The heroes gather together for one last time at the base of the Ivory Tower.
They are amazed to see that they have been atop the tower all night. The sun is rising, a sure sign that at the mare still lives, for now at least. The nearby stables are rife with activity as stablehands go about their business of feeding the mounts, oiling saddles, shoveling stalls, brushing manes, and the general maintenance and upkeep of such an establishment. The stables are huge. There are dozens of barns, each with tens of stalls, most stalls housing something inside.
A Kokiri who previously announced himself as to them as Peegbert is dragging a couple of chests of provisions to them. Each chest is identical. They have inside (3) potions of healing, a small bag of (100 gp) gold, and roughly two extra weeks of rations for each member of the parties. There are a couple of tents, a hatchet, a few simple hunting knives, and materials for fixing bows and making arrows.
"We've got you a couple of donkeys, too, with pack saddles. You can carry extra stuff there." Peegbert says as other Kokiris leads up the mentioned donkeys. "We have a couple of mounts, too, that Cairon wanted me to mention. There's a giant bat, for anyone that wants that stupid thing, and a warhorse named Hobble...which...has a hobble. There's a couple of regular horses, a racing snail...oh by the goddesses, and that accursed Flail Snail someone left behind as an abandoned war mount. Old Ironsides they call that bas...bad boy. There's an ostrich too. I'd be glad to have someone take them off my hands. If you had been here just a few days before someone had abandoned a monoclonius, but it broke down the door and ran off into the country side just...whoosh! It was so fast! And ooh ooh! There was that owlbear that halfling was riding but he never returned for either but then...well there was this curiouswizard..."
He trailed off, obviously forgetting what he was saying, before propping his chin on his hand and then scuttling off toward one of the barns.
“Be right back”, Rum says to the others as they gather around the stables and listen to the Kokiris, Peegbert. Then in a blistering blur of speed he disappears around the corner. Just a few moments later, he re-appears leading a mule which in turn is pulling a cart.
“Couldn’t leave Hops behind”, he says scratching the beast between it’s large ears as he approaches the group. “Although not sure how he will take to the open seas”, he adds with a curious frown.
“Feel free to hitch a ride, or just put the equipment on, there are a few barrels of Dragonclaw there but plenty of space left”, he adds as he brings Hops to a stop.
Ro sees Rum approach with Hops in tow, "Ah, if we are fetching our mounts allow me some time to grab mine." Ro leaves the group for a moment and returns with a brown, armored warhorse, "This here is Penelope. She's been with me since the start of my journey, we've traveled many lands and seas together." Penelope raises and shakes her head in the air, giving a cheerful whinny almost as if to say hello.
Yam approaches the bat first but sees a commotion beginning to stir around the animal. She might intervene to stop that if things don't come to a resolution quickly, but for now...
Yam turns back to Peegbert. "You mentioned a racing snail, dear boy? Despite being as old as some rocks, I've never laid my eyes on one. Is it here? I'd love to try riding on it, for a moment at least." However, considering the bat dispute, she raises her voice, calling to anyone around: "Unless somebody else wants it?"
Greko watches the different bands and characters discussing who should take which mount decides to approach the bat. He rummages through his bag of druidic herbs, salves, and materials and pulls out a jar of bugs. He opens the jar and allows the bat to take a sniff and eat them if it wishes
Ro addresses Peegbert, "Our journey requires our band to travel to the east coast with due haste. Could we take two horses and a cart if one is available? Also, do you know if the east coast has a port that could fare us back to Hylia? If not, then what would be your recommendation to cross the sea? Mayhaps you have a mount capable of such?"
Yam's encounter with the racing snail seems very congenial. The snail, especially considering that it's a snail and that it's cousin Old Ironsides was about to murder Kerwyn and possibly Shavaris, reached out with its eye stalks and ran them up and down the Dwarf, getting a good look at her. It slid forward on its undulating gastropod, its mouth making little winking 'o-o-o' motions and it almost looked like the crazy thing was smiling or something. A saddle hung in the corner, high enough that the snail couldn't get it...
Though it did have some dried mucus on it.
"He likes you." Peegbert said. "Feed him or give him a test ride or something. He probably won't break your hip. Probably."
The bat takes to Greko warmly. It drops down from the wall, picks a few bugs from the cup, and then squints as it looks at the old lizard. His nose, soft, wet, warm, and furry, brushes Greko's hand. The bat seems like a big baby.
"Oh yes, absolutely. Atreyu sent word that we are to provide whatever you need." Peegbert says to Ro as he asks about horses and carts. "Just remember we have to outfit sixteen or seventeen of you people."
Greko pets the bat and nuzzles it with his nose. He then looks the bat in the eye and tells it "Ah there, there, youngling. Greko set you free to make your own choice. You fly away and make a life or you can fly and follow Greko and his friends. Greko would never force you to be his companion" He begins to untie the bat and allow it to make its own choice
Greko shrugs "The bat should make its own choice and not be captive to be ridden like a horse. The choice was made. It is settled." Greko walks back and rejoins his companions "How are we all doing? Ready to make our way to the boats?"
"A good deed. The young boy should be happy for his pet has been given the choice of freedom and took it. A new path awaits it, for perhaps something grander. Greko had been most generous to offer such an opportunity." Lelith approved of Greko's actions, vocally at that. Before calmly gathering the supplies offered to her. She had not thought of tents, expecting to sleep in the wild but she did not mind taking one now. It would afford her some privacy. The additional potions and local currency were helpful as well even if she already had some, you could never have enough in long journeys.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Hmm, I do not know what a snail such as yourself eats. Meat? I wonder..." Yam takes her backpack off and reaches inside. She pulls out one of the rations she made a while ago. Out of it, she picks a piece of dried meat and offers it to the snail. "How do you like it? How about we go on a ride, get to know each other? They said you were the quickest of snails, they did. Why don't you show me?"
Yam tries to get the saddle, though she herself isn't tall enough either. Taking one of her javelins and unstrapping it from the backpack, she uses it to extend her reach and poke the saddle to fall to her hands. There were some uses to weapons after all. She tries to fit the saddle to the snail, assuming it allows her to do so. She seems to enjoy the whole process, despite the possible danger. Well, if this is her last ride, it's not like she's missing many more years anyway.
I doubt it is needed, but in case it is... Animal Handling: 18.
Ro accepts the small chest of goods as wells as grabbing a tent and placing it into his bag of holding.
Ro repeats one of his questions to Peegbert, "Do you know where along the east coast we could find passage across the sea to Hyrule? Anything like a port town, someone we could hire that has a boat, or even where we could find our own swimming mounts?"
Seeing Yam struggling to get her racing snail fit to ride, Ro offers a helping hand, "If it's alright, allow me to help you."
Rum helps load up the remainder of the supplies into the new cart pulled by the pair of horses, and then looks from them to Hops. These horses looked fast, and speed was of the essence.
He wanders over to Hops and puts his hand under his chin. “I think you will need to sit this journey out old friend. You are sure footed and true, but I need speed today”.
He wanders over to Peegbert and sombrely asks, “Would you be able to look after old Hops here until I return? And make sure you treat him well, yeah?”.
The racing snail just seems happy, and especially happy to be getting attention, and really especially happy to be given treats, meat or otherwise. It takes the meat from Yam.
"I'm sorry, Master Elf." Peegbert said to Ro. "There is a port in the delta of the Fantasia River on the eastern side of Fantasia, down near God's Eye, on the east side of the Swamp of Sadness. I don't remember the name of it. But they do a lot of fishing and a lot of exports. Not like King's Landing, mind you, but big enough to get you across the sea, if you want. That's actually probably your best bet, unless you want to go down to Windfall. They have a big port."
The Kokiri smiles while he watches Rum talk to Hops, and then smiles wider when Rum asks him to look after him.
"Of course! Hops will be well taken care of here until you get back." He replies to Rum.
"Thank you, that is extremely helpful," Ro responds and flusters a bit, "Also, no need for master. Ro is fine."
Ro turns to his party, "The closest port is south towards God's Eye, east of the Swamp of Sadness. Assuming we use our mounts the entire way, it's about a two week's travel there as the crow flies. If we want to play it safe, we can stop in Riverwood to do some information gathering. What do you all think we should do?"
Ro pauses to think a bit and turns back towards Peegbert, "Actually, if it isn't much trouble, call me False Knight."
Rum holds his palm to his chest and bows his head to Peegbert, “My thanks, may The Great Dragon keep you and your stables safe”.
He turns and listens to Ro, “We should stick to the roads if we want to make good time with the cart, and we will need to ford the river. There is likely to be a crossing at Riverwood so we should head there with all speed”, he replies. “At least I think that is best”, he says scratching the fur at the back of his neck with a claw.
He starts moving a barrel of Dragonclaw ale from his cart to the new one. “No use going without”, he says to no-one in particular.
He turns back to Ro, “Should I call you ‘False Knight’ also?”.
Lelith nodded to approve of Rumble's suggestion for their next step
"A peculiar title to claim." Lelith, still wearing her cloak's hood, looked a bit confused at Ro for a few moments before her icy stare narrowed dangerously as she registered the previous words. She had a question on her tongue, a burning one, a curiosity that needed to be sated no matter what. However, she could not know at least not now. Let her suspicions remain suspicions. He needed not to be glared at, she only spoke after she calmed herself. Still the title confused her, she asked genuinely. "Are you a knight or are you not?"
Greko smiles at the group. He sees the confusion in Lelith's face and hears the question. Having remembered seeing Ro in action during the fight for the unicorns, Greko speaks up"Ro is a knight but not in the conventional sense. Ro is brave and does well in a fight as Greko has seen in the woods. For us, bravery, skill, and companionship are what we will need to aid the realm."Greko pauses a moment considering the questions of travel before suggesting"Perhaps we find a riverboat large enough for all of us and our things. Greko would think trade between the two places must take place over water and boats big enough should be available, yes?"
Ro opens his mouth as if to speak but quickly stops as he remembers something. He slings his bag of holding out in front of him and lifts its flap open. Reaching his hand inside, Ro pulls out a bound, black leather book. The leather cover has shallow, fancy patterns and flourishes carved into it. A purple gem is embedded in the center of the cover.
A single, animated eye apparates inside the purple gem as the book beings to speak the second it’s been taken out of the bag, “It’s about time you pulled me out of there! I swear one day you’re gonna regret shoving me into that wretched bag everytime you don’t want to deal with me!” Ro ignores the remark and shows the book to the rest of the band.
“Everyone this is Kazek. He’s a sentient spellbook and a close friend of mine. I know he can be rather brash, but I hope you all can get along with him.” Two thin leather straps emerge from Kazek’s pages. They appear to be built-in bookmarks attached to the top of Kazek’s spine. Using the bookmarks as pseudo-arms, Kazek waves to the band. “As Ro says, I’m Kazek: sentient spellbook and this loner’s only friend. Looking forward to working with you all, Ro could use some new friends. And to answer your question Ro is more than a knight, he’s a hero!” At the last sentence, Kazek’s “arms” cross, like parent’s do when they lecture a child.
Ro’s face reddens slightly at the mention of hero and even moreso when he receives Greko’s compliment. He then addresses Rum’s and Lelith’s questions, “As we will be traveling together for quite a while, please call me Ro. And as Greko has said, I am not a knight in the conventional sense. ‘False Knight’ was a title given to me in my adolescence, although not with the nicest of intentions…” Ro’s face saddens for a quick moment before quickly recovering, “But I’ve come to adopt the title and use it during my travels. I hope to change the stigma around the title.”
Ro then gives his own input on the journey’s logistics, “Personally, I agree with Rum. We can stick to roads alongside Fantasia’s river as we travel south. We’ll get there much faster on our mounts than on a boat. If we don’t find a bridge to ford the river along the way, I’d assume Riverwood would have one.”
AURYN: Lord of Darkness
Black as midnight…
…black as pitch…
…blacker than the foulest witch!
The heroes gather together for one last time at the base of the Ivory Tower.
They are amazed to see that they have been atop the tower all night. The sun is rising, a sure sign that at the mare still lives, for now at least. The nearby stables are rife with activity as stablehands go about their business of feeding the mounts, oiling saddles, shoveling stalls, brushing manes, and the general maintenance and upkeep of such an establishment. The stables are huge. There are dozens of barns, each with tens of stalls, most stalls housing something inside.
A Kokiri who previously announced himself as to them as Peegbert is dragging a couple of chests of provisions to them. Each chest is identical. They have inside (3) potions of healing, a small bag of (100 gp) gold, and roughly two extra weeks of rations for each member of the parties. There are a couple of tents, a hatchet, a few simple hunting knives, and materials for fixing bows and making arrows.
"We've got you a couple of donkeys, too, with pack saddles. You can carry extra stuff there." Peegbert says as other Kokiris leads up the mentioned donkeys. "We have a couple of mounts, too, that Cairon wanted me to mention. There's a giant bat, for anyone that wants that stupid thing, and a warhorse named Hobble...which...has a hobble. There's a couple of regular horses, a racing snail...oh by the goddesses, and that accursed Flail Snail someone left behind as an abandoned war mount. Old Ironsides they call that bas...bad boy. There's an ostrich too. I'd be glad to have someone take them off my hands. If you had been here just a few days before someone had abandoned a monoclonius, but it broke down the door and ran off into the country side just...whoosh! It was so fast! And ooh ooh! There was that owlbear that halfling was riding but he never returned for either but then...well there was this curious wizard..."
He trailed off, obviously forgetting what he was saying, before propping his chin on his hand and then scuttling off toward one of the barns.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
“Be right back”, Rum says to the others as they gather around the stables and listen to the Kokiris, Peegbert. Then in a blistering blur of speed he disappears around the corner. Just a few moments later, he re-appears leading a mule which in turn is pulling a cart.
“Couldn’t leave Hops behind”, he says scratching the beast between it’s large ears as he approaches the group. “Although not sure how he will take to the open seas”, he adds with a curious frown.
“Feel free to hitch a ride, or just put the equipment on, there are a few barrels of Dragonclaw there but plenty of space left”, he adds as he brings Hops to a stop.
Ro sees Rum approach with Hops in tow, "Ah, if we are fetching our mounts allow me some time to grab mine." Ro leaves the group for a moment and returns with a brown, armored warhorse, "This here is Penelope. She's been with me since the start of my journey, we've traveled many lands and seas together." Penelope raises and shakes her head in the air, giving a cheerful whinny almost as if to say hello.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Yam approaches the bat first but sees a commotion beginning to stir around the animal. She might intervene to stop that if things don't come to a resolution quickly, but for now...
Yam turns back to Peegbert. "You mentioned a racing snail, dear boy? Despite being as old as some rocks, I've never laid my eyes on one. Is it here? I'd love to try riding on it, for a moment at least." However, considering the bat dispute, she raises her voice, calling to anyone around: "Unless somebody else wants it?"
Varielky
Greko watches the different bands and characters discussing who should take which mount decides to approach the bat. He rummages through his bag of druidic herbs, salves, and materials and pulls out a jar of bugs. He opens the jar and allows the bat to take a sniff and eat them if it wishes
Animal Handling: 20
Ro addresses Peegbert, "Our journey requires our band to travel to the east coast with due haste. Could we take two horses and a cart if one is available? Also, do you know if the east coast has a port that could fare us back to Hylia? If not, then what would be your recommendation to cross the sea? Mayhaps you have a mount capable of such?"
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Yam's encounter with the racing snail seems very congenial. The snail, especially considering that it's a snail and that it's cousin Old Ironsides was about to murder Kerwyn and possibly Shavaris, reached out with its eye stalks and ran them up and down the Dwarf, getting a good look at her. It slid forward on its undulating gastropod, its mouth making little winking 'o-o-o' motions and it almost looked like the crazy thing was smiling or something. A saddle hung in the corner, high enough that the snail couldn't get it...
Though it did have some dried mucus on it.
"He likes you." Peegbert said. "Feed him or give him a test ride or something. He probably won't break your hip. Probably."
The bat takes to Greko warmly. It drops down from the wall, picks a few bugs from the cup, and then squints as it looks at the old lizard. His nose, soft, wet, warm, and furry, brushes Greko's hand. The bat seems like a big baby.
"Oh yes, absolutely. Atreyu sent word that we are to provide whatever you need." Peegbert says to Ro as he asks about horses and carts. "Just remember we have to outfit sixteen or seventeen of you people."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Greko pets the bat and nuzzles it with his nose. He then looks the bat in the eye and tells it "Ah there, there, youngling. Greko set you free to make your own choice. You fly away and make a life or you can fly and follow Greko and his friends. Greko would never force you to be his companion" He begins to untie the bat and allow it to make its own choice
The bat nuzzles Greko, steps out of the stall, and flies away.
"Oh boy...Atreyu used to ride that stupid bat to see Morla all the time. He's going to be pissed." Peegbert says.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Greko shrugs "The bat should make its own choice and not be captive to be ridden like a horse. The choice was made. It is settled." Greko walks back and rejoins his companions "How are we all doing? Ready to make our way to the boats?"
"A good deed. The young boy should be happy for his pet has been given the choice of freedom and took it. A new path awaits it, for perhaps something grander. Greko had been most generous to offer such an opportunity." Lelith approved of Greko's actions, vocally at that. Before calmly gathering the supplies offered to her. She had not thought of tents, expecting to sleep in the wild but she did not mind taking one now. It would afford her some privacy. The additional potions and local currency were helpful as well even if she already had some, you could never have enough in long journeys.
"Hmm, I do not know what a snail such as yourself eats. Meat? I wonder..." Yam takes her backpack off and reaches inside. She pulls out one of the rations she made a while ago. Out of it, she picks a piece of dried meat and offers it to the snail. "How do you like it? How about we go on a ride, get to know each other? They said you were the quickest of snails, they did. Why don't you show me?"
Yam tries to get the saddle, though she herself isn't tall enough either. Taking one of her javelins and unstrapping it from the backpack, she uses it to extend her reach and poke the saddle to fall to her hands. There were some uses to weapons after all. She tries to fit the saddle to the snail, assuming it allows her to do so. She seems to enjoy the whole process, despite the possible danger. Well, if this is her last ride, it's not like she's missing many more years anyway.
I doubt it is needed, but in case it is... Animal Handling: 18.
Varielky
Ro accepts the small chest of goods as wells as grabbing a tent and placing it into his bag of holding.
Ro repeats one of his questions to Peegbert, "Do you know where along the east coast we could find passage across the sea to Hyrule? Anything like a port town, someone we could hire that has a boat, or even where we could find our own swimming mounts?"
Seeing Yam struggling to get her racing snail fit to ride, Ro offers a helping hand, "If it's alright, allow me to help you."
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Rum helps load up the remainder of the supplies into the new cart pulled by the pair of horses, and then looks from them to Hops. These horses looked fast, and speed was of the essence.
He wanders over to Hops and puts his hand under his chin. “I think you will need to sit this journey out old friend. You are sure footed and true, but I need speed today”.
He wanders over to Peegbert and sombrely asks, “Would you be able to look after old Hops here until I return? And make sure you treat him well, yeah?”.
The racing snail just seems happy, and especially happy to be getting attention, and really especially happy to be given treats, meat or otherwise. It takes the meat from Yam.
"I'm sorry, Master Elf." Peegbert said to Ro. "There is a port in the delta of the Fantasia River on the eastern side of Fantasia, down near God's Eye, on the east side of the Swamp of Sadness. I don't remember the name of it. But they do a lot of fishing and a lot of exports. Not like King's Landing, mind you, but big enough to get you across the sea, if you want. That's actually probably your best bet, unless you want to go down to Windfall. They have a big port."
The Kokiri smiles while he watches Rum talk to Hops, and then smiles wider when Rum asks him to look after him.
"Of course! Hops will be well taken care of here until you get back." He replies to Rum.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
"Thank you, that is extremely helpful," Ro responds and flusters a bit, "Also, no need for master. Ro is fine."
Ro turns to his party, "The closest port is south towards God's Eye, east of the Swamp of Sadness. Assuming we use our mounts the entire way, it's about a two week's travel there as the crow flies. If we want to play it safe, we can stop in Riverwood to do some information gathering. What do you all think we should do?"
Ro pauses to think a bit and turns back towards Peegbert, "Actually, if it isn't much trouble, call me False Knight."
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Rum holds his palm to his chest and bows his head to Peegbert, “My thanks, may The Great Dragon keep you and your stables safe”.
He turns and listens to Ro, “We should stick to the roads if we want to make good time with the cart, and we will need to ford the river. There is likely to be a crossing at Riverwood so we should head there with all speed”, he replies. “At least I think that is best”, he says scratching the fur at the back of his neck with a claw.
He starts moving a barrel of Dragonclaw ale from his cart to the new one. “No use going without”, he says to no-one in particular.
He turns back to Ro, “Should I call you ‘False Knight’ also?”.
Lelith nodded to approve of Rumble's suggestion for their next step
"A peculiar title to claim." Lelith, still wearing her cloak's hood, looked a bit confused at Ro for a few moments before her icy stare narrowed dangerously as she registered the previous words. She had a question on her tongue, a burning one, a curiosity that needed to be sated no matter what. However, she could not know at least not now. Let her suspicions remain suspicions. He needed not to be glared at, she only spoke after she calmed herself. Still the title confused her, she asked genuinely. "Are you a knight or are you not?"
Greko smiles at the group. He sees the confusion in Lelith's face and hears the question. Having remembered seeing Ro in action during the fight for the unicorns, Greko speaks up "Ro is a knight but not in the conventional sense. Ro is brave and does well in a fight as Greko has seen in the woods. For us, bravery, skill, and companionship are what we will need to aid the realm." Greko pauses a moment considering the questions of travel before suggesting "Perhaps we find a riverboat large enough for all of us and our things. Greko would think trade between the two places must take place over water and boats big enough should be available, yes?"
Ro opens his mouth as if to speak but quickly stops as he remembers something. He slings his bag of holding out in front of him and lifts its flap open. Reaching his hand inside, Ro pulls out a bound, black leather book. The leather cover has shallow, fancy patterns and flourishes carved into it. A purple gem is embedded in the center of the cover.
A single, animated eye apparates inside the purple gem as the book beings to speak the second it’s been taken out of the bag, “It’s about time you pulled me out of there! I swear one day you’re gonna regret shoving me into that wretched bag everytime you don’t want to deal with me!” Ro ignores the remark and shows the book to the rest of the band.
“Everyone this is Kazek. He’s a sentient spellbook and a close friend of mine. I know he can be rather brash, but I hope you all can get along with him.” Two thin leather straps emerge from Kazek’s pages. They appear to be built-in bookmarks attached to the top of Kazek’s spine. Using the bookmarks as pseudo-arms, Kazek waves to the band. “As Ro says, I’m Kazek: sentient spellbook and this loner’s only friend. Looking forward to working with you all, Ro could use some new friends. And to answer your question Ro is more than a knight, he’s a hero!” At the last sentence, Kazek’s “arms” cross, like parent’s do when they lecture a child.
Ro’s face reddens slightly at the mention of hero and even moreso when he receives Greko’s compliment. He then addresses Rum’s and Lelith’s questions, “As we will be traveling together for quite a while, please call me Ro. And as Greko has said, I am not a knight in the conventional sense. ‘False Knight’ was a title given to me in my adolescence, although not with the nicest of intentions…” Ro’s face saddens for a quick moment before quickly recovering, “But I’ve come to adopt the title and use it during my travels. I hope to change the stigma around the title.”
Ro then gives his own input on the journey’s logistics, “Personally, I agree with Rum. We can stick to roads alongside Fantasia’s river as we travel south. We’ll get there much faster on our mounts than on a boat. If we don’t find a bridge to ford the river along the way, I’d assume Riverwood would have one.”
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN