Gor smiles standing diplomatically with their hands folded in front of them. "I assume by study it you mean look at it while we stand here with you for a short period in time in which when you are done you hand it back to us and we go our separate ways?"
At Gor's statement, Irgom laughs, a hearty belly laugh. "Ha ha! That, my friend, will depend very much on what it is we learn from the thing." Then Irgom takes the last bite of his apple, and sets the core on the tray the ale was brought on.
I'd like to get a vibe on whether these seem like honest men, and what the deal is that Irgrom and Bivelm are supposed to study it but Nargha isn't mentioned at all in this mission of theirs. Maybe meaningless, maybe important.
I'd like to get a vibe on whether these seem like honest men, and what the deal is that Irgrom and Bivelm are supposed to study it but Nargha isn't mentioned at all in this mission of theirs. Maybe meaningless, maybe important.
Insight 14
[ooc: Okay, so some setting stuff becomes important here. The fact that Mills is an Order of the Wild Ranger, means that he would have a very intricate knowledge of the vetting and training of initiates into any of the Orders. It ain't easy, and they have ways (read: magic) of figuring out who's got the core values necessary to make an asset to the Republic. Being members of the Arcane Order and the Order of Faith means that Mills would have a natural tendency to believe that these fellows have the best interests of the Republic at heart, always. In addition, coming from one of the Orders, Mills would have a thorough working knowledge of the various kinds of magic and the types of magic available to various types of magic users. He'd know that Nargha most likely doesn't have the magical acumen to do any kind of magic item research. He's muscle, albeit faithful muscle with a bit of divine magic at his disposal, but muscle nonetheless. Now having said all that, I imagine that what Mills might be questioning here is whether or not these three gentlemen are actually who they say they are. It is not unheard of for people with questionable morals to represent themselves as members of the Order in order (pun intended) to gain the benefits that membership entails. Even more so outside the Republic, where it is quite a bit easier to fake those credentials! So, taking that into account...]
Mills takes careful notice of dress, mannerisms, language and accoutrements, trying to get a good feeling for whether these three gents might be attempting to pull themselves off as Order soldiers, when in fact they aren't. Taking in all he can observe, they seem like the real deal, especially considering their arrogance. Mills has met more than his fair share of higher up Order muckety-mucks who are no end of full of themselves. This little groups' conceit speaks volumes about the fact that they think they are on a mission that transcends borders.
Mills reaches beneath the quilt slung across his chest and withdraws the amulet, holding his other hand out in a stopping motion.
"Alright, donkeys. Here's how this'll go: you can look, you can even touch - one at a time. You try to grab it, and I will be assumin' you mean thievery. When you're done, and ya find out that this is what you already know it is, you may go the same way as us. If'n you can keep good sense about you, everybody gets what they want. Poor sense will get you... Uh... Somethin' bad."
Lucky is sitting in the corner watching the events unfold. He pulls out a coin and starts rolling it on his fingers. He expression is bored as he gives off a quite yawn.
Why all the tension let's relax get this thing done and go join tall and beautiful for a few more drinks.
(Ooc: want to hold a fast hands action to flick the coin to cause a distraction if needed.)
Goraqull was surprised by Mills response. He figured the backwoods ranger would give it over like a half wit but there’s more sense than meets the eyes, he thinks
Before Mills has even finished his brash statement Nargha was up from the bed striding over to the ranger with clenched jaw. He stood, a good six inches taller than Mills, glowering down at him, his breath hot on Mills' face. "You'd do well to watch your tone, soldier. As well as your expectations. You have zero authority to make demands here. Just because you beat us to the amulet doesn't give you rights to it. Your a soldier of the Republic and you'll do what you're told. If you need me to get in touch with the Lord Outrider to remind you of your place, I not only can, but will." He paused for a moment letting all of the aspects of that threat sink in. "We're willing to work cooperatively here, but that you means you've got to cooperate. Elsewise, we can do things the hard way, and you'll end up in shackles headed for a court martial and an Order prison, and your buddies here will be headed for a dungeon somwhere. Choice is yours, but I'd advise you stand down and let these gents do whatever they need to, to figure out what it is you've secured there." After finishing his reprimand, Nargha just kept standing in front of Mills staring down at him, waiting for him to do something foolish, his hand on the pommel of his longsword.
Zanoth tried to keep calm but felt his ancestral Orc heritage starting to boil. If this zealot wanted a fight he would be happy to oblige, he took orders from no one, least of all this popinjay.
With the butt of his spear still on the ground, he leans the haft between the two humans like a barrier, with the point slightly towards Nargha’s very exposed chin, and nods towards the set of armour and shield laid out on the bed.
”For a turtle out it’s shell you sure speak a good fight, one I would suggest you either complete, or shut up about. I have no qualms dispatching an unruly donkey as I did those Dragonborn.
We may be worshipers of the same god, but I never thought I would see a follower of Saxwyn utter useless threats and assert some flighty organizations supposed “power” as any real authority rather than the power of the blade. Our blades I might remind you that won this item fair and square through conquest and adversity, and not theft in the night.
Now Mills has offered what you want, to look at the Amulet, to touch it, and he’s even said you can accompany us on our further travels, so I suggest you sit down, be quiet, and let those with more brains than brawn tell you how we found it, who we got it off, and work out what to do next.
A flash of sparks literally shoots from Zantho’s eyes and he waves the tip of his spear a bit more in Nargha’s direction.
“Or we can get down to it right now if you want.”
/OOC Using 0:Prestidigitation I will cause sparks to shoot out my eyes;
[OOC: My goodness the dice are loving you today... Metagame knowledge Irgolm popped a Hold Person spell out of a 5th level slot to incorporate the entire Outlanders' party. Everyone of you except Lucky (ironic) made the Wisdom save! :) This could get extremely interesting really quickly.]
Nargha clearly doesn't take kindly at all to having a sharp spear-point thrust in his face. He does little more than give a barely perceptible nod to Irgom, and the magic user hastily swirls his hands in an arcane movements and speaks the words of a spell. Every member of the Outlanders feels a magical compulsion to do absolutely nothing wash over their souls, but everyone of them, except apparently for Lucky who freezes in place, the coin that was flipping through his knuckles clanging to the ground, shakes off the spell. Irgom gives Nargha and Brivelm an almost panicked look, and the tension in the room explodes to an unparalleled level. Negotiations descending into combat might be inevitable, unless calmer heads prevail.
[OOC: Some more metagame notes here. I created an encounter and dropped us into initiative. You may see a new unassigned character "in the party," Brivelm Sunshadow. That's because there was no good template for a high level cleric NPC, so I actually created one myself. Brivelm is NOT on your side, but adding him as an unassigned character was the only way to get him operating in DNDBeyond's encounter builder system. I auto rolled initiative and, the Outlanders won the block. So you all can post as necessary, except Lucky who only has the availability of rolling another Wisdom Save to try and free himself from Irgom's Hold Person spell. Unless of course somebody pops him a good one first and he loses concentration. On that note. I DID NOT put us in initiative because I want combat. I did it because after casting Hold Person and watching three of the four of you save against it, I thought combat might just happen whether I want it or not. There is still a chance to cool things off and work through this as allies. I fear I would be a bad DM if I didn't advocate at least trying. These are high level NPCs with a lot of HP and myriad ways to end your lives if they felt like that would be in the best interest of the Republic. If you decide to make this into a fight, which may be what your characters would do in this situation, please realize that it could quite easily end in a TPK. :) That said. I'm excited to see where this goes. Have fun!]
Gor steps forward glaring at the one who cast the spell but talking to the group "As a diplomat from the court of the Queen of Nasua. I object to this treatment. I was sent as a larger group who since landing here have been killed and taken captive by orc marauders. I am unware of customs in these lands but I do not believe this is how guests should be treated. Now you say you work for a larger government entity, the Republic? Well then act like it and come up with a solution that does require violence and magic cast by your, by your....How do you say....I believe I heard in a tavern somewhere piss poor magician."
Zanoth feels the magic wash over him, the bile of this evil attack against the Outlander filling him with disgust.
“You drink our ale, you demand our property, you seek to usurp our quest, you threaten us and you even use combat magic directly on us. If I didn't know better I would think you were followers of Grumorjak such is your underhand actions and evidently evil thoughts. Pathetic. And here I was thinking we could work together for the betterment of the land, but your actions show otherwise.
Your next move will prove your evil or good intent, may the Gods of Light guide us on what comes next.”
/OOC Action: Ready Action: Attack (will roll later if it gets that far, which hopefully it doesn’t.). If any of them makes a clearly aggressive move, either to attack with a weapon or cast another spell, my spear will seek their heart. If they stand down, then nothing more.
[ooc: I've been waiting to allow Mills an opportunity to speak, since Nargha's comments were mostly directed at him. I don't want things to get stagnant though, so I'll post.]
Mills' apparent silence, and Zanoth's lack thereof, made Nargha grit his teeth and clench his jaw like he was trying to worry down a piece of adamantine between his molars. Brivelm, who'd watched quietly for the moment, stood up and put a calming hand on Nargha's shoulder. "Easy friend! Contrary to what the current mood would suggest, we are all on the same side. I think we've just reached an impasse of expectations. Why doesn't everybody just calm down for the nonce, and I'll try to explain things a little better." Nargha initially winces at Brivelm's touch, but then Zanoth watches as his muscles relax, and his jaw stops furiously clenching. His shoulders slump slightly and he backs away from Zanoth's spearpoint to sit back down on the bed. Interestingly though, he doesn't go back to polishing his breastplate, he actually lifts it over his head and begins to strap it back on. Simultaneously Irgom stops concentrating on the spell that held Lucky in place, though Gor notices he doesn't release his grip on the staff that serves as his arcane focus. Conflict seems to have been averted momentarily, but nobody in the room seems convinced it won't head there again.
While things are cool for the moment, Brivelm offers his promised explanation. "I think what would help this whole situation is letting you all in on exactly what our mission was in the first place. Our mission isn't just to get the amulet. It's to try and find out what in the world the Dragonborn are out here looking for. See, that little squad you conquered is one of at least a dozen traipsing all over the Grumorjak and Druraka mountains that we've received credible reports about. Many of those credible reports are coming from Order of the Wild Rangers, who say they seem to all be looking for something, or maybe some things. But what, nobody has been able to determine. When our superiors found out about what kind of power was expended to get a hold of that amulet you've got, they figured that it was a pretty important piece of filling in that puzzle. Thing is, we're out here tasked with figuring out the whole puzzle, not just bringing back one piece. If, as we are inclined to think, that amulet is of a kind that will help lead us to whatever larger thing the Dragon Army is looking for, then that's where were headed. So, you see, we need to examine it closely, Irgom and me, together, so that we can make a real determination of what it is. Then, depending on what it is, it might be leading us right back out into the wilds to try and piece together the whole puzzle. Your idea to take it to Rydwyrna is a virtuous one, considering everything you knew about it, but our mandate is to not return to Rydwyrna until we have a solid picture of the whole puzzle, not just this little piece. We're not operating at odds with each other, not really. We're just two teams whose assigned tasks, self-appointed in your case, might be mutually exclusive, depending on what we find." The battle cleric pauses there for a moment, seemingly to try and let his logical assertation of the situation fully gel. After looking for signs of recognition on everyone's faces he picks up again. "So you can see, it isn't that we don't think you're doing the right thing. It's that what we've been told is our right thing, may conflict with yours. Since our orders came from pretty high up in the Order hierarchy, we're motivated by the reality that our mission trumps yours. It's not personal, it's just good soldiering. I, for one, would be happy to have you lot accompany us no matter where we go after examining that little trinket. If to Rydwyrna, all the better; I miss my wife and son. If further out into the wilds to find other pieces of this puzzle, that's fine too. I know I'd be grateful for the skills of an Order of the Wild Ranger if that's the case."
Zanoth eyes Nargha donning his armour whilst Brivelm speaks, checking his small companion is ok as he comes out of his rigour...
”Getting ready for action Nargha? Ever ready to stick the sword in I guess, even this late in the evening.
Anyway, nice of you to show your fortitude at the end of the day and volunteer for the guard duty tonight, to be brutally honest I could do with getting out of my chain, dragon blood is so… sticky….”
<Zanoth reaches for a strap on his chain and loosens it… a little>
“I care nothing for “Orders of this or Orders of that”, all busy-body groups that want to stick their oar into someone else's business. However the bounty has already been paid on our work, so this is all up to Mills and his Order. The Mayor wants rid of it and it to be “safely handled”. So as long as this Amulet doesn't end up in the clutches of Evil and Mills is ok with a change in direction, then I’m simple walking left instead of right, just a different way on the road.
And if there are rich rewards at the end of it all the better!”
Gor does not loosen his grasp of his staff watching the Irgom and waiting for the others to see this resolves itself. “Travel together…..trust should be built first after you tried to accost us with poorly cast magic….Here is my how do you say…my handshake…The amulet is a key. The Dragonborn we interrogated did not know more than that”
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Gor smiles standing diplomatically with their hands folded in front of them. "I assume by study it you mean look at it while we stand here with you for a short period in time in which when you are done you hand it back to us and we go our separate ways?"
At Gor's statement, Irgom laughs, a hearty belly laugh. "Ha ha! That, my friend, will depend very much on what it is we learn from the thing." Then Irgom takes the last bite of his apple, and sets the core on the tray the ale was brought on.
I'd like to get a vibe on whether these seem like honest men, and what the deal is that Irgrom and Bivelm are supposed to study it but Nargha isn't mentioned at all in this mission of theirs. Maybe meaningless, maybe important.
Insight 14
Paladin - warforged - orange
[ooc: Okay, so some setting stuff becomes important here. The fact that Mills is an Order of the Wild Ranger, means that he would have a very intricate knowledge of the vetting and training of initiates into any of the Orders. It ain't easy, and they have ways (read: magic) of figuring out who's got the core values necessary to make an asset to the Republic. Being members of the Arcane Order and the Order of Faith means that Mills would have a natural tendency to believe that these fellows have the best interests of the Republic at heart, always. In addition, coming from one of the Orders, Mills would have a thorough working knowledge of the various kinds of magic and the types of magic available to various types of magic users. He'd know that Nargha most likely doesn't have the magical acumen to do any kind of magic item research. He's muscle, albeit faithful muscle with a bit of divine magic at his disposal, but muscle nonetheless. Now having said all that, I imagine that what Mills might be questioning here is whether or not these three gentlemen are actually who they say they are. It is not unheard of for people with questionable morals to represent themselves as members of the Order in order (pun intended) to gain the benefits that membership entails. Even more so outside the Republic, where it is quite a bit easier to fake those credentials! So, taking that into account...]
Mills takes careful notice of dress, mannerisms, language and accoutrements, trying to get a good feeling for whether these three gents might be attempting to pull themselves off as Order soldiers, when in fact they aren't. Taking in all he can observe, they seem like the real deal, especially considering their arrogance. Mills has met more than his fair share of higher up Order muckety-mucks who are no end of full of themselves. This little groups' conceit speaks volumes about the fact that they think they are on a mission that transcends borders.
Mills reaches beneath the quilt slung across his chest and withdraws the amulet, holding his other hand out in a stopping motion.
"Alright, donkeys. Here's how this'll go: you can look, you can even touch - one at a time. You try to grab it, and I will be assumin' you mean thievery. When you're done, and ya find out that this is what you already know it is, you may go the same way as us. If'n you can keep good sense about you, everybody gets what they want. Poor sense will get you... Uh... Somethin' bad."
Paladin - warforged - orange
Lucky is sitting in the corner watching the events unfold. He pulls out a coin and starts rolling it on his fingers. He expression is bored as he gives off a quite yawn.
Why all the tension let's relax get this thing done and go join tall and beautiful for a few more drinks.
(Ooc: want to hold a fast hands action to flick the coin to cause a distraction if needed.)
Goraqull was surprised by Mills response. He figured the backwoods ranger would give it over like a half wit but there’s more sense than meets the eyes, he thinks
Before Mills has even finished his brash statement Nargha was up from the bed striding over to the ranger with clenched jaw. He stood, a good six inches taller than Mills, glowering down at him, his breath hot on Mills' face. "You'd do well to watch your tone, soldier. As well as your expectations. You have zero authority to make demands here. Just because you beat us to the amulet doesn't give you rights to it. Your a soldier of the Republic and you'll do what you're told. If you need me to get in touch with the Lord Outrider to remind you of your place, I not only can, but will." He paused for a moment letting all of the aspects of that threat sink in. "We're willing to work cooperatively here, but that you means you've got to cooperate. Elsewise, we can do things the hard way, and you'll end up in shackles headed for a court martial and an Order prison, and your buddies here will be headed for a dungeon somwhere. Choice is yours, but I'd advise you stand down and let these gents do whatever they need to, to figure out what it is you've secured there." After finishing his reprimand, Nargha just kept standing in front of Mills staring down at him, waiting for him to do something foolish, his hand on the pommel of his longsword.
/OOC Using 0:Prestidigitation I will cause sparks to shoot out my eyes;
[OOC: My goodness the dice are loving you today... Metagame knowledge Irgolm popped a Hold Person spell out of a 5th level slot to incorporate the entire Outlanders' party. Everyone of you except Lucky (ironic) made the Wisdom save! :) This could get extremely interesting really quickly.]
Nargha clearly doesn't take kindly at all to having a sharp spear-point thrust in his face. He does little more than give a barely perceptible nod to Irgom, and the magic user hastily swirls his hands in an arcane movements and speaks the words of a spell. Every member of the Outlanders feels a magical compulsion to do absolutely nothing wash over their souls, but everyone of them, except apparently for Lucky who freezes in place, the coin that was flipping through his knuckles clanging to the ground, shakes off the spell. Irgom gives Nargha and Brivelm an almost panicked look, and the tension in the room explodes to an unparalleled level. Negotiations descending into combat might be inevitable, unless calmer heads prevail.
[OOC: Some more metagame notes here. I created an encounter and dropped us into initiative. You may see a new unassigned character "in the party," Brivelm Sunshadow. That's because there was no good template for a high level cleric NPC, so I actually created one myself. Brivelm is NOT on your side, but adding him as an unassigned character was the only way to get him operating in DNDBeyond's encounter builder system. I auto rolled initiative and, the Outlanders won the block. So you all can post as necessary, except Lucky who only has the availability of rolling another Wisdom Save to try and free himself from Irgom's Hold Person spell. Unless of course somebody pops him a good one first and he loses concentration. On that note. I DID NOT put us in initiative because I want combat. I did it because after casting Hold Person and watching three of the four of you save against it, I thought combat might just happen whether I want it or not. There is still a chance to cool things off and work through this as allies. I fear I would be a bad DM if I didn't advocate at least trying. These are high level NPCs with a lot of HP and myriad ways to end your lives if they felt like that would be in the best interest of the Republic. If you decide to make this into a fight, which may be what your characters would do in this situation, please realize that it could quite easily end in a TPK. :) That said. I'm excited to see where this goes. Have fun!]
Gor steps forward glaring at the one who cast the spell but talking to the group "As a diplomat from the court of the Queen of Nasua. I object to this treatment. I was sent as a larger group who since landing here have been killed and taken captive by orc marauders. I am unware of customs in these lands but I do not believe this is how guests should be treated. Now you say you work for a larger government entity, the Republic? Well then act like it and come up with a solution that does require violence and magic cast by your, by your....How do you say....I believe I heard in a tavern somewhere piss poor magician."
/OOC Action: Ready Action: Attack (will roll later if it gets that far, which hopefully it doesn’t.). If any of them makes a clearly aggressive move, either to attack with a weapon or cast another spell, my spear will seek their heart. If they stand down, then nothing more.
(Ooc: since we are doing a round of talking I'm going to make a Wisdom save for Lucky)
Wisdom save: 14.
[OOC: Just missed it. :( Lucky is still paralyzed.]
Lucky eyes start to water.
In his mind.
(My nose itches so baddddd)
[ooc: I've been waiting to allow Mills an opportunity to speak, since Nargha's comments were mostly directed at him. I don't want things to get stagnant though, so I'll post.]
Mills' apparent silence, and Zanoth's lack thereof, made Nargha grit his teeth and clench his jaw like he was trying to worry down a piece of adamantine between his molars. Brivelm, who'd watched quietly for the moment, stood up and put a calming hand on Nargha's shoulder. "Easy friend! Contrary to what the current mood would suggest, we are all on the same side. I think we've just reached an impasse of expectations. Why doesn't everybody just calm down for the nonce, and I'll try to explain things a little better." Nargha initially winces at Brivelm's touch, but then Zanoth watches as his muscles relax, and his jaw stops furiously clenching. His shoulders slump slightly and he backs away from Zanoth's spearpoint to sit back down on the bed. Interestingly though, he doesn't go back to polishing his breastplate, he actually lifts it over his head and begins to strap it back on. Simultaneously Irgom stops concentrating on the spell that held Lucky in place, though Gor notices he doesn't release his grip on the staff that serves as his arcane focus. Conflict seems to have been averted momentarily, but nobody in the room seems convinced it won't head there again.
While things are cool for the moment, Brivelm offers his promised explanation. "I think what would help this whole situation is letting you all in on exactly what our mission was in the first place. Our mission isn't just to get the amulet. It's to try and find out what in the world the Dragonborn are out here looking for. See, that little squad you conquered is one of at least a dozen traipsing all over the Grumorjak and Druraka mountains that we've received credible reports about. Many of those credible reports are coming from Order of the Wild Rangers, who say they seem to all be looking for something, or maybe some things. But what, nobody has been able to determine. When our superiors found out about what kind of power was expended to get a hold of that amulet you've got, they figured that it was a pretty important piece of filling in that puzzle. Thing is, we're out here tasked with figuring out the whole puzzle, not just bringing back one piece. If, as we are inclined to think, that amulet is of a kind that will help lead us to whatever larger thing the Dragon Army is looking for, then that's where were headed. So, you see, we need to examine it closely, Irgom and me, together, so that we can make a real determination of what it is. Then, depending on what it is, it might be leading us right back out into the wilds to try and piece together the whole puzzle. Your idea to take it to Rydwyrna is a virtuous one, considering everything you knew about it, but our mandate is to not return to Rydwyrna until we have a solid picture of the whole puzzle, not just this little piece. We're not operating at odds with each other, not really. We're just two teams whose assigned tasks, self-appointed in your case, might be mutually exclusive, depending on what we find." The battle cleric pauses there for a moment, seemingly to try and let his logical assertation of the situation fully gel. After looking for signs of recognition on everyone's faces he picks up again. "So you can see, it isn't that we don't think you're doing the right thing. It's that what we've been told is our right thing, may conflict with yours. Since our orders came from pretty high up in the Order hierarchy, we're motivated by the reality that our mission trumps yours. It's not personal, it's just good soldiering. I, for one, would be happy to have you lot accompany us no matter where we go after examining that little trinket. If to Rydwyrna, all the better; I miss my wife and son. If further out into the wilds to find other pieces of this puzzle, that's fine too. I know I'd be grateful for the skills of an Order of the Wild Ranger if that's the case."
Zanoth eyes Nargha donning his armour whilst Brivelm speaks, checking his small companion is ok as he comes out of his rigour...
Lucky scratches his nose a bit embarrassed he is rhe only one who feel victim to the spell. Shooting the Cleric a annoyed look.
I'm with Zanoth. I want to do what ever leads to the most opportunities to fill my belly and purse before my luck runs out.
Gor does not loosen his grasp of his staff watching the Irgom and waiting for the others to see this resolves itself. “Travel together…..trust should be built first after you tried to accost us with poorly cast magic….Here is my how do you say…my handshake…The amulet is a key. The Dragonborn we interrogated did not know more than that”