Quote from Hrothbert_Neruca>>"Yeah I think that would make a real good helmet and you could be called "Kasi, Newt Slayer", and gain a bunch of peoples respect and stuff. For now we can put it in the sand, that way it won't burn anything, and if we need to we can do the same on the cart if it's still to hot in the morning" Watching and following along with what Kasi is doing, Merkas gets more and more excited as he learns new things."Wow glass, is Bucky right about glass being really special, or is it just a normal thing?"
Kasi shrugs. "Kobold make glass. Use dragon fire. Kasi know how make glass arrowheads. Fill with poison, acid... holy water. Good weapon. Break in wound, do nasty hurt. Buckeran much smart. Maybe much hard for surface folk make glass." Kasi smiles with pride. "Newt Slayer..." she likes the name. "Kasi! Newt Slayer!" she repeats again, seeming happy and a lump forms in her throat. "Kasi slay newt. Rest, my (she says something in Yip-yak that she doesn't seem to be able to translate." She looks away from Merkas for a moment to wipe her face, then clears her throat. "Much work tonight. Merkas help?"
Quote from Hrothbert_NerucaThe Kobold and Kender start working on repairing what they can for the cart, as the time moves on Merkas forgets about sleep until Sharn mentions he's going back for rest,"Ah, that reminds me, can we also make something for Sharn? I will help as long as we need to work, I can sleep in the cart on the trip tomorrow" Merkas pulls out the four Jackal teeth he had been cleaning and preparing to be used in a custom knuckle buster for the dwarf and whispers "Shh, Don't talk to loud, but I wanna surprise Sharn with this."
Kasi is thrilled to share her knowledge with the eager Kender, and to calm her giddiness about making a surprise, she covers her mouth with a gnarled hand. Then she notices Hastos looking over her shoulder, and shuffles around in a hunched position. "Master Hastos learn too? Not much tools. Master Hastos watch, yes? Make surprise for Master Merkas (similar phrase in Yip-Yak)."
But when Sera steps in to occupy Hastos's lips, she shrugs and happily returns to her work.
Adding Downtime Activity Training for Merkas to learn Smithing. Hrothbert_Neruca, please roll an INT or WIS check to Help. (Improvised house rule) Results below 3 will hinder the work. Results above 10 will finish the project in half the time. Results above 15 will finish the work in half the time and produce bonus results. 3-10 will do no harm or aid, and the project will be completed by morning.
Sera glanced over at Sharn, peacefully asleep. He was smart—witty, even—but hopeless with that quarterstaff If this strange scimitar truly had magic, it could change that.
She turned the blade over in her hands, tracing the runnels carved along its surface. The weapon was unlike anything she had seen before, forged in the Elemental Plane of Fire itself. Magic like this didn’t just exist without purpose. Could it be activated by blood?
Her gaze flickered to her arm, then around the camp. She wasn’t about to stab someone else to test a theory. But herself… that was another matter.
Taking a deep inhale, she angled the tip of the scimitar toward her forearm, bracing for whatever might come next. Let’s see if you’re worth keeping, or just another pretty blade.
“Haz can know too that’s….never mind, they’re at it again” Waving a hand dismissively at the two kissing he turns back to keep helping Kasi, it doesn’t take long before he’s started preempting what the kobold needs as the move along. Huge grin on his face and a couple singed fingers from well learned lessons on how hot firenewt bones are, and the two of them work the night away. (Dirty 20 Int check)
With Hastos giving his assent to keep the giant strider Merkas smiles even wider and starts thinking through what he might need to do. “Can you help me to tie up the barking chicken while this heats up? ” Merkas asks in a lull while they wait for some metal to be ready. “You said it’s very important to keep the mouth closed yes? If we tie it up we can use the hot bottle to heal its worst wounds. And maybe we use it to carry the hot bones of the newt as it seems to like hot stuff!” Walking past Sera as she tries to compose herself again, Merkas can’t help but comment on the blush she has on her face. “You’re almost as red as the newt guy, you best get some sleep before you faint from the heat. Could you help with the Barking Chicken if it survives? I think I’ll call him Barkly!”
While the whittle away at the tasks he asks Kasi “What’s that word you used mean?”he does his best to imitate the second phrase she used after his name earlier. “It sounded like it was a nice phrase but I don’t know it”
Sera glanced over at Sharn, peacefully asleep. He was smart—witty, even—but hopeless with that quarterstaff If this strange scimitar truly had magic, it could change that.
She turned the blade over in her hands, tracing the runnels carved along its surface. The weapon was unlike anything she had seen before, forged in the Elemental Plane of Fire itself. Magic like this didn’t just exist without purpose. Could it be activated by blood?
Her gaze flickered to her arm, then around the camp. She wasn’t about to stab someone else to test a theory. But herself… that was another matter.
Taking a deep inhale, she angled the tip of the scimitar toward her forearm, bracing for whatever might come next. Let’s see if you’re worth keeping, or just another pretty blade.
The sword cuts so cleanly, it doesn't even hurt. As the blood trickles down the runnel the pommel glows a warn red color, not hot to the touch, but notably warm. And symbols start to form along blade crackles to life. Ignan symbols glow along the length of the blade, vague at first, but then switch to Solamnic, and appear to vaguely read Sera Uth Darnon, before fading away and returning back to its natural state. The blade seems to have some power, but cannot be fully activated by the blood of its wielder.
“Haz can know too that’s….never mind, they’re at it again” Waving a hand dismissively at the two kissing he turns back to keep helping Kasi, it doesn’t take long before he’s started preempting what the kobold needs as the move along. Huge grin on his face and a couple singed fingers from well learned lessons on how hot firenewt bones are, and the two of them work the night away. (Dirty 20 Int check)
With Hastos giving his assent to keep the giant strider Merkas smiles even wider and starts thinking through what he might need to do. “Can you help me to tie up the barking chicken while this heats up? ” Merkas asks in a lull while they wait for some metal to be ready. “You said it’s very important to keep the mouth closed yes? If we tie it up we can use the hot bottle to heal its worst wounds. And maybe we use it to carry the hot bones of the newt as it seems to like hot stuff!” Walking past Sera as she tries to compose herself again, Merkas can’t help but comment on the blush she has on her face. “You’re almost as red as the newt guy, you best get some sleep before you faint from the heat. Could you help with the Barking Chicken if it survives? I think I’ll call him Barkly!”
While the whittle away at the tasks he asks Kasi “What’s that word you used mean?”he does his best to imitate the second phrase she used after his name earlier. “It sounded like it was a nice phrase but I don’t know it”
Kasi mostly tunes out the conversation about the Giant Strider, but can't resist a small chuckle at giving it such a silly name. It comes out as a snort from her long snout. But then the topic turns to her native language. She thinks about the word and corrects Merkas on the pronunciation. Yip-yak is a tonal language, and the high and low barking sounds can strongly affect the meaning of the word, to sometimes cause hilarious mistranslations.
"It mean... close. Much close. Brother, sister, parent, child, lover. Kobolds live much big pack. Much hundred if big enough. Live close, sleep in big pile. Keep warm. Keep safe." She smiles and laughs thinking about it. "It like pile. Trust to keep safe. Warm. Close." She makes a hugging gesture, like cuddling and falling to sleep, then looks at Merkas with raised eyebrows to see if you understand the meaning.
Sera gritted her teeth as she watched the blade react. The cut was so clean she barely felt it, but the sight of her own name glowing along the blade in Solamnic sent a chill down her spine.
"Odd… why my name? Is that its magic? To identify whoever it draws blood from?" she muttered, shaking her head. If that was all, it seemed like a waste of power. But something told her there was more to it—something she couldn't yet unlock.
Glancing around the camp, she sighed. Kasi and Merkas were still busy tinkering with whatever bizarre project they had in mind, and someone would have to drive the wagon tomorrow—with a sleeping kender and a kobold, no less.
Deciding she was too exhausted to puzzle this out now, she wiped the blade clean, tucked it away, and made a mental note to talk to the others in the morning. Whatever this sword truly was, it would have to wait.
Hastos cocks an eyebrow at Sera’s sudden interest in the sword and shield post kiss. “Yes, we should definitely rest up, I have a feeling that these roads are a prime area for bandits and predators.”
As Sera has become preoccupied with the sword and shield, Hastos returns his attention briefly to Kasi. “….just interested in what the insides look like. I won’t be in the way. I really need to rest up. My watch is coming up soon enough,”
As Hastos returns his attention to Sera, he sees her turning the sword on herself. Clearly Sera suspects something, but only the agods know what. “That’s probably going to hurt.” He says grinning as he sits down beside her.
Hastos stepped close, concern in his eyes as he glanced between her arm and the blade. "thats probably gonna hurt"
Sera looked down at the clean cut, feeling the lingering warmth of the sword’s magic on her skin. "Surprisingly, no," she murmured, still puzzled by the strange enchantment. "I hope all this trouble was worth it somehow… Maybe Sharn can make use of it."
But as she looked up at Hastos, the weight of the night—the battle, the pain, the exhaustion—became something distant. None of it mattered as much as the way he stood there with her, still watching her with that mix of concern and something deeper.
She reached for him, pulling him close, letting her body press against his as the rush of adrenaline and relief mixed into something else entirely. Her fingers traced over his bruised skin, the warmth of him grounding her in the moment. Their lips met in a slow, desperate kiss, then another, and soon there was no hesitation.
She guided him down with her, hands exploring, breath quickening. Pain lingered from their wounds, but she didn't care. She straddled him, moving with aching need, letting herself get lost in the closeness, in the heat between them. They moved together, careful but urgent, chasing away the lingering fear of the battle with the simple certainty that they had survived—that they were still here. They moved steady and rythmically. Gasping in their union and passion. The pain lessened for sure.
When it was over, she collapsed against his chest, utterly spent. Her heart still pounded, but now it was from something far better than fear. She listened to his breathing slow, savoring the warmth of his skin against hers.
Tomorrow, the road would bring more dangers. But for now, wrapped in his arms, she let herself rest.
Kasi and Merkas work quickly, with Merkas proving his potential as a smith by picking up the skill with impressive ease. Kasi uses a small crucible for making arrowheads and liquefies some of the spare arrowheads she keeps in her pack, just in case. But without a mold, she has to forge the weapon by hand, and has only a small anvil and mallet to shape the item with. So, with such tools, she takes turns with Merkas, showing him how to strike the metal so it becomes dense and strong. The rhythmic tapping keeps predators away, except for the occasional curious scorpion or spider, who quickly scurry away when Kasi knock some heated sand towards them. By the time Sharn awakens, the new weapon is forged. Still red-hot and cooling, sitting on the firenewt's shield is a small steel device, with ring-holes for grip, and insets on each ring holding polished jackal teeth.
The Jackal Knuckles grants its user +1/+1 attack/damage, with an added Bite ability that deals 1d4-1 damage (piercing).
Kasi smiles proudly at Merkas, then looks at Sharn, then back to Merkas. "It good weapon, Master Merkas. Strong with magic. Enchant?"
Hrothbert_Neruca if you wish, you may imbue it with one other Cantrip from your spell list.
The liquid from the canteen treats the worst of Barkly's wounds, but its health is still questionable throughout the night. Its eyes open slowly as it regains consciousness. But, being bound as it is, and too weak from the battle, it chooses to fall back to sleep and heal.
Barkly is stabilized, but at 0 HP. It will not be able to recover more without healing, but you do have access to fire from a forge to help the healing along.
The morning sun is still beginning its climb over the desert skyline, and the stars are fading from view, but it's still quite early in the morning. Predators still skitter about, trying to catch their meals before the sun scorches the land again, but there's a peace in the early dawn as a quiet, warm breeze slowly creeps in.
Sera woke with the warmth of the rising sun streaming gently through the desert horizon. The sky was painted with soft hues of amber and pink, the sun casting long golden rays over the rolling dunes. It felt like a fresh start, the warmth of the day slowly driving away the chill of the night. Merkas and Kasi been busy making something all night. She suspected they sleep all day in the wagon. .She turned over. Her eyes met Hastos’s, and she smiled warmly at him, planting a gentle kiss on his lips as she stretched, feeling the muscles in her body relax after the long rest. " hi there...Hastos " she lovingly caress his chin. The elf was over 100 years but he seemed a bit clumsy at romance. " I hope this is the start of something wonderful Hastos. You have touched my heart...and ..well. I really like you. Us" she have no more words. The kiss became two. And passion awokens too they give in to thst passion. Sera go on her fours as they make a quick and bit primal love. Moving rythmically and fast at same time trying to be silent. Untill both trembles in their climax. That for sure wake her and she grins back to Hastos "..the day starts good.."
Rising up and getting dressed and don her armor. Looking over the camp. The horses were nearby, calm and quiet, their burns slowly healing thanks to Sera’s attentiveness. Their coats had a slight sheen as the sun caught them, and the air around them seemed lighter, the worst of their pain subsiding. The Strider, bound and passive, rested as well. Sera was unsure whether it would ever truly heal enough to be useful again, and though the kender’s attempts to tame it made her raise an eyebrow, she didn’t voice her doubts yet. There was no denying Merkas’s persistence. But it needs healing. And they not have firewood to create a fire that heals it. " I gonna regret this.." she mutters and lay hand on the beast. From trying to kill it. She cures it. Healing magic flows over it like warm silvery fire. It wakes up but lay still. Perhaps wondering if Sera will stab it again. She give it a smile and pet like she would a dog. Cross her she show it its place. Be good it would be rewarded. ( cure light wounds 15 hp)
Sera adjusted her torn pants and took a deep breath, feeling the cool morning air on her exposed legs.. Her thoughts wandered for a moment. Was it wrong to use her divine power for such simple tasks? To mend her pants felt trivial, yet they were important to her, and her faith told her that every little thing could be connected to the divine. She focused, holding the two small lodestones over her pants as she whispered a quiet prayer to Paladine. The rocks spun gently in the air, glowing with a faint light as the tears in the fabric mended themselves, stitching together as if by invisible hands. The work was done swiftly, almost flawlessly, and she smiled at the small victory. It was a sign that even the smallest of tasks could be made whole again. ( use mending cantrip)
After the simple mending, she turned to her carpentry tools, focusing on the more difficult repairs that needed attention. The sun was higher now, casting its light more fully over the camp, and Sera could feel a quiet peace settle over her. Her mind was clearer, and she could see the fruits of her labor unfolding, the repairs to the horses and their gear already bringing a sense of satisfaction.
As Sharn began to stir, Sera saw his mustache, as bushy as ever, framing his face in an amusing way. She couldn’t help but chuckle softly as she walked over to him, holding the mysterious sword she had discovered from the Firenewt. The weapon gleamed in her hands, its polished surface reflecting the sunlight, its runes faintly glowing.
“Sharn…” she began, a little hesitant. “I’m not fully sure how this works, but this sword, it seems to be made of Orichalcum. It drained my blood when I tested it, and... my name briefly appeared on the blade. It's extremely solid—perhaps it could be a good replacement for your…” she paused, trying to find the right words, “walking stick?” She said it with a gentle smile, knowing Sharn would understand her intention.
The sword was an odd thing, and its magic, though still mysterious, was powerful. Sera wasn’t sure whether it would suit Sharn, but she thought it might be worth considering as a decent weapon.
Kasi mostly tunes out the conversation about the Giant Strider, but can't resist a small chuckle at giving it such a silly name. It comes out as a snort from her long snout. But then the topic turns to her native language. She thinks about the word and corrects Merkas on the pronunciation. Yip-yak is a tonal language, and the high and low barking sounds can strongly affect the meaning of the word, to sometimes cause hilarious mistranslations.
"It mean... close. Much close. Brother, sister, parent, child, lover. Kobolds live much big pack. Much hundred if big enough. Live close, sleep in big pile. Keep warm. Keep safe." She smiles and laughs thinking about it. "It like pile. Trust to keep safe. Warm. Close." She makes a hugging gesture, like cuddling and falling to sleep, then looks at Merkas with raised eyebrows to see if you understand the meaning.
"That's as really nice thing to say Kasi, Do you have a word that means Gramma, or Nana and would you mind if I referred to you as that?" Merkas yawns as they finish up with the repairs to the wagon and the Jackal knuckles. The two chat as they finish up making the Newt forge safe to be left unattended before bedding down.
Pushing up some sand to create a back rest, the kender sets his feet up on his pack and settles in for a few hours sleep. He lies there smile on his face, dead to the world as the others start moving around the camp. He's taken the knuckles and covered them in the sand under his pack to allow them to cool gradually. Dreams of riding around on a fire breathing chicken run through his mind, most of the night, the world a massive kaleidoscope of that is almost debilitating.
Kasi mostly tunes out the conversation about the Giant Strider, but can't resist a small chuckle at giving it such a silly name. It comes out as a snort from her long snout. But then the topic turns to her native language. She thinks about the word and corrects Merkas on the pronunciation. Yip-yak is a tonal language, and the high and low barking sounds can strongly affect the meaning of the word, to sometimes cause hilarious mistranslations.
"It mean... close. Much close. Brother, sister, parent, child, lover. Kobolds live much big pack. Much hundred if big enough. Live close, sleep in big pile. Keep warm. Keep safe." She smiles and laughs thinking about it. "It like pile. Trust to keep safe. Warm. Close." She makes a hugging gesture, like cuddling and falling to sleep, then looks at Merkas with raised eyebrows to see if you understand the meaning.
"That's as really nice thing to say Kasi, Do you have a word that means Gramma, or Nana and would you mind if I referred to you as that?" Merkas yawns as they finish up with the repairs to the wagon and the Jackal knuckles. The two chat as they finish up making the Newt forge safe to be left unattended before bedding down.
Pushing up some sand to create a back rest, the kender sets his feet up on his pack and settles in for a few hours sleep. He lies there smile on his face, dead to the world as the others start moving around the camp. He's taken the knuckles and covered them in the sand under his pack to allow them to cool gradually. Dreams of riding around on a fire breathing chicken run through his mind, most of the night, the world a massive kaleidoscope of that is almost debilitating.
Kasi tries to find a word that would suit such linear definitions of familiar relationships. Although kobolds exist in a sort of hierarchy, within a matriarchal society, all feminine terms are used to imply a place of honor, power, even fear, which doesn't feel right for the old fletcher. Finally, she smiles and says, "Master Merkas call Kasi 'Gramma'. Kasi much proud of being name Gramma.
Once Merkas tucks in for a nap, Kasi tries to figure out what to do with the makeshift forge that still glowing with heat. She gets an idea, and gathers up the lava canteen and carefully scoops some of the soupier entrails into it. The work is peaceful, and she whistles a bird-like tune while she works until she sees Sera coming out of the tent, looking much better than the night before. She watches Sera mend the giant strider's wounds and shakes her head in confusion. But it's not like she didn't have a similar idea. The canteen would hardly provide enough fire for the forge, but it would make a suitable healing potion for the beast. Once the canteen is full, and stoppered, she gives it a little shake to make sure it won't spill, then sets it beside Merkas's snoozing form.
Merkas now has a canteen of "lava" that contains 5 charges. It can be used as a Potion of Healing (Common) for the Giant Strider, or be poured out to make fire. Mixed with oil and fire, the full amount can be poured out onto sand to make enough glass to form the size of a large dinner plate, targe, or 5 glass arrowheads, as an example.
The strider's eyes open and it tries to recoil from Sera's touch, but bound as it is, it can't really move. Begrudgingly, it accepts the gentle treatment, but you can feel its corded muscles are tense with fear.
Kasi looks visibly exhausted, and uncomfortable around the beast. She doesn't know what to say about the whole thing, so she starts a new subject. "Much hour left on trail. Arrive by high sun. Kobold good trap builders. Cave have good trap. Kasi help disarm. Sneak in quiet. Letni Inhelk kill surface folk on sight if not Hachakee."
She goes over to Sera, but keeps a distance from the giant strider of about 10 feet. "Good healer, Master Sera. Giant strider look good.
Sharn stirred with a grumble, the hairs of his bushy mustache dancing on his breath as he did so. Another night, another dream of being buried alive. His bones cracked as he stretched, the first part of his daily routine. As he stretched his hips, he noticed that the giant strider was still alive. Surprising, but not upsetting, the animal had little fault over its actions yesterday. Merkas, he guessed was the one behind the decision, would use it for good.
When Sera reached him, he was struggling to reach his toes. It always took him a few tries before his core and hamstrings were flexible enough.
He smiled at her. "Thank you kind Sera, I can definitely care for it. I don't know, however, if I will ever draw blood with it, or perhaps any blade. Something tells me that there's more to the weapon than meets the eye. Perhaps if I spoke to it. Seems polite a weapon enough to learn your name. Knowing that, are you sure you want me to hold on to it?"
Lastly he stretched his arms. Hearing Kasi made his face stern. "That's rough, to attack all of their neighbors on sight. I'm sure they have their reasons for it. Relationships between settlements are extremely harsh here. I wonder what other kobold groups think of the Letni inhelk" He had some trouble pronouncing the name, but Sharn definitely tried.
Hastos wakes refreshed, which is saying something given the events of the night before. He stretches and feels his muscles ache. He rubs his shoulders as Sera walks over to heal the Strider. He’s not sure if the soreness is from the fight or from… other activities. As he gears up, he works the stiffness out of him limbs with minor grunts and grimaces.
Hes smiles as he hears Merkas new nickname for Kasi. He sits down next to the remnants of the fire and surveys the scene. Human, Dwarf, Kender, Kobold, and an Elf. Working together to help a bunch of people they don’t know. he guesses that maybe that’s the thing about catastrophes. Sometimes, they can bring peoples together in surprising ways.
“This all came together too quickly.” He thinks to himself. He chastises himself for not slowing down and doing this in the right way. He’s let himself get carried away in a delusion and as such hasn’t been honest with himself or this band of people he’s come to bond with. “You’d think I’d have this shit down at this age.” He says to himself.
Sharn stretched with a groan, his joints stiff from the night on the hard ground. He took the sword hesitantly, turning it over in his hands, his fingers tracing the runes. His expression was thoughtful but uncertain.
He admit he don’t really like the idea of drawing blood.
Sera nodded in understanding. “Then maybe you can trade it for something more to your liking with Buckeran. He seemed to collect weapons. I have my father’s sword, and I won’t part with it, but this one could be useful to someone else.” She gave him a playful wink. “Or, you know, you might need it to cut a hopeless kender out of the belly of a mean giant chicken.”
She chuckled at that thought. Then Sera left him to his thoughts and moved to break down the camp. She made sure Merkas, still curled up and half-asleep, was properly shaded under the cover. She looked at his new grandma kobold. Kasi, though usually full of energy, looked exhausted. Sera let them rest, getting directions from Kasi before taking charge of the final preparations.
The Strider was still secured, its injuries better, but she made sure the rope was solidly fastened to the wagon. It wouldn’t do to have the beast run off—or worse, turn on them. She tried be strickt. Showing her blade once in a while when it behaved difficult. And rewards it with water and small strips of dried meat when it behaves. Giving a short prayer that she not must kill it and that Merkas will get his firebreathing mount. ( animal handling with guidance 12)
Finally, as everything was in place, she turned to Sharn and Hastos. “We ready to go?” she asked, brushing dust from her hands and looking between them. The journey was far from over, but at least for now, they were moving forward.
Waking as the heat of the day makes staying asleep a worse option than not resting enough, Merkas rubs at his eyes and look around the camp and quickly jumps to his feEt “Hey where’d everyo….oh there you are, thought you all took off without me, haha, you wouldn’t do that would you” He says nervously as he turns around to see the wagon packed and the strider to it. Looking back at his sleeping spot he sees the bottle Kasi had set beside him and the kobold resting near what was left of the forge. “That’s why I stayed warm. Thanks Gramma” He collects the bottle of lava like liquid, careful to use some rags to protect his hands from being burnt, and stores it in his pack. After that’s safely stored he moves over the Kasi and lifts the kobold up in a cradle carry and takes her to the wagon, careful to put her up foward so she isn’t startled by Barkly when she awakens. He goes back and collects up what newt bones survived the forge work and stores them in his pack to scrutinize later.
Once he’s finished packing up their makeshift smithy he moves his pack over and digs up the jackal knuckles from the sand where they had spent the night to cool. He takes some time to make them presentable and worthy to be given as a gift.
He moves to climb onto the cart mear to the Strider “Good morning, Barkly! So glad to have you with us, I sure hope we can get along.” Pulling some of the dried jackal meat out of his pack he fishes some under the makeshift muzzle to allow the creature to eat “Don’t have a lot of water but we will give you some when we take a break ok? You look like you like to hunt, if you be good and don’t try to bite or hurt is again then we can go do that, and I have a bunch more of the healing stuff for you if you get hurt, ok. I wanted to help you right away last night but things got all crazy way to quickly. You remember that I didn’t hirt you right, I tried to give you food, my friends only hurt you cause you hurt the horses and stuff, Don’t worry we know you were just doing what you were trained to do so we don’t hold it against you!”
Merkas continues to chatter with the Strider until Sera asks if everyone is ready to which he cries out “Hells Yeah, gotta get that stuff back”He pulls out some chocolate he’s been holding onto to eat for breakfast “Hmm, not sure if you can have chocolate, if we can find out it’s okay for you then I will get you some ok?”
(Animal handling plus valentines chocolate = 8)
As Sharn comes to mount the cart as well, The Kender gets up and holds out the Jackal knuckles “Hey Sharn! Kasi and I made this for you! Kasi brought back the jackal and I saved some of the teeth, I thought to make a neat necklace but then you use your fists so good that I thought maybe we could make you something to make your fists even better, So here you go! An original Kasi, the Jackal Knuckles! I think it’s got some sort of special magic in it but all I could think about was the gross creepy crawlies that kept bugging us while we worked.”
Hastos throws his bag in the cart as it begins rolling and throws Sera a wink. “What needs to be done can wait.” He thinks to himself.
He takes position towards the front of the cart, just to the side of the horses. In between scanning the terrain for danger, he preoccupies himself with watching the Kender talk to the Strider and stealing the occasional glance at Sera whose clothes now look completely undamaged!
”Merkas!” He yells back. “You got a plan on taming that thing?” He says chuckling.
Sharn smiled and accepted the vicious looking weapon. "Thank you so much Merkas. I will make sure to use these with those who deserve it most." He nodded and added. "How did you even make these so quickly. You're truly talented."
Sharn turned to Hastos. "If I am to have two weapons, perhaps it'd be wise to give Hastos this odd scimitar. I know it's not an axe, but it looks like it cuts really well."
"That's what I'm doing Haz! Can't you tell!" Merkas quips back at his friend before saying kindly to Barkly"Don't listen to him, I bet he just wants to have a really cool friend like you."
Smiling broadly at the praise he waves a hand dismissively"Wasn't me, it was Gramma Kasi, I just got to help and learn as we went."
The Strider was still secured, its injuries better, but she made sure the rope was solidly fastened to the wagon. It wouldn’t do to have the beast run off—or worse, turn on them. She tried be strickt. Showing her blade once in a while when it behaved difficult. And rewards it with water and small strips of dried meat when it behaves. Giving a short prayer that she not must kill it and that Merkas will get his firebreathing mount. ( animal handling with guidance 12)
Removing Barkly's makeshift muzzle proves difficult for the first few attempts, but once it understands that behaving during the unbinding meant free food, it starts to adjust its behavior. When it stands up and takes its place behind the cart, you discover that Barkly is female. She stops resisting the unbinding, but you have to move your hand away fast to avoid getting bit. You find that it's best, for now, to toss the meat on the ground and let Barkly figure it out. She doesn't seem thrilled to be forced to eat dead meat, but the rumble in her stomach belies need that she can't ignore. The first attempt to muzzle her beak is nearly disastrous, and Sera receives a small nick on her hand for it, but nothing that hinders her ability to function. Wisely, or because she still lacks the strength, she does not use her fire breath. After a few repetitions, she stops fighting the muzzle. The magical healing worked wonders on her ankle, and the swelling is almost completely gone, though the wound on her side and throat will leave nasty scars.
Waking as the heat of the day makes staying asleep a worse option than not resting enough, Merkas rubs at his eyes and look around the camp and quickly jumps to his feEt “Hey where’d everyo….oh there you are, thought you all took off without me, haha, you wouldn’t do that would you” He says nervously as he turns around to see the wagon packed and the strider to it. Looking back at his sleeping spot he sees the bottle Kasi had set beside him and the kobold resting near what was left of the forge. “That’s why I stayed warm. Thanks Gramma” He collects the bottle of lava like liquid, careful to use some rags to protect his hands from being burnt, and stores it in his pack. After that’s safely stored he moves over the Kasi and lifts the kobold up in a cradle carry and takes her to the wagon, careful to put her up foward so she isn’t startled by Barkly when she awakens. He goes back and collects up what newt bones survived the forge work and stores them in his pack to scrutinize later.
He moves to climb onto the cart mear to the Strider “Good morning, Barkly! So glad to have you with us, I sure hope we can get along.” Pulling some of the dried jackal meat out of his pack he fishes some under the makeshift muzzle to allow the creature to eat “Don’t have a lot of water but we will give you some when we take a break ok? You look like you like to hunt, if you be good and don’t try to bite or hurt is again then we can go do that, and I have a bunch more of the healing stuff for you if you get hurt, ok. I wanted to help you right away last night but things got all crazy way to quickly. You remember that I didn’t hirt you right, I tried to give you food, my friends only hurt you cause you hurt the horses and stuff, Don’t worry we know you were just doing what you were trained to do so we don’t hold it against you!”
Merkas continues to chatter with the Strider until Sera asks if everyone is ready to which he cries out “Hells Yeah, gotta get that stuff back”He pulls out some chocolate he’s been holding onto to eat for breakfast “Hmm, not sure if you can have chocolate, if we can find out it’s okay for you then I will get you some ok?”
(Animal handling plus valentines chocolate = 8)
Kasi barely stirs as Merkas brings her limp form to the cart. She lulls like a sack of snoring potatoes, and mumbles something incoherent when you lay her in the cart. With the sun beginning to cook the sand, Kasi will rejuvenate quickly. But for now, she's passed out.
Barkly is much more difficult to manage, and doesn't take the chocolate. She backs away and raises her head to get away from the smell. Apparently, Giant Striders only care for meat. With the muzzle loosened, she's unable to bite, and doesn't attempt to. But Barkly shows a keen interest in the kender she tried to eat the night before. Whether that interest is good or bad, remains a mystery.
"That's what I'm doing Haz! Can't you tell!" Merkas quips back at his friend before saying kindly to Barkly"Don't listen to him, I bet he just wants to have a really cool friend like you."
Smiling broadly at the praise he waves a hand dismissively"Wasn't me, it was Gramma Kasi, I just got to help and learn as we went."
Barkly cocks her head to the side and looks at you with one curious eye. It may not understand a word you're saying, but it does seem to be trying to.
The trail is uneventful. When you look over your shoulder, you see that Kasi has switched to snoozing on top of the jackal blanket, using it as a rug. Again, she's nearly nude, and soaking up as much of the sun's rays as possible. There's a crocodile-grin on her face and occasionally she yips and kicks a leg.
When you get close to where the site is marked, Kasi is starting to awaken. "Go west, southwest. To mountain... that way." She points at a depression a few hundred feet southwest of the trail, onto bouncy terrain that Kasi endures with obvious discomfort. The rug absorbs some of the impact of the rocky approach, but not nearly enough to make it a smooth ride. Slowly you have to steer the horses clear of boulders and sinkholes, but Kasi guides you truly.
It's about midday when you make it to the depression. You see that there's no immediate cave. Kasi guided you there to hide the cart and horses so she can disarm the trap at the entrance, which is another 50' feet away. Understanding her role, she throws her quiver and bow over her shoulder, then dons her firenewt helmet, and crawls down uneasily off the cart, doing her best to keep away from Barkly.
"Trap at entrance. Falling rock. Kasi disarm, then Masters and Kasi sneak in. Keep horses quiet."
It's not obvious what possible trap Kasi could be talking about. It seems like a nondescript cave entrance. There must be hundreds like it along the stretch of mountainside.
Kasi shrugs. "Kobold make glass. Use dragon fire. Kasi know how make glass arrowheads. Fill with poison, acid... holy water. Good weapon. Break in wound, do nasty hurt. Buckeran much smart. Maybe much hard for surface folk make glass." Kasi smiles with pride. "Newt Slayer..." she likes the name. "Kasi! Newt Slayer!" she repeats again, seeming happy and a lump forms in her throat. "Kasi slay newt. Rest, my (she says something in Yip-yak that she doesn't seem to be able to translate." She looks away from Merkas for a moment to wipe her face, then clears her throat. "Much work tonight. Merkas help?"
Kasi is thrilled to share her knowledge with the eager Kender, and to calm her giddiness about making a surprise, she covers her mouth with a gnarled hand. Then she notices Hastos looking over her shoulder, and shuffles around in a hunched position. "Master Hastos learn too? Not much tools. Master Hastos watch, yes? Make surprise for Master Merkas (similar phrase in Yip-Yak)."
But when Sera steps in to occupy Hastos's lips, she shrugs and happily returns to her work.
Adding Downtime Activity Training for Merkas to learn Smithing.
Hrothbert_Neruca, please roll an INT or WIS check to Help. (Improvised house rule) Results below 3 will hinder the work. Results above 10 will finish the project in half the time. Results above 15 will finish the work in half the time and produce bonus results. 3-10 will do no harm or aid, and the project will be completed by morning.
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Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Sera glanced over at Sharn, peacefully asleep. He was smart—witty, even—but hopeless with that quarterstaff If this strange scimitar truly had magic, it could change that.
She turned the blade over in her hands, tracing the runnels carved along its surface. The weapon was unlike anything she had seen before, forged in the Elemental Plane of Fire itself. Magic like this didn’t just exist without purpose. Could it be activated by blood?
Her gaze flickered to her arm, then around the camp. She wasn’t about to stab someone else to test a theory. But herself… that was another matter.
Taking a deep inhale, she angled the tip of the scimitar toward her forearm, bracing for whatever might come next. Let’s see if you’re worth keeping, or just another pretty blade.
“Haz can know too that’s….never mind, they’re at it again” Waving a hand dismissively at the two kissing he turns back to keep helping Kasi, it doesn’t take long before he’s started preempting what the kobold needs as the move along. Huge grin on his face and a couple singed fingers from well learned lessons on how hot firenewt bones are, and the two of them work the night away. (Dirty 20 Int check)
With Hastos giving his assent to keep the giant strider Merkas smiles even wider and starts thinking through what he might need to do. “Can you help me to tie up the barking chicken while this heats up? ” Merkas asks in a lull while they wait for some metal to be ready. “You said it’s very important to keep the mouth closed yes? If we tie it up we can use the hot bottle to heal its worst wounds. And maybe we use it to carry the hot bones of the newt as it seems to like hot stuff!” Walking past Sera as she tries to compose herself again, Merkas can’t help but comment on the blush she has on her face. “You’re almost as red as the newt guy, you best get some sleep before you faint from the heat. Could you help with the Barking Chicken if it survives? I think I’ll call him Barkly!”
While the whittle away at the tasks he asks Kasi “What’s that word you used mean?” he does his best to imitate the second phrase she used after his name earlier. “It sounded like it was a nice phrase but I don’t know it”
Loyalty Begets Honour
The sword cuts so cleanly, it doesn't even hurt. As the blood trickles down the runnel the pommel glows a warn red color, not hot to the touch, but notably warm. And symbols start to form along blade crackles to life. Ignan symbols glow along the length of the blade, vague at first, but then switch to Solamnic, and appear to vaguely read Sera Uth Darnon, before fading away and returning back to its natural state. The blade seems to have some power, but cannot be fully activated by the blood of its wielder.
Kasi mostly tunes out the conversation about the Giant Strider, but can't resist a small chuckle at giving it such a silly name. It comes out as a snort from her long snout. But then the topic turns to her native language. She thinks about the word and corrects Merkas on the pronunciation. Yip-yak is a tonal language, and the high and low barking sounds can strongly affect the meaning of the word, to sometimes cause hilarious mistranslations.
"It mean... close. Much close. Brother, sister, parent, child, lover. Kobolds live much big pack. Much hundred if big enough. Live close, sleep in big pile. Keep warm. Keep safe." She smiles and laughs thinking about it. "It like pile. Trust to keep safe. Warm. Close." She makes a hugging gesture, like cuddling and falling to sleep, then looks at Merkas with raised eyebrows to see if you understand the meaning.
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Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Sera gritted her teeth as she watched the blade react. The cut was so clean she barely felt it, but the sight of her own name glowing along the blade in Solamnic sent a chill down her spine.
"Odd… why my name? Is that its magic? To identify whoever it draws blood from?" she muttered, shaking her head. If that was all, it seemed like a waste of power. But something told her there was more to it—something she couldn't yet unlock.
Glancing around the camp, she sighed. Kasi and Merkas were still busy tinkering with whatever bizarre project they had in mind, and someone would have to drive the wagon tomorrow—with a sleeping kender and a kobold, no less.
Deciding she was too exhausted to puzzle this out now, she wiped the blade clean, tucked it away, and made a mental note to talk to the others in the morning. Whatever this sword truly was, it would have to wait.
Hastos cocks an eyebrow at Sera’s sudden interest in the sword and shield post kiss. “Yes, we should definitely rest up, I have a feeling that these roads are a prime area for bandits and predators.”
As Sera has become preoccupied with the sword and shield, Hastos returns his attention briefly to Kasi. “….just interested in what the insides look like. I won’t be in the way. I really need to rest up. My watch is coming up soon enough,”
As Hastos returns his attention to Sera, he sees her turning the sword on herself. Clearly Sera suspects something, but only the agods know what. “That’s probably going to hurt.” He says grinning as he sits down beside her.
Character: Hastos, Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread
Hastos stepped close, concern in his eyes as he glanced between her arm and the blade. "thats probably gonna hurt"
Sera looked down at the clean cut, feeling the lingering warmth of the sword’s magic on her skin. "Surprisingly, no," she murmured, still puzzled by the strange enchantment. "I hope all this trouble was worth it somehow… Maybe Sharn can make use of it."
But as she looked up at Hastos, the weight of the night—the battle, the pain, the exhaustion—became something distant. None of it mattered as much as the way he stood there with her, still watching her with that mix of concern and something deeper.
She reached for him, pulling him close, letting her body press against his as the rush of adrenaline and relief mixed into something else entirely. Her fingers traced over his bruised skin, the warmth of him grounding her in the moment. Their lips met in a slow, desperate kiss, then another, and soon there was no hesitation.
She guided him down with her, hands exploring, breath quickening. Pain lingered from their wounds, but she didn't care. She straddled him, moving with aching need, letting herself get lost in the closeness, in the heat between them. They moved together, careful but urgent, chasing away the lingering fear of the battle with the simple certainty that they had survived—that they were still here. They moved steady and rythmically. Gasping in their union and passion. The pain lessened for sure.
When it was over, she collapsed against his chest, utterly spent. Her heart still pounded, but now it was from something far better than fear. She listened to his breathing slow, savoring the warmth of his skin against hers.
Tomorrow, the road would bring more dangers. But for now, wrapped in his arms, she let herself rest.
Kasi and Merkas work quickly, with Merkas proving his potential as a smith by picking up the skill with impressive ease. Kasi uses a small crucible for making arrowheads and liquefies some of the spare arrowheads she keeps in her pack, just in case. But without a mold, she has to forge the weapon by hand, and has only a small anvil and mallet to shape the item with. So, with such tools, she takes turns with Merkas, showing him how to strike the metal so it becomes dense and strong. The rhythmic tapping keeps predators away, except for the occasional curious scorpion or spider, who quickly scurry away when Kasi knock some heated sand towards them. By the time Sharn awakens, the new weapon is forged. Still red-hot and cooling, sitting on the firenewt's shield is a small steel device, with ring-holes for grip, and insets on each ring holding polished jackal teeth.
The Jackal Knuckles grants its user +1/+1 attack/damage, with an added Bite ability that deals 1d4-1 damage (piercing).
Kasi smiles proudly at Merkas, then looks at Sharn, then back to Merkas. "It good weapon, Master Merkas. Strong with magic. Enchant?"
Hrothbert_Neruca if you wish, you may imbue it with one other Cantrip from your spell list.
The liquid from the canteen treats the worst of Barkly's wounds, but its health is still questionable throughout the night. Its eyes open slowly as it regains consciousness. But, being bound as it is, and too weak from the battle, it chooses to fall back to sleep and heal.
Barkly is stabilized, but at 0 HP. It will not be able to recover more without healing, but you do have access to fire from a forge to help the healing along.
The morning sun is still beginning its climb over the desert skyline, and the stars are fading from view, but it's still quite early in the morning. Predators still skitter about, trying to catch their meals before the sun scorches the land again, but there's a peace in the early dawn as a quiet, warm breeze slowly creeps in.
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Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Sera woke with the warmth of the rising sun streaming gently through the desert horizon. The sky was painted with soft hues of amber and pink, the sun casting long golden rays over the rolling dunes. It felt like a fresh start, the warmth of the day slowly driving away the chill of the night. Merkas and Kasi been busy making something all night. She suspected they sleep all day in the wagon. .She turned over. Her eyes met Hastos’s, and she smiled warmly at him, planting a gentle kiss on his lips as she stretched, feeling the muscles in her body relax after the long rest. " hi there...Hastos " she lovingly caress his chin. The elf was over 100 years but he seemed a bit clumsy at romance. " I hope this is the start of something wonderful Hastos. You have touched my heart...and ..well. I really like you. Us" she have no more words. The kiss became two. And passion awokens too they give in to thst passion. Sera go on her fours as they make a quick and bit primal love. Moving rythmically and fast at same time trying to be silent. Untill both trembles in their climax. That for sure wake her and she grins back to Hastos "..the day starts good.."
Rising up and getting dressed and don her armor. Looking over the camp. The horses were nearby, calm and quiet, their burns slowly healing thanks to Sera’s attentiveness. Their coats had a slight sheen as the sun caught them, and the air around them seemed lighter, the worst of their pain subsiding. The Strider, bound and passive, rested as well. Sera was unsure whether it would ever truly heal enough to be useful again, and though the kender’s attempts to tame it made her raise an eyebrow, she didn’t voice her doubts yet. There was no denying Merkas’s persistence. But it needs healing. And they not have firewood to create a fire that heals it. " I gonna regret this.." she mutters and lay hand on the beast. From trying to kill it. She cures it. Healing magic flows over it like warm silvery fire. It wakes up but lay still. Perhaps wondering if Sera will stab it again. She give it a smile and pet like she would a dog. Cross her she show it its place. Be good it would be rewarded. ( cure light wounds 15 hp)
Sera adjusted her torn pants and took a deep breath, feeling the cool morning air on her exposed legs.. Her thoughts wandered for a moment. Was it wrong to use her divine power for such simple tasks? To mend her pants felt trivial, yet they were important to her, and her faith told her that every little thing could be connected to the divine. She focused, holding the two small lodestones over her pants as she whispered a quiet prayer to Paladine. The rocks spun gently in the air, glowing with a faint light as the tears in the fabric mended themselves, stitching together as if by invisible hands. The work was done swiftly, almost flawlessly, and she smiled at the small victory. It was a sign that even the smallest of tasks could be made whole again. ( use mending cantrip)
After the simple mending, she turned to her carpentry tools, focusing on the more difficult repairs that needed attention. The sun was higher now, casting its light more fully over the camp, and Sera could feel a quiet peace settle over her. Her mind was clearer, and she could see the fruits of her labor unfolding, the repairs to the horses and their gear already bringing a sense of satisfaction.
As Sharn began to stir, Sera saw his mustache, as bushy as ever, framing his face in an amusing way. She couldn’t help but chuckle softly as she walked over to him, holding the mysterious sword she had discovered from the Firenewt. The weapon gleamed in her hands, its polished surface reflecting the sunlight, its runes faintly glowing.
“Sharn…” she began, a little hesitant. “I’m not fully sure how this works, but this sword, it seems to be made of Orichalcum. It drained my blood when I tested it, and... my name briefly appeared on the blade. It's extremely solid—perhaps it could be a good replacement for your…” she paused, trying to find the right words, “walking stick?” She said it with a gentle smile, knowing Sharn would understand her intention.
The sword was an odd thing, and its magic, though still mysterious, was powerful. Sera wasn’t sure whether it would suit Sharn, but she thought it might be worth considering as a decent weapon.
"That's as really nice thing to say Kasi, Do you have a word that means Gramma, or Nana and would you mind if I referred to you as that?" Merkas yawns as they finish up with the repairs to the wagon and the Jackal knuckles. The two chat as they finish up making the Newt forge safe to be left unattended before bedding down.
Pushing up some sand to create a back rest, the kender sets his feet up on his pack and settles in for a few hours sleep. He lies there smile on his face, dead to the world as the others start moving around the camp. He's taken the knuckles and covered them in the sand under his pack to allow them to cool gradually. Dreams of riding around on a fire breathing chicken run through his mind, most of the night, the world a massive kaleidoscope of that is almost debilitating.
Loyalty Begets Honour
Kasi tries to find a word that would suit such linear definitions of familiar relationships. Although kobolds exist in a sort of hierarchy, within a matriarchal society, all feminine terms are used to imply a place of honor, power, even fear, which doesn't feel right for the old fletcher. Finally, she smiles and says, "Master Merkas call Kasi 'Gramma'. Kasi much proud of being name Gramma.
Once Merkas tucks in for a nap, Kasi tries to figure out what to do with the makeshift forge that still glowing with heat. She gets an idea, and gathers up the lava canteen and carefully scoops some of the soupier entrails into it. The work is peaceful, and she whistles a bird-like tune while she works until she sees Sera coming out of the tent, looking much better than the night before. She watches Sera mend the giant strider's wounds and shakes her head in confusion. But it's not like she didn't have a similar idea. The canteen would hardly provide enough fire for the forge, but it would make a suitable healing potion for the beast. Once the canteen is full, and stoppered, she gives it a little shake to make sure it won't spill, then sets it beside Merkas's snoozing form.
Merkas now has a canteen of "lava" that contains 5 charges. It can be used as a Potion of Healing (Common) for the Giant Strider, or be poured out to make fire. Mixed with oil and fire, the full amount can be poured out onto sand to make enough glass to form the size of a large dinner plate, targe, or 5 glass arrowheads, as an example.
The strider's eyes open and it tries to recoil from Sera's touch, but bound as it is, it can't really move. Begrudgingly, it accepts the gentle treatment, but you can feel its corded muscles are tense with fear.
Kasi looks visibly exhausted, and uncomfortable around the beast. She doesn't know what to say about the whole thing, so she starts a new subject. "Much hour left on trail. Arrive by high sun. Kobold good trap builders. Cave have good trap. Kasi help disarm. Sneak in quiet. Letni Inhelk kill surface folk on sight if not Hachakee."
She goes over to Sera, but keeps a distance from the giant strider of about 10 feet. "Good healer, Master Sera. Giant strider look good.
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My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Sharn stirred with a grumble, the hairs of his bushy mustache dancing on his breath as he did so. Another night, another dream of being buried alive. His bones cracked as he stretched, the first part of his daily routine. As he stretched his hips, he noticed that the giant strider was still alive. Surprising, but not upsetting, the animal had little fault over its actions yesterday. Merkas, he guessed was the one behind the decision, would use it for good.
When Sera reached him, he was struggling to reach his toes. It always took him a few tries before his core and hamstrings were flexible enough.
He smiled at her. "Thank you kind Sera, I can definitely care for it. I don't know, however, if I will ever draw blood with it, or perhaps any blade. Something tells me that there's more to the weapon than meets the eye. Perhaps if I spoke to it. Seems polite a weapon enough to learn your name. Knowing that, are you sure you want me to hold on to it?"
Lastly he stretched his arms. Hearing Kasi made his face stern. "That's rough, to attack all of their neighbors on sight. I'm sure they have their reasons for it. Relationships between settlements are extremely harsh here. I wonder what other kobold groups think of the Letni inhelk" He had some trouble pronouncing the name, but Sharn definitely tried.
Kasi doesn't take offense to the criticisms. "Much surface dweller attack kobold on site. Is more safe to protect tribe and clutch."
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My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Hastos wakes refreshed, which is saying something given the events of the night before. He stretches and feels his muscles ache. He rubs his shoulders as Sera walks over to heal the Strider. He’s not sure if the soreness is from the fight or from… other activities. As he gears up, he works the stiffness out of him limbs with minor grunts and grimaces.
Hes smiles as he hears Merkas new nickname for Kasi. He sits down next to the remnants of the fire and surveys the scene. Human, Dwarf, Kender, Kobold, and an Elf. Working together to help a bunch of people they don’t know. he guesses that maybe that’s the thing about catastrophes. Sometimes, they can bring peoples together in surprising ways.
“This all came together too quickly.” He thinks to himself. He chastises himself for not slowing down and doing this in the right way. He’s let himself get carried away in a delusion and as such hasn’t been honest with himself or this band of people he’s come to bond with. “You’d think I’d have this shit down at this age.” He says to himself.
Character: Hastos, Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread
Sharn stretched with a groan, his joints stiff from the night on the hard ground. He took the sword hesitantly, turning it over in his hands, his fingers tracing the runes. His expression was thoughtful but uncertain.
He admit he don’t really like the idea of drawing blood.
Sera nodded in understanding. “Then maybe you can trade it for something more to your liking with Buckeran. He seemed to collect weapons. I have my father’s sword, and I won’t part with it, but this one could be useful to someone else.” She gave him a playful wink. “Or, you know, you might need it to cut a hopeless kender out of the belly of a mean giant chicken.”
She chuckled at that thought. Then Sera left him to his thoughts and moved to break down the camp. She made sure Merkas, still curled up and half-asleep, was properly shaded under the cover. She looked at his new grandma kobold. Kasi, though usually full of energy, looked exhausted. Sera let them rest, getting directions from Kasi before taking charge of the final preparations.
The Strider was still secured, its injuries better, but she made sure the rope was solidly fastened to the wagon. It wouldn’t do to have the beast run off—or worse, turn on them. She tried be strickt. Showing her blade once in a while when it behaved difficult. And rewards it with water and small strips of dried meat when it behaves. Giving a short prayer that she not must kill it and that Merkas will get his firebreathing mount. ( animal handling with guidance 12)
Finally, as everything was in place, she turned to Sharn and Hastos. “We ready to go?” she asked, brushing dust from her hands and looking between them. The journey was far from over, but at least for now, they were moving forward.
Waking as the heat of the day makes staying asleep a worse option than not resting enough, Merkas rubs at his eyes and look around the camp and quickly jumps to his feEt “Hey where’d everyo….oh there you are, thought you all took off without me, haha, you wouldn’t do that would you” He says nervously as he turns around to see the wagon packed and the strider to it.
Looking back at his sleeping spot he sees the bottle Kasi had set beside him and the kobold resting near what was left of the forge. “That’s why I stayed warm. Thanks Gramma” He collects the bottle of lava like liquid, careful to use some rags to protect his hands from being burnt, and stores it in his pack.
After that’s safely stored he moves over the Kasi and lifts the kobold up in a cradle carry and takes her to the wagon, careful to put her up foward so she isn’t startled by Barkly when she awakens. He goes back and collects up what newt bones survived the forge work and stores them in his pack to scrutinize later.
Once he’s finished packing up their makeshift smithy he moves his pack over and digs up the jackal knuckles from the sand where they had spent the night to cool. He takes some time to make them presentable and worthy to be given as a gift.
He moves to climb onto the cart mear to the Strider “Good morning, Barkly! So glad to have you with us, I sure hope we can get along.” Pulling some of the dried jackal meat out of his pack he fishes some under the makeshift muzzle to allow the creature to eat “Don’t have a lot of water but we will give you some when we take a break ok? You look like you like to hunt, if you be good and don’t try to bite or hurt is again then we can go do that, and I have a bunch more of the healing stuff for you if you get hurt, ok. I wanted to help you right away last night but things got all crazy way to quickly. You remember that I didn’t hirt you right, I tried to give you food, my friends only hurt you cause you hurt the horses and stuff, Don’t worry we know you were just doing what you were trained to do so we don’t hold it against you!”
Merkas continues to chatter with the Strider until Sera asks if everyone is ready to which he cries out “Hells Yeah, gotta get that stuff back” He pulls out some chocolate he’s been holding onto to eat for breakfast “Hmm, not sure if you can have chocolate, if we can find out it’s okay for you then I will get you some ok?”
(Animal handling plus valentines chocolate = 8)
As Sharn comes to mount the cart as well, The Kender gets up and holds out the Jackal knuckles “Hey Sharn! Kasi and I made this for you! Kasi brought back the jackal and I saved some of the teeth, I thought to make a neat necklace but then you use your fists so good that I thought maybe we could make you something to make your fists even better, So here you go! An original Kasi, the Jackal Knuckles! I think it’s got some sort of special magic in it but all I could think about was the gross creepy crawlies that kept bugging us while we worked.”
Loyalty Begets Honour
Hastos throws his bag in the cart as it begins rolling and throws Sera a wink. “What needs to be done can wait.” He thinks to himself.
He takes position towards the front of the cart, just to the side of the horses. In between scanning the terrain for danger, he preoccupies himself with watching the Kender talk to the Strider and stealing the occasional glance at Sera whose clothes now look completely undamaged!
”Merkas!” He yells back. “You got a plan on taming that thing?” He says chuckling.
Character: Hastos, Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread
Sharn smiled and accepted the vicious looking weapon. "Thank you so much Merkas. I will make sure to use these with those who deserve it most." He nodded and added. "How did you even make these so quickly. You're truly talented."
Sharn turned to Hastos. "If I am to have two weapons, perhaps it'd be wise to give Hastos this odd scimitar. I know it's not an axe, but it looks like it cuts really well."
"That's what I'm doing Haz! Can't you tell!" Merkas quips back at his friend before saying kindly to Barkly "Don't listen to him, I bet he just wants to have a really cool friend like you."
Smiling broadly at the praise he waves a hand dismissively "Wasn't me, it was Gramma Kasi, I just got to help and learn as we went."
Loyalty Begets Honour
Removing Barkly's makeshift muzzle proves difficult for the first few attempts, but once it understands that behaving during the unbinding meant free food, it starts to adjust its behavior. When it stands up and takes its place behind the cart, you discover that Barkly is female. She stops resisting the unbinding, but you have to move your hand away fast to avoid getting bit. You find that it's best, for now, to toss the meat on the ground and let Barkly figure it out. She doesn't seem thrilled to be forced to eat dead meat, but the rumble in her stomach belies need that she can't ignore. The first attempt to muzzle her beak is nearly disastrous, and Sera receives a small nick on her hand for it, but nothing that hinders her ability to function. Wisely, or because she still lacks the strength, she does not use her fire breath. After a few repetitions, she stops fighting the muzzle. The magical healing worked wonders on her ankle, and the swelling is almost completely gone, though the wound on her side and throat will leave nasty scars.
Kasi barely stirs as Merkas brings her limp form to the cart. She lulls like a sack of snoring potatoes, and mumbles something incoherent when you lay her in the cart. With the sun beginning to cook the sand, Kasi will rejuvenate quickly. But for now, she's passed out.
Barkly is much more difficult to manage, and doesn't take the chocolate. She backs away and raises her head to get away from the smell. Apparently, Giant Striders only care for meat. With the muzzle loosened, she's unable to bite, and doesn't attempt to. But Barkly shows a keen interest in the kender she tried to eat the night before. Whether that interest is good or bad, remains a mystery.
Barkly cocks her head to the side and looks at you with one curious eye. It may not understand a word you're saying, but it does seem to be trying to.
The trail is uneventful. When you look over your shoulder, you see that Kasi has switched to snoozing on top of the jackal blanket, using it as a rug. Again, she's nearly nude, and soaking up as much of the sun's rays as possible. There's a crocodile-grin on her face and occasionally she yips and kicks a leg.
When you get close to where the site is marked, Kasi is starting to awaken. "Go west, southwest. To mountain... that way." She points at a depression a few hundred feet southwest of the trail, onto bouncy terrain that Kasi endures with obvious discomfort. The rug absorbs some of the impact of the rocky approach, but not nearly enough to make it a smooth ride. Slowly you have to steer the horses clear of boulders and sinkholes, but Kasi guides you truly.
It's about midday when you make it to the depression. You see that there's no immediate cave. Kasi guided you there to hide the cart and horses so she can disarm the trap at the entrance, which is another 50' feet away. Understanding her role, she throws her quiver and bow over her shoulder, then dons her firenewt helmet, and crawls down uneasily off the cart, doing her best to keep away from Barkly.
"Trap at entrance. Falling rock. Kasi disarm, then Masters and Kasi sneak in. Keep horses quiet."
It's not obvious what possible trap Kasi could be talking about. It seems like a nondescript cave entrance. There must be hundreds like it along the stretch of mountainside.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin