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[ThLunarian]

((I'm only planning for it to be a one-level dip, so I'm not going to worry about Lady getting left behind. And I'm okay with it not being the best thing mechanically; it's a roleplaying decision, not an optimization one. Thanks for the input, DeadPhoenix))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Gonna poke Jackben to make sure he's still around.>

 

[Mike M]

((Man, I kept seeing this get bumped and thought I was missing out on stuff, but thankfully it's just rules lawyering.

I have been *really* busy lately :/))

Dreadstone watches as Dortumn hobbles his way into the bar. The cold air has little effect on the tiefling, but clearly it is aggravating injuries that the dwarf sustained at some point in the past. Gone, but clearly not forgotten.

The clerk's revelation of Dortumn's sidelined career of choice explains much, actually. When Dreadstone had been stymied in his own aspirations, he had resigned from the military outright, whereas Dortumn had soldiered on. The acrimony the field marshal displayed for the ranger clearly had a personal element that Dreadstone had not been previously aware of.

If anything, it diminishes Dreadstone's opinion of Dortumn. If the disdain had been borne of high regard for military discipline, that would be one thing, but something as petty as... What, jealousy? How terribly unbecoming.

Though it's not as though rage quitting we're the mark of a great man either...

Dreadstone's mind returns to the clerk at his side, and he remembers that the young man had actually asked him a question. He shakes his head in response. "The girl's unrelated, I go lookin' for leads just to keep my mind occupied. No good ever comes of allowin' myself time for introspection."

 

[KittenMaster]

<While waiting to see if Jackben will shoot an e-mail (I'm assuming Dreadstone doesn't want to come inside the bar so I'll just have a short response as part of a larger post for someone else), I'm just gonna leave this here.>

 

[Mike M]

<While waiting to see if Jackben will shoot an e-mail (I'm assuming Dreadstone doesn't want to come inside the bar so I'll just have a short response as part of a larger post for someone else), I'm just gonna leave this here.>

((At last, unicorns as a playable race!))

 

[Azih]

((two more bits of RP and I think I'm done))

Usually content to order her simple meals from the waitress and keep to herself in a quiet corner Stricia, for the first time, makes her way to the bartender.

The bartender looks at her with surprise. "Haha! The champion of Emerald Bay finally comes up for a drink. I tell you missie, I've been getting far more custom here since word got out that you had spent some time here before you won your title... fine display that was, the way you took on all those wolves single handed by the way... and now look at how crowded this place is" he waves his hands around expansively at the three quarters full dining area. "Never seen these many hanger abouts during exam time. All of them want to get a glance at you. They're too shy to approach you I warrant but they're still spending coin sos I don't kick them out, the layabouts, and that's fine by me". He goes back to polishing the well worn bar. "So what is your pleasure? First one's on the 'house!"

"No pleasure Master Innkeeper" Stricia says uncomfortably as the curious glances of the other customers bore into her, ducking away when she glances around. "I was just wondering about Jake... the first time I met him was here, but everywhere I ask about him no one sees to know where he is or even care."

"Master Innkeeper... I like that." the barkeep mutters as he continues polishing. "Jake.. why'd you want to know about that begging lush? Crying shame how he humiliated you after your triumph I say. Are you looking for revenge for what he did? I'd pay to see that I would!"

"No no" Stricia says waving away the bartender's words. She remains slightly amazed by the commiserations from others people over what happened in the exhibition fight. Jake had been clearly more experienced and she was just a beginner, she had endured much worse from some of the more sadistic masters at her monastery; being made an example of for no other reason than the colour of her skin."I was just wondering where he was..."

****

Later after she learns what she can from the inn a calm Stricia stands in the training arena, cleared at her request, poised in a combat stance as she faces down a panting and weary Alf.

"Again, DEFEND" Stricia shouts as she rushes forward once more. A quick feint with her left fist causes Alf to flinch away allowing Stricia to land a right hook which she turns at the last second into an open handed tap on the back of his head.

"That, at full force, would have made you dizzy" Stricia says as Alf rubs the spot where the harmless blow had landed. "Allowing me to do.. THIS" A sudden leg sweep catches him unaware and he lands heavily on the ground.

Stricia can see Alf respond to being knocked down with an involuntary growl and his nails start to lengthen into claws. "Resist it Alf, when we agreed to train you said you would control yourself and remain in human form!"

Backing away she lets Alf clam down as he slowly gets back up. "I have nothing to teach you in terms of fighting Alf. I saw how unstoppable you were at the prison. You burst through the rebels like paper. But in defense?"

Stricia runs at Alf again this time starting with a straight right punch that she deliberately lets miss before sweeping Alf down again. "You have poor form. I think you are used to always being on the attack and have never had the need to defend yourself much."

Lady lies lazily on the sidelines watching the display with her tongue hanging out of her mouth, giving the impression that she's enjoying the show immensely.

Hauling Alf up Stricia continues. "You have good instincts Alf, but instincts alone can be fooled, relying on only them makes you easy to manipulate.

"Rely on your instincts, use your instincts, but do not be guided by them, use them as a tool."

Stricia attacks Alf making as if to kick at his ankles again but turning it at the last moment with a shift of her weight and a thrust into a lunging knee attack that knocks the wind out of him.

Moving forward again Stricia goes into another flurry, hands and feet flying at Alf just slightly slower than she would normally, consciously telegraphing her moves just a bit.

"Detect... Perceive... See what is actually happening instead of what you think is happening, and react." Stricia punctuates her blows with instruction satisfied that Alf isn't falling for her more obvious fients and avoiding her true strikes.

"Good." Stricia stands with her hands on her hips. "Clumsy, but good, now all that is left is practice." And with that the session continues for the rest of the day.

((MONTAGE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU9Uwhjlog8))

 

[KittenMaster]

"Well... If there's anything I could do to help," of course, it is unlikely that this kid would be any real use, his words are simply a common gesture of politeness in conversation. He glances behind him towards the bar and states, "I should be heading inside as well. Don't want to be caught in a Wizard's Ice Storm."

---

Eyebrows raise at the question, the middle aged inn-tavern keeper's wrinkles pulling together in the motion at his forehead. Placing fingers under his jaw, he expresses, "Who knows? Always managed to make his prizes disappear; we all got fed up that he still had to keep begging after his winnings. Any time he wins is just a waste of the city's coin, I say."

 

[ThLunarian]

It takes all of Alf's willpower to withstand the thrashing that Stricia is dishing out without any sort of retaliation, but withstand it he does.

He says virtually nothing throughout the lesson, only listening and adjusting his technique as she suggests. Loathe as he is to admit it, she is correct: his defense is sorely lacking, and that fact is brought to bear when his offensive prowess is taken away from him.

Human idioms were a curiosity to Alf, and one that he particularly liked was "The best defense is a good offense." He'd subscribed to that philosophy his entire life, even before entering the world of men and hearing it put to words, and it had always served him so well that he'd never seen a need for any other tactic. Now he was learning that the idiom didn't quite apply when the opponent had an ACTUAL defense with which to repel you.

When he finally manages to block an actual strike that wasn't just a feint, he allows a victorious half-growl, half-howl to escape from his lips, and takes a kick upside the head as payment for letting his guard down, stumbling to his hands and knees from the force of the blow.

Pushing himself up with a perturbed expression on his face, he looks Stricia in the eyes with a death stare. "Again," he grumbles in between his panting.

 

[KittenMaster]

<I still need to see what DeadPhoenix wants to do and Jackben said he'll have something tomorrow (he'll also be unbanned soon).>

 

[DeadPhoenix]

((...Yeah I got nothing. Best idea I could come up with is doing some more gather information rolls to try and learn more about the rebels or whatever and the other quests we are suppose to take care of.))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Go ahead and do that then and I'll try to make the best of it.>

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Gather Information;Time: (1d20+9+2+1d6=23, 1d4=4)

 

[KittenMaster]

In that time Draco employs a very active investigative approach to the city, scouring most of the populated premises towards the evening. What he finds is that for the most part he actually knows more about the rebels than most of the westernmost folk farthest away from the conflict due to his first-hand encounter with them in conjunction with the briefings given so far, as well as his in-depth understanding on Rosewood. If he chooses so, he could inform the people he's spoken with on some of what he knows, or he could choose not to.

The most he learns about is an increase in petty crimes in the city from confused people that associate 'rebel' with any kind of uncouth hoodlum, particularly burglaries and theft of valuables.

While scouting through the streets for anybody that might have a useful tip, he winds up on the street the piano bar is at. Whether or not he wants to go in is up to him, but he does notice Dreadstone standing nearby.. and from afar a couple approaching him.

---

Not long after Dreadstone is left to his own musings, his solitude is only broken once more as a duo approaches him. A man and woman couple, both humans with a challenging look in their expressions. The man steps forward, making swift arm gestures as he speaks, "I couldn't help but notice you standin' around like you live here. 'Last I checked, there wasn't any 'teeth' chatterin' about in front of my bar the last time I came here, and the time before that. I figured.. maybe you should find some other business to scare off customers." It might take some time for Dreadstone to figure out why the man called him a pair of teeth if he doesn't already know. The woman speaks supportively, arms crossed and not with any softer attitude, "You said it, love!"

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone fixes the confrontational couple with a glare, taking care to display the military insignia on his uniform as he deliberately pockets his notebook. Teeth, they had called him? He hasn't heard that one before, be he intuits it is some sort of derogatory term for tieflings in this part of the kingdom.

"Seems to me if you have a problem, you ought to be takin' it up with the proper authorities," he says evenly.

No sooner are the words out of his mouth than he regrets having said them. The last thing a he needs to do is antagonize people, especially those that might be in a position to make his life miserable. Just because the law may be on his side does not guarantee those charged with enforcing it won't turn a blind eye to his complaint.

A complaint filed against him, however, was sure to garner a swift response...

 

[KittenMaster]

<Jackben's still banned. Weird.>

The man's mouth chews independent of anything else as he listens to the instruction given, only to follow up such advice with stepping closer and poking at the thin air between them, "Oh? I thought you were the proper authorities, or are you just a tooth-ling in a costume pretending?" "Nevah seen a black uniform before. What're you waitin' for a funeral?," the smarmy spoken girl adds.

By now Draco should be able to get an idea on what's going on as he goes through the city street.

 

[KittenMaster]

<Welcome back, Jackben! I hope you're feeling better today as well.>

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Draco walks over, having decided to join in on the fun.
"Yeah, I heard about this guy, went out of his way to save several guards who had been trapped in a prison by a group of people invading our lands. What a jerk! Hey toothy, why don't you go back to the Abyss where you won't be ostracized by worthless idiots because you look different... Seriously, it sounds better then having to spend another minute listening to these two."

 

[KittenMaster]

Without waiting on the tiefling to respond, he turns to the new arrival to continue rambling on without really letting the info register in his head, "Oh so you have cheerleaders singing your praises," the girl tries to tug on him, "But he said...," but he continues to speak on, "I always knew those ears listened in on what isn't your business but it looks like you want to be nosy too, don't you?" He starts to get in Draco's face like some kid trying to act real, "I'll ostrich-size you for calling me an idiot. Why don't you run along and find something better to do while the real men speak, elf?"

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Draco grabs the man by the shirt and pulls him in even closer and says, "First off, I'm a half-elf, but even then I'm still ten times the man you are. You're really just an overgrown child, probably afraid the we're going to steal your human women, which you should be, because deep down even you know you're a worthless piece of trash who has to put down others to make yourself feel better." He then pushes him away and says, "Now why don't you take lady friend here and go on home, before she wises up and decides it time to trade up?"

((...This screams for an intimidate check, so I guess I might as well make one.))

Intimidate: (1d20+4+1d6=21)

 

[Mike M]

((I'll see how this plays out before taking action))

 

[KittenMaster]

<I won't require a Diplomacy for this guy since he's not holding valuable information and this isn't really an encounter.>

After the grip on his shirt is loosened, he quickly wipes the wrinkles from himself. The girl's concerned voice worriedly advises the steaming man, "Come on, hun! Let's just go!" She eases him into walking off, though his face still holds a bitter look as he glances back.

<Is Jackben still with us?>

 

[Jackben]

The trill sound of a warbling sparrow stirs a green-cloaked form laying still, suspended between two birch trees. Cracking an eyelid, the groggy camper peers up from his hammock into the milky span of the early morning sky. Numerous orbs of light still burn in their lofty perches, but their distant brilliance has dulled as dusk begins to give way to the dawn. Sliding onto he ground, his wrapped leather boots crunch onto a patch of snow as he seeks to slake his dry throat.

Kneeling, the sorcerer peels off a glove and reaches down to scoop a handful of snow into his cupped bare hand. An emerald flame quickly melts the snow into tiny puddle of water, from which he gratefully drinks. 'Damn that's cold. I probably should have waited for spring to "take it back to the elements" as it were.' He stretches a bit, takes a deep breath and feels a sense of excitement, perhaps from distant prey.

'He must be hunting mice. Bad timing, Oz. Although...the empathic link could come in handy.' Nodding to himself, he stands up and puts his hands to his sides as he begins to clear his mind to draw energy from...

'Wherever the hell it comes from. This would be a lot easier if I could just practice on other people first...probably not too smart or ethical though.' Sighing, he closes his eyes and uses his link with Ozzy to sense nearby creatures for tapping. Those still dormant or just beginning to stir would have the most untapped potential...

Feeling tiny spindles of energy branch out from his core like the roots of a tree, he connects each spirit tendril with the mice, birds, muskrats and other small creatures living in this area just off the beaten path near the Emerald Bay city gate. Just as he feels his concentration begin to warp and stretch beyond its limit, he wills a surge of energy from all the connected creatures and himself into a single being.

The sorcerer's eyes flash open as he spots the lithe weasel with a white spot on his chest, its chestnut coat a literal blur as it bounds toward him at supernatural speed. Spinning around three times and jumping into the air, Ozzy collects a large pile of frozen nuts and berries into a circle in a matter of seconds. "Time!" Niko reaches down and strokes Ozzy underneath the chin. "Nice one, buddy!"

"It'll take some time to perfect it for humans..." Niko begins to gather his things to head back toward the city for breakfast. By now the sun has begun to peek over the horizon, a watercolor of yellow and orange illuminating the sky. "But it sure as hell beats sitting in a classroom and studying from a dusty tome."

((Story of what Niko has been up to as he begins to harness his newest spell, Haste. Also ty for the patience and kindness KM. Winter bites and I hope it's over soon.))

 

[KittenMaster]

Thanks to Draco having Dreadstone's back, the harassment has ended. Nobody else dares to make themselves the fool, especially not those that witnessed the words that burn like an ether from a shattered flask.

--

Awakening is the city itself, as the fledging evoker of the arcane can see, bringing about traffic at the gates and opening itself to the world once more. Should he pay attention, he should notice the singer he took interest in and fellow band members standing near a wagon as it and the musical property on supply platforms are being checked out by guards before their departure.

 

[Jackben]

Determined to make amends for his swift departure before, Niko calls Ozzy to jump off his shoulder as he walks toward the minstrel group. He waves politely at the young singer.

"Hello. I hope the tournament crowd left you in good fortune? I was not so lucky, but enjoyed myself nonetheless."

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone tugs the peak of his hood as the abusive couple pass. "Ma'am," he says politely with a smirking expression as they leave. Nothing so goads a bigot as failure to rise to their bait.

Alone on the streets with Draco, he rolls a pinch of tobacco into a square of paper. "I could've handled that myself," he says as he holds a match to the cigarette until the flame catches. "But I 'ppreciate the assist."

 

[KittenMaster]

Startled, the girl turns to the young man greeting her so readily. Once Niko is finally able to see the girl close, he can see that she is more beautiful from afar with dark, rounded eyes and soft features, truly someone to adore.

She smiles shyly, and turns over towards a man in his twenties, a man that comes off as a suave business smart type even within his working clothing from his expressions and way of speaking with the checkpoint. Sensing the silent plea for advice, he simply looks over at Niko, grins and nods. With no real indication as to what that was about, she looks over and smiles sweetly to him and answers apologetically, "I am afraid I was far too busy to have seen it, but I am in good fortune without it. I trust you did more than run away there?" Her voice is softly toned, trained to be pleasing to the ears even when she is speaking normally.

<Niko, now that you're finally engaged in conversation and can see her closely make a Perception check, its DC (your age / 2 + 7) >

 

[Jackben]

Watching the dynamic between the young girl and the older businessman, Niko raises an eyebrow but doesn't remark upon it. Laughing at the singer's response, he scratches the back of his neck in awkward confession. "Well, I suppose you could say I adopted tactics of retreat in the arena too, though there was a lot more spell-casting involved. Still I am remiss in my manners again, my name is Niko. May I ask yours?"

Before she responds, Niko senses something amiss and attempts to discern what it is from the vocalist's serene face.

'Her eyes are quite beautiful as well...and her hair...Ugh, concentrate you fool, there's something else...'

Girl perception check (DC: 17.5):
1d20+5 &#8594; [18,5] = (23)

 

[KittenMaster]

Niko finally realizes that she may be a tad younger than that perception DC.

The girl chuckles and raises a hand to muffle the resulting expression, answering, "You act like my biggest fan but you don't know my name? I'm Lovegood. I hope that you'll tell your friends I'll be going to Southport to sing there, Alydar unfortunately a bit hard to get to these days so I may as well take my voice where I can."

 

[Jackben]

A surge of realization causes the sorcerer's eyebrow to twitch momentarily. 'Damn it, Nicholas. De-activate creeper mode!' "Err well, pleased to meet you, Miss Lovegood." Clearing his throat he nods respectfully to the business-man at her side. "My travelling companions and I actually have some business in Southport so I'll be sure to pass along the message."

 

[KittenMaster]

She smiles gratefully at his offer, flashing her lashes at him as she speaks, "I'm sure you'll find more courage the next time we meet." As she starts to turn, she looks over, "perhaps then your fashion sense won't just be paid for in peanuts as well." At that, she'll be ready to board the carriage. She says to the aforementioned man, "I'm ready to go, brother," and he accompanies her to depart.

<So Niko... you want a trait for this?

>

 

[Jackben]

((How_about_no.jpg))

Waving mechanically as Lovegood departs, Niko firmly places his palm onto his forehead as soon as she is out of sight. Ozzy twitters inquisitively at his feet before scurrying up onto his shoulder. "Can't win for losing, pal. Seems like they're either too young and unimpressed..." he shakes his head and looks down at his well-weathered travelling clothes. "Or too old and desperate, at least according to what Alpha mentioned."

He shrugs nonchalantly as he gathers Ozzy and walks back into town to join up with the others. Curiously the sorcerer's clothes appear spotless and clean, almost appearing as if they are brand new in starch bright coloring. His belt and bandoleer give off a slight green hue as if beset by sparkling emeralds.

Anyone who knows Niko, or DC 15 perception

Spoiler

It's an illusion.

 

[KittenMaster]

That afternoon, the arena is bustling with new activity and the sun is shining down still air, giving a pleasant atmosphere. Soldiers that were rescued are now enjoying the assortment of the weapons and armor on display, but they aren't the only ones visiting; the gallery is browsed by aspiring gladiators looking for a fresh blade, and the animal pens are being looked at by both warriors looking to become rangers and civilians that might find a new pet there. The t-rex pen has been moved away from the rest, and the cage is surrounded by a barbed fence.

A wooden wheeled frame fit with mechanisms that sizzle with steam and a lever which to turn the front wheels putters as it moves towards the party without being pulled by a horse. Atop is Curly operating the lever and the assistant half-orc pumping the workings at the back with constant attention to keep the vehicle's furnace hot. With a different lever pulled, the wheels are stunted immediately, and the two atop the frame are toppled over.

Getting up and dusting himself off, the tinkering quartermaster explains, "That was to be your new vehicle, but as you can see it is still a prototype. It is also much slower than traditional means of operating a vehicle, and it would not have been able to support your weight. Right then. Let me show you to the equipment you will be fitted with." He shows the party towards their new wagon, "Dreadstone, in all the years I've known you, I've never seen a wagon returned intact, and it discourages me to know something will likely happen to this one. We had to spend funds to buy a new wagon, and a bit of time modifying the horse pully to adapt to a third horse, or more accurately speaking the centaur that will be pulling it. We've fitted him and the horses with armor, a satchel which to keep maps and a guidebook to places he'll be going to, as well as a weapon to defend himself with." Moving around the wagon he climbs up and shows the insides, "We've expanded the space to allow the keeping of more occupants, a lesson learned from last time. We've also added shackles to the floorboard, but please we prefer that you use it to keep people you could trust, rather than collecting Drow trophies. Their theft of equipment and obtaining of hostages is rather inconvenient and costly."

 

[Azih]

"I take it that since your forces are unable to keep anyone imprisoned that you have decided that capturing someone who could tell you what is actually going on is not something that you care about?" Stricia says frostily, arms crossed over her chest, still incredibly defensive over the decision to bring prisoners back.

 

[KittenMaster]

The halfling looks up to the monk questioning the decision, answering confidently, "Not when it results in their learning more about us than we did of them, and I suspect there is more to our enemies if they could surpass such secrecy and so swiftly at that. If you absolutely must bring somebody back, that would be Dreadstone's decision. This leads us to our next device which to give you.." Curly moves over to a table where some magical stones are kept, "These are courtesy of the academy. The magicians can only scry you in short durations, so we can't monitor you at every moment, though I'm sure you would not like that either way, so we have a solution for a problem that brings up: this larger stone here is the one the field officer will keep on him, and these two stones made of ruby? Just tap them three times..." he does so, "and the larger stone will glow brilliantly," as it does now, "which will notify us to scry one of you should you have something we need to look at from afar."

 

[Azih]

"Maybe you should review your security then rather than implying there was anything wrong with bringing prisoners back." Stricia mutters before lapsing into a sullen silence for the rest of the briefing.

 

[KittenMaster]

"Please. The device which I have shown you. It will allow the field officer and the magicians to plan forth in advance should you choose to bring back people." He looks to see if anyone else has anything to say.

<I've railroaded this game pretty hard at some points so far, including what happened with Adel (which I have decided I have reasons for) and all around the tournament portion, but hopefully things start opening up from this point on now that you're about to get into the main part of the game and things will slowly start to unveil. In case it's not clear, you don't actually have to obey the request not to bring back prisoners, the military is simply wanting caution. In fact there were choices that were available that wasn't clear were available during some past parts of the game.>

 

[Azih]

((Stricia blames herself for getting Forrester kidnapped so she's touchy that it keeps on being brought up ))

 

[ThLunarian]

Just as Curly finishes his sentence, a commotion sounds from the entrance of the arena. The rest of the party might turn their heads to find Alf struggling.

"Lady!" he says, with one part annoyance and two parts desperation. "COME!"

The snow-white wolf seems resolute in her refusal to enter the arena. Alf is attempting to pull and tug at her, and failing, because Lady has no collar, and therefore has nothing with leverage for him to grab onto.

"Please! I promise, no more cage! They ain't capture you again!"

This continues on for at least another minute before finally Alf gives up and allows Lady to park herself just outside of the arena.

He approaches the rest of the party, and now that he's closer, it's very clear to them that he is in a significant amount of pain simply by the way he's carrying himself. Every step makes him wince, and there are black and blue marks scattered all over any exposed skin lower than his neck. His large mane of hair has a frazzled quality to it that normally isn't there even when it's at its wildest.

"We ready to leave soon?" he says in an uncharacteristically weak, exasperated voice.

 

[KittenMaster]

Seeing the dog seemingly run off, Curly advises his half-orc partner, "Please go out and make sure our Druid's animal is not stolen from us before they leave. Goodness knows we need to keep track of our things better." and that is how Lady being outside the arena exposed to the city doesn't cause problems a second time.

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone grunts at the halfling's complaing about the state of wagons he has returned to the transport pool over the years. Wagons weren't intended for conflict, after all, so in the ranger's opinion it was incumbent upon the military to rethink their allocation of resources and deployment strategy rather than to ensure that a wooden box on wheels made it home without a scratch.

Still, the modifications and equipment are appreciated. He's not especially sold on the notion of horse armor, as in his experience such extravagances were little more than cosmetic effects. Indeed, if one were to ask him, the very promising notion of being able to purchase additional content to enhance one's adventures had decended into a regretably thriving industry built upon swindling consumers by copper-and-silvering them to death. Rather than extra equipment being available, things that were once included in the purchase price were withheld and sold for an additional cost.

Dreadstone sighed. They just didn't make adventures like they used to.

The tiefling throws his rucksack into the back of the wagon, which is followed by a yipping Gnaw. Dreadstone reckons the dog is driven to distraction by the pheromone arrows contained within. "Time's a'wastin'," he says. "Let's get this travelin' circus on the road already."

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Draco hops on the wagon, "Circus huh? Now I think we might be getting somewhere with a properly descriptive group name..."

 

[KittenMaster]

Still, the modifications and equipment are appreciated. He's not especially sold on the notion of horse armor, as in his experience such extravagances were little more than cosmetic effects. Indeed, if one were to ask him, the very promising notion of being able to purchase additional content to enhance one's adventures had decended into a regretably thriving industry built upon swindling consumers by copper-and-silvering them to death. Rather than extra equipment being available, things that were once included in the purchase price were withheld and sold for an additional cost.

<hahahaha.>

<Also, be sure to have picked out your free potions and any free tools you might want that would've gotten lost in the haversack.>

<Finally, whoever is taking the two stones should add this to their inventory:
- Stones of notification: 3 times a day, you can strike these stones together to call attention to yourself by the owner of the third stone. Works as long as the stones are on the same plane.>

 

[Azih]

((Stricia was carrying everything of hers already and hasn't used any of her three free potions yet. Good to go))

 

[Jackben]

((That was inspired, Mike))

After studying Curly's miniature steam wagon with fascination, Niko is crestfallen to learn they will not be taking a similar method of transport across the continent. "It looks too unstable to sustain itself over natural terrain. I wonder how it might fair upon a manufactured path..." Setting aside his curiosity for the time being, Niko carefully restocks on potions ((two pass without trace again)) and selects another length of rope. He stows each item carefully in his pack and hooks each potion onto his bandoleer, making sure everything fits snugly and is within easy access.

Finally, the sorcerer sneaks a quick glance at the grappling hook table before joining Draco in the wagon.

 

[KittenMaster]

After everybody is on the wagon, the well prepared and locked in Uqualek sits between two other horses. He announces just as readily, "I'm prepared to depart. Just tell me where to go and I'll find my way there."

<I am actually not going to take you straight to Rosewood right away. The inns still act as viable places to interact with, and you can even change your mission objective and decide to do something different.>

 

[Azih]

"We should get to Rosewood as soon as possible" Stricia opines "But if we can find out about the route tampering from the inns on the way then that would be good."

 

[ThLunarian]

Lady rejoins the party as soon as they leave the confines of the arena, hopping onto the wagon and taking a seat at Alf's feet.

He leans down and pets her fur affectionately. "We must have some talk," he says to her. "Need to learn listen when I say."

((I want to use Handle Animal to try and teach her the trick Come. It's supposed to take a week. Would you like me to roll before or after the week is up?))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Roll first, that way failures won't be a waste of a week (which you can definitely get to Rosewood before a week, btw).>

 

[Jackben]

As the wagon heads out for the open road, Niko turns to Dreadstone. "So what's on the cards then, commander?" He listens intently to discern what their first objective is, making a pointed effort to write down what Dreadstone says in response. During a lull in discussion, he raises an eyebrow at Alf as he notes the myriad of bruises and marks over his body. "Ouch. Did you run into Jake or something?"

 

[ThLunarian]

Handle Animal check for 'Come' (1d20+8=20)

When Niko addresses him, Alf turns somewhat pink in the face and glances at Stricia, before looking again to the sorcerer. "No. Stricia... helps me train."

He leaves it at that, focusing again on Lady and trying to teach her exactly what the word 'Come' means. Even with the advantage of being able to speak in her language, it's still not an easy process.