Ovi began to coil his chain up, this time keeping it in hand, when he's finished, instead of hooking it to his belt.

He looks around, Everyone one all right? How ya doin' brudder? Yer tummy hurt? Heh. He chuckles as he chides Balrok, then glances at Sabu.

You jus' let my brudder take all da hits. He's good at it an' ya won't even notice a few more scars on his mug... 'sides, it'd be a damn shame t' get a mark on dat pretty face o' yers.

Ovi grins and then looks around again at everyone. Dat was a mean critter--we did gud takin' it down. However, I think we need t' be havin' a little pow-wow 'bout our combat tactics... He glances at the beetle.

We best be doin' dat in another area doh. No tellin' what a body like dat will lure to us. He nudges the dead beetle with the toe of his boot, before resuming his position in line so they can keep moving while chatting.

I think we could just have the "pow-wow" in the OOC thread, unless people prefer IC.

Sabu took a deep breath and relaxed as the large insect was killed and its companion fled. She wiped the blade of her kukri clean with a large leaf and returned it to its sheath.

She looked at Balrok as his brother spoke to her and then at Ovi.

He wears his scars well.

Without further comment, she turned her attention to Khalid.

Are you well, my lord?

Khalid springs up from where he had been crouching, retrieving his wand and staff from the ground - replacing the former to his belt loop for ready action at some later date.  "And a thrilling welcome it was," brushing himself off of any dust or debris as he strides forward to join his comrades in admiring their defeated enemy.

"An impressive victory for our first challenge of the venture, I have to admit,"  with a smile that twists into a sort of odd humor as he notices the ichor covering those close enough for the final spray.  A self concsious thought quickly follows and he searches himself briefly for any unwanted goo.  The sound of a Ribbit and the nobleman's search moves toward the ground.

"I hate to think of what size other creatures of this jungle can get to..." he grunts offhandedly while reaching down to allow his familiar to hop into his hand, "if these are it's beetles."

He nods to Sabu easily at her question of his health.  "Never better, though I could definitely use a drink.  Pity we used up the last of the icewine yesterday."

Balrok pauses in his task of hacking the horn off the beetle, and pulls out a crystiline flask with bug-gook covered hand.  "Good thinkin'!  Man after me own heart."  He takes a swig, then passes it to Ovi.  "Pass it 'round, brudder, I'm feelin a might generous!  GOOD stuff mind ye!  Dorfen garnet wine--garnets ground up in it fer flaver!"  Balrok resumes sawing at the beetle horn.

Now yer talkin' Ovi eagerly takes a pull from the flask and offers it to Khalid.

'bout dis pow-wow. Here's da way I see it. I am used t' workin' wit' me brudder. We usually work alone... I know he's got me back, and he knows I got his. Now, dat's not t' say I dun like da help. I do. I jus' want t' make sure we're all on da same page. He glances around at everyone with his dark golden eyes to ensure he has their attention before continuing.

Nodding, he proceeds. All o' us are here t' do a job. 'less I'm mistaken, we all have da same job--get t' da mine and investigate it wit' all o' our hides intact.

Now, wit' any job, it's best t' look at yer strengths and resources an' figure out how t' best do dat job. Durin' dat fight I got a sense we weren't really on da same page. I noticed a few things I thought we might want t' work out 'fore next time.

One, we need t' do our best t' communicate. Fer example, Nikky, I was a bit confused when ya stopped shootin' dat beetle. It would o' helped t' know why you were doin' dat when you were doin' dat. I dun mean t' pick on ya. Yer a crack shot an' whatever ya did seemed t' make him wonder off. I jus' think if ya, anyone o' ya... ...he looks around the group... know somethin' dat might help da group, even if ya ain't sure it will, try t' let everyone know, quick-like.

Two, Khalid, I know you hired Sabu t' be a bodyguard. Sabu, I can see ya take yer job seriously and......he looks to Khalid...I can see how it'd be temptin' to have her hangin' right next t' ya all da time. But in terms of guardin' ya, I also think she might be able t' do dat better if she could help us fight an' kill da beasties 'fore dey get dat close t' ya.

Ovi shrugs and looks back to Sabu. Dat's jus' my opinion doh. If ya dun like dat idea, we could give ya a bow or somethin'. I jus' think it might take more den a few smiles an' a sway o' da hips t' subdue most o' dese critters--dey jus' dun have da gud sense t' appreciate dat. He says with a smile, then glances at both again. But dats somethin' you two got t' work out. Jus' let us know what plan ya decide on.

Ovi exhales. Now dat was a lot o' talkin'. He looks to whoever has the wine flask. I'm gunna be needin' dat when yer done. He says with a grin and a wink at that person.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:14, Thu 14 June 2007.

Balrok nods his head as Ovi speaks, adding in a grumble, And if yu ain't gunna keep shooten' du firs' beetle, how 'bout shootin' du other one instead--maybe yer at peace an all with Bug Num'er 2, but Bug Num'er 1 was still tryin' tu chew me up.  Don' get me wrong, I was enjoyin' du fight, but I tends tu enjoy du fights more in du end when I'm still standin' and der not."

Balrok takes another swig of his garnet wine, then puts it back in his pack.  "Other werds, do yer communin' w' nature on yer own time, when I ain't bein' e't, wouldja?  If yu don't trust yerself shootin' into a mess uh dwarfs, I gots uh selection uh things yu culd hack at 'em with instead, heh heh."  Balrok gestures to his armory of sharp and blunt objects hanging about him like orniments on a Christmas tree.  "Can't never have too many weapons, dat's what I say!"

OOC:  For the purposes of killing things more quickly, Balrok would, if necessary, be willing to loan out weapons for a limited time (except his dwarven waraxe) until other weapons could be purchased.  Choices include: Cold Iron Warhammer, greataxe, silver handaxe, throwing axes, and several cold iron daggers.  The Greataxe is masterwork.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:32, Fri 15 June 2007.

"Hmm," Candlewick stares intently at the buzzing flies decending on the beetle corpse.  "I would advise that you clean your weapons of any blood and gore as quickly as possible and leave this area.  Some of those flies appear to be Blood Flies, which are attracted by ichor and gore.  They will burrow into flesh in order to lay their eggs - and when the eggs hatch, the larva will burst out of the skin."

Candlewick frowns and shakes his head.  "Apparently these Blood Flies are used in ritual executions of prisoners in some of the tribes in these areas, it's said to be quite painful."

"I have a few healing magics at my disposal, is there anyone still injured?"

The jungleman watches in mute amusement at the conversation unfolding,leaning with both hands upon his retrieved spear.
"Let's be off."He says tersely.

Khalid has an expression of delightful relief as he accepts the flask and takes a quick nip.  It goes down with a bitter tinge on the nobleman's features and he sucks air in through his teeth before smacking his lips at the after taste, then passes the flask on.

"Ahh, Indeed, that was refreshing."

Listening to the dwarves, he idly shifts abut with his gear checking and double checking what was where and if it's still there.  Mostly satisfied with that, he checks himself over again for undesirable smudges, spots of ichor or blood or anything else out of place.  All the while he listens and nods in agreement.

"Well stated to the last, if danger is upon us it may very well be prudent to have all able hands attending to it.  I, of course, prefer not to venture to close to sharp edges or things like... mandibles..." he nods cursory to what was left of the beetle.  "If worse comes to worse, I can always yell for assistance.  Some situations might just require better judgement on the other hand."

Hearing Candlewick mention blood flies and the potential for egglaying, the Calishite twists his nose in horrific disgust and backs away quickly from the dead beetle.  "Let me see that again," he gestures towards Ovi and takes the flask for another quick swallow.

He will offer no protest to making haste away from beetles and flies.

Balrok, having hopefully hacked off some sort of horn or mandible from his worthy opponent as a souvinier, will also agree to be off.  He will resume his position at the head of the line with Alexandru.  As Nickky goes off to scout ahead again, Balrok will call, "Now no more missin' bugs du size uh horses Nikky, heh heh heh.  An' I don' wanna hear no 'xucses bout 'camoflauge' neither!!!"

Nikolai watches expressionlessly as Balrok hacks at the dead beetle, then murmurs a brief prayer in elvish, calling upon Solonor Thelandira to accept its spirit.

When Balrok offers to share some weapons, Nikolai shakes his head sadly. "I fear I would only cut myself"

At Balrok's parting shot, Nikolai flashes the dwarf a rare smile.

"Agreed, but next time a bettle comes charging at you, try moving out of the way first"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:35, Sat 16 June 2007.

Eventually, Balrok manages to get a part of the mandible and the whole of the horn off...

and the party moves off a ways, to minimize the blood flies.

It's not too long though, before the effects of the heat and humidity have caught up with them, and you're forced to stop for a rest, about mid-way between mid-day and sunset.

The afternoon sun barely penetrates the high canopy, but yet the light is so omnipresent that there is no trouble seeing; except for the sweat in the eyes.  Each one of you is fairly well drenched, some more than others of course. [Private to Balrok; Candlewick; Nikolai; Ovi; Sabu Armiir: You all need nearly a gallon of water each to prevent heatstroke, and a rest of at least the time it would take to boil a pot of water on an open fire (about 30 minutes).  This is mostly related to climate adjustment, armor or both.  It's inexact, which is why i'm making a generality and including you all on one message.]

Ovi will reach into his cloak, removing a flask and drinking heavily from it. After corking it, he heads to Muley, removing some of the numerous skins of clean water from they had picked, offering them to the others who are in need of a drink. He will also take some time to give Muley some of the water. Good boy. Yeah, I know it's tough carryin' all dat water. Heh, good t'ing is it's only gettin' lighter as we go along.

When the muley has drank a sufficient amount of water, Ovi will take a few more drinks from his flask, before helping pack up the used water skins.

Balrok also drinks liberally from the magically-refilling flask from his cloak pocket.  "Brudder, I'm tellin' yu, we realla shulda foun' cloaks dat refilled flasks uh spirits stead of dis 'clean cool wader' gig."

Nikolai relieves Muley of a couple of skins and leans back against a tree, after checking it for carnivorous tendencies. He then proceeds to lovingly clean his bow with a peice of soft leather, taking frequent pulls on the waterskin while he works.

Nikolai looks about, wisely looking before, uh, sitting.  All clear, not just here, but also with an eye out to the others.

[Private to Nikolai; Ovi; Sabu Armiir: Will saves, please, 24hr time limit before i roll for you.  If I have to, the roll will be public, under your initials and W (so Ovi will be OW).]

Sabu waited for the others to finish their tasks. While she kept an eye out for danger she drank heavily from her waterskin.

[Private to GM: 21:24, Today: Sabu Armiir rolled 9 using 1d20+1. Will Save.
16:35, Today: Ovi rolled 17 using 1d20. Will Save. ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:42, Mon 18 June 2007.

Wiping and dabbing at his brow with a folded handkerchief, Khalid welcomes the brief stop to rest.  "For such a sunny day, it sure feels like rain" he snickers sardonically and twists the handkerchief by each end to squeeze a spray of dripping, sweaty moisture collected over the last moments of travel onto the ground at his feet.

Replacing the handkerchief to his inside vest pocket, he busies himself with brushing loose strands of hair that have fallen across his forehead back with his hands and retying his ponytail.  "I can't see the sun's position with these bothersome trees all around.  Never ben good at that sort of thing anyway.  How much daylight do you think we have left Alexandru?  For that matter, what fearsome tales or cautions might you be willing to share for us come nightfall?  Beetles don't become undead in these wilds I hope?" speaking the last in jest but his smile is quick to fade and there is an uneasiness in his tone.

Taking his own waterskin to task, he sips sparingly - only drinking what is necesary even if thirsty desire compels for the need to gulp more.  "Nikolai, your input as well, how far have we travelled from the city walls so far?  Too far to run screaming and yelling for the aid of it's guards if the situation deems appropriate?"  Of course, now he is completely kidding or at least one would assume so by the mirthful laughter that follows.  One can never be sure how serious Khalid really is unless they have either known him for some time or search his motives with some amount of scrutiny.

It is brutally hot...extremely humid, and you have been pressing hard all day.  The effects of the battle have long since worn off, and the exaustion is setting in...

[Private to Khalid Ahmed: I need a survival roll and a Int roll]

Spot rolls, everyone.

Balrok has plopped down on a rock, not seeming exhausted in the least, but drinking heavily from his water bottle to replace lost fluid.  To pass the time while those with lesser constitutions rest, Balrok has dragged out the dwarven-forearm length of horn he chopped from the beetle and is sanding it smooth with his whetstone and dagger.  "Gunna make me a horn--yu know, du type yu blow on!  Purdy gud shape fer it."  As he whittles and polishes, Balrok glances around occasionally for threats, but with only one good eye he misses as much as he sees.

20:00, Today: Balrok rolled 13 using 1d20-5. Balrok's Spot roll.

20:04, Today: Ovi rolled 24 using 1d20+4. Spot roll.

06:21, Today: Khalid Ahmed rolled 6 using 1d20. spot.

[Private to GM: rolls
06:21, Today: Khalid Ahmed rolled 11 using 1d20+3. Int Check.
06:21, Today: Khalid Ahmed rolled 18 using 1d20. Survival.]

Candlewick, seemingly unaffected by the heat, will remain standing near Balrok, watching the area behind the dwarf.

07:31, Today: Candlewick rolled 20 using 1d20+1. Candlewick Spot roll.

Sabu sat and rested in the nook of a knotted tree. The heat was oppressive, but different than the heat of her home of Calimshan. It clung to you like a blanket.

She looked around at the others, they seemed to be struggling with the weather as well, but none seemed to be succumbing to it either. The dwarves were sweating visibly but their endurance level was impressive. It concerned her that they and Khalid consumed so much alcohol before and during the trip. Heat and alcohol rarely were a good mix.

The march into the jungle was grueling and the rest was appreciated. All she could think about was catching her breath, and whether they were going to press on or set up camp.

10:59, Today: Sabu Armiir rolled 17 using 1d20. Spot check.

"I fear so, Khalid" deadpans Nikolai, as he takes another pull on this water bottle, his eyes constantly scanning the environment for any hidden dangers.

OOC: 21:01, Today: Nikolai rolled 19 using 1d20+9. Spot.