Seldom Spring

Jambiya mounts up on Daisy (hopefully after learning what to call the dragon?). Animal handling (w/Adv): 18

She will trot over to Erric, and lean down to touch him, "Rose is a good girl, you'll be fine!" Guidance for an additional 4

OOC > Maybe I should have let Erric roll the Guidance, sorry (not sorry, given the roll!).

Anafrey Animal handling 16

Anafrey gives Max a few nice pats on the head as she climbs atop the steed. Max seems to know what he is doing and Anafrey tries her best to just gently suggest movements when needed..

Erric animal handling: 2 + 4 from Jambiya's guidance

Oh that is just too amazing - I hadn't exactly thought Erric would be nervous around horses when I created him, but the dice are going along with the idea. Amazing. Have fun, DDP! I'm not even going to use a luck point on this roll because it's too funny. (If it gets serious, like the horse might be injured on a subsequent roll, I will, though.)

Jambiya, at your question about its name, the pseudodragon makes a strange noise that is somewhere between a cough and a growl that ends with a click of its jaws.

Erric, it's easy enough to say you stopped quickly at a general store on the way out of town. If you want bolts or any regular items, go ahead and add them and subtract the cost from your purse. If you want to sell something, you get half the cost back. If you're not sure if it's a "regular item", ask me. We can say it was sold along with everything else once I tell you yes or no. Ebokk's not going to take anything off your hands. And now, for the show ...

Erric walks over to Rose and waves at her. "Hello, I'm Erric." He hasn't spent a lot of time around horses. Then he timidly lets her sniff his hand and pets her nose a bit too quickly. She raises her head and blows her nose at him, her eyes going wild a little bit. He turns to talk to Ebokk, Maldorn and Anafrey, not seeming to notice the pony's not-great reaction. He grins, walks around to Rose's flank, puts his hands on her back and jumps, landing with his stomach on the saddle. The pony bucks a little, causing him to slide back off. Luckily, he lands on his feet. He moves beside her again and jumps a little higher, bending forward. This time, he's bent double over Rose trying to stay on. She bucks again, this time a little harder. He bounces on her back, making a sound as the air is pushed out of his lungs. She bucks again, causing him to slide off. He lands less gracefully this time, almost falling backward as he dodges her hooves. Jambiya stops telling Erric what to do and starts talking to Rose, encouraging her to calm down. Maldorn tells the bard to put his foot in the stirrup and throw his leg over. Undaunted, he does so, but ends up throwing the wrong foot over and facing the rear. Rose whips her head up and down, neighing at Jambiya to get him off! Jambiya and Maldorn both dismount and work together to simultaneously calm down Rose while getting Erric correctly situated in the saddle. Rose is not happy, but is willing to give him a try.

The party heads north, passing through the Field Ward and exiting Waterdeep through the North Gate onto the High Road. Travel along the High Road is uneventful. They regularly pass travelers heading south and sometimes even pass travelers heading north that are either traveling slowly or that have stopped to rest. The day starts bright and sunny, but clouds have rolled in by mid afternoon. Jambiya checks her magic weather vane, and it tells her it's going to rain within the next 12 hours. Ebokk is unusually subdued. By the time the party decides they should stop and camp, Ebokk says they will probably leave the High Road around noon the next day.

DM rollz: 11

Maldorn cannot help but smirk a bit while helping Erric alongside Jambiya: "You are a natural entertainer, Mr. Halfling!"

When the party stops by a general goods store, Maldorn can't resist restocking his quiver with fresh arrows. The old man makes a point of paying the shopkeeper in copper pieces as to diminish the amount of hard currency he is lugging around (bundle of 20 arrows for 100 copper pieces).

Once camping times arrive, Maldorn will make good use of his new trick, and set up and perimeter around their preferably tight campsite. "Now Sagitta, I have been wanting to try this for some time but the instructions only recently begun making sense to me." He grabs a tiny bell and a piece of fine silver wire from one of his many pockets and asks the snake to pick up a few twigs to help set the perimeter. Once done, it looks like a child's badly put together fake-trap, but the old man then softly speaks some words in Sylvan at the bell and the whole apparatus just seems to disappear. Maldorn rises with a huge smile on his face, hiding behind his white mustachio. "If any of your hear the bell, it is the wind warning us of some imminent trouble. I might as well try this new trick in a somewhat benign area like this, right?"

Jambiya cocks her head at the dragonling. “I’m afraid I don’t know what that means... can I call you Snap until I figure it out?”

Jambiya will want to post her letter on the way out of the City. If after asking all the Lockforges she has received no clear instructions on how to do this, she will not hesitate to ask a member of the City Watch constabulary.

Erric goes from nonchalant and charming, to confused, to utterly terrified, to slightly calmed, to chastened and holding onto the saddle (assuming there are no horns in Faerunian saddles?) and Rose's mane. Eventually, he begins to calm down a bit and let go, as Rose follows her fellow quadrupeds, because she seems like she knows what she's doing. When Maldorn congratulates him, Erric smiles weakly and nods, "yes, anything for a laugh, you know me..." 

He will begin to pet Rose's neck gently and whisper calming things like "it's okay, don't worry, I won't hurt you, this isn't really my first time, but, well, let me know what I could be doing differently, maybe just tell Jambiya and she can tell me, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot, no that wasn't an on-purpose joke, did you just whinny? Are whinnies horse laughs?"

At the store he will watch Maldorn buy his arrows and he will do the same with his coppers, counting out 100 for 20 hand crossbow bolts. Then he hands over 20 silver for a second dagger, looking for one with decent balance that would throw well. If Ebokk truly does not want them, he will see if the storeowner wants to purchase the merchant's scales and the navigator's tools, selling them if it seems to be a good price.

Once they're on the road, Erric will grow a bit more comfortable at the sedate pace Rose is setting, and take out his lute, his nimble fingers picking over the strings, and attempt to find the song and style of music that ponies love most. He loves a challenge. (DM: up to you if this counts as perhaps Erric's first use of Enthralling Performance -- though it only works on humanoids.)

Anafrey would laugh at the spectacle taking place as Erric struggles to mount the horse. As they stop to pick up supplies on their way out of town, Annafrey would stock up on arrows and purchase oils, stones, and cloth required to polish and sharpen her weapons, along with some leatherworking tools and blacksmithing tools. Sliding them into her pack.. she would smile a bit as she noticed the shells and plates she had collected from the crabs they had slain on the island. "I almost forgot about these. I still need to try to fashion some kind of armor from those.." She would say with a smile before heading back to her horse and mounting up. As they reach the campsite, Anafrey would find a spot next to a tree and begin polishing her weapons, spending the most time on the flail before adding it to her belt. Depending on how long they had, she would also begin trying to figure out a way to create a breast plate or perhaps a suit of half plate from the materials.

At camp, Jambiya will take over as cook, starting a fire with gathered wood, cooking and flavoring food (all of that with magic), and talking to the group, horses and scaly things included. She checks on the horses at some point, ensuring they are comfortable, giving them appreciation for the job done today, and slipping them each a Goodberry. (daily use of Goodberry expended! 5 berries left, good until tomorrow night.)

Jambiya, I forgot about the letter. Sorry. Ebokk didn't forget, though.

Nearby to the general store, Ebokk leads the group down a side street to a small temple. "Temples act as courier waystops in the big cities," Ebokk explains to Jambiya. "And merchants do the courier runs from temple to temple. In your case, I guess they would drop off at the Seldom Spring." Jambiya, you remember different individuals dropping off letters and packages from time to time to your fathers. Ebokk, Jambiya and whoever else is interested enter the temple and approach a cleric. Ebokk explains that Jambiya wants to send a letter. Another younger acolyte is retrieved. He asks where the letter should be delivered to, and Jambiya shows him the envelope. "Seldom Spring?" he asks. Jambiya explains its approximate location, and after some mental calculations, the acolyte says it will cost six gold and five silver to send the letter that far.

(Erric will offer two gold to the cost to send the letter.)

"Thank you Erric, I will accept!" Jambiya said back then, as he offered his coin. She will have paid the difference to have the letter sent.

Removed 40 sp and 50 cp from her inventory.

OOC > I have only just now realized that the D&D coinage is equivalent to US$. Copper pieces are pennies (copper, duh). Silver pieces are dimes. And gold pieces are the gold dollar coins that I used to get for my kids so they could play pirate.

While in camp, before supper, Maldorn will try to find a stream or other body of water to go fishing in. He wants to gift Jambiya a fresh fish or two for her cooking.

survival: 22

Jambiya, when you suggest the name Snap, the dragon snaps its jaws at you and then you feel it project pleasure at you.

Erric, Ebokk truly doesn't want the supplies, so feel free to sell them. Unfortunately, your performance doesn't enthrall Rose.

The group sets up camp ...

Maldorn walks the perimeter, setting and spelling an alarm.

Anafrey, it depends on how much time you want to spend whether you have time to consider what you might do with your crab remains. It takes you up until the food is ready to clean and sharpen your weapons. How long do you want to work after eating?

Jambiya, roll one animal handling check for me just for fun.

DM rollz: 16

Maldorn, you are able to find a stream within easy walking distance. A pool has been created by a dam, which is perfect for fishing. You catch enough fish for all five of you, which Jambiya fixes beautifully.

Are you all doing watch shifts? Or are you relying on Maldorn's alarm to wake you if there's danger?

Maldorn gladly volunteers for the first shift after all companions decide it is time to rest. He sends Sagitta up a tree and tells him to come flying down if he sees or senses anything strange.

Perception: 20

He smokes copiously at night, when left alone. A bit of alone time can be rewarding sometimes.

Erric sits with Maldorn, trying to learn how to fish so well. He will take second shift.

Perception:21

Jambiya will take the last watch, waking up early to putter around camp and keep an eye out. When she settles down to sleep, she will invite Snap to curl up with her, but is not offended if he does not. In the morning, she'll urge him to hunt, if that is a thing he wants to do.

Animal Handling (per DM request): 3
Perception (for watch): 11

Anafrey would have spent most of her meal somewhat distracted as the thought about how to make her armor. Ideas were popping into her head.. techniques that she herself knew nothing about yet somehow seemed second nature to her. After eating diner, she would focus on creating her new armor until others began to lay down to sleep. The desire to keep working would claw at her in the back of her mind... and she would become frustrated at the lack of time to continue working on her creation. When it was her time to take up watch, she would continue to work while the others slept however.. trying her hardest to be quiet.

Perception.. disadvantage because of working on armor? 4