Two Days on the Trail
Posted on Wed Jun 26th, 2024 @ 11:06pm by Dungeon Master God-Emperor Taral & Fighter (Level 2) Jaene of Saint Clair & Priest (Level 2) Alden Mourningstar & Wizard (Level 2) Galen Inani & Wizard (Level 2) Hope Divari & Priest (Level 2) Leslie Aryz & Thief (Level 2) Jandon Sunbranch & Thief (Level 2) Alicea of Reneau
Mission:
The Missing
Location: Between Fairfell and Clearcoast
Introductions had been made and the journey to Clearcoast had begun. The Pegasus Knight had told them it would take two days if they followed the river road but Alden decided to study a map more closely. He was no geographer but he understood the wilds better than average, and lo and behold he identified trails that would cut their journey down by a few hours. Better yet, there appeared to be a little hamlet, a logging town deep in the woods, that might put them up for the night. If they took the trail and weren't delayed too much, they'd reach the town just after sunset, sleep in relative comfort, and then reach Clearcoast by the next sunset.
Leslie, being who she was, was speaking loud enough to wake the damned, or so Alicea thought as they had set out on the journey. Being in a large group, the redhead had apparently decided that no one in their right mind would set upon a group of six that were clearly together and armed. Perhaps it was the fight against the harpy that she and Galen had nearly taken on their own, or just that she didn't care, but she was alternately walking backwards and forwards in the same direction as she tried to engage in conversation, "You know, this adventuring thing is going to make us ALL wealthy!" she stated loudly to the group, "Which means that I can give my tithe to the Order and Bahamut and STILL be able to afford all the good things I want!"
Galen shook his head as the word "still" seemed to physically crash in one ear, through his skull and rocket out the other. It occurred to him, several times in fact over the past two days, that he'd been removed from civilization for quite a while. He'd gotten used to the gentle sounds of nature around him. The occasional howl of a wild beast, or screech of a bird would sometimes break the silence, but he forgave those intrusions, as he knew the creatures had their reasons. He could not, for the life of him, comprehend Leslie's reason.
Then again, he thought, perhaps I'm guilty of being too quiet in their eyes.
"Wealth is only so useful," Galen mused. "Excessive gold weighs you down as much as it may seem to set you free. Birds carry no gold, and they fly. There's something to be said for that."
"You make a good point," said Alden. "But on the other hand, the tools of our trades often cost money. The world provides food, but gold turns into hot, tasty food. You can sleep anywhere, but coins can be traded for a warm bed and a roof. Plus I've been really eyeing some new toolkits."
"You would be surprised what the world can provide if you allow it," Galen said.
Jandon was just walking along, his small pack in his back. He was letting everyone else speak, so he could see if he could determine what kind of people they were. Before they had left the town, Jandon had gathered his gear, donned his armor and stowed his good clothes.
Jandon had wanted to agree that money was important. Mostly for how he was continuing his mentors way of supporting an orphanage. That place was his reason to be out here.
"Heehee, Alicea, stop!"
Bringing up the rear were the two Genasi, one of which was getting increasingly handsy with the other. The victim was protesting through giggles. "We'll never make it to the logging town if you keep this up!" she got out between more laughs.
Alicea had one hand within the clothes of Jaene, obviously doing something intended to titillate the other one, "Would that really be a bad thing? We could be a bit late and have some fun along the way." She'd leaned in to also plant a kiss on Jaene's neck with a laugh of her own.
Leslie had missed the antics of the Genasi at the rear, being at the head of the group. "There's no such thing as too much gold! Sure, you may need to stash some in a safe place, maybe even a bank if you get desperate enough, but there's never such a thing as too much." It was one of the tenets of her faith, this thought of wealth, after all, what dragon refused GOLD? "And Alden, you're right, the luxuries of life really do revolve around gold, but there are some ways of warming a bed that doesn't require it." Her voice became much more sultry for her last sentence.
"And I don't mind those other ways either," he quipped back with a wink.
"Be quiet," Galen suddenly said, raising his voice just enough to be heard over the others' antics. He stopped moving and became as still as the trees around them. He looked around, trying to figure out what was out of place. "I heard....something..."
"Agreed." Jandon put a hand on the hilt of his rapier and withdrew it. His free hand pulled a dagger. His rapier began to sound softly, just a light chirping, akin to a bird. It also vibrated. "Feels like trouble."
"It is difficult to determine where the trouble is with so much chatter," Galen said, somewhat irritated he couldn't place the sound. He looked at his companions, seeing the look of recognition in some of their eyes. "You all heard it as well?"
The Rogue and the Druid had both heard it too and stopped in their tracks. Some kind of noise. Some kind of scuffle. A fight maybe? They couldn't tell.
"It's this way," said Alden, pointing.
Leslie had opened her mouth to continue on about things that could be purchased by coin, but something stopped her and she spun from her spot in front and towards where Alden pointed, listening closely. There was definitely something going on there and from the sounds of it... Her fists clenched as she tried to relax her body for what was looking like would be a fight.
But it was not a fight. It was in fact a small Tiefling Warlock, who had apparently been trailing them.
"Good day, traveler," Alden said. "Apologies, we heard you coming and thought you might've been trouble. What can we do for you?"
Hope held her empty hands out to her sides, palms up, a peaceful gesture. "Apologies if I caused distress." The tiefling bowed her head, horns dipping, and gave the group a friendly smile that did not show her teeth. She appeared relaxed, except for the way her tail curled nervously around her left leg. "I was in the Fairfell town square when the Pegasus Knight spoke with you about the kidnapped children. My name is Hope Divari. I want to join you."
"Of course," Alden said, on behalf of the group that he had apparently become de facto leader of. "I expect we will need all the help we can get once we get to Clearcoast. Especially if two of our party can't keep up." He turned his head and called back toward the trail behind them where he knew their two Genasi friends had fallen behind. Again.
Galen looked Alden over appraisingly, his respect for his new fellow traveler going up. He'd met Tieflings in the past. Some lived up to their reputations, some he was able to work with, but he knew their tendency for being alone, and being ostracized. While he wasn't the most trusting of humans, he was impressed with Alden's attitude.
Jaene caught up. "Sorry. We found an herb I wanted to look at. Yeah. Wasn't worth collecting though. So I don't have an herb to show you for evidence. Sorry."
Having barely heard him, Alicea skipped along to catch up, but didn't show a hint that she'd heard anything he'd said, "Didn't want Jaene to be in the woods alone, bad place to be by one's self, don't you think?"
"Yes, those wild herbs could attack at any moment," Galen said, dryly.
"Alright, alright," Alden said. "There's a village this way, which we should get to by sundown. They should have lodging for us. Let's keep going. Welcome to the party, Warlock Divari."
Leslie had watched the new arrival with great interest until that one word had come out of her mouth: Warlock. Her mouth went dry just as her hand had come up to greet Hope with a handshake, but dropped as her lips quivered in abject terror, "Oh Bahamut... A warlock? It's not infectious is it? What are the side effects, we're not going to die from Warlockism, are we? What are the symptoms?"
Hope studied the leader of this band more closely. She had not identified herself as a Warlock, and yet he knew. She turned to his companion who seemed nervous about his revelation. "My being a Warlock is not contagious, I swear." Hope put her right hand over her heart, displaying Snaga - currently in the form of a bracelet.
The voices of this woman and the leader, and the two Genasi seemed familiar, but… she did not recognize them. "Please, just call me Hope. And you are…?" she asked, hoping each of them would introduce themselves.
“Leslie Aryz.” The redhead monk reached out after considering the words of Hope to and tentatively shook her hand before withdrawing quickly and concentrating for a few seconds, coming away not quite satisfied with her conclusion, but not overly troubled
Alicea came forward and with the starting on her back and the flute in her belt, it was obvious what she was. She gave a flourish of a curtsey-bow with a bright smile on her face, “Alicea, as you can no doubt tell, a not-so-humble bard. It’s a pleasure to meet you Hope, I’m sorry we left without you.” She was turning up the charm for the newcomer. As she started to recover from the curtsy, her boot hit a root coming from the ground and she had to steady herself against Jaene to keep from falling, but the smile remained.
The tiny halfling smile. "Jandon. " was all he said.
"A pleasure to meet you, Leslie, Alicea, and uh," the other Genasi had not introduced herself, but Alicea had called her by name, "Jaene. And a pleasure it is to meet you, Jandon." Hadn't she heard that halflings were verbose and gregarious? And yet, Hope knew better than to judge an individual by the reputations of their race, being that she herself was a tiefling.
Hope turned her attention to the two human men. Perhaps she had been wrong to assume the man who'd greeted her initially was the leader. It seemed more likely to be Leslie. "May I know your name?" she asked the scruffy-bearded human. Then she turned toward the human man with a kind face and simple clothing. "And yours?"
"Sorry about that," Alden said. "Alden Mourningstar of the Circle of Blossoms."
Galen inclined his head. "Galen Inani," he said. He cupped one hand over the other and closed his eyes. When he opened his hands, he held a small flower as blue as she was. "A pleasure to meet you," he said, offering it to her. The flower trembled in the breeze then burst into a puff of blue pollen and blew away. He sighed quietly to himself and then quickly hid his hands inside his robes as they turned a similar shade of blue.
Hope leaned in closer to get a better look at what Galen had in his hands, then gasped when he opened them to reveal the tiny, delicate flower, blue like her. "It's beautiful," she said, just as it burst into a small blue cloud that surprised her so she failed to notice his blue hands. "Thank you, Galen, that was an exquisitely sweet welcome." Blushing an odd shade of purple, Hope resumed the trek with this new group of adventurers.
And they were on their way. With luck, they’d reach the camp before nightfall and make Clearcoast by the end of the next day….
Check Results:
Alden Survival check (Advantage):
19 (discarded 14) + 5 = 24
Everyone Perception checks:
Alden: 13 + 5 = 18
Leslie: 5 + 2 = 7
Jandon: 10+0=10
Galen: 10 + 1 = 11
Kaylia: 7 -1 = 6
Jaene: 4 + 4 = 8
Alicea: 9 + 0 = 9
Leslie Flirting with Alden
18 + 3 = 21
Leslie Perception Check To See If She Misses Alden's Pointing Out Noise
20 + 2 = 22
The Genasi noticing Alden's loud comment:
Jaene: 6 + 4 = 10
Alicea: 10 + 0 = 10
Jaene Deception/Performance (same bonus):
11 + 1 = 12
Alicea Deception/Performance:
11 + 4 = 15
Leslie Religion Check (Disadvantage)
17 + 3 = 20 (Discard)
1 + 3 = 4 (Keep, Natural One)
Hope Insight Check to see if she knows why the voices of Alden, Leslie, Jaene, and Alicea sound familiar (she was staying in the room next door the previous night/that morning)
6 + 1 = 7
Leslie Intelligence Check
10 + 2 = 12
Leslie (Mental) Constitution Check
10 + 0 = 10
Alicea Charisma roll:
4 + 2 = 6
Galen Charisma roll:
2 + 3 = 5
