"While we appreciate the urgency and the escort, we need to rest. Marshall Klaus can certainly wait until morning as I doubt he will be waking up upon our arrival. We will get an early start, and the escort can stay with us of course and lead us in the morning. After out journey, I'd say that's fair. Antonius, do you agree? If so, the guard can send word that you have made it to the city and that you'll arrive tomorrow by mid-day."Ida speaks confidently, as she knew they were far too tired to keep riding and Antonius was possibly looking for support to call it a night.
Antonius opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by the escort.
'The Marshall was very specific. Very. Specific. If you ride hard, you'll be there in about two hours. From there you will be escorted to your lodgings for the night. The Marshall will want his demonstration first thing in the morning.'
Antonius shuts his mouth and looks quite forlorn, as if mourning the loss of his sleep.
Before leaving the camp with the body of the owlbear, Hamish spends some time plucking enough feathers to fill a small sack.
At the news that greets them at the city gate, Hamish groans in exasperation and exhaustion. As he does so, little whorls of magic eddie around his shoulders. He notices them and suddenly looks sheepish as they sputter out. He takes a deep breath. Better to not cause a scene because I'm tired. I'm with Lady Ida, but doesn't seem like we have a choice.
"I refuse to lame a horse. If we go now, we don't go at full speed. None of us can really handle it at this point tonight. 3 hours will save the horses and us." Ida continues to speak under her breath in a language none of them really understand.
Darwin looks perturbed and approaches the mounted guards, reaching into his well of power for something to help him persuade them, and feeling a portion of the Strangers presence imbue him. "Sirs or Madams", he starts talking to the guards trying to be respectful. "Our journey has not been without incident, and we and our horses have pushed to get here as quickly as we did. Please get word to your boss that we will be taking a rest, and will require fresh horses before we push on. We will await his response in one of the local taverns".
Fey Presence (see spoiler): DC 13 Wis Save or they are charmed. Persuasion: 13 if they pass the save, 17 if they fail and are charmed.
Fey Presence
Starting at 1st level, your patron bestows upon you the ability to project the beguiling and fearsome presence of the fey. As an action, you can cause each creature in a 10-foot cube originating from you to make a Wisdom saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. The creatures that fail their saving throws are all charmed or frightened by you (your choice) until the end of your next turn.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
If we continue riding, we'll be falling out of our saddles and Antonius will be too weak to put on his demonstration. The horses won't be the only creatures dying on the ride.
Toryn sighs deeply. Well. Still not the longest match I've ever been on. Hey soldier boy, can we at least let our horses get a drink of water before we go?
You're given 5 minutes to hydrate your mounts and then are instructed to ride hard north.
In about 2 hours you reach your destination.
The town you approach is small and protected by a wooden palisade.
Toryn knows that this is the most Northern settlement of the empire, marking its border with the Great Plains, Einfallton.
You are greeted by another soldier who shows you to the inn quickly and with as few words as possible. You are instructed that you will be expected about a mile north of the city at dawn and then left alone
“That sounds a little harsh. I’m glad it didn’t, need a roof over my head and a bed under my body.”, Darwin says wandering to the door of the inn, hoping it is unlocked.
I spent time here when it was still just a garrison. Brutal summers, harsh winters, and harsher residents. They're used to outsiders for trade, but if you don't have something for them they'll likely be hostile towards ya. Toryn is holding something back but looks scared to reveal it.
"Never in my life..." Ida has been visibly annoyed since being forced ahead. She leaves the meal and the others to go back out to the horses. She's genuinely concerned that they won't be given any attention since "we'll have other horses ready for you" means they couldn't care less if their animals dropped dead. That level of indifference towards life angered her more than she cared to admit. She went to each of them, made sure they had fresh water, fresh hay, oats, and a bit of a rub down. They had been faithful steeds, and she tried to pour a little love into each of them before heading back inside to eat.
Darwin wanders inside and climbs up onto a chair, hungrily digging into his meal and calling for some ale to wash it down.
He smiles at Ida as she comes back in from tending the horses, feeling a little guilty he hadn’t thought of that, but soon excuses himself and heads off up to bed.
The next morning, just before dawn, you're all roused by banging on your respective doors. When you enter the main room, you find two soldiers waiting.
'We're to show you to the site.' they inform you.
You are guided approximately a mile north of the town where you find a number of men in fine armor and weapons waiting, accompanied by retinues of lesser soldiers.
'Antonius. Nice of you to join us.' A large half-elf man in shining plate armor calls, his face contorted in a cowl.
'Sorry to keep you waiting.' Antonius calls back with an easy smile, apparently having recovered a measure of his composure after a night in a warm bed.
"While we appreciate the urgency and the escort, we need to rest. Marshall Klaus can certainly wait until morning as I doubt he will be waking up upon our arrival. We will get an early start, and the escort can stay with us of course and lead us in the morning. After out journey, I'd say that's fair. Antonius, do you agree? If so, the guard can send word that you have made it to the city and that you'll arrive tomorrow by mid-day." Ida speaks confidently, as she knew they were far too tired to keep riding and Antonius was possibly looking for support to call it a night.
Antonius opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by the escort.
'The Marshall was very specific. Very. Specific. If you ride hard, you'll be there in about two hours. From there you will be escorted to your lodgings for the night. The Marshall will want his demonstration first thing in the morning.'
Antonius shuts his mouth and looks quite forlorn, as if mourning the loss of his sleep.
Before leaving the camp with the body of the owlbear, Hamish spends some time plucking enough feathers to fill a small sack.
At the news that greets them at the city gate, Hamish groans in exasperation and exhaustion. As he does so, little whorls of magic eddie around his shoulders. He notices them and suddenly looks sheepish as they sputter out. He takes a deep breath. Better to not cause a scene because I'm tired. I'm with Lady Ida, but doesn't seem like we have a choice.
"I refuse to lame a horse. If we go now, we don't go at full speed. None of us can really handle it at this point tonight. 3 hours will save the horses and us." Ida continues to speak under her breath in a language none of them really understand.
Darwin looks perturbed and approaches the mounted guards, reaching into his well of power for something to help him persuade them, and feeling a portion of the Strangers presence imbue him. "Sirs or Madams", he starts talking to the guards trying to be respectful. "Our journey has not been without incident, and we and our horses have pushed to get here as quickly as we did. Please get word to your boss that we will be taking a rest, and will require fresh horses before we push on. We will await his response in one of the local taverns".
Fey Presence (see spoiler): DC 13 Wis Save or they are charmed.
Persuasion: 13 if they pass the save, 17 if they fail and are charmed.
Fey Presence
Starting at 1st level, your patron bestows upon you the ability to project the beguiling and fearsome presence of the fey. As an action, you can cause each creature in a 10-foot cube originating from you to make a Wisdom saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. The creatures that fail their saving throws are all charmed or frightened by you (your choice) until the end of your next turn.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Toryn tries to lend his support as well.
If we continue riding, we'll be falling out of our saddles and Antonius will be too weak to put on his demonstration. The horses won't be the only creatures dying on the ride.
persuasion check: 10
The guard is unmoved by your pleas.
'If you won't go on then we shall send a rider ahead to inform the Marshall. Gods know I'm not facing his wrath because you feel a bit tired.'
Darwin turns to Antonius, “This is your call, we are paid to go where you go. But it seems unnecessarily risky to ride on in the dark”.
Antonius sighs, resigned, 'We should push on.' his voice has an edge of annoyance.
Darwin nods his head, “You’re the boss, let’s get moving”.
He pats his horse apologetically, “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to rest once we get there”.
Toryn sighs deeply. Well. Still not the longest match I've ever been on. Hey soldier boy, can we at least let our horses get a drink of water before we go?
You're given 5 minutes to hydrate your mounts and then are instructed to ride hard north.
In about 2 hours you reach your destination.
The town you approach is small and protected by a wooden palisade.
Toryn knows that this is the most Northern settlement of the empire, marking its border with the Great Plains, Einfallton.
You are greeted by another soldier who shows you to the inn quickly and with as few words as possible. You are instructed that you will be expected about a mile north of the city at dawn and then left alone
Toryn grimaces in disgust. I had hoped this place burned to the ground by now.
“That sounds a little harsh. I’m glad it didn’t, need a roof over my head and a bed under my body.”, Darwin says wandering to the door of the inn, hoping it is unlocked.
If it is, he enters, if not he knocks.
I spent time here when it was still just a garrison. Brutal summers, harsh winters, and harsher residents. They're used to outsiders for trade, but if you don't have something for them they'll likely be hostile towards ya. Toryn is holding something back but looks scared to reveal it.
The inn is unlocked as they've been expecting you.
They have a hot meal waiting for each of you
"Never in my life..." Ida has been visibly annoyed since being forced ahead. She leaves the meal and the others to go back out to the horses. She's genuinely concerned that they won't be given any attention since "we'll have other horses ready for you" means they couldn't care less if their animals dropped dead. That level of indifference towards life angered her more than she cared to admit. She went to each of them, made sure they had fresh water, fresh hay, oats, and a bit of a rub down. They had been faithful steeds, and she tried to pour a little love into each of them before heading back inside to eat.
Darwin wanders inside and climbs up onto a chair, hungrily digging into his meal and calling for some ale to wash it down.
He smiles at Ida as she comes back in from tending the horses, feeling a little guilty he hadn’t thought of that, but soon excuses himself and heads off up to bed.
Ida smiles at Darwin, and scarfs down her meal before heading to bed.
The next morning, just before dawn, you're all roused by banging on your respective doors. When you enter the main room, you find two soldiers waiting.
'We're to show you to the site.' they inform you.
You are guided approximately a mile north of the town where you find a number of men in fine armor and weapons waiting, accompanied by retinues of lesser soldiers.
'Antonius. Nice of you to join us.' A large half-elf man in shining plate armor calls, his face contorted in a cowl.
'Sorry to keep you waiting.' Antonius calls back with an easy smile, apparently having recovered a measure of his composure after a night in a warm bed.