# Of Sound Mind



## Jarval (Mar 30, 2002)

And so it begins...

At the end of a day's traveling you arrive at a small roadside tavern by the name of "The Dancing Hounds".  The thought of a cool drink and rest is made very appealing by the unseasonably warm spring weather.  A young boy takes Kerrick's horse to the stables and you enter the tavern.

After taking a moment for your eyes to adjust to the light in the inn, you look around yourselves.  The inn is small but comfortable, with only a few patrons sitting at the bar and around the tables.

A somewhat portly elf standing behind the bar looks over to you and smiles.

"A good evening to you, sirs and m'lady.  What brings you fine folk to the Hounds?"


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## Zhure (Mar 31, 2002)

_Gholog smiles a tusky grin,_ "For the ale, of course!"_ He leans his glaive up into a corner and finds a chair. Seeing few patrons he calls to the barkeep,_ "First round's on me, for the whole place, and one for yourself, please."

The towering half-orc smiles unthreateningly at each man in the place.


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## Acmite (Mar 31, 2002)

*Adren*

In a quiet, but steady voice Adren will say to Gholog, "Aye, I'll join you in a drink.  You also travel with Aiden, do you not?  I've heard of the fabled orcish sense of smell....do these "towns" smell as rancid to you as they do to me?  No offense, barkeep, but I'm more accustomed to the gentle scents of the forest than of large communities and inns.

This entire community is so.....so crowded!  I see there is much for me to learn about life outside the Ridgewood.

From where do you hail, friend?"


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Mar 31, 2002)

Aiden thinks to himself, _I wish we could fill out the temple's duties more easily, I had hoped that this journey wouldn't be a danger to anyone, although the temple seems to have assigned some bodyguards, at least they seem friendly.  Whatever outcome may it be, Pelor please grant us your divine protection._

Rubbing his eyes a little to adjust, Aiden responds to his half-orc companion, "Gholog, am I right?  I'm grateful for you offering us some ales  but I have to decline, though I'm not a man who drinks, don't waste your money on me, I hope I don't offend you."   

Aiden begins to ask around the barkeep to see where the temple is and if there is anyone who needs help or healing.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Mar 31, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"Thanks for the drink, this heat is killing me."  Kerrick raises his mug to Gholog. He then turns to the barkeep.

"You would not happen to have a room for the night, a place to bathe, and some hot food, would you?"

"I've been on the road for some time now and a hot bath would be heaven for my sore muscles."


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## Zhure (Mar 31, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Smell?" _he roars out a hearty laugh,_ "It smells of life and mud and swimming ale, chimneys and hearthfires and the tender scent of the divinely flavored sweetmeats.

"Too many years I spent in a monastery filled with ringing bells and burnt incense. It's good to be among those who live for life's sake, not some altruism."

_Gholog sips his ale and studies the other patrons._


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## Other Guy (Mar 31, 2002)

*Jason*

Jason smiles after listening to the half-orc's outburst, but doesn't say very much -- all the while thinking, _savage...no, I will *not* be judgmental...savage_.


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## Jarval (Mar 31, 2002)

The barkeeper looks briefly offended by Adren's "rancid" comment, but shrugs it off.

 "We have a shrine to the gods just up along the road good sir, but no temple." he replies to Aiden.  "I think all here are in good health, but thank you for the offer of your skills."
He goes to get you your drinks and sends one of the barmaids to fill a bath for Kerrick.

Looking around the inn, you take in the few people around the room.  For the most part they look like farmers and laborers, apart from a group of four sitting around a table on the far side of the room.  They seem to be a family group all dressed in traveling clothes.  All four of them look as if they have not slept well for several days

"So, to where are you folks headed?" asks the barkeep as he returns with your drinks.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Mar 31, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"Well, I for one am headed to no where particular. Just enjoy travel, if you know what I mean."

Kerrick grins, "Say there would happen to be any places of interest around here would there? Any thing interesting at that shrine?  Maybe i'll have a look at it in the morning."


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## Acmite (Apr 1, 2002)

"For now, I follow Aiden.....I know not our destination."


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## Zhure (Apr 1, 2002)

*Gholog*

"To whom is the shrine dedicated? If it's close, perhaps I'll pay a visit before I retire for the night."


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## Zhure (Apr 1, 2002)

_Gholog takes time during the lull in the conversation to attempt to levitate his glaive from where it sits in the corner._


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## Jarval (Apr 1, 2002)

"The shrine is to Ehlonna and Pelor." the barkeep responds to Gholog. "It has spring, formed by Ehlonna's footprint when the gods walked this world."

He starts to clean the bar as he talks to you.  "Aiden, right?" he says to the cleric. "Where are you headed?  It's quite an honor to have one of Pelor's own at my inn."


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Apr 2, 2002)

"Thankyou for your kind words sir, I am headed to bring some church bells back for the temple.  We have heard these bells of yours are like music from the heavens itself, it must be one of your towns specialties, is it not?  If you can just point me in the right direction I'd be very grateful."


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 2, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

Seraphina sits quietly at the table, watching the going-ons with little interest.  Despite her seeming uninterest, however, she listens very closely and carefully to the conversations happening around her, nodding in agreement when it seems appropriate, but otherwise simply blending in with her surroundings.

*







OOC:







*







*OOC:*


Sorry I couldn't post earlier, it's been a busy weekend, and the week will also be a busy one.  I will be posting sparingly.  Sorry


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## Zhure (Apr 2, 2002)

*Gholog*

"A spring sprung from the footprint of Ehlonna? I want to go!"

_Gholog tosses back the remnants of his ale, scoots back his chair and reaches back for his glaive._

"Anyone coming with me? It'll be great!"


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## Jarval (Apr 2, 2002)

Sollir Furryfoot said:
			
		

> *"Thankyou for your kind words sir, I am headed to bring some church bells back for the temple.  We have heard these bells of yours are like music from the heavens itself, it must be one of your towns specialties, is it not?  If you can just point me in the right direction I'd be very grateful." *




"You'll be wanting Bellhold then, sir.  It's still a good days travel from here." the barkeep replies with a slight smile.


[OOC Sorry about that.  I should have made it clear that you're not a Bellhold yet.  My bad 

Gnome, it's fine, don't worry about it.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 2, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"I'll go with you, Gholog, Sounds facinating, but could we wait for morning? I have a bath that needs tending and it's been a long day, rest in a real bed would be nice too."

_The foot print of a God, hmmm and I have this bridge......_


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## Acmite (Apr 2, 2002)

Ah, so we head to Bellhold?  I've not heard of this town, but that is not so surprising since my people have little contact with the world outside our small forest home.  I look forward to such a journey!  When do we depart....and would it be possible to get a meal, good barkeep?  The anticipation has urged my hunger to let itself be known.  Is that roasted potatoes I smell?


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## Zhure (Apr 2, 2002)

*Gholog*

_Gholog sits back down and sulks quietly in the corner._


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## Other Guy (Apr 2, 2002)

*Jason*



			
				Zhure said:
			
		

> *"A spring sprung from the footprint of Ehlonna? I want to go!"
> 
> Gholog tosses back the remnants of his ale, scoots back his chair and reaches back for his glaive.
> 
> ...




Jason smiles at Gholog as he walks towards his corner.  _So like a child...poor guy_.  "Don't be depressed," Jason tells him, "let the others take their rest.  I'll be ready to go whenever you are."

"However," he adds, taking a seat at the half-orc's table, "when we get there you will want to be sober.  You'll remember it better that way."









*OOC:*



By the way, how well do we all know each other?  Most of us were simply hired as mercenaries, right?  So do we at least know each others' names?

Thanks in advance .


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## Jarval (Apr 2, 2002)

The barkeep listens to what you say, nodding.   "It's not the best of times to visit Bellhold from what I've been told.  We've had a fair few through here who are leaving the village for good, like those folk there."  He gestures over to the family sat on the far side of the inn.  "Some say it's been cursed, though I can see little reason for that."  He pause for a moment to fill a tankard with ale, then continues.  "A shame it is, with the Festival only a few months away."

He turns to speak to Adren.  "It is indeed potatoes, sir.  And nicely done ones too.  Our cook is something of a marvel with root vegetables." he says with a grin.  "So, what would you like to eat?"


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 3, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

Seraphina walks stealthily and unnoticed towards the half-orc's table, grabbing a stool that would help to put her at least above the level of the table.

"Gholog, I shall also join you." She states, getting her stool into a favorable position. "I will be ready when you are.  I have many skills that make me useful in many different situations."

The young halfling girl tosses her hair back over her shoulder.

"Innkeep!  I would like a small slab of meat for my riding dog." She yells back to the bar, and scratches her cat's ears absentmindedly.

Her gaze returns to Jason and Gholog. "So, when shall be be off?" She asks, although her attention seems to be elsewhere.


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## Acmite (Apr 3, 2002)

*Adren*



			
				Jarval said:
			
		

> *The barkeep listens to what you say, nodding.   "It's not the best of times to visit Bellhold from what I've been told.  We've had a fair few through here who are leaving the village for good, like those folk there."  He gestures over to the family sat on the far side of the inn.  "Some say it's been cursed, though I can see little reason for that."  He pause for a moment to fill a tankard with ale, then continues.  "A shame it is, with the Festival only a few months away."
> 
> He turns to speak to Adren.  "It is indeed potatoes, sir.  And nicely done ones too.  Our cook is something of a marvel with root vegetables." he says with a grin.  "So, what would you like to eat?" *




Taking a deep pull from his ale, Adren wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and with a satisfied grin says, " Fine ale, barkeep!  Some of those fragrant potatoes and some roast venison would be much appreciated!  You mentioned a curse?  And a festival? 


It seems we are adopting the convention of "sky blue" for OOC, so here we go:  I'm working on the assumption that our characters have a passing familiarity of each other; ie: names, general role (scout, warrior, priest, mage, etc), and maybe temperment.  I figured that a lot of the details could be worked into IC discussion.  Another option is everyone including a "public domain" portion of their background in the Rogues gallery thread explaining what would be "common knowledge" to the rest of the group.  Hmmm...I like quotation marks today.  Adren is reasonable friendly, and will volunteer most information about his past quite easily.  He does get quiet and sombre when asked about the displacer beast tooth...but he will tell the story about his friends' death if prodded.


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## Zhure (Apr 3, 2002)

*Gholog*

"I guess we'll go to the shrine in the morning," Gholog sighs into his ale. "Is it at least on the way to Bellhold?"

Turning to his companions with a conspiratorial whisper, "Maybe we can find out more about this curse from that family over there."

Heh, don't worry about Gholog getting drunk. He's built rather sturdily


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## Jarval (Apr 4, 2002)

"Aye, Bellhold is to hold a festival to celebrate fifty years of freedom from the dragon Copperdeath." _the barkeep replies to Adren._   "I don't know much 'bout the curse though.  Folks have been tellin' me of stange illnesses in the town, though I'm not sure how much truth there is in that.  Anyhow, I'll fetch you your food sir, and the meat for your dog too, miss."


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 4, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"While this is all quite fasinating, i'm off to my bath. Uhh, Aiden, when were you and your men leaving? I thought we might travel a ways further together."

After getting his ansewer, Kerrick will head off to his bath.


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## Zhure (Apr 4, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Perhaps we should spend the night here."

Gholog walks over to the other table and introduces himself to the family there.

"Greetings! I am Gholog, may I sit?" he flashes his best, tusky grin.


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 4, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"Thanks, innkeep." She calls out.

Seraphina then sighs, and turns to Jason. "I need to ensure that our big friend there doesn't screw up getting our information.  I'll be back shortly." She sets her cat down onto the floor gently.

She hops down off her stool, and rushes after Gholog, taking her stool with her and calling her cat to follow her.  Once she is next to the half-orc, she addresses the family.

"Hello there.  Don't worry about him, he's harmless.  We just want to ask you a few questions about... Bellhold." She sets her stool down, and takes a seat. "Would you mind answering them?" Seraphina asks in a friendly voice.

She then whispers up to the half-orc. "Be nice, Gholog.  We don't want to scare them off." She gets a moment of eye contact with him to ensure that he heard her, and then listens to what the family has to say.


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## Zhure (Apr 4, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Don't be silly, Seraphina, these folk know your cat is harmless." Gholog rolls his eyes at the strangers, making a twisting motion near his head while glancing askance at Seraphina.


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## Jarval (Apr 4, 2002)

The family looks more than a little nervous as the huge half-orc walks over to their table and bares his teeth at them.  However they do relax somewhat when Seraphina joins Gholog, and the youngest child, a five year old boy, laughs at Gholog's gestures about Seraphina.

One of the group, a man in his early thirties looks at Seraphina as she speaks.  "What do you want to know miss?"


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 5, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"I have heard from some that the town is cursed.  Do you believe that?  Has anything unusual been going on around Bellhold?"


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## Jarval (Apr 5, 2002)

"I don't know if the town has been cursed or the water has gone bad, but no-one has had a sound night's sleep in Bellhold for almost a month now." the man replies to you.  "Many have already left, and when the priests started to leave we felt that it was time to go."

"And when those children went missing, we had to leave." adds the woman sitting besides him.  "We couldn't risk losing Coln and Elissa." she says nodding towards her children, the young boy and a girl in her late teens.


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## Zhure (Apr 5, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Missing children is bad.  Priests leaving is bad. I think we've come at an opportune time. Let's be safe and avoid the water."


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## Acmite (Apr 5, 2002)

*Adren = hungry*



			
				Jarval said:
			
		

> *"I don't know if the town has been cursed or the water has gone bad, but no-one has had a sound night's sleep in Bellhold for almost a month now." the man replies to you.  "Many have already left, and when the priests started to leave we felt that it was time to go."
> 
> "And when those children went missing, we had to leave." adds the woman sitting besides him.  "We couldn't risk losing Coln and Elissa." she says nodding towards her children, the young boy and a girl in her late teens. *




Hearing this, and still waiting for his food, Adren will take another pull from his tankard and walk over to the table.

Missing children?  Surely the elders or magistrates of your village have investigated their disappearance?  Do they suspect a foul creature of some sort?

Briefly, Adren touches the glowing tooth beneath his shirt, shakes his head as though coming out of a daze, and continues, 

 I've....I've had dealing with evil creatures before, good folk, and I know they can be quite devastating.  Again I ask, do they know how or why the children are missing?
While waiting for a response, Adren will glance back to see if his food is ready.

Missing children?  Ouch!  I fear we may soon encounter the dreaded baby shields!  This is Piratecat's module afterall!

**Edit Log:  added spaces to make reading easier**


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## Jarval (Apr 6, 2002)

"Captain Haldik of the town guard is trying to find out what's happened to the children, but he's had little luck so far.  No one has any idea of why they've gone missing, but with everything else that's been happening, the whole town is on edge." the man replies to Adren.  "And as for the priests..." a look of dislike crosses his face.  "The gods could have picked better followers than those cowards.  They've all run."

"Thorlenn has stayed" the woman says.

"Aye, and I'm glad she has, she's shown true faith, but she's only had a few months of training." the man responds.

The woman looks at Adren.  "You said that you'd fought evil beasts.  Could you help?" she asks.  "My nephew is one of the children missing."


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Apr 6, 2002)

"I am sorry about your nephew, madam, by Pelor's grace, if we find them safe we will be sure to bring them back.  If we find them harmed you can be sure you will get your retribution...for their sake...I hope they're well.  Now, who is this Copperdeath you spoke of?"  Aiden turns to the rest of the group, "Is everyone ready to leave leave for Bellhold in the morning?"


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## Zhure (Apr 6, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Children are missing. We should go now."


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## Jarval (Apr 7, 2002)

"Thank you." the woman replies to Aiden.

"Copperdeath was the dragon who enslaved the people of our town for many years, until a group of heros killed him fifty years ago." the man responds.  "It was somewhat before my time, but my father told me of it's rule.  It was a grim time for the town."









*OOC:*


 Sorry about no post yesterday.  Had a night out and didn't get in until 2am!


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 7, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez, in search of food.*

After Kerrick has his bath he comes back out to the common room. He walks over to the barmaid, not bothering with conventions such as taking a table and waiting for her to come take his order. After he tells her what he would like,Kerrick will go pull up a chair where ever Aiden is sitting.


"So what'd I miss?" Kerrick flashes a grin.

"When are you guys headin out, I'd like to stick with you a while longer, and that shrine sounds mighty interestin."


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## Zhure (Apr 8, 2002)

*Gholog*

Gholog stares blankly about at the gathered adventurers.

"We're going to leave those missing children out all alone for yet another night?"


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## Jarval (Apr 8, 2002)

*Re: Gholog*



			
				Zhure said:
			
		

> *Gholog stares blankly about at the gathered adventurers.
> 
> "We're going to leave those missing children out all alone for yet another night?" *




"I'd advise against traveling at night." interjects the barkeep.

"These folk are warriors and adventurers.  I'm sure they would not fear bandits." says the woman.  "And they are right, delay brings a greater chance that harm may befall the children."

"As you will." the barkeep replies. "But the day brings safety, and I doubt a few hours will change matters much."


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 9, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"I think that travelling at night is worth the risk, if it is to help save children." Seraphina says with conviction. "We can find rest at Bellhold, if we need it, and we are more than a match for anything that we'll encounter along the way."

Seraphina jumps lightly off of her stool, and replaces it where she found it.

"Fellow adventurers, do you feel up to the task?  If we can, we should travel now.  Sleep in your saddles, if you must - I am sure that you can.  I can keep watch during the ride, so long as at least one other stays awake in case I fall off to sleep."

Seraphina then turns to the family.

"We shall find out what is going on at Bellhold, and we shall find your nephew - as well as the other missing children."

She then walks to the door, and turns to face the group again.

"What do you want to do?  Stay, and rest, or go, while the night is still young?"


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## Acmite (Apr 9, 2002)

My eyes are keen, and my spirit strong.  I fear not what hides in the forest's depths.  With stalwart friends alongside me, how could I be in any danger?

We will find your nephew, ma'am.  And we will return with him once it is safe.

I will be ready to leave once I have eaten!  Friend Innkeeper!  How're those potatoes coming?  My hunger grows with the excitement of our iminent departure!


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 9, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"Sounds to me like a bunch of heroic non-sense You help no one if your dead. I've done much traveling in my life and roads are seldom safe at night, that said, if you all are that set on leaveing now i suppose i can help."

Kerricks scowling gase slips over each would be hero as he says this.


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## Other Guy (Apr 9, 2002)

Acmite said:
			
		

> *With stalwart friends alongside me, how could I be in any danger? *




Jason smiles in appreciation for the compliment and speaks, "I will leave now as well."

_Not a particularly inspiring speech, but it served its purpose_, he thinks to himself.


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## Jarval (Apr 9, 2002)

"Thank you." the woman says, her relief obvious. 

"Gods be with you." her husband adds. "When you get to the village, speak with Captain Haldik. He'll be grateful for any help you can give him." 

The barkeep listens to all this, then starts at Adren's comment. "I'm sorry sir, I'd forgotten all about your food. I'll fetch it at once. And it's on the house for all you folks." he adds, looking around at the rest of the party. "It's not often we get heroes in my inn."


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## Zhure (Apr 9, 2002)

*Gholog*

"HAH! Being a hero has benefits! Free food is a blessing."

Gholog approaches the inn-keeper, and asks for a few some cheese, "... it'll keep well, and I can save some back for the children."


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 9, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

Kerrick groans and puts his head in his hands.

"At least i got a bath even if i'm goin to miss out on the nice soft bed."


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 10, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

After Kerrick's scowling visage passes her, Seraphina looks darkly at Kerrick.

"You find creature comforts more important than the lives of children, and possibly others?  The night may pose dangers to us, true - but what if we stay the night here, to travel to Bellhold in the morning, and find that another child was taken in the night?  Consider that, my friend, while we ride."

---

Seraphina's face becomes one of surprise, which then quickly becomes indignation, as Gholog asks the innkeep for free cheese.

"Gholog!  We're not going to take the innkeep's food simply because he's giving it out for free now.  That would be taking unfair advantage of him, and that's not very friendly of us."

She pulls out a small purse from somewhere hidden on her person, pulls out two gold coins, places them on the bar, and replaces her purse.

"Thank you, innkeep, for your hospitality.  I'm sorry that we couldn't stay longer, but we have good cause for going so quickly."

With that, Seraphina walks out to the stables, calling out, "I'll get our mounts ready while you finish up in the inn."


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## Other Guy (Apr 10, 2002)

*Jason Master*

Jason rises from his seat and walks out the door of the tavern, after Seraphina.  When out of the room he calls to her, "lady Tealeaf, do not be so hard on Gholog."  She pauses and turns to meet Jason (I assume), as he approaches and continues, "remember: even when being as selfish as I think he could ever possibly be, he was still thinking of others.  He is a good person, and hadn't meant to try to take advantage of the innkeeper."

"Besides," he adds as a slight grin appears across his face, "is it not also unfriendly to refuse the gifts of another?"


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 10, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

Seraphina looks up at the human.

"I know, I know." She sighs lightly. "I wasn't trying to be hard on him.  I just don't like seeing people taken advantage of, is all."

"And while it may be unfriendly to accept the gifts of others, we do not need to take things unnecessarily.  We take what we need, and we didn't need cheese at the moment - we could have gotten some at Bellhold.  I was taught something in the caravan: only take what you need, no matter how much is offered.  I hope you understand, but I had to say something to Gholog.  I know that he's a good man at heart.  I just had to say something." She shrugs. "One of my faults, I guess - I always speak my mind."

[color=sky blue]You assumed right, Other Guy.[/color]


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## Zhure (Apr 10, 2002)

*Gholog*

"The master says to refuse a gift is to give shame to the presenter. I'm sure when we find the children, they'll be thankful for the innkeeper's cheese."

_Whistling jauntily, he goes to retrieve his glaive._


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 11, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

Seraphina sighs, and begins to say something.  She then thinks better of it, closes her mouth, and continues to the stables to ready the mounts.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 11, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

_I was so looking forward to sleeping in a bed tonight, well that ship may have sailed, but i'm not leaving without some food. I don't care if that woman like it of not._ 


Kerrick gets up and heads over to the bar.

"Ah, could i get some bread, meat and cheese. To go, if you know what i mean."

After that kerrick retrieves his equiptment and prepares to depart with the rest.


_Bunch of heroic fools, they'll likly get me killed, btu if there are missing children...._


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## Other Guy (Apr 11, 2002)

*Jason Master*

Jason watches Seraphina walking away towards the stables, then returns to the tavern and waits outside by the door for the others to leave.

"Wait a second, that girl had a cat...where's mine?," he says to himself, then calls out, "Gato!".  Soon enough a small black and white cat walks out of the open tavern door and is picked up by Jason.  "I'm sorry that I forgot about you, Gato.  How have you been?  We're gonna' save some children, and you're coming with us," he rambles, then continues, "but I want you to stay as far away from the battlefield as you can, understand?  No, of course not, but that's all right."

He smiles and gently begins petting the small feline.


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## Jarval (Apr 11, 2002)

The innkeeper quickly packs up some food for you all and hands it over to Gholog along with a large hunk of rather smelly cheese.

The woman and her husband both come over to the door with you.

"Best of luck to all of you."she says.  "I cannot thank you enough for what you're doing."

"Gods be with you." adds her husband, shaking each of you by the hand.  "If there is anything we can do for you, we will.  My name is Jame Copperhill, and my wife is named Jenna."


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 11, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

_As like likly as not we'll need luck and blessings both on this errand._ 


Kerrick does his best to simulate a warm, greatful smile and nods to the family and to the barkeep as he heads out the door.


_I hope this isn't the last journey i ever make._


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## Zhure (Apr 12, 2002)

*Gholog*

"I'm afoot; I should be able to keep up, though. My senses are probably keener than the horses. But I don't know the way to Bellhold."


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Apr 13, 2002)

(Aiden will memorize his usual spells for the day, except that 1 bless will be replaced by Detect Evil)

_"Well, let's get going, the more hastily we bring back the bells, the more safer things can be.  Although my loyalty is with the church my heart beckons that we help find those missing children and bring them back safely."  Aiden thanks the innkeeper and heads off with his companions to Bellhold, ready for whatver dangers they may face, knowing that Pelor is with him._

(OOC-Gone for most of the weekend)


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## Jarval (Apr 13, 2002)

[OOC  A couple of points about character stats:

Sollir, Aiden has got an unspent skill point.

Other Guy, Jason has got 5 unspent skill points (3 monk, 2 wizard).  Plus you've still got 683 gp left by my math.  Do you want any more equipment?


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## Zhure (Apr 14, 2002)

If not, I'll take the money. hee hee


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## Other Guy (Apr 14, 2002)

I believe that he spent most of that extra money on putting extra spells into his spell book.  As for the extra skill points, wahoo!   Thank you.


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 15, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

Seraphina, mounted upon Rufus with Lucie walking beside the large dog, rides over to the door and awaits her companions.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 16, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

Kerrick leads his horse around to the front and mounts up.

"When ever you hero's are ready we can bloody well leave."


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Apr 16, 2002)

[color=sky blue]Back, thanks for informing me Jarval, I will spend that extra point into Spellcraft to make it +4 as opposed to +3[/color]


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## Zhure (Apr 16, 2002)

*Gholog*

Gholog saunters out the door, glaive across his shoulder. "Let's go!"


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## Other Guy (Apr 16, 2002)

"Excellent!" Jason says, setting his cat, Gato, down and replacing him with his longbow.  He looks around, asking, "is everyone here?"


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## Acmite (Apr 17, 2002)

*Adren*

  I believe we are all here.  To Bellhold then!


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## Jarval (Apr 17, 2002)

Sorry about no update yesterday, but the boards were down all of the time I was trying to post.  Next update coming sometime this afternoon.


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## Jarval (Apr 19, 2002)

*OOC:*


 Sorry about the continued lack of updates.   I'll post one tomorrow.













*OOC:*


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## Acmite (Apr 19, 2002)

No problem, Jarval.  With the problems the boards have been having, I've had a hard time getting in here to even check for an update, nevermind respond.  Let's hope it gets better.


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## Jarval (Apr 20, 2002)

A small crowd of people gathers round the door of the Dancing Hounds as you leave.  You set off towards Bellhold with their well wishes filling your ears.

You travel for all of that night, along empty roads.  The threat of bandits seems to keep the roads little traveled out of daylight, although you see no sign of them yourselves.  Of course, a party of well armed adventures hardly looks like an easy mark!

A couple of hours after dawn, you are in sight of Bellhold.  Farms are on both sides of the road, and the horses in the field to your left come over and look curiously at your progress.  Ahead of you a ridge of large mountains loom skywards.  The mountain closest to you has a silhouette a little like church steeple.  A small town sits in the valley beneath it.  A river snakes out from the mountain, curling around the town, and then flowing down the valley.  In the sunlight, several plumes of smoke twist up from the chimneys of buildings close to the mountain, staining the otherwise clean air.

A few hundred feet away down the road from you, an elderly man dressed in work clothes stands in the road, looking frustrated.  Seemingly unaware of the man, two large workhorses graze on the good grass by the roadside.  As you watch, the man sidles forwards and grabs for one of the horses, but both bolt away down the road.  They stop twenty feet away and seem to ignore the man once again, putting their heads down to graze.  The man drops several lead ropes he was carrying and throws his arms up in disgust.

The long delayed update arrives at last!


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## Zhure (Apr 20, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Can I be of help?" Gholog calls to the farmer. He smiles he biggest, most tusked grin possible.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 21, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"If you're goin horse chasing you might want to hurry a tad. The children after all will not be savin themselves!"

Kerrick grins at his sarcasm.


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## Jarval (Apr 21, 2002)

The man looks over to you, surprised by Gholog's voice.  "Aye, aye, help would be grand.  I've been chasin' these two since dawn."

He scratches his head and picks up the lead lines.  "These two," he points at the horses.  "disappear for near to a week, then I see 'em wonder past the milking shed this mornin'.  As if they'd never been away."


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## Acmite (Apr 21, 2002)

*Adren the crappy Ranger to the rescue!*

  Does anyone have any affinity or training with such beasts?  I never encountered any quite like them in the village I grew up in?  Are these horses? 

 If no one mentions they have any affinity for animals (ie: Animal Empathy or Handle Animal), Adren will try to catch the animals--even though he has no ranks in either pertinent skill, and therefore cannot make a check.  Ug, I'm a crappy ranger.    

Adren will approach the beasts, hands out, making soothing noises, attempting to catch the animals.

**Edit:  "noone" isn't a word!


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## Zhure (Apr 22, 2002)

*Gholog*

Gholog hangs back, unsure of how to help.

"Taking a moment to help a poor farmer differs from sleeping in a safe bed while children suffer."


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 22, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

Kerrick chuckles at Ghologs remark, "I suppose you're right, sir. I suppose you're right." Having few skills with animals Kerrick just sits and waits for the others to catch the horses.


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 22, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"While I tend to agree, Gholog, I believe that there may be other things to do."

Remaining mounted so as to try to appear slightly taller, Seraphina rides up to the farmer.

"I have no skills with animals, other than riding dogs similar to Rufus here." She pats her mount on the head. "However, you mentioned your... horses there, disappearing for a week or so.  Can you remember when they left?  Was there anything odd surrounding their disappearance?  Were they in about the same shape when they came back?  Did you notice anything odd about them when you found them again?"

Seraphina asks each question in turn, giving the farmer time to think about them.  She'll then remain mounted and quietly listen to his responses.


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## Jarval (Apr 23, 2002)

*Re: Adren the crappy Ranger to the rescue!*



			
				Acmite said:
			
		

> * If no one mentions they have any affinity for animals (ie: Animal Empathy or Handle Animal), Adren will try to catch the animals--even though he has no ranks in either pertinent skill, and therefore cannot make a check.  Ug, I'm a crappy ranger.   *




Well, buried in the "Special" section of the description of the Handle Animal skill, it say that "an untrained character can use a Charisma check to handle and push animals".  So you just can't try to train animals if you don't have the skill.


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## Jarval (Apr 23, 2002)

The man passes Adren a lead rope as he go past. "Good luck to you lad, I haven't managed to get close to 'em yet."

Adren creeps up to the closest horse, making vague soothing sounds to it.  He gets up along side its head (Untrained Handle Animal check, rolled 17) without disturbing the horse, but as he trys to get the rope over it's head he manages to poke the horse's nose.  The horse starts suddenly, and bolts away, catching Adren's knee with it hoof as it goes.  (Owch!  Rolled a 1 on that check.  1 point of damage to Adren.)

The horse gallops over to the other and then they both begin to graze again.

The farmer looks annoyed.  "You see?  They've been doin' that all morning.   Though you got closer than I've managed."

He turns to look at Seraphina as she starts to talk.  He answers her questions, pausing between each one.  "Aye, they left six days ago.  Just came out to the field to check on 'em and they weren't there...  Nowt odd about these two brakin' out, but they've never been gone so long before...  I've not been able to get close enough to check 'em proper, but they seem well enough...  Well, they've never been this hard to catch before.  And they seem right irritable as well."


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## Other Guy (Apr 23, 2002)

*Jason*

Jason pauses for a moment to think.  _Well, here's a chance to practice what I love best, I guess.  Though it seems like a waste of a spell._

"Wish me luck," he tells the others.  He raises his hands and begins to move them, guided by the forces he is calling upon.  From his lips escape a short series of arcane jargon.

(OOC)
Jason is casting his 1 prepared sleep spell against the horses.  The DC is 14 and a will save negates.  I'm assuming the horses are close to each other (within 15 feet).
(/OOC)


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## Zhure (Apr 24, 2002)

*Gholog*

Gholog squats on his haunches using the haft of his glaive as balance across his lap, leaving the experts to their tasks.


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## Jarval (Apr 24, 2002)

Jason chants slowly for a few moments then throws a pinch of sand towards the horses.  It turns into glittering motes of light as he finishes the spell, and deep steady breathing can be heard from the closest horse.  The other one looks towards you, seemingly unaffected.

"Hey!  What have you done?" the farmer calls to Jason, looking a little alarmed by the magic.


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## Zhure (Apr 24, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Looks like he caught one. Don't wake it up until you've got it harnessed.

Want me to knock out the other one? heh heh."


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 25, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"Thank you, kind sir," Seraphina says to the old man. "Your information has proved most helpful.  We'll try to find out what happened to your horses while they were away."

She then turns to Gholog. "That's not necessary, my large friend.  I will try to talk to the horses."

Seraphina dismounts from Rufus, and walks over to the one still-awake horse, speaking and walking softly and in a non-threatening manner.

[color=sky blue]*







OOC:







*







*OOC:*


Let's try an untrained Handle Animal check.  I've got a +2 Charisma mod.





[/color]


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## Other Guy (Apr 25, 2002)

*Jason*

"Don't worry," Jason assures the farmer, "he's only asleep.  I would never harm an animal for no reason -- I'm not sick.  However," he continues, "Gholog is right; you should hurry to harness him, or you should trust Seraphina with them both.  Either way, that one will only be asleep for a little under a minute by now."


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Apr 25, 2002)

_Aiden watches as the others try and catch the horses-squinting in the sunlight yet smilings lightly at the sight.  After a bit he turns to the old farmer, "Are the horses always this way?  Perhaps they are hurt or similar which is why they're aggrevated.  I can take a look at them if you'd like, I'm no specialist but I think I can help them if there's something wrong."_


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## Jarval (Apr 25, 2002)

Seraphina gently walks up to the horse, making soothing sounds as she goes (Rolled a 16 for Handle Animal).  She rubs the horse's side gently as she loops the rope over it's head (And a 19 this roll!).

Seeing this the farmer quickly moves over to the sleeping Blaze and ropes him as well.

"Thanks fer your help miss." he says to Seraphina as he takes the lead rope from her.  He looks over to Aiden as he calls out to him.  "That would be grand, they've never been this hard to catch."

He leads both the horses over to Aiden, then waits expectantly.

Adren, as you glance at the horses you notice that they both have a small scab in the middle of their forehead, as it they had been pricked with some sort of thorn.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 25, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"I suppose next one of you is going to tell me this strange horse behavior is directly linked to the missing children."

He looks aruond at the group and the horses.

"I mean give me a break, helpin old men catch thier horses is one thing, but stopin to give them medical attention? Shouldn't we be attendin those children that were so important before the live stock were endangered?"

_At this point i should've stayed the night at the Inn, would've gotten to town just as quick._


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## Zhure (Apr 25, 2002)

*Gholog*

Gholog naps sitting up. Walking all night is hard work.


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 25, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"How right you are, Kerrick." Seraphina says, walking towards her riding dog. "I was thinking of saying something about it, but then I figured that we are all intelligent here, and can figure that sort of thing out on our own.  It might not be directly linked, but I have to say - it might give us a clue as to what happened."

She mounts Rufus, and rides over to where Aiden to standing.

"Do you see anything wrong with them?" She says, peering up at the bottom of the horses' heads. "I can't see anything, even from Rufus' saddle."


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Apr 26, 2002)

"Sorry for the delay, it will be just a minute."  Aiden will take his time examining the horses, using a heal check on each of them first, and then taking a second check while taking 10.


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## Acmite (Apr 26, 2002)

*Adren*



> _Originally posted by Jarval _Adren, as you glance at the horses you notice that they both have a small scab in the middle of their forehead, as it they had been pricked with some sort of thorn. [/B]




  Whoa, hold there everyone.  There seems to be some kind of scab on the foreheads of these beasts.  Perhaps this has something to do with their strange behaviour?  Aiden, perhaps you should focus your attention on the scabs?  It appears as though some sort of thorn could have caused the wound.  Granted, I know little of the many creatures that inhabit the area, but I can't think of any plant that could cause this.  Good farmer, where have these horses been?  Perhaps this infliction is affecting more than just mindless beasts? 

Looking slightly askance at Aiden, Adren will add:   You never know, friend, they may be connected afterall....is it not stange to hear of (or encounter) two strange occurances within the same day?

Adren can't make a Knowledge Nature check since he has no ranks in it, so when he says he doesn't know of any "thorny" plant that could do this, it's based on that--his inability to check.   

Adren will make a quick look around (~60 ft radius from the group) and see if he can't find any tracks for the horses that might lead to this plant-thing.  It'd be nice to have some backup.


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## Jarval (Apr 26, 2002)

Aiden checks over the horses, taking a close look at the marks on their foreheads.  Both wounds look like they were cause by a small sharp object, and from what you can tell it's still lodged under the skin pointing inwards.  You'd guess that both horses were wounded at about the same time, around four days ago. (A natural 20 on the check!)

"Me name's Othic by the way." The farmer introduces himself as he watches Aiden work.   "What brings you folk to these parts?  I've not seen many heading for Bellhold these last couple of weeks."

Adren looks closely at the ground, studying the tracks.  It would seem that the horses have been leading the farmer around in circles for a couple of hours, but those are the only recent tracks you find.

Light snoring can be heard from Gholog as he naps beside the road.


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## Jarval (Apr 26, 2002)

*Re: Adren*



			
				Acmite said:
			
		

> *Adren can't make a Knowledge Nature check since he has no ranks in it, so when he says he doesn't know of any "thorny" plant that could do this, it's based on that--his inability to check.  *




The SRD says: "An untrained Knowledge check is simply an Intelligence check. Without actual training, a character only knows common knowledge."

But even so, you can't think of any plant that might have caused the wounds.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Apr 26, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"Good to meet you Othic, we're here becuase a family at the last Inn said that you people are having some sort of trouble with your children. All these fine folk up and decided to come here and try to save the day when they heard that."

Kerrick smiles smuggly,

"I don't suppose you have any information about that do ya?"


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## Zhure (Apr 26, 2002)

*Gholog...*

... sleeps



Just wanted to make it clear: Gholog finds this completely uninteresting, but I the player don't. A character with a higher CHA would probably feign interest.


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## GnomeWorks (Apr 27, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"So, boys, what have we found?" She asks Aiden and Adren. "Spread the wealth!  Share what you've learned.  It might be important later."

She then turns to Othic. "We heard that children had gone missing in Bellhold at an inn up the road.  We decided to come investigate."


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## Jarval (Apr 28, 2002)

In reply to Kerrick and Seraphina, Othic says "Aye, I've heard about this.  Makes me glad me own children are grown.  And people have been having some unpleasant dreams from what I've been told.  Not had any myself though.   Some folks reckon it's something in the water that's causing it.

"My only problem was a couple of escaped horse, and you kind folks have sorted that for me, so I have a fair amount to be thankful for."










*OOC:*


 I've got an assignment for college to finish over the next week, so my posting might get a bit sporadic over the next few days.













*OOC:*


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Apr 28, 2002)

(a 20, yay, I feel lucky )

"Well, it seems I'm no detective but theres something annoying these horses, it's a sharp object right in their head."  Aiden points to where the object seems to be.  "It looks like this happened about four days ago, generally at the same time."

Aiden ponders, and thinks, "Let's try and get this out-come on, help me, they might get a little mad since this could hurt."

(Aiden will attempt to unlodge that sharp object, hoping to get help from his companions first though.)


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## Zhure (Apr 29, 2002)

*Gholog*

Gholog snorts awake.

"Want me to cut one of their heads off?" he says, brandishing his glaive.


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## Jarval (May 1, 2002)

Bump.  Is anyone going to help Aiden, or should I continue?


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## GnomeWorks (May 1, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"Hmm..." She says, looking up at the horses.

"Sure... I can try to help..."

She tries to talk softly to the horses, hopefully making them ignore the person digging the sharp pointy thing out of their skin...

[color=sky blue]Handle Animal check, again, I suppose, at a +2 for Charisma... assuming that that works in this case, at which point I don't know what I'm going to do, other than try to keep them calm.[/color]


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## Zhure (May 1, 2002)

*Gholog*



			
				Jarval said:
			
		

> *Bump.  Is anyone going to help Aiden, or should I continue? *




 Gholog offered to lop a horse head off, but noooooo.

Gholog steps up and tries to physically steady the horse Aiden is working on.


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## Other Guy (May 1, 2002)

*Jason Master*

"I suppose that I could tie their legs together so they don't kick at you," Jason suggests, then adds, "but I doubt if anyone else would appreciate that."


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## Acmite (May 2, 2002)

Adren will help.


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## Jarval (May 2, 2002)

With the help of Seraphina, Gholog and Adren, Aiden does his best to calm the horse before he attempts to remove the object.  Handle Animal check: 11 (roll 7 + 2 Cha + 2 from helpers).

The horse stands quietly as Aiden begins his work, but as soon as he touches the object lodged in its head the horse starts backwards, only stopped from bolting by Gholog determinedly hanging on to it.  The horses eyes glow with sliver light as Gholog feels something trying to take over control of his body, but he quickly reasserts control (Gholog gets 16 on his Fort save).  You hear a scream from Othic, who runs past you with a look of sheer terror on his face.  A hideous sound, somewhere between a horses whinny and a snarl comes from the horse he was tending.  Its mouth has twisted and changed into that of a wolf, and its eyes too glow with silver light.

"You humans will never hurt us again!" a voice rings in your heads.  "We will kill you, and then the farmers and whip-makers of this town!"

*Initiatve:* 
Seraphina 21
Aiden 20
Jason 19
Kerrick 17
Adren: 13
Gholog 10 

What do you do?


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## Other Guy (May 2, 2002)

*Jason Master*

"That's different.  Maybe I should have tied it up after all," Jason says, "or at least saved that spell."

What kind of an action would taking a scroll out of one's backpack be -- move equivalent?  He has a scroll organizer, so it shouldn't be too hard to find.  If it is move-equivalent then Jason will take out a scroll of *Mage Armor* and cast it on himself.


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## Jarval (May 2, 2002)

*Re: Jason Master*



			
				Other Guy said:
			
		

> *What kind of an action would taking a scroll out of one's backpack be -- move equivalent?  He has a scroll organizer, so it shouldn't be too hard to find.  If it is move-equivalent then Jason will take out a scroll of Mage Armor and cast it on himself. *




A MEA sounds fine to me, given the scroll organizer.


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## GnomeWorks (May 3, 2002)

"That can't be good." Seraphina says, listening closely to the horse-thing talk.

"Hmm... let's try the surprise approach..."

She brandishes her light crossbow, runs out of the horse's vision, and shoots it.

[color=sky blue]Do I get sneak attack for that?  That's what I'm hoping for, moving out of it's range of vision.  I can't do much else, I don't have a melee weapon, and my illusions won't help in this situation...[/color]


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## Sollir Furryfoot (May 3, 2002)

"Remember, we shouldn't kill the horses if we don't have to!"  Aiden tells his companions as he draws his mace and attempts to strike the horse that he was formerly tending to.


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## Acmite (May 3, 2002)

*Adren--en garde!*

  What foul creature is this?  And why does it attack us so?  For surely it can see that we are not all human! No matter, for we will find answers once the creature has succumbed to our might!. This animals must be possessed if it can speak!  We should try to subdue it if we can....and someone should try to catch the farmer! 

With an over-dramatic flourish, Adren will throw back his cowl and draw his longsword and prepare to defend his friends.

 Adren will draw his longsword and attack two-handed attempting to do subdual damage.


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## Jarval (May 3, 2002)

GnomeWorks said:
			
		

> *[color=sky blue]Do I get sneak attack for that?  That's what I'm hoping for, moving out of it's range of vision.  I can't do much else, I don't have a melee weapon, and my illusions won't help in this situation...[/color] *




If you move round to a flanking possition with Adren or Aiden and stay within 30' of the horse you're attacking you'll get a sneak attack.

Adren and Aiden, I'm assuming you're both attacking the same horse?


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## Zhure (May 3, 2002)

*Gholog*

Assuming Gholog left his glaive stuck in the ground nearby...

Gholog steps back a few feet* and retrieves his glaive**.

"I'm gonna kill one of them. We don't need both for research purposes." He swings*** as hard as he can at the nearest horse.

*5'-step; ** MEA; *** standard.


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## Jarval (May 4, 2002)

I'm just waiting for Kerrick to post before I put up the next update.


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## Sollir Furryfoot (May 5, 2002)

(I suppose, I'm attacking the one that didn't manifest the fangs...also, change Aiden's attack to subdual as well if it's not too late)


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## Sir Osis of Liver (May 5, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

Kerrick freezes, focusing his will for an attack. When he is ready he blasts the animals mind with his force of will.


[OOC: Mind thrust on the nearest horse.]


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## GnomeWorks (May 5, 2002)

Jarval said:
			
		

> *If you move round to a flanking possition with Adren or Aiden and stay within 30' of the horse you're attacking you'll get a sneak attack. *




[color=sky blue]I will follow that course of action, if possible.[/color]


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## Jarval (May 5, 2002)

*Let battle commence!*

Seraphina dashes round behind one of the horses, aims her crossbow and shoots. Rolls 5 + 3 = 8.  The bolt zips over the horse's head, narrowly missing Aiden.

Aiden swings at the horse with his mace, trying to render the beast unconscious.  Rolls 6 + 2 - 4 = 4.  His effort not to land a killing blow causes the mace to go wide by quite some distance.

Jason pulls a scroll out of his pack and begins to chant.  Glowing blue light briefly encompasses him as the _Mage Armor_ takes effect.

Kerrick focuses his mind on the horse with fangs.  His will lashes out, but vanishes into the emptiness that surrounds its mind. Rolls 10 + 2 = 12, the horse made it's save.

Adren draws his sword with a flourish, and swings two-handed with the flat of his blade.  Rolls 13 + 3 - 4 = 12.  His blow narrowly misses the horse as it jinks out of the way.

The horse with fangs turns to face Kerrick, jumping forwards with its teeth bared.  Kerrick easily ducks under its clumsy attack.

The other horse's eyes begin to glow again.  Taking advantage of this, Aiden, Kerrick and Gholog all take the opportunity presented as the horse concentrates on it power.  Aiden swings again, (rolls 16 + 2 - 4 = 14), this making contact!  It smacks into the horse's shoulder, and the horse shies away from him (deals 3 points of subdual damage), the glow fading from its eyes.  However, this movement causes Adren's blow to go wide of its mark (rolls 7 + 3 - 4 = 6).  Gholog lunges forwards with his glave, but his attack also misses, scoring a line along the ground to the right of the horse (rolls 2 + 5 = 7).

Undeterred by this, Gholog brings the glave back up, but to his frustration it again just goes past the horse (rolls 6 + 5 = 11).

"Ha!  You two-legs are pathetic!  We will kill you all!"  says the voice in your heads.  "The beasts of the mountains have given us the powers for our revenge, and none shall harness us again."

I've started an OOC thread for rules questions and the like.  You can find it here


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## GnomeWorks (May 5, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"Oh, to hell with it." She mutters to herself.

She then yells out to her companions. "Let's just down them, quickly!"

With that, she begins casting _Magic Missile_ at the horse she tried to shoot earlier.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (May 5, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"Very well if these infernal horses wish to test me, they will be sorry."

Once again Kerrick draws on his pool of personnal energy, channeling psychoportive energy in to his clenched fist. He then reaches out and attepts to place the hand on the beast that attacked him.


[OOC: Dissipating touch.  Def: Thought shield]]


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## Sollir Furryfoot (May 5, 2002)

Aiden sighs, "I suppose putting them out of thier misery is the only course to go, but should they hang at death's door strike no further."  Aiden swings towards the same horse, not wasting his effort into attacking with subduing blows.


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## Zhure (May 6, 2002)

*Gholog*

_A trained pole-arm user, Gholog will try to shift his movement so that he can help flank for as many as possible. (Since he only gets one attack, he can move up to 30 and not change his attack rate.) If one closes past his reach, he will backpedal if possible, if not, he can attack unarmed and use psionic fist for additional damage.

In all of the above cases, Gholog will continue to do lethal damage._

"Sorry, farmer Othic... at least they'll be good eating the way we're hitting... they'll be all tenderized."

 Thought shield


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## Acmite (May 6, 2002)

*Adren*



			
				Sollir Furryfoot said:
			
		

> *Aiden sighs, "I suppose putting them out of thier misery is the only course to go, but should they hang at death's door strike no further."  Aiden swings towards the same horse, not wasting his effort into attacking with subduing blows. *




  Aye, sadly it looks like we must put them down! 

[COLOR=sky blue]  If it appears that they are hovering at death's door, Adren will switch back to subdual damage at Aiden's suggestion.  Until then, he will do real damage.

Defense Mode if necessary:  Empty Mind [/COLOR]

**Edit Log:  Added Defense Mode after reading the OOC thread**


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## Other Guy (May 7, 2002)

*Jason Master*

Jason, after quickly looking over the situation, moves in to flank the horse that Kerrick is fighting.  He makes a gesture with his arms that looks like an overexaggerated somatic component.  At the same time he speaks, mockingly, "arcane banter, arcane banter," and strikes the horse with his fist.


(OOC)
Jason's not really casting a spell, as I'm sure you've guessed, just fooling around a little with the horse-thing.  He's attacking for subdual damage, because he's a Monk and can do that kind of stuff .

Psionic defense mode: non-psionic buffer
(/OOC)


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## Jarval (May 8, 2002)

*Round 2*

*Initiative:* 
Seraphina 21 
Aiden 20 
Jason 19 
Kerrick 17 
Adren: 13 
Gholog 10

Seraphina utters a few words as she points at the horse in front of her.  A bolt of bright energy streaks away from her and smashes into the horse (deals 3 points of damage).

Aiden again swings with his mace, but this time he spares nothing in his blow.  The mace arcs round and again strikes the horse (rolls 16 + 2 = 18).  The blow lands well, and you hear the sound of bone breaking (deals 6 points of damage).

Jason moves over to the horse with fangs, making mock spellcasting gestures as he goes.  He lashes out at the horse, but he misses as it shifts away from him (roll 4 + 1 = 5).

Kerrick's fist seems to shimmer as his power starts to take hold.  The horse takes advantage of his momentary distraction to bite at him, but Kerrick gracefully dodges the attack.  Kerrick swipes at the horse and the shimmering shifts from his hand to the horse's flank (rolls 18 + 2 = 20).  The horse screams out in pain as its flesh is ripped by the psionic energy (deals 6 damage).

With a swish of his sword, Adren again attacks the beast before him.  Ducking forwards under its head, he thrusts his sword into its shoulder (rolls 16 + 3 = 19).  The horse stumbles and drops to the ground as Adren withdraws his blade (deals 8 points of damage)[/COLOR].  Aiden, while the horse seems seriously wounded, you think your first blow weakened it enough for it to fall.  It seems to still live, although it is unconscious.

The horse with fangs jolts at the sight of its fellow falling.  It lashes out again at Kerrick, but again his skilled reactions save him from any hurt.  The horse turns bolts away.  As it passes Gholog, he take the opportunity to strike at it with his glave.  The weapon catches it as it runs past (rolls 11 + 5 = 16) and tears at its chest (deals 8 damage).  The horse keeps going, along the road away from Bellhold.

-------
Damage taken so far:

The fallen horse: 20 (3 subdual)

Horse with fangs: 14 


Looks like you were saving your good rolls for the second round


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## GnomeWorks (May 8, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"I can stop it, but someone else needs to finish it!" Seraphina calls out. "We can't let that thing leave!"

She takes a small step towards the horse ([color=sky blue]5' step[/color]), and casts _Mage Hand_ at one of the horse's back legs, raising it up high sharply and hopefully knocking the horse off balance.


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## Other Guy (May 8, 2002)

*Jason Master*



			
				Jarval said:
			
		

> Looks like you were saving your good rolls for the second round [/B]





Not all of us . 

"I agree with the lady Tealeaf," Jason says, taking out his bow and firing an arrow at the escaping creature.  Watching the arrow fly towards its target he adds, "I just hope that this time I don't miss."


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## Zhure (May 8, 2002)

*Gholog...*

.. grimly chases the beast, putting on a superhuman burst of speed.

Burst (free action) gives Gholog a move of 40, so he can charge 80'. If that won't be sufficient to close within the 10 feet of reach of his glaive, he'll only instead move up to quadruple move (160') stopping within 10 feet of the creature so he can hopefully AoO it next round, or delay it.


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## Sollir Furryfoot (May 9, 2002)

Aiden, knowing that he'll have a hard time catching up decides to bandage the remaining horse to stop its bleeding, and then turning to the farmer, "Is there anything we can use to tie this horse up?"

(Taking 10 on my healing check.)


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## Jarval (May 11, 2002)

*Initiative:*
Seraphina 21 
Aiden 20 
Jason 19 
Gholog 10

Seraphina concentrates, and you can just make out the faint outline of a hand closing around the fleeing horses hoof (ranged touch attack, rolled 7 + 3 = 10).  She tries to wrench on the horses leg, but it easily kicks away the magical hand.

Aiden kneels besides the horse in front of him an bandages its wounds, stopping the bleeding.  Looking around for farmer Othic, he spots him hiding behind a clump of bushes a couple of hundred yards along the road.  He looks terrified, to say the least.

Jason unslings his bow, nocks an arrow and shoots.  The arrow hits the horse's shoulder as it runs (rolled 17 + 2 = 19),  but causes little damage merely grazing it (deals 1 point of damage).

The horse, spurred on by your assaults, continues to flee along the road.

Gholog, noticing the lead the horse has gained, dashes past the rest of the party at an inhuman pace.  He passes the horse, then stands ready a little further down the road.


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## Acmite (May 12, 2002)

*Adren*

If I get a chance, I'll run after the horse and attempt to take it down with my bow.  If I can't catch it, I'll return to the group and help out with the fallen horse and the farmer.


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## Other Guy (May 12, 2002)

*Jason Master*

Jason silently reloads his bow and fires at the horse once more.

(OOC)
Jason will take the -4 to avoid hitting Gholog, if necessary.
(/OOC)


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## Zhure (May 12, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Prepare to die, monster." Gholog readies his glaive hoping the creature tries to run by him.



			
				Other Guy said:
			
		

> *
> Jason will take the -4 to avoid hitting Gholog, if necessary.
> 
> 
> ...


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## GnomeWorks (May 14, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"Well, crap, I'm done.  I wasn't much help."

Seraphina reloads her light crossbow angrily.

"We'll try it one more time, though.  Just for kicks..."

She aims her crossbow at the horse, and fires.


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## Jarval (May 14, 2002)

*Initiative:* 
Seraphina 21 
Jason 19 
Adren: 13 
Gholog 10

Seraphina reloads her crossbow, a look of annoyance on her face.  She shoots after the retreating horse, hitting it squarely (rolled 15 + 3 = 18).  The bolt hits the horse in the shoulder, making it stumble momentarily (deals 2 points of damage).

Jason quickly nocks another arrow and shoots again.  The arrow flies and strikes the horse in the neck (rolls 18 + 2 = 20, deals 3 points of damage).  The horse collapses suddenly, falling to the ground close to Gholog's feet.

------- 
Damage taken so far: 

The horse Aiden is tending: 20 (3 subdual) 

Horse with fangs: 20


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## Zhure (May 14, 2002)

*Gholog...*

... stabs the one at his feet to make sure it's dead.


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## Jarval (May 15, 2002)

Bump...


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## Zhure (May 15, 2002)

*Gholog*

Gholog squats down and pokes at the horse dead at his feet.

"Looks creepy."

He carefully walks around to the head of the horse and tries to look squarely at whatever was in it's skull... but won't approach closer than five feet, rather poking at it with his glaive.


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## Jarval (May 15, 2002)

_Gholog_

You think it looks like a shard of crystal, although you can't be sure from where you're standing.


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## Zhure (May 15, 2002)

*Gholog*

Using the tip of his glaive, Gholog will try to pry it out.

"Looks like some sort of crystal. I ain't touching it."


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## Acmite (May 16, 2002)

Adren (once he finishes chasing after the other horse and trying to shoot it with his bow) will also take a look at one of these crystals.


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## Jarval (May 16, 2002)

Gholog tries to pry out the crystal shard, but it seems quite firmly lodged.  It'll take a minute or two to remove it without breaking the shard.

Adren takes a close look at the crystal Gholog is trying to remove.  It's a light blue, and seems to have been driven through the horse's skull and into its brain.  It's not a pleasant sight.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (May 16, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

Kerrick walks over to the others. "You fellows think that might have something to do with the towns problems? Crystals store Psionic energy quite well..."


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## Zhure (May 16, 2002)

*Gholog*

"That's REALLY disgusting. What if whoever did this to the horses also did it to the children?"


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## Other Guy (May 16, 2002)

*Jason, back at the other horse*

"Why is everyone so interested in the dead one; How could he be useful to us now?" Jason says, then realizes, "oh -- the crystal."

"I think it'd be best if we left it in this one for right now. We may not be able to get the thing out without killing him, plus I'll bet we'd all like to talk to him when he wakes up."  Jason realizes another thing: "Right! About that," he says to himself, looking around. "Do any of you have, or know how to use, rope?" he asks.


(OOC)
Jason is looking for something (hopefully a strong rope or chain) to use to tie the horse's feet together.  If nobody has any then he'll use the closest thing he can find.  If nobody has any ranks in Use Rope then he'll do it, taking 20 (and making a very funny-looking horse (tied up 20 separate times) in the process) if there's enough material. He won't cut any materials into smaller pieces to do this, he'll just look for more of it -- rope, chain, vines, cloths, etc.
(OOC)


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## Jarval (May 16, 2002)

There are the two lead ropes for the horses.  Each is about 10' in length, and look strong enough to be useable.


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## GnomeWorks (May 17, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

"I agree with Jason," The halfling says, walking up to where the horse fell. "We might want to question the creature.  If this is the sort of thing that happened to the children, then we might be able to get some information out of it that could be useful later."

She puts away her crossbow, slinging it across her back.

"And if it doesn't want to talk... well, I'm sure that we have ways of making it talk..."


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## Sollir Furryfoot (May 17, 2002)

Aiden sighs, "These poor creatures...whoever did this to them will pay, that I promise."  Aiden watches the group, prepared to heal the horses if they get too far damaged from the crystal being dislodged.


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## Jarval (May 17, 2002)

Jason moves over to the unconscious horse and starts to tie it up.  It takes him a fair amount of time, and his knots are large and somewhat clumsy, but they seem secure enough.

After a few minutes work, Gholog pries the crystal out of the dead horse's skull.   The crystal is about 3 inches long and comes to a sharp point.

_Adren and Kerrick:_  Once the crystal has been prised free, you both get a feeling of dislike and slight fear from your psicrystals.  Jaxen and Virch both seem to have this distaste for the crystal, although they are both a little puzzled by their reactions to it.


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## Zhure (May 17, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Great, now I feel like a butcher. I'm going to have to buy a pair of ten foot long tongs if this keeps up."

Gholog will assist in tying up the remaining horse.


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## GnomeWorks (May 17, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

She moves to stand near Gholog and takes a look at the crystal.

"Hmm... that looks like it was deep in the thing's brain." She says, indicating the horse. "Umm... if we want to question it, what do you propose we do?  Can any of you psionic-types talk to it?  I've got a feeling that I won't be of any help here."

Seraphina continues to stand around, looking around aimlessly.

"Well, if we are going to stay in Bellhold awhile, perhaps some of us should go and prepare rooms for us or something." She says. "I'll go and do that.  If anyone else wants to come along, I'm fine with that."

After counting how many people and mounts are in the group, she mounts Rufus, and continues on down the road towards Bellhold.


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## Jarval (May 17, 2002)

Gnome, you might want to edit that last post a touch.  Gholog made sure that one of the horses was very dead.  The one Aiden's tending is still alive, although it's still got a shard of crystal in its skull.


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## Acmite (May 18, 2002)

I'm not sure I want anything to do with the crystal.  It is agitating Jaxen, but neither of us understand why.  I'm not even sure I want to touch it. 

Anyone looking at Adren can clearly see that he is both nervous and confused at this development.

OOC:  Sadly, I don't have Knowledge: Psionics or Psicraft.  Jarval, if there is any check I CAN make, I'd like to do so.


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## Zhure (May 18, 2002)

*Gholog*

"My apologies for the condition of your horse, Othic. Perhaps I can repay you for the loss?"


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## Jarval (May 18, 2002)

As Gholog walks over to Othic he can see the farmer shaking violently.  He starts slightly as Gholog begins to speak.

"Ah, um, you need not pay me...  You have saved me from them...  What are they?"  Othic takes a few steps towards the horses with a look of horrified fascination.

Adren thinks through his knowledge of psionics, but he can recall nothing like this (untrained Knowledge (Psionics) check).


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## Zhure (May 20, 2002)

*Gholog*

"I don't know, Othic. I'm not sure any of my more learned companions do or not.

... we are also looking for some missing children and heard there is a cleric still in these areas, I don't suppose you could direct us to either?"


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## Jarval (May 21, 2002)

Othic seems to regain a little composure as he talks with Gholog.

"Aye, I've heard about the missing children.  Sounds like a bad business, but I know little about it.  You'd want to speak to Captain Haldik of the Watch about it, as he's lookin' for them.

You'd be thinkin' of Thorlenn, she's a priest of Pelor in the town.  She's stayed when most of her fellows have fled."  Othic frowns as he says this.

"What are you going to do with me horse?  I'd rather you didn't leave me with it if you can't cure it."


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## Zhure (May 21, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Thanks for the information," Gholog smiles his best at the farmer.

"I'm sorry about the living horse, too. I don't want to be responsible for it. Maybe someone else will be... or I can kill it for you, if you want."


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## Other Guy (May 21, 2002)

*Jason Master*

"Not just yet, Gholog," Jason says.  "Some of us would like to question it.  If he doesn't give us any information, and if we can't fix him, then you can kill him.  Just make sure that if you do you severe its head, so that we can get at the meat."


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## Zhure (May 24, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Very well, my friend. I hate killing these poor beasts, but I'd rather do that than have them wander around."

 I'll be out of touch until Tuesday. Gholog will probably do a lot of napping until I get back.


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## Jarval (May 26, 2002)

Turning to Aiden, Othic asks "Can you heal my horse?  I would be most greatful if you could, as losing both would be quite a blow."


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## Zhure (May 28, 2002)

*Gholog*

... squats down and waits until a decision is reached.


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## Sollir Furryfoot (May 28, 2002)

_Aiden nods, "Yes, I will try my best, it is the least we can do."  Aiden clasps his hands down at the horse, calling upon Pelor's blessing to heal its wounds..._


(Cure Light Wounds...Jarval, in the Smashed World Game theres a spot open for a wizard/psion, you said you were interested in joining)


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## Jarval (May 28, 2002)

Sollir Furryfoot said:
			
		

> *(Cure Light Wounds...Jarval, in the Smashed World Game theres a spot open for a wizard/psion, you said you were interested in joining) *




Thanks for keeping track of that Sollir.  My post got lost in the switch from one db to another.  I'll check in over there ASAP.


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## Jarval (May 28, 2002)

Aiden kneels down beside the horse as he calls on Pelor's power to heal the beast. The sun disk around his neck glows with golden light briefly as he does so and the horses eyes open (heals 7 points of damage). The crystal implanted in the horses head glows brightly with golden light, then melts into a small pool of liquid on the ground.

The horse struggles slightly against the ropes around its legs, trying to stand.


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## Zhure (May 28, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Perhaps healing magics slay these crystals?"


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## Sir Osis of Liver (May 29, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"That was strange."  Kerrick pokes the liquid with a stick, "Could you perhaps cast some healing on the other crystal?"


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## Zhure (May 29, 2002)

*Gholog*

"It should be alright as long as we don't lick it."


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## Other Guy (May 29, 2002)

Jason looks over towards Gholog and speaks, "yes, yes it should."

He then turns back to speak with the rest of the group, "anyway, I suppose he won't be able to talk to us anymore.  However, perhaps it is simply the positive energy that Aiden channeled which melted the crystal.  Why don't you try channeling your power against the other crystal as you do to undead, and see if that does anything?  After that we ought to try to find a way to speak with one of these creatures, to find out what happened."


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## Zhure (Jun 1, 2002)

*Gholog*

"Don't look at me, I never figured out how to talk to horses."


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Jun 1, 2002)

"I'm glad that we have saved at least one of these, I'm not sure whether it was my healing or something else that had saved them though."  Aiden sighs, "I guess I could try to."  He moves over to the other horse and channels some more healing energy upon the crystal.

(Cure Light Wounds again, taking out Bless)


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## Jarval (Jun 2, 2002)

Sollir, I think Jason's intention was for you to try a Turn Undead attempt on the crystal rather than healing magic.  OTOH, you can go ahead with the healing spell if you wish.  Both seem like good experimental routes to me.


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Jun 2, 2002)

[color=sky blue]Ok then, i'll try Turn Undead first and then the healing spell if the first doesn't work...[/color]


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## Jarval (Jun 2, 2002)

Aiden walks over to the body of the dead horse.  Again he calls upon Pelor's power, but this time there is a different, more aggressive feel to the energy.  The wave of positive energy rolls forwards from Aiden's holy symbol across the dead horse, but leaves the crystal unaffected.

Aiden moves closer to the dead horse, placing his hand on it's forehead as he utters another plea to Pelor.  Again the sun disk glows, and this time the crystal melts forming a small pool of blue liquid.

Othic looks deeply impressed (and a little awed) by this display of magic as he walks over to stand beside Aiden.

"By the Gods sir, that was quite a marvel!  Has Pelor's blessing saved my horse?" he asks, pointing to the roped animal.


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Jun 2, 2002)

"Yes, it seems the remaining horse still lives, thank Pelor.  I'm sorry for all the commotion but I have a feeling that this incident is connected to the horses disappearance, where did you last see them before they were taken?"

Aiden turns back to the group, "It seems healing dissolves these crystals, too bad we did not know it sooner before one of them already was killed."  The young cleric looks sad at this, "We have to find out what happened to the horses though, I don't think we want to have this happening again..."


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## Other Guy (Jun 2, 2002)

*Jason Master*

"Don't feel so sad, Aiden," Jason says, trying to comfort the saddened cleric.  "it's a shame that the crystals only seem to be harmed by healing energies.  Still, we've found a way to destroy them, and it's thanks to you that we have.  Because of your simple act of kindness, we may not have to kill anymore enslaved creatures.  Pelor must be quite proud of you right now.

"You're right, too.  I'm sure that none of us want this to repeat itself," Jason continues.  "Maybe one of us should to go back to the tavern and inform the people there.  I'm sure that they could spread the news pretty quickly -- all the customers were  fellow travellers, after all."

(OOC)
I can't remember if anybody had a riding horse or not.  If not, then Jason will offer to go back.  Otherwise, he will suggest that the best rider (or the owner of the horse) goes.
(/OOC)


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Jun 2, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"There's something bad going on with those crystals, Virch got all gittery when i got neer it. I don't think it's a good idea to devide our strength just yet, the people at the inn will keep for a while yet. Lets investigate a little more before any of us runs off."


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## Other Guy (Jun 2, 2002)

*Jason Master*

"Still, it'd only be one of us that had to leave, and then only for a short time," Jason responds.  "What do the rest of you think we should do?  If we met a group a creatures that were possessed that quickly, then there are probably many more such unfortunate things around here.  Perhaps even some of the children we're looking for.  I think that we need to get the word out to people quickly."


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## Zhure (Jun 2, 2002)

*Gholog*

"I think it's a good idea to warn the other travelers, but since we traveled all night, going back would be dangerous, especially for only one of us. Does anyone have a magical or psionic way to warn them?"


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## Jarval (Jun 3, 2002)

"I could go." Othic says. "You folks just saved me and me horse, so by my reckonin' I owe you. If you tell me the name of the inn, I'll ride there right now."


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## Zhure (Jun 3, 2002)

*Gholog*

"It's the _Dancing Hounds_, Othic. That's a brave gesture on your part to make the trip. Ride safely."

Muttering to himself as he walks toward the main body of the group," ... probably far safer than we'll be."


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## Acmite (Jun 4, 2002)

*Adren--I have three eyes!*

  Have a safe journey.  If you encounter any more trouble with your horses or any other beasts, be sure to contact a cleric and send us a message.  If this problem is widespread, it would be nice to know before we travel too far.

Come, friends.  Now that this has been resolved, we must continue our journey! 

Jarval, Adren will gather any of his arrows that weren't destroyed in the battle


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## Jarval (Jun 4, 2002)

"I know _Hounds_." Othic nods as he speaks.  "I'll fetch a horse an' ride there."

He quickly unties the surviving horse and starts to lead it away towards the farm near the road.

"If you folk ever need a place to stay 'round here, just come to mine.  You're welcome at my home any time."

Adren, you only shot the one arrow and it survived.


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## Zhure (Jun 5, 2002)

*Gholog*

Gholog wanders around the field looking for tracks as best he is able. Perhaps he can find where the horses had been....

 Untrained search check, 0 Ranks, +1 Int


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## Jarval (Jun 7, 2002)

Gholog looks around the field and finds two sets of hoof prints, both of which lead towards Othic's farm.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Jun 7, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

"I think we should probably get ourselves into town and see whats what, don't you all?"


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## Acmite (Jun 7, 2002)

Aye, Kerrick.  I think that would be best.  There seems to be much going on in this area, and maybe we can find more information in town.


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## Zhure (Jun 7, 2002)

*Gholog*

Gholog slings his glaive over his shoulder and nods in agreement. "Sounds like the best plan altogether. I'm not seeing anything else here. Maybe we can catch up with Seraphina. Hopefully she's got some food and lodgings lined up; I'm famished."


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## Other Guy (Jun 7, 2002)

*Jason Master*

"OK then," Jason says, not really adding much to the conversation other than the knowledge that he paid attention to it.

"Let's go."


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## Zhure (Jun 9, 2002)

*Gholog*

... walks toward Bellhold.


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## Jarval (Jun 9, 2002)

*On to Bellhold*

You continue along the road to Bellhold.  After about a mile or so the fields to either side of you give way to houses and shops.  There seems to be quite a variety in what the shops offer, ranging from mining equipment and smithies to butchers and bakers.  Around a quarter of the are closed however, a sign of the troubles that have been afflicting the town.

You continue along into the town square, dominated by a tall bell tower.  You seem to have arrived on market day, as the square is packed with stalls.  Near the bell tower, a bearded man with wild eyes is standing atop a box, haranguing the crowd that has gathered around him.


_Seraphina_

Having arrived in Bellhold, you quickly find that the only inn open is the "Bell and Clapper".  You quickly arrange for food and board for the party.  People seem short-tempered and irritable in the town, and you have seen a couple of people come close to blows with each other.  This even seems to extend to the animals, as a dog tried to bite Rufus.

You spot your friends walking into the square as you come out of the Bell and Clapper.


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## Zhure (Jun 9, 2002)

*Gholog*

Gholog stares around wide-eyed, having never been to a substantive town before.


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## GnomeWorks (Jun 9, 2002)

*Seraphina Tealeaf*

Seraphina rushes over to where her friends have just entered town.

"Something wierd is going on around here," She says in a slightly hushed voice. "The inn that I got us some rooms at is the _Bell and Clapper_.  We'll talk more once we get in there."

She runs back to the inn.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Jun 9, 2002)

*Kerrick Jonez*

Kerrick lingers out side for a few moments, wanting to see what the man is going on about.


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## Acmite (Jun 10, 2002)

Adren unintentionally mimics Gholog's expression of abject amazement.

 The people....the smells...so much noise.....

Turning towards Kerrick, he asks in a whisper,  How many call this place home?  Surely it must be tens of thousands! 

Amazed by the enormity of the town laid before him, Adren will also stay behind to watch what is going on with the old man, and he will mumble to the departing Seraphina that he will "be right there".


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## Zhure (Jun 10, 2002)

*Gholog*

Snapping out of his surprise at the size of Bellhold and hearkening back to the words of Seraphina about the citizens being argumentative, Gholog draws a cowl over his head to partially disguise his orcish heritage and walks into the _Bell & Clapper_.

_Sometimes humans are judgmental. I probably shouldn't let them see too much of me whilst they are irritated._

He tries not to appear a skulk, just remaning anonymous.


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## Jarval (Jun 11, 2002)

_Gholog and Seraphina:_

You walk into the tavern, the cool air inside a relief after the warmth outside.  The common room is mostly empty, with two old farmers sitting at a table playing cards and the barkeep.  You look around the room, the many items hung on the walls catching your attention.  On one wall hangs a talon the size of Gholog's forearm, along with a couple of dagger sized teeth.  Behind the bar hang several weapons and a shield, all of which look well used and cared for.  Below them a large ironbound book sits.

"Hello again."  The barkeeper, a middle aged half-elf, says to Seraphina.  "Is there anything else you're wanting?"  The two farmers look up at the sound of the barkeeper's voice, but seem little interested by you and return to their game.


_Adren and Kerrick:_

You wonder over to the shouting man, his voice quickly becoming audible to you.  He is muscled and filthy, and his hair is unwashed.  He shakes slightly as he speaks.

"And I tell you ALL.." he pauses for a moment as he spots you. "And here we have new friends!  Welcome, friends, welcome.  He will gladly take you as well.  I was just explaining to these fine people here," and at this his voice drops to almost a conspiratorial whisper. "that we're all going to get swallowed."  His voice returns to normal.  "Yes, swallowed!  Deep into the abyss, where we are kept for and cared for by the one who hates us!  I can see him now... feel him.  I have felt him against my skin at night.  He... he will bury us all in the deepest pit!"  His tone changes again, to one that is almost happy.  "I'm not going back into the mine, you see.  Never never never.  The mine is where he'll find me, so I won't go.  He talks to me every day, and tells me he misses me, but I don't miss his whispers!"  Tears begin to roll down his face, slicing furrows through the dirt on his cheeks.  "I don't!"


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## Sollir Furryfoot (Jun 11, 2002)

Aiden replies to Seraphina, "I'll be right there, I have to check up on the bells for the church however."  The cleric ponders if there is something more to this town to be seen, before heading towards his destination.

(I forgot if I was supposed to go to the Bell tower or where to pick up the church bells, although Aiden wants to check on them before going to the tavern)


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## Jarval (Jun 12, 2002)

Sollir Furryfoot said:
			
		

> *(I forgot if I was supposed to go to the Bell tower or where to pick up the church bells, although Aiden wants to check on them before going to the tavern) *




The bells are at the Krekket Foundry over the east end of town.

I've started up a new IC thread here since we've hit the 200 post limit.


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