Quote from kevtr0n >>

Quote from CelticSurfer >>

Kiwsatz, go ahead and roll animal handling. 

 Kwisatz impatiently approaches Petunia after having taken half the day to find her, and will attempt to lead her back to the farm.

Animal handling 8 ((maybe Andromeda could 'help'? ^^ 12 ))

 

We'll give you the 12 for having Andrømeda help. (We're assuming Andrømeda helped Sael before leaving with Kwisatz (and Rush?) to look for Petunia.) The cow is super chill as it is, anyway. You approach her, and hand her some grain and pet her. At first, you use grain to kind of goad her into following you, but after a mile or so, she just seems to be comfortable walking with you. 

Considering you found her only a few miles from the ranch, it only takes you 2-ish hours to get back. By the time you get back it's getting close to dinner time (so, we'll say somewhere like 4p or 5p).

When Big Al sees you, he throws his hands up and says, "Finally! One thing goes right. Thank you for bringing her back. Here...bring her this way." He leads you over to the pasture. There were a couple of places where the boards were broken, but he spent the 8-ish hours you were gone fixing the fence so that it would be ready for her when you brought her back.

"Since you all made good on your end to find my prized cow, you," and he looks at Rush, "are more than welcome to keep that armor. Make good use of it. I imagine you will, though, if you all are going after that dragon."

Walking back to the farm, Kwisatz uses his mage hand to pick another piece of fruit to snack on, finds Al, and leads Petinua to him, saying "It took us a bit longer than I'd hoped unfortunately, but here she is... We may need to stay here another night before we start our return to Phandalin."

((I assume you meant for Sael to roll the d6?  If not, I'll just delete this post.))

Skull digging - 6 

Quote from Dipstick10 >>

((I assume you meant for Sael to roll the d6?  If not, I'll just delete this post.))

Skull digging - 4 

I did - sorry for not being more specific. BUT, you are able to recover 4 orc heads. But, just as a reminder, you'll have to "process" them before you can sell them to anyone.

Quote from kevtr0n >>

Walking back to the farm, Kwisatz uses his mage hand to pick another piece of fruit to snack on, finds Al, and leads Petinua to him, saying "It took us a bit longer than I'd hoped unfortunately, but here she is... We may need to stay here another night before we start our return to Phandalin."

Big Al nods his head, "That's the least I can do for everything you all have done for me. You are welcome to stay the night. As a matter of fact, I'll cook up some supper. The orcs destroyed a lot, but I think I saw enough in the kitchen to throw something together. All I ask, though, out of respect for the dead, would you please not sleep on my former ranch hands' beds? It may make me an ungracious host, but I think it would just be too soon." Then, after getting Petunia secured in the pasture, he walks back to the house and starts getting supplies together for dinner.

Andrømeda watches Sael through the whole grisly process, interested and vaguely bemused. She's seen people collect trophies from fallen foes, and she's taken some herself from certain beasts, but this process is new to her.

Sael casts a side glance over at Andrømeda, noticing her watching.  "Would you like to help?" she asks without looking at her.  "Skinning them is the fun part, then we have to scrub them down, and wait some time for the sun to bleach them white.  I can tie them to my pack while we walk."

Andrømeda shrugs, "Am ha skinned many things, but alvays beasts. Vhat vould someone gain from de skulls det vould be vorth de coin?"

Sael smiles, "Never forget, my friend... we are all beasts physically, Orc's included. Their skull is mostly a trophy. Something certain people might enjoy displaying in their home, I assume.  Difficulty in obtaining such a thing is where the money comes in though."  She smiles again, handing Andrømeda one of the heads. 

It's starting to get to be about time to eat. Big Al has spent the last hour in the kitchen putting everything together and the smell of meat cooking over an open fire wafts through the air and seems to permeate everything. 

You hear a dissonant sound of metal banging against metal. When you look in the direction the sound is coming from, you see Big Al standing out on the back stoop of his house next to the cellar, banging on a metal triangle with a little metal stick and he's yelling, "Dinner time!"

"Mmm, I could use some food.  Let's pack it up for now." Sael says, and begins stowing her materials and the Orc heads.

"Best vi vash our hands first, ja?" Andrømeda says, handing the messy but mostly stripped skull back to the Tiefling and beginning to head back to the house.

Once his friends have finished with the file of orcs, Kwisatz snaps his fingers to create a small flame near him, he then reaches up to touch his hat ((8)) is controls the flames to spread over the pyre enough to ensure a the roaring blaze will turn the corpses to ashes. He watches the flames long enough to know that the fire will not spread to the farm house or fields, and then heads in to dinner, calling Duncan down to him as he walks.

Sael heads to the well to see if there's water for washing up, (if there is, she cleans herself) then heads inside.

(Andrømeda does the same)

And so the flames do. There is a cloud of black acrid smoke that rises up from the plum and blows east with the wind. 

With that, everyone makes their way inside and in contrast to the assault on the senses of the burning corpses outside, inside it smells like home cooked heaven. Big Al didn't have a whole lot to work with, but what he did have he managed fairly well with. He cooked up one of the dead pigs from the field and gathered some of the veggies and fruits from the orchard and gardens and prepared a whole meal out of what he could find on the farm. 

What is everyone doing at and/or after dinner?

"Thank you for dinner." Kwisatz says to Al after eating. He then asks "Will it be difficult to rebuild here alone? Is there a message you would like us to deliver to town? Perhaps put up a 'help-wanted' sign outside the Town Hall?"

Before bed he'll simply look over his notes again to prepare for the following day to return.

Andrømeda will spend some time speaking with each of the party, though she mostly disregards Big Al, still upset at his dishonorable, if understandable, killing of a bound and helpless foe. She will spend some time playing her lute after dinner, and then, before bed, running a whetstone over her axe while saying her 'mantra', "Meg hild's hjerte er gjennomført i meg. Meg hild's oks am ha, zo blet meg uven's. Meg hjerte er fylt med ild og dod det am fange zo wo maug am slag."

Quote from kevtr0n >>

"Thank you for dinner." Kwisatz says to Al after eating. He then asks "Will it be difficult to rebuild here alone? Is there a message you would like us to deliver to town? Perhaps put up a 'help-wanted' sign outside the Town Hall?"

Before bed he'll simply look over his notes again to prepare for the following day to return.

 "Actually," Big Al says, "that would definitely save me a trip. If you would, please. Actually, I'll send a letter with you. That might be easier."

Big Al walks away and about ten minutes later, he produces a scroll with a hand written message on it. He says, "Now, if you would deliver this to the Townmaster, I would appreciate that."

Quote from DifferentNoodle >>

Andrømeda will spend some time speaking with each of the party, though she mostly disregards Big Al, still upset at his dishonorable, if understandable, killing of a bound and helpless foe. She will spend some time playing her lute after dinner, and then, before bed, running a whetstone over her axe while saying her 'mantra', "Meg hild's hjerte er gjennomført i meg. Meg hild's oks am ha, zo blet meg uven's. Meg hjerte er fylt med ild og dod det am fange zo wo maug am slag."

Big Al, noticing the silent treatment he got from Andrømeda, approaches her after dinner while she's sharpening her axe. He says, "I understand why you might be upset with me about what I did. But, this is my farm. My roof. My ranch hands. And, it was my decision to make. I hope that even if you don't respect the decision I made, you can at least respect that it was mine to make."

Quote from CelticSurfer >>

Quote from DifferentNoodle >>

Andrømeda will spend some time speaking with each of the party, though she mostly disregards Big Al, still upset at his dishonorable, if understandable, killing of a bound and helpless foe. She will spend some time playing her lute after dinner, and then, before bed, running a whetstone over her axe while saying her 'mantra', "Meg hild's hjerte er gjennomført i meg. Meg hild's oks am ha, zo blet meg uven's. Meg hjerte er fylt med ild og dod det am fange zo wo maug am slag."

Big Al, noticing the silent treatment he got from Andrømeda, approaches her after dinner while she's sharpening her axe. He says, "I understand why you might be upset with me about what I did. But, this is my farm. My roof. My ranch hands. And, it was my decision to make. I hope that even if you don't respect the decision I made, you can at least respect that it was mine to make."

 Andrømeda watches him approach, and stills from her task as Big Al speaks. Sighing, she sets her axe to the side and stands, looking him in the eye. "Am do understand. Rage is very familiar for me, but dir is a price for giving rage freedom in dun hjerte." She reaches up absentmindedly, rubbing a finger over the burn scar, mostly hidden by the hair that fell over the right side of her face, that marred her from cheek almost to her hairline, speaking again slowly, trying to make herself clear, "Your people vere avenged, and there vil be no tears shed at the death of these Orc, but killing a foe that is vell and truly defeated, as vell as bound and helpless, is not a line that folk should ever be villing to cross," She sighs again, but relaxes some, "at least, det is my vay. De feiging needed killing, and vhile Am feel it should ha been a fair slag, if du believe den vas dun rightful justice, such is vhat den is."