Luke says to Thir: "I'd heard people say the dwarves were the toughest people anywhere, but now I believe everything I've heard.

"That was amazing back there, what you did against the humongous spider.  You had those glowing signs hanging in the air, and they just seemed to take its strength away once everybody started hitting it, or throwing things at it.  Nice shot at the end too, when you broke its head with your hammer.

"Anyway, if you'd be willing to help, me and Brent are looking for a weapon that can help us kill the Dracolich.  I was told about it by an Oracle of Heironeous, which is enough for me to trust that it's really there and it can really do the job.

"I'm going to kill the Dracolich or die trying, and I think if we had a dwarf or two with us" (glancing at Brenna) "we might actually manage to kill it, even though the knights and clerics of Shattered Bridge seem to have failed."

((Also, OOC, I think my tactics in the big fight yesterday were pretty frickin' terrible.  Not only at the end where I started to run away and forgot my Second Wind.  I should have been taking on the spider queen much earlier in the battle instead of messing around with the smaller spiders.  It would have been harder for her to constantly spray us with webs and poison if I'd had her marked and been hacking at her the whole time.  My bad.  Better decisions next time, I hope.))

"Hey guys don't count me out!"
Even injured, Ladron's manic personality won't let him shut up.
"I've had worse, this one time, a giant stepped on my head. But luckily I stabbed him in the foot, and still had time to relieve him of a nice gold toe-ring before I rolled away!  That giant spider got in a couple of lucky shots is all. You guys will love having me around.  Besides, I can find all the best girls in town.  Trust me we'll have fun.  Just next time, can we fight something or someone with a little more profit? I'm not saying we have to loot a king's lock-box, but it'd be nice."

((As a note, it's a game.  I felt really bad after the tpk, I felt like I kept talking everyone into continuing the fight when we really should have been running away.  Shit happens, besides, I kind of had fun building the new character and it gives me more chances to experience 4ed.  If I was kind of a bastard during the game, I apologize.  In my defence I'd been awake for over 24 hours.  I actually had to stand up to stay awake and kept losing track of what was happening in the combats.))

OG wrote on Jun 7^th, 2010 at 1:15am:

I actually had to stand up to stay awake

Well if that's not a ringing endorsement of our game...I imagine new players will be lining up to join us after reading that!

Hey, they should know what they're getting into.

Thir responds to Luke, "Aye, Moradin made our fathers out of sturdy stuff, that's for sure.  I'm glad he did, or that venom would of had me on my rear end like some of ye (looking at the halfling).  The runes helped too, I didn't spend my last 15 years chasing them 'round for nothing."

"I'll admit that all of ye seem to have a fair sense of how to fight a battle as well.  I had my doubts about fighting with a half-orc such as yourself (having fought a good number of orcs, ye understand), but ye pulled through in the end.  The halfling even played a good role, distracting the beast while I laid upon it with my grandfather's hammer.  It would have been a noble sacrifice for a rogue, but I'm still glad he survived."

"Now, I'm mightily worried about this dracolich I've heard speak of.  As a matter of fact, I was looking to stop it myself before it could let loose any more evil than it already has, though it would be a mighty sore time for me.  If ye know of a sword that can cut it down, I'll certainly aid ye.  I can't go home with this sort of evil hanging about in the world."

((Kyle, if you're going to write Thir with a Scottish accent, then I want to hear you speak with a Scottish accent next session!  ... please?

Dave, no apology needed as far as I'm concerned.))

((I can try, it might not be pretty though))

"I agree with Luke. It would seem all of you are capable. Between the you two dwarves, you with your god's magic and you with your unusual symbols that you call on, and you my small an agile halfling friend, we should make quite the companions."

"That is, should you all care to come with us. There are many miles ahead of us, and many steps before we can confrot the draco-lich."

"But before all this, the past few events have been hectic, what were all your names again?"

"Aye, Moradin be praised.  When first I stepped into town, I was seeking out the truth of the Dracolich, a creature that few have ever heard of let alone seen in a hundred years but to hear that you, a half-bred, an Orc...have been told by Heironeous that there is a weapon that could help to defeat it…now that’s a sign.  I’ll tell you now that I had my doubts about you Luke.  You looking…” Brenna pauses, not looking at Luke, merely shrugging her shoulder in his direction.  “Well, not human to put it plainly.  I will go with all of you to fight the Dracolich because it represents the evil that I have sworn to destroy and by Moradin and it seems Heironeous as well, we shall find and defeat it.”

“As for you, young one…”  Brenna says looking directly at him, “I see your speed and distracting tactics to be quite effective against any foe.  Raising the ire of that giant spider was not easy, she wanted you dead, no doubting that.  If you could be as distracting to that Dracolich, we’ll be sure to see Moradin’s Fist crushing down upon his spine!”

Luke shrugs.  "I like to think of myself as half-human.  Those are the people that raised me and gave me a home.  That's the part of me that's in charge. . . . Not that humans are so great either, but at least we aren't all monsters."

He turns to Ladron: "You're obviously brave, so if adventuring with us is your idea of fun, then come along.  But I should tell you now, if you ever cut a purse and then try to hide behind me, I'll hand you over to the victim."

...so we spend a few basically uneventful days doing guard duty on the south side of Holderness.  One morning, Luke shows up, looking like he's been awake for a while and perhaps not entirely sober ((see character thread)), and says to the others:

"Look, I've had enough of this f-king guard duty.  There's a monster out there somewhere, destroying whatever's left of my home town, and we should be out there too, trying to find a way to kill it.  Nobody's really watching us too closely -- we can probably get across the river and away to the north any time we want.  So let's make this our last day as guards, and get on with the real mission.  What do you say?"

Thir responds to Luke, "Aye, I've just about lost my patience with this task.  We aren't learning anything here, and that dark power in Shattered Bridge is probably digging in and getting stronger the longer we wait.  Additionally, it demeans my race to act as if I'm beholden to a human and their laws - no offence intended at yourself (he says while looking at Brent)."

Brenna smiles broadly and growls, "Now that sounds like Moradin talking through you by way of Heironeous!  Funny how those two seem to find common ground when it comes to finishing off evil things that seem to plague us!  Normally I would say that we should finish our time here but the number of helpless and now homeless people coming from that area...we've got to help them now.  Magistrate never said two weeks in a row and besides, if we take down this damnable thing we would be serving the town!  I have no problem leaving town now."

Ladron looks upbeat at hearing these words, most of the party had noticed that in the last few days, Ladron had been increasingly down.

"Yeah, lets move on.  These people are all poor and stuff, and the guards in town don't want to play cards with me any more, I can't imagine why."

"Yes, that sounds a fine idea. But where do we progress from here? There my be information at my family's personal library on our estate but that may cause problems given the current arms race and my leaving with the family sword."

Luke: "You really think there'll be anything in there?  Is your family's library that great?

"I figure the best thing might be to head to Krys -- or maybe to Farwatch, but Krys is a lot closer to here.  Anyhow, we go to a city that's close to the sunken kingdom, and we look for information there.  That's where you'd expect to find books, histories, maps, whatever -- people whose families came from the sunken kingdom before it sunk . . . maybe people who know their way around and who could guide us . . . maybe a temple of Heironeous with some old records.  The lord of Redbay was supposed to be a paladin of Heironeous, and this weapon I'm supposed to find was connected with him.

"Now Thir, you've been all around the coast, right?  So if you have any ideas about what to do, let's hear them.  But if not, why don't we just find ourselves a caravan or something going to Krys, and sign up as guards to get a ride there."

Brenna, quite far from her homelands, thought she heard of a temple to Moradin in the area and prays silently to Moradin in the hopes he will guide her to it.

"I know nothing of this sunken city nor do I know what books are contained within your family's library.  If we need to find the sword, then let us go there first, I am most certain that Moradin will help to guide us towards that end.  Every warrior knows that his weapon, regardless if it is steel or the mind that the correct one must be selected to win any battle."

"The caravan may seem like a likely choice but then word of our departure or our inquiries will get back to the magistrate and the city that we seek to leave.  I know we will serve our time, despite the heavy handedness with which the law seems to move its weight but I think a quieter departure would be better."

"You might be right.  Don't know how much the magistrate is going to know or care who signs on as a caravan guard leaving town . . . but if we want to leave as quietly as possible, then I guess we just walk straight out of town towards the north and hope to hitch a ride with someone after that.

"The harder question I think is -- Krys, or Farwatch?  I know pretty much bugger-all about either place except what I've seen on a map.  But it looks to me like Krys is closer to here, but Farwatch is closer to the actual sunken kingdom.  With Krys you've got some sort of enchanted elven forest between that and the sunken kingdom, and none of us are elves."

Luke pauses and looks away from the group, hiding emotion.  With a sigh he continues:

"So maybe we go to Farwatch.  The route to there goes through Hilderbrand.  I think Hilderbrand is where most of the traffic from here goes anyway.  We make our way to Farwatch, then we're on the coast fairly near the sunken kingdom, and we try to find an old map or something that can tell us where to go from there.

"I was told to go to a place called Redbay.  By the name of it, it sounds like it should have been on the coast.  Farwatch is on the coast too, Krys is pretty far from it.  So basically, without actually knowing much, I think we should go to Farwatch."

Ladron brightens up.
"If you guys want to get out of town quietly, or in a hurry, that's my specialty.  Quietly, we sneak out of the windows of the inn in the middle of the night and make for the woods for at least two days.  Most search parties lose interest after thier last warm meal becomes fertilizer.  If you want a hurry, I could arrange for transport, free of charge.  Don't knock it, riding's easier than walking and it cuts down on the horses available for the posse.  And if you want to come back this way, don't worry, memory and wanted posters fade after a couple months.

"No matter where we head though, could we avoid the barbarian lands?  They don't take as much stock in money or material goods (HEATHENS!) and they do tend to get very upset over missing horses."

"I beileve heading towards the elves sounds the best plan. Besides, I could learn a bit more about Gregor Venyrth from the elves as he did back them after the dark invasion and lost much because of it."

Joseph thinks for a moment, "But I do not wish to force my own opinions on anyone."

Luke, looking at Ladron: "Okay, first, I am never going to want a horse from you.  Second, you really think we need to hide out in the woods for two days just to avoid doing a few more days of guard duty after which we'd be free anyway?  Let's just start heading north right after we're done with our shift as guards later today.  They won't know we're gone until next morning, and how much trouble are they actually going to go through to catch us?  It's not like we're escaping from the king's dungeons here."

To Brent and the rest: "I don't want to force my opinions on anyone either.  I'll go whichever way the rest of you think we should go."

Brenna, looking directly at Ladron, says ,"We are not, repeat, not taking/borrowing any transportation.  We will not be sneaking out of any windows either.  When I leave the inn, it will be in front of all to see BUT I am not going to make a spectacle of myself as I do just that, walk out.  Imagine that we leave and the inn keeper or someone notices that we did not in fact, go to work the next day.  Anyone who asked him would say they saw us go up butnever come down.  Too much to notice in such a little place as this.

As for the plainsmen or the elves, I truly am not sure 'bout either of them.  I think Hildebrand be the best way of it, as I am told it is much bigger and would have more information or at least more likely to have more to look at."

She closes the last strap on her backpack, and slinging it over her shoulder, moves around a bit, feeling the weight and making sure it does not unbalance her as she moves.  Satisfied, she takes it off and puts it just a few steps away from the door.

Her Mordenkrad Hammer, almost her height at just over four feet, had a dull shine to it as she secured the length of silk, braided rope to her wrist.  She looks to Ladron and her pack every now and then, wondering if the little cutpurse might be thinking of going through it.  Neverrr she thinks in her head...no thief would mess with a messenger of Moradin, Hells no, they'd no better to mess with a dwarf!  She smiles and listens to the rest of the group talking.

"Luke, ummm, where did you hear about this weapon you're supposed to find?  Not doubting you but I seen more than my share of the Fey creatures that would mess with your head if they get the chance...If you had said so before, forgive me for asking you to repeat it to us."

Brenna sits down, pulling her cloak about her, just relaxing & waiting to hear about it.

Luke: "It's a fair question.  Everything I know about this comes from an Oracle of Heironeous.  She's someone I used to know and trust when I lived in Shattered Bridge.  Then I left and became, I guess, an adventurer.  A while ago I was in Brix and talked to a church official there, and I learned that she had become an Oracle.  Since then, I've seen her a few times -- just a few -- in dreams and visions.  They feel different from regular dreams because . . . well, maybe you'd know what it's like since you're a cleric, though I don't know if Moradin has Oracles or sends you dreams or anything.

"Part of the reason I feel like I can trust these visions, like I'm not just going crazy, is that I have a little bit of a connection to Heironeous myself.  Nowhere near as powerful as you or Thir, but I can do a little healing magic by the grace of Heironeous.  Actually, I used that on Thir the other day, when we were in a tight spot against the spiders.  The point is, I have pretty good reason to believe what I'm seeing.

"And something connected to Heironeous just, I guess, feels different than some spirit trying to trick me.  Or it did last time, anyway.  I was talking to this dryad and I guess it read my mind and showed me a vision that was supposed to look like my old friend who became the Oracle.  And then the real Oracle blasted in there and took over, and it was just . . . not the same thing at all, you know?

"Anyway, I don't really talk about this stuff much, but that's why I'm looking for this weapon."

((It occurs to me that folks are very interested in finding out the location of the watchtower before you set off. Which seems fair enough, actually it sounds a lot like a fairly complex skill challenge. Huzzah! Lets us suppose that this is very complex challenge and you can each contemplate which skills you might use to meet the requirements. Each skill roll may require some explanation or even end up including rp and/or sub challenges. I think that we can look forward to this on Saturday to start things off.))

"I'll go whichever way you wish Luke because as I told you before, you have my sword arm for as long as you have need of it."

((Uh, I hate to sound stupid, but, what watchtower? Is there a watchtower in the town or is that where the sword is hidden? Was that somewhere in the posts that I've missed?))

Ladron looks a little hurt.
"So you guys are thinking about skipping out on the law, but you don't want my advice? That guy told us to do this instead of jail, and if you all want to skip out, I'm for it, but don't go fooling yourselves that the magistrate guy is gonna be all like,

'Why those pesky kids, I go and give them a second chance to enjoy my town and eat good food and see the sunlight, instead of finding a hole covered by iron bars to throw them in so they can consider thier debt to society and they go and run off. Well, boys will be boys. I'll just forget the whole thing.'

I'll bet it'll sound a little more like,

'Find those scum, teach them a lesson and we'll chain up whatever pieces you bring back. I'll buy the first drink to the one who spots them.'

I mean if you're gonna participate in chicanery, at least be honest about being dishonest."

"By the way, count me in for treaure hoards containing magic swords. If there's an undead dragon around, I'll cut his head off and sell it to the highest bidder!"

Thir gives his input to the conversation: "Hildebrand may be a large city and all, but Krys is where the true knowledge will lie.  Many generations of humans will have passed since the fall of the Kingdom into the marsh.  Few generations of elves will have passed, and I know how they value their history."

"And as much as I disagree with most things that pass a rogue's mouth, I think that we should be as discrete as possible in our departure.  I would not be surprised if a guard detail had been arranged to keep an eye on our famous friend 'Brent' here to make sure he lived up to his arrangement".

hewhorocks wrote on May 24^th, 2010 at 8:50pm:

“ If you plan to confront the Awakened one you will need one of the ancient weapons of the order. Travel to the sunken kingdom. The Lord of the watchtower at Redbay was a Paladin of Heironeous from Westhold. Centuries ago when the kingdom sank into the great northern marsh the village was destroyed and all of its inhabitants perished. I can sense the weapon remains in the lost ruins of that town. Only with a weapon such as this can you hope to endure against the Awakened beast.”

hewhorocks wrote on May 31^st, 2010 at 6:38pm:

While some popular stories exist regarding the sunken kingdom the Village of Redbay doesn't appear in any that are commonly told. Redbay and its watchtower are likely somewhere in the vast swamp. It is doubtful it was much more than an outpost before those lands fell into the sea.

((Well I have no issues with advancing the storyline a fortnight until after "guard duty"  and putting off the skill challenge until you reach Krys. The question would then be "North through the Long forest and along the caravan route or North west across the the Sea of Grass?

Somethings to consider:

hewhorocks wrote on Feb 24^th, 2010 at 5:55pm:

One tale of interest is the story of a cowherd who learned from a Sheppard that a caravan master encountered a fire-cloud dragon in the Long wood. Apparently the beast, some 80 hands tall had demanded tribute to pass the woods and then ate the oxen pulling the cart after tribute was dully paid! The story brought a smile to Aerandis.  80 hands would almost have to  be an ancient  and Ancients would know better than to travel so close to Eytherash'ana and would not settle for Oxen in any case.  20 hands I could believe. Still the Athem’eliat (Green dragon) have not been far enough  west in the woods to harass caravans in a tree’s age.

So theres that.

"If Krys has a better quality of information by all means let us go there.  If you are sure, I will follow your lead.  I have spent a fair amount of time above ground and in the world but have not interacted with so many..." she pauses awkwardly, doing her best to articulate he intention, "Other races than my fellow dwarves.  I am getting used to meeting different people but my knowledge of your cities and way of life is quite different than what I am used to at home.  Perhaps traveling directly to this watchtower may prove the best and most direct route, since this Oracle has given you your path.  The only reason we would seek out more information is about any who might be there to try and stop us, local goblins or Orcs..." she says with a bit of venom.  "If it has been there so long, disturbing the locals may be called for but it is always better to know your enemies.  How far are the tower and Krys from one another?"

"As for the law and serving out our punishment.  The magistrate and his ilk have no respect for true justice nor do they have much honor.  I am completing the terms of "service" by ending this Draocolich by way of a weapon and my new companions.  If the magistrate has no sense to see good being done then he and any who try may challenge my honor at their peril."  Brenna's hand instinctively tightens around the handle of the Mordenkrad and a soft glow emanates from her armor or rather from beneath it.  Her eyes while not aglow are slightly wide and her body is quite tense, despite her sitting on the floor.

Quickly realizing the others again, the glow fades away and apeaking a bit more calmly, further states, "You are correct Ladron that the Magistrate may indeed seek us out in the manner you spoke of, without asking for an explanation.  To cause that one or this city grief by procuring some horses...by any means or to walk out blatantly ignoring our current task, no matter how wrong it was given to us..." she pauses, her face getting redder as she speaks about their sentencing.  "If asked, I will tell them we are working north? of town is it, to deal with a creature that is causing some people problems.  They know of the spiders we defeated, they need not know that the creature is the Dracolich nor that we will not be working in town these next few days.  It is afterall the magistrate who bade us to protect the citizens.  We are doing that in an indirect manner."

Looking at Ladron, she finishes by saying, "Now that is how to speak the truth.  No honor is lost, our oaths will be fulfilled to this city and we may find a powerful weapon to fight with...well Luke will but, well, you understand my meaning.  We should get some rest and talk again once we get on the road."

Luke says: "I have to admit I think Ladron's got a point about not just walking straight out of the city.  I still think the city guards probably wouldn't go to the trouble of tracking us down -- but I'd hate to be wrong, and what if Brent's being watched?  And I don't want to kill or hurt any of them, which might happen if they tracked us down and we had to defend ourselves.  I still feel pretty bad about that guy in the bar -- I was really just trying to smash his face.

"But I don't want to go hide in the woods just to avoid the rest of our guard duty -- besides, they might find us if we did that, too.

"I don't know . . . I see what you're saying too, Brenna, and I know I started this off by saying we should get the hell out of here, but maybe we should just see this guard duty through.

"Anyway, Thir's got a good point about Krys, so I agree we should go there.

"As for how to get there . . . Brent and me were traveling for a while with an elf from the Long Wood, and he um, he mentioned one time that he'd heard news that some dragons were attacking caravans on the route through there.  So I guess that's a reason to maybe not take that route, and go through the Sea of Grass instead.  On the other hand, we are on a mission to fight a dracolich, so maybe we should risk going through the Long Wood and hope any dragons we meet are small enough that we can kill them.  I don't know."

"That is true, I could be watched by any number of people. Be it by the city gaurd, the men of Grable or my own father's men. Considering that it may be harder to simply walk out."

Joseph thinks for a moment, "In regards to which path we should take, I say the fastest. The caravan route may have dragons but, although they would be no draco-lich, they will give us good experience in fighting the flying beasts."

"I say the caravan route. I've already said how I feel about the barbarian plainsmen. People along the route are much more fun, and besides, you said you're not sure where this place is right? Meeting new people and hearing thier stories are a good place to start. The carnivals and caravans hold the real history, libraries are just where some guy who happened to know how to write stored some stuff he heard someone else say. I say go right to the source and ask people about thier myths and legends. A good bard in a traveling company would hold his own against any tome I figure. If you want to know where to find deer dung, find a plainsman. If you want a good legend, find a caravan.

"So many points of view.  I have learned that the best strategy is the one that will do as many things as possible while still having options within those choices.  So it seems by what has been said, we stay a few more days until our sentence is completed.  I have a few rituals and items that I require before we move forth, while also learning about which caravans and groups are heading in that direction of Krys.  Our duties finished, we can leave without having any issues here and can take our time as we take the road to Krys. 

Also, we might find that guard duty and possibly a foe that would prove useful.  A dragon is nothing to be taken lightly (afterall it's in the name of the game...had to do an Order of the Stick aside...) but I think that we can take on an adult...." she says smiling.