Randal glances back over at Tess and Lyla “Perhaps we should go meet back up with Leacy by the inn, she will likely leave us if we are much longer. I am interested in meeting these visitors, they may have more information for us and I don’t think there is much more we can find here.”
Tess says”I agree. Let’s try not to lose Leacy.. I’m a little worried she might get into trouble again.” (She says again very quietly, almost to herself)
"I agree, we need to hurry." Lyla frowns, turning away from the shelves to face the others. "I really do think the thief, or thieves, whoever they are, have either already left town or are planning to go very soon," she emphasises.
"Tokvald, one more question: are there any other horses or other vehicles in town that we could borrow - ones that would be able to keep up with the horses?" Lyla turns back to face the him briefly, clearly itching to get moving out the door as soon as possible.
"There should be a mule, but I don't think the old beast could ever keep up with a horse. If Leacy's Mika was taken, however, I don't think there are any other beasts of burden in the town. Not any I can recall." Tokvald answers. "You can always ask Jenner if he has something, or if he's willing to make something, though I bet he's too busy with the festival at the moment."
Leaving Tokvald at the store, he goes back into the storage room to check what was stolen from there. Meanwhile, the three leave, heading for the inn. Several more people have begun to work on the coming festival, as well as many more on their way. It seems the small village finally awakes.
On their way, the group passes by a group of children of varying ages. The youngest seems to be about five years old, while the oldest is around fifteen. The group isn't large, considering how big a gap that is. Somewhere around thirty... maybe forty. They are accompanied by one adult - a Human woman in her early thirties. As the group passes the children, some of them look at the strangers with curiosity, while some of the younger ones try to hide behind the caretaker... who doesn't provide enough cover to hide them all, which incites a small struggle.
"Clear the way!" A harsh, deep voice calls. As Tess, Randal and Lyla turn back to see who calls, they see a few men carrying together something metallic. As they step aside to let them pass, as do the children, the men continue in a hurry. As they pass, everyone can get a brief look at what they're carrying. It is not an object, but a Human. A woman in chain mail, her brown hair cut short. It's not hard to recognise Ri. She seems to be unconscious. The men continue northwards... towards the inn.
As they walk towards the inn, Randal turns to Tess “Why do you think Leacy would get into trouble?”
He smiles at the group of children, and is about to try to set their minds at ease and amuse them by juggling some stones when he is distracted by the group of men rushing through carrying Ri.
DM:
Randal is paralyzed with indecision for a moment. His thoughts go back to his mentor and friends captured by the law while he watched helplessly. He knows Ri, although barely, and he struggles to balance a desire to help her with his desire for self-preservation. He assumes at first she is a prisoner, but is she or are those men trying to save her? Will standing up for her result in his own capture? Self-preservation wins out for now and he remains silent.
As the men go by, heading for the inn, Randal speaks quietly to the others “What are they are going to do with her? Is she a prisoner, or are they attempting to help her? We need to find out what is going on.”
"Excuse me sirs!" she calls out to the men, jogging to catch up with them if they continue walking. "What is going on here?"
Lyla gestures to Ri, and as she does so she tries to notice if Ri has any injuries or other indications on her of what might have happened to lead to this moment.
Tess answers Randal’s question about Leacy.. “oh… when I first met Leacy, it was in the desert not far from town. She had been kidnapped, I helped rescue her. Poor girl, has had a tough time I guess…” She stops talking about it then, lost in thought. She merely looks with the others to see what is happening with Ri.
As Lyla runs with the men, the Randal and Tess are left behind (momentarily, at least. They could easily catch up if they wish). However, from this side, they notice that the last man carrying Ri... does not appear to be a man at all. It is a Human woman, though abiut as tall as the rest of the men. She wears a white dress, and her light-brown hair is braided in a familiar style, in which the braid goes under the hair...
Lyla:
The men hurry, but carrying a person is not easy, especially not when they're wearing a heavy metallic armour. Moreover, they seem to be taking care keeping Ri from falling, so they're not running as fast as they possibly could. Thus, it is not hard to match their pace next to them.
Ri does not appear injured at all. Rather, despite how she's carried, her expression seems peaceful, as if she's sleeping. In response to Lyla's question, a familiar female's voice answes. Now, Lyla realises the man in the back is not a man. It is Dromi, running in a white dress, her light-brown hair braided as usually. She happens to be about the same height as the others, though, and helps carrying Ri all the same. "Oh, you! Good thing you're here! Your friend didn't wake up no matter what I tried, yet I'm confident she still breathes. I decided to call help, and after a short examination, we decided to rush her to Sier, see if he can help!"
Lyla's expession can't be described in any way but surprised. (OOC: like me rolling that nat 20 lol)
"Oh! Okay! Is there, uh, no normal healer in this town other than Sier... or...?" Lyla guesses that Ri wouldn't like being delivered into Sier's hands, especially if it means she would owe him a favour in return for his help. Maybe the humans were different about that than some of her other ancestors, but Lyla still didn't think Ri would appreciate the debt.
She continues walking alongside the group though, staying out of their way since it seems they have the situation covered.
Randal turns to Tess “Wait, that person with the braid looks familiar, is that Dromi? Let’s go see what she is doing” Randal moves to follow them toward the inn, feeling a little embarrassed about his initial reaction. Surely Dromi wouldn’t mean any harm toward Ri. Would she?
As they move to catch up with the group as they move toward the inn, Randal asked Tess more about Leacy “Leacy was kidnapped? Do they know who was responsible? Seems out of the ordinary for a small town, but I guess there is a lot out of the ordinary here.”
Tess stays with Randall, keeping up with the procession. She explains to Randal in a very quiet voice- too quiet to be overheard. “Yes, well it was on her last trip, she’s a messenger. An orc captured her and was going to sacrifice her. The orc won’t do it again.” The last part of that is said with a somewhat disturbing finality to it.
As Tess and Randal join Lyla by the men and Dromi, they hear Dromi's brief answer: "If it were a wound or a broken bone or a sickness, yes. This is neither."She doesn't explain further and turns her face forward again to avoid tripping or anything like that.
"I'll open the door!" Dromi calls as they near the inn. She leaves Ri - and the others' reactions show that she was actually carrying some weight - and runs forward. She's not a very fast runner but she's still quicker than a few men carrying an armoured woman. She reaches the door before them and opens the door, holding it wide open so they can enter quickly.
Inside, three faces turn in surprise to see those who entered. Leacy, Sier and a very tall, bald man in a fancy black shirt and black trousers. Whatever they were talking about, they stopped when the door was open. None of the three seemed to notice Lyla, Tess or Randal, who were slightly behind the group that carried Ri. "Make room! We have an emergency!" Dromi calls, entering behind the men and leaving the door to slowly close itself behind her.
Do you follow inside?
Tess:
As Tess runs next to the men, she notices another odd member among the carriers. At the centre stands Temke, taking the weight of Ri's torso on himself. The tall Half-Orc has to duck a little to match the height of the others. Perhaps it was her imagination, but for a brief moment, Tess thinks she saw Temke glancing towards her. Frowning, maybe? If so, it was too quick for Tess to be sure.
Randal:
The moment Randal sees the bald man, he knows immediately. It is Bran. Nearly two metres tall (~6' 6", I believe), wide and so bald you could get dazed by the sun reflecting off his scalp when he stands outside. He seems to always be calm or suppress his emotions at the very least. He usually didn't talk when not talked to and it was hard to determine what he really thought of another, including Randal himself. Most alarming, however, is the fact that Bran was no random person Randal happened to know. Bran was the personal bodyguard of the noble's daughter (if you wish, you can invent a name for her. If not, I'll come up with one), and would not be here if she were not.
Lyla:
Just as Lyla nears the Living Tree inn, she thinks she hears a howl in the distance. It is faint and short. If anybody else heard it, nobody makes any sign that they did.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Randal comes to a dead stop outside of the inn, eyes open wide in shock as he sees who is standing inside. He takes a step to the side to get out of the line of sight from the open door and glances around wildly, looking for someone.
DM:
Perception: 21.
He looks around for the Lady Shandri. Bran would never be far from her. But why were they here? Her father did not send her, he was fairly certain of that. No, if her father was still after him it was just as likely to be a bounty hunter or thug as it was the law, but not his daughter. His mind reeled with thoughts and implications, but he was not ready to meet her or Bran just yet.
He glances over at Tess and Lyla “Perhaps someone should go in and check on Ri? Or should we wait for Dromi to come out?”
”I’ll go in” offers Tess. She enters the tree inn, if there is room for her. She studies the group to see if she can figure out what is going on, if anyone is acting particularly suspicious.
Distracted, Lyla looks off into the distance, with slight alarm and worry on her face. "That can't be good." She turns to Randal, still outside. "It looks like the situation here is under control. Did you hear the noise too? I'm going to go check it out - if you don't think you're needed here and want to come with, I wouldn't mind some back up."
With or without company Lyla starts moving, leaving the door to close and not reveal her presence to the people inside.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
“What noise? What did you hear?” Randal gives Lyla a puzzled look. But when she begins to move away from the inn, Randal follows without hesitation. Any reason will do to get away from the inn for now. “Back up for what? I will go with you.”
As he follows Lyla, he keeps watch for any threats and strains his ears to listen for whatever noise she heard. Perception: 22.
It is already high noon when the three join together. The air is hot, but soon, a wind begins to blow. It is weak, but it helps alleviate the heat to some extent. On the bridge by the inn they meet; Tess coming from the south while Lyla and Randal approach from the north. The inn is quiet, as always, and its door is closed.
The three don't get a chance to catch up, though, as only a few moments pass before they notice a group of men running towards them. Or, rather, towards the inn. Once again, the three notice a body being carried. As the men pass, you three get a chance to see who is being carried. A young man, in his twenties surely. He has short brown hair, and seems very tall. He looks very pale, and clearly unconscious. Notably, he still wears his pyjamas.
Randal:
As the men run ahead, Randal gets a glimpse at the man's face. No doubt about it, it is Naran, whom Randal met when he just arrived at Rivulestice.
Tess:
Tess notices that among the men, two familiar faces help carry the unconscious man. Temke and Tedve, who helped carry Ri in the morning, and left the inn together to check on something.
Standing once more on the stone bridge, Randal barely has time to greet Tess when they spot a second group of townsfolk rushing toward the inn with a body. “I recognize that man. We had a run-in when I first arrived in town and he hasn’t been seen since. I wonder what happened?”
He turns toward Tess as she mentions sickness. “What did you find at the inn, what happened to Ri?” He pauses, then continues “there was a strange man in the inn from out of town. Did you happen to hear what brought them to Rivulestice? Maybe he is tied to the missing horses.”
Randal glances back over at Tess and Lyla “Perhaps we should go meet back up with Leacy by the inn, she will likely leave us if we are much longer. I am interested in meeting these visitors, they may have more information for us and I don’t think there is much more we can find here.”
***
Tess says”I agree. Let’s try not to lose Leacy.. I’m a little worried she might get into trouble again.” (She says again very quietly, almost to herself)
"I agree, we need to hurry." Lyla frowns, turning away from the shelves to face the others. "I really do think the thief, or thieves, whoever they are, have either already left town or are planning to go very soon," she emphasises.
"Tokvald, one more question: are there any other horses or other vehicles in town that we could borrow - ones that would be able to keep up with the horses?" Lyla turns back to face the him briefly, clearly itching to get moving out the door as soon as possible.
A completed pbp forum game:
Harley Atheonaikie in Frozen Sick
-
Current pbp forum games:
Delilah Rose in Rivulestice
Tragedy Whispers (Previously: A Deep & Creeping Darkness & Waterdeep: Dragon Heist)
"There should be a mule, but I don't think the old beast could ever keep up with a horse. If Leacy's Mika was taken, however, I don't think there are any other beasts of burden in the town. Not any I can recall." Tokvald answers. "You can always ask Jenner if he has something, or if he's willing to make something, though I bet he's too busy with the festival at the moment."
Leaving Tokvald at the store, he goes back into the storage room to check what was stolen from there. Meanwhile, the three leave, heading for the inn. Several more people have begun to work on the coming festival, as well as many more on their way. It seems the small village finally awakes.
On their way, the group passes by a group of children of varying ages. The youngest seems to be about five years old, while the oldest is around fifteen. The group isn't large, considering how big a gap that is. Somewhere around thirty... maybe forty. They are accompanied by one adult - a Human woman in her early thirties. As the group passes the children, some of them look at the strangers with curiosity, while some of the younger ones try to hide behind the caretaker... who doesn't provide enough cover to hide them all, which incites a small struggle.
"Clear the way!" A harsh, deep voice calls. As Tess, Randal and Lyla turn back to see who calls, they see a few men carrying together something metallic. As they step aside to let them pass, as do the children, the men continue in a hurry. As they pass, everyone can get a brief look at what they're carrying. It is not an object, but a Human. A woman in chain mail, her brown hair cut short. It's not hard to recognise Ri. She seems to be unconscious. The men continue northwards... towards the inn.
Varielky
As they walk towards the inn, Randal turns to Tess “Why do you think Leacy would get into trouble?”
He smiles at the group of children, and is about to try to set their minds at ease and amuse them by juggling some stones when he is distracted by the group of men rushing through carrying Ri.
DM:
Randal is paralyzed with indecision for a moment. His thoughts go back to his mentor and friends captured by the law while he watched helplessly. He knows Ri, although barely, and he struggles to balance a desire to help her with his desire for self-preservation. He assumes at first she is a prisoner, but is she or are those men trying to save her? Will standing up for her result in his own capture? Self-preservation wins out for now and he remains silent.
As the men go by, heading for the inn, Randal speaks quietly to the others “What are they are going to do with her? Is she a prisoner, or are they attempting to help her? We need to find out what is going on.”
Lyla quietly states her agreement: "We do."
"Excuse me sirs!" she calls out to the men, jogging to catch up with them if they continue walking. "What is going on here?"
Lyla gestures to Ri, and as she does so she tries to notice if Ri has any injuries or other indications on her of what might have happened to lead to this moment.
Perception/investigation if needed:
22
A completed pbp forum game:
Harley Atheonaikie in Frozen Sick
-
Current pbp forum games:
Delilah Rose in Rivulestice
Tragedy Whispers (Previously: A Deep & Creeping Darkness & Waterdeep: Dragon Heist)
Tess answers Randal’s question about Leacy.. “oh… when I first met Leacy, it was in the desert not far from town. She had been kidnapped, I helped rescue her. Poor girl, has had a tough time I guess…” She stops talking about it then, lost in thought. She merely looks with the others to see what is happening with Ri.
Tess and Randal:
As Lyla runs with the men, the Randal and Tess are left behind (momentarily, at least. They could easily catch up if they wish). However, from this side, they notice that the last man carrying Ri... does not appear to be a man at all. It is a Human woman, though abiut as tall as the rest of the men. She wears a white dress, and her light-brown hair is braided in a familiar style, in which the braid goes under the hair...
Lyla:
The men hurry, but carrying a person is not easy, especially not when they're wearing a heavy metallic armour. Moreover, they seem to be taking care keeping Ri from falling, so they're not running as fast as they possibly could. Thus, it is not hard to match their pace next to them.
Ri does not appear injured at all. Rather, despite how she's carried, her expression seems peaceful, as if she's sleeping. In response to Lyla's question, a familiar female's voice answes. Now, Lyla realises the man in the back is not a man. It is Dromi, running in a white dress, her light-brown hair braided as usually. She happens to be about the same height as the others, though, and helps carrying Ri all the same. "Oh, you! Good thing you're here! Your friend didn't wake up no matter what I tried, yet I'm confident she still breathes. I decided to call help, and after a short examination, we decided to rush her to Sier, see if he can help!"
Varielky
Lyla's expession can't be described in any way but surprised. (OOC: like me rolling that nat 20 lol)
"Oh! Okay! Is there, uh, no normal healer in this town other than Sier... or...?" Lyla guesses that Ri wouldn't like being delivered into Sier's hands, especially if it means she would owe him a favour in return for his help. Maybe the humans were different about that than some of her other ancestors, but Lyla still didn't think Ri would appreciate the debt.
She continues walking alongside the group though, staying out of their way since it seems they have the situation covered.
A completed pbp forum game:
Harley Atheonaikie in Frozen Sick
-
Current pbp forum games:
Delilah Rose in Rivulestice
Tragedy Whispers (Previously: A Deep & Creeping Darkness & Waterdeep: Dragon Heist)
Randal turns to Tess “Wait, that person with the braid looks familiar, is that Dromi? Let’s go see what she is doing” Randal moves to follow them toward the inn, feeling a little embarrassed about his initial reaction. Surely Dromi wouldn’t mean any harm toward Ri. Would she?
As they move to catch up with the group as they move toward the inn, Randal asked Tess more about Leacy “Leacy was kidnapped? Do they know who was responsible? Seems out of the ordinary for a small town, but I guess there is a lot out of the ordinary here.”
Tess stays with Randall, keeping up with the procession. She explains to Randal in a very quiet voice- too quiet to be overheard. “Yes, well it was on her last trip, she’s a messenger. An orc captured her and was going to sacrifice her. The orc won’t do it again.” The last part of that is said with a somewhat disturbing finality to it.
As Tess and Randal join Lyla by the men and Dromi, they hear Dromi's brief answer: "If it were a wound or a broken bone or a sickness, yes. This is neither." She doesn't explain further and turns her face forward again to avoid tripping or anything like that.
"I'll open the door!" Dromi calls as they near the inn. She leaves Ri - and the others' reactions show that she was actually carrying some weight - and runs forward. She's not a very fast runner but she's still quicker than a few men carrying an armoured woman. She reaches the door before them and opens the door, holding it wide open so they can enter quickly.
Inside, three faces turn in surprise to see those who entered. Leacy, Sier and a very tall, bald man in a fancy black shirt and black trousers. Whatever they were talking about, they stopped when the door was open. None of the three seemed to notice Lyla, Tess or Randal, who were slightly behind the group that carried Ri. "Make room! We have an emergency!" Dromi calls, entering behind the men and leaving the door to slowly close itself behind her.
Do you follow inside?
Tess:
As Tess runs next to the men, she notices another odd member among the carriers. At the centre stands Temke, taking the weight of Ri's torso on himself. The tall Half-Orc has to duck a little to match the height of the others. Perhaps it was her imagination, but for a brief moment, Tess thinks she saw Temke glancing towards her. Frowning, maybe? If so, it was too quick for Tess to be sure.
Randal:
The moment Randal sees the bald man, he knows immediately. It is Bran. Nearly two metres tall (~6' 6", I believe), wide and so bald you could get dazed by the sun reflecting off his scalp when he stands outside. He seems to always be calm or suppress his emotions at the very least. He usually didn't talk when not talked to and it was hard to determine what he really thought of another, including Randal himself. Most alarming, however, is the fact that Bran was no random person Randal happened to know. Bran was the personal bodyguard of the noble's daughter (if you wish, you can invent a name for her. If not, I'll come up with one), and would not be here if she were not.
Lyla:
Just as Lyla nears the Living Tree inn, she thinks she hears a howl in the distance. It is faint and short. If anybody else heard it, nobody makes any sign that they did.
Varielky
Randal comes to a dead stop outside of the inn, eyes open wide in shock as he sees who is standing inside. He takes a step to the side to get out of the line of sight from the open door and glances around wildly, looking for someone.
DM:
Perception: 21.
He looks around for the Lady Shandri. Bran would never be far from her. But why were they here? Her father did not send her, he was fairly certain of that. No, if her father was still after him it was just as likely to be a bounty hunter or thug as it was the law, but not his daughter. His mind reeled with thoughts and implications, but he was not ready to meet her or Bran just yet.
He glances over at Tess and Lyla “Perhaps someone should go in and check on Ri? Or should we wait for Dromi to come out?”
”I’ll go in” offers Tess. She enters the tree inn, if there is room for her. She studies the group to see if she can figure out what is going on, if anyone is acting particularly suspicious.
16 insight.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” She says
DM:
Nature check: 7
Distracted, Lyla looks off into the distance, with slight alarm and worry on her face. "That can't be good." She turns to Randal, still outside. "It looks like the situation here is under control. Did you hear the noise too? I'm going to go check it out - if you don't think you're needed here and want to come with, I wouldn't mind some back up."
With or without company Lyla starts moving, leaving the door to close and not reveal her presence to the people inside.
A completed pbp forum game:
Harley Atheonaikie in Frozen Sick
-
Current pbp forum games:
Delilah Rose in Rivulestice
Tragedy Whispers (Previously: A Deep & Creeping Darkness & Waterdeep: Dragon Heist)
“What noise? What did you hear?” Randal gives Lyla a puzzled look. But when she begins to move away from the inn, Randal follows without hesitation. Any reason will do to get away from the inn for now. “Back up for what? I will go with you.”
As he follows Lyla, he keeps watch for any threats and strains his ears to listen for whatever noise she heard. Perception: 22.
It is already high noon when the three join together. The air is hot, but soon, a wind begins to blow. It is weak, but it helps alleviate the heat to some extent. On the bridge by the inn they meet; Tess coming from the south while Lyla and Randal approach from the north. The inn is quiet, as always, and its door is closed.
The three don't get a chance to catch up, though, as only a few moments pass before they notice a group of men running towards them. Or, rather, towards the inn. Once again, the three notice a body being carried. As the men pass, you three get a chance to see who is being carried. A young man, in his twenties surely. He has short brown hair, and seems very tall. He looks very pale, and clearly unconscious. Notably, he still wears his pyjamas.
Randal:
As the men run ahead, Randal gets a glimpse at the man's face. No doubt about it, it is Naran, whom Randal met when he just arrived at Rivulestice.
Tess:
Tess notices that among the men, two familiar faces help carry the unconscious man. Temke and Tedve, who helped carry Ri in the morning, and left the inn together to check on something.
Varielky
“Another one?! Tess says with shock. “Same type of sickness?”
Standing once more on the stone bridge, Randal barely has time to greet Tess when they spot a second group of townsfolk rushing toward the inn with a body. “I recognize that man. We had a run-in when I first arrived in town and he hasn’t been seen since. I wonder what happened?”
He turns toward Tess as she mentions sickness. “What did you find at the inn, what happened to Ri?” He pauses, then continues “there was a strange man in the inn from out of town. Did you happen to hear what brought them to Rivulestice? Maybe he is tied to the missing horses.”
Lyla looks on, surprised. She quietly waits to hear more, wanting to know the same things Randal has just asked about.
A completed pbp forum game:
Harley Atheonaikie in Frozen Sick
-
Current pbp forum games:
Delilah Rose in Rivulestice
Tragedy Whispers (Previously: A Deep & Creeping Darkness & Waterdeep: Dragon Heist)