A couple points of RP: While Sylyra has deemed Arnald worthy of conversation, it's clear the elf is still haughty. In fact, unless Arnald discourages it, Sylyra would probably enjoy speaking ill of others to the fighter for laughs. (Think the "cool kids" clique in high school.) And finding out that Sly is not an actual animal seems to lower the familiar's estimation in the druid's mind, but it then becomes more of a curiosity to him rather than something that is ignored or disliked.
At the woman's yells and most of the group's frantic scurrying out into the road, Sylyra sighs and rolls his eyes. He stays seated, surreptitiously watching Arnald to see what the fighter will decide to do. When everyone comes in and the plan of hunting goblins is proclaimed, the druid rolls his eyes again ... until the Black Fists mention goblin treasure.
Sylyra stands, taking his staff in hand. "Fear not, madam," he says with a slight smile to Millivent. "Take us to where these fiends have gone, and we will rescue your family." For dramatic effect, he causes a flame to appear in his palm, then he squashes it within his fist, smiling boldly the whole time.
Ruik gets to his feet and slowly follows the others out when the commotion outside the inn happens. At the mention of goblins he already knows that he is willing to help.
"Let's not waste daylight." He says as he moves to the wagon and hoists himself up into the back. "I can't run very fast so let's get this wagon moving."
Arnald seeing the commotion was caused by a single woman carrying a baby stays in the in and watches Uragum and Ola comfort the woman. When he sees them leading her back to Madame Freona's, Arnald returns to his seat and waits to the hear the explanation. When he hears about the goblins and Ola's intention to go hunting, Arnald rises. "Goblins are sneaky creatures. You'll definitely need someone of my skill in this fight. Let me gather my gear and Sly and I will accompany you."
OOC: Everyone is along for the ride. Those who were unable to get posts in can recap their reactions if they would like.
For Sylyra:
OOC: Ola has the potion of healing as was originally discussed. I thought I called that out when I added it to her inventory, but it must have slipped my mind.
For Uragum:
OOC: Since Uragum isn't doing anything stressful while riding on the wagon, and the farm is around an hour away, there would be just enough time for it to qualify as a short rest, if you would like to use your Arcane Recovery to regain the spell slot.
Taking heart in Sylyra's speech and the offered help from the others, Millivent seems like a different person. She nods defiantly, and leads you to her wagon outside.
"There should be enough room for all of you. I took a wagon empty of cargo," Millivent explains.
The woman sits in nervous silence throughout the trip, broken occasionally by a cry from Bo when the wagon hits a rut or a rocky patch along the trail outside of Phlan.
An hour later, the wagon slows to a halt outside of Millivent's family's farm. A large farmhouse dominates the scenery in front of a wet forested area, practically swampland.
"This is where the raid took place, out here in the open. I was able to get away because I was the only one in the house with Bo. The goblins didn't bother coming near the house. I saw the end of their attack outside, when they dragged everyone off to the east,"Millivent says, pointing toward the forest.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Arnald silently looks at Sly who immediately lifts off his shoulder and flies to the east. Arnald then looks to the group, "Sly and I will go ahead and start scouting the trail." As Arnald gets a little ways from the group he pulls his longbow off his back and and arrow from his quiver and then slips into stealth and follows Sly to the east.
Zelra purses her lips and gives the guard a strained smile. "Well, helping this woman out will be enough payment for us." She turns back around and follows Ola into the inn. As they leave, she quickly grabs some biscuits and quietly follows the group to the wagon.
As they arrive and Millivent explains what happens, Zelra asks, "Did they take anything else aside from your family and do you remember how many there were? The more information you can provide, the eaiser and faster it will be for us to find your family."
For DM:
Despite the poor woman and boy being very obviously distressed, Zelra can't help but be suspicious of their intentions. What if this was a trap and they were just luring the group into an ambush?
Ola never took the potion - Sylyra did. And said something like "he will look after it".
Hm...
Too late now, but I could not even imagine the baby can possibly go with us. Should I know, Ola would insist for the baby to stay at inn.
Ola did not interfere with Zelra's interrogation - why did not she think about these questions? - but when possible information was obtained, she insisted on one thing: "Madam, you have to stay in the house. Let us handle it."
When everyone was ready to follow Arnald, she moved towards the forest with them.
Otger moves to his room to equip his armor, adventuring pack, and mace. "Was such a delicious breakfast too." As he leaves his room and passes by his table he grabs the last bit of bread he was almost done eating and stuffs the thing in his mouth. Finally ready for adventure he walks out to the rest of the group. "Goblins an hour from town and the city guard care not." He shakes his head in disbelief. "Well, we have a job to do, so lets get to it!"
Upon arrival to the farm stead Otger hops off the wagon. "With only a few hours since the attack the trail should be a bit easier for you to follow Arnald. Let us hope the goblins weren't smart enough to attempt covering their tracks." Otger will then aid those still on the wagon to get off.
"I agree with Ola, stay in the house and dcaer for the child. If they didn't head into the house before then chances are good that if they were to return they will leave you alone."
Upon his return, Sly communicates to you a feeling that the woods stretch on for quite some distance, then flies back over to the entrance of the woods and hovers in front of an area that you can see has been trampled recently.
For Zelra:
Millivent seems eager to help in any way that she can. Thus far, you don't detect any dishonesty from her, and her distress seems genuine.
For Ola and Sylyra:
OOC: Most wanted to give the potion to Ola because she took a smaller cut of the reward, and there was no objection, so I moved it to her sheet at that point. If you think someone else should carry it, just let me know and I'll move it over.
Arnald moves toward the treeline, and Sly darts into the forest ahead of him.
When Zelra questions Millivent, she responds, "Unless they've returned and entered the farmhouse since I left, they took nothing but people: My husband Haldred, my daughters Alleena and Kithian, my sons Quayle and Volland, and six hired hands were working this morning. As far as I know, they were all taken." She tears up again as she lists off the names of her husband and children. "I don't know how many goblins there were...I'm sorry, there were just too many to count," she concludes, shaking her head free of the tears.
When Otger suggests she stay in the house, she nods, "Yes, of course, I wouldn't know where to start, I just wanted to take you all to the exact spot they were taken. I couldn't bear the thought of you looking in the wrong area while I stayed in town, helpless. I will be in the farmhouse with Bo if you need me."
After about ten minutes, Sly returns from the forest, fluttering over a specific area that looks as though it has been trampled over recently.
OOC: If you are searching for the goblins to the east, determine a marching order. In order to advance, I need to at least know who is in the front rank.
When it is clear the wagon has just about arrived at the farm, Sylyra begins muttering to himself in druid. After 10 minutes (assuming the group will already have started along the trail by then), he says, "I will talk with the local animals to make sure we're headed in the right direction," and then angles away from the group into the thicker wood on a parallel course.
He casts speak with animals as a ritual to converse with any animals he happens upon to ask about the goblins, the direction they were headed, and about any possible dangers along the way. Any news he gathers, he reports to the group as they continue along the path. If need be, he will recast the spell as a ritual to make sure they're still going the right direction and being safe as many times as it takes as they march after the goblins.
"Arnald, you being the Scout should stay near the front to guide the way. I'll be right behind you. If we are to love forward through this forest I'd suggest we not stray too far from one another, agreed?" Otger then lines himself up behind Arnald, heaving his pack into position.
Ola did object ("I do not deserve it"), turned around and left the room without taking the potion, after that Sylyra took it and never gave to anyone else.
Ola did not fight for the spot in the front but would stay on the front line nevertheless. Right now it should be somewhere near Otger - right behind him or near by.
Ruik allows the group to go ahead of him and takes the last spot unless someone else really wants it. He won't interfere and simply shrugs and takes the second to last spot in line.
Uragum moves himself mid way into the group. His height giving him a better view over the heads of those around him. In his mind this gives him the advantage of reacting equally to any direction.
Arnald takes the lead and, as quietly as possible, starts to follow the path of trampled ground before him. Sly flies circles above them going 100 feet or so around the group.
OOC: I didn't realize that was meant to be an outright rejection of the potion. It's been moved to Sylyra's inventory, if you would like to do something different with it, feel free to do so.
The trail of the goblins is not very difficult to find. The ground is wet and swamplike, and still holds clear signs of passage near the entrance to the woods. The prints in the mud show that more than a dozen goblin-sized creatures passed through here today, and the trails left by the passage make it appear that about almost as many prisoners were being dragged. At certain points, Arnald loses the trail where ground becomes high and dry, but with Sylyra and the nearby animals' assistance, you finally reach the end of the trail after traversing the swampy bog for a little more than an hour.
The trail leads directly into the mouth of a cave in the side of a hill rising from the bog. Brush and other low vegetation screen you from the cave's entrance, where a goblin is conversing with a human-sized figure dressed in heavy cloaks, obscuring their face.
The goblin says in broken Common, "Only one raiding group return. They bring prisoners. Other raiding groups return soon. No more snake coin people found."
The human-sized figure nods and says in a deep timbre, "Excellent. Tell Gorrunk that my friends and I will pay lots of coin and give lots of gifts for all the dragon artifacts you can find. And kill any other humans who you find near your home."
The goblin nods and enters the cave, while the cloaked figure whispers a word and simply vanishes.
"Dragon artifacts?" Ola kept her voice quiet "What do they have to do with the imprisoned farmers?" "But one way or another - sims like prisoners are meant for goblins. As food, no doubt. Disgusting creatures!" Cool demeanour she normally held for a moment was replaced with genuine angry disgust.
"I wander when those "other raiding groups" are about to return".
Otger wades through the mud with seemingly no regard for the affect it has on his armor or vestments. It seems that once his mind is set to helping another, everything else is of little importance. "Lucky we got here when we did. That was useful information. Good thinking Ola, we need to move fast if we are to save any prisoners but we also need to be cautious about the enemy coming back and flanking us from behind. Once we find the prisoners I will tend to their wounds. Hopefully they aren't already dealt with by the time we make it to them. In my opinion, waiting for the rest to return is not an option, lives are at stake here." Otger quickly moves forward toward the entrance of the goblin cave, "Lets not wait around for answers, move on up, we can talk while we walk.Just keep your voices low."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Zelra nods at Otger. "I agree. Let's just go in, kill the goblins, save the family and get out. The longer we dally, the more likely they'll be dead when we go in."Without waiting for the others, she flips her hood up and silently makes her way near to the entrance of the cave, looking around for any goblins that might be on guard outside the cave before peeking inside.
Stealth: 10
Perception: 6
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DM:
Who did you end up giving the potion to?
Arnald and DM:
A couple points of RP: While Sylyra has deemed Arnald worthy of conversation, it's clear the elf is still haughty. In fact, unless Arnald discourages it, Sylyra would probably enjoy speaking ill of others to the fighter for laughs. (Think the "cool kids" clique in high school.) And finding out that Sly is not an actual animal seems to lower the familiar's estimation in the druid's mind, but it then becomes more of a curiosity to him rather than something that is ignored or disliked.
At the woman's yells and most of the group's frantic scurrying out into the road, Sylyra sighs and rolls his eyes. He stays seated, surreptitiously watching Arnald to see what the fighter will decide to do. When everyone comes in and the plan of hunting goblins is proclaimed, the druid rolls his eyes again ... until the Black Fists mention goblin treasure.
Sylyra stands, taking his staff in hand. "Fear not, madam," he says with a slight smile to Millivent. "Take us to where these fiends have gone, and we will rescue your family." For dramatic effect, he causes a flame to appear in his palm, then he squashes it within his fist, smiling boldly the whole time.
Produce flame
Ruik gets to his feet and slowly follows the others out when the commotion outside the inn happens. At the mention of goblins he already knows that he is willing to help.
"Let's not waste daylight." He says as he moves to the wagon and hoists himself up into the back. "I can't run very fast so let's get this wagon moving."
Arnald seeing the commotion was caused by a single woman carrying a baby stays in the in and watches Uragum and Ola comfort the woman. When he sees them leading her back to Madame Freona's, Arnald returns to his seat and waits to the hear the explanation. When he hears about the goblins and Ola's intention to go hunting, Arnald rises. "Goblins are sneaky creatures. You'll definitely need someone of my skill in this fight. Let me gather my gear and Sly and I will accompany you."
Campaigns:
DM - Waterdeep Dragon Heist PbP
OOC: Everyone is along for the ride. Those who were unable to get posts in can recap their reactions if they would like.
For Sylyra:
OOC: Ola has the potion of healing as was originally discussed. I thought I called that out when I added it to her inventory, but it must have slipped my mind.
For Uragum:
OOC: Since Uragum isn't doing anything stressful while riding on the wagon, and the farm is around an hour away, there would be just enough time for it to qualify as a short rest, if you would like to use your Arcane Recovery to regain the spell slot.
Taking heart in Sylyra's speech and the offered help from the others, Millivent seems like a different person. She nods defiantly, and leads you to her wagon outside.
"There should be enough room for all of you. I took a wagon empty of cargo," Millivent explains.
The woman sits in nervous silence throughout the trip, broken occasionally by a cry from Bo when the wagon hits a rut or a rocky patch along the trail outside of Phlan.
An hour later, the wagon slows to a halt outside of Millivent's family's farm. A large farmhouse dominates the scenery in front of a wet forested area, practically swampland.
"This is where the raid took place, out here in the open. I was able to get away because I was the only one in the house with Bo. The goblins didn't bother coming near the house. I saw the end of their attack outside, when they dragged everyone off to the east," Millivent says, pointing toward the forest.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Arnald silently looks at Sly who immediately lifts off his shoulder and flies to the east. Arnald then looks to the group, "Sly and I will go ahead and start scouting the trail." As Arnald gets a little ways from the group he pulls his longbow off his back and and arrow from his quiver and then slips into stealth and follows Sly to the east.
For DM:
Sly's perception check: 12
Arnald tells Sly to fly east until he sees the goblins or until he reaches a mile and then to return and let him know what he saw.
Campaigns:
DM - Waterdeep Dragon Heist PbP
Zelra purses her lips and gives the guard a strained smile. "Well, helping this woman out will be enough payment for us." She turns back around and follows Ola into the inn. As they leave, she quickly grabs some biscuits and quietly follows the group to the wagon.
As they arrive and Millivent explains what happens, Zelra asks, "Did they take anything else aside from your family and do you remember how many there were? The more information you can provide, the eaiser and faster it will be for us to find your family."
For DM:
Despite the poor woman and boy being very obviously distressed, Zelra can't help but be suspicious of their intentions. What if this was a trap and they were just luring the group into an ambush?
Insight Check to see if she's lying in anyway: 15
About potion:
Ola never took the potion - Sylyra did. And said something like "he will look after it".
Hm...
Too late now, but I could not even imagine the baby can possibly go with us. Should I know, Ola would insist for the baby to stay at inn.
Ola did not interfere with Zelra's interrogation - why did not she think about these questions? - but when possible information was obtained, she insisted on one thing: "Madam, you have to stay in the house. Let us handle it."
When everyone was ready to follow Arnald, she moved towards the forest with them.
OOC: this is not Quivering Forest, is it?
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Otger moves to his room to equip his armor, adventuring pack, and mace. "Was such a delicious breakfast too." As he leaves his room and passes by his table he grabs the last bit of bread he was almost done eating and stuffs the thing in his mouth. Finally ready for adventure he walks out to the rest of the group. "Goblins an hour from town and the city guard care not." He shakes his head in disbelief. "Well, we have a job to do, so lets get to it!"
Upon arrival to the farm stead Otger hops off the wagon. "With only a few hours since the attack the trail should be a bit easier for you to follow Arnald. Let us hope the goblins weren't smart enough to attempt covering their tracks." Otger will then aid those still on the wagon to get off.
"I agree with Ola, stay in the house and dcaer for the child. If they didn't head into the house before then chances are good that if they were to return they will leave you alone."
For DM:
I have updated prepared spells.
OOC: This is not the Quivering Forest.
For Arnald:
Upon his return, Sly communicates to you a feeling that the woods stretch on for quite some distance, then flies back over to the entrance of the woods and hovers in front of an area that you can see has been trampled recently.
For Zelra:
Millivent seems eager to help in any way that she can. Thus far, you don't detect any dishonesty from her, and her distress seems genuine.
For Ola and Sylyra:
OOC: Most wanted to give the potion to Ola because she took a smaller cut of the reward, and there was no objection, so I moved it to her sheet at that point. If you think someone else should carry it, just let me know and I'll move it over.
Arnald moves toward the treeline, and Sly darts into the forest ahead of him.
When Zelra questions Millivent, she responds, "Unless they've returned and entered the farmhouse since I left, they took nothing but people: My husband Haldred, my daughters Alleena and Kithian, my sons Quayle and Volland, and six hired hands were working this morning. As far as I know, they were all taken." She tears up again as she lists off the names of her husband and children. "I don't know how many goblins there were...I'm sorry, there were just too many to count," she concludes, shaking her head free of the tears.
When Otger suggests she stay in the house, she nods, "Yes, of course, I wouldn't know where to start, I just wanted to take you all to the exact spot they were taken. I couldn't bear the thought of you looking in the wrong area while I stayed in town, helpless. I will be in the farmhouse with Bo if you need me."
After about ten minutes, Sly returns from the forest, fluttering over a specific area that looks as though it has been trampled over recently.
OOC: If you are searching for the goblins to the east, determine a marching order. In order to advance, I need to at least know who is in the front rank.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
When it is clear the wagon has just about arrived at the farm, Sylyra begins muttering to himself in druid. After 10 minutes (assuming the group will already have started along the trail by then), he says, "I will talk with the local animals to make sure we're headed in the right direction," and then angles away from the group into the thicker wood on a parallel course.
He casts speak with animals as a ritual to converse with any animals he happens upon to ask about the goblins, the direction they were headed, and about any possible dangers along the way. Any news he gathers, he reports to the group as they continue along the path. If need be, he will recast the spell as a ritual to make sure they're still going the right direction and being safe as many times as it takes as they march after the goblins.
"Arnald, you being the Scout should stay near the front to guide the way. I'll be right behind you. If we are to love forward through this forest I'd suggest we not stray too far from one another, agreed?" Otger then lines himself up behind Arnald, heaving his pack into position.
About the potion
Ola did object ("I do not deserve it"), turned around and left the room without taking the potion, after that Sylyra took it and never gave to anyone else.
Ola did not fight for the spot in the front but would stay on the front line nevertheless. Right now it should be somewhere near Otger - right behind him or near by.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Ruik allows the group to go ahead of him and takes the last spot unless someone else really wants it. He won't interfere and simply shrugs and takes the second to last spot in line.
Uragum moves himself mid way into the group. His height giving him a better view over the heads of those around him. In his mind this gives him the advantage of reacting equally to any direction.
Arnald takes the lead and, as quietly as possible, starts to follow the path of trampled ground before him. Sly flies circles above them going 100 feet or so around the group.
Campaigns:
DM - Waterdeep Dragon Heist PbP
Zelra takes her position as second to last in the marching order, pulling out her shortbow and keeping an eye out on their surroundings.
Arnald Survival (Advantage-Sylyra's Help): 11
For Ola and Sylyra:
OOC: I didn't realize that was meant to be an outright rejection of the potion. It's been moved to Sylyra's inventory, if you would like to do something different with it, feel free to do so.
The trail of the goblins is not very difficult to find. The ground is wet and swamplike, and still holds clear signs of passage near the entrance to the woods. The prints in the mud show that more than a dozen goblin-sized creatures passed through here today, and the trails left by the passage make it appear that about almost as many prisoners were being dragged. At certain points, Arnald loses the trail where ground becomes high and dry, but with Sylyra and the nearby animals' assistance, you finally reach the end of the trail after traversing the swampy bog for a little more than an hour.
The trail leads directly into the mouth of a cave in the side of a hill rising from the bog. Brush and other low vegetation screen you from the cave's entrance, where a goblin is conversing with a human-sized figure dressed in heavy cloaks, obscuring their face.
The goblin says in broken Common, "Only one raiding group return. They bring prisoners. Other raiding groups return soon. No more snake coin people found."
The human-sized figure nods and says in a deep timbre, "Excellent. Tell Gorrunk that my friends and I will pay lots of coin and give lots of gifts for all the dragon artifacts you can find. And kill any other humans who you find near your home."
The goblin nods and enters the cave, while the cloaked figure whispers a word and simply vanishes.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
"Dragon artifacts?" Ola kept her voice quiet "What do they have to do with the imprisoned farmers?" "But one way or another - sims like prisoners are meant for goblins. As food, no doubt. Disgusting creatures!" Cool demeanour she normally held for a moment was replaced with genuine angry disgust.
"I wander when those "other raiding groups" are about to return".
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Otger wades through the mud with seemingly no regard for the affect it has on his armor or vestments. It seems that once his mind is set to helping another, everything else is of little importance. "Lucky we got here when we did. That was useful information. Good thinking Ola, we need to move fast if we are to save any prisoners but we also need to be cautious about the enemy coming back and flanking us from behind. Once we find the prisoners I will tend to their wounds. Hopefully they aren't already dealt with by the time we make it to them. In my opinion, waiting for the rest to return is not an option, lives are at stake here." Otger quickly moves forward toward the entrance of the goblin cave, "Lets not wait around for answers, move on up, we can talk while we walk. Just keep your voices low."
Zelra nods at Otger. "I agree. Let's just go in, kill the goblins, save the family and get out. The longer we dally, the more likely they'll be dead when we go in." Without waiting for the others, she flips her hood up and silently makes her way near to the entrance of the cave, looking around for any goblins that might be on guard outside the cave before peeking inside.
Stealth: 10
Perception: 6