Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 shatteredtower Mar 14, 2004 4:25:29	Access to this thread is restricted to the players listed below, and to the DM for this adventure, Scop. Your Heroes Halandar Aumble HP: 11/11 Initiative: +3 AC: 16 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +1 leather armor, +1 proficiency), -2 touch, -3 flat-footed Damage Conversion: 1 (leather armor) BAB: +1 (add +1 to melee attacks (or -4 to grapple), +4 to ranged, and +5 to thrown attacks) Atk: ¤ short sword +2 (1d4, 19-20/x2 crit) ¤ sap +2 (1d4 subdual, x2 crit) ¤ dagger +2 melee or +6 ranged (1d3, 19-20/x2 crit, 10' range increment; add +1 atk/damage within 30') Saves: Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +1 (or +3 vs. fear effects) Abilities: Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 16 Skills (not modified for encumbrance): Balance +5, Bluff +8, Climb +3, Decipher Script +3, Diplomacy +5, Disable Device +7, Escape Artist +4, Forgery +3, Gather Information +4, Hide +8, Intimdate +5 Jump +4, Listen +7, Move Silently +9, Open Lock +6, Perform (dance) +4, Perform (sing) +4, Search +7, Sleight of Hand +9, Spot +5, Tumble +8, Use Magic Device +4 Feats: Point Blank Shot Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Halfling Special: sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding, evasion Joseph "Patches" Kell HP: 26/26 Initiative: +6 AC: 16 (+2 Dex, +2 studded leather, +1 proficiency, +1 defense), -3 touch and flatfooted Damage Conversion: 1 (studded leather) BAB: +3 (add +2 to melee and ranged attacks) Atk: ¤ longsword +5 (1d8+1 , 19-20/x2 crit) ¤ dagger +5 (1d4+1, 19-20/x2 crit, 10' range increment) ¤ sap +5 (1d6+1 subdual, x2 crit) ¤ whip +5 (1d3+1 subdual, x2 crit, 15' reach) ¤ light crossbow* +3 (1d8, 19-20/x2 crit, 80' range increment) * Joseph cannot load a light crossbow on his own. Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +3 Abilities: Str 14, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 14 Skills (modified for armor): Bluff +7, Concentration +7, Diplomacy +12, Disguise +3 (or +5 acting), Intimidate +6, Jump +10, Listen +5, Perform (oratory) +3, Perform (sing) +14, Perform (stringed instrument) +9, Sense Motive +5, Sleight of Hand +9, Tumble +9 Feats: Entertainer, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Perform [sing]), Two-Weapon Fighting Languages: Common, Dwarven, Elven Special: bardic knowledge +5, bardic music 3/day (countersong, fascinate 1 target for up to 3 rounds, inspire courage +1, inspire competence), spell use (see below) Julia of Hillsdown HP: 9/9 Initiative: +0 AC: 14 (+2 studded leather, +1 proficiency, +1 small shield), -4 touch Damage Conversion: 1 (studded leather) BAB: +0 Atk: ¤ heavy mace +0 (1d8, x2 crit) ¤ morningstar +0 (1d8, x2 crit) ¤ light crossbow +0 (1d8, 19-20/x2 crit, 80' range increment) Saves: Fort +3, Ref +0, Will +5 Abilities: Str 11, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 17, Cha 14 Skills: Concentration +4, Diplomacy +3, Heal +8, Knowledge (history) +2, Knowledge (the planes) +3, Knowledge (religion) +4, Listen +5, Spellcraft +2, Spot +5, Survival +7 Feats: Alertness, Self-Sufficient Languages: Common, Dwarven Special: divine spell use (see below), spontaneous casting of cure spells and domain spells (Protection and Travel); i]protective ward[/i] 1/day (standard action; recipient gains +1 bonus to next save made within 1 hour duration), "free action" (self only, 1 round/day), turn undead 5/day (1d20 +2 check, 2d6+3 damage); character is carrying a medium load Tycho Eharb HP: 10/10 Initiative: +1 AC: 13 (+1 Dex, +1 leather armor, +1 proficiency), -2 touch, -1 flat-footed Damage Conversion: 1 (leather) Arcane Spell Failure: 10% BAB: +0 (add 2 to melee and +1 to ranged attacks) Atk: rapier +2 (1d6+2, 18-20/x2 crit) Saves: Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1 Abilities: Str 14, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 10 Skills: Craft (alchemy) +11, Climb +6, Handle Animal +4, Intimidate +4, Jump +6, Ride +5, Swim +6 Feats: Blind-Fight, Eschew Materials, Skill Focus (Craft [alchemy]) Languages: Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven Special: spell use (see below) **** Spell Use (spells in red have been cast) Joseph (save DC = 12 + spell level) Level 0 (3/day): detect magic, light, mage hand, prestidigitation, read magic, summon instrument Level 1 (2/day): cure light wounds, disguise self, unseen servant Julia (save DC = 13 + spell level) Level 0 (3/day): light, mending, virtue Level 1 (2/day): magic weapon, obscuring mist Tycho (save DC = 14 + spell level) Level 0 (2/day): detect magic, ghost sound Level 1 (1/day): sleep Special Items: Tycho: ¤ acid (one vial) ¤ alchemist's fire (two flasks) ¤ tindertwigs (10) Edit: Updated Joseph's details on 17May04.
#2 zombiegleemax Mar 14, 2004 11:26:33	A sudden, unplanned departure from Sarien Point saw Joseph Kell leaving behind his father's draft horse, Dante, with no opportunity of retrieving him. Now, he gathers a group of friends to go northwest with him to the Point and get the horse back. The road leads from Garic's City's west gate through the halfling community of Brannon's Run, then continues on to the Point, skirting the river that comes down out of the mountains and past the Point to Garic's, carrying its annual grain barge that runs after the harvest. The Point is a good 24 miles or so as the crow flies, but river crossings and indirect roads stretched the previous journey. Joseph's not traveling as light this time, so by his estimates, traveling at Halandar's speed with little interruption and no more trekking than they can handle without exhausting themselves, it should take the group two-and-a-half to three days to make the trip. Gather your group by NPC'ing if necessary; IC if possible and preferable. But we're ready to roll.
#3 josephkell Mar 15, 2004 21:09:16	[from the Church of Agathalos*] Partially complete scene. "Is everyone ready? Halandar, you know Brannon's Run, right? We'll be going through there." Joseph and the others headed towards the Halfling community.
#4 zombiegleemax Mar 15, 2004 21:10:19	Brannon's Run? No where is it?
#5 zombiegleemax Mar 16, 2004 9:38:24	Guards on and above the gate watch the quartet leaving with marginal interest, noting weapons worn and gear carried, but make no comment to the group. There's a decent amount of traffic leaving the city at the same time they are, mostly solo mule- or ox-driven carts with their beds tarped over and a few people on horseback, besides a single horse-drawn, covered coach, probably carrying a rich traveler somewhere. They all bottleneck slightly at the gate and bridge, then our heroes on foot outstrip the slower carts and are passed by the faster horses, distances widening as they get farther and farther on the open road.
#6 josephkell Mar 16, 2004 14:11:05	"Brannon's Run is a halfling community I think..." Joseph surveyed their surroundings. "You all may want to introduce yourselves to each other. Tycho, Halandar, and Julia," the bard said as he gestured to each.
#7 zombiegleemax Mar 16, 2004 17:02:07	Halandar smiles at the other two and offers a hand to each.
#8 zombiegleemax Mar 16, 2004 20:28:24	Taking the offered hand, Tycho smiles. "Nice to be formally introduced. You have your gear in order? With Joseph around, no doubt we will need it very soon." Turning to Julia, Tycho bows and offers his hand. "A pleasure to meet you."
#9 josephkell Mar 16, 2004 20:42:49	"Everyone's a comedian..." Joseph groaned. The bard adjusted his hat and walked on.
#10 zombiegleemax Mar 17, 2004 10:18:16	"Likewise," Julia replies mildly to Tycho as she returns his bow. There's a brief confusion of hands as she shakes each of their hands. The walls of Garic's shrink gradually behind them as the road bends northward while crossing the stretch of mostly open ground between the human and halfling cities. The rise to the ground and the winter-bare trees scattered far too widely on the unarable to make the area considered any kind of forest block any sign of Brannon's Run on the horizon for many hours. Noon will be soon when the party finally crests a hill and is afforded a view of a stand of mixed oak, larch, and fir on their immediate right. Their first stop of the journey lies ahead of them, Brannon's Run, on the opposite shore of a small lake. A wooden palisade still circles it and five high lookout towers jut up at the community's corners and center. The lake becomes a stream near the western side of the lake, spanned by a bridge. The water itself continues to run westward, too small for any boat, where they can see it slows to a marsh, widens again to another tree-ringed lake, and then meanders to what small part of another community they can see--if Joseph's memory serves, that's Westwaters. Their road leads down the hill, and the vantage is left behind. Brannon's Run and its lake stays in sight as they continue, however, by virtue of lucky placement of the trees and the straight road.
#11 josephkell Mar 18, 2004 12:53:09	Joseph gazed at the halfling. Who would've thought such a short people would have such high towers... the bard reflected. "Are you all ready?"
#12 zombiegleemax Mar 18, 2004 15:01:59	I guess I am, but as I said I don't have tools, so getting through any traps could be a problem.
#13 zombiegleemax Mar 19, 2004 5:23:14	"As ready as I will ever be, I suppose." Tycho said, staring at the road ahead.
#14 zombiegleemax Mar 19, 2004 10:01:46	Brannon's Run draws closer and closer as they cover the remaining mile. Fields on this side of the lake are inactive in the winter. In the forest far to their right they can see numerous stumps of trees scattered among still-standing ones. A closer look, even from this distance, reveals that it's just the needleaf trees that have been taken while the deciduous ones were left. The group comes to the lake and the small wooden bridge at its downstream shore. Then they're before the gate, which stands open, with one of the towers rearing up from inside the city, within a stone's throw of the gate itself. On the wall, halfling in studded leather turns around from leaning his back against the palisade to wave at them with the whittling stick in his left hand. "Hoi, trav'lers!" the guard says. He catches sight of Halandar and smiles slightly. "Looks loike ye 'aven't been on the road too long. Come from Garic's?"
#15 zombiegleemax Mar 19, 2004 23:25:25	"Hi," Halandar waves as he approaches the guard "so that's what the city is called, Garic's?"
#16 zombiegleemax Mar 19, 2004 23:36:33	The guard blinks as he peers down over the wall at the other halfling. "Wot, ya didn't ken th' name o' the city ya just come from? How'd ya manage that?" He glances up at the other three in the group, then shrugs slightly. "Anyway, wot's yer business in Brannon's Run?"
#17 josephkell Mar 20, 2004 0:08:55	"Yeah, we're from Garic's City. We're on our way to Sarian Point," Joseph chimed in.
#18 zombiegleemax Mar 20, 2004 0:18:23	"Passin' through, eh... Well, come on in. Oi reckon the Laughin' Hart won't say no t'ye buyin' lunch there." The guard waves them towards the gate. "Straight up the lane. Ye can't miss it."
#19 josephkell Mar 21, 2004 13:13:47	"Thank you mister... thank you." Joseph [and those that don't post otherwise] preceeded to the Laughin' Hart to get lunch. I sure hope Dante hasn't been sold off or slaughtered...
#20 zombiegleemax Mar 22, 2004 12:20:42	The inn proves to be filled with halflings, chatting, eating, drinking, and laughing. The group is seated by the a buxom halfling woman who introduces herself as Tigerlily when she says hello, then leads them through the crush of the Hart's common room to one of the few tables sized for the humans. Halandar is brought a tall stool to perch on at the table while Lily tells them, "We've got some roight noice sandwiches fer lunch today. Gold an' an 'alf'll cover all of ye, along with a pitcher o' good sack an' a wedge o' good, sharp gouda." She smiles. "Stroike yer fancy?"
#21 zombiegleemax Mar 22, 2004 12:23:28	Walking in to the Laughting Heart, Tycho and the others find a table. Collapsing into a chair, Tycho sighs. "Nice to have the chance to eat a proper meal. Say what you will about rations, they are not edible."
#22 josephkell Mar 22, 2004 14:01:42	"Thank you Tigerlily, that sounds great." Joseph rummaged through his money purse and handed the halfling woman a gold and five silvers.
#23 zombiegleemax Mar 22, 2004 18:00:30	The barmaid thanks Joseph and pockets the coins in her apron, then wades back into the sea of small humanoids. Shortly thereafter another halfling maid, this one blond and built more slightly than Tigerlily, says a cheery hello as she carries a handful of wooden cups and a green glass pitcher to their table. Climbing up the step at the edge of the booth that was apparently built there for this very purpose, she sets the cups in front of each of them. They're sized for halflings, but the pitcher, containing a sweet red wine, is closer in size to what the majority of the party is used to. Tigerlily swings by then, putting some saucers out for them along with the promised cheese and a dull but more than adequate knife for cutting it. If the cheese is of respectable size, they soon see that the sandwiches are monsters. Each dome-shaped loaf that makes up the sandwich's thick walls (it's soon apparent that they have to be that thick) is stuffed with corned beef, roast beef, and cured ham, with surprise slices of pickles salty enough to make the eye twitch. One could definitely say that the Brannons know how to eat.
#24 zombiegleemax Mar 23, 2004 18:03:18	Halandar looks at the food with a surprised look "looks like food from home, but this is huge" Halandar thanks the maid and stares idly off at her.
#25 josephkell Mar 23, 2004 20:53:58	Did I just buy them lunch? The bard's stomach gargled and reminded him that it was in need of attention. Joseph took a bite of the sandwich. Passed the tonsils, passed the lungs, look out stomach here it comes... The bard nodded in satisfaction. "Pretty good... we should make sure to come back this way so we can have another meal such as this."
#26 zombiegleemax Mar 23, 2004 23:57:36	There are a few glances from the inn's other lunchtime patrons at the three humans and the foreign halfling who at least doesn't look like a halftuck. Tigerlily gives them adequate time to put sizeable dents in their sandwiches before swinging by again to offer them another pitcher. "Or pie!" she adds enthusiastically. "Ye've really got to troi the pie. Just a silver."
#27 josephkell Mar 24, 2004 19:25:34	"I don't know about the others, but I think I'll stick to the sandwich. Thank you very much Tigerlily." Joseph took a bite out of his sandwich and chased it with red wine.
#28 zombiegleemax Mar 25, 2004 10:00:41	"Are ye sure? Alroight," she says with a don't-know-what-you're-missing shrug. "Wave fer me if ye want anythin' else; Oi'll be around!" With another cheery smile and wave, she returns to her rounds in the Hart.
#29 josephkell Mar 25, 2004 23:11:09	"I think we've spent enough time here." He paused. "Unless someone has something to say to a certain waitress..." Joseph whispered with a grin and a look towards Halandar.
#30 zombiegleemax Mar 27, 2004 10:03:49	At Halandar's negative, the group departs from the Hart. They make their way through the rest of the Run's lanes. Before too long they've left the halfling community behind and are back on the highway, with the river leading to Sarien Point on their right. Further travel that day is uninterrupted. Feet are feeling a bit tired and the shadows are getting long when the time comes to set up tents and make camp if they don't intend to travel further that day.
#31 josephkell Mar 27, 2004 23:08:40	"Who's turn is it to get firewood?" Joseph asked coyly, he knew full well that it was his turn. A grunt came from one his companions, but he wasn't sure which."Fine, fine... I'll be back..." Joseph pulled his sack out and tied it to his belt. Kind of glad we had to wait until spring to leave... frostbite just wouldn't be fun. After collecting as much firewood as his sack could carry without threatening a tear, the bard headed back to the others.
#32 zombiegleemax Mar 28, 2004 15:45:58	With tents and watches set, rations eaten, and a fire going, the first night on the road to Sarien Point passes peacefully. The day greets the group, promising more travel before they reach their destination.
#33 zombiegleemax Mar 29, 2004 23:40:03	With camp broken, Julia's prayers to Thalos, and Tycho's spellbook study done for the morning, the group gets on the move again. The river is a constant companion for the remainder of their travel, staying on their right, where they fortunately don't have to cross it. Fresh water is handy, too. The sun rises and sets on another day on the road, this one with no sign of civilization. Travel is uneventful--thankfully, no ambushes from goblins or orcs or the like. Not even on their final half-day of travel, when the noon sun shines down on the community of Sarien Point sitting before them. They have arrived.
#34 josephkell Mar 30, 2004 0:10:48	Joseph pulled his hat lower over his eyes and slouched. Perhaps they won't recognize me... "Um... guys, and Julia, perhaps you should refer to me as Jar... Jar'el while we're in town?" Joseph said.
#35 zombiegleemax Mar 30, 2004 0:23:16	Julia turns a befuddled look on Joseph at his suggestion, but says nothing, as they come up on the borders of the town. Two human guards flank the road, leaning on their spears, looking bored and ignoring the cold. They aren't as friendly as the militiaman at Brannon's Run and offer no greeting and only slight acknowledgement. Inside, people they see seem typically occupied in their own affairs. Joseph clearly remembers the way to get to the Sarien Pint, among other landmarks in the community like the farmer's mart, smithy, and a few tailors.
#36 zombiegleemax Mar 31, 2004 22:11:20	"jar'el? okay I'll try to remember that" Halandar says to Joseph. As they approach the guards, Halandar walks up and greets the guards.
#37 zombiegleemax Mar 31, 2004 22:25:39	The guards shift and glance at each other, then look down at Halandar. The one on the left responds. "Hi... You need something?"
#38 josephkell Apr 01, 2004 13:29:33	Joseph hesitated for a moment before realizing that the best way to escape notice is to not hide. "Greetings," the bard said as he passed the guards.
#39 zombiegleemax Apr 01, 2004 13:56:32	They nod at Joseph, making no challenge, apparently not recognizing him. Halandar also seems to have put them a little off-balance. At any rate, Patches enters the Point without trouble (for now), and is faced with the question of where to go first.
#40 zombiegleemax Apr 01, 2004 17:49:03	[elven]so Joseph which way now?[/elven] Halandar asks.
#41 josephkell Apr 01, 2004 18:59:50	In a hushed voice, Joseph answered his halfling companion, "First we find a stables and search for Dante... Then we make a plan to take him... I hope the new owner is the same man that thought my face would look better with a gauntlet in it..." "And it is Jar'el" he added.
#42 zombiegleemax Apr 01, 2004 23:03:53	[elven] oh yeah Jar'el, sorry. So you want me to scouting around?[/elven] Halandar asks.
#43 josephkell Apr 02, 2004 9:34:57	"Exploring is a good idea. Just try not to be noticed..." Joseph said. Joseph continued to the Sarian Pint.
#44 zombiegleemax Apr 02, 2004 9:44:46	The Pint looks the same as Joseph remembers it. The sign with the tankard over a flow of brown ale like the river still hangs above the front door. From outside, through the windows, it doesn't seem to be too busy right now. And there's the entrance to the stable, with the wooden-fenced courtyard between it and the inn building.
#45 josephkell Apr 03, 2004 14:31:09	Joseph didn't loiter outside of the inn. He passed under the old sign and through the door. For a moment, the bard felt like he stepped back in time several months to when he lived here. The lack of sensation in his left hand reminded him that he wasn't. Joseph strode over to the bar and took a seat. He waited to be served.
#46 zombiegleemax Apr 03, 2004 16:04:36	"What's your pleasure?" asks the voice of Joseph's old host, Darrel, as he makes his way across the bar from the bard. Then he gets a look at Joseph's face. His eyebrows pull together, and suddenly he supresses a gasp and an exclamation probably along the lines of "You!" The Pint's owner glances a little frantically around the rest of the common room, then turns his gaze on Kell once more.
#47 josephkell Apr 03, 2004 18:08:26	"Yes me, and it's good to see you again Darrel. I'll have an ale and any information you know about my father's horse," Joseph said.
#48 zombiegleemax Apr 03, 2004 18:22:32	"Jumping straight to the chase, are we?" Darrel murmurs in response, then steps away for a moment to pour the drink. Perhaps a little more slowly than Joseph has known him to, but consider the circumstances. The tankard is placed in front of Joseph, and the proprietor takes him in for a moment as he stands behind the bar. "So... You're here after that horse, eh?" he asks after gathering himself.
#49 josephkell Apr 03, 2004 18:53:24	"The last time I was here, an iron gauntlet was eager to meet my face, so I think I will skip the chase." Joseph looked around. "So, do you know what happened to Dante?"
#50 zombiegleemax Apr 03, 2004 19:05:29	"You can relax," the barkeep replies. "As you can see, there's none of the guards or militia hanging about right now." There's a bit of heaviness in his voice as he makes this statement, and his eyes sweep the place one more time. His shoulders drop in relief, then he answers the bard's question after a moment's hesitation. "I... well, sold the horse, you see. I had to, didn't I?" he states in his defense. "Couldn't have him hanging on as an expense... Fed him for a couple days, then I found someone who wanted him and... handed him over." Slight trepidation creases his brows together.
#51 josephkell Apr 04, 2004 13:43:38	"Do you know where I can find him?" Joseph asked in a tone close to a demand.
#52 zombiegleemax Apr 04, 2004 13:52:45	"Well... Lord Burne bought him."
#53 josephkell Apr 04, 2004 14:20:50	"Lord Burne... Burne... why does that sound familiar?" Joseph asked him aloud. He frozen. "I never did catch the name of the Lord that those men were of... By some cruel twist of fate... is Lord Burne Jasmine's father?" the bard asked cautiously.
#54 zombiegleemax Apr 04, 2004 14:34:27	"That... would be him," Darrel says with a sickly, appologetic smile. "B-but I don't think he knows whose horse it was!" he adds quickly. "He just... needed a ploughhorse... And his man came to me the day after I told Farrel I was trying to sell a horse."
#55 josephkell Apr 04, 2004 14:57:37	"Fate is a harsh mistress. I hope you at least took Lord Burne for more than Dante is worth." "Why are you so nervious? I'm not going to hurt you... You helped me out when you had no reason to," Joseph tried to calm Darrel.
#56 zombiegleemax Apr 04, 2004 15:07:44	"I'm just... Well, think about it!" the proprietor answers Joseph quietly. "You're here again, a couple months after you left, unannounced... It... made for a bit of trouble, last time you were here. And I'm sure you can appreciate the... effect... of having trouble with Colvin Burne. "I'm sorry. It's just a bit of a shock." He trails off into silence for a few seconds, then clears his throat and nods to the tankard. "Did you plan on drinking that?"
#57 josephkell Apr 04, 2004 15:40:25	"Help yourself," Joseph said as he slid the drink to Darrel. "I didn't know Jasmine was Burne's daughter. And nothing really happened. I'm as much a victim as you... maybe more."
#58 zombiegleemax Apr 04, 2004 15:54:22	"No, no; you were the one who asked for it. Just wondering if you've gotten into the habit of letting beer go to waste after it's poured for you." Darrel slides it back to him, then looks sidelong at him at his statement. "That's... not the story that was going around town... And you wouldn't be her first indiscretion. Probably not the last, however charming the young Lord Arrness might be."
#59 josephkell Apr 04, 2004 16:24:00	"I would've thought a father would cultivate the truth that nothing had happened... yet. I'm actually kind of surprised she hasn't run away yet. She always spoke of wanting to get out, but that could've been part of her act." Joseph shook his head and took his first sip. "Who is this Lord Arrness?" the bard asked.
#60 zombiegleemax Apr 04, 2004 16:37:48	"Then... How come you ran?" Darrel queries. He shrugs and goes on with Joseph's question. "He's the only son of the older Lord Arrness. Enide's his name. Their estate's over that way at the edge of town." He lifts his chin, pointing through the westward wall with it. "Lord Nerralt--that's the father's name, you see--had a party over there recently, and Enide announced his engagement to Lady Jasmine. They're supposed to have set the date for early in the summer."
#61 josephkell Apr 04, 2004 16:49:40	"I ran because they were going to arrest me for almost sleeping with a servant of Lord Burne's--Jasmine had told me she was a maid in the service of that home. And while I do seek thrills and adventure, I never planned to add having to sword put through me. Those footmen didn't want to hear excuses; they wanted to kill me... or present me to their lord for some twisted bonus," Joseph rambled. "While I hope her fiance does rein her in; she doesn't deserve the freedom that most people enjoy." The bard has finished his rant. "It's getting late, would you mind if I stayed here? And could you try to keep it under your hat that I am back?"
#62 zombiegleemax Apr 04, 2004 17:07:57	"I hardly..." the innkeeper trails off, and shakes his head. "Nevermind." He looks nervous again at the question of staying at the Pint. "Patches, it caused me a good deal of trouble to have you here last time you stirred up a wasp nest. If anything happens, and I come to Burne's notice a second time, it's unlikely to come out as well as last time." In a lower voice: "If you stay here, you're going to have to avoid notice yourself. And it might not be a good idea to leave your effects here while you're about the town. Just in case, you know."
#63 josephkell Apr 04, 2004 17:24:21	"I don't want to cause trouble for you, my friends and I can stay elsewhere. It was good to see you again," Joseph said as he finished the tankard. The bard waved farewell and exited the Pint. Fate certainly is a cruel mistress... he thought.
#64 zombiegleemax Apr 04, 2004 18:08:45	Darrel nods and watches Joseph go, then busies himself about his inn. Tycho and Julia are waiting outdoors when Joseph exits the Pint.
#65 zombiegleemax Apr 04, 2004 22:47:07	Originally posted by JosephKell "Exploring is a good idea. Just try not to be noticed..." Joseph said. Joseph continued to the Sarian Pint. Hearing this, Halandar goes all around town noting where stables are and security of each one. After making his long trip, he returns to where he originally parted with Joseph Tycho and Julia.
#66 shadow264 Apr 05, 2004 0:22:40	(just takign over for Tycho for a stint ) *As Joseph eciots the pint Tycho looks at the bard.* Well what's the plan?
#67 zombiegleemax Apr 05, 2004 11:31:09	Originally posted by Halandar Hearing this, Halandar goes all around town noting where stables are and security of each one. After making his long trip, he returns to where he originally parted with Joseph Tycho and Julia. Halandar's trip takes him about an hour and a half--the town is of decent size, after all. His sweep turns up a single actual horse livery and two stalls on the property of a boardinghouse. Farmhouses at the town's very edge have barns of varying sizes, with horses standing in their adjoining corrals, older ones swishing their tails, younger ones frolicking or pestering older corralmates. A house that stands out in the halfling neighborhood in the Point looks as though one of its outbuildings might be for livestock. He can see halflings working its plots, however, the stone fence around the property prevents Halandar from getting near enough to look very closely. He comes across two other very large homes, one in the human-inhabited area, the other at the edge of the community. Their encircling walls are much higher. Nobles tend to have animals, so these two homes very well could have stables.
#68 josephkell Apr 05, 2004 16:11:32	Joseph looked at Tycho, "I can't stay here, you three can though. I don't want to get an old friend in trouble." "I don't think I will find anywhere to stay. So I will camp outside of town, if you guys hear anything about Dante, don't hesitate to tell me."
#69 zombiegleemax Apr 07, 2004 12:56:42	[elven]well we have a few suspect houses, I saw one actual stable, but I didn't get a look at the houses because I didn't feel like climbing the walls, after all they are human sized.[/elven]
#70 josephkell Apr 10, 2004 4:00:14	"Perhaps we should check that stable tomorrow."
#71 zombiegleemax Apr 10, 2004 13:06:57	"okay so where to now?"
#72 ashina_warrich_dup Apr 12, 2004 3:08:18	Julia rolls her shoulders. "May we find somewhere to rest outside the city? As much as I'd like a comfy bed, we need to be on alert.
#73 shadow264 Apr 12, 2004 9:56:48	*Tycho nods at Julia's comment.* And sticking together would be a good idea.
#74 zombiegleemax Apr 12, 2004 21:39:19	"true but we would also draw much attention to ourselves if we did that." Halandar says, while looking down at the floor.
#75 zombiegleemax Apr 13, 2004 9:30:39	"Not necessarily," Joseph replies to Halandar. "Town's big enough and we have a couple gates we can come and go by. Let's go for it." The group is able to find a good camping spot near the river within a short walk from the Point. The night passes, and the bright morning is briskly chill, no doubt in part from the flowing water. They have enough rations to cover breakfast and dinner today and tomorrow, but it might be wise to get some more and fresh food wouldn't go down badly. After eating and making their general morning preparations, they are ready to start their day. [spell prep lists, please]
#76 josephkell Apr 13, 2004 14:14:42	Joseph turned to Halandar and said, "So where were these stables that you saw yesterday?"
#77 shadow264 Apr 13, 2004 20:39:00	*Tycho rises from his watch and listens to the others talk as he quickly goes over the spells he prepared the evening before.* (Cantrips: Detect Magic, Ghost Sound 1st: Sleep)
#78 zombiegleemax Apr 16, 2004 10:45:10	Halandar waves for the group to follow him. He ambles his way into the town, leading them to the front of the livery he spoke of.
#79 josephkell Apr 16, 2004 18:49:14	Joseph surveyed the livery. Can we get a more specific description? The bard kept his eyes out specifically for horses.
#80 zombiegleemax Apr 16, 2004 19:04:30	The building the group is faced with is wide, constructed of wood. A hitching rack runs along its width. The front wall has vertical shutters of a sort--wooden boards are propped up on poles, and it's apparent that the poles can be removed to let the board close and cover the opening. At the moment they're opened to display some of the horses in their stalls to passers-by in the street, almost as if through a bank of windows. Inside looks shady. On the far side of the building, it looks as though a two-story addition has been added at first glance. A look through the wide windows, straining among stalls and wooden columns, reveals that the "addition" is actually an indoor corral, its high ceiling giving it such apparent height from the outside. Double stable doors, open, stand at either corner of the building, and a human-sized door is set in the middle, with a human-style window near it. That looks to be the office. The horses Joseph immediately sees "on display" look to be thoroughbreds, probably so prominent as to draw attention to the place. Choice glances of more animals further inside can be caught, but nothing concrete. None of them seem to be Dante as far as he can tell.
#81 josephkell Apr 16, 2004 20:08:45	Joseph frowned and clenched his fist, before looking for a farming equipment. "Did you see any farms or other stables in town, Hal?" the bard asked.
#82 zombiegleemax Apr 16, 2004 20:25:43	"There are some farmhouses that would have horses not stables to be exact and then there's this huge estate which I didn't see if there were stables, but it's big enough to suggest that there's a private stable inside."
#83 josephkell Apr 19, 2004 18:21:09	"Well it would make sense that Lord Burnes would live in such an estate... Lead on Hal."
#84 zombiegleemax Apr 21, 2004 18:38:52	Hearing Joseph, Halandar heads off in the direction of the estate, and leads them to a side wall. "that's the front," as he points towards the main entrance, "but I'm not sure you wanna go in that way, so you would probably want to get in from the surrounding walls, but I'm not sure about where the easiest spot to get in is."
#85 zombiegleemax Apr 24, 2004 16:46:09	The wall is a good seven feet tall, snugly-mortared. It wouldn't be easy to climb, but not impossible. There could be other options if the party were to look around a bit more.
#86 josephkell Apr 24, 2004 19:11:06	The bard hummed an old ditty as he looked at the wall. On a very good day... I might be able to jump it... but I had a hand up then... "If we are going to start climbing fences, we need to wait until dark. I think we should check the perimeter first," Joseph suggested.
#87 josephkell Apr 27, 2004 19:05:51	Joseph tried to act casual as he wandered the perimeter.
#88 zombiegleemax Apr 27, 2004 21:39:02	Halandar walks around, stealing glances at the wall every now and then as he acts like he's wandering around aimlessly.
#89 zombiegleemax Apr 27, 2004 22:00:26	The wall's height is uniform as it runs all around the Burne estate. Thankfully it isn't topped with spikes. They're able to get a decent glance into the grounds themselves by standing on top of a tree stump--the garden, actually. Flowerbeds, some hedges, a gazeebo, and a pond. Joseph's gaze runs along the edge of the wall running perpendicular to the one they're looking over, and he notices the bushes growing right up against the inside of the wall. From the look of things, anyone climbing over may have lucked out in regard to spikes on top of the wall, only to face brambles waiting to catch him if he should fall to the inside. As they approach the next corner, there's the squeek of iron gate hinges opening. The clop of hooves, bounce of springs, and creak of axel follows as a sleigh leaves the grounds. Patches hears a man's voice speaking, and a strain of his ears catches just the keywords "Where.... you... Miss Jasemine?"
#90 josephkell Apr 27, 2004 22:30:17	"Where.... you... Miss Jasemine?" For a brief moment Joseph's heart leapt at the mention of Jasemine. The bard caught himself as he put his hand on the wall. He let out the breath he had been holding. Watch yourself Patches, hopping walls near a seeker will get you found out. The one-handed minstrel sighed as he leaned against the wall. Then he remembered he wasn't alone and blood flooded his cheeks.
#91 zombiegleemax Apr 27, 2004 22:54:27	"... around the town today, Jaques," Joseph hears Jasemine's voice saying, coming closer with the sound of the carriage. The young Lady Burne comes into view, sitting in its seat alone, cloak and bundled agaist the cold, with the coachman at the reigns at the sleigh's head. Neither of them look in the group's direction as the horse trots down the road, away from the estate.
#92 josephkell Apr 27, 2004 23:00:48	Joseph looks after Jasemine with sad eyes. It wasn't until he saw her that he realized how much he missed her. Just get Dante and get out of here Joseph. The young man closed his eyes, took a deep breath to center himself and turned to the rest of the party. "Let's go in. Hal, perhaps you should take point."
#93 zombiegleemax Apr 27, 2004 23:55:32	"all right, just in like that? okay" hmm this is going to be interesting we're just going to walk in and do the job Halandar complies, and walks in first
#94 zombiegleemax Apr 28, 2004 0:02:10	Unfortunately, when they turn the corner the gate is already clanking closed under the hand of a man apparently one of the Burne servants. He looks at Halandar oddly as he throws the latch, watching him in silence for the moment and turning away to trot his way back up to the house.
#95 zombiegleemax Apr 28, 2004 0:07:20	Halandar waves cheerily towards the servants as he approaches and walks on past the gates to survey the rest of the estate.
#96 zombiegleemax Apr 28, 2004 12:24:27	The gates are closed already. The servant returns the wave bemusedly through the ornate wrought iron as he looks at the halfling on the other side. "Help you?"
#97 shadow264 May 01, 2004 21:22:11	*Tycho stands further back and abit out of sight watching the servant.* .oOHmm a predicament.Oo.
#98 josephkell May 02, 2004 3:29:31	"You'ld think by now I would've learned not to use Hal as a descreet scout..." Joseph said under his breathe. If possible, Joseph tries to retreat without being noticed so that he can use Hal's distraction to sneak onto the property.
#99 zombiegleemax May 03, 2004 10:36:19	The nearest "entrance" Joseph could possibly use onto the walled property without straying too far from Halandar's distraction is back around the corner a short way, near the garden--the most cover available should be there.
#100 josephkell May 03, 2004 19:01:01	Joseph creeps backwards around the corner and heads around to the garden. Com'on Hal, keep him busy, Joseph thought as he struggled over the wall with his one hand. As soon as the bard's feet touched the soft soil, he made for the nearest bush. The young man looked down to his side and saw a purple flower. With his "good hand" he pulled out his dagger and cut it's stem. He put his blade away and slipped the purple flower into his armor. He listened for Hal's voice. Joseph was trying to gadge how much time he had before the servant left the chattery halfling.
#101 zombiegleemax May 03, 2004 20:29:52	"Struggled" turns out to be an understatement. Lacking one hand makes Joseph pulling himself over the wall a time-consuming trial. He loses his grip twice and has to jump and grab again before finally managing to lever himself over. He manages to gather his balance to hop far enough to clear the inside hedge of briars and land on his feet. In-transit to the concealing bushes, he manages a visual sweep that tells him he's in the clear for now. His ears tell him that his halfling companion isn't speaking. The servant Halandar was chatting up is walking up to the house, glancing back at the gate occasionally, and no one else is immediately apparent.
#102 josephkell May 03, 2004 21:39:47	'Tune twice, play once,' Joseph reflected on a saying his father used to tell him, altered slightly during his travels of course. The bard waited for his moment to head up to the house. While he waited, Joseph looked around for the stables.
#103 zombiegleemax May 05, 2004 23:49:32	Ah, that must be them. Joseph sees the stables to the left of the house from where he's looking. Cover is more scant between here and there... Then again, it occurs to the bard, he could always press himself up against the side of the house to avoid being seen from the windows. The breeze seems to go still for a moment, and a number of relevant sounds come filtering into Joseph's ears--the closing of the mudroom door behind the servant Halandar was talking to... Creaking and clinking harness in the stables--someone must be in there. Possibly a groom who helped prep the sleigh Jasemine just left in... From a window somewhere, women chattering and washing splashing... Besides that... Nothing. No one doing anything in earshot.
#104 josephkell May 06, 2004 0:10:34	The clack of the muddoor was like Joseph's flag to start a race for he took off like a celestial out of the nine hells. Despite wearing padded shoes, the bard left visible imprints in the soil. Come on Lady, don't let me down now... Joseph thought as he covered the distance between the garden and the house wall. He knelt by the wall just long enough to look to the gate to see what the others for doing. But the bard knew he couldn't linger, so he laid himself flat against the wall as he surreptitiously slinked around the house toward the stables.
#105 zombiegleemax May 06, 2004 17:37:53	Patches's ears continue to serve him well as he lines up for the slink across the 80 feet or so between him and the stables. Around the corner somewhere, he hears male voices--strong, but in idle conversation on something-or-other. From the sound of it they must be up near the next corner of the house, on the patio he was able to see from over the wall. There's the person still in the stables, too, occupied in business with the tack. He can't be far from the open door. The good news is he makes it across the open ground to to the stables. A glance at the window the washing-women's conversation is coming from seems to indicate he hasn't been noticed. No change from the man in the stables themselves. His line of sight on the patio isn't clear; some hedges below windows of the house obscure it, but the two siloutettes he can see don't seem to have noticed him.
#106 zombiegleemax May 06, 2004 22:03:32	Julia peers over the wall, watching Joseph attempt to sneak across the property. .oO(What is he doing? He's going to get himself caught.) She continues watching, careful that she's out of sight.
#107 josephkell May 07, 2004 1:04:30	Joseph searched his body for his sap and mouthed a curse. He paused for a moment before committing to his gambit. As he low crawled beneath the window, his face was a cringed mask as he dirtied up his front side. Some hero... what kind of appearance can I make with soiled clothes? the vain bard thought. The young man crept on despite not knowing what he was going to do once he reached the stables.
#108 shadow264 May 07, 2004 1:15:20	*As Halandar continues to distract the lone guard Tycho sneaks around to the side wall where Julia watches Joseph. With a whisper the elf slides up next to Julia.* .oO This is crazy... Oo.
#109 zombiegleemax May 07, 2004 20:50:50	Julia looks sidelong at Tycho then back across the expansive grounds. Whispering softly, she says, "So we wait here, apparently. It's just as well... he may need rescuing before long." She takes a deep breath, exhales slowly, and continues watching and listening.
#110 shadow264 May 07, 2004 21:28:31	*Tycho turns his head to look sidelong at Julia.* "Well on the brightside we're not fighting a horde of Giants." *Tycho sighs and turns back to watch how Joeseph is fairing.*
#111 zombiegleemax May 07, 2004 22:12:20	Julia stifles a chuckle. "We need to be careful that no one sneaks up on us from behind either. I'd hate to get caught, or worse, surprise attacked from behind."
#112 zombiegleemax May 08, 2004 1:49:32	The seven-foot wall around the Burne estate interferes quite a bit with Julia, Tycho, and Halandar keeping an eye on Joseph. Unless they move to the tree stump that proved useful for looking over the walls, their means of checking on him is limited to through the gate. Patches peeks around the stable door and is greeted with a room ten feet wide and seven or eight feet deep as he looks in. A workbench sits against the opposite wall, and directly opposite him is the door leading from this small appendum to the stables. He can see stalls, and hay on the dirt floor. The sounds of the stables' humanoid occupant come from through this door and to the left--around the next corner, it seems. At the corner between the bench and the left-hand wall sits a barrel. The bench itself has a shelf under it, on which sits a collection of horse-care tools--files, nippers, and the like, they seem to be at first glance. At the sight of them, and the lead-rope sitting on the tables, Joseph's mind makes a jump. He realizes that Dante is a working horse, after all. And though the rich sometimes buy some pretty useless stuff, a draft horse probably isn't one of those frivilous purchases. At some point, Dante has to be drawing something, most likely a plow. And there's the field adjoining the estate--the tree stump that helped him see over the walls stood in its windbreak row at the border.
#113 zombiegleemax May 09, 2004 22:17:32	Tired of periodically jumping to have a look over the wall, Julia nudges Tycho and moves over to the tree stump and climbs onto it. .oO(Oh, much better!) She continues watching the walled property from her new vantage point.
#114 zombiegleemax May 09, 2004 22:26:33	Completely by chance, Julia spots a head at a window, watching them at the gate. She loses track of the watcher while rounding the wall, but from her new vantage on the stump, the window is now empty. She can see the garden again, and the house, and the corner of the stables. And there's Patches, crouched behind the front door.
#115 zombiegleemax May 09, 2004 22:57:26	.oO(Uh oh!) Julia whispers what she's seen to the others. [whisper]"I think we've been seen. There was someone in the house watching us through a window. Halandar, would you be lookout and make sure no one is coming from around the wall? I'll keep an eye on the yard."[/whisper]
#116 josephkell May 09, 2004 23:47:00	If Dante is being used as a draft horse, he will be working during a spring day... I better get out of her and check out that farm, the bard thought. Joseph looked around for a closer wall to escape over, but came to the decision that he had to go back the way he entered. The young man low crawled away from the stable back to the hedges.
#117 zombiegleemax May 10, 2004 0:54:01	[Actually the stable is plenty big for a horse, several in fact. A stable is not a stable unless it can hold some livestock, after all; otherwise it's more of a shed. The map's just a small detail, of the foyer. However, making an exit is entirely valid.]
#118 josephkell May 10, 2004 16:31:47	Joseph made his way back to the garden as descreetly as possible. I can't wait to dust myself off... crawling like this is embarrassing and rather beneath a preformer of my caliber, the bard mused.
#119 shadow264 May 10, 2004 18:18:25	*Tycho frowns.* [whisper]We need to get out of here now. Joeseph is taking to long.[/whisper]
#120 zombiegleemax May 10, 2004 19:15:01	Joseph is just slipping back into the garden when his luck falters. His ears serve him well again, though, when he catches the strains of a shout coming from the house--a shout to alarm. Unless Patches misses his guess, he's just been found out. One hundred feet of garden and bramble hedge seperate him and the spot on the wall where he climbed over. One hundred feet seperate him and the house.
#121 josephkell May 10, 2004 19:30:27	Some Lady you turned out to be... Joseph thought as he got up to begin his sprint to the gate. I can't lead them back to the others. Joseph uses a move action to get up from a prone position, and his other action to move 30 feet closer to the gate, the following round he will attempt a full move to get to the gate and "Running High Jump" over it.
#122 zombiegleemax May 10, 2004 22:27:25	[I'm going to rule that Joseph was already on his feet and just crouching while moving--more efficient method of movement than crawling on your stomach.] Joseph books it for the Burne front gate as fast as his feet can carry him. His vaulting target is coming up on him fast. It didn't look this tall before for some reason, and the wrought iron spikes topping it didn't look quite so pointed. Gravel from the path goes flying left and right as the bard's boots churn. He stutters purposefully in his steps as he gets nearer, guessing the distance and what rhythm and tempo his feet need to be falling in so that he'll launch off his left leg when he gets just close enough. Muscles bunch, then stretch explosively, and limbs windmill as Patches throws himself into the leap... His companions see Joseph bolt for the gate. Surely he doesn't mean to--maybe he does... Two men dressed in studded leather, carrying naked longswords, come running around the corner of the house. Joseph is their obvious focus. Windows are being thrown open and a few heads sticking out to watch the chase and to see if the trespasser will make his daring leap and escape, or be caught... He leaps, pivoting forward and stretching into a head-first dive. Spikes come scarily near his stomach midway through the leap, and then he's over them, tucking into a roll to clear his feet and cloak as he descends from the jump. The final twist is perfect as he comes down, the balls of his feet touching down first and his legs bending to absorb the impact. His ankles scream justified protest at the abuse. Desperation has given Kell wings. When he straightens up, Joseph knows that not only did he clear the leap, but he didn't land on his back and break his lute.
#123 zombiegleemax May 10, 2004 22:44:02	Halandar checks on the guards running after joseph
#124 josephkell May 10, 2004 22:50:34	Patches landed hard on his padded shoes. Perhaps you are a Lady after all. The bard paused to admire his poleless vault before realizing the chase wasn't over yet. Joseph plucked the purple flower from his armor, gave a bow, and threw the flower back onto the estate. Feeling adaquately satisfied with his performance, the young man turned and ran away from the estate. I'll have to meet up with the others later.
#125 zombiegleemax May 11, 2004 9:27:38	Joseph and Halandar both can see the guards stop in their steps at the sight of the jump. One makes an awed grunt as Patches makes it. They seem to come back to themselves when he makes his mocking bow and throws the flower, then they're moving again. The militia make it to the gate, work the latch, and it opens. It occurs to the other two humans and the halfling that now would be a good time to get out of sight. [What direction is Joseph heading in? He might head back into the town to try to lose them amidst the civilization. There's also forest, etc. several rounds' run away, with fewer witnesses to point when asked, "Which way'd he go?" On the other hand, there's also fewer witnesses to militia brutality if he's caught.]
#126 josephkell May 11, 2004 14:13:45	Joseph headed into the woods for a few hundred yards before doing his best to run parallel to the road. Breathing hard he decides to take a rest. The bard nestled himself into the nook of at tree and wrapped his green cape over him to help hide himself should any of the militia men still be after him.
#127 julia_of_hillsdown May 11, 2004 14:31:40	She sighs. Come on, let's go before they come after us. We'll catch up with Joseph later.
#128 shadow264 May 11, 2004 19:56:26	*Tycho nods and sneaks off with Julia.* Well that didn't turn out very well.
#129 julia_of_hillsdown May 11, 2004 20:13:53	No, it didn't. Let's hope the others can get away too. She carefully gets away from the house with Tycho, hoping that the guard aren't interested enough in them to follow.
#130 zombiegleemax May 11, 2004 20:34:15	The jump over the gate serves to further the gap between Joseph and his armed pursuers, as they have to waste time opening the gate. They follow him in hot pursuit. The bard doesn't hear anyone following him as he enters the woods, and when he stops and can take the time to listen carefully, the only sound is the silence of the woods and his own breath. Joseph estimates that he's a quarter- to half-mile away from the town now. Julia, Tycho, and Halandar hear nothing to indicate anyone saw them over the wall. They're easily able to steal along the windbreak row in the opposite of the direction Joseph went in, with no indication of being seen. When they peek out onto the road and back towards the house, they can see the two guards walking back. The distance is too great to make out expression, but they can tell they're empty-handed except for the bare steel in their fists, which is sheathed as they come up on the gate. Inside they go, and the wrought iron hurdle is closed behind them.
#131 shadow264 May 11, 2004 20:51:35	*As the guards go back into the compoundy thing. Tycho/ Begins walking towards the forest.* I bet he's got himself lost.
#132 julia_of_hillsdown May 11, 2004 21:18:38	I doubt it. She follows Tycho into the forest.
#133 zombiegleemax May 12, 2004 12:12:15	The three of them pass by the Burne estate unchallenged, and one thinks that if they were noticed, the militia now reviewing the grounds for sign of anything stolen or vandalized might have a few questions for them. Tycho is faced with the forest, and does not immediately see Joseph anywhere. Trying to find him will probably take some more careful searching.
#134 josephkell May 15, 2004 13:04:46	Joseph peeked out from under his cape and looked around for pursuit. Satisfied that nothing had followed him, the bard got up and continued back to town. You might have to hide your cape and hat while in town Patches, the young man thought. Surely if they didn't recognize his face, the guards at the estate would have given a description of his clothes.
#135 shadow264 May 16, 2004 13:28:52	*Tycho walks with Halandar and Julia through the forest looking for Joseph. He calls out to the bard every few minutes.* Hey Joeseph Where are you?!
#136 zombiegleemax May 16, 2004 23:35:39	"I thought his name was Jar'el?" Halandar asks. Halandar puts his ear to the ground and listens for sounds to try to tell if anyone besides them is walking around and which direction they're going.
#137 shadow264 May 16, 2004 23:47:49	Well whatever his name is he needs to start showing himself. *Tycho stops and waits for Halandar to get up. As he stands there Tycho looks around for any trace of Joeseph.*
#138 julia_of_hillsdown May 17, 2004 13:54:36	The guards have backed off, so maybe he's gone back to town. She looks around her, seeing if Joseph's in sight. Besides, it is not advisable to run around shouting his name so near the hiuse.
#139 shadow264 May 17, 2004 14:03:14	We're in a forest there's no guards around to hear us yelling. *Tycho frowns and continues looking about.* Might as well head back to town and wait for him there.
#140 josephkell May 17, 2004 19:10:04	As the bard neared the edge of the trees he paused. "A change of costume might not be a bad idea," Joseph said as he removed his hat and slipped it under his cape. The young man undid his sword belt and refastened it so that it held his cape down against his body. "Lumbule nurta amin anta ten' sii'..." Joseph started to tug at the light and shadows that draped his body. "... tenna' amin nauva varna wanwa e' ostar." The bard finished up his spell (Disguise Self) and his disguise. Joseph hadn't changed his dimensions, but his hair had shifted down the spectrum and it now looked as if it threatened to ignite into flames matching the redish orange it now was. Along with the change in hair, his studded leather and cape became a long tan jacket that hung past his waste and threatened to drag over the ground if he so much as bowed. Satisfied with his alterations, the bard continued his hike to the small town. For those wondering, those words mean: Shadow hide my face for now, until I'm safely lost in town.
#141 zombiegleemax May 18, 2004 10:01:59	Halandar gets up "well can't hear much, I'm not good at tracking anyway," he says with a smile. "If we head back to the inn, I guess we could just wait for him there, he might be expecting us to meet him there." I hope he changed his clothes especially that hat
#142 josephkell May 19, 2004 17:22:24	It occurred to Joseph that if he just walked out of the trees within eye shot of the guards it would seem out of the ordinary. So the bard looked around for the road. Once Joseph found the road, he looked to both ways and when a free opportunity presented itself, he exited the brush, dusted his glamared self off and started back to the Point.
#143 zombiegleemax May 20, 2004 9:39:24	The halfling's eavesdropping on the ground turns up nothing, and no one in the group finds they can find tracks that would lead them to Joseph. Julia realizes that their campsite by the river may be a rendevous point as well. Kell, for his part, finds no one on the road when he peeks out and is easily able to step onto it and attain a nonchalant mien. The Burne estate is just in his field of vision, and the Point is clearly visible.
#144 josephkell May 20, 2004 15:51:58	Joseph quickened his pace trying to reach town before his illusion evaporated. During one stride he realized he was heading the wrong way. The bard turned and headed to the campsite.
#145 josephkell May 22, 2004 19:38:06	Before Joseph reached the campsite, his illusion slid off his body like the make-up on a teary performer. The lack of concealment only served to spur the young bard to move faster. Patches arrived at the campsite and found it vacant. Come on where are they... we need to investigate the estate... the bard thought. While he waited for them, he changed his appearance back to normal. He fluffed his hat out and placed it on his head.
#146 shadow264 May 27, 2004 21:18:09	Well let's get moving. *Tycho leads the others back to the camp.*
#147 zombiegleemax May 28, 2004 17:51:53	*nods* We should return to camp, yes. Joseph may be waiting for us there. *She heads back with Tycho, keeping her senses open for pursuers.*
#148 zombiegleemax May 28, 2004 19:40:29	Julia, Tycho, and Halandar find themselves back at their campsite soon enough, and unpursued as far as they can tell. Joseph is waiting.
#149 zombiegleemax May 29, 2004 12:32:21	Entering the campsite, she spots Joseph. She gives him a cursory glance for injuries. "Are you alright? Did you hear anything of interest?"
#150 josephkell May 29, 2004 21:31:52	Joseph looks himself up and down. "No injuries to me... but then I haven't yet submitted my Mandolin for triage," the bard said with a smirk. "I haven't heard much of anything... I was too busy soaring over high fences and running away. Although, I was tempted to stop and ask one of the guards for directions." "I don't think we will be able to get onto the farm easily. Anyone have a plan to search it?" He looked tired.
#151 zombiegleemax May 30, 2004 13:19:30	I can go in at night and take a look around if you want
#152 josephkell Jun 01, 2004 0:28:09	"I think we should all go... perferrably tonight. I am anxious to get Dante back and get out of dodge quick." Joseph removed his sword belt to free his cape. He reaffixed his belt under the cape. After adjusting the leather straps, he pulled out his black, wide brimmed hat. Once firmly on his head he dragged his finger and thumb along the edge. I think it might need a big plummy feather... the naive performer mused.
#153 shadow264 Jun 01, 2004 1:14:26	*Tycho coughs loudly. He looks at Joeseph with a raised eyebrow and a very angry gleam in his eyes.* ARE. YOU. MAD? That is just... It's insane. What would you have us provide you with a distraction so you can slip in and get away with the horse while the rest of us fight? Did you even check to see if Dante was at the house? We don't even know if your horse is at this farm! There's no way we're all going in there blind. If it was just you than by all means go get yourself killed. This isn't one of those big heroic adventures you get to sing about. You aren't rescuing a damsel in distress! This is other peoples lives your trying to play with and I will have none of it! Halandar's idea is the safest route and at least than we WILL know if Dante is there. *Tycho looks at Julia and Halandar for a moment before turning back to Joeseph.* You are going to get us all killed going on like that. I've had enough of your suicidal ideas. *Tycho turns and walks away from Joeseph at a moment he pauses and turns to look at teh bard.* I don't think you should be in charge of this thing anymore. *Without a further word Tycho sits down on the edge of the camp and silently begins keepign guard.*
#154 josephkell Jun 01, 2004 16:53:41	"You say I am crazy and that my planes are insane? Halandar introduces himself to every person we run into! Especially when we have been trying to go unnoticed!" Joseph delivered his rebuttal. "Hal, if you can keep from talking to each and every person you meet, then go and take a look. Just don't get caught."
#155 shadow264 Jun 01, 2004 18:34:56	*Tychos spins and stalks towards Joeseph his eyes glowing with anger. Looking Joeseph straight in the eyes he growls.* Halandar. IS. A. HALFLING. You idiot. As far as this whole thing is concerned he can provide us with more information by actually TALKING to people than by you having him run around and risking getting CAUGHT! Hell even if he did go and introduce himself to every person he sees it would still be saner than this god forsaken suicicde mission you would have us go on.
#156 zombiegleemax Jun 02, 2004 12:12:45	Julia watches the conflict between the two party members with little more than a raised brow. Finally she joins the pair and sets a calming hand on Tycho's shoulder as she speaks to Joseph. "He's right, Joseph. Halandar is a halfling, and expected to be chatty. He'll be perfectly capable of gathering the information we need before going in to get the horse. It is the safest route." She drops her arm to her side and sits on a log. "I know you're anxious to get the horse and leave here, but caution is needed -- especially with the rucus you've already caused. Be patient, and trust the team you've chosen."
#157 josephkell Jun 03, 2004 16:16:06	"Fine." Joseph plopped himself down on a rock.
#158 zombiegleemax Jun 05, 2004 21:27:28	Julia looks at Joseph a moment longer, then turns to the halfling. "Halandar, please go out and have a look around, see if you can find out where the horse is. We'll wait for you here."
#159 zombiegleemax Jun 06, 2004 19:06:09	"okay well question is whats the horse look like?" halandar says bashfully as he scratches his head and smiles.
#160 josephkell Jun 06, 2004 19:14:44	"Dante is an old gray draft horse... He has a scar on his left front leg just below his knee. If that helps." Joseph spoke up from the rock he was on.
#161 zombiegleemax Jun 07, 2004 2:30:43	"well if you really want I can go in saying that I'm looking to buy a horse for my friend and am interested in seeing if they have any horses. Or we could wait for night and I could try sneaking in." Halandar looks at his companions. Halandar decides to wait at night to sneak into the farm
#162 zombiegleemax Jun 14, 2004 12:10:39	Hours pass and the sun comes to a rest on the western horizon, lighting distant haze to streaks of color arranged around the retiring orb. The temperature falls with the twilight. However deep into the night Halandar chooses to make his infiltration, getting to the Burne estate should be no problem. The choice he has is really where he'll try to enter it.
#163 zombiegleemax Jun 21, 2004 21:15:31	As he pulls himself over the wall near the garden, Halandar is greeted by the scene that welcomed Joseph onto the Burne estate, this time in the blues, grays, and blacks of nightime. The hedges of the garden provides adequate shielding from prying eyes. And as Halandar looks about him, he sees that there are prying eyes. He catches glances of a disquieting number of armed and armored humans trying to keep watch. They seem to be near the house for the most part, but there's one in particular he sees on the far side of the stables. He could be tough. And there's one distant, but still in the gardens with him. Moonlight glints off his sword's guard and leather creaks as he moves slightly, keeping alert. The same can't be said of his ears, though, if his continued lack of interest in the halfling as he edges stealthily towards the house and stables is any indication. Perhaps he then becomes cocky as he slips away from the shelter of the hedges, because he finds a twig sliding against the ground under his foot before he realizes. Halandar freezes and has several tense seconds of listening, but no shouts or projectiles are forthcoming yet. He moves on, skirting the mostly-sleeping house with a lamp burning somewhere inside it. Burne's men are keeping a careful watch after Joseph's trespass and subsequent escape; it would behoove Halandar to be careful as well as he slinks around. It's a delicate balance between watching your feet, watching where you're going, and watching around you all at the same time. Especially in this kind of darkness. The elves must have it so much easier, what with those wonderful eyes for a night such as this... With nary a rustle of his clothing, Halandar steals around the stables to the horse doors, avoiding the tack and food shed where Joseph turned back and another guard is stationed. He lurks around a corner, waiting long enough for a guard on his rounds to move out of sight. Then comes his chance to climb over the wooden gate--its post, not the gate itself; no telling how badly the hinges and wood could creak--and into the sheltering den of sleeping horses with their nocturnal sounds to mask his own. His stealthy manner and strangeness might surprise and alarm the animals. But he doesn't have to stay there long enough to find out; there are two light-colored equine bodies in these stalls among a number of other darks. From the heaviness of the one on the left's build, he could certainly be Dante... Creeping closer to look, Halandar finds the identifying scar Joseph spoke of. He's confirmed that the plowhorse is here. Now he just needs to get back out, and that's where things went wrong for Joseph... His first blunder, just as he leaves the gate, literally, is his cloak snagging on a board as he goes over and making a soft moan of wood. Have to be more careful with that... The halfling drops over the other side and scurries on his way back to where he came in. He can see the shadow of the guard at the stables, cast against the ground by a lamp burning from the stable roof, and has a tense moment when his head stops in one position for an inordinate stretch of time. Then his ears catch a sign and he resumes the manner displayed when not alert. He feels a serious flub made when stealing along the hedge, to find the hip of his trouser catch on an errant branch coming out of the hedge and tear what sounds to his ears like bloodcurdlingly loud, making a wave of panic crest in him, despite his best efforts. Moving on quickly to distance himself from the source of the noise, he is relieved to find the guard who was in the garden before is no longer there. Making rounds, hopefully. It's another tense moment going up and over the wall where he entered, especiallly with the dense bushes planted right up against it, but the little spy finds himself on the other side of the tall wall, the thrill of success flooding him. Halandar has made it out of the Burne estate alive and undetected, despite the doubling of the guard. "He's there," reports the breathless halfling on his return to the camp. "I found him with the scar just like you said. There's a lot more people watching out, now."
#164 josephkell Jun 24, 2004 1:24:18	Joseph lay peacefully looking up at the stars. How did things end up this way? the bard thought for a second. Now I remember how... damn that is pathetic. Just then the halfling scout returned. "Where exactly in the compound is he?" "There is no way you are going back there while the guard is increased," Tycho voiced a firm disagreement. "There is no way to avoid a fight." Joseph grinned his wordless response. The bard was exhausted by the lack of action, if such a thing were possible. "You can go die on your own then." "Better to die from a sword than from lethargy," the stubborn young man said as he gathered up his belongings. Sorry to NPC Tycho, but it seemed in line with Tycho's recent protrayal. Weyman also volunteered Hal to go back (via one of his AIM conversations).
#165 josephkell Jun 26, 2004 20:25:10	Joseph and Halandar gathered their things and headed back to the estate. On the way Joseph outlined his simple plan. "Alright, so I think the plan should be..." Halandar interrupted, "A plan? That means we have to do stuff, couldn't we just have a mission statement or a general goal?" "The plan could be me distracting the guards at the gate, and then leading them away. I will try to lose them in the trees, and I will double back disguised as one of them. In the meantime, you should try to get to Dante and incapacitate the man guarding him. Where did you say he was being held again?" "You know that shed you didn't go into when you snuck in, he's in there." "Let's do our best to not kill them, they may be working for a mean person like Burnes, but they are just doing a job." Joseph and Hal split up a small distance from the estate. Just trying to keep the adventure moving. It might be easier to determine Halandar's success off camera and keeping it a secret (at least until Weyman gets back).
#166 zombiegleemax Jun 26, 2004 23:47:48	Patches is wise to approach with lights-out, because he would certainly be spotted by the figure carrying a torch and making its wobbly way up to the front gate of the Burne estate. Looking a little closer, he sees that it's a human woman. Her shoulder-length blond hair is unkept and dirty. A bottle, gleaming in her torchlight and gripped by the neck, is held cozily in her left hand. Studded leather covers a frame that looks quite muscular for a woman, and a falchion rides in a scabbard across her back. An earring glints as Joseph hangs back to watch her walk up to the gate. What is this lady's deal? "You're awfully late, Giuri," one of the guards on the other side of the gate says. "Pffft," she replies with a slur. "Needed my nightcap." "Took you long enough, then. You've got a job to do tomorrow, y'know... Boss won't be happy." There comes the sound of the militiaman shifting his feet. "Jus' shhut up and lemme in, why don'tcha? How hard s'it to drive the cart?" A distinct threatening edge enters her voice as Joseph hears this. He hears, too, the effect in the gateman as a slight quail comes into his speech. "Okay, okay! But don't say I didn't warn you if you run that big bastard down a cliff tomorrow 'cause you're hung-over. Boss really won't like that; he does good with the plow, I hear." There's a jingle of keys, the click of a padlock being opened, the squeak of latch and hinges as the door swings open to admit Giuri and her circle of torchlight. "Feh," she says, boots crunching gravel as she walks. "That nancy-boy I'm s'pposed to take here?" "No, he's supposed to come here in the morning to get you and the cart." Giuri makes a stomachy grunt in reply, and the sound of her feet fade away up the walk on the other side of the gate. "Bosss not up fer another one havin' a go at Jassy, huh? Dunno why; they're engaged anyway..." As she gets more distant, another voice pipes up. "You oughta be more careful with her, y'know." This fellow hadn't spoken while Giuri was being let in. "Don't want on her bad side." "Grow a spine," the other gateman growls back. "She ain't that scary. 'Sides, she's drunk, if you didn't notice. She won't remember a thing tomorrow. Not even where to find her own butt. Which would be a shame, really." "Never occured to you she might be a mean drunk, huh? They ain't all rumors 'bout the heads she's split." "Bah." Coast is clear now, but there's a bit of news about the household's schedule Joseph didn't have this morning...
#167 josephkell Jun 26, 2004 23:58:29	Joseph would've sworn out loud if not for fear of being noticed prematurely. If she could scare them, and she is on their side... or at least tolerates them, I had better be careful... And get Hal. The bard lays his good hand on his sword's hilt and takes a deep breath. Perhaps I should wait until morning and ambush her when she has the cart all set up, it would be much more convenient to have Dante readied for the road. Joseph slinks off into the brush and goes to find Halandar before he is too invested in the plan for any alterations.
#168 zombiegleemax Jun 27, 2004 0:04:17	"Finding Hal" is easier said than done, of course. Good reason for Joseph to keep him around. Luckily, Patches knows where to look, and finds him slowly pulling himself over the wall. He startles at the sight of Joseph, then seems to calm when he realizes who he is and aborts his climb. The halfling creeps over, brows raised in question.
#169 josephkell Jun 27, 2004 0:30:22	While I might not know who that lady is, The Lady hasn't seemed to have abandoned me yet. Thank you Ordemet, Joseph thought a prayer when he finally found Halandar. He made a silent promise to make a donation to her temple when he got back to Garic's City. He gestured for the halfling to follow as he moved away from the compound. Once they were a safe distance away, he risked speaking. "As I was heading to the gate, a woman entered, she ahead of me. Apparently she is bringing Dante on an errand to bring someone back to the estate. If we ambush her, we can get Dante, and a cart, without having to face all those militiamen and their swords. I thought it was worth consideration." Joseph paused. "Plus, she seemed to be drunk, so she'll probably be hung over when we attack... I bet my singing alone could incapacitate her!" he said in jest. "Of course, when we bring the cart to give the others a lift, we will have to exaggerate the number of foes... wouldn't make much of a song if we admitted that it took two of us to defeat one woman with a large sword."
#170 zombiegleemax Jun 27, 2004 0:46:26	"I like it," Halandar says with a smile. "Does this mean we get to go back and sleep until morning?"
#171 josephkell Jun 27, 2004 0:54:20	"How about we get on her path, and you nap there? We don't want to miss this opportunity, if we oversleep, we might not find her until she is on the way back. But I suspect she is picking up Jasmine's groom... and as much as I might like to run into him, it isn't worth the risk of her returning with an honor guard." Joseph looked for a place down the road far enough from the estate that the guards wouldn't be able to see it stop. If he doesn't find such a place "Hopefully they will just assume she dropped the reins because of her hangover... that should buy us a few minutes... if we are far enough away that is."
#172 zombiegleemax Jun 27, 2004 10:03:59	Finding such a spot out of view from the Burne estate and hidden from the town of Sarien Point is a tricky business, but there's an adequate one for it not far from where Joseph emerged earlier today after losing his pursuers in the woods. It's also close enough that with just a little change of position Patches can keep an eye on the gate. "There's still hours before the sun will be up," Halandar reminds him as he curls up in shelter to have a nap. A couple of hours stretch on and the halfling stirs awake, sees that though the night is getting old there's still time to spare, and trades spots with Joseph. The nap is refreshing, and as good as his word, the little rogue wakes him as the eastern sky's deep blue starts to fade, stars melting into their background as the slowly awakens. Nighthawks swoop against its scenedrop, chasing bugs in the early, early morning. A frog chorus in the direction of the river does its morning scales, and gray-brown rabbits play tag and kick up their heels in the open ground opposite the road from Joseph and Halandar. There's no movement or noise from the Burne estate yet, but a whiff of woodsmoke reaches the two watchers and they partake of their rations and water for breakfast. The sun crests and chases away the night, but still no sign of Giuri driving a cart out. Thalos's glowing orb rises completely and gets an early hours' start on its march across the sky, and all black of night and gray of twilight in the firmament gives over to azure. At what must be 7:30 in the morning, the two scoundrels hear hoofbeats coming up from the town, and no creak of wagon wheels. Well-chosen hiding spots veil them, and they're given the spectacle of a human man, aristocratic in bearing, dress, and mount, riding up to the Burne estate. His hair is dark-brown and shaggy in a way that can only come from "studied negligence." His saddlebags show signs of weight, a quarterstaff is teathered to his saddle itself. An uncocked crossbow rides over his shoulder on a sling, and there on the right side of his waist is a dagger on his belt. It occurs to Joseph that he must have mininterpreted the gateman; he said that the "nancy-boy" was supposed to meet Giuri at the estate with the cart. Taking no notice of them... Enide, wasn't that what Darrel said his name was?... rides on at a liesurely pace up to the front gate. At this distance the words exchanged are lost, but the hinges make their loud creak again and the aristocrat rides in.
#173 josephkell Jun 27, 2004 14:58:18	Joseph mentally kicked himself. He just sat there thinking. After the entourage had passed, the bard turned to his companion and asked, "Perhaps the wedding is today... and we could retrieve Dante during the celebration?" A pause. "Wait, wouldn't everyone, except maybe for the servants, be required to attend the ceremony? We could probably Borrow a few things from the house."
#174 zombiegleemax Jun 27, 2004 15:05:49	"Doesn't a wedding need something a little more... Stylish?" Halandar conjectures. "And who brings a crossbow to a wedding? Let's keep on watching... I can't hear anything from here anyway."
#175 zombiegleemax Jun 27, 2004 22:56:11	Within another half-hour, there's finally more movement at the gates. They swing open, and Enide rides out again on his horse. Close behind him is Dante, harnessed to a cart, the reins of which Giuri is holding. Even from this distance, she looks like three kinds of death warmed over, and judging from the bottle at her side, is having a little hair of the dog that bit her, knocked her down, and did a tap-dance on her supine form. The bad news is that they're taking the road leading away from the town; the chosen ambush spot is no good. The good news is that they're going plenty slow enough for Joseph and Halandar to catch up or pass them, unnoticed in the trees, too.
#176 josephkell Jun 27, 2004 23:57:53	"Well ain't a kick in the vocal cords... Lead on Hal, you have the better ears," Joseph said while gesturing with his left stump. The young bard followed after his halfling companion through the trees after the retreating cart.
#177 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 14:39:07	Senses of direction tell the two stalkers that the cart and rider are heading somewhere northeast. The road wends away from Sarien Point, cutting between more farming properties and limiting hiding spots for the moment. The road takes a bend and crosses the river at a good, shallow ford that Dante pulls the cart through with little trouble. Joseph and Halandar are able to delay their crossing to make the proximity between themselves and the cart less suspicious. Enide hasn't glanced back at all, but Giuri, perhaps bored with the driving, is taking in the scenery with bleary eyes. If she's seen them, she doesn't seem to think anything of them. On the other side of the ford, civilization gives out, sparse trees and undergrowth return, and the time for prudence comes... Human and halfling should pick their distance for following or circling around now, as such distances make a huge difference in remaining undetected. The road seems to be remaining straight for now, heading in the direction of not-too-distant, wooded hills, so the odds are low of losing their prey.
#178 josephkell Jun 28, 2004 15:48:54	Joseph speaks in low tones to his companion, "We need to get ahead of them if we are going to stop them. Enide doesn't seem like much of a combatant, but that woman, her curved sword is worrisome. Let's cut through the trees again." He waited for Halandar to make the first move, having demonstrated superior stealth abilities. While Giuri's back is turned, they both drift into the brush and after their quarry.
#179 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 17:11:56	[How closely are the two of them folllowing or skirting? A figure in feet, please.]
#180 josephkell Jun 28, 2004 17:44:26	20 ft into the brush, trying to get a head of Enide and Giuri
#181 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 19:32:46	Slow as the cart may be, traveling at about the pace a dwarf can walk, the two scoundrels estimate, it's still quicker than the speed they can sneak prudently. They'll have to push it. And if Joseph has learned one thing on this expedition, it's that if Mamma Metrex gives mortals anything, it's a mixed bag. Slipping off the path is easy enough. Stealing alongside it seems to go well. But just when the two of them are pulling even with their quarry in their effort to get ahead, Halandar's cloak hem snags again and makes a loud rustle. "Did you hear that?" they can hear Giuri ask Enide.
#182 josephkell Jun 28, 2004 19:55:10	Joseph halted and slowly lowered his body. Squirrels freeze when they are caught out in the open... other animals must too... right? the bard thought to reassure himself. If they plan to check for a second noise, they would have to stop, which would prevent them from getting away. But if they keep going--making some concealing noise--they get farther away. Ordemet must be enjoying this grand comedy immensely. The human looked at the halfling to try to divine his thoughts through the halfling's eyes. Whatever we do, we have to do together...
#183 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 20:09:45	Somehow, Halandar melts into the foliage, and Joseph tries to follow suit. He has the uncomfortable feeling of Giuri's eyes sweeping the area. Horse feet stop with a jingle of rein buckles, and there comes the scratching thump! of the woman's boots hitting the road. Perhaps most unnerving of all is the rasp of a blade being drawn as she brushes through the bushes, looking directly at Joseph's hiding spot. "Come out of there slowly," she growls.
#184 josephkell Jun 28, 2004 20:17:42	Any chance it might be a ruse to get me to reveal myself? Probably not... Always seemed to work for Halandar... The bard comes out slowly. "Good morning! How are you doing?"
#185 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 20:21:20	Daylight unveils the campsite from the darkness and Julia, already awake, frets. "They've been gone a very long time, Tycho. I'm starting to worry." Tycho finishes dousing the small campfire and comes to stand beside her, sighing heavily. "They are probably just having to wait for a good time to take the horse. After yesterday, I'm sure there are guards all around that place." He tries to be reassuring, not sure if he succeeded. By the look on Julia's face, he wasn't entirely convincing. "I don't know. How long do we wait before we head off to their rescue? If they catch Patches, they won't waste any time in ending him." Tycho nods, a few wisps of blonde hair blowing in the light breeze, wishing he had some way of knowing. The pair decide to wait a little longer...
#186 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 20:26:29	"Hands, pretty-boy," she reminds him, but looks uncomfortable for a split-second as she says it. Joseph sees Enide there on the road, still astride his horse, leaning down and peering at him from under the tree branches. "What are you doing skulking over here?"
#187 josephkell Jun 28, 2004 20:38:01	Joseph raised his right arm up in the air. "Not everyone is as blessed by Ordemet as you happen to be my lord. And I have learned the hard way that certain highborns don't appreciate us sharing the road." With that the bard displayed his stump. "I had hoped to sneak passed you two, and get back onto the road to continue on my way, so that I wouldn't attract your eer. I blame my impatience, and I pray that I didn't frighten you."
#188 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 20:53:42	"I'd watch my tongue if I were you, sir," Enide snaps back. He narrows his eyes, searching Patches's face and feeling out his bluff. "I'll have you know I've never abused a peasant for minding his own business. Speaking of which... What are you about in this neck of the woods?" The aristocrat gives a glance at the cart, then up the road almost suspiciously, then looks back to Joseph.
#189 josephkell Jun 28, 2004 21:04:02	Joseph dug as deep as he could to use every ounce of disgust he has for authority. "I didn't inquire as to why you are out here, it isn't my business. Just as how my reasons for being here aren't your's. Unless you plan to abuse this peasant for minding his own business, I suggest you leave me to it. However, I remind you that to put me in my place would require you to get off your high horse and risk getting a speck of dirt on your expensive clothes." The bard paused to let that sink in. "Or are you afraid of a one armed man with an instrument he can no longer play? Is that why you hide behind this lady?"
#190 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 21:09:21	Julia, not the type for pacing, finds a soft spot on the ground and kneels for her morning devotions. Among her usual supplications, she includes, ".oO(Thalos, guide us.)" When she finishes, she stands and looks off in direction of the town. "I can't wait any longer, Tycho. Something must be wrong. We've got to find them." Tycho simply nods, feeling the same. "We should make our escape together, at any rate. Once the horse is retrieved, there will be no time to locate the other half of this party for a scatter command. Let's go." They pack everything up, taking what they can, and head cautiously toward the house -- the last place they knew Joseph and Halandar to be heading.
#191 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 21:22:42	Enide's face darkens considerably at Joseph's tirade. He lets the bard finish while one hand lays over his crossbow. "You see, my good man," he says with a mask-like smile clearly not meant to be reassuring, "I've never abused a peasant for minding his own business. There's a first time for everything, of course, but... taking revenge for an insult... That's an entirely different matter." Enide's hand reaches into a pouch at his belt and arcane phrases emmenate from his lips. Joseph feels his frame start to warp. A loud ringing sounds in his head and his body doesn't feel like like his own. The bard's knees start to buckle and his arms feel leaden. Then his body revolts and batters away the magical energy, leaving Kell feeling shaken, but unchanged. Enide's eyebrows raise. "Well, I'm impressed."
#192 josephkell Jun 28, 2004 21:42:52	"Is that is all your wealth and breeding can muster?" Joseph asked mockingly. He reached for his sword and pulled it out. [Move Action: Draw longsword] "I might not be able to play my mandolin, but I can still sing like an angel. Are you going to be a coward and fling feeble spells from behind your companion, or fight me with the honor your class prides itself on?" And so the bard started to sing. [Standard Action: Initiate an Inspire Courage +1 bardic music.] Any time you feel like it Hal... I don't trust this woman to not try to run me through.
#193 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 22:15:41	"'Wrong us, do we not revenge?' Apparently all your low birth and dirt can muster is stupidity and arrogance. There's no honor in crushing a grub beneath your boot. You've brought this on yourself, fool." Initiative and hp: 18. [Halandar, flat-footed, will be able to act next round but just drew his weapon] 15. Joseph 26/26 10. Giuri ???/??? 1. Enide ???/??? At the start of this round, Halandar is in hiding 10 feet to Joseph's left as he faces the road. Giuri is 10 feet away from Joseph, and Enide is 10 feet beyond her in the road, on his horse.
#194 josephkell Jun 28, 2004 22:28:37	Joseph swung his sword at the woman who intradicts his path to the annoying mage. [Standard action: +6 to hit, 1d8+3. Includes Inspire Courage +1] [Who is declaring Halandar's actions? I know Weyman wanted him to be a knife thrower, which also banks on the +1 bonus from small size and +1 to throwing from being a halfling.]
#195 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 22:54:43	[I am, but this information on his style is duly noted and appreciated. Thank you.] Halandar flings one of his tiny blades at the Giuri thus far unaware of his presence. Unfortunately, her breastplate--she wasn't wearing this armor last night, Joseph realizes--turns it back ineffectually. Her eyes rip in the halfling's direction as she bares her teeth. Joseph tries to take advantage of the distraction, but her guard comes up in time to stop Joseph's blade. Breath support must've been off on that one. "Get this one!" she screams at Enide. And right before Joseph's eyes, this bloodthirsty blond seems to go mad. Red-rimmed eyes stand out, veins jump to the survace on the backs of bare hands wrapped around the grip of her big sword, and she shrieks bloodcurdlingly. The falchion knocks Joseph's longsword out of their bind and slices for his thigh. Patches's reaction is get the vulnerable limb out of harm's way, which he manages successfully, making Giuri look that much more incessed. From Enide's direction comes the squeak and clatter of steel gears of some sort. A crossbow bolt buzzes angrily in its flight and takes Halandar in his left shoulder, impacting with a sound you might hear in a butcher's shop [5 points of damage and 1 nonlethal to Halandar]. Enide then hops down from his horse. 18. Halandar 5 +1 nonlethal/11 15. Joseph 18 +1 nonlethal/26 10. Giuri ???/??? 1. Enide ???/???
#196 josephkell Jun 28, 2004 23:04:23	Joseph continued his song. [Free Action: Continue Inspire Courage +1.] Damn she is strong! The bard spun around Giuri. He ducked down and tried to trace a red line through the rager's chest. [Free Action: 5-foot step to the square to the right of Giuri on the map.] [Standard Action: +6 Longsword attack, 1d8+3 slashing damage. Includes Inspire Courage +1.] [Misinterrepted "out of their bind" for "out of his hand"]
#197 zombiegleemax Jun 28, 2004 23:28:57	Halandar is on the move as well, scrambling backwards to the tree not far behind him. He slips another of his numerous blades free as he goes and sends it spinning over the 30 feet seperating him from his target. It'd be a throw to brag about and demonstrate in the halfling quarter in Garic's, ending with the knife sticking in Enide's thigh and Halandar shelted by his tree. The nobleman yelps at the pain. Savage cunning and the promise of violence fill Giuri's eyes as she turns to track Joseph's move. Her aggressive stance almost lets the bard's sword into her side, but Joseph's attack fails to get through the joint by what feels like an inch. Her response is a sweeping half-moon of a slash at chest-height, meant to slide in under Patches's arm, raised in the midst of his attack. Kell finds himself wondering why they make women this strong as he is cut to the ribcage. His nerve endings are screaming at him [11 points of damage and 1 nonlethal]. The sound of spellweaving comes from Enide, but no hostile spells come flying from his hands at human or halfling. They see him sliding a bolt free from his case as he follows Halandar's lead and hustles towards the nearest tree and takes shelter behind it. 18. Halandar 5 +1 nonlethal/11 15. Joseph 7 +2 nonlethal/26 10. Giuri ???/??? 1. Enide ???/???
#198 josephkell Jun 29, 2004 0:14:55	Joseph tumbled away from the falchion frenzier and discontinues his song. [Inspire Courage +1 still remains in affect for 5 rounds.] [Move Action: Tumble 15 feet away from Giuri (to her right on the map). DC 15 to not provoke an AoO, Tumble Mod +9] The bard laid his hand on his chest and chanted. "Megurehe miqula naa uutela, Naa helmaamin naa er." "Steel's lick be undone, let my skin be one." in Elven [Standard Action: Cast cure light wounds, heals 1d8+3 lethal and nonlethal damage independantly.]
#199 zombiegleemax Jun 29, 2004 0:16:38	Well, there isn't a new pair of heads stuck on pikes outside the gates for Julia and Tycho to see; that's reassuring. But there isn't any immediate sign of their missing companions, either. Then again, Halandar would pride himself on that... The ground is firm. That doesn't bode well for tracking... Julia finds their prints, but lacks the savy to follow them to any conclusion. She might make a guess where they went, and check it later by searching for their tracks again, but if she makes a mistake, time will most certainly be lost. The road is here, however, and if they took it back towards the town instead of away from it towards the hills, the two of them almost certainly would've seen them. That's a better guess than most at this point.
#200 shadow264 Jun 29, 2004 0:31:13	*Tycho shrugs and thumbs towards the hills.* Well unless their horse went down that way, theyd have no reason to go down there. But I didn't see them heading that way... Joseph must have a death wish, not telling us his plan. What did he expect us to do, just sit and wait for him? *Tycho obviously is getting angrier by the moment at their position.* That idiot's gone and gotten himself in trouble I know it, and we have no clue where he is! If I see him there'll be hell to pay. If I knew a spell that would let mefly than we could spot him, or even one that let me see further. This is insane! *The wizard whips out his rapier and swings it angrily at a low hanging branch. Spinning with teh force of his swipe he falls into a sitting position.* We should just go back to Garic's.
#201 zombiegleemax Jun 29, 2004 0:34:11	With considerable distance and now the protection of foliage seperating him and his previous target, Halandar focuses his next knife on Giuri's back instead. The release is bad, though, and the dagger flies harmlessly into the woods. The snap of his cape is enough to distract Giuri from the retreating Patches, and her blade cuts only air this time as he gets some distance. The arcane-manipulated positive energy ripples through Joseph, closing completely the nasty gash across his chest [Joseph heals 11 points of damage and his 2 nonlethal]. Giuri isn't ready to let him go, however, and follows, taking another hard two-handed swing at Kell. Another deft twist evades it. Meantime, Enide grunts as he readies his bow for another shot and levels it at Halandar behind his tree. The bolt fails to even bite the trunk. 18. Halandar 5 +1 nonlethal/11. Remaining daggers: 7 15. Joseph 18/26 10. Giuri ???/??? 1. Enide (wounded)/???
#202 zombiegleemax Jun 29, 2004 0:46:13	Julia frowns and double-checks something she'd seen on the ground. "Actually, Tycho... A horse did go that way." She looks up towards the bend beyond the Burne estate, obviously eager to check the ground up there.
#203 shadow264 Jun 29, 2004 0:51:13	*Tycho sits up sheathign his rapier as he rises. Dusting himself off he smiles a reply.* Well let's go. *Tycho follows Julia towards the hills.*
#204 josephkell Jun 29, 2004 1:25:46	One to always make a comment--especially in the face of death--the bard said, "When do you let up? No really... can you give me a battlefield guess?" Joseph swung his sword at his amazonian-like attacker again. [Standard Action: +6 Longsword Attack, 1d8+3 slashing damage. 3 rounds after this one until Inspire Courage +1 wears off.]
#205 zombiegleemax Jun 29, 2004 11:10:42	Giuri does not respond, perhaps too wrapped up in her frenzy to appreciate Kell's wit--or Halandar's throwing, for that matter. The halfling breaks his cover to lessen his pitching distance, only to have the dagger bounce off the armor of the woman's shoulder. Joseph's sword comes in low and once again the breastplate is just enough to protect Giuri from its bite. She bulls through his guard with preternatural strength and cuts Joseph painfully on the shoulder of his good arm [9 points of damage and 1 nonlethal]. Enide is casting again. Then he's almost a blur as he dashes in the general direction of Joseph and Giuri at an angle, coming to a stop on the other side of the tree on the bard's right as he fights with Giuri. 18. Halandar 5 +1 nonlethal/11. Remaining daggers: 6 15. Joseph 7 +1 nonlethal/26 10. Giuri ???/??? 1. Enide (wounded)/???
#206 josephkell Jun 29, 2004 14:50:26	"Oh shut up!" Joseph commanded as he tumbled away from the rager and tried to rend the mage in two. [Move Action: Tumble 15 feet, DC 15 (to not provoke an AoO from Giuri), Tumble Check Mod +9. [Standard Action: Longsword Attack +6 Melee, 1d8+3 slashing damage. 2 rounds after this one before Inspire Courage +1 wears off.
#207 zombiegleemax Jun 29, 2004 20:51:30	Julia pauses at the single fork in the road that she and Tycho encounter to check for their trail, and deduces which way they went. She has cause for excitement further down the road, at the ford, when a patch of mud yields up evidence that even she can follow. The mud stops all-too-soon, however, but their companions' chosen direction is still confirmed... They keep to the road. ---------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, further along on a lonely stretch of the road, a halfling slips his shortsword into readiness and bounds forward to use it against the savage woman who's been slicing into Joseph. With Giuri pinned between them, he makes a brave stab that digs into her hip. She screams in anger and pain, throwing a glare over her shoulder at the halfling as he yanks the sword free. Joseph springs out of Giuri's reach and up to Enide. His sword flashes out at the nobleman now chosen to marry Jasemine. Just as he slices, though, he catches an etheral glimpse of a greenish disk of some sort. It's presense is confirmed when he feels something divert the momentum of the sword away from the aristocrat's body. With Joseph bouncing off to assult Enide, Giuri turns a look of malicious glee on Halandar and raises her falchion for the swing. Halandar sidesteps with a yelp, letting the curved blade skim the ground with its miss. The woman looks furious. Enide jinks to the right and then dodges back out of Joseph's reach, moving at impossible strides to place himself in the road. Blue eyes watch the bard carefully [AoO trumped by withdraw action]. 18. Halandar 5 +1 nonlethal/11. Remaining daggers: 6 15. Joseph 7 +1 nonlethal/26 10. Giuri (wounded)/??? 1. Enide (wounded)/???
#208 josephkell Jun 29, 2004 21:45:05	The bard groaned and decided to return to a foe that he at least understood the strategy of. "RAAA!!" Joseph shouted in a poor imitation of the woman's frenzy. [Full Round Action: Charge Attack at Guiri: Longsword +10 melee charge in a flanking positon, 1d8+3 slashing damage. AC 14 (-2 from charging factored in). 1 round after this one before Inspire Courage +1 wears off] [edited: added in flanking position bonus.]
#209 zombiegleemax Jun 30, 2004 1:44:41	Halandar stabs at the berserking blond, and the stab is good. He's in and out of the attack in the shake of a lamb's tail, leaving the small puncture wound above her knee as the only evidence he was there. Joseph's battle cry brings his return to her attention and her falchion to the defensive. She's too slow to stop Joseph, though, whose longsword cuts into her left tricep. Then she turns her retribution on Halandar. The wickedly curved blade comes up, then down, simply driving the halfling's overhead block before it as it enters his shoulder from above, chopping through his collarbone and one upper rib before stopping a sickening two inches into his torso. The plucky Halandar is driven straight to his knees at the blow, crying out. Giuri pulls her weapon free of her victim. Blood blossoms from the horrible wound as the little scoundrel falls to his face [Halandar takes 12 points of damage and 1 nonlethal, and is unconscious and dying]. Giuri spins back to face Joseph after striking his companion down, sadistic glee filling her wild eyes despite her own wounds. Once more, Enide can be heard casting a spell. He's inched closer, Kell can see. The noble extends the first two fingers of his right hand, pointing at Patches, as he closes the incantation. Motes of azure arcane energy coalesce around the pointing digits. An electric-blue beam lances out and zings over the bard's shoulder, failing to touch him once again. 18. Halandar -7 +2 nonlethal/11, dying. 15. Joseph 7 +1 nonlethal/26 10. Giuri (wounded)/??? 1. Enide (wounded)/???
#210 zombiegleemax Jun 30, 2004 17:59:39	Originally posted by Scop Julia pauses at the single fork in the road that she and Tycho encounter to check for their trail, and deduces which way they went. She has cause for excitement further down the road, at the ford, when a patch of mud yields up evidence that even she can follow. The mud stops all-too-soon, however, but their companions' chosen direction is still confirmed... They keep to the road. "Tycho, they've definitely come this way! Let's go!" She continues on, not daring to call out, but listening and watching for any sign.
#211 josephkell Jun 30, 2004 18:45:50	[Several hours and a suggestion spell later...] Joseph watched his halfling companion fall to the ground bleeding. "Stay there Hal!" the bard shouted (and laughed a bit) as he swung his sword with the desperation of a drowning man. [Standard Action: Longsword Attack +6, 1d8+3 slashing damage. This is the last round of Inspire Courage +1.]
#212 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 0:39:09	The desperation buoys in Joseph again as he faces down what could be the last few seconds of his life. His slash at the panting Giuri is not unlike a cornered animal striking at its tormentor when it comes too close. And not unlike a cornered animal, whether by luck or providence, the tormentor knows pain at its prey's hand. Would that desperation had made his arm swing a little deeper, though... Giuri reels and gasps as the blade bites her in the side, but she does not fall. She takes a measuring moment to look at Patches, hands not relaxing in the least on her grip. Her teeth pull back in a grimace, warning Joseph that she's decided to swing. The bloody blond screams as she slashes, but Patches sees it coming and braces the flat of his blade against his bad wrist and prepares himself to receive the blow. The vibrations of the parry jolt his bones, but he's successfully stopped the blow. A wave of real fear enters her mad face twisted by the frenzy. A bolt from Enide's crossbow whizzes by Joseph's ear in an uncomfortably near-miss, reminding the bard that nancy-boy mage-chap is still around. 18. Halandar (down)/11 15. Joseph 7 +1 nonlethal/26 10. Giuri (wounded)/??? 1. Enide (wounded)/???
#213 josephkell Jul 01, 2004 1:20:43	Joseph groaned. The longsword felt like it weighed more than it should. One more effort is all I ask muscles. The bard again swung the sword at the savage woman. [Standard Action: Longsword +5, 1d8+2. Inspire courage has worn off.] The bard followed up the swing by tumbling around the berserker to his fallen comrade. [Move Action: Tumble (+9) around Giuri (not through) to a square adajacent to Halandar (but still within reach of Giuri). DC to tumble is 15, a seperate check for each foe tumbled passed.]
#214 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 2:11:52	His fatigue weighs heavily on Joseph, especially after he comes within what must be a hair's breadth from cutting Giuri down. His longsword swings like the ton it feels to be in that moment. She deflects the slash easily and steps as she makes her riposte. The falchion cuts through his leather, rending flesh diagonally across his chest, scoring a line across several ribs and snapping one of them. The sword tumbles from his hand as his breath comes shallow, reflexively avoiding the pain of his chest moving the damaged ribs. Joseph crumples to his knee, then his side, as his head swims and his blood seeps [Joseph takes 10 points of damage and 1 nonlethal, and is unconscious and dying]. He might've known it'd be a wild woman that was the end of him, Patches might think as his vision goes black and the pain melts away into oblivion... 18. Halandar (down)/11 15. Joseph -3 +2 nonlethal/26, dying 10. Giuri (wounded)/??? 1. Enide (wounded)/??? In the waking world, Giuri pulls a vial out of her bag as she feels the rush of her rage about to leave her and drinks, sustaining herself. Despite being winded, it doesn't take her long thereafter to cut the throats of the two scoundrels and release their souls to Ordemet's judgement while Enide approaches for a better look at the two of them. Joseph and Halandar deceased.
#215 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 18:42:22	Julia frowns. "I'm concerned, Tycho. I expected to have found them by now." Tycho shrugs. "Perhaps they got the horse and made their getaway. Maybe we should head back to Garic's as well. We'll probably find them there waiting for us, laughing." This sets her brow furrowing. "I don't know. I certainly would treat anyone in such a poor manner." Tycho chuckles. "Hey, this is Joseph we're talking about. Remember?" Julia sighs. "Let's keep going just a little further. If we don't find him then..." She shrugs and keeps going.
#216 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 19:15:33	Twenty minutes further down the road, Julia and Tycho's ears catch the sound of hoofbeats. A rider and a cart come around the bend of the road. The man astride the horse and the armored woman driving the gray horse pulling the cart are both bloodied and grim-looking. They turn suspicious looks on the two humans as they approach and search their faces, but make no comment as they pass them on the road.
#217 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 19:28:00	The pair on the road move out of the way of the cart. Julia looks at the scuffed pair as they pass, her concern and suspicion growing. When the horse and cart are out of sight, Julia looks at Tycho. "Tycho..." Tycho nods. "I know. Let's go." They continue heading in the direction the cart came from, trying to follow the wheel tracks.
#218 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 20:27:54	Folllowing hoofprints and wagon-tracks proves considerably easier than following ordinary footprints, Julia finds as they continue on the road. Her sense of forboding remains steady as she tracks, but when she finds the spot where the cart and horses turned around, it spikes. Looking around, they don't immediately see anything to tell them what happened to make those two get so thrashed and turn around... The ground is softer at the edge of the road, though, and the cleric sees two sets of human-sized bootprints leading off the road, then returning... A couple of times, she realizes.
#219 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 20:43:24	Tension building between her shoulderblades, Julia leads Tycho to follow the human footprints off the road. "Joseph? Halandar?" she ventures. Tycho follows silently, face grim, hand on the hilt of his weapon in case an enemy remains.
#220 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 22:29:31	There is no reply to Julia's hail. Her eyes take a few moments to adjust, and now, they pick out the two people laying there near the foot of another tree... They seem to be Joseph and Halandar. And the ground is rouged with their blood.
#221 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 22:35:48	Julia gasps, her rising fear now realized. She dashes forward to see if there is any life left.
#222 shadow264 Jul 01, 2004 22:39:49	*Upon seeing the two bodies Tycho just curses.* He should have gotten us.
#223 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 22:49:15	The flesh is cooling rapidly... Neither one is breathing, nor are their hearts beating. And it doesn't take Julia a second look to see that their throats have been cut. Other signs of violence mark them... The crossbow bolt buried in Halandar's chest and the terrible gash in his shoulder, and the number of deep cuts in Joseph's body as well. When Julia can bring herself to look, she sees that their weapons have been taken, including Joseph's instrument... Their coinpurses, too. Their armor was left on their bodies.
#224 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 22:54:14	When she realizes there's no hope for them, she looks again at the whole picture -- the wounds, the blood, the... ...throats sliced wide open... She turns and retches in the grass, not having seen death quite like this before. When she finishes, she takes a wad of clean grass and wipes her mouth, tossing the wad aside. She moves away from the bodies, sits and opens her waterskin, first rinsing her mouth, then drinking deeply.
#225 shadow264 Jul 01, 2004 22:58:11	*Tycho watches Julia with concern and than sits down leaning against a tree.* They didn't make it did they?
#226 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 23:19:29	Julia shakes her head, daring to look again from a distance, making herself get used to the sight. "No. They didn't make it. And we have no more reason to be here." "After we bury them."
#227 shadow264 Jul 01, 2004 23:24:05	*Tycho mods solemenly, as he casts a glance over to the dead bodies.* I don't think we have any shovels.
#228 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2004 23:35:15	"Then we'll go back into town and get some. We can't just leave them out in the open." Julia realizes her emotions feel a bit numb and welcomes it from the previous discomfort. "Let's look around first -- see if there's anything that can be used to dig a couple of graves." She gets up off the ground, caps her waterskin, and starts looking around.
#229 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2004 22:06:34	There's a nice flat rock about the size and shape of a shovel blade, but it'd take quite a bit of effort to use to dig a grave of even shallow depth, Julia can tell. She estimates that even with the time spent going to town and back, resting places for the two slain men would be dug faster if they went for a shovel.
#230 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2004 22:39:18	"There's nothing here worth trying to dig two graves with. Come on. Let's head back for town and get a couple of shovels." She turns and starts to head back.
#231 shadow264 Jul 02, 2004 22:43:36	*Tycho nods and follows after her. Keeping very quiet for the trip.*
#232 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2004 22:53:28	Once they reach the town, they quickly locate a shop in which they might find shovels. Julia asks about cost, smiling politely. "Excuse me, my friend and I are in need of shovels. How much are they here?"
#233 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2004 22:59:14	"Couple gold each, dear," the old man at the general store replies, pointing to where they lean against a shelf.
#234 shadow264 Jul 02, 2004 23:03:00	*Tycho digs out the gold and hands it to the clerk.* That should cover it than. Come Julia let's go. *Tycho says to his companion as he goes and grabs a pair of shovels, and walks out of the store.*
#235 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2004 23:06:47	Julia smiles gratefully to the shopkeeper. "Thank you, Sir." She thinks if there's anything that needs to be purchased for the burial, but decides its covered. "Please have a lovely day." She smiles again and heads out of the shop with Tycho. "Let's get back and get this finished before it gets terribly dark."
#236 shadow264 Jul 02, 2004 23:11:51	Aye. *Tycho voices his agreement and hefts the shovels over his shoulders commentign to Julia as they make their way towards where Joseph and Hal lay.* I wish we had some sort of transport to get to Garic's sooner.
#237 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2004 23:20:59	"I suggest when we finish here we either head back for camp or get a room in town for the night. We can head back tomorrow."
#238 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2004 23:22:20	Julia and Tycho, survivors of the party to Sarien Point, return to their solemn duty in the direction of the hills. The walk in the warming morning takes them past the Burne estate again, over the ford, and up the road to the spot where Joseph and Halandar were slain. Working together they dig a twin grave beneath the shade of an oak tree and place human and halfling in the ground. Noon comes as they're ready to fill the earth in again.
#239 shadow264 Jul 02, 2004 23:26:50	*Tycho sighs and rests leaning on his shovel looking at the two graves.* Should we mark them?
#240 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2004 23:35:35	Julia looks worriedly at Tycho, up to the sun, then back at Tycho again. "I think after we finish filling the dirt back in that would be appropriate." She begins shoveling dirt back into the graves, her lips moving silently as she murmurs prayers over the bodies of the deceased.
#241 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2004 23:39:55	With their souls comitted to the Mother and their dust comitted to Her earth, Julia and Tycho set the flat stone and comitt it to their memory. The road awaits them, when they're ready to take it once more.
#242 shadow264 Jul 02, 2004 23:45:01	*Tycho walks along with Julia, casually making conversation as they go.* Well suffice to say this was an interesting bout...
#243 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2004 23:51:02	Julia sighs a bit sadly. "I know Joseph was a bit..." She searches for the proper, but polite, word. "...difficult, he shouldn't have ended this way. If only he'd had some trust from the team he'd put together, asked for some input." She looks up at the trees. "Do you suppose there's anyone we ought to notify?"
#244 shadow264 Jul 02, 2004 23:53:37	*Tycho shakes his head.* Joseph doesn't seem to be the type to have any relations he wanted to keep notified of anything. Maybe Halandar had someone he wanted to see when he got back to the city... I don't know.
#245 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2004 23:57:44	Julia walks on in silence, finding she's suddenly anxious to get back to Garic's City. She picks up the pace. "C'mon Tycho. Let's get moving. I want to go home."
#246 shadow264 Jul 03, 2004 0:00:40	*Tycho nods and matches Julia's pace.*
#247 zombiegleemax Jul 03, 2004 0:04:44	Thus ends the trip to reclaim the horse left behind, as Julia and Tycho make their way back to Garic's...