Yokini's mouth spreads into a big smile, her eyes sparkling a little. Finally, she gives Lem a single nod. But then, her face falls and looks more contemplative, and she shakes her head. "Yes and no," she says slowly. "I went home and found the village deserted. It looked a little like Fallcrest did after the orcs moved through. But when I searched my sister's house, I found a stack of letters she had written to me, but couldn't send because she didn't know where I was." Her face widens into a broad, twinkling grin again. "Oh, Lemmy, they forgave me," she gushes. "They wanted me to come back, but I didn't know. The last note was that the orcs were invading, and everyone was scattering to the four winds. Well, my family knew I had gone east, so they decided to head this way as well to try to find me! I stopped everywhere I could think of on the way back to Fallcrest, but I haven't found them yet. But hopefully one day soon," she says with a half sigh.
"Hm? Hmm... Yea... Yea, I s'pose so. Took care of me and me mum when I got laid up fer a bit following the war. Wouldn't exactly give a how back then, so I'm figuring it has something to do with merchant negotiations or numbers, ya know. She always had a better eye and mind for the stuff, if you can believe it, and a fair bit of cunning too."Zashier admits. "Talk circles around Ogres I saw her once did, though don't let her know I told you that one."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
From Moon's persepctive, you are able to see the braids bickering after party rides through. As you look through moon's eyes, and hear through her ears, and she circles around, you catch pieces of their conversation. The one with the beady eyes is irate with the other - the one with the singed eyebrows, that wet himself. You hear him say things about "getting even" and "Serim will not be pleased" and other tidbits. They make their way back to town, but they do not take down their makeshift barrier.
As you journey on down the road - the dense forest on your left, the open fields on your right - the road curves to the left a bit up ahead, and then fades out of sight behind the outcropping of trees. As you round the bend, the forest fans out to your left, thinning, and you are able to make out the ruins of an abandoned manor set back away from the road.
You have just rounded the bend, and are several hundred feet from the manor. You can see two, small, red-bodied kobolds standing out front. They haven’t noticed you.
Thistle,
the hairs stand up on the back of your neck that there is more to this situation than meets the eye.
The forest is less dense here, it fades as it gets closer to the house. The edge of the forest has been cut short about 60 feet to the left and, from what you can tell, behind the manor as well, and is wide open in front and to the right (as the King’s road passes it). There seems to be no way to approach without exposing yourself.
The manor is showing signs of age and desctruction. pieces are missing, the roof has caved in places. It is in general disarray.
The sun has begun its downward arc; its getting to be mid afternoon - closer to evening than midday.
See Discord > Media for image of the manor, or at least as close an example as i could find on google..
Yokini shakes her hair back as she analyzes the scene. "Looks like we need a distraction." She looks to the left. "Stay here," she says, turning Gomol around and trotting back the way they came.
DM, Yokini wants to head back up the road, then cut into the trees and head for the side of the mansion through the trees. Once in range, she'll use fire bolt on a window. Let me know what you'd like me to roll. Or, maybe somebody stops the old lady with a better idea.
“Wait, there’s something wrong with this,” Thistle says, holding her hand up in a fist. She scans the surroundings, and the road ahead, looking for something amiss. Perception: 13
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Lem would relay, as they left the area with the barricade, to the group that the Braids were upset, said they headed back to town to tell Selim. "We've made an enemy of this man already. He could be dangerous. Will have to watch ourselves."He recalls Moon
Lem will see Thistle's signal, and, training kicking in, he springs into action, grabbing Yokini's shoulder and gently pulling her back when she mentions a distraction. "Not yet, dear one. Let's get a sense of this before we try anything we can't undo."
He pulls the others together just off the road.
"Our options as I see them. We can make a big distraction and get everyone's attention to confuse them and not see us. We can range around behind the manor into the trees and get a sense of the place before we approach. I can try to put the kobolds to sleep if I can get a bit closer. I can make myself or someone else invisible to look around without being seen. I can create a thick fog cloud so they can't see us and we can't see them, though there are some drawbacks. I'd suggest we loop around behind to scout what we can. Stow the horses somewhere safe and out of sight. Creep up and either try the distraction or putting them to sleep."
His eyes dart across the expanse of road before them, and into the trees, and across the open field in front of the manor, looking for any traps, given what he'd been told about kobolds earlier.
Perception: 11 Investigation: 19
"They're supposed to be good at traps, right? Anyone see anything?"
Thistle suffers being hustled off the road. “Well, kobolds aren’t dumb. Cowardly, yes, but cunning. I wouldn’t trust the two out front to be anything but bait, and I’m willing to bet they know we’re here. I expect there’s a trap, or more are laying in wait. We should move in quiet and fast, from the trees. The quietest first, at a fast scout, followed by the breakers, then the mages. So, I guess that’s me first, then the big guys, then you two. Thoughts?”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Thistle has dismounted and tied her horse up, and after a moment of consideration, settles the small shield an her arm and draws a slender blade from the long scabbard on her back.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Raddunth thinks a charge from the front would be very distracting, but it seems like the others want to use more caution. After his horse is tied up in a sheltered spot, he will wait for the others to decide the best course of action.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Zashier got this real deep look of concentration on his face as everyone tosses out one plan after the next, but says nothing for a while. There isn't even a halfhearted attempt to stop anyone(namely Yokini at the moment) from just hustling away to enact play from the get go. He just crouches there to be closer on people's level, scratching his head with his trunk, and doing the same with a hand to his chest.
"Or... one of us could talk to them first, yea? Just a thought. Though, I don't suppose anyone here speaks kobold, eh?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"Those birdies are pretty cute," Yokini says. "Maybe they're nice." She fiddles with her glove and then says, "Oh! I can't move fast, if I need to. I forgot I rigged this here that will inject me with a serum that will give me lots of energy for about 10 minutes." She looks at Thistle. "If you want me to be the fast one." She shrugs. "Or I can just toast 'em with fire."
Lem, you are able to see through Moon's perspective the following (and I am sharing it for the group, assuming you would share this information with them):
In front are the two kobolds, behind the manor (between the house and the woods) is actually a large, water-logged swamp. To the sides and the back of the house there are no guards.
Moon, flying over the house, sees the left side of the roof has caved in. You see right down through to the main floor - there are a handfull of kobolds inside sitting at a table. They seem to be eating.
While you are looking through Moon's perspective, you notice a shadow swoop closer. Moon dodges out of the way of a winged kobold. As she makes her way back to you, you now realize there were 4 additional winged kobolds on guard, hiding on the roof, two in front, two in back. Thistle was right, so to speak, about the two guards in front - they seem to be bait for the kobolds waiting on the roofline.
The party ties up their mounts, and gets their things settled.
Aside from the winged kobold who wanted to eat Moon (which, he has now settled back into his spot on the roof) your presence has not been noted.
Zashier, Thistle likely would have informed you that most kobolds speak common and draconic.
Thistle notes, “If anyone can speak Draconic, that’ll be their language, but they get along in Common well enough to cower and spill what they know.”
She nods appreciatively at Lem’s scouting via Moon. “No need to rush them now. So, two out front, and four from the air, then a bunch inside. We have the advantage of surprise, and since we’re not just burning the place down,” she shakes her head slightly, “We’ll need to take the most dangerous ones out first. Assuming they’ve got a mage or a shaman inside with them, the next worst will be the winged ones. Anyone have a way to handle them up there? They’ll have missile weapons, for sure. My bow is pretty short range.”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he). Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
“I can get at least some of them to sleep for about a minute, if they’re as small as I think they are, and if I can get within about 90 feet of them. That will be hard to do unseen. Though I could make myself invisible, get closer to the manor and find cover where I can see the winged ones, and then cast. I’ll become visible then, and we’ll want to proceed with the rest of the maneuver. I can do the same sort of long-range fire that Yokini was talking about, single targets only. Shall I proceed?”
He looks at Zashier, who mentioned talking to them. It’s a concept that fascinates Lem, at least a little bit. You’ll notice that Lem, when talking about tactics like this, is able to speak clearly, if not very engagingly. Certainly more socially capable than when you met him or for most of the ride to the manor (the exception being the comfort he displayed with Yokini). He is a bit rusty when it comes to combat but he’s deeply familiar with it and it shows as he analyzes things. He is, however, starting to get a bit jittery, a bit like he was before the almost-fight with the braids in the bar. Eyes darting around, fidgeting, scratching his ear, etc.
There is that part of his brain that’s fascinated by the idea of avoiding violence, and knows it could be better for him, but he’s just not been built for it. So he looks at Zashier’s suggestion with interest but not much hope. But just enough to give him veto power over Lem’s plan.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Yokini's mouth spreads into a big smile, her eyes sparkling a little. Finally, she gives Lem a single nod. But then, her face falls and looks more contemplative, and she shakes her head. "Yes and no," she says slowly. "I went home and found the village deserted. It looked a little like Fallcrest did after the orcs moved through. But when I searched my sister's house, I found a stack of letters she had written to me, but couldn't send because she didn't know where I was." Her face widens into a broad, twinkling grin again. "Oh, Lemmy, they forgave me," she gushes. "They wanted me to come back, but I didn't know. The last note was that the orcs were invading, and everyone was scattering to the four winds. Well, my family knew I had gone east, so they decided to head this way as well to try to find me! I stopped everywhere I could think of on the way back to Fallcrest, but I haven't found them yet. But hopefully one day soon," she says with a half sigh.
"Hm? Hmm... Yea... Yea, I s'pose so. Took care of me and me mum when I got laid up fer a bit following the war. Wouldn't exactly give a how back then, so I'm figuring it has something to do with merchant negotiations or numbers, ya know. She always had a better eye and mind for the stuff, if you can believe it, and a fair bit of cunning too." Zashier admits. "Talk circles around Ogres I saw her once did, though don't let her know I told you that one."
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Lem
From Moon's persepctive, you are able to see the braids bickering after party rides through. As you look through moon's eyes, and hear through her ears, and she circles around, you catch pieces of their conversation. The one with the beady eyes is irate with the other - the one with the singed eyebrows, that wet himself. You hear him say things about "getting even" and "Serim will not be pleased" and other tidbits. They make their way back to town, but they do not take down their makeshift barrier.
As you journey on down the road - the dense forest on your left, the open fields on your right - the road curves to the left a bit up ahead, and then fades out of sight behind the outcropping of trees. As you round the bend, the forest fans out to your left, thinning, and you are able to make out the ruins of an abandoned manor set back away from the road.
You have just rounded the bend, and are several hundred feet from the manor. You can see two, small, red-bodied kobolds standing out front. They haven’t noticed you.
Thistle,
the hairs stand up on the back of your neck that there is more to this situation than meets the eye.
The forest is less dense here, it fades as it gets closer to the house. The edge of the forest has been cut short about 60 feet to the left and, from what you can tell, behind the manor as well, and is wide open in front and to the right (as the King’s road passes it). There seems to be no way to approach without exposing yourself.
The manor is showing signs of age and desctruction. pieces are missing, the roof has caved in places. It is in general disarray.
The sun has begun its downward arc; its getting to be mid afternoon - closer to evening than midday.
See Discord > Media for image of the manor, or at least as close an example as i could find on google..
Yokini shakes her hair back as she analyzes the scene. "Looks like we need a distraction." She looks to the left. "Stay here," she says, turning Gomol around and trotting back the way they came.
DM, Yokini wants to head back up the road, then cut into the trees and head for the side of the mansion through the trees. Once in range, she'll use fire bolt on a window. Let me know what you'd like me to roll. Or, maybe somebody stops the old lady with a better idea.
“Wait, there’s something wrong with this,” Thistle says, holding her hand up in a fist. She scans the surroundings, and the road ahead, looking for something amiss. Perception: 13
edit: fudge
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Lem would relay, as they left the area with the barricade, to the group that the Braids were upset, said they headed back to town to tell Selim. "We've made an enemy of this man already. He could be dangerous. Will have to watch ourselves." He recalls Moon
Lem will see Thistle's signal, and, training kicking in, he springs into action, grabbing Yokini's shoulder and gently pulling her back when she mentions a distraction. "Not yet, dear one. Let's get a sense of this before we try anything we can't undo."
He pulls the others together just off the road.
"Our options as I see them. We can make a big distraction and get everyone's attention to confuse them and not see us. We can range around behind the manor into the trees and get a sense of the place before we approach. I can try to put the kobolds to sleep if I can get a bit closer. I can make myself or someone else invisible to look around without being seen. I can create a thick fog cloud so they can't see us and we can't see them, though there are some drawbacks. I'd suggest we loop around behind to scout what we can. Stow the horses somewhere safe and out of sight. Creep up and either try the distraction or putting them to sleep."
His eyes dart across the expanse of road before them, and into the trees, and across the open field in front of the manor, looking for any traps, given what he'd been told about kobolds earlier.
Perception: 11
Investigation: 19
"They're supposed to be good at traps, right? Anyone see anything?"
Yokini dutifully looks for traps.
Perception: 7
Thistle, you feel like something is off, but you cant quite put your finger on it...
Yokini and Lem, you dont notice any traps set for you.
Thistle suffers being hustled off the road. “Well, kobolds aren’t dumb. Cowardly, yes, but cunning. I wouldn’t trust the two out front to be anything but bait, and I’m willing to bet they know we’re here. I expect there’s a trap, or more are laying in wait. We should move in quiet and fast, from the trees. The quietest first, at a fast scout, followed by the breakers, then the mages. So, I guess that’s me first, then the big guys, then you two. Thoughts?”
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Lem directs Moon to take a slow, long, low loop around the manor, dipping in to watch for anything interesting from this new perspective.
Thistle has dismounted and tied her horse up, and after a moment of consideration, settles the small shield an her arm and draws a slender blade from the long scabbard on her back.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
Raddunth thinks a charge from the front would be very distracting, but it seems like the others want to use more caution. After his horse is tied up in a sheltered spot, he will wait for the others to decide the best course of action.
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Zashier got this real deep look of concentration on his face as everyone tosses out one plan after the next, but says nothing for a while. There isn't even a halfhearted attempt to stop anyone(namely Yokini at the moment) from just hustling away to enact play from the get go. He just crouches there to be closer on people's level, scratching his head with his trunk, and doing the same with a hand to his chest.
"Or... one of us could talk to them first, yea? Just a thought. Though, I don't suppose anyone here speaks kobold, eh?"
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"Those birdies are pretty cute," Yokini says. "Maybe they're nice." She fiddles with her glove and then says, "Oh! I can't move fast, if I need to. I forgot I rigged this here that will inject me with a serum that will give me lots of energy for about 10 minutes." She looks at Thistle. "If you want me to be the fast one." She shrugs. "Or I can just toast 'em with fire."
Lem, you are able to see through Moon's perspective the following (and I am sharing it for the group, assuming you would share this information with them):
In front are the two kobolds, behind the manor (between the house and the woods) is actually a large, water-logged swamp. To the sides and the back of the house there are no guards.
Moon, flying over the house, sees the left side of the roof has caved in. You see right down through to the main floor - there are a handfull of kobolds inside sitting at a table. They seem to be eating.
While you are looking through Moon's perspective, you notice a shadow swoop closer. Moon dodges out of the way of a winged kobold. As she makes her way back to you, you now realize there were 4 additional winged kobolds on guard, hiding on the roof, two in front, two in back. Thistle was right, so to speak, about the two guards in front - they seem to be bait for the kobolds waiting on the roofline.
The party ties up their mounts, and gets their things settled.
Aside from the winged kobold who wanted to eat Moon (which, he has now settled back into his spot on the roof) your presence has not been noted.
Zashier, Thistle likely would have informed you that most kobolds speak common and draconic.
Thistle notes, “If anyone can speak Draconic, that’ll be their language, but they get along in Common well enough to cower and spill what they know.”
She nods appreciatively at Lem’s scouting via Moon. “No need to rush them now. So, two out front, and four from the air, then a bunch inside. We have the advantage of surprise, and since we’re not just burning the place down,” she shakes her head slightly, “We’ll need to take the most dangerous ones out first. Assuming they’ve got a mage or a shaman inside with them, the next worst will be the winged ones. Anyone have a way to handle them up there? They’ll have missile weapons, for sure. My bow is pretty short range.”
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
How far is the party from the manor house now?
"Nothing that can hit more than one at a time," Yokini responds.
"What about the magic to put them to sleep that Lem talked about. Could it get the flyers on the roof?" Thistle looks at Lem questioningly.
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
“I can get at least some of them to sleep for about a minute, if they’re as small as I think they are, and if I can get within about 90 feet of them. That will be hard to do unseen. Though I could make myself invisible, get closer to the manor and find cover where I can see the winged ones, and then cast. I’ll become visible then, and we’ll want to proceed with the rest of the maneuver. I can do the same sort of long-range fire that Yokini was talking about, single targets only. Shall I proceed?”
He looks at Zashier, who mentioned talking to them. It’s a concept that fascinates Lem, at least a little bit. You’ll notice that Lem, when talking about tactics like this, is able to speak clearly, if not very engagingly. Certainly more socially capable than when you met him or for most of the ride to the manor (the exception being the comfort he displayed with Yokini). He is a bit rusty when it comes to combat but he’s deeply familiar with it and it shows as he analyzes things. He is, however, starting to get a bit jittery, a bit like he was before the almost-fight with the braids in the bar. Eyes darting around, fidgeting, scratching his ear, etc.
There is that part of his brain that’s fascinated by the idea of avoiding violence, and knows it could be better for him, but he’s just not been built for it. So he looks at Zashier’s suggestion with interest but not much hope. But just enough to give him veto power over Lem’s plan.