The Gray Mouser got her gear together for the trek.  She was more than ready to leave town.  Her comfort zone was out in nature, forests most specifically. After receiving the "curse" from Ochnam She mounted Jerinvar and led the group out of town.

Shortly after they started out she notified the group, I will flank our main party off to the right 30-40 feet or so.  If any of you are experienced in bush travel you might want to do the same on the left.  We are a large group and would not only draw less attention to ourselves with 2 less on the road we would also be tactically more ready to deal with any surprises hiding in the woods.  Call me overly cautious but better safe than sorry.

Then she and Jerinvar left the road and into the woods.

"I will scout forward a bit, and keep out of sight."

Aikio went off to the left and stayed slightly ahead of the group, sticking to the bushes to remain hidden.

Stroking his chin with the fingers of his left hand, Fafhrd took a few minutes to ponder about the question posed to him by Arthur. As an aside to Mouser's inquiry (and seeing Aikio move off to the left), he replies:

"I'm quite stealthy, I can scout ahead, remaining hidden from all but the most observant and slip back to report any findings?"

OOC: Know (Local) = 45

Taking 20, Knowledge: Local to answer Arthur's question.

The armored warrior on the giant centipede probably isn't cavalry. He's more likely a ranger or some sort of messenger.

Horses on the isle of Kortos are scarce and rare simply because there's no decent grazing land for them to run wild. As a replacement for horses, camels are used, as well as the axebeaks and giant centipedes.

Admittedly, the giant centipedes are almost as rare as horses, but it's not unknown.


What little snippets of conversation you pick up from other travelers is mostly about farm subjects... plowing fields, whether there'll be a good crop this season, Cranston's latest calf, coyotes getting into the henhouse, and so forth.

Most greet you pleasantly.

One pair of travelers, walking, seem to be discussing the price of tarbles in Absalom, as opposed to in Diobel. Absalom seems to prefer red and blue ones, while Diobel prefers green and yellow ones, so they are trading one for the other.

Jak walks along with the others, though they seem to come and go hither and non. He's used to being stared at, so if any of the people they pass stare at him because they've never seen his kind before, he just waves at them. He doesn't want them to think he's someone's pet.

"I thought we were supposed to be scouting the farms and such to see if any of the mutineers might have come ashore and taking up farming," he comments to whoever's around him at the time.

"By the way, did Kass find any information about the crew of the ship? I don't know anything about Qadira, but do they crimp crew to serve on their ships? I was thinking if one of them had been a farmer before going to see, that might be what he fell back on."

"Isn't that what the rest of you were thinking?"

"Remember, too, that he doesn't necessarily have to be Qadiran. Yeah, he probably speaks it by now, but he could be from Taldor or even Kortos here."

"A good point on their origin." Arthur says. "It seems unlikely that Qadira would crew their brand new warship with foreigners, but I would also expect them to crew such vessel with the most loyal soldiers they have. The kind of crew that is extremely unlikely to mutiny."

"As for what Kass found, he only discovered that Sirdar Ormizd worries they may serve as a martyrs for potential insurgents. Which means they either fear an attempt at a revolution, or they don't want the real tale of the ship's loss to be known. Either way, if we spot farmers within their fields, we should ask for rumours of new immigrants seeking works as farmhands. After all, I doubt a former sailor could afford to build a new farm out of the blue."


OOC: I'll try a Gather Information in the farms close to Diobel, to ask for new arrivals looking for works in the area. I'll take 10 on the check, for a result of 20.

Carissa has prepared for this travel by binding with Fey Barudda, and the hunter, Mute Sylvus.  As they left the town, she listened to Gray Mouser stating they would scout as would Aiko.  "Then I'll keep an eye above." With that, she blurred into the shape of a falcon, and took to the air.

OOC: Fey Barudda grants beast shape II, no duration (outside of the 24 hours of the binding).  She will keep an eye out above while the others scout to either side of the party.

As long as Arthur doesn't look like a monster or look threatening, the farmers he encounters have no problem talking to him. They can usually spare a few minutes to swap the latest news of the land.

It's only at the third farm he visits that he's told about a 'stranger' that came through about two weeks ago. He said his name was Krip and he was heading for Old Tharlow's farm. Of course, that was about the only place the road went to, so that made sense. Old Tharlow and the missus come into town once a month... usually the last weekend. Tharlow was getting up there in years and can't do quite as much as he used to, so he was looking to hire a farmhand or two. His son ran off to sea on his 15th birthday, and his daughter married a soldier from Escadar. A couple of neighbors help out at harvest time.


Likewise, Carissa's scouting from the air doesn't produce any significant information, though, at one point, she spots an army unit marching on the road apparently coming from Diobel and going to Absalom. It's 20 men and a commander, but they have a prisoner with them. She passes the news on to Fafhrd, Gray Mouser, Akio, and Arthur.

There's not much for Fafhrd to scout ahead for, as there's enough traffic on the road to Diobel that monsters don't tend to bother anyone. Come nightfall, though, that changes.

Same holds true for Gray, Akio, and Arthur. Until Carissa tells them about the soldiers.

If anything, his stealthy scouting in advance of the rest - along with both Gray and Aikio being away from the main, scouting from either flank - would leave fewer to be observed moving along the road.  An objective they'd indicated early on would draw less attention to them and their movements.  As Carrisa returned from another information gathering attempt it was apparent from the low voiced chatter that something of significance had been learned.  He made his way back to the group to learn about what that discovery was.

Arthur repeats what the farmers told him. "That seems like a good lead. If that man is a mutineer, he could have met Tharlow's son, and heard about the family's farm. I think it has enough potential to look into."

When Carissa tells the group about the soldiers, Arthur asks "were they Absalomian troops? If it's the case, they must have captured someone very important... or very dangerous."

"So, what if the soldiers have our bounty?" asks the others as they regroup for a moment.

"Or, what if they only think they have one of the mutineers? Won't that keep us from collecting the bounty even if we find the real guy?"

He looked around the area, trying to spot a potential hiding place or even a possible ambush sight. That didn't really seem like a good idea, but it was nice to have options... even bad ones sometimes.

"So, what's our play here?"

"Our best bet would be to negotiate for a chance to interrogate the prisoner. If it's one of the mutineers, that mean we'll loose part of our reward, but there is a chance he could give us a clue for the rest of our targets." Arthur says. "Overall, our best bet is to be very diplomatic."

"Are you volunteering to be our diplomat?" Jak asks.

"I don't do so well in that role. People either look at me like I'm a freak or they starting laughing uncontrollably! I mean, I don't laugh at them because they look funny and don't have any fur, now do I? No, sir."

"But you see what I mean about not being a good choice for diplomacy. On the other hand, I make for a good distraction. I really hate it when people think I'm a pet. I suppose being considered someone's familiar isn't so bad... mainly because most folk don't really know what that means."

He continues walking down the road, not trying to hide as the soldiers approach.

As the discussion moved to that of a possible diplomatic mission Fafhrd stepped forward: "I volunteer to act as diplomat if this is the course of action that is decided upon.  I have spent many years as a diplomat and as a negotiator."  The man doesn't offer any more than that.  It's possible there are others more skilled in the group than he.  He would wait to see if any others stepped over to vie for the role.

---

OOC:

for the record, Fafhrd has the following diplomacy related skills (in case there are those among us with better):

Diplomacy   : +25
Diplomacy   : +36 (to change attitudes)
Bluff       : +30 (to convince others that a lie is true)
Intimidate  : +23
Sense Motive: +20
Perception  : +20

all knowledges: +25 (in case there may be information that might aid in the negotiations)

The Gray Mouser had no interest in being the teams diplomat so stepped back instead of forward and would allow others to exert their skills in that area

She trusted Fafhrd to represent the group as he had represented the interests of their former queen.  It was what he was best at.  She doubted any could do it better.

Before too long, the soldiers come into sight. Unless you are trying to look threatening, they don't stop or even slow down as they approach. No doubt they've encountered other travelers on the road.

They aren't marching, and they aren't really in any formation other than what the width of the road forces them to take.

Fafhrd allows the troop of soldiers and their prisoner to pass by until he is along side the groups commander.  He will then inquire in as unthreatening a manner as possible.  If the commander continues to walk past, Fafhrd will alter his direction and walk along with him:

"Well met sir.  We are an elite unit of the League of Pathfinders' Retriever's Guild and we have been commissioned by a Lord Gyr to retrieve the Qadira ship known as the Avenger and to apprehend its mutinous crew.  The mutiny was lead by the ships First Officer, Tarik Marwan and his crew, consisting of Umar Malik, Xavier Altair, Bari the Lynx, Kamal Kade, and Omar Ferran.  It has been suggested that the powers that be within Qadira believe these men to be in hiding here in Absalom.  If these men are not captured and brought to justice war may break out, or so the story goes.

We are wondering if by chance your prisoner may be one of these men or at the very least someone who may have been involved in aiding them in their efforts to escape incarceration for their actions?

OOC:  While talking to the commander, Fafhrd is attempting to change the man's attitude toward them.  He will take 10 providing a result of 46.

if his start attitude was unfriendly or better, he is now helpful.
if his start attitude was somehow hostile, he is now friendly.

also, just noted that I neglected to include the +2 synergy bonus for having 5+ skill ranks in Bluff; so +38 + taking 10 = 48.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:31, Sat 30 Oct 2021.

"Greetings. I am Commander Zohr of the Third Overland Army of Absalom," the man responds to Fafhrd. "My prisoner is one Keon Variksa. He was the Avenger's chippy."

"He claims he didn't want to go along with the mutiny, but was forced to do so by the other mutineers. He says the others were intending to sail for the Shackles."

Fafhrd listened to Zohr's words and provided the following response:

"Commander, as we have no way to verify this man's identity at this point - given that for all we know Keon Variksa is an assumed name used to evade apprehension - could we please take him into our custody so that we may do our due diligence of identifying him and returning him to the proper authorities who can more effectively determine his degree of innocence in all of this.  We have magical means by which we can ensure his safety while we continue our efforts to bring the mutineers to justice and retrieve the Avenger."

---

reminder: attitude was changed to helpful with a Diplomacy result of 48, unless he was originally hostile, in which case he is now friendly.

Late Edit: with +2 Aid Another from Gray Mouser the Diplomacy check result goes from a 48 to a 50.  Thus, even if initially hostile, he is now friendly (provided I get a full minute in to affect his attitude).
This message was last edited by the player at 20:28, Wed 03 Nov 2021.

From her flanking position she could see Fafhrd approach the troop of soldiers.  She turned Jarinvar around and slowly returned to the main group.

Once close enough she slid out of the saddle and put her hand up for Jerinvar to stay while she walked over to join Fafhrd.  Her Grey maiden platemail told them without doubt that she was a warrior.  Her sword hung on her belt and her shield hung next to her backpack.

She approached as Fafhrd requested they take possession of the prisoner.  She added, and he may be able to aid us in finding the rest of his crew so we can bring them all to justice

---

OOC: Aid another with Diplomacy check +2

"Not sure that's a good idea," Commander Zohr replies, "but I certainly don't need all these men to escort one prisoner back to the city. Besides, I have more important things to do."

"So, go ahead, take charge of him. He's now you're responsibility. Don't make me regret this decision."

He passes over the key to the shackles the prisoner is wearing, then two of his soldiers push the prisoner forward and hand the chain to Fafhrd.

The Gray Mouser stepped towards Fafhrd and extended her hand and took control of the prisoner's chain before it reached Fafhrd's hand.  I will guard the prisoner. she then led him roughly over to stand in front of Jerinvar who she gave two sharp commands.  Then turned to wait for Fafrd as he would surely wish to interrogate the man once the soldiers had left.

---

OOC: She commanded Jerinvar to Menace and Guard the prisoner ensuring that the man could not run away and that no other could approach him without her permission.

As Gray moved to accept the chain from Commander Zohr, Fafhrd offered the man a nod of consent to relinquish the prisoner to his ally.  He knew that Gray was better suited to keeping the prisoner in line and in check.  They would wait for the military unit to move on before commencing with any form of interrogation.

Carissa has returned, landing on Jak's shoulder (if he allows it), maintaining her falcon form while the prisoner handoff occurs.

Jak was a bit surprised at the bird that suddenly decided to land on his shoulder! Well, at least it wasn't his head!

He then decided it was behaving very unbirdlike... and the light went off! It was probably Carissa in her falcon form. The falcon was still pretty big compared to poor little old Jak!

"I don't suppose you spotted any mutineers just wandering about? How about our ship? Are we close enough to Diobel that you could see it offshore?"

He was pretty sure she couldn't talk in falcon-form, but she might surprise him.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:34, Thu 18 Nov 2021.