The Long Road - Game Thread

At the mention of a special brew, Jorin seemingly materializes from no where saying, "I had heard take of this brew and am most excited to try it!"

(A little bit prior to this.)

Hildi and Jorin re-enter the house and join Pascal, Drusk and Gowin in the dining room. Hildi's quiet mood is immediately noticed.

"Is the business ok?" Hildi asks Gowin.

Gowin frowns. "What do you mean?"

Hildi pauses. "Dad paid me my stipend and it's less than I expected. But he swears everything is fine."

Gowin stands up, chuckling. "It is fine. Don't worry about it. If you need more money, just tell him." He leaves the dining room and walks to the living room.

Hildi watches his uncle walk out and looks down again.

(And now we jump back into time as it was progressing. We can say that Drusk made his offer of counsel between these two events.)

Popsy turns to smile at the large human. "Of course you are! Special drink is not unusual for Wintershield, I'm sure you know, but this recipe ..." he trails off, smiling and nodding. "But you're going to have to wait," he sings. "It's not quite ready."

"Come on, Popsy," Mileen says, shuffling toward the door. "Let's go back to the sitting room."

Everyone gathers in the sitting room. Even Gramgram is pulled from the kitchen. The fire is stoked, and the room is toasty warm. The menagerie of chairs somehow makes the room look cozy and comforting instead of messy. As everyone is settling in, Mileen clears her throat and says rather stoically, "So, Hildi. We've hardly heard from you the past couple months. Tell us what you've been doing since you left home."

Hori looks over and gives his wife a gentle smile.

Being spoken to seems to have pulled Hildi out of his thoughts. He blinks at his mother and then around the room at all the eyes upon him. Smiling a little self-consciously, he also clears his throat. "Well, as you know, I took a room at the Fiddly Pig. That's where I met Jorin and Drusk," he begins.

Jorin and/or Drusk, jump in!

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

Jorin and/or Drusk, jump in!

Drusk, in a low side-voice to Hildi and Jorin: "Are we avoiding talking about the undead killer hand and the people-eating goo? Or was that just a topic to avoid only while having a meal?"

Forte barks a laugh, overhearing Drusk's question, but covers his mouth and doesn't explain.

(OOC: Transitioning back to your regular hack-and-slash. I will spread out the info dump, so feel free to add your responses to what is going on, whether in or out of character.)

The rest of the day continues with more antics and family quirks. Alas, the storytellers do not tell of those events, leaving the listeners to imagine what else has happened.

The storytellers do tell of the last event before all in the house go the sleep for the night... The five members of the party will have to sleep in the lounge and common area, on cots and blankets and many pillows tossed into a large pile. The other rooms of the house are occupied, and halfling-sized too, so this make-shift sleeping arrangement will have to do. (Even Hildigrim is there, as his old bedroom has been repurposed in the time he was away.)

Gramgram pulls Hildi aside. He is startled, as he thought she retired earlier in the evening, and he was unaware of her approach until she grabbed him by the shoulder. There is a quickness to her movements, and a glint in her eyes, which are unexpected for someone of her age. (They stand off to the side, but the other 4 members of the party can hear them. No other members of the household are around.)

To Hildi: "You've been asking about the family business. You decided to find your own way long ago. (Rightfully so!) The others have decided you are no longer involved in these matters, but you should know what is going on...

"The lot of you kids think I don't see what is going on, thinking I am sleeping so often nowadays. Well... I guess I am. But not always when you think. Sometimes I listen when they think I am sleeping."

Before Hildi gets any information, Gramgram's eyelids get droopy. "You shouldn't have talked so much about sleeping. Now I am feeling drowsy... We can talk in the morning, away from the others, when I have my strength back. Too tired now. Yes, you should know what is going on..." Gramgram slips away to her room and closes the door, before the puzzled Hildigrim can think to do anything.

You can almost see the question marks floating above the heads of the other members of the party, but there is nothing to be done before a night's sleep.

Something is wrong. It feels like morning, but you can't see anything, and your head is hazy.

It takes a moment to realize that your arms and legs are bound by rope. Your mouth has a gag; not enough to stop you from speaking/mumbling, but enough to muffle your voice (and prevent spell-casting). There is a sack over your head, which smells of onions and unwashed goblinoid.

What little fresh air sneaks into the sack has the briny smell of the sea. All around you can be heard the creaking of the planks of a ship on the waters, and the floor rolls with the waves. At a guess, not enough movement for the deep waters of the ocean, but more than the calm waters of the Waterdeep harbor.

!

Jorin's immediate first reaction is to try to break free of his bonds! Athletics: 18

Quote from Guiltysparc >>

!

Jorin's immediate first reaction is to try to break free of his bonds! Athletics: 18

(OOC: That makes sense. I mentioned that the events for the near future are scripted, but Jorin the character wouldn't know that.)

Jorin has his normal strength, but is not wearing the Giant belt. In fact, none of you have your fancy items or weapons or armor, as far as you can tell (being tied up with a dark sack over your head).

As Jorin struggles, he gets a club strike to the side of his head, causing him to almost black out. (Enough to do damage, but he will heal from that later.)

A guttural voice barks at Jorin, in a language he does not know, but then a second voice says a command to the first in the same language. Then the first voice says, in halting Common: "Do not make any trouble for us. We do not want to damage you... for now. Obey, and you might live."

The 2 voices bark some more at each other. Jorin can feel the (rough and furry) hands checking his bonds, and then clasping iron manacles to Jorin's limbs.

You realize the entire party is in the same room, but you are all tied up away from each other. (You can whisper to each other, but anytime the conversation goes on for too long, someone gets kicked or slapped to restore the quiet. Not enough to stop you from whispering some more after more time has passed.) You can also hear the occasional footsteps of these two captors moving around. As time passes, one will step out, and then another will step in. (More than 2 captors.) You can also hear other footsteps through the cabin ceiling, but the other crew of this boat are not as heavy as your guards.

Who all is there? Is everyone bound, blind and gagged?

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

Who all is there? Is everyone bound, blind and gagged?

From the whispers through your gags, you guess that all five members of your party are in a similar state. Since Hildigrim went to sleep in his own house, he does worry if other members of his family were captured, but there don't seem to be any other captives in your room.

After a few hours, the sounds of the sea fade, replaced by silence and the occasional echoing. Even through the sacks covering your heads, you can tell the sunlight has faded... Finally, all five of the Road Enders are forced into a seated position, the sacks on the head removed, and the gags lowered.

The window of this room is mostly covered, but you can tell that the boat has entered some large cave, and is continuing to go deeper underground. Hildigrim gives an involuntary gasp, as he suspects something, but he will have to wait for a later opportunity to share his ideas with the rest of you.

• With the sack removed, you are greeted by the foul breath and ugly face of a Bugbear. There are five of them in the room, and a larger (and smellier) one that walks out of the room. Without the head coverings, you can hear human voices above deck (the normal crew of this boat).
• They proceed to force you to drink brackish water, and a broth which is only a little better than the water. That is followed by stale bread... Pascal helpfully suggests that a few vegetables and less salt would improve the "soup", but that earns him a hard slap to the face by one of your captors. (How does Pascal respond? I'm not sure what he would chose: a quiet reptilian glare, a dark quip, or a calm statement of a debt which will soon be repaid...)
• The bugbears are bored, even with the occasional clubbing and kicking of your party. One walks over to Drusk, and tells him: "You smell like an elf!". Drusk (smiling): "Thanks, I try my best." The bugbears are confused when the half-orc does not respond to their insult.
• Displeased with Drusk (after giving him a smack across the jaw), they decide they might get more amusement by provoking Quillary. "Elves like trees, yes? Before this mission, we cut down many trees, burned it, ground it to sawdust, and trampled it into the dirt!" (How does Quillary respond to their primitive taunts?)
• The bugbears decide to throw dice on the other side of the room and gamble. They have left the gags down for now, but anything more than a whisper has them ready to throw daggers or axes at the offender.

With the bugbears paying more attention to their dice game, Hildigrim speaks quietly to the rest of you: "I have a suspicion about where we are headed. When I was still a fisherman, I heard tales of watery passages under Waterdeep, dark mazes that leads to a place known as... Skullport."

(Are we still in script? Because Pascal can cast magic without any verbal or somatic components.)

Pascal gives a BIG blink as he’s struck over the head. At this point, are these guys even worth killing? Bugbear meat is tender from all that laziness... Hmm... These are tough questions.

Quote from JcAndD >>

(Are we still in script? Because Pascal can cast magic without any verbal or somatic components.)

(OOC: Yeah, I thought it would be difficult to stop the spell-casters, but with Pascal it is nearly impossible. Tie his hands and put him under Silence, and he gives a bored yawn.

I want to get the party to a particular destination. Normally, I would just dump you there with sacks on head, but I wanted to build up some anticipation, and allow a bit of role-playing. But not so much that you guys bust free and turn the tables... At least, not yet.

If Pascal wants to do some mischief or intelligence gathering, that is fine. But please, not more than that.)

Everyone in the party feels a bit hazy, like your brain is wrapped in cotton balls. Besides the physical abuse, you seem to be mildly drugged. If your life was directly threatened, you could fight back, but even thinking about spell-casting or breaking your bonds... feels difficult... to concentrate.

Pascal looks over the bugbear, from head to foot. He remembers when he was first learning to cook, and how messy it got when he made mistakes while butchering the meat...

The bugbear that was mad at Pascal's cooking suggestion stops in mid-strike. He isn't sure what is going on with Pascal's eyes, and backs off slowly, his hands subconsciously going to his weapons to defend himself from the prisoner (who is only staring at him).

Drusk is unfamiliar with "Skullport". Although it earns a few more kicks from the bugbears who tell you to shut up, the party gradually whispers what is known about Skullport. (Read the "spoiler" at your convenience.)

DM, what is your take on Hildi’s ability to summon Volo? Can he do it while tied up? If you’ll allow it, he’d like to summon his owl outside a window if there are windows to fly around the ship. If there are no windows, never mind.

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

DM, what is your take on Hildi’s ability to summon Volo? Can he do it while tied up? If you’ll allow it, he’d like to summon his owl outside a window if there are windows to fly around the ship. If there are no windows, never mind.

(He can summon Volo, but the owl will be noticed unless it stays hidden in some corner or behind the rigging most of the time. The non-bugbear crew are on alert, and their are other predators in these caverns... I'll allow extra intelligence gathering, but it will be limited. For instance, Volo will not be able to map the route taken by the boat. Ask your questions, and I'll deal with them on a case-by-case basis.)

Jorin eats the bread and drinks the soup/brother/stuff and says, "Aye, I've had worse..." and then sheepishly, "Might I have some more?"

Quote from Guiltysparc >>

Jorin eats the bread and drinks the soup/brother/stuff and says, "Aye, I've had worse..." and then sheepishly, "Might I have some more?"

Jorin gets a ladle full of broth splashed in his face. (It is lukewarm, so no burns.) The bugbears laugh, but the strain in their voices gives away that they are angry that their cruelty isn't producing any tears.

When the bugbears try to rile Quillary up with their lurid description of the harm they have caused to some random trees, she looks them calmly in the eye, and says simply, "All things die. Some when age takes them. Some bravely by violence. Some, like you, in a whimpering ball of mangy fur..." and she takes her beating with a smile.

Lying on the floor afterwards, she'll smile weakly at Jorin. "I bet I can take more beatings than you can." She spits a little blood out on the deck.

OOC > There's a lot of wildshaping Quillary could do here to spoil the setup, so she will be feeling the groggy poison quite acutely, which will also diminish her control of her Halo of spores Reaction attack. Happy to roll with it!

Jorin smiles back on Quillary, "I believe you could."

Pascal seems to be a little woozy as he hiccups. It would appear that, due to the unique lizard brain of our dear friend, he is thoroughly intoxicated.

Quote from Mingofaust >>

OOC > There's a lot of wildshaping Quillary could do here to spoil the setup, so she will be feeling the groggy poison quite acutely, which will also diminish her control of her Halo of spores Reaction attack. Happy to roll with it!

(OOC: Thank you all for being understanding. I could have taken you straight from the Hildigrim house to your destination, being unconscious the whole time, but I thought a little anticipation would be more fun.)

Eventually, the bugbears restore your gags and the sacks over your heads. Whenever the guards are not paying attention, Hildigrim whispers what he is seeing through Volo's eyes. (A little muffled through the gag, but being in the dark for hours makes you bored for information.)

Volo can see that the ship is smaller than a galleon, with a dozen human crew. They don't have the energy to be pirates, and are only motivated by the bugbears: in the long term by money paid, in the short term by being kicked and smacked into obedience. Unfortunately, the owl cannot follow what route the boat is taking through these underground waterways, and the map is somewhere out of sight. (Sometimes the owl has to hide to avoid detection, so Volo is unable to observe at those times.)

After many hours in the twisting waterways, the boat sneaks its way past an island fortress. You guess that this is Skull Island, which lies directly south of Skullport. Two-story towers armed with siege weapons are strategically placed along 20-foot-high outer walls.

The ship pulls up next to a pier. The bugbears lift pick up the members of the party, and toss you like firewood into the back of a wagon, tossing coarse blankets on top to conceal your presence. (Needless to say, the blankets haven't been washed in a very long time.) The wagon is pulled/pushed by the bugbears into Skullport, traveling almost the entire length of it. (Think of Skullport like a capital "L", but rotated to the right. The water is at the short end in the SW corner. The wagon has travelled a bit north, then east almost to the end.) Volo has to be careful not to be noticed, so Hildi can't give a full description of Skullport, other than saying it is an underground slum with over 2,000 people (humans, goblinoid, other).

The wagon pulls up next to a seedy inn, with the sign "Guts & Garters". The bugbears pull you out of the wagon, and walk you inside. The sacks over your heads are pulled off. The inn is a run-down, two-story building in Lower Skullport. The ground floor contains a large common room, the stairs to the cellar, and the barkeep’s private quarters, while the guest rooms are confined to the building’s second floor. Each leg of the main, L-shaped room is about 20-feet wide and about 50-feet long. The room is dimly lit by cheap, grimy oil lanterns and candles.

There is a tiefling bartender, sullenly washing dishes behind the bar. The bugbears slide him a pair of gold coins, along with a spoken word: "privacy". There are the 5 bugbears and their chief.

There is one more figure, a human male with his back to your group, finishing off a fine meal... or at least, what passes for a fine meal in this sort of place. He seems oblivious at first, but then he stiffens when he hears the bugbears (and your party) almost upon him. Bugbear chief: "We done as you say, boss. They here. Pay for job."

The man turns around in his chair. It is a familiar face... (Read the "spoiler" when ready.)

Even drunk, Pascal is WILDLY confused at this reveal.

”Mmmlo? ... Mmhy?” He says with a taped-shut mouth.