Jambiya looks up, determination in her gaze. "Let's go back. I think I'm ready to be quit of this place. Get your trap, Maldorn. Somebody tell Anafrey we have all the wine out here. Erric, leave your treatise in the parcels box."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
"Maldorn you mentioned that evil bundle of twigs you saw through the double doors in the garden, the one that creeped me out yesterday. Should we leave it be or take it down?"
Erric's fine with leaving. He will, as they travel, look suspiciously at certain trees and shrubs he finds possible threats.
"This was not exactly a profitable venture, was it? Jambiya you said there was just a bit over one gold on that birdman, right? I guess we got our lives which are invaluable, though I had mine when we started. We do have these wine bottles, which are always useful. And those potions, if they really do what you say, are worth two more lives. I suppose in my naïveté, I was hoping to save Lady Clarice, and Lord Alistair would be so grateful that he rewarded us with jewels or some fancy painting to fence, or gold. I know a guy who could.... well nevermind that now. I can't believe we found so little in that house. Maybe that's what the bird men were doing there, looting the place."
If no one replies with anything to his questions and eventual incessant patter, he will start verbally working through Inspired Endurance, the song he unveiled earlier, with the alternate title of The Lay of Clarice Redmayne, Sune's Lost Daughter: A Ballad of Haunted Mansions, Horror Chickens, Creepy Twigs, Fancy Zombies, Forgotten Wine, Sparklefingers, Blindsight Archery, Unknown Resurrection, and the Best Singer in the Land.
Okey dokey! The troupe leaves, travels the day, camps overnight (nothing happens), and sets off early. They get back to Seldom Spring about mid morning. I'm going to take control a little bit and say you all decide your first stop should be The Seldom Spring.
The four of you enter, and Dirk, who is sitting at the same table he sat at to tell you all about the task, stands and extends his arms in a welcoming gesture. "The adventurers have returned," he announces to the empty room. To his left sits an elderly gnome with long, white hair tired into a tidy braid. Her clothes and demeanor give you all the impression of class and fussiness. To Dirk's right is a finely dressed young dwarf who looks at you pleasantly. This one appears much less stuffy than the gnome.
Erric approaches and stands opposite Dirk. He locks eyes with him for a beat. He pulls out the shard of the mirror and hands it to him.
"Clarice is at rest, and the four of us nearly joined her several times. First we were ambushed by a group of kenku outside the house, and they nearly murdered us. The house itself was a burnt wreck. Jambiya has a journal from Alistair which will tell you more. We had to kill a horror chicken that turns people to stone, obtained a tiny sarcophagus in the only remaining room on the second floor, then stupidly went down to the basement. Why do people do that? It never turns out good. Your mirror was there. It screamed at us in the form of an evil Clarice, and then when the mirror got cracked, it ate us. We spent what felt like weeks, but was probably only a few hours, in a dead, cold realm inside the mirror where we battled fancy zombies -- one was Alistair -- and eventually found what seemed to be a sleeping Clarice, and had to battle the evil one. We almost died, again, and then were expelled to the real world and met what might have been Sune. She gave us something, some charm, I'm still not clear on what it was. Then we drank and slept and drank and here we are, back here. There's still a stone kenku in the house there. This was not at all what we expected. You might want to have literally every one of your keepsakes in this bar looked at before it swallows patrons into a crepuscular netherworld full of death and shrieking ghosts. Bad for business."
He barely paused for breath during all of this. He lets out a long sigh and makes room for his companions in their booth, looks around for a bartender, realizes she also came back dog tired from the adventure, and gets up to go fill 4 flagons on his own, like a big boy. As he leaves the booth, he realizes there were two people sitting next to Dirk the whole time and pauses.
Maldorn approaches the table: "Apologies for the interruption, Sir, Madam, Dirk. But, since my short friend here has already gotten your attention, allow me to confirm his tale. It is indeed as the young bard says. The simple task you sent us on proved to be much more complex that originally thought. We are all quite fortunate to be able to come back home on our own feet. Iceshimmers in particular took quite the beating, Dirk."
He pauses for a moment to sigh a bit. "I am sure you wouldn't send us into a mission you didn't believe we could complete, old friend, especially not with young Jambiya along for the ride, but the life of an adventurer is much different than the one from a hunter. Even in my old age, I have much to learn. If that was your intention, I thank you, but this is nonetheless quite a harsh way to teach a lesson to people close-ish to you."
Maldorn open a large smile: "You at least owes us a couple days worth of free food and drink here in the tavern, old friend."
Not bothering to stop or greet anyone, Anafrey stomps up to the bar and pounds on it with her fist grumpily. "Brunthor! I need a bottle of your strongest, cheapest, most mind-addling spirits!"
Jambiya trails the group into the inn, waiting for the rest to greet Dirk. When they have (and Anafrey has stomped off), she stands there, looking small, nervous. "Pops," she says to Dirk, not coming forward. "I quit. Either you haven't told me everything about myself, or Grumpy Pops' talk about the birds and the bees and the "changes" I was going to experience was way off target... but I'm not just your little girl anymore..."
Then she smiles her sweet, sharp-toothed smile. "I'm something better, stronger, interesting! I think I'm an adventurer now, Pops. And I'm ready to go."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Dirk smiles at Erric as he waxes poetic about the adventure. He gives Maldorn a nod of respect as the old hunter adds his two cents. Then, his eyes fall upon Jambiya. He slowly rounds the table and crosses to her as she speaks her piece. Finally, he places his big hands on her small shoulders and looks down at her with love. Saying in a small voice, but still loud enough for the others to hear, he says, "This is the best news I could have gotten all day." He pauses for a moment to look into her eyes, then turns, placing an arm around her shoulders, to look at the others, including Anafrey, who is accepting a bottle of something cheap, but strong from a very disapproving-looking Brunthor. "I am so glad to see you all. I am even more excited to hear all about your adventure, which, according to our young bard, will be a most excellent tale! But I must first introduce you to my guests." He motions with his free arm toward the gnome. "This beautiful creature is Eilikasys, a businesswoman I've had previous dealings with. She represents some collectors in Baldur's Gate. I have a few mementos she has faithful sought to purchase from time to time, and I enjoy frustrating her with my regular refusals. With her, she has brought a new face," he says, now motioning toward the dwarf. "This is Ebokk Lockforge. Eilikasys has known the young dwarf for quite some time, and when he approached her for a recommendation, she thought of me," he says, giving the gnome another big grin. She continues to look haughty and disinterested. "Ebokk is looking for a group of adventurous types, and Eilikasys recommended my services. Now, I can't just go rushing off to sea every time I'm presented with the possibility of adventure, but I'm thinking that maybe you can." He pauses for a moment, seemingly juggling his thoughts, and you notice Ebokk fidgeting in his chair. "Not every time," Dirk clarifies, "but maybe this time. Anyway, Ebokk has a ship, a crew, and a destination. He just needs help finding his father."
Jambiya is ready to head back. She didn't meet the plants in the back.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Erric is fine heading back if Maldorn, who seemed to know most about the plant creature, thinks it's fine to allow it to still roam about the forest.
“Live and let live, as I was reminded of a few moments ago. Let’s head back”
Maldorn, roll an INT check for me.
While everyone is discussing whether or not it's time to head back to the tavern, Anafrey has snuck off into the basement and is perusing the wine.
~♡~
(Anafrey finds no wine in the basement because Erric brought all of the wine outside to distribute to everyone for souvenirs!)
Maldorn's straight INT check: 3
OOC: Well, at least it was above 10.
Maldorn, you have a very, very slight feeling you might have perhaps not done something, but you have absolutely no idea what it is.
So, what are y'all doing? Take the trap? Leave the trap? Head back? Fight the garden?
Jambiya looks up, determination in her gaze. "Let's go back. I think I'm ready to be quit of this place. Get your trap, Maldorn. Somebody tell Anafrey we have all the wine out here. Erric, leave your treatise in the parcels box."
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Maldorn already got his trap back in this post. Or at least that’s what I tried to imply.
"Maldorn you mentioned that evil bundle of twigs you saw through the double doors in the garden, the one that creeped me out yesterday. Should we leave it be or take it down?"
"Oh... yes... Those were the plants I was referring to a moment ago." Maldorn responds. "Like I said, live and let live. Let us go!"
Erric's fine with leaving. He will, as they travel, look suspiciously at certain trees and shrubs he finds possible threats.
"This was not exactly a profitable venture, was it? Jambiya you said there was just a bit over one gold on that birdman, right? I guess we got our lives which are invaluable, though I had mine when we started. We do have these wine bottles, which are always useful. And those potions, if they really do what you say, are worth two more lives. I suppose in my naïveté, I was hoping to save Lady Clarice, and Lord Alistair would be so grateful that he rewarded us with jewels or some fancy painting to fence, or gold. I know a guy who could.... well nevermind that now. I can't believe we found so little in that house. Maybe that's what the bird men were doing there, looting the place."
If no one replies with anything to his questions and eventual incessant patter, he will start verbally working through Inspired Endurance, the song he unveiled earlier, with the alternate title of The Lay of Clarice Redmayne, Sune's Lost Daughter: A Ballad of Haunted Mansions, Horror Chickens, Creepy Twigs, Fancy Zombies, Forgotten Wine, Sparklefingers, Blindsight Archery, Unknown Resurrection, and the Best Singer in the Land.
Okey dokey! The troupe leaves, travels the day, camps overnight (nothing happens), and sets off early. They get back to Seldom Spring about mid morning. I'm going to take control a little bit and say you all decide your first stop should be The Seldom Spring.
The four of you enter, and Dirk, who is sitting at the same table he sat at to tell you all about the task, stands and extends his arms in a welcoming gesture. "The adventurers have returned," he announces to the empty room. To his left sits an elderly gnome with long, white hair tired into a tidy braid. Her clothes and demeanor give you all the impression of class and fussiness. To Dirk's right is a finely dressed young dwarf who looks at you pleasantly. This one appears much less stuffy than the gnome.
OOC: You all advance to level two!
Erric approaches and stands opposite Dirk. He locks eyes with him for a beat. He pulls out the shard of the mirror and hands it to him.
"Clarice is at rest, and the four of us nearly joined her several times. First we were ambushed by a group of kenku outside the house, and they nearly murdered us. The house itself was a burnt wreck. Jambiya has a journal from Alistair which will tell you more. We had to kill a horror chicken that turns people to stone, obtained a tiny sarcophagus in the only remaining room on the second floor, then stupidly went down to the basement. Why do people do that? It never turns out good. Your mirror was there. It screamed at us in the form of an evil Clarice, and then when the mirror got cracked, it ate us. We spent what felt like weeks, but was probably only a few hours, in a dead, cold realm inside the mirror where we battled fancy zombies -- one was Alistair -- and eventually found what seemed to be a sleeping Clarice, and had to battle the evil one. We almost died, again, and then were expelled to the real world and met what might have been Sune. She gave us something, some charm, I'm still not clear on what it was. Then we drank and slept and drank and here we are, back here. There's still a stone kenku in the house there. This was not at all what we expected. You might want to have literally every one of your keepsakes in this bar looked at before it swallows patrons into a crepuscular netherworld full of death and shrieking ghosts. Bad for business."
He barely paused for breath during all of this. He lets out a long sigh and makes room for his companions in their booth, looks around for a bartender, realizes she also came back dog tired from the adventure, and gets up to go fill 4 flagons on his own, like a big boy. As he leaves the booth, he realizes there were two people sitting next to Dirk the whole time and pauses.
"Oh hello. Are you adventurers too?"
Maldorn approaches the table: "Apologies for the interruption, Sir, Madam, Dirk. But, since my short friend here has already gotten your attention, allow me to confirm his tale. It is indeed as the young bard says. The simple task you sent us on proved to be much more complex that originally thought. We are all quite fortunate to be able to come back home on our own feet. Iceshimmers in particular took quite the beating, Dirk."
He pauses for a moment to sigh a bit. "I am sure you wouldn't send us into a mission you didn't believe we could complete, old friend, especially not with young Jambiya along for the ride, but the life of an adventurer is much different than the one from a hunter. Even in my old age, I have much to learn. If that was your intention, I thank you, but this is nonetheless quite a harsh way to teach a lesson to people close-ish to you."
Maldorn open a large smile: "You at least owes us a couple days worth of free food and drink here in the tavern, old friend."
Not bothering to stop or greet anyone, Anafrey stomps up to the bar and pounds on it with her fist grumpily. "Brunthor! I need a bottle of your strongest, cheapest, most mind-addling spirits!"
~♡~
Jambiya trails the group into the inn, waiting for the rest to greet Dirk. When they have (and Anafrey has stomped off), she stands there, looking small, nervous. "Pops," she says to Dirk, not coming forward. "I quit. Either you haven't told me everything about myself, or Grumpy Pops' talk about the birds and the bees and the "changes" I was going to experience was way off target... but I'm not just your little girl anymore..."
Then she smiles her sweet, sharp-toothed smile. "I'm something better, stronger, interesting! I think I'm an adventurer now, Pops. And I'm ready to go."
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Dirk smiles at Erric as he waxes poetic about the adventure. He gives Maldorn a nod of respect as the old hunter adds his two cents. Then, his eyes fall upon Jambiya. He slowly rounds the table and crosses to her as she speaks her piece. Finally, he places his big hands on her small shoulders and looks down at her with love. Saying in a small voice, but still loud enough for the others to hear, he says, "This is the best news I could have gotten all day." He pauses for a moment to look into her eyes, then turns, placing an arm around her shoulders, to look at the others, including Anafrey, who is accepting a bottle of something cheap, but strong from a very disapproving-looking Brunthor. "I am so glad to see you all. I am even more excited to hear all about your adventure, which, according to our young bard, will be a most excellent tale! But I must first introduce you to my guests." He motions with his free arm toward the gnome. "This beautiful creature is Eilikasys, a businesswoman I've had previous dealings with. She represents some collectors in Baldur's Gate. I have a few mementos she has faithful sought to purchase from time to time, and I enjoy frustrating her with my regular refusals. With her, she has brought a new face," he says, now motioning toward the dwarf. "This is Ebokk Lockforge. Eilikasys has known the young dwarf for quite some time, and when he approached her for a recommendation, she thought of me," he says, giving the gnome another big grin. She continues to look haughty and disinterested. "Ebokk is looking for a group of adventurous types, and Eilikasys recommended my services. Now, I can't just go rushing off to sea every time I'm presented with the possibility of adventure, but I'm thinking that maybe you can." He pauses for a moment, seemingly juggling his thoughts, and you notice Ebokk fidgeting in his chair. "Not every time," Dirk clarifies, "but maybe this time. Anyway, Ebokk has a ship, a crew, and a destination. He just needs help finding his father."
"Yes, yes," agrees Ebokk, nodding enthusiastically.
“I’m in!” Jambiya says, “Be right back!” and she skips off to give Brunthor a huge hug.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.