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Post by Admin on Nov 13, 2013 23:41:35 GMT
The party finds themselves in a rocky valley with the sound of rushing water from a nearby waterfall. The sky is bright blue and they are surrounded by tall trees, yet the air is a bit chillier. Similar runes covered rocks surround their current location. Suddenly, a horn sounds off in the distance. A bearded man covered in blood runs into the clearing.
"Help me!" he shouts.
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Post by jon on Nov 14, 2013 10:34:39 GMT
"Well that didnt't take long," thinks Hans to himself. Hans crouches low and mutters some words under his breath before pointing at the man [cast message]. "Who are you running from and why are they after you?" Hans thinks towards the man. [sense motive on the response]
[OOC I am away this weekend so someone can roleplay me if they want, otherwise see you all Tuesday!]
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Post by henwen88 on Nov 14, 2013 20:54:25 GMT
[Spot Check, looking for Brandon, unless it is assumed he's with us.]
Leath's response to random people appearing and crying for his help is no longer as generous as it once was. Not only are there a hell of a lot of them, but one of them stabbed him in the chest recently. "Come no closer," he says, drawing his sword. He doesn't know what Hans is doing low to the ground, pointing, but his own concern is to get information out of this man, and fast. "Put your hands in the air, then tell us who you are and what you expect help with." He looks at these new surroundings, unsure if they are in some otherworldly passage, or if they have already come out on the other side, in the North.
[I'll play Hans this weekend. It'll be fun!]
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Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2013 20:30:24 GMT
[Brandon is with you.]
Hans can see the man is covered in genuine cuts and scars, and is wounded fairly badly. It's either very, very convincing magical illusions or make up, or he's it is far more likely he is genuinely hurt and frantic.
---
Leath sees the man ignore his command as he bounds through the clearing, and dives into a gully on the other side. Footsteps are heard in the woods where the man was running from. From the corner of his eye, Leath can see shorter figures in metal armor marching towards them.
The party can see the man's pursuers. They move slowly, but in a fast and uniform march. They lack the smell of goblinoids or orcs, but their discipline is unmistakably dwarven. The few bits of exposed skin are gray and ashen, with burns and scars along their arms. Their armor is covered in runes, but the craftsmanship still seems like cruder versions of traditional dwarven equipment. They've heard of such beings before, known to the Norse as the Duergar. The duergar are inbred, degenerate, and racist cousins of the dwarves, and are typically very territorial. Now, a unit of them are approaching their position.
---
"Repair, destroy," a voice calls in Alicia's head. "Fail."
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Post by tengen on Nov 16, 2013 7:06:18 GMT
She lets out a quiet sigh, making a mental note on it not being an isolated incident and to come clean of these strange intrusions when the time was better suited. A glance to her companion is enough for him to ready his blade for an inevitable attack. She performs mirrored gestures to Hans' before pointing to the others in turn to speak a whispered message without being overheard.
"These things seem to be somehow connected to the orb we seek.."
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Post by henwen88 on Nov 16, 2013 17:59:07 GMT
"Does anyone speak the Dwarven tongue?" Leath asks the party as he loads a stone into his sling. "Brandon?" he asks, looking towards the druid who led them here. "Were you expecting them?" Before he gets a response, he shouts, "Come no further!" to the approaching Duergar.
Hans loads his musket, looking eager to see how the product of his money and newly-learned skills performs in action. "Whoever that man is," he says, nodding in the direction of the gully, "he certainly seems to be hurt, and rather scared. I wonder if he, too, is seeking our orb."
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Post by Admin on Nov 16, 2013 20:43:38 GMT
"No," Brandon shakes his head. "But the duergar are active around this region, warring with each other as often as they fight outsiders."
"Allow me to help!" Wu Jiao says. "Does anyone wish to be our speaker? I can cast a Comprehend Languages spell that would allow you to comprehend dwarven."
Hans can make out a few of the duergar words, as their gutteral language reminds him of an obscure German dialect he heard in his travels.
"Wounded human has precious gear..." he overhears from one of the duergar leaders. "More humans! Attack or not?"
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Post by tengen on Nov 17, 2013 7:39:53 GMT
She unconciously raises one wavering hand unsure if this is the right action
"I could do it. I am pretty well versed in diplomatic procedures." She says before stealing a glance toward the Dwarves. "Not sure how much help that will be though given I'm not privy to Duergar custom." she lets out a small sheepish laugh
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Post by henwen88 on Nov 17, 2013 19:45:44 GMT
Hans takes his eyes off his musket sight and looks back to the party. "I can understand a bit of what the Duergar are saying," he tells Jiao. "They say this man has 'precious gear.' I think it best that we protect him. Better that something of value finds its way into our hands than theirs... And, of course, it's the right thing to do."
Leath mutters something under his breath.
"Not attack more humans!" Hans points his musket at the Duergar and calls to them, using the words he heard them use. "Not attack wounded human! If attack wounded human, humans attack Duergar!"
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Post by Admin on Nov 18, 2013 1:57:16 GMT
"Hans seems to have some idea, but more can't hurt," Jiao casts the spell on Alicia.
Alicia hears the duergar talking amongst themselves, understanding not only the words, but also a bit of the context.
"Humans come from sacred circle!" one of the duergar soldiers says. "It must be a divine sign!"
His commander slaps him across the face. "No, all humans are pawns of evil, fit only to be slaves," he mutters. "This fat one butchers our tongue, talks to us like a condescending parent to children, and shelters the thief who stole the Ancestors' gift to the Bloodhammer Clan!"
"I am sorry, Father!" the soldier clutches his face.
"Fat one, give us the thief of the sacred gear, or you will all die!" Father, the apparent leader of the duergar, commands Hans. "We outnumber you!"
There are a line of ten duergar, arranged in a shield-wall formation with short spears and axes sticking out. The worksmanship of their equipment is crude, but their discipline is their greatest strength. For all the party knows, these duergar could literally be a family.
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Post by tengen on Nov 18, 2013 7:19:15 GMT
Listens intently trying to formulate a plan before beginning. Having living creatures here complicates the retrieval and if this relic is what she thinks it is, it complicates things further. She was apprehensive of this but she knew she can do this. She had left home for adventure and here it was. She had to cut to the chase of this matter, Gentle Parle and showing weakness would not cut it here. She would have use some use a little of her old training from her youth alongside that of business ventures. With that a plan emerged. Azreal promptly attempts to Hide close enough that if this goes south he can immediately jump into the fray. (Stealth check)
She points to Leathe sending a silent message to him. "The man stole a sacred relic from the clan, Any way you can quickly and quietly see about verifying this fact?" She says with only a nod before pointing to Hans with a message of his own.
"I have an idea, do not take offence to this" She says silently before enacting her idea.
With that she takes a deep breath and does something very stupid. She stands from cover looking directly to the father figure her face impassive taking a stance befitting her noble upbringing. She steps forward giving a icy sidelong glare to him before giving him a a full on blackhand to his cheek, her posture barely budging as she stares at him hoping inwardly he gets her intent before resuming eye contact with the one she presumes is the chief.
"Forgive the fool, He feels interjecting in a matter he knew nothing of with a child's grasp of the tongue and violence is enough to sway one on of high estate." She says her hands clasped in front of her showing she holds no weapon other than a form of confidence in her abilities.
"I am Alicia Moon, Emissary for those beyond the veil of Worlds. We come in peace" She says unperturbedly looking to the father.
(Diplomacy)
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Post by henwen88 on Nov 18, 2013 15:37:51 GMT
While Hans and Alicia draw the attention (and possibly the ire) of the Duergar, Leath tries to steal away stealthily, his own cries to the Duergar having been unheeded and forgotten. Using Brandon and then his own pony for cover as he slips away from the group, he heads for the gully the wounded man fled to.
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Post by Admin on Nov 18, 2013 23:08:40 GMT
Leath finds the man clutching a small object resting in swaddling cloth, chugging a healing potion. He looks up Leath, as if to ask him something, but no words form. He's obviously still breathing heavily, with flecks of potion flying out of his mouth each time he opens his mouth.
---
[Alicia's diplomacy roll: 18, Stealth: 8]
Azreal is unable to hide completely, but he now is flanking the duergar unit, and out of focus of most of them. The gray dwarves focus in on the woman. Father is unsure of how to act for a moment, as he desires to look imposing for his soldiers.
"Do you come from Asgard or Vanaheim? Did you walk the boughs of Yggdrasil?" the dwarven leader asks. "Forgive us, for intruders have stolen an artifact from the Clockwork Crypt of our ancestors."
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Post by tengen on Nov 19, 2013 2:03:34 GMT
(Knowledge Planes, How much I know will alter what I want to say)
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Post by henwen88 on Nov 19, 2013 2:07:15 GMT
"I'm a healer," Leath says, crouching over the man. "Drink that, breathe deeply, and let me see your wounds."
[Heal check.]
While trying to examine the man's injuries, Leath attempts to ascertain what is wrapped in the cloth, prying back a fold of the fabric surreptitiously.
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