Lorahzt is a ways from where she had started poking about the corpses on the ground when she decides to add her two coppers to the others' conversation. "The way I see it," she says, rolling over another Disfavored corpse, "there are six of us, and," she gestures to the corpses around them, "entirely too many of them for the six of us to handle on our own. We'll need more boots if you want to take these rebels on." She continues to root through the pockets of the dead until the time comes to leave.
A bit surprised at how tense the situation suddenly got, Allison looks directly at Blade - hearing the strong tone of annoyance in his voice and the look of defiance across his face, she interjects. "I'm with you and Lorahzt on this one - but watch your temper, Blade. Camaraderie is almost as important as directive." Her glare relaxes as she looks over the rest of her new comrades. "Our mission right now is to report to fort reckoning. We jeopardize our mission - and our lives - by engaging enemy forces unnecessarily." After her speech, Allison stiffens up. She spins on her heel, now casting a downward glare at the injured recruit."You can walk. Correct?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PbP characters: Allison Adrova - Reign of the Dragon King Delilah Thorne - Eidolons of Eramyth Melody Velias (Spy) - Power Trip
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
perception to see how closely the soldier is listening to there conversation. 9 He does not believe that anyone said anything that would compromise there true mission, but it was close. As Archon Tunon said, no one outside of there team was to know of there true mission.
Vik will smiles at Blade and bows his head to him and Allison. "I will follow the will of the group. As I said, I also believe haste is important. And fighting unnecessarily is not a good idea."
Outside earshot of the recruit ((did we get his name)), as they continue on, Vik will whisper to his compatriots. "I believe the source of there misinformation on the enemy troops is important. Either they were purposely misinformed, or there movements were leaked to the rebels."
Drake listens and restates his thinking. "Yes of must continue on to the Fort. I was agreeing that if there is an obvious trail that can easily track we could gather information. That is all. We can come back to do any actual confrontations. Quickly Vik, determine where this group went and then we can be back on our way." Drake continues down the road with the others and they examine the trail taken by the ambushers for any interesting information.
A bit surprised at how tense the situation suddenly got, Allison looks directly at Blade - hearing the strong tone of annoyance in his voice and the look of defiance across his face, she interjects. "I'm with you and Lorahzt on this one - but watch your temper, Blade. Camaraderie is almost as important as directive." Her glare relaxes as she looks over the rest of her new comrades. "Our mission right now is to report to fort reckoning. We jeopardize our mission - and our lives - by engaging enemy forces unnecessarily." After her speech, Allison stiffens up. She spins on her heel, now casting a downward glare at the injured recruit."You can walk. Correct?
'Blade nods briefly to the corporal in understanding, though the halforc leaves the others to finish questioning the ambush survivor. He walks amidst the death and carnage of the ambush site, looking specifically for any bodies that don't belong to Disfavored.'
[OOC] investigation check to find any body that might be a rebel: 16
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Vassa Sunstar (half-drow bard) - Waterdeep Dragonheist DM Ghosts of a Forgotten Land DM Beyond the Bitter Shore DM Echos of a Burning Crown
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As Drake speaks to him, a confused expression passes his face, he turns to look over his shoulder.
"Oh me. Yes, I'll take a look. I mean, Yes commander! Umm, the name is Jared, by the way." Said the confused looking, youngish recruit. Vik will have to explain to his new companions not to use his true name in the company of others.
Vik will try to determine which direction the rebels took the other wagons. It's not exactly his specialty, but lets see how well Jared can do.
The soldier turns to Drake with a solemn nod. "I shall return to Fort Reckoning to make my report about what has happened here today." He lowers his head in thought shaking no before focusing again on Vik. "I-I don't remember sir. It was just around camp, we were having trouble with the enemy across the Queen's River but have had little in the way of contact on this side. We figured it was mostly safe by this point."
You watch Vik, but the solider has focused on something else, assuming when a group of special forces doesn't want to be overheard, you don't hear them. As the group splits up and he is asked if he can walk the man struggles for a moment pushing himself off the ground, wabbling for a bit before finding his balance. "I can, or just leave me behind if I slow you down." Searching for a bit Blade you are struck by the lack of Crimson Guard bodies among the Caravan. Though the two groups hardly stand one another for a Caravan it is uncommon for them not to work together for it. Also, all rebel bodies had been collected and dragged away. The recruit nods to you Drake, a slight bow of respect following it. "Swordbrother Malcolm sir." He follows you around and you find the trail of the wagons in the ground, it is not the easiest to pick up trail but you can see disturbed ground and other sights that give you a clear line as far as you can see about 200 feet off the main road leading to where the remaining wagons have been taken.
"Good work Swordbrother Malcom, we will try to understand what has happened here. He have specific orders and must be on our way in a reasonable time but we will follow to see if we can discover anything quickly."
After everyone gathers and they regroup they setup off down the road following the wagon tracks. Drake turns to Vik "Vi.. I mean Jared, let's follow these quickly and see what we can find. Everyone else can either wait here on the road or follow us towards the wagons." Drake follows Vik as they make their way off the main road following the wagon tracks that are already fading into the grass and brush.
"I can, or just leave me behind if I slow you down."
Searching for a bit Blade you are struck by the lack of Crimson Guard bodies among the Caravan. Though the two groups hardly stand one another for a Caravan it is uncommon for them not to work together for it. Also, all rebel bodies had been collected and dragged away.
'Though some distance away, Blade gives a firm shake of his head at bringing this weakling along with them. Noticing the seeming lack of coordination here between Disfavored and Crimson Guard, Blade's ever present frown deepens. Kneeling down near a spot where it appears that other bodies had been collected and taken away on wagons, the half-orc wonders whether the rebels took their dead out of pathetic sentiment for the fallen or in a failed attempt to mask their complicity.'
"Good work Swordbrother Malcom, we will try to understand what has happened here. He have specific orders and must be on our way in a reasonable time but we will follow to see if we can discover anything quickly."
After everyone gathers and they regroup they setup off down the road following the wagon tracks. Drake turns to Vik "Vi.. I mean Jared, let's follow these quickly and see what we can find. Everyone else can either wait here on the road or follow us towards the wagons." Drake follows Vik as they make their way off the main road following the wagon tracks that are already fading into the grass and brush.
'Blade just shakes his head almost imperceptibly, before ignoring the man and the survivor completely. With a level stare at the corporal, the scout and the others, the soldier, with longbow in hand, marches sixty feet up the main road towards Fort Reckoning where he looks for a defensible spot from which to keep a lookout... watching... waiting.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Vassa Sunstar (half-drow bard) - Waterdeep Dragonheist DM Ghosts of a Forgotten Land DM Beyond the Bitter Shore DM Echos of a Burning Crown
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Lorahzt looks up when the call is made to either scout ahead or watch the road. She winces when she notices that the taciturn half-orc appears to be the only other person taking watch. Her choice would've been simple, had it not been for the big guy's temperament. She is obviously not suited to scouting, and, far more pressingly, is not the kind of fool who likes to follow large and armed mobs of men into the woods, so watching the path should be the ideal choice (and isn't that a surprise, she'd been given a choice). She risks a glance at the towering form of Blade. He seemed... distracted, to the drow. She shrugs and says, "I'll watch the road, nobody die," and she settles down for a short watch.
Allison moves to take point watching the path with Blade and Lorahzt. During their watch, she keeps doubling back, glancing between Blade and Lorahzt, trying to get a bead on their emotions.
[[ Perception for the watch: 6 Insight to try and read Blade's feelings: 14 Insight to try and read Lorahzt's: 19 ]]
"It was Lorahzt, right?" Allison looks straight toward her, addressing the Drow woman. "You don't exactly look very happy to be here."
'Still with longbow in hand, Blade stares out across the plains, keeping watch for enemies perhaps... or looking back into events and times past.'
...He awoke to pain, the taste of ash and the smell of death. Crawling at first, then staggering weakly, the wounded boy moved numbly past the dismembered and scorched bodies - corpses that had once been friends and kin. He wandered the dark and smokey tunnels that had once been his home. He wandered till he found what he sought - a large body, one surrounded by many. The fight had been brutal, the cost high, that was clear even to the untrained child. But eventually he had fallen and with him... there! Reaching down amidst the torn and scorched carnage, his hand grasped leather and steel. As he drew it forth bloody and blackened, he sensed, he knew... it was his now. And with it, the burden, the duty...
'The corporal's voice brought him back to the present, to the open road, to the circumstances of his latest mission and to the sounds of carrion birds beginning to circle the nearby ambush site. The soldier silently reprimanded himself for his carelessness and inattention. The half-orc mocked himself for his weakness, for pathetic emotions! The soldier cared only for duty. The half-orc craved only revenge!
Blade stretched, cracking his mighty knuckles as he eyed one of the circling vultures, considering if he would have time to kill, clean and dress the bird before the others returned...'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Vassa Sunstar (half-drow bard) - Waterdeep Dragonheist DM Ghosts of a Forgotten Land DM Beyond the Bitter Shore DM Echos of a Burning Crown
Lorahzt's eyes were alternating between scanning the surrounding forest and gazing at the disturbed and blood-stained earth around them. She's deep in thought when the Corporal's question registers in her mind, and she starts with a few muttered and colorful Elvish words before she turns to look back her... superior? She still isn't sure where they all stand in their little band's pecking order, but she knows better than to try blowing the rather professional woman off. All the same, Lorahzt can't help the somewhat incredulous look that finds its way onto her face. She schools her features a moment later, but it's a moment too late to stop Allison from noticing. You're surrounded by Disfavored, you idiot, she thinks to herself, you can't expect them not to notice the little things! Out loud, she says, "And? Neither does the big guy." She takes a breath, then adds, quietly enough so that only Allison (and perhaps Blade) can hear, "Why? Are you happy?" She flashes a more side-eyed glance at the Disfavored Corporal. "It's not because of all the corpses, is it? I've already served under one guy like that, saw plenty of firsts that I'd die happy never seeing seconds of."
Allison's eyes flit around between the bodies and Lorahzt a moment. Before addressing Lorahzt, Allison had slipped back into a less professional posture than usual. "This is the job we soldiers do."Her stance as she walks around Lorahzt, that look in her inhuman eyes... she looks like she's sizing the drow up. The professional veneer has been dropped, at least partially, and there's something... else showing from underneath that surface layer."Here's what I don't get - when we first met, you tried to reason that this mission would involve anything but violence. Now that we're talking, you seem distraught, almost surprised at this scene. We're both soldiers. This is a war. Do you put on your uniform in the morning thinking you'll never run into situations like these? Never be asked to kill?"There is ice in those words. An amount of dripping malice that seems inappropriate for the conversation at hand. The slits in her eyes have become nail thin, and her body is held low - something set this woman off, her demeanor becoming more animalistic by the second - like a predator, looking over potential prey.
[[ Intimidation: 18 ]]
Seeming to remember herself, she shakes her head and stiffens back up, regaining her professional veneer in a fraction of a second. Her pupils dilate, she stands straight and tall, and the malice fades from her. Many of the Disfavored are raised as child soldiers, often carrying some sort of emotional baggage, but this sudden loss and reconstruction of one's own humanity is... something else. "Depending on what duties we get assigned back at the fort, this might prove to be a long mission indeed. I want to be certain that my fellows have the stomach to do what needs to be done. A single second's hesitation, and we'll look a lot like this sorry lot."The corporal's gaze finally breaks from Lorahzt, casting itself toward one of the bodies, charred and broken on the ground.
... "And? Neither does the big guy." She takes a breath, then adds, quietly enough so that only Allison (and perhaps Blade) can hear, "Why? Are you happy?" She flashes a more side-eyed glance at the Disfavored Corporal. "It's not because of all the corpses, is it? I've already served under one guy like that, saw plenty of firsts that I'd die happy never seeing seconds of."
'Realising that they may be here a while due to what the soldier considers a wild goose chase, Blade allows himself to indulge his curiosity about the other members of his new unit. With one brown eye locked on a particularly fat vulture overhead, he walks to within ten feet of the two women as he draws back on the bowstring. Hearing the strangely hesitant drow warrior speak of 'happiness', the half-orc is about to turn away in disgust when he hears her mention corpses and incompetent commanders. Blade stays to listen further, even as he raises the bow above his shoulders, the point of his arrow tracking the flight of the doomed buzzard...'
Allison's eyes flit around between the bodies and Lorahzt a moment. Before addressing Lorahzt, Allison had slipped back into a less professional posture than usual. "This is the job we soldiers do."Her stance as she walks around Lorahzt, that look in her inhuman eyes... she looks like she's sizing the drow up. The professional veneer has been dropped, at least partially, and there's something... else showing from underneath that surface layer."Here's what I don't get - when we first met, you tried to reason that this mission would involve anything but violence. Now that we're talking, you seem distraught, almost surprised at this scene. We're both soldiers. This is a war. Do you put on your uniform in the morning thinking you'll never run into situations like these? Never be asked to kill?"There is ice in those words. An amount of dripping malice that seems inappropriate for the conversation at hand. The slits in her eyes have become nail thin, and her body is held low - something set this woman off, her demeanor becoming more animalistic by the second - like a predator, looking over potential prey.
[[ Intimidation: 18 ]]
Seeming to remember herself, she shakes her head and stiffens back up, regaining her professional veneer in a fraction of a second. Her pupils dilate, she stands straight and tall, and the malice fades from her. Many of the Disfavored are raised as child soldiers, often carrying some sort of emotional baggage, but this sudden loss and reconstruction of one's own humanity is... something else. "Depending on what duties we get assigned back at the fort, this might prove to be a long mission indeed. I want to be certain that my fellows have the stomach to do what needs to be done. A single second's hesitation, and we'll look a lot like this sorry lot."The corporal's gaze finally breaks from Lorahzt, casting itself toward one of the bodies, charred and broken on the ground.
'This more-than-human corporal is competent, the soldier thinks to himself. Perahps even more than competent. Cold, practical and driven - almost relentless in her effort to impart hard truths to the indecisive dark elf. The corporal should have claimed Tunon's talisman, not the other, Blade ruminates for the fourth time since they had set out from the Bastard City.
Releasing his arrow with a *thwish* in the still pause between breaths as Lagatha had first taught him, Blade sends the deadly missile soaring towards the unsuspecting vulture overhead.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Vassa Sunstar (half-drow bard) - Waterdeep Dragonheist DM Ghosts of a Forgotten Land DM Beyond the Bitter Shore DM Echos of a Burning Crown
[I don't know what I'd roll to resist Intimidation, so I'm just going to assume that Lorazht fails against that 18]
Lorahzt shifts back and readies her shield as she watches the Corporal become... almost feral. In the midst of Lorahzt's newly budding hysteria, a small voice in the back of her head can't help but notice that the number of clearly sane and normal people in the band is rapidly dropping. She forces herself to speak, desperately hoping that all present miss the slight crack in her voice for the first few words. "I'm a career soldier; it's not the spilling of other people's blood that has me on edge. Hells, I was up to my elbows in our own men's gore a second ago," she isn't quite able to sell her nonchalance as she holds up a blood-stained hand, but she takes a steadying breath and forges on, "I've killed my share of men, some of them in ways I'd never wish on another person. That's war, true. I'm not some green recruit about to freeze up after getting covered in entrails, I already did that whole sorry song and dance years ago."
She gives a (still somewhat shaken) cold look to Allison, no, she corrects herself, her superior. "What has me on edge, Corporal, is the fact that we're sitting ducks right now. There's a lot more bodies of our men than there are the three of us. Sure, we know the main force is off that way and probably isn't coming back without our scouts noticing first, but sitting in the middle of the open road as we are an attacking force wouldn't need those kinds of numbers to add us to the pile." She turns to look at all the bodies and the wrecked wagons. "Especially if the, ah," she lowered her voice to prevent it from carrying, "sedition theory is true, we can't even trust our own patrols until we get a solid grasp of the situation at Fort Reckoning."
Having said her piece, she lets her eyes nervously dart over and around their surroundings, and hopes that her words satisfy the Disfavored. The more she learns about them, the more certain she's becoming that she'd best keep her head down and mouth shut in the future. Maybe, she thinks, she should try to stay close to the other half-orc, Tibark. If nothing else, she feels he'd be much more blunt about any potentially murderous intentions than the rest of the band. She realizes that her hands are shaking a moment later, and, with a scowl, sets about checking the rivets in her shield, pushing and prodding them one by one for any signs of looseness.
Vik taking the lead is able to follow the trail which hugs the edge of the woods that they could not travel through, you are able to spot and signal a stop to Tibark and Drake to stop as you notice first a lone archer hiding in the woods over watching the trail. IF you do anything but turn back Tibark and Drake make Stealth checks.
Lorahzt, Allison, Blade, Malcolm (road)
Malcolm attempts to stay out of the conflict as he almost shrinks from your view against one of the trees of the woods. The exchange between Allison and Lorahzt is somewhat heated and is brought to a sudden surprise as the vulture above, who noticed the arrow a second too late, comes plummeting to the ground with a dull thud into the well-trodden road you are standing around. You do not see anything moving around you as the conversation takes most of your attention. Or in the case of Blade a fresh kill now bleeding onto the dirt path.
Malcolm attempts to stay out of the conflict as he almost shrinks from your view against one of the trees of the woods. The exchange between Allison and Lorahzt is somewhat heated and is brought to a sudden surprise as the vulture above, who noticed the arrow a second too late, comes plummeting to the ground with a dull thud into the well-trodden road you are standing around. You do not see anything moving around you as the conversation takes most of your attention. Or in the case of Blade a fresh kill now bleeding onto the dirt path.
'The half-orc quickly and expertly dressed the kill. The soldier had never entered a fortress where fresh game wasn't appreciated, though Blade could have cared less what Ashe's soldiers at Fort Reckoning enjoyed or thought of him. The meat might buy him favour with the troops however, and troops were given to talking...
While Blade was a decorated soldier, an acclaimed killer of the order's foes, the soldier cared nothing for accolades or glory, for advancement or office. Few understood of course, but that was fine, as the many were little more than unbloodied meat for the most part. The soldier's committment was to the path of steel, to the way of the warrior, which the code and command of the Disfavoured allowed him to pursue. Beyond this, Blade cared nothing for individual Disfavored soldiers or officers. The soldier valued duty and orders, which was accetable to the half-orc, fine to Blade. His orders were always the same, the results predicatable and satisfactory - seek, defeat, destroy. His will never wavered and his steel, ultimately, never missed.
Pondering Archon Tunon's words about the Nezerat of the Crimson Guard, the soldier knew that this time would be no different. Contemplating the devious changling, the ambitious human, the formidable halforc, before staring across at the paragon officer and the clearly despondent drow, Blade briefly wondered if any of them would survive the trials ahead. The soldier quickly dismissed the thought as pointless and unnecessary. The answer simply did not matter.
Finally, his blood drenched road had led the half-orc to this moment... to this opportunity... and vengence was all that mattered.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Vassa Sunstar (half-drow bard) - Waterdeep Dragonheist DM Ghosts of a Forgotten Land DM Beyond the Bitter Shore DM Echos of a Burning Crown
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Lorahzt is a ways from where she had started poking about the corpses on the ground when she decides to add her two coppers to the others' conversation. "The way I see it," she says, rolling over another Disfavored corpse, "there are six of us, and," she gestures to the corpses around them, "entirely too many of them for the six of us to handle on our own. We'll need more boots if you want to take these rebels on." She continues to root through the pockets of the dead until the time comes to leave.
A bit surprised at how tense the situation suddenly got, Allison looks directly at Blade - hearing the strong tone of annoyance in his voice and the look of defiance across his face, she interjects. "I'm with you and Lorahzt on this one - but watch your temper, Blade. Camaraderie is almost as important as directive." Her glare relaxes as she looks over the rest of her new comrades. "Our mission right now is to report to fort reckoning. We jeopardize our mission - and our lives - by engaging enemy forces unnecessarily." After her speech, Allison stiffens up. She spins on her heel, now casting a downward glare at the injured recruit. "You can walk. Correct?
PbP characters:
Allison Adrova - Reign of the Dragon King
Delilah Thorne - Eidolons of Eramyth
Melody Velias (Spy) - Power Trip
perception to see how closely the soldier is listening to there conversation. 9
He does not believe that anyone said anything that would compromise there true mission, but it was close. As Archon Tunon said, no one outside of there team was to know of there true mission.
Vik will smiles at Blade and bows his head to him and Allison. "I will follow the will of the group. As I said, I also believe haste is important. And fighting unnecessarily is not a good idea."
Outside earshot of the recruit ((did we get his name)), as they continue on, Vik will whisper to his compatriots. "I believe the source of there misinformation on the enemy troops is important. Either they were purposely misinformed, or there movements were leaked to the rebels."
Drake listens and restates his thinking. "Yes of must continue on to the Fort. I was agreeing that if there is an obvious trail that can easily track we could gather information. That is all. We can come back to do any actual confrontations. Quickly Vik, determine where this group went and then we can be back on our way." Drake continues down the road with the others and they examine the trail taken by the ambushers for any interesting information.
Lot's of stuff ...
'Blade nods briefly to the corporal in understanding, though the halforc leaves the others to finish questioning the ambush survivor. He walks amidst the death and carnage of the ambush site, looking specifically for any bodies that don't belong to Disfavored.'
[OOC] investigation check to find any body that might be a rebel: 16
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Vassa Sunstar (half-drow bard) - Waterdeep Dragonheist
DM Ghosts of a Forgotten Land
DM Beyond the Bitter Shore
DM Echos of a Burning Crown
As Drake speaks to him, a confused expression passes his face, he turns to look over his shoulder.
"Oh me. Yes, I'll take a look. I mean, Yes commander! Umm, the name is Jared, by the way." Said the confused looking, youngish recruit. Vik will have to explain to his new companions not to use his true name in the company of others.
Vik will try to determine which direction the rebels took the other wagons. It's not exactly his specialty, but lets see how well Jared can do.
Survival 22
The soldier turns to Drake with a solemn nod. "I shall return to Fort Reckoning to make my report about what has happened here today." He lowers his head in thought shaking no before focusing again on Vik. "I-I don't remember sir. It was just around camp, we were having trouble with the enemy across the Queen's River but have had little in the way of contact on this side. We figured it was mostly safe by this point."
You watch Vik, but the solider has focused on something else, assuming when a group of special forces doesn't want to be overheard, you don't hear them. As the group splits up and he is asked if he can walk the man struggles for a moment pushing himself off the ground, wabbling for a bit before finding his balance. "I can, or just leave me behind if I slow you down."
Searching for a bit Blade you are struck by the lack of Crimson Guard bodies among the Caravan. Though the two groups hardly stand one another for a Caravan it is uncommon for them not to work together for it. Also, all rebel bodies had been collected and dragged away.
The recruit nods to you Drake, a slight bow of respect following it. "Swordbrother Malcolm sir." He follows you around and you find the trail of the wagons in the ground, it is not the easiest to pick up trail but you can see disturbed ground and other sights that give you a clear line as far as you can see about 200 feet off the main road leading to where the remaining wagons have been taken.
"Good work Swordbrother Malcom, we will try to understand what has happened here. He have specific orders and must be on our way in a reasonable time but we will follow to see if we can discover anything quickly."
After everyone gathers and they regroup they setup off down the road following the wagon tracks. Drake turns to Vik "Vi.. I mean Jared, let's follow these quickly and see what we can find. Everyone else can either wait here on the road or follow us towards the wagons." Drake follows Vik as they make their way off the main road following the wagon tracks that are already fading into the grass and brush.
Lot's of stuff ...
Tibark has been watching quietly taking the opportunity to watch the company interact. "I'll go too, could use some exercise besides walking "
The half orc unsheeths his weapon and begins to follow off the main road.
'Though some distance away, Blade gives a firm shake of his head at bringing this weakling along with them. Noticing the seeming lack of coordination here between Disfavored and Crimson Guard, Blade's ever present frown deepens. Kneeling down near a spot where it appears that other bodies had been collected and taken away on wagons, the half-orc wonders whether the rebels took their dead out of pathetic sentiment for the fallen or in a failed attempt to mask their complicity.'
'Blade just shakes his head almost imperceptibly, before ignoring the man and the survivor completely. With a level stare at the corporal, the scout and the others, the soldier, with longbow in hand, marches sixty feet up the main road towards Fort Reckoning where he looks for a defensible spot from which to keep a lookout... watching... waiting.'
[OOC] perception check: 4
[OOG] Apparently Blade sees a pretty cloud in the shape of a man being disembowled and becomes distracted. :p
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Vassa Sunstar (half-drow bard) - Waterdeep Dragonheist
DM Ghosts of a Forgotten Land
DM Beyond the Bitter Shore
DM Echos of a Burning Crown
Vik nods to Drake.
"I'll take point. I would recommend we only follow the path for a half hour, that way we only waste an hours time if we find nothing."
Vik will move ahead stealthily, keeping an eye out for enemies.
Stealth 29
Perception 14
Edit: Vik is sneaky. =P
Lorahzt looks up when the call is made to either scout ahead or watch the road. She winces when she notices that the taciturn half-orc appears to be the only other person taking watch. Her choice would've been simple, had it not been for the big guy's temperament. She is obviously not suited to scouting, and, far more pressingly, is not the kind of fool who likes to follow large and armed mobs of men into the woods, so watching the path should be the ideal choice (and isn't that a surprise, she'd been given a choice). She risks a glance at the towering form of Blade. He seemed... distracted, to the drow. She shrugs and says, "I'll watch the road, nobody die," and she settles down for a short watch.
Perception: 12
Allison moves to take point watching the path with Blade and Lorahzt. During their watch, she keeps doubling back, glancing between Blade and Lorahzt, trying to get a bead on their emotions.
[[ Perception for the watch: 6
Insight to try and read Blade's feelings: 14
Insight to try and read Lorahzt's: 19 ]]
"It was Lorahzt, right?" Allison looks straight toward her, addressing the Drow woman. "You don't exactly look very happy to be here."
PbP characters:
Allison Adrova - Reign of the Dragon King
Delilah Thorne - Eidolons of Eramyth
Melody Velias (Spy) - Power Trip
'Still with longbow in hand, Blade stares out across the plains, keeping watch for enemies perhaps... or looking back into events and times past.'
...He awoke to pain, the taste of ash and the smell of death. Crawling at first, then staggering weakly, the wounded boy moved numbly past the dismembered and scorched bodies - corpses that had once been friends and kin. He wandered the dark and smokey tunnels that had once been his home. He wandered till he found what he sought - a large body, one surrounded by many. The fight had been brutal, the cost high, that was clear even to the untrained child. But eventually he had fallen and with him... there! Reaching down amidst the torn and scorched carnage, his hand grasped leather and steel. As he drew it forth bloody and blackened, he sensed, he knew... it was his now. And with it, the burden, the duty...
'The corporal's voice brought him back to the present, to the open road, to the circumstances of his latest mission and to the sounds of carrion birds beginning to circle the nearby ambush site. The soldier silently reprimanded himself for his carelessness and inattention. The half-orc mocked himself for his weakness, for pathetic emotions! The soldier cared only for duty. The half-orc craved only revenge!
Blade stretched, cracking his mighty knuckles as he eyed one of the circling vultures, considering if he would have time to kill, clean and dress the bird before the others returned...'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Vassa Sunstar (half-drow bard) - Waterdeep Dragonheist
DM Ghosts of a Forgotten Land
DM Beyond the Bitter Shore
DM Echos of a Burning Crown
Lorahzt's eyes were alternating between scanning the surrounding forest and gazing at the disturbed and blood-stained earth around them. She's deep in thought when the Corporal's question registers in her mind, and she starts with a few muttered and colorful Elvish words before she turns to look back her... superior? She still isn't sure where they all stand in their little band's pecking order, but she knows better than to try blowing the rather professional woman off. All the same, Lorahzt can't help the somewhat incredulous look that finds its way onto her face. She schools her features a moment later, but it's a moment too late to stop Allison from noticing. You're surrounded by Disfavored, you idiot, she thinks to herself, you can't expect them not to notice the little things! Out loud, she says, "And? Neither does the big guy." She takes a breath, then adds, quietly enough so that only Allison (and perhaps Blade) can hear, "Why? Are you happy?" She flashes a more side-eyed glance at the Disfavored Corporal. "It's not because of all the corpses, is it? I've already served under one guy like that, saw plenty of firsts that I'd die happy never seeing seconds of."
Allison's eyes flit around between the bodies and Lorahzt a moment. Before addressing Lorahzt, Allison had slipped back into a less professional posture than usual. "This is the job we soldiers do." Her stance as she walks around Lorahzt, that look in her inhuman eyes... she looks like she's sizing the drow up. The professional veneer has been dropped, at least partially, and there's something... else showing from underneath that surface layer. "Here's what I don't get - when we first met, you tried to reason that this mission would involve anything but violence. Now that we're talking, you seem distraught, almost surprised at this scene. We're both soldiers. This is a war. Do you put on your uniform in the morning thinking you'll never run into situations like these? Never be asked to kill?" There is ice in those words. An amount of dripping malice that seems inappropriate for the conversation at hand. The slits in her eyes have become nail thin, and her body is held low - something set this woman off, her demeanor becoming more animalistic by the second - like a predator, looking over potential prey.
[[ Intimidation: 18 ]]
Seeming to remember herself, she shakes her head and stiffens back up, regaining her professional veneer in a fraction of a second. Her pupils dilate, she stands straight and tall, and the malice fades from her. Many of the Disfavored are raised as child soldiers, often carrying some sort of emotional baggage, but this sudden loss and reconstruction of one's own humanity is... something else. "Depending on what duties we get assigned back at the fort, this might prove to be a long mission indeed. I want to be certain that my fellows have the stomach to do what needs to be done. A single second's hesitation, and we'll look a lot like this sorry lot." The corporal's gaze finally breaks from Lorahzt, casting itself toward one of the bodies, charred and broken on the ground.
PbP characters:
Allison Adrova - Reign of the Dragon King
Delilah Thorne - Eidolons of Eramyth
Melody Velias (Spy) - Power Trip
'Realising that they may be here a while due to what the soldier considers a wild goose chase, Blade allows himself to indulge his curiosity about the other members of his new unit. With one brown eye locked on a particularly fat vulture overhead, he walks to within ten feet of the two women as he draws back on the bowstring. Hearing the strangely hesitant drow warrior speak of 'happiness', the half-orc is about to turn away in disgust when he hears her mention corpses and incompetent commanders. Blade stays to listen further, even as he raises the bow above his shoulders, the point of his arrow tracking the flight of the doomed buzzard...'
'This more-than-human corporal is competent, the soldier thinks to himself. Perahps even more than competent. Cold, practical and driven - almost relentless in her effort to impart hard truths to the indecisive dark elf. The corporal should have claimed Tunon's talisman, not the other, Blade ruminates for the fourth time since they had set out from the Bastard City.
Releasing his arrow with a *thwish* in the still pause between breaths as Lagatha had first taught him, Blade sends the deadly missile soaring towards the unsuspecting vulture overhead.'
[OOC] Blade's longbow attack vs the vulture:
Attack: 21 Damage: 10
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Vassa Sunstar (half-drow bard) - Waterdeep Dragonheist
DM Ghosts of a Forgotten Land
DM Beyond the Bitter Shore
DM Echos of a Burning Crown
[I don't know what I'd roll to resist Intimidation, so I'm just going to assume that Lorazht fails against that 18]
Lorahzt shifts back and readies her shield as she watches the Corporal become... almost feral. In the midst of Lorahzt's newly budding hysteria, a small voice in the back of her head can't help but notice that the number of clearly sane and normal people in the band is rapidly dropping. She forces herself to speak, desperately hoping that all present miss the slight crack in her voice for the first few words. "I'm a career soldier; it's not the spilling of other people's blood that has me on edge. Hells, I was up to my elbows in our own men's gore a second ago," she isn't quite able to sell her nonchalance as she holds up a blood-stained hand, but she takes a steadying breath and forges on, "I've killed my share of men, some of them in ways I'd never wish on another person. That's war, true. I'm not some green recruit about to freeze up after getting covered in entrails, I already did that whole sorry song and dance years ago."
She gives a (still somewhat shaken) cold look to Allison, no, she corrects herself, her superior. "What has me on edge, Corporal, is the fact that we're sitting ducks right now. There's a lot more bodies of our men than there are the three of us. Sure, we know the main force is off that way and probably isn't coming back without our scouts noticing first, but sitting in the middle of the open road as we are an attacking force wouldn't need those kinds of numbers to add us to the pile." She turns to look at all the bodies and the wrecked wagons. "Especially if the, ah," she lowered her voice to prevent it from carrying, "sedition theory is true, we can't even trust our own patrols until we get a solid grasp of the situation at Fort Reckoning."
Having said her piece, she lets her eyes nervously dart over and around their surroundings, and hopes that her words satisfy the Disfavored. The more she learns about them, the more certain she's becoming that she'd best keep her head down and mouth shut in the future. Maybe, she thinks, she should try to stay close to the other half-orc, Tibark. If nothing else, she feels he'd be much more blunt about any potentially murderous intentions than the rest of the band. She realizes that her hands are shaking a moment later, and, with a scowl, sets about checking the rivets in her shield, pushing and prodding them one by one for any signs of looseness.
Vik, Tibark, Drake (Trail)
Vik taking the lead is able to follow the trail which hugs the edge of the woods that they could not travel through, you are able to spot and signal a stop to Tibark and Drake to stop as you notice first a lone archer hiding in the woods over watching the trail. IF you do anything but turn back Tibark and Drake make Stealth checks.
Lorahzt, Allison, Blade, Malcolm (road)
Malcolm attempts to stay out of the conflict as he almost shrinks from your view against one of the trees of the woods. The exchange between Allison and Lorahzt is somewhat heated and is brought to a sudden surprise as the vulture above, who noticed the arrow a second too late, comes plummeting to the ground with a dull thud into the well-trodden road you are standing around. You do not see anything moving around you as the conversation takes most of your attention. Or in the case of Blade a fresh kill now bleeding onto the dirt path.
'The half-orc quickly and expertly dressed the kill. The soldier had never entered a fortress where fresh game wasn't appreciated, though Blade could have cared less what Ashe's soldiers at Fort Reckoning enjoyed or thought of him. The meat might buy him favour with the troops however, and troops were given to talking...
While Blade was a decorated soldier, an acclaimed killer of the order's foes, the soldier cared nothing for accolades or glory, for advancement or office. Few understood of course, but that was fine, as the many were little more than unbloodied meat for the most part. The soldier's committment was to the path of steel, to the way of the warrior, which the code and command of the Disfavoured allowed him to pursue. Beyond this, Blade cared nothing for individual Disfavored soldiers or officers. The soldier valued duty and orders, which was accetable to the half-orc, fine to Blade. His orders were always the same, the results predicatable and satisfactory - seek, defeat, destroy. His will never wavered and his steel, ultimately, never missed.
Pondering Archon Tunon's words about the Nezerat of the Crimson Guard, the soldier knew that this time would be no different. Contemplating the devious changling, the ambitious human, the formidable halforc, before staring across at the paragon officer and the clearly despondent drow, Blade briefly wondered if any of them would survive the trials ahead. The soldier quickly dismissed the thought as pointless and unnecessary. The answer simply did not matter.
Finally, his blood drenched road had led the half-orc to this moment... to this opportunity... and vengence was all that mattered.'
D&D is a game, but it's not just a game. It's the ultimate storyboard, a campfire to share with friends, an imaginary call to imaginary arms and a ship to sail to horizons yet undreamt of...
Vassa Sunstar (half-drow bard) - Waterdeep Dragonheist
DM Ghosts of a Forgotten Land
DM Beyond the Bitter Shore
DM Echos of a Burning Crown