This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Yes, that's a good idea" Janey nods at the half-elf's suggestion, as she scans the bleak surroundings. "I'll go with you."
Before they set out, she will unfurl the navigation chart and show it to Denethir and Melisana. "It's more of a navigation chart so doesn't have a lot of information on the terrain, but it may still be of use. I don't suppose anyone is familiar with the Korinn Archepelago? It seems that's where we are."
knowledge check (to see if Janey might know more about the inland geography of these islands) 1 [lol]
"The Korinn Archepelago," Melisana says, her face turning pale. "It's just north of the Moonshaes. We aren't to far from home, but... It's a terrible place. The people, what people there are, are strange. They say they are older than the Ffolk, or of Faerun. And it's the home of pirates!" Looking at the map her face turns a whiter shade of pale, "Ventris, oh no. You don't think that is where we are, do you? It's said to be cursed. No one has lived here since before my father was born. It was the home of the Sea King. He and his people came from Faerun and they ran off many of the pirates and built a castle. But, father said, in grandfather's time all the pirates banded together and defeated the Sea King. They killed or took away everyone on the island. No one has returned since, they say it is haunted by ghosts."
"Never heard of the place. You go walk; we'll try and find someplace out of the wind. Don't die if you can avoid it - if you were in that business, your ship sailed. Or rather, wrecked."
With doleful determination, the dwarf clumps around another rocky rise on the wind-scarred plateau, his eyes looking for crevices in the rock large enough to hold caves, or some other respite from the wind and coming storm.
As Melisana begins to speak Nicholas and Denethir become aware of a noise— a very faint noise, like grunting voices and steel clanging on steel, barely audible over the noise of the rain and the wind. It seems to be coming from your left, beyond the hill to your left
"Quiet everyone!", the half-elf hisses suddenly, head cocked to his left, frown on his face. "We do not appear to be alone on this island... Beyond that crest..." He points in the direction of the noise, and silently gestures for everyone to follow him. He attempts to keep low, below the height of the brush, and makes his way towards the sounds.
Nicholas’s head snaps to the left as he picks up on the sound. “We should be very careful. We are still very much underpowered.” He will move along with Denethir to take a look.
Climbing up to the top ridge, you slip and slide on the scree and carefully use the larger rocks for leverage.
Terrain
Below you a ravine seperates this line of hills from the next. The tops of this and the other ridge are covered in gnome and dwarf sized boulders and smaller rocks. And the sides are covered in scree, with no vegetation.
Below
Below you, there are two groups of creatures which you recognize quickly as goblins and orcs. It looks like a dozen goblins and half a dozen ores going at it pretty fiercely. The goblins are fighting with bows and spears; the orcs have axes and polearms, and one of them appears to have armor, too. Most of the fighters don't have any sort of armor, but all of them have cloaks. About 50 feet behind the line of orcs (to the your right) there's someone lying in the ravine. It looks like a human man, a white-bearded old man wearing tattered robes. He's lying down, twisted over to watch the fight; his arms are behind his back and look as though they've been tied
The half-elf surveys the battle and the surroundings from a prone position at the top of the ridge, thinking back to his father's lessons on military tactics. As Nicholas joins him on the ridge, he glances his way and speaks in a low voice. "Well my friend, those cloaks certainly look appealing. My plan of action would be to let this play out for a time yet, perhaps pelting the victors with these boulders, and maybe assisting that fellow over there if we are feeling generous. If you have any thoughts on the matter I would be interested to hear them."
"Could line up a shot - they'd start comin' at us, then. That fellow down there's got no one watching - maybe one of our more lightfooted could get a little closer to him?"
Janey has sneaked up at this point and is hearing the conversation taking place between her new comrades. "Give it some time" she adds to the discussion. "I do like the dwarf's plan, but agree that we should wait for them to reduce their own numbers first. I know we are hearty survivors for making it this far, but I'm sure we don't stand a chance right now against an armed group that size."
Then, turning back to watch the battle, staying low to the ground. "I bet they have food" she thinks out loud.
Nicholas sweats a bit. He’s seen bloodshed, but not the gore of battle like this.
“Definitely wait til they thin each other out. I’m guessing those orcs will prevail. They look pretty strong,” the young man says. He rolls onto his back and hides behind a boulder.
OOC: Can I study the bottle any more while we wait? Taste the liquid or swirl it a bit?
“If we wait, there will be fewer of them. But if we go now, they’ll be too distracted by their enemies to do anything even if they do spot us. Then somebody pushes the boulders on pursuers if anyone spots us. We could have food and cloaks before anyone was the wiser.” Lyle shakes his head a bit. “As for the old man, well... let’s hope he knows the area better than we do. It’d be bad if we came upon a larger, less distracted party.”
OCC: sure you can examine. I can work that a bit. I have baby duty tonight, so I won't get to goblin/orc combat till tonight. Is it everyone's plan to wait till the end or would you like a round and an opportunity to react?
[How about if we win til close to the end of their battle? That way we can take advantage of their distraction as they are still fighting ach other, but their numbers will be decreased and they will hopefully already be wounded?]
More used to command, and the obedience of subordinates, Denethir audibly sighs and frowns at Lyle's comments, but quickly stops himself from saying something he might regret. Different people, different circumstances...you're not who you once were, among these people, he thought to himself.
"Lyle, my good halfling, I have seen no sign of food, and would not risk my life, nor anyone else's for that matter, for something which may not exist. The cloaks you speak of seem well-fastened round the necks of both parties, so unless your intention is to wander onto a battlefield and loot the deceased while the battle still rages, I would remain here in relative safety. We know not the allegiances of both parties - taking the bound gentleman to our right may unite them against us, we are potentially a common enemy. We.. we are equals in this endeavor however, so you may heed my words or not. If you feel you can rescue the gentleman without being observed, I wish you good luck."
I wasn't sure if we were going to be observing multiple rounds of a battle, and deciding when to come in, but I'm happy to get the end result, then act (preferably by pushing a boulder on something's head :)).
“Now, wait just a-“ Lyle starts to get agitated at Denethir’s attitude and looks at the battle again. “... oh. Yeah, waiting til the end sounds better.”
Lyle goes to one of the boulders, getting it ready to push down on the winners like it was his idea all along.
OoC: my bad, I don’t know why I thought there were packs with the old man. 😂
"Yes, that's a good idea" Janey nods at the half-elf's suggestion, as she scans the bleak surroundings. "I'll go with you."
Before they set out, she will unfurl the navigation chart and show it to Denethir and Melisana.
"It's more of a navigation chart so doesn't have a lot of information on the terrain, but it may still be of use. I don't suppose anyone is familiar with the Korinn Archepelago? It seems that's where we are."
knowledge check (to see if Janey might know more about the inland geography of these islands) 1 [lol]
History check for Eurim:8
"The Korinn Archepelago," Melisana says, her face turning pale. "It's just north of the Moonshaes. We aren't to far from home, but... It's a terrible place. The people, what people there are, are strange. They say they are older than the Ffolk, or of Faerun. And it's the home of pirates!" Looking at the map her face turns a whiter shade of pale, "Ventris, oh no. You don't think that is where we are, do you? It's said to be cursed. No one has lived here since before my father was born. It was the home of the Sea King. He and his people came from Faerun and they ran off many of the pirates and built a castle. But, father said, in grandfather's time all the pirates banded together and defeated the Sea King. They killed or took away everyone on the island. No one has returned since, they say it is haunted by ghosts."
"ALWAYS GIVE A MONSTER AN EVEN BREAK!"
1st Edition DMG
Nothing that Melisana doesn't relate.
"ALWAYS GIVE A MONSTER AN EVEN BREAK!"
1st Edition DMG
Eurim sniffs.
"Never heard of the place. You go walk; we'll try and find someplace out of the wind. Don't die if you can avoid it - if you were in that business, your ship sailed. Or rather, wrecked."
With doleful determination, the dwarf clumps around another rocky rise on the wind-scarred plateau, his eyes looking for crevices in the rock large enough to hold caves, or some other respite from the wind and coming storm.
Lusith brightens up at the mention of a castle, "A castle sounds like the perfect place to shelter out a storm! Do you know where on the isle it is?"
Denethir: 2
Eurim Fundan: 15
Janey Amberhand: 8
Lyle: 15
Nicholas Pierce: 11
Lusith: 6
As Melisana begins to speak Nicholas and Denethir become aware of a noise— a very faint noise, like grunting voices and steel clanging on steel, barely audible over the noise of the rain and the wind. It seems to be coming from your left, beyond the hill to your left
"ALWAYS GIVE A MONSTER AN EVEN BREAK!"
1st Edition DMG
Denethir
"Quiet everyone!", the half-elf hisses suddenly, head cocked to his left, frown on his face. "We do not appear to be alone on this island... Beyond that crest..." He points in the direction of the noise, and silently gestures for everyone to follow him. He attempts to keep low, below the height of the brush, and makes his way towards the sounds.
Nicholas’s head snaps to the left as he picks up on the sound. “We should be very careful. We are still very much underpowered.” He will move along with Denethir to take a look.
Climbing up to the top ridge, you slip and slide on the scree and carefully use the larger rocks for leverage.
Terrain
Below you a ravine seperates this line of hills from the next. The tops of this and the other ridge are covered in gnome and dwarf sized boulders and smaller rocks. And the sides are covered in scree, with no vegetation.
Below
Below you, there are two groups of creatures which you recognize quickly as goblins and orcs. It looks like a dozen goblins and half a dozen ores going at it pretty fiercely. The goblins are fighting with bows and spears; the orcs have axes and polearms, and one of them appears to have armor, too. Most of the fighters don't have any sort of armor, but all of them have cloaks. About 50 feet behind the line of orcs (to the your right) there's someone lying in the ravine. It looks like a human man, a white-bearded old man wearing tattered robes. He's lying down, twisted over to watch the fight; his arms are behind his back and look as though they've been tied
"ALWAYS GIVE A MONSTER AN EVEN BREAK!"
1st Edition DMG
Denethir
The half-elf surveys the battle and the surroundings from a prone position at the top of the ridge, thinking back to his father's lessons on military tactics. As Nicholas joins him on the ridge, he glances his way and speaks in a low voice. "Well my friend, those cloaks certainly look appealing. My plan of action would be to let this play out for a time yet, perhaps pelting the victors with these boulders, and maybe assisting that fellow over there if we are feeling generous. If you have any thoughts on the matter I would be interested to hear them."
"Could line up a shot - they'd start comin' at us, then. That fellow down there's got no one watching - maybe one of our more lightfooted could get a little closer to him?"
Janey has sneaked up at this point and is hearing the conversation taking place between her new comrades. "Give it some time" she adds to the discussion. "I do like the dwarf's plan, but agree that we should wait for them to reduce their own numbers first. I know we are hearty survivors for making it this far, but I'm sure we don't stand a chance right now against an armed group that size."
Then, turning back to watch the battle, staying low to the ground. "I bet they have food" she thinks out loud.
Nicholas sweats a bit. He’s seen bloodshed, but not the gore of battle like this.
“Definitely wait til they thin each other out. I’m guessing those orcs will prevail. They look pretty strong,” the young man says. He rolls onto his back and hides behind a boulder.
OOC: Can I study the bottle any more while we wait? Taste the liquid or swirl it a bit?
“If we wait, there will be fewer of them. But if we go now, they’ll be too distracted by their enemies to do anything even if they do spot us. Then somebody pushes the boulders on pursuers if anyone spots us. We could have food and cloaks before anyone was the wiser.” Lyle shakes his head a bit. “As for the old man, well... let’s hope he knows the area better than we do. It’d be bad if we came upon a larger, less distracted party.”
Paladin - warforged - orange
OCC: sure you can examine. I can work that a bit. I have baby duty tonight, so I won't get to goblin/orc combat till tonight. Is it everyone's plan to wait till the end or would you like a round and an opportunity to react?
"ALWAYS GIVE A MONSTER AN EVEN BREAK!"
1st Edition DMG
[How about if we win til close to the end of their battle? That way we can take advantage of their distraction as they are still fighting ach other, but their numbers will be decreased and they will hopefully already be wounded?]
Denethir
More used to command, and the obedience of subordinates, Denethir audibly sighs and frowns at Lyle's comments, but quickly stops himself from saying something he might regret. Different people, different circumstances...you're not who you once were, among these people, he thought to himself.
"Lyle, my good halfling, I have seen no sign of food, and would not risk my life, nor anyone else's for that matter, for something which may not exist. The cloaks you speak of seem well-fastened round the necks of both parties, so unless your intention is to wander onto a battlefield and loot the deceased while the battle still rages, I would remain here in relative safety. We know not the allegiances of both parties - taking the bound gentleman to our right may unite them against us, we are potentially a common enemy. We.. we are equals in this endeavor however, so you may heed my words or not. If you feel you can rescue the gentleman without being observed, I wish you good luck."
I wasn't sure if we were going to be observing multiple rounds of a battle, and deciding when to come in, but I'm happy to get the end result, then act (preferably by pushing a boulder on something's head :)).
“Now, wait just a-“ Lyle starts to get agitated at Denethir’s attitude and looks at the battle again. “... oh. Yeah, waiting til the end sounds better.”
Lyle goes to one of the boulders, getting it ready to push down on the winners like it was his idea all along.
OoC: my bad, I don’t know why I thought there were packs with the old man. 😂
Paladin - warforged - orange
OOC - blame Janey for putting the idea of food in Lyle's head. :)