As you all catch up the captain ushers you through some twisting paths through the forest, until you arrive at a makeshift camp. There are camoflauged tents, very small cook fires and minimal provisions. You all get the impression that this brigade is trying to be stealthy, Grimnir especially gets the sense that this is a portable camp, that they have probably been on the move for some time. The captain sets down his equipment by one of the tents and approaches you. "I need to know everything that you know. Who took you? Why did they take you? Who is in charge in there? Everything."His voice is graveled, even more noticeably when he is speaking in a hushed tone. "I am Captain Colbourn Hunt of the Vaseci Militia. We were sent here after word came to us of the shipwrecks. Everyone is gone. The ships were plundered and left on the beach. When we discovered that there was nobody in the ships we started looking through the woods, hoping that you all had built an outpost, or a camp. We wandered for days before we saw a cart full of humanoid prisoners being towed by an orc. We followed it until we got to the outpost. We have been doing long distance scouting since then, waiting for a moment to get the survivors out. If you're all that's left... This is tragic." He looks off into the distance for a moment, then regains composure and starts again. "The orcs are organizing. We haven't seen this since before the Treaty. I don't know how they got into Ersa so quietly, but they seem to have been here for a while. Even though we are on Ersian soil, I can't help but to consider us to be behind enemy lines. So..." he pauses and eyes each of you. "Tell me what you know. I can give you what little provisions we can spare."
For the first time since you boarded the ships to set off on your journey, what feels like months ago, you feel relief. As you feel it rush over you, you feel invigorated by it. Welcome to level 3 everyone.
700XP Each!
Grimnir
You notice that this appears to be a personal brigade. You would know from your time in the Vaseci military that King Matthini Priapus appointed General Tyberius Theofanis to oversee the military. Under General Theofanis are 12 Captains. Of those 12 you ascertain Colbourn to be one. In addition to each commander having their obligations to the military as a whole, it is also not uncommon for them to host their own "personal brigades" complete with commanders, lieutenants, and so on. These are used when the Captain is tasked with special request. To you, it would only make sense that Colbourn would use his own men for something as out of the ordinary as taking supplies to stranded citizens. You notice a couple men give you a sideways glance, as if they are trying to recall you from memory, but you don't recognize any of them, at least at a cursory glance.
Varis sees Guido leave and point to Grimnir; yet, has also noticed Grimnir not wanting to draw attention to himself. As awkward as he is with people and with a bit of arrogance--presuming he is the most intelligent of their little group, tells the captain what has been shared among us and what has been deduced.
I may go back in and actually type out what/how I want Varis to address and tell the captain. But for now this is the time that I have.
"Umok, you say? We have to end this now." Colbourn grabs a dagger from his belt and starts drawing figures and numbers in the sand. "If what you say is true, our forces should be one to one. I think we can do that. If we leave, Umok can rebuild and recover from this assault from the hooded figures. If we are to proceed with a siege of the outpost we will need your help. Will you aide us?"
Grimnir swiftly motions for Guido to move with him out of the earshot of the soldiers before speaking once again.
"Take my part of the ransom..." he says, making intense eye contact with Guido.
He continues, "...from the lovers. Take the full part that I am owed and add it to your coffers as payment. I trusted you once, bard, now is the time for you to return this courtesy."
Grimnir pauses for a moment, looking over Guido's shoulder to ensure they are not being heard.
"If the lord-captain of Vaseci finds cause to be worried about this new uprising, then I share his burden. I..."
He stops short as one of the soldiers briefly walks within speaking distance of them in order to fetch his waterskin and return to where he was originally.
"...I was once part of their forces, long ago, before I became a sellsword. I not only owe a debt that needs to be repaid, but I fear that if we do not squash this uprising here, it will not be long before we are being exterminated in our bed chambers by this orcish horde."
He crouches down in quiet contemplation for a moment before looking up with stern eyes towards Guido.
"Do what you wish, Guido Molari, I will not think more or less of you for it, but know this: if they came for us once in the night, they will return. I would rather fight and die as a warrior than on my knees in some pit for Orcish sport."
With his mind made up, he rises to his feet and rejoins the company of soldiers.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
|PbP: Divisions| Grimnir the Walker - Human Barbarian (3)
|PbP:| Relaerys Andulin - Eladrin Wizard (1)
|PbP:| Subotai the Black - Half-Elf Rogue (1)
"Ósnjallur maður hyggst munu ey lifa, ef hann við víg varast; en elli gefur honum engi frið, þótt honum geirar gefi."
As Grimnir heads to join the company, you see 2 soldiers whispering to each other they then approach Colbourn. There is a brief discussion between them and then in a loud booming voice Colbourn says "Grimnir. The. Walker. And allies, get here now."He grabs his sword and points it to the space in front of him. "According to the law, I should kill you now. Considering our current situation I won't. But I can't trust you to serve side by side with my men. I don't want them to die defending a traitor. This is Kelpos -- he will take you back to the ship. Wait there for us. If 2 days pass and no one returns, Kelpos will navigate you back to Paolo. In the very least we need to alert the King to this plight." As he says this he motions to a man standing off to the side. He walks up to you and says dismissively "Get your things. We leave now."
Varis has been torn as to what their group should do. He wants to get back to his research, but also has been invigorated in the battles. When the Captain says that he won't accept our group in the fight, Varis is, ultimately, relieved. He follows Keplos and the others, making sure his belongings are all secure and in order.
He has little experience with ships, but has read what has been available to him about adventuring on the sea. So, he is anticipating what he can learn in the next couple days to pull his weight aboard.
"Prisoners or freemen eh? I reckon yer neither." Kelpos speaks with every inflection a good sailor should have. His voice is gruff, and turbulent like the sea. He always keeps his hands and eyes busy while talking to you. Tying ropes, making repairs, the man never stops to acknowledge your presence, even though he is talking to you. "I don't know what ya did. Don't care to know really. Ya see, Ol' Colbourn, he and I are cut from different cloths. He salvaged me off a pirate ship. The Misty Dog. That ol' pirate ship was my own. Ol' Colbourn caught us runnin' a good ol' racket out in Flashwater Cove off ah Vorcoran. The halfling side, I reckon. Caught us good, he did. My men tried to fight em' they did, but those ol' dogs didn't stand a chance. He found me held up in my quarters, told me he needed a good captain for his crew, told me that he'd spare me if I'd captain ah ship for em'. Since the only good pirate is a live one, I took em' up on it. He's a good man, good at is' job too." The old sailor grabs a rusty dagger from his belt, steps toward Grimnir and begins flipping it in his hand. "Only time I ever heard him call someone a traitor, didn't end well. One ah' the new guys, was just a boy he was. Got caught takin' a bribe from a bandit troop Ol' Colbourn was trackin down. Once they found em' out..." Kelpos runs the dagger across his throat slowly, not hard enough to cause any bleeding, but enough that a few stray hairs from his beard tumble to the ground. "Killed em' right there. No questions. Nothin'. Didn't even bury em'. Just moved the camp up wind so the smell wouldn't get to the men. You ain't in chains boy, but I don't reckon you'll ever be free."He moves toward one of several large crates and pops the lid off. It is full of supplies for repairing the ship wrecks. Planks, nails, tar, rope, everything you could need. You see 3 large ships with the Vaseci emblem on the sails anchored off shore, and a dozen or more life boats parked on the beach. "If we're gonna be here, we best do what we came to do. Help me fix these ships up, I'll show ya how. I reckon we gonna send all these back to where they came from, shame we can't send em' back with the people that came on em'. Go ahead and salvage anything ya' can from em'..." His head tilts to the side, he gets a crooked grin and continues; "And if ya' find any goodies, I won't say anything. Pirate's life is the life for me, thats' what they say ain't it." He lets out a belly laugh and sets off to gather materials from the crate.
Should you decide to salvage the ships roll a Perception.
Should you decide to help repair them roll a Survival.
You spend the evening repairing ships with Kelpos. He gives you an endless theater of stories from the sea. They are, if nothing else, entertaining.
Guido
You spend only use half your mind listening to Kelpos, while the other half searches for valuables. Your pile of crap grows into a mountain of resources. It should be easy to use the materials you have found, unfortunately the only valuable trinket you find is a simple gold ring. You think you can get 10 gold for it, if you find the right buyer.
Varis
You are captures by the tales of piracy and plunder. The more you focus on the stories the more you seem to find from the ships, as if the tales of treasure have rubbed off on you. You find a tiara of silver, set with diamonds, a gold ring, a pearl necklace and a leather bound journal, every page is blank. You think it could be worth 85 gold all together. You also find a large crate of carpentry supplies.
Grimnir
You feel as if you collected a fair amount of resources for the efforts. But you can't shake the feeling of guilt and uncertainty that has settled in your gut.
You settle in for the night, gathered adound Kelpos, sharing a meal over a fire. Despite your circumstance you feel a little bit of relief. Colter, Jana, and Pafaren aided in the effort as well, they too are enthralled by Kelpos stories. As the sun disappears and the moon hangs high in the night sky you start to drift off.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Varis is pleased by the whole affair. He begins to think there could be more knowledge out there within other beings and not just in the pages of books. He stows away his treasures into his bag, keeping the journal near the top so that he can begin to record these adventures. He thinks that, possibly, if he could give a great report--of the start of what he's currently thinking will be known as the Umokian Wars if it comes to--that Yalasna would be greatly pleased with him.
You fall asleep peacefully to the sound of the sea lapping the coastline.
Varis
You start to nod off but notice a light on the distance. You see 3 hooded figures walking from shipwreck to shipwreck searching the wreckage they are slowly making their way down the shore toward you.
They snap their heads in your direction, and walk toward you they are moving slowly, but they are coming right at you. Kelpos grabs your mouth and rolls you off to the side. He motions for you to lie still. As the figures get closer you recognize them as members of the group of your captors.
Varis whispers as quietly as possivle and casts thaumaturgy in order to flicker dim the light that they carry, hoping they presume a gentle breeze is causing its disturbance.
I'm just guessing they are within 30 ft by now. If not, we can ignore this post.
The flame flickers and then is smothered. You hear the voices talking frantically, you can see with your dark vision that they are walking around aimlessly, the moon lights the area only faintly and the hooded figures are having a tough time getting their bearings.
All Players
As you all catch up the captain ushers you through some twisting paths through the forest, until you arrive at a makeshift camp. There are camoflauged tents, very small cook fires and minimal provisions. You all get the impression that this brigade is trying to be stealthy, Grimnir especially gets the sense that this is a portable camp, that they have probably been on the move for some time. The captain sets down his equipment by one of the tents and approaches you. "I need to know everything that you know. Who took you? Why did they take you? Who is in charge in there? Everything." His voice is graveled, even more noticeably when he is speaking in a hushed tone. "I am Captain Colbourn Hunt of the Vaseci Militia. We were sent here after word came to us of the shipwrecks. Everyone is gone. The ships were plundered and left on the beach. When we discovered that there was nobody in the ships we started looking through the woods, hoping that you all had built an outpost, or a camp. We wandered for days before we saw a cart full of humanoid prisoners being towed by an orc. We followed it until we got to the outpost. We have been doing long distance scouting since then, waiting for a moment to get the survivors out. If you're all that's left... This is tragic." He looks off into the distance for a moment, then regains composure and starts again. "The orcs are organizing. We haven't seen this since before the Treaty. I don't know how they got into Ersa so quietly, but they seem to have been here for a while. Even though we are on Ersian soil, I can't help but to consider us to be behind enemy lines. So..." he pauses and eyes each of you. "Tell me what you know. I can give you what little provisions we can spare."
For the first time since you boarded the ships to set off on your journey, what feels like months ago, you feel relief. As you feel it rush over you, you feel invigorated by it. Welcome to level 3 everyone.
700XP Each!
Grimnir
You notice that this appears to be a personal brigade. You would know from your time in the Vaseci military that King Matthini Priapus appointed General Tyberius Theofanis to oversee the military. Under General Theofanis are 12 Captains. Of those 12 you ascertain Colbourn to be one. In addition to each commander having their obligations to the military as a whole, it is also not uncommon for them to host their own "personal brigades" complete with commanders, lieutenants, and so on. These are used when the Captain is tasked with special request. To you, it would only make sense that Colbourn would use his own men for something as out of the ordinary as taking supplies to stranded citizens. You notice a couple men give you a sideways glance, as if they are trying to recall you from memory, but you don't recognize any of them, at least at a cursory glance.
||PbP: Tarvyn's World... DM||
Varis sees Guido leave and point to Grimnir; yet, has also noticed Grimnir not wanting to draw attention to himself. As awkward as he is with people and with a bit of arrogance--presuming he is the most intelligent of their little group, tells the captain what has been shared among us and what has been deduced.
I may go back in and actually type out what/how I want Varis to address and tell the captain. But for now this is the time that I have.
|PbP: Divisions| Varis Xiloscient | Elf Cleric (3)
All Players
"Umok, you say? We have to end this now." Colbourn grabs a dagger from his belt and starts drawing figures and numbers in the sand. "If what you say is true, our forces should be one to one. I think we can do that. If we leave, Umok can rebuild and recover from this assault from the hooded figures. If we are to proceed with a siege of the outpost we will need your help. Will you aide us?"
||PbP: Tarvyn's World... DM||
Grimnir, trying not to focus any attention on himself, angles his back to everyone and speaks over his shoulder in a quick, pithy manner.
"The sooner we're out of here, the better."
He pauses for a moment as if torn between two diametrically opposed ideas.
"...but..." he continues, "...if it is as they say, no one will be safe for long."
He turns around to face everyone, keeping his head low and looking up at them from beneath his furrowed brow.
"Umok, and his...unified orcs...must be destroyed."
|PbP: Divisions| Grimnir the Walker - Human Barbarian (3)
|PbP:| Relaerys Andulin - Eladrin Wizard (1)
|PbP:| Subotai the Black - Half-Elf Rogue (1)
"Ósnjallur maður hyggst munu ey lifa, ef hann við víg varast; en elli gefur honum engi frið, þótt honum geirar gefi."
- Hávamál 16
Grimnir swiftly motions for Guido to move with him out of the earshot of the soldiers before speaking once again.
"Take my part of the ransom..." he says, making intense eye contact with Guido.
He continues, "...from the lovers. Take the full part that I am owed and add it to your coffers as payment. I trusted you once, bard, now is the time for you to return this courtesy."
Grimnir pauses for a moment, looking over Guido's shoulder to ensure they are not being heard.
"If the lord-captain of Vaseci finds cause to be worried about this new uprising, then I share his burden. I..."
He stops short as one of the soldiers briefly walks within speaking distance of them in order to fetch his waterskin and return to where he was originally.
"...I was once part of their forces, long ago, before I became a sellsword. I not only owe a debt that needs to be repaid, but I fear that if we do not squash this uprising here, it will not be long before we are being exterminated in our bed chambers by this orcish horde."
He crouches down in quiet contemplation for a moment before looking up with stern eyes towards Guido.
"Do what you wish, Guido Molari, I will not think more or less of you for it, but know this: if they came for us once in the night, they will return. I would rather fight and die as a warrior than on my knees in some pit for Orcish sport."
With his mind made up, he rises to his feet and rejoins the company of soldiers.
|PbP: Divisions| Grimnir the Walker - Human Barbarian (3)
|PbP:| Relaerys Andulin - Eladrin Wizard (1)
|PbP:| Subotai the Black - Half-Elf Rogue (1)
"Ósnjallur maður hyggst munu ey lifa, ef hann við víg varast; en elli gefur honum engi frið, þótt honum geirar gefi."
- Hávamál 16
All Players
As Grimnir heads to join the company, you see 2 soldiers whispering to each other they then approach Colbourn. There is a brief discussion between them and then in a loud booming voice Colbourn says "Grimnir. The. Walker. And allies, get here now." He grabs his sword and points it to the space in front of him. "According to the law, I should kill you now. Considering our current situation I won't. But I can't trust you to serve side by side with my men. I don't want them to die defending a traitor. This is Kelpos -- he will take you back to the ship. Wait there for us. If 2 days pass and no one returns, Kelpos will navigate you back to Paolo. In the very least we need to alert the King to this plight." As he says this he motions to a man standing off to the side. He walks up to you and says dismissively "Get your things. We leave now."
||PbP: Tarvyn's World... DM||
Grimnir sighs in obvious frustration.
"It looks like the Vaseci code of 'honour' still exists..."
He begins to follow Kelpos begrudgingly to the ship but, after a few steps, looks over his shoulder towards Guido and mutters to himself.
"...they won't survive without our help. But that choice was made for us."
Grimnir speeds up his pace a bit to somewhat match Kelpos's gait.
"You there! Are we your prisoners or are we free men now?"
Grimnir attempts to glean any information from Kelpos he can without raising suspicion. Who is this man? Is he of Vaseci or an independent mariner?
Perception roll: 19
|PbP: Divisions| Grimnir the Walker - Human Barbarian (3)
|PbP:| Relaerys Andulin - Eladrin Wizard (1)
|PbP:| Subotai the Black - Half-Elf Rogue (1)
"Ósnjallur maður hyggst munu ey lifa, ef hann við víg varast; en elli gefur honum engi frið, þótt honum geirar gefi."
- Hávamál 16
Varis has been torn as to what their group should do. He wants to get back to his research, but also has been invigorated in the battles. When the Captain says that he won't accept our group in the fight, Varis is, ultimately, relieved. He follows Keplos and the others, making sure his belongings are all secure and in order.
He has little experience with ships, but has read what has been available to him about adventuring on the sea. So, he is anticipating what he can learn in the next couple days to pull his weight aboard.
|PbP: Divisions| Varis Xiloscient | Elf Cleric (3)
"Prisoners or freemen eh? I reckon yer neither." Kelpos speaks with every inflection a good sailor should have. His voice is gruff, and turbulent like the sea. He always keeps his hands and eyes busy while talking to you. Tying ropes, making repairs, the man never stops to acknowledge your presence, even though he is talking to you. "I don't know what ya did. Don't care to know really. Ya see, Ol' Colbourn, he and I are cut from different cloths. He salvaged me off a pirate ship. The Misty Dog. That ol' pirate ship was my own. Ol' Colbourn caught us runnin' a good ol' racket out in Flashwater Cove off ah Vorcoran. The halfling side, I reckon. Caught us good, he did. My men tried to fight em' they did, but those ol' dogs didn't stand a chance. He found me held up in my quarters, told me he needed a good captain for his crew, told me that he'd spare me if I'd captain ah ship for em'. Since the only good pirate is a live one, I took em' up on it. He's a good man, good at is' job too." The old sailor grabs a rusty dagger from his belt, steps toward Grimnir and begins flipping it in his hand. "Only time I ever heard him call someone a traitor, didn't end well. One ah' the new guys, was just a boy he was. Got caught takin' a bribe from a bandit troop Ol' Colbourn was trackin down. Once they found em' out..." Kelpos runs the dagger across his throat slowly, not hard enough to cause any bleeding, but enough that a few stray hairs from his beard tumble to the ground. "Killed em' right there. No questions. Nothin'. Didn't even bury em'. Just moved the camp up wind so the smell wouldn't get to the men. You ain't in chains boy, but I don't reckon you'll ever be free." He moves toward one of several large crates and pops the lid off. It is full of supplies for repairing the ship wrecks. Planks, nails, tar, rope, everything you could need. You see 3 large ships with the Vaseci emblem on the sails anchored off shore, and a dozen or more life boats parked on the beach. "If we're gonna be here, we best do what we came to do. Help me fix these ships up, I'll show ya how. I reckon we gonna send all these back to where they came from, shame we can't send em' back with the people that came on em'. Go ahead and salvage anything ya' can from em'..." His head tilts to the side, he gets a crooked grin and continues; "And if ya' find any goodies, I won't say anything. Pirate's life is the life for me, thats' what they say ain't it." He lets out a belly laugh and sets off to gather materials from the crate.
Should you decide to salvage the ships roll a Perception.
Should you decide to help repair them roll a Survival.
||PbP: Tarvyn's World... DM||
Repair Roll: (Survival) 16
|PbP: Divisions| Grimnir the Walker - Human Barbarian (3)
|PbP:| Relaerys Andulin - Eladrin Wizard (1)
|PbP:| Subotai the Black - Half-Elf Rogue (1)
"Ósnjallur maður hyggst munu ey lifa, ef hann við víg varast; en elli gefur honum engi frið, þótt honum geirar gefi."
- Hávamál 16
Repair (priority): 19
and salvage along my way: 22
|PbP: Divisions| Varis Xiloscient | Elf Cleric (3)
All Players:
You spend the evening repairing ships with Kelpos. He gives you an endless theater of stories from the sea. They are, if nothing else, entertaining.
Guido
You spend only use half your mind listening to Kelpos, while the other half searches for valuables. Your pile of crap grows into a mountain of resources. It should be easy to use the materials you have found, unfortunately the only valuable trinket you find is a simple gold ring. You think you can get 10 gold for it, if you find the right buyer.
Varis
You are captures by the tales of piracy and plunder. The more you focus on the stories the more you seem to find from the ships, as if the tales of treasure have rubbed off on you. You find a tiara of silver, set with diamonds, a gold ring, a pearl necklace and a leather bound journal, every page is blank. You think it could be worth 85 gold all together. You also find a large crate of carpentry supplies.
Grimnir
You feel as if you collected a fair amount of resources for the efforts. But you can't shake the feeling of guilt and uncertainty that has settled in your gut.
You settle in for the night, gathered adound Kelpos, sharing a meal over a fire. Despite your circumstance you feel a little bit of relief. Colter, Jana, and Pafaren aided in the effort as well, they too are enthralled by Kelpos stories. As the sun disappears and the moon hangs high in the night sky you start to drift off.
Everyone roll a perception
||PbP: Tarvyn's World... DM||
Perception roll: 9
|PbP: Divisions| Grimnir the Walker - Human Barbarian (3)
|PbP:| Relaerys Andulin - Eladrin Wizard (1)
|PbP:| Subotai the Black - Half-Elf Rogue (1)
"Ósnjallur maður hyggst munu ey lifa, ef hann við víg varast; en elli gefur honum engi frið, þótt honum geirar gefi."
- Hávamál 16
Varis is pleased by the whole affair. He begins to think there could be more knowledge out there within other beings and not just in the pages of books. He stows away his treasures into his bag, keeping the journal near the top so that he can begin to record these adventures. He thinks that, possibly, if he could give a great report--of the start of what he's currently thinking will be known as the Umokian Wars if it comes to--that Yalasna would be greatly pleased with him.
Perception: 21
|PbP: Divisions| Varis Xiloscient | Elf Cleric (3)
Grimnir and Guido
You fall asleep peacefully to the sound of the sea lapping the coastline.
Varis
You start to nod off but notice a light on the distance. You see 3 hooded figures walking from shipwreck to shipwreck searching the wreckage they are slowly making their way down the shore toward you.
||PbP: Tarvyn's World... DM||
Varis finds Kelpos first to let him know of the approaching figures.
He's trying to be quiet and not draw the figures attention: Stealth check: 12
If Kelpos finds these figures to be a threat, Varis will gently wake the others as to not cause a ruckus that draws attention to our group.
|PbP: Divisions| Varis Xiloscient | Elf Cleric (3)
Varis
They snap their heads in your direction, and walk toward you they are moving slowly, but they are coming right at you. Kelpos grabs your mouth and rolls you off to the side. He motions for you to lie still. As the figures get closer you recognize them as members of the group of your captors.
||PbP: Tarvyn's World... DM||
Varis whispers as quietly as possivle and casts thaumaturgy in order to flicker dim the light that they carry, hoping they presume a gentle breeze is causing its disturbance.
I'm just guessing they are within 30 ft by now. If not, we can ignore this post.
|PbP: Divisions| Varis Xiloscient | Elf Cleric (3)
Varis
The flame flickers and then is smothered. You hear the voices talking frantically, you can see with your dark vision that they are walking around aimlessly, the moon lights the area only faintly and the hooded figures are having a tough time getting their bearings.
||PbP: Tarvyn's World... DM||
Preparing for a fight Ander casts mirror image.