CH. 02 - Raider's Camp

[Daos]

Nighthill remains silent, while Escobert speaks up for him.  "Hold on, lad.  I'll remind you, this is something you volunteered for, not something Lord Nighthill 'laid out for you.'  And that spyglass, worth a thousand steel, is important for the town's defenses.  If another attack comes while you're out with it, we won't see it coming until it's too late.  Is that a chance you're willing to take?" the dwarf asks.

[Matt4]

Chantilly Sweettooth

HP: 19/19 - AC: 16 - Perception: 15 - Insight: 11 - Inspiration: No

Conditions: None


Chantilly smiled at the huge Bozak, towering over her: "Debt? Fine. I'll help you save your friend and then you could teach me some recipe from your people? I would love to add them to my repertoire culinaire." She said theatrically with an accent she heard during her travels, while dramatically waving her hand around.


While the others were speaking, she turned toward the young squire: "Lord Henri, Lady Eliana is there something in particular you are hoping to find at the market?" and while she waited for an answer she added: "I'm fine as I am, as for me, I'd prefer to go straight on to those cultists' tracks. The sooner we deal with them, the better! We can't risk to leave them too much time or they could run away!" - concluded Chantilly, eager to amend to her previous night cowardness.

[Zero Prime]

Caelin Valaerys, pariah of Tarkhisis
HP: 18 of 18 | AC: 17 | Perception: 15 | Insight: 17 | Inspiration: 1
Conditions: None.

Caelin nodded at Escobert, "I know full well what I volunteered for, what I've already sacrificed for. You, more than most, should know that." He turned to look again at Nighthill, "Despite the glares of the goodsmen of Greenest, I am not some theif that seeks to fleece you of a spying lens to sell at market," a pause, "Greenest canot defend itself without knowing it's foe, if you wish to send us into the field ill equipped to retrieve that information it hurts the Keep, the town, the people, you have sworn to defend. Should the raider's turn back, to attack again, we, who will be following them, will be in their path. Armed with the spying lens, we will be able to see such movement and get word to you, at haste."

He was starting to get flustered, angry, the reason was clear, it *was* sound. He closed his eyes, remembered Eliana's words, "However, it is not my position to demand anything from you. I intend to discover the reason, and method, of the raider's activities and will report back with, or without the lens. It was but a request, not a demand of service."

[HorizonsDream]

"I need some new clothing," Eliana says to Chantilly as she motions to her bare arms that have patches of blue scales upon them where she tore her sleeves so she could bandage up Caelin last night. "And these scales might scare some people that don't know me."

[Bunny Commando]

Nov 4, 2020 17:50:44 GMT -8 Matt4 said:

While the others were speaking, she turned toward the young squire: "Lord Henri, Lady Eliana is there something in particular you are hoping to find at the market?" and while she waited for an answer she added: "I'm fine as I am, as for me, I'd prefer to go straight on to those cultists' tracks. The sooner we deal with them, the better! We can't risk to leave them too much time or they could run away!" - concluded Chantilly, eager to amend to her previous night cowardness.

"...Lord?" Henry frowns a bit, then chuckles and shakes his head "It's just Henry. I know you meant well in calling me 'Lord', but you shouldn't - only the most brave and honourable members of my Order bear that title; I'm just a squire, so 'Henry' will suffice for now." the young squire smiles kindly, but his voice is firm "And about the marketplace, I would like to see if the good folk of Greenest have found something on the raiders' corpses - any kind of clue that could help us in our quest."

1d20+5AjNY3t59

[Daos]

Escobert is about to speak up in objection to Caelin once again implying that Nighthill is asking them to do anything, but the governor holds up a hand to silence the dwarf.  He seems ready to make his decision.

=========

(OOC:  Can I get a persuasion check from Caelin?)

[Igordragonian]

Zakkoth can't help but crack a hint of smile from the price the kender named.
'Again, wise for your age, Henry. Let's loot some bodies,'

[Daos]

Nighthill speaks.  "My fear is not that you will run off with my spyglass; my fear is that you may not survive to return with it.  What you are proposing is very dangerous.  If you should fall, the spyglass will be lost, and we will have no warning of their return at all.  There is also the matter of the dragon.  It flew off to the northwest; the opposite direction the raiders went.  Even if you are successful on your mission, the dragon may return from the other direction, and without the spyglass, we will not see it coming until it is too late.  I'm sorry, but I've made my decision.  I wish you luck on your quest, and pray the gods will watch over you," he says with finality.

===========

Caelin makes a persuasion check [DC 15] (1d20+1):  13+1 = 14, fail.

[Zero Prime]

Caelin Valaerys, pariah of Tarkhisis
HP: 18 of 18 | AC: 17 | Perception: 15 | Insight: 17 | Inspiration: 1
Conditions: None.

Caelin merely nodded, "As you wish." He turned to depart the chamber, as he did so, he looked at Escobert. "When your duty allows, keep on eye on Brin and Conard." A pause, "And if you could make sure there's a pot of stew and some thick blankets for us on our return."

He didn't agree with Nighthill's evaluation of the situation, but he wouldn't fault the man for thinking of the defense of his people over the success of the task he had asked of them. Once he was clear of the Lord's chamber, he hurried to catch the other's as they departed for market.

[Daos]

The party heads for the town square, or what remains of it.  A couple of caravans from the west have arrived, carrying merchants and
travelers from afar, who now gawk at the town's destruction in surprise.  Nobody had expected to arrive in Greenest to find it in this state.

The locals have set up something of an impromptu bazaar here, as most of their shops were damaged or destroyed.  The people of Greenest are hardy folk, it seems, and most are ready to do whatever they can to help in the rebuild effort and to recoup their losses from last night.  The wares they have on sale are limited; mostly things they managed to hide away before the raiders could claim them, or objects taken from the corpses of the raiders who were killed in the fighting.  The party is not likely to find anything particularly fancy or rare here, but they should be able to pick up whatever bare essentials they might need.

Meanwhile, Broken-flute flits from vendor stand to vendor stand, admiring all the wares on sale, although a bit disappointed by how mundane and limited the selection is.  She still can't believe she missed all the action last night; raiders, draconians, dark knights--and a dragon!  However, she had managed to acquire a thorough description of the heroes who drove off the dragon, rescued the temple and mill, and faced a blue dragonspawn to save a woman and her children.  She had to meet these people, who sounded interesting; the sort of folk that adventure and excitement followed in their wake.  And sure enough, as she wanders the impromptu bazaar, she spots a young man with ashen white hair, a lovely half-elven woman with random patches of blue scales on her skin, and an old bozak covered in scars, just like in the stories she heard this morning.  They are accompanied by others, whom she had not heard about.  A muscular half-elven man, a woman in foreign armor, a teenage human or possibly elf who seemed...oddly familiar somehow, but also not.  In any case, now was the time to see for herself if these heroes were the real deal or not.

[HorizonsDream]

Eliana hurries to the nearest clothing vendor. She knows she won't get a fancy shirt like the one she had, but she needed one that at least had sleeves.

[Zero Prime]

Caelin Valaerys, pariah of Tarkhisis
HP: 18 of 18 | AC: 17 | Perception: 15 | Insight: 17 | Inspiration: 1
Conditions: None.

Caelin moved through the market, taking note of his companions location, while speaking with the locals and the vendors, trying to determine if the bodies of the raider's which the villagers had so recently pilfered, had been carrying rations or supplies. As those rations, and the length they would last a man would give them an indication of the distance to their main camp, and secondly if any had been discovered with orders, or maps, in their pouches that could contain missives, directives, orders, or points of interest.

[Daos]

Eliana finds a few simple shirts, mostly loose fitting and made of cotton or linen.  Hardly on par with the quality she is accustomed to, but one cannot beat the price--only about a silver piece each.

Caelin, meanwhile, spends more time searching for information than goods.  From what he pieces together, the raiders weren't carrying any rations at all, nor any documents or papers.  Mostly they had weapons, armor, and a few miscellaneous supplies like rope, flint and steel and the like.

[Zero Prime]

Caelin Valaerys, pariah of Tarkhisis
HP: 18 of 18 | AC: 17 | Perception: 15 | Insight: 17 | Inspiration: 1
Conditions: None.

Caelin sought out Henry after speaking with the villagers, getting the larger man's attention, before pulling him to the side for a private conversation. He sighed before he began, looking back to market, in Eliana's direction, before returning his attention to the braod shouldered warrior in front of him. "Alright Henry, here's the deal, when we first met, I treated you like an idiot, and didn't like you," he shrugged, "partially because you want to be a Knight, and they're idiots and I don't like them. But you've done nothing to me, so," he paused, obviously uncomfortable, "yeah, I wasn't, exactly, fair to you." He turned, looked towards the towers of the chapel, barely visable past the market, "so if we're going to track these guys, and get close without being spotted, you follow my lead." Thoughts of Cyanwrath left him ashamed, frustrated, and angry, "but if a big blue scaled bastard with a fullblade comes for us, he's all fecking yours mate."

He coughed, trying to gauge the warrior's disposition, "And our guys aren't more than a days march from Greenest, no supplies, no rations, and most of those bastards couldn't shoot a deer at 30 paces, so they sure as hell didn't bring down game while making their way here."

[Igordragonian]

Zakkoth is looking for medical kits mostly, maybe some ale to take with him- unless some woman distract him, but he is quite focused.