Bloom eyes the bandits as they return, her eyes narrowing at them. They were like fungus that kept creeping back no matter how many times you got rid of it. No wonder the bird duke didn’t like them. She did not enjoy the lesson about the stars and instead skipped off to investigate their camp, hiding behind a tree before turning into a small spider and skittering about. Let the others listen to yet another tall tale if they wanted to, she would have a look around and maybe even see something interesting.
The small pink spider skittered quietly across the camp, eyeing the different bandits and rolling all of her eyes at their conversations. How boring was this place? No matter they were hungry and starving. Even plants and animals would die at such a depressing location. Where was the music? Where was the singing? Why wasn’t ANYONE dancing? You couldn’t even find a decent place to sleep with all the constant talking and yammering.
Still, Bloom did make her way about sneakily in spider form to listen and hear what these people were about and what they were saying behind her friends’ backs. Better not be something nasty, or she’ll burry all of them under the dirt! Nobody can hear their boring conversations there…
After the food was cooked, the girls seemed to move on to other board games. Glorija is practising her cantrips while Helene and Lavīze are playing Mū Tōrere on the ground.
It's a classic game from Hngwis, an islandic continent Southwest of Perkwunos. The rule is very simple: there is a hexagonal board with points on each of its corners and the centre, a black and white piece takes half of the board, excluding the centre, and all pieces can move one space adjacent to it, but if only if that piece is also adjacent to the opponent's piece. Whoever can force the other player into a position where they cannot move wins.
"I have no idea what I'm doing, so... this!" Lavīze moves her black piece to the centre.
"I win." Helene moves her piece, and Lavīze throws her hands and looks to the side; she can no longer move on the board. That's what happens when the game is too new to someone.
Radions, yet again, continue to lean against the tree, completely still. Sometimes it's hard to tell if he's even here or not because he's just that quiet.
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"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
Bloom skitters over to the girls, watching them play curiously, her eyes quite intrigued at this board game that they seem to be enjoying. She loved games but she was more used to hide and scream, pin the wing on the pixie, or who’s the hag. This seemed quite different from what she was used to, but in a good way, she liked new ways of having fun. Without a warning, Bloom shifts into her tiefling form and jumps up and down with excitement.
”I want to pulay! I want to pulay! I want to pulay!”, she says, “I don’t know how but maybe you can teach me…if you do I’ll give you a puretty fulower”.
The Tiefling batts her eyelashes innocently, as though she was not the druid that grabbed Veno with a whip of thorns and dragged him across spikes until he was no longer concious.
Alexander blinks, surprised at the sheer amount of information Veno gave him. Then he smiles and says, "Thanks. That helps a lot. Now I'm really interested to meet this guy."
_______________
The next morning, he wakes up early and starts his usual exercise routine. Which is rather painful as he finds himself a bit stiff from sleeping in his armor. Sheesh, now he remembers why that's such a bad idea. It's cold and uncomfortable. But regardless he feels much better than he had when he went to sleep, even if he hasn't made up his mind on what to do. Now though, with the prospective meeting with Paulis he's hoping he can get some words of wisdom to help him make a decision.
"Sure! Come, Bloom, I'll teach you how to play."Helene waves her over, and the two play together for a few rounds before everyone goes to asleep. Helene does keep the flower, though, since it fits the colour of her hair very well.
You all gain the benefits of a Long Rest
3rd April -1C 4983 CY
You all wake up to the sensation of water droplets hitting your face, it's raining lightly and the sky is dark.
"Off to a great start..." Elvīns mutters under his breath. "Everyone, load your things into the mule cart, let's go before the rain gets heavier."
He hops onto the driver's seat, which is on the right side, mules are cheaper than horses, but they can carry less weight too, which means the rest of the group will have to walk. It's not that bad, you all are used to walking long distances like this all the time.
For the first few hours of the tip, there isn't anything interesting, the pines dominate the landscape, and again, there are cairns every now and then too. Veno explains that these cairns act like unmarked graves. When someone sees the dead body of an animal or an unknown person in the wild, they will bury it and put stones on top of each other so they will have a harder time digging themselves up should they get turned into undead. Most cairns here probably contain dead animals, because it's much shorter and contains less stone than the ones for people.
The rain continues to drizzle for another hour as the forest turns into clearings, and clearing turns into farmlands. On the farmlands are endless fields of plants with purple flowers, which belong to a potato plant. It'd be a beautiful sight if it isn't raining like this, but it's good for the plants and even better for farmers who no longer have to water everything.
Soon, they arrive at the 'village' of Blojas, with a population of 49, most of them are farmers who own the field you passed earlier. Calling it a village would be an overstatement because there is no tavern, barely any shops, and no town square. There aren't that many villagers outside due to the weather.
When noon arrives, the clouds disperse and Muphrid shines once again, but the rain doesn't stop yet. But you all know what happens when it's raining and the sun shines at the same time: rainbow. Unfortunately, though, the rainbow appears behind the direction you're travelling, which means no free pot of gold from a leprechaun for you... assuming you can even reach the rainbow in the first place.
The field turns into the forest again, and the journey continues. The evening remains uneventful, with occasional small talks here and there, and as Muphrid sets and Saak rises, you arrive in Lazdutebi, an actual town with a tavern this time.
For some odd reason, there are goats everywhere in this town, both inside a fenced farm and in the streets, and people here don't even bat an eye. There is even a goat inside the tavern where you sleep.
4th April -1C 4983 CY
Thankfully, Muphrid shines bright today. The party loads up everything on the cart as usual and they depart from this goat-infested town.
A few kilometres after they leave the town's vicinity, the sound of water rushing gets louder and louder, and that's when it hits them.
In front of them, about 500 ft down a hill is a bridge guarded by two figures, the one on the left is a Shifter male, he has wolf ears and his tail is black, but he has a humanoid face. The one on the right is a female gold Dragonborn, both of them are about as young as the rest of the group and are armed with a standard-issue spear and crossbow. The flag pole on the right side of the bridge is red and bears the symbol of the Duchy of Rauna: a stylised plough and three stars. None of them seems to notice the party yet.
"Crap... of course, there will be checkpoints here," Elvīns growls, the river is moving fast and the colour of the water is red, avoiding the bridge is not an option.
"Or we can just book it, drive this cart to full speed and crash into—"Right as Lavīze says that, they feel a gust of wind rushing above their head. A black gryphon with a rider, a fire Genasi, swoops down and lands in front of the two guards. It's too far to make out their expression or what they're saying, but the two seem to be much more excited after the gryphon rider comes to them. The Shifter even reaches his hand out to pet the gryphon, who seems to really enjoy it.
"Well, forget what I said, there is no running from that." Lavīze points then turn back to you five, "That's probably Elmars' soldiers, and they think we're thieves, even though we aren't!" She crosses her arms, pouting, "It's so hard dealing with those lunkheads, they never listen to what we say at all, nothing! I guess you guys might have to deal with them, we'll find somewhere to get out of their sight." After the stunt they pulled two days ago, word probably spread among Elmars' ranks that there are thieves running about, and if you are seen helping them, it might be hard to convince them that you're just their friend, not their allies... yet.
Helene places her hand over her eyes, "These guys will ask you for tolls and papers if you have cargo, and we don't really have the right documents with us. They might accept bribes... but we aren't going to fuel their corruption even further. It's up to you then, my friend, you've got this." She smiles and nods. It's showtime.
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
After waking up with a sounding yawn the next day, I kept a good distance from the others for a brief moment as I adjusted my hood to make sure my fox ears don't get revealed. Knowing myself, I'm definitely a slow starter, so a morning start with a small talk is definitely not my cup of tea... oh well. At least I could help out a bit with these bandit supplies right? *He instinctively gathers alongside the other four without saying a word with his disguise still up, before he leaves in tow with the rest*
On the way down south, I didn't really interact with the others as usual, unless if they're interested in what I trying to come up to overcome possible pit holes amongst the journey. Huh? The water's all red. Urgh. A blood river? Or is that the water's natural colour?! *He sniffs the air for few seconds before gagging once he recognises the smell from the river* Ulp... nevermind... I smell stench from there... Dang it... That aside, the thought of having to traverse with temporary bandits on our side gives me mixed emotions... *He adjusts his katana as his attention turns back to the front of the gate, where the two guards were standing. At least until... the Fire Genasi rider arrived and his fox ears twitched in disapproval* Right. Of course there has to be these numbskulls blocking our way, not that I was expecting any less but still... *He enters scout whilst he ducks behind a tree where the rest are standing as his eyes visibly blink whilst he scans* I'm more worried about that stupid Sakura girl prancing into the midst of chaos and throwing us all into combat again without our approval. *He gestures Bloom not to dive head first and stay with the group instead*
Hmm... So there are two guards there. There's an obvious dragonborn but the other one... is he... *Gasps* no way! Another fox boy just like me...? No wait... *He eyes at the wolf boy closer and frowns* No he's a wolf. Damn I got too excited; I thought he was another kitsune just like me but his ears appear to be larger. And his tail is a lot more ragged. Eh. I guess we could take on head first which ironically isn't something I would dare to do myself. Or at least, until that beast I've never seen before arriving with... huh?!
Wait... *He stares at the Fire Genasi rider and instantly suffers from a panic attack; He thought it's was his friend and leader, who is also a Fire Genasi himself. But then he rapidly shakes his head to snap out of it* No! That's not Rixi! That's not even close to the blazing armour he's wearing right now! And he's not wielding a double-bladed glaive! He's sort of into animals but is never into riding them! GAH! What on earth are you thinking?! I take a moment to stare at the sky, before I return my sense back to the present moment and regroup with the other four who seem really impatient to rip and tear those guys down. Or at least, that's what I thought. I'm a terrible emotion reader...
"Alright... I'm obviously not gonna consider using brute force to make things go our way this time. Not when we're all trying to go undercover behind the stupid birdbrain's back. But... if anyone has some ideas of how do deal with them, go ahead. I'm willing to listen to them before I say mine. I speak up. Whilst I didn't say anything else after that, I made sure to listen to what the others had to say first before I spoke my mind out. I was expecting this kind of problem to surface when we left this place anyways, though the thought that concerns me the most is if everyone agrees to stuck with either of the ideas we had brainstormed together.
*Once everyone has finished he will say his part in the spoiler.*
"Oh nice. I actually like what you all suggested and I have a rough idea of how each one of them could work in some way. As for mine though, if that wolf boy and dragonborn were the only ones present, a silent ambush would have been my Plan A. But... since whatever that monstrosity has arrived, that's out of the question, as with stupidly ramming the cart into them." *He takes a moment to look at his spell book and the first idea that's been jotted down* "So here's my Plan B: I'd say we can trick them into thinking that, seeing that we don't appear to be the actual culprits, we can trick them into thinking that we're the new guards or something and that we can take over the post for them; We need the others out of our sight though if they're not though. Regardless, if it's successful, I'm thinking the three of them could hop onto that... um... owl... bear um... ah whatever. Those three would hop on and fly back to wherever the latter came from whilst they leave us to 'guard' the place from our current allies. If they still don't leave though..." *Again he looks back on his gigantic book that was stuffed in his back* "Uh... well, I guess could perhaps conjure something to lure them out of the place once we assure to them that we are capable of holding the place for them. It's a rough idea but that um... that doesn't mean we can add some things to it to improve our chances. The thing is though, we need us just the five of us to be present and no one else whilst this is happening... but the cart though... how do we..."I felt fine when it came to discussing this out loud with the others. At least, well... *Realises how long he talked for as his eyes widen* I stare at the others all of a sudden when I realised that I rambled on for too long. I forgot that this wasn't the Wildland Shifters I was talking to...
"Um... I t-t... I-I talked too much didn't I? *His face reddens a little as he looks away* S-s-s-sorry... It's just... when it comes to these things I lose myself in how to get out of them... It's basically what I've gotten used to during my days as a warrior... but um... I'm also trying to... um, factor in how long they might be gone for... if we have to distract them. And especially if that owl thing is left behind with us in a hungry state. Uh... I-I mean..."
I didn't really say anything else as I awkwardly withdraw from the others again... But still, even though I've suggested my idea, I don't plan to go any further until we've all come to a unified decision. At the moment, I still don't know what each and every one of us is capable of, especially when we're caught in a 'man in the middle' situation.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The Wildland Shifters Daisy Ethalena- Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer) Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade) Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer(Clockwork Soul); Lancea Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance) Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars) Yurime Hanasaki- Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
Venet has a drowsy smile that rises onto her face as the rain begins. This puts her in a nice mood for the day, often looking up towards the sky with her eyes closed during the day to catch more rain. She's more talkative today, chatting to whomever or just talking in general to no one in particular.
During their tavern stays she does a performance or two, earning at least herself free room and board.
Upon seeing the checkpoint she isn't worried about getting past it.
Shugo is up and about earlier than just about everyone else. He is an elf after all, he doesn't need as much rest as the others. Unfortunately, this means he was incredibly bored for the three or so hours before everyone else got up. He spends a small amount of time practicing his forms, but he doesn't really want the others seeing him. No point in making them think he's a diligent, hard worker. That would only make them expect more of him. So, he spends the rest of his time cleaning his scimitar and polishing the bronze dragon engraved hilt.
Once the others wake, he sheaths the blade and joins the others for breakfast. Bloom sure seems to be in a better mood. Perhaps playing that strange game did her some good.
The road to Lazbutebi is...less than enjoyable. Gah! Rain! Being wet absolutely sucks. UGH. The elf trudges along, looking pathetic with his wet black bangs clinging to his face. He squints at every goat they pass. Man, what is with these people and their goats? Weird.
Shugo looks a lot better after leaving the goat infested town. Though his smile fades upon seeing the guards. Great, that's just great. He's a foreigner traveling with a bunch of wanted bandits and another foreigner. Of course no one has the proper documentation.
He laughs when Lavize speaks up. "Hahah, I mean, you kinda are thieves. You might not have bad intentions, but stealing is stealing, even if you're taking from someone who deserves it." His tone does not sound accusatory in the slightest, he's simply stating a fact. The elf cocks his head when the bandits say they will get out of sight. "If you do that how are you going to get in there?" He shrugs. "I mean, we could always just act like we are doing our job. We are supposed to capture you, and Elmars didn't want us to take you to any prison. We were supposed to hold you until he returned. We could just tell the guards we are playing you. Pretending to work with you until Birdie Boy returns, then we will actually capture you and turn you in. That way we don't have to treat you as prisoners. We are just gaining your trust. The more you trust us the more info you'll give us after all. Maybe we are trying to REALLY impress Elmars by discovering the location of your base." He shrugs again. "Just a thought."
He turns and listens to both Venet and Renar. "Hmmm. The problem with Enthralling them, or telling them we are replacement guards is this. If we trick them, they will find out eventually and that will make us suspicious to Birdie Boy. We are a pretty recognizable group ya know. If these people are working for him, they should know that he sent someone out to catch the bandits. If that's what we are doing, then why should we need to trick them? Making some sort of distraction and sneaking past them could work, IF we can make through without being seen. And, as we know, not all of us are stealthy." He puts his hands behind his head and stretches. "My previous suggestion has just as many risks as well. In fact if we tried it in it's entirety it would be the most risky of all of them as we would be in direct contact with the people we are supposed to be capturing. However, if we don't want to take that risk, we could still go in separately and still tell the guards that we are working for Elmars. With my obvious foreign heritage, they should not be surprised that I don't have the proper documents and I'm just another adventurer hoping to find my fortune in the ruins."He glances at Renar, "That latter part applies to you as well....Oh and that thing is a Griffin." Geeze what is with this guy? There's no reason to be embarrassed for brainstorming. His ideas are perfectly logical, even if they have some holes. No plan can be completely flawless after all. There will always be SOMETHING that can completely throw it off the rails.
He loops his thumbs in his belt and looks at the others smiling. "Well, those are my thoughts anyway."
"Well, my song's effects last about an hour, and any of them that it does effect will be inclined to help me and hinder those that get in my way. Even if it works on one of them it should be enough to turn the tide in our favor, right? After that it should be pretty easy to get them to wave any friends of mine through. But your idea isn't bad either, Shugo."
He turns and listens to both Venet and Renar. "Hmmm. The problem with Enthralling them, or telling them we are replacement guards is this. If we trick them, they will find out eventually and that will make us suspicious to Birdie Boy. We are a pretty recognizable group ya know. If these people are working for him, they should know that he sent someone out to catch the bandits. If that's what we are doing, then why should we need to trick them? Making some sort of distraction and sneaking past them could work, IF we can make through without being seen. And, as we know, not all of us are stealthy." He puts his hands behind his head and stretches. "My previous suggestion has just as many risks as well. In fact if we tried it in it's entirety it would be the most risky of all of them as we would be in direct contact with the people we are supposed to be capturing. However, if we don't want to take that risk, we could still go in separately and still tell the guards that we are working for Elmars. With my obvious foreign heritage, they should not be surprised that I don't have the proper documents and I'm just another adventurer hoping to find my fortune in the ruins."He glances at Renar, "That latter part applies to you as well....Oh and that thing is a Griffin." Geeze what is with this guy? There's no reason to be embarrassed for brainstorming. His ideas are perfectly logical, even if they have some holes. No plan can be completely flawless after all. There will always be SOMETHING that can completely throw it off the rails.
He loops his thumbs in his belt and looks at the others smiling. "Well, those are my thoughts anyway."
"That's true. I almost forgot that almost all of us are foreign outsiders, so it might be more difficult to convince them that we we actually hired by Elmars himself given the fact that they will recognise our accents. Besides, pretending to capture the bandits we've befriended is indeed a huge risk; I'm more concerned that those three will immediately transport them to a well guarded cell in an instant if we do so, and that's not the go-to plan when we have plentiful amounts of time before bird brain returns." I reply back with my terrible attempts to replicate the people's accents here as usual. In way, I'm actually kind of glad that everyone's here to troubleshoot what we've given to each other. And hey! A massive improvement from our first encounter! "I'm aware that not everyone, especially Alex, can stealth. But, I'm not saying that we should all do so either. Besides, other than the edges of the bridges and the forest canopies, I don't really see the point of all of us going rogue at once." I then hear Shugo saying that half of us should distract them whilst the rest work to keep an eye on the bandits. Honestly, that's a pretty respectable suggestion. But as with everything, the good always comes with the bad. And It's my job to rectify the latter especially when the pit holes strike us out of the blue; My role as a critical thinker, to help lead my groups to success.
"Well, my song's effects last about an hour, and any of them that it does effect will be inclined to help me and hinder those that get in my way. Even if it works on one of them it should be enough to turn the tide in our favor, right? After that it should be pretty easy to get them to wave any friends of mine through. But your idea isn't bad either, Shugo."
I hear the pretty mermaid girl speak her suggestion, and once again, another idea that's definitely worth considering, but I still can't bear to look at her in the eye... am I really that weak willed? Or is she just too captivating for me? I can't tell. Anyways... "Um... well... An hour would be more than enough to enable the others to get past, but just remember that we have a massive cart behind our backs as well, so there is a huge risk of us being easily identified as the criminals they're supposed to catch... I'm not saying it's not going to work but I'm trying to figure out how to mitigate the flaws on our own. Hmm... Well, obviously I cannot talk my way into things so... um... uh... yeah. *His eyes flicker nervously* So this the plan I have worked out far... um... maybe, whoever is willing to converse, assure them that you're anything other than the culprits obviously uh... um..." Man this feels so nerve wracking! I don't even know if I'm pointing this out right or not! "...And take advantage of um...*He points to Venet* ...her... music... *Awkward silence* ...sorry, and gain the upper hand in thinking that you can be trusted. " *He deliberately attempts to trigger Bloom's thinking with this sentence* Maybe give them a fruit or a pretty flower or something for actually listening to our helpful statements as a reward. I'm still open to tweaks but I honestly like what you all have suggested; I can definitely picture how things are going to work out. I'm glad we're able to get somewhere at least... What about you two?" *He shifts his gaze to Alex and Bloom (her Sakura tree actually)* I should wait for what Alex and Bloom might have to say first before we initiate this together. But in the meanwhile...
"A... griffin? R-r-right..."I mutter with absolute confusion. "Hm... How... how aggressive can they get? Maybe we could trick the beast into attacking its own men should our first plan in becoming friendly adventurers/pretend guards fail...?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The Wildland Shifters Daisy Ethalena- Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer) Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade) Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer(Clockwork Soul); Lancea Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance) Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars) Yurime Hanasaki- Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
"These all sound like good plans," Alex says thoughtfully. "But Renar is right, pretending that we are keeping our new friends as uh... hostages, probably would backfire in some way. Plus, if we want to remain at least semi-neutral for now, and Elmars figured out that we were bluffing, that would basically be announcing to him whose side we took." He hesitates, "I'm not sure about the distraction idea, but I think it's the best we've got. But..." He glances at Venet and Bloom, "Shouldn't us three be able to get in? I mean... we might not be from this area but we are from this country. We could go in together and then figure out a way to get everyone else in from the inside. We might even be able to get Shugo and Renar in too if we play it right. Then we can help the others get in afterwards?"
He looks at the Griffon, "I... don't think that we would be able to get the griffin to turn on its owners. I'd imagine it's pretty loyal considering its behavior, and they are quite intelligent."
He laughs, "But I've also never done anything like this before, so there are probably tons of things I'm overlooking."
"Oh! I could also make a fog cloud. That would disguise the cart a bit right? Then they wouldnt be able to give a good description later when my song's effects end."
She's fairly confident that her song will work, and that they are all worrying over nothing.
As you slowly walk towards the checkpoint, you can see their expressions and hear them more clearly.
"Ugh... Soooo boring!" The wolf Shifter says, slumping. "I'm supposed to beat up bandits, not standing still for twelve hours!" His ears droop.
The dragonborn crosses her arms, leaning against the bridge, "That's life, Maigurs. It's a lot like a custard bun: you have to bite through a stale, tasteless outer layer first until you get to the sweet, juicy filling... except the filling is about the size of a pea and the bread is as big as a house."Her tail sways idly.
"Saying that makes me hungry, Norma, but I want a cup of coffee more than anything else right now." He whines, "But that doesn't cure my boredom, does it? Can someone, anyone attack us already?"
"Te cjuidado qwe tu põr desiér, lobo."The black gryphon chirps.
"She says 'Be careful what you wish for, wolf.'" The fire Genasi on the gryphon's back translates, "Your brother would be very disappointed and concerned if you lost the fight and ended up limping back home in a crutch." He comments, idly petting the gryphon's neck.
"I know what I'm doing, Cezars, I never lose a fight." Maigurs lays down his spear and kicks it up, he was supposed to catch it mid-air, but it hits his face instead, "Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow..." He rubs his nose.
Norma laughs, "Do you want to fight so much you start hitting yourself?"
Maigurs grunts, "Sort of, I would definitely want to fight with myself if someone knows a spell that can clone me... by the way, are you strong or are you weak if you defeat the clone of yourself?"
The three guards and the gryphon continue to chat among themselves about random things, with Cezars occasionally providing translation when the black gryphon wants to join in the conversation.
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
"I guess that's settled; Deception it is then. And possibly some food for the... griffin, just in case." I reply after hearing Alex and the gorgeous Venet finish voicing their ideas. Now that everyone is almost contempt except one, because... I notice Little Miss Impatient Sakura Tree is still fidgety about this and hasn't spoken since we all left... Oh well. "Ok... *Clears his throat before turning to Alex* Alex, you already know what I'm assigning you as and with right? Make sure to back up the two ladies as much as you can if so whilst you converse. I'd hate to hear your precious talents from all three of you go to waste. In the meanwhile, uh, me and the elf, um, we... *Awkward pause as he painfully arches his head down* Uh..." Damn it. *He looks away bashfully to reset* Not even 30 seconds into my final train of thought and I'm already suffering from a system reset! GAAAAH! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER YOU IDIOT! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU BEING BASHFUL IN FRONT OF OTHERS ESPECIALLY LADIES?! YOU'RE ONLY GONNA MAKE OTHERS SUSPICIOUS OF YOU! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT FURRY EARS?! *Snaps back to reality after insulting himself in his thoughts* "Sorry... I don't know what happened to me but uh... ok... me and the elf will stay in the shadows with the rest of the pack and will keep an eye on things until you give us the signal to go. Unless if he want to go with you guys as well... I'm ok with that too. Sounds clear? *He sternly eyes bloom's Sakura tree as hus yellow eyes squint* Unless if you have something else on your mind I hope you don't mind accompanying Alex to give out pretty flowers in reward to get them on our side. Is there anything else you want to say? We need to get moving soon."
*But his ears twitch upon hearing something that could be crucial to their success... or not. Depending on how the trio wants to tackle it...*
"Oh by the way..." I whisper to the trio. "I overheard one of them wanting to get a coffee or something, which indicates that he and the others might want to go find a place to get it... Use that to your advantage if you can."
"Sooooo just to be clear, we are going with the Venet distracts or enthralls the guards with her music while the rest of us sneak in approach? The rest of us meaning you, me and our bandit friends? If that's the case who's taking the wagon? Alex and the girls I'm assuming?" Shugo cocks his head towards the stuttering shifter. "Those three can probably walk right through without the cart, you and I are the one's that might have issues either way. I'll stick with you if that's your plan.""Plus I have my own back up plan should this go sideways..." The elf thinks to himself, "It might work better if I don't tell them about it yet...Eh, if things look like they are about to blow up with the first three, I can at least let the shifter know my plan...if it comes to that. Or, if worst comes to worst I suppose I could pull my trump card...though I really don't want to let any of these folks know about that just yet."
"They also seem bored," Alex says to Renar, clearly happy to have a plan in place. Renar might start stuttering occasionally, but it is clear that he is in his element right now. It's good to hear him talking so much after how quiet he's been so far. Alexander smiles, "Let's see how this goes!"
He looks to Venet, "Um... though perhaps I should ask... if you are unable to enthrall them, will they know that you tried to charm them? If so, how are we going to play that off?"
He looks to Shugo, "We should be able to take the cart... I mean, unless there is something illegal in there." He glances inside the cart--that hadn't even occurred to him until now. Was there anything on the boxes that could be incriminating? Probably not... but, well better safe than sorry.
"Sooooo just to be clear, we are going with the Venet distracts or enthralls the guards with her music while the rest of us sneak in approach? The rest of us meaning you, me and our bandit friends? If that's the case who's taking the wagon? Alex and the girls I'm assuming?" Shugo cocks his head towards the stuttering shifter. "Those three can probably walk right through without the cart, you and I are the one's that might have issues either way. I'll stick with you if that's your plan.""Plus I have my own back up plan should this go sideways..." The elf thinks to himself, "It might work better if I don't tell them about it yet...Eh, if things look like they are about to blow up with the first three, I can at least let the shifter know my plan...if it comes to that. Or, if worst comes to worst I suppose I could pull my trump card...though I really don't want to let any of these folks know about that just yet."
"Assuming they're still with us, we'll hang with those guys in the back plus the massive carriage we'd be hauling alongside whatever's inside it when um... whatever the three of them are up to go to plan."I clarify. "I'm still attempting to figure out how they would all be able to hide at once too should things go south but... if you have a Plan B, I would rather hear it before it's too late to do anything about it."
He looks to Shugo, "We should be able to take the cart... I mean, unless there is something illegal in there." He glances inside the cart--that hadn't even occurred to him until now. Was there anything on the boxes that could be incriminating? Probably not... but, well better safe than sorry.
Hmm... *He glances back to the cart.* He's right though. What if there's something that could hinder our progress as I had suspected in my head all along? What if... "I'm sort of certain that they don't have anything illegal but... sigh... maybe you're right. it wouldn't hurt to check with them beforehand would it?"
He looks to Shugo, "We should be able to take the cart... I mean, unless there is something illegal in there." He glances inside the cart--that hadn't even occurred to him until now. Was there anything on the boxes that could be incriminating? Probably not... but, well better safe than sorry.
Upon a closer inspection of the cart, the crates are loaded with vegetables, medicine, and tools. The People's Army mentioned that they wanted to steal from the rich and give it to the poor, and they didn't lie, all of these things are very useful in day-to-day life. However, the inside of the lid has a stamp with the signature of the Mihalovs family, once the guards open the crate, they might think it's stolen from Elmars, and they will use even the tiniest mistake as an excuse to start a fight, since the Shifter boy really, really asks for it.
A DC10 Intelligence check would reveal that:
For some reason, the Kingdom of Kerwos never made it clear how the procedure for checkpoints works, but you do know a thing or two, though.
If you are just passing through without cargo, they will ask you for a passport, it's a tiny booklet everyone gets after they become an adult. Even Renar, who wasn't from here, would have one at some point. The passport lists things such as race, birthplace, and such, and it contains a drawing of that person too, which has to match whoever is carrying it.
There is one problem, though... Renar is very suspicious right now, hoodies and trousers made for animal-like races have small openings to let tail and ears through, but he's choosing the one without it. After the Second Planetary War, people have no reason to hide their heritage anymore, in fact, people are even encouraged to display their true selves. If the guards find out Renar is hiding his ears and tail, they might think he's running away from something, since the only reason why anyone wants to conceal themselves nowadays is to escape prosecution. It's like walking into a bank with a balaclava, or wearing a Guy Fawkes mask in an IT centre.
If you are passing with a cargo, that's another problem. You'll need a cargo permit, which none of you currently have right now. If you get caught without one, you might be forced to go the other way and pay a small fine, but these three might not let you go that easily.
Perkwunosites are very accepting of foreigners, some even get excited when they see one, since it's not a major trade hub like Sehul, the two Prihyehans might not have that much trouble.
Maigurs lets out a big yawn, Norma stretches herself, Cezars inspects his sabre, and the black gryphon idly stares off in the distance. They don't show any sign of leaving this spot at all, and it's likely that they never will until their shift is over.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
Bloom listens to the group speak, they had interesting ideas, but she did not see why the burden of helping the bandits sneak past was her problem. Sure they played a game with her but why did she have to get into trouble for them? With a giggle, she skipped towards the bored guards and twirled in front of them before producing a pink passport that once opened, sent out a puff of cherry blossom petals.
”Hello! My name is Baloom, and I am the purettiest fulower in the world! What are your names?”, she says, batting her eyelashes.
After the food was cooked, the girls seemed to move on to other board games. Glorija is practising her cantrips while Helene and Lavīze are playing Mū Tōrere on the ground.
It's a classic game from Hngwis, an islandic continent Southwest of Perkwunos. The rule is very simple: there is a hexagonal board with points on each of its corners and the centre, a black and white piece takes half of the board, excluding the centre, and all pieces can move one space adjacent to it, but if only if that piece is also adjacent to the opponent's piece. Whoever can force the other player into a position where they cannot move wins.
"I have no idea what I'm doing, so... this!" Lavīze moves her black piece to the centre.
"I win." Helene moves her piece, and Lavīze throws her hands and looks to the side; she can no longer move on the board. That's what happens when the game is too new to someone.
Radions, yet again, continue to lean against the tree, completely still. Sometimes it's hard to tell if he's even here or not because he's just that quiet.
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
—Richard Dawkins
DM—Stories From The End of The World: Episode I
Bloom skitters over to the girls, watching them play curiously, her eyes quite intrigued at this board game that they seem to be enjoying. She loved games but she was more used to hide and scream, pin the wing on the pixie, or who’s the hag. This seemed quite different from what she was used to, but in a good way, she liked new ways of having fun. Without a warning, Bloom shifts into her tiefling form and jumps up and down with excitement.
”I want to pulay! I want to pulay! I want to pulay!”, she says, “I don’t know how but maybe you can teach me…if you do I’ll give you a puretty fulower”.
The Tiefling batts her eyelashes innocently, as though she was not the druid that grabbed Veno with a whip of thorns and dragged him across spikes until he was no longer concious.
Alexander blinks, surprised at the sheer amount of information Veno gave him. Then he smiles and says, "Thanks. That helps a lot. Now I'm really interested to meet this guy."
_______________
The next morning, he wakes up early and starts his usual exercise routine. Which is rather painful as he finds himself a bit stiff from sleeping in his armor. Sheesh, now he remembers why that's such a bad idea. It's cold and uncomfortable. But regardless he feels much better than he had when he went to sleep, even if he hasn't made up his mind on what to do. Now though, with the prospective meeting with Paulis he's hoping he can get some words of wisdom to help him make a decision.
"Sure! Come, Bloom, I'll teach you how to play." Helene waves her over, and the two play together for a few rounds before everyone goes to asleep. Helene does keep the flower, though, since it fits the colour of her hair very well.
You all gain the benefits of a Long Rest
3rd April -1C 4983 CY
You all wake up to the sensation of water droplets hitting your face, it's raining lightly and the sky is dark.
"Off to a great start..." Elvīns mutters under his breath. "Everyone, load your things into the mule cart, let's go before the rain gets heavier."
He hops onto the driver's seat, which is on the right side, mules are cheaper than horses, but they can carry less weight too, which means the rest of the group will have to walk. It's not that bad, you all are used to walking long distances like this all the time.
For the first few hours of the tip, there isn't anything interesting, the pines dominate the landscape, and again, there are cairns every now and then too. Veno explains that these cairns act like unmarked graves. When someone sees the dead body of an animal or an unknown person in the wild, they will bury it and put stones on top of each other so they will have a harder time digging themselves up should they get turned into undead. Most cairns here probably contain dead animals, because it's much shorter and contains less stone than the ones for people.
The rain continues to drizzle for another hour as the forest turns into clearings, and clearing turns into farmlands. On the farmlands are endless fields of plants with purple flowers, which belong to a potato plant. It'd be a beautiful sight if it isn't raining like this, but it's good for the plants and even better for farmers who no longer have to water everything.
Soon, they arrive at the 'village' of Blojas, with a population of 49, most of them are farmers who own the field you passed earlier. Calling it a village would be an overstatement because there is no tavern, barely any shops, and no town square. There aren't that many villagers outside due to the weather.
When noon arrives, the clouds disperse and Muphrid shines once again, but the rain doesn't stop yet. But you all know what happens when it's raining and the sun shines at the same time: rainbow. Unfortunately, though, the rainbow appears behind the direction you're travelling, which means no free pot of gold from a leprechaun for you... assuming you can even reach the rainbow in the first place.
The field turns into the forest again, and the journey continues. The evening remains uneventful, with occasional small talks here and there, and as Muphrid sets and Saak rises, you arrive in Lazdutebi, an actual town with a tavern this time.
For some odd reason, there are goats everywhere in this town, both inside a fenced farm and in the streets, and people here don't even bat an eye. There is even a goat inside the tavern where you sleep.
4th April -1C 4983 CY
Thankfully, Muphrid shines bright today. The party loads up everything on the cart as usual and they depart from this goat-infested town.
A few kilometres after they leave the town's vicinity, the sound of water rushing gets louder and louder, and that's when it hits them.
In front of them, about 500 ft down a hill is a bridge guarded by two figures, the one on the left is a Shifter male, he has wolf ears and his tail is black, but he has a humanoid face. The one on the right is a female gold Dragonborn, both of them are about as young as the rest of the group and are armed with a standard-issue spear and crossbow. The flag pole on the right side of the bridge is red and bears the symbol of the Duchy of Rauna: a stylised plough and three stars. None of them seems to notice the party yet.
"Crap... of course, there will be checkpoints here," Elvīns growls, the river is moving fast and the colour of the water is red, avoiding the bridge is not an option.
"Or we can just book it, drive this cart to full speed and crash into—" Right as Lavīze says that, they feel a gust of wind rushing above their head. A black gryphon with a rider, a fire Genasi, swoops down and lands in front of the two guards. It's too far to make out their expression or what they're saying, but the two seem to be much more excited after the gryphon rider comes to them. The Shifter even reaches his hand out to pet the gryphon, who seems to really enjoy it.
"Well, forget what I said, there is no running from that." Lavīze points then turn back to you five, "That's probably Elmars' soldiers, and they think we're thieves, even though we aren't!" She crosses her arms, pouting, "It's so hard dealing with those lunkheads, they never listen to what we say at all, nothing! I guess you guys might have to deal with them, we'll find somewhere to get out of their sight." After the stunt they pulled two days ago, word probably spread among Elmars' ranks that there are thieves running about, and if you are seen helping them, it might be hard to convince them that you're just their friend, not their allies... yet.
Helene places her hand over her eyes, "These guys will ask you for tolls and papers if you have cargo, and we don't really have the right documents with us. They might accept bribes... but we aren't going to fuel their corruption even further. It's up to you then, my friend, you've got this." She smiles and nods. It's showtime.
Maigurs (Shifter guard)
Norma (Dragonborn guard)
Cezars (Fire Genasi cavalier)
Felića (Black Gryphon)
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
—Richard Dawkins
DM—Stories From The End of The World: Episode I
After waking up with a sounding yawn the next day, I kept a good distance from the others for a brief moment as I adjusted my hood to make sure my fox ears don't get revealed. Knowing myself, I'm definitely a slow starter, so a morning start with a small talk is definitely not my cup of tea... oh well. At least I could help out a bit with these bandit supplies right? *He instinctively gathers alongside the other four without saying a word with his disguise still up, before he leaves in tow with the rest*
On the way down south, I didn't really interact with the others as usual, unless if they're interested in what I trying to come up to overcome possible pit holes amongst the journey. Huh? The water's all red. Urgh. A blood river? Or is that the water's natural colour?! *He sniffs the air for few seconds before gagging once he recognises the smell from the river* Ulp... nevermind... I smell stench from there... Dang it... That aside, the thought of having to traverse with temporary bandits on our side gives me mixed emotions... *He adjusts his katana as his attention turns back to the front of the gate, where the two guards were standing. At least until... the Fire Genasi rider arrived and his fox ears twitched in disapproval* Right. Of course there has to be these numbskulls blocking our way, not that I was expecting any less but still... *He enters scout whilst he ducks behind a tree where the rest are standing as his eyes visibly blink whilst he scans* I'm more worried about that stupid Sakura girl prancing into the midst of chaos and throwing us all into combat again without our approval. *He gestures Bloom not to dive head first and stay with the group instead*
Hmm... So there are two guards there. There's an obvious dragonborn but the other one... is he... *Gasps* no way! Another fox boy just like me...? No wait... *He eyes at the wolf boy closer and frowns* No he's a wolf. Damn I got too excited; I thought he was another kitsune just like me but his ears appear to be larger. And his tail is a lot more ragged. Eh. I guess we could take on head first which ironically isn't something I would dare to do myself. Or at least, until that beast I've never seen before arriving with... huh?!
Wait... *He stares at the Fire Genasi rider and instantly suffers from a panic attack; He thought it's was his friend and leader, who is also a Fire Genasi himself. But then he rapidly shakes his head to snap out of it* No! That's not Rixi! That's not even close to the blazing armour he's wearing right now! And he's not wielding a double-bladed glaive! He's sort of into animals but is never into riding them! GAH! What on earth are you thinking?! I take a moment to stare at the sky, before I return my sense back to the present moment and regroup with the other four who seem really impatient to rip and tear those guys down. Or at least, that's what I thought. I'm a terrible emotion reader...
"Alright... I'm obviously not gonna consider using brute force to make things go our way this time. Not when we're all trying to go undercover behind the stupid birdbrain's back. But... if anyone has some ideas of how do deal with them, go ahead. I'm willing to listen to them before I say mine. I speak up. Whilst I didn't say anything else after that, I made sure to listen to what the others had to say first before I spoke my mind out. I was expecting this kind of problem to surface when we left this place anyways, though the thought that concerns me the most is if everyone agrees to stuck with either of the ideas we had brainstormed together.
*Once everyone has finished he will say his part in the spoiler.*
"Oh nice. I actually like what you all suggested and I have a rough idea of how each one of them could work in some way. As for mine though, if that wolf boy and dragonborn were the only ones present, a silent ambush would have been my Plan A. But... since whatever that monstrosity has arrived, that's out of the question, as with stupidly ramming the cart into them." *He takes a moment to look at his spell book and the first idea that's been jotted down* "So here's my Plan B: I'd say we can trick them into thinking that, seeing that we don't appear to be the actual culprits, we can trick them into thinking that we're the new guards or something and that we can take over the post for them; We need the others out of our sight though if they're not though. Regardless, if it's successful, I'm thinking the three of them could hop onto that... um... owl... bear um... ah whatever. Those three would hop on and fly back to wherever the latter came from whilst they leave us to 'guard' the place from our current allies. If they still don't leave though..." *Again he looks back on his gigantic book that was stuffed in his back* "Uh... well, I guess could perhaps conjure something to lure them out of the place once we assure to them that we are capable of holding the place for them. It's a rough idea but that um... that doesn't mean we can add some things to it to improve our chances. The thing is though, we need us just the five of us to be present and no one else whilst this is happening... but the cart though... how do we..." I felt fine when it came to discussing this out loud with the others. At least, well... *Realises how long he talked for as his eyes widen* I stare at the others all of a sudden when I realised that I rambled on for too long. I forgot that this wasn't the Wildland Shifters I was talking to...
"Um... I t-t... I-I talked too much didn't I? *His face reddens a little as he looks away* S-s-s-sorry... It's just... when it comes to these things I lose myself in how to get out of them... It's basically what I've gotten used to during my days as a warrior... but um... I'm also trying to... um, factor in how long they might be gone for... if we have to distract them. And especially if that owl thing is left behind with us in a hungry state. Uh... I-I mean..."
I didn't really say anything else as I awkwardly withdraw from the others again... But still, even though I've suggested my idea, I don't plan to go any further until we've all come to a unified decision. At the moment, I still don't know what each and every one of us is capable of, especially when we're caught in a 'man in the middle' situation.
The Wildland Shifters
Daisy Ethalena - Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer)
Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade)
Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer (Clockwork Soul); Lancea
Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea
Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars)
Yurime Hanasaki - Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
Venet has a drowsy smile that rises onto her face as the rain begins. This puts her in a nice mood for the day, often looking up towards the sky with her eyes closed during the day to catch more rain. She's more talkative today, chatting to whomever or just talking in general to no one in particular.
During their tavern stays she does a performance or two, earning at least herself free room and board.
Upon seeing the checkpoint she isn't worried about getting past it.
"I can try to enthrall them with a song."
Shugo is up and about earlier than just about everyone else. He is an elf after all, he doesn't need as much rest as the others. Unfortunately, this means he was incredibly bored for the three or so hours before everyone else got up. He spends a small amount of time practicing his forms, but he doesn't really want the others seeing him. No point in making them think he's a diligent, hard worker. That would only make them expect more of him. So, he spends the rest of his time cleaning his scimitar and polishing the bronze dragon engraved hilt.
Once the others wake, he sheaths the blade and joins the others for breakfast. Bloom sure seems to be in a better mood. Perhaps playing that strange game did her some good.
The road to Lazbutebi is...less than enjoyable. Gah! Rain! Being wet absolutely sucks. UGH. The elf trudges along, looking pathetic with his wet black bangs clinging to his face. He squints at every goat they pass. Man, what is with these people and their goats? Weird.
Shugo looks a lot better after leaving the goat infested town. Though his smile fades upon seeing the guards. Great, that's just great. He's a foreigner traveling with a bunch of wanted bandits and another foreigner. Of course no one has the proper documentation.
He laughs when Lavize speaks up. "Hahah, I mean, you kinda are thieves. You might not have bad intentions, but stealing is stealing, even if you're taking from someone who deserves it." His tone does not sound accusatory in the slightest, he's simply stating a fact. The elf cocks his head when the bandits say they will get out of sight. "If you do that how are you going to get in there?" He shrugs. "I mean, we could always just act like we are doing our job. We are supposed to capture you, and Elmars didn't want us to take you to any prison. We were supposed to hold you until he returned. We could just tell the guards we are playing you. Pretending to work with you until Birdie Boy returns, then we will actually capture you and turn you in. That way we don't have to treat you as prisoners. We are just gaining your trust. The more you trust us the more info you'll give us after all. Maybe we are trying to REALLY impress Elmars by discovering the location of your base." He shrugs again. "Just a thought."
He turns and listens to both Venet and Renar. "Hmmm. The problem with Enthralling them, or telling them we are replacement guards is this. If we trick them, they will find out eventually and that will make us suspicious to Birdie Boy. We are a pretty recognizable group ya know. If these people are working for him, they should know that he sent someone out to catch the bandits. If that's what we are doing, then why should we need to trick them? Making some sort of distraction and sneaking past them could work, IF we can make through without being seen. And, as we know, not all of us are stealthy." He puts his hands behind his head and stretches. "My previous suggestion has just as many risks as well. In fact if we tried it in it's entirety it would be the most risky of all of them as we would be in direct contact with the people we are supposed to be capturing. However, if we don't want to take that risk, we could still go in separately and still tell the guards that we are working for Elmars. With my obvious foreign heritage, they should not be surprised that I don't have the proper documents and I'm just another adventurer hoping to find my fortune in the ruins." He glances at Renar, "That latter part applies to you as well....Oh and that thing is a Griffin." Geeze what is with this guy? There's no reason to be embarrassed for brainstorming. His ideas are perfectly logical, even if they have some holes. No plan can be completely flawless after all. There will always be SOMETHING that can completely throw it off the rails.
He loops his thumbs in his belt and looks at the others smiling. "Well, those are my thoughts anyway."
"Well, my song's effects last about an hour, and any of them that it does effect will be inclined to help me and hinder those that get in my way. Even if it works on one of them it should be enough to turn the tide in our favor, right? After that it should be pretty easy to get them to wave any friends of mine through. But your idea isn't bad either, Shugo."
"That's true. I almost forgot that almost all of us are foreign outsiders, so it might be more difficult to convince them that we we actually hired by Elmars himself given the fact that they will recognise our accents. Besides, pretending to capture the bandits we've befriended is indeed a huge risk; I'm more concerned that those three will immediately transport them to a well guarded cell in an instant if we do so, and that's not the go-to plan when we have plentiful amounts of time before bird brain returns." I reply back with my terrible attempts to replicate the people's accents here as usual. In way, I'm actually kind of glad that everyone's here to troubleshoot what we've given to each other. And hey! A massive improvement from our first encounter! "I'm aware that not everyone, especially Alex, can stealth. But, I'm not saying that we should all do so either. Besides, other than the edges of the bridges and the forest canopies, I don't really see the point of all of us going rogue at once." I then hear Shugo saying that half of us should distract them whilst the rest work to keep an eye on the bandits. Honestly, that's a pretty respectable suggestion. But as with everything, the good always comes with the bad. And It's my job to rectify the latter especially when the pit holes strike us out of the blue; My role as a critical thinker, to help lead my groups to success.
I hear the pretty mermaid girl speak her suggestion, and once again, another idea that's definitely worth considering, but I still can't bear to look at her in the eye... am I really that weak willed? Or is she just too captivating for me? I can't tell. Anyways... "Um... well... An hour would be more than enough to enable the others to get past, but just remember that we have a massive cart behind our backs as well, so there is a huge risk of us being easily identified as the criminals they're supposed to catch... I'm not saying it's not going to work but I'm trying to figure out how to mitigate the flaws on our own. Hmm... Well, obviously I cannot talk my way into things so... um... uh... yeah. *His eyes flicker nervously* So this the plan I have worked out far... um... maybe, whoever is willing to converse, assure them that you're anything other than the culprits obviously uh... um..." Man this feels so nerve wracking! I don't even know if I'm pointing this out right or not! "...And take advantage of um... *He points to Venet* ...her... music... *Awkward silence* ...sorry, and gain the upper hand in thinking that you can be trusted. " *He deliberately attempts to trigger Bloom's thinking with this sentence* Maybe give them a fruit or a pretty flower or something for actually listening to our helpful statements as a reward. I'm still open to tweaks but I honestly like what you all have suggested; I can definitely picture how things are going to work out. I'm glad we're able to get somewhere at least... What about you two?" *He shifts his gaze to Alex and Bloom (her Sakura tree actually)* I should wait for what Alex and Bloom might have to say first before we initiate this together. But in the meanwhile...
"A... griffin? R-r-right..." I mutter with absolute confusion. "Hm... How... how aggressive can they get? Maybe we could trick the beast into attacking its own men should our first plan in becoming friendly adventurers/pretend guards fail...?"
The Wildland Shifters
Daisy Ethalena - Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer)
Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade)
Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer (Clockwork Soul); Lancea
Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea
Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars)
Yurime Hanasaki - Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
"These all sound like good plans," Alex says thoughtfully. "But Renar is right, pretending that we are keeping our new friends as uh... hostages, probably would backfire in some way. Plus, if we want to remain at least semi-neutral for now, and Elmars figured out that we were bluffing, that would basically be announcing to him whose side we took." He hesitates, "I'm not sure about the distraction idea, but I think it's the best we've got. But..." He glances at Venet and Bloom, "Shouldn't us three be able to get in? I mean... we might not be from this area but we are from this country. We could go in together and then figure out a way to get everyone else in from the inside. We might even be able to get Shugo and Renar in too if we play it right. Then we can help the others get in afterwards?"
He looks at the Griffon, "I... don't think that we would be able to get the griffin to turn on its owners. I'd imagine it's pretty loyal considering its behavior, and they are quite intelligent."
He laughs, "But I've also never done anything like this before, so there are probably tons of things I'm overlooking."
"Oh! I could also make a fog cloud. That would disguise the cart a bit right? Then they wouldnt be able to give a good description later when my song's effects end."
She's fairly confident that her song will work, and that they are all worrying over nothing.
As you slowly walk towards the checkpoint, you can see their expressions and hear them more clearly.
"Ugh... Soooo boring!" The wolf Shifter says, slumping. "I'm supposed to beat up bandits, not standing still for twelve hours!" His ears droop.
The dragonborn crosses her arms, leaning against the bridge, "That's life, Maigurs. It's a lot like a custard bun: you have to bite through a stale, tasteless outer layer first until you get to the sweet, juicy filling... except the filling is about the size of a pea and the bread is as big as a house." Her tail sways idly.
"Saying that makes me hungry, Norma, but I want a cup of coffee more than anything else right now." He whines, "But that doesn't cure my boredom, does it? Can someone, anyone attack us already?"
"Te cjuidado qwe tu põr desiér, lobo." The black gryphon chirps.
"She says 'Be careful what you wish for, wolf.'" The fire Genasi on the gryphon's back translates, "Your brother would be very disappointed and concerned if you lost the fight and ended up limping back home in a crutch." He comments, idly petting the gryphon's neck.
"I know what I'm doing, Cezars, I never lose a fight." Maigurs lays down his spear and kicks it up, he was supposed to catch it mid-air, but it hits his face instead, "Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow..." He rubs his nose.
Norma laughs, "Do you want to fight so much you start hitting yourself?"
Maigurs grunts, "Sort of, I would definitely want to fight with myself if someone knows a spell that can clone me... by the way, are you strong or are you weak if you defeat the clone of yourself?"
The three guards and the gryphon continue to chat among themselves about random things, with Cezars occasionally providing translation when the black gryphon wants to join in the conversation.
It's time for our protagonists to act.
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
—Richard Dawkins
DM—Stories From The End of The World: Episode I
"I guess that's settled; Deception it is then. And possibly some food for the... griffin, just in case." I reply after hearing Alex and the gorgeous Venet finish voicing their ideas. Now that everyone is almost contempt except one, because... I notice Little Miss Impatient Sakura Tree is still fidgety about this and hasn't spoken since we all left... Oh well. "Ok... *Clears his throat before turning to Alex* Alex, you already know what I'm assigning you as and with right? Make sure to back up the two ladies as much as you can if so whilst you converse. I'd hate to hear your precious talents from all three of you go to waste. In the meanwhile, uh, me and the elf, um, we... *Awkward pause as he painfully arches his head down* Uh..." Damn it. *He looks away bashfully to reset* Not even 30 seconds into my final train of thought and I'm already suffering from a system reset! GAAAAH! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER YOU IDIOT! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU BEING BASHFUL IN FRONT OF OTHERS ESPECIALLY LADIES?! YOU'RE ONLY GONNA MAKE OTHERS SUSPICIOUS OF YOU! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT FURRY EARS?! *Snaps back to reality after insulting himself in his thoughts* "Sorry... I don't know what happened to me but uh... ok... me and the elf will stay in the shadows with the rest of the pack and will keep an eye on things until you give us the signal to go. Unless if he want to go with you guys as well... I'm ok with that too. Sounds clear? *He sternly eyes bloom's Sakura tree as hus yellow eyes squint* Unless if you have something else on your mind I hope you don't mind accompanying Alex to give out pretty flowers in reward to get them on our side. Is there anything else you want to say? We need to get moving soon."
*But his ears twitch upon hearing something that could be crucial to their success... or not. Depending on how the trio wants to tackle it...*
"Oh by the way..." I whisper to the trio. "I overheard one of them wanting to get a coffee or something, which indicates that he and the others might want to go find a place to get it... Use that to your advantage if you can."
The Wildland Shifters
Daisy Ethalena - Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer)
Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade)
Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer (Clockwork Soul); Lancea
Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea
Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars)
Yurime Hanasaki - Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
"Sooooo just to be clear, we are going with the Venet distracts or enthralls the guards with her music while the rest of us sneak in approach? The rest of us meaning you, me and our bandit friends? If that's the case who's taking the wagon? Alex and the girls I'm assuming?" Shugo cocks his head towards the stuttering shifter. "Those three can probably walk right through without the cart, you and I are the one's that might have issues either way. I'll stick with you if that's your plan." "Plus I have my own back up plan should this go sideways..." The elf thinks to himself, "It might work better if I don't tell them about it yet...Eh, if things look like they are about to blow up with the first three, I can at least let the shifter know my plan...if it comes to that. Or, if worst comes to worst I suppose I could pull my trump card...though I really don't want to let any of these folks know about that just yet."
Venet has her violin at the ready.
"If I get them enthralled they'll be our friends, so we wont need to sneak."
"They also seem bored," Alex says to Renar, clearly happy to have a plan in place. Renar might start stuttering occasionally, but it is clear that he is in his element right now. It's good to hear him talking so much after how quiet he's been so far. Alexander smiles, "Let's see how this goes!"
He looks to Venet, "Um... though perhaps I should ask... if you are unable to enthrall them, will they know that you tried to charm them? If so, how are we going to play that off?"
He looks to Shugo, "We should be able to take the cart... I mean, unless there is something illegal in there." He glances inside the cart--that hadn't even occurred to him until now. Was there anything on the boxes that could be incriminating? Probably not... but, well better safe than sorry.
"Assuming they're still with us, we'll hang with those guys in the back plus the massive carriage we'd be hauling alongside whatever's inside it when um... whatever the three of them are up to go to plan." I clarify. "I'm still attempting to figure out how they would all be able to hide at once too should things go south but... if you have a Plan B, I would rather hear it before it's too late to do anything about it."
Hmm... *He glances back to the cart.* He's right though. What if there's something that could hinder our progress as I had suspected in my head all along? What if... "I'm sort of certain that they don't have anything illegal but... sigh... maybe you're right. it wouldn't hurt to check with them beforehand would it?"
The Wildland Shifters
Daisy Ethalena - Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer)
Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade)
Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer (Clockwork Soul); Lancea
Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea
Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars)
Yurime Hanasaki - Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
"They'll have no idea I tried anything." She flashes a smile.
Upon a closer inspection of the cart, the crates are loaded with vegetables, medicine, and tools. The People's Army mentioned that they wanted to steal from the rich and give it to the poor, and they didn't lie, all of these things are very useful in day-to-day life. However, the inside of the lid has a stamp with the signature of the Mihalovs family, once the guards open the crate, they might think it's stolen from Elmars, and they will use even the tiniest mistake as an excuse to start a fight, since the Shifter boy really, really asks for it.
A DC10 Intelligence check would reveal that:
For some reason, the Kingdom of Kerwos never made it clear how the procedure for checkpoints works, but you do know a thing or two, though.
If you are just passing through without cargo, they will ask you for a passport, it's a tiny booklet everyone gets after they become an adult. Even Renar, who wasn't from here, would have one at some point. The passport lists things such as race, birthplace, and such, and it contains a drawing of that person too, which has to match whoever is carrying it.
There is one problem, though... Renar is very suspicious right now, hoodies and trousers made for animal-like races have small openings to let tail and ears through, but he's choosing the one without it. After the Second Planetary War, people have no reason to hide their heritage anymore, in fact, people are even encouraged to display their true selves. If the guards find out Renar is hiding his ears and tail, they might think he's running away from something, since the only reason why anyone wants to conceal themselves nowadays is to escape prosecution. It's like walking into a bank with a balaclava, or wearing a Guy Fawkes mask in an IT centre.
If you are passing with a cargo, that's another problem. You'll need a cargo permit, which none of you currently have right now. If you get caught without one, you might be forced to go the other way and pay a small fine, but these three might not let you go that easily.
Perkwunosites are very accepting of foreigners, some even get excited when they see one, since it's not a major trade hub like Sehul, the two Prihyehans might not have that much trouble.
Maigurs lets out a big yawn, Norma stretches herself, Cezars inspects his sabre, and the black gryphon idly stares off in the distance. They don't show any sign of leaving this spot at all, and it's likely that they never will until their shift is over.
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
—Richard Dawkins
DM—Stories From The End of The World: Episode I
Bloom listens to the group speak, they had interesting ideas, but she did not see why the burden of helping the bandits sneak past was her problem. Sure they played a game with her but why did she have to get into trouble for them? With a giggle, she skipped towards the bored guards and twirled in front of them before producing a pink passport that once opened, sent out a puff of cherry blossom petals.
”Hello! My name is Baloom, and I am the purettiest fulower in the world! What are your names?”, she says, batting her eyelashes.