Book One: Chapter Five: "Veiled Trespasses"

Halcyon wrote:"Of course it is Asraelbezariel. How else could you grow to be a terrible, dread instrument of Death as She intended?"
Verity lifts the Kobold off the floor in a bear hug.
"I'd like to say you're a sight for sore eyes, but well, it is good to see you all the same." Verity sets Tulgaarnuk back down and cuffs him on the shoulder, satisfied that his sharptongue may finally be improving. "'Tis the best of Fortune you've found us. We've much to tell you."

"Yes, father. A lot can happen in a year, Tulgaarnuk." Verity offers as explanation and leaves it at that. "Meet my son Asraelbenzariel, or Azzy to his friends and relations. Azzy, say hello to your uncle Tulgaarnuk, finest trapmaker in all the Empire and a brother of the faith."

Then he tucks into the warm meal.

The Witch-King wrote:

Malazek wrote:As usual, Straegis takes watch, using that time to study. Mordax joins his vigiliance for the first half-hour, but then he too joins the others.

OOC: Just for the record, Mordax NEVER forgoes watch, and, in fact, is likely to pull two shifts. ESPECIALLY in enemy territory. Old habits, hard training, and shifty companions, dontcha' know.

The Witch-King wrote:The old fisherman looks on askance at yet another motley addition to the band of misfits. Still, a seasoned campaigner, he knows better than to question the aid of an enemy of his enemies, and tucks in for a hearty breakfast. The coffee he delights in, considering it a most divine luxury, as it was short to come by in his swampland residence.

"Me thanks fer' tha' coffee, wee lizard-thing. Such a rarity is sorely appreciated in this dank excuse fer' a hame. P'haps some day tha' gods'll take mercy on yuir countenance an' lead ye' tae a better place."

Swifthand wrote:Hound and I roll over as one, him falling into a crouching growl, while I knock, target, and pull my arrow back before the sleep is out of my eyes. Raising my eyebrow for a second, I lower my bow, and place a restraining hand on Hound.

"Vaeli, Cyl." ("Peace, Hound.")

After Verity and Mordax have their say, Davin steps forward, and with a nod, greets the Kolbold.

"Well met. My name is Davin Fletcher."

Hound and Davin then quickly eat breakfast. Davin makes sure Snorri has his fill, as well.

-Swift

151prooftattoos wrote:Vangg awakens after being kicked. He squints at the kobold and holds back an enormous smile.

"Me thought me smellethed an decayin' corpse, but it must be's ah Kobold cookin' . . ."

The dwarf rises to his feet and walks up to the kobold.

"Firsts, me stuck in da company of an Go'bins . . . now, me 'ave ta mingles w' Mucker kin? What besay ye ol' friend?"

Vangg gives his friend a hug, then walks over and grabs a mug of coffee. "Me was 'opin' ye be deads by now, so me nigh afta be ins ye ghastly companies."

Malazek wrote:

The Witch-King wrote:OOC: Just for the record, Mordax NEVER forgoes watch, and, in fact, is likely to pull two shifts. ESPECIALLY in enemy territory. Old habits, hard training, and shifty companions, dontcha' know.

OOC: Okay, gotcha. How long are his watches, then? an hour? two? ... Let me know, specifically, if/when he takes a double.

Malazek wrote:

Verity wrote:"A lot can happen in a year, Tulgaarnuk."
"Azzy, say hello to your uncle Tulgaarnuk."

Taalgarnuk bows a little, to the angel of da Queen. Then, the two shake hands.

Mordax wrote:"P'haps some day tha' gods'll take mercy on yuir countenance an' lead ye' tae a better place."

"Hmm. An' yerss, too." Taalgarnuk looks askew at Mordax, wondering if the fisherman speaks some odd dialect of the sharptongue.

Davin wrote:"Well met. My name is Davin Fletcher."

Taalgarnuk looks into Davin's rune-scarred eye, and then a broad beaming smile crosses his face; the look of gleeful revelation. "Hmm, hmm. Well, met. Ye've a sshrewd look in yer eye, Davum Flashers. Well met, well met."

Vangg wrote:"Me thought me smellethed an decayin' corpse, but it must be's ah Kobold cookin' . . ."

"Firsts, me stuck in da company of an Go'bins . . . now, me 'ave ta mingles w' Mucker kin? What besay ye ol' friend?"

Vangg gives his friend a hug, then walks over and grabs a mug of coffee. "Me was 'opin' ye be deads by now, so me nigh afta be ins ye ghastly companies."

Turning to Vangg's early morning greetin, Taalgarnuk replies "It aints me cookin'ss ye ssmell, but yer own mornin' breaths sstuck in yer beard hair whence ye ssleep. .... yets, if it wassn' fer dat sstench I'd never o' foun' ye."

Looking to Juugug momentarily, he waits fer Vangg to finish, and then goes on to explain his last comment. "Wha's wit' de jackasssery o' dat messsage ye two ssends? Me almoss' run, t'inkin' it be dwarfss tryin's ta trap me ... but I den 'member ye gots da boy wit' ya," he says, indicating Verity "an I 'member hiss ssharptongue's 'bout as dull as an ol' sspoon. Sso, I turn back. ... But dens, me way be blockedd by orkerss. Sso, me wait."

"Den, da nexst mornin's, me getss up, an' ssees da foulesst sstinkin'esst gob'in me ever sseess. I knoweth it has't be Juugug-da-vile. But he be walkin' wit' da darky elfss ... Sso, me wait. An' followss. But followin's proofss ta be hard. Had ta keepeth hidin' from all da foolss dat buy yer pretendin.' If not fer da lightss ye carry, me would o' loss' ye miless ago."

"Taketh me all day to catches up wit' ye."

Juugug sighs, but then asks. "Hideth an' followeth? How? Where? We didn' see nobody's follow us."

"Dat'ss cuzz I wass ssneakin.' Didn' ye juss' hear me ssay dat?!"

"But ..." Juugug starts, turning to Davin, and then to everybody else.

"Me hideths in a boxs. Den, me followeth's da light. Iss diss too much fer yer feeble gob'in brains?" Taalgarnuk turns to Verity and Vangg, pointing at Juugug's exasperation, "Pfft." He chuckles quietly to himself, at the Goblin's expense.

Kersh also lumbers to his feet, and over to the food. With a mouthful of food, he says "My mame's Ker'hh." With a wrinkled brow, Taalgarbuk looks around for help.

"Kersh," Azzy explains.
"Wha?" the Ogre asks, as if being called.

Juugug and Taalgarnuk laugh.

Davin wrote:Davin makes sure Snorri has his fill, as well.

Davin notices that Snorri's wrists and mouth are chaffed. Dwarves are pretty hearty, so he'll be alright (for now), but still: it can't be comfortable.
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OOC: Did we ever figure out what was traded in to get Straegis his brooch? You guys have quite a few things you wanted to trade in ... and better to trade item-for-item now than to try and sell them later.

151prooftattoos wrote:"What be o' da Temple den ye bedamned muckerkin? Ye payeth attention long 'nuff ta 'eard o' anyting or what nots? Is an Rinh bedead fer sures?"

Halcyon wrote:

Tulgaarnuk wrote:...indicating Verity "an I 'member hiss ssharptongue's 'bout as dull as an ol' sspoon. Sso, I turn back."

Verity's shoulder's sag a little but he sets his jaw, determined to master the sharptongue.*

*This will never actually happen.

Mal wrote:OOC: Did we ever figure out what was traded in to get Straegis his brooch? You guys have quite a few things you wanted to trade in ... and better to trade item-for-item now than to try and sell them later.

OCC: Here’s what we have left to trade:
• fourteen bone statuettes depicting [the Queen’ angels (worth about 250 gp each) = 3500
• a small velvet pouch holding 14 platinum coins =1400)
• A bag of mixed gems (a piece of amber, an amethyst, 2 garnets, a moonstone, a finger of jade, 2 pearls, a peridot, and a turquoise) estimated the bag to be worth about 1,000gp
• Straegis’s Adamantine Longsword (value?)
• Straegis’s Terramancer’s Cloak (which might serve Mordax well if Straegis is replacing that slot)(value?)
• Straegis’s leather armor, light shield, and 2 leatherbound tomes (value?)
• Cash: Verity-560, Mordax-200, Straegis-120, Davin-150
So we’re at 6930 (+ value?) = 10,070gp short. I did not include the Drow blades Davin is using with his disguise(1000gp) or Alex’s Alchemical Reagents (140gp).
Mal, do we need the full 17,000gp value?
Does anyone have anything else they’d like to trade in? If we end up just short I will add the Dragon Mask (2600gp).

151prooftattoos wrote:OOC: No reason to give up items you have, imo.

151prooftattoos wrote:OOC: Where is the list of the party's items? Can't seem to locate it.

Halcyon wrote:OCC: Party Items is in the Characters thread.

Malazek wrote:

Verity wrote:OCC: Here’s what we have left to trade:
• fourteen bone statuettes depicting [the Queen’ angels (worth about 250 gp each) = 3500
• a small velvet pouch holding 14 platinum coins =1400)
• A bag of mixed gems (a piece of amber, an amethyst, 2 garnets, a moonstone, a finger of jade, 2 pearls, a peridot, and a turquoise) estimated the bag to be worth about 1,000gp
• Straegis’s Adamantine Longsword (value?)
• Straegis’s Terramancer’s Cloak (which might serve Mordax well if Straegis is replacing that slot)(value?)
• Straegis’s leather armor, light shield, and 2 leatherbound tomes (value?)
• Cash: Verity-560, Mordax-200, Straegis-120, Davin-150
So we’re at 6930 (+ value?) = 10,070gp short. I did not include the Drow blades Davin is using with his disguise(1000gp) or Alex’s Alchemical Reagents (140gp).

Mal, do we need the full 17,000gp value?
Does anyone have anything else they’d like to trade in? If we end up just short I will add the Dragon Mask (2600gp).

OOC: You do need the full 17,000 (he originally asked for 34,000). The adamantine lognsword is worth 3400. The terramamancer's cloak was worth 4200. Straegis's leather armor and light shield are worth nothing. The books might fetch 1 gp a piece.

151prooftattoos wrote:OOC: No reason to give up items you have, imo.

OOC: Hehe. Except maybe he likes the brooch better.

Juugug has 3400 gold that the party gave him. He'll throw that in, if it helps.

If you decide not to get the brooch, you can seel those goods for 20% of their value, instead.

151prooftattoos wrote:OOC: Vangg has 58g if that helps

Swifthand wrote:O.O.C. - Does Straegis have the waterlogged ritual book recopied yet? That would certainly fetch some gold.

-Swift

Malazek wrote:

Vangg wrote:"What be o' da Temple den ye bedamned muckerkin? Ye payeth attention long 'nuff ta 'eard o' anyting or what nots? Is an Rinh bedead fer sures?"

"Me 'eard 'nuthin' o' da Rinh, but me aint gotss outa da da tunnelss in monthss. Ye 'eard anythin's? Me did 'earss yer bedamned former muckluvin' kinss talkin' 'bout ss'curin' da temple as a str'eegic outsposst, an' whatnotss."

macksgarageusa wrote:O.O.C.: If we want to get the other broach for party purposes, thats fine. It seems a bit expensive to me for what it does. When I first inquired about it, I think I thought it would have more of a benefit for the party. I didn't finish copying the rituals from the other book yet, would have needed more copying materials.

Malazek wrote:OOC: So, it sounds like the brooch Straegis wanted is a no go, ten?
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____

"Sso, where's diss cavalcades aheadin?"

Swifthand wrote:O.O.C. - Hey Mal, could we trade the Adamantite Longsword for an equal amount of copying materials? Then, Straegis could copy half a ritual every night while we are down here. If Straegis wants to, that is...

-Swift

Malazek wrote:

Swifthand wrote:O.O.C. - Hey Mal, could we trade the Adamantite Longsword for an equal amount of copying materials? Then, Straegis could copy half a ritual every night while we are down here. If Straegis wants to, that is...

OOC: Um, sure. Verity rolled a 42 diplomacy, so I guess that's reasonable. You can trade the Ad. sword for 3400 in scribing materials (if Straegis wants to). Regardless, I think this'll be the last retro-trade (either the brooch or the scribing costs. But let's move this along. Lawl.).

Swifthand wrote:"North." The elf replies, simply. "Are we ready to go?"

O.O.C. - Does one of you Raven Queenies explain to Taalgarnuk what we are up to while we eat? If so, I make sure to take Snorri out of earshot. Also, has the map been accurate thus far? Any other points of interest on the map?

Malazek wrote:

Davin wrote:O.O.C. - Does one of you Raven Queenies explain to Taalgarnuk what we are up to while we eat? If so, I make sure to take Snorri out of earshot.

OOC: I'll leave that decision up to Vangg and Verity.

Davin wrote:Also, has the map been accurate thus far? Any other points of interest on the map?

The map hasn't been in-accurate, but it's not very detailed, either. Some of the smaller passages apparently escaped his memory (though, he did warn you they might). So far, everything he's drawn has been about right, if not to scale.

macksgarageusa wrote:O.O.C.: Didn't want to drag this out too much longer either, but if its ok to say we swapped the Adamantine Longsword for 3400gp of copying materials, consider it done.

Straegis will spend four hours of this past night copying the first half of Arcane Lock from the mostly ruined tome of rituals to his own book.

Halcyon wrote:Once Snorri is out of earshot, Verity will give Tulgaarnuk the full story from taking revenge on the Hag Mika through besting the Kobolds traps and beyond.
"So the Dwarves seek to take the Cave Temple. Good then that we let their enemies here know the location of their troops. Hopefully they keep each other occupied while we take care of the Wise Stone."

Malazek wrote:"Hmm. De bedamned muckerss o' un'er da un'er mountain will takess mont'ss organizzze, but I betss da raiderss causses quites da ruckuss! Hehe."
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Okay, moving things along, then ...

Redressed in their disguises, the party sets out once, again; this time with a kobold addition. The desultory wall-construction of the local terrain is as shifty as the day before, and there's still not shortage of trash. In anything, there's more trash. And other refuse.

Still, there seems to be less foot-traffic today. In fact, the party has travelled four or five miles already, and they haven't seen a soul. Perhaps the denizens of the underdark don't get up this early?

But then, Davin's keen eye spots an eerily familiar light up ahead. It isn't long before the rest of the party sees it, and by then Davin can hear voices. By the sound of it, it's more Orcs. If these are the same orcs depicted on the map, then they must be the "Orcs of the Bloodshot Eye."

Perhaps this time the diguises will get the party though, without the violent debacle of the last orcish run-in. The party presses on.

DM EDIT: Updated rolls 16, (27), 14, 27

The party takes a quick headcount; the Orcs number 15. But as they draw nearer, the Orcs' conversation suddenly stops. Two of them dart east down one of the side passages, and the others turn to face the approaching lights.

Most of them look ready to fight, but the apparent leader of this group stands boldly in front, with a broad smile upon his face. Dressed in layered furs and decorated with the traingular symbol of the Orc god, Gruumsh, most of the party is able to identify him as a member of the Orcs' shamanistic clergy; the bloodsoaked bandage covering his eye gives it away (From hereforth referred to as "the Eye of Gruumsh" or EoG).

The party is still a good 50 feet from the orcs, when the EoG starts bellowing: "Ho thar, trav'llers. This here's Mardogc's road, an' t'day we're a-c'llectin' a toll; paid in gold 'r blood, don' matter. So git out yer purses, ladies."