Gash and Stones find 108 gold in various denominations, as well as 5 gems (each worth 50 gp). Curiously, one of them was carrying a spell scroll containing the control flames cantrip.
Dog immediately looks inside the carriage, making a silly face and puppy dog bark to try to make Genny laugh. He's still breathing hard, and has to try to hold together some parts of his legs that got carved up when he was on top of the carriage. If she wants to stay inside and be quiet, he'll let her, and if she wants to come out he'll let her crawl into his arms. "That was a bit more of an exciting game than we bargained for, wasn't it, little one?" he says.
To the rest of the group, Dog widens his eyes and sighs. "Everyone alright? That was close. This road is long and dangerous. Who knows how many other friends there are out there. We should definitely get going if we can. We can all take turns resting in the carriage."
When he has a bit of time walking next to Gash, he says, "I know you didn't mean to leave her alone, and she probably would have been fine. It's okay, friend. Thanks for coming back for me, and her. Those bastards were tough. Just, we should all maybe try to plan a bit more for whatever's thrown our way in the future. Like you've started to cast that mage armor spell every morning. Planning helps. We might want to do more of that. Figure out roles, and what we'll do in different scenarios. Train for whatever war we're being sucked into. We won't luck out every time and find a slower dragon like that. I think it's good we're practicing arcana together in the evenings. The more tools we have at our disposal, the more likely we'll survive."
"Also, Gash, do you want to hold onto the bag of holding for a tick? I think you'd be good at managing it..."
“I’m sorry. I just thought I saw Stones go down and went for him. I didn’t think Genny would be harmed. But you’re right. We never know what’s coming for us or her. I won’t let that happen again. You know you talk about planning and... well maybe tell me what you think about this but you know how I’ve been helping you with spells. Maybe you could help me with fighting? I don’t know if it would be smart for me to do... maybe I should just stick to my studies but sometimes I see what you can do like when you really push yourself in a fight and start swinging that thing faster than normal and with the same precision and force... it’s impressive. And I don’t really plan on sword fighting but I wonder if I could apply it to my magics... I’m not sure.
I do get worried sometimes, like I think I could have ended that fight but I couldn’t risk Genny. I could have thrown the fireball but it would have been too close. It was easier with Nev. I never felt like I had to watch over Genny in a fight. I wonder if there is a way I can protect her in a fight better than we do now...
You know, its strange that those berserkers had this scroll. Someone that fights like that... doesn’t use magic. Maybe they looted it. But it still seemsstrange.
Sure, I can take the bag. You’ve held it long enough.”
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Gash- Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Bulwark remains still for a moment, expressionless face still focused on the bugbear's body, before with a mechanical groan and body creaking, he shakes his maul clean of the gore and sheates it, making his way to where he left his warhammer and shield, and retrieving them. He'll also look to see if he can scavenge any javelins from the previous fight: Investigation 19
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(Sorry for the long silence. It was a long day out and about!)
Bulwark recovers 6 javelins. Tock manages to track the bugbears in a circle around the area. It seems they were scouting their prey for a long time before they struck. Where they came from before that is a mystery.
Gentoa is not upset this time, but stares at the grisly scene outside the carriage with wide-eyed curiosity.
It is late afternoon, almost supper time, and the sky is beginning to redden.
The party gets moving again, making it another couple of hours before darkness overtakes them. Gentoa has trouble settling down, excitedly running around whacking at reeds and trees and, sometimes, Dog or Bulwark with a newfound stick.
In fact, everyone is still pretty keyed up. When a small caravan approaches going the opposite way during a late mealtime, everyone is on their feet with weapons drawn before they can see the faces of the traders approaching. After a few calming words, the human caravan leader, Zillini Maruun, asks to join the party for the night. She looks young for a caravan leader, perhaps in her early thirties, and maintains a stern countenance on her face. With her are several armed guards and six drivers. A couple small children, a couple years older than Gentoa, sit on two of the wagons as well.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Dog is immediately curious about the caravan. When she offers calming words, he tries to get a sense of whether she seems to be hiding something (insight:19 [he'll compare notes with one of his companions who's willing, if someone wants to help for advantage]).
"Hello, I'm Mutt Crackback," Dog says wearily as the caravan stops. "Where are you coming from, and where are you headed? Did you pass through Masa? What's the word from there?Apologies for the wariness on our part, and the weapons. We've been traveling west for a while, and have nearly died several times, first by dragon, second by a very large group of bugbears. Have you any word about the road ahead of us? I'm also curious about what you're shipping -- it's dangerous times and I know a lot of towns have closed up out of fear. The ones ahead of you were still open last we saw, but who knows what will happen."
Realizing the mood's darkened a bit, he tries to lighten things up, and also figure out if the kiddos will tell him something the grown-ups will not.
"And I see you have some ferocious guards here to protect you," he says, bending down and to talk to the children, with a smile. "Are you here with your parents? What's the most amazing thing you've seen on the road so far, mighty travelers?"
He also tries to see if he recognizes any of the guards from his mercenary days. If not, he'll talk shop a bit with the most friendly-looking one, trying to get any information he can out of them about their true purpose as subtly as he can. (Investigation: 20)
Better at persuading and entertaining than reading people, Stones will watch from slightly behind ready to step in with a calming or distracting performance if need be.
Gash will preform some tricks for the kids. Such as spitting into the air and using shape water to hold it there then to change its shape into a large snowflake and freeze it then he will explode it. Still holding all the ice shards in the air he makes them clump together form back into water and slowly snake down to the ground.
As for his nightly ritual. He will take 22 minutes. 11 is to set up alarm around camp. Then probably recast mage armor to sleep in. Then right before they bed down 11mknute to set up tiny hut
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Gash- Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
Keyrie will move closer to Genny and keep a constant eye out for anything suspicious. Keyrie will also try and look at the caravan and see if she can gather any information from it. Perception 9
Bulwark keeps a steady eye on the caravan, watchful and un-moving, with his shield at his side and warhammer strapped to his waist. He'll keep lookout throughout the night during his Sentry's Rest: Perception 24
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The trader seems very cautious as well, but not dishonest. From the looks she is giving to Gentoa, she is concerned that a well-armed group is traveling with a human child. In fact, the child is what puts her most at ease, though, since bandits wouldn't both with such a thing.
Zillini scoffs. "Masa, no, not this time. We are just bringing fruit and cherry wood to Hencha. We hire these fine fellows to keep those bugbears you encountered away from us. If you're still here, you must have stung them pretty badly. We might have an easy time of it this trip thanks to you."
DM shield:
A natural 100 and Dog knows one of the mercenaries personally.
95-99 and he has met one before in passing or at a tavern.
85-94 and he has a common good friend with one of them
65-85 and he and a caravan guard have at least one acquaintance in common.
Dog and the caravan guards have traveled in completely different circles but they are able to talk shop for a while. The kids find Dog a bit intimidating at first but they warm up to Gentoa quickly...at least until she hits both of them with her stick and they have to be separated.
The night passes without any problem and, come morning, the caravan and the party share a breakfast and then part ways.
Two more days pass without any trouble, although they encounter more and more travelers as they approach Colizargus. None of them are traveling from Masa, but they are assured they can be in the city within a week. Colizargus is much like Hencha. It has its own smaller river flowing south, but not much traffic on it. Many prefer to travel to Hencha for faster waterway traffic. There is a second major road here that runs north and south, crossing in the center of Colizargus, which the party learns is derived from a regional dialect of Elven that means "crossroads town". In fact, Colizargus is heavily populated with elves, perhaps making up 40% of the population here. This gives the city a refined quality in its architecture, food, and even the street music they encounter.
It is late in the evening, well past supper time, when the party arrives. They stretched the day to its limit to make it to the town and Gentoa has already fallen asleep in the carriage.
Dog says, "do you think there's a temple of Tymora in Colizargus? Mother Mentiri's name might be known there, and we might find some respite, safe-keeping, and news behind their walls. Probably bigger than a tiny hut, too." He explains briefly their visit to Karkarus and the refuge they found at the temple for Stones and Bulwark's benefit, if the stories have not been exchanged by now.
(For ease of reference, here's the map of where we are now.)
"Gash, remind me of the last few responses you've gotten from Nev? We've certainly missed whatever talks she was waiting for. We're just trying to get a child back to her mother. We shouldn't go in blind. But should someone ask around about a temple? Or do we want to try an inn, or Gash's tiny hut again?"
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Combat has ended on a blood-splattering note!
"Stones, help me check pockets, quickly, and then lets get the heck out of here."
Investigation: 20
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
DM shield:
37
90
87
11
5
58
7, 10, 6, 3, 2
11
Gash and Stones find 108 gold in various denominations, as well as 5 gems (each worth 50 gp). Curiously, one of them was carrying a spell scroll containing the control flames cantrip.
Gems:
Dog immediately looks inside the carriage, making a silly face and puppy dog bark to try to make Genny laugh. He's still breathing hard, and has to try to hold together some parts of his legs that got carved up when he was on top of the carriage. If she wants to stay inside and be quiet, he'll let her, and if she wants to come out he'll let her crawl into his arms. "That was a bit more of an exciting game than we bargained for, wasn't it, little one?" he says.
To the rest of the group, Dog widens his eyes and sighs. "Everyone alright? That was close. This road is long and dangerous. Who knows how many other friends there are out there. We should definitely get going if we can. We can all take turns resting in the carriage."
When he has a bit of time walking next to Gash, he says, "I know you didn't mean to leave her alone, and she probably would have been fine. It's okay, friend. Thanks for coming back for me, and her. Those bastards were tough. Just, we should all maybe try to plan a bit more for whatever's thrown our way in the future. Like you've started to cast that mage armor spell every morning. Planning helps. We might want to do more of that. Figure out roles, and what we'll do in different scenarios. Train for whatever war we're being sucked into. We won't luck out every time and find a slower dragon like that. I think it's good we're practicing arcana together in the evenings. The more tools we have at our disposal, the more likely we'll survive."
"Also, Gash, do you want to hold onto the bag of holding for a tick? I think you'd be good at managing it..."
“I’m sorry. I just thought I saw Stones go down and went for him. I didn’t think Genny would be harmed. But you’re right. We never know what’s coming for us or her. I won’t let that happen again. You know you talk about planning and... well maybe tell me what you think about this but you know how I’ve been helping you with spells. Maybe you could help me with fighting? I don’t know if it would be smart for me to do... maybe I should just stick to my studies but sometimes I see what you can do like when you really push yourself in a fight and start swinging that thing faster than normal and with the same precision and force... it’s impressive. And I don’t really plan on sword fighting but I wonder if I could apply it to my magics... I’m not sure.
I do get worried sometimes, like I think I could have ended that fight but I couldn’t risk Genny. I could have thrown the fireball but it would have been too close. It was easier with Nev. I never felt like I had to watch over Genny in a fight. I wonder if there is a way I can protect her in a fight better than we do now...
You know, its strange that those berserkers had this scroll. Someone that fights like that... doesn’t use magic. Maybe they looted it. But it still seems strange.
Sure, I can take the bag. You’ve held it long enough.”
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
Tock stays in the bush for a few minutes, observing the surrounding area, then walks out and waves to the rest of them.
If there is no immediate danger then he would look for the tracks of where the bugbears came from.
Bulwark remains still for a moment, expressionless face still focused on the bugbear's body, before with a mechanical groan and body creaking, he shakes his maul clean of the gore and sheates it, making his way to where he left his warhammer and shield, and retrieving them. He'll also look to see if he can scavenge any javelins from the previous fight: Investigation 19
(Sorry for the long silence. It was a long day out and about!)
Bulwark recovers 6 javelins. Tock manages to track the bugbears in a circle around the area. It seems they were scouting their prey for a long time before they struck. Where they came from before that is a mystery.
Gentoa is not upset this time, but stares at the grisly scene outside the carriage with wide-eyed curiosity.
It is late afternoon, almost supper time, and the sky is beginning to redden.
“Let’s move down the road a bit from this before we settle in for the night.”
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
Dog agrees about moving down the road before camping for the night, with double watches, and moving the corpses, out of view of Genny, to the bogs.
The party gets moving again, making it another couple of hours before darkness overtakes them. Gentoa has trouble settling down, excitedly running around whacking at reeds and trees and, sometimes, Dog or Bulwark with a newfound stick.
In fact, everyone is still pretty keyed up. When a small caravan approaches going the opposite way during a late mealtime, everyone is on their feet with weapons drawn before they can see the faces of the traders approaching. After a few calming words, the human caravan leader, Zillini Maruun, asks to join the party for the night. She looks young for a caravan leader, perhaps in her early thirties, and maintains a stern countenance on her face. With her are several armed guards and six drivers. A couple small children, a couple years older than Gentoa, sit on two of the wagons as well.
Dog is immediately curious about the caravan. When she offers calming words, he tries to get a sense of whether she seems to be hiding something (insight:19 [he'll compare notes with one of his companions who's willing, if someone wants to help for advantage]).
"Hello, I'm Mutt Crackback," Dog says wearily as the caravan stops. "Where are you coming from, and where are you headed? Did you pass through Masa? What's the word from there?Apologies for the wariness on our part, and the weapons. We've been traveling west for a while, and have nearly died several times, first by dragon, second by a very large group of bugbears. Have you any word about the road ahead of us? I'm also curious about what you're shipping -- it's dangerous times and I know a lot of towns have closed up out of fear. The ones ahead of you were still open last we saw, but who knows what will happen."
Realizing the mood's darkened a bit, he tries to lighten things up, and also figure out if the kiddos will tell him something the grown-ups will not.
"And I see you have some ferocious guards here to protect you," he says, bending down and to talk to the children, with a smile. "Are you here with your parents? What's the most amazing thing you've seen on the road so far, mighty travelers?"
He also tries to see if he recognizes any of the guards from his mercenary days. If not, he'll talk shop a bit with the most friendly-looking one, trying to get any information he can out of them about their true purpose as subtly as he can. (Investigation: 20)
Better at persuading and entertaining than reading people, Stones will watch from slightly behind ready to step in with a calming or distracting performance if need be.
Gash will preform some tricks for the kids. Such as spitting into the air and using shape water to hold it there then to change its shape into a large snowflake and freeze it then he will explode it. Still holding all the ice shards in the air he makes them clump together form back into water and slowly snake down to the ground.
As for his nightly ritual. He will take 22 minutes. 11 is to set up alarm around camp. Then probably recast mage armor to sleep in. Then right before they bed down 11mknute to set up tiny hut
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
Keyrie will move closer to Genny and keep a constant eye out for anything suspicious. Keyrie will also try and look at the caravan and see if she can gather any information from it. Perception 9
Bulwark keeps a steady eye on the caravan, watchful and un-moving, with his shield at his side and warhammer strapped to his waist. He'll keep lookout throughout the night during his Sentry's Rest: Perception 24
The trader seems very cautious as well, but not dishonest. From the looks she is giving to Gentoa, she is concerned that a well-armed group is traveling with a human child. In fact, the child is what puts her most at ease, though, since bandits wouldn't both with such a thing.
Zillini scoffs. "Masa, no, not this time. We are just bringing fruit and cherry wood to Hencha. We hire these fine fellows to keep those bugbears you encountered away from us. If you're still here, you must have stung them pretty badly. We might have an easy time of it this trip thanks to you."
DM shield:
A natural 100 and Dog knows one of the mercenaries personally.
95-99 and he has met one before in passing or at a tavern.
85-94 and he has a common good friend with one of them
65-85 and he and a caravan guard have at least one acquaintance in common.
Anything else and they are total strangers.
Roll: 67
Dog and the caravan guards have traveled in completely different circles but they are able to talk shop for a while. The kids find Dog a bit intimidating at first but they warm up to Gentoa quickly...at least until she hits both of them with her stick and they have to be separated.
The night passes without any problem and, come morning, the caravan and the party share a breakfast and then part ways.
Two more days pass without any trouble, although they encounter more and more travelers as they approach Colizargus. None of them are traveling from Masa, but they are assured they can be in the city within a week. Colizargus is much like Hencha. It has its own smaller river flowing south, but not much traffic on it. Many prefer to travel to Hencha for faster waterway traffic. There is a second major road here that runs north and south, crossing in the center of Colizargus, which the party learns is derived from a regional dialect of Elven that means "crossroads town". In fact, Colizargus is heavily populated with elves, perhaps making up 40% of the population here. This gives the city a refined quality in its architecture, food, and even the street music they encounter.
It is late in the evening, well past supper time, when the party arrives. They stretched the day to its limit to make it to the town and Gentoa has already fallen asleep in the carriage.
Dog says, "do you think there's a temple of Tymora in Colizargus? Mother Mentiri's name might be known there, and we might find some respite, safe-keeping, and news behind their walls. Probably bigger than a tiny hut, too." He explains briefly their visit to Karkarus and the refuge they found at the temple for Stones and Bulwark's benefit, if the stories have not been exchanged by now.
(For ease of reference, here's the map of where we are now.)
"Gash, remind me of the last few responses you've gotten from Nev? We've certainly missed whatever talks she was waiting for. We're just trying to get a child back to her mother. We shouldn't go in blind. But should someone ask around about a temple? Or do we want to try an inn, or Gash's tiny hut again?"