In reply to Lland Sliyed (msg # 37):

"Hmmmm, I plan to live forever, even if I die." he said with a grin.

“How do you plan to pull that off?  Where I come from, dead is dead.”

Lland said all of this with a serious face, and the moment of silence only made the moment seem more serious. ... Lland grabbed the Elf by his lapel solidly but not in an agressive way looking him straight in the eye. Sometimes even warrior free spirits had a serious moments...

Unsure what the dwarf was about to exposit, Petar flinched ever-so-slightly at the touch but took the man-handling in stride, keeping a firm eye contact and trying to impress upon Lland that he was serious, too.

You camped with, traveled with, ate with, slept beside and fought beside your party-mates, you had better take them serious!

" whichever win o' us lives haes tae pick up th' lute 'n' learn tae sing pretty."

..And sometimes they did not. His face cracked a wide grin as he gave the elf a hardy pat on the back and released his grip on Petar.

Petar smiles, commenting on the possible lute-worthiness of dwarfs.  "I've little talent with music," the elf adds, admitting he hasn't really applied himself to learning an instrument yet.

"Perhaps we'll have time to learn Emderdell shanties in due course ..." Petar says with a glance at Camille.  He hoped the levity was not off-putting to the Priestess who was no doubt anxious about her sister's fate.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:56, Sun 08 Nov 2020.

"Hmmmm, I plan to live forever, even if I die." he said with a grin.

The mention of liches and Angus' claim to "live forever" didn't escape Camille's attention. She nodded ever so slightly in an evaluating gesture, but kept her attention ahead.

The suggestion to follow the river as a safe course is generally accepted. Sowen and Olagh, not quite feeling like full party members, only nod along and prepare to step off the bridge and begin walking on the river's banks.

After the small exchange with Lland, Petar adds,

"Perhaps we'll have time to learn Emderdell shanties in due course ..." he said with a glance at Camille.  He hoped the levity was not off-putting to the Priestess who was no doubt anxious about her sister's fate.

"I'd like to hear that. Last time you sang the guards wanted to eat you!", she laughed up lightly. "You're going to have to find better stories, Petar," she winked, then changed the subject. "It's a long way on the river... who knows how to swim?"

The party departed the road under the curious auspices of the drivers of a passing wagon. They stopped for a moment and stared as you began your way along the river's banks.

The day remained calm, if a bit chilly. Despite the rising sun, the air kept the cool morning's nip. The river's waters bubbled in a relaxed manner, but you could tell from the flow that the current was strong. It would be hard to ford this river around here.

The river banked away from the road at a gentle angle. However, soon you had made enough distance from the road to lose sight of it among the gentle slopes. Up ahead you could see the outlines of a forest, and some hills before it. The land was grassy and sloped lightly upwards towards the north and west. The occasional copse of trees broke the quiet monotony, along with some varieties of jumping deer. They spotted you from far away and stopped to gauge your advance. As if on command, when you got too close for their comfort, they all turned and sprang away in vaulting leaps to disappear over the next closest hilltop.

As you continued along the river bank, a round tower almost six stories tall became evident. It had been built from black masonry, marking it as ominous from far away. From your vantage point it looked like it sat on top of a short squat hill. It was eerily silent. Not even smoke emerged from it. But at this distance, it was hard to tell even the most rudimentary detail.

Camille stopped and pointed.

"That is Deviarre's tower. He's an old mage, strange as they come." She turned to Angus. "It's not meant bad."

"I haven't seen him all winter. He used to visit the town twice a month for supplies. Not a very friendly man, wouldn't really speak to anyone, but paid well. He liked to donate to the temple. That's how I met him. Rumor has it that his tower is filled with traps. He doesn't like unannounced visitors. I haven't really wanted to do it, but I think I will have to knock on his door if we don't find anything. He might have seen something... someone..."

".... He doesn't like unannounced visitors. I haven't really wanted to do it, but I think I will have to knock on his door if we don't find anything. He might have seen something... someone..."

Apparently a Priestess' work was never done!  "Are you sure?" Petar asks the lady cleric gently.  He understands her duty but surely these were mitigating circumstances.

On the other hand, this Deviarre might just know something about Exidamarall or have had recent contact with Alinda's group.

Scanning the tower quickly, the elf decides their best bet was to march up in plain sight and knock on the door.  Loudly.

"We don't want to make it look like we're sneaking up on the place .. I know what fireballs can do ..."

OOC: From your position on the east side of the river, you find the water too deep to cross at your location. You would have to either continue northwards and try to find a good place to ford it, or you can backtrack and use the bridge to get to the tower. You've been on the banks for slightly over an hour, so it's not much of a loss of time for this day.

Which one would you like to do?

"I vote to use the bridge, I can't swim and don't intend to get washed away to drown. A little exercise never hurt us."

Thinking it over, Petar frowned a little.  "Hmm, why don't we look for a ford up ahead?  Failing that, we visit the hermit on the way back instead.  That way we don't lose an entire day ..."

The elf explains: one hour south back to the bridge, cross, one hour north to the tower.  Visit.  One hour south back to the bridge, cross, and one hour north back to the precise spot they were standing now.  It meant a four hour delay at least, and who knows how long they'd be stuck talking to some crackpot.

"I mean, unless you think we have to ...?" Petar queries Camille.

One vote to continue northwards!
This message was last edited by the player at 22:01, Tue 10 Nov 2020.

If we don't find anything, the words of Camille rolled over in Aila's mind as she considered the options, and then she said, "I think perhaps it is better if we continue on our way, and then should the map not lead us where we are seeking, we can find a way over there ..."  She paused, still trying to parse through her thoughts on stand-offish wizards with trap-filled towers.  "Yes, we can do that later," she concluded, smiling brightly.

---

another vote for staying the northward course

Oswyn is intrigued by the idea of a wizard's trap filled tower, and the sorts of magical oddities it might contain, but Petar's logic and Camille's warnings of the mage not liking uninvited guests convince him that it's a place to be curious about later.

"I agree, let's stick to our course, and if we find nothing or have nothing urgent on our way back to town, we can check in with this wizard."

Third vote to continue north rather than backtrack.

"That works for me, visit the wizard on the way back." he adds his voice for going on.

Arriving at a consensus with everyone, the party continues along the river's banks, having relegated a visit to the eccentric (is there any other kind?) wizard's tower for their return trip.

Following the shore makes for an easy journey, although not necessarily for the fastest. The party makes it past the northern bend in short order, and is soon surrounded by trees in all directions. Deviarre's tower is out of sight as quickly as the thickness of the trees hides the surrounding lands from your eyes. The river's banks are now ringed by steep breaks, difficult terrain, and a good tangle of roots where the trees meet the water. The land now slopes upwards noticeably, sometimes forcing you circle around short but steep inclines where climbing is out of the question. The further you go into the forest, the thicker it gets. A mix of birch and maple trees surround you in all directions, with wild brush and undergrowth in wild ascent.

The forest is a veritable cornucopia of life, with birds and wilderbeast of all types. From small rodents and scarabs, to spiders, caterpillars, to snakes. Wild swine keep their distance from you as you are many in a group. You spot a pack of wolves nearby, just on the next hill. The pack is small, maybe over a dozen or so. They stop to evaluate you, then their attention is quickly taken as you hear a crashing of wood to the east, but can't tell what it is. The wolves stop to listen, then run away between the trees, quickly falling out of sight.

They stop to evaluate you, then their attention is quickly taken as you hear a crashing of wood to the east, but can't tell what it is. The wolves stop to listen, then run away between the trees, quickly falling out of sight.

No need to doubt the instincts of the wild.  "Let's hide too," Petar suggests quietly, stepping behind some cover.

Aila paused to watch the wolves, trying to determine whether their reaction was one of fear or that of a predator that had just heard prey.  Once she had that settled in her mind, she could better decide what to do next.

Mysh draws his sword as he ducks for cover behind a tree.  If a pack of wolves was afraid of something, it was probably something worth being afraid of.

As the party debates just what could scare a pack of wolves, you hear the crashing of someone running very fast through the forest. It appears to approach you very quickly. Right after that are even more footsteps, all rushing as fast as they can, while behind them they are also followed by a something much heavier and larger, all accompanied by a thundering growl, a heavy snapping of wood, and high pitched shrieks which you immediately recognize as goblins.

Crashing through the undergrowth and coming into view between the trees is a single woman, dressed in robes, carrying a staff and other gear, running for her life. Aside from the fact a single woman running through the woods is unusual enough, this woman is muscled like an ox. The fact that she is this strong and also bears a striking set of blonde hair reminds you of someone you know... but who?

That thought doesn't last long as right behind her are perhaps a dozen goblins running in a panic right on the woman's heels. They don't seem concerned with her right now, as all they are doing is crossing the distance as fast as they can, although the woman is certainly faster.

As the woman and the goblins do their best to cover the ground ahead of them, there comes crashing through the brush one more massive figure, large and heavy, bounding on all four legs. The creature resembles a large bear in general size (and demeanor) but it is covered in feathers instead. On the spot where you would normally see a snout and teeth rests a large predatory bird's head, like an eagle or hawk. Despite the creature's mass, it is fast and nimble, easily reaching the goblin stragglers and swiping at them with its massive forepaws. You watch in amazement as a single swing hurls a small goblin body over a dozen feet away, where it lands painfully and ceases to move. The rest of the goblins shriek in fear and continue their run.

Both the woman and the goblins will be on you in a matter of moments. You gird yourself as you suspect this might get violent.


OOC: Alright, you get to meet your new addition, and some extra stuff to add some spice. =)

This will be a first attempt to run a combat "gridless", so I am measuring distances in terms of "moves". Each one of you will have your own "move scale", based on your actual move distance, which is based on your encumbrance.

Right now, as everyone has moved and there is no surprise in any way, it is your turn. The woman before you will be in your midst in "one move", while the goblins will reach you in "two moves". The creature among them could possibly reach you in a "single move", but it seems distracted by the snacks goblins closest to it.

You are between one to two moves away from the creature and goblins, depending on your combat speed.

What would you like to do on Round 1?

Being at the rear of the party, Oswyn has his bow ready rather than his axe. When he hears the disturbance, he strings the bow and readies an arrow.

When the strange procession of woman, goblins, and bear-like creature emerge, he is somewhat shocked by the sight of it all, but takes a deep breath to calm himself. He pulls back the bow and aims, then lets the arrow fly. Unfortunately, the shaft goes wide and the arrow is lost in the undergrowth.

11:19, Today: Oswyn rolled 5,1 using 1d20+2,1d6.  fire arrow at creature.

See? Them low rolls worked well for arm wrestling, but now... :D

Combat Section:
AC 1, HP: 9/9, quiver 19/20
This message was last edited by the player at 07:27, Fri 13 Nov 2020.

This thing was not something that her skills at subtle misdirection and then attack would not be effective against, Aila decided.  In fact, she was quite sure that she did not want to get close to it--even the distance of her staff seemed too close.  The bows and perhaps magic would be much better, options which suggested that it would not be good to try to get behind the strange beast for an attack from the rear, since she could end up an inadvertent target through such actions.  These thoughts ran through her mind, as she tried to melt into the scenery.

"Can you make that thing fall asleep?" she said.  Truthfully, she did not know the limits of the magics that Petar and Angus wielded, but it seemed a fairly decent option.

"You can still take the goblin heads," she added to Angus.

---

Hide in shadows (v25):  15

The creature resembles a large bear in general size (and demeanor) but it is covered in feathers instead. On the spot where you would normally see a snout and teeth rests a large predatory bird's head, like an eagle or hawk.

Petar knew immediately his Slumbering spell would fail here, as all it would do would stop the goblins and they were not the threat right now!

"Everyone, retreat!  You!  Woman!  Get behind us!" the elf called out, hoping the stranger would listen.

A quick move later and Petar steps out from the tree and shoots the monster before falling back in classic skirmish fashion.  A loud hooting roar might mean he hurt it, or just made it angry?!  He also barked at the goblins, an idea fomenting in his mind, as he retreated.

"!" Petar cries in the gutteral goblin tongue.

Actions:

Shoot at Monster, Move 20 yards directly away back behind cover if possible
Adding 2 for DEX and 1 for assumed short range (50 yards) = 21 to hit, minus any penalties.  5 damage

Combat Section
7/7 hp, No shield ready so AC 1, 7 arrows left in quiver#1

22:20, Today: Petar the Elf rolled 19,5 using d20,d6.  Round 1 Petar Shortbow vs Big Monster.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:25, Fri 13 Nov 2020.

Surprise at the sight  of the party flashed for a moment as the short stout woman made a beeline toward them. Her arms pumped vigorously as she strode her way to there direction.

"For the love of all that is good!! RUUn!! ye fools! Unless ye have a few fireballs in ye?"

In reply to Brulna (msg # 57):

Angus steps out, "Peels"

Sleep
Range: 240'
Duration: 4d4 (4-16) turns
Effect: 2-16 Hit Dice of living creatures within a
40' square area

This spell will put creatures to sleep for up to 16 turns. It will only
affect creatures with 4 + 1 Hit Dice or less—generally, small or man-sized
creatures. The spell will not affect creatures outside the 40' X 40' area
which the player chooses as the spell's target area. The spell will not work
against undead or very large creatures, such as dragons.

When a character is first hit with a sleep spell, falling or sagging to the
ground will not wake him up. However, characters affected by a sleep spell
are not in a deep sleep. Any sleeping character or creature will awaken if
slapped, kicked, or shaken.

Characters can kill a sleeping victim with a single blow of any edged weapon,
regardless of the creature's hit points.

Your Dungeon Master will roll 2d8 to find the total Hit Dice or experience
levels of monsters affected by the spell.

The victims get no saving throw against this spell.

07:06, Today: Black Angus rolled 12 using 2d8.  affected.

07:05, Today: Black Angus rolled 7 using 4d4.  duration.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:06, Fri 13 Nov 2020.

Lland was a bit caught off guard by the hustle and the bustle of the situation. buy even though he didn't know what was coming it was almost instinct to draw his morningstar out and prepare his shield. Once you'd gone through enough combat these sorts of things became second nature, hell he even considered themselves lucky this hadn't gone down while they were all asleep, not much more embarrassing than having to engage in combat with your armor off and your pants down.

Goblins came fleeing from the trees, they were afraid, but hell goblins were cowardly creatures by nature so it could be just about anything. Then the beast emerged pursuing the goblins and woman who had come before it. Now this is what he was talking about, all this walking and he hadn't been able to throw a swing at anything. Sure it flung a goblin with one swipe, but Lland was a fair bit sturdier than any goblin. He wasn't about to let this beast get anywhere near the stranger or his compatriots, not if he had anything to say about it. He'd test the beasts resolve if it truly wished it. Lland ignoring petar's plea to retreat ran right towards the beast intending to smack it across the maw.

" oy beast ye'r in th' wrong pairt o' th' woods, allow me tae shaw ye th' wey out!"


ooc the following rolls are if I can indeed reach the creature in one turn. I'm unclear if my movement speed is actually enough but if I do reach it imma smack it. And apologies to all for this, but it's what I think he'd do.

07:17, Today: Lland Sliyed rolled 9 using 1d20+2.  To hit monstrosity .

07:18, Today: Lland Sliyed rolled 5 using 1d6+1.  Lol dmg( I so didn't hit it).




Combat section: hp-10/10. Armor class 00

Mysh had emerged from behind the tree and was about to charge the feathery beast when Black Angus began chanting.  He waits, knowing that it would be unwise to engage before the mage’s spell is resolved.

Brulna looked over her shoulder as she heard the incantation. Did that durn beast slow duwn at all?

It was clear that this beast was large, mean, and had the disposition of a cuckold who was the last one in town to know.

Oswyn, looking from behind the party, fired an arrow, but it went wide, missing by over a foot. (Miss!)

Aila didn't see any wisdom in confronting something perhaps ten times her weight. She withdrew with finesse to disappear into brush behind trees, commenting on the arcane possibilities available to party.

Petar called a general retreat, a way to make more distance and prevent the beast from approaching into melee too soon, where it's massive claws and beaks gave it a distinct advantage. His entreaty to the goblins is either not understood, or completely ignored, so far. His aim is presently better than Oswyn's, with the elven arrow finding firm perch into the creature's hide. The sudden pain and awareness of a new threat adds fuel to the fire, and the beast rises on it's rear legs, letting loose a ear-piercing shriek. (Hit! 5 Damage.)

Angus, apparently unfazed by the creature, stood and confronted it by releasing a spell. A flurry of sparks landed right before the beast, spreading in all directions like a shower of faery dust. All the goblins collapsed in mid-run, landing rough and painfully on the dirt, tripping over roots, their momentum carrying them a few yards onward. The creature, though, didn't seem affected.

Lland was finally happy he faced a challenge. The day to day routine of travelling was getting to him, and he needed to let go of all that pent-up aggression. With a few well-placed steps, he approached the creature and swung his morning star. The star's head smashed into the beast's hide but didn't find a vulnerable spot. Between the feathers and the leathery skin, the blow didn't manage to push through the creature's natural defenses.
[OOC: No worries about not knowing the distances. In cases like this, simply declare what you are aiming to do, and what, if anything, you'd like the result to be, and I'll let you know what happens.]

The mighty warrior Mysh understood the subtleties of a party's warrior-to-mage dynamics. Waiting for the mage to release arcane destruction, he cautiously observed the outcome.

Sowen prepared his sword and took up his shield. Coming in behind Lland, he was far more cautious against this beast, seeing as he was wearing leather and his dwarven companion was clad in metal from head to toe. He approached from the side and swung freely at the creature.

"Dwarf, you might need an axe more than a mace for this one."

With the creature distracted, Sowen found a place right under the fore haunches and sliced a wide gash into the creature's side. (Hit! 7 Damage - 12 Total)

Olagh, watching his brother rush ahead, turned to the right and found a spot away from the beast at an angle. There he loaded an arrow, aimed carefully, and released. The arrow met the creature's body but was cast aside, failing to push past the thick hide. (Miss.)



Round 2

The goblins had ceased to move altogether. The creature, angry and hurt now, lost interest in them and faced down the incoming form of Lland. Reaching ahead, its paws swiped at he dwarf, but surprisingly enough, Lland managed to avoid the beast's fury, moving deftly out of the way. (Miss! Miss!)

That's when Sowen cut deeply into the beast, drawing its attention. Realizing his impending position, he prepared his shield. "Ah shit!", is all he had to say. The creature turned and bit, but the man-at-arms was prepared, and avoided the danger with a quick step back. (Miss!)

---

OOC: Your turn, gents. So far so good. The dice roller has been generous to you this round. All very low rolls. And you've been able to give it some major hurting. Another round like this, with everyone involved, and this creature won't stand a chance.