Bryn feels Undril spasm in her arms and sees sweat break out on the half-orc’s brow. She shivers uncontrollably, teeth chattering, as she tries to reach for Fulcra as he extends the messages into the waiting hand of the soldier.
“Perne Salhana,” says the woman as she takes the missives. She eyes Fulcra up and down. “Strange reinforcements they’ve sent us this time,” she mutters, half to you and half to her herself. She appears Tethyrian; her eyes are blue, though somewhat rheumy, and her skin, possibly once dusky, is somewhat pale and sickly. Wisps of brown hair peek out from under a battered skullcap.
You get a better view of the inside of the makeshift fort now that the gates are open. The smell from outside is worse on the inside. Stagnant pools of water liter the ground, insects milling about or clouding above them. Having passed through the gatehouse, you notice it was roughly 20 feet by 15 feet.
On the other side, along the curving 12 foot high palisade of logs, to the south, an animal pen too large for its current occupants has been built extending from the palisade. Four sickly goats stare motionlessly back at you. A little beyond that, a command tent, similar to those you saw at Camp Righteous, blocks the view further. Directly north of that, adjacent, is a large field tent; what appear to be acolytes, exhausted, occasionally lope to or from the tent with fresh water or bandages. Directly north of the field tent is another command tent. Between the tents you can glimpse two camp fires in front of two rows of five pup tents and three latrines in the northwest corner of the ‘fort’. The air of action you’d expect from a fort, like Fort Nyanzaru back in the Port, is noticeably absent. A soldier can be seen moving about here or there but everyone seems to languish either in their tents or at their posts.
Looking at all this squalor you wonder if soldiers fight over guard duty as the driest place in the fort would appear to be the gatehouse…
Perne Salhana’s hand strays to her dagger as she sees Kurgaz. “That slave needs to be restrained if it’s going to be inside the fort.”
A crude laugh can be heard from the gatehouse, where a soldier takes aim with a crossbow. “Think I can take its ear off, Lars?” the soldier croaks. His face is covered in acne and has long lanky black hair.
The other soldier is visibly upset and begins storming down from the top of the gatehouse, hand on sword pommel. “Right, Figgus,” he yells back to the aiming soldier. “What in Helm’s helmet is that greenskin doing in the fort!” The soldier moves forward toward Kurgaz quickly, sword being drawn.
“Greenskin!” shrieks Chiirki.
“Kurgaz no like,” the goblin says, turning to Cimeri and pointing at Lars coming toward him.
"Hold your blade." Taman barks out the order with complete authority in his voice. "This is my scout. No one will touch him." He steps between the goblin and the oncoming warrior.
Intimidation: 2
And ends up tripping over his own feet, looking far less than threatening.
Cimeri was torn between two feelings - she was afraid to make things worse, and yet she could not leave Kurgaz, who she still counted as her responsibility, to the mercy of those Templars (or whoever they were). "He is with us and harmless. We can leave him outside, if this is a problem. Or if you so wish, we both can leave your camp."
Fulcra replies to Perne, "Oh, lovely lady, we are not associated to your organization. We are travelers merely who happened across someone and brought them to you. Please restrain your men from harming our party members."
Fulcra waves his hand, a wooden box appears around the goblin (minor illusion), "Kurgaz, stay still in there, don't move." He addresses the approaching soldier, "There, you see? He is boxed, there is no need for you to fear him."
Fulcra will maintain the box until the situation is resolved, and then once attention is away, will suggest Kurgaz be brought to stay with Azaka, and release the box.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
You recall that the only other person outside is Azaka, who will likely slit Kurgaz's throat; you or someone else would have to stay outside, foregoing a long rest :(.
Better than get him slaughtered! If the options are Cimeri stays outside with the goblin or party is attacked/goblin killed by someone - Cimeri will stay outside with Azaka and goblin. She can survive without long rest (or help Azaka fight in case of emergency).
"This is my scout." Taman says again, trying to recover his composure after nearly face-planting in front of the leader. "I will vouch for his actions."
"Hold your blade, lovely lady," mimics Chiirki at Lars, who suddenly stops as the wooden box envelops Kurgaz (who begins to shriek in terror, much to Figgus' and the other soldiers' delight). Lars backpedals from the sorcerer and returns to his post above the gatehouse, spitting at the box as he does so.
"Pansy," Figgus teases Lars, and a shoving match ensues on top of the gatehouse.
"Get your arses in gear and settle down quick you lot!" shouts Perne Salhana. "Or you'll be next on patrol!" The thought of patrolling outside the fort is apparently enough to threaten the two dolts and they go back to their posts, making crude comments about Azaka outside.
"You'd best take that outside," Salhana suggests to Cimeri, who scowls, calms the goblin and takes Chiirki and Kurgaz out to where Azaka is finding a rough campsite, clearing away burned corpses and looking for a level spot. "Follow," commands Salhana, and makes for the left command tent. Over her shoulder she says, "Take the emmisary to the field hospital," and points to the central tent roughly 10 feet by 10 feet.
Undril comes to for a moment and tries to reach out a hand to the departing Salhana, but again falls unconscious.
[I know Cimeri is going outside w/ Azaka, Bryn is taking Undril to the field tent... where are each of the rest of you going/doing?]
Cimeri said "good bye" to the potential safe bed (with her "inner voice", of course) and shrugged to Azaka's unspoken question: "You might have being right about the Camp. The people a touch rigid in there." Comment about possibility for Azaka and templars get along on the mutual hate for goblins she kept to herself. "Would it be half night on you and half on me, or is it safer here so close to the Camp?"
Fulcra makes eye contact with Taman after Cimeri and the goblin wanders off, and rolls his eyes with exaggeration. He then follows Taman and Perne towards the command tent.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Celtra followed the others through the gate, her own pack and an armful of supplies. She waited somewhat impatiently shifting from one foot to the other as they spoke. While doing so she really was scoping out the place. Taking in the placement of various tents and out buildings while appearing to be board. Then she felt it so much as she had saw it. The men, they were leering at her. Like she was some sort of fresh water in a desert wasteland. She placed her armful carefully on the driest patch of ground she could find. Then from her near kneeling position, she placed one hand on the sheath of her sword, the other on the hilt. Pivoting, she turned and drew her blade at the same moment. A slash of force flew from her blade and struck a post of one of the guard houses where a few of the leering men stood leaving a gash. She gave a hard stare and then slid her blade back into the sheath and picked up the gear again following the others again without a word.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Dex Saves:
Guard 1: 17
Lars: 3
Figgus: 12
The unfortunate guard atop the gatehouse next to Lars and Figgus manages to catch his balance by grabbing the palisade; the other two are not so lucky. Celtra’s strike shakes the foundations of the gatehouse and the two dolts waver on the precipice, before Lars loses control and falls, grabbing and pulling Figgus with him. The two land with a splat in the mud, to the delight of the other guards; consequently, they avert their eyes from Celtra from then on.
“Don’t make me confiscate your weapons!” shouts Perne Salhana at Celtra loudly, grabbing her arm roughly. Leaning closer, she mutters,
@Celtra:
“Thank you for not maiming them; I apologize, morale is very, very low.”
“Blistering blue barnacles! What in Moradin’s beard was that?” shouts a scarred hill dwarf from the second command tent. He sees you all with Salhana and marches forward. “What’s all this then? What now?”
“Visitors to our humble abode,” Salhana says to him. She introduces all of you curtly. “This is Ord Firebeard. He and I are the captains under the commander.”
Ord, his face a matrix of old scars over dark skin, seems healthier than Perne Salhana, both mentally and physically, possibly due to his dwarven constitution. His brown hair is spiked with animal fat and sticks straight up in the air. Everything about him but his belly is angular.
“Not reinforcements then,” he says grimly.
“Messages,” replies Salhana. The two share a look. The half-giant,” she begins, nodding at Bryn as she heads to the Field Hospital, “brought the messenger to the Field Hospital. Looks like Shivering Sickness. Priest of some kind.”
Firebeard takes in the information with a poker face, stroking his brown, unfiery beard. He turns to you. “Of course, we’ll escort you to the Commander immediately, but first, why are you in the jungle and how did you come across this messenger?”
Celtra considers ripping her arm out of the grip but the choice of words calms her. She gives a brief nod and then overly loudly says, "Yes Ma'am, wont happen again."
She cast her gaze back at the guards who fell and then continued on with her gear behind the others. When asked about what brought them here she remains silent, she knows only a fraction of the story but otherwise prefers letting someone else speak.
Fulcra smiles a warm smile to the Dwarf. "Oh, we were just enjoying a nice boat ride in nature. Chult is beautiful this time of year. The bugs, the stink, the sweat and the undead form this sort of undeniable beauty that has to be experienced first hand. Oh, plus we heard there was treasure. We're headed up river and found your messenger pleading for help in a rowboat before she collapsed. Her two guides were resting easy when we found her. A little too easy if you catch my meaning. Really, the easiest sort of resting one can do. So easy, they were pretty much not moving. I mean dead, to be clear. In case that wasn't obvious. They were very dead."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
And then roars with laughter. "I like this fellow!" he shouts. "Come, let me show you the fort! The commander doesn't have a sense of humor, nor does Perne!"
Perne Salhana's face is stone, and if any of the produce in the fort wasn't rotten already, her look would do it. She quietly says to Celtra,
@Celtra:
"He dyes his hair and whiskers; he's a true firebeard under there, if you catch my drift. And stay away, he has a small penis and halitosis."
The dwarf continues to Fulcra, "Let the man with the almiraj handle the Commander, or the lady bent on destroying our walls! Let's get a drink!"
Salhana turns to Celtra, "I'll take this one," nodding to Taman, "to the Commander and then show you our fortifications? Unless you'd like to speak with the Commander as well..."
[Taman, Fulcra, Celtra: let me know who you go with, you don't have to go with anyone if you don't want...]
Fulcra speaks conspiratorially to the Dwarf, "Drinks soon enough. I could not leave my friend to face your commander alone. I really have no idea what he's likely to agree to. We could all end up in servitude or worse!"
He points at Taman and mutters under his breath. In Taman's mind, "As Azaka told us, this place is rotting from the inside out. Let us secure a nights rest then make our departure swiftly in the morning."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
Undril, CON save: 5
Bryn feels Undril spasm in her arms and sees sweat break out on the half-orc’s brow. She shivers uncontrollably, teeth chattering, as she tries to reach for Fulcra as he extends the messages into the waiting hand of the soldier.
“Perne Salhana,” says the woman as she takes the missives. She eyes Fulcra up and down. “Strange reinforcements they’ve sent us this time,” she mutters, half to you and half to her herself. She appears Tethyrian; her eyes are blue, though somewhat rheumy, and her skin, possibly once dusky, is somewhat pale and sickly. Wisps of brown hair peek out from under a battered skullcap.
You get a better view of the inside of the makeshift fort now that the gates are open. The smell from outside is worse on the inside. Stagnant pools of water liter the ground, insects milling about or clouding above them. Having passed through the gatehouse, you notice it was roughly 20 feet by 15 feet.
On the other side, along the curving 12 foot high palisade of logs, to the south, an animal pen too large for its current occupants has been built extending from the palisade. Four sickly goats stare motionlessly back at you. A little beyond that, a command tent, similar to those you saw at Camp Righteous, blocks the view further. Directly north of that, adjacent, is a large field tent; what appear to be acolytes, exhausted, occasionally lope to or from the tent with fresh water or bandages. Directly north of the field tent is another command tent. Between the tents you can glimpse two camp fires in front of two rows of five pup tents and three latrines in the northwest corner of the ‘fort’. The air of action you’d expect from a fort, like Fort Nyanzaru back in the Port, is noticeably absent. A soldier can be seen moving about here or there but everyone seems to languish either in their tents or at their posts.
Looking at all this squalor you wonder if soldiers fight over guard duty as the driest place in the fort would appear to be the gatehouse…
Perne Salhana’s hand strays to her dagger as she sees Kurgaz. “That slave needs to be restrained if it’s going to be inside the fort.”
A crude laugh can be heard from the gatehouse, where a soldier takes aim with a crossbow. “Think I can take its ear off, Lars?” the soldier croaks. His face is covered in acne and has long lanky black hair.
The other soldier is visibly upset and begins storming down from the top of the gatehouse, hand on sword pommel. “Right, Figgus,” he yells back to the aiming soldier. “What in Helm’s helmet is that greenskin doing in the fort!” The soldier moves forward toward Kurgaz quickly, sword being drawn.
“Greenskin!” shrieks Chiirki.
“Kurgaz no like,” the goblin says, turning to Cimeri and pointing at Lars coming toward him.
"Hold your blade." Taman barks out the order with complete authority in his voice. "This is my scout. No one will touch him." He steps between the goblin and the oncoming warrior.
Intimidation: 2
And ends up tripping over his own feet, looking far less than threatening.
Cimeri was torn between two feelings - she was afraid to make things worse, and yet she could not leave Kurgaz, who she still counted as her responsibility, to the mercy of those Templars (or whoever they were). "He is with us and harmless. We can leave him outside, if this is a problem. Or if you so wish, we both can leave your camp."
Persuasion: 13
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Fulcra replies to Perne, "Oh, lovely lady, we are not associated to your organization. We are travelers merely who happened across someone and brought them to you. Please restrain your men from harming our party members."
Fulcra waves his hand, a wooden box appears around the goblin (minor illusion), "Kurgaz, stay still in there, don't move." He addresses the approaching soldier, "There, you see? He is boxed, there is no need for you to fear him."
Fulcra will maintain the box until the situation is resolved, and then once attention is away, will suggest Kurgaz be brought to stay with Azaka, and release the box.
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
You recall that the only other person outside is Azaka, who will likely slit Kurgaz's throat; you or someone else would have to stay outside, foregoing a long rest :(.
Do you still propose to stay outside w/ Kurgaz?
Better than get him slaughtered! If the options are Cimeri stays outside with the goblin or party is attacked/goblin killed by someone - Cimeri will stay outside with Azaka and goblin. She can survive without long rest (or help Azaka fight in case of emergency).
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
"This is my scout." Taman says again, trying to recover his composure after nearly face-planting in front of the leader. "I will vouch for his actions."
"Hold your blade, lovely lady," mimics Chiirki at Lars, who suddenly stops as the wooden box envelops Kurgaz (who begins to shriek in terror, much to Figgus' and the other soldiers' delight). Lars backpedals from the sorcerer and returns to his post above the gatehouse, spitting at the box as he does so.
"Pansy," Figgus teases Lars, and a shoving match ensues on top of the gatehouse.
"Get your arses in gear and settle down quick you lot!" shouts Perne Salhana. "Or you'll be next on patrol!" The thought of patrolling outside the fort is apparently enough to threaten the two dolts and they go back to their posts, making crude comments about Azaka outside.
"You'd best take that outside," Salhana suggests to Cimeri, who scowls, calms the goblin and takes Chiirki and Kurgaz out to where Azaka is finding a rough campsite, clearing away burned corpses and looking for a level spot. "Follow," commands Salhana, and makes for the left command tent. Over her shoulder she says, "Take the emmisary to the field hospital," and points to the central tent roughly 10 feet by 10 feet.
Undril comes to for a moment and tries to reach out a hand to the departing Salhana, but again falls unconscious.
[I know Cimeri is going outside w/ Azaka, Bryn is taking Undril to the field tent... where are each of the rest of you going/doing?]
Cimeri said "good bye" to the potential safe bed (with her "inner voice", of course) and shrugged to Azaka's unspoken question: "You might have being right about the Camp. The people a touch rigid in there." Comment about possibility for Azaka and templars get along on the mutual hate for goblins she kept to herself. "Would it be half night on you and half on me, or is it safer here so close to the Camp?"
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Taman follows the leader. "Stay safe." He tells the goblin first, patting it on the shoulder. "You are my scout remember, so no wandering off."
Fulcra makes eye contact with Taman after Cimeri and the goblin wanders off, and rolls his eyes with exaggeration. He then follows Taman and Perne towards the command tent.
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
Taman bites back a chuckle and schools his face to not show the reaction.
Celtra followed the others through the gate, her own pack and an armful of supplies. She waited somewhat impatiently shifting from one foot to the other as they spoke. While doing so she really was scoping out the place. Taking in the placement of various tents and out buildings while appearing to be board. Then she felt it so much as she had saw it. The men, they were leering at her. Like she was some sort of fresh water in a desert wasteland. She placed her armful carefully on the driest patch of ground she could find. Then from her near kneeling position, she placed one hand on the sheath of her sword, the other on the hilt. Pivoting, she turned and drew her blade at the same moment. A slash of force flew from her blade and struck a post of one of the guard houses where a few of the leering men stood leaving a gash. She gave a hard stare and then slid her blade back into the sheath and picked up the gear again following the others again without a word.
Intimidation: 16
Dex Saves:
Guard 1: 17
Lars: 3
Figgus: 12
The unfortunate guard atop the gatehouse next to Lars and Figgus manages to catch his balance by grabbing the palisade; the other two are not so lucky. Celtra’s strike shakes the foundations of the gatehouse and the two dolts waver on the precipice, before Lars loses control and falls, grabbing and pulling Figgus with him. The two land with a splat in the mud, to the delight of the other guards; consequently, they avert their eyes from Celtra from then on.
“Don’t make me confiscate your weapons!” shouts Perne Salhana at Celtra loudly, grabbing her arm roughly. Leaning closer, she mutters,
@Celtra:
“Thank you for not maiming them; I apologize, morale is very, very low.”
“Blistering blue barnacles! What in Moradin’s beard was that?” shouts a scarred hill dwarf from the second command tent. He sees you all with Salhana and marches forward. “What’s all this then? What now?”
“Visitors to our humble abode,” Salhana says to him. She introduces all of you curtly. “This is Ord Firebeard. He and I are the captains under the commander.”
Ord, his face a matrix of old scars over dark skin, seems healthier than Perne Salhana, both mentally and physically, possibly due to his dwarven constitution. His brown hair is spiked with animal fat and sticks straight up in the air. Everything about him but his belly is angular.
“Not reinforcements then,” he says grimly.
“Messages,” replies Salhana. The two share a look. The half-giant,” she begins, nodding at Bryn as she heads to the Field Hospital, “brought the messenger to the Field Hospital. Looks like Shivering Sickness. Priest of some kind.”
Firebeard takes in the information with a poker face, stroking his brown, unfiery beard. He turns to you. “Of course, we’ll escort you to the Commander immediately, but first, why are you in the jungle and how did you come across this messenger?”
Celtra considers ripping her arm out of the grip but the choice of words calms her. She gives a brief nod and then overly loudly says, "Yes Ma'am, wont happen again."
She cast her gaze back at the guards who fell and then continued on with her gear behind the others. When asked about what brought them here she remains silent, she knows only a fraction of the story but otherwise prefers letting someone else speak.
Fulcra smiles a warm smile to the Dwarf. "Oh, we were just enjoying a nice boat ride in nature. Chult is beautiful this time of year. The bugs, the stink, the sweat and the undead form this sort of undeniable beauty that has to be experienced first hand. Oh, plus we heard there was treasure. We're headed up river and found your messenger pleading for help in a rowboat before she collapsed. Her two guides were resting easy when we found her. A little too easy if you catch my meaning. Really, the easiest sort of resting one can do. So easy, they were pretty much not moving. I mean dead, to be clear. In case that wasn't obvious. They were very dead."
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
The dwarf stares at Fulcra, deadpan.
And then roars with laughter. "I like this fellow!" he shouts. "Come, let me show you the fort! The commander doesn't have a sense of humor, nor does Perne!"
Perne Salhana's face is stone, and if any of the produce in the fort wasn't rotten already, her look would do it. She quietly says to Celtra,
@Celtra:
"He dyes his hair and whiskers; he's a true firebeard under there, if you catch my drift. And stay away, he has a small penis and halitosis."
The dwarf continues to Fulcra, "Let the man with the almiraj handle the Commander, or the lady bent on destroying our walls! Let's get a drink!"
Salhana turns to Celtra, "I'll take this one," nodding to Taman, "to the Commander and then show you our fortifications? Unless you'd like to speak with the Commander as well..."
[Taman, Fulcra, Celtra: let me know who you go with, you don't have to go with anyone if you don't want...]
Fulcra speaks conspiratorially to the Dwarf, "Drinks soon enough. I could not leave my friend to face your commander alone. I really have no idea what he's likely to agree to. We could all end up in servitude or worse!"
He points at Taman and mutters under his breath. In Taman's mind, "As Azaka told us, this place is rotting from the inside out. Let us secure a nights rest then make our departure swiftly in the morning."
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
Taman responds to the message... "I am not sure we can even get a night's rest..." He sounds frustrated and grim.
"Lead on to this commander." Taman urges, following after.