DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Fantasy RRL: Rise of the Rune Lords - Burnt Offerings RRL: The Boar Hunt

Those that choose to rise early for the boar hunt that they have all been invited to, see the common room of The Rusty Dragon busseling. Plates of hot food are bring carried from the kitchen and set down in front of patrons. At the same table, though dressed in a clean nice almost new blue jacket is the nobleman whom Cat had spoken. too. Those who hadn't seen him the night before met with him, and he offered a beaming smile. He is happy to have had their help, and each person (PC) of their little group is offered 5 PP (50 GP) with a sincere thank you.

Whether or not they agree to go on the boar hunt, which he says will be "great fun", he buys each of them a hearty breakfast of their choice.

The waitress will arrange tables as needed to accommodate all of you. Alex the nobleman says "beyond the payment for my rescue, the invitation to the boar hunt, which will be "great fun", I am treating you all to a champion's breakfast. As far as the hunt goes, I have taken the liberty of arranging for horses to be available, in case you don't have one, or prefer let yours rest. Nothing will be left to chance, fun will be had!"

Coral


"Hello," Coral introduced herself as she approached the nobleman, "I am Coral."

She took a seat opposite him. "Thank you for the invitation to this boar hunt," she added. "It is most kind of you."

She accepted the offer of the coins. "Thank you." "I shall go on the hunt and thank you for the offer of a horse for it."

Aendell

He rises before the sun and performs his prayers, perhaps with a bit more fervor than usual. With a final sigh, he washes and dresses and heads down for a meal. He nods greetings to those already present and introduces himself to Alex. "I am Aendell, and yes, I would prefer to allow my horse to rest so I will gladly accept your offer." Besides, he knows how dangerous Boar hunts can be and doesn't want to risk endangering his mount.

Zak:

“I am Zakergillian. And while I am not sure my chosen weapon is of much use in hunting a boar, nonetheless, I am here. I accept your coin in the spirit with which it was given.”

Selaim

She woke up the next morning later than normal. Maybe it was the previous day's events or the late evening. After checking on the rest of the group she rushes to the common room to join the group. At hearing something about boars and money her ears perked up and she joins the group not knowing what to expect.

"Ah good" the nobleman in the blue coat says as she enters the common room. "Another of my saviors. As I promised to your erstwhile companion Catalena 50 GP on behalf of saving my hide." Though his tone is humorous the stack of five platinum pieces he sets in front of Seliam isn't a joke.

"Eat up, then if you want join us for a boar hunt in The Tickwood forest just north of town."

Coral

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, she ate up her breakfast.

Catalena

Catalena had somehow managed to awaken early enough to report for duty and make the case for being allowed outside Sandpoint and her usual patrol for the day. Surprisingly, she'd been successful and she did not feel like it was her imagination that the men of the Guard seemed to greet her more warmly than they'd done so for the past couple of months. Sheriff Hemlock had even smiled again, which unnerved her hangover state, as he wished her good luck in protecting the high-profile guest of the town.

She returned to the Rusty Dragon and enjoyed a second breakfast before heading out to the provided mounts.

Not a particularly skilled horsewoman. Like most Varisians, she had grown up walking amongst or riding within the colored wagons. But at times she could have a way with animals.

She greeted Daverin Hosk at his Goblin Squash Stables nearby on Market Street. He'd been contracted by Lord Foxglove for the outing.

"You all had done a good job on those filthy goblins," Hosk commended her. "I only heard about it after but if I was there, I'd be taking care of them right along side you and that's a fact."

He jerked his thumb up toward the row of severed long, green goblin ears nailed along the stable's rafter. "Add to my collection, you know."

Catalena raised her eyebrow at the grim decorations. "Well, hopefully no goblins in the Tickwood today, only boars and I suppose whatever passengers they'll carry. I'll need a bath tonight."

She surveyed the line of horses until landing upon a cream-colored mare who stamped her hoof.

"She's pretty," she commented to Daverin. "What's her name?"

"Oh, that's Maeve," he answered, with a skeptical tone to his voice. "She's right ornery lately. Don't know what burr's under her blanket. Maybe... maybe let one of the men choose her." He gestured to a brown pony. "See, Nosey over here is gentle as a lamb."

"The men?" Catalena chuckled. "I think that pony shall serve my gnome friend best. No, let's see if Maeve and I can come to an understanding."

She approached gently, offering out a raised palm toward the flank of the mare's nose, while singing a gentle song in Elvish.

Catalena
Perform: cast Beast Friend on Maeve the horse, with extended Duration
Vryx rolled d8,d6 and got 5, 1
So a 5, Success
A horse is Size 2, 30 minute duration is a +1, so spend is 3 PP's. Can be maintained by spending 1 PP per half-hour.

Selaim

Not knowing what to expect looks over the breakfast laid out and gets herself a plate. Joining Aendell she nibbles at some finger food.

"Have you ever hunted boars before? Why do we need horses for that?"

Aendell

"Yes", he nods. "Hunting large animals was one of the required trainings at the Paladinate." He takes a bite of ham, and smiles slightly at the irony. "As for why horses, two reasons. First, boars run as fast as horses do. We would never catch one on foot. Second, boars are mean and nasty things. They will charge as often as they try to run away, especially if it is a mother with younglings. They have tusks that can rip you open from groin to shoulder in a flash. Better to be on a horse to help keep you away from those."

Aldern gladly buys each character their mount from Goblin Squash Stables, then eagerly leads them and his three menservants west over Tanner’s Bridge and along the southern banks of the Turandarok River.

It’s a mile-and-a-half ride to Tickwood Forest, just north of the upthrust limestone escarpment known as the Devil’s Platter. Despite its ominous name, Tickwood is actually a relatively safe woodland. It is well known to be the home of wild boars, deer, large cats, and the rare giant ticks for which the wood is named—but no goblin tribes dwell within its boundaries.

Those who know the area expect the ride to Tickwood to take about half an hour.

Aldren talks almost nonstop the entire ride. It is clear that he enjoys being on horseback and out in the wilds. A consummate outdoorsman, he engages each of them as a very charming conversationalist. He seems well-read and has a seemingly endless cache of stories.

Though he is happy to talk about himself, he uses the little pieces of the stories he tells to elicit details from his saviors. He seems genuinely interested in each of them and the lives they have lived. He asks pertinent questions and tries to get each of them to tell him a bit about themselves.

[OOC: Feel free to offer or establish whatever details you would like about your characters, now is a good time.]

Catalena

Catalena rode the now cooperative Maeve in a style not so much as leading the mare with heel and rein but more or less as if the horse had chosen the path herself and the woman rode along as if a favored guest. Her loose grip betrayed her amateurism but she seemed comfortable and secure enough on the saddle.

At Aldern's anecdotes, she was dutifully delighted, laughing ringingly at his bon mots, her eyes twinkling. Though their worlds were far apart, she found that she did not have to feign pleasure in his company. He did not speak down to her and his joyous interest in road and track was genuine and mirrored her own.

She was happy to play second fiddle when he was deep into a tale, merely asking pertinent questions and enhancing the setups to each amusing conclusion. Never one to miss a chance at an eager audience herself, she nonetheless found herself a bit restrained, merely shyly hinting at her own stories for some reason. While he would learn how since infancy, she had traveled the length and breadth of Varisia with her people, learned the turn of the dance and the lilt of the song, she did not go into detail of the troubles she'd had when her free spirit of the road encountered the walled rigidities of the cities. Nor did she speak of her calling to follow the will of Desna away from her people to find her own truths and place in the wide world. Perhaps another time, she thought. For now, she was content not to tamper with what fate had seemingly laid out as a marvelous morning.

Coral

She rode close to Aldern, so that she could hear his tales.
Coral also eagerly listened to Catelena's tales, for she had clearly travelled much more widely than Coral had done herself.

When asked, Coral merelt related that she had been a traveller on the road for a good many years, doing odd jobs here and there. Any now her long time companion was no longer with her she was continuing to travel but now with new-found companions.

Selaim

Selaim felt like a bag of potatoes on the back of the horse. She was spending more time concentrating on staying on the beast and staying with the group that she remained quiet and heard only snippets of the tales told. After a bit she became more confident in her seat and was able to enjoy most of the stories. She stayed near Aendell as they rode feeling that he'd done something like this before.

When the conversation eventually came to her she hesitated before speaking, "I... I... was a child of the street. But Aendell helped me get away from that and now I am his ward."

"That was about it wasn't it? Without all the gory details." she thought.

Zak:

“Myself? Foundling. Abandoned on the street, brought in by a stranger, when I was barely walking. Grew up in the same orphanage as Coral and Selaim. I know Catalena well from her days in Magnimar. They treated me well enough at the orphanage, until the day Malestrum came and saw something in me and took me under his wing as an acolyte of Cayden, me having been ‘caught’ as it were reading and following his tales. So now you see the gnome I am before you. Go hither and thither breaking shackles and righting wrongs as the opportunity takes me. And sharing a drop of drink and a good tale with those who will receive it.”

Aendell

"For myself, I was sent to the Paladinate at an early age and trained in the ways of Iomedae. I have since been Blessed as a Paladin and traveled here to see the opening of the new Shrine." Simple and to the point, while leaving out his personal pain.

He rides easily, having been trained to not just ride, but to also fight on horseback. He listens to the others and nods at Selaim's comments.

Zak

“You are so much more than just a child of the street, Selaim. Never allow yourself to be limited like that. That you found yourself trapped in that situation was a crime, and I am glad he was able to aid you in extracting yourself from it.”

He says as an aside, being very careful not to remove her agency in the situation, before going back to the prattle of normal conversation.

Selaim

Deep down she appreciated the sentiment. But she knew the truth she had been what she said she was. Her thoughts drifted to her former life as they rode.

Whispering to Aendell as the rode, "Do you think I am rid of them, princeling? As in Villian and the guild."

Foxglove

He listened and offered repartee. It is clear he is used to a court rather than an orphanage. But when the collective theme came into view, he said solemnly, "I will have to make a donation to that institution. It is clear they do good work, if they prepared you for life rather than for a life of crime." He made no judgment whether they had done other things in their lives. It was clear he was happy to take them at their word. However, he didn't seem nieve. He was as they all seemed to be happy to be out on a nice day doing something he enjoyed.

Aendell

He considers then simply says, "I do not know Selaim. Were it simply an individual criminal I would say yes. But Guilds tend to have a far reach. That said, you'd think they would have more important things to do than track down a single waif? Still, I'd keep alert for a time, just to be safe."

Selaim

She nodded in acknowledgement of is words.

That was about the best she could hope for. Already she'd been seeing how things were much different than what the guild had taught her. Much different indeed.

She settled in the moment and tried to enjoy the ride as she fought to keep her seat. That and to be watchful of the main reason they were out there. Boar.

Catalena

Catalena rode along and listened to the visitors' tales of their lives. She thought on her reading from two mornings' earlier. The Forge. Bringing together disparate elements to form a whole. The orphanage brought them together and began to bond them together. This journey to Sandpoint, a new arrival, The Midwife, built those bonds closer. If they had not been there, The Cyclone, the disaster foretold might not have been held at bay. Had it been, permanently? And so far, The Tangled Briar, being caught in the transgressions of the past,had not clarified in Catalena's mind yet as to its meaning. There had been the robbery of the corpse of Ezakien Tobyn. There was also the ghost of the murdered Varisian man in the wood that Father Zantus had yet to name.

"Truly," she offered, as Lord Foxglove had made his intention known to make a donation to the orphanage, "That seems a worthy cause. These four foundlings' intertwined tales seem as if destiny is playing a hand at the beginning of an heroic epic. It is my privilege to see it with my own eyes such that I might retell it with the justice it deserves."

Foxglove

He smiles at Catalena's words and answers, "So you fancy yourself as a bit of a storyteller? I see from your colors that you hale from the traveling clans. Where have you visited before? Do you know my fair city of Maginmar?"

As they road the day got a little warmer, though to be fair, they were so close to the sea, it certainly wouldn't be considered warm by most. There is a slight breeze tousling the leaves on the boughs above them. The dappled sunlight feels good upon their backs. The events in the square might seem miles away now.

Coral


She continued to ride in silence, listening to the tales.
She pulled tighter about her, the padded green jacket she wore over her red dress. She only had two dresses - this one, and the black one of yesterday: still recovering from its splattering of green gore.

Catalena

Cat quirked an eyebrow over at Zak, behind Lord Foxglove's back, as the noble asked if she had been to Magnimar.

"Er, yes, m'lord," she replied, sunnily regaining her aplomb. "I have had the pleasure of visiting the City of Monuments several times for various lengths. As Zachergillan happened to mention, it was in fact in Magnimar that he and I became friends. I have performed throughout the city, particularly Lowcleft, and also earned my bread through the telling of fortunes, by Desna's grace."

She paused a moment, considering her words.

"In order to properly receive the gift of the Harrows' foresight, the petitioner must be willing to understand that there may be more than one path to arrive at a conceptual goal, like 'success' or 'happiness'. As mere mortals, we often, if you will pardon the unintended relevance of the current context of our location, can not see the forest when surrounded by the trees. Do you not agree? "