Ran tosses his bow down in frustration. The first shot was as true as he could have hoped for but then the next snaps the damn yew in half and now his hand is bloodied. He remembers why he prefers steel.
He looks over at Varen and Elavor.
"Your second was better than the first, Varen."he begins. "Just remember that and your next will strike the center of the target."
He then looks around the field to see where he can get a replacement bow. The Marshfield archer snapped his bow as well, which way did he go?
"We can't afford to go down two points each round, so more like the first one, Elavor. And maybe I won't break a bow this time."
Ran then heads off to get a new bow, passing by the Turco archers on the way.
"Good luck in the next round," Ran says to the big Turco fighter. "Things were a bit tense when we first met. Hopefully you've heard more about what happened to other houses getting here too. I'm Ran Deadgleam by the way."
Petal thinks she pulled off her clever casting in secret or at least no one is immediately seizing her! Looking around however the gnome does not see the spy only curious spectators looking out over the archers or conversing with one another. She glances towards the Turco box and sees a group of gnomes curiously staring at her. They're a varying degrees of red and auburn hair with cherubic faces and curious large violet eyes. Amongst them human and dragonborn seem to be their primary house protectors but a blue skinned moon elf in paladin of the Lightbringer armor sticks out who gives her a curt nod and a smile.
Petal then sees Ronegan's run on the pastry tray before he rejoins Onyx who looks uneasy seated in his father's chair beside the queen mother.
"Those...smell good master Gallowglass if not for the tension of the day I might be tempted by one or a dozen myself," Queen Citrine manages to utter her tone weak as she tugs at the ill-fitted gray mourning dress and adjusts the veil covering her face.
"It'll be fine mother....," Onyx says gripping his mother's hand. "She will join us....she must," he trails off looking over the stands and into the crowds of spectators on the sidelines as well as wealthier families allowed to mingle amongst the nobility.
Below on the tournament grounds....
The Turco bowman nods at Ran and reaches out his hand to him clasping Ran's forearm.
"Kay Tregallis," the rugged looking warrior replies in greeting but before Ran can pull away he leans in and in a low tone says, "enemies were...unclear to us yesterday but today it has been made clearer who the real enemy may be," he whispers. "I call you friend," he says pulling back from Ran's greeting. "May the best shot win the game," he adds next looking around as if to see if you both are being watched. Kay gives Ran a curt nod and hands him another bow. "Our houses have an incentive to work together," he says glancing at the female gnome who probed Ran's mind before. "We stand together yes," he then adds giving Ran a curt nod.
Meanwhile Varen scans the crowd near the Pedryas banners but doesn't see Ramsey then recalling he's a outcast and mentioned hating his kin. Looking now at the Pedryas archers she realizes there is only one not dressed in Lightbringer vestments with tacked on Pedryas colors!
“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman...You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Varen , curiosity piqued, walks over to the Pedryas archery team. "Hello, friends. Lightbringer shine on your path."
I think that was an appropriate greeting... maybe I can glean some more information from these zealots if I toe some lines with some additional appropriate phrases...Religion: 14
Taking a guess, she addresses the one not in Lightbringer equipment. "I heard that House Pedryas lost many on the road. I'm sorry for your loss. Has the church lent its support for the competition?" She motions to the other archers.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Ran nods to Tregallis and adds in a low voice, "We should talk later when possible. During the feasting tonight."
Then in a louder voice, as he accepts the bow, "Thank you, I hope to be able to return the favor."
Ran's instincts are to the trust the man, one soldier to another, but he runs the conversation and body language through his mind as he walks back to join the others before the next round, making sure he didn't miss anything.
The members of the Lightbringer close ranks around the young dark skinned human man. He would be handsome very familiar to Ramsey's build but for a wicked scar bisecting his face that seems yo have been nearly cleaved in half!
"May the Light shine on all of us," a female cleric steps forward as the other two flank the young man possibly in his late teens at the most! "His highness isn't keen on visitors," she adds. "The church aids those in need as a faithful members of the Lightbringer's court. I'm sorry Firstforge isn't a house known to me. Your house is so rarely seen at court and the are rumours...well odds things that a true follower of the Lightbringer would not stand for if they were among the faithful," she adds her nose slightly turned up and her tone hard. "Who are you," she asks curtly!
She wears scale mail in gold and a white tunic. Her bow is ornately carved with angel like wings around a body holding an orb aloft. The young man seems to stay behind the other two defenders of the faith a human man and a female silver scaled dragonborn.
"She's the one who can't hit the broad side of a barn Tawny," the dragonborn scoffs as the man and the Pedryas teen chuckle. "Don't let her distract you," the dragonborn says grimacing at Varen.
"Look they're starting," the teen then says as the targets are reset.
OOC: I'll start the second set DC 18 next after everyone who wants checks in!!
“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman...You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
"Hmm. Well, I'm sure ALL of your family are watching you very carefully, your Highness. Best of luck to you with that."Varen gives an overly sweet smile, emphasizing "all", and turns away. Her smile fades to a scowl as soon as she is faced away. She returns to the Firstforge lines. Maybe the idea of his exiled, hateful cousin watching him might distract the teen.
Ran moves closer to Varen and Elavor once they're all back at the lines.
"The big guy from Turco is a lot friendlier today than when Petal and I first met him. He's hinting that Turco and Firstforge should work together. I'll try to get more out of him tonight during the festivities."
Ran than flexes the new bow a few times, making sure it's not about to snap in his hands like the last one.
Petal smiles weakly at Citrine, she’d never seen her so vulnerable. “You should have one, it seems like Ronegan brought enough for everyone!” She looks over at Ronegan with an innocent smile.
Settling in, she stands by the Queen Mother, offering her hand for comfort in silent solidarity.
Watching the competition, she notices Ran getting along well with the Turco Human and whispers to Ronegan. “It looks like Ran was the social butterfly we needed, he seems to be making friends with the Turcos! I guess sometimes less is more.”
Elavor sticks to himself, stretching and getting ready for the longer shots.... After Ran tells them about House Turco , Elavor looks at both of them. "Any chance they're playing us? Hoping to catch us off our guard?" he says to Ran and Varen, and he pulls back on the bowstring, giving it a test..
”He seemed genuine but yes, it’s possible. Though not much to gain right now. Unless the bow he gave me is sabotaged.”
Ran flexes the new bow again, looking for any weakness, running his hand down the whole bow trying to feel for any bumps or cuts or anything else that might be wrong with it.
“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman...You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Ran takes a deep breath to steady himself. A couple more bows looks like they cracked in the hands of other archers, one being the big man from Turco. He momentarily feels sorry for him but then remembers they're here to win and they're already behind.
Arrow 1: 16
Arrow 2: 20
Superiority Die for Precision Attack to add to the higher roll: 4
Makes the shot that counts a 24.
Ran lets out a sigh after hitting a pretty decent shot, but sees that it's no better than the a couple of the Pedryas archers. That doesn't make up any ground on them but at least they don't fall further behind with his shot. Hopefully Varen and Elavor can make up the ground.
Petal can see lines and wrinkles on tbe queen mother's face that were not there just days before when Petal last saw her. It can only, sadly, be one thing. The wasting sickness seems to have heightened somehow!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman...You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Ran tosses his bow down in frustration. The first shot was as true as he could have hoped for but then the next snaps the damn yew in half and now his hand is bloodied. He remembers why he prefers steel.
He looks over at Varen and Elavor.
"Your second was better than the first, Varen. "he begins. "Just remember that and your next will strike the center of the target."
He then looks around the field to see where he can get a replacement bow. The Marshfield archer snapped his bow as well, which way did he go?
"We can't afford to go down two points each round, so more like the first one, Elavor. And maybe I won't break a bow this time."
Ran then heads off to get a new bow, passing by the Turco archers on the way.
"Good luck in the next round," Ran says to the big Turco fighter. "Things were a bit tense when we first met. Hopefully you've heard more about what happened to other houses getting here too. I'm Ran Deadgleam by the way."
He holds out his hand in greeting.
Petal thinks she pulled off her clever casting in secret or at least no one is immediately seizing her! Looking around however the gnome does not see the spy only curious spectators looking out over the archers or conversing with one another. She glances towards the Turco box and sees a group of gnomes curiously staring at her. They're a varying degrees of red and auburn hair with cherubic faces and curious large violet eyes. Amongst them human and dragonborn seem to be their primary house protectors but a blue skinned moon elf in paladin of the Lightbringer armor sticks out who gives her a curt nod and a smile.
Petal then sees Ronegan's run on the pastry tray before he rejoins Onyx who looks uneasy seated in his father's chair beside the queen mother.
"Those...smell good master Gallowglass if not for the tension of the day I might be tempted by one or a dozen myself," Queen Citrine manages to utter her tone weak as she tugs at the ill-fitted gray mourning dress and adjusts the veil covering her face.
"It'll be fine mother....," Onyx says gripping his mother's hand. "She will join us....she must," he trails off looking over the stands and into the crowds of spectators on the sidelines as well as wealthier families allowed to mingle amongst the nobility.
Below on the tournament grounds....
The Turco bowman nods at Ran and reaches out his hand to him clasping Ran's forearm.
"Kay Tregallis," the rugged looking warrior replies in greeting but before Ran can pull away he leans in and in a low tone says, "enemies were...unclear to us yesterday but today it has been made clearer who the real enemy may be," he whispers. "I call you friend," he says pulling back from Ran's greeting. "May the best shot win the game," he adds next looking around as if to see if you both are being watched. Kay gives Ran a curt nod and hands him another bow. "Our houses have an incentive to work together," he says glancing at the female gnome who probed Ran's mind before. "We stand together yes," he then adds giving Ran a curt nod.
Meanwhile Varen scans the crowd near the Pedryas banners but doesn't see Ramsey then recalling he's a outcast and mentioned hating his kin. Looking now at the Pedryas archers she realizes there is only one not dressed in Lightbringer vestments with tacked on Pedryas colors!
“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman...You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Varen , curiosity piqued, walks over to the Pedryas archery team. "Hello, friends. Lightbringer shine on your path."
I think that was an appropriate greeting... maybe I can glean some more information from these zealots if I toe some lines with some additional appropriate phrases... Religion: 14
Taking a guess, she addresses the one not in Lightbringer equipment. "I heard that House Pedryas lost many on the road. I'm sorry for your loss. Has the church lent its support for the competition?" She motions to the other archers.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Ran nods to Tregallis and adds in a low voice, "We should talk later when possible. During the feasting tonight."
Then in a louder voice, as he accepts the bow, "Thank you, I hope to be able to return the favor."
Ran's instincts are to the trust the man, one soldier to another, but he runs the conversation and body language through his mind as he walks back to join the others before the next round, making sure he didn't miss anything.
(Insight Check 5 )
The members of the Lightbringer close ranks around the young dark skinned human man. He would be handsome very familiar to Ramsey's build but for a wicked scar bisecting his face that seems yo have been nearly cleaved in half!
"May the Light shine on all of us," a female cleric steps forward as the other two flank the young man possibly in his late teens at the most! "His highness isn't keen on visitors," she adds. "The church aids those in need as a faithful members of the Lightbringer's court. I'm sorry Firstforge isn't a house known to me. Your house is so rarely seen at court and the are rumours...well odds things that a true follower of the Lightbringer would not stand for if they were among the faithful," she adds her nose slightly turned up and her tone hard. "Who are you," she asks curtly!
She wears scale mail in gold and a white tunic. Her bow is ornately carved with angel like wings around a body holding an orb aloft. The young man seems to stay behind the other two defenders of the faith a human man and a female silver scaled dragonborn.
"She's the one who can't hit the broad side of a barn Tawny," the dragonborn scoffs as the man and the Pedryas teen chuckle. "Don't let her distract you," the dragonborn says grimacing at Varen.
"Look they're starting," the teen then says as the targets are reset.
OOC: I'll start the second set DC 18 next after everyone who wants checks in!!
“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman...You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
"Hmm. Well, I'm sure ALL of your family are watching you very carefully, your Highness. Best of luck to you with that." Varen gives an overly sweet smile, emphasizing "all", and turns away. Her smile fades to a scowl as soon as she is faced away. She returns to the Firstforge lines. Maybe the idea of his exiled, hateful cousin watching him might distract the teen.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Ran moves closer to Varen and Elavor once they're all back at the lines.
"The big guy from Turco is a lot friendlier today than when Petal and I first met him. He's hinting that Turco and Firstforge should work together. I'll try to get more out of him tonight during the festivities."
Ran than flexes the new bow a few times, making sure it's not about to snap in his hands like the last one.
Petal smiles weakly at Citrine, she’d never seen her so vulnerable. “You should have one, it seems like Ronegan brought enough for everyone!” She looks over at Ronegan with an innocent smile.
Settling in, she stands by the Queen Mother, offering her hand for comfort in silent solidarity.
Watching the competition, she notices Ran getting along well with the Turco Human and whispers to Ronegan. “It looks like Ran was the social butterfly we needed, he seems to be making friends with the Turcos! I guess sometimes less is more.”
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
Elavor sticks to himself, stretching and getting ready for the longer shots.... After Ran tells them about House Turco , Elavor looks at both of them. "Any chance they're playing us? Hoping to catch us off our guard?" he says to Ran and Varen, and he pulls back on the bowstring, giving it a test..
Ran mulls the question over.
”He seemed genuine but yes, it’s possible. Though not much to gain right now. Unless the bow he gave me is sabotaged.”
Ran flexes the new bow again, looking for any weakness, running his hand down the whole bow trying to feel for any bumps or cuts or anything else that might be wrong with it.
(Investigation: 9 )
Thw queen mother takes Petal's hand as Petal takes it she can see it's slightly more wrinkled than she recalls.
Petal perception check.
On the tournament grounds...
Ran tests the bow and it seems solid but he doesn't know much about bows in general. It seems flexible and well made.
The second set begins and archers line up taking their turn at the 80ft away target DC 18 to hit.
Celaeno
Archer 1 22; 16
Archer 2 12; 7
Archer 3 24; 9
Marshfield
Archer 1 16; 20
Archer 2 24; 13
Archer 3 14; 7
Dhkar
Archer 1 10; 23
Archer 2 10; 7
Archer 3 16; 11
Turco
Archer 1 20; 19
Archer 2 15; 15
Archer 3 16; 13
Vahar
Archer 1 16; 22
Archer 2 5; 23
Archer 3 15; 21
Pedryas
Archer 1 22; 14
Archer 2 6; 17
Archer 3 25; 23
Firstforge
OOC: the three of you can take your shots any order!
“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman...You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Ran takes a deep breath to steady himself. A couple more bows looks like they cracked in the hands of other archers, one being the big man from Turco. He momentarily feels sorry for him but then remembers they're here to win and they're already behind.
Arrow 1: 16
Arrow 2: 20
Superiority Die for Precision Attack to add to the higher roll: 4
Makes the shot that counts a 24.
Ran lets out a sigh after hitting a pretty decent shot, but sees that it's no better than the a couple of the Pedryas archers. That doesn't make up any ground on them but at least they don't fall further behind with his shot. Hopefully Varen and Elavor can make up the ground.
Varen breathes deep, pulls back on the bowstring, and releases her first arrow.
Arrow 1: 19
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
She exhales. A hit, though not a great one. But at least it's points on the board. Elavor might need Ronegan's gift if his shot goes wide.
A second arrow follows:
Arrow 2: 11
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Varen hopes it was the princeling of Pedryas who wiffed both shots this round.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Petal, seeing the frailty of Citrines hand, tries not to let her see that she’s checking up on her health.
perception 18
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
Petal can see lines and wrinkles on tbe queen mother's face that were not there just days before when Petal last saw her. It can only, sadly, be one thing. The wasting sickness seems to have heightened somehow!
“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman...You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Elavor lines up his first shot....
Breathes in, out.. and releases his arrow.
18
He exhales deeply. No time for nerves...
18
He shakes his wrist out as he walks back to the others. His head down "Sorry, I thought I had that last one guys"
Varen pats him on the back. "You got a hit, so don't stress! Better than I did on the first round, I missed the target both shots."
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag