The four of you - Kurin, Zudaan, Nivor and Oxsidi - find yourselves sharing part of a long table with two quiet Eastern merchants wearing colorful robes and sporting long, wispy mustaches.  There is a haze of smoke from the hearth and from the quartet of turbaned merchants in a corner smoking from a hookah.  The serving wenches are very busy, taking orders and dropping off drinks, bread or shanks of meat at the various tables, the younger ones dodging groping hands as the hurry about, the older ones slapping the groping hands in admonishment.  The master stands behind the Board pouring drinks and conversing with some locals.

It is late, after a meal that may have been satisfying, and you are working on your after meal stein/goblet/mug that the door opens and closes quickly admitting a woman mostly wrapped in a dark green traveling cloak, and despite that, it is obvious that she is a rare beauty surpassing any rivals in the establishment.  She has brown hair, apparently long and bundled into the hood of the cloak, dark eyes and either paint or tattoos of blue on her cheeks and above her eyes.  She has a gold band around her head, ear rings and bracelets, and carries a walking staff that is unadorned.

Her appearance definitely catches the eyes of some of the caravan guards, and three stand from a table near the hearth and move towards her, leering and looking at her hungrily.  For her part, she looks past them at your table, making eye contact with Zudaan...

Licking his plate clean, and wishing for more, Oxsidi absentmindedly notices the woman who enters the establishment. He seems confused by her appearance there, but not unduly concerned.

Zudaan stands when he sees the woman fix her gaze on him, and with a smile and a wave of his hand motions her toward his table, not only intrigued by her beauty but also curious as to why a woman such as her would be traveling with no guards or male family members to protect her. His expression remains impassive as he notices the boorish guards, and although his first impulse is to intervene, his curiosity gives him pause so that he can see how the woman handles the boorish guards.

Kurin watched with interest, not being local, he had no idea what the customs might be nor the laws. He glanced at Zudaan, obviously native to the area, and waited to pick up a clue from him. Nothing here seemed to threaten balance and, though his family teachings spurred him to action, he waited to see what would happen.

ooc: Sorry! Kurin seems the sort that wouldn't get involved, so I was waiting to see how it unfolded before acting.

"Hey look, a new one!" One of the men says as the three block the woman's path.  A second one looks to where she is looking and frowns when he sees Zudaan standing and watching.

"Sit down, fop!  This one is ours," he says calling to Zudaan.

The third tries to grab her by the arm, saying, "come on, darlin', let's see what you've got under there."  She shakes her arm free, in the process making it clear that she is wearing very little under the cloak, which only encourages the men some more.

As they move in her expression goes from annoyed to alarmed, and she starts backing away from them...

Absent mindly, Oxsidi straps his shield on to his arm, and rises to his feet. The shield is bronze, and the face has the form of a large daisy on it.

Pulling out his bronze-headed mace, he gives it a test swing or two. The head of his mace resembles a paid of dice in mid-throw, and shines dully in the light of the tavern.

While he wears a monks robe, and a vest of brightly colored feathers, anyone who glances in his direction can see he is wearing heavy armor underneath it.

He then looks around, as if a little surprised to see he is standing up. He doesn't sit back down however, instead waiting to see what happens next.

The entire time, he says nothing.

Zudaan picks the strongest looking of the three and starts softly chanting and gesturing toward him for a handful of heartbeats, then says "Friend,  I would consider it a personal favor if you would protect that girl from any harm or abuse." .


OOC: casting Charm Person on which of the three looks biggest and dumbest

Kurin rose to his feet. Balance was one thing, a very public rape another! He felt the blood of his ancestors rise in his heart and knew he had to help the woman. He was a bit surprised that the man next to  him was employing magic! He smiled as he slowly slid his scimitar half-way, about to advance after whatever the magic was that the man sent towards the rapists did its work.

A strange expression comes over the largest of the caravan guards and when his companions look at him to see what was happening the woman takes the opportunity to pull away from the man trying to grab her arm and she punches him in the face.  Unfortunately, she is clearly not accustomed to bar room brawls, and loses her balance with the swing.  The second man catches her and grabs her in a bear hug pinning her arms.

The charmed brute smiles with a certain realization and says to Zudaan, "oh, hey friend!  You want first turn with her, aye!"  Meanwhile the punched man rubs his jaw and draws a dagger.

The rest of the clientele, the wenches and even the two bouncers, stand back for now to watch, the lines having been drawn between the three of you and the three of them.

---

For Round 2 you guys can keep the initiative.  #1 is the charmed brute, #2 is the man holding her, and #3 is the man with the dagger.  Will not count Nivor unless he returns.

A rapist willing to declare his intent in an open bar was something outside of Oxsidi's ken, such cowards usually took their 'pleasure' in a dark alley. He wondered if the man was insane.

He maneuvers out from behind the table, and takes the right flank, keeping his shield between himself and the ruffians.

Kurin took a clumsy swing at the man with the dagger. He missed but then again, unlike his siblings, he wasn't the 'charge in and cleave the bad guy in half' sort. His gifts lay elsewhere but few of them were any use in a tavern!

11:16, Today: Kurin Jeth rolled 10 using 1d20.

Zudaan reaches into his pouch and pulls out 10 gold coins, holding them up, and says loudly "10 gold to the man who beats the one with the knife so thouroghly that his own mother would not know him."

There is dead silence when Zudaan makes his offer, the only sound hears were the struggles of the woman against her captor.  The man with the dagger, who moments before was menacing her and had turned confidently to strike out at Kurin now looked far less confident, his eyes darting around the common room.  Even his erstwhile companions are now eyeing him with a rapacious expression.  He makes a run for it and there is quite a commotion as half the tavern jumps at him.

Meanwhile, the large charmed man crosses his arms and gives the man holding the woman a deathly glare.  That man smiles nervously and pushes her towards him.  "Of course, you first," he says handing her off to the large man, and then turning to slink off into the night.  Holding her firmly by the upper arm, he turns to Zudaan, Kurin and Oxsidi.

---

The dagger-wielder is going to get beat to a pulp, the Master of the Tavern will 'adjudicate' who gets the reward.  We can drop out of rounds at this point, Zudaan can remove the 10 gp.  What next?

Oxsidi slides his mace back into the leather loop in which he keeps it, then removes the shield, calming as if nothing had happened. He returns to his seat and takes another sip of his drink, waiting for the others to take their seats as well.

Kurin looked towards Zudaan, waiting on him to act. He smiled. Such a thing would not occur to him normally, being from a belligerent family, he would remember that a bit of coin, a dash of gile and a bit of misdirection were handy tools as well as the blade.

Zudaan's lips curl ever so slightly in a hint of a smile but quickly turn dispassionate again. He gives a small bow to the others who rose to protect the woman, then he addresses the charmed guard as he makes room next to himself for the woman to sit. "Bring her over and sit her here," he tells the man, pointing to the seat next to him "Then you sit there while I conduct my business." he adds, pointing to another spot at the end of the table within his sight but out of whisper distance, wanting to retain the use of the charmed man for a time.

Once the woman is placed in the seat next to him he sits and calls one of the older servers over and hands her 10 gold, then 5 more. "give the prize money of ten to your owner to disperse, the other is for the table. Wine and something refined to eat if you have it for myself and the lady, mead, bread and meat for the table and a plate and cup for my serving boy, when four of the five gold is used, inform me. And don't get so far away that I have to look for you if I need something else."

He then dismisses the server and turns to the woman next to him with a wide smile.

"Welcome to my table, little flower. I am Zudaan. It seems you know how to get the attention of men, myself included,  for better or worse. It is now time for you to introduce yourself."

The big man drags the woman, still struggling, to the table and roughly plops her down on the bench against the wall.  He then nods to Zudaan with a lascivious grin and sits down at the end of the table.  While Zudaan is talking to the serving woman the mystery woman composes herself, looking angrily at the big man, and pulling her cloak tighter around herself.

The serving woman takes the coins with a huff, biting more than one to be sure of their authenticity, before moving on.



"You're an arrogant one," she replies with derision.  "I came here looking for potential partners in a venture, men of different talents.  You," she indicates the three of you; "look to have the necessary skills.  My name is Thalia," she says, introducing herself at the end.

"Kurin (CUR-inn), the half-elf said in measured tones. "What sort of talents do you mean, praytell."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:34, Thu 05 Aug 2021.

Putting his drink down, Oxsidi glaces about as if suddenly aware of his surroundings.

"I don't know these folk," he says, implying everyone else at the table, "but when adventure comes looking for me, I like to tag along. Thalia, was it? My name is..."

He pauses for a second, searching his memory.

"...Oxsidi, that's right. Oxsidi."

He rolls the name around in his head, as if trying it on for size.

Zudaan laughs. "I was wondering if the the three men accosting you at the door was a show meant to draw out those of the nature to rescue a woman from trouble of her own making. Did I overestimate your guile?" he then sighs. "Since you are here sharing a table with the men who broke up your last... partnership attempt, why don't you tell us more. What is it that you need us to do? Seek revenge for a past wrong? Rescue a kidnapped loved one? Free your land from an oppressive overlord? Kill a dragon that has ravaged your farm perhaps?"

Thalia looks at Zudaan with an unreadable, if cold, expression.  "I under-estimated how starved for real women these caravaners can get," she says, by the admission confirming that the assault was not planned.

"South of here, among the badlands, there is an ancient tomb, the final resting place of one of the wizard-priests of Phundail.  I know where it is, but I need someone good with traps and trickery, men who can fight, and a wizard for the arcane obstacles," she whispers leaning in close so that she is not overheard at the other tables.  "I prefer to keep the numbers small, fewer shares in the treasures, hence three or four men aside from myself," she adds, looking around surreptitiously to see if anyone is listening.  The uproar surrounding the beating dagger-wielder is taking masks much of the conversation, however, from prying ears.

---

Zudaan has heard of mythical, ancient Phundail; a land said to have been ruled by wizard priests of The Old Ones.  Evil and malicious, mad worshipers of unearthly and inhuman creatures.

"Huh, sounds like you have no need for me then, as I am a holy man of sorts. Shame, sounded fun."

Despite the fact that he wasn't needed, he would dig in to the food Zudaan had ordered when it arrived.

"I would, perhaps, be of use while navigating the wilds on the journey and am a fair hand with a blade." He regarded the lovely woman and asked levelly, "How did you come across this information? What lurks in the tomb to stop us?"

Turning to Oxsidi with a new expression, Thalia says, "you are a 'holy man?' Of a martial order, perhaps?" she looks down at the mace, then turns her eyes back to his face.  "Double the use, then.  Did they teach you healing arts?  Exorcism?  I'm afraid both will be useful on this venture.  Interested?" she says with raised eyebrows.

---

Was waiting for Zudaan to reply, but this is an open conversation. 

"I can marry folks, if that is what you mean, and do a little healing. I exercise when I can."

He puts a slice of ham and cheese on a cracker, and pops it into his mouth.

His reply is a bit muffled by the food, but he nods his head in the affirmative.

"Sure... (swallows)" licks his fingers and takes another swig of ale.

"My names Oxsidi," he says, having already forgotten he had introduced himself. "That guy had some mighty useful sounding questions though," he said, gesturing towards Kurin. "Why don't you tell us what you know, so we can prepare good, and stuff?"