Chatcho relents and notices Archibald is no longer with him. He follows him outside where the rest of the party has encountered the dog-like creatures. The collective growls and flash of teeth convince the Kreen he had best stay still. Motionless, he projects to the others:
Our zik-trin/altered near-person/monster was the dras/female sleeper-person/girl’s father. I think there’s a g/of the same blood/family here, and… something under the bed. I may have overstepped certain boundaries, perhaps one of you could pacify them with words instead of chak/thoughts.
"You won't be leaving now, so come in. Sit down, can I get you--"a grunt of pain, as the girl emerged from the threshold of the kitchen to reveal a badly injured leg"--something to drink?"
Leaning heavy against the wall, she slowly slides down against it until she's seated on the floor, her wounded leg stretched out in front of her. A dagger remains in her hand, while her beasts give the party little choice but to comply. The one over Brimthenel lets him up, but then all three began to growl and snap their teeth until the party has filed into the room. With no surviving furniture to speak of, there is little else to sit on but for the ground. Two of the animals remain by the door, guarding it, while one slinks over to their master and lays down beside her, head on her lap.
"This beast you hunt... Tall, lanky? Worst case of mange you ever did see?"
"Yes, that describes it well. Did it hurt your leg? You look like you need some medical care." Archibald tries to slowly move closer and check the leg, and contemplate a splint.
As the dogs lead Branch and company back into the cabin, she looks around at the empty place, taking it all in. Wondering how long it has stood out here in the woods. She decides to stand a bit while trying to really determine the situation her small crew find themselves in.
As Archibald answers the girls question, Branch asks, "What do you mean.... won't be leaving now?"
Brimthenel rubbed his chin and gave the animal a sour look as he pushed himself to his feet. "The born banamathr...it means 'Child Slayers'. Damn barbarians. They've been raiding us, extorting us on behalf of their coward King."The elven knight spat on the ground before filing into the cabin.
The elf nodded along with the Thri-Keen and rubbed his throat.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Archibald Medicine: 11
The beast nearest her pulls its lips back and utters a warning growl as Archibald approaches, but the girl settles it with some gentle strokes of its fur. "It will heal." She states, and that is all she has to say on the matter. Archibald, for his part, can't say one way or the other, but it does look like someone else has already patched it. Turning back to the other point of conversation, she continues, "I know it well, and you wouldn't stand a chance against it. Of course, I could tell you what you need to know, but..."
Continuing to pet the animal, she turns her gaze to Branch. "If you had just left, perhaps you'd've forgotten about the strange lass and the jackal that defended her, especially if you came back and couldn't find us, but your"--she looks Chatcho up and down, no small amount of anger colouring her tone--"pet decided to dig through things it ought to've left alone. Now what am I to do? How can we let you leave, when you can run off to town and come back with your militia to drive us into the forest? Already, that one thinks us bandits, come to kill your children like some fairytale goblins. People just don't like strangers 'round here, stranger."
From what I was able to glean she has been abused and neglected by the village. She has a family here, which may or may not encompass the dogs. And among them there’s a…tokchak? No, similar but alien and equally profound.
"Our militia? We are strangers in this land as well miss and I don't appreciate the threat of being told we cannot leave. We witnessed a creature that was killing the livestock of a farmer that was generous enough to let us stay and followed it here. Apparently, it is more than we had anticipated." Branch looks like she is about to say more but changes her mind.
Archibald looks at the girl with sympathy. "I know what it's like to be treated like an enemy just for being a stranger here. But we're tracking a beast, a horrible monster, and my friend says it's your dog? Dogs? Maybe we can help you. How can we help you?"
"That seems an odd turn of phrase." The girl muses, before copying Branch's tone, mockingly, "'I don't appreciate the threat.' No. No, I don't suppose you would." Her golden eyes full of mirth, she turns her attention elsewhere. "But you aren't from the town, are you? There's a... something, there. You carry a different air from the hunters that wander here from time to time. Save for that one." She looks pointedly at the elf warrior. "His soul's all... mud, and rust."
As Archibald speaks, her amusement dies down, but takes with it the unkindness that she'd mocked Branch with. "You seem a kind soul, mister." A sigh. "But your friend here is a mindbreaker, and knows, and I can only assume has told all of you, things that I need taken to the grave. What guarantee do I have save that I see you to your graves myself? I am no killer, but I will do what I must to keep my family safe. To that, too, your mind-thief can attest."
"But perhaps it needn't be necessary. Tell me, Mr. Kind Soul, do you trust your companions? Would you stake your life on their secrecy? Would any of you?"
Archibald nods along. "Well he isn't a mindbreaker. He's just the most interesting bug man I've ever met, and this elf doesn't have a soul of rust and mud. He trusted us. He couldn't if he had a soul like that. And Branch! Branch is far too kind to tell you that you're being rude. And I don't just trust them, I put my life in their hands. No questions asked. When the fight is on, I run to the bloody parts, knowing they're right behind me."
"It sounds like you were mistreated, abused by the people who should be your neighbors. Your trust was broken. That's not right or fair. But it's not fair to torment them with monsters either. So, I'm asking: how can we help? Surely, you don't want your family to be... That. I mean how did that even happen?"
Brimthenel scoffs at the comment of his soul, and nodded at Archibald's defense. He supposed it would be arrogant to be fire and iron, but he thought he'd at least deserved to be swampwater and treebark. Something unfoul. "The militia stands to defend its own. We have it hard enough without-" He catches himself, stopping mid-sentence. He inhales slowly, then dips his head apologetically. "...I am sorry for the abuses done to you. But the past lies behind us. What matters is that we are here to protect our own. We may put an end to things now, or we can fight, and one of us won't be able to protect anyone anymore. Do you really want that?"
Chatcho thinks an impassioned series of thoughts in the defense of his allies who now transcend that label. No, trial and tribulation has made Branch and Archibald clutchmates in earnest. And though Brimthenel has hardly been with them for very long, he has earned the wizard’s admiration. It’s clear the two share a love of freedom, running, and hunting.
Of course, the irony of this is that the Kreen had once indulged in the consumption of Elf-flesh, which he shares in what he considers to be a humorous anecdote. In the silence of laughter, Chatcho now remembers the girl has refused to share thoughts and this outpouring has merely slipped her mind like water to oil. Since she had been the intended recipient it has also failed to link to the others.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Branch bristles at being mocked. Reminded her of her sister and that was a heartbreak she didn't want to think about right now. Narrowing her eyes at the girl, she is about to say something when Archibald starts in. With his kind words, he surprises her and she stops her tongue from responding sharply. Instead she just listens, unsure where this was going to go. He was right if this girl had been abused by her neighbors. But something just seemed off about the whole situation.
She looks around a bit more, trying to see if there was more to the cabin... where was the bedroom, were there more inhabitants?
Amid the scattered ruin of the furniture in the room they currently inhabited was enough evidence to suggest that this space had been lounge, eatery, and bedroom. The only segregated space was that for cooking meals, but it seemed empty. Which was wrong, fundamentally. Branch had been the first to the door, first to the building before Archibald had not-so gracefully announced their presence. There had been voices, had been other people, but none showed. By any means she could reason, the building was empty save for the party, this girl, and her 'dogs.' Where had the others gone? Was there somewhere they could be hiding, an exit that'd gone unnoticed? One thing was for certain--It didn't add up.
The girl listens quietly through their defenses, but doesn't seem swayed by their objections. She does, however, hear the answer she was looking for. "Swear on it." She demands of Archibald, steel in her eyes. "On pain of death, with full knowledge that I will use the arts to hold you to your word until your dying breath, or I release you from your vow, state your name and swear that you will hold yourself and your companions to secrecy. Only then will I tell you of anything you wish to know."
Branch looks at Archibald in confusion, well, I guess that's one way to go about this she thinks. She looks at the girl intently. "From what I can see, the front door is the only way in and out of the cabin, correct? And it looks like there is no one in this cabin, save the 5 of us and your pets. Yet, when we first arrived I heard other people, conversation. If we are to be open with you, I need you to be open with us. As for secrecy, I have no need to tell anyone about what we have found here. I have no allegance to anyone save my friends, who are here and already know."
And with a little more lightness in her voice, "And thanks to my friend, Archie, here, you already know my name. What is yours?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Brimthenel cocked his head toward Archibald, brow raised.
Insight check on Archibald. Does he seem like a noble? 10
The elf turned back to the girl, his gaze seeming softer than it was before. He could respect what she was doing, why she was doing it. It would be a true shame to leave here as an enemy, he thought.
Brimthenel crossed a hand over his chest. "I will share no secrets. My sole interest is in the protection of my people and their property. But you must deal with us fairly if you expect the same." He nodded toward Branch.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Chatcho relents and notices Archibald is no longer with him. He follows him outside where the rest of the party has encountered the dog-like creatures. The collective growls and flash of teeth convince the Kreen he had best stay still. Motionless, he projects to the others:
Our zik-trin/altered near-person/monster was the dras/female sleeper-person/girl’s father. I think there’s a g/of the same blood/family here, and… something under the bed. I may have overstepped certain boundaries, perhaps one of you could pacify them with words instead of chak/thoughts.
"You won't be leaving now, so come in. Sit down, can I get you--"a grunt of pain, as the girl emerged from the threshold of the kitchen to reveal a badly injured leg"--something to drink?"
Leaning heavy against the wall, she slowly slides down against it until she's seated on the floor, her wounded leg stretched out in front of her. A dagger remains in her hand, while her beasts give the party little choice but to comply. The one over Brimthenel lets him up, but then all three began to growl and snap their teeth until the party has filed into the room. With no surviving furniture to speak of, there is little else to sit on but for the ground. Two of the animals remain by the door, guarding it, while one slinks over to their master and lays down beside her, head on her lap.
"This beast you hunt... Tall, lanky? Worst case of mange you ever did see?"
"Yes, that describes it well. Did it hurt your leg? You look like you need some medical care." Archibald tries to slowly move closer and check the leg, and contemplate a splint.
Paladin - warforged - orange
As the dogs lead Branch and company back into the cabin, she looks around at the empty place, taking it all in. Wondering how long it has stood out here in the woods. She decides to stand a bit while trying to really determine the situation her small crew find themselves in.
As Archibald answers the girls question, Branch asks, "What do you mean.... won't be leaving now?"
Sed/Water, please.
Brimthenel rubbed his chin and gave the animal a sour look as he pushed himself to his feet. "The born banamathr...it means 'Child Slayers'. Damn barbarians. They've been raiding us, extorting us on behalf of their coward King." The elven knight spat on the ground before filing into the cabin.
The elf nodded along with the Thri-Keen and rubbed his throat.
Archibald Medicine: 11
The beast nearest her pulls its lips back and utters a warning growl as Archibald approaches, but the girl settles it with some gentle strokes of its fur. "It will heal." She states, and that is all she has to say on the matter. Archibald, for his part, can't say one way or the other, but it does look like someone else has already patched it. Turning back to the other point of conversation, she continues, "I know it well, and you wouldn't stand a chance against it. Of course, I could tell you what you need to know, but..."
Continuing to pet the animal, she turns her gaze to Branch. "If you had just left, perhaps you'd've forgotten about the strange lass and the jackal that defended her, especially if you came back and couldn't find us, but your"--she looks Chatcho up and down, no small amount of anger colouring her tone--"pet decided to dig through things it ought to've left alone. Now what am I to do? How can we let you leave, when you can run off to town and come back with your militia to drive us into the forest? Already, that one thinks us bandits, come to kill your children like some fairytale goblins. People just don't like strangers 'round here, stranger."
Chatcho broadcasts to the group.
From what I was able to glean she has been abused and neglected by the village. She has a family here, which may or may not encompass the dogs. And among them there’s a…tokchak? No, similar but alien and equally profound.
Chatcho looks at Archibald.
Love/Love/Love?
"Our militia? We are strangers in this land as well miss and I don't appreciate the threat of being told we cannot leave. We witnessed a creature that was killing the livestock of a farmer that was generous enough to let us stay and followed it here. Apparently, it is more than we had anticipated." Branch looks like she is about to say more but changes her mind.
Archibald looks at the girl with sympathy. "I know what it's like to be treated like an enemy just for being a stranger here. But we're tracking a beast, a horrible monster, and my friend says it's your dog? Dogs? Maybe we can help you. How can we help you?"
Paladin - warforged - orange
"That seems an odd turn of phrase." The girl muses, before copying Branch's tone, mockingly, "'I don't appreciate the threat.' No. No, I don't suppose you would." Her golden eyes full of mirth, she turns her attention elsewhere. "But you aren't from the town, are you? There's a... something, there. You carry a different air from the hunters that wander here from time to time. Save for that one." She looks pointedly at the elf warrior. "His soul's all... mud, and rust."
As Archibald speaks, her amusement dies down, but takes with it the unkindness that she'd mocked Branch with. "You seem a kind soul, mister." A sigh. "But your friend here is a mindbreaker, and knows, and I can only assume has told all of you, things that I need taken to the grave. What guarantee do I have save that I see you to your graves myself? I am no killer, but I will do what I must to keep my family safe. To that, too, your mind-thief can attest."
"But perhaps it needn't be necessary. Tell me, Mr. Kind Soul, do you trust your companions? Would you stake your life on their secrecy? Would any of you?"
Archibald nods along. "Well he isn't a mindbreaker. He's just the most interesting bug man I've ever met, and this elf doesn't have a soul of rust and mud. He trusted us. He couldn't if he had a soul like that. And Branch! Branch is far too kind to tell you that you're being rude. And I don't just trust them, I put my life in their hands. No questions asked. When the fight is on, I run to the bloody parts, knowing they're right behind me."
"It sounds like you were mistreated, abused by the people who should be your neighbors. Your trust was broken. That's not right or fair. But it's not fair to torment them with monsters either. So, I'm asking: how can we help? Surely, you don't want your family to be... That. I mean how did that even happen?"
Paladin - warforged - orange
Brimthenel scoffs at the comment of his soul, and nodded at Archibald's defense. He supposed it would be arrogant to be fire and iron, but he thought he'd at least deserved to be swampwater and treebark. Something unfoul. "The militia stands to defend its own. We have it hard enough without-" He catches himself, stopping mid-sentence. He inhales slowly, then dips his head apologetically. "...I am sorry for the abuses done to you. But the past lies behind us. What matters is that we are here to protect our own. We may put an end to things now, or we can fight, and one of us won't be able to protect anyone anymore. Do you really want that?"
Chatcho thinks an impassioned series of thoughts in the defense of his allies who now transcend that label. No, trial and tribulation has made Branch and Archibald clutchmates in earnest. And though Brimthenel has hardly been with them for very long, he has earned the wizard’s admiration. It’s clear the two share a love of freedom, running, and hunting.
Of course, the irony of this is that the Kreen had once indulged in the consumption of Elf-flesh, which he shares in what he considers to be a humorous anecdote. In the silence of laughter, Chatcho now remembers the girl has refused to share thoughts and this outpouring has merely slipped her mind like water to oil. Since she had been the intended recipient it has also failed to link to the others.
He sighs. “Cho.”
Branch bristles at being mocked. Reminded her of her sister and that was a heartbreak she didn't want to think about right now. Narrowing her eyes at the girl, she is about to say something when Archibald starts in. With his kind words, he surprises her and she stops her tongue from responding sharply. Instead she just listens, unsure where this was going to go. He was right if this girl had been abused by her neighbors. But something just seemed off about the whole situation.
She looks around a bit more, trying to see if there was more to the cabin... where was the bedroom, were there more inhabitants?
Investigation 8
Amid the scattered ruin of the furniture in the room they currently inhabited was enough evidence to suggest that this space had been lounge, eatery, and bedroom. The only segregated space was that for cooking meals, but it seemed empty. Which was wrong, fundamentally. Branch had been the first to the door, first to the building before Archibald had not-so gracefully announced their presence. There had been voices, had been other people, but none showed. By any means she could reason, the building was empty save for the party, this girl, and her 'dogs.' Where had the others gone? Was there somewhere they could be hiding, an exit that'd gone unnoticed? One thing was for certain--It didn't add up.
The girl listens quietly through their defenses, but doesn't seem swayed by their objections. She does, however, hear the answer she was looking for. "Swear on it." She demands of Archibald, steel in her eyes. "On pain of death, with full knowledge that I will use the arts to hold you to your word until your dying breath, or I release you from your vow, state your name and swear that you will hold yourself and your companions to secrecy. Only then will I tell you of anything you wish to know."
(seven wisdom, onward ho!)
"I, Archibald of House Pike, swear to hold myself and my party to secrecy til my dying breath or you release me from my vow."
Paladin - warforged - orange
Branch looks at Archibald in confusion, well, I guess that's one way to go about this she thinks. She looks at the girl intently. "From what I can see, the front door is the only way in and out of the cabin, correct? And it looks like there is no one in this cabin, save the 5 of us and your pets. Yet, when we first arrived I heard other people, conversation. If we are to be open with you, I need you to be open with us. As for secrecy, I have no need to tell anyone about what we have found here. I have no allegance to anyone save my friends, who are here and already know."
And with a little more lightness in her voice, "And thanks to my friend, Archie, here, you already know my name. What is yours?"
Perplexed, Chatcho glares at Archibald following his vow.
The incensed Kreen tenses with the consideration of challenging the girl's arcane prowess.
Foolish, but he is only mending a fence I had kicked down. I have only myself to blame.
The sagacious Wizard relents.
Brimthenel cocked his head toward Archibald, brow raised.
Insight check on Archibald. Does he seem like a noble? 10
The elf turned back to the girl, his gaze seeming softer than it was before. He could respect what she was doing, why she was doing it. It would be a true shame to leave here as an enemy, he thought.
Brimthenel crossed a hand over his chest. "I will share no secrets. My sole interest is in the protection of my people and their property. But you must deal with us fairly if you expect the same." He nodded toward Branch.