Intelligence check as Renar paces towards the items in the cart: 14 + 4 = 18
"I checked. They don't have anything suspicious other than simple medicine kits, food and the like. But since we don't have permits, this will be indeed a risky maneuvere." I confirm with the others if they could hear my soft voice. "That aside, unless if- *Notices Bloom has scampered off without Venet and Alex* Crap I should have seen this coming! Alex and the other lady! Go and backup Sakura quickly before things spiral out of control! Let's move!"
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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)
"Uh... yeah!"Alex says, glancing at the cart before taking off after Venet. It would probably be better to avoid bringing the cart... but arent they supposed to be bringing it in anyways? Hopefully Venet can get the guards on their side. Once he approaches them he smiles broadly and as genuinely as usual, "Hi!"He glances at Venet and Bloom, waiting on pulling out his passport to see what they do.
Maigurs snaps awake from his trance yet again, his ears perk up after hearing the sound of walking, only to sigh in disappointment as the person he sees isn't a bandit, but a little girl.
The black gryphon seems to take extra interest in the girl, though. Cezars wordlessly command his mount to move forward "Olá, nenihä! Tu muxo belhõ, como vai?" The gryphon says, she would be smiling right now if she had a normal mouth instead of a beak.
"She says: 'Hello, little girl. You look very beautiful today, how are you doing?'" The fire Genasi on the gryphon's back translates.
The gryphon rubs her head against Bloom's body, that's how gryphons and hippogriffs greet each other in the wild. Her feathers are very, very soft, and she even makes a small rumbling sound, "É gosta tu ähora, Felića me nome!" She gently taps her head with the blunt side of her claw.
"I like you already, my name is Felića..."The fire Gensai side-eyes, "Well, that's not actually my name, it's her name, my mount's name. Don't ask me, animals usually name themselves as soon as they learn how to speak Alharisian, they have a unique 'culture,' if there is even one in the first place."
Norma laughs, "Did she speak all of that with just a few sentences?"
"Only the first one, don't you notice a pause when I'm speaking? Or is your head filled with so much sand you can't simply put two and two together?" Cezars crosses his arms, puffing out a smoke.
As the rest of the party eventually approaches, though, the three straightens up. "Stop where you are going, you four!" Cezars shouts a command from his mount's back, just like a drill sergeant would do with new recruits "All of you, make a horizontal line, NOW!"
"You should stand back, kid, they're about to do an inspection, we will get to you later." Norma gently grabs Bloom's arm and pulls her to the side, at least she is spared from what's about to come because it seems that these three don't think she is old enough for this.
Once you approach the guards, Cezars' mount prances around you four, "Remove your backpacks, armour, and overcoat—and I'm talking especially about YOU!" He points at Renar, "Seriously? Wearing a jacket and a hoodie in Summer? Either you come from a Dhegom, you have brain damage, or you are hiding something!" Dhegom is a continent south of Sehul, filled with savannahs, badlands, and jungles.
Before you can even do anything, though, Cezars yells once again. "TOO SLOW! Even a flail snail can move faster than you, FIFTY PUSH-UPS, NOW!"
"That's enough, Cezars." A voice calls out behind him, and soon enough, the Shifter boy from earlier stands between you and the mounted man. "Seriously, dude? A few hours ago, you punched that old fisher lady because her passport expired two days ago, and now you're forcing a bunch of tourists to exercise? Aren't we supposed to protect and serve, not harass and destroy?" His ears stand erect and his tail is straight, from what you saw earlier, you thought he'd be a happy-go-lucky type of guy, but it's clear he's willing to stand for what he believes is right.
"Are you threatening me, recruit? Your brother will hear about this!" The fire on Cezars' head flares up.
"Yeah? If he hears about this, he will beat you into a pulp, he doesn't tolerate a bully like you!"Maigurs balls his hands into a fist.
"Finalé aventaciá, filxote. Va amborä!" The gryphon growls, snapping her beak.
"Final warning, pup, back off!" Cezars grabs the hilt of his sabre, "You want to fight so much? Bring it, I won't be paying for your medical expenses!"
It's clear as day that Maigurs is no match for Cezars because one of them has a mount that can fly, and the other is just a ground-based troop, cannon fodder for cavalries like him. Nonetheless, the wolf boy slowly pulls out the spear from his back.
You can either intervene or you can watch them fight... or maybe you can even start a fight since all the armour and everything is still with you.
"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."
Shugo watches blankly when Bloom seems to teleport over to the guards. That girl just can't keep herself out of trouble can she. He sighs and glances at Renar, "Well my previous plan B was to run frantically towards them and pretend I was being chased by bandits. I've pleaded with them to go beat them up and we could have gone by when they were distracted. They seemed to be looking for a fight so I thought they might settle for a wild goose chase instead. Buuuut now that the first part of the plan is messed up I'm not sure how that would go." He scratches his head, "Well, I guess I do have another plan B..." He sighs. If he has to show his passport, these guards are going to know exactly who he is. That means that the others will as well. "Well I might not have a choice." He does not elaborate as he follows the shifter towards the guards.
Shugo cocks his head as one guard starts shouting orders while another pulls Bloom to the side. Huh, spare one kid and not the other then? Why's that? Oh maybe because Alex is in armor. Heh, to bad for him.
His eyes widen with surprise when the fire genasi and the wolf boy start their confrontation. For several moments, he considers just letting the fight go on. Buuuut with the fire guy at the advantage, he's not sure that's a good idea. The wolf boy seems way more reasonable.
Mind made up, Shugo unbuckles his sword from his belt and tosses the still sheathed blade between the two guards. "Hey Hey hey! I thought you were supposed to be coworkers!Besides, you have much more important things to worry about." He rummages around for his passport. "First off, My name is Shugo Ryu. Seventh son of House Ryu. If you don't know who I am eh, whatever. According to this I'm a noble, so if something happens to me well I don't really know what my family would do." He waves his passport stating the fact rather dismissively. "Settle down and we can have a civil conversation." He yawns, clearly unconcerned about what is going on.
Venet eyes widen at the sudden shift, and her hand going in an attempt to keep Bloom at her side, but the girl is tugged away from her. Then she turns her head in disbelief as Shugo raises his passport, declaring his royalty. Am I dreaming right now?
She isn't sure what to do in this situation so just hopes the guards listen to Shugo.
Shugo watches blankly when Bloom seems to teleport over to the guards. That girl just can't keep herself out of trouble can she. He sighs and glances at Renar, "Well my previous plan B was to run frantically towards them and pretend I was being chased by bandits. I've pleaded with them to go beat them up and we could have gone by when they were distracted. They seemed to be looking for a fight so I thought they might settle for a wild goose chase instead. Buuuut now that the first part of the plan is messed up I'm not sure how that would go." He scratches his head, "Well, I guess I do have another plan B..." He sighs. If he has to show his passport, these guards are going to know exactly who he is. That means that the others will as well. "Well I might not have a choice." He does not elaborate as he follows the shifter towards the guards.
Crap! How did they spot us hiding in the thickets?! Did I miscalculate the forest density or something? Or are their eyes are sharper than I thought?! Or maybe it was Sakura-chan... UGH! Either way I was already expecting a pit hole to hit us at some point but not THIS early...! "Yeah no... that's already out of the question now that they've spotted us..." I reply with a hunch. "Hopefully those ladies can still do their job... otherwise we're going with Plan B..." Yep... that's right: convince them that we're nothing but extra guards on the way to help these merchants who are 'affiliated' with Duke Elmars. Unless if the girls can somehow get Plan A to work still... *He turns to the bandits* "You guys, do whatever you can to stay in the shadows. We'll handle this."
"Only the first one, don't you notice a pause when I'm speaking? Or is your head filled with so much sand you can't simply put two and two together?" Cezars crosses his arms, puffing out a smoke.
As the rest of the party eventually approaches, though, the three straightens up. "Stop where you are going, you four!" Cezars shouts a command from his mount's back, just like a drill sergeant would do with new recruits "All of you, make a horizontal line, NOW!"
"You should stand back, kid, they're about to do an inspection, we will get to you later." Norma gently grabs Bloom's arm and pulls her to the side, at least she is spared from what's about to come because it seems that these three don't think she is old enough for this.
Once you approach the guards, Cezars' mount prances around you four, "Remove your backpacks, armour, and overcoat—and I'm talking especially about YOU!" He points at Renar, "Seriously? Wearing a jacket and a hoodie in Summer? Either you come from a Dhegom, you have brain damage, or you are hiding something!" Dhegom is a continent south of Sehul, filled with savannahs, badlands, and jungles.
Geez what is wrong with this guy? Why is his attitude so downright dirty like a bottom of a dumpster barrel? But...even so, removing my disguise in front of people I hardly know is defnitely not the way to go; I've been long discriminated by other races outside of humans for so long, I don't want to make the same mistake again. Anyways...
"I suggest you watch your words there, sir... You can't always expect to be the mountain that towers over everything else." I scowl with a low, but not-so-threatening (yet) voice as I showed them my yellow passport that I somehow got whilst ending up there; Hopefully they won't know that my fox ears are absent from the picture inside... "And... if I was hiding something, I wouldn't be hiding it in front of you nor this lone wolf here would I? What makes you think that we're your targets and not just trying to guide these travelling merchants to the right path who in turn, will help the people that are affiliated with the Duke huh? What wrong with us trying to complete what the Duke tasked us to do whilst he's away? "Should we perhaps relive your positions as the guards of this post then? Because Elmars actually appointed all of us as newly trained guards too to look after this area! Yes, even a noble like him. He trusts that we all can do this job well behind his back."I don't know what I'm saying and I doubt this works, but I wonder what excuse they can conjure one I asked them this silly question.
"Also... you have a problem with my drip, kind sir? Or do I have to make an excuse about how out-of-touch you look in that silly clothing of yours too, in comparison to this poor fellow here who's just doing his job?" I reply with a very offended look, hoping that he will take my fashion sense very seriously just so to keep my true identity being discovered to these strangers for as long as possible.
"That's enough, Cezars." A voice calls out behind him, and soon enough, the Shifter boy from earlier stands between you and the mounted man. "Seriously, dude? A few hours ago, you punched that old fisher lady because her passport expired two days ago, and now you're forcing a bunch of tourists to exercise? Aren't supposed to protect and serve, not harass and destroy?" His ears stand erect and his tail is straight, from what you saw earlier, you thought he'd be a happy-go-lucky type of guy, but it's clear he's willing to stand for what he believes is right.
Wait what?! WHAT... DID I JUST HEAR?! *His pants increase slightly as his yellow eyes change from a squint to wide circles in shock* Did I just... did he punch an old lady for an expired passport?! *As soon as that was mentioned, Renar finally snaps out of his trance and his eyes squint again but with anger* No... that is definitely not him; The real Rixian will never punch a lady just for some stupid reason like that. What the heck! If that was my real friend, he would have tossed him into the Underdark to suffer at the hands of the Dark Elves and possibly things worse than that. And what's Alex and the two girls doing?! Aren't they suppose to initiate whatever they've thought of?! Argh! No... calm down, calm down Raiden... *He closes his eyes for a brief moment* Don't... let yourself... it's not worth it...
"Are you threatening me, recruit? Your brother will hear about this!" The fire on Cezars' head flares up.
"Yeah? If he hears about this, he will beat you into a pulp, he doesn't tolerate a bully like you!"Maigurs balls his hands into a fist.
"Finalé aventaciá, filxote. Va amborä!" The gryphon growls, snapping her beak.
"Final warning, pup, back off!" Cezars grabs the hilt of his sabre, "You want to fight so much? Bring it, I won't be paying for your medical expenses!"
It's clear as day that Maigurs is no match for Cezars because one of them has a mount that can fly, and the other is just a ground-based troop, cannon fodder for cavalries like him. Nonetheless, the wolf boy slowly pulls out the spear from his back.
You can either intervene or you can watch them fight... or maybe you can even start a fight since all the armour and everything is still with you.
*I don't intend on metagaming or anything but If the Fire Genasi does try to strike the poor wolf boy, Renar will block the attack with his katana still in its sheath without retaliating; He doesn't intend on starting a fight in the place anyways. If the Fire Genasi doesn't strike he will stand in front of Maigurs with both hands up and one of them with his passport just in case*
Oh great, another fight's about to break out, just when I don't want it to happen, ugh! But... *He opens his eyes again and glances at Maigurs who is noticeably quivering* ...this poor wolfie doesn't stand a chance, I already know. The actual Rixian taught me how to tell if my suspected opponents are skilled or just amateurs just by looking at their stances. And obviously, wolfie stand zero chances of beating 'Rixi' even when that griffin thing isn't in the way, judging by the way he's hunched over with his polearm as his heavy breaths of concern.
"Stop it. NOW! We never came here to start a fight in the first place. But, I also gotta ask..." I command the two as I presented them with my passport whilst trying to process another maneuverer in my head.
"Is it... is it true though... that you assaulted an old lady... on behalf of Duke Elmar's authority?! Is that what he permitted you to do? Are you insane?!" I snarl with ferocious intent, though I'm praying that this doesn't go into a fallout like I hoped to avoid. "The Fluffy Wolf guard is right. I thought that being the royal guards, you guys would have at least some code of honour that you need to obey, even when Elmars is absent from this country!"
Mind made up, Shugo unbuckles his sword from his belt and tosses the still sheathed blade between the two guards. "Hey Hey hey! I thought you were supposed to be coworkers!Besides, you have much more important things to worry about." He rummages around for his passport. "First off, My name is Shugo Ryu. Seventh son of House Ryu. If you don't know who I am eh, whatever. According to this I'm a noble, so if something happens to me well I don't really know what my family would do." He waves his passport stating the fact rather dismissively. "Settle down and we can have a civil conversation." He yawns, clearly unconcerned about what is going on.
Oh great... Even Shugo huh? Why is he so content on giving up his passport when we are just trying to act like we are royal guards?! *His panting becomes more intense as he gestures Venet to come back and begin whatever her intentions were; He wants to let his feral instincts run loose so bad and teach this 'Rixi' guy a lesson, only thing is, he might risk himself and his teammates the mission if he does so* Lady... um... I don't know how long me and Shugo can stall them for, let alone know what your original intention was but... if you're still planning on showing us what you can do to ease this, you better do something fast... NOW! (Finally I know what his name is ugh... and... Ryu... that sounds familiar...)
She shakes her head slightly, coming back to her senses and nodding, more to herself than them. She brings her viol up and begins to play, the music has the same ethereal quality as it did before but now it seems magnified somehow and those around her feel drawn to her. Enthralling Performance: Wisdom Save, DC 14
Alex stands in shock, staring for a moment before shaking his head and walking forward, "Hey, thanks for standing up for us and all, but isn't fighting each other a bit much?" He says mostly to the wolf shifter. "We really don't want to cause any trouble, and..."he looks at Renar, almost telling them that 'he's just shy that's why he's got his hood up and stuff' but then isn't sure if that would help anything or accomplish anything other than embarrassing his friend and making the genasi guard more suspicious. Did the guy really punch an old woman? Well, in that case he isn't sure he should stop this fight, but at the same time this definitely isn't the place for it. If there really were bandits--not the people's army--who were looking for a chance to push through, a fight between the guards would give them the perfect option.
Then Venet starts playing her viol and he backs off, hoping that this will end smoothly.
Still... Shugo's a noble? That... well he doesn't know how to react to that revelation.
She shakes her head slightly, coming back to her senses and nodding, more to herself than them. She brings her viol up and begins to play, the music has the same ethereal quality as it did before but now it seems magnified somehow and those around her feel drawn to her. Enthralling Performance: Wisdom Save, DC 14
Maigurs: 3
Norma: 1
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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."
The bandits are already hiding up on the hill, it's hard to see their expression, but they are probably safe.
Seeing that everyone seems to be against him, Cezars grit his teeth. As much as he wants to turn Maigurs into a skewered wolf, he can't do it, because that means they will win and he will lose. "Tch... watch your tail, Maigurs. The next time I see you all, you're getting disciplined." He whips his rein, and his gryphon spreads her wings and flies off immediately, kicking a cloud of dust in the general area.
Maigurs cover his eyes for a moment, before pulling back, wiping a sweat from his forehead. "Phew, crisis averted."
"Should we perhaps relive your positions as the guards of this post then? Because Elmars actually appointed all of us as newly trained guards too to look after this area! Yes, even a noble like him. He trusts that we all can do this job well behind his back."I don't know what I'm saying and I doubt this works, but I wonder what excuse they can conjure one I asked them this silly question.
Renar technically didn't lie, they were appointed by Elmars as a guard, just with potential prisoners instead of a traditional town guard like them, but that didn't exactly convince Maigurs, though. "If I were you, I'd resign immediately, this job isn't well paid and they don't have an insurance plan in case you get injured in combat or anything like that." He chuckles, his tail wagging.
Eventually, Norma lets Bloom go, and Maigurs continues, "Sorry about that, guys. That's Cezars, he's a bit... eccentric, to put it lightly. He's always looking for a fight... Well, I do too, actually, but I don't go around and scream at people's faces like that. I'm Maigurs, by the way." He takes your passport and begins inspecting them one by one.
"Let's see here... Aleksan... uhh... I'm not pronouncing that one." He traces his finger on Alex's passport, "Aasimar? Wow, I haven't seen your kind in such a long time!" He clasps his hands, his tail wagging. "We have a messenger of God among us, can you tell Him to send down lightning on Cezars' house?"
He takes a look at Shugo's passport, "Shugo... wait, you're a noble? And you're a Prihyehan too? That's awesome!" His tail wags even faster, "Elmars would love to chat with you, he's always looking for a new alliance, especially in a faraway place like Prihyeh!"
Next is Bloom, Maigurs' tail fluffs up a bit when a petal of flower shoots in his face, but he doesn't say anything other than that. After a while, he speaks up, "Hmm... Bloom, what a weird name, I thought you'd be named something like Tīna or Sianta, and you look strange for a Tiefling too."He looks up and down at the flower girl, "I might mistake you for a really short Spring Eladrin at first glance, well, that's something new every day!" He smiles.
"Next one." He opens up Renar's passport. "Renar? Where is the S?" Maigurs cocks his head, most male names in Kerwos always end with S: Elmars, Radions, Maigurs, Cezars, etc., but like Veno's case, some names might uncommonly end with -no instead. Nonetheless, Maigurs waves his hand, "Eh, probably just a typographical error, don't worry, though, I'll let you pass. Consider it as a repayment for what you did earlier, thanks again, by the way." He beams, giving him a thumbs-up. He takes a look at the picture on the passport again, "Hm... I'm not sure what race you're supposed to be, I guess I'll write you off as a half-elf, then."
He didn't realise that Venet had been playing a piece of music, and once she was done, the effect set on Norma, who had been staying quiet this whole time. The Dragonborn kneels down, her eyes glowing pink from the effect of being [/condition]charmed[condition]. "I'm ready to serve you, my queen."
Maigurs slowly turns around at his former friend, before whipping his head back to the 'mermaid,' "What the hell!? Did you just use a charming spell against her?" He growls, but before he can lunge at her, he feels the cold tip of Norma's spear on his neck.
"You are not allowed to hurt my queen, anyone who opposes my queen will be terminated." She says in a monotonous voice. A charming or a mind control spell has different effects on every person, some act like they just fell in love, some act like there is an invisible string tugging at them to do things they will never do, and in this case, some act like a robot that was issued a command.
Note: Cezars and his mount don't need to do a saving throw, since they exit the area before Venet can finish her song
"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."
The bandits are already hiding up on the hill, it's hard to see their expression, but they are probably safe.
Seeing that everyone seems to be against him, Cezars grit his teeth. As much as he wants to turn Maigurs into a skewered wolf, he can't do it, because that means they will win and he will lose. "Tch... watch your tail, Maigurs. The next time I see you all, you're getting disciplined." He whips his rein, and his gryphon spreads her wings and flies off immediately, kicking a cloud of dust in the general area.
Maigurs cover his eyes for a moment, before pulling back, wiping a sweat from his forehead. "Phew, crisis averted."
"Should we perhaps relive your positions as the guards of this post then? Because Elmars actually appointed all of us as newly trained guards too to look after this area! Yes, even a noble like him. He trusts that we all can do this job well behind his back."I don't know what I'm saying and I doubt this works, but I wonder what excuse they can conjure one I asked them this silly question.
Renar technically didn't lie, they were appointed by Elmars as a guard, just with potential prisoners instead of a traditional town guard like them, but that didn't exactly convince Maigurs, though. "If I were you, I'd resign immediately, this job isn't well paid and they don't have an insurance plan in case you get injured in combat or anything like that." He chuckles, his tail wagging.
Eventually, Norma lets Bloom go, and Maigurs continues, "Sorry about that, guys. That's Cezars, he's a bit... eccentric, to put it lightly. He's always looking for a fight... Well, I do too, actually, but I don't go around and scream at people's faces like that. I'm Maigurs, by the way." He takes your passport and begins inspecting them one by one.
Yeah. Crisis averted indeed. I was afraid that this would blow us out of the water. "Well I'm thankful that this didn't go south either." I dryly laugh, though I have this gut feeling that this ain't the last of him we'll see... "Maigurs huh? That's a handsome name." I speak just to let this moment of peace last for a little while longer.
"Next one." He opens up Renar's passport. "Renar? Where is the S?" Maigurs cocks his head, most male names in Kerwos always end with S: Elmars, Radions, Maigurs, Cezars, etc., but like Veno's case, some names might uncommonly end with -no instead. Nonetheless, Maigurs waves his hand, "Eh, probably just a typographical error, don't worry, though, I'll let you pass. Consider it as a repayment for what you did earlier, thanks again, by the way." He beams, giving him a thumbs-up. He takes a look at the picture on the passport again, "Hm... I'm not sure what race you're supposed to be, I guess I'll write you off as a half-elf, then."
"It's a Typo. For some reason those idiots never get my name right. As for stepping up against... that guy... no need to thank us."I scoff. "And yeah I'm a half-elf." Better safe than sorry to prevent having my true heritage as a nine-tailed fox be revealed that's for sure.
"Let's see here... Aleksan... uhh... I'm not pronouncing that one." He traces his finger on Alex's passport, "Aasimar? Wow, I haven't seen your kind in such a long time!" He clasps his hands, his tail wagging. "We have a messenger of God among us, can you tell Him to send down lightning on Cezars' house?"
*Was about to laugh but he maintains a sullen poker face* Damn it... I wanted to laugh out loud so much at the thought of crashing an enemy house with my signature element... if it wasn't for us allying with some stupid bandit of course. Urgh.
He didn't realise that Venet had been playing a piece of music, and once she was done, the effect set on Norma, who had been staying quiet this whole time. The Dragonborn kneels down, her eyes glowing pink from the effect of being [/condition]charmed[condition]. "I'm ready to serve you, my queen."
Maigurs slowly turns around at his former friend, before whipping his head back to the 'mermaid,' "What the hell!? Did you just use a charming spell against her?" He growls, but before he can lunge at her, he feels the cold tip of Norma's spear on his neck.
"You are not allowed to hurt my queen, anyone who opposes my queen will be terminated." She says in a monotonous voice. A charming or a mind control spell has different effects on every person, some act like they just fell in love, some act like there is an invisible string tugging at them to do things they will never do, and in this case, some act like a robot that was issued a command.
Huh? Where did she come from?! *Glances at Venet but again doesn't make eye contact* Oh I see. Good job my lady. "Oh our apologies for this fiasco. She just enjoys whipping up a show wherever she pleases, excuse her for that. Anyways..." *He tucks his passport back into his pouch before curiously going inside the cart to make some coffee in a cup for Maigurs* "You wanted some of this right?*He places it down on the forest floor in case Maigurs is still having problems snapping his friend out of it* It's all yours as our thanks once uh... once this random problem on her wears off." *Glances to Shugo*
Hmm... the thing is though, he's unaffected by the performance, which already poses a problem for the bandits that are currently hiding. Unless if they can all sneak inside or beside the cart to get across with us, I need to think of something else fast. Unless if that dragonborn can somehow distract him whilst they do so...
Bloom lets out a giggle as the Griffon introduces itself, reciprocating the affectionate gesture and greets it in the same manner. Her eyes sparkle with affection, she missed being around non-humanoid creatures for sure.
“Nice to meet you Felicia, you have a very puretty name, and very buyutiful feathers”, she says with another giggle, but her moment was cut short as the others approached and she was pulled to what the guards might have persumed to be safety. Bloom did not like the idea of a conflict between anyone, but she felt a little hesitant to speak up at the moment. For the timebeing she was safe, and she did not enjoy what happened the last time she acted first. So she remained silent and watched the events unfold.
Upon the resolution of the situation, and as Cezar lifts off with Felicia, Bloom’s eyes grow sad as she watches the griffon fly off. She waves at it sadly and calls out in Ahlarisian, “Good bye Felicia! I hope we meet sometime soon! Don’t forget me okay?”.
With that she turns towards the others and her sad expression almost instantaneously turns into a joyful one. “Well can go now? I want to go adventuring! I want to go adventuring!”, she exclaims, skipping around and twirling.
Alexander lets out a breath when the tension dies down, and frowns in Cezars direction as the genasi and his griffon fly off. Shaking his head slightly, he turns his attention back to Maigurs as the shifter checks their passports.
When Maigurs has trouble pronouncing his name, he chuckles and says, "Yeah, it's a mouthful. You can call me Alexander instead... or Alex, or Xander..." He nods in Bloom's direction, "She calls me Lexi but I'm not sure about that one."He laughs. Then his laughter turns to surprise and embarrassment when Maigurs, "Uh... I... well..." He rubs the back of his neck, "Aasimar aren't exactly angels. I mean... technically angel just means messenger, but..." Oh geez, what is he supposed to say to that? As a Paladin he could very well consider himself a messenger of God, but it isn't like he can just make that sort of request. Wait... is this some sort of joke that's just going over his head? He laughs, waving a hand, "Well, no one can really tell God what to do, but I suppose I can ask. If Cezars is really deserving of misfortune then he'll get what he deserves eventually."
He glances at Renar when he says that his name was misspelled... that has to be a lie since he didn't introduce himself as Renars... why lie about that? It seems like they are already about to get through... Wait a half-elf? That wasn't Alexander's first guess, but perhaps that's just because he tends to overlook race. But it IS odd that the guy won't pull down his hood every so often. Doesn't he get hot? Or is his home region just super super hot so this climate feels cold to him? Eh, he'll open up eventually.
Then Venet manages to capture one guard but not the other in her charm spell... which honestly, just like Renar's lie seemed a little late. They probably could have gotten through without issue if they just went along with Maigurs.... OHHHHH, how stupid of him. They were trying to find a way to get the members of the People's Army in with them. Even if Maigurs lets them in he definitely will stop the others, and probably throw them in jail. Duh. But unfortunately this plan seems to still be causing issues. Luckily Renar stepped in to come up with some excuse for Venet's performance. Alex himself isn't comfortable with lying but... well Venet does seem like the type to like practicing her performance whenever she gets the chance. But that doesn't answer why she charmed the guard. Hopefully Maigurs falls for it... Or at least accepts the coffee as an apology. If worst comes to worst, the 'bandits' might just have to find their own way in. They've been doing this for who knows how long, so they probably don't need help anyways.
Shugo shrugs when the wolf boy get over excited about his being nobility. Then he picks up his sword and puts it back on his belt, "Well, I've already talked to Elmars, which is why we have this job...I guess that makes us co-workers? Sort of? I mean, we aren't exactly supposed to be doing YOUR job, we are more like the highway patrol. Anyways, I'm really not a big deal, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. So, maybe don't mention my heritage to the duke? I really don't want that to be common knowledge."He glances at his companions, amber eyes lingering on Renar a slightly longer than the others. Well, if that guy was hired by one of his brothers, he knows exactly who he is now. Plus, why IS he wearing that? Like he thought earlier, it IS a weird choice of clothing, AND he could be hiding his true name?!
Suddenly the dragonborn decides that Venet is her Queen. Shugo stares blankly in what looks like confusion. Oh right, Venet enthralled her. Wasn't she supposed to get them both? He catches Renar's glance. Then when the dragonborn lunges for her friend, the elf makes an odd yelping noise, and stumbles backward away from the now armed guard. "What the?! Venet?! My dear, why do you have to try that on EVERYONE we meet?!" Then he looks at her, "Waaaaaaait, That was you right? Or was it those bandit's again! GAH I thought they ran away!"He draws his sword, holding it in both hands then starts scanning the surrounding area. He looks rather ridiculous holding the single handed weapon in such a way. "Maigurs was it? Yeah so our mission was to catch these bandits. We ran into them earlier and took the stuff they stole after driving them off. We were going to take the cart back to the nearest town as evidence. AAARRGGH! But what does that matter now?! What should we do?"
Hopefully his companions figure out what he's going for. He purposefully wove some truth into his story, hopefully that makes it a bit more believable.
There isn't anything Maigurs can do anyway, it's one against the rest of them... and they were really nice.
Wait, did they mention bandits?
"Bandits? Wait... two Kenkus and a kobold, right?" Maigurs pushes the spear that's pressing behind his back away, "A few hours earlier, we heard someone getting attacked by a bear, so all three of us went to investigate. By the time we arrived at the site of the incident, we found nothing."
Unbeknownst to him and Norma, the bandits seem to be waiting in a bush on the other side now. All of them are soaked in water, they probably crossed the fast-flowing river by themselves. It's not that hard for a bunch of people to cross this type of river, just a rope and a tree will do, but the same couldn't be said for a cart and a mule, though.
The wolf boy continues, "We rushed back to the bridge and found these three on the other side, we completely forgot that Kenkus can mimic sounds like that. Instead of running away immediately, they just taunt us, which of course, Cezars didn't like. Once these three realised he was on a gryphon, they quickly ran away and Cezars gave chase. Knowing him, he will probably try to 'interrogate' them by plucking their feathers and scales off one by one." He sighs, "They might act a bit hostile to us, but I haven't even known if they've actually committed a crime or not. He eventually returned, though, and he wasn't happy that these three got away. I suspect that he's heading off to find them now, he'll need something to let out his anger on." In other words, Cezars is finding the three bandits, and he will use them as a punching bag.
The People's Army never mentioned these three before, it's likely that they might be actual bandits, who actually rob people for their personal gains. Or maybe they're just delinquents who have too much free time on their claws. The only way to find out is to find them.
He takes a glance at the cart, his tail swaying slightly. "I don't recall them stealing from a cart since they made the bear noises in the middle of the forest. That could be useful, for now, you should probably try to find them before Cezars gets to them first, he's likely to keep whatever they stole from you as a 'souvenir.'"
Noticing a cup of coffee, he picks it up, drinks it... and immediately spits it out. "Bleugh! What kind of coffee is this!? So bitter!"He takes a moment to cough, "Ugh... I wish bad coffee was a crime. You should go now, I'll stay here in case they decide to return, go!"
He didn't bother frisking you all for contrabands, but hey, at least this checkpoint is clear.
"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."
One minute he's rambling like an idiot and the next he's getting being hustled through the checkpoint....yup sounds about right. That's Shugo's specialty, when on the brink of crisis act like a fool. It'll do ya wonders. "Good plan!" He waves goodby to the Wolfie boy.
After the group is a good distance from the checkpoint, he says. "Well I think that went pretty well, wouldn't you agree?"
There isn't anything Maigurs can do anyway, it's one against the rest of them... and they were really nice.
Wait, did they mention bandits?
"Bandits? Wait... two Kenkus and a kobold, right?" Maigurs pushes the spear that's pressing behind his back away, "A few hours earlier, we heard someone getting attacked by a bear, so all three of us went to investigate. By the time we arrived at the site of the incident, we found nothing.
Huh? Kenkus and a kobold? *His fox ears twitch underneath his hoodie* That's new; Xenia wouldn't approve of the latter though since I heard that she was shunned by her entire race before she joined the shifters. But even so, are they affiliated with the bandits we're currently siding with or something? Or are they a separate entity altogether as in, are they the actual culprits that the duke asked us to hunt? *His eyes redirect to the other three on the edge of the bridge. Coincidentally, he notices the bandits on the other side all drenched too* Right. They must have been too impatient with our act, so they ended up crossing the disgusting blood red water. I might need to report this to the rest. "We'll be careful from this point onwards then. Thanks for the warning."I reply with no signs of emotion in my voice as I helped the royal drag the carriage to the other side. Honestly, being surrounded by nobles in the Sword Coast, I'm absolutely unfazed about Shugo's revelation as a noble; If he was a daimyo or a shogun then I would be more interested.. "Let's move... *AHEM* Shugo."
Noticing a cup of coffee, he picks it up, drinks it... and immediately spits it out. "Bleugh! What kind of coffee is this!? So bitter!"He takes a moment to cough, "Ugh... I wish bad coffee was a crime. You should go now, I'll stay here in case they decide to return, go!"
"Well to be fair, you said you wanted to grab A coffee right? You didn't specify what kind though, so I just winged it."I dryly chuckle. Damn it. I should have known my terrible um... coffee making... skills, would have backfired horribly. Barista, was it? I've still have yet to get used to the new terms that my leader uses in a technologically advanced Japan... Anyways, once we're we passed the bridge to the other side, I gave the enchantress a thumbs up to signify her performance worked according to plan whilst I eye the road ahead. "Let's get going. There's no time to waste anymore."
But... after encountering that disrespectful Fire boy, my mind instantly clouds up to the point where I can't even get rid of his image that's being replayed over and over... like a cinema inside my eyes. *He arches his head down in panic whilst he walks behind the rest* The Fire boy I know is a gentle soul even for my standard. Would he even adopt this kind of behaviour behind my back? *His panting resumes when they're finally out of sight, to the point where he is making soft growls* He wouldn't... that's not Rixi is it? He would never have some kind of monster that's been shackled inside his gentle heart all this time would he? Is he really hiding something all this time like I am right now, that me and the rest are unaware of? I hope he doesn't become the next big hreat should we survive Tiamat... *He flashbacks to that one day where he was terribly burnt by a Flame-wreathed slash to the stomach by Rixi's glaive during a sparring match; The latter almost lost control of himself that day* I should be relaying what Maigurs told me about the Kenku and Kobold gangsters but... I just can't... I... *If anyone stands very close to him, they can tell that his snarls are becoming more noticeable despite being soft. Almost as if he was about to go feral.*
If anyone asks what's wrong with him:
"I... *Grrrrr... pant, pant* I just... I just need to recharge my batteries... sorry..."
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)
Alexander lets out a long breath, at least this seems to be working out...
He listens closely about the bandits... maybe they'll have to ask their friends with the People's army if they have any connection to them later. If not... well Alex is thinking they might want to catch those bandits before Cezars does, if all that talk about him is really true.
Once they are well away from the checkpoint, he looks to Bloom and Venet, unsure of what to say after her charm spell didn't work out. It had to be just a fluke... maybe the Dragonborn just had a super weak mind or something? Oh wait... that's a really mean thought isn't it? Well, it's over now and at least everything worked out in the end. At least Shugo's little ploy about the bandits worked... and they get to keep the cart on top of that, so that's good.
He notices then that Renar seems... troubled. "Are you... okay?" Even after the shifter...er, half-elf's response, he still looks concerned. Maybe the wizard is just stressed after what just happened? He had done a lot more talking through that encounter then he has since they met. Regardless, Alex lets it go. If Renar wants to talk about it then he will, if not, then maybe it's better not to push.
"So, uh..." he looks at each of his comrades. "What now? To be honest... I kinda want to go after those bandits, but not until we know if... well. Who they actually are if that makes sense." He glances around, hoping that no one is listening in. Then he looks to Bloom, "But I know you really want to get on with adventuring, so I guess we should hurry up with our mission to see Paulis. ...do any of you know where we are suppose to be going right now?"
Venet in general seems a little confused at her spell being a tad wonky but shrugs, magic is weird like that. She is happy that things have worked out however.
"Wasn't Paulis at the end of route 702?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Intelligence check as Renar paces towards the items in the cart: 14 + 4 = 18
"I checked. They don't have anything suspicious other than simple medicine kits, food and the like. But since we don't have permits, this will be indeed a risky maneuvere." I confirm with the others if they could hear my soft voice. "That aside, unless if- *Notices Bloom has scampered off without Venet and Alex* Crap I should have seen this coming! Alex and the other lady! Go and backup Sakura quickly before things spiral out of control! Let's move!"
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)
"I'm on it Sunshine."
Venet walks after Bloom with a smile, waving at the guards with the wand of her viol.
"Hi, looks like you all met my friend here."
"Uh... yeah!" Alex says, glancing at the cart before taking off after Venet. It would probably be better to avoid bringing the cart... but arent they supposed to be bringing it in anyways? Hopefully Venet can get the guards on their side. Once he approaches them he smiles broadly and as genuinely as usual, "Hi!" He glances at Venet and Bloom, waiting on pulling out his passport to see what they do.
Maigurs snaps awake from his trance yet again, his ears perk up after hearing the sound of walking, only to sigh in disappointment as the person he sees isn't a bandit, but a little girl.
The black gryphon seems to take extra interest in the girl, though. Cezars wordlessly command his mount to move forward "Olá, nenihä! Tu muxo belhõ, como vai?" The gryphon says, she would be smiling right now if she had a normal mouth instead of a beak.
"She says: 'Hello, little girl. You look very beautiful today, how are you doing?'" The fire Genasi on the gryphon's back translates.
The gryphon rubs her head against Bloom's body, that's how gryphons and hippogriffs greet each other in the wild. Her feathers are very, very soft, and she even makes a small rumbling sound, "É gosta tu ähora, Felića me nome!" She gently taps her head with the blunt side of her claw.
"I like you already, my name is Felića..." The fire Gensai side-eyes, "Well, that's not actually my name, it's her name, my mount's name. Don't ask me, animals usually name themselves as soon as they learn how to speak Alharisian, they have a unique 'culture,' if there is even one in the first place."
Norma laughs, "Did she speak all of that with just a few sentences?"
"Only the first one, don't you notice a pause when I'm speaking? Or is your head filled with so much sand you can't simply put two and two together?" Cezars crosses his arms, puffing out a smoke.
As the rest of the party eventually approaches, though, the three straightens up. "Stop where you are going, you four!" Cezars shouts a command from his mount's back, just like a drill sergeant would do with new recruits "All of you, make a horizontal line, NOW!"
"You should stand back, kid, they're about to do an inspection, we will get to you later." Norma gently grabs Bloom's arm and pulls her to the side, at least she is spared from what's about to come because it seems that these three don't think she is old enough for this.
Once you approach the guards, Cezars' mount prances around you four, "Remove your backpacks, armour, and overcoat—and I'm talking especially about YOU!" He points at Renar, "Seriously? Wearing a jacket and a hoodie in Summer? Either you come from a Dhegom, you have brain damage, or you are hiding something!" Dhegom is a continent south of Sehul, filled with savannahs, badlands, and jungles.
Before you can even do anything, though, Cezars yells once again. "TOO SLOW! Even a flail snail can move faster than you, FIFTY PUSH-UPS, NOW!"
"That's enough, Cezars." A voice calls out behind him, and soon enough, the Shifter boy from earlier stands between you and the mounted man. "Seriously, dude? A few hours ago, you punched that old fisher lady because her passport expired two days ago, and now you're forcing a bunch of tourists to exercise? Aren't we supposed to protect and serve, not harass and destroy?" His ears stand erect and his tail is straight, from what you saw earlier, you thought he'd be a happy-go-lucky type of guy, but it's clear he's willing to stand for what he believes is right.
"Are you threatening me, recruit? Your brother will hear about this!" The fire on Cezars' head flares up.
"Yeah? If he hears about this, he will beat you into a pulp, he doesn't tolerate a bully like you!" Maigurs balls his hands into a fist.
"Finalé aventaciá, filxote. Va amborä!" The gryphon growls, snapping her beak.
"Final warning, pup, back off!" Cezars grabs the hilt of his sabre, "You want to fight so much? Bring it, I won't be paying for your medical expenses!"
It's clear as day that Maigurs is no match for Cezars because one of them has a mount that can fly, and the other is just a ground-based troop, cannon fodder for cavalries like him. Nonetheless, the wolf boy slowly pulls out the spear from his back.
You can either intervene or you can watch them fight... or maybe you can even start a fight since all the armour and everything is still with you.
"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
Shugo watches blankly when Bloom seems to teleport over to the guards. That girl just can't keep herself out of trouble can she. He sighs and glances at Renar, "Well my previous plan B was to run frantically towards them and pretend I was being chased by bandits. I've pleaded with them to go beat them up and we could have gone by when they were distracted. They seemed to be looking for a fight so I thought they might settle for a wild goose chase instead. Buuuut now that the first part of the plan is messed up I'm not sure how that would go." He scratches his head, "Well, I guess I do have another plan B..." He sighs. If he has to show his passport, these guards are going to know exactly who he is. That means that the others will as well. "Well I might not have a choice." He does not elaborate as he follows the shifter towards the guards.
Shugo cocks his head as one guard starts shouting orders while another pulls Bloom to the side. Huh, spare one kid and not the other then? Why's that? Oh maybe because Alex is in armor. Heh, to bad for him.
His eyes widen with surprise when the fire genasi and the wolf boy start their confrontation. For several moments, he considers just letting the fight go on. Buuuut with the fire guy at the advantage, he's not sure that's a good idea. The wolf boy seems way more reasonable.
Mind made up, Shugo unbuckles his sword from his belt and tosses the still sheathed blade between the two guards. "Hey Hey hey! I thought you were supposed to be coworkers! Besides, you have much more important things to worry about." He rummages around for his passport. "First off, My name is Shugo Ryu. Seventh son of House Ryu. If you don't know who I am eh, whatever. According to this I'm a noble, so if something happens to me well I don't really know what my family would do." He waves his passport stating the fact rather dismissively. "Settle down and we can have a civil conversation." He yawns, clearly unconcerned about what is going on.
Persuasion: 18
Venet eyes widen at the sudden shift, and her hand going in an attempt to keep Bloom at her side, but the girl is tugged away from her. Then she turns her head in disbelief as Shugo raises his passport, declaring his royalty. Am I dreaming right now?
She isn't sure what to do in this situation so just hopes the guards listen to Shugo.
Crap! How did they spot us hiding in the thickets?! Did I miscalculate the forest density or something? Or are their eyes are sharper than I thought?! Or maybe it was Sakura-chan... UGH! Either way I was already expecting a pit hole to hit us at some point but not THIS early...! "Yeah no... that's already out of the question now that they've spotted us..." I reply with a hunch. "Hopefully those ladies can still do their job... otherwise we're going with Plan B..." Yep... that's right: convince them that we're nothing but extra guards on the way to help these merchants who are 'affiliated' with Duke Elmars. Unless if the girls can somehow get Plan A to work still... *He turns to the bandits* "You guys, do whatever you can to stay in the shadows. We'll handle this."
Geez what is wrong with this guy? Why is his attitude so downright dirty like a bottom of a dumpster barrel? But...even so, removing my disguise in front of people I hardly know is defnitely not the way to go; I've been long discriminated by other races outside of humans for so long, I don't want to make the same mistake again. Anyways...
"I suggest you watch your words there, sir... You can't always expect to be the mountain that towers over everything else." I scowl with a low, but not-so-threatening (yet) voice as I showed them my yellow passport that I somehow got whilst ending up there; Hopefully they won't know that my fox ears are absent from the picture inside... "And... if I was hiding something, I wouldn't be hiding it in front of you nor this lone wolf here would I? What makes you think that we're your targets and not just trying to guide these travelling merchants to the right path who in turn, will help the people that are affiliated with the Duke huh? What wrong with us trying to complete what the Duke tasked us to do whilst he's away? "Should we perhaps relive your positions as the guards of this post then? Because Elmars actually appointed all of us as newly trained guards too to look after this area! Yes, even a noble like him. He trusts that we all can do this job well behind his back." I don't know what I'm saying and I doubt this works, but I wonder what excuse they can conjure one I asked them this silly question.
"Also... you have a problem with my drip, kind sir? Or do I have to make an excuse about how out-of-touch you look in that silly clothing of yours too, in comparison to this poor fellow here who's just doing his job?" I reply with a very offended look, hoping that he will take my fashion sense very seriously just so to keep my true identity being discovered to these strangers for as long as possible.
Wait what?! WHAT... DID I JUST HEAR?! *His pants increase slightly as his yellow eyes change from a squint to wide circles in shock* Did I just... did he punch an old lady for an expired passport?! *As soon as that was mentioned, Renar finally snaps out of his trance and his eyes squint again but with anger* No... that is definitely not him; The real Rixian will never punch a lady just for some stupid reason like that. What the heck! If that was my real friend, he would have tossed him into the Underdark to suffer at the hands of the Dark Elves and possibly things worse than that. And what's Alex and the two girls doing?! Aren't they suppose to initiate whatever they've thought of?! Argh! No... calm down, calm down Raiden... *He closes his eyes for a brief moment* Don't... let yourself... it's not worth it...
*I don't intend on metagaming or anything but If the Fire Genasi does try to strike the poor wolf boy, Renar will block the attack with his katana still in its sheath without retaliating; He doesn't intend on starting a fight in the place anyways. If the Fire Genasi doesn't strike he will stand in front of Maigurs with both hands up and one of them with his passport just in case*
Oh great, another fight's about to break out, just when I don't want it to happen, ugh! But... *He opens his eyes again and glances at Maigurs who is noticeably quivering* ...this poor wolfie doesn't stand a chance, I already know. The actual Rixian taught me how to tell if my suspected opponents are skilled or just amateurs just by looking at their stances. And obviously, wolfie stand zero chances of beating 'Rixi' even when that griffin thing isn't in the way, judging by the way he's hunched over with his polearm as his heavy breaths of concern.
"Stop it. NOW! We never came here to start a fight in the first place. But, I also gotta ask..." I command the two as I presented them with my passport whilst trying to process another maneuverer in my head.
"Is it... is it true though... that you assaulted an old lady... on behalf of Duke Elmar's authority?! Is that what he permitted you to do? Are you insane?!" I snarl with ferocious intent, though I'm praying that this doesn't go into a fallout like I hoped to avoid. "The Fluffy Wolf guard is right. I thought that being the royal guards, you guys would have at least some code of honour that you need to obey, even when Elmars is absent from this country!"
Oh great... Even Shugo huh? Why is he so content on giving up his passport when we are just trying to act like we are royal guards?! *His panting becomes more intense as he gestures Venet to come back and begin whatever her intentions were; He wants to let his feral instincts run loose so bad and teach this 'Rixi' guy a lesson, only thing is, he might risk himself and his teammates the mission if he does so* Lady... um... I don't know how long me and Shugo can stall them for, let alone know what your original intention was but... if you're still planning on showing us what you can do to ease this, you better do something fast... NOW! (Finally I know what his name is ugh... and... Ryu... that sounds familiar...)
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)
She shakes her head slightly, coming back to her senses and nodding, more to herself than them. She brings her viol up and begins to play, the music has the same ethereal quality as it did before but now it seems magnified somehow and those around her feel drawn to her. Enthralling Performance: Wisdom Save, DC 14
Alex stands in shock, staring for a moment before shaking his head and walking forward, "Hey, thanks for standing up for us and all, but isn't fighting each other a bit much?" He says mostly to the wolf shifter. "We really don't want to cause any trouble, and..." he looks at Renar, almost telling them that 'he's just shy that's why he's got his hood up and stuff' but then isn't sure if that would help anything or accomplish anything other than embarrassing his friend and making the genasi guard more suspicious. Did the guy really punch an old woman? Well, in that case he isn't sure he should stop this fight, but at the same time this definitely isn't the place for it. If there really were bandits--not the people's army--who were looking for a chance to push through, a fight between the guards would give them the perfect option.
Then Venet starts playing her viol and he backs off, hoping that this will end smoothly.
Still... Shugo's a noble? That... well he doesn't know how to react to that revelation.
Maigurs: 3
Norma: 1
"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
The bandits are already hiding up on the hill, it's hard to see their expression, but they are probably safe.
Seeing that everyone seems to be against him, Cezars grit his teeth. As much as he wants to turn Maigurs into a skewered wolf, he can't do it, because that means they will win and he will lose. "Tch... watch your tail, Maigurs. The next time I see you all, you're getting disciplined." He whips his rein, and his gryphon spreads her wings and flies off immediately, kicking a cloud of dust in the general area.
Maigurs cover his eyes for a moment, before pulling back, wiping a sweat from his forehead. "Phew, crisis averted."
Renar technically didn't lie, they were appointed by Elmars as a guard, just with potential prisoners instead of a traditional town guard like them, but that didn't exactly convince Maigurs, though. "If I were you, I'd resign immediately, this job isn't well paid and they don't have an insurance plan in case you get injured in combat or anything like that." He chuckles, his tail wagging.
Eventually, Norma lets Bloom go, and Maigurs continues, "Sorry about that, guys. That's Cezars, he's a bit... eccentric, to put it lightly. He's always looking for a fight... Well, I do too, actually, but I don't go around and scream at people's faces like that. I'm Maigurs, by the way." He takes your passport and begins inspecting them one by one.
"Let's see here... Aleksan... uhh... I'm not pronouncing that one." He traces his finger on Alex's passport, "Aasimar? Wow, I haven't seen your kind in such a long time!" He clasps his hands, his tail wagging. "We have a messenger of God among us, can you tell Him to send down lightning on Cezars' house?"
He takes a look at Shugo's passport, "Shugo... wait, you're a noble? And you're a Prihyehan too? That's awesome!" His tail wags even faster, "Elmars would love to chat with you, he's always looking for a new alliance, especially in a faraway place like Prihyeh!"
Next is Bloom, Maigurs' tail fluffs up a bit when a petal of flower shoots in his face, but he doesn't say anything other than that. After a while, he speaks up, "Hmm... Bloom, what a weird name, I thought you'd be named something like Tīna or Sianta, and you look strange for a Tiefling too." He looks up and down at the flower girl, "I might mistake you for a really short Spring Eladrin at first glance, well, that's something new every day!" He smiles.
"Next one." He opens up Renar's passport. "Renar? Where is the S?" Maigurs cocks his head, most male names in Kerwos always end with S: Elmars, Radions, Maigurs, Cezars, etc., but like Veno's case, some names might uncommonly end with -no instead. Nonetheless, Maigurs waves his hand, "Eh, probably just a typographical error, don't worry, though, I'll let you pass. Consider it as a repayment for what you did earlier, thanks again, by the way." He beams, giving him a thumbs-up. He takes a look at the picture on the passport again, "Hm... I'm not sure what race you're supposed to be, I guess I'll write you off as a half-elf, then."
He didn't realise that Venet had been playing a piece of music, and once she was done, the effect set on Norma, who had been staying quiet this whole time. The Dragonborn kneels down, her eyes glowing pink from the effect of being [/condition]charmed[condition]. "I'm ready to serve you, my queen."
Maigurs slowly turns around at his former friend, before whipping his head back to the 'mermaid,' "What the hell!? Did you just use a charming spell against her?" He growls, but before he can lunge at her, he feels the cold tip of Norma's spear on his neck.
"You are not allowed to hurt my queen, anyone who opposes my queen will be terminated." She says in a monotonous voice. A charming or a mind control spell has different effects on every person, some act like they just fell in love, some act like there is an invisible string tugging at them to do things they will never do, and in this case, some act like a robot that was issued a command.
Note: Cezars and his mount don't need to do a saving throw, since they exit the area before Venet can finish her song
"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
Yeah. Crisis averted indeed. I was afraid that this would blow us out of the water. "Well I'm thankful that this didn't go south either." I dryly laugh, though I have this gut feeling that this ain't the last of him we'll see... "Maigurs huh? That's a handsome name." I speak just to let this moment of peace last for a little while longer.
"It's a Typo. For some reason those idiots never get my name right. As for stepping up against... that guy... no need to thank us." I scoff. "And yeah I'm a half-elf." Better safe than sorry to prevent having my true heritage as a nine-tailed fox be revealed that's for sure.
*Was about to laugh but he maintains a sullen poker face* Damn it... I wanted to laugh out loud so much at the thought of crashing an enemy house with my signature element... if it wasn't for us allying with some stupid bandit of course. Urgh.
Huh? Where did she come from?! *Glances at Venet but again doesn't make eye contact* Oh I see. Good job my lady. "Oh our apologies for this fiasco. She just enjoys whipping up a show wherever she pleases, excuse her for that. Anyways..." *He tucks his passport back into his pouch before curiously going inside the cart to make some coffee in a cup for Maigurs* "You wanted some of this right? *He places it down on the forest floor in case Maigurs is still having problems snapping his friend out of it* It's all yours as our thanks once uh... once this random problem on her wears off." *Glances to Shugo*
Hmm... the thing is though, he's unaffected by the performance, which already poses a problem for the bandits that are currently hiding. Unless if they can all sneak inside or beside the cart to get across with us, I need to think of something else fast. Unless if that dragonborn can somehow distract him whilst they do so...
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)
Bloom lets out a giggle as the Griffon introduces itself, reciprocating the affectionate gesture and greets it in the same manner. Her eyes sparkle with affection, she missed being around non-humanoid creatures for sure.
“Nice to meet you Felicia, you have a very puretty name, and very buyutiful feathers”, she says with another giggle, but her moment was cut short as the others approached and she was pulled to what the guards might have persumed to be safety. Bloom did not like the idea of a conflict between anyone, but she felt a little hesitant to speak up at the moment. For the timebeing she was safe, and she did not enjoy what happened the last time she acted first. So she remained silent and watched the events unfold.
Upon the resolution of the situation, and as Cezar lifts off with Felicia, Bloom’s eyes grow sad as she watches the griffon fly off. She waves at it sadly and calls out in Ahlarisian, “Good bye Felicia! I hope we meet sometime soon! Don’t forget me okay?”.
With that she turns towards the others and her sad expression almost instantaneously turns into a joyful one. “Well can go now? I want to go adventuring! I want to go adventuring!”, she exclaims, skipping around and twirling.
Alexander lets out a breath when the tension dies down, and frowns in Cezars direction as the genasi and his griffon fly off. Shaking his head slightly, he turns his attention back to Maigurs as the shifter checks their passports.
When Maigurs has trouble pronouncing his name, he chuckles and says, "Yeah, it's a mouthful. You can call me Alexander instead... or Alex, or Xander..." He nods in Bloom's direction, "She calls me Lexi but I'm not sure about that one." He laughs. Then his laughter turns to surprise and embarrassment when Maigurs, "Uh... I... well..." He rubs the back of his neck, "Aasimar aren't exactly angels. I mean... technically angel just means messenger, but..." Oh geez, what is he supposed to say to that? As a Paladin he could very well consider himself a messenger of God, but it isn't like he can just make that sort of request. Wait... is this some sort of joke that's just going over his head? He laughs, waving a hand, "Well, no one can really tell God what to do, but I suppose I can ask. If Cezars is really deserving of misfortune then he'll get what he deserves eventually."
He glances at Renar when he says that his name was misspelled... that has to be a lie since he didn't introduce himself as Renars... why lie about that? It seems like they are already about to get through... Wait a half-elf? That wasn't Alexander's first guess, but perhaps that's just because he tends to overlook race. But it IS odd that the guy won't pull down his hood every so often. Doesn't he get hot? Or is his home region just super super hot so this climate feels cold to him? Eh, he'll open up eventually.
Then Venet manages to capture one guard but not the other in her charm spell... which honestly, just like Renar's lie seemed a little late. They probably could have gotten through without issue if they just went along with Maigurs.... OHHHHH, how stupid of him. They were trying to find a way to get the members of the People's Army in with them. Even if Maigurs lets them in he definitely will stop the others, and probably throw them in jail. Duh. But unfortunately this plan seems to still be causing issues. Luckily Renar stepped in to come up with some excuse for Venet's performance. Alex himself isn't comfortable with lying but... well Venet does seem like the type to like practicing her performance whenever she gets the chance. But that doesn't answer why she charmed the guard. Hopefully Maigurs falls for it... Or at least accepts the coffee as an apology. If worst comes to worst, the 'bandits' might just have to find their own way in. They've been doing this for who knows how long, so they probably don't need help anyways.
Shugo shrugs when the wolf boy get over excited about his being nobility. Then he picks up his sword and puts it back on his belt, "Well, I've already talked to Elmars, which is why we have this job...I guess that makes us co-workers? Sort of? I mean, we aren't exactly supposed to be doing YOUR job, we are more like the highway patrol. Anyways, I'm really not a big deal, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. So, maybe don't mention my heritage to the duke? I really don't want that to be common knowledge." He glances at his companions, amber eyes lingering on Renar a slightly longer than the others. Well, if that guy was hired by one of his brothers, he knows exactly who he is now. Plus, why IS he wearing that? Like he thought earlier, it IS a weird choice of clothing, AND he could be hiding his true name?!
Suddenly the dragonborn decides that Venet is her Queen. Shugo stares blankly in what looks like confusion. Oh right, Venet enthralled her. Wasn't she supposed to get them both? He catches Renar's glance. Then when the dragonborn lunges for her friend, the elf makes an odd yelping noise, and stumbles backward away from the now armed guard. "What the?! Venet?! My dear, why do you have to try that on EVERYONE we meet?!" Then he looks at her, "Waaaaaaait, That was you right? Or was it those bandit's again! GAH I thought they ran away!" He draws his sword, holding it in both hands then starts scanning the surrounding area. He looks rather ridiculous holding the single handed weapon in such a way. "Maigurs was it? Yeah so our mission was to catch these bandits. We ran into them earlier and took the stuff they stole after driving them off. We were going to take the cart back to the nearest town as evidence. AAARRGGH! But what does that matter now?! What should we do?"
Hopefully his companions figure out what he's going for. He purposefully wove some truth into his story, hopefully that makes it a bit more believable.
Deception: 16
Deception check Passed
There isn't anything Maigurs can do anyway, it's one against the rest of them... and they were really nice.
Wait, did they mention bandits?
"Bandits? Wait... two Kenkus and a kobold, right?" Maigurs pushes the spear that's pressing behind his back away, "A few hours earlier, we heard someone getting attacked by a bear, so all three of us went to investigate. By the time we arrived at the site of the incident, we found nothing."
Unbeknownst to him and Norma, the bandits seem to be waiting in a bush on the other side now. All of them are soaked in water, they probably crossed the fast-flowing river by themselves. It's not that hard for a bunch of people to cross this type of river, just a rope and a tree will do, but the same couldn't be said for a cart and a mule, though.
The wolf boy continues, "We rushed back to the bridge and found these three on the other side, we completely forgot that Kenkus can mimic sounds like that. Instead of running away immediately, they just taunt us, which of course, Cezars didn't like. Once these three realised he was on a gryphon, they quickly ran away and Cezars gave chase. Knowing him, he will probably try to 'interrogate' them by plucking their feathers and scales off one by one." He sighs, "They might act a bit hostile to us, but I haven't even known if they've actually committed a crime or not. He eventually returned, though, and he wasn't happy that these three got away. I suspect that he's heading off to find them now, he'll need something to let out his anger on." In other words, Cezars is finding the three bandits, and he will use them as a punching bag.
The People's Army never mentioned these three before, it's likely that they might be actual bandits, who actually rob people for their personal gains. Or maybe they're just delinquents who have too much free time on their claws. The only way to find out is to find them.
He takes a glance at the cart, his tail swaying slightly. "I don't recall them stealing from a cart since they made the bear noises in the middle of the forest. That could be useful, for now, you should probably try to find them before Cezars gets to them first, he's likely to keep whatever they stole from you as a 'souvenir.'"
Noticing a cup of coffee, he picks it up, drinks it... and immediately spits it out. "Bleugh! What kind of coffee is this!? So bitter!" He takes a moment to cough, "Ugh... I wish bad coffee was a crime. You should go now, I'll stay here in case they decide to return, go!"
He didn't bother frisking you all for contrabands, but hey, at least this checkpoint is clear.
"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
One minute he's rambling like an idiot and the next he's getting being hustled through the checkpoint....yup sounds about right. That's Shugo's specialty, when on the brink of crisis act like a fool. It'll do ya wonders. "Good plan!" He waves goodby to the Wolfie boy.
After the group is a good distance from the checkpoint, he says. "Well I think that went pretty well, wouldn't you agree?"
Huh? Kenkus and a kobold? *His fox ears twitch underneath his hoodie* That's new; Xenia wouldn't approve of the latter though since I heard that she was shunned by her entire race before she joined the shifters. But even so, are they affiliated with the bandits we're currently siding with or something? Or are they a separate entity altogether as in, are they the actual culprits that the duke asked us to hunt? *His eyes redirect to the other three on the edge of the bridge. Coincidentally, he notices the bandits on the other side all drenched too* Right. They must have been too impatient with our act, so they ended up crossing the disgusting blood red water. I might need to report this to the rest. "We'll be careful from this point onwards then. Thanks for the warning." I reply with no signs of emotion in my voice as I helped the royal drag the carriage to the other side. Honestly, being surrounded by nobles in the Sword Coast, I'm absolutely unfazed about Shugo's revelation as a noble; If he was a daimyo or a shogun then I would be more interested.. "Let's move... *AHEM* Shugo."
"Well to be fair, you said you wanted to grab A coffee right? You didn't specify what kind though, so I just winged it." I dryly chuckle. Damn it. I should have known my terrible um... coffee making... skills, would have backfired horribly. Barista, was it? I've still have yet to get used to the new terms that my leader uses in a technologically advanced Japan... Anyways, once we're we passed the bridge to the other side, I gave the enchantress a thumbs up to signify her performance worked according to plan whilst I eye the road ahead. "Let's get going. There's no time to waste anymore."
But... after encountering that disrespectful Fire boy, my mind instantly clouds up to the point where I can't even get rid of his image that's being replayed over and over... like a cinema inside my eyes. *He arches his head down in panic whilst he walks behind the rest* The Fire boy I know is a gentle soul even for my standard. Would he even adopt this kind of behaviour behind my back? *His panting resumes when they're finally out of sight, to the point where he is making soft growls* He wouldn't... that's not Rixi is it? He would never have some kind of monster that's been shackled inside his gentle heart all this time would he? Is he really hiding something all this time like I am right now, that me and the rest are unaware of? I hope he doesn't become the next big hreat should we survive Tiamat... *He flashbacks to that one day where he was terribly burnt by a Flame-wreathed slash to the stomach by Rixi's glaive during a sparring match; The latter almost lost control of himself that day* I should be relaying what Maigurs told me about the Kenku and Kobold gangsters but... I just can't... I... *If anyone stands very close to him, they can tell that his snarls are becoming more noticeable despite being soft. Almost as if he was about to go feral.*
If anyone asks what's wrong with him:
"I... *Grrrrr... pant, pant* I just... I just need to recharge my batteries... sorry..."
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)
Alexander lets out a long breath, at least this seems to be working out...
He listens closely about the bandits... maybe they'll have to ask their friends with the People's army if they have any connection to them later. If not... well Alex is thinking they might want to catch those bandits before Cezars does, if all that talk about him is really true.
Once they are well away from the checkpoint, he looks to Bloom and Venet, unsure of what to say after her charm spell didn't work out. It had to be just a fluke... maybe the Dragonborn just had a super weak mind or something? Oh wait... that's a really mean thought isn't it? Well, it's over now and at least everything worked out in the end. At least Shugo's little ploy about the bandits worked... and they get to keep the cart on top of that, so that's good.
He notices then that Renar seems... troubled. "Are you... okay?" Even after the shifter...er, half-elf's response, he still looks concerned. Maybe the wizard is just stressed after what just happened? He had done a lot more talking through that encounter then he has since they met. Regardless, Alex lets it go. If Renar wants to talk about it then he will, if not, then maybe it's better not to push.
"So, uh..." he looks at each of his comrades. "What now? To be honest... I kinda want to go after those bandits, but not until we know if... well. Who they actually are if that makes sense." He glances around, hoping that no one is listening in. Then he looks to Bloom, "But I know you really want to get on with adventuring, so I guess we should hurry up with our mission to see Paulis. ...do any of you know where we are suppose to be going right now?"
Venet in general seems a little confused at her spell being a tad wonky but shrugs, magic is weird like that. She is happy that things have worked out however.
"Wasn't Paulis at the end of route 702?"