Megan's Legacy of Fire 1

[Megan Robertson]

Romo: You make your way cautiously towards the goat, talking to it all the time in a low, calming voice...

... but half-way there, a stone turns under your foot and in regaining your balance you put your off-hand out and get a large cactus spike straight through it! Ouch 1 point of damage, bad luck...

Then you reach the goat and it quiets under your hands, although it's still rolling its eyes and breathing heavily. You emerge on a thin strip of open land at the edge of a 15-foot wide ravine. A casual glance down the edge reveals a huge multi-armed, wickedly barbed cactus dominating the ground 10 feet below the ledge, almost directly below where sad little goat is tied to a scrub bush. It's covered with cactus quills, but holds still while you untie it.

Suddenly, there's a loud screech of outrage, from a thick bush not five feet away.

THAT'S MY DINNER!!!!!

The screech is followed by an arrow 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13 that only just misses you.

The goat attempts to bolt...

[Gander Longstalks]

Perception check to see whatever it was that screamed:
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Gander turns rapidly at the sound of the scream, his axe raised only to realize that whatever it was must be out of reach.

He cursed angrily as he spun to make sure there was no other, closer, danger.

[Hale Caress]

Hale also reacts to the shout Perception 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6 - but in the darkness she's disorientated, her eyes not adjusting well enough.

-_- ...well... better than a "1" I suppose... bad luck :P

[Romo Vendelev]

Romo turns and tries to spot whatever tried to shoot at him

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

"Who's there? Reveal yourself!"

[Megan Robertson]

As if the world's most revolting lapdog had somehow learned to walk on its back legs, this sickly canine creature emerges from a thorn bush, its filmy white eyes darting this way and that. Clothed in filthy rags, the nasty-looking little thing snarls and yelps as it clutches a bow with seemingly murderous intent. It cackles and giggles as it raises its bow looking from one to another of you as if sizing up the best target.

[Romo Vendelev]

Romo moves up to the creature and tries to slice it with his glaive.

Power Attack:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
Damage:1d10 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

[Amar Furzen]

Amar will walk closer towards this stranger creature and attack with his magic

Cast Ray of Frost;
Attack1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18 &
Damage1d3 ⇒ 3

Attack1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15 &
Damage1d3 ⇒ 2

[Hale Caress]

"You miserable little runt! Are you the reason why this is such a chore!" Hale rages and attacks the little creature.

Attack 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 damage 1d4 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Rage rounds used: 2/6

o.o ...she rolls a 2? Guess I'm lucky that Hale isn't busy fighting against the BBEG ;p

[Gander Longstalks]

Gander gazes at the creature with contempt. He casually returns his great axe to his belt, drops the torch at his feet and reaches for his sling.

"It seems hardly worth the trouble," he said as he readied the sling for use.

Not sure if we're in regular round actions or not at this point, but it'd take all his actions in a round to put the axe away and draw the sling. He has no intention of charging deeper into the thicket.

[Megan Robertson]

Hale - dare I say, "Bad luck..."?

As you all ready attacks and prepare to lay into the giggling critter, it turns to flee...

... and neatly impales itself on a cactus spine, expiring instantly.

Dashiki appears out of the gloom.

"See! I told you so! Pugwampis!!!!"

The goat is standing looking confused, the end of the rope it was tethered with hanging loose.

Suddenly it just seems an ordinary evening again. A light breeze arises, and the stars shine down in spectacular display (if you've ever been in a desert at night you'll know what I mean!).

[Gander Longstalks]

Gander turns to Dashiki.

"And you blame one of those pathetic little things on the fire? The creature killed itself. If a pugwampis had started the fire on the wagon somehow, it's charred corpse would be in amongst the wagon remains next to the sage!"

The halfling turned back to the others. "Well, I'm satisfied that the fire was an accident now. Let's go back and get some rest."

Gander begins walking back to the camp, shaking his head in disgust.

[Romo Vendelev]

Romo cautiously moves over to the creature and tries to see if it has any possessions besides the bow. He then has a look around the area for any tracks leading away, specifically ones that resemble this creatures feet.

Perception take 10 = 15
Perception roll 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

[Megan Robertson]

Romo: Searching the pugwampi, you find that apart from the bow it has a dagger that is ridiculously large for it and half a dozen singed Harrow cards.

[Khismia, Rose-golden Kismet]

Khismia is shocked by the sudden and unexpected death of the misfortunate creature. Khismia asks someone to please lead the goat off to camp and she stays with Romo, waiting for him to be done with the pugwampi. After he is done she will check if the pugwampi was suffering from any other ailments before its death.

Heal roll: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

After that she will say a few prayers and close the creature’s eyes before she heads back to camp.

[Megan Robertson]

Khismia: It has fleas. Lots of fleas... otherwise it seems in reasonably good health.

[Amar Furzen]

Amar is watching how others are scattering, tending the animal or researching the creature. Staying silent, he walks after Gandar, while looking around trying to think a explanation to this situation Why would a single pugwampi... attack a armed caravan just to steal some harrow cards and a single goat... something is odd here

[Gander Longstalks]

Gander glanced at the mad man and raised his eyebrows. "Harrow cards? Who said anything about Harrow cards?" He shook his head. "As for the goat, it's simple. The little bastard was hungry, saw a goat he could easily sneak off with and took it. I didn't get a good look at the filthy runt but I imagine his kind are scavengers and thieves at best."

He frowned, scratching at his chin as he thought. "I've got to admit though, there did seem to be...something...coming off the thing. So maybe that bad luck nonsense isn't nonsense after all. If it had come to the camp to steal a goat and the fortune teller was messing around with all those candles at the same time, it's possible that one just fell over and everything caught fire in a rush. Just bad luck until it became worst luck."

He shrugged as he looked back to the man. "Simple explanations are often best. I'm surprised you haven't learned that in all your 'studies'."

[Hale Caress]

Hale keeps with Romo, taking the Harrow cards as proof for her ladyship. She also decides to keep a look-out for bouts of bad luck - at least now there seems to be a cause. "These cards... it looks like this opportunistic little bastard filched them; and in the process caused the fire. Whether that can be called an accident or malicious intent is written in the stars."

Hale motions over Dashiki: "Little man, I am impressed. You were true to your word, I'll make sure to emphasize it to her ladyship."

[Romo Vendelev]

I dont find any obvious tracks leading away right?

Romo shrugs,"Does anyone know whats going on here?". He takes the bow and dagger. "Unless the lot of you want to hang around, I think we should get back to camp..."

He starts to walk back to the camp, taking his sweet time in the rugged terrain.

[Hale Caress]

Hale follows Romo, trusting that his survival skills are sufficient to walk them out of the thickets of cacti. Hale studies the harrow cards she has while moving.

Hey Megan :) - what are the individual cards that Hale has now? In case it matters later

[Megan Robertson]

Walking back to the encampment is surprisingly easy. Maybe it's just because the moon has now come up and is flooding everywhere with silvery light so you can see your path clearly.

Dashiki has stuffed the pugwampi's body into a sack and is bringing it back with him, looking rather smug.

Romo: you don't see any obvious tracks leading away from here, no.

Hale: The singed Harrow cards you have are The Lost, The Empty Throne, The Betrayal, The Courtesan, The Rakshasa and The Joke.

Back to camp, now? Is anyone leading the goat? It still looks scared, but has calmed a lot.

[Romo Vendelev]

Romo will take the goat back

[Khismia, Rose-golden Kismet]

Khismia will follow the others and head back to camp.

[Hale Caress]

Once back at camp, Hale will immediately try to get an audience with her ladyship.

[Megan Robertson]

The Lady Almar will receive you in her large pavillion. She orders refreshments to be brought and asks you all to be seated.

"What have you to tell me?"

[Hale Caress]

"My Lady, we've apprehended the most likely culprit - as Dashiki guessed - a pugwampi. We found such a retched creature a few hundred feet off amidst the cacti. It appears to be a somewhat cunning foe - and not to raise superstition, but it carries with it a sense of ill fortune. The pathetic creature killed itself inadvertently, and we found a number of singed harrow cards on it. I am honestly hard pressed to guess if it was malicious intent on its part, or merely happenstance by its presence. Provided not more have latched onto this expedition, there should be little to worry you, my Lady."

[Amar Furzen]

Amar listens others talking, while he ponders the situation and slowly pets Azh. Coughing and speaking to lady Almar My Lady. I find it strange for this creature to attack an armed caravan alone and in the end to steal so little. I can´t find a reason behind this, but rather some kind of plan. Of course, this is just overly thinking of me, but I though to at least just mention.

[Gander Longstalks]

Gander snorts. "These others would see things where there is nothing. The creature, this pugwampi, stole a goat just as any scavenger would. Given that it does seem to radiate pure misfortune I suspect it came too near the wagon when doing so. Obviously your seer had a penchant for burning too many candles. One must have tipped over and as a result of the creature's nearby presence everything that could go wrong went wrong."

He pointed to Amar. "This one ended up with one of those cards by purest chance when it was blown into him by the wind. As we rode into camp I saw a number of the other cards blowing about. It's rather likely that the pugwampi saw them as well and decided to collect a number of them because he liked the pretty pictures. Everything that occurred was surely pure happenstance made worse by the pugwampi's locality."

[Khismia, Rose-golden Kismet]

"I doubt it was an accident even though I would hate to blame anyone for his death. If it was just some candles that fell over then surely Eloais would have tried to find help, but there is no sign of that. It is as if he was either dead before the fire or he instantly died in the fire.

I heard from Trevvis that Eloais wanted to do a reading after dinner and that is why he was in the wagon. Lady Almah, do you have any idea what answers he was seeking? "

[Megan Robertson]

"You have all done well," says Almar. "As for what Eloais was doing, his readings had grown increasingly grim, and the last one he made for me yesterday centered on an auspicious card, the Cyclone, which he said portended death by fire and schemes of powerful evil. When I asked if that indicated something about Kelmarane, he said that it did, but the village is only a small part of something much larger, something he called the Legacy of Fire. Unfortunately I had no idea what that meant, which is why I'd asked for another reading earlier this evening... he was perparing for it when it seems the fire began."

Dashiki lays claim to the pugwampi corpse and fashions a tiny noose for it to hang from the end of his staff.

"There must be more of the creatures living nearby even if you did not see them, and the Sultan's Claw is obviously now too exposed a location for us. I believe there's an abandoned monastery to Sarenrae near the village of Kelmarane, and that the ruined building would make a much better base of operations for us as we prepare for the coming battle for the gnoll-held village — yet chances are good that the monastery is not as abandoned as I might like.

"So, to business. I'm impressed so far, so you may all consider yourselves hired. I'm offering 200gp each, is that acceptable?"

If anyone does want to dicker, please make a Diplomacy check.

[Gander Longstalks]

Gander nods curtly. "200's fine by me. I suppose you'll be needing us to take a quick look at this monastery before the rest of the group goes in?

[Romo Vendelev]

Romo snaps out of his day-dream to answer Almar,"That's a lot of gold. It should be fair considering the danger. So you have my sword..err...weapons."

[Hale Caress]

"You are too kind, my Lady. Do you expect us to scout through the monastery? I imagine that little Khismia here will be particularly delighted for such an opportunity."

[Megan Robertson]

"Good," says Almar. "Yes, scouting the monastery in the morning sounds an excellent idea. Set off when you are ready, I shall direct the rest of my people to pack up camp and prepare to move once you indicate it is safe... Or if needed, you may request additional assistance from my guards and mercenaries, although initially I'll keep them here to guard the camp.

"As for the rest of you... is my offer acceptable?"

[Hale Caress]

"We will head out in the morning then. Thank you for your patience, my Lady."

[Romo Vendelev]

"I haven't traveled this far just to turn back now. I accept your offer"

[Hale Caress]

After the interview with their new sponsor is done, Hale retires for the night.

[Megan Robertson]

I am sure you'll be delighted to hear that your rest is peaceful and uninterrupted...

Next Morning

The sun rises in its normal abrupt desert manner. One minute it's dark, the next broad daylight with the night-time chill burning off. The sky is cloudless and there's no wind, just the scent of charcoal as a fire is lit for breakfast.

What preparations do you want to make before you set out?

Oh, and the animal-herder is very grateful for the safe return of the goat, whose name is Rombard it seems. He just won't shut up about how delighted he is that Rombard's back safe in the encampment.

[Romo Vendelev]

Romo collapses his tent and starts to pack up his things. He neatly places his belongings next to the donkey. Once the team decides to lead out he can burden the animal with the added weight, but for now he will just make sure it is fed.

[Hale Caress]

Hale has but a moment to spare for the animal herder, leaving his appreciation to those who can make better use of it. Romo and Khismia maybe.

"Let's go! The less of the midday sun we experience, the better." Hale proceeds to get details from a suitably candidate. Where is the temple? How far is it? What is known about the temple's history and current state?

[Megan Robertson]

The information that you are able to glean is as follows:-

The monastery of St. Vardishal is little more than a mile away from your present encampment. It was erected to the glory of Sarenrae, but about two decades ago a mad cult from Kelmarane invaded and put the monks to death, since then the place has stood as an empty ruin, a reminder of a brief era in which civilization tamed the Uwaga Highlands. The stone bits are fairly intact, but wooden structures have decayed and most of the ceilings are thought to have fallen in.

Dashiki is adamant that the place is overrun with pugwampis, the mercenaries - despite last night's capture - scoff and reckon he has pugwampis on the brain.

[Gander Longstalks]

Gander sleeps without tent, bedroll or blanket and when morning dawns, simply he rolls to his feet, dusting himself off and reaching for his weapons.

He checks to ensure that all his gear is where it's supposed to be before hefting it and approaching Romo.

"That donkey of yours. Can it bear a few extra pounds?" He lifts his backpack meaningfully.

[Hale Caress]

Hale walks over to where Khismia still sleeps, her small figure tranquil like that of a baby. With a mischievous grin Hale jumps on top of Khismia rattling her back and forth, "Wake up! Wake up! The temple beckons!"

[Romo Vendelev]

Romo strokes the donkey's head, "Of course he can bear a few extra pounds. In fact a little person such as yourself might be able to sneak onto his back without him noticing!"

[Khismia, Rose-golden Kismet]

Khismia is all too eager to go to the monastery knowing that Sarenrae would want it to be restored. She is also delighted to bring Rombard back to the herder. Before she goes to bed she tells Rombard to stay safe.

Being worn out from all the events from last night she only wakes up when Hale pounces her. She’s at first groggy, but soon realises the sun is already up. She frantically gets her mat ready for her morning prayer in which she thanks Sarenrae for the day and the opportunity to help her monastery.

After the ritual she gets ready to go.

[Megan Robertson]

Unless you request it, nobody from Almar's encampment will be coming with you: she's got them busy packing up and preparing to move to the monastery once your group has declared it safe.

It's quite easy to find, though. You head off north-east over desert scrubland and, just as you were told, before a scant mile has been traversed, the ruins of the monastery come into view. From this distance it all looks abandoned. The building is basically rectangular with an oval chapel and two towers at one end, the south.

Scrub brush and a light, patchy carpet of weeds invade the monastery through two huge fallen sections of the western wall. The exposed nave beyond is a huge hallway littered with bits of debris ranging from tiny rocks to enormous sections of collapsed masonry. Most of the roof above the long promenade is gone, but several jagged pillars remain.

[Gander Longstalks]

Before leaving the camp...

Gander reaches into his pack and ties several bags (4) of sling bullets to the donkey's harness so that he will no longer be encumbered.

After leaving:

As the group approaches the monastery, Gander reaches for his sling staff and prepares it for use, fitting a sling bullet in place and carrying it at the ready. "All seems quiet so far, but it might be a good idea to be wary of a sudden plague of bad luck." He mutters.

[Hale Caress]

Hale chides Gander, "I thought you didn't have much truck with their bad luck? But I agree, I was expecting considerably more resistance to our arrival here..."

[Hale Caress]

And for good measure, Hale scans the area for signs of trouble, or life (or unlife at that).

Perception 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

[Romo Vendelev]

Romo stays near the front of the group. A position he is comfortable with. He keeps his eyes open for anything out of the ordinary:

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

"I agree Hale. We've had little resistance as yet, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. I am sure some creatures call this place home"