You feel that Norak is being truthful, not deceiving you. You get the impression that perhaps he is not the best one to tell the tale, he is relying on his brother to do that. They do look like fierce warriors and that they will attack if they are provoked, but they are not gripping their weapons in that manner, they are wanting a meeting and discussion.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
"Wait, wait.. anyway your brother can come out here and talk to us? I mean it is a beautiful night and we'd hate to waste it. Plus, I really enjoy the space." Belkaria requests.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Garth stares at Norak for a time, trying to judge his motives, then says, "Afore we go walking into gods-know-what, perhaps you can tell us why you took the priest? A little trust perhaps, before you ask us to follow you into your lair?"
Insight: 11 (trying to assess motives and deception , passive 13)
Norak hefts his great axe over his shoulder, and you notice a significant chunk out of one of the blades, he is in hide armor. He says "No no, we will show you, you should follow us. My brother will want to speak with you, much to discuss." As you talk and try to discern his motives, he does appear to be straightforward, not lying to you. When you mention the priest, you note a look of recognition and he nods and saying "Lophi the cleric said that she needed the black book, she sent us to retrieve it. Come meet Nar, he will make it all clear to you." He begins walking upward, up a narrow path. The orcs in back slowly walk behind you and the three in front are leading you.
The orcs appear serious, as if they are doing their duty, but they do you no harm. There are portions of the walk that are narrow, coming down to single file. Eventually you come to the top of a rocky knoll at the base of a 200-foot cliff. There is a single opening that isn't very large, but inside it appears to open up. You are right outside of the opening. Nar is closer to you now and says "This is Rawldin, the fortress of the Red Wolf Clan. Come inside and meet with Nar. If we wanted you dead, you would be dead already. Perhaps you can be of some use, you can hear of our problem, but that will be up to Nar."
What would you like to do?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
@DM: Does Garth know much of Orc customs -- he knows the language, and that usually comes with *some* cultural input (maybe). If so, does he know of any traditions like breaking bread or sharing food that would be more likely to grant them protection?
Belkaria looks around a bit, surveying the area. Realizing that with the amount of orcs surrounding them, they would have a tough time fighting them off and they haven't really appeared aggressive. And even in town, they haven't hurt anyone as of yet. She shrugs her shoulders and heads inside the opening.
((Garth knows that being invited into an orc stronghold is an unusual thing, they are fierce warriors and mainly prisoners or prey would be brought in a rough manner, and you do not get that sense here. Meals are taken in a circle, sitting down. Forearm grip handshakes are common between warriors. Do don’t see the opportunity to do anything else of context yet.))
Belkaria and Salamir walk in casually, and the rest of you poke your heads in and start to walk forward. Inside, the cavern opens up and has a high ceiling. In the back of the cave there are tunnels to the left and right. Between the two tunnels there is a post driven into the ground. On the top of the post is the head of an orc. A torch is in a hole above this and flickers light into the cavern. There is black leather which has been dyed hanging from the pole as well.
There is a dark area to the left that you cannot see well into, it is murky. From that area you hear a voice as you walk in. “Halt!” Two orcs come out of the shadows to the left before you, they are armed. Norak comes in and speaks with them in low tones for a moment and the one of the runs off deeper into the cavern. In a moment an orc arrives that is greeted by Norak, and you see Nar, their leader.
In walks an Orc that towers above the others, he is the largest orc you have ever seen. It is Nar. He has thick leather armor on his legs, a leather belt holding his lamellar armor that is made of bone. He carries a great sword on his belt, obviously made by a skilled smith, a trophy from some kill he made. Dangling from his neck is a necklace made of teeth and claws from some large beast, with a small turquoise bead in between each tooth. Nar is the biggest, strongest orc you have ever seen. He is looking eqch of you over. He says in a booming voice, “Norak tells me you were following him. My name is Nar. What brings you here to my clan?”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Garth clears his throat and steps forward, "As I said to your brother, we seem to have misplaced a few things: A priest and some books." He glances around the cavern, hoping to catch sight of any such things, but not really expecting to. "Some Priests get themselves into all sorts of strife just trying to help others. That's their nature, and it seems Lophi is one of those. That leaves the rest of us to go about fetching them back."
His eyes narrow and he focuses on the large orc, "Your brother said you might know something about the matter."
“It is as my companion says, the town has asked us to look into this matter as priests and the books taken were of concern to their people. Do you perhaps… need assistance in relation to this? Or have cause that we can resolve?” Javier states anxiously a few steps behind Garth as he holds Olive in his arms, almost as if for comfort before straightening up his posture.
As her friends ask questions in a politically correct way, Belkaria bites her tongue. She just wants to tell them that they know orcs took these things and to give them back, but looking around at her surroundings, she stops herself just in time and waits for her friend's answers.
Garth you don’t see anything else of note in this main antechamber, you feel that their living quarters are deeper in. Nar stands with a stern face, nodding at you and then when the cleric is mentioned by Hlin, Nar motions for an orc to come forward and says “Go get Lophi, bring her here.” He then turns back to you and says “We have been struck by a sickness, and we needed her help. Lophi had us go to get that book. She can tell you. No harm has come to her. Maybe you could help as well. That remains to be seen.”
You see a human woman in white robes enter the room, the description fits Lophi the cleric. She surprises you when she says “Shadow Guardians, I am glad to see you. It appears the orcs are under a sort of curse. I must find out information about the curse and I recalled information in the black book in the temple about a curse such as this. Nar needs me to cure his clan, there is an illness here that I have not seen before, it does not respond to my healing spells. They found a strange artifact a week ago, the timing is too coincidental, and I remembered something in that book…” Norak looks to Nar and he nods, Norak gives Nar the black book and he looks at it with trepidation, then hands it gently to Lophi, and she starts looking through it, looking through the pages and ignoring you all for a moment.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
As Lophi starts looking through the book, Salamir turns to Nar.
"It seems things here are as you say. I am not sure why you did not bring word to the town of your plight, especially the second time your people visited. You could have sent word from Lophi showing she is well", he says.
"I will confess I have no particular knowledge of curses, but our job is to return Lophi and the books. If we can do this without bloodshed by helping you, I am not opposed to that".
Belkaria steps up next to Salamir as he talks, nodding when he mentions that their job is to return Lophi and the books. "If it helps, we can give her a little time to go through her black book while we wait a bit. But we do need to return her to the town. I'm sure we can all help with this curse, if that is what it is, once we get back to town."
Javier listens and thinks for a moment observing and watching as things go on. He hears the suggestions from his companions as his interest in learning more is piqued by this black book.
“My friends I’m not sure we can go back to town until this is resolved. Worst case scenario if we contract this curse’s illness we can spread it quickly compounding the issue at hand. I’ve got some experience in researching the arcana, Lophi, I don’t mean to overstep but I’d gladly look through the book with you and any other materials or notes you have collected… you want to stay here until you’ve seen this through don’t you?”
He looks at the priestess with a raised brow and curious eyes.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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For Now Hlin follows Norak not wanting to fight while being surrounded
Hlin and Javier :
You feel that Norak is being truthful, not deceiving you. You get the impression that perhaps he is not the best one to tell the tale, he is relying on his brother to do that. They do look like fierce warriors and that they will attack if they are provoked, but they are not gripping their weapons in that manner, they are wanting a meeting and discussion.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Javier will follow as well. Not trying to start a fight if it can be avoided.
"Wait, wait.. anyway your brother can come out here and talk to us? I mean it is a beautiful night and we'd hate to waste it. Plus, I really enjoy the space." Belkaria requests.
Garth stares at Norak for a time, trying to judge his motives, then says, "Afore we go walking into gods-know-what, perhaps you can tell us why you took the priest? A little trust perhaps, before you ask us to follow you into your lair?"
Insight: 11 (trying to assess motives and deception , passive 13)
Norak hefts his great axe over his shoulder, and you notice a significant chunk out of one of the blades, he is in hide armor. He says "No no, we will show you, you should follow us. My brother will want to speak with you, much to discuss." As you talk and try to discern his motives, he does appear to be straightforward, not lying to you. When you mention the priest, you note a look of recognition and he nods and saying "Lophi the cleric said that she needed the black book, she sent us to retrieve it. Come meet Nar, he will make it all clear to you." He begins walking upward, up a narrow path. The orcs in back slowly walk behind you and the three in front are leading you.
The orcs appear serious, as if they are doing their duty, but they do you no harm. There are portions of the walk that are narrow, coming down to single file. Eventually you come to the top of a rocky knoll at the base of a 200-foot cliff. There is a single opening that isn't very large, but inside it appears to open up. You are right outside of the opening. Nar is closer to you now and says "This is Rawldin, the fortress of the Red Wolf Clan. Come inside and meet with Nar. If we wanted you dead, you would be dead already. Perhaps you can be of some use, you can hear of our problem, but that will be up to Nar."
What would you like to do?
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
@DM: Does Garth know much of Orc customs -- he knows the language, and that usually comes with *some* cultural input (maybe). If so, does he know of any traditions like breaking bread or sharing food that would be more likely to grant them protection?
Belkaria looks around a bit, surveying the area. Realizing that with the amount of orcs surrounding them, they would have a tough time fighting them off and they haven't really appeared aggressive. And even in town, they haven't hurt anyone as of yet. She shrugs her shoulders and heads inside the opening.
"Very comforting to know", Salamir replies, when the Orc tells them they would have killed them by now if they wanted to.
He wanders in with Belkaria.
"I expect to see Lophi as well, unharmed. Despite what you say, there will be trouble if you have deceived us or if she is hurt".
((Garth knows that being invited into an orc stronghold is an unusual thing, they are fierce warriors and mainly prisoners or prey would be brought in a rough manner, and you do not get that sense here. Meals are taken in a circle, sitting down. Forearm grip handshakes are common between warriors. Do don’t see the opportunity to do anything else of context yet.))
Belkaria and Salamir walk in casually, and the rest of you poke your heads in and start to walk forward. Inside, the cavern opens up and has a high ceiling. In the back of the cave there are tunnels to the left and right. Between the two tunnels there is a post driven into the ground. On the top of the post is the head of an orc. A torch is in a hole above this and flickers light into the cavern. There is black leather which has been dyed hanging from the pole as well.
There is a dark area to the left that you cannot see well into, it is murky. From that area you hear a voice as you walk in. “Halt!” Two orcs come out of the shadows to the left before you, they are armed. Norak comes in and speaks with them in low tones for a moment and the one of the runs off deeper into the cavern. In a moment an orc arrives that is greeted by Norak, and you see Nar, their leader.
In walks an Orc that towers above the others, he is the largest orc you have ever seen. It is Nar. He has thick leather armor on his legs, a leather belt holding his lamellar armor that is made of bone. He carries a great sword on his belt, obviously made by a skilled smith, a trophy from some kill he made. Dangling from his neck is a necklace made of teeth and claws from some large beast, with a small turquoise bead in between each tooth. Nar is the biggest, strongest orc you have ever seen. He is looking eqch of you over. He says in a booming voice, “Norak tells me you were following him. My name is Nar. What brings you here to my clan?”
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Garth clears his throat and steps forward, "As I said to your brother, we seem to have misplaced a few things: A priest and some books." He glances around the cavern, hoping to catch sight of any such things, but not really expecting to. "Some Priests get themselves into all sorts of strife just trying to help others. That's their nature, and it seems Lophi is one of those. That leaves the rest of us to go about fetching them back."
His eyes narrow and he focuses on the large orc, "Your brother said you might know something about the matter."
“It is as my companion says, the town has asked us to look into this matter as priests and the books taken were of concern to their people. Do you perhaps… need assistance in relation to this? Or have cause that we can resolve?” Javier states anxiously a few steps behind Garth as he holds Olive in his arms, almost as if for comfort before straightening up his posture.
"Where is Lophi the priest? Is she still alive?" Hlin still firmly grasp her shield, but keeps her hand away from her warhammer.
As her friends ask questions in a politically correct way, Belkaria bites her tongue. She just wants to tell them that they know orcs took these things and to give them back, but looking around at her surroundings, she stops herself just in time and waits for her friend's answers.
Normally one to talk more than most, Salamir acknowledges that adding one more voice to the mix right now would not be helpful.
Instead he scans the area looking for any clues as to the cause of the Orcs actions. Or if not at least getting more of a picture of the Orc’s home.
He tries to stand casually looking unfazed by the situation, even though his gut is churning a fair bit.
Perception: 10 (Original roll: 10, Passive: 17)
Garth you don’t see anything else of note in this main antechamber, you feel that their living quarters are deeper in. Nar stands with a stern face, nodding at you and then when the cleric is mentioned by Hlin, Nar motions for an orc to come forward and says “Go get Lophi, bring her here.” He then turns back to you and says “We have been struck by a sickness, and we needed her help. Lophi had us go to get that book. She can tell you. No harm has come to her. Maybe you could help as well. That remains to be seen.”
You see a human woman in white robes enter the room, the description fits Lophi the cleric. She surprises you when she says “Shadow Guardians, I am glad to see you. It appears the orcs are under a sort of curse. I must find out information about the curse and I recalled information in the black book in the temple about a curse such as this. Nar needs me to cure his clan, there is an illness here that I have not seen before, it does not respond to my healing spells. They found a strange artifact a week ago, the timing is too coincidental, and I remembered something in that book…” Norak looks to Nar and he nods, Norak gives Nar the black book and he looks at it with trepidation, then hands it gently to Lophi, and she starts looking through it, looking through the pages and ignoring you all for a moment.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
As Lophi starts looking through the book, Salamir turns to Nar.
"It seems things here are as you say. I am not sure why you did not bring word to the town of your plight, especially the second time your people visited. You could have sent word from Lophi showing she is well", he says.
"I will confess I have no particular knowledge of curses, but our job is to return Lophi and the books. If we can do this without bloodshed by helping you, I am not opposed to that".
Belkaria steps up next to Salamir as he talks, nodding when he mentions that their job is to return Lophi and the books. "If it helps, we can give her a little time to go through her black book while we wait a bit. But we do need to return her to the town. I'm sure we can all help with this curse, if that is what it is, once we get back to town."
Hlin relaxes a little and lets the others talk since she is satisfied with the safety of Lophi
She looks at the nearby orcs for any sign of illness
Perception Check
18
Javier listens and thinks for a moment observing and watching as things go on. He hears the suggestions from his companions as his interest in learning more is piqued by this black book.
“My friends I’m not sure we can go back to town until this is resolved. Worst case scenario if we contract this curse’s illness we can spread it quickly compounding the issue at hand. I’ve got some experience in researching the arcana, Lophi, I don’t mean to overstep but I’d gladly look through the book with you and any other materials or notes you have collected… you want to stay here until you’ve seen this through don’t you?”
He looks at the priestess with a raised brow and curious eyes.