As soon as Sharn executes Rock, the veins on Nog's deeply-muscled neck bulge as he fights against his bonds while shouting blood curses at Sharn and everyone else in the room.

The iron chain snaps and Nog breaks free of the manacles. He quickly scrabbles to his feet and picks up a nearby chair as an improvised weapon.

"I'm going to take pleasure killing each and everyone of you, same as I did those farmers!" the half-orc mercenary shouts in a murderous rage.


OOC:
Grenag (Nog)
AC: 7
HP: 5/5



PC      AC   HP   AP  10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0 -1 -2  Notes
Clatsi  10  05/05  0  11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20 20 |
Folly    7  07/07  1  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20 | Sanctuary
Sharn    4  13/13  1  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20 | AC 3 w/shield
Ullian   4  04/07  3  11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20 20 |
Zeric    4  08/11  3  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20 | AC 5 w/out shield



[Private to GM:

  HD       9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1   0   -1  -2  -3
Up to 1    10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20  20
1+ to 2    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20
2+ to 3    8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20
3+ to 4    7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19
4+ to 5    6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18
5+ to 6    5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17
6+ to 7    4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16
7+ to 9    3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15
9+ to 11   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14
11+to 13   2   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13
13+to 15   2   2   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12
]
PCs are UP!

A grim slime crosses the Dwarf's face at the Half-Orc's confession, not that he expected anyone would learn anything from this. His opinion of Sharn certainly ticked a few degrees in the right direction though. Good on ya girl! he thought to himself.

Rising he drew his broadsword. Even though he had gone to the far side of the room, the farmhouse wasn't large enough to keep him from his intended target. With a brutal slash he strove to bleed the murderous scum, slicing him open like a pig, spilling his guts on the ground.


17:33, Today: Folly Stonethroat rolled 17 using 1d20+1 ((16)).
17:34, Today: Folly Stonethroat rolled 5 using 2d4.  damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:28, Mon 08 Nov 2021.

Ullian had headed for the door and paused to pull out two daggers when Nog broke free.

But then, Folly put an end to that.

"Yeah, I'll just be going and . . . getting Zeric, then.  Yep."

And with that he goes outside to find Zeric.

Clatsi raised his hands with his mouth open, skittered away and fumbled for his spell components, but Folly had settled Nog quite quickly. The little gnome fell backward onto his little gnomish butt and let out a startled yelp and continued scrambling backward until his back hit the wall.

And he sat there for a long time, collecting himself.

The blood of the two mercenaries spills out from their fatal wounds onto the cottage floor, the dilemma over their fates having now been decided. It now seems more likely than not the half-orcs played some part in the farmhouse massacre, despite Rock's attempts to weave a story that suggested otherwise.

In any event, the matter has now been settled and the adventurers presumably deal with the aftermath. Corian is brought inside the farmhouse and the half-orcs likely removed from it.

Using the cloak of one of the slain murderers to clear his sword, Folly shoved the blade into his sheath, the began searching their bodies. Mercenaries tended to work for coin, he intended these two would meet Gruumsh lacking even two coppers for their eyes.

"Well done lass," he said the Sharn. "I'm glad someone here had sense enough to do what needed doing."

After completing a more thorough search of the mercenaries, Folly finds a folded-up handbill tucked into Rock's boot.

The handbill is a Wanted posting, Dead or Alive, for Slaaroc and Grenag. The handbill bears a crude drawing of both, but of sufficient likeness to positively identify both men as one and the same as Rock and Nog.

Both men are wanted for numerous unspeakable offences, with bounties payable by any magister allied to the Duke. Each man has a 100 gold piece bounty on their head.

"Well, I think I know what I want to do next. We should head to Hobb's ferry, if they have Magister allied to the Duke."

He rec kons that to be the closest place on the map, though they might have to go as far as Fairhill.

He scratched his beard, and thought about it.

"We can use the farmer's plow horse to tote the bodies."

Did I find any coin on them? Or other items of value, rings, pendants, the like?



OOC I have know local history, I think it is a class skill? Not sure if there is a roll involved. Where would the nearest place to cash in be, if I know?

Rock and Nog possess the following gear:

leather armor
light crossbows
a case of bolts
short swords
daggers
40 gold pieces and 46 silver pieces between the two of them

The party is two days' walk from their original destination, Fairhill, which certainly has a magister capable of covering the bounty. Hobb's Ferry, a very small hamlet, is about a day and half from the farmhouse and likely has a local magister who may or may not have the funds to cover the Duke's bounty.

"I suggest we camp here for the night, bring the horse in the farmhouse with us if we have too to keep it safe. Get what sleep we can, keeping a guard up, then head for Hobb's Ferry at first light. If we push ourselves, a day can a half is doable. If he doesn't have the cash on hand, I'm sure he can give us scrip we can cash in later."

He glances at Corian's corpse.

"What about him. Should we search him for anything useful?"

He scratches his beard again, then gives his mustache a twist as well.

"Does anyone know if Bard's Gate was his home? we should try and get him home, if he has any kin, they'll want to know what happened to him, I reckon."

"Corian's book is of quite some value," Clatsi piped in quietly, "despite his limited repertoire. It should not be buried with him, but returned to his master. But I know not where he resides. Not in Bard's Gate, for, as you recall, Corian said he travelled there with his master to visit Feriblan the Mad."

In the meantime, Clatsi looked among Corian's things for the tome.

He added even more quietly to Folly, "You did secure the amulet? I don't think Corian's untimely demise affects our overall plan. To Hobb's Ferry, to be sure. And then onward. The secrets of Eralion's keep are no doubt deep and rewarding."

Sharn is surprised, if not shocked at the dwarf's casual nature to killing someone.  Even a mercenary.  She steps outside while talk of the future is discussed, to catch her breath and keep from being sick.  As her head clears, she cleans the blood from her weapon, takes a swig of water before returning to the room.

Zeric remained outside.  No amount of explanation would assuage how he felt about the death of the bound two captives.

"I'll be sleeping in the barn," he said to Sharn as he stalked off in that direction.

Whether they were guilty or not wasn't the point, it was how they took what they believed to be justice into their own hands.  In the morning he'd head back the way they'd come.  The dwarf wasn't the partner he'd thought he'd be.

Ullian shrugs and goes back inside.  "I'm just as happy sleeping under the stars, but if there's room for all of us in non-bloodstained areas . . . "

If no one else wants it, I will take the other case of bolts. How many is that? I would like to eke as much out of their stuff as we can, without toting them in to the law nekked of course.

Zeric retreats to the barn and finds a suitable place to sleep in the loft, while the rest of the party takes shelter in the cottage. It has been a long, troubling day in many ways. The companions have learned much about themselves, each other, and the lengths covetous wizards will go in their search for power.

Vortigern and his cutthroat mercenaries murdered the farmers. Rock almost killed Clatsi. Vortigern's familiar killed Corian. Sharn killed Rock. Folly killed Nog.

Vortigern and Talon disappeared and escaped into the darkened woods. Perhaps they are out there now, watching the farmhouse for weakness?

Despite their differences, the party presumably establishes and maintains watch rotations as protection against not only Vortigern, but anything else that might lurk in the darkness.

The long, tense night passes uneventfully and the party must now make some decisions about their next courses of action.

Corian has yet to be buried and the party does not know much about his background. The party is in possession the wizard's amulet and the stolen journal hinting at treasure beneath Eralion Keep. They have two outlaws worth 100 gold pieces each. Vortigern is still out there, somewhere...

It is six days travel to get back to Bard's Gate, two days travel to reach Fairhill, and a day and a half to reach Hobb's Ferry.

Speaking again for trying to hasten, and make Hobb's Ferry in a day, Folly seems less than interested in Zeric's retreat to the barn.
He only wished he could somehow convince the others that Zeric had the amulet, that would have been a useful ruse.

"Did someone wish to search our former patron, since we have no way of knowing where his home is? We could bury him in the morning, or take him to to the ferry in hopes of giving him a burial in a consecrated graveyard. We need to report the death of this family, as well."

He tugged at his beard as he pondered their business, should they live to see the sunrise.

"We need to set up guard duty as well. I will take the first shift. Does anyone wish to join me, or is one enough? Whom should I wake up in three hours?"

"I'm a bit worried about the mage and his familiar coming back in the night.  Should we have two on duty, just in case?"

"Are you volunteering," Folly says with a chuckle. "We need to be extra careful though, seems very likely that creature who could mimic the cry of children was one of his servants. Who knows what else he has at his beck and call? We can only hope the loss of his two mercenaries caused him to regroup, but he will certainly be back."

Tugging his beard, Folly busted open his pack and pulled out some dry rations to nibble on, then took a drag of ale from a skin.

"To be honest, I would have simply given him back if amulet for the asking if he hadn't murdered this family, and proven himself to be so evil. Regardless of Corian's attempts to justify his actions, he did steal the cursed thing."

Ullian shrugs.

"As far as I'm concerned, we've got it now.  And yes, I'm volunteering."

Sharn sleeps, but has bad dreams.  With the morning, she is up early.

"We should take the dead, Corian for proper burial, the murderers to be identified.  I am sorry I lost my temper, it shames me, but they were proud they'd chopped up the children, even after they were poisoned, I, well, there is more I could say, excuses all and not worthy, I am sorry.  Let us make haste.  For my part, I still wish to explore the ruins if we can get there alive".

"Ye did the right thing Sharn, they were cowards for hiding behind their lies. Their guilt was visible for all by the blind to see."

Quickly plucking a dry tasteless breakfast of dried pork and weevil infested hardtack from his pack, grunted at the chewy, lackluster meal, and sent it down with a mouthful of ale.

His skin was getting frightfully low, and he hoped to find an tavern at the Ferry.

"I agree, Corian needs to come with us, as do the bodies of the Orcs, if for nothing else than to guarantee the bounty."

Hoping the plow-horse survived the night, Folly will strap the bodies across it's broad back.

If possible, he will hang Corian's pack from his own.

"We should take the man's coin, as we have no way to find his kin. At the very least he owes us a meal for dragging us into this mess."

Zeric is up early in the morning with his gear packed and ready to go. He doesn't tarry long and simply states he is returning to Bard's Gate and discusses little else.

His mind resolved to the point, he departs at first light and walks down the hill toward the Tradeway and soon disappears out of sight...

After Zeric is out of sight, Folly says in a rather loud voice, "Glad he's gone, hope that is the last we see of that damn amulet. Now let's hit the road, I'd like to reach the Ferry tonight, if we hurry."

If everyone is ready, he hits the road, holding the lead for the plow horse, with the bodies strapped on the back.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:22, Thu 11 Nov 2021.

Ullian hoists his pack and readies for the trek.