Avelin studies the giant and the giant's belongings but sees nothing to indicate this creature has encountered other members of the Blue Bear tribe. Nor does the giant bear any indication that it has been wounded in battle.
That is typical PbP etiquette, indeed. Sometimes DM's will want to roll such things, but normally it is preferred that you include a roll with the action that you want to do. It speeds up the process for both the DM and the players. Oh and it also doesn't harm anyone to just guess if you're unsure what skill to use.
Mateja, quite impressed with the Shaman's powers so far, looks to him and whispers, "What do the spirits say? Attack or talk?" She is already gripping her weapons in both hands now, allowing her blood to get up, to get herself ready for a fight with such a powerful entity. The first chance for glory had already presented itself, and she was eager to grasp it.
Avelin leans back to be within close and quiet earshot of Mateja.
"I had a good strong look, eyes like the eagle spirit I did have. This creature appears unwounded, no visible indication it has encountered our missing brethren. It could be possible that the best course of action would be to stay low, and not encroach on its respite. If it is intelligent and gentle, there's always an opportunity for parlay. The spirits do not reach its mind or know its intentions or disposition. But, how does one even talk to a Giant? Unless it speaks our tongue, or a language of the forest and fey, I cannot help in that regard."
Urijeon is still waiting behind the tree, listening to the others talk. "So what is our plan. If it has not been in contact with the party then I say we leave it. I cannot speak to a giant and I fear we are falling behind any true leads. The clan has many more warriors than us and can take this foe in strength if it is foolish enough to attack."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisysin Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
Avelin grips the familiar ridges of his bundle of sticks, keeping close his holy symbol and conduit to Uthgar's magic and to the ancestors' spirits. Ready for anything at the moment, he figures to himself.
"Urijeon, you speak wise like a seasoned clan elder. I can always ask the birds to follow and watch this Giant for updates. But, should we fall here barely a morning after setting out, Kriga would then need to send out yet another scouting party, to find not one but two separate groups. Our task leads ahead for our brethren, but the trophy of a giant's head would be tempting."
Avelin sees Uri gripping the longbow eagerly but profoundly in thought....
You attempt to sort through your options, laboring to keep your voices hidden from the unsuspecting stone giant, when suddenly the giant snaps his head to the right. In one lightning-quick motion he drops the leg of mutton, snatches up a large rock, and stands, looking downstream. Following the giant's gaze to the south, you see what has caused him to spring into action: three humans stand roughly 150' away. It seems they have exited the High Forest to approach the river, and in doing so alerted the giant to their presence.
"Hingra mon kinza nar. Darem nastra jindari do?" bellows the giant, filling the vale with his basso profundo voice.
One of the humans responds in kind. "Ene ozer maragh non baresh."
For Teya (who speaks Giant):
The giant's words translate (roughly) to the following: "Greetings, Ghost Tree warriors. Why so far from home?" The human's response: "Let us talk not yell."
The three humans then approach the giant and continue their conversation. The humans--three males--you quickly recognize as barbarians from the Tree Ghost tribe, the tribe that resides deep within the High Forest but rarely comes this far east. They switch to Common as they talk with the giant. The stone giant's mastery of the language is poor, but he muddles through.
"Yes, far from home we are. For good reason, Golithika. There is trouble."
"Trouble? How?"
"Nothing with the giants. No quarrel with you."
"Good. Quarrel with elves then?"
"No. Blue Bear."
"How?"
"They have slain Tree Ghost warriors."
"Strange. How?"
"Three of their warriors attacked us near the Grandfather Tree."
"Strange. Blue Bears keep peace with giants of Deadstone Cleft. Kriga wise. Kriga cautious. Strange. I know nothing."
Then, unceremoniously, Golithika picks up his greatclub and resumes his southward march, leaving the three barbarians to watch him as he goes. "We press on," says one of the Three Ghost warriors, and the three of them begin to walk northward.
NOTE: Each of you have heard of Deadstone Cleft a few times; it is home to a large number of stone giants and lies well over a hundred miles to the south. You've never heard of any conflict between the Blue Bears and the stone giants, but Golithika's revelation that "Blue Bears keep peace with giants of Deadstone Cleft" is news to you.
Urijeon lowers his bow a bit but keeps his eyes trained on the newcomers. "Well, that certainly is interesting. Kriga would be unlikely to out us with such a foolish attack. Someone has been making their own moves."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisysin Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
"This is strange indeed. It seems there are more who know of us than we would like. Regardless, our duty is not to resolve disputes with these other warriors. We must press on to find the burial party. The best way to do that now is to cut through the forest, since the others are going along the river."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Horatio Hirschfeld - Squire imbued with fae powers, in the Coliseum of Conquest (W2/L1) DM for Reavers of Harkenwold, and sometimes The Fighting Grounds of the Coliseum
Avelin's hand eases off its tight grip from the bundle of sticks. Sore, he flexes his fingers slightly to regain bloodflow.
"The Grandfather Tree? But if memory serves, that would be out of the way from the funeral party's route to the Stone Stand. These Tree Ghost warriors mentioned three Blue Bears, but how could that really be true?
The exchange between these other tribesmen and the Giant made less and less sense the more he thought of it. Could they have been lying to the giant, intentionally? To rile these Deadstone Cleft against the Blue Bear, for reasons only these Tree Ghost know? The spirits are silent on this at the moment.
Avelin closes his eyes, thinks deeply, trying to remember the tones of voice, inflections, and body language of these Tree Ghosts when they spoke to the Giant:
With his eyes still closed, Avelin speaks up to the others,
"The spirits say these Tree Ghost were telling the truth. Blue Bear slain Tree Ghost. But the spirits caution that the truth is also relative, and much could have been left unspoken. Perhaps the Tree Ghosts provoked our missing brethren, instigated a struggle first, or lured them to Grandfather Tree. We should be watchful. Do we continue north, to follow the Tree Ghosts? Or, Cut through the forest? The spirits give me no answer at the moment."
"The burial party were three warriors." Mateja cannot help but wonder aloud, although she too thinks it is strange that a burial party would go out of their way to attack other tribes. It went against the desire to keep the Blue Bear a myth, as the result now showed, another tribe was hunting for them.
"If we slay these warriors we could start a war. The circumstances are strange, but perhaps we should not even try to talk. If they attack, they will fall, and we will be seen as the blame for their deaths. I say we continue our path."
Uri stows his bow on his back. "Agreed. We do not need more blood spilled between our tribes if we can avoid it. And if it was the burial party that attacked then there is even more reason to move quickly and find out what is happening."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisysin Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
"Let us give them a little room, they go their way, let us follow in their footsteps, they can flush out anything that we might want to avoid and we can head past them if they slow by detouring through the forest for a littleways. It gives us nothing to force the confrontation."Farkas suggests to the others, as he looks at the group departing "If necessary we could defeat them, of that I am sure. But better, I think, it does not come to that."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Vhon - Level 2 Warlock - What shall become of the Drunken Sailor?
Avelin nods his agreement with Farkas. "If we wait 10 or so minutes at the very least, I can spend that time reaching out spiritually to any friendly animals in the area to give us aid. Sometimes the birds and beasts will do me small favors."
((If no one objects to the timeframe:
Casting as Ritual Speak with Animals, hoping to find a bird in the trees, if so, wishing to ask in basic terms if it would keep watch on the Tree Ghost throughout the next few hours ("those other Two-Legs") and to fly back if the other barbarians re-enter the woods; would recast the same spell as a spell slot immediately to re-communicate with the bird
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The five of you wait for what seems an adequate amount of time before continuing northward, following in the footsteps of the three Three Ghost warriors. Avelin soon spies one of the songbirds so commonly found in and around the Delimbiyr Vale and casts Speak with Animals.
After listening the shaman's instructions, the bird replies, "Watch other Two-Legs. Fly back. Talk to this Two-Leg."
The bird then takes flight, leaving you to wonder whether it will offer any assistance in the next few hours before the sun sets...
Intelligence check for songbird: 12
...Evening arrives and darkness begins to settle over the vale but the songbird has not returned.
Frustrated and embarrassed to have lost face and lost the rest of daylight on the whims of a songbird prone to distraction, Avelin takes the risk to blow intermittently on his pan flute to mimic the songbird's tweets in the hopes to it returning. Finally he mutters under his breath, "never count on a bird what a Blue Bear ought to have done himself."
He turns to the others, and makes apologies for the bird's absence and failure to report. "She likely found a new mate, or fresh berries took her off course. My bird friend appears to have lost track of the quarry. With darkness above us, do we make camp on the riverbed or under the forest trees?
Urijeon sits own and begins his own ritual that is remarkably similar to Avelin's. When he is done he calls out but instead of his voice the others only hear the hooting of an owl. speak with animals
In Owl:
"Friend, come near. We have need of your wisdom. If you will allow it I would like to see through your eyes. We are looking for 3 like us who passed this way before. Fly and see what you can see. I will see through you."
Once an owl has approached he begins another ritual and when he is done he reaches out and touches the owl on the head, giving it a small pet. beast sense He closes his eyes and when he opens them again the others can see that they've turned black.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisysin Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
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Avelin studies the giant and the giant's belongings but sees nothing to indicate this creature has encountered other members of the Blue Bear tribe. Nor does the giant bear any indication that it has been wounded in battle.
OOC @John:
That is typical PbP etiquette, indeed. Sometimes DM's will want to roll such things, but normally it is preferred that you include a roll with the action that you want to do. It speeds up the process for both the DM and the players. Oh and it also doesn't harm anyone to just guess if you're unsure what skill to use.
Mateja, quite impressed with the Shaman's powers so far, looks to him and whispers, "What do the spirits say? Attack or talk?"
She is already gripping her weapons in both hands now, allowing her blood to get up, to get herself ready for a fight with such a powerful entity. The first chance for glory had already presented itself, and she was eager to grasp it.
Lynn-Marie Verine-Wintercleaver, Human Bloodhunter - Adventures in Esyldien
Finan Caible, Human Bard - Joys of Balance
Yroc Grumbak, Orc Fighlock - Pizazz's ToA
Arell Peroan, Half-Elf Warlonk - Scattered Gods
ESC! | 10|33|5~
Avelin leans back to be within close and quiet earshot of Mateja.
"I had a good strong look, eyes like the eagle spirit I did have. This creature appears unwounded, no visible indication it has encountered our missing brethren. It could be possible that the best course of action would be to stay low, and not encroach on its respite. If it is intelligent and gentle, there's always an opportunity for parlay. The spirits do not reach its mind or know its intentions or disposition. But, how does one even talk to a Giant? Unless it speaks our tongue, or a language of the forest and fey, I cannot help in that regard."
Boldly go
Urijeon is still waiting behind the tree, listening to the others talk. "So what is our plan. If it has not been in contact with the party then I say we leave it. I cannot speak to a giant and I fear we are falling behind any true leads. The clan has many more warriors than us and can take this foe in strength if it is foolish enough to attack."
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisys in Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
Avelin grips the familiar ridges of his bundle of sticks, keeping close his holy symbol and conduit to Uthgar's magic and to the ancestors' spirits. Ready for anything at the moment, he figures to himself.
"Urijeon, you speak wise like a seasoned clan elder. I can always ask the birds to follow and watch this Giant for updates. But, should we fall here barely a morning after setting out, Kriga would then need to send out yet another scouting party, to find not one but two separate groups. Our task leads ahead for our brethren, but the trophy of a giant's head would be tempting."
Avelin sees Uri gripping the longbow eagerly but profoundly in thought....
Boldly go
You attempt to sort through your options, laboring to keep your voices hidden from the unsuspecting stone giant, when suddenly the giant snaps his head to the right. In one lightning-quick motion he drops the leg of mutton, snatches up a large rock, and stands, looking downstream. Following the giant's gaze to the south, you see what has caused him to spring into action: three humans stand roughly 150' away. It seems they have exited the High Forest to approach the river, and in doing so alerted the giant to their presence.
"Hingra mon kinza nar. Darem nastra jindari do?" bellows the giant, filling the vale with his basso profundo voice.
One of the humans responds in kind. "Ene ozer maragh non baresh."
For Teya (who speaks Giant):
The giant's words translate (roughly) to the following: "Greetings, Ghost Tree warriors. Why so far from home?" The human's response: "Let us talk not yell."
The three humans then approach the giant and continue their conversation. The humans--three males--you quickly recognize as barbarians from the Tree Ghost tribe, the tribe that resides deep within the High Forest but rarely comes this far east. They switch to Common as they talk with the giant. The stone giant's mastery of the language is poor, but he muddles through.
"Yes, far from home we are. For good reason, Golithika. There is trouble."
"Trouble? How?"
"Nothing with the giants. No quarrel with you."
"Good. Quarrel with elves then?"
"No. Blue Bear."
"How?"
"They have slain Tree Ghost warriors."
"Strange. How?"
"Three of their warriors attacked us near the Grandfather Tree."
"Strange. Blue Bears keep peace with giants of Deadstone Cleft. Kriga wise. Kriga cautious. Strange. I know nothing."
Then, unceremoniously, Golithika picks up his greatclub and resumes his southward march, leaving the three barbarians to watch him as he goes. "We press on," says one of the Three Ghost warriors, and the three of them begin to walk northward.
NOTE: Each of you have heard of Deadstone Cleft a few times; it is home to a large number of stone giants and lies well over a hundred miles to the south. You've never heard of any conflict between the Blue Bears and the stone giants, but Golithika's revelation that "Blue Bears keep peace with giants of Deadstone Cleft" is news to you.
Urijeon lowers his bow a bit but keeps his eyes trained on the newcomers. "Well, that certainly is interesting. Kriga would be unlikely to out us with such a foolish attack. Someone has been making their own moves."
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisys in Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
Teya twists her hands around her maul, grimacing.
"This is strange indeed. It seems there are more who know of us than we would like. Regardless, our duty is not to resolve disputes with these other warriors. We must press on to find the burial party. The best way to do that now is to cut through the forest, since the others are going along the river."
Horatio Hirschfeld - Squire imbued with fae powers, in the Coliseum of Conquest (W2/L1)
DM for Reavers of Harkenwold, and sometimes The Fighting Grounds of the Coliseum
Avelin's hand eases off its tight grip from the bundle of sticks. Sore, he flexes his fingers slightly to regain bloodflow.
"The Grandfather Tree? But if memory serves, that would be out of the way from the funeral party's route to the Stone Stand. These Tree Ghost warriors mentioned three Blue Bears, but how could that really be true?
The exchange between these other tribesmen and the Giant made less and less sense the more he thought of it. Could they have been lying to the giant, intentionally? To rile these Deadstone Cleft against the Blue Bear, for reasons only these Tree Ghost know? The spirits are silent on this at the moment.
Avelin closes his eyes, thinks deeply, trying to remember the tones of voice, inflections, and body language of these Tree Ghosts when they spoke to the Giant:
Insight 15
Boldly go
Avelin:
The conversation between the barbarians and the giant seemed sincere. You didn't detect any attempt to deceive.
With his eyes still closed, Avelin speaks up to the others,
"The spirits say these Tree Ghost were telling the truth. Blue Bear slain Tree Ghost. But the spirits caution that the truth is also relative, and much could have been left unspoken. Perhaps the Tree Ghosts provoked our missing brethren, instigated a struggle first, or lured them to Grandfather Tree. We should be watchful. Do we continue north, to follow the Tree Ghosts? Or, Cut through the forest? The spirits give me no answer at the moment."
Boldly go
"The burial party were three warriors." Mateja cannot help but wonder aloud, although she too thinks it is strange that a burial party would go out of their way to attack other tribes. It went against the desire to keep the Blue Bear a myth, as the result now showed, another tribe was hunting for them.
"If we slay these warriors we could start a war. The circumstances are strange, but perhaps we should not even try to talk. If they attack, they will fall, and we will be seen as the blame for their deaths. I say we continue our path."
Lynn-Marie Verine-Wintercleaver, Human Bloodhunter - Adventures in Esyldien
Finan Caible, Human Bard - Joys of Balance
Yroc Grumbak, Orc Fighlock - Pizazz's ToA
Arell Peroan, Half-Elf Warlonk - Scattered Gods
ESC! | 10|33|5~
Uri stows his bow on his back. "Agreed. We do not need more blood spilled between our tribes if we can avoid it. And if it was the burial party that attacked then there is even more reason to move quickly and find out what is happening."
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisys in Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
"Let us give them a little room, they go their way, let us follow in their footsteps, they can flush out anything that we might want to avoid and we can head past them if they slow by detouring through the forest for a littleways. It gives us nothing to force the confrontation." Farkas suggests to the others, as he looks at the group departing "If necessary we could defeat them, of that I am sure. But better, I think, it does not come to that."
Vhon - Level 2 Warlock - What shall become of the Drunken Sailor?
Lyreis - Level 6 Elf Fighter - Eberron: Omega
DM - Dzenda: The Cracks - DM - Dzenda: Whispered Tales
Avelin nods his agreement with Farkas. "If we wait 10 or so minutes at the very least, I can spend that time reaching out spiritually to any friendly animals in the area to give us aid. Sometimes the birds and beasts will do me small favors."
((If no one objects to the timeframe:
Casting as Ritual Speak with Animals, hoping to find a bird in the trees, if so, wishing to ask in basic terms if it would keep watch on the Tree Ghost throughout the next few hours ("those other Two-Legs") and to fly back if the other barbarians re-enter the woods; would recast the same spell as a spell slot immediately to re-communicate with the bird
Boldly go
The five of you wait for what seems an adequate amount of time before continuing northward, following in the footsteps of the three Three Ghost warriors. Avelin soon spies one of the songbirds so commonly found in and around the Delimbiyr Vale and casts Speak with Animals.
After listening the shaman's instructions, the bird replies, "Watch other Two-Legs. Fly back. Talk to this Two-Leg."
The bird then takes flight, leaving you to wonder whether it will offer any assistance in the next few hours before the sun sets...
Intelligence check for songbird: 12
...Evening arrives and darkness begins to settle over the vale but the songbird has not returned.
(OOC: Are there any owls around?)
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisys in Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
Frustrated and embarrassed to have lost face and lost the rest of daylight on the whims of a songbird prone to distraction, Avelin takes the risk to blow intermittently on his pan flute to mimic the songbird's tweets in the hopes to it returning. Finally he mutters under his breath, "never count on a bird what a Blue Bear ought to have done himself."
He turns to the others, and makes apologies for the bird's absence and failure to report. "She likely found a new mate, or fresh berries took her off course. My bird friend appears to have lost track of the quarry. With darkness above us, do we make camp on the riverbed or under the forest trees?
Boldly go
((An owl shouldn't be difficult to locate, especially considering the time of day. Its intelligence modifier, however, is no better.))
(OOC: going to try something if you'll allow it.)
Urijeon sits own and begins his own ritual that is remarkably similar to Avelin's. When he is done he calls out but instead of his voice the others only hear the hooting of an owl. speak with animals
In Owl:
"Friend, come near. We have need of your wisdom. If you will allow it I would like to see through your eyes. We are looking for 3 like us who passed this way before. Fly and see what you can see. I will see through you."
Once an owl has approached he begins another ritual and when he is done he reaches out and touches the owl on the head, giving it a small pet. beast sense
He closes his eyes and when he opens them again the others can see that they've turned black.
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisys in Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne