DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Fantasy SKT: The Storm King's Thunder 3J - Leaving Yartar

OOC: We can stop with turn-based play assuming everyone will reveal themselves.

DM

"Yes, please do summon your two friends," the leader says, smiling as a specific number is offered. He'll still have Aut investigate, of course. Trust but verify.

Aut nods at the mention of two others as he walks away to catch up with Lux near the edge of the torch's light, fading into the darkness as Jaliera takes the torch and moves in the opposite direction. The pair of archers maintain their defensive positions, but do not track Jaliera as she moves closer.

"We may have been more gracious in the day time," the leader continues. "Although then you may not have found us. So. Tell me more of who you seek. Our tribe has covered much of this area of late."

Kriv
In the Tiny Chairless Hut with Arus

The dragonborn turned his inscrutable face towards the Triton and deadpanned,

"Usually."

DM
Under the Tiny Chairless Hut

The badger continues digging under the hemispherical rock, making a nice den for itself. Until it digs underneath the handle of Kriv's maul, which falls down through the bottom of the hut and hits the badger on the head. It scurries away quickly.

Jaliera

"Guys, come join us at their fire!"

She calls out to Bern and Zindra, then sits down.

"We are looking for someone who looks identical to one of my two friends but that is not his true appearance. He has gathered himself a reputation for trouble which of course makes suspicion fall upon my friend who is innocent. This look alike is somewhere ahead of us and we think with a dwarf."

Zindra
"We better join Jaliera," she sighed as she stood up. She slung her bow over her shoulder in a non-threatening manner and began to approach.

"Hail and well met!" she calls out.

DM

"Mmmm, a dwarf, you say," the hunting party leader acknowledges, but doesn't answer yet, waiting for the others to join, particularly since Bern's likeness is relevant.

Bern and Zindra move past the watchman and his cat, who let them pass without incident, and follow their trail back far enough to conclude there is not a surprise attack coming. A loud shout in a different tongue is heard by those around the fire, and the three guarding the fringes of the fire relax and return to their chores, one taking the time to toss another pouch into the fire, returning it from its bright yellow to just a plain old normal nonmagical fire.

Zindra's greeting is acknowledged with a smile and nod. "Well met," he replies. "I hope you'll forgive our suspicion. We are responsible for most of our tribe's sustenance this week," he says, gesturing toward both the jerky smoking tent and the cart, loaded with several casks and jars, "and friends rarely sneak around at night."

When all are present, he makes his introduction. "I am Skorr. Have you eaten? We have plenty to go around."

<Bern>

He moves toward the fire at the invitation, nodding in greeting.

Kriv
In the tiny, chairless, undermined hut with Arus

With a thought, the Dragonborn's maul was in his hand, and he glanced down the hole. "Curious. I wasn't aware the hut was penetrable."

Jaliera

"I would be happy to sample some of your food Skorr, thank you. And we understand your suspicion, it was the same suspicion that brought us out here."

She smiles at her two companions as they arrive.

"And the lookalike we are pursuing looks identical to my friend here."

She points to Bern.

Zhu

Sitting in her Reverie she can still see and hear what goes on around her, and she replies to Kriv. "Things may not enter, but they can leave."

Skorr

The lead barbarian gestures to one of the others, who produces a plate with three skewers of freshly cooked elk, offering it to Jaliera.

He glances at Bern, squinting a bit and shaking his head. "Don't recall seeing him, but perhaps others in the tribe may have done so," he explains. Since the whole party is here, he also finishes answering Jaliera's previous request.

"As to the dwarf you inquired about earlier... I do recall a sizeable party led by a dwarf that passed through a few weeks ago. Heavily armed. We kept our distance..."

Aut, the watchman, can be seen returning to the outer reaches of the fire's light, although Lux the crag cat is nowhere to be seen, likely continuing her patrol.

Zindra

"Greetings Skorr. I am Zindra," she started, making sure to provide her name and further reduce any potential threat level.

"We are interested in finding that dwarf and suspect he's up to nothing good. Do you recall in what direction that group was headed?"

She politely accepted the skewer of elk and took a bite.

Skorr

"From Yartar, headed east," comes the quick reply.

"Most travelers we see in those numbers are going the other way, and usually don't look like a small army," he continues. "I figure something's going on that way and I'd like to go, but our chief insists on...."

He's abruptly cut off by one of the more suspicious barbarians -- the one who called out that it was a trap. "You gonna just tell 'em everything? We don't even know them!"

Skorr chuckles. "Well, you don't care about us, anyway. So do you know what the dwarf and his friends are up to?"

Jaliera

"They always seem to be one step ahead. We have encountered giants. There is talk that this lookalike and the dwarf are dealing in arms to them. That could cause a whole lot of trouble for folk in these parts."

She took a small bite of her meat.

"Hey Skorr, this is good."

Zindra
"Speaking of which, when you say small army do you mean of humans, elves, halflings and/or dwarves? Or are these armies made up of hobgoblins, gnolls, orcs, ogres or trolls? And have you seen giants?"

She takes another bite and nods her head in agreement with Jaliera about the food.

Skorr

"It's even better after we smoke it," Skorr brags, gesturing to the strips of jerky hanging under a tent nearby. "And even better than that when we grind it up and mix it with nuts and honey. "Maend here is the best there is," he says, gesturing at his companion, back at his meat-cutting task.

"As for army, it's a bit of an exaggeration," he continues with a shrug. "Twenty or so? Probably mostly human and dwarf, never got close enough to see any different."

Aut

When Zindra mentions giants, Aut calls over from his watchman patrol. "I saw a young fire giant just the other day, not too far from here. Digging around for something." He shrugs, then goes back to looking outward.

Jaliera

"Quite a while ago we were in a town that was raided by a mix of giants, hobgoblins and the like. The giants there dug up something and then ran off with it, essentially sacrificing their comrades as they did."

She Muses.

"Interesting.."

Zindra

"Hmmmm. In what direction was that? There is something going on with the giants and that has some folks worried. We're trying to find out what that is."

She continued to chat politely with their hosts but after a short while she says, "We need to get back to our camp. Our watch is ending soon and we need our sleep, as I'm sure you do. It is good to have met you and befriended you."

She bowed her head and added a prayer, "We pray that your sight be straight and your aim will be true, we pray that the game you pursue will feel no pain, we thank you Old Father Silvanus for this land where we hunt, we thank you for the sights from where we stand, we pray for your safety, and one and all.”

Then, turning to Jaliera and Bern she asks, "Are you ready?"

Aut

The watchman grunts in response to Zindra's question, gesturing to the south. "Hills by the river down there," he answers succinctly.

Skorr

The leader adds, "That was the one we saw, but we've heard of that happening at least one other place," he adds, gesturing toward the east. "No attack, just digging. Probably related but..." he shrugs.

As the party aims to depart, the watchman calls out an unintelligible word, and the crag cat approaches within the dim light of the fire, where she is tossed a large piece of raw elk meat to distract her.

<Bern>

He acknowledges their help with a nod, and then turns to head back to their camp with the others.

Jaliera

"That was scary."

For the first time in a while, she starts to relax.

"But they turned out to be nice in the end. I'm ready for my bed, don't know about you too?"

Arus
(in the Tiny Hut)

He crouches next to the hole, mirroring Kriv's curiosity. But ultimately they are in the wild and if the hut is equally as large below ground as it is above, they're probably room-sharing with a menagerie of small furry animals and creepy-crawlies.

"Convenient chamber pot?" Arus suggests to the dragonborn.