Feel free to speak for a while if you like, no annoying NPCs will get in your way for once :D
[Private to Meri:
Yeah, a tanglewire is fine, and Meri will have the time and opportunity to set it up without us needign to roll for it. The nightspider thread from Abigail/Abyss would be almost perfect for this - unless the moon perfectly goes through the window, it would be almost invisible. So feel free to decide how much of the 50gp you want to commit. That value of thread will then be dedicated to a trap, but until sprung, you can detatch the trap and reattach it elsewhere. Takle half the value of the thread to work out the DC of the trap to detect / escape. So committing all of it makes a DC25 trap, which is pretty impressive for your current level.

In terms of an alarm, I'm happy to say Meri could even have a minor magical effect for 'free' so either ghost sound or some odd magical aura goes off to let her know right away her trap is sprung.]

Meri glanced up from the box of random trap-making items.
"Oh, just finding ways to occupy myself, thanks" she replied with a hint of a smirk.  "How about you?  Seen anything interesting from up there?"

Pausing to grab a piece of string with knots tied in it at regular intervals, forming a kind of makeshift measuring tape, she moved over to the door and measured how wide it was before looking up at Nym.

"Well, I was talking to Dott." begins Nym. "He's nice. He likes horses. And then I was talking to the elf-captain person and his horse. She's called the Whisperer. Well, that's what her name means. She's nice too. And she's magic! She sort of floats instead of actually standing on the ground and when she moved it was all weird-looking, like she sort of jumped but she didn't and then she was somewhere else. And the nice elf said that he likes to go around the forest and make sure everyone is nice to each other and stuff. But he said some of the people are forgetting about how it used to be between humans and elves, or something. So I told him about us helping Celindara stop the Blight and all that, because humans are going to be better friends with the forest after that, aren't they? Or at least, the ones in Blackwood village are. Urgh, hang on, I'm a bit dizzy..."

She withdraws her head from the doorway, tilting it back so that it isn't upside-down any more, and takes several moments to try and stop feeling dizzy. Ryn watches her for a few moments, nose twitching, but then goes back to watching the view, her gaze generally frontward as though keeping watch for any activity coming from taht direction.

Now that the wagon is moving properly, if Nym wants to go back inside it will be an Athletics check to get back down from the roof.

OOC: Is there room for Meri to climb up onto the roof too?

Room for days :D

Also, it's just as much of an Athletics check to get on the roof as get off it. I mean, technically speaking failing the Athletics check would still allow you to succeed in getting down, so it's better if you look at it that way...

Also, remember Knack for Success before you roll!
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:18, Fri 06 Oct 2017.

Meri grinned slightly at that, then returned to her pack, stuffing everything back inside and pulling it onto her shoulders, tucking her staff through the straps.
She reached out to pick up Timur, but then hesitated as he looked up at her, the two of them apparently having some kind of silent conversation in their usual way.  (Or perhaps Meri was just hearing voices in her head!)

Eventually she nodded and left him sitting on the bed, although a hint of a sad look lingered on her face as she turned towards the door and leaned out, reaching up to try to climb onto the roof...


OOC: Athletics: 22 (15 + 3 + 4) - Used Knack for Success, but might not have needed it with that roll :)
This message was last edited by the player at 18:39, Fri 06 Oct 2017.

Better to use it and not need it than wish you had :) Yeah, a comfortable moderate success, almost a hard success. Feel free to skillfully clamber up, with only the tiniest of stumbles to ruin your perfect ascent.

Meri scrambled awkwardly up onto the roof and sat down next to Nym, rubbing at her right knee where she banged it against the wall on the way up.
"They always used to think there was something odd about those Far Guards" she mused, peering towards the front wagon.  "I didn't recall anything said about their horses, but it wouldn't surprise me.  Maybe creatures of the Feywild.  Uncertain."

She looked back at Nym.
"Did he look as if he believed what you told him?"

Nym looks up in mild surprise as Meri comes to join her, then looks a little confused at the question.

"Umm...well...yes?" she says. "I mean, he was looking at me for a while when I was telling him about the Blackwood and all that. And then he seemed like he was a bit unhappy with...someone..."

She gestures vaguely toward the front of the caravan.

"And then he said he had to go. It was a bit like when I told that nice Mr Molsove about the Blackwood, back in Blackwood Village. And then he went away and came back all nice. So maybe this is like that. Maybe he'll come back with some nice friends or something, or maybe go and tell his friends that we're all nice and helpful, and stuff, so that if we meet them later they'll be nice to us back!"

She gives a little clap of her hands and smiles happily.

I'm trying to remember what Nym's done with her staff, since I don't remember describing her putting it on top of the roof with her but I don't think she'd have left it in the wagon. Oh, I think she put it into her cloack pocket actually, didn't she? It's just, every time she claps her hands I remember that she's normally holding her staff so needs to either put it somewhere first or risk clouting someone (usually herself ;)) in the face in the process :D.

"Maybe" replied Meri thoughtfully, looking in the direction she had indicated.  "Depends on whether or not the Phystal's family still have enough influence in the Fey lands to make trouble for us.  If they have any sway with the Far Guard, they could send him and maybe others after us.  Although I don't know who commands the Far Guard, or if anyone does for that matter."

She gave a resigned shrug.
"Just have to wait and see what happens."

"Well, he seemed nice." says Nym, gesturing off to the side of the wagon that the captain had previously been riding beside. "And Celindara stopped the yucky Blighty-stuff, and that was what made the Phystal all bad and stuff, right? So now it's gone, maybe everyone will be nice again."

Meri shrugged, apparently deciding not to press the point any further.
"I hope so" she replied.

She turned around to look back towards the front wagon.
"I wonder what Geekaar's intentions were here.  I doubt that Far Guard was really the 'old friend' he was pretending.  That whole show Geekaar put on when he arrived was just for our eyes, I could tell by the way the guard reacted to it.  He had some purpose in inviting him here, and clearly something he hoped we wouldn't suspect."

Sighing, she leaned back, watching the landscape pass by.
"Still, maybe I'm just over-thinking it.  This area has me a bit unsettled."
She glanced towards the place where the driver had been sitting before.
"I wonder if your new friend Dott has a map of this area..."

"Well, he didn't seem to like him very much..." says Nym on the subject of the captain's reaction to Geekaar. She then brightens at the suggestion about Dott.

"Ooh, I don't know. Maybe we can ask him! Or maybe he can draw one for us!"

She starts clambering across the roof of the wagon toward the front.

In case Meri wants to stop her, I won't have Nym calling out to Dott just yet...he's still sat on the front of this wagon/the back of the next one, isn't he? I can't remember if he moved after we stopped.

He's currently at the front of the two wagon train you are on, steering the horses. Geekaar left him in charge of that while Geekaar is now on the single wagon on its own at the front.

So you'll actually need to go hop across the join between the two wagons then scramble along the lump covered good wagon. He also might be a little distracted :)

But there is no harm in asking him - just roll decent Athletics or yell very loudly. Or maybe go wake up Many and ask him nicely to relay a message. Ryn could have done it, if Ryn was able to communicate with anyone else :p Or have Timur carry a written message with extra paper?

"Maybe later" replied Meri hurriedly, glancing at the precarious path towards the front wagon.  "I only wanted to see if I recognised any of the places a bit further on.  There's no hurry, I can ask him if he comes back this way."


OOC: Not that she's worried about Nym falling off and getting hurt or anything, who'd think that?!  It's just...  Just...  Just that they might have to stop the wagon and delay our journey!  Yep, that's it!  :)
This message was last edited by the player at 09:20, Tue 10 Oct 2017.

"Oh, okay then." says Nym with a shrug, turning and plonking herself back down beside Meri. "He looks a bit far away right now anyway. I suppose we could shout over at him, but that seems a bit rude. Probably better to wait. I don't suppose we have any easy way to just send a message. That would be useful! Maybe I can do something one day..."

She holds up a finger and starts tracing letters in the air (in multicolour, naturally), but the lines become very elongated since she's still moving witht eh wagon whilst drawing them. She giggles and gives up on the writing, instead just drawing random swirly patterns.

Ryn glances around and comes to sit by Nym, looking up at her.

Obviously just indicate when you are happy to move on, and I can move us on to the next point of interest / wagon stop :) You might want to discuss, inlight of what you've seen and heard, how much or little you want to reveal to Geekaar, Dott, Samel, etc going onwards.

"I meant to ask too, are you planning to spend the night inside the wagon or on top?" asked Meri.
"Just to let you know, I may rig some tangling traps on the door and windows.  From what Farren told me, I think someone may be following us from Blackwood."


OOC: Almost forgot to warn Nym that there may be some nasty little surprises hidden about the place tonight ;)

"Well, it depends how cold it is..." starts Nym, then gives Meri a somewhat confused look.

"Who's following us?" she asks, and sits up on the wagon, peering back the way they've come as though expecting to see someone strolling along behind them. "Maybe it's Celindara? Maybe she forgot something?"

She looks back at Meri.

"Why would you put traps? Do think it's a bad person? But I thought all the people at Blackwood were nice. If you put traps, doesn't that make you sort of a bad person if someone's only trying to come and say hello and they end up getting...well, trapped? Um. Oh, and why do you think someone's following us?"

Well clearly traps are only meant for bad people, so Nym should be fine :p

OOC: Sorry for the delay again, distracting things keep distracting me...


Meri's eyes narrowed slightly, then she shrugged and looked away in the direction they had come from.
"Well, I am a bad person, after all" she remarked.
"As for who might be following us, I doubt they're from Blackwood originally.  Whoever it was seemed to be a ranger, or maybe disguised as one.  Whoever it was, they apparently took an interest in Farren and his belongings last night, so he set one of his rat friends to follow him to check this stranger wasn't still trailing us.  Seems as though the ranger figured that out though, he killed the rat and sent its body, or at least part of its body, to Farren as a message of sorts."

Meri got up and edged back towards the rear of the wagon.
"Anyway.  Tanglewires don't usually hurt someone unless they struggle too much.  And I'm not likely to kill him unless he tries to kill me first.  I think it's more appropriate for Farren and his friends to decide his fate now."
She glanced back with a hint of a grin, although there was no real trace of humour in it.
"Even bad people can have a code of honour perhaps" she added, before quickly clambering down towards the door, clearly intending to return to the interior again.


OOC: Athletics roll to get back down off the roof (preferably the non-painful way!): 19 (12 + 3 + 4)
Will use Knack for Success again if I can (not sure how long encounter powers take to recharge outside of combat.  If it doesn't work, just knock that last +4 off) :)


[Private to The Altweaver: Seems we're done talking unless Nym decides to follow her.
She's getting the impression now that Nym's first instinct is to assume Meri is a bad person whenever she doesn't understand why she did something.  Since she's still feeling a little vulnerable from the incident with Celindara before, on top of her own guilt-trip from her earlier treatment of the Ball that sparked it off...  She's really not in a good place psychologically these days, so there's a few cracks in her armour.
Not that she'll show it though.  More likely to just retreat further into "Ice Queen" mode ;)]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:34, Fri 13 Oct 2017.

Meri will make it back down without any embarrassment, just a little jostle once. :)

Encounter powers require a Short Rest, which is basically a five minute sit-down or at least stand-around with no particular activity beyond sitting/talking/eating.

Nym looks confused at Meri's initial description of the ranger, then shocked at the mention of dead rats.

"What? He killed the poor ratty?" she asks, eyes wide. "But...then he is a bad person! And you're not." she adds, almost as an afterthought. "Bad people don't go round healing other people when they get hurt, just because they can. But this person doesn't sound very nice at all. Killing the poor rat? That's horrible! Are the other rats okay?"

She instinctively, and perhaps unconsciously, reaches out to Ryn, pulling the fluffy familiar closer to her. Ryn, for her part, nuzzles into Nym at the movement, but otherwise hasn't really stopped looking at her for th last minute or two.

OOC: Might have just nudged Nym's berserk button there.  Makes me almost afraid of what might happen if Ryn ever gets 'killed' in battle...  ;)


Meri clambered back down, almost falling at one point and looking a little calmer once she was back inside.
"Think I'm getting out of shape staying in the workshop so long" she muttered quietly to herself.

She remained there for a moment before leaning back out and replying to Nym's question.
"The others are ok, but I'd rather take some precautions in case he decides to pay us a visit during the night."
Returning to the bed, she dropped into it, putting her backpack and staff back beside her again.

Idly she lay back, staring up at the ceiling, then glancing over to Timur as if he'd said something to her.
"No, no I'm not going back" she replied, keeping her voice low.  "Not ever.  I told you that years ago, didn't I?  If we are still close by, then I'll just stick to the plan and avoid it like it's a plague spot!"