"We can handle this just fine, but stopping is making us lose time for your wonderful plan." Portia smiled and kept on walking. "We haven't even reached the first copse of trees. Anyone, that doesn't think they can handle this better say speak up for sure, but I've seen you all do amazing things. Well, I haven't seen Mara in action, but have no doubts of her abilities or where her heart lies. So let's find these guys, beat the hornblower down first, and hopefully get one to talk after they all get a good beating. It will have to be that way because they won't even hesitate to beat us as soon as they see us. We must get ahead and strike first."
Portia laughed. "Now if gnome cuteness could win this, we have that in double."
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PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
Cute, Kanon thinks, but they're both really deadly.
"Thanks for the encouragement, Pettilaen. I think when it comes down to it, we'll prevail." He nods to the gnome as he says this. He's seen what this small group can do, and no amount of fear will hold him back when his friends are in danger.
While they pursue the hobgoblins, Pettilaen senses something off. "Mara, can I climb onto your shoulders?" he asks, already halfway up her leg. "I need to see something with Gaia."
Situated safely on top of Mara, Pettilaen goes into his trance, viewing the hobgoblin's location through Gaia's eyes. He sees them clearly off where he thought they would be, and at a much greater distance away from them than they were originally. D'arvit. I miscalculated.
He exited his trance, but stayed on Mara's shoulders for a good minute, enjoying the view and quicker moving. Eventually, he knew he needed to tell them. "Guys," he admits, "the chase is useless. They're moving much quicker than we are, and we're going to have to sprint if we want to just catch up to them. I don't know how I made this error when viewing them origin....." He snaps his head at Zina and glares at her. "Nevermind. Now I know why I messed up."
"On the plus side, we all got some good exercise for the day!" His attempt to brighten their response to his folly had little effect.
Mara, only slightly annoyed with the current circumstances, and at becoming a gnome mount, stops in her tracks. "So, this is useless. We can't catch up to them. Do we continue? Do we backtrack? Is there any way to locate a group closer to our current location?" She looks at Petti, narrowing her eyes, but saying nothing about him sitting happily on her shoulder.
Zina showed great restraint and didn't send another ray of frost right at the other gnome's head. "It's... not... my... fault... you're... an... idiot..." she said with a shrug. "Can... you... figure... out... a... pattern... to... their.... rounds?"
She looked up at the rogue with a touch of jealousy, wishing she could also give her tired little legs a break.
Kanon points in the direction the hobgoblins were going, "They're probably going back to their camp to tell the others about us. That's a good thing, right? We can set a trap tonight."
Pettilaen played with Mara's tight braid, spinning it around with his finger. Zina's comment almost made him pull her hair. "Don't make me make you pee your pants again!" Pettilaen spout out at Zina as he looked down at her. "This is you and your ice cubes fault... and your hair's going grey on top."
"And Kanon," he turns to look at him, "they still don't know we're here. Let's just keep on heading towards Beregost. We'll find a better opportunity. Mara, if you could carry me, we'd be able to move faster. Just a thought."
"You wouldn't have been able to feel it until after you came out of your trance," Z stuck her tongue out. "It's you're own d'arv fault that the minute you get a little chilly you forget everything you saw."
"I'm not arguing with this braeg'fol right now... You're probably just jealous that I'm all the way up here."
Pettilaen takes Mara's braid in his hand, acting like he's leading her, with her braid being the reigns. "Why haven't gnomes thought of this sooner." The group turns from their current direction of towards the Sharpteeth Woods, heading south while loosely aiming for Beregost.
"Alright, stop," Mara yelled. "Who cares who may or may not be at blame? We are here now, and we need to figure this out without bickering among ourselves." Mara reaches behind her head, yanking her braid from his grip. "If you don't stop that, I will shove my blade so far up your ass that you'll be tasting steel for a month. If you're going to ride me like a horse, you'll respect me, or I'll punt you into the horizon. Just test me."
Portia turned away so her grin could not be seen by Mara. Finally, someone else to be tested by the gnomes. She changes her expression to a smile as she looks at Zina.
"I can carry you for a bit. Say half an hour to give your legs a break. If I try to carry you longer without breaks I know it will fatigue me faster and I want to be ready if we run into hobgoblins."
She kneels so Zina can climb on easily enough.
"Though be warned I'll punt you if you try to mess with Pettilaen while I carry you. I think someday when we have nothing better to do, you can have tests to end the contest once and for all." She chuckles. "We just need to be sure we find a truly impartial judge. I would just say you are both equal in prowess and equally unique."
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PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
Kanon would have offered to help, but Zina was deceptively heavy. His legs were shaking by the time he plopped her into her bedroll in Candlekeep. Twice, he nearly bumped her head into a doorway. Each time he paled when he thought of the retribution she would administer if she were injured while he carried her. No thanks, he'll pass!
"So to Beregost, then?" He continued in the direction that Pettilaen pointed, a victorious knight upon his steed. It reminded him about an old proverb seeing Mara and Petti like that. The scorpion and the bullywug.
Pettilaen gulped on Mara's threatening. He didn't doubt her for a moment. "Uhhh... Of course, Ms. uhh... master Mara. Only respect from your trusted mount...er?" He pats her on the head, correcting himself, "Only respect from me! Let's just keep it simple, without any gnome terms."
"To Beregost!" Pettilaen exclaimed in a hushed yell, and lead the group forward on top his victorious steed. She's better than Twinkletrot. Zina's words came to him clearly, but he couldn't respond by such a spell, and so remained silent. He didn't want Mara's sword shoved up his ass. Sending Gaia up into the sky before they completely disembark, Pettilaen spots a pair of armored knights descending a hill several miles to the south of their position. They're wearing black or dark gray armor with a distinct red sigil - that of a demonic skull pinned to a shield by a vertical sword... and they're heading right to where the hobgoblins will be.
"Ummm... Well this is unexpected." Pettilaen admits, still looking through Gaia's eyes. "It looks like a pair of riders, real nasty looking, are going to connect with our hobgoblin 'friends'. They're currently a few miles south, and their banners have a demonic skull, with big horns, pinned to a shield by a vertical sword... something I've never even seen before. I saw we wait this out and see what transpires between the two groups."
Kanon gives Pettilaen an odd look. "Demonic skull and big horns? It almost sounds like a contingent from Amn, but they were disbanded long ago. I don't really know much about them... Keep watching them if you can."
This was bad... was Amn behind the attacks? Maybe they reassembled this contingent.
Mara listened to the description of the riders and the banner, her pace slowing to a halt. Kanon's words rang true. "The crest sounds like a bastardization of the symbol of Orcus. The riders," she said with a heavy sigh. "They are the Knights of the New Dawn. Disgraced paladins in the service of the Overlord, Maligant." She shook her head, unsure of what to do next. "I don't like this. If they are involved, these riders could certainly hold valuable information." She turned a looked at the rest of the group, slowly, inspecting each member carefully. "But I am not sure we are equipped to handle their like."
"That was... centuries ago Ma'am." Kanon was impressed with her knowledge of the local legions. "But I think you're right... they seem to be back. I say we go for it." He says the last part with confidence, but it was merely for curiosity's sake. He wanted to see the long-dead knights in person!
"Your optimism is cute," Mara says, looking Kanon up and down. "But these are seasoned fighters we are talking about. I suggest we think about this before jumping in over our heads."
"Stop calling everyone in our party cute," Zina grumbled. "It... is... demeaning... Believe me, we are capable. If you are half as good as you claim to be, than you wouldn't be so worried about this." The illusionist rubbed her fingers together and felt the low thrum of magic all around her. "The goblins are small change; these Knights of the New Dawn may have invaluable information."
"It's only two. Though if they have magic or ranged weapons it could be interesting. And I'm an obvious enemy of such a group." She looks down at her Song of the Morning tabard and armor. "If we could intersect them at a place with some cover," looks doubtful, "I could be used as bait with a bite." She shrugged not really having an idea how to make it work, but ready to do something useful that could be meaningful.
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PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
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"We can handle this just fine, but stopping is making us lose time for your wonderful plan." Portia smiled and kept on walking. "We haven't even reached the first copse of trees. Anyone, that doesn't think they can handle this better say speak up for sure, but I've seen you all do amazing things. Well, I haven't seen Mara in action, but have no doubts of her abilities or where her heart lies. So let's find these guys, beat the hornblower down first, and hopefully get one to talk after they all get a good beating. It will have to be that way because they won't even hesitate to beat us as soon as they see us. We must get ahead and strike first."
Portia laughed. "Now if gnome cuteness could win this, we have that in double."
PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain
PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
Cute, Kanon thinks, but they're both really deadly.
"Thanks for the encouragement, Pettilaen. I think when it comes down to it, we'll prevail." He nods to the gnome as he says this. He's seen what this small group can do, and no amount of fear will hold him back when his friends are in danger.
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While they pursue the hobgoblins, Pettilaen senses something off. "Mara, can I climb onto your shoulders?" he asks, already halfway up her leg. "I need to see something with Gaia."
Situated safely on top of Mara, Pettilaen goes into his trance, viewing the hobgoblin's location through Gaia's eyes. He sees them clearly off where he thought they would be, and at a much greater distance away from them than they were originally. D'arvit. I miscalculated.
He exited his trance, but stayed on Mara's shoulders for a good minute, enjoying the view and quicker moving. Eventually, he knew he needed to tell them. "Guys," he admits, "the chase is useless. They're moving much quicker than we are, and we're going to have to sprint if we want to just catch up to them. I don't know how I made this error when viewing them origin....." He snaps his head at Zina and glares at her. "Nevermind. Now I know why I messed up."
"On the plus side, we all got some good exercise for the day!" His attempt to brighten their response to his folly had little effect.
Mara, only slightly annoyed with the current circumstances, and at becoming a gnome mount, stops in her tracks. "So, this is useless. We can't catch up to them. Do we continue? Do we backtrack? Is there any way to locate a group closer to our current location?" She looks at Petti, narrowing her eyes, but saying nothing about him sitting happily on her shoulder.
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
Zina showed great restraint and didn't send another ray of frost right at the other gnome's head. "It's... not... my... fault... you're... an... idiot..." she said with a shrug. "Can... you... figure... out... a... pattern... to... their.... rounds?"
She looked up at the rogue with a touch of jealousy, wishing she could also give her tired little legs a break.
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
Kanon points in the direction the hobgoblins were going, "They're probably going back to their camp to tell the others about us. That's a good thing, right? We can set a trap tonight."
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Pettilaen played with Mara's tight braid, spinning it around with his finger. Zina's comment almost made him pull her hair. "Don't make me make you pee your pants again!" Pettilaen spout out at Zina as he looked down at her. "This is you and your ice cubes fault... and your hair's going grey on top."
"And Kanon," he turns to look at him, "they still don't know we're here. Let's just keep on heading towards Beregost. We'll find a better opportunity. Mara, if you could carry me, we'd be able to move faster. Just a thought."
"You wouldn't have been able to feel it until after you came out of your trance," Z stuck her tongue out. "It's you're own d'arv fault that the minute you get a little chilly you forget everything you saw."
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
"I'm not arguing with this braeg'fol right now... You're probably just jealous that I'm all the way up here."
Pettilaen takes Mara's braid in his hand, acting like he's leading her, with her braid being the reigns. "Why haven't gnomes thought of this sooner." The group turns from their current direction of towards the Sharpteeth Woods, heading south while loosely aiming for Beregost.
"Alright, stop," Mara yelled. "Who cares who may or may not be at blame? We are here now, and we need to figure this out without bickering among ourselves." Mara reaches behind her head, yanking her braid from his grip. "If you don't stop that, I will shove my blade so far up your ass that you'll be tasting steel for a month. If you're going to ride me like a horse, you'll respect me, or I'll punt you into the horizon. Just test me."
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
Portia turned away so her grin could not be seen by Mara. Finally, someone else to be tested by the gnomes. She changes her expression to a smile as she looks at Zina.
"I can carry you for a bit. Say half an hour to give your legs a break. If I try to carry you longer without breaks I know it will fatigue me faster and I want to be ready if we run into hobgoblins."
She kneels so Zina can climb on easily enough.
"Though be warned I'll punt you if you try to mess with Pettilaen while I carry you. I think someday when we have nothing better to do, you can have tests to end the contest once and for all." She chuckles. "We just need to be sure we find a truly impartial judge. I would just say you are both equal in prowess and equally unique."
PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain
PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
"You're too nice Portia," Zina smiled before climbing up onto the cleric's shoulders.
"You're a braeg'fol," the illusionist used her message spell so only Pettilaen could hear her.
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
Kanon would have offered to help, but Zina was deceptively heavy. His legs were shaking by the time he plopped her into her bedroll in Candlekeep. Twice, he nearly bumped her head into a doorway. Each time he paled when he thought of the retribution she would administer if she were injured while he carried her. No thanks, he'll pass!
"So to Beregost, then?" He continued in the direction that Pettilaen pointed, a victorious knight upon his steed. It reminded him about an old proverb seeing Mara and Petti like that. The scorpion and the bullywug.
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Pettilaen gulped on Mara's threatening. He didn't doubt her for a moment. "Uhhh... Of course, Ms. uhh... master Mara. Only respect from your trusted mount...er?" He pats her on the head, correcting himself, "Only respect from me! Let's just keep it simple, without any gnome terms."
"To Beregost!" Pettilaen exclaimed in a hushed yell, and lead the group forward on top his victorious steed. She's better than Twinkletrot. Zina's words came to him clearly, but he couldn't respond by such a spell, and so remained silent. He didn't want Mara's sword shoved up his ass. Sending Gaia up into the sky before they completely disembark, Pettilaen spots a pair of armored knights descending a hill several miles to the south of their position. They're wearing black or dark gray armor with a distinct red sigil - that of a demonic skull pinned to a shield by a vertical sword... and they're heading right to where the hobgoblins will be.
"Ummm... Well this is unexpected." Pettilaen admits, still looking through Gaia's eyes. "It looks like a pair of riders, real nasty looking, are going to connect with our hobgoblin 'friends'. They're currently a few miles south, and their banners have a demonic skull, with big horns, pinned to a shield by a vertical sword... something I've never even seen before. I saw we wait this out and see what transpires between the two groups."
Kanon gives Pettilaen an odd look. "Demonic skull and big horns? It almost sounds like a contingent from Amn, but they were disbanded long ago. I don't really know much about them... Keep watching them if you can."
This was bad... was Amn behind the attacks? Maybe they reassembled this contingent.
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Mara listened to the description of the riders and the banner, her pace slowing to a halt. Kanon's words rang true. "The crest sounds like a bastardization of the symbol of Orcus. The riders," she said with a heavy sigh. "They are the Knights of the New Dawn. Disgraced paladins in the service of the Overlord, Maligant." She shook her head, unsure of what to do next. "I don't like this. If they are involved, these riders could certainly hold valuable information." She turned a looked at the rest of the group, slowly, inspecting each member carefully. "But I am not sure we are equipped to handle their like."
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
"That was... centuries ago Ma'am." Kanon was impressed with her knowledge of the local legions. "But I think you're right... they seem to be back. I say we go for it." He says the last part with confidence, but it was merely for curiosity's sake. He wanted to see the long-dead knights in person!
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Please feel free to message either Sorce or another moderator if you have any concerns.
"Your optimism is cute," Mara says, looking Kanon up and down. "But these are seasoned fighters we are talking about. I suggest we think about this before jumping in over our heads."
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
"Stop calling everyone in our party cute," Zina grumbled. "It... is... demeaning... Believe me, we are capable. If you are half as good as you claim to be, than you wouldn't be so worried about this." The illusionist rubbed her fingers together and felt the low thrum of magic all around her. "The goblins are small change; these Knights of the New Dawn may have invaluable information."
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
"It's only two. Though if they have magic or ranged weapons it could be interesting. And I'm an obvious enemy of such a group." She looks down at her Song of the Morning tabard and armor. "If we could intersect them at a place with some cover," looks doubtful, "I could be used as bait with a bite." She shrugged not really having an idea how to make it work, but ready to do something useful that could be meaningful.
PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain
PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard