A small, wizened orc comes out from behind the flap of leather that forms the door to his hut. Shorter even than Nutcracker, he leans on a cane. He holds out his free hand, palm up, and waits.
This message was last updated by the player at 07:07, Sun 11 Sept 2022.

Santio followed the group in.
He was unsure about this whole 'public speaking' and 'boasting' thing, but he was psyching himself up to do his best.

Guyver nudged Santio forward as he hissed in his ear:"Give the little fella his deer meat .. champ". He petted Santio on both shoulders and announced: "This ..  this is our guy .. brave hunter .. a real killer .. hmm .. popular with the women .. as a wee babe he killed two snakes with his bare hands .. and hmm .. by age 14 he'd killed a hundred men just for looking at him wrong. Yea. So. Meat. Mmm. Anyway, your turn, Santio. Go get em tiger. Tallyho".

He stepped back. Okay, he thought to himself, let's not do that again.

Guyver rolled 13 using 1d20-1.  deception.

If Kiara was upset by Santio's silence, she didn't let it show.

[Private to group Orcish: "Hail, Chief Margul the Ancient."]

She barked out in Orcish.

[Private to group Orcish:"I am Kiara, named Goldentongue by my patron. We come under the Banner of Smith's Gambit, and bring tribute."]

She opened the chest, revealing the bounty within, including what Santio had captured.

[Private to group Orcish: "A taste of what awaits you, should you and your people begin trade with ours."]

She gestured to Santio.

"Blood calls to blood, and warriors to warriors. Hear now the words of he who hunted within the heart of the storm in the dark of night to bring this bounty."

She repeated in the Common tongue.

Santio took a deep breath, then stepped over and lifted the deer onto his shoulders in the traditional 'firemans carry'.

He turned to look at the wizened little orc, and strode over to an invisible halfway mark, where he stopped, and addressed the little man-creature.
He decided to keep it simply.
    But what followed didn't exactly come out, the way he had rehearsed it in his head.
    -  rolled 0 using 1d20-1  (try to) Impress the Orcs   ... yup, thats a natural '1', modified down

"I am S .. S .. Santio.
It is, um, true that I, ahh, hunted this meat as o..offering of our good willing, um, I mean ... faith, during the snow storm last night.

But that was easy enough," he said, flipping the deer up over his head, so that it landed at the elder's feet, "for ... hmm, umm, a woodsm...hunter such as me, um, I  ... who hunted Te Feu,um,ngul ... the whi... MIGHTY white tiger ... during a snow stor...  much worse blizzard only a week ago.
oh,  yeah, and I, like, um,  killed it with one arrow shot, and one blade" he seemed to stumble then, as though the right word eluded him: but he made an awkward stabbing motion in the air before him.    Even in the cold snow, he was sweating now, "...  STRIKE, yeah strike ... that pierced its heart directly.".

He drew from his sachet the tiger skull:  the one he'd painted so carefully* with a forest setting ... a white tiger crouched (ready to pounce) over top of the skull and down onto the forehead.            * Santio has high Dex, and proficiency with Painting Tools.
"As well as the ummm meat," he called out, to the village as a whole, kind of pointing weakly at the deer,  "I offer its head as ... um, I mean the tigers skull, not the deers, as a gift ... well, the deer's too, I guess ... because its, um, like, part of that body.    Um, anyway, to your leader".  Turning his attention back to the old orc, and (with both shaking hands) reverently offered the painted skull.  He started to bow to one knee: then wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do, he didn't.  He looked around then for Kiara ... a wild, panicked look in his eye.

      {assuming the tiger skull is taken}  he continued on uncomfortably:
"Should any of you, like maybe one at a time?  wish to test me on this ... I, um,  accept your challenge?  in advance?"
Then, he stepped back, to rejoin his retinue, and allow Goldentongue to again take the lead socially.


I typed up the boast ... then modified it after I made the roll, to better emulate the roll.

Kiara watched in ever growing dismay as Santio took her guiding words to heart, proclaiming his boast to the entire village. The Warforged had been a far better choice, in retrospect, but that mistake had already flown beneath them. When he looked to her for reassurance, it hurt her that she had to be cruel to him in this moment, but she saw no other way of salvaging this disaster.

"It is good that you hunt with steel and not boasts, Santio, or we might have all starved rather than feasted this night."

And though her hand did not stray to her blade, she fully expected violence.

There was a hush among the orcs for an uncomfortably long moment after Santio spoke, broken by Kiara's jest. An orc baby began to wail. Finally, Margul began laughing heartily. "The boy must be one amazing hunter, or you're terrible fools for letting him speak for you!" He motioned with his hands, and the crowd of orcs began to, surprisingly gently, push out everyone but Santio, until they formed a circle with only Santio, Margul, and a burly orc who stood next to Margul. He said without malice, "Tell me, Santio: are you skilled with that blade you carry? Better yet, show me!"

He handed the orc next to him his cloak and walking stick, and began to grow larger. The other orc retreated into the crowd as Margul continued his transformation. His skin turned black, his muzzle lengthened, and his hands turned into powerful, clawed hands. White fur covered all but his nose and eyes. Where once stood a tiny old orc, now roared a large polar bear!

Initiative!
17 Margul

"Woops .. ", Guvyer muttered.

Santio watched the little goblin grow ... and grow and grow, ever upwards ... his neck and back slowly craning backwards to look up at the towering, slavering, furry monstrosity before him.

Then,  he seemed to deflate somewhat:  his shoulder sagging and his eyes falling to face the ground.
He sighed, and shook his head slowly at the stupidity of the situation he'd found himself in now:  he should have let the bird man take this task.

But, with a deep breath, he looked up then at the snarling jaws, with a forced smile, and said, "Well, ok then.  Lets do this.
But don't say I didn't warn you".

He stepped back, and looked around at his cage.    The orcs had the two of them (seven, if you counted a polar bear as being six people) hemmed in tight.     Santio would have no space to move, and no chance to use any kind of distance to his advantage:  he was always going to be in arms paw reach of this thing.
The whole 'arena' was thoroughly designed to play to the chief's fighting style, and limit his own to null.
So be it.

He slowly drew the Katana from the sheath across his back, and fell into an appropriate stance.  He held the katana in a two handed manner, unlike so many warriors who used their sword one handed.

And, as soon, as the bear flinched (indicating that combat had begun) he leapt high into the air, attempting to land two tornado-style roundhouse kicks to the bear's head ... then slice at its throat as he descended from those blows.

Even as he landed, he was spinning and moving agily, and using his katana to fend off any attack that came.

---

HP: 39/39 | tempHP: 0 | AC: 19 with Agile Parry |Spd: 40ft. | Ki Points: 3 | Passive Perception: 18 | Advantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws |

- rolled 19 using 1d20+3.  Initiative.

~ Flurry of Blows:
Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.

~ Agile Parry:
If you make an unarmed strike as part of the Attack action on your turn and are holding a kensei melee weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to AC until the start of your next turn, while the weapon is in your hand and you aren't in capacitated.


- rolled 11 using 1d20+6.    Unarmed attack.
    - rolled 6 using 1d4+3.   Unarmed damage.
- rolled 19 using 1d20+6.   Unarmed attack.
    - rolled 7 using 1d4+3.   Unarmed damage.
- rolled 21 using 1d20+7.    Katana strike (two handed).
     - rolled 5 using 1d10+4. Katana damage.

Kiara released a breath she had not realized she'd been holding when Santio struck, acknowledging the relief she felt. She 'd worried when he drew the blade, for it was an odd thing. It seemed vastly too thin for how long its edge was, and she'd honestly been afraid he would shatter it with his first blow. Yet the fight had been joined, and he had swiftly drawn first blood.

"Dragon's Fire he's fast."

She remarked to the others, forgetting herself somewhat in the moment. If his sword was strange, the way he fought was even stranger, but his blows at least appeared to be striking true.

Guyver tilted his head a little and narrowed his eyes, studying Santio fighting the beast.
He had fully expected the bear to bite the young man's head off as an opener and then maul what was left, but Santio's opening attack peaked his curiosity.
He folded his arms and said nothing but he paid closer attention now to the fight.

Santio continued his furious assault, slicing and hammering the bear's hamstring with a series of focused strikes. The wound immediately closed, but the bear still winced when putting weight on it.
Margul whirled around slashing wildly with his claws, hitting AC 25 for 11 slashing damage. His bite, however, was stopped by the flat of Santio's blade.

Initiative!
19 Santio
17 Margul

Margul Polar Bear Form has taken 34 damage, but healed an unknown amount. [Private to GM: 18 HP remains.]


This message was last edited by the GM at 01:23, Sat 24 Sept 2022.

Kiara's perfect mask of an expression had been replaced with a slight grin that barely touched her lips, but was clear in her eyes. It hardly mattered how the rest of the fight went, Santio had drawn first blood and dodged the counterattack. Even if the rest of the fight was a one sided drubbing, with the strange man left crushed and bleeding on the snow, they couldn't take that from him.

She leaned ever so slightly forward, eager to see if it was luck or skill that had afforded him that small victory.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:02, Thu 22 Sept 2022.

Santio didn't stop to take stock of his initial foray.
Instead, even as his feet hit the ground again, he was moving ... spinning and weaving and striking with blade and foot, like some scrawny whirling dervish.
His fighting style looked chaotic and fast, blurring ... making him a hard target to hit*.
     * because, hells bells, he really didn't want this hairy monstrosity to hit him with one of those huge paws

As huge as his opponent was, he was able to pirouette down, and between its mighty legs ... slicing at the back of the beast's hamstrings.
Followed by one, maybe two snap kicks to that same location to deaden its leg, and send as much pain up as possible.

---

HP: 39/39 | tempHP: 0 | AC: 19 with Agile Parry | Spd: 40ft. | Ki Points: 2/3 remaining | Passive Perception: 18 | Advantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws |

~ Flurry of Blows:
Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.

~ Agile Parry:
If you make an unarmed strike as part of the Attack action on your turn and are holding a kensei melee weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to AC until the start of your next turn, while the weapon is in your hand and you aren't in capacitated.

- rolled 23 using 1d20+7.  Katana Strike (two handed).
    - rolled 9 using 1d10+4.  Katana damage.
- rolled 25 using 1d20+6.  Unarmed Strike.
     - rolled 5 using 1d4+3.  Unarmed damage.
- rolled 16 using 1d20+6.  Unarmed Strike.
     - rolled 7 using 1d4+3.  Unarmed damage.

Santio continued his furious assault, slicing and hammering the bear's hamstring with a series of focused strikes. The wound immediately closed, but the bear still winced when putting weight on it.
Margul whirled around slashing wildly with his claws, hitting AC 25 for 11 slashing damage. His bite, however, was stopped by the flat of Santio's blade.

Initiative!
19 Santio
17 Margul

Margul Polar Bear Form has taken 34 damage, but healed an unknown amount. [Private to GM: 18 HP remains.]

Santio cursed under his breath, as the rending claws caught him in the ribs.    But thankfully he was able to redirect those snarling teeth with the flat of his blade.

With blood now flowing down his chest (dammit, the beast-man was freaking regenerating now!), Santio realised that no terms for surrender or adjudication had been set.  Was this a battle to the death !!
If so, he knew he had to finish this fast ... because one or two more blows like that would kill him.

Santio spun low to his left then launched forward, instinctively as he had done last week against the white tiger, with a brutal and precise thrust towards the polar bear's (now) open chest.  And he drove his katana as deep as he could.

The bear reared back in pain, and Santio, with an almighty pull on his still embedded sword, used that backwards-upwards motion to flip himself upwards towards the head again.
The kick that he aimed at the maw went wide (I am assuming), but in a surprise, desperate move, Santio brought him forehead down into the face of the bear as he fell again ... knutting it right between its wide, hairy eyes.

Thankfully, he managed to grasp the handle of his katana as he fell, yanking it free of the bear chest ... and as he landed, he was again moving chaotically, moving the blade in a way to defend himself.

---

HP: 28/39 | tempHP: 0 | AC: 19 with Agile Parry | Spd: 40ft. | Ki Points: 1/3 remaining | Passive Perception: 18 | Advantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws |

~ Flurry of Blows:
Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.

~ Agile Parry:
If you make an unarmed strike as part of the Attack action on your turn and are holding a kensei melee weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to AC until the start of your next turn, while the weapon is in your hand and you aren't in capacitated.


- rolled 27 using 1d20+7.  Katana strike.      Critical
     - rolled 11 using 1d10+4.  Katana damage.
     - rolled   7 using 1d10+4.  ... rolled twice for Critical.
- rolled 12 using 1d20+6.  Unarmed strike.
     - rolled 4 using 1d4+3.  Unarmed damage.
-  rolled 25 using 1d20+6.  Unarmed strike.
     -  rolled 4 using 1d4+3.  Unarmed damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:07, Tue 27 Sept 2022.

Santio's blade went through Margul's chest. His follow-up kick went wide, as the polar bear reverted back to his much smaller, orcish form. Santio head-butted the orc before he could react, and Margul fell to his hands and knees.

"Well done. You have proven your might. Now, if you don't mind, help an old orc off the ground." He reached a hand up in Santio's direction.

When Santio realised his error ... that he'd attacked the chief during transformation OUT of war form (Santio hoped this meant that the challenge was over) ... he quickly stepped away.
He sheathed his weapon as fast as he could, holding his hands high to indicate his definite lack of intention towards further violence.

When the elderly orc offered his hand, and requested help to stand, Santio nodded ... and in full good faith, stepped forward to aid the elder.

Kiara let out a whoop of pleasure.

"Now that was a worthy fight!"

She shouted, coming forward to join them both. She added nothing further, for she waited to see if the Orcs would offer more challenges or an invitation to their camp first.

Margul chanted as Santio helped him up, and Santio's wounds began to close. Santio regained 10 HP. "Thank you, champion Santio. Khazbor, my walking stick..." The burly orc who had accompanied Margul into the "ring" took Margul's hand in one of his own, then placed the stick into it with the other. "Smith, of Smith's Gambit, has a champion both strong, and merciful. He will make a fine ally. I will hear his terms. Kiara, called Goldentongue, do you speak with the authority of Smith?"

You each get 90xp!
This message was last edited by the player at 07:17, Mon 03 Oct 2022.

Santio was grateful when the elder cast his magics; after all, Santio saw no reason for any such obligation.
As his wounds healed over, and Kiara was n the scene to take over as the public face of Smith’s Gambit, Santio bowed slightly and backed away … hoping to now be forgotten among the background (where he was much more comfortable).

---

HP: 38/39 | tempHP: 0 | AC: 17 with Agile Parry (weapons sheathed)| Spd: 40ft. | Ki Points: 0/3 remaining | Passive Perception: 18 | Advantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws |

He'd won, and won well, that made everything easier.

"Govenor Erret Smith empowered me with the authority to set up trade between Smith's Gambit and the Swift Tusk Tribe, Chief Margul."

She gestured to the chest they had brought with them.

"We were told to show you what bounty Smith's Gambit could bring if you engaged, and to show respect."

She stood as she'd been taught to stand, feet planted squarely, palms empty and turned slightly out. No resting her hand on the hilt of her sword, or any action that might indicate a challenge.

"With the Red Foot driven from their seat of power, our goal is to keep the peace, and build ties of strength. You were the first we have sought out, as is fitting."

"I'm here to shoot things dead if shit goes sideways". Guyver offered, assuming everyone was forthright explaining why they were here.
Santio, the brawler. Kiara, the communicator. Guyver, the shooter. Guvver certainly wasn't the talker of the group but gosh darn it at least he would give it a go.
He nodded to the orc leader.
"M'Lord". Respectful and to the point.

Guyver mentally noted the irony of being the smartest of the group yet being relegated to being the hired gun. Such is our eternal fate.
He took a step behind Kiara.
She had this.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:00, Thu 06 Oct 2022.

Khazbor led Margul by the hand, to the chest, and Margul leaned very close, picking up each item and holding it very close to his face, before carefully putting it back into the chest. It was clear now, that the ancient orc's eyes didn't work very well anymore. "Very good. My tribe, placed as it is at the stream, has a bounty of food to offer, including meats, berries, and, within limits, grains. Additionally, we have giant boar hides and tusks, vessels of clay, and, barring that, we do have some coin."

OOC: Smith will gladly accept the offered items, esp. the grains.

Santio's ears (proverbially) picked up at the mention of the giant boar.
He'd never hunted giant boar yet.
His mind was already starting to think how that would look like;  what it would take.