Rain,

Quote from Ben_Evolent >>

Quote from 87306 >>

I'll go over to Rain and mutter, "There are no structure weaknesses in the castle.  There's no way the goblinoids could have gotten in. I think that someone should check the king's personal area, stealthily."

 

(If this was before Rolan and the King left:)

Rain makes an odd rumbling (purring?) sound for a moment.  He glances at Saralynn and then down at his plate to pick up some bread.  He looks up at whatever other conversation or activity is happening and nods, saying quietly, "Yes, I agree."  He looks over to Saralynn again and says, "We should talk after dinner and make a plan."

 (If this was after Rolan and the King left, and the group is alone / has no one nearby:)

Rain responds clearly but quietly, as though afraid of being overheard, "Yes, I thought to look earlier, but there were too many others around.  Maybe once the castle goes to sleep?  Let's maybe go into the garden to make a plan."

"There are many signs here, but I cannot read them, yet.  It reminds me of the story of the dove and the mongoose.  Mongoose sometimes kill and eat birds, but the dove and the mongoose were friends since they were young.  So, when the dove and her husband had to leave to find food for their hatchlings, they asked the mongoose to guard their nest in the bush.  When they returned, they found the mongoose covered in blood and the nest broken and scattered.  At first, the husband dove was angry, thinking that the mongoose got hungry and attacked their hatchlings.  But his wife knew her friend, and she took her time to look for all of the signs.  She heard her children chirping nearby.  Looking down, she saw a dark form under the bush.  There lay the snake that the mongoose had killed, and the nest was destroyed in the fight.  The mongoose had gathered the children and hidden them in a shallow burrow nearby.  Right now, I just see the scattered nest and the missing hatchlings.  What happened?  I cannot tell without looking and finding more signs."

 "I think you seem like a person I can work well with.  I, too, appreciate the value of seeing as much about the situation as possible before rushing in."

After studying the sky, Rain says, "I have travelled this desert for more than a year, and I am a friend to its many moods. I think we are safe here for now, but there is something *unnatural* to this storm. Magic? A curse? I do not know, but it is *not* normal."

You hear the noise of a sword being unsheathed in front of you. A voice says, "I think you should go," as a shadowy figure immerges in front of you. You can make out no details, as he is literally cloaked in shadow.

Quote from KingOrc >>

You hear the noise of a sword being unsheathed in front of you. A voice says, "I think you should go," as a shadowy figure immerges in front of you. You can make out no details, as he is literally cloaked in shadow.

Rain, in an urgent whisper to the others: "I checked the area, and it was clear!  Could this be another illusion from the wizard Rolan?"  (`Investigation? 7`)

(Ugh!  Great roll, Rain!)  Rain moves to stand between Saralynn, who is presumably still injured from the goblin fight, and the shadowy figure. 

You hear the noise of a sword being unsheathed in front of you. 

(OOC: again, positioning matters a lot here.  Is the shadowy figure between the party and the castle?  Or is it past them and farther into the garden?  How far away is it?)

(Feedback for the DM. 

Since we're each posting just once or twice / day, you should probably wait a few days before posting any new events.  It might be boring for you, but the action has been non-stop since we started, and it would take us a few days in the real world to narrate even a short discussion in the garden.  If you want to permit this group to form into a real party, you at least need to give the characters time to introduce themselves and exchange some information.  Unless you're trying to interrupt those kinds of conversations on purpose and make the party feel rushed and hurried.  From my point-of-view, Rain is a low-Charisma ranger with goblinoid favored enemies.  He needs some time to talk to Ghurk before he can start to trust him even a little bit.  And unless I've lost track, the only names that have been given "in world" are Rain, Liara, Olin, and Rolan.  So Rain doesn't know Ghurk's or Saralynn's proper name, yet.)

Quote from 87306 >>

Saralyn follows.

D&D Beyond doesn't support homebrew classes, so I don't have a character sheet to give you.  I could make a pdf, take a screenshot, put it on an image hosting site, then give you the link to that.

(You could just create a character sheet using some other class with a free D&D Beyond account. Pick something that has the same saving throw proficiencies as your homebrew class.  That will at least give the DM easy access to your stats and skills and inventory.  If you want to document your homebrew class features, you could always put them in the Extras section.)

Quote from Ben_Evolent >>

Quote from 87306 >>

Saralyn follows.

D&D Beyond doesn't support homebrew classes, so I don't have a character sheet to give you.  I could make a pdf, take a screenshot, put it on an image hosting site, then give you the link to that.

 

(You could just create a character sheet using some other class with a free D&D Beyond account. Pick something that has the same saving throw proficiencies as your homebrew class.  That will at least give the DM easy access to your stats and skills and inventory.  If you want to document your homebrew class features, you could always put them in the Extras section.)

 Good point, I'll do that sometime.

Saralyn appears distracted by something, even as the menacing figure appears, but she sends her three spirits to stand in front of the group, forming a protective wall between them and the party (they each take the Ready action to attack the figure if he comes forward to attack)

(Note: The shadowy figure is farther into the garden.)

The figure looked around as if checking for intruders, then waved his hand, removing the shadowy veil. It turned out to be an elderly dwarf. "Sorry, I thought you were more of the attackers." He sheathed an iron knife, an odd weapon for a dwarf. "I mean no harm. I used a shadow pearl to try to get you to leave. But your the king's new folk, you can stay here." He looked around at the small group, then at the sky. "I'm a gardener here. Well, an exterminator more like. I use shadow pearls to corrupt and kill weeds that are too strong. My knife is for cutting them." He looked at the party hopefully. "Well, either way, what are you doing out here at a time like this? Looking at the storm? It is odd..."

A young woman with chestnut-brown hair and striking blue eyes appeared in the distance. "Have you gotten rid of the Dragons Tooth Weeds yet?" The dwarf shook his head. "I'm meeting the new allies. They're gonna help get rid of this storm, Right?"

Quote from KingOrc >>

(Note: The shadowy figure is farther into the garden.)

The figure looked around as if checking for intruders, then waved his hand, removing the shadowy veil. It turned out to be an elderly dwarf. "Sorry, I thought you were more of the attackers." He sheathed an iron knife, an odd weapon for a dwarf. "I mean no harm. I used a shadow pearl to try to get you to leave. But your the king's new folk, you can stay here." He looked around at the small group, then at the sky. "I'm a gardener here. Well, an exterminator more like. I use shadow pearls to corrupt and kill weeds that are too strong. My knife is for cutting them." He looked at the party hopefully. "Well, either way, what are you doing out here at a time like this? Looking at the storm? It is odd..."

A young woman with chestnut-brown hair and striking blue eyes appeared in the distance. "Have you gotten rid of the Dragons Tooth Weeds yet?" The dwarf shook his head. "I'm meeting the new allies. They're gonna help get rid of this storm, Right?"

 "Dragon Tooth Weed? Giant weed that spits acid? I think I killed something like that a while ago."

"Oh, no. No acid. It has little thorns that look like dragon teeth." The dwarf looked around. "Well, I should be sleeping right now, but I have a bit more work to do. Dragons Tooth Weed is annoying, and the king doesn't like his flowers being strangled, so I better get going. Mind if I show you around?" The young woman frowned at the dwarf. "As long as it doesn't take too long," she said, "We have work to do." the dwarf laughed a bit to himself. "It's a weed, don't get so serious! Weeds aren't that bad. Come on, let me show them around. They need allies." He started walking farther out. "Sorry for the dramatic introduction, I get tense when I see intruders. My name is Thorin, by the way."

Quote from KingOrc >>

"Oh, no. No acid. It has little thorns that look like dragon teeth." The dwarf looked around. "Well, I should be sleeping right now, but I have a bit more work to do. Dragons Tooth Weed is annoying, and the king doesn't like his flowers being strangled, so I better get going. Mind if I show you around?" The young woman frowned at the dwarf. "As long as it doesn't take too long," she said, "We have work to do." the dwarf laughed a bit to himself. "It's a weed, don't get so serious! Weeds aren't that bad. Come on, let me show them around. They need allies." He started walking farther out. "Sorry for the dramatic introduction, I get tense when I see intruders. My name is Thorin, by the way."

 Ghurk eyes Thorin a little bit suspiciously, but follows.

Saralyn still seems distracted, but says, "Thank you for the offer.  I'm Saralyn.  I believe my geists may be of use in destroying these weeds - they don't feel pain from thorns."

"Well, I hope this doesn't sound offensive, but I never thought I'd see a bugbear here!"

Rain falls in behind the others.  He falls back about 5 or 10 feet behind the others, trying to keep his eyes and ears open for anything else suspicious as they walk through the gardens.  Perception 24

Rain:

"Well now, over here are his marigolds. They are used for festivals sometimes. Oh, and the roses over here." The dwarf looked at the flowers excitedly as he spoke. Apparently, the exterminator was more into plants than the gardener, as the woman was rolling her eyes while listening to him talk. "The weeds, Thorin, the weeds!" "Yes, I know! I'll get into the weeds soon. Now over here we have some of his tulips, and his trees are a little out that way.

As Thorin approached the center of the garden, the women left, probably to complain about weeds. "Well, I feel like the king rushes people to fast. Have you guys had a chance to introduce yourself? Get some allies? I know I guy who could be usefull to you."

The storm grows slowly and the garden gets slightly darker.

"Um, is it just me, or is the storm growing?"

Ghurk unconsciously reaches for his glaive.