I should perhaps add that the game I mention is another play-by-post on these boards, not a tabletop one. I do not know her outside of Paizo's online realm. That doesn't mean my concern is any less, though.
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I'm hoping everything is all right with Hu5tru. She's played in a game that I run for over a year now, but she's vanished.
I'm still around.
Seiji nods wordlessly at Broderus.
"For my part, I will seek a room for this night. Be assured, I will see to an business that is needed of me before I depart Sandpoint." Seiji meets neither the eyes of the Banker nor Sheriff Hemlock as he makes his reply. "As to Valcrim, he perhaps fought harder and more bravely than any of us. After four wet and bloody days, he is due his revels. I will lead you to him, as you ask, but there may be a better time for him to receive you."
And shall we tell them of what else we chanced upon? Seiji looks down at the floorboards, not speaking.
Weary of the road, Seiji's thoughts drift for a moment to the comforts of the tavern, yet he finds himself following the paladin. "I will accompany you, Treygan."
"Yes. Let us return to Sandpoint."
Seiji steps in behind Broderus. Have I known a fouler smell than that?
"We have followed the lead as far as this." Seiji steps outside, eyeing the other structure. "We should finish our investigation."
"There are none within who answer." Seiji lifts his head, doing his best to scan the inside of the hut from where he stands. "Yet there may be something to learn here. Let us look quickly, and be done with this place." He steps forward, into the shack, taking care to test the floorboards before he walks upon them.
Saying nothing, Seiji carefully watches the open windows as Valcrim approaches the door.
"The one who chooses a swamp as a home may simply have strange ways. I would wish for us to leave this place be, had the goblins not marked it upon their map. We should speak with whoever resides here, and with courtesy. Yet be wary of danger!" Seiji fits a bolt into his crossbow, but keeps it lowered.
Sorry to hear that, PirateDevon. You have had more than your fair share of ills lately. Feel better soon!
"Very well, then. Broderus and I will find a safe path."
"We have spent three nights fulfilling the task given, and in gaining a new one. If we spend a fourth night, they may send a party after us, and that party might miss us in the swamp." With his finger, Seiji traces a tight circle around the unexplored point on the map, as if divining something. "Even so...there may yet be more we could learn of this mystery. And there may yet be a goblin or two." He looks up at his companions. "Joyabraund. Treygan. How are you resolved on this?"
If these cats originated on the same ship as the men in the cave, they seem to have avoided the curse of undeath. At least it seems so. Seiji eyes the cat warily before returning to the camp. "Are we in agreement that our task is complete?" he asks, pushing his way back through the brush.
"I will echo Broderus. You are a fierce warrior and a sound tactician, Valcrim, but this cave was home to things that none of us understand." Seiji bows politely in the dwarf's direction. "Please, allow me to carry some of the burden." Having taken a few items from the stash, Seiji begins to make his way back out of the cavern, this time stepping gingerly upon the slippery stones. When the group comes to the tunnel that leads to the spider's den, Seiji pauses to listen.
"Joyabraund, that map you bear, does it show another means out of the swamp? If we feel we have truly dealt with the goblin threat, perhaps we can find our way out of Brinestump Marsh, camp away from its dangers, and make for Sandpoint on the morrow."
"As does that spider." Seiji answers Valcrim without looking in his direction. "But its meal should last it for a few days. My greater concern is that some curse hangs over this place. If the dead cannot rest here, how shall we?"
As Seiji finishes his awkward translation, his hands begin to tremble. The back of his eyes feel heavy as the mutagen winds its way out of his blood. Fearing he will tear the letter, he folds it as best he can, then tucks it away. "Were it my name found amidst this mystery, I would wish to know of it. The innkeeper must be told."
Sheet is updated now. Saving Finale is great! It's one of those 1st-level spells that never ceases being useful.
You guys might remember at the start of the game, I was indecisive about which archetype to take. Having played Seiji for a while now, and having thought about how I wanted to build the character, I think I will actually go with the baseline alchemist. Though I originally thought he would be adverse to using poisons, I've since decided that it's not so simple for him. Ever a naturalist, I think Seiji realizes that poison is a part of many a creature's natural defense. He's not like to sprinkle powder in anybody's wine glass, but I think he might keep a supply of poison on hand for his crossbow bolts. Moreover, as anti-ninja as he is, I think it might be more intriguing for him to adopt some of the tactics of his enemy. He has a strong sense of honor, but he also resents how his father's strict code shaped his early life. There is like to be an internal struggle once he gets his hands on poison, and I don't want to miss the roleplaying opportunity. In any case, though his bombs will prove useful, I think Seiji will also be using his crossbow very frequently, and his bolts should prove an excellent vehicle for poison. I will take the Infusion discover at level 4, and will happily hand out extracts then.
Seiji reads the letter to himself a second time, then a third time. "The name again. Kaijitsu." he manages, finally. "This is the name of the inkeeper, yes? The same name we found on the wrecked ship. It is in here as well." Glancing between his companions and speaking slowly, he does his best to translate the letter to the common tongue.
"Your skill as warriors is impressive. If I were to guess, I would say that you have felled a samurai. Why he and his men were deprived of rest, I cannot say. But Treygan has taken a dire wound. Can you save him, Valcrim?" Still looking at the paladin's injuries, Seiji takes the scroll from Joyabraund with a polite nod. A moment later, he turns away from Valcrim and Treygan and looks over the text.
The quarrels from my crossbow may pierce flesh, but they will do naught against bone. I need something broader...something... Seiji paws at the ground for a loose rock. His hand closes on one. Yes. My best chance. With a whip of his arm, he wings it at his foe.
Seiji's eyes snap to Treygan's fallen form, then to the glass vial in his hand. In four quick steps, he is against the cavern wall, and the volatile container is in the air.
"This man is adorned as an officer." Seiji loads his crossbow, eyeing the skeleton warily.
Seiji hands the sunrod to Joyabraund. "Take care not to hold it in front of your face, the bright light will blind you for a time. It is a mistake I have made before." "Another fork. Valcrim?"
"That is reasonable. Let Broderus carry the torch." Seiji lifts his own sunrod. "I will keep this in hand, but will throw it to the cavern floor if needed. It will not be extinguished easily."
"It is difficult to imagine that they are related, but even so, this discovery is far more dire than the goblin threat."
"I am as mystified as you, Broderus." Seiji replies, staring down at the skeleton's crumpled form. "Examine them, yes. We all should do so."
Seiji attempts to hook the blade of his sickle around the leg of the skeleton, but he angle of his weapon, and it bounces off bone.
Seiji hooks his crossbow onto his belt, and draws a sickle from behind his back, edging closer to the final skeleton.
Seiji pulls another vial from his belt, and quaffs the liquid within.
Taking a step backwards, Seiji pulls loose a small vial from his satchel. He flings it at the skeleton that has risen before him.
Attack (Bomb) - vs. Touch AC
The surprise on Seiji's face is evident as he leans over the crumpled skeleton. These adornments are of Tian make! Father showed me pictures of armor near identical to that which these fallen warriors wear. Astounding...
"The wider path would be best." As he speaks, Seiji fingers through his satchel, ensuring that all his alchemical components remain sealed. "We can investigate the smaller sections on our way out."
And I'm off to London! I might be posting periodically in the next two weeks, but I should be returning to my regular schedule on the 20th. In the meantime, certainly feel free to control Seiji as you see fit, Hu5tru.
"If it has just fed, unlikely." Seiji replies, his voice low. "By its markings and proportions, I can tell that it is a wolf spider, though I have not seen one of so great a size before. It should act in a similar manner to its smaller kin. If it perceives a threat to its lair, or to its meal, it will certainly attack us. If we leave it be, it should ignore us. Be sure that it already knows we are here. It can feel us."
I will be traveling overseas very soon, and will be posting less frequently. Our hotel does have wi-fi, so I'll be on periodically, but but I'll also be spending a lot of time romping around London, so there will likely be a dip in my play-by-post activity. I leave on the 7th, and return home on the 19th. Sorry about the short notice, but I will be back and posting regularly in a couple of weeks. |