This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Graxx looks around at the items then looks to Warsh and to the men standing outside.
"I wouldn't head inside quite yet there. There's work and fighting to be had this night." says Graxx to the two men talking about heading inside.
Graxx looks directly at that long bearded Warsh.
"Warsh. When came here we told you we heard an attack was coming and you said you had the protection you needed. Well the attack is coming tonight at midnight. We need to start preparations immediately if any of us want to live to see the next morning's light. There will be dozens of fighters swarming this isle." says Graxx.
Graxx looks out towards the sea.
"They will be comin' by boat. Ulburto is rounding up his folks. We outsiders will be fighting and possibly dying along side you people of the isle tonight. I hope you can understand that we don't have time for bickerin'. What are these protections you have that we can put into action?" says Graxx.
Neya chimes in, "We should also mention that the lunaman was not nearly as mad as he pretended to be. It was just a ruse he used to spy on everyone on this island for those very invaders."
She then realizes something doesn't add up, "Now that I think about it... If an attack was the only reason, then why the spy?"
She shakes her head, trying to get back on topic, "Don't mind me, that is not important right now."
"We have begun coordinating the defense methods as well. However they would be more effective with more aid."
"Did ye hear dat, Lolmetta?" one asks. "Outsides. Invaders. Coming to steal us away after hearin' of our unmatched beauty." She smiles an almost toothless smile.
"Yes, mother" the other responds. "Why would we ever try to turn dem away?" She points at the younger one: "Even ugly 'nd old Rentida here might get some attention from dese foreign suitors..."
"Worry not, Outsides." The first one points at the oddly thick and dark woods on the other edge of the village: "If dese dragon worshipers've ill intent as ye say, de creatures of de woods'll carry dem nonbelievers away."
Still, the younger of the three women (the one they refer to as Rentida) remains silent. Even so, she dunks a ladle into the boiling water and serves two pottery cups. She extends the cups to Doozey and Utar. The one that goes by the name of Exirsa then clarifies: "Oh, where're our manners... Here, have a drink handsome travelers."
AT THE LANDING
Warsh opens his mouth and aims his words at Graxx first. "Ye're startin' to speak nonsense like dat lunaman. Comin' here 'nd tryin' to scare Folk with yer tales." Turning to Neya: "If de lunaman's not crazy, den I was right. He's just tryin' to trick de Folk."
One of the fishermen feels the need to respond to Graxx's other question: "De creatures of de sea'll save us!" He proceeds to place a finger against a sharp point in his hooked fishing net and blood begins to drip out. Before he finishes doing whatever that was supposed to accomplish, Warsh slaps the man across the face and turns back to you with a sigh. "If it means ye'll leave after de storm passes 'nd take dat lunaman liar with ye, den I'll play along... Ye said ye're preparin' defenses 'nd need help... Well, I still don't believe ye, but ain't one to refuse work either... but we ain't workin' for free."
He extends an empty palm towards you: "Make it heavy."
Graxx looks at Warsh in utter disbelief. Graxx is over this island and all the people on it. His eyes narrow and his voice rises to the point of yelling.
"If you think I am going to pay YOU to help protect YOUR OWN DARN ISLAND then you're outta your darn mind, Warsh!" says Graxx
Graxx beats into his chest with his fist.
"You should be paying ME for shedding my blood to protect your SORRY arse!" says Graxx.
Graxx grits his teeth.
"You can choose to help or not to help. Be warned if you don't help when the attack comes and one of these cultists are strangling you with that beard of yours I'll remember this and instead of coming to your aid I will watch the life leave your eyes!" says Graxx.
Graxx spits on the ground then looks to the fisherman that just got slapped.
"What were you saying about sea creatures then? Your island, your families and your lives depend on this. Gold will not be of any use to you when your dead a few hours from now if you don't help! This is the last chance. Times wastin' and if you're not willing to fight then I'm not going to bother trying to convince you. I also won't bother to save you." Graxx states.
Taking the offered cup, Utar raises it, "Your health then," before taking a swallow.
"Apologies for being all business, ladies, but these creatures of the forest. Is there anyway we might contrive to have the, uh sea-brigands... Water-braggarts... These arseholes intent on stealing you away... Encounter them? Maybe help us keep you here with us?"
The corner of Doozey's eye twitches the more they insisted upon being beautiful. "Offer much appreciated. But, I do not believe I could even hold down water at the moment. All this talk of monsters on top of everything else is a bit too much for me." He would say. Biscuit has no compunctions, judging by how quick he was to whine behind the halfling and licks his chops. "More importantly, perhaps. And forgive me if this is stepping out of bounds a bit, but... do these creatures of yours have some type of deal with ya? At least as far as not bothering ya?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Neya is not surprised that he would ask for more coin, from what she read from Verik's journal. But, she is still not entirely pleased with the notion.
"Not entirely unexpected considering our first meeting, Warsh."
She folds her arms, "But I suppose you have a point. With more risk, more compensation is customary. After all, we are asking fishermen to be warriors for a night. Not exactly what they're trained to do."
"Fine..." Neya reaches into her purse and takes out 120 gold and hands it to him. "It's beginning to weigh me down, anyway..."
"I think I share your sentiment that if we meet again after all is said and done, it would be too soon."
(OOC Fun Fact: There was a point that she was in danger of being weighed down with money.)
Rentida opens her hand once Utar grabs one of the cups. She continues to hold the other in front of Doozey for a few seconds but the halfling does not look interested in it. Noticing the refusal, she instead raises the unclaimed cup once the half-orc toasts to their health. She drinks what would have been Doozey's serving as Utar drinks his. She smiles at the cleric afterwards. Utar feels the hot water going down his gullet. Strangely, it does not burn him despite the many roiling bubbles. The purified ocean water still feels a bit salty at first, but by the time the liquid hits the half-orc's stomach, it instead feels quite refreshing.
-> Utar gains 7temporary HP (they last until you take that same amount of damage or until the same number of hours pass, whichever comes first).
The ladies then listen to the follow up questions. To Doozey, Exirsa says: "Aye... a deal. We don't cut de trees 'nd dey don't cut us... Simple as dat. It's why we favor deadwood 'nd flotsam for our hovels." She smiles and caresses her many calluses.
To Utar, Lolmetta states: "Dey sure could if one of us asks nicely... 'nd maybe blow dem a kiss," she giggles in a flirtatious manner. "We can ask... If ye entertain us first..." She looks at the other crones with a daring smile. "Answer me dis:"
"I am bravery, I am recklessness; I am impudence, I am fearlessness; I glide 'nd take ye west or east; I shelter from rain yer hungry beast; Who am I?"
AT THE LANDING
Graxx's quickness to anger begins to show itself once again. Warsh raises his voice and begins to argue with the barbarian, but his strange way of speaking gets even more cumbersome when the man loses his cool. Some of the words he says don't even sound like real ones, or at least not Common or any other language you are familiar with.
Frustrated, Graxx turns to one of the fishermen in the background. The man seems more willing to listen and respond, specially now that Warsh looks too lost in his own ramblings to slap him again: "De sea creatures. De Folk pray to dem 'nd dey make sure fish come de Village's way. If we pray hard, dey'll show up to save us!" The man sounds obviously hopeful, and being a man of faith himself, especially in battle, Graxx seems to understand the man's plea.
(@Grx: You have no reason to doubt the man's claim that creatures of the sea may respond to their prayers. In Graxx's mind, it might work just as well as him calling on Tempus.)
Neya notices that this is unlikely to go anywhere helpful unless she intervenes. She gets a bit of Warsh's attention with her more measured words at first, and the rest of it with her golden offering. All the wide eyes and agape mouths around the monk are enough evidence to convince her these men and women have never seen this much gold in their lifetime, or those of their ancestors.
The heat of the argument dies instantly. A much more docile Warsh looks incredulous initially but then begins to collect the offered gold. His mannerisms and poise all change. It seems like a much more friendly person was hiding underneath that cranky old man's wrinkled skin. It is easy to see his greed and even pettiness though. "We believe ye now... Palisades ye said... let's go. Ulburto keeps all de spare lumber we've 'ere in the Village, unless we start breakin' down boats... For dis price, I'm willin' to do just dat."
Finally, when Neya mentions never seeing him again, Warsh looks at the heavy bag of gold, smiles, and replies: "Ye're welcome 'ere any time, miss."
(@Grx & @Drache: Is there anything else you want to do here at the fishermen's landing or would you like to head back to the village proper?)
"We'll need all the help from our Gods we can get this night. If the sea can take out a few of their boats before they get to shore we'll be much better. I appreciate you sharin' that with me." says Graxx.
Graxx shakes his head and turns to Neya and walks in close to her.
"Once again I may not like how you do things but I can't deny your results... I'll get my horse. May help moving some of this lumber." says Graxx.
Graxx heads to get Edith from the barn. As he walks he thinks of his own God Tempus and his beliefs. After getting the horse Graxx would like to go to Ulburto's smokehouse to hopefully find Ulburto to unlock the door to Verik.
"That... explains a lot more than I expected, and reminds me training with the fey." The halfling started to sway on the spot, losing himself briefly in a memory after casting his gaze upwards once. Drawn from his stupor by the request, Doozey squints at Lolmetta, then raises a brow as the riddle unfolds itself. There is a point afterwards he starts to open his mouth as if to speak, only to catch himself; the warning of them liking to play mind games drifting back to the forefront. It could be that he was being too paranoid. Yet, rather than risk asking for hints, or trying to discuss things with Utar, he kept his mouth shut and just looked up to Utar with trust in his visage.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
She responds to Graxx, "Good idea, I'll stay here for a little while longer. Looking around these docks is giving me an idea."
"Perhaps we could use some nets in the defense of the island? I do recall a real victim of the attacks on the mainland mentioned some smaller creatures that were part of the sacking of his village. Granted, he was speaking in between barks; saying the attack left him worse for wear would be an understatement. But if they do exist, the nets could entangle them."
Doozey appreciates Exirsa's explanation and reminisces a bit. The halfling places his trust on Utar to solve the posed riddle, but the half-orc takes his time in mouthing an answer. Both understand they are likely to have only one guess in a strange situation like this.
The crones await anxiously.
AT THE LANDING
Feeling his job is done at the landing, Graxx shares a few words with the fisherman and then with Neya,before heading to the barn. In turn, the monk decides to stay a little longer and gather some more potential useful supplies.
Showing some sort of initiative that has not come up until now, Warsh commands his followers to go grab as many nets from their little shed as possible. He explains: "Great idea, miss. De Folk's nets're hooked. If we use on Outsides, dey'd feel de pricks real good."
The fishermen eventually come out hauling 8 hooked fishing nets and ask Neya what they should do with them (this includes the one net the talkative fisherman used to prick his own finger a moment ago).
(OOC: They work just as regular nets, except they deal 1d4 piercing damage if they successfully restrain a target).
AT THE BARN
It takes a couple of minutes but Graxx arrives at the barn along with Elisande, who was uncharacteristically quiet in Warsh's presence. She tries to make small talk on the way to the barn, mostly asking the barbarian to tell her about the "Outsides' lands."
DM's Screen:
3
Upon arrival at the barn, Elisande finds the blind goat grazing outside and gets distracted. She approaches the animal and begins to pet it lovingly. Allowing the girl to have a moment for herself, Graxx walks in the barn to retrieve Edith but is surprised by a strange scene: one of the villagers is petting Glühoof on the side in order to maintain the animal calm. This villager's other hand however, is holding one of the horse's hind legs up, letting it naturally bend at the knee. A second villager does his best to sharpen a rusty axe on the corner and whispers to the first: "Almost dere... hold dat leg just right 'nd I'll be right dere."
(@Grx: I'll stop here for now to give you a chance to react to the scene described above. We can then continue on to Graxx finding Ulburto and Verik.)
Feeling strangely invigorated after his drink, Utar hands the cup back to the sisters. Dragging a hand across the stubble growing on his face since he last left Phlan, he recites some of the words of the riddle, mumbling to himself
"Bravery, recklessness, impudence, fearlessness... Gliding west or east... Shades my hungry beast..."
"Hmmm, now I don't think you ladies would be so cruel as to give me a riddle with no answer or with many. No, I think there's a specific answer. One specific answer..."
Thinking through the riddle, Utar can remember being around all of the list of qualities rattled off by the sisters. His unit in particular being singled out for following the bold risks spied on the battlefield by their Sergeant. For a moment, Utar is about to answer Aleyd Burrall, but stops himself. How could these women know her? Especially now Utar questions whether he knows her given her fervent belief in Torm previously.
No, he decides, the answer is a trait. Of someone's character, but also, maybe a name? Not of a person, but of something else with a name. An animal maybe. Or a ship? Something that can travel and do so easily...
Utar smiles as an answer starts to form in his mind, remembering one particular dressing down from a senior officer. His unit spread on the ground, bandaging wounds, sharing jokes. Burrall stood at attention taking the brunt of the officer's ire. "This army is build on disciple... Reckless action has a price... How can you have the audacity?..."
With that, Utar has his answer. He smiles and looks at the sisters.
"So ladies. You asked your riddle, here is my answer. The only bit that stands out is about shading my hungry beast, but you might be able to explain that afterwards."
Pausing and taking a breath,
"You are Audacity... Or The Audacity of that's how you make ships. Audacity."
Utar stands back, ready to learn if he was correct.
Graxx's eyes widen once more as when he thought he couldn't be shocked anymore by these islanders he is proven wrong. Seeing a horse in danger brings Graxx closer to losing himself in his emotions.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OUR HORSES!" Graxx roars at the two villagers.
Graxx runs up and slams the crown of his head into the villager holding Glu's leg in an attempt to Shove the villager prone.
Athletics: 7
If successful or unsuccessful in the shove is no matter. Graxx draws his Greatsword off his back.
"I am tired of this madness! If either of you so much as look at our horses again so help me Tempus I will cut you both down right now! I should kill you but we need your bodies! Take that axe and report to Ulburto to get ready to fight tonight or you can die right here right now!" says Graxx doing what he can to keep his emotions from sending him into a rage.
"GO!" Graxx roars.
Intimidation: 5
Graxx eyes then set on Elisande his anger for the villagers spilling over even to Elisande.
"Leave me... Now..." says Graxx through gritted teeth.
"What my thinking is that you know this island well and they don't. You know where the best places to approach the village and you know where they are likely to tread. We can trap those areas with the nets, hidden under a layer of dust and leaves from the trees. The hooks make it easier for them to catch these invaders.”
”Now that I think about it, it’s not too different from fishing.”
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
AT THE FIRE PIT
(@MB: That was great! DM's Inspiration token to you!)
Doozey observes intently as Utar thinks through the riddle out loud. With each word released by the cleric, the crones smile in a mixture of admiration, surprise, and certainty. Lolmetta speaks up first: "Besides bein' handsome he's also smart... what a catch, sisters." Exirsa giggles and responds: "Indeed... we'll keep our word, handsome tusks. When de time comes, we'll call on de creatures of de wood. Now go, 'nd prepare."
Rentida simply stands up and goes into the village, presumably to somehow spread the word of a deal stricken.
AT THE LANDING
The fishermen, including Warsh, pay close attention to Neya's instructions. Warsh reassures the monk that they will find the appropriate spots for the net traps. With that, the ferryman sends a couple of the fishermen to go spread the word and then leads the others into the village to perform the agreed upon task.
AT THE BARN
DM's Screen:
4, 7, 2, 17
Graxx dashes in and attempts to shove the villager away from Glühoof. The man is caught be surprise and is unable to stand his ground. He hits the ground somewhat softly and immediately stands back up.
Graxx follows that up with a verbal lesson. The speech is intended to put fear in the men's bones, but they end up looking more embarrassed than afraid. One of them recomposes himself enough to spit on the floor before slowly leaving the barn. The other one follows. From out of eye-shot, one of them yells back at the barn: "Leave our Village, Outside!"
Glühoof looks oblivious. Catching a bit of the barbarian's wrath once she poked her head in, Elisande runs away sounding like a whimpering puppy.
TO ALL
(OOC: At this point, I'll assume all four of you will simply begin helping the conscripted villagers in putting up palisades and maybe plan out locations for the nets. If that is indeed the case, we'll fast forward things a bit. I'll need the following rolls (feel free to add tool proficiencies where applicable):
Athletics check from anyone helping with hard labor (carrying lumber, splitting wood, propping up sections of palisade, etc.)
Nature or History check from anyone helping strategically with the palisades (finding good locations for them, relying on military training, giving advice on how to properly take advantage of the barriers, etc.)
Survival check from anyone strategically helping place the nets (finding vantage points, setting up snares, camouflaging the traps, etc.)
Perception check from each of you, for general purposes.
(@Grx: Graxx is now frustrated. Do you still want him to go look for Ulburto as previously planned? If so, please give me a separate Perception check.)
(@All: Feel free to let me know if you don't feel ready to fast forward a bit or if you want to do anything else beforehand.)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Utar's eyes go wide as the realisation his him.
"...And the barn in which we've sheltered our horses is made from wood from boats and bears the name 'Audacity'. Very nice, ladies. That works on all levels."
From there, Utar will make himself useful with a spot of hard labour.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Unable to reach Utar's shoulders, Doozey settles for lightly punching Utar in the leg. "Way to go, my friend. I knew you had it in ya." Grinning even as he turned to the hags? elder women, Doozey gives a bow to the three prior to parting company. "You have our gratitude, Ladies. May we teach these less hospital Outsides why the people of this island should NOT be underestimated." Are the halfling's parting words as he left.
Eventually, Doozey gets on Biscuit's back again just to cover more ground. What Doozey lacked in military expertise, he tried to make up for in general knowledge about varying terrains, and what to look out for mitigate the difficulties. From there, it was a not so easy task guiding workers in placing palisades to take advantage of the terrain. So that even if a force should reach them, it would become a makeshift maze should any try to take advantage of them.
About the only thing to give him pause in the work, not counting times islanders needed to be 'convinced' again to listen to the 'kid' on CRAP's roster, is if he sees a distraught Elisande. Even if he cannot quite get to her immediately, a sharp whistle and gesture is enough to send Biscuit barrelling after the kid. Even if called names or thrown rocks at to 'go away', Biscuits is nothing if not dutiful in standing at her side eventually, and act as comforting presence.
If there is left some time, so that delegating the remaining work would not pose an issue, Doozey tries to gather both CRAP and Elisande together to ask. "Remember what that Verik fellow had mentioned about a book? Perhaps now we go retrieve? Just on the off chance they send another or two to search for it? We could of course hold off on that, and just rest up while we can. But, I thought I'd mention it, at the very least."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Graxx waits till the outsiders are gone and breathes in deeply trying to calm himself. He takes his sword and stabs it into the ground.
He walks over to Edith and pats her and takes her reigns and loops them around his greatsword.
"Foehammer..." says Graxx softly.
Graxx kneels at his sword.
"Tempus... Lord of Battle... A great battle wages this night." says Graxx
"May the bloodshed of battle please and entertain you tonight. The warband and our mounts of Chaotic Relief are seasoned warriors. May your strength be with us that we alone may bring a battle of glory for you to see. Our victory will not be swift and the sands of this isle will be red with blood of foe and ally alike. Watch over us and if tonight is the night we leave this realm in death may it be glorious enough to grant us a place in your realm to battle forever more." says Graxx earnestly.
Graxx will rise and take Edith and the other mounts by the reigns. Two horses for each hand. Graxx will lead them to their respective owners as it is no longer safe for them to be left alone with these villages. Graxx will find Ulburto later. After dropping off the horses Graxx will help to carry lumber always with Edith in sight.
Athletics: 18
Perception: 12
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Graxx looks around at the items then looks to Warsh and to the men standing outside.
"I wouldn't head inside quite yet there. There's work and fighting to be had this night." says Graxx to the two men talking about heading inside.
Graxx looks directly at that long bearded Warsh.
"Warsh. When came here we told you we heard an attack was coming and you said you had the protection you needed. Well the attack is coming tonight at midnight. We need to start preparations immediately if any of us want to live to see the next morning's light. There will be dozens of fighters swarming this isle." says Graxx.
Graxx looks out towards the sea.
"They will be comin' by boat. Ulburto is rounding up his folks. We outsiders will be fighting and possibly dying along side you people of the isle tonight. I hope you can understand that we don't have time for bickerin'. What are these protections you have that we can put into action?" says Graxx.
Persuasion Check if Needed: 11
Neya chimes in, "We should also mention that the lunaman was not nearly as mad as he pretended to be. It was just a ruse he used to spy on everyone on this island for those very invaders."
She then realizes something doesn't add up, "Now that I think about it... If an attack was the only reason, then why the spy?"
She shakes her head, trying to get back on topic, "Don't mind me, that is not important right now."
"We have begun coordinating the defense methods as well. However they would be more effective with more aid."
Extended Signature
AT THE FIRE PIT
"Did ye hear dat, Lolmetta?" one asks. "Outsides. Invaders. Coming to steal us away after hearin' of our unmatched beauty." She smiles an almost toothless smile.
"Yes, mother" the other responds. "Why would we ever try to turn dem away?" She points at the younger one: "Even ugly 'nd old Rentida here might get some attention from dese foreign suitors..."
"Worry not, Outsides." The first one points at the oddly thick and dark woods on the other edge of the village: "If dese dragon worshipers've ill intent as ye say, de creatures of de woods'll carry dem nonbelievers away."
Still, the younger of the three women (the one they refer to as Rentida) remains silent. Even so, she dunks a ladle into the boiling water and serves two pottery cups. She extends the cups to Doozey and Utar. The one that goes by the name of Exirsa then clarifies: "Oh, where're our manners... Here, have a drink handsome travelers."
AT THE LANDING
Warsh opens his mouth and aims his words at Graxx first. "Ye're startin' to speak nonsense like dat lunaman. Comin' here 'nd tryin' to scare Folk with yer tales." Turning to Neya: "If de lunaman's not crazy, den I was right. He's just tryin' to trick de Folk."
One of the fishermen feels the need to respond to Graxx's other question: "De creatures of de sea'll save us!" He proceeds to place a finger against a sharp point in his hooked fishing net and blood begins to drip out. Before he finishes doing whatever that was supposed to accomplish, Warsh slaps the man across the face and turns back to you with a sigh. "If it means ye'll leave after de storm passes 'nd take dat lunaman liar with ye, den I'll play along... Ye said ye're preparin' defenses 'nd need help... Well, I still don't believe ye, but ain't one to refuse work either... but we ain't workin' for free."
He extends an empty palm towards you: "Make it heavy."
Graxx looks at Warsh in utter disbelief. Graxx is over this island and all the people on it. His eyes narrow and his voice rises to the point of yelling.
"If you think I am going to pay YOU to help protect YOUR OWN DARN ISLAND then you're outta your darn mind, Warsh!" says Graxx
Graxx beats into his chest with his fist.
"You should be paying ME for shedding my blood to protect your SORRY arse!" says Graxx.
Graxx grits his teeth.
"You can choose to help or not to help. Be warned if you don't help when the attack comes and one of these cultists are strangling you with that beard of yours I'll remember this and instead of coming to your aid I will watch the life leave your eyes!" says Graxx.
Graxx spits on the ground then looks to the fisherman that just got slapped.
"What were you saying about sea creatures then? Your island, your families and your lives depend on this. Gold will not be of any use to you when your dead a few hours from now if you don't help! This is the last chance. Times wastin' and if you're not willing to fight then I'm not going to bother trying to convince you. I also won't bother to save you." Graxx states.
Intimidation: 8
Religion. 2
Taking the offered cup, Utar raises it, "Your health then," before taking a swallow.
"Apologies for being all business, ladies, but these creatures of the forest. Is there anyway we might contrive to have the, uh sea-brigands... Water-braggarts... These arseholes intent on stealing you away... Encounter them? Maybe help us keep you here with us?"
The corner of Doozey's eye twitches the more they insisted upon being beautiful. "Offer much appreciated. But, I do not believe I could even hold down water at the moment. All this talk of monsters on top of everything else is a bit too much for me." He would say. Biscuit has no compunctions, judging by how quick he was to whine behind the halfling and licks his chops. "More importantly, perhaps. And forgive me if this is stepping out of bounds a bit, but... do these creatures of yours have some type of deal with ya? At least as far as not bothering ya?"
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Neya is not surprised that he would ask for more coin, from what she read from Verik's journal. But, she is still not entirely pleased with the notion.
"Not entirely unexpected considering our first meeting, Warsh."
She folds her arms, "But I suppose you have a point. With more risk, more compensation is customary. After all, we are asking fishermen to be warriors for a night. Not exactly what they're trained to do."
"Fine..." Neya reaches into her purse and takes out 120 gold and hands it to him. "It's beginning to weigh me down, anyway..."
"I think I share your sentiment that if we meet again after all is said and done, it would be too soon."
(OOC Fun Fact: There was a point that she was in danger of being weighed down with money.)
Extended Signature
AT THE FIRE PIT
Rentida opens her hand once Utar grabs one of the cups. She continues to hold the other in front of Doozey for a few seconds but the halfling does not look interested in it. Noticing the refusal, she instead raises the unclaimed cup once the half-orc toasts to their health. She drinks what would have been Doozey's serving as Utar drinks his. She smiles at the cleric afterwards. Utar feels the hot water going down his gullet. Strangely, it does not burn him despite the many roiling bubbles. The purified ocean water still feels a bit salty at first, but by the time the liquid hits the half-orc's stomach, it instead feels quite refreshing.
-> Utar gains 7 temporary HP (they last until you take that same amount of damage or until the same number of hours pass, whichever comes first).
The ladies then listen to the follow up questions. To Doozey, Exirsa says: "Aye... a deal. We don't cut de trees 'nd dey don't cut us... Simple as dat. It's why we favor deadwood 'nd flotsam for our hovels." She smiles and caresses her many calluses.
To Utar, Lolmetta states: "Dey sure could if one of us asks nicely... 'nd maybe blow dem a kiss," she giggles in a flirtatious manner. "We can ask... If ye entertain us first..." She looks at the other crones with a daring smile. "Answer me dis:"
AT THE LANDING
Graxx's quickness to anger begins to show itself once again. Warsh raises his voice and begins to argue with the barbarian, but his strange way of speaking gets even more cumbersome when the man loses his cool. Some of the words he says don't even sound like real ones, or at least not Common or any other language you are familiar with.
Frustrated, Graxx turns to one of the fishermen in the background. The man seems more willing to listen and respond, specially now that Warsh looks too lost in his own ramblings to slap him again: "De sea creatures. De Folk pray to dem 'nd dey make sure fish come de Village's way. If we pray hard, dey'll show up to save us!" The man sounds obviously hopeful, and being a man of faith himself, especially in battle, Graxx seems to understand the man's plea.
(@Grx: You have no reason to doubt the man's claim that creatures of the sea may respond to their prayers. In Graxx's mind, it might work just as well as him calling on Tempus.)
Neya notices that this is unlikely to go anywhere helpful unless she intervenes. She gets a bit of Warsh's attention with her more measured words at first, and the rest of it with her golden offering. All the wide eyes and agape mouths around the monk are enough evidence to convince her these men and women have never seen this much gold in their lifetime, or those of their ancestors.
The heat of the argument dies instantly. A much more docile Warsh looks incredulous initially but then begins to collect the offered gold. His mannerisms and poise all change. It seems like a much more friendly person was hiding underneath that cranky old man's wrinkled skin. It is easy to see his greed and even pettiness though. "We believe ye now... Palisades ye said... let's go. Ulburto keeps all de spare lumber we've 'ere in the Village, unless we start breakin' down boats... For dis price, I'm willin' to do just dat."
Finally, when Neya mentions never seeing him again, Warsh looks at the heavy bag of gold, smiles, and replies: "Ye're welcome 'ere any time, miss."
(@Grx & @Drache: Is there anything else you want to do here at the fishermen's landing or would you like to head back to the village proper?)
Graxx nods to the man.
"We'll need all the help from our Gods we can get this night. If the sea can take out a few of their boats before they get to shore we'll be much better. I appreciate you sharin' that with me." says Graxx.
Graxx shakes his head and turns to Neya and walks in close to her.
"Once again I may not like how you do things but I can't deny your results... I'll get my horse. May help moving some of this lumber." says Graxx.
Graxx heads to get Edith from the barn. As he walks he thinks of his own God Tempus and his beliefs. After getting the horse Graxx would like to go to Ulburto's smokehouse to hopefully find Ulburto to unlock the door to Verik.
"That... explains a lot more than I expected, and reminds me training with the fey." The halfling started to sway on the spot, losing himself briefly in a memory after casting his gaze upwards once. Drawn from his stupor by the request, Doozey squints at Lolmetta, then raises a brow as the riddle unfolds itself. There is a point afterwards he starts to open his mouth as if to speak, only to catch himself; the warning of them liking to play mind games drifting back to the forefront. It could be that he was being too paranoid. Yet, rather than risk asking for hints, or trying to discuss things with Utar, he kept his mouth shut and just looked up to Utar with trust in his visage.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"Thank you. Seems my assumption was mistaken."
She responds to Graxx, "Good idea, I'll stay here for a little while longer. Looking around these docks is giving me an idea."
"Perhaps we could use some nets in the defense of the island? I do recall a real victim of the attacks on the mainland mentioned some smaller creatures that were part of the sacking of his village. Granted, he was speaking in between barks; saying the attack left him worse for wear would be an understatement. But if they do exist, the nets could entangle them."
Extended Signature
AT THE FIRE PIT
Doozey appreciates Exirsa's explanation and reminisces a bit. The halfling places his trust on Utar to solve the posed riddle, but the half-orc takes his time in mouthing an answer. Both understand they are likely to have only one guess in a strange situation like this.
The crones await anxiously.
AT THE LANDING
Feeling his job is done at the landing, Graxx shares a few words with the fisherman and then with Neya,before heading to the barn. In turn, the monk decides to stay a little longer and gather some more potential useful supplies.
Showing some sort of initiative that has not come up until now, Warsh commands his followers to go grab as many nets from their little shed as possible. He explains: "Great idea, miss. De Folk's nets're hooked. If we use on Outsides, dey'd feel de pricks real good."
The fishermen eventually come out hauling 8 hooked fishing nets and ask Neya what they should do with them (this includes the one net the talkative fisherman used to prick his own finger a moment ago).
(OOC: They work just as regular nets, except they deal 1d4 piercing damage if they successfully restrain a target).
AT THE BARN
It takes a couple of minutes but Graxx arrives at the barn along with Elisande, who was uncharacteristically quiet in Warsh's presence. She tries to make small talk on the way to the barn, mostly asking the barbarian to tell her about the "Outsides' lands."
DM's Screen:
3
Upon arrival at the barn, Elisande finds the blind goat grazing outside and gets distracted. She approaches the animal and begins to pet it lovingly. Allowing the girl to have a moment for herself, Graxx walks in the barn to retrieve Edith but is surprised by a strange scene: one of the villagers is petting Glühoof on the side in order to maintain the animal calm. This villager's other hand however, is holding one of the horse's hind legs up, letting it naturally bend at the knee. A second villager does his best to sharpen a rusty axe on the corner and whispers to the first: "Almost dere... hold dat leg just right 'nd I'll be right dere."
(@Grx: I'll stop here for now to give you a chance to react to the scene described above. We can then continue on to Graxx finding Ulburto and Verik.)
Feeling strangely invigorated after his drink, Utar hands the cup back to the sisters. Dragging a hand across the stubble growing on his face since he last left Phlan, he recites some of the words of the riddle, mumbling to himself
"Bravery, recklessness, impudence, fearlessness... Gliding west or east... Shades my hungry beast..."
"Hmmm, now I don't think you ladies would be so cruel as to give me a riddle with no answer or with many. No, I think there's a specific answer. One specific answer..."
Thinking through the riddle, Utar can remember being around all of the list of qualities rattled off by the sisters. His unit in particular being singled out for following the bold risks spied on the battlefield by their Sergeant. For a moment, Utar is about to answer Aleyd Burrall, but stops himself. How could these women know her? Especially now Utar questions whether he knows her given her fervent belief in Torm previously.
No, he decides, the answer is a trait. Of someone's character, but also, maybe a name? Not of a person, but of something else with a name. An animal maybe. Or a ship? Something that can travel and do so easily...
Utar smiles as an answer starts to form in his mind, remembering one particular dressing down from a senior officer. His unit spread on the ground, bandaging wounds, sharing jokes. Burrall stood at attention taking the brunt of the officer's ire. "This army is build on disciple... Reckless action has a price... How can you have the audacity?..."
With that, Utar has his answer. He smiles and looks at the sisters.
"So ladies. You asked your riddle, here is my answer. The only bit that stands out is about shading my hungry beast, but you might be able to explain that afterwards."
Pausing and taking a breath,
"You are Audacity... Or The Audacity of that's how you make ships. Audacity."
Utar stands back, ready to learn if he was correct.
Graxx's eyes widen once more as when he thought he couldn't be shocked anymore by these islanders he is proven wrong. Seeing a horse in danger brings Graxx closer to losing himself in his emotions.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OUR HORSES!" Graxx roars at the two villagers.
Graxx runs up and slams the crown of his head into the villager holding Glu's leg in an attempt to Shove the villager prone.
Athletics: 7
If successful or unsuccessful in the shove is no matter. Graxx draws his Greatsword off his back.
"I am tired of this madness! If either of you so much as look at our horses again so help me Tempus I will cut you both down right now! I should kill you but we need your bodies! Take that axe and report to Ulburto to get ready to fight tonight or you can die right here right now!" says Graxx doing what he can to keep his emotions from sending him into a rage.
"GO!" Graxx roars.
Intimidation: 5
Graxx eyes then set on Elisande his anger for the villagers spilling over even to Elisande.
"Leave me... Now..." says Graxx through gritted teeth.
"What my thinking is that you know this island well and they don't. You know where the best places to approach the village and you know where they are likely to tread. We can trap those areas with the nets, hidden under a layer of dust and leaves from the trees. The hooks make it easier for them to catch these invaders.”
”Now that I think about it, it’s not too different from fishing.”
Extended Signature
AT THE FIRE PIT
(@MB: That was great! DM's Inspiration token to you!)
Doozey observes intently as Utar thinks through the riddle out loud. With each word released by the cleric, the crones smile in a mixture of admiration, surprise, and certainty. Lolmetta speaks up first: "Besides bein' handsome he's also smart... what a catch, sisters." Exirsa giggles and responds: "Indeed... we'll keep our word, handsome tusks. When de time comes, we'll call on de creatures of de wood. Now go, 'nd prepare."
Rentida simply stands up and goes into the village, presumably to somehow spread the word of a deal stricken.
AT THE LANDING
The fishermen, including Warsh, pay close attention to Neya's instructions. Warsh reassures the monk that they will find the appropriate spots for the net traps. With that, the ferryman sends a couple of the fishermen to go spread the word and then leads the others into the village to perform the agreed upon task.
AT THE BARN
DM's Screen:
4, 7, 2, 17
Graxx dashes in and attempts to shove the villager away from Glühoof. The man is caught be surprise and is unable to stand his ground. He hits the ground somewhat softly and immediately stands back up.
Graxx follows that up with a verbal lesson. The speech is intended to put fear in the men's bones, but they end up looking more embarrassed than afraid. One of them recomposes himself enough to spit on the floor before slowly leaving the barn. The other one follows. From out of eye-shot, one of them yells back at the barn: "Leave our Village, Outside!"
Glühoof looks oblivious. Catching a bit of the barbarian's wrath once she poked her head in, Elisande runs away sounding like a whimpering puppy.
TO ALL
(OOC: At this point, I'll assume all four of you will simply begin helping the conscripted villagers in putting up palisades and maybe plan out locations for the nets. If that is indeed the case, we'll fast forward things a bit. I'll need the following rolls (feel free to add tool proficiencies where applicable):
(@Grx: Graxx is now frustrated. Do you still want him to go look for Ulburto as previously planned? If so, please give me a separate Perception check.)
(@All: Feel free to let me know if you don't feel ready to fast forward a bit or if you want to do anything else beforehand.)
Utar's eyes go wide as the realisation his him.
"...And the barn in which we've sheltered our horses is made from wood from boats and bears the name 'Audacity'. Very nice, ladies. That works on all levels."
From there, Utar will make himself useful with a spot of hard labour.
Athletics 22
Perception 25
Unable to reach Utar's shoulders, Doozey settles for lightly punching Utar in the leg. "Way to go, my friend. I knew you had it in ya." Grinning even as he turned to the
hags?elder women, Doozey gives a bow to the three prior to parting company. "You have our gratitude, Ladies. May we teach these less hospital Outsides why the people of this island should NOT be underestimated." Are the halfling's parting words as he left.Eventually, Doozey gets on Biscuit's back again just to cover more ground. What Doozey lacked in military expertise, he tried to make up for in general knowledge about varying terrains, and what to look out for mitigate the difficulties. From there, it was a not so easy task guiding workers in placing palisades to take advantage of the terrain. So that even if a force should reach them, it would become a makeshift maze should any try to take advantage of them.
About the only thing to give him pause in the work, not counting times islanders needed to be 'convinced' again to listen to the 'kid' on CRAP's roster, is if he sees a distraught Elisande. Even if he cannot quite get to her immediately, a sharp whistle and gesture is enough to send Biscuit barrelling after the kid. Even if called names or thrown rocks at to 'go away', Biscuits is nothing if not dutiful in standing at her side eventually, and act as comforting presence.
If there is left some time, so that delegating the remaining work would not pose an issue, Doozey tries to gather both CRAP and Elisande together to ask. "Remember what that Verik fellow had mentioned about a book? Perhaps now we go retrieve? Just on the off chance they send another or two to search for it? We could of course hold off on that, and just rest up while we can. But, I thought I'd mention it, at the very least."
Nature: 6.
Perception: 13, if helped by Biscuit: 12.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Graxx waits till the outsiders are gone and breathes in deeply trying to calm himself. He takes his sword and stabs it into the ground.
He walks over to Edith and pats her and takes her reigns and loops them around his greatsword.
"Foehammer..." says Graxx softly.
Graxx kneels at his sword.
"Tempus... Lord of Battle... A great battle wages this night." says Graxx
"May the bloodshed of battle please and entertain you tonight. The warband and our mounts of Chaotic Relief are seasoned warriors. May your strength be with us that we alone may bring a battle of glory for you to see. Our victory will not be swift and the sands of this isle will be red with blood of foe and ally alike. Watch over us and if tonight is the night we leave this realm in death may it be glorious enough to grant us a place in your realm to battle forever more." says Graxx earnestly.
Graxx will rise and take Edith and the other mounts by the reigns. Two horses for each hand. Graxx will lead them to their respective owners as it is no longer safe for them to be left alone with these villages. Graxx will find Ulburto later. After dropping off the horses Graxx will help to carry lumber always with Edith in sight.
Athletics: 18
Perception: 12