D&D: The Warlock's Boots (NOW RECRUITING!)

[CreepersWiener]

"Firnam! What's going on here? Where's my father's book?"Sheyla asks Firnam quizzically.

Firnam relays that the fire in town was started as a diversion to relocate all available town's guardsmen and gain access to the jailhouse, meanwhile Gorlan the Bard and Cheezus the Elven Cleric share glances with each other over their mistrust in Sheyla and whether or not she is being entirely truthful over this whole matter.

After hearing the tale from Firnam, Mr. Urlag says,"We had better get moving soon, the guards will be back here any minute and we will have some explaining to do! Do you know which way he went?"Mr. Urlag asks Firnam only to hear a pained and exhausted voice coming from behind him on the floor.

"He's heading for Norule..."

The group turns around and sees Cackle sitting up and rubbing his head.

"For Night's sake! What has happened to me?" Cackle pulls out the two small stiletto shurikens from his leather chest plate, they had just made it through and the very tips had penetrated his skin. A very light wound, but that is all you need when working with poison. Cackle looks at the shurikens and gives them a toss on the floor and says,"Oh, let me guess...poison!"

Sheyla runs over to Cackle like an angry wolf, her eyes gleaming with hate. "How do you know that is where he is heading, you bastard! And how do I know that you aren't lying?"she says viciously as she grabs him by the collar of his coat and jerks him to her face.

"Ha! You don't know me very well do you, pretty one? Well, you have the bastard part right anyway, I give you kudos for observation, but don't you think I have a little knowledge when it comes to languages and codes? Your father's book seems to be mostly a notebook of sorts. The parts I could make out was something to do with The Shadow Wars and Norule Keep...an item of power perhaps? Hmm? Anyway, it stands to reason that any scum that is working for the Githarian Empire would be interested in such an item to kowtow to that Dread Wytch that is ruling that country now. And as for whether or not I am lying, you would never know...because I am just that good at it!"

"I should kill you now!"Sheyla yells and pulls out a dagger and puts it to Cackle's throat. Cackle smiles, but his body is still too weak from the poison to do anything.

"Stop!"Mr. Urlag shouts towards Sheyla."Killing him won't get your father back. As much as I hate to say it, this foul street slime will have to come with us at the moment. We may need his help on this journey..."

"But what about Firnam? He is a street slime too!"Firnam raises an eyebrow at Sheyla's clearly unintended riposte."Firnam is a million more times more trustworthy than Cackle!"

"Well, we will need all the hands we can get, Firnam should come along as well, but Cackle was able to decipher some of the book and he thinks like this Dark Dragon fellow. Okay, Cackle, up and at 'em"Mr. Urlag picks Cackle up and let's him brace himself over his shoulder.

"You do know, Mr.Urlag, that this was all just a job, I didn't mean for any of that damage to happen at your establishment. Some of the boys got out of hand, you know..."

"SHUTUP!"Cackle is cut short by Mr.Urlag's thunderous command. "Ok, let's get out of here now! We have to find out where your father was taken."

"Uh..I know the answer to that too."Cackle replies.

"Where is he, you stinking pile of goat feces!"Sheyla scolds.

"Githar would have never sent their own ship to Nyördand, as it would draw too much suspicion towards Kannith and his empire. Wytch Runners often hitch rides on Luskan Slaver Ships, but they wouldn't have harbored here in Winterhaven. The best bet is that those Githarian bounty hunters are taking your father to Baskin's Bay as we speak."Cackle relays whatever information he has at the moment, as he really hates Dark Dragon and the Githarian Empire (even though he has taken a job or two from them).

"Then we must hurry and leave tonight!"Sheyla says urgently.

"Hey! What about me?"Firnam asks concernedly as he is still behind bars.

Sheyla quickly removes a hairpin from her hair and quickly works the lock on Firnam's jail cell.

~CLICK!~

Firnam and Cackle both look surprised, they both didn't know that Sheyla could pick locks too.

"Come on then...let's get moving!"Sheyla says as she moves towards the door.

[safariguy5]

Point of order, is the last thug recruitable? If he is, I'd like to extend an invitation to stick with us until we're all safe and then decide what he wants to do.

[CreepersWiener]

Point of order, is the last thug recruitable? If he is, I'd like to extend an invitation to stick with us until we're all safe and then decide what he wants to do.

"Duh, what about me boss?"Bremmin the Thug asks from his cell.

"Now, Bremmin, remember what I said, when I leave I will send someone from the guild to get you out, we don't have that much time before the guards come back."Cackle says.

As Cackle lies to his comrade, Alastair the Wizard comes forward,"I think it would be best if, Bremmin, came along. This venture will not be easy. We are looking at facing very well trained Githarian bounty hunters. A little extra muscle..."

"Big muscles!"Bremmin interrupts flexing a large, well defined bicep.

Alastair laughs at the interruption. Clearly Bremmin is not the brightest rogue, but his brawn seems to even things out.

"Yes, you are right, Bremmin. We could use a few big muscles to help us in dealing with the Githarians."

"Oh, very well."Cackle snaps at having his authority diminished at the moment."Hold on, Bremm. I'll get you out of there, and then you come with us, okay?"

"Duh, okay, boss!"Bremmin replies.

Cackle quickly is able to pop the lock of Bremmin's cell and another member is added to the party.

[slowreactor]

Once Firnam is released, he realizes that in order to be an asset to this group, he needs to be equipped with his standard weapons & thieving gear. He searches around this area quickly for anything of use, and also asks his comrades if they can provide anything for him.

[Quirk]

Cheezus will try to relieve the effects of the poison on Cackle.

[CreepersWiener]

Once Firnam is released, he realizes that in order to be an asset to this group, he needs to be equipped with his standard weapons & thieving gear. He searches around this area quickly for anything of use, and also asks his comrades if they can provide anything for him.

[Perception Check +4 vs 15 DC=Roll 6 on D20+4=10, FAIL]

As Firnam glances around the room for some type of weapon to arm himself, he is quickly pulled along by Mr. Urlag who says that they do not have enough time for thievery.

"But I do not have any weapons to help out, I know the guards have at least some of my weapons here somewhere."Firnam speaks to Mr. Urlag.

Cheezus hears Firnam's dilemma, and notices a trap door on the floor. His Elven perception quickly picks up a trap door on the floor by the desk,"Hey! There's a door on the floor! See?"

Cheezus points it out and Firnam opens the trap door.

"Make sure you only take that which is yours, Firnam!"Cheezus mentions, hoping to guide the rogue to a more selfless way of life.

As Firnam opens the trap door, he sees two of his daggers and a hand crossbow.

Firnam picks up his daggers and figures Cheezus doesn't know that the hand crossbow isn't his, and takes it anyway.

Mr. Urlag scolds the company,"We must hurry! Come on now! Let's get back to the Dancing Goat and prepare for our journey to Baskin's Bay!"

As the company meets back at the Dancing Goat, Mr.Urlag prepares a wagon and a team of horses. In his store house in the back of his property, he has a small stash of items. He gives each member of the company a small adventuring pack with essential tools (food rations, rope, torches, and miscellaneous gear for making camp). He sees that each member is properly armed, Sheyla gets a spear along with her dagger to protect herself and he gives Cackle a short sword (of which he reminds Cackle that he owes him for the damage his thugs caused his tavern!)

Cheezus looks at Cackles wounds and says a short prayer over him. Cackle thinks it's a bunch of hoopla, but keeps his mouth shut for the moment (the expression on his face denotes otherwise, however, strangely enough, he feels his wounds do not hurt as bad and the effects of the poison are not giving him as much of a splitting headache anymore).

The Company loads up on Mr.Urlag's wagon and begins their journey to Baskin's Bay, in pursuit of the Githarian Bounty Hunters that have kidnapped Sheyla's father.

None of the Company has gotten any rest, and are in need of sleep.

"I'm tired,"Cackle says,"Can't we make camp for the evening? I am sure we can find our way to Baskin's Bay early in the morning? Just a few hours of sleep will do us fine, don't you agree?"

[safariguy5]

I agree, but suggest having rotating shifts of 2 people staying awake and guarding against possible patrols.

[slowreactor]

I agree, but suggest having rotating shifts of 2 people staying awake and guarding against possible patrols.

One of which should NOT be Cackle. Sure, he's gonna get more sleep, but I don't think anyone here trusts him enough to keep guard.

[CreepersWiener]

"Well, I know you won't ask me, Firnam, or Big Bremm to be on night watch...that's fine by me! HA HA HA HA! , Have fun watchin' the bats fly around your heads!"Cackle prods and laughs with his usual annoying chuckle and clears off a nice spot by the campfire and lays down using a rock for a pillow.

Mr.Urlag says,"I can take the first watch this evening. Since there are six strong souls available--Me, Cheezus, Gregor, Gorlan, Maximus, and Alastair--we can each spend an hour on watch tonight, but that will only give us five hours of sleep."

"You forget, Mr.Urlag, I am an Elf,"Cheezus speaks,"Elves do not sleep, but all I need is but only four hours of meditation and I should be fine. I shall take the last watch in the morning for two hours, and that should give you humans enough rest to restore your vitality."

"Thank you, Cheezus, that is a good plan. Okay, here is the night watch order. I am first, Gorlan second, Maximus third, Gregor fourth, Alastair fifth, and Cheezus shall take on the last two hours until day break."

"Yeah, yeah, sounds good, now can you all shut the fuck up so I can get some sleep!"Cackle orders with his back and head turned away from the night watch.

The breeze is pleasantly cool and light, but the glare of the campfire is worrisome to Gorlan, who knows all too well that enemies are drawn to campfires like a moth to a flame.

"If we are to escape detection from any creatures or enemies tonight, I have a little spell I scribbled down in my Ritual Book. I learned it from an old wizard that was friends with my mum."Gorlan pulls out a book from his backpack and opens it. Alastair is curious, as he never fully knew that Gorlan was so talented in so many things, also, Alastair finds it quite interesting that Gorlan does not need to use any magical components to cast his ritual spell. All wizards (and even warlocks) need to procure some type of magical component to unleash the magic that is released from conducting a ritual, but for some reason, Gorlan is unusually talented and does not need any feathers, leaves, or rubies to cast a spell from his Ritual Book.

Gorlan pulls a very plain wand from his belt and waves it over the campfire,"Et turum, et turum, fyrr gret fyrr! Et turum, fyrr gret invistus!"

The company notices the flames of the campfire did not change, but a gray veil of energy has enveloped the boundaries of the campsite as if a giant had placed a huge, gray-glass bowl over the entire campsite. Gregor seems a little perturbed by the magic. His barbarian tribes people had a great mistrust of wizards and warlocks.

"There. For the rest of the evening our campfire cannot be noticed by enemy eyes unless they walk within the outer circle of the Shadow Veil I have put over this campsite, but we will still be able to see as normal and continue our own business within."

"Me no like Shadow thingy!"Gregor pouts.

"It's okay, Gregor, it is good magic, not bad. Gorlan is your friend, remember? It will keep the bad things away from us as we sleep."Maximus consoles his mercenary friend.

"Ok, Gregor sleep now."Gregor settles down and pulls a wool blanket that doesn't quite cover his immense girth.

As everyone settles down for the evening, Mr.Urlag takes the first watch...

[1 in 20 chance of anything walking into your campsite:ROLL 15 NO ENCOUNTER FIRST WATCH, ROLL 6 NOTHING SECOND WATCH, ROLL 14 THIRD WATCH, ROLL 17 FOURTH WATCH, ROLL 9 FIFTH WATCH, ROLL 11 SIXTH WATCH]

"Rise and shine, sleepy one..."Maximus hears a faint whisper of a soft elfish voice and feels a gentle shake on his large shoulder.

"Huh?"Maximus says groggily while squinting his eyes and realizes where he is at. "Oh yeah, we better hit the road and make to Baskin's Bay by the end of the day. The Githarians are probably just entering the city, which means that they will be heading for the city's port. Let's make sure everyone is ready to go within the hour!"Maximus begins to lead.

Everyone awakens simply enough, but Cackle has to have a cup of water poured over his head as he is being stubborn.

"Wha-wha-what!"Cackle yells in surprise as he feels cold water running over his face and jumps up immediately looking for his short sword instinctively only to find his scabbard empty.

"Get up, you piece of street dog shit!"Sheyla yells back, pleasantly putting a tin cup back in her belongings."Here!"Sheyla throws Cackle his short sword."You will be needing that I reckon, you should be more wary of your belongings during the night. I thought being a thief would have taught you that."

"Hmmpf...being a street dog has taught me about bitches like you."Cackle whispers to himself under his breath as he replaces his short sword into its scabbard, not thinking anyone heard him. "Ow!"Cackle yelps as a rock hits him in the side of the skull leaving a nice knot to remind him of his disrespectful words.

"Now get in the wagon, we have to hit the road and find my father!"Sheyla commands Cackle. Cackle surprises everyone as he actually listens to Sheyla and doesn't argue the point.


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As the party travels the road to Baskin's Bay, they make conversation with each other and joke around. The mood is quite light, and the company is in good spirits.

The sun is high in the air, hardly any wind, and a few clouds in the sky. The party converses with each other amidst the background noise of horse hooves and wagon wheels turning. Even Cackle is being tolerated at the moment, and Bremm the Thug is actually a pretty nice guy...just a little on the dumb side.

The company is half way to Baskin's Bay, when the cart suddenly is jolted and tips on its side. The horse team is broke lose and keep running ahead of the party. Everyone is stunned at what has just happened.

"What happened?"Mr.Urlag says rubbing his head.

"Looks like someone has spent a little time digging a pit designed to flip a wagon."Cheezus says and is the only one that doesn't have to dust dirt off his clothing.

"But who? Who would have done this?"Sheyla says.

"I know I would..."Cackle responds in jest but matter-of-factly to Sheyla's question,"but it wasn't me."

"Cackle is right, I am afraid,"Gorlan steps forward to inspect the cart and the pit trap,"This could have only been done by thieves and brigands looking for some easy loot on the highway. Where in the hell are the King's Guard on this road?"

"Well, damn!"Mr.Urlag utters angrily,"So, the question now is where are these thieves? Luckily I can see my horses have stopped some distance up ahead...that's good. At least we can get them back and repair the wagon."

Just as Mr.Urlag makes that statement, he can see that something in the bushes has grabbed onto the reins of the horses and is pulling them into the forest off the road.

"Hey! What is happening? Someone really small must be in those bushes. Those bushes can't be more than four feet high. What is taking my horses into the forest? HEY! YOU! STOP! THOSE ARE MY HORSES!"Mr.Urlag yells and picks up his warhammer and takes off running for his horses.

"Oh, boy! Here we go again!"Sheyla says while rolling her eyes.

[What do you guys want to do?]

[slowreactor]

point of order?

[CreepersWiener]

point of order?

You are watching Mr.Urlag run down the road trying to stop whatever it is that is stealing his horses. You can't see anything, but something is in the bushes up ahead as you can see the reins of the horses being pulled into the forested area.

[safariguy5]

Point of Order, what is the distance between the party and the bushes? And is it in range of my Flaming Sphere or a bow attack?

[jonesthecurl]

Gorlan slowly walks towards the bushes, singing softly a song that calms the horses and makes them sleepy. He holds his hands casually by his sides, weaponless. The song is rather beautiful. Listen...

[CreepersWiener]

Point of Order, what is the distance between the party and the bushes? And is it in range of my Flaming Sphere or a bow attack?

[It's a ways down the road, long range for a longbow attack and just out of range of a heavy crossbow. However, all your party sees is bushes from this distance and Mr.Urlag's horses being pulled into them. Your Flaming Sphere spell doesn't have that kind of range, it only has a range of 10 squares, the event is happening at 40 squares distance from you (which is approximately 200 feet as a square is roughly 5 feet of personal area). The only character at the moment that has a longbow is Cheezus and if he decides to shoot blindly into the cover of bushes, he will get a -2 penalty for range and a -5 penalty for firing at an enemy that is totally concealed in the bushes from this distance. If Cheezus wants to, he can make a Perception Skill check with a difficulty class of 25 to reduce this penalty.]

Gorlan slowly walks towards the bushes, singing softly a song that calms the horses and makes them sleepy. He holds his hands casually by his sides, weaponless. The song is rather beautiful. Listen...

Your party hears a strange barking sound, kind of like a small dog mixed with a chirping bird coming from the area where Mr.Urlag's horses are being pulled in.

Gorlan begins to move towards the direction of the horses and Mr.Urlag, singing a strange lullaby that doesn't quite make any sense. He is directing it at the horses to calm them down.

[Nature Skill Check vs DC 25: Roll 19 + 0 untrained--FAIL]

"Hmm? It always works on the horses in Winterhaven. It must be the distance, they must not be able to hear my voice from there."Gorlan says as the horses are almost totally into the bushes by now. Mr.Urlag is halfway there, but he is tired and breathing heavy now.

[slowreactor]

Firnam picks up a small rock, and starts sprinting towards the bushes. As soon as he is in range, he chucks the rock towards the bushes, hoping to be able to get some response from whatever is hiding.

I'm gonna assume that this'll be based on dexterity, not strength?

[Jace22]

Maximus chases after the horses with Mr. Urlag, with one of his hands on the hilt of his greatsword, ready to strike should anything try to sneak up on him

[safariguy5]

In that case, I'll make a move action towards the bushes.

[Quirk]

Cheezus readies his bow and cautiously moves toward the bushes. He will wait until he sees a target before firing.

This feels like a trap.

[CreepersWiener]

Click image to enlarge.

[Okay, Let me get this straight. Maximus has went with Mr.Urlag, but is just a few squares behind, so I will let Gregor tag along as well. For everybody else, it sounds like they are using their normal walking speeds to get towards the bushes, is this correct? Here is the Battle Grid to help you guys visualize what's going on. Maximus, Gregor, and Mr. Urlag have made it almost to the Boulders by now, Sheyla has went with Maximus and Gregor too, as she feels better protected by the company's fighters.

Mr.Urlag,Maximus,Gregor,and Sheyla are all about 5 squares away from the Boulders at the moment, while the rest of the company will have to walk aproximately 30 squares to get to the Boulders by the Bushes. That will take 6 rounds of walking, 4 rounds if you decide to run while lowering your guard (which means you can still attack, but you receive some penalties), or if you want to exchange out your Standard Action (which is the one you usually use for attacking purposes) you can make double time and make it there in 2 rounds of running or 3 rounds of walking, but you won't be able to attack.]

Gregor, we better help Mr.Urlag with those horses and see what type of trouble might be up ahead."Maximus says.

"Gregor like trouble!"Gregor gleams with a Half-Orcish smile which shows off his small Half-Orc tusks that reveal his Orc heritage.

"Wait for me, guys,"Sheyla remarks,"I can't cast any spells but my father did teach me how to fight with a spear!"Sheyla tags along holding her spear firmly with two hands.

Meanwhile, the two fighters and Sheyla run past Gorlan (who is still trying to sing to the horses from an incredible distance and is a bit embarrassed that it isn't working as planned...but he doesn't let his embarrassment show) to catch up with Mr.Urlag. ~Should I tag along too?~Gorlan asks himself.

Firnam, Cheezus, and Alastair slowly advance down the road taking careful aim at anything that decides to pop out of the bushes.

"Me and Bremm will protect your guys' rear,"Cackle says.

Then, the company hears the same strange barking as earlier, and something peaks over the Boulders and quickly shoots a hand crossbow at Mr.Urlag. Another head pops up and throws a sling stone at Maximus, while another sling stone is thrown at Gregor. Then from out of the forest and from behind the Boulders the company sees little lizard-like creatures appear. A group of them begins to step forward towards Mr.Urlag's group, while the slingers and the crossbowman remained concealed behind the Boulders.

A rough count of creatures is about 20, it seems the adventurers are out numbered.

[Crossbow Creature Fires +6 vs Mr.Urlag's AC15: Roll 5+6=11 MISS; Slinger Creature Fires +6 vs Maximus' AC17:Roll 6+6=12 MISS;Slinger Creature Fires +6 vs Gregor's AC16:Roll 6+6=12 MISS]

"It seems we have some company,"Maximus says as the little creatures begin to reveal themselves from the Forest.

"And luckily they seem to be really bad shots!"Mr.Urlag replies humorously.

"Gregor no like little lizard thingies!"Gregor bellows at the group of little creatures that are advancing. Gregor pats his two handed sword and says,"Death Wish, you want say hello?"he speaks to his sword as if he were speaking to a real person.

Sheyla says,"Those little lizard thingies are called Kobolds, there were rumors that Kobolds were in the area."

[CreepersWiener]

[Hey, does anybody not know what types of powers they have? PM me and I will get those to you with brief explanations. Basically you have At Will powers, Encounter Powers, and Daily Powers. I've taken the liberty of choosing powers that seem to fit your character's personalities and abilities.]

[slowreactor]

I make double-time (I'm gonna trust my speed & agility to avoid getting hurt on my way there)

[safariguy5]

I'll make double time and find cover behind the boulders.

Point of Order: Judging by the relative distance between the boulders and the forest from the sketch, I'm assuming that would put me in range of the kobolds?

[jonesthecurl]

Gorlan also approaches thee boulders, still singing, and behind the half-elf, using him as cover..

[CreepersWiener]

I will be rolling for initiative order soon, but I am tired from work right now. I will post initiative order tomorrow, and hopefully this weekend I can get some of your actual D&D character sheets done and PMed to you guys. I just pmed one to Jace22, then you guys will have access to all the numbers I have on your characters.

[CreepersWiener]

[Ok, I have rolled for initiative order, I assume that those that are still by the broke down wagon are trying to make double time, but if you have changed your mind, please state so in the initiative now. Cheesus is the only character that can reach the Kobolds with his Elven Longbow, the rest of you that have ranged weapons and ranged spells must at least move to a spot where you can use those weapons or powers. All the Kobolds are within 30 squares right now, Elves move at 7 sq, while Humans move at 6 sq. A RUN adds 2 to your movement speed and you attack at -5 and enemies attack you with a +2, if you are moving DOUBLE TIME an Elf could cover 18 sq of ground while a Human would cover 16 sq. They can't make any type of attacks and enemies can still attack you with a +2 when you are within range.

Here is Initiative Order:

1.Kobold Leader
2.Cackle
3.Cheezus
4.Gregor
5.Firnam
6.Alastair
7.Maximus
8.Sheyla
9.Kobolds with crossbow and slings
10. Mr.Urlag
11.Bremmin the Thug
12. Kobold Minion Reserve Unit
13. Kobold Minions
14. Gorlan]

The party sees a large number of Kobolds standing down the road and have formed a line. There are about 16 Kobolds standing down the road a ways and there are about 4 kobolds taking cover behind some boulders. One of the Kobolds seems to be barking orders at the others, and the rest of the kobolds begin to scramble about trying to get organized.

Alastair the Wizard can hear the barking of the lead Kobold and can just make out what is being said,"He's telling the others to kill the man things and to bring the girl for Frostbereth....whatever in the nine hells that means? He also commanded some of the Kobolds to stay back with him and let the runts go in first and see what they can do, but throw a spear every once and a while and we may get lucky and kill a man thing or two, I will hold on to these horses."

The Leader of the Kobolds stands behind his troops and holds on to Mr.Urlag's horses.

Cackle is leaning up against the wagon with Bremm by his side. He is casually cleaning his fingernails with one of the Shurikens he pocketed from when he got into a disagreement with Dark Dragon about payment.

"You boys keep on going ahead and distract them scaly little monkeys--me and Bremm here will sneak around and out flank 'em for ya. Come on, Bremm."Cackle blows the dirt he dug from his fingernails off the point of his shuriken and begins to disappear into the Forest to the left. Bremm isn't quite sure what to do yet, but he guesses he will follow his boss, even though he is always mean to him.

"Come on, Bremm, you big bag of troll crap! Let's get a move on, we ain't go much time!"Cackle yells a fiery compulsory insult to motivate his obviously much dumber partner in crime.

[Cheezus is next to act. Here is a map of everyone's starting positions in this encounter. Try to tell me the best you can on where you are moving to and I will update the map accordingly.]

Click image to enlarge.

[Actions you can make on your turn of combat: Free Actions (talking, dropping things on the ground, anything that doesn't take that much time and interfere with combat), Move Actions (Move up to your speed), Minor Action (get something from your pack, put a weapon back into its sheath, etc.), Standard Action (usually attacking with most powers). There are also immediate interrupts for some powers that allow you to act if a certain set of events occurs (Such as Maximus' Firepulse power).