Tests and Trials

[The Lost]

Kroshav: "Just rem'mber Ah'd wanna talk ta it... Prob'ly each night. A lil girl needs bedtime stories, aye? "

At the new comers "Have ye seen any un with a newborn come by rec'ntly? We'd be lookin' fer someun tha be missin'."


(Any tales Joe will tell are exaggerated and may be ones she heard of or exaggerated stories of when they fought against spiders/hobbos/ect...)

[spiderwrangler]

► Show Spoiler

Joe wants to tell you bedtime stories... are you alright with that? I won't let her touch you, since you don't like that.

[Rodgeir]

The two newcomers blink at Joe and Gethren says,

"I have noticed no newborns on this road? Gapa?"

Gapa shakes her head.

((If Joe has been asking along the way she would have gotten nos from almost everyone and the occasional yes from people that say specific people have had babies in the villages.))

Kroshav

► Show Spoiler

Sword is okay. It is hard to talk when you are not touching me but I can hear and see you until... over there by the fire. ((About 30ft away)) I can hear Joe and I don't want to listen to her stories but I can't stop hearing her either. If she is going to talk can you take a walk with me? Maybe swing me around some?

[spiderwrangler]

"Joe, Sword says that she doesn't need any stories at night, I think she'd just prefer quiet."

He'll work some mounted swordwork into his daily training as well.

[Dlover]

"Hm, details? It's all a bit of a blur. We just pushed into the fray until we found somewhere that looked important. A portion of us went inside and faced down the enemy's commander, while others stood with me to hold back other foes. The most dramatic thing I personally did was to turn a group of hill giants against the hobgoblins that had captured them, though knowing their sort, they would have attacked anything near them eventually."

[Rodgeir]

Kroshav gets a warm burst of appreciation tinged with worry.

Gethren nods, much more interested in this recounting,

"A truly clever act for a son of the plains! If I am allowed to be bold, it was in this fight you lost your arm?"

[Dlover]

"Not that one, no. I lost it soon after, cleansing a demonic curse upon one of my friends. Fiends were summoned in the process, and I lost my arm to a foolish mistake while we dealt with them."

[Rodgeir]

"...but the lose of the arm was in defense of friends?"

Gethren seems to be trying to give Lurn a way out having pressed him on the arm.

Gapa looks vaguely amused at the conversation but she is more interested in looking at the party's different members. She taps Gethren on the shoulder and nods towards the village and Gethren half turns then looks back to Lurn and gives another slight bow,

"I am sorry to have bothered you. Please sleep well tonight, we will perhaps meet again tomorrow on the road?"

He bows again and departs with Gapa who leads to a camping area south of the road.

((Anything else tonight?))

[Dlover]

"Well, yes. The combat with the demons was for the sake of saving my friend's life in the first place."

As the due leave, Lurn bows in return, "May you sleep restfully."

[NotStickFigures]

Nothing else for Jaq. Again he will meditate right off the bat and be up for watch after that until everyone else awakens.

[The Lost]

"*Sigh* Fine. Next time though, tell meh when ye find an obj'ct tha be int'll'g'nt. Ah think tha meh tryin' ta ident'fyin' 'er withou' permiss'n may have ....nay feel good?"

[Quarg]

Cary will ask Kroshav if he has noticed anything strange, and also quietly note to him that trouble maybe coming this way in the next few days but she is not sure what or how it is going to appear...'Just something in the wind...'

"I don't know much about the others besides Joe, who...well is Joe...but any of them have natural wisdom? They maybe able to sense more than me?" She will ask.

Cary will note those that hail Lurn and try to remember what she can from her history lessons about the culture and dress of these newcomers.

History Check: 1D20+1 = [16]+1 = 17

[Rodgeir]

That evening while Kroshav does his training and Joe sets up her hut that most everyone camps in or near, the usual dozen people heading the same direction as the party watch. Most of the normal crowd have grown bored with the party's antics but Gethren watches with interest as most everyone does some sort of training and moves to some of those from the normal crowd. He is clearly talking to them about the party as he is pointing and occasionally waving if anyone in the party looks his direction. He watches from a respectful distance and doesn't approach until Gapa comes and looks to drag him back to their camp.

Cary remembers the tribes of western Balyon as being noted as particularly belligerent to the Empire during the early claiming of the area. They had not put up any resistance initially but once the Empire made clear their place within the hierarchy and new expectations on their service to the Empire the tribes had united and been a surprisingly persistent nuisance. The tribes pride themselves on their independence and resourcefulness, most tribes using a form of simple democratic election in choosing leaders. Cary is sure there are specific nuances to their dress she is missing but knows the tribes dress differently depending on where they are located, based on their heavier clothing Cary would guess they are from a tribe near the sea rather than mountains.

[The Lost]

Are there any merchants througj thier travels?

[Rodgeir]

((As you are traveling you would have passed some traveling merchants, primarily selling standard stuff. The group traveling with you are more like seasonal laborers. If you are looking to buy something you have also passed through some villages with stores.

Is Kroshav going to answer Cary's question?))

[spiderwrangler]

Kroshav sniffs the air. "That wasn't me, I promise!"

[Quarg]

Kroshav sniffs the air. "That wasn't me, I promise!"

Cary chuckles..."No but do any of the others have a link to nature?"

[spiderwrangler]

"Lurn's kinda naturey, but Ves is the real outdoorswoman, but we aren't sure where she's at right now."

[The Lost]

I doubt this but may as well ask, anything relating to magic for shopping or a wizard?

[Rodgeir]

((@Lost Roll me a d100, it is specialty stuff but there is still a chance. Going to move the party along, Cary can continue her conversation, or talk to Lurn.))

The morning of the next day comes and the party gathers up and moves out, not the first ones out nor the last. Gethren and Gapa aren't in evidence as the party leaves. The day starts cool but the sun warms things up to nearly summer temperatures again as the party trudge on. A patrol rides by with a wave near lunch time and the rest of the day passes like the day before, lots of walking and meeting people going the other direction.

As the sun begins going down clouds start to blow in and the sky holds the promise of rain, but nothing falls before the party reaches the campsite between villages. They are now only one day's trip away from Kant's village of Uppner and should arrive tomorrow night. Everyone does their nightly training and foraging as more people trickle into the campsite from both directions. A little after dark Gethren and Gapa arrive, Gethren gives a wave as he spots you but they setup camp a reasonable distance away nearer to a few other tents in the clearing.

((Give me another survival check for Jaq and a perception check as well, please.))

Cary goes north of the campsite and steps into the trees, almost instantly the vague feeling of anticipation becomes a thundering wave in her ears. The trees around her seem to feel it too as their branches seem to pull towards the origin of the feeling.

((Can I get a wisdom save for Cary as well as perception check please.))

Joe makes her magical hut and looking at the sky Celus and Indra decide to spend the night inside the hut while Jolly and Dama make camp a short distance away from the hut.

((Anything else tonight or just the usual? Where are the horses put up? The campsite is cut as a semi circle into the forest with the road as its base. It is fairly large and there is grazing for the horses nearby but are you keeping them right by the hut?))

[NotStickFigures]

Survival: 1D20+3 = [14]+3 = 17

Perception: 1D20+3 = [12]+3 = 15


Jaq stays in the same routine.

[The Lost]

1d100 = [50] = 50

Joe has the same routine.

[Rodgeir]

Jaq finds a nice patch of nearly untouched blackberries, which Celus recognizes well enough to trust eating. While Jaq is out foraging he catches a whiff something ripe but it is pretty mild and he'd guess whatever it was is quite far gone. He also gets an odd sense of movement from the forest itself but when he watches the trees and leaves it is only the wind moving them.

((Nothing of interest for Joe on the wagons passing.))

[NotStickFigures]

Jaq brings in the blackberries with a bit of a swagger, glad to find something more recognizable that everyone will eat without a second thought, and then he states, "Had a weird feeling in the forest when i was looking for berries this morning. Almost like I was being watched from something in the forest, but no matter how much I watched or hid and waited, nothing seemed to be there." He shrugs, "Maybe I was just being jittery, but maybe we should watch the forest a bit more closely today and tomorrow."

[The Lost]

"Hmm....Ah can see if Ruby can see somethin'" Joe sends Ruby out into the woods to perch on a tree to watch and see if he sees anything trying to watch them.