Akira smiles at her and states, “My dear, your clear thinking and keen senses helped us stay safe. I do understand how people can be challenging. I am honored to be here alongside you.”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A) Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter -Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5) Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
Rogram helps get Lai's wagon ready, watching for how he can be helpful to Leda and The Pole. When Radecere appears, the half-dwarf greets the gnome, "I'm Rogram. I hear you're riding in Lai's wagon. Would you be handy with a weapon or blessed with magic? On our first day on the road, we were attacked, and if you can make yourself useful, it would be good to know."
Akira will assemble her team to get their wagon prepared. If she is afforded time the night before or the morning of, she will cast Find Familiar as a Ritual to bring her owl into existence.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A) Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter -Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5) Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Imsa.” Merry gives a small nod of his head “don’t feel the need to stay away from everyone, please let me know if I can be of any help.” He bids her a good night and returns to Edhelri’s wagon.
The next morning, he helps Edhelri and Eldkin get ready to depart. “Never fear, Edhelri, I would never treat an animal like that. Those poor fools will end up walking themselves and deserve every bit of it.” Merry looks on with sadness as the men whip the horse to get it to rise. He turns back to Eldkin “Fields of Dead? Should I guess why they call them that?”
During the day’s travels, Merric moves up and down the caravan, scouting for threats and watching some of the other wagons, but always making a point to return to Edhelri. He didn't wan to give the impression he is shirking his duties. He makes it a point to find Imsa to say hello, and to check in on Akira as they travel. He also slides to the back of the caravan to check in the trio who struggled with the horse earlier that morning. “Good day, Sir! I couldn’t help but notice your horse struggled this morning. Mind if I take a look, I have a knack with animals and I would hate for you to be caught afoot out here.” Merric will place his hand on the nose of the beast and whisper quietly, using his primal connection to speak with animals and find out if anything was troubling the horse and if it was always treated poorly.
When Radecere appears, the half-dwarf greets the gnome, "I'm Rogram. I hear you're riding in Lai's wagon. Would you be handy with a weapon or blessed with magic? On our first day on the road, we were attacked, and if you can make yourself useful, it would be good to know."
"Radecere," the quiet gnome on Lai's wagon extends his hand to Rogram politely. "Oh no, nothing like that, I'm no guardsman," he says.
“Fields of Dead? Should I guess why they call them that?”
"Prolly on account o' all the folks what died there over time," Eldkin shrugs, taking Merric's question literally.
“Good day, Sir! I couldn’t help but notice your horse struggled this morning. Mind if I take a look, I have a knack with animals and I would hate for you to be caught afoot out here.”
The noble eyes Merric distastefully as the knight places himself between the two. "Bram Cromwell," the noble introduces himself from atop the horse. "It's alright, Magnus, can't hurt anything to let him try," he tells the knight, who steps aside to let Merric approach his horse. After a few moments of the horse whinnying and braying toward Merric, Bram shifts uneasily and mentions, "The thing struggles most mornings. Father insisted he keep my preferred mounts in Baldur's Gate, however."
For Merric:
The horse is tired and hungry, and bears a lot of ill will toward its rider. It is an old horse, but could still have a couple years of life on the road ahead of it.
OOC: Since Akira hasn't really had a chance to purchase any spell components yet I've just subtracted the 10gp required for find familiar from her inventory, but for future castings she'll need to purchase those components in a city setting before casting.
Each character has received 300 XP for making it through the first day's events and keeping the caravan intact.
Rogram shrugs one shoulder at Radecere and adjusts his armor. "Don't worry. We'll take care of that. Hopefully we won't have anymore trouble. If we do, keep your head down, and holler if you need anything." Thinking better of it, the half-dwarf pulls a dagger out of his belt and offers it handle first to the gnome. "Why don't you hold onto this just in case. It'd be better for you to have it and never need it than to need it and not have it." He smiles. "I want it back when we get to Waterdeep."
Radecere looks a bit hesitant, but takes the dagger from Rogram nonetheless. "Thanks. I'll try not to forget," he says.
The road is quiet for a couple of days. Once outside of the bastion of Baldur's Gate's walls, farms and homsteads are replaced by vast wilderness, and the road begins to twist around hillsides. The atmosphere is quite different on the third night of the journey as the caravan nears the Fields of the Dead. An adage of "It's a very bad idea to light a fire on a hilltop at night in the Fields of the Dead," makes its way through the guards, merchants, and travelers alike, and though Beyd has no trouble selling his ale, travelers nurse their mugs with a quiet foreboding.
After Rogram has his flagon filled, he sidles up beside Karib when the cleric is less busy. Speaking quietly, the half-dwarf says, "I think I'm going to turn invisible and try to find my father tonight. The guards never leave the wagons, so there isn't a good time. He has to be in one of them. I just need to figure out which one."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Merric pats the old horse on the neck and gives it a piece of apple from his belt pouch. “The poor thing is tired and hungry, Lord Cromwell, but see that it is well fed and rested at nights, and spare the beatings, and it will get you to Waterdeep to see to your business, whatever it may be.”
Under the guise of scouting for threats, Merric continues to keep an eye on the first three wagons, especially when they stop for the evenings to get a sense of the number of guards, what cargo they are moving, and if he can determine who is in charge of that group. Perception: 16.
.(While watching for anything unusual, he would be interested in Rogram sneaking around the wagons if he is perceptive enough to notice it.)
Keeping an eye on the Cult's assumed wagons for a few evenings, anyone might assume that they are nothing but typical merchants hauling northbound freight. They don't bunch up during the day or camp together at night, though unlike the other merchants they seem to only have one teamster and one guard assigned per wagon. Merric notices on a couple of other occasions that the teamsters of these wagons continue to turn down offers from potential passengers.
The first night spent on the outskirts of the Fields of the Dead carries a distinctly different energy. Without fires to provide warmth during the nightly meal, the conversation matches the chill of the evening. An oppressive silence continues in the morning as the caravan moves further onto the twisting road.
The tense atmosphere erupts suddenly when the wagons halt for a break in the afternoon. A shout from the travelers behind the wagons is followed by a thud and cursing as Bram Cromwell is pitched forward, bucked from his horse to collapse upon the ground. Grabbing the reins and yanking the horse toward him, Cromwell screams at the horse, "Useless nag!" and it pulls back at him, dragging him back down to the ground as he refuses to let go of the reins.
"Magnus!" he shouts, his voice cracking in anger as he gets back to his feet again and hands the reins to the knight traveling with him. He pulls the switch from the saddle of the horse and begins to beat its hind quarters.
Akira investigates the source of the issues ahead and if she sees Cromwell, she will get into range and use Mage Hand to try to wrest the switch from his hand in a discreet manner.
((Earlier)) He looks for the cleric to see if he's perhaps wanting to talk before turning in for the night.
Karib seems fully occupied trading jibs and chatting with the people at the make-shift bar. He catches Rograms eye and nods briefly before his gaze moves on.
After Rogram has his flagon filled, he sidles up beside Karib when the cleric is less busy. Speaking quietly, the half-dwarf says, "I think I'm going to turn invisible and try to find my father tonight. The guards never leave the wagons, so there isn't a good time. He has to be in one of them. I just need to figure out which one."
@DM: Subtracted 4 cp.
"I'll do what I can for you lad, but we both know I'm not made for sneaking. Come back to me when you plan to explore."
When Rogram returns, Karib reaches out and touches hime on the shoulder, eyes closed in prayer, "A gift from Gond for you; it won't last more than an hour. Tread softly, lad, and drag any trouble back here and play drunk." Then he chuckles, "Or just run like hell. I know you're fast."
The mage hand grasps the switch from Cromwell's hand, pulling it free before the noble can strike the horse with it any more. A crowd begins to gather as he whirls around, bewildered until he sees the spectral hand holding the item.
"Who is behind this trickery? If you can't be bothered to be helpful, at least have the decency to show your face," he blusters.
Akira steps forward, brushes off her robes, and clears her voice in the manner of a mother correcting a child: “I am inclined to think that someone mistaught you the ways of civility toward creatures to see you have such disdain for this horse. Your frustration might indicate you are having issues with this horse but your actions seem at odds with correcting it.” She surveys the people standing about. “Is there one amongst us learned in the ways of pack animals and their habits that might shed light onto its thoughts or potential maladies?”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A) Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter -Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5) Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
As the crowd gathers, and if noone else steps forward, Karib would utter a brief prayer to his deity then say, "I have no training, but I find I often have some insights into the behaviour of animals. We are all machines, after all, just some more prone to anger than others." He stares at Cromwell as he speaks. "One thing that I do know about anger: Is it's often misdirected."
Merric slides up next to Akira and gives a small smile while whispering in Elvish “Well done, the poor beast needs a break.”Speaking louder, and in common, he informs Karib and the group what he learned from the horse earlier “See what you can find, but the horse is tired and hungry, probably from being ill-used this entire journey” he looks directly at Cromwell and adds “I asked you to see it well fed and rested, and to stop these senseless beatings. You would get farther that way, you know, you catch more flies with honey and all that.” He gives Cromwell a smirk.
Cromwell glares back at the three speaking to him, but seeing the glowers of the crowd, he does not press his irritation further. "I've ridden dozens of horses in my time and none were as irritable and useless as this," he declares. "Cut the nag free, Magnus. I have no use for it anymore."
The knight traveling with him does as asked, using his greatsword to cut through its reins and remove its saddle. The horse continues to lie in the road as Cromwell and his companions rejoin the caravan, seeming content to pay no more mind to the creature.
For Karib:
The horse is seemingly exhausted and looks to be underfed. Now that its collars and girths have been removed, you can see its hide has been scored by chafing.
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Akira smiles at her and states, “My dear, your clear thinking and keen senses helped us stay safe. I do understand how people can be challenging. I am honored to be here alongside you.”
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A)
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5)
Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
Rogram helps get Lai's wagon ready, watching for how he can be helpful to Leda and The Pole. When Radecere appears, the half-dwarf greets the gnome, "I'm Rogram. I hear you're riding in Lai's wagon. Would you be handy with a weapon or blessed with magic? On our first day on the road, we were attacked, and if you can make yourself useful, it would be good to know."
Akira will assemble her team to get their wagon prepared. If she is afforded time the night before or the morning of, she will cast Find Familiar as a Ritual to bring her owl into existence.
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A)
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5)
Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Imsa.” Merry gives a small nod of his head “don’t feel the need to stay away from everyone, please let me know if I can be of any help.” He bids her a good night and returns to Edhelri’s wagon.
The next morning, he helps Edhelri and Eldkin get ready to depart. “Never fear, Edhelri, I would never treat an animal like that. Those poor fools will end up walking themselves and deserve every bit of it.” Merry looks on with sadness as the men whip the horse to get it to rise. He turns back to Eldkin “Fields of Dead? Should I guess why they call them that?”
During the day’s travels, Merric moves up and down the caravan, scouting for threats and watching some of the other wagons, but always making a point to return to Edhelri. He didn't wan to give the impression he is shirking his duties. He makes it a point to find Imsa to say hello, and to check in on Akira as they travel. He also slides to the back of the caravan to check in the trio who struggled with the horse earlier that morning. “Good day, Sir! I couldn’t help but notice your horse struggled this morning. Mind if I take a look, I have a knack with animals and I would hate for you to be caught afoot out here.” Merric will place his hand on the nose of the beast and whisper quietly, using his primal connection to speak with animals and find out if anything was troubling the horse and if it was always treated poorly.
"Radecere," the quiet gnome on Lai's wagon extends his hand to Rogram politely. "Oh no, nothing like that, I'm no guardsman," he says.
"Prolly on account o' all the folks what died there over time," Eldkin shrugs, taking Merric's question literally.
The noble eyes Merric distastefully as the knight places himself between the two. "Bram Cromwell," the noble introduces himself from atop the horse. "It's alright, Magnus, can't hurt anything to let him try," he tells the knight, who steps aside to let Merric approach his horse. After a few moments of the horse whinnying and braying toward Merric, Bram shifts uneasily and mentions, "The thing struggles most mornings. Father insisted he keep my preferred mounts in Baldur's Gate, however."
For Merric:
The horse is tired and hungry, and bears a lot of ill will toward its rider. It is an old horse, but could still have a couple years of life on the road ahead of it.
OOC: Since Akira hasn't really had a chance to purchase any spell components yet I've just subtracted the 10gp required for find familiar from her inventory, but for future castings she'll need to purchase those components in a city setting before casting.
Each character has received 300 XP for making it through the first day's events and keeping the caravan intact.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Rogram shrugs one shoulder at Radecere and adjusts his armor. "Don't worry. We'll take care of that. Hopefully we won't have anymore trouble. If we do, keep your head down, and holler if you need anything." Thinking better of it, the half-dwarf pulls a dagger out of his belt and offers it handle first to the gnome. "Why don't you hold onto this just in case. It'd be better for you to have it and never need it than to need it and not have it." He smiles. "I want it back when we get to Waterdeep."
Radecere looks a bit hesitant, but takes the dagger from Rogram nonetheless. "Thanks. I'll try not to forget," he says.
The road is quiet for a couple of days. Once outside of the bastion of Baldur's Gate's walls, farms and homsteads are replaced by vast wilderness, and the road begins to twist around hillsides. The atmosphere is quite different on the third night of the journey as the caravan nears the Fields of the Dead. An adage of "It's a very bad idea to light a fire on a hilltop at night in the Fields of the Dead," makes its way through the guards, merchants, and travelers alike, and though Beyd has no trouble selling his ale, travelers nurse their mugs with a quiet foreboding.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Akira studies the area around them, listening for anything untoward.
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A)
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5)
Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
After Rogram has his flagon filled, he sidles up beside Karib when the cleric is less busy. Speaking quietly, the half-dwarf says, "I think I'm going to turn invisible and try to find my father tonight. The guards never leave the wagons, so there isn't a good time. He has to be in one of them. I just need to figure out which one."
@DM: Subtracted 4 cp.
OOC: I'll hold for Rogram to do some sneakin' or for Karib's response. Let me know if you'd like me to advance before then.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Merric pats the old horse on the neck and gives it a piece of apple from his belt pouch. “The poor thing is tired and hungry, Lord Cromwell, but see that it is well fed and rested at nights, and spare the beatings, and it will get you to Waterdeep to see to your business, whatever it may be.”
Under the guise of scouting for threats, Merric continues to keep an eye on the first three wagons, especially when they stop for the evenings to get a sense of the number of guards, what cargo they are moving, and if he can determine who is in charge of that group. Perception: 16.
.(While watching for anything unusual, he would be interested in Rogram sneaking around the wagons if he is perceptive enough to notice it.)
"Sure," Cromwell succinctly replies.
Keeping an eye on the Cult's assumed wagons for a few evenings, anyone might assume that they are nothing but typical merchants hauling northbound freight. They don't bunch up during the day or camp together at night, though unlike the other merchants they seem to only have one teamster and one guard assigned per wagon. Merric notices on a couple of other occasions that the teamsters of these wagons continue to turn down offers from potential passengers.
The first night spent on the outskirts of the Fields of the Dead carries a distinctly different energy. Without fires to provide warmth during the nightly meal, the conversation matches the chill of the evening. An oppressive silence continues in the morning as the caravan moves further onto the twisting road.
The tense atmosphere erupts suddenly when the wagons halt for a break in the afternoon. A shout from the travelers behind the wagons is followed by a thud and cursing as Bram Cromwell is pitched forward, bucked from his horse to collapse upon the ground. Grabbing the reins and yanking the horse toward him, Cromwell screams at the horse, "Useless nag!" and it pulls back at him, dragging him back down to the ground as he refuses to let go of the reins.
"Magnus!" he shouts, his voice cracking in anger as he gets back to his feet again and hands the reins to the knight traveling with him. He pulls the switch from the saddle of the horse and begins to beat its hind quarters.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Rogram turns, his attention drawn to the struggle behind him. When he sees Bram begin to whip the horse, the half-dwarf scowls, but doesn't intervene.
Akira investigates the source of the issues ahead and if she sees Cromwell, she will get into range and use Mage Hand to try to wrest the switch from his hand in a discreet manner.
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A)
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5)
Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
Karib seems fully occupied trading jibs and chatting with the people at the make-shift bar. He catches Rograms eye and nods briefly before his gaze moves on.
"I'll do what I can for you lad, but we both know I'm not made for sneaking. Come back to me when you plan to explore."
When Rogram returns, Karib reaches out and touches hime on the shoulder, eyes closed in prayer, "A gift from Gond for you; it won't last more than an hour. Tread softly, lad, and drag any trouble back here and play drunk." Then he chuckles, "Or just run like hell. I know you're fast."
Rogram has enhanced dexterity for an hour (advantage on dex checks)
The mage hand grasps the switch from Cromwell's hand, pulling it free before the noble can strike the horse with it any more. A crowd begins to gather as he whirls around, bewildered until he sees the spectral hand holding the item.
"Who is behind this trickery? If you can't be bothered to be helpful, at least have the decency to show your face," he blusters.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Akira steps forward, brushes off her robes, and clears her voice in the manner of a mother correcting a child: “I am inclined to think that someone mistaught you the ways of civility toward creatures to see you have such disdain for this horse. Your frustration might indicate you are having issues with this horse but your actions seem at odds with correcting it.”
She surveys the people standing about. “Is there one amongst us learned in the ways of pack animals and their habits that might shed light onto its thoughts or potential maladies?”
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A)
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5)
Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
As the crowd gathers, and if noone else steps forward, Karib would utter a brief prayer to his deity then say, "I have no training, but I find I often have some insights into the behaviour of animals. We are all machines, after all, just some more prone to anger than others." He stares at Cromwell as he speaks. "One thing that I do know about anger: Is it's often misdirected."
He looks over at the scene and at the horse, muttering under his breath as he does so.
Animal Handling: 12+4 = 16
Merric slides up next to Akira and gives a small smile while whispering in Elvish “Well done, the poor beast needs a break.” Speaking louder, and in common, he informs Karib and the group what he learned from the horse earlier “See what you can find, but the horse is tired and hungry, probably from being ill-used this entire journey” he looks directly at Cromwell and adds “I asked you to see it well fed and rested, and to stop these senseless beatings. You would get farther that way, you know, you catch more flies with honey and all that.” He gives Cromwell a smirk.
Cromwell glares back at the three speaking to him, but seeing the glowers of the crowd, he does not press his irritation further. "I've ridden dozens of horses in my time and none were as irritable and useless as this," he declares. "Cut the nag free, Magnus. I have no use for it anymore."
The knight traveling with him does as asked, using his greatsword to cut through its reins and remove its saddle. The horse continues to lie in the road as Cromwell and his companions rejoin the caravan, seeming content to pay no more mind to the creature.
For Karib:
The horse is seemingly exhausted and looks to be underfed. Now that its collars and girths have been removed, you can see its hide has been scored by chafing.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!