Red Dead Annihilation: Campaign Thread

After a long pause, the man lowers his sword a little.  "I understand your concern.  These jungles are a death trap... murder lurks around every fern and frond.  You have permission to come ashore.  I swear, on my honor as a member of the Order of the Gauntlet," he taps his breast plate, "... you will come to no harm here."

Ran:

Mica shakes his head at Velan’s explanation of Inete’s story of the house of man and crocodile. “I suppose that is a good lesson as well.”  He looks around the camp sharply as Velan mentions the other occupants in hiding to see if he can pick them out.  Perception:  13.

Mica gets out of his own canoe and instinctively stands just behind Ran, where he can provide support if needed, although he makes no moves toward his own weapons as he addresses the man “We mean no harm.  I am Mica.  We expected to run into your bunch further up the river and thought this camp abandoned. We may be able to help with your wounded, what happened to them?” 

The knight sheathes his sword as you land your canoes.  He looks tired and... defeated?  "Well met.  My name is S... my name is Dominick.  The dwarf is Thondell.  The rest were under our command.  Only three men remain standing and two more too sick to walk."  He looks in the direction of the still hidden dwarf and makes a 'stand down' hand gesture.  "I must implore you... let us use your canoes to evacuate our wounded to the Port.  There is nothing further upriver but death and madness.  You can shelter here and we will send help to retrieve you.  Please... I promised these boys I would get them out of here."

The dwarf emerges from behind a ruined tent.  Where the knight is cordial and soft spoken, if desperate, the dwarf is a barely contained force of mania.  "Are you daft?  They will not aid you.  Any foolish enough to travel into this Green Hell willingly are beyond saving."  He looks to the group, his axe still brandished.  

Ran nods when the knight, Dominick, asks for their canoes.

"Thought they'd like those," Ran says quietly before raising his voice. "Maybe we can help you. We've a couple of right talented menders of broken bones here."

He keeps an eye on the dwarf and the raised axe.

"But we're still needing these little canoes here."

“I am grateful for your understanding and my name is Velan.” He answered politely as they came ashore.

The wizard was not sure about how much value honor did hold. Especially in the middle of the jungle. But negotiations would not advance if their side didn’t take at least a leap of faith. Not to mention it would be better for them to be on land, should battle break out. The change of wording when the man was introducing himself was not lost on the hexblood, but before he could decide about talking of it or not, the dwarven warrior said his piece.

“Beyond saving or skilled enough.” Velan said trying to sound as confident as he possibly could. “Not trying to offend you, oh warrior, you did survive to this point and even managed to contain three axe beaks to the point that you can include them in your battle plans, although their training seems to be recent and rather demanding of better completion, but if you look at our group you will notice a lack of wounds.” Then he turns to Dominick “We are moving further into the jungle and, as my friend said, will need the boats, but we can truly help with the wounded.”

The dwarf never completely relaxes but the knight turns his attention to the men with the axe beaks.  Those men lead the creatures back into some makeshift pens near the stone monument at the rear of the camp.

He looks to the ground, dejected, when you refuse to share the canoes.  He does accept the offer of aid, and shows you another tent where two more soldiers lay unconscious.  "If you can ease their maladies, I would be in your debt.  We have no medicines or clean water, and few rations.  But we have arrows, bolts, and some coin for trade."

Mica watches the three soldiers lead the axe beaks back to their enclosure “Interesting.  I had heard that the Order trained creatures, including dinosaurs, for battle, but those are the first I have seen.”  He quickly turns his attention to the wounded members they point out.  Mica moves to the tent and motions Meili to follow “Meili, your skills will come in need here.  I will help where I can.”

 As they begin to look over the unconscious soldiers, Mica continues to question Dominick “What happened to these soldiers?  It will help us care for them.”  Mica pauses, then continues “You say there is nothing upriver but death and madness.  What about Camp Vengeance?” 

(Mica will help Meili (or anyone else) with any medicine check or care for the two)

Ran helps secure the canoes, not entirely trusting that they won't just disappear in the night.

"We should keep watch on these tonight too," Ran whispers to others. "Desperate blokes do stupid things."

Meili just listened and watched the reaction of those ... soldiers? Flaming Fists running from Camp Vengence were desperate enough to kill for safety. These seemed to be close to this action as well for canoes they needed. But it did not come to this yet. Before following the man to the wounded, Meili mentioned the fort, though. "There is a fort, not that far from here - Brave and Bold Company. They allow people to stay inside, however, they had a bad encounter with some of Flaming Firsts before. They do charge money for accommodation, but it is much closer than the city, you will be safe there and they might return to the city for supplies eventually, and take you there too."

While Mica was asking all the right questions, she kneeled by the soldiers to check what she could herself. (Medicine: 17)

Meili examines the two sleeping soldiers.  

One seems to suffer from the same shivering sickness that had afflicted Danica.  However, this poor soldier's malady is compacted by numerous injuries which have failed to heal due to the progression of the disease.

The other soldier is a more curious case.  He burns with a hot fever and the veins in his limbs are darks and swollen.  It is only when some of his flesh pulses with alien movement that the cause becomes clear... rot worm.  A terminal case, for certain.

There is no healing Meili can provide for either man.  The man with shivering sickness may recover, with luck.  The other man is doomed.

(Would it be possible to heal the injuries of the first man with a healing spell? (or Meili's healing ability))

Meili, it makes sense to you that it could be possible for magic to heal the man's wounds, but he is beyond the aid of conventional medicines.

Meili's expression when she turned to Dominick after the medical examination was sad and serious. "This man suffers from the common - as we learned - disease, the shivering sickness. He might recover, especially if magic closes his wounds and the body would not need to fight two battles. But the other one... He will not make it. I am sorry." 

It was not the first time she had to deliver the grim news but such things never get easier.

Ran stays outside and away from the sick men. He’s pretty sure this disease isn’t like the ones back home but, still, you never know.

He keeps one eye on the canoes but the large statue keeps drawing his attention and he eventually moves over closer to it and examines the base.

Perception: 5  

Dominick takes Meili's diagnosis without flinching.  "If you can help even one of them, I am in your debt.  Though absent a way upriver, I am not sure if we are not just delaying the inevitable."  He shakes his head.  "It matters not.  We keep moving forward, come what may.  Please, heal him if you can.  Name your price and I will pay it if we can."

He looks back at Mica.  "This site was full with undead when we arrived five nights ago.  Zombified goblins and a bloated, festering lizard.  We cleared them without losing a man, but these two fell ill afterward.  The goblins here must have been alive at one point as they had some crude setup for making canoes.  We've tried our hand at making our own, but the bone tools left by the goblins are good for shite."  His eyes look down to the floor when Mica mentions Camp Vengeance.  "Aye.  Camp Vengeance still stands.  Or it did, a week back.  Steer clear of that place.  Commander Breakbone has lost his sense.  We should have abandoned the camp and fallen back weeks ago.  Our ranks thin further each day... and each night the jungle throws its hordes against the walls.  Thondell and I volunteered for one of Breakbone's suicide patrols... and we forsook our vows, took these five men and planned to make our own way back to Port Nyanzaru.  But here we are... our journey barely begun and already we are bogged down without water and unable to transport our wounded.  The wages of turncloak cowards, perhaps." 

He looks back to Meili.  "Yes, we know of that hunting camp.  Had we boats, it would be a simple float downstream.  Without them... it is a weeklong march.  And we will not survive it," he says quietly.

Ran, you follow a flight of stone steps up to a platform upon which the statue's feet form an open-sky hallway leading to a doorway.  The statue is 'seated' on top of the hill and the doorway enters between its legs.  The stone door was broken open at some point and one of the slabs lies on the ground.  Inside, you see a dark passage that opens to a 10' wide hallway with 23' ceilings.  Almost immediately inside the doorway, there is an open pit trap.  20' down in the hole, there are the corpses of 3 goblins.  Wait... those corpses are writhing slightly in the darkness.  They must be zombified goblins, trapped at the bottom of this pit.  There are thin ledges around the pit that could be used to safely skirt the edge and proceed deeper into the ruin.

As Ran examines the opening to the ruins, the 3 soldiers continue to try to calm the axe beaks, which remain agitated, running and squawking in their crude pen.

Listening to Inete's story about the Man and the Crocodile she couldn't help but think that the Crocodile was in the right, if perhaps a bit greedy in his own favor. But hearing the answers to the contrary from her own party members she kept quiet other than a soft, "Hm..."  But spoke up with Mica's agreement and seconded, "Forthright and upfront be the best way about it, I find. Either they'll welcome us or not and we'll deal with it either way." There was a time and place for sneaking and no need to do it constantly without cause. 

Upon been greeted by a shabby looking armored fellow, Danica was glad that Velan spoke first, being much more cautious than she would likely have been. When the wizard spoke of the others of the man's group in detail, even nodding in pointed directions, the elf tried to keep her face stoney, though her eyes couldn't help but flick towards the blue skinned man. 

When the knight introduced himself, he hesitated... Drawing Danica's gaze sharply as she listened to his story, introductions and plea with the same blank expression. Taking care to stand closer to the canoes and place herself as guard over them as soon as he made his want of them known. 
( Insight: 19 )

"Honor is a fickle thing in Hells Green, Blue or Red..." She murmured none too quietly, though her words were softened with a gaze of almost pity at the knight's dejectedness and plain acceptance at the refusal of their canoes. She doubted that the dwarf would be so accepting though. After making sure that someone was still keeping an eye on their means of travel, she followed Meili into the tents. The smell coming from the men drawing a curse which turned into a prayer for guidance from the elf as she surveyed over the other woman's shoulder. 
( Medicine:  8  Guidance: 4  )

It wasn't that she didn't trust the other healer's diagnosis, she just hated to accept a terminal patient. "Help me with him?" She asked of Meili as she knelt by the wounded man shivering in an all too familiar way. The elf rubbed the palms of her hands together in a smooth manner before leaning over and pressing one to his forehead and the other over his most grievous looking wound before murmuring, "Te curo." A pulse of healing light emanating from her hands as she channeled the greatest healing spell she currently knew into the man. As the two worked she said, "Let's hope you're a kind Crocodile. So, Dominick, was it? I am Danica. What makes you say your Commander has lost all sense?" Trying to keep her tone neutral as she didn't even look away from the person she was focusing her healing on. 

2nd Level Cure Wounds: 10

Ran watches the zombie goblins squirm for a moment, not too happy to see them down there.

"You wee buggers can't climb, can you?" Ran calls down to them.

He looks past the pit and into the tunnel, thinking about going deeper inside to explore but decides to let the others know about the zombies first. Ran makes his way back to Mica and Velan.

'There's three nasty little goblin zombies in a pit in the tunnel up there," Ran says, pointing to the base of the statute. "Could use a hand in finishing them off. I might sleep a touch easier not having to think about them."

He looks around for any long poles he can salvage and put a sharp point on one end.

Meili gladly shared the responsibility for the bad news with Danica. In fact, she hoped she overlooked something and her diagnosis was wrong. That did not happen, but the healing magic of their captain closing the wounds of the sick man was a welcoming sight. At least now he had some hope.

"This is now up to him to battle the disease, but if you can give him one more day before, it might help too." She followed Dominick's glance at the canoe and shook her head. "The river is as dangerous as the jungle. We had quite a few battles on the way here. And with your animals, you might be safer at the shores. Believe me, if we could, we would transport you to the fort or even to the city but we have to continue up the river. It is not a choice for any of us. I wish you luck."

There was nothing more to be said or done. At least on her part. And Meili joined the camp setting - aside from usual rain catchers instalment and raising tents, this time it looked like in addition to the usual jungle dangers they would have watched potential thieves, so, she would at least suggest placing canoes in the middle of their "tent-town", just to be sure they could not be simply stolen.

The zombie goblins [zomblins?] do not answer Ran.  They do not even seem to react to his voice... they look to be in poor condition, even by the standards of undead at the bottom of 20' pit traps.  He can rejoin Velan and Hew back near the canoes as he looks for branches long enough to extinguish the zombies for good.

Thondell the dwarf has taken up a position next to the campfire.  It is still smoldering from where the soldiers extinguished it upon your approach.  He now busies himself getting it lit again... though he continues to split his gaze between glowers at your group, and covetous glances at your canoes.

At the application of Danica's healing magic, the shivering man's wounds heal.  Not only that, but he regains consciousness immediately.  He starts to sit up with a look of confusion, before Dominick stops him.  "All is well, for now.  Rest.  Give thanks to Helm that good souls can still be found here in this dark place."  As the man sits back down in the hot, damp tent, Danica recognizes the way he rubs his limbs and shivers from a chill that only he can feel.

Inete remains behind to say a few prayers over the man suffering from rot grub, while Dominick leads Meili, Mica and Danica back out of the sick tent.  "Breakbone... he is either mad from too long in the jungle, or too blinded by his faith to see reason.  It doesn't matter. He has doomed his men to suffer and die out here."  He picks up a stick and sketches a rectangle in the mud.  "Camp Vengeance has strong palisade walls; a fortified gate; archer platforms here, here, here; compared to this place, Vengeance is a fortress.  But Commander Breakbone leads us as though the Camp sits on a hillside in the Dessarin Valley.  We are still isolated in thrice be-damned jungle.  Inside those strong walls, mud and water pool.  The men struggle each day with leeches and trenchfoot.  There is no source of clean water to drink.  They may have raincatchers - and gods know it storms often enough - but all it takes is two days without rain before the men are forced to drink from the river to survive."  His voice begins to rise, but it is sorrow as much as anger.  "I have never seen morale break within the Order of the Gauntlet.  Never... never seen it waver in myself before.  Each day, Breakbone sends a patrol out to fulfill our mission; to purge this land of undead.  And each night, fewer and fewer men return... and the night hordes of the jungle follow them back to the walls.  There is no sleep to be had, lest the gate be breached or something wretched slip over the walls in the darkness.  And the sound... by the gods, some of those dead things still speak..."

Before he can say anything more, the darkness is torn by a blood-curdling scream from the rear of the camp, near the bird pens.  Several large shapes can be glimpsed moving swiftly in the darkness, and the axe beaks are all calling out in panic.

At the sound of the scream, Ran looks up from his zomblin-killing-stick work and over to the back of the camp.

He drops the likely pole he's found and moves towards the rear of the camp, drawing his swords as he does.

"More bloody zombies or those dinos?" Ran calls as he runs over. As he gets closer to the source of the noise, he slows down, looking for any sign of what's going on.