"Thanks fer the tips,"Chrys says, nodding companionably at the rangers. "Well... let's take their advice and set up camp off o' the road, when it comes time fer that. Or better yet... get movin', and mayhap we won't have to camp out here in the woods at all,"she adds with a note of faint hope.
"Wow! Thanks a bunch. You are really nice!" The kobold would reply with a wide smile as his tail swings back and forth excitedly. "Maybe I will see some new animals while we are here in the forest that I can try to turn into sometime to help my friends" He would add as he begins to turn his small head in multiple directions looking for signs of other creatures.
Lumen nods once again to the other party in thanks, and then offers Krackle a spot riding on his shoulders and peers in the distance down the path, eager to get moving.
With parting words, you bid farewell to Calia, Brit, Salanaia and Thervanis, and continue along the path, heading even deeper into the forest. In but a quarter hour, you come to another stream crossing, this one not nearly as deep as before, and you only get get your feet and lower legs wet as you wade across the fifteen feet wide creek. Another twenty minutes pass before the next crossing; a little deeper this time, but barely above the knees. Looking to the south, you see that the path runs along the base of a low hill that contain a number of small creeks and streams that flow down from the higher ground.
As you've been walking, you have noticed that the sky is beginning to cloud over, and shortly after you pass the previous stream crossing, you begin to hear sprinkles of rain patter down through the leaves overhead. Some of them fall all the way down to the forest floor and you feel a few stray drops begin to dot your skin and clothing.
Krackle would frown as the raindrops begin to fall. "I don't know if we should try to move faster or find somewhere to stay out of the rain... I know we really don't want to be next to the river... Once time I saw a big wave come rushing down a tiny creek after a rain. it was like.. like this big!" He would exclaim as he holds his hands apart about 2ft.
"It seemed pretty big to me.." Krackle would reply back as he looks at his hands... and then turns his arms as if to determine how high 2 ft is against his small body.
"All the more reason to keep a move on to our destination, right?" Lumen says, pulling his hood up on his cloak, and making sure his instrument is out of the rain. He once again offers Krackle a spot on his shoulders and begins humming an encouraging tune to keep the party's morale up even with the rain.
"It don't matter if it's 2 feet or 20 feet. If the river swells, it's gonna be a mighty uncomfortable night for anyone next ta it," Chrys says. "One time I was sleepin' in the valley an' it started to rain. I had my tent, so I didn't think much o' it, but I'd pitched it in a ditch, so the water started comin' up round me. I woke up a lil' bit soggy, none worse for the wear, but ya know... the top o' my blanket was still dry. An wouldn'tcha know it? There musta been every bug in the entire valley tryin' to escape from the risin' water campin' out on me! Almost felt like I was some sorta bugmaster. Also sent my brother out screamin' when he woke up next ta me and saw me covered in grasshoppers,"she recalls with a fond laugh.
"Anyway, if any o' that rain manages to penetrate more o' the canopy overhead, it's gonna get real hard to see down here. Maybe we should start lookin' for a place off the beaten path to set up our camp for later,"Chrys says. She does take her waxed raincloth out and don it to protect herself from a potential deluge as she walks.
For the time being, any signs of a deluge hold off and the rain continues to be light. It's hardly enough to get you very wet, but it does add an interesting ambience, with the sound of a constant pitter patter of droplets hitting the leaves above your heads, and the overall light under the dense canopy grows a bit more dim. After about a half hour of walking, your clothes are only slightly damp, although with the air being noticeably cooler, the added moisture does add a slight chill.
At one point, you round a slight bend on the path and suddenly see a small group of figures walking towards you, about 80 feet away. They appear to be humanoid, four or five in total and stout in size, but in the dense trees, it's hard to discern exactly how many, or whether they're human, elvish or something else. You figure that have only a second or two before they notice you as well, if they have not already seen you...
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Lumen tries to get a sense of who they are. He doesn't want to assume they're orcs, but he's assuming they're orcs. He's about to dive to the side of the path and hope they walk by, and then Krackle is Krackle. He peers through the rain at the figures and tries to get a sense of who and what they are.
Perception: 10
"Hope they're fellow travelers like the last group. They might not be. If they're orcs, like the rangers warned, maybe I can talk them out of violence. They might not be interested in us. But be ready for a fight. Been a long time since I've been among my people, and you know how orcs can be. Krackle, well, a fierce bear might be the thing for a fight."
"If they're them orc raiders, the last thing they'll be wantin' ta see is me," Chrys says, falling back behind Lumen a bit. "I got yer back though, in case things go south."
She keeps a hand on the handle of her weapon, just in case.
Lumen is able to quickly discern that they are indeed orcs, five in total, and from his own knowledge and experience, they show all the visual characteristics of a small roving war band. In the few seconds that have passed, you can now see that they are armed with great axes, and having heard Krackle’s exclamation, they immediately respond with surprise and a series of grunts as they bash the flats of their weapons upon their armor in a ritual display of dominance.
Lumen
You definitely recognize the grunts as an aggressive response, and hear them say say something to each other, that basically translates to, “Mans and elves and dwarfses, ...crush skulls!”
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"They're looking for a fight, so get ready. Talking sense won't work, so I'll play one card and try to scare them off. Orcs don't love magic, and while they pretend not to fear death, they don't like people who are very comfortable with it. So do your best to seem scary, and unseemly."
He steps forward, casting prestidigitation to send fiery showers of sparks all around himself, and lets out an unnearthly, unseemly cry, almost from beyond the grave. In terrifying voice, he screams in orcish:
"Brothers! Sisters! Flee, or join us in eternal slavery in Nishrak under the lash of Shargaas, the Stalker Below! We have one more hour to walk the mortal plane, disguised as elves, kobolds, dwarfs, and half-breeds. Do you like fire and pain?"
Intimidation: 25 (second roll if there is help: 18)
"Thanks fer the tips," Chrys says, nodding companionably at the rangers. "Well... let's take their advice and set up camp off o' the road, when it comes time fer that. Or better yet... get movin', and mayhap we won't have to camp out here in the woods at all," she adds with a note of faint hope.
"Wow! Thanks a bunch. You are really nice!" The kobold would reply with a wide smile as his tail swings back and forth excitedly. "Maybe I will see some new animals while we are here in the forest that I can try to turn into sometime to help my friends" He would add as he begins to turn his small head in multiple directions looking for signs of other creatures.
Lumen nods once again to the other party in thanks, and then offers Krackle a spot riding on his shoulders and peers in the distance down the path, eager to get moving.
With parting words, you bid farewell to Calia, Brit, Salanaia and Thervanis, and continue along the path, heading even deeper into the forest. In but a quarter hour, you come to another stream crossing, this one not nearly as deep as before, and you only get get your feet and lower legs wet as you wade across the fifteen feet wide creek. Another twenty minutes pass before the next crossing; a little deeper this time, but barely above the knees. Looking to the south, you see that the path runs along the base of a low hill that contain a number of small creeks and streams that flow down from the higher ground.
As you've been walking, you have noticed that the sky is beginning to cloud over, and shortly after you pass the previous stream crossing, you begin to hear sprinkles of rain patter down through the leaves overhead. Some of them fall all the way down to the forest floor and you feel a few stray drops begin to dot your skin and clothing.
Krackle would frown as the raindrops begin to fall. "I don't know if we should try to move faster or find somewhere to stay out of the rain... I know we really don't want to be next to the river... Once time I saw a big wave come rushing down a tiny creek after a rain. it was like.. like this big!" He would exclaim as he holds his hands apart about 2ft.
"That's not very big, but we should probably move faster."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
"It seemed pretty big to me.." Krackle would reply back as he looks at his hands... and then turns his arms as if to determine how high 2 ft is against his small body.
"All the more reason to keep a move on to our destination, right?" Lumen says, pulling his hood up on his cloak, and making sure his instrument is out of the rain. He once again offers Krackle a spot on his shoulders and begins humming an encouraging tune to keep the party's morale up even with the rain.
Krackle would quickly scamper up Lumens back and perch on his shoulder.
"It don't matter if it's 2 feet or 20 feet. If the river swells, it's gonna be a mighty uncomfortable night for anyone next ta it," Chrys says. "One time I was sleepin' in the valley an' it started to rain. I had my tent, so I didn't think much o' it, but I'd pitched it in a ditch, so the water started comin' up round me. I woke up a lil' bit soggy, none worse for the wear, but ya know... the top o' my blanket was still dry. An wouldn'tcha know it? There musta been every bug in the entire valley tryin' to escape from the risin' water campin' out on me! Almost felt like I was some sorta bugmaster. Also sent my brother out screamin' when he woke up next ta me and saw me covered in grasshoppers," she recalls with a fond laugh.
"Anyway, if any o' that rain manages to penetrate more o' the canopy overhead, it's gonna get real hard to see down here. Maybe we should start lookin' for a place off the beaten path to set up our camp for later," Chrys says. She does take her waxed raincloth out and don it to protect herself from a potential deluge as she walks.
For the time being, any signs of a deluge hold off and the rain continues to be light. It's hardly enough to get you very wet, but it does add an interesting ambience, with the sound of a constant pitter patter of droplets hitting the leaves above your heads, and the overall light under the dense canopy grows a bit more dim. After about a half hour of walking, your clothes are only slightly damp, although with the air being noticeably cooler, the added moisture does add a slight chill.
At one point, you round a slight bend on the path and suddenly see a small group of figures walking towards you, about 80 feet away. They appear to be humanoid, four or five in total and stout in size, but in the dense trees, it's hard to discern exactly how many, or whether they're human, elvish or something else. You figure that have only a second or two before they notice you as well, if they have not already seen you...
"Hey guys! Look at that!" Krackle would exclaim pointing towards the figures from his Lumen shoulder perch
Vesper casts Mage Armor
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
Vesper, roll a d20 please.
4
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
Lumen tries to get a sense of who they are. He doesn't want to assume they're orcs, but he's assuming they're orcs. He's about to dive to the side of the path and hope they walk by, and then Krackle is Krackle. He peers through the rain at the figures and tries to get a sense of who and what they are.
Perception: 10
"Hope they're fellow travelers like the last group. They might not be. If they're orcs, like the rangers warned, maybe I can talk them out of violence. They might not be interested in us. But be ready for a fight. Been a long time since I've been among my people, and you know how orcs can be. Krackle, well, a fierce bear might be the thing for a fight."
"If they're them orc raiders, the last thing they'll be wantin' ta see is me," Chrys says, falling back behind Lumen a bit. "I got yer back though, in case things go south."
She keeps a hand on the handle of her weapon, just in case.
Lumen is able to quickly discern that they are indeed orcs, five in total, and from his own knowledge and experience, they show all the visual characteristics of a small roving war band. In the few seconds that have passed, you can now see that they are armed with great axes, and having heard Krackle’s exclamation, they immediately respond with surprise and a series of grunts as they bash the flats of their weapons upon their armor in a ritual display of dominance.
Lumen
You definitely recognize the grunts as an aggressive response, and hear them say say something to each other, that basically translates to, “Mans and elves and dwarfses, ...crush skulls!”
"They're looking for a fight, so get ready. Talking sense won't work, so I'll play one card and try to scare them off. Orcs don't love magic, and while they pretend not to fear death, they don't like people who are very comfortable with it. So do your best to seem scary, and unseemly."
He steps forward, casting prestidigitation to send fiery showers of sparks all around himself, and lets out an unnearthly, unseemly cry, almost from beyond the grave. In terrifying voice, he screams in orcish:
"Brothers! Sisters! Flee, or join us in eternal slavery in Nishrak under the lash of Shargaas, the Stalker Below! We have one more hour to walk the mortal plane, disguised as elves, kobolds, dwarfs, and half-breeds. Do you like fire and pain?"
Intimidation: 25 (second roll if there is help: 18)
Ok, everyone roll initiative.