Caine watches for a moment as Sleet and Jim wander off into the shadow touched areas of the clearing.
”Better them than me,” he says quietly under his breath.
He then points out the old man by the fire to Nelyna and Razi.
”He looks like the top dog here. Might as well try a little chit chat.”
Caine holds his head high and strides towards the fire and the group. He nods greetings to any and all he passes until he gets to the old man. He bows deeply and gives the old man his best smile.
“Caine Turpin at your service, governor. This is a right nice gathering you have going on here. Very festive and all. But some around here aren’t seeing it for what it’s worth. They’re just seeing a lot of noise and carrying on. And the stodgy farmers and the like get all nervous around your group. And so they’re all complaining to the lady of the manor. Now she’s a fair one but these are her people and she needs to listen to them. It would go a long way to helping her out if you could pack up your crew and head down the road to the harvest fest.”
Caine looks around and smiles and nods at the rest as he speaks.
Either doing a good job of not letting on that he sees his allies fanning out around the travelers, or simply not noticing, Razi walks right into their midst. A smile beaming on his face in the deepening dusk, he shakes hands and introduces himself to as many of the travelers as possible, moving from one to another in quick succession, getting closer and closer to the campfire each time.
"Hi, nice to meet you. The name's Razi."
"Great little camp you've got here. Mind if I join you for a bit? Razi's the name."
"I dig the wagons. Have you folks been on the road for a spell? Seen anything wild out there? The name's Razi, by the by."
"Always a pleasure to make a new acquaintance. They call me Razi. What's your name, friend?"
Each greeting is heartfelt and sincere, and comes with a strong, elbow gripping handshake but perhaps just a little too much close eye contact.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * [Sound of Cork Popping] - Kenku - Lvl 3 Lore Bard - Everasil
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"Well, as my friend Caine here has already shared, the local authorities have been receiving some complaints. I don't claim to presume to know what the truth of all that matter is, but nonetheless we've been asked to pay a visit and see if we can resolve it. We protect Daggerford, both from threats, and from themselves at times. It seems some of the guards are telling tales that your crew bewitched them or somesuch thing... and we would like to talk with you about getting back on the road before tempers get the upper hand and good people start making bad decisions."
Basically, Razi is just trying to help Caine with his Persuasion attempt.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * [Sound of Cork Popping] - Kenku - Lvl 3 Lore Bard - Everasil
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Nelyna follows the rest of the party from the duchess' manor and down to where the gathering of people have made camp. She's not sure what Sleet and Jim hope to accomplish by sneaking off so she follows Razi and Caine toward the center of the gathering where an old man seems to be holding forth. As Caine and Razi explain their initiative to the old man, Nelyna smiles and nods shyly from just behind Caine's shoulder.
She's never been very good with words, a byproduct of spending most of her time with books instead of people, but she decides to ask a question of her own. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, what has brought your people here to Daggerford?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf - Lvl. 3 Halfling Rogue (Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk) ♦ Evelyn Drake - Lvl. 3 Human Wizard (Rule of Change) ♦ Aranea Kendrick - Lvl. 4 Human Warlock (Where the Cold Winds Blow) ♦ Elsenia Vesper - Lvl. 2 Shadar-kai Druid (Strixhaven)
"I love a good story," Caine says to Stanimir. Then he looks around and reaches out for one of the wine flasks. "Mind if we try some while you tell it?"
He settles down, cross legged by the fire, with the wine if they let him take it, ready for the story.
"Now, I like to be up front with this," Caine says, a crooked smile on his face. "If it's a really good story, I'm bound to borrow it, and retell it down the road. It's amazing how many times a good story pays for dinner."
Caine edges back quickly from the fire when the shadows start moving and taking shape amidst the flames. When he realizes they're not going to come out he settles back down and listens to the story.
At the end, when Sleet answers first, he looks over at the big warrior and sighs.
"My large friend here is being modest. Far too modest," Caine says. "Yes, we are adventurers of renown. But that means we're very busy people. There are all manners of quests and rescues and capers in various stages of planning. To just put those on hold and traipse off to, where was it, Barovia, well that puts quite the financial strain on the purse."
Caine stands up and drinks more of the wine.
"If we were to agree to put all that on hold, I fear we would need substantial compensation."
Then he thinks a moment longer.
"And what kind of curse are we talking about here?"
"There's a lot to unpack there, friend. A curse... this sounds like the sort of thing my... that I would want to look into." He almost seems to trip over the words as he says them. He backs away a bit and looks at no one in particular, seeming to mumble to himself.
DM: Any chance his patron might be willing to share some gentle advice on if this is or isn't the sort of thing she would want one of her warlocks getting involved with?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * [Sound of Cork Popping] - Kenku - Lvl 3 Lore Bard - Everasil
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"This looks like it could be dangerous, maybe the rest of you should stay here. I will make sure they leave and not return and I won't have to worry about pulling your irons out of the forge when things heat up. A win win I think the traders call it."
He takes a deep breath, sighs, and then addresses the old man. "I will come with you."
The words hang in the air for a moment. "I can't speak for any of my allies here. But she... I sense the importance of this quest and I know this is the road I must take."
With that out of the way he turns back to the others. "Whatever this is, I'm sure it won't be easy. I cannot ask you to come and risk your lives, though I can assure you that it is a most noble and urgent matter, and the heavens will surely note your courage and bravery if you take up this quest." Another smile, and then Razi settles in next to the other travelers around the fire, just like that.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * [Sound of Cork Popping] - Kenku - Lvl 3 Lore Bard - Everasil
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Caine's smile broadens when Stanimir mentions compensation.
"Now, now Sleet," Caine says. "Of course I'll come with you to see Madame Eva."
Caine looks at Sleet for a moment trying to decide if he's just one of these always noble and proud warriors or if he was trying to keep all of the reward for himself. He hasn't had much to do with the dragonborn before. Not many of them in the Field Ward.
"Sounds like Razi's on board. Nelyna, Jim, care to make it a full house?" Caine asks the last two. He doesn't like to voluntarily water down his share of a reward, but he really doesn't like the sound of a curse either. More might be better in this case.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Jim watches the events unfold from the top of the wagon where no one seems to have noticed him so far. He notices the shadows dancing around in the fire when the old man spits something into the fire. Jim then turns to his attention elsewhere scanning the camp. When he sees someone walk by he decides to shout down to them.
"Hey, there! So what is really going on here? I'm sure your leader is telling the rest of my group some story to manipulate them. But what is his real goal? You can tell me, can't you?"
(Persuasion: 18)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules.” ― Gary Gygax
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Caine watches for a moment as Sleet and Jim wander off into the shadow touched areas of the clearing.
”Better them than me,” he says quietly under his breath.
He then points out the old man by the fire to Nelyna and Razi.
”He looks like the top dog here. Might as well try a little chit chat.”
Caine holds his head high and strides towards the fire and the group. He nods greetings to any and all he passes until he gets to the old man. He bows deeply and gives the old man his best smile.
“Caine Turpin at your service, governor. This is a right nice gathering you have going on here. Very festive and all. But some around here aren’t seeing it for what it’s worth. They’re just seeing a lot of noise and carrying on. And the stodgy farmers and the like get all nervous around your group. And so they’re all complaining to the lady of the manor. Now she’s a fair one but these are her people and she needs to listen to them. It would go a long way to helping her out if you could pack up your crew and head down the road to the harvest fest.”
Caine looks around and smiles and nods at the rest as he speaks.
Persuasion: 25
Either doing a good job of not letting on that he sees his allies fanning out around the travelers, or simply not noticing, Razi walks right into their midst. A smile beaming on his face in the deepening dusk, he shakes hands and introduces himself to as many of the travelers as possible, moving from one to another in quick succession, getting closer and closer to the campfire each time.
"Hi, nice to meet you. The name's Razi."
"Great little camp you've got here. Mind if I join you for a bit? Razi's the name."
"I dig the wagons. Have you folks been on the road for a spell? Seen anything wild out there? The name's Razi, by the by."
"Always a pleasure to make a new acquaintance. They call me Razi. What's your name, friend?"
Each greeting is heartfelt and sincere, and comes with a strong, elbow gripping handshake but perhaps just a little too much close eye contact.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * [Sound of Cork Popping] - Kenku - Lvl 3 Lore Bard - Everasil
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"Well, as my friend Caine here has already shared, the local authorities have been receiving some complaints. I don't claim to presume to know what the truth of all that matter is, but nonetheless we've been asked to pay a visit and see if we can resolve it. We protect Daggerford, both from threats, and from themselves at times. It seems some of the guards are telling tales that your crew bewitched them or somesuch thing... and we would like to talk with you about getting back on the road before tempers get the upper hand and good people start making bad decisions."
Basically, Razi is just trying to help Caine with his Persuasion attempt.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * [Sound of Cork Popping] - Kenku - Lvl 3 Lore Bard - Everasil
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Nelyna follows the rest of the party from the duchess' manor and down to where the gathering of people have made camp. She's not sure what Sleet and Jim hope to accomplish by sneaking off so she follows Razi and Caine toward the center of the gathering where an old man seems to be holding forth. As Caine and Razi explain their initiative to the old man, Nelyna smiles and nods shyly from just behind Caine's shoulder.
She's never been very good with words, a byproduct of spending most of her time with books instead of people, but she decides to ask a question of her own. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, what has brought your people here to Daggerford?"
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf - Lvl. 3 Halfling Rogue (Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk) ♦ Evelyn Drake - Lvl. 3 Human Wizard (Rule of Change) ♦ Aranea Kendrick - Lvl. 4 Human Warlock (Where the Cold Winds Blow) ♦ Elsenia Vesper - Lvl. 2 Shadar-kai Druid (Strixhaven)
DMing: Curse of Strahd
done with the horses, Sleet casually returns to campfire with the goal of protecting Caine and Razi from anyone that may be behind them...
"I love a good story," Caine says to Stanimir. Then he looks around and reaches out for one of the wine flasks. "Mind if we try some while you tell it?"
He settles down, cross legged by the fire, with the wine if they let him take it, ready for the story.
"Now, I like to be up front with this," Caine says, a crooked smile on his face. "If it's a really good story, I'm bound to borrow it, and retell it down the road. It's amazing how many times a good story pays for dinner."
"Knows all you say? I have nothing better to do and I have a question for this mystic so count me in. How far we talking?"
Caine edges back quickly from the fire when the shadows start moving and taking shape amidst the flames. When he realizes they're not going to come out he settles back down and listens to the story.
At the end, when Sleet answers first, he looks over at the big warrior and sighs.
"My large friend here is being modest. Far too modest," Caine says. "Yes, we are adventurers of renown. But that means we're very busy people. There are all manners of quests and rescues and capers in various stages of planning. To just put those on hold and traipse off to, where was it, Barovia, well that puts quite the financial strain on the purse."
Caine stands up and drinks more of the wine.
"If we were to agree to put all that on hold, I fear we would need substantial compensation."
Then he thinks a moment longer.
"And what kind of curse are we talking about here?"
Razi listens quietly to the old man's story.
"There's a lot to unpack there, friend. A curse... this sounds like the sort of thing my... that I would want to look into." He almost seems to trip over the words as he says them. He backs away a bit and looks at no one in particular, seeming to mumble to himself.
DM: Any chance his patron might be willing to share some gentle advice on if this is or isn't the sort of thing she would want one of her warlocks getting involved with?
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * [Sound of Cork Popping] - Kenku - Lvl 3 Lore Bard - Everasil
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"This looks like it could be dangerous, maybe the rest of you should stay here. I will make sure they leave and not return and I won't have to worry about pulling your irons out of the forge when things heat up. A win win I think the traders call it."
Razi returns to the group.
He takes a deep breath, sighs, and then addresses the old man. "I will come with you."
The words hang in the air for a moment. "I can't speak for any of my allies here. But she... I sense the importance of this quest and I know this is the road I must take."
With that out of the way he turns back to the others. "Whatever this is, I'm sure it won't be easy. I cannot ask you to come and risk your lives, though I can assure you that it is a most noble and urgent matter, and the heavens will surely note your courage and bravery if you take up this quest." Another smile, and then Razi settles in next to the other travelers around the fire, just like that.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * [Sound of Cork Popping] - Kenku - Lvl 3 Lore Bard - Everasil
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Caine's smile broadens when Stanimir mentions compensation.
"Now, now Sleet," Caine says. "Of course I'll come with you to see Madame Eva."
Caine looks at Sleet for a moment trying to decide if he's just one of these always noble and proud warriors or if he was trying to keep all of the reward for himself. He hasn't had much to do with the dragonborn before. Not many of them in the Field Ward.
"Sounds like Razi's on board. Nelyna, Jim, care to make it a full house?" Caine asks the last two. He doesn't like to voluntarily water down his share of a reward, but he really doesn't like the sound of a curse either. More might be better in this case.
as Razi and Caine confirm they will be going also, Sleet visibly relaxes
"Never been to Barovia before, matter of fact, I haven't been to anywhere really."
Jim watches the events unfold from the top of the wagon where no one seems to have noticed him so far. He notices the shadows dancing around in the fire when the old man spits something into the fire. Jim then turns to his attention elsewhere scanning the camp. When he sees someone walk by he decides to shout down to them.
"Hey, there! So what is really going on here? I'm sure your leader is telling the rest of my group some story to manipulate them. But what is his real goal? You can tell me, can't you?"
(Persuasion: 18)
“The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules.” ― Gary Gygax