Baern spends his down time listening to the stories but also wandering the Vistani camp talking to anyone friendly at random. He asks just basic questions such as 'where are you from?', 'are you always on the move?' , 'do you meet many travelers such as himself?', 'do you meet many people new to Barovia such as himself?', the nature of the impassible fog, etc. While still trying to fully understand Barovia and the notion of people getting trapped there, what Baern does not ask about are anything about Strahd for general fear of discussing the subject, or anything specific about his mother as he hasn't really put that all together yet either.
Baern - As you make your way around the Vistani camp you begin to recognise a number of faces from earlier in the day. Isla and a few other of the younger Vistani are still seated around the campfire as you draw close, they answer your questions in conversation;
'where are you from?' - "'ere and there. I mean we're all from Barovia, but occasionally the camp moves. There is a large camp based near Vallaki at the moment - might be worth a visit."
are you always on the move?' - "We're a free people mostly." "Yeah, we pretty much go where we please." "Suits us here at the moment."
'do you meet many travelers such as himself?' - "We meet some now and then. Adventuring types... some come here looking for fame, others are trapped here, some are drawn here."
'do you meet many people new to Barovia such as himself?' - "Not many - some seek us out"
"the nature of the impassible fog" - You notice this question go down like a lead balloon, many of the Vistani look a little perturbed at your asking, "The fog? It ain't natural - that's for sure. I've heard that it ain't jus' people that gets stuck in the fog. Its SOULS too! If someone dies 'ere, they stay 'ere for ever!"
While Baern is perhaps overly trusting of the metal man, the sister and brother pair, the bugbear and now the Vistani they were warned about, he is far from immune to the sense of dread he feels in this place when not focused on something to take his mind off of it. He swallows hard when one of the Vistani tells him of trapped souls and doesn't say a word for a long moment.
When there is mention of people being drawn here, he digs deeper. He inquires who is drawn here, why them, how, and if someone decides, although he thinks he might already know the answer to the last one.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
> The pebble goes shooting from the sling but falls far short of the log, "I tell ya, Tara. It ain't possible..." she smiles kindly at Galqarin, "That is unless our friend here is able ta... Will you give it a go?"
> "If my Aunty can't hit it... no chance you will!" Tara says, not unkindly, a wide grin on her little face. "Be mighty impressive if ya does though!"
Galqarin takes the proffered sling in silence. With a casual glance at the target, he places a pebble in the sling and gives it a practice swing. With a final grin at the Vistani girl he whirls it above his head and looses the stone...
Baern - Once again you notice a couple of uncomfortable glances and shifting by the Vistani. "Curious fella, aren't ya!""Such things aren't spoken about." "Many folk speak of getting lost..."Isla's voice is hushed, "Of undertaking oftentimes routine tasks only for the mists to form around them... whisking them away from their homes and loved ones. I do not know the why... but I think you know the who." She says ominously.
Galqarin - Lo and behold the pebble goes flying out of the sling and finds it's target, ricocheting off the log and back into the pool. Tara giggles behind her hand, whilst Eliza stands gawping. "What the how?!" Eliza exclaims, "It looks like ya know how ta hand a sling!"
"First time I ever seen a better shot than my Aunty Eliza!"Tara cries,"Best he look after that sling for ya, right Aunty?!"Eliza smiles kindly at her niece, "If you want it, it's yours. A memento of sorts, if ya will." The magpie on her shoulder screeches loudly and hops from leg to leg.
"What do we call ya, anyhow? I'm Eliza and this here is Tara." She says by way of introduction.
Galqarin beams from ear to ear, unable to conceal his genuine pleasure at having delighted his audience, not to mention another gift! He bows theatrically and announces, "I Galqarin".
Remembering his manners, he stammers, "Thankye, Madam Eliza", as he deftly wraps the sling around his wrist. Risking a pecking, he holds up a bent finger to the mocking bird, "Is bird friend?"
Galqarin - The magpie pecks at your finger. "He's a grumpy, old thing... Sharp minded though... Isn't that right Gurgeh?"The magpie hops around turning its back on you. "Don't you pay 'im any heed, Galqarin!" She laughs. "Silly old bird!"Tara quips.
Eliza changes the topic and says,"Say - you're with the lot that came to camp today. Camp doesn't always get many visitors." She looks contemplatively,"You ain't a mage like the last one that came, are ya? Lookin' to break Ravenloft down he were - brick bybrick!" Laughing she adds,"Tha' shot was pretty magical, come ta think of it!" Tara giggles in response, mimicking the flight of the pebble with her hand, complete with the "SPLOOOSH!" into the pool.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
After pocketing the lock, Ioben searches through his belongings to find his deck of cards. He sat down beside their fireplace sitting so that he was in full view of any passing Vistani while he practices shuffling and dealing. Fanning out the cards and making them disappear then reappear. This was a habit he had picked up on the caravans whenever he had time to kill. It also kept his fingers nimble, and you never knew when dealing the right card would change a hand in your favour. Sleight of Hand: 8 (15 if you allow me to add proficiency for the playing card set)
Finally realizing he had asked too many questions, Baern replies "oh yes, right." "Ah, um, so...does anyone need anything repaired? I could always try, at least, since everyone has been so nice..."
Valerie is not quite fond with socializing; therefore, after the prayer, she decided spends sometimes near the campfire. She takes off her armor to polish it. She also takes a glance to the Vastani camp from time to time while doing so.
"I don't know Baern, but from what I learned in life is you don't underestimate wizards," he says rubbing his left arm.
Dormark does accompanies Baern to teach him how to do some simple cleric magic. After the session however, he goes find Sandu and waits for him to be alone. Walking up to him he says, "May we talk Sandu?"
Sleight of Hand: 13 (15 if you allow me to add proficiency for the playing card set)
((As you have proficiency with playing cards, and its a pretty integral part of your backstory, I would take the '15'))
Ioben - You successfully perform your card trick with such finesse that it attracts a number of the nearby Vistani. Not to unused to people performing slight of hand tricks, they are none-the-less very impressed. Shey comes over to watch briefly exclaiming,"Wonderful Ioben, y'have quite the talent!". "Aye, one of the better one's I've seen" says a man in his mid-thirties currently snacking on an apple.
Finally realizing he had asked too many questions, Baern replies "oh yes, right." "Ah, um, so...does anyone need anything repaired? I could always try, at least, since everyone has been so nice..."
Baern -"If ya offering - we've a wagon that recently put out one of its wheels. Other than that a number of our tools could do with a sharpen. You sure?"Isla responds.
Valerie is not quite fond with socializing; therefore, after the prayer, she decided spends sometimes near the campfire. She takes off her armor to polish it. She also takes a glance to the Vastani camp from time to time while doing so.
Galqarin OOC: I took the liberty to add something to the book. I hope you don't mind.
Sandu took the book from Galqarin and give it a closer look. It might have been blue once with an illustration on the front but time and wear and tear had reduced it to something drab and colourless. It reminded him of the village of Barovia and how its inhabitants were. An apt metaphor he thought. Sandu opened the book on a random page. Every two pages contained what seemed to be a nursery rhyme on the left page with a drawing on the right one. It might have made for a charming children's book if the drawings were not so gruesome. The rhymes themselves were creepy enough but the drawings were less to illustrate the text and more to downright frighten the reader, though the effect was diminished with how faded the illustrations had become.
Sandu thumbed through the book to check the other nursery rhymes, occasionally reading one of the lines half out loud. He noticed while doing so that Galqarin stared at him with wide eyes, like a child being read a bedtime story. It made Sandu feel odd. Galqarin clearly liked the book but it was almost like it was the first time the bugbear had ever heard the words. Did he just like looking at the drawings? Or maybe...
'Galqarin,' Sandu asked a bit unsure, 'you can't read?' With that sudden revelation, Sandu's perspective on the bugbear shifted. The entire concept, the idea, that these fearsome, nightmarish creatures could be befuddled by a children's book, by mere words, combined with Galqarin's near childlike enthusiasm at having the book read to him, well, it made Sandu snicker. The bugbear suddenly did not seem all that terrifying anymore when he got giddy every time Sandu pointed to a word and slowly enunciated it.
The oddest thing of the entire ordeal was that Sandu actually enjoyed teaching Galqarin how to read. He had been taught his letters (and numbers) back at the orphanage, as Miss Esther had insisted that everyone should at least have a basic education, but he had taught himself how to read well. In some strange, weird fashion, he could empathise with Galqarin trying to recite the words after he had read them out loud.
It made for a surreal experience when Sandu turned to the last page he had not read yet, the first page of the book funnily enough, and he was reminded just who and what he was dealing with. There, in fine, practiced handwriting, was written 'To our darling daughter.' Sandu had read the words out loud to Galqarin before the meaning behind them settled in. The book did not belong to the bugbear. He must have taken it from someone. Sandu was about to accuse Galqarin when he heard the bugbear softly mutter: "Why he give to me?"
Did he take it? Was the book truly given to him? And if so, by whom? Galqarin had taken the book back while Sandu pondered these questions and had made off. Sandu watched him go. Perhaps he should just count this one interaction as a win. He could be suspicious of the bugbear later. Tonight he could just let him be.
After Galqarin left, Sandu resumed his task of keeping the fire going. At least that was what he told himself, as it consisted of nothing more than throwing some wood onto the fire every so often and poking it with a stick. Occasionally he stuck some bread or a piece of meat on the end of the stick. He had done so a thousand times by now so he was quite adapt at not burning the food to a crisp, only slightly charred. Nothing much else transpired in or around the campsite that needed his attention so he was free to sort out his own thoughts.
The passage of time was only noticeable by the shrinking pile of wood next to the fire. Sandu was about to call it a night when two things occured. The first was Baern addressing the entire group:
Returning to the campfire before everyone heads to bed, Baern holds his recently acquired holy symbol and wonders aloud to Valerie, Sandu, Dormark, and Ioben "I don't understand why I can perform some small magic here." "No one in my family does magic, and I've never studied it. Could it be Barovia? I suppose it could be the gods, as I did start to feel a new connection I've never felt before just days before coming here, but why would they choose me? I'm just a stone mason."
'From my experience,' Sandu added in his two copper pieces, 'the gods feel like they don't owe us any explanation for anything ever.' He dislodged a weirdly placed log and tossed it back onto the fire in a better position. 'And they take offence to us mere mortals thinking we are entitled to an explination.' That was all Sandu had to say on the matter, even if he found himself in a similar position with his own magic. But his was not divine in nature. Sandu had studied magic. He figured it just took a while for him to grasp it and the magic to take hold.
Sandu stretched. He would like to curl up with a good book for a moment before sleeping as was his habit. Unfortunately, the only book of interest was the one they had uncovered. And that one was currently being kept by-
Dormark does accompanies Baern to teach him how to do some simple cleric magic. After the session however, he goes find Sandu and waits for him to be alone. Walking up to him he says, "May we talk Sandu?"
Speak of the devil. Or metal man in this case. Sandu said nothing. He only tossed another piece of wood on the fire before scooting over to the end of the log he was sitting on. He only hoped that the wood could support the warforged were he to sit down on the other end.
Shey comes over to watch briefly exclaiming,"Wonderful Ioben, y'have quite the talent!". "Aye, one of the better one's I've seen" says a man in his mid-thirties currently snacking on an apple.
"Do you have others here with such skill? I would love to talk with them. See if we can exchange secrets so to say." Ioben flourishes the cards, riffling them one more time before popping them back into his pocket. "That's not the only thing I use cards for though. Anyone here run a game?
((Ioben's intent is to practice his card tricks, possibly swap skills and maybe get into a game for cash if any are willing.))
Rerturning to the campfire before everyone heads to bed, Baern holds his recently acquired holy symbol and wonders aloud to Valerie, Sandu, Dormark, and Ioben "I don't understand why I can perform some small magic here." "No one in my family does magic, and I've never studied it. Could it be Barovia? I suppose it could be the gods, as I did start to feel a new connection I've never felt before just days before coming here, but why would they choose me? I'm just a stone mason."
Valerie turns to Baern. "I don’t know whether you believe in destiny or not. But from what you say, I think it is your destiny." She pauses for a moment. "You know, destiny is such a strange thing. In the beginning, you might not know the reason why you were set on this path, but, eventually, the answer will come to you."
You notice a few comings and goings of various people from the Vistani camp; including a rough-looking man, in a long orange cloak, with a thick black beard. Nothing particular strikes you as being out of the ordinary though - you assume people are merely going about their business.
"Do you have others here with such skill? I would love to talk with them. See if we can exchange secrets so to say." Ioben flourishes the cards, riffling them one more time before popping them back into his pocket. "That's not the only thing I use cards for though. Anyone here run a game?
((Ioben's intent is to practice his card tricks, possibly swap skills and maybe get into a game for cash if any are willing.))
Ioben - The man watches you speaks whilst taking bites of his apple, "Others... here... Uhh... What about.... Radu? He's... normally.... decent... Well travelled to." With that he finishes the apple, throws away the core and takes another from his pocket. "Nah, jus' saw 'im leaving jus' now."pipes up an older woman, roughly in her sixties."You know what he's like Stefan, always coming and going... always at an odd hour too." She pauses,"... and for goodness sake! Didn't I ever tell ya not to be speaking with yer mouthful! Thought I raised ya better!"
"Sorry ma"Stefan says,"You could try Madam Eva... she's good with cards." The woman face-palms and says to Ioben,"To be honest with you young man, most of the lads here play cards... half of 'em are notorious CHEATS!" She scowls towards Stefan,"Even Stefan here, know's a thing or two! Don't you?!"
Stefan's face drops,"That's not how it works Ma! Ya tell 'em you don't know owt, get 'em over-confident like, then... well ya make some money! Tha's how I sees it." The woman shakes her head at her son and walks away."So then... wanna game?"He says invitingly to Ioben, eyebrow raised, "...I'll take it easy on ya."
> "You ain't a mage like the last one that came, are ya? Lookin' to break Ravenloft down he were - brick by brick!" Laughing she adds, "Tha' shot was pretty magical, come ta think of it!" Tara giggles in response, mimicking the flight of the pebble with her hand, complete with the "SPLOOOSH!" into the pool.
"No, no magicks. Wait - Castle Ravenloft?", exclaims Galqarin in amazement. He points at himself, "Came from Vallaki camp. Arrigal ... suggested ... I visit Madam Eva".
Dormark turns around and sits on the log. For a moment he remains silent then he says, “I’m sorry Sandu, I did something that I now regret. Your right it is perfectly natural to be scared in the situation that we are in. I’m scared, that we won’t be able to leave this place, I’m scared that we may die here, I’m scared of being nothing but the oddity, but most of all. I’m scared I may not redeem myself in the eyes of Moradin.” He pauses for a minute staring into the fire. “The anger I showed you was misdirected, but it was from a time when I was in pain and I could do nothing about it. I said a wizard tried to take me apart to you yes. Well he was partly successful on his endeavor,” Dormark says this he runs hand over his left arm again unconscious to the fact he was doing it.
Sandu sat and listened in silence while Dormark spoke his worries. He stared into the fire to distract himself from the gleam reflected on the warforged's casing. Dormark apologised but Sandu found himself not wanting to hear it. Or rather, he did not need to hear it. Because somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he could not keep the warforged accountable for getting angry at him. In some way, he had been right. In some way, Sandu had already accepted the blame.
Sandu kept his gaze on the fire but every time Dormark shifted, the fire reflected different shadows off him. It made it quite easy for Sandu to glean how the warforged was carrying himself. Dormark ran his hand over his left arm as he spoke, more times for it to be a coincidental gesture. It was tied to his thoughts, perhaps even his memories.
'What was taken from you?' Sandu asked. His voice was neither angry or disinterested. Some would have called it flat. Those who paid attention might even say there was slight concern at the end.
Baern - As you make your way around the Vistani camp you begin to recognise a number of faces from earlier in the day. Isla and a few other of the younger Vistani are still seated around the campfire as you draw close, they answer your questions in conversation;
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
While Baern is perhaps overly trusting of the metal man, the sister and brother pair, the bugbear and now the Vistani they were warned about, he is far from immune to the sense of dread he feels in this place when not focused on something to take his mind off of it. He swallows hard when one of the Vistani tells him of trapped souls and doesn't say a word for a long moment.
When there is mention of people being drawn here, he digs deeper. He inquires who is drawn here, why them, how, and if someone decides, although he thinks he might already know the answer to the last one.
> The pebble goes shooting from the sling but falls far short of the log, "I tell ya, Tara. It ain't possible..." she smiles kindly at Galqarin, "That is unless our friend here is able ta... Will you give it a go?"
> "If my Aunty can't hit it... no chance you will!" Tara says, not unkindly, a wide grin on her little face. "Be mighty impressive if ya does though!"
Galqarin takes the proffered sling in silence. With a casual glance at the target, he places a pebble in the sling and gives it a practice swing. With a final grin at the Vistani girl he whirls it above his head and looses the stone...
Sling to hit: 13
Baern - Once again you notice a couple of uncomfortable glances and shifting by the Vistani. "Curious fella, aren't ya!" "Such things aren't spoken about." "Many folk speak of getting lost..." Isla's voice is hushed, "Of undertaking oftentimes routine tasks only for the mists to form around them... whisking them away from their homes and loved ones. I do not know the why... but I think you know the who." She says ominously.
Galqarin - Lo and behold the pebble goes flying out of the sling and finds it's target, ricocheting off the log and back into the pool. Tara giggles behind her hand, whilst Eliza stands gawping. "What the how?!" Eliza exclaims, "It looks like ya know how ta hand a sling!"
"First time I ever seen a better shot than my Aunty Eliza!" Tara cries, "Best he look after that sling for ya, right Aunty?!" Eliza smiles kindly at her niece, "If you want it, it's yours. A memento of sorts, if ya will." The magpie on her shoulder screeches loudly and hops from leg to leg.
"What do we call ya, anyhow? I'm Eliza and this here is Tara." She says by way of introduction.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Galqarin beams from ear to ear, unable to conceal his genuine pleasure at having delighted his audience, not to mention another gift! He bows theatrically and announces, "I Galqarin".
Remembering his manners, he stammers, "Thankye, Madam Eliza", as he deftly wraps the sling around his wrist. Risking a pecking, he holds up a bent finger to the mocking bird, "Is bird friend?"
Galqarin - The magpie pecks at your finger. "He's a grumpy, old thing... Sharp minded though... Isn't that right Gurgeh?" The magpie hops around turning its back on you. "Don't you pay 'im any heed, Galqarin!" She laughs. "Silly old bird!" Tara quips.
Eliza changes the topic and says, "Say - you're with the lot that came to camp today. Camp doesn't always get many visitors." She looks contemplatively, "You ain't a mage like the last one that came, are ya? Lookin' to break Ravenloft down he were - brick by brick!" Laughing she adds, "Tha' shot was pretty magical, come ta think of it!" Tara giggles in response, mimicking the flight of the pebble with her hand, complete with the "SPLOOOSH!" into the pool.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
After pocketing the lock, Ioben searches through his belongings to find his deck of cards. He sat down beside their fireplace sitting so that he was in full view of any passing Vistani while he practices shuffling and dealing. Fanning out the cards and making them disappear then reappear. This was a habit he had picked up on the caravans whenever he had time to kill. It also kept his fingers nimble, and you never knew when dealing the right card would change a hand in your favour.
Sleight of Hand: 8 (15 if you allow me to add proficiency for the playing card set)
Finally realizing he had asked too many questions, Baern replies "oh yes, right." "Ah, um, so...does anyone need anything repaired? I could always try, at least, since everyone has been so nice..."
Valerie is not quite fond with socializing; therefore, after the prayer, she decided spends sometimes near the campfire. She takes off her armor to polish it. She also takes a glance to the Vastani camp from time to time while doing so.
"I don't know Baern, but from what I learned in life is you don't underestimate wizards," he says rubbing his left arm.
Dormark does accompanies Baern to teach him how to do some simple cleric magic. After the session however, he goes find Sandu and waits for him to be alone. Walking up to him he says, "May we talk Sandu?"
Dormark Calling of Strahd (warforged cleric) 4
((As you have proficiency with playing cards, and its a pretty integral part of your backstory, I would take the '15'))
Ioben - You successfully perform your card trick with such finesse that it attracts a number of the nearby Vistani. Not to unused to people performing slight of hand tricks, they are none-the-less very impressed. Shey comes over to watch briefly exclaiming, "Wonderful Ioben, y'have quite the talent!". "Aye, one of the better one's I've seen" says a man in his mid-thirties currently snacking on an apple.
Baern - "If ya offering - we've a wagon that recently put out one of its wheels. Other than that a number of our tools could do with a sharpen. You sure?" Isla responds.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Valerie - Please can you make a Perception check.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Galqarin
OOC: I took the liberty to add something to the book. I hope you don't mind.
Sandu took the book from Galqarin and give it a closer look. It might have been blue once with an illustration on the front but time and wear and tear had reduced it to something drab and colourless. It reminded him of the village of Barovia and how its inhabitants were. An apt metaphor he thought. Sandu opened the book on a random page. Every two pages contained what seemed to be a nursery rhyme on the left page with a drawing on the right one. It might have made for a charming children's book if the drawings were not so gruesome. The rhymes themselves were creepy enough but the drawings were less to illustrate the text and more to downright frighten the reader, though the effect was diminished with how faded the illustrations had become.
Sandu thumbed through the book to check the other nursery rhymes, occasionally reading one of the lines half out loud. He noticed while doing so that Galqarin stared at him with wide eyes, like a child being read a bedtime story. It made Sandu feel odd. Galqarin clearly liked the book but it was almost like it was the first time the bugbear had ever heard the words. Did he just like looking at the drawings? Or maybe...
'Galqarin,' Sandu asked a bit unsure, 'you can't read?' With that sudden revelation, Sandu's perspective on the bugbear shifted. The entire concept, the idea, that these fearsome, nightmarish creatures could be befuddled by a children's book, by mere words, combined with Galqarin's near childlike enthusiasm at having the book read to him, well, it made Sandu snicker. The bugbear suddenly did not seem all that terrifying anymore when he got giddy every time Sandu pointed to a word and slowly enunciated it.
The oddest thing of the entire ordeal was that Sandu actually enjoyed teaching Galqarin how to read. He had been taught his letters (and numbers) back at the orphanage, as Miss Esther had insisted that everyone should at least have a basic education, but he had taught himself how to read well. In some strange, weird fashion, he could empathise with Galqarin trying to recite the words after he had read them out loud.
It made for a surreal experience when Sandu turned to the last page he had not read yet, the first page of the book funnily enough, and he was reminded just who and what he was dealing with. There, in fine, practiced handwriting, was written 'To our darling daughter.' Sandu had read the words out loud to Galqarin before the meaning behind them settled in. The book did not belong to the bugbear. He must have taken it from someone. Sandu was about to accuse Galqarin when he heard the bugbear softly mutter: "Why he give to me?"
Did he take it? Was the book truly given to him? And if so, by whom? Galqarin had taken the book back while Sandu pondered these questions and had made off. Sandu watched him go. Perhaps he should just count this one interaction as a win. He could be suspicious of the bugbear later. Tonight he could just let him be.
After Galqarin left, Sandu resumed his task of keeping the fire going. At least that was what he told himself, as it consisted of nothing more than throwing some wood onto the fire every so often and poking it with a stick. Occasionally he stuck some bread or a piece of meat on the end of the stick. He had done so a thousand times by now so he was quite adapt at not burning the food to a crisp, only slightly charred. Nothing much else transpired in or around the campsite that needed his attention so he was free to sort out his own thoughts.
The passage of time was only noticeable by the shrinking pile of wood next to the fire. Sandu was about to call it a night when two things occured. The first was Baern addressing the entire group:
Speak of the devil. Or metal man in this case. Sandu said nothing. He only tossed another piece of wood on the fire before scooting over to the end of the log he was sitting on. He only hoped that the wood could support the warforged were he to sit down on the other end.
William Brackwater: Human Fighter - The Windward Isles
Tyrgram, the Butterfly Knight: Dwarf Warlock - Secret of Greenwold
Iòlinder Corrach: Half Elf War Cleric - Allansia Adventure
Valerius Sergius Publius: Dhampir Paladin - Vae Victus
"Do you have others here with such skill? I would love to talk with them. See if we can exchange secrets so to say." Ioben flourishes the cards, riffling them one more time before popping them back into his pocket. "That's not the only thing I use cards for though. Anyone here run a game?
((Ioben's intent is to practice his card tricks, possibly swap skills and maybe get into a game for cash if any are willing.))
Perception 8
Valerie turns to Baern. "I don’t know whether you believe in destiny or not. But from what you say, I think it is your destiny." She pauses for a moment. "You know, destiny is such a strange thing. In the beginning, you might not know the reason why you were set on this path, but, eventually, the answer will come to you."
Valerie's Perception check:
You notice a few comings and goings of various people from the Vistani camp; including a rough-looking man, in a long orange cloak, with a thick black beard. Nothing particular strikes you as being out of the ordinary though - you assume people are merely going about their business.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Ioben - The man watches you speaks whilst taking bites of his apple, "Others... here... Uhh... What about.... Radu? He's... normally.... decent... Well travelled to." With that he finishes the apple, throws away the core and takes another from his pocket. "Nah, jus' saw 'im leaving jus' now." pipes up an older woman, roughly in her sixties. "You know what he's like Stefan, always coming and going... always at an odd hour too." She pauses, "... and for goodness sake! Didn't I ever tell ya not to be speaking with yer mouthful! Thought I raised ya better!"
"Sorry ma" Stefan says, "You could try Madam Eva... she's good with cards." The woman face-palms and says to Ioben, "To be honest with you young man, most of the lads here play cards... half of 'em are notorious CHEATS!" She scowls towards Stefan, "Even Stefan here, know's a thing or two! Don't you?!"
Stefan's face drops, "That's not how it works Ma! Ya tell 'em you don't know owt, get 'em over-confident like, then... well ya make some money! Tha's how I sees it." The woman shakes her head at her son and walks away. "So then... wanna game?" He says invitingly to Ioben, eyebrow raised, "...I'll take it easy on ya."
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
> "You ain't a mage like the last one that came, are ya? Lookin' to break Ravenloft down he were - brick by brick!" Laughing she adds, "Tha' shot was pretty magical, come ta think of it!" Tara giggles in response, mimicking the flight of the pebble with her hand, complete with the "SPLOOOSH!" into the pool.
"No, no magicks. Wait - Castle Ravenloft?", exclaims Galqarin in amazement. He points at himself, "Came from Vallaki camp. Arrigal ... suggested ... I visit Madam Eva".
Dormark turns around and sits on the log. For a moment he remains silent then he says, “I’m sorry Sandu, I did something that I now regret. Your right it is perfectly natural to be scared in the situation that we are in. I’m scared, that we won’t be able to leave this place, I’m scared that we may die here, I’m scared of being nothing but the oddity, but most of all. I’m scared I may not redeem myself in the eyes of Moradin.” He pauses for a minute staring into the fire. “The anger I showed you was misdirected, but it was from a time when I was in pain and I could do nothing about it. I said a wizard tried to take me apart to you yes. Well he was partly successful on his endeavor,” Dormark says this he runs hand over his left arm again unconscious to the fact he was doing it.
Dormark Calling of Strahd (warforged cleric) 4
Sandu sat and listened in silence while Dormark spoke his worries. He stared into the fire to distract himself from the gleam reflected on the warforged's casing. Dormark apologised but Sandu found himself not wanting to hear it. Or rather, he did not need to hear it. Because somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he could not keep the warforged accountable for getting angry at him. In some way, he had been right. In some way, Sandu had already accepted the blame.
Sandu kept his gaze on the fire but every time Dormark shifted, the fire reflected different shadows off him. It made it quite easy for Sandu to glean how the warforged was carrying himself. Dormark ran his hand over his left arm as he spoke, more times for it to be a coincidental gesture. It was tied to his thoughts, perhaps even his memories.
'What was taken from you?' Sandu asked. His voice was neither angry or disinterested. Some would have called it flat. Those who paid attention might even say there was slight concern at the end.
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