absence here. Hoping to have time to catch up this evening or tomorrow.
Velas intently listens to the back and forth between Quintessa and the kobolds, translating for the others. "The kobolds said something about radishes and Sootscale interlopers. Quintessa is interrogating them and ensuring they speak the truth."
With the rest of the party staying put and trying to listen, Velas does the same. He reins in his horse and focuses on the nearby noises.
Velas nods along with the suggestions from Graham, Teela, and Quintessa. "Following the river seems like our best option, since we are blind out here without a map. And, creating our own map of sorts is a very good idea, Teela." "Going back to Oleg's first for supplies and selling some of this loot won't cost us too much time. Alvis, Faen, any say on the matter?"
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