...and so the chase continues.  Chief Glorbrag shouts orders in his gurgling voice to the rest of the warband from atop his palanquin, as six more goblins struggle to keep up the pace while carrying his bulk on their shoulders.  From behind him you can hear the dissonant chords of the war lute, played by one more goblin tied to the back of the chief's seat.

As for the actual warband, they are starting to split off into two groups.  It looks like they are planning to flank you, although they haven't quite caught up yet.  Probably best that you keep it that way.

So how are you going to get out of this?


Auberyn - There is another part of the forest here that the goblins dear to enter - why?

Hawthorn - How are goblins in your homeland different from the strange, foreign goblins you're dealing with now?

Istvan - Is there just the one slave that you're rescuing right now, or are there more?

Jon - So this concubine you got caught with - goblin, human, or other?

Lucius - Which vice did you have to set aside to be here today?

Otto - Those folks to whom you are still in debt, why do they care about these goblins?

The paladin's shiny armor was quickly gathering dirt as he ran forward, not looking back for a moment... clank, clank, clank

He's here because he didn't set aside any vices - he forgot to set out on THE QUEST, and gain the benefits from his divine convictions.

A rookie mistake.

Grunting and a few muttered curses was all that could be heard coming from Otto as the man ran alongside his comrades while dodging nearby trees and thick brush. The loud clinking from the scale-mail he wore was only accentuated by each heavy foot fall in the terrain. The markings of some kind of organization, a crossed halberd and sword over a depiction of a dark red shield, was sewn into Otto's jacket sleeve that extended beyond the armor. Another audible grunt was sounded as he attempted to heft his shield and spear higher above his feet so as to not catch the items on the ground or any stray branches. An open faced helmet with a loose strap jostled from the speed, falling slightly into his eyes and obscuring vision until he could temporarily adjust it back to it's original position.

"Damnable guild said there was only a few goblins, supposed to only stop a gaggle of the green-ones from accosting travelers not battle an entire horde." Otto snarled as he spoke, each breath catching as he felt his lungs burn from the cool air. A grimace fell across the fighter's face as he thought back to those wretches he owed, lamenting the fact they sent him out here at all. He scowled before shaking his head resolving to leave those thoughts for a time where his life wasn't currently at risk.

He attempted to look around for any kind of notable cover or terrain, anything to funnel the goblins through so they wouldn't end up being surrounded. "Don't like the look of facing 'em all in the open. Maybe if we can get to a choke-point or find some higher ground, anything to even the odds." Otto quickly yelled out to the group with a glance before returning his focus back on running.

Those folks had good intentions, wanted to make the area a little safer by scaring away a few of the local pests. The goblins had been attacking anyone nearby so they set up a contract to solve the problem, a noble goal for sure. But man did it feel like he was always getting assigned the jobs that ended up being more trouble than they were worth. If he'd survive Otto wasn't too sure how much of that reward he'd actually get to see.

A breathless chuckle sounded from behind the two men, as Jon leapt and vaulted over roots and logs with an energy that defied his age.  The old bard carried little on him besides the clothes on his back, some parcels of food, his tobacco box, a set of tin pipes, and a thin but elegant sword at his hip.  Perhaps he could evade their pursuers, given how lightly he traveled, but the old fool just wouldn't stop laughing as he ran.  Every time the goblins chasing them lagged behind, he would catch his breath and the laughter would become loud enough that Chief Glorbrag would almost burst a vein with indignity, urging his cohort of goblins ever faster after the sound.

"Ha ha, I'm sorry you got dragged into this, lad!" Jon called to Otto, before bursting into another fit of giggles.  "Heheh, I'll sing songs of your gallantry if we make it out alive!  What do you think I should call it? Otto the Evergrim, or Sir Albertz the Brave, ha HAH?"

---

Jon had been one of those wayward travelers.  Accosted by the goblins, he went with them peacefully rather than resisting and found himself spending a few weeks caged in a cell of woven brambles.  Glorbrag had captured several other travelers, one of which was a young lady he was trying to break down emotionally after taking a fancy to her.  The prisoners were fed a meager diet of wood maggots, starch nettles and grease beetles to keep them disgusted; Jon told the prisoners about the Vaegri elves who ate those regularly, and showed the others how to rub the numbing hairs off the back of the nettles, grind the beetles into a paste, and roll everything up into a spicy-but-palatable wrap.  Jon discreetly tended their wounds with his magic when Glorbrag had the prisoners beaten, and kept their morale and hope for rescue alive with his tales of distant lands far from their captors.

When he would play his tin pipes (the only thing he had managed to hide when he was captured), it caught the attention of Grithyi, one of Chief Glorbrag's many wives.  The female goblin had originally come to the cages to harass the girl her husband seemed so obsessed with lately and take out her frustrations at not having as much sway over his attentions, but became entranced by the sounds of Jon and his music that was so different from the raucous war chants she heard so frequently.  The past few days, Jon had the opportunity to teach her about many OTHER things she hadn't experienced before that made things a little awkward for the other prisoners... But when Otto, Lucius and the others made a disturbance that drew away most of the goblin guards it was Grithyi that snuck in and set the prisoners free, returning Jon's belongings as well.

It was a fond farewell, and Jon earnestly hoped that she would be safe after he left.  Thus, when Glorbrag realized his prisoners were escaping at Grithyi's hand, Jon taunted the blowhard claiming that he had bewitched the goblin Chief's wife, and ran laughing into the woods...

---

"Ahahah!   I like your plan, lad!  Hehehehee, let's find a place to drive them off!" he replied, egging on their pursuers even now.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:33, Sat 23 Mar 2019.

Auberyn ran through the brush in a quiet crouch.

The crowd of shouting and jangling men made the ranger grit her teeth: more like a school expedition than a hunting party. That's what you got for contracting out to amateurs. Of course, without the guilds' soldiers, she might be able to escape, but she wouldn't be able to spirit away any freed prisoners with her, so perhaps all things had their purpose.

"A choke-point won't be of much help if they flank us." She called to her comrades. "But there are other options. Not half-a-mile to the south there is some old barrow land. The trees grow thin and the brambles grow thick, but the goblins give it a wide berth. At least they did last time I was in these woods. It's safe enough during the day and goes almost to the edge of the trees."

Just the one.

Istvan wouldn't have thought they'd get so upset about just one prisoner escaping... He'd hate to think what they'd've done if we were trying to rescue a dozen or two people...

...Or... is there something extra-special about this escapee...?
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 20:08, Sun 24 Mar 2019.

"Sounds huff like huff a good huff idea!" The paladin replies, breathing heavily as he runs through the woods. He looks backwards for a brief moment, his wide eyes widening some more. "Holy SHIT that's a lot of goblins! Good thing I didn't take the vows of honor yet!"

The mere sight of the horde gives Lucius a second wind. "Auberyn, lead the way! You know the woods better than any of us!"

As you keep running, Auberyn makes a turn to lead the group toward the barrow land.  This surprises the goblins and causes a handful of them to stumble.  They pick up the pace again though, so while you've gained a bit of distance they are definitely still on you.

Luckily, Auberyn was right about how close the area is - it feels like only a few minutes before you can see it up ahead.  Less luckily, it seems she also didn't quite convey how thick the brambles are there.  Or how thorny.  You still have a bit of time to change course and come up with a new plan before you commit to this one, but only a bit.

If you do decide to run into the bramble patch, everyone will need to roll+Dex, with the following outcomes:
10+ you make it through with only minor scratches
7-9 the thorns get you pretty badly - take 1d4 damage, minus armor
6- as 7-9, but also choose one of the following:
 -you are an easy target for the goblin archers as you struggle through - take another 1d6 damage
 -you drop something, and you can't stop to pick it up right now - lose one piece of Gear or one treasured personal possession
 -you get stuck on some thorns and wrench your arm the wrong way as you try to free yourself - get the Weak condition until tomorrow morning




When Grithyi had opened the cages, all of the prisoners scattered, and only this one had followed your group.  She previously caught the chief's eye, now she's the only one with enough sense to stick with you - clearly there must be something special about her.  Do any of you have an idea what it is?

(And Jon, surely you at least learned her name while you were both in captivity - what is it?)

"Here, quick!" Lucius leads the charge through the thorny thicket. His heavy armor protected him from the worst of the thorns, and he got through in no time.

11:25, Today: Lucius rolled 1 using 1d4.  Thorn damage. Fully stopped by the armor.

11:00, Today: Lucius rolled 9 using 2d6.  Brambles.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:27, Tue 26 Mar 2019.

Sin-Singha runs along at the back of the group, feeling the pressure of furious goblins close on his heels. Still, he isn't as upset about it as he perhaps should be. Maybe Jon's laughter in infectious. Sin puts on a little burst of speed to get next to the bard, and gives him a little tap on the arm.

"You are getting all this, yes?" Singha taps his forehead, to show his meaning. "I will not have you forgetting any details, we will need stories later! Glorious stories!" There's a grin on Singha's face, an echo of Jon's mirth, and he charges headlong into the thorny brush with a cry. Sheer momentum and audacity carry him through the worst of it, and he takes only superficial scratches that he'll no doubt find time later to complain about anyway.


13:47, Today: Sin-Singha rolled 11 using 2d6.  Into the thorns! (DEX).

---

How are goblins in your homeland different from the strange, foreign goblins you're dealing with now?

The goblins back home are well-known poisoners, much sneakier and rarely showing themselves. These goblins poison themselves it seems, chewing cabo leaves and eating toxic mushrooms like madmen. Puts them right out of their skulls, manic and insensate. I'd hate to fight one like that, why you'd have to cut them limb from limb to stop them, and even then...

(13:11, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 10 using 2d6+1 ((4,5)).

If you do decide to run into the bramble patch, everyone will need to roll+Dex, with the following outcomes:
10+ you make it through with only minor scratches)

Istvan rushed through the brambles, dodging here and there as needed. He murmured a prayer to thank Noric-- once it was clear he was going to make it through with only minor scratches-- for asking the brambles to let him through... this time, anyway...

Maybe it was because Istvan was doing Noric's work even more directly than usual, helping a prisoner to escape...? (And being a prisoner who was escaping...? Maybe there could be a sermon in this? "Noric is the brambles which block pursuit but which help the righteous to escape...?")
This message was last edited by the player at 22:09, Tue 26 Mar 2019.

The brambles were higher than she remembered. And thicker, deeper, and sharper.

Cursing goblins and the dead kings and the good rain that made the thorns grow, Auberyn shoved her way through the tangle. She came out the other side bleeding and swearing, but thankfully without any goblin arrows sticking out of her backside. "Your song about this Jon? It better be bleeding hysterical to make up for the pain I'm in right now."

OOC:
14:57, Today: Auberyn rolled 5 using 2d6+2.  Brambles (+Dex).
15:00, Today: Auberyn rolled 4 using 1d4.  Thorns (-1 for armor).
Weakened until morning

A smirk played across Otto's face as he responded to the old man after barely ducking beneath a nearby overgrown branch. "Make it Sir Albetz, stories about knights are always the best ones anyway. Maybe after I'm long gone people will think I actually was a noble." A dry chuckle erupted for a second before quickly turning into a fit of coughs as Otto covered his mouth and regained his footing to continue sprinting.

A curt nod in response to Auberyn's assessment was all Otto had for a reaction, hopeful that the path would indeed give pause to the green-ones in pursuit. Upon seeing the thick brambles ahead marked with thorns he frowned with uncertainty but a quick look back at the encroaching goblins was all that he needed to make haste. Though he kept his shield up and the armor protected from the brunt of the prickly spines the way the greenery snagged and caught at his limbs strained out the man. Huffing as he made it to the other side, Otto slowed down considerably to a jog as he attempted to catch his breath. "That was a little much." He sputtered out with a shake of his head while sweat poured down his face as if he'd just been splashed with a bucket of water.


20:16, Today: Otto Albetz rolled 3 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 1,1. The Brambles.
20:19, Today: Otto Albetz rolled 2 using 1d4 with rolls of 2.  Thorn Damage, -3 for Armor.
-you get stuck on some thorns and wrench your arm the wrong way as you try to free yourself - get the Weak condition until tomorrow morning

You all make it through the brambles with... well, not too much pain.  Certainly less than what the goblins would have inflicted if they had caught any of you.  Sure enough, they turn away the moment you cross into the thorny terrain.  It almost seems like they are frightened of it.  More frightened than you would expect, come to think of it.  They're just thorns after all; it's not like they move.

Judging from the position of the sun you have probably three hours of daylight left, which should be just enough time to get back to Vorbrud before dark.  Alora, the one prisoner who came with you, flinches suddenly and holds a hand up to her head.  She then looks around at the rest of you and says We can't stay here.  I'm not sure why, we just, we just can't.

So what do you do instead?

After running through the brambles with only a few scratches, Lucius turns to watch the goblin's run away, catching a glimpse of the terror painted on their faces. Along with the oracle's words of warning, the young paladin questions aloud: "Just what is wrong with this place?"

With his hand on the blazing sun depicted on his tabard, he turns towards the sun, gazing directly at it through the trees. He spends a few moments in this stance, his eyes not flinching even a bit from the sunlight.

GM, what here is evil?

Auberyn looked up from patching herself up when Alora spoke, nodding along. "As much as I'd love to take a breather, the woman's right. I don't know the local flavor, but I've never known barrowlands I wanted to stay in after dusk."

Heaving a sigh, the ranger climbed to her feet and looked around. Her companion, a lanky coyote, slunk through the trees at the edge of the clearing, looking somehow abashed to have made it through the thicket unharmed. "Besides, maybe there's an inn in Vorbrud with a bath and enough ale to forget about goblins and thorns and the unquiet dead at least until tomorrow."

The brambles themselves.  Not the rough ground underneath, that's just earth, more or less.  But the thorns seek blood, and without the sun holding them at bay they may do so more actively.

"We must make our way to Vornham quickly." The Paladin says after the short ceremony, startled. "These brambles, they are no normal plants. Their thirst for blood is held back only by the setting sun. We cannot spend the night here!"

Otto rested his body against a nearby tree while taking a few more heated quick breaths. Nodding his head in agreement he then responded in a dry raspy voice. "Vorbrud huh? I'm definitely not voting to stick around here with the goblins and uh," he raises an eyebrow slightly towards Lucius before letting out a short cough, "blood thirsty plants. Ready to go when you lot are." Standing back onto his feet the man gripped his equipment tightly before slowly examining the nearby surrounding thicket for anymore threats.

"I thought they would give us more of a fight," Sin-Singha muses, almost a complaint as he looks back at the retreating figures. "All that chase and then not even a single blow." He shrugs, and turns to their next task.

Lucius's warning makes Singha wary, and he takes his large sword in hand, ready to do some trimming if it comes to that. He looks to the others quickly, but noting that no one seems too much the worse for wear he nods his readiness to leave.

"Jon, when you sing this song, do not forget to sing about the goblins turning in fear from me. Too fearsome to fight, and too pretty to shoot," Singha says in a deadpan, but there's a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Once you make it out of the thicket you are able to find your way to the main trade road that passes through the area.  The road will get you back to Vorbrud, but not in a straight line.  Rather, it runs roughly parallel to the winding river, and the nearest bridge is the one that brings you right up to the town.

And so you walk, maybe chatting with each other, maybe maintaining an uncomfortable silence, whichever suits you better.  Though Alora does speak quietly to Lucius at one point when the two of you are slightly apart from the rest of the group.  So you saw it too?, she asks.  How long have you had the Sight?

Eventually, as the final orange glow is fading from the horizon, you cross the bridge and come up to the wooden wall that surrounds the town of Vorbrud.

Auberyn - what is it about Vorbrud that reminds you why you prefer to be out in the wild?

Istvan - how has Vorbrud responded so far to your efforts to spread the good word of Noric?

Jon - after your latest misadventure in town, how did you redeem yourself?

Lucius - we've established that you are not a big fan of being out in the wild.  As you return to civilization, what are you looking forward to the most?

Otto - the Guild isn't based here, but they can reach pretty far.  Do they have anyone else in Vorbrud, or is it just you here?

Sin-Singha - compared to your homeland, the people here are of course quaint and backwards for the most part, but what is one thing they get right?

Sin-Singha spends most of the journey at the back of the group, not entirely convinced they won't have goblins come chasing them until he sees the walls of Vorbrud over the bridge. Crossing the bridge, he inhales deeply, looking for a promising scent. Unfortunately the many and various smells of a somewhat less than civilized settlement drown out what he was looking for, but he remains optimistic.

"Be happy friends, I recall the people around here having a real flair for good foods! I can almost smell it from here... eww, wait, that's something else... But in any event, we should eat well tonight!" Singha approaches the gates to the town with long, confident strides, looking for any watch that might around.


The one thing they get right is the food. It's not like home, but it's really quite good. They put a lot of attention into their quality of ingredients and take their gastronomy seriously.

(Kind of indifferently, so far, honestly. They're more Gray Mother folks, from what Istvan could tell. Although he did spot a (small) fresh offering at the nearest shrine last time he was there (that he didn't put there), so that was nice... Someone cares...)
This message was last edited by the player at 16:29, Mon 08 Apr 2019.

Lucius' brow furrows in thought. "Sight? I mean, yeah, the Sight! I've mastered it by the time I was twelve, the youngest among my peers." he boasts with confidence. "Whenever I pray to the Blazing Sun, I always get the answer." he adds more somberly.

His attention snaps to the walled city, you could swear saliva was dripping off the corner of his mouth as he quickened his pace.

I can take food and ale into the wilderness, but the humidity is killing me. I long for a dry and warm tavern, where a busty barmaid serves cold beer.

Auberyn walks alongside Sin-Singha for most of the journey without talking. As much as Auberyn longs to bathe and wash away the blood and dirt from her wounds, the simple act of walking calms her, and she watches Vex range along the fields and hedges and small tracks that branch into the hills around them. She's always felt that the Mother is a god of roads more than anything else, the front lines between civilization and the wild.

Even a smaller town like Vorbrud has walls to hide behind. If roads are the boarders, cities are civilization (even thoroughly uncivilized ones like Vorbrud). And civilization can mean warm water and clean clothes and soft beds-- but it also means noise, seething and boiling over the city walls and drifting down the road to where they are. Auberyn fights the urge to pull up her hood as they pass under the gates into the chaos.

OOC: Auberyn finds the noise of a city overwhelming.

Otto braced the length of the spear onto his shoulder to help deal with the weight of the weapon once the group began the trek back to town. Now that it seemed they were out of danger he even let his shield hang over his back, with the strap tightened over his body.  His eyes absently observed the road as he largely walked in silence, more focused on reaching the destination and a bed rather than idle chatter. A few cursory glances were occasionally shot towards the woman they had picked up but any thoughts he may have held were not shared openly.

Vorbrud always seemed like a decent place to him, even reminded him a little bit of where he grew up. Once they had finally reached the walls Otto was ready to get inside and relax as he shifted from side to side.

I'd say Vorbrud probably has someone from the Guild, maybe a single individual to help facilitate any business the Guild has that reaches out near the area.

Alora seems quite impressed by this response.  Twelve?  Mine only started within the last few months!  Although, she adds, with a sheepish grin, my visions come without me having to ask first.  I suppose the Mother has something different in mind for me than your Sun does for you.

Eventually you reach the bridge, and then the gate, where the guards impatiently wave you through just before they shut it for the night.  In the town, people mill about in the crowded streets, as the day's shops close down and the inns and other nighttime businesses get going.  You don't have to fight as hard as you would expect to make your way through though - with Auberyn's coyote walking alongside your group, strangers make sure to leave some space (by the way, Auberyn, why didn't the guards hassle you about bringing an animal like that into their town?).

Trying to find the balance between smallest crowds and best smells eventually brings you to the Fool's Gold Tavern.  Alora joins you as you seat yourselves at one of the larger tables and look around for a barmaid to take your orders.

When you post, describe something about the tavern or the other people currently in it.

Singha barely clears the solid timbers of the unusually low ceiling, and has to blink a few times through the heady smoke that hangs at the top of the room. There are as many people smoking pipes as drinking, which gives Singha a cautious optimism. There may be more sophisticated offerings than he'd assumed. He inspects his chair briefly before sitting, giving it a good brush off with his hand and a wipe with the corner of his sleeve, just to be sure.

"I have not had a good pipe in far too long," he comments to everyone and no one in particular. He sniffs at the air, testing the smoke, but the results seem to leave him still undecided. "Maybe we will need to try whatever leaf they have, hey? I smell good foods, so we will be in good standing there, but the drink... Well, one way to find out!"

When they manage to get someone's attention, he'll start ordering food, sample some drink, and ask after pipe and leaf.


OOC: Soooo, some playbooks do start with coin... But the Barbarian sure doesn't. I think many don't. This could be interesting.

"Gods' ways are mysterious indeed." Lucius nods to Alora, having exhausted his knowledge of the subject. The weary Paladin sits at the broad table, running a hand through his hair.

The bartender, a plump dwarf with an impressive red beard, notices the group, sending one of the barmaids their way.

Lucius also has no coin... But he is a Paladin. Something something hospitality, or perhaps invoking his divine authority?

Istvan notices a wooden tree symbol of Noric, much like the one he himself carries, hanging quietly behind the bar. Someone who works here honors Noric... maybe the same person who placed the offering that Istvan noticed previously...?

Otto relaxes into one of the wooden seats around the table, placing his equipment out of the way as he sets his helmet beside him. Eager to order some ale his eyes wander around the room to take in the tavern atmosphere, visibly enjoying the quaint surroundings. He could see a group of town watchmen sitting in a corner, perhaps just getting off of their shift. They were heavily engrossed in some kind of game as the group threw dice, bet coin, and downed drink after drink in what seemed to be friendly competition for the time being.

One of the barmaids comes over to your table.  She gives your party a wary look and says Been on the road long then? before taking your orders.  Alora shrinks back a bit in her seat and does not answer this.  When it is her turn to order she timidly asks for a rabbit pie and a mead.

When Singha asks about pipes and leaf, the barmaid says 1 coin'll get you the simple tobacco, and if you ain't got your own pipe that'll cost another.  The good stuff costs extra.

"The good stuff? Woman, you are a demon temptress of the most magnificent kind. You should know my standards are not low, though. Hmm, do you have any we might test? You can tell everything you need to know about good leaf by the smell." Singha lounges back in his chair, but turned to give the barmaid his full attention. He doesn't mention coin, and he especially doesn't mention that he hasn't got any.


OOC: Anyone who's been traveling with Sin-Singha (i.e.--presumably the rest of the PCs) would certainly know he doesn't have any coin. Up to you if you feel like calling him on it!

I don't know if this is a Parley roll here? Thought I'd just ask to check.
17:36, Today: Sin-Singha rolled 4 using 2d6.  Parley w barmaid (CHA).
This message was last edited by the player at 21:37, Sat 20 Apr 2019.

Lazarus had been standing in a far corner of the Fool's Gold Tavern, doing a little slight of hand for the patrons in an effort to earn a bit of coin for supper. Sure, he had a bit of dried food in his pack for emergencies, but there was nothing quite like a nice hot meal.

Lazarus stopped his performance mid-trick, however, when a familiar voice caught his ear. Was that... the orc-man? Had his group actually made it back to town? "Sorry ladies and gentlemen," he said hurriedly to the two people who had actually been watching him. "Something has come up." He palmed his dagger in dramatic stage-magic fashion, then excused himself.

It only took a moment to spot the large man when he scanned the tavern. Sing-Singy was it? He was sitting with his group, asking the barmaid about smoking supplies or somesuch. He sidled up to their table and smiled to those gathered. "It seems you made it back to town! I admit I had my doubts when I saw your group leave, but you seem no worse for the wear. Better than when you left, actually," he said, indicating Alora.

"Pardon my interruption, but I have actually been looking for capable individuals to help me move about the countryside safely. Doesn't really matter where. I just don't want to be stuck here. I would be willing to lend my magical services in exchange for a bit of protection, if you're interested."

"Ah, the magic man! You have learned better than to doubt me now, Lazarus? I think we had some coin riding on it, did we not?" Sin-Singha bluffed. He looked about for the nearest unoccupied chair and pulled it over for Lazarus to sit, although the seating was already a little tight.

"'Sin-Singha, he who always wins!' Or at least, he who always makes it back. Ha. That is not as good a song, though. Looking to get out of Vorbrud? We have only just arrived. Who knows how long we will be staying... Although that might depend on how good this 'good stuff' really is." Singha liked to make the conversation about his appetites, but purposefully stopped short of committing the man to their company without his companions weighing in.

The barmaid rolls her eyes and says Right, hang on, let me see what I can do.  She then walks over to the innkeeper and tells him... well, you can't hear what, but it involves both of them looking in the direction of your table now and then.  She then gets the drinks and brings then back over to you, but seems to have forgotten Singha's order.

As she walks back to the bar, with the promise that she'll have that last drink out in a moment, the barman comes over to you and squeezes in to address the whole table (including Lazarus, since he has inadvertently made himself part of the group now).  In a low, gruff voice he says Ladies, gents, thank you for your patronage and all that, but here's the deal.  I understand you're asking to sample some merchandise what we don't normally give out for samples, so I need to see some money up front and make sure this is going somewhere.  I got a business to run, right, and you lot seem like the sort who understand how business runs.

OOC: The guards didn't hassle Auberyn because they recognized the Mother's Lantern on her broach. The Gray Mother garners enough respect in these frontier communities for her servants to get away with a few oddities.

A gaggle of city folk sit in one corner of the tavern. Not like, Vorbrud city folk-- not even the sort of merchants who dress fancy but know what it means to travel in the dust all day. These are the true sort of city folks with silks and sneers and perfume thick enough that you can smell it across the room.

---

Sorry for the entirely OOC post-- life has been lifey and I've fallen a bit behind. I'll try to get an IC post up soon-- and answer your question, Lazarus. Welcome aboard!

"Good day to you." The paladin nods curtly at the wizard, though he barely recognizes him. Instead, he clears his throat awkwardly, and makes his plea to the bar owner. He was interested in the leaf... but he was more interested in not starving and having a place to sleep.

"Good sir, I am a paladin of the Order of the Sun. I have no wealth of my own."

It was technically true. He did not have any wealth - the money given out by the Order for travel expenses was promptly spent at first opportunity on food and alcohol and women. In hindsight, that was a terrible move.

With utmost confidence, he continues, loudly for everyone to hear. "I invoke the laws of hospitality to ask for food and shelter for me and my weary companions. The gods will surely repay you with great fortune for this gesture of goodwill."

Having no idea about the actual laws of hospitality (or existence of them), Lucius REALLY hoped this would work. The young man kept smiling warmly, and the sweat on his brow would be easily atribbuted to weariness.

13:37, Today: Lucius rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  Parley using divine authority as leverage.

Bit of a hiatus for Easter, now I'm back in action. Hope I didn't take too long.

Lazarus found himself raising his eyebrows no less than three times in the span of only a few minutes. First was when Sin-Singha suggested they had made a bet. He was fairly certain he would have remembered that. Not to mention he was not sure how he would collect his winnings if Sin had lost the alleged bet. He shrugged it off and smirked, and assumed Sin was just having a bit of fun.

The second time Lazarus raised his eyebrows was when the barmaid treated him as a part of the larger group. He did not know the group all that well yet, so he was a bit surprised to be lumped together with them already. Not that he actually minded. After all, he did intend to travel with them if they allowed it. And it seemed they would.

Lastly, Lazarus raised his eyebrows a third time when Lucius confidently invoked the "laws of hospitality" to get them some food and rooms. Lazarus had know idea what the laws of hospitality were, but that didn't stop the wizard from hoping the barman would honor them. "Yeah, the gods will repay you," he said, attempting to back up Lucius. Of course Lazarus had no confidence that his claim was true, but if it actually got them free food... Meh.

The dwarf nods at Lucius and says I don't know about no "laws of hospitality" young man, but I do like to stay on the right side of the gods.  So here's what I can offer you - if none of you have any coin, you can give me something else as collateral, and I'll cover your dinners and one night.  Then tomorrow, you set out and show you're on the right side of the gods as well.  He pauses for effect here, glances around, and then leans in conspiratorially before continuing.  I know no one's happy about the goblins raiding caravans and kidnapping travelers, but if you ask me, goblins is small stuff.  But I hear bits and pieces on the grapevine makin' me think someone else is paying them for those prisoners they take.  If you lot can figure out who's doing that, and take them down, well, that'd be more than enough sign for me that you're blessed.  So you do that, I give you back your collateral, and I put you up free for two whole weeks.  Pipes included.

Alora gasps at the suggestion that she might have been sold to someone even worse than the goblins.

and what do the rest of you do?

Lucius extends a hand to the barkeep without hesitation. He spoke solemnly: "A deal, good sir. Thank you for the information - I have sworn to bring the light to the darkest corners of the land, so this is what I'll do." With a warmer smile, he continued. "As for the collateral, let us discuss among ourselves."

(Marking off one use of Adventuring Gear)

"This telescope was made hundreds of years ago with metal mined from Eagle's Peak mountain, and the lenses were made from sand taken from the beaches of Yurath, at the edge of the great Skytree forest. It was given to me by my mentor, and I used it for birdwatching and studying the stars. It has no magical qualities, but it is quite valuable to me, and if anything happens to it before I reclaim it, no chickens nor other birds will lay eggs for you ever again for 5 miles around this spot." The fact that Istvan is completely bluffing about that very last part does not affect his deadly serious tone.

"I don't have anything quite as nice as a telescope," Lazarus said to both the barman and the group. "But I could leave one of my books. I have this beautiful tome written in archaic dwarven script. The letters practically jump off the page with the iridescent ink they used. It probably won't be much use to me where you are sending us, but it is still not an object I hand over lightly." Lazarus pulled the mentioned tome from his bag of books and slid it across the table. "Please store it somewhere where a beer won't get spilled on it, if you could."

The innkeeper examines the telescope closely, making appreciative comments about the craftsmanship.  He flips through the book as well but doesn't show the same level of interest.  Nevertheless, he takes the two items and says This'll do fine, thanks.  I'll have someone get a couple rooms ready for you upstairs, and you can set off in the morning.  He then heads to a back room, and when he returns to the bar he is no longer carrying your items.

And so the evening passes.  Your food is quite good, and the drinks pair well.  The smoke hangs low (no thanks to the low ceiling), and gradually gets lower.  At the other large table, where the dandies from out of town are gathered, there is a lively debate about whether or not Mr. Rakosi's new pieces are anywhere near as good as his older works.  Eventually some of the customers with the pipes begin passing out in their seats, and at that point Alora thanks you again for bringing her back to town and says that she should get back to the temple.

Sin-Singha carefully drew a bone ring off his long hair. It looked to be a cross-slice of a thick bone, a leg bone perhaps, that the hair passed through with a fine bone pin running through it to keep it in place. Some foreign characters were delicately carved around the ring itself. He placed the ring with the objects on offer, his expression grave.

"I do not part with this lightly, and I give it to show my sincerity--I will return for that, at any cost. My great-grandfather was a wise and generous man, and I will have him back with me again when this is over." Singha touches the ring reverently and then lets it be taken with the rest.

---

Singha takes his time enjoying the food, and finishes anything that might have been left unconsumed on the table. He seems in no special hurry, but he turns a bit serious when Alora announces she's leaving.

"Will you be safe heading there alone, this late?" It wouldn't do to safe-guard her this far an then leave her to some lowly criminal predation.


OOC: I added a bit for before the innkeeper takes the stuff, I hope that's ok. It just seemed fun and fitting.

As he ate, Lazarus spent some time getting to know his new traveling companions a bit better. And while he did, he also searched through his brain, trying to think of any groups in the area that he has heard of who may want to buy the goblins prisoners. He had been in this town for a week or so now, and had overheard many different things during that time. It was difficult, however, to determine what random knowledge might be both truthful and useful. In the end he decided to sleep on it.

---

Spout Lore Roll
15:14, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  Spout Lore - who might want to buy goblin prisoners.

Lazarus will share his info after they all get ready in the morning. Feel free to have him say what he knows to everyone in the party if you would like, GM.

Laid back in his chair, the paladin finally has a moment to relax. He's already biting into the stew in between sips of ale, all the while smiling gently to the barmaid. However, his eyes snap to Alora when she excuses herself. "Where is your temple located?" He follows up Sin-Singha's offer with a question. "The night is dark."

The temple isn't too far from here, Alora says.  And not many people in town would dare attack someone wearing the robes of the Gray Mother.

Perhaps some of you walk back with Alora, perhaps not.  Either way, before she leaves you, she says Thank you all again for rescuing me.  I don't know if- well, regardless, I'm glad to be back here.  I hope I will see you all again in better circumstances.  And Sister Auberyn, may your road be clear and may the wood be your shelter.

                *                   *                   *

You all sleep relatively well that night, and reconvene the next morning.  Whatever injuries you sustained in the sinister thicket yesterday are now healed.

Having spent the night racking his brain, Lazarus tells you that among the various bits of information he has picked up around town, one that sticks out is that goblins seem to like exotic herbs, spices, and the like even more than humans.  Especially the ones that bring about supernatural visions.

Lucius goes to sleep quickly with a full stomach and wakes up before dawn. He dons his armor quickly, facing against the rising sun with his chest puffed. His tabard, bearing the mark of the blazing sun, absorbs the first rays of sunlight. As it does, Lucius makes his vow:

"I will find out who is paying goblins for the prisoners, and bring them to justice."

QUEST TIME!

Discover the truth of who pays goblins for the kidnapping.

Boons:
Invulnerability to piercing weapons (not sure thorns apply, but goblin arrows and spears are the main concern).
Voice that transcends language.

What will Lucius' vows be GM?

After meeting up with the others in the morning and telling them what he had remembered about goblins and spices, Lazarus gave his opinion about what course of action he thought they should take. "Given that we know goblins are partial to exotic spices, I suggest we start our investigation at the spice vendor. If the vendor is not the guilty party, then perhaps we can find out if anyone has been purchasing a suspicious amount of spices from them to use with the goblins. And if neither of those produce results, we could procure some spices ourselves and try to bribe the goblins directly to tell us who their slave-buyer is."

Lazarus turned around where he stood and, after a moment, reoriented himself. "I believe the spice vendor is in that direction," he said, pointing. "Sound like a good place to start?" He raised his hand and shoulder questioningly, waiting for people to agree or provide another option.

"Sounds like a good idea to me... but let's be careful to not start off by accusing anyone or anything..." said Istvan...

"The spices must also come from somewhere--they certainly do not refine them in this little backwater," Singha seems oblivious to the mild insult he's throwing at the town. "If the goblins have tried to get spices, the merchant dealing in them must surely know something. Stolen or sold, it is a good place to start." He leans his large sword over his shoulder and strolls the way there. The stranger with the enormous weapon can't help but be startling to some, but he keeps his posture and expression very casual--broadcasting off duty rather than on a mission.

You make your way to the market, where there are in fact a few different vendors selling different spices (their convergence here is part of what makes Vorbrud such a good food town).  One shouts about cumin and cardamom from the east, another shows off colorful jars of cayenne and saffron from the west, and a third offers you besharam and stormy collub from the north.

Lucius - it is an honorable quest you have taken on, and so you must take a Vow of Honor to prove your worthiness.

"Robbing caravans for spices, that sounds goblin enough to me." Lucius speaks. Despite not talking very loudly, his voice has incredible clarity. "I shall ask the merchants if there was any trouble on the roads."

He stops to think. "Uhm, any of you got an idea where the goblins are from? North, east, west? All around? I think we came from the north right?"

I took a peek at the map, assuming north is at the top. The third merchant sounds like our best bet aye?
This message was last edited by the player at 04:38, Sun 05 May 2019.

Yes, north is up.  I'll try to remember to add a compass next time I update the map.  Carry on.

"I know you guys headed North out of town when you first went to investigate the goblins, but where the goblins themselves originated..." Lazarus shrugged his shoulders. "As far as I know they have always lived in the area. But I'm not from around here."

Lazarus began heading toward one of the vendors. "If you are checking for trouble on the road, Lucius, then I will see if they have had any suspicious buyers.

When he reached the cayenne and saffron vendor, Lazarus raised one of his magically transmogrified hands in a friendly greeting and said, "Hello. Nice wares you have here. I was wondering if it would be asking too much throw a couple of questions your way. I've got a curiosity itching at my skull and I think you may be just the person who could scratch it."

"Yeah, that's right." Lucius nods to Lazarus, heading towards the besharam and stormy collub merchant. He puts on a small smile.

"Good day to you, sir. Do you mind if I ask some questions?" The paladin goes straight to the point. "Your spices are from the north, right? Was there trouble on the road, or have you heard of it from other merchants?"

Sin-Singha stays a step behind his companions asking the questions. He's quiet for now, but only because he's openly studying the merchants to see what kind of answers they give, and if anything seems shady. His gaze scans across their wares, picking out various familiar and unfamiliar offerings. He takes it in as part of his assessment, but his attention inevitably keeps returning to the merchants and their response.


OOC: I'm not 100% clear if we're splitting up to question different merchants at the same time, but if so then I suppose I'll tag along with... Hmm, Lazarus I suppose. No special reason but maybe they're less likely to hide something from a paladin. If this is just get the info and go then cool, if we're going to play the merchant scene a bit I'll do a Discern Realities.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:54, Tue 07 May 2019.

The merchants are not very far away from each other.  In the noisy market it is hard for Singha to clearly hear what each of them is saying, especially since these conversations are happening more or less simultaneously, but it's at least easy enough to maintain visual contact. (go ahead and roll for it if you'd like)

The merchant from the west seems a little put off by both Lazarus' appearance and his manner of speaking.  After a few seconds of thought he says, uncertainly, Would you, um, would you like to buy some cayenne?  It can be ground and rubbed into your scalp to relieve the itch, if that's what you're looking for.

The merchant from the north seems caught off guard by Lucius' question, but quickly recovers himself and says Trouble?  Oh, no, I mean, yes, a little bit, some, er, some goblins came after us near the woods, but we got away safely.  Now, ah, can I help you with something?

"Ha ha ha," Lazarus chuckled in earnest at the vendor's remarks. "Oh no, my friend, that was not what I meant at all. The itch I describe is not a physical one that can be scratched by your wonderful spice-remedies. It is a thought. An inner itch, that can only be scratched with information."

The wizard smiled kindly at the man, inferring that he probably still was not grasping what Lazarus was meaning. "Okay, forget my ramblings for a moment. What I would like to know is if you have heard of any big spice sales lately. Ones that seemed out of the ordinary. Especially concerning exotic varieties. If you can help me out with this, I would be happy to reward you with a demonstration of magic." Lazarus wiggled his fingers dramatically at the mention of magic, hoping add to the intrinsic excitement of the prospect of spellcasting.

---

Parley, if needed. Leverage is the offer to cast some magic. Let me know if I should add XP (assuming nobody Aids to bump that up to 7).
11:49, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 6 using 2d6+1.  Parley, if needed.

"Ah, goblins. That's why I'm speaking with you, good sir." Lucius nods in acknowledgement. "Are the goblin attacks frequent? Maybe even regular?" He further prods the merchant.

Is the plan 'escort the caravan and capture any goblin ambushers' count as tricks? Presumably we would put something on to resemble the merchants.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:14, Thu 09 May 2019.

The western merchant looks offended at Lazarus's offer.  In a stern voice, almost shouting but not quite, he says Magic?!  Andolg don't like no sorcery, and Iain't about to turn my back on Him!  Now if you ain't gonna but nothin' from me I suggest you move along.
(Yeah, go ahead and mark xp)

A short distance away, the northern merchant is looking a little nervous as Lucius continues to question him, and he says Well, um, they, ah, they attack sometimes but not always, I think.  I guess maybe sometimes they're distracted?  Oh, I, uh, I don't really know, never mind, right?




That does seem a little iffy, doesn't it?  I mean, it could be interpreted as a cowardly trick, but maybe there's a way to justify it?  Is that something you're willing to try?

The young Paladin was not the brightest, but the merchant was far from the best liar. Eagerly (perhaps too eagerly, first quest after all) he leaned in and spoke loudly right in the merchant's face.

"Sir! This is the most urgent matter, the goblins have been kidnapping innocent people. I urge you to speak with me truthfully, otherwise I will have to make a thorough investigation of your business."

I suppose Lucius would refuse to wear a disguise so no tricks there. potentially tipping off the goblins though.

13:11, Today: Lucius rolled 12 using 2d6+2.  Parley, threat of thorough investigation as leverage.


This message was last edited by the player at 15:42, Thu 16 May 2019.

When the vendor mentioned Andolg, Lazarus paused and reconsidered the situation. When people brought up the gods they believed in, it could signal a way to manipulate the situation. Or it could signal increased danger if he pressed onward. Either way, Lazarus knew he needed to tread carefully now.

---

I would like to know a bit more about Andolg before Lazarus makes his next move.

Spout Lore
10:09, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 9 using 2d6+2.  Spout Lore: Andolg.

Okay, okay, take it easy, says the northern merchant in a panic.  He looks around anxiously, then leans in and lowers his voice.  Look, I'm just selling spices, right, but some of my partners have mushrooms.  We part ways, they go to see the, uh, their customers in the woods, and I come here.  And no one bothers us on the road.  Just don't tell anyone I told you, please!

Over at the other stall, Lazarus carefully considers his next move.  He doesn't know much about Andolg, just that he one of those deities who is more focused on a location than a concept.  In this case, the County of Nadolga.

So how do you know this, Lazarus?  Something you picked up in your studies, or do you have your travels taken you through Nadolga before?

The Paladin eases the pressure. He backs away from the merchant's face and speaks softly.

"Of course. Could you show me where your friends go? We will take it from here."

Lazarus frowned and moved to leave. However, after taking a couple of steps, he paused before turning around as if a thought just occurred to him. "Wait a moment. You aren't from Nadolga, are you?" Without waiting for an answer, Lazarus pressed onward. "If I had known, I never would have insulted you with my offer."

Lazarus stepped back up to the vendor's stall and leaned in secretively. With a hand to the side of his mouth, Lazarus whispered. "If you ever happen to run into the Duchess of Nadolga, tell her that her cousin's nephew Lazarus says hello."

Sure, he was only distantly related to the duchess, but that still occasionally impressed some people. And gods knew it came up often enough at family reunions. Ugh.

Still leaning in and trying to keep his voice down, the merchant says I can't show you myself, but I, ah, I can tell you.  We travel together from the north, around the west side of the forest where the goblins live, and when we're about halfway past it they split off and go in there.  I ain't never gone in with them, okay, so I don't know what they do after that.




The Nadolgan merchant looks quite taken aback by this and stumbles through a quick Yes, of course m'lord, good day to you!

Lucius bids the merchant farewell and seeks out his companions.

"I know where we can find the goblins. The spice merchants have been trading with them." He goes on to explain what the man has told him.

Lazarus smiled at the merchant's reaction and at how the vendor had called him "Lord." But then, after an awkward pause, Lazarus frowned when he realized the merchant had no plans on helping him further. The wizard scoffed and turned away with a dismissive wave. "Fine. Whatever." He hoped his new friends had had better luck.

And indeed, that seemed to be the case. "Nice find!" Lazarus complimented Lucius. "My own inquiries proved to be mostly fruitless. But that is neither here nor there. Shall we go check out your lead? Where is it that they said we could find the goblins?"

Once Lazarus's new companions got all of their affairs in order (or decided that their mission wasn't worth the effort and bowed out), the wizard met up with them at the edge of town to begin their journey. And the objective of that journey? To find out who is paying the goblins for the prisoners they are taking. They currently knew where some spice merchants were meeting up with the goblins for trades, and the party was currently getting ready to go check out the location.

But much to Lazarus's chagrin, when he reached the edge of town, he saw a familiar face. Two, actually.

"Lissa?" he said with a bit of incredulity. "I thought I had given you the slip for good this time. How did you- Wait. Did Thistle help track me down?" Lazarus grumbled, but knew that trying to dissuade Lissa would prove fruitless. "Well, as long as you're here, want to help us check out a pack of nasty gobbers?"

---

I tried to do a bit of a recap for us.

Lissa stood from her position leaning on the wall in annoyance. "You tell me, Lazarus. Are you going to try and run away from me again?" She grumbled, but gripped her spear regardless, twirling it slightly. "I might as well. I doubt I can talk you into sitting safely in the Tavern, can I Laz?"

"We need to take the road north from town and turn into the woods about half-way through them." Lucius repeats to Lazarus.

He almost doesn't notice Lissa, only turning to face her once she speaks. Lucius quickly turns and nods his head at her. "Lissa Brookstone, it's an honor to meet you again."

As Lazarus offers for her to join them, Lucius explains: "There's rumours... the goblins are said to do someone else's bidding by capturing slaves. We're here to investigate."

Nodding, Lissa tightened her grip. "Well, I certainly can't condone that. Do we have any leads yet? You know my spear is willing."

Lazarus merely shrugged when Lissa asked if he would run away again. He couldn't make any promises, but for now he would accept her company. Not that he really had a choice in the matter. And Lissa was also right that she wouldn't be able to talk him out of leaving town to find the goblins, but he suspected she already knew that too.

"The only lead we really have is a location. The place where some of the spice merchants meet with the goblins," Lazarus replied to Lissa. It seemed she already knew Lucius too. Or, at least Lucius knew Lissa. That would save on some introductions.

The wizard turned toward Thisle, the wild one. "Will you be joining us too? I'm sure we could use your help if you are willing to give it."

Thistle glances up, a squirrel scurrying away as she does.  "Chik trik?" she asks.  "Kikkita chirrt brik itritti."

After a moment, she blinks, and nods.  "Yes," she says, and then smiles.  "Ah, there I go.  Yes, I believe our paths are joined for now.  I am glad to find you are not yet dead," she adds, politely.

With your party reassembled, you make your way out of town and back to the main trade road.  You spend the next couple hours walking north and then west to reach the far side of the forest.  Along the way perhaps you discuss tactics for the anticipated confrontation, or tales of past adventures, or your favorite venison recipes.  Whatever makes the trip pass a little more easily.

Eventually you reach a fork, at the southwest corner of the forest (not currently pictured in the map - I will include it in the next update).  Turning north here will get you to the spot where you are supposed to turn into the woods, although you're not sure exactly how far up it is.  But right now, at this spot, those of you who are paying attention suddenly have an uneasy feeling.

What do you do?
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 13:05, Sat 15 June 2019.

This feels wrong, somehow... Istvan studies the situation...

(Discern Realities:
13:07, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 9 using 2d6+2 ((6,1)).

On a 7–9, ask 1 . . . take +1 forward when acting on the answers.

What is about to happen?)
This message was last edited by the player at 18:11, Wed 12 June 2019.

As they walk, Lucius notes he has taken a vow of Honor in pursuit of this worthy quest. "Trickery and cowardice are unbecoming of an honorable man."

He stops right next to Istvan, having noticed that something was off...

21:16, Today: Lucius rolled 9 using 2d6.  Discern realities.

What should I be on the lookout for?

Lissa was not paying particular attention to the foreboding feeling. She got those every few minutes, when it came to adventuring. Besides, she was too focused on the directions they had been given. Wouldn't want the group to get lost, now, would she?

No roll, Lissa is paying no heed to the situation

Thistle walks along the edge of the road, looking as though she might be a little more comfortable a few more steps to the side.  Suddenly feeling a bit prickly, she looks around, sniffing curiously for good measure.

OOC: Discern Realities, because most of the cool kids are doing it.  With a 7, I will ask What here is useful or valuable to me?, because I think we a good start on the more paranoid options already!

Lazarus had been idly leafing through one of his books as they strolled along the path, only keeping a cursory glance at their surroundings. When the others stopped and began looking around, however, it caught Lazarus's attention. Putting his book away, he asked, "Are we here?"

---

No roll from me.

The crack of a goblin stepping on a branch gives away the ambush a few seconds sooner than they would have liked.  Istvan is the first to catch on; as he turns toward the sound he spots five of them just behind the tree line, nocking arrows.  Lucius sees them too, and also notices movement a little further ahead, suggesting a second group on the way to join in.

The second group is not all goblins though.  While it is too far away to hear everything clearly, Thistle can make out the growling of wolves.  As a druid of the forest she is able to understand some of it, although again the distance makes it difficult.  What she does hear seems to be a couple different voices saying something like "green ones would be easier meal... no, must obey the masters... just get rid of... first."

The paladin stepped forward courageously. "Drop your weapons, and no one will be hurt!" he bellowed an order, his voice clear and loud.

Strangely, he did not even raise his shield to defend himself, as if inviting the goblins to make a pincushion out of him.

I Am the Law

When you give an NPC an order based on your divine authority, roll+Cha.

✴ On a 7+, they choose one:

    Do what you say
    Back away cautiously, then flee
    Attack you

✴On a 10+, you also take +1 forward against them.

✴ On a miss, they do as they please and you take -1 forward against them.

15:43, Today: Lucius rolled 7 using 2d6+2.  I am the law!

"I guess we are here," Lazarus said, answering his own question.

He took a defensive pose, holding his dagger sideways in front of himself while summoning magical energies to his other hand behind him, ready to fling a spell. Lazarus's eyes glowed two different colors as he prepared to unleash a spell if the goblins didn't heed Lucius's warning. "We've got both blades and magic in abundance, gobbers. You would be wise to listen." Unfortunately Lazarus knew goblins weren't known for their wisdom. Or intelligence. Or hygiene for that matter.

---

If the goblins don't back down, Lazarus will unleash a magic missile at the furthest target he can see. Here is a roll in case it is needed:
10:12, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  Cast Magic Missile.
For the drawback, I'll choose: "You draw unwelcome attention or put yourself in a spot. The GM will tell you how."

Potential Damage:
10:14, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 4 using 2d4.  Damage.

There are many traits that goblins lack.  Wisdom, for one, as Lazarus points out.  Mercy is another.

So when a big human steps forward brandishing neither weapon nor shield, they take advantage of the easy target.  Of course, one of the other traits that goblins lack is good aim.  Even at this range three of their arrows hit the dirt, sending up small puffs of dust but doing no other damage.  Two others, however, do strike the paladin - one in the abdomen and the other in the shoulder.  And they both bounce off of him as if they had hit a stone wall.

Before the goblins even have time to register their shock, Lazarus lets fly a blast of magical energy and hits the one furthest to his left.  It screeches and drops to the ground.

From further to the left, still inside the woods, you hear a deeper goblin voice shout "That one's a mage, take him out now!"  The speaker stays hidden, but two wolves burst out from the trees and come charging toward Lazarus.

Lazarus's eyes went wide at the sight of the wolves rushing toward him. "Um, Lissa?" He was reluctant to actually ask for help from his bodyguard, but really wanted someone to guard his body from those wolves. Their gnashing teeth would surely leave a mark...

Even as he halfheartedly called out for help, Lazarus was preparing another salvo of magical blasts. He churned his hands over one another, still holding his dagger, and then unleashed a rain of small bolts of magical energy. They all arced toward the same wolf, like a hailstorm of shooting stars.

---

Casting Magic Missile again, aiming for one of the wolves headed toward him.
10:22, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 7 using 2d6+2.  Cast Magic Missile.
For the drawback, I'll once again choose: "You draw unwelcome attention or put yourself in a spot. The GM will tell you how." That is always a fun option. Possibly deadly, but fun.

Damage:
10:24, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 3 using 2d4.  Damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:47, Wed 19 June 2019.

Lucius turned his attention towards the charging beasts, stepping between them and Lazarus. "Stand behind me!" He shouted, and braced himself.

21:33, Today: Lucius rolled 5 using 2d6+1.  Defend Lazarus.

(Magic Missile) 14:35, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 9 using 2d6+2 ((4,3)). PLUS ONE POINT FOR ACTING ON DISCERN REALITIES = 10!)

Damage:
14:38, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 3 using 2d4 ((1,2)).


Noric is god of the sky, of movement, of tall trees... Istvan asks Noric to intercede, praying that missiles will also attack the other wolf attacking...

From the trees nearby, dead branch-ends break off and fly into the until-now-undamaged wolf, wounding it...
This message was last edited by the player at 16:38, Mon 24 June 2019.

Thistle circles behind the tree, and a moment later a wolf slips back into the woods, looking for the goblin leader.

OOC: Shapeshifting into a wolf, but rolled a 5; that gives her Hold 1, but also a GM call.

The wolves come charging.  Lazarus fires off one more spell, then braces for impact.  His missile does strike one of the wolves, and it drops to the ground.  The other leaps at the same moment that Lucius steps forward to block it.  Time slows as the paladin watches the beast's movement, and then returns to normal as it crashes into his chest and knocks him to the ground.  Before the wolf is able to do any serious damage to him, a branch breaks off a nearby tree with a loud crack, flies through the air, and impales the wolf.

A short distance away, Thistle is advancing toward the tree line.  Speed seems a higher priority than stealth at the moment, which means that she is able to cover a good bit of ground but not without being spotted by a couple of the archers.  There is a moment of confusion as the halfling vanishes behind the first tree and then a wolf comes out the other side, but at least one goblin has the presence of mind to shout Hey boss, was there a third wolf?

A couple of the goblins nock arrows to shoot at those of you who are still on the road, and one last one breaks off and goes running back into the woods.

What do you all do?

Thistle - your animal moves are Find the Prey and Distract the Prey.  And as your mind becomes more animal, the portion of it that is still humanoid becomes concerned about whether or not the wolf trainer might be able to get any sway over you.

Lissa spots the lone Goblin breaking off into the woods, and makes an executive decision. "We've got a runner. I'll stop him before word gets back to any larger raiding parties." And with that, Lissa bolted, ducking and weaving to avoid any stray shots from the archers.

Lissa is going to defy danger as she tries to get into range to Hack and Slash, using Dex.

09:10, Today: Lissa Brookstone rolled 9 using 2d6+2 ((6,1)). On a 7–9, you stumble, hesitate, or flinch: the GM will offer you a worse outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice.

Looks like I don't get to Hack and Slash just yet.

The other archers see Lissa running - maybe not directly toward them, but close enough to make herself the top priority target.  She sees them turning toward her and hesitates before making the next move...

Your roll was a partial success at least, so you're clearly moving faster than the goblin runner and you've closed the gap.  Here are the options at this moment:
1) Focus on the runner and catch up to him, but take 1d4 damage as the archers try to stop you
2) Focus on the archers, defend yourself successfully, but the runner gets a lot further away (you might still have one more chance to stop him, but it'll be harder)

Make your choice, roll as needed, and narrate the result

1) Focus on the runner and catch up to him, but take 1d4 damage as the archers try to stop you
09:44, Today: Lissa Brookstone rolled -1 using 1d2-2.  Damage Roll, 2 Armor.
Lissa takes no damage.

Lissa heard the arrows whistling towards her before she saw them. Taking evasive action, she debated stopping to defend herself. But stopping any potential reinforcements was infinitely more important. She would just have to trust her companions to handle the wolves for now. Even as she heard arrows glance off her armor and graze her arms and legs, she only pushed harder, raising her spear and lunging towards the Goblin for what she hoped would be a killing blow.

09:47, Today: Lissa Brookstone rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  Hack and Slash, Precise, vs Goblin.
On a 7–9, you deal your damage to the enemy and the enemy makes an attack against you.
09:48, Today: Lissa Brookstone rolled 12 using 1d10+2.  d10 Damage Base, +2 Weapon.

The goblin runner heard Lissa chasing after him.  He had no illusions about his chances if he stopped to fight, but one opportunity did present itself.  Just before the elf caught up to him, he spotted a low branch, jumped up, and pulled it forward.  He then let go as he hit the ground and kept running.  His aim and timing were both perfect, and the branch whipped back and cut Lissa across the face.  That said, it was still only a small branch, and while it hurt it did not actually impede her pursuit.  A moment later the goblin had a spear through him, and he was done running.

GM, for the NPC goblin runner, rolled 4 using 1d4.  branch whip.
Lissa takes 2 damage after armor, and is now far enough away that it will take a bit of time to return to the others.  But at least the runner has been thoroughly stopped.

Lucius is quick to get back on his feet after the wolf knocked him prone. Determined to prove his valor after that clumsy display, he charged forward caring not for the goblins' arrows. He caught the words 'boss' and directed his charge in that direction, hoping that slaying their leader would crush the enemy's resolve.

20:16, Today: Lucius rolled 12 using 2d6+1.  Hack and Slash.

I take +d6 damage and expose myself to an attack.
20:18, Today: Lucius rolled 7 using 1d10+1+1d6.  Damage.

Lazarus could see that the archers were causing all kinds of problems from afar and decided to make them his next target. They hadn't caused any major harm yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

Stepping over one of the wolves that had been eager for his throat not moments before, Lazarus swallowed any lingering terror it evoked and focused his mind on his next spell. Spellcasting was tricky in the best of circumstances. And casting spells repeatedly while under duress required great mental control if you didn't want things to go wrong. And unfortunately sometimes that extra bit of concentration required Lazarus to overlook other important details of his surroundings...

Still, Lazarus's magic lashed out across the landscape and utterly eviscerated one of the archers with enough chaotic carnage to make even a goblin be impressed.

---

Casting Magic Missile at one of the archers.
11:57, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 9 using 2d6+2.  Cast Magic Missile.
Once again I'll choose: "You draw unwelcome attention or put yourself in a spot. The GM will tell you how."

12:00, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 8 using 2d4.  Damage.
Sweet!

Lucius charged past the archers to get to where the "boss" was.  He drew fire as he ran, but just like before the arrows bounced right off of him.  With one mighty swing he cleaved through the larger goblin, killing him instantly.

Lazarus cast his spell again.  There was an overload of magical energy this time, which hit one of the archers with a devastating blast but also left the wizard's arms glowing in a way they usually didn't, except when he was close to having an accident of some sort (he hadn't been born with those arms, after all).

Two goblins remained.  In a panic they turned and fled into the woods.  Which meant they were moving directly toward Lissa (and also kind of close to Thistle).
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 15:31, Thu 27 June 2019.

"Crap! Crap! Crap!" Lazarus exclaimed as he shook his magically-overloaded arms. The gold etching on his one armed burned, and the polyps on his other squirmed frantically under his sleeve. "I think that is all the magical support I can offer right now. Pushed myself too far. My arms feel like they could burst into a swarm of spiders at any second. Or worse." Lazarus still kept an eye on the battlefield in case there was some non-magical way he could still help, but for the moment he mostly focused on alleviating his symptoms. It seemed his allies could probably handle the rest on their own anyway.

"Stop!" Lucius fell into full sprint, trying to catch the goblin runners.

Thistle puts on a burst of speed, loping after the fleeing goblins, and then leaps.  In mid-air, she loses her grasp on the lupine form, flowing back into her own, shillelagh raised.

OOC: I think that's how that works?  She's using her Find the Prey Move, which I think makes that part pretty automatic, but since she only had 1 Hold, using it takes her out of Wolf form, right?  I don't know if she can also do a Hack & Slash roll or not.

The goblins have a decent head start, and are able to get around the forest's various obstacles more easily than a big human.  If Lucius can keep up the sprint he will catch them eventually.  If he doesn't crash into something first.
Lucius, if you want to keep chasing then roll Defy Danger, using your choice of Dex or Con.  If you get less than 10, the negative consequences will be based on whichever stat you didn't use.

Thistle, being in the form of a wily forest predator, is able to catch up much more easily and launch into an attack.
Your understanding sounds the same as mine, so let's call it correct.  Go ahead and roll Hack and Slash.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 00:14, Thu 04 July 2019.

Despite wearing heavy armor, Lucius is a good runner. Managing his stamina, he eventually catches up to the goblins. Lunging at one, he grabs them by the neck and forcefully stops them.

13:26, Today: Lucius rolled 13 using 2d6+1.  DD Con.

Another roll for catching the goblin? If so, what?

Thistle comes down on one of the goblins, swinging her club straight for its head.

OK, H&S rolled an 8, and then 4 damage.

Lucius and Thistle both catch up with the last two goblins and quickly take them down.  Thistle's probably won't get up again, but Lucius makes sure his is still responsive when it hits the ground.

So what next?

Lissa, I forgot to ask earlier - you're supposed to be protecting Lazarus, so does it bother you to see his arms glowing like that?
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:38, Sat 06 July 2019.

Istvan looked askance at Lazarus' arms, and then wandered over-- while whistling tunelessly-- to where Lucius had grabbed the goblin, because he was curious if there was going to be an interrogation and if so what the results of that might be, and not at all because he didn't want to be standing near Lazarus if and when Lazarus' arms exploded.

Lazarus continued to shake out his arms for a bit until he realized that he was being left alone out on the road. And with goblins about, he felt a lot like a sitting duck. He kept one eye on the tree line and headed slowly toward the rest of the group. However, as he did, Lazarus kneeled down next to every fallen goblin he passed and checked them for anything that might be useful or valuable. He kept an especially sharp eye out for any signs of spices they might have on them.

---

Not sure if this would need a Discern Realities, but here is a roll for if it is.
14:43, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 4 using 2d6.  Potential Discern Realities.
Ouch. My question would have been, What here is useful or valuable to me?"
Let me know if I should add XP.

I'll let it be your choice - you can find what you're looking for, OR you can miss it an find xp instead.

You know what? I am curious what will happen. I will take the XP.

As Lazarus reaches out to start rifling through the goblin's pockets, the glow around his arm starts to turn green.  A hair's width closer and his fingertip turns green too, the same shade as the goblin's skin.  When he pulls back the color goes back to normal (well, Lazarus's version of normal anyway).  Although the effect was short-lived this time, the wizard's gut tells him that there is a risk of it becoming permanent if he lingers.

"Whew. Okay." Lucius catches a breath after the short jog, his hand firmly on the goblin's neck. "I'm sorry we had to do it this way, but you left us little choice in the matter."

Even though he speaks in the common tongue, to the goblin it seems like he's speaking, well, in goblin.

"You've been kidnapping people, and I was chosen by the Sun to stop it. So tell me what you know."

Finally rejoining the group after her mad dash for the goblin, Lissa leaned lightly on her spear. "I see the rest of you did well enough without me." She spared an extra appreciative nod for Lucius and his prisoner. "Apologies for the distance I put between us. I'd rather not spend more time on this rabble than necessary, and I spotted a little messenger."

Pausing, she watched as Lazarus reached for the Goblin. "Lazarus, what happened to your arms? And...oh by the gods, please stop trying to touch it. You know what happened last time."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:56, Tue 09 July 2019.

Lazarus pulled back at Lissa's words. He stared at his hand for a moment and contemplated whether or not a green arm would look good or not. He had been rather upset with his altered arms when he first acquired them, but had since grown quite fond of his unique look. And he now felt he would be more open to further changes, should they occur.

Still, a green arm might make people more inclined to thing he was ill with a contagious disease. He already had enough issues with that assumption as it was. "Yeah, I'll just go sit over here on a log, out of the way. Looks like you guys have everything under control anyway." The wizard went to find a seat in the shade, a bit disappointed that he couldn't be more useful. "Just give a shout if you need any of my expansive skill-sets!"

Lissa snorted. "At least your skills are useful for this. What did I do here? Skewer one goblin? Big deal. I'd have been much more helpful if all they wanted was a beer. When it comes to adventuring, there's only one thing I'm good at."

The goblin seems unfazed about being able to understand Lucius's speech.  He launches right into a squeaky If I tell you anything and they find out, they'll kill me!  What are you going to do that's any worse?  You're not sure if he was trying to sound defiant when he said that, but if he was it didn't work.

"Don't worry, we won't tell them. Err... who are 'them'?"

You know, Chief Glorbrag, and Nazmuk, and those humans they deal with.

As soon as he finishes speaking, realization and dread both cross his face.

"Well..." Lucius chuckles. "Looks like you have told us something. Seeing as you're already screwed, why don't you tell us more about these humans your chief is dealing with?" The paladin gives the goblin a pat on the shoulder.

Thistle hops up on the log next to Lazarus, looking at his arms curiously.  She glances at Lissa and smiles.  "The one goblin you skewered might have brought a dozen more," she reminds her.

The goblin sighs.  He tries to avoid any further eye contact with Lucius, presumably out of embarrassment or something similar.  He takes a deep breath and then quickly spits out TheytradeusmagicmushroomsforprisonersandthentheytaketheprisonersIdon'tknowwherethat'sallIknowhonestcanIgonow?!?!

"Wait, wait, you're saying... They trade you magic mushrooms... for prisoners... and they take the prisoners... and you don't know. Hm."

"Hey, any of you know about magic mushrooms?!" He shouts to the party, turning his head back. The paladin blinks and double-takes on the sight of Lazarus' overcharged arms.

While sitting on his log away from the rest of the group, Lazarus could barely hear what was being said. He did catch Lucius asking something about magic mushrooms though. Probably. "What kind?" Lazarus called back, using his glowing hands like a megaphone to amplify his voice a bit (non-magically). "You want to know about the recreational kind, or the alchemical kind? Because I've had experiences with both." The wizard smiled as he thought back to the wild days of his past. Which had to have been at least several weeks ago by now...

---

Spout Lore: Magic mushrooms. I guess Lazarus is specifically trying to think about where the mushrooms (or their sellers) would come from, so that the party would know where their next destination might be.
10:33, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  Spout Lore: Magic Mushrooms.
Lazarus knows something interesting, but it is up to us to make it useful.

As Lazarus points out, there are different kinds of magic mushrooms, and they tend to grow in different places.  But he recalls that one type of place where both naturally overlap is in agricultural areas where the moon shines especially bright.

Lucius turns to the goblin again. "Okay, last question, I think... What do you use the mushrooms for. Um... fun?"

Despite his extremely disadvantageous position, the goblin gives Lucius the same kind of look you might give someone who suggests challenging an ogre to an armwrestling contest.

Fun?  What do you mean fun?  Visions from the Green Lands are not "fun!"  But I sure do enjoy them.

"If there are fields where the moon shines extra bright, we could probably find either kind of mushroom growing there," Lazarus said, trying to be helpful. "We might find our slave-buyers there. Possibly using their slaves to harvest their fungal crops..." Lazarus shuddered. He did not like the thought of someone enslaving anyone. Especially to use them to grow the very crop they were bought with.

"I think that's all I need to know..." Lucius replies a bit defensively to the goblin, looking at his companions. "Well, we can let him go now, yes? Or do you have more questions. I think we should go back to town and consider our new leads, maybe ask around?"

Istvan thought they should go on ahead... but he liked the idea of making the goblin think that they would be going back to town, and then following him. He presumed that was what Lucius must have in mind. "Good idea," Istvan said to Lucius, giving him a surreptitious wink. "Let's go back to town and rest up."

The moment Lucius' attention is turned to the rest of the party, the goblin takes off into the woods.  It can't run very well what with its recent injuries, but, well, the little guy is sure trying.

So what do you do?
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:55, Thu 25 July 2019.

After the goblin ran off, Lazarus eyed it suspiciously as he rejoined the rest of the group. In a low voice he said to the others, "I get letting him go since he helped us as requested, but..." He looked around almost conspiratorially. "But do you really think we should go all the way back to town and question people we already questioned? The goblin could tip off our targets that we are on their trail. I think we should press forward before he has the chance. We at least have a direction to go in now. And maybe one of you could check pockets for other clues?" Lazarus held up his glowing hands to show he was unable, although they did not seem to be quite as bad off as before.

Indeed, the glow on Lazarus' arms is fading, and it's completely gone in another minute or two.

"...Stalk this goblin back to his leaders? I... I'm not sure I can do that. It doesn't seem honorable to let him go with deceit in mind." The paladin stammers a little, hesitant to go through with the plan.

"In defense of that plan, we did only promise that we would not kill him. We did not say that if he decided to tell his leaders of us, who he seemed so scared of, we would not stop him from doing so. I for one, am all for giving chase. If for no other reason than information gathering."

"Yeah, I'm with Lissa on this... I say let's follow before we lose 'im..."

"Yeah, I agree with Lissa and Istvan. If you don't want to follow the goblin, Lucius, then follow us instead. We'll follow the goblin to gather information. You follow us to make sure we don't do anything terrible to the little gobber." Lazarus looked from one face to another, shrugged, then began heading in the general direction the goblin had gone. He would leave the actual tracking to the others.

Lucius inhales, his chest puffing slightly... then sighs with resignation. "Even if I wanted to, I only have two hands against the four of you. Fine, I'll follow."

The consensus seems to be to follow the goblin back to wherever he is going.  None of you is a trained tracker, however, so this might be a little tricky...

Here's how I think we're going to do this (but feel free to suggest something that you think would work better).  First, decide which of you is going to be in the lead.  That person rolls + their choice of Wis (to focus on tracking) or Dex (to focus on stealth).  10+ you successfully follow the goblin and no one knows you're there, 7-9 you at least get close but there's a minor complication, 6- you're probably in the right area but there's a serious complication.  Exactly what the complication is will be based on whichever stat you didn't roll.  Everyone besides the leader is free to roll Aid, or another move, or just hang around and not gamble on any dice rolls.

A sour look on his face, Lucius is the last in marching order.

I'll say that Lucius' vow will prevent him from doing anything other than following the party.

"If someone wants to lead the way, I can help keep an eye on our peripherals," Lazarus offered. He looked to Thistle and Istvan to see if either would take the lead. He figured one of those two would be the most likely to have experience maneuvering through forests.

---

I will Aid whoever decides to lead. Lazarus will stay near the middle of the group.
15:17, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 10 using 2d6+1.  Aid someone with tracking.
Whoever tracks can take +1 to their roll!
This message was last edited by the player at 20:30, Wed 31 July 2019.

With the rest of the party watching, Thistle transforms into a small bird and flies off after the goblin.  Istvan, Lazarus, and Lissa run after her, and Lucius follows along at more of a jog, enough to keep his companions in sight but definitely not anything that could be construed as following the goblin for sneaky, dishonorable surveillance purposes.  You continue on like this for some time, with the goblin occasionally shouting for help, and Thistle occasionally giving a distinct bird call to make sure the rest of you are keeping up.  For those of you on the ground it's not easy, as the goblin clearly knows the terrain better than you do, but he's at least not getting away.

After a few minutes, the goblin finally gets a response.  Maybe not the one he's looking for though - it's human voices, coming from some distance to the left of your group, and shouting things like "what's going on" and "who's that chasing Ignak?"  Thistle and Lazarus can both see that it's a group of six humans, and they don't look happy.  But at least they're far enough away that you probably don't have to worry about their feelings if you don't want to.

So what do you all do?

GM, on behalf of Thistle, rolled 6 using 2d6+2.  tracking.
-that +1 from Lazarus bumps it up to a 7, so good job there!

Thistle - I didn't roll for your Shapeshifting, since it always works at least minimally and that's good enough for the moment.  If you want to stay in bird form past the end of this post then you should roll for it, or if you want to just change back now then no need.

"Wait, are we chasing Ignak?" Istvan whispers to Lissa. "This could be bad..."

"Maybe? If that is the goblin's name," Lazarus replied to Istvan, trying to keep his voice low. He checked his hands to see if it would be safe to cast again, but hoped it didn't come to that. "Think those might be the slave-buyers? It seems pretty likely if they know our goblin personally." Lazarus looked to Lucius to see what the paladin thought the right move would be if these were in fact the people they had been seeking out.

"Yeah, I think that's very plausible," whispered Istvan...

Lucius' eyes shifted warily from the direction of the voice back to the party. He swallowed with an audible gulp. "... I'm forbidden from cowardice"

The paladin made his move past the party, towards the voices of men. He stopped when he saw them, and they saw him, inhaled and shouted on the top of his lungs.

"BYTHEDIVINEAUTHORITYOFTHEORDEROFTHESUNSTANDDOWNANDANSWEROURQUESTIONS!!!"

Having shouted all that in a single breath, he leaned forward and gasped for air.

I'm using my I Am The Law move.

20:23, Today: Lucius rolled 6 using 2d6+2.  I am the law!

Narrated first, then rolled, and I'm happy with how it turned out :D Marking that XP right away.

Lissa started to respond to Lazarus and Istvan, and the thought had crossed her mind to call out to Thistle, when Lucius stepped forward. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite stop him. Lissa sighed wistfully. "Well, if we weren't, I guess we are now..."

The whole group starts advancing, at a walking pace.  One of them shouts back Order of the Sun?  Sounds heretical to me!  Don't you agree lads?  The others make various comments of agreement, and they start drawing axes and hammers.

They're still some distance away and not moving quickly, so you've got plenty of time to act before they reach you.  What might be called "two or three rounds" in some other games.

Thistle feels briefly torn as the situation changes, but... for the moment, she decides to stay inconspicuous.  She suspects the goblin will try to keep running away while we're distracted, and so far as she can see, tracking where he goes is still an important goal... possibly more important than fighting these people we don't know.

Shapeshifting to stay in bird-form rolled a 13!  She actually wants, primarily, to keep an eye on the goblin still.

Lucius' cheeks go beet red. "H-heretical?! You take that back, y-you... lousy... scoundrel!" He shouts back with little conviction. The paladin pulls out his sword, but neither advances nor retreats.

Thistle - these are your special moves for your current bird form:
Birdsong: when you spend hold, you can communicate a simple idea (e.g. "danger coming" or "follow me"), and any allies who can hear you will understand it correctly.  You can still make sounds without spending hold, but your allies will have to figure it out for themselves.
Small and Agile - spend hold to take +1 on a Dex-based Defy Danger roll.

As Lucious stood firm, Lazarus stepped up behind him and placed a hand between the man's shoulder blades. He concentrated his magic and muttered a spell. He felt it leaving his mind as it was cast, but the spell still had the desired effect. His ally's clothes' colors changed from their normal styles to a brighter and more lustrous version of themselves. It was as if they had received a sudden upgrade in color palate. But Lazarus didn't stop there. He focused once more and the colorful sun-patterned tabard Lucius wore began to glow with an orange brilliance.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just hear out this holy warrior?" Lazarus called out? He hoped his "upgrades" to his ally's outfit might make them think twice about messing with Lucius and the rest of them. He wasn't too worried about losing, but talking seemed like the best way to get the information their group needed right now.

---

Cast Prestidigitation to change the colors of Lucius's clothes.
11:42, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 9 using 2d6+2.  Cast Spell: Prestidigitation.
I'll lose the spell.

Cast Light to make Lucius's clothes glow.
11:46, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 7 using 2d6+2.  Cast Spell: Light.
I'll lose this spell too.

Do I also need a Parley roll? The leverage being that they want to avoid fighting a glowing paladin of the sun? Here is a roll if you would like it:
11:56, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 9 using 2d6+1.  Potential Parley.
Or if the roll would work better as an Aid roll to Lucius's earlier I am the Law, then it would have the same results.

The man who appears to be in the lead of the human group holds out one arm and stops walking, and the others stop as well.  He mutters something to the rest of them, and although you can't hear it, the subtle change in their posture makes it clear that it was an order (or at least a strong recommendation) to stand down.  He then calls out to you A holy warrior, eh?  Well just you wait until Matyokol gets a hold of you.  The light always fades eventually.

And with that, he and his group turn away (cautiously, keeping you at least in the corners of their eyes) and start walking away, to the northwest.

Meanwhile, further in the forest, Thistle continues to follow the fleeing goblin.  He slows a bit when he realizes that he isn't being followed (apart from one bird to whom he pays no attention).  From your elevated position you can see the main goblin camp up ahead.  There seems to be a bit of a commotion going on there, though at this distance you can't tell more than that.

Thistle chirrups and tweets, and while the most beautiful of birdsongs often translate roughly to, You lousy kids get off of my lawn!, there is a sense in her brief song of.. waiting.  "Hold back," she seems to be suggesting.

Then she flits from tree to tree, moving closer to the goblin camp, looking for a better angle to see what all the commotion is about.

OOC: Spending 1 Hold to convey the message.

"B-but... sigh I screwed it up." The shining beacon of light sighs, with no intention of following the men. At least, in his mind, he didn't run like a coward, even though he was quite close to it. "Um, thank you, Lazarus. You can remove this, I think."

He caught Thistle's birdsong in his ears and followed the advice, standing still and waiting for what happens next.

Lazarus held his spells for a moment longer, then shrugged and allowed the magic to fade. "I can't believe that worked," he admitted. "I wouldn't say you screwed anything up, Lucius. It's just that people are unpredictable. What is our next move? Besides waiting for Thistle, of course." The wizard leaned against a tree while he waited for their little scouting birdie to return.

The corpulent chief Glorbrag is shouting at all the other goblins, who mostly respond with a mix of running around, cowering, or freezing in terror.  You can't understand the language, but you can see that at times during his ranting he points to a single basket filled with green-spotted mushrooms, and to a group of large wooden cages which could easily fit several people each, but are currently empty.

"I think we should push at these goblins. We know they enslave people for someone else, but they are threat by themselves." Lucius suggests, looking ahead of him for the little bird Thistle.

Flying back to the others, the little bird perches on a tree branch and starts singing merrily.  After almost a full minute, she cocks her head, looking down at them, and then flits down to the ground and changes back to Thistle.  A little bit sheepishly, she says, "Sometimes I forget.  I think they're getting ready to make a trade.  They have empty cages and a basket of mushrooms."

"...Wait... doesn't that suggest they just made a trade?" suggested Istvan. "...Well, maybe not... I'm a little confused. I think the real question is... would we rather fight those folks we just met, or a bunch of goblins? Is it too late to follow those other folks...?"

"Regardless, I think Lucius is right. We should deal with the goblins now if we can. While they don't have any innocents who could get hurt in the crossfire. Otherwise they will keep catching slaves while we are off chasing their buyers." Lazarus nodded his head, agreeing with his own plan. "The trick will be to do so without getting ourselves killed in the process..."

"Or perhaps they haven't traded, as their band met us instead of innocent would-be-slaves. In any case, I shall lead the charge and draw their fire. Their arrows do me no harm."

"Hold on-- not to make trouble, here, but why are we talking about attacking a goblin village when just a little while ago we were running away from a goblin village? Anyone else remember that?" Istvan asked. "The one that kept us in big cages, as I recall? Why will this go in our favor this time...? If we think we can take on a goblin village, why did we run into the thorns and all that...?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:49, Fri 30 Aug 2019.

"Well, you didn't have me with you at the time," Lazarus said with a smirk. "Or Lissa or Thistle, for that matter."

"...Had some other people with us..." Istvan muttered very quietly, "...but I think they were wise enough to stay in town or something..."

Istvan sighed deeply. "Well, as my uncle Django used to say, 'if all your friends are going to jump off a bridge, you might as well jump too...'"

He paused... then turned to Thistle. "...They got any more wolves over there...?" he asked.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:18, Sat 31 Aug 2019.

Thistle had noticed a few more wolves there, they just weren't really drawing her attention at the time.

"...We sure we don't wanna try to go follow those other folks we encountered?" suggested Istvan. "There were less than a dozen of 'em, and they didn't seem to have wolves with 'em that I noticed... Not yet, anyway..." he added...

"I guess technically our mission is only to find out who is paying the goblins for the prisoners they are taking," Lazarus admitted. "But tit doesn't really feel right to let the goblins continue going about their business abducting people either."

Lazarus put a hand up to his chin and contemplated his new moral dilemma. "I guess I could be persuaded either way, so I will leave the decision up to you guys. But I do find it a little curious for an adventurer to shy away from a bit of danger. Especially when it could accomplish so much good."

"Did you find it curious when we ran into the thorns and brambles away from a village's worth of goblins previously?" Istvan asked. "Because this is a lot like that, only at the start of it. The main difference between then and now is that this time, we've already played Escape With Our Lives. But while we're on the subject, why didn't we play hardball with those guys who just left, instead of shying away from a bit of danger?"

"I wasn't there for your first foray with the goblins," Lazarus reminded Istvan. "And as for the human people, well, we weren't certain that they were our targets. Plus we did not have the element of surprise. I assume we still plan to go after them though. If not now, then eventually." Lazarus shrugged his shoulders. "But we can certainly go now if everyone feels that his best."

"Oops, sorry, I did forget that for a second. The first part of that irritation on my part was kind of meant for Lucius."



Istvan sighed. "All that is true... and I agree... except that I feel like it sure would be easier to 'go after them eventually' starting now, since we basically know what direction they went in... But yeah, what do the rest of you say...?"

"There are many goblins, and it is their home," Thistle notes.  "We are stronger, but few.  If we do wish to attack them, we would need to be clever about it, not simply march in.  Unless we have a plan beyond to attack, I believe we would do better to follow these humans you saw."

"That line of thought makes sense to me... anyone else...?"

"H-hey! This is an entirely different situation!" Lucius protested. "We're taking the fight on our own terms, and we don't have a captive to protect. I... I'd rather deal with the goblins first, rather than these guys. We can track them, right?"

Istvan sighed again. "It did occur to me that we weren't helping another captive escape this time... I was hoping it wouldn't occur to you, too..."

(It seems like Istvan and Thistle think it would be best to follow the people first and deal with the goblins later-- Lucius thinks the opposite... Lazarus seems willing to go with whatever the majority wants... What're the odds that Lissa might express an opinion soon...?)

"Wait, I know...!" says Istvan. "I'll ask Noric for guidance! Stand by!"

Istvan quickly prays... "Noric, god of sky and tree, of bird and branch, of flight and freedom, let us know your will..."

(Istvan pray-casts Guidance

20:41, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 7 using 2d6+2 ((4,1)).

After this, the prayer-spell is revoked until Istvan rests again...)

"...Stand by for guidance from the great god of the sky... in 3... 2... 1..."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:09, Tue 03 Sept 2019.

Thistle looks up curiously.

Istvan's prayer is met by a light breeze, the sort that would normally make you feel calm and comfortable.  And yet all the trees sway with it for a few seconds, in the direction of the humans who were heading back out of the woods.

Istvan - why do you think Noric chose to revoke your spell just now?

(Istvan figures Noric chose to revoke the spell (for now) because he doesn't want us to get too dependent on Guidance. He is the god of Freedom, after all. He's really big on free will and stuff.)

"Well, Noric votes we go follow the humans. Any remaining disagreements...?"

"No disagreements from me, no," Lazarus stated. He began heading in the general direction the humans went, doing his best to not draw attention to himself or the group. They had the nearby goblins to worry about, as well as the humans they were currently tracking.

"I'm not one to argue with gods... perhaps haste is necessary. We will come back for these goblins later, though." Lucius concedes when Noric's guidance becomes clear. He hesitantly starts following the men, still wary of his previous embarassment.

I still have a -1 forward against these guys... yikes.

"The goblins are home," Thistle points out.  "They will probably still be here later."

"Good point," said Istvan. "Then let's go after those other people, and see where they go and/or what they do..."

You all head back out of the forest, trying to stay on roughly the same path as where you think those men were heading.  The time that you spent figuring out your next move has given them a generous head start.  Nonetheless, by the time you make it out of the forest and back onto the road, you can still see them up ahead.  Well, you're pretty sure it's them anyway; at this distance they're more like dots approaching the horizon than clearly defined people, but it's definitely the right number of them.

You follow them north along the road, taking whatever precautions you decide on to avoid being detected if they should happen to look behind them.  After about an hour they turn onto a rough dirt path leading toward some nearby hills.  As you get closer you can see that there is something there, like an old mine entrance with a large wooden shed built around it.

The sun is still high in the sky, but definitely starting its descent.  You estimate that you have 4-5 hours of daylight remaining, if that matters to you at the moment.  You also estimate that walking back to town from here would take about three hours.

Surely one of you has heard something about the abandoned mine in this area - from what you've heard, why was it abandoned?

And besides that, what do you all do?

"Hey, isn't that the mine that broke into the 'Cavern of the Crawlies'?" Lazarus asked as they neered the old mine. "I've only heard the stories, so who knows how trustworthy they are, but apparently a few years back there was an incident. The miners dug into an underground chasm filled with all kinds of glowing foliage and strange natural structures. It sounded like it was actually pretty cool. At first."

"Then the critters started pouring out. Centipedes, spiders, snails, scorpions, the works. All big, hideous, and with colorful glowing markings along their hides. They swarmed the miners. Those who were lucky escaped to the safety of sunlight with swollen bites and stings. Most were not lucky..."

Lazarus left a respectful amount of silence before continuing. "But like I said, that was a few years ago. Maybe the crawlies have dispersed by now. Or the hole got blocked off again. I don't know."

"Ew." Lucius winces. "Well, if these humans take the cave as their residence, perhaps there is not many of these insects down there."

Lucius cautiously moves towards the mine entrance, gripping his sword tightly. As he does, he surveys their surroundings.

15:55, Today: Lucius rolled 9 using 2d6.  Discern realities.

What here is not what it appears to be?

As you creep closer, trying not to give yourselves away just yet, a gust of wind reaches you.  It just so happens to be coming from uphill, such that it passes by the mine entrance before getting to you.  As a result, it is carrying the unmistakable fragrance of livestock.  Which is odd, since you don't see any outside the mine.

"This foul stench may be a hint from Noric," Istvan whispered. "We should check it out somehow... uphill, I guess...?"

Thistle giggles suddenly.  "I didn't know Gods did that," she says, grinning.

"Yeah, we definitely need to check it out," Lazarus agreed. "I just hope the animals aren't being used as critter-treats..." Lazarus shuddered at the thought. "I'll... take rear guard. Who wants to do the honors of knocking?" Of course by "knocking" he meant either kicking the door down or sneaking in without being spotted.

"...Noric's ways are mysterious." The paladin pinches his nose and takes point.

"Sometimes, a bit," nods Istvan, and he falls into quiet/sneaky marching order behind Lucius. "...We're checking out the livestock smell first, right?" he adds (still whispering).
This message was last edited by the player at 17:40, Fri 13 Sept 2019.

All of the people have gone inside the building, as far as you can tell.  The hills here have a somewhat steep slope, but not insurmountable.  The path you are on leads up to a double door to the building that covers the mine entrance.  The building is about 20 feet tall, made of plain wood, with a gambrel roof.  It extends back into the hillside, though from out here you have no way of knowing how deep it goes.

So how do you approach the place?

"I mean, like, I'm curious what that smell is... Shall we sneak around to the side and look over the next hill, or...?" Istvan clarified his previous question...

"I mean, I'm a little more concerned about the people who went into the mine," Lazarus whispered back. "The ones who might kill us or take us as slaves? But I guess it would be good to know if there is a herd of buffalo that might trample us too... So yeah, go ahead and check it out I guess. If the smell isn't coming from the mine itself."

As the group neared the mine and the smell got stronger, Lazarus did his best to search his memory for what animal the smell might belong to. He had met many animals in his day, and they often had distinct smells, but identifying those smells could certainly be quite tricky. "It does smell familiar..."

---

Spout Lore - animal smell
13:41, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 11 using 2d6+2.  Spout Lore - Animal Smell.

It's a bovine smell, no doubt about that.  Not cow though... no, that's got to be ox.  A lot of them.  Or, given the space they're in, maybe just a few very big ones.

Lazarus shared this information with the group as they approached. "So either there is a wild herd of oxen nearby, or our targets probably have need of their labor potential..."

Lucius replies to Istvan. "I believe the smell is coming from the mine itself... keeping the oxes inside doing heavy labor sounds reasonable. Not sure how that information helps us, but... let us continue." He lead the way to the mines themselves.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:40, Tue 24 Sept 2019.

"Aw... all right... I just kinda wanted to see 'em... Y'know... before we go into the creepy crawly mine known for spiders an' bugs an' insects an' things... But, y'know... Whatever... If I'm the only one who wants to investigate the cattle first... even though Noric seems to be sending us messages through breezes lately..."

"Didn't we just establish that the smell is coming from the mine?" The paladin stops and turns around, confused.

"Oh. I didn't... get that. ...Maybe the cattle are being held by the entrance/exit so that the creepy crawlies will eat them instead of escaping. Or something."

To clarify, yes, the smell is coming from the mine entrance.

If your plan is to go straight to the front door, who's doing it?  Or if your plan is something else, let's hear it.

Either way, what do you do?

You all walk carefully up to the front door.  It is a wide double door, like a barn, with iron handles on both sides.  A heavy chain lays in the dirt just off to the side.  From inside you hear some deep snorting and bellowing sounds, as well as a muffled voice that sounds annoyed from the tone, although you can't make out specific words.

Now what?

As they neared the building, Lazarus scanned its walls for any windows, knotholes, or cracks that might let him get a peek inside. When they heard muffled voices, Lazarus tiptoed the rest of the way toward the building. "I'm going to see if I can hear what they are saying," he whispered, then put his ear up to a promising-looking crack in the wall.

---

Discern Realities:
12:19, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 10 using 2d6.  Discern Realities - eavesdropping.
Surprising! I guess I will ask:
What is about to happen?
What should I be on the lookout for?
What here is not what it appears to be?

With his ear to the door, Lazarus hears the wet noises of several large creatures eating something, punctuated by occasional heavy hooves (single sporadic steps, not a steady beat).  But he can also hear three distinct human voices, and make out most of what they are saying.  It sounds like the conversation is mostly an argument about whether they should head home now or stay put for the rest of the day and wait for morning.  The main argument for staying seems to be that it's a long trip home, while the main argument for leaving now is "I'm getting bored here, we got no prisoners, I need some kind of action."  In between these points, there are occasionally other comments such as "don't knock over that oil, idiot" and "careful, Cuthbert'll hear you" (which is quickly followed by "shit, he's coming").

And then Lazarus feels something touch his ear, and he tumbles back away from the barn.  He instinctively brushes his ear and then looks at his hand, and sees a termite crawling on it.  Looking back at the barn, he sees more termites, which he hadn't noticed before, crawling over and between the planks, and occasionally leaving small trails of sawdust behind them.

Lazarus quickly and quietly relayed what he had heard to the group. "Sounds like this Cuthbert might be in charge. Or at least feared. But it seems we have the correct group. If things take a turn for the worse, light the oil on fire or bring the roof down on top of them. This whole building sounds like a safety hazard." Lazarus then looked to Lucius to lead the charge, if the man still felt inclined to do so.

"Alright. Ready?" Lucius looks at everyone else as he steps up to the door, ready to push it in.

Istvan nods...

You push, but the door is barred on the inside.  Instead of swinging open, you knock out a portion of one plank, about a foot long, where the termites had weakened it.  Inside there are two oil lanterns weakly illuminating the scene.  You can see four oxen there, easily two or three hands taller than any other ox you've ever seen, and bulkier too.  Not to mention the horns that look both longer and sharper than your standard ox.  But for now they seem more focused on their feed bags than any of this human nonsense.  You can also just make out two wooden carts further back, just before the barn meets the hill face and the mine entrance proper.

In between the oxen you see three of the men from the woods.  Whatever they were up to before, besides complaining, they've now stopped to see who just put a hole in their door.  One of the men hesitantly calls out "Um, Cuthbert, we got some trouble up here..."

So what do you do?

Lazarus's eyes went wide as he saw the door break instead of opening. But he quickly recovered from his surprise and spoke up. "The jig is up! Surrender now and nobody has to get hurt. We met up with our allies since last we met and have this place surrounded. So unless you want to get stabbed by thirty men, I suggest lay down your arms now."

Of course it was a lie, but Lazarus figured it was worth a shot. After all, these guys might not be the shiniest bulbs in the onion patch.

---

Here is a Parley roll to convince them that there are more of us nearby, so they should surrender.
11:48, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 6 using 2d6+1.  Parley.
Aaaaand that's a fail unless someone Aids. (note to self: haven't added XP yet)

To give more punch to Lazarus' words, the paladin unsheathes his sword. The menacing sound of drawn steel reverberates in the air.

12:58, Today: Lucius rolled 8 using 2d6+1.  Help Lazarus.

Through the hole in the door you can see one of the men holding up his hands toward the others.  He looks back through the hole to you and says Hold on now, hold on.  What are you attacking us for anyway?  We ain't done nuffin' to you.  If you're just trying to get rid of us, that's all you got to say.  You back away, we'll leave peacefully, no need for no one to get hurt, right?

"We can't just let these people go. We must figure out the fates of the slaves." Lucius whispers back to the group after hearing the men's plea.

Lazarus nodded in agreement to Lucius. He decided to push his luck some more with his ruse.

"We don't want anyone to get hurt either. That's why we told you to lay down your arms. But if you really don't want to, then at the very least we can ensure that none of our people get hurt." Turning to yell orders to people who weren't really there, he said, "Donovan, Mary, Marcy, Kurt! Ready the flaming arrows! Peter, April, Doug, Colette! Turn anyone who leaves this building into a pincushion if they are wielding a weapon." Lazarus turned back to adress the people in the building again. "Last chance to surrender, or I give the order to fire."

---

If a new roll is needed:
18:15, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 12 using 2d6+1.  Parley again.

There is a bit of whispered discussion, and then the same man calls out "We're sending someone out to negotiate our terms of surrender!  The rest of us is staying right here until he comes back in and tells us it's okay!"

The man who has been talking so far is not the one who comes out to meet with you.  Instead, they send the youngest-looking of the group, a wiry lad whose face looks like it is struggling to produce a beard but having only mixed success.  There is a scraping sound as he unbars the door.  When he opens it to come outside, anyone who is especially perceptive might see the other people inside moving around, further toward the back of the building.  The lad closes the door behind him and looks all around as he approaches you.  He does appear to be unarmed.  He says, a little nervously, "So... you let us all leave in peace, we don't touch any of you neither, and we're done here, right?"

"Well, let's talk a little more, first. Maybe this will all turn out to be a big misunderstanding," says Istvan, not remotely believing that this will all turn out to be a big misunderstanding. "Tell us about the slaves."

"We don't got no slaves, I don't know what you're talking about!" he replies, rapidly and loudly.

Lucius seemed surprised by this arrangement, looking the lad over the shoulder intensively before he shut the door behind him...

06:39, Today: Lucius rolled 7 using 2d6.  Discern Realities.

What is about to happen?

I think I know what, these guys are escaping and left the young lad to stall, or that's Lucius' hunch. He's just looking for anything to confirm said hunch.

Lazarus was happy to let Istvan handle the conversation from here on out, as it gave the mage a chance to stay prepared to handle the inevitable plan the baddies were concocting. Whatever it may end up being. Something definitely smelled fishy here, even if the wizard didn't know what exactly it was.

Moving a bit out of the boy's sight, Thistle suddenly vanishes.  A moment later, a small grey mouse scampers over and slips under the door.

OOC: Shapeshifting rolled an 11, so Hold 3.  She would like to go in and see what the other alleged bandits are up to.

Lucius can see that the others inside are moving back toward the mine proper.  Thistle confirms this as she transforms and darts into the barn.  The men are moving back to a covered position, and one of them says something about maybe collecting some bugs to bring up.

Thistle, your mouse power is that you can spend 1 hold to automatically escape from any creature that is significantly larger than you.

"They're fortifying. Preparing for a fight..." Lucius peeked over the young lad's shoulder.

"Look, we know your men have been dealing with goblins, and they don't care about your fate, either. I promise on my honor as the Paladin of the Blazing Sun, if you speak with us honestly, you may leave and live an honest life." He put his sword back into the sheath and approached the man with solemn expression.

16:48, Today: Lucius rolled 6 using 2d6+2.  Parley - Freedom as leverage.

Need some help over here :|

"And I have never known that man to lie," Lazarus added, attempting to strengthen Lucius's credibility. "Almost to a fault, actually." He conveniently left out that he hadn't known Lucius for very long at all.

---

I'll help you Lucius!
13:48, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 8 using 2d6+1.  Aid Lucius.
That should bring his roll up to a 7, but also exposes Lazarus to danger, retribution, or cost.

The young man considers for a moment, then says "Tell you what.  You three come with us back to Dreorus, and along the way we'll tell you all about Matyokol and the things we do in his name.  And when we get there, you can see his glory for yourself!"

Lazarus looked to Lucius and Istvan, content to let them make the call on how to answer the man's offer. Lazarus would back them up and roll with whichever course of action they decided to take. Thistle too, for that matter, but the slippery druid had done another of her useful disappearing acts and was no-doubt nearby furthering other goals for the group.

Surprised by that course of action, Lucius looks confused at his allies. "Uhm... er... How far is that? And who is Matyokol?"

Dreorus is a little backwoods kingdom (a term that is maybe used charitably here) about two days' ride to the north.  You might have heard of it before, but if not then the young man fills you in.

As for the latter question, he eagerly responds Matyokol is our benevolent god!  By his will do all things grow, so they may tower above the rest of the world and let all see his glory!

"--Grow?!" said Istvan. "What sorts of things, for example?"

He was thinking (anxiously) of the creepy-crawly bugs that were doubtless down below their feet, but also of Noric, god of the sky, and the things seen reaching for the sky, like tall trees and other plants... If this Matyokol was trying to step up into Noric's domain, things were about to get serious around here...

Lazarus did his best to recall whatever he could about a god named Matyokol so that he might cross-reference the information with whatever the young man decided to tell them.

---

Spout Lore - Matyokol
14:04, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 10 using 2d6+2.  Spout Lore - Matyokol .

"Why, crops of course.  And livestock.  You'll see our oxen soon, they're fantastic, stronger than any beast you'll find anywhere else in the world!  With Matyokol's blessing, the work of one family can easily feed ten.  And when the whole community is working together, well, it's really something."

As Lazarus listens to this, he recalls having previously heard that Matyokol was a moon deity.  And that there have been rumors in the past few years, from neighboring communities, that the people of Dreorus have been getting increasingly... weird.  And that said neighbors have been getting increasingly nervous.
Istvan - have you been in the area yourself lately, or do you have another source for current events?

Meanwhile, inside the barn, Thistle can hear that the other men are getting nervous and impatient.  One of them declares "Sod this!" and heads inside the mine.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:13, Tue 12 Nov 2019.

Lazarus could feel himself getting more and more nervous the more the young man talked about his community, but couldn't immediately place why he felt such uneasiness. But then he remembered. He had recently heard a story from someone at a bar who hailed from Brookstone. Another town near Dreorus. The man said he bought a chicken from someone in Dreorus and it laid the biggest eggs he had ever seen. Especially during the time of the full moon.

The man said it was the greatest purchase he had ever made. At first. But then he made the mistake of letting the chicken hatch one of its eggs so that he could get more wonder-chickens. What came out of the shell was, well, Lazarus didn't know. The man telling the story couldn't bring himself to describe it. But he claimed it was something unholy.

The man burned down his chicken coop and promptly moved his family far from Dreorus, to Dirtmill. Which is where Lazarus had hear his tale. He had pretty much dismissed it as just another tall tale until this moment.

"Why do you-" Lazarus found himself struggling to ask his question, for fear of the answer. "Why do you keep your oxen inside? Out of the light of day? Especially if they are so big? Don't they need to graze?"

"Well that's simple, innit?" the man responds.  "Gigantic oxen out here, someone might spot them.  It's one thing if we're on the road, but we can't have outsiders knowing where we hole up when we come down this way, they might try to get in the way of business.  Anyone who knows we're here, they gotta come back with us, one way or another.  So like I was saying, are you and your friends up for a trip or what?"

One of the men inside has apparently taken this as his cue, and he opens the barn door.  Now you can all see the oxen, which are indeed gigantic, and you can see that there are several other men scattered around among them.  The one who opened the door looks around and says "Oi, wasn't there supposed to be a whole bunch of ye here?"

"No... No, I don't think we are up for a trip. Especially not with people who buy slaves from goblins," he said, finally revealing why they had followed the group in the first place. "As for the rest of the group, I signaled them to stand down. It would be no fun if you got skewered into a pincushion before the group of us managed to take you on."

As he spoke, Lazarus's stance went from a conversational one to a full on prepared-for-battle stance. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a small magic missile out from his hand to knock over a lantern and hopefully distract most of their foes with a sudden fire in their hideout.

---

Lazarus has no intention of becoming a prisoner. He cast Magic Missile, targeting a lantern inside the hideout.

14:13, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 7 using 2d6+2.  Cast a Spell: Magic Missile.
I think "You draw unwelcome attention or put yourself in a spot. The GM will tell you how." is appropriate in these circumstances. I'll choose that repercussion.

Lucius was clearly conflicted and uncomfortable with keeping up this deception. So it almost came as a relief when Lazarus started slinging spells, though he did not wish these men to come to harm. He stood by the wizard with shield up, wary of potential attackers.

21:42, Sat 23 Nov: Lucius rolled 11 using 2d6+1.  Defend Lazarus.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:06, Mon 25 Nov 2019.

In all the excitement of expository conversation, it seems everyone had forgotten about Cuthbert.  You don't know who Cuthbert is, of course, but he makes it pretty clear when he finally emerges from the mine and starts bellowing about the oil lamp that just exploded and set the rotting barn on fire.  First he yells at the other men to get the oxen out, then come back for the wagons after.  Then he steps outside himself.

Cuthbert is a tall and wiry man, with a bald head and big ears.  Though he doesn't appear as muscular as the others, the look on his face makes it clear that they follow his orders whether they want to or not.  He carries a large sack which appears to be squirming.  As he glares at the three of you who are outside, he shouts Alright, which one of you knocked over that lamp?

As for the one of you who is inside, the building is definitely on fire.  It hasn't spread too much yet, but it will, that is pretty clear.  The oxen are starting to panic, and the humans are a step or two ahead of them.  It;s going to get pretty warm in here pretty soon.  What do you do?

Darting between stomping hooves and almost as dangerously stomping feet, Thistle dashes across the floor and leaps, trying to land on and grab hold of the squirming sack.

OOC: I have no idea what that would be mechanically; if it can qualify as escaping from something larger than me, I'll certainly spend a Hold for it, but I suspect it's more like a Defy Danger.  In which case I would like to propose, because, um, it is better for me, that leaping-and-clinging falls under Strength more than Dexterity?
This message was lightly edited by the player at 16:14, Mon 25 Nov 2019.

Sure, I'll accept the Str-based argument.  So on that note...
GM, on behalf of Thistle, rolled 9 using 2d6+1.  Defy Danger.

Thistle weaves between various legs and quickly gets some distance between herself and the flames.  As she is almost close enough to jump to the sack, Cuthbert turns around to glance back at his gang.  Thistle could probably still make the jump, but if she does there is a good chance he will see her.  And he doesn't seem like the sort who is going to take pity on a mouse fleeing a fire that he's already angry about.

To be clear, if you still want to jump onto the sack you will succeed, no need to roll again.  It's just going to have some extra risks attached.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:33, Wed 27 Nov 2019.

"That would be me!" Lazaras replied defiantly to Cuthbert. Lucius's shield gave him confidence he probably otherwise wouldn't possess. With a complex set of gestures and fluid hand motions, the wizard launched a bolt of magic at the intimidating man when he glanced back to check on his crew. Lazarus felt the bolt of arcane energy fly out of his fingertips, draining some of his own magical reserves in the process.

---

Casting Magic Missile at Cuthbert.
13:10, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  Cast Magic Missile.
I'll choose, "The spell disturbs the fabric of reality as it is cast—take -1 ongoing to cast a spell until the next time you Prepare Spells."

Damage.
13:13, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 5 using 2d4.  Missile Damage.

A lot of things happen at once, or close enough that you can't differentiate anyway.  Lazarus starts his spell, but it takes a couple of seconds to get through it.  In that time Cuthbert pivots and hurls the squirming sack, with Thistle attached, at the wizard.  While it is still airborne, the magical bolt strikes him in the chest and knocks him flat on his back.

A couple of things to resolve while everything is in slow motion:
-Thistle - you still aren't sure what's inside this sack, but it feels like multiple things moving independently.  The more important thing is that you are flying through the air and are going to collide very soon with Lucius and/or Lazarus.  That'll need another Defy Danger roll, either +Dex to jump off safely or +Con to soak the impact as much as you can.
-Lucius - time to cash in that Defend action.  You've got a couple options for how to do that, so let me know which way you're going and then we can resolve the action...

Lucius was not quick enough to voice his discontent - or confusion. Everything was happening at once. Fire. Magic. Squirming mystery bags.

Not knowing that Thistle was on the bag, he braced his sword and sliced the flying sack in half before it struck Lazarus.

I choose to halve the effect/damage. 2 hold remaining.

Time to solve the mystery - it turns out the bag was full of the "crawlies" for which this cave was named.  Specifically, scorpions, each about a foot long.  As the bag opens they come tumbling out, claws and tails flailing, and scatter around you.  Since Lucius had cut the bag before impact, more of the scorpions land on the ground than Cuthbert had intended, but a few do still land on Lazarus.

Lazarus - roll+Con.  10+ you're okay, 7-9 you take 1d3 damage, 6- you take damage and also you become Shaky from the poison.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:02, Sun 01 Dec 2019.

Istvan has had enough of this: it's smiting time.

Istvan is tempted to smite the scorpions, but decides that the guy who's the leader of the opposition is the bigger threat. The scorpions are a serious short-term threat, but take out the brains and leadership of the enemy, Istvan reasons, and this'll all be easier in the long-term.

(Prayer-Cast Magic Missile at Cuthbert: 08:42, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 10 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 6,2.

08:43, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 6 using 2d4 with rolls of 3,3.)

13:46, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 11 using 2d6.  Con roll vs scorpion shower.
Sweet, he's okay!

Lazarus winced as the bag flew in his direction, then outright yelped when it was cut open by Lucius and revealed the scorpions within. The wizard clenched his eyes and recoiled as he awaited the inevitable shower of over-sized scorpions. He felt a plop aganst his shoulder and one leg, but that was it. Apparently Lucius's slash had caused most to miss their intended target. And the ones that did hit were too disoriented from flying through the air to know where to sting.

Immediately Lazarus's mind was doing calculations and he knew he had to act immediately before he missed his chance. Like lightning, Lazarus's hands shot out toward each scorpion to grab it at the base of the stinger. The wizard then spun around and used his momentum to chuck the bugs back at their original captor. "Take this, Cuthbert!" he yelled, even as Istvan was casting his magic at the same target.

---

Defying Danger with Dex to throw a couple scorpions back at Cuthbert.
13:56, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 9 using 2d6+1.  Cashing in scorpion gift receipt.
Partial success, unless he receives Aid.

Cuthbert is just starting to get up when Istvan's bolt knocks him back down again.  For a brief moment it looks like this might be enough to intimidate the other slavers into backing off, but when Lazarus throws a scorpion back at their leader, this insult seems to push them to fight back instead.  Two men advance at you with knives drawn, while the third picks up a burning piece of wood from the ground where the barn still stands, but clearly not for much longer.

The oxen, for their part, are standing in the field a short distance away and seem to be unfazed by these latest developments.

And what do you all do?

The nimble little mouse scampers up to the top of the bag, finding herself briefly twisted up in the fabric as it's cut in half.  The scorpions fly out everywhere, but she rides the softer cushioning of the burlap to the ground, landing safely.

Crawling out, she studies the scorpions.

OOC: Spending her Hold to safely escape, leaving two.  And this round, she will contemplate the essence of the Scorpions.  I think that's just a thing that takes a moment?  It doesn't look like there's a die roll for it.

Even though he took the sacred Vow of Honor, which forbids cowardice, Lucius couldn't get himself to charge forward, even though he was fairly certain of the men's misdeeds.

He gripped the sword tighter and raised his shield, bracing himself for the attack.

Lucius will continue defending Lazarus. I have 2 more hold so I don't think another roll is necessary.

Standing guard in front of a person who can't defend themselves too well is hardly "cowardice."  Lucius feels fairly confident that the Order of the Sun would agree with his choice to hold his position.  Especially when two of the three men (one with a knife, and the one with the makeshift torch) come swinging.  The third advances on Istvan instead.

The scorpions, now free from their bag, skitter away from the fire.  They move in various directions, with a couple of them heading toward the oxen.  Thistle watches carefully to see how the coordinate all those legs with the heavy claws at the front and the tail hovering at the back.

Lucius - Lazarus is about to take 1d6+1 damage.  I assume you're intervening, but since you have a few options for how to do that I will wait for you to specify.

Istvan - you have a few seconds to act before the third guy reaches you.  He is wielding a knife and does not appear to have any armor on.

There's a split second where Istvan is tempted to pray for a smiting, but he can't help but feel he'd better not waste the smites. Noric might get tired of Istvan if Istvan doesn't try to take care of himself now and then.

So Istvan rears back and whacks the guy with his mace.

Istvan's mace, I mean, not the guy's mace. The guy didn't have a mace. Just a knife. Except that he has a mace now, in his face.

(17:37, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 9 using 2d6+1 ((4,4)). Sigh. Should've gone with the smite, but who knew? Not me. Felt like I was due for a bad roll.

17:42, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 1 using 1d6 ((1)). And there it is.)

Lazarus kept one eye on Cuthbert, but ducked further behind Lucius as the other two opponents advanced. "You got this buddy," Lazarus encouraged Lucius. "And if not, well, I do know a bit of healing magic... If your guts get spilled, I'll mop them up for you!" That was definitely an exaggeration of his healing capabilities.

Just then, he noticed Istvan getting into a scuffle with a knife-wielder. It looked like there was another who might end up needing some healing too.

Lucius gulped as the men approached. Lazarus' attempt at encouragement didn't help. He focused back on his combat training and braced his shield to take the brunt of the blows while taking a wide swing from the side at the men.

I take the hit on the chin. 1 hold remaining.

23:25, Today: Lucius rolled 9 using 2d6+1.  Hack and Slash.

23:28, Today: Lucius rolled 2 using 1d10+1.  Damage.

If possible, he aims to disable/incapacitate rather than kill. But I understand that in a combat situation this would be difficult.

Cuthbert shows no sign of movement.

Istvan's pontificating about the right move to make means that when he finally does attack, he's slow.  This allows the thug to duck aside and slide in with his knife.  The mace does clonk him (lightly) on the head, but momentum carries him forward with a hard stab.

GM rolled 6 using 1d6.  damage to Istvan.

Lucius stands firm and takes the hits that were meant for Lazarus.  His shield and mail absorb most of the impact, but he still loses his balance for a moment.  He tries to compensate as he lines up his counterattack, and though he does give the knife-wielder a good cut, he stumbles as he swings and creates a little more of a gap between himself and Lazarus.  The torch-wielding thug takes advantage of this and is about to reach the wizard...

GM rolled 3 using 1d6+1.  damage to Lucius.

Seeing the torch-wielder targeting him, Lazarus acted fast. "Watch me work my magic!" he taunted. With a flair of his robes, Lazarus spun in place, sinking low as he turned to deliver a surprise leg sweep on the man with the torch. He hoped to knock the guy prone so that they could deal with him more easily in the near future. And with any luck, maybe he would land on one of those scuttling scorpions...

---

My intent is for Lazarus to trip up the guy using his dex (acting fast).
14:50, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 8 using 2d6+1.  Defy Danger with dex - trip.

Lucius can't split himself in two, that much is clear. Trying to interfere with both foes, he first puts his foot forward to trip the torch thug, then rushes with his shield raised at the other man, trying to knock him away for now.

Last hold used to give +1 forward against the torch guy.

Not sure what to roll here.

In the meantime, although Istvan was hoping one of his comrades would happen to do something spectacular that would at least distract his opponent, he quickly saw that that wasn't about to happen, so Istvan just tried attacking again himself...

(10:18, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 11 using 2d6+1 ((4,6)).

Damage: 10:19, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 4 using 1d6 ((4)).)

And it worked!

Better than last time, anyway...

Lazarus and Lucius both work together to trip the one guy.  With their combined efforts they do succeed, but he hits hard against Lazarus's shin, so that hurts like hell for a bit.

Unfortunately, this maneuver means that Lucius isn't paying enough attention to the attacker on the other side of him.  As the paladin turns to start his next maneuver, the man has already grabbed the edge of your shield, and he now uses it as a lever to control your arm.  It's uncomfortable already, and if you don't find a way out quickly it's going to hurt a lot more pretty soon.

Things are going better for Istvan, however, and he scores a good hit on the side of his opponent's head and knocks him right out.

------------
Lazarus - no mechanical effect for your shin right now, but it might count against you depending on what happens in the next minute or two.

Lucius - I'm not going to pretend I know how intricate shield straps are, so I'll say one turn will be sufficient to extricate yourself - you lose your shield, but you also nullify the immediate threat.  You could also try to wrench free with another Str-based DD, or any other ideas you might have.  If you allow the arm bar to happen, it will do 1d4 damage (minus armor, since it will interfere with how much he can move you or dig the shield into your arm), and you will have a -1 penalty on all rolls involving physical movement until you can get free.

No amount of training can replace experience. Lucius found himself in an unexpected position. Panicking, he reared his head back to strike with it at the thug's nose. While the attempt was good, the execution... Not so much.

For some reason copying text from the roller on this new phone is a massive chore. So I'll just let you know I rolled a big fat 5 on my Hack and Slash.

This message was deleted by the player at 08:17, Tue 07 Jan 2020.

With his target down on the ground now, Lazarus loomed over him threateningly with his dagger in one hand and magical sparks flaring in his other. "If you know what is good for you, you'll do away with your torch and surrender. Otherwise you might not get out of here with all of your pieces still attached..." Lazarus hoped the threat would convince the man to stay down so that he didn't have to make good on his threat.

---

I believe this would be a parley, with the leverage being the choice between getting smacked around with blade and magic, or surrendering and staying in one piece.
13:20, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 8 using 2d6+1.  Parley.
On a 7–9, they will do what you ask, but need some concrete assurance of your promise, right now.

The mouse scampers over towards Lucius, where she finally lets go of her mouse form, returning to her natural shape right behind the man holding the Paladin's shield.  Without a word, she swings her shillelagh, aiming right for his knees.  The stout wood connects with a solid crunch, and she's ready to move out of the way in case he falls backwards towards her.


OOC: Hack and Slash actually rolled a 12, for 5 damage!

The one that was fighting Lazarus takes a breath and slowly says "Okay now, you just put down your knife, fair's fair like, and I'll put down the torch, right?"

A few feet away, Lucius tries to fight back, but the thug has too much of an advantage.  He steps to the side and pulls hard on your shield, digging the rim into your tricep and locking your arm in place.  Just as it is starting to really hurt, Thistle suddenly pops up beside him and hits him so hard on the side of the knee that you're pretty sure it's broken.  He instantly screams, lets go of you, and drops to the ground, writhing in pain.

GM rolled 2 using 1d4.  Damage to Lucius.

Lazarus kept his eyes locked on the man he was fighting, but nodded to him and threw his dagger blade-first into the dirt. But he kept the magic crackling between his fingers intimidatingly. "Looks like you're the last man standing," he said as the other conscious enemy fell to the ground with a broken leg. "I would suggest not backing out of your side of our deal. I dropped my weapon, now you drop yours."

Lucius grunts in pain, but the armor on his arm prevents the armlock from doing any significant damage. He stretches and relaxes the injured shield arm for a while, looking down at the beaten thug. "Whew... what a mess..."

Unnerved at the sight of blood on his blade, he wipes it clean and sheathes it afterwards, approaching the last man standing besides Lazarus, letting the mage do the talking.

Thistle grins at her success, and stands over her fallen foe, cudgel raised up intimidatingly in case he decides to try anything else.

Istvan wanders over to his comrades, keeping an eye out for any other surprises from deeper in the mine, but also keeping an eye out on the floor for any other scorpions or bugs that might be crawling around...

Shaking, the last of the thugs drops his burning brand.  There is a faraway look in his eyes, and for at least the next minute or so he seems not to register when anyone tries to talk to him.

With the battle over, you all take a moment to survey the scene, collect your thoughts, and decide on your next course of action...

END OF SESSION 1