The Long Road of the Mage King (Game Thread)

Keyrie will offer to take first watch, so she will take any help she can get, like the light from the setting sun, for her watch.

(Now might be a good time for the Lion animal companion to join since we are out of the city)

"Friend says we're okay. Nothing within two miles at least."

(OOC: Thanks for pushing us out of our rut, MD! We were going to talk ourselves into circles there.)

Before leaving the temple, Dog would have asked Mother Mentiri about the illusion, and why it was so important to the temple to feature the child. What did they think was the purpose?

Did we have time to buy the helm and did Dog have time to pick up his new armor? Dog would have asked for extra tack, saddles, and gear for the price, too, hoping to buy an extra horse or two, or a yak or an ox, to pull the carriage. Is the carriage covered? Decorated at all?

If there's really no feature at all, Dog will suggest getting off the road a bit and trying to shelter around the carriage, hiding from the road and digging a deep fire pit. As they settle in, Dog gently but purposefully tries to engage Nev in conversation. He first wants to see what she thinks about the temple and their reception in Karkarus. He can't imagine what it must be like for her.

He then compassionately turns the conversation to what is next. They've been on the run, first from immediate danger and then from forced choices. And then they had a few guideposts of how to hide from everything and where to go. They're out of guideposts and destinations. Dog genuinely doesn't know where they are going or why, or how. This scares him, and goliaths don't scare easy. All he's got is keeping his friends, his family, safe - Genny first among equals.

(Apologies, not able to write out dialogue now but you get the idea.)

(Yes, you bought the helm and picked up the armor. The Temple of Tymora obviously thought the aasimar child was a significant arrival. The carriage is covered. It has some decoration in the vein of tree roots and leaves at the edges and corners. Feel free to RP the rest.)

"Nev, we haven't had a chance to talk much in all this running. How are you doing? What do you think about the temple? Who'd have thought we found yet another group of people with ideas about Genny. What did you think of Karkarus? This whole saga has been exhausting and confounding for me -- I can't imagine what it's been like for you."

He plays a bit with Genny after he's done with his chores setting up camp, asking her to show him the goat figurines she got in the carvern, playing with them, asking her what she's learned about them. Turning back to Nev, he gets a bit more serious, but not really.

"I did want to talk about what's next. We've been on the run, for a while, first from immediate danger and then from forced choices. Then we had a few guideposts of how to hide from everything and where to go.

"But now we're out of guideposts and destinations. I really don't know where we're going or why, or how. Goliaths don't scare easy. This scares me. What I have keeping me going now is that I want to keep you all safe. It's hard for me to try to do that if I don't know what you want to do. I'm assuming you're not choosing between the demon magic lady, the mage king, or the giant, though maybe I'm wrong about that. Do you have an idea of what you want to do, or where you want to go? Can we help you figure it out? Otherwise we're just running, and eventually we'll run out of road and have to deal with the mage king, or heaven or hell will catch up with us and want an answer. You're Genny's mother, so you and she get to decide. If you need more time, or if your decision is to not make a decision, then we can work with that. But I wanted to hear more about your mind and heart on this."

Neventi chuckles. "That's a lot of questions, Dog. I appreciate your concern. You have been good to us. Leading, protecting, unquestioning." She sighs. "I don't know what I am going to choose. I will  choose something. Mother Mentiri helped me come to terms with the situation we are in a bit better. I was angry about being forced into the middle of this. But I am not doing anything different than any other mother would do in the same situation. It has been hard, of course, having our life ripped away from us. You know, I'm sure. We  are surviving, following the Long Road like it is our destiny to walk it." Nev pokes at the fire with a twig, watching the bark shrivel and blacken. "I keep hoping the choice will be obvious but each option seems the same in a lot of ways. If it were your daughter, what would you choose?"

Tock would take the last watch, him being an early bird (OOC: I apologize).

Before leaving he would have asked Mother Mentiri about other temples of Tymora along the Long Road and if there was anything she would want or suggest him do either on the road or when reaching another temple.

(I had Dog ask a bunch of questions at once not in a real-time flurry, but to give his side of a more normal conversation so that we wouldn't have to post one question and one answer in pbp and take up a bunch of time - didn't mean Nev to have a one-sided fusillade of questions!)

(And good idea Tock!!)

(A list of questions all in the same quotation marks is hard to interpret otherwise! ;)

Mentiri is not sure where every shrine to Tymora is, but she does know that temples of varying sizes can be found along the Long Road in Mestus, Masa, Pallaxus, Alciondria, of course, and possibly in Colizargus or Hencha. She recommends visiting the temples and paying respects. "Charity is always welcome, of course."

It is quiet and well past midnight when Feytok is taking his turn as watch, when movement in the tall grass catches his attention. Hefting his battleaxe into his hands, he stands and walks towards the noise. Out of the grass pads a lion. It is not growling, or threatened by Feytok raising his weapon. In fact, it lays down just outside the circle of camp on the other side from the horses. Puzzled, Feytok squints at the big cat and notices it has a familiar notch in its left ear. It is Myon, the circus' only male lion. Feytok creeps forward, stretching his hand out to the  familiar beast. "Scallywag!" he whispers, using the common nickname for the beast. "What are you doing here?"

The lion stands and pushes its maned head heavily into Feytok's hand. A thick, rough tongue licks Feytok on his chest as the fire genasi pets the cat. Of course, it does not answer, but it does eventually sniff in the air, lifting its head high to catch every scent on the breeze. Then it pads with large, heavy feet over to Keyrie, sleeping soundly on the ground, and plops down with a gruff grunt next to the Firbolg.

Come morning, the group arises, most of them surprised to find a new addition to the group. Gentoa, of course, is delighted. Once her mother is assured that Myon is perfectly safe, the small child spends much of the breakfast and time packing petting, climbing on, and roaring at the patient cat. "I don't suppose you can pull a carriage," Nev says with a smirk.

Myon the scallywag proves to be enough of a distraction that the travelers depart about an hour later than expected. It is easy going, though, as the flat plains continue. Early in the evening, they begin to finally encounter some hilly terrain. There is not enough in the way of hills to provide any cover from sight, however, and another scouting session by Friend reveals no places to hide during the night. So the party settles in for an evening meal and another night's rest.

In the middle of the night, at about 10 pm, Gentoa wakes up crying. It is not clear whether this was a bad dream or if she was uncomfortable. "Perhaps she has another tooth coming in. This feels like that kind of cry," Neventi says.

The girl is passed around the group, each taking turns consoling the child, each more or less eventually unsuccessful. Two or three hours of disrupted sleep leads to a sluggish morning. Naturally the young girl is in good spirits, but once in the carriage and on the road again, she quickly falls asleep for an early nap. The late start has left them two hours behind compared to the previous couple of days.

The terrain becomes increasingly hilly as they progress. Travel becomes slower as a result, but towards the evening on this third day, the group begins to pass more and more small farms, and then bigger farms. Before the evening meal arrives, the walls of a small town become visible on a distant hill. Not long after this, a rider darts past at an incredible speed.

"Fiends and demons!" the messenger shouts as he races into the distance.

The party pick up the pace, looking behind them for any signs of the threat. Sure enough, far to the north, perhaps as much as 10 miles away, a horde charges on and alongside the Long Road. The dust they kick up suggests a rapid speed and the size of the group suggests it is not a lone Nightmare this time.

The party pushes the horses to a gallop, riding as fast as possible towards the distant town. It takes almost an hour, and the hills obscure the progress of the fiends and demons at their rear. But the party does make it to the gates of the town, which appear to be firmly sealed.

"What kind of unholy gathering is this?" says one of the guards atop the wall.

"I don't think these are the demons," says another, loudly enough for all to hear, as if the guards are enacting a play.

"Well, they sure aren't getting into this town with demons at their tails."

"Best move along," the other says. "The town is closed."

In the distance to the north, a long, terrifying howl echoes across the hills.

Tock turns towards the approaching horde, away from the walls, pulls up his hood and casts disguise self to look exactly like Lord Tamman of Karkarus had come here in disguise. A quick whisper to people close by, "I'm trying something, go with it."

He then turns back towards the wall, throws back his hood and in the voice of Lord Tamman shouts, "I am Lord Tamman of Karkarus. You will open this gate and let my people in or you will lose your head even if by some miracle this horde of demons out there leaves it on your shoulders!"

(OOC: using everything here - Master of Intrigue, Mimicry, Disguise Self and saying a quick prayer to Tymora)

“Which one of us is the most normal and likeable? Probably not me or Dog... gee another social pickle for the freaks from the sideshow.”

Gash looks around at his companions... “oh my god am I the most normal? Keyrie you gave me quite the pep talk the other day maybe you can pep talk them into letting us in?”

As Gash struggles to figure out what to do Tock unveils as a Lord and he thinks to himself well I guess the bird is the most normal...

DM Shield:

 "Oh, shit!" says one of the guards on the wall. "I'll get it."

"Wait, wait, wait," says the other. "Why would Lord Camman travel with a goliath, a firbolg, a whatever-that-guy-is, and...a goblin?"

The man peers intently down at Tock from the wall.

"Naw," he says. "Drop the act. What are you lot, some kind of circus?"

Tock retorts, continuing to keep up his act, "Exactly! The most unlikely place for a lord to hide, making it the best one. But the performance will have to wait until we are safely within the walls!"

The second man looks at the first, wholly uncertain.

The first chortles. "Oh yeah? Let's see a preview, we'll open the gate if you can show us what each of your circus friends can do."

"M'Lord, allow me... Here is just a simple display from GREGORY THE GREAT!"

Gash sets his water skin down and uses shape water to make the water come outside and rhythmically dance, he then cycles the color of the water in rainbow colors he straightens out the water about two feet above the ground and makes it freeze in a thin line then Gash attempts to walk the tightrope of ice.

acrobatics: 16

He finishes his display by turning the ice back to water and putting it back in his waterskin.

"Bravo, bravo!" says the second guard.

"That's pretty flashy, stuff," says the first, a hint of respect in his voice. "What else y'got?"

Dog gives Myon and double tap subtly on the side of his neck, signaling a "fierce" fight that they've done a couple dozen times. Dramatic yells, pounding chests, jumps and throws, pretend bites and scratches, holds and pins.... it appears for all to see that don't know Myon that he and Dog are fighting tooth and nail for about 30 seconds, and then all becomes quickly still, with the lion cradled in the Goliath's giant arms like a baby. He might be purring. Dog gently sets him down and begins braiding his hair, the lion as docile as a housecat.

Generic d20 for athletics, performance, what have you: 17 

(Yikes - this is an obviously tame lion and Dog probably isn't that impressive?)

Gash looks over to Tock, "Would you like me to continue M'Lord?"

Dog tries to cajole Myon into performing but he plops down onto the ground and begins licking himself. Dog wrestles with the lion half-heartedly until it lifts a heavy paw and pins the goliath under it, as if patting him on the back. Then Myon rolls onto his back, exposing his stomach, tail twitching.

"Uh..." says the second guard.

The first scratches his head. "Yeah, I think we'll need to see something else," he says.

(This is now my second-favorite moment, after the spider baby carrier.)