“It doesn’t feel good in the moment, crew, why would it? Work that must be done. Listen here. I had a friend with a pet rat. Very smart creature. Crawled on top of his head, cute as a button with its little nose. One of them? Cute. But if your neighbor’s house is overrun by the little flockers? Do you wait until they’re crawling under your door, raiding your pantry, before you do something? No you help your neighbor get rid of em before they’re your problem too. “We let these goblins keep breeding at this pace and there will be nothing left for any of us. No one would pay for their scalps if they didn’t know someone who had lost their scalp to one. Public service, one might call it, our day’s work on this day.”
”Us? We’re just building up the coffers. Actually it felt great, and we know what we can do to ensure the bills are paid, don’t we? Let us get this cargo sold!”
And the next morning, up bright and early, and onward before the meat spoils. Up late that night drinking alone at the helm and fighting the shakes? Seen by no one, to be sure.
"Hmm. Perhaps you are right. They seemed so different from those who attempted to capture me not so long ago, until death came for them."
Laitraxa looks at the two guests. "Thank you for your help and advice! I'm glad we kept you out of harms way, and you were able to claim some victories yourself!"
Bazlachi sat back in his chair on the deck as the others discussed, he carefully cleaned his blade and gauntlets. He could feel that blood had spattered his chest, face, and hair, as well.
"They were rabbits..." he said as if that explained the whole situation. He never looked up, he kept on looking at the blade, and as he cleaned it his own blood stained reflection in it.
At his comment, Laitraxa gives a heavy sniff through her long snout. "Rabbits, tough to catch but a tasty meal. I do not know if Jenaer will be able to make something of the... meat we've collected."
Survival: 4Does Laitraxa know anything about the eating of goblins? Especially the vedekain?
Jenaer answers Laitraxia confidently, ”It will take much work, in cleaning, preparing and preserving the meat, after all, they were not the most sanitary of creatures. There will also need to be much experimentation with recipes, what will pair with them. I do however look forward to the task, and the challenges it may bring, I think you will be pleasantly surprised - it’s a very lean meat.”
Jenaer had spend much of the cleanup searching though the bodies for a suitable trophy of his grand victory. (Either an eyeball for darkvision if they have it, if not which weapons would they have?)
They don't use tools, but they typically do have darkvision, and there are several hundred eyes to choose from.
Balachi nodded in agreement Laitraxa about rabbits, he'd had his fair share of rabbit stew and found it agreeable, but at the mention of eating the meat from the goblins Bazlachi stopped his nodding.
"No goblin meat for me Jenaer, if you'd please, I'll stick to the four legged beasts and vegetables. Thanks"
“Well in that case Balachi, you may have to stick with vegetables as we are running low on other meats.”
Jenaer Spends the evening trying to clean and preserve the meat as best as he can, keeping what will last for meals (for those who haven’t expressed distaste over the meat) and separating the rest. At moments between cooking he will read over the book they found in the battlefield. He fries the eyeball, and following the rituals he has read, will perform the ceremony of assimilation. He closes his eyes as he crunches into the eyeball, and when he opens them, he feels his eyesight is much improved.
(OOC: Is protocol to keep the ship aloft, perhaps anchored, overnight? Or to land each night?)
(OOC: Re: "Common knowledge has it that several boarder towns pay for the scalps. Assuming they're asked, they'll say they're planning to head to Top Knob, a hamlet a few hours from here." -- Do we think such a hamlet will have enough gold on hand to pay for all of these scalps, or is there a larger border town which might be more likely to be able to hit the mark?)
(OOC: Is goblin meat common enough a thing that Eclipse would have any past experience with eating it at his mawn family table? Or, would it be as abhorrently disgusting as it sounds to these human ears?)
The scent of frying eye permeates the ship (your guess is as good as mine), and the meat seems to respond much like lean ham. In fact, it wouldn't be too hard to pass it off as ham. There's certainly more here than can be eaten before it turns, and the hull is near full. Even wrapped, there aren't enough containers to hold it, so some will have to be put on the floor or left behind.
The book, however, is written in the fine calligraphic strokes of the Mawn language.
Hagar and Jane, after conferring a moment*, ask to be put off the ship near to their starting point, and Hagar asks if the group wouldn't mind just paying them in coin for their part as opposed to scalps.
*When Hagar and Jane whispered to each other a moment ago, they spoke very quietly, if you speak goblin (and only Latraxia does), you heard 'We shouldn't push our luck.'
As they wave off Hagar and Jane, Jenaer turns to Eclipse. “What an odd couple.... I found this book by the way, it’s written in Mawn. I thought you might enjoy it?”
Just before Hagar and Jane depart, Laitraxa recognizes the tongue they spoke to each other in.
She sends a mental message to Hagar, this one in Goblin.
"<You are not actually albioni, are you? Do not worry, your secret is safe. The others won't know. Are you actually hunters, as well? You can just whisper your response back to me.>"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Eclipse says, as the ship arrives back at their cart and our rope lowers down, "Absolutely, we are happy to give you your fair share of scalps!"(OOC: yes, scalps, not gold) "Here, I believe these belong to you! Farewell, and don't take any wooden blunderbuss shot! Ta ta! Byeeee!"
"Jenaer, thank you for the book, I shall give you a complete summary, for mawn literature is incomparable. Now...where is that deck chair. I can set it up by the beach while I read. And by the way," peeking through Jenaer's cookbook, "I am quite sure that by hanging raw goblin meat near the furnace, it can be dried and it will keep thereafter for at least a month." (OOC: Critical Information / Survival 9)
Eclipse does not in fact set up a deck chair on the beach. He does camp out at the helm that night though, first reading, then with a bottle of booze, as previously noted, and a small lute. As he gets drunk, he writes a new song to the rhythms of the culling. It will be called "Slaughter.")
"<You are not actually albioni, are you? Do not worry, your secret is safe. The others won't know. Are you actually hunters, as well? You can just whisper your response back to me.>"
Hagar replies, in whispered albioni, "Hunters we are. And I'm albioni enough." His wife looks at him in response to that, and he at her, before he nods, and Jane whispers to Latraxia in goblin, "Too many wouldn't understand."
To answer the questions I missed before:
It's normal to keep the ship aloft at night, but it can save on coal (or other fuels) to land.
Top Knob probably won't have the money to pay for all of these, though a larger town, Portertown, due East of here, is a day away, and probably would.
Goblin meat isn't typically eaten by most races, though it's not absolutely unheard of. Eating goblins is mostly only socially acceptable to the lizardfolk and a few eastern dragonborn cultures. On the other side of this continent, far to the east in the Mawn Shogunate, it's semi-normal in the north, but it's still considered strange. Compare it to frog legs in real life. That being said, those who understand goblins are normally sentient may understandably have very different views.
Goblin can be smoked as easily as any other meat.
The Testament of Monahito is a strange book, written in alternating styles of prose and lyrical poetry, sometimes switching between the two partway through a passage. It's not clear if it's meant to be fiction or autobiography, because if it's the latter the author is either prone to hallucination or extremely opaque metaphor. She describe things like bleeding rubies from her cuts, and wounds suffered from spurning the affections of a lightning bolt. Broadly, you gather she's a warlock and a wanderer, and she receives, or believes she receives, prophecies from her patron. Part way through describing her booking passage on a ship she launches into the following, with no preamble or explanation:
Slumber watcher till the spheres, Six and twenty thousand years Have revolved and i return, To the place where now i burn
The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in
Younger stars in time shall rise, To the axis of the skies Stars that sooth, stars that bless, Mawnkind with forgetfulness Only wen my round is o're, Shall the past disturb thy door
The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in
Who were you the last time you lived? Who were you the last time you lived? Who were you the last that time you lived? Who were you the last time you lived?
Those visions caught in dream, Can be truer than they seem And when the warnings scream, Best believe them There are memories you keep, Beyond the wall of sleep And you must go diving deep, To retrieve them
Who were you the last time you lived? Who were you the last time you lived? Who were you the last that time you lived? Who were you the last time you lived?
So close your waking eyes, And picture endless skies What chants you memorize, Best begin them Whatever may come by, Judge with a thoughtful eye Even fantasy and lie, Have truth within them
The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in
Slumber watcher till the spheres, Six and twenty thousand years Have revolved and i return, To the place where now i burn Only wen my round is o're, Shall the past disturb thy door
Who were you the last time you lived? Who were you the last time you lived? Who were you the last that time you lived? Who were you the last time you lived?
She then immediately goes back to describing the sea voyage. Assume it will take some time to read the book through, and I'll add snippets whenever your character takes time to read more.
The Underhills are dropped off near their wagon directly, and head off, presumably, toward Top Knob.
When Eclipse reaches the stanza beginning 'Who were you the last time you lived?,' he looks carefully at the third line. 'Missed it the first time through, but this one's different from the rest. Typo or calligraphic error?', he thinks. He extends one claw or fingernail and very very lightly traces the extra word. Is the printing and ink the same as the others? What an odd rhythm it has. Does it really belong there? Seeing no difference, he shrugs, and quietly says, his voice somewhat slurred, "okay, then."
Eclipse can usually memorize a page at a glance, but this one he simply can't. The wording makes no sense to him. Lying on his back while reading, he lets the book fall on his chest and stares up at the stars. His small lute lies beside him, he's put it down for the night. 'Enough of music. Shiz.'
'Younger stars in time shall rise, To the axis of the skies Stars that sooth, stars that bless, Mawnkind with forgetfulness'
Those lines are clear drawn in his mind. 'It sounds like me,' he thinks, bragging even when alone. 'I'll be a young star rising to the axis of the skies in more way than one. And flock, it would be great if certain mawn were to forget certain things...'
He pulls out his flask and takes a swig. He remembers the day, the screams, the blood, the rhythm of the crew's coursing slaughter. Begins to shake. Tilts his head up to make sure no one sees him. Takes another swig, calms down a bit. Eyes begin to drift to sleep, and he alone hears the strange words form into a melody.
'Stars that sooth, stars that bless...Mawnkind...with...' And he falls into slumber splayed out, book on chest, flask in one hand, small lute under the other. A few hours later, he's not drunk anymore (alas, his system processes the alcohol all too quickly), but with circles under his eyes, gets up groggily, stokes the furnace himself, and sets course for Portertown.
Laitraxa gives the couple a nod, messaging Jane in goblin. "<As I said to him, your secret is safe. I hope you have a happy marriage and easy roads ahead.>"
"Goodbye, Underhills! May we meet again. Good luck with your further hunts!"
Let's say that yes, Eclipse's stuff happened afterward. Unless there is something someone wanted to do beforehand, assume we're moving on to the next day. I'll post tonight about moving on to the next town by tonight.
In pbp, it's always a difficult balance to keep things moving without closing the door on an interaction the players wanted to have.
Eclipse is quite happy with the day’s take.
“It doesn’t feel good in the moment, crew, why would it? Work that must be done. Listen here. I had a friend with a pet rat. Very smart creature. Crawled on top of his head, cute as a button with its little nose. One of them? Cute. But if your neighbor’s house is overrun by the little flockers? Do you wait until they’re crawling under your door, raiding your pantry, before you do something? No you help your neighbor get rid of em before they’re your problem too.
“We let these goblins keep breeding at this pace and there will be nothing left for any of us. No one would pay for their scalps if they didn’t know someone who had lost their scalp to one. Public service, one might call it, our day’s work on this day.”
”Us? We’re just building up the coffers. Actually it felt great, and we know what we can do to ensure the bills are paid, don’t we? Let us get this cargo sold!”
And the next morning, up bright and early, and onward before the meat spoils. Up late that night drinking alone at the helm and fighting the shakes? Seen by no one, to be sure.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
"Hmm. Perhaps you are right. They seemed so different from those who attempted to capture me not so long ago, until death came for them."
Laitraxa looks at the two guests. "Thank you for your help and advice! I'm glad we kept you out of harms way, and you were able to claim some victories yourself!"
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Bazlachi sat back in his chair on the deck as the others discussed, he carefully cleaned his blade and gauntlets. He could feel that blood had spattered his chest, face, and hair, as well.
"They were rabbits..." he said as if that explained the whole situation. He never looked up, he kept on looking at the blade, and as he cleaned it his own blood stained reflection in it.
At his comment, Laitraxa gives a heavy sniff through her long snout. "Rabbits, tough to catch but a tasty meal. I do not know if Jenaer will be able to make something of the... meat we've collected."
Survival: 4 Does Laitraxa know anything about the eating of goblins? Especially the vedekain?
Edit: nope lol
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Jenaer answers Laitraxia confidently, ”It will take much work, in cleaning, preparing and preserving the meat, after all, they were not the most sanitary of creatures. There will also need to be much experimentation with recipes, what will pair with them. I do however look forward to the task, and the challenges it may bring, I think you will be pleasantly surprised - it’s a very lean meat.”
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
They don't use tools, but they typically do have darkvision, and there are several hundred eyes to choose from.
Balachi nodded in agreement Laitraxa about rabbits, he'd had his fair share of rabbit stew and found it agreeable, but at the mention of eating the meat from the goblins Bazlachi stopped his nodding.
"No goblin meat for me Jenaer, if you'd please, I'll stick to the four legged beasts and vegetables. Thanks"
With an Insight modifier of +2 or better:
Both the Underhills stifle their revulsion at the idea of eating the goblins.
“Well in that case Balachi, you may have to stick with vegetables as we are running low on other meats.”
Jenaer Spends the evening trying to clean and preserve the meat as best as he can, keeping what will last for meals (for those who haven’t expressed distaste over the meat) and separating the rest. At moments between cooking he will read over the book they found in the battlefield. He fries the eyeball, and following the rituals he has read, will perform the ceremony of assimilation. He closes his eyes as he crunches into the eyeball, and when he opens them, he feels his eyesight is much improved.
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
(OOC: Is protocol to keep the ship aloft, perhaps anchored, overnight? Or to land each night?)
(OOC: Re: "Common knowledge has it that several boarder towns pay for the scalps. Assuming they're asked, they'll say they're planning to head to Top Knob, a hamlet a few hours from here." -- Do we think such a hamlet will have enough gold on hand to pay for all of these scalps, or is there a larger border town which might be more likely to be able to hit the mark?)
(OOC: Is goblin meat common enough a thing that Eclipse would have any past experience with eating it at his mawn family table? Or, would it be as abhorrently disgusting as it sounds to these human ears?)
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
The scent of frying eye permeates the ship (your guess is as good as mine), and the meat seems to respond much like lean ham. In fact, it wouldn't be too hard to pass it off as ham. There's certainly more here than can be eaten before it turns, and the hull is near full. Even wrapped, there aren't enough containers to hold it, so some will have to be put on the floor or left behind.
The book, however, is written in the fine calligraphic strokes of the Mawn language.
Hagar and Jane, after conferring a moment*, ask to be put off the ship near to their starting point, and Hagar asks if the group wouldn't mind just paying them in coin for their part as opposed to scalps.
*When Hagar and Jane whispered to each other a moment ago, they spoke very quietly, if you speak goblin (and only Latraxia does), you heard 'We shouldn't push our luck.'
As they wave off Hagar and Jane, Jenaer turns to Eclipse. “What an odd couple.... I found this book by the way, it’s written in Mawn. I thought you might enjoy it?”
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
Just before Hagar and Jane depart, Laitraxa recognizes the tongue they spoke to each other in.
She sends a mental message to Hagar, this one in Goblin.
"<You are not actually albioni, are you? Do not worry, your secret is safe. The others won't know. Are you actually hunters, as well? You can just whisper your response back to me.>"
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Eclipse says, as the ship arrives back at their cart and our rope lowers down, "Absolutely, we are happy to give you your fair share of scalps!" (OOC: yes, scalps, not gold) "Here, I believe these belong to you! Farewell, and don't take any wooden blunderbuss shot! Ta ta! Byeeee!"
"Jenaer, thank you for the book, I shall give you a complete summary, for mawn literature is incomparable. Now...where is that deck chair. I can set it up by the beach while I read. And by the way," peeking through Jenaer's cookbook, "I am quite sure that by hanging raw goblin meat near the furnace, it can be dried and it will keep thereafter for at least a month." (OOC: Critical Information / Survival 9)
Eclipse does not in fact set up a deck chair on the beach. He does camp out at the helm that night though, first reading, then with a bottle of booze, as previously noted, and a small lute. As he gets drunk, he writes a new song to the rhythms of the culling. It will be called "Slaughter.")
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Hagar replies, in whispered albioni, "Hunters we are. And I'm albioni enough." His wife looks at him in response to that, and he at her, before he nods, and Jane whispers to Latraxia in goblin, "Too many wouldn't understand."
To answer the questions I missed before:
It's normal to keep the ship aloft at night, but it can save on coal (or other fuels) to land.
Top Knob probably won't have the money to pay for all of these, though a larger town, Portertown, due East of here, is a day away, and probably would.
Goblin meat isn't typically eaten by most races, though it's not absolutely unheard of. Eating goblins is mostly only socially acceptable to the lizardfolk and a few eastern dragonborn cultures. On the other side of this continent, far to the east in the Mawn Shogunate, it's semi-normal in the north, but it's still considered strange. Compare it to frog legs in real life. That being said, those who understand goblins are normally sentient may understandably have very different views.
Goblin can be smoked as easily as any other meat.
The Testament of Monahito is a strange book, written in alternating styles of prose and lyrical poetry, sometimes switching between the two partway through a passage. It's not clear if it's meant to be fiction or autobiography, because if it's the latter the author is either prone to hallucination or extremely opaque metaphor. She describe things like bleeding rubies from her cuts, and wounds suffered from spurning the affections of a lightning bolt. Broadly, you gather she's a warlock and a wanderer, and she receives, or believes she receives, prophecies from her patron. Part way through describing her booking passage on a ship she launches into the following, with no preamble or explanation:
Slumber watcher till the spheres, Six and twenty thousand years
Have revolved and i return, To the place where now i burn
The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in
The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in
Younger stars in time shall rise, To the axis of the skies
Stars that sooth, stars that bless, Mawnkind with forgetfulness
Only wen my round is o're, Shall the past disturb thy door
The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in
The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in
Who were you the last time you lived?
Who were you the last time you lived?
Who were you the last that time you lived?
Who were you the last time you lived?
Those visions caught in dream, Can be truer than they seem
And when the warnings scream, Best believe them
There are memories you keep, Beyond the wall of sleep
And you must go diving deep, To retrieve them
Who were you the last time you lived?
Who were you the last time you lived?
Who were you the last that time you lived?
Who were you the last time you lived?
So close your waking eyes, And picture endless skies
What chants you memorize, Best begin them
Whatever may come by, Judge with a thoughtful eye
Even fantasy and lie, Have truth within them
The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in
The veil wears thin, the years come crowding in
Slumber watcher till the spheres, Six and twenty thousand years
Have revolved and i return, To the place where now i burn
Only wen my round is o're, Shall the past disturb thy door
Who were you the last time you lived?
Who were you the last time you lived?
Who were you the last that time you lived?
Who were you the last time you lived?
She then immediately goes back to describing the sea voyage. Assume it will take some time to read the book through, and I'll add snippets whenever your character takes time to read more.
The Underhills are dropped off near their wagon directly, and head off, presumably, toward Top Knob.
When Eclipse reaches the stanza beginning 'Who were you the last time you lived?,' he looks carefully at the third line. 'Missed it the first time through, but this one's different from the rest. Typo or calligraphic error?', he thinks. He extends one claw or fingernail and very very lightly traces the extra word. Is the printing and ink the same as the others? What an odd rhythm it has. Does it really belong there? Seeing no difference, he shrugs, and quietly says, his voice somewhat slurred, "okay, then."
Eclipse can usually memorize a page at a glance, but this one he simply can't. The wording makes no sense to him. Lying on his back while reading, he lets the book fall on his chest and stares up at the stars. His small lute lies beside him, he's put it down for the night. 'Enough of music. Shiz.'
'Younger stars in time shall rise, To the axis of the skies
Stars that sooth, stars that bless, Mawnkind with forgetfulness'
Those lines are clear drawn in his mind. 'It sounds like me,' he thinks, bragging even when alone. 'I'll be a young star rising to the axis of the skies in more way than one. And flock, it would be great if certain mawn were to forget certain things...'
He pulls out his flask and takes a swig. He remembers the day, the screams, the blood, the rhythm of the crew's coursing slaughter. Begins to shake. Tilts his head up to make sure no one sees him. Takes another swig, calms down a bit. Eyes begin to drift to sleep, and he alone hears the strange words form into a melody.
'Stars that sooth, stars that bless...Mawnkind...with...' And he falls into slumber splayed out, book on chest, flask in one hand, small lute under the other. A few hours later, he's not drunk anymore (alas, his system processes the alcohol all too quickly), but with circles under his eyes, gets up groggily, stokes the furnace himself, and sets course for Portertown.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Laitraxa gives the couple a nod, messaging Jane in goblin. "<As I said to him, your secret is safe. I hope you have a happy marriage and easy roads ahead.>"
"Goodbye, Underhills! May we meet again. Good luck with your further hunts!"
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
OOC: Not sure if we are on the next day or not?
OOC Minor time shift. I finished my conversation with the underhills, then all of Eclipse's stuff happened?
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Let's say that yes, Eclipse's stuff happened afterward. Unless there is something someone wanted to do beforehand, assume we're moving on to the next day. I'll post tonight about moving on to the next town by tonight.
In pbp, it's always a difficult balance to keep things moving without closing the door on an interaction the players wanted to have.