DM Kathy Tuesday April 9th, 2013 11:07:55 PM Asteron realizes that the amulet doesn't afford any more protection than simply being a Minotaur. He gives it back to Ragnarök.
Meanwhile, Ragnarök is wondering whether a wand of Mage Armor would work better. If you had one, either Faust or Yngvar could activate it. But getting one will have to wait until you can access the Catacombs, which will be a while. In the meantime, the amulet is available to whoever wants to use it.
Asteron asks Ka whether you could get your prisoners to Auntie in secret, but Toregan isn't sure that's the way to go.
Ka shakes his head. "Village for kobolds," he says. "No places for big people. You see already, yes? We can make place for big people, but need all kobolds help. Others will know."
"But if Auntie say, we not tell anybody else," he adds hastily. "Even other kobolds."
[OOC: I have never heard of a rule saying good characters aren't allowed to use poison in the Wold. I checked the PRD, and there isn't a Pathfinder rule to that effect, either. I do know that the Catacombs will not buy or sell poison, so you'll either have to use the arrows yourselves or throw them away.
If it helps, I deliberately chose a poison that would not kill. Spider venom does Strength damage; when a creature is reduced to 0 Strength it cannot move and falls unconscious, but it does not die. You can't kill anything with this poison, although you can incapacitate.]
(Ezra, the Second) Yngvar Hefnd AC 14{18}/14{18}/12{16} -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Tuesday April 9th, 2013 11:47:32 PM Don't we have magic catacomb pins that open portals?
Yngvar nods, yeah, a wand or two would definitely be better.
Yngvar does any translating needed. The arrows will most likely be of use at range before closing in on any enemies. I suggest keeping them.
(Pedro) Faust Havler Tavir'e AC 17/13/14 -- CMD 14 -- HP 27/27 // Wolfgang AC 17/15/14 -- CMD 13 -- HP 13/13 Wednesday April 10th, 2013 11:06:39 AM
[[OOC: Sorry folks, been hospitalized since monday morning. I ate something that really made my stomach upset, to the point of vomiting blood, so the doctors told me to sleep in for observation
Regarding the catacombs, I think the reason is mostly time, we have to get on the move and the portal is not mobile, is it?
About poison, I don't quite remember if it was the rules board or the last DM that answered it, but basically the answer was that nobody will arrest you for using poison (unless you use it against good humanoids, obviously), but no one will sell you poison either, you'll have to make it on your own...or ask Faust or Yngvar.]]
"Indeed. Just give me one for some quick analysis, if they do prove useful, I believe I'll be able to produce more..."
"Hmmm...if hiding them from others is not really an option, do keep them as far away from other tribes as possible, they might be able to sway or disrupt the alliance if their words reach tribes less favorable to us."
(Jorge) Asteron Worldtraveller AC 19/11/17 -- CMD 21 -- HP 39/43 -- Rage 13/17 Wednesday April 10th, 2013 3:05:17 PM "That was my line of thinking... although I fear that the other tribes may have spies inside this one. So word will eventually get out." Asteron does not like the prospect of their newly found allies getting into trouble because of their prisoners. It might have been simpler to just kill them outright, he thinks... but does not voice his thoughts.
"We will need to ask Auntie to keep an eye on these two. We can't just take them along everywhere. Not safe for us, and probably not safe for them either." He adds the last thought so Ragnarök is appeased. [b]"And she may want to ask them a few questions... after I try to pry some information from them. I can look quite menacing sometimes, I suppose". The minotaur chuckles at the thought. He might not be the best browbeater there is, but he will definitely give it a try. - - - - - OOC: Sorry to hear that Pedro! Hope you are better now.
One question for the DM/ADM: Can I take 10 or 20 with Intimidate? Never tried it, so I don't know :)
(StevenVdB) Ragnarök HP 33/34 - AC21/20/14 / 25 vs AoO - CMD 24 / 26 vs Grapple Wednesday April 10th, 2013 4:01:49 PM "Before we head out again", Ragnarök chimes in, "I do need 10 minutes alone with Teril... he seemed to be the leader of these two and if we leave them here when we go in search of the other Way Stations I don't want him to turn to his previous endeavours again... or at least not without ending up cursed from doing so... Hold him tight my Taur friend..."
Ragnarök takes time to cast a Mark of Justice on Teril. Should Teril return to his former habbits with the D.A.R.E. group and destroy outposts, way stations or any sign of civilization, or plot against such civilizations, the curse bestowed on him will be activated and as such he will take a -6 on his Wisdom score. Since that is the main ability for a druid it should cripple the man...
(Sean) Toregan Dondarin AC 18/14/14 -- CMD 19 -- HP 29/29 Wednesday April 10th, 2013 7:50:08 PM
Toregan give Teril a hard glare before noding his head."A good plan. If anything, it'll act as a good message to his group if he is let go or escapes." Toregan then nods in agreement to Yngvar's advice. "I'll keep them with me for the time being. I'd probably be the best at using them."
[i]That sucks. I can only imagine how horrible you must feel right now. Take your time recovering, your health is the most important thing. That said, I hope you'll get better soon![/b]
DM Kathy d20+8=13 ; Wednesday April 10th, 2013 11:12:04 PM
[OOC: Pedro, I hope you get to feeling better soon! I remember having to go to the ER for food poisoning, but it was just a dehydration issue and I was out in hours. I can't imagine being that sick!]
Yngvar asks about your handy-dandy Catacombs pins. This is the first your DM is hearing about this; can somebody point me to the relevant information in the Archives?
Faust expresses an interest in analyzing the poison, and advises caution if the druids are to be turned over to the kobolds.
Asteron also advises caution, and he is looking foward to interrogating the prisoners.
Ragnarök uses a special ability to try to put a Mark of Justice on Teril. Teril resists to the best of his ability [Will save 13; what's the DC?]
Toregan agrees to take custody of the poisoned arrows.
"Not worry," Ka says confidently. "We not talk to other tribes."
[OOC: I will allow you to take 10 on an Intimidate, but not 20.]
When you talk to the druids, you don't get a lot of information. Zyk doesn't seem to know much; Teril was clearly the one in charge of their little team. Teril claims to be part of a larger organization, this D.A.R.E., which he claims has members all over the Wold, working to "liberate the forests from the trespasses of so-called civilization." He is evasive about where they are headquartered, or who "C" is. He does say that he has never met C in person, but that C is highly-placed in the organization and is the one in charge of this particular operation.
(Ezra, the Second) Yngvar Hefnd AC 14{18}/14{18}/12{16} -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Wednesday April 10th, 2013 11:34:23 PM We could always tie them to a log and float them downriver... Other than letting them go, I don't think leaving them with the kobolds is a good choice.
(StevenVdB) Ragnarök HP 33/34 - AC21/20/14 / 25 vs AoO - CMD 24 / 26 vs Grapple Thursday April 11th, 2013 1:23:12 PM "Go on someone should interrogate them folks! I'm not the most intimidating one nor do I have the capability to do so... Try to get them to tell us where this D.A.R.E group comes from, where they are based, how big they are, who their leaders are and so on... with some fine language and a nudge from Master Asteron we should be able to make'm squeel. And then... I agree with Yngvar to strip'm from their belongings and send them downstream on a raft..."
ooc let's speed up the pacing here friends. Someone should take care of the interrogation presto.
(Ezra, the Second) Yngvar Hefnd AC 14{18}/14{18}/12{16} -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Thursday April 11th, 2013 2:46:37 PM March 28th, 2012. Six days after hearing of Cthonia, and a harrowing signup and trip to the wilds, Pen provided the newly arrived with Attunement Needles that allow access to the catacombs. Unfortunately, the portal is in Pen's office at the outpost. Come to think about it, only Toregan and I are still around since then.
Seeing that the group had started to waver in deciding what needed to be done, Yngvar found a courage that had been hidden, and stepped forward, having remembered why he was way out here in the wilds of Cthonia in the first place. Taking a moment to try and remember the pertinent regs, he pulls back his shoulders and walks to stand before the two druids.
I'm sure that we will get much of use from them with a lengthy and violent interrogation. They have admitted to criminal acts of violence against people, causing traumatic bodily harm and death. That's enough for a death sentence as far as Pantheon is concerned. Toregan and I were hired to take charge of the outpost, and those areas under its protection, which would include the way stations. That one has admitted to killing sentient beings in our jurisdiction. Yngvar points to Teril. By the regulations of the Trade and Merchants Guild, chapter 13, paragraph 1105m subsection A, part 1, I find that both men are guilty of murder, with intent.
Yngvar takes a hard, long look at the two men. The penalty is usually death. Understand me clearly, I have no doubts about your guilt. And I would sleep well tonight knowing I had served justice. I give you one opportunity, and only one. On your oath, and honor, you may accept indentured service to the outpost. In such a role you would be expected to provide for the common defense of the outpost and its visitors. In addition, you will renounce your membership with the terrorist organization DARE. As we are working to develop the outpost in harmony with nature, your council will be considered as our operations expand in Cthonia. Your alternative is a swift sentence of death. You have one minute to choose.
Yngvar remembered that the original group is ostensibly in charge of the outpost. Ezra doesn't recall if any of the current party has also been placed in such a position, other than Toregan who was present at our arrival at the Outpost. Yngvar is also working into the prestige class of Justicar, so his current actions relate this.
(Pedro) Faust Havler Tavir'e AC 17/13/14 -- CMD 14 -- HP 27/27 // Wolfgang AC 17/15/14 -- CMD 13 -- HP 13/13 Thursday April 11th, 2013 10:46:27 PM
[[ OOC: Thank you all. To be honest I'm very glad just to be home already, hope I'll never have to spend so much time at a hospital, much less without eating anything.
If I understood anything of what the doctors said, they kept me in in fear of actual poisoning (which could indicate either a crime or some sort of defect in any food company whose food I consumed last week), but since all ill symptoms were pretty much gone after a full 24 hour cycle without anything but...not sure how it's called in English, serum maybe? Anyway, "nutritious medicine water directly in the vein", they released me as it was clear to them that it was all but a strong case of food poisoning (but not actual poison poisoning).
I'm still not 100%, naturally, but am good enough to work and move around; been eating lots and lots of home-made chicken noodles to get my strength back. ]]
Faust just looks at the two men, without his hopes up, after all, they didn't seem reasonable at all, he shakes his head and mutters, "A shame really, a nature caster would be a great asset, not to mention that indeed, someone more in the knows of the forest would be great for minimizing the impact..."
Think Faust was added as a helping hand, in the same oath as you, though don't think it was fully described to him. Still, keep the peace, guarantee security, deal with enemies, simple enough.
(Jorge) Asteron Worldtraveller AC 19/11/17 -- CMD 21 -- HP 39/43 -- Rage 13/17 Friday April 12th, 2013 12:28:54 AM
Asteron begins his interrogation. He sets the two druids down in front of him, and then towers over them in the most menacing way he can. He unshoulders his pack, but keeps wielding his blade. Then, very, very slowly he starts measuring as if he is to cut Teril's right foot cleanly with one swing of his blade. Then, as if thinking better of it, changes position and starts aiming at the left. "Well, unless you start talking, I start slicing. Your choice. Every lie you say, I chop off a few inches, starting with the foot. Every question that is not answered to my satisfaction, the same. When the left leg is gone, I start with the right one. When the legs are gone, I start with the arms. Just a few inches at a time, so it takes a long time to finish... and gives you lots, and lots of pain!"
Hopefully, Asteron thinks, the man will not know about the proverbial honor that bounds the minotaurs. But even if he does, Asteron will say that a criminal, because that is what the man is, should be treated exactly as he deserves. Boiling alive comes to mind as a fit form of punishment. - - - - - Intimidate [d20+9] = 19. Take 10, no roll.
DM Kathy Friday April 12th, 2013 12:58:26 AM Yngvar expresses doubts about leaving the men with the kobolds, but there are few alternatives.
Ragnarök is interested in further interrogations. I will step in out of character and say as your DM that you've found out all there is to find out at this point in the story. You can keep talking to them for roleplay purposes if you like, but you have all the information you're going to get.
With Faust's help, Yngvar is able to give the men a choice. Zyk accepts right away, with a shrug and a "sure, whatever." He gives his oath, and you are sure he will keep to the letter of it, if not the spirit.
Teril looks at Zyk with disgust, then back to you. "Kill me if you must," he says. "I will never serve the defilers of the wild lands."
Asteron gets inventive in trying to get more information, but runs into the same situation as before: Zyk genuinely doesn't know anything useful, and Teril's not giving it up.
And I repeat, as your DM, you now know everything I know. Everything else is nebulous, unformed ideas and brainstorming notes. :)
(Jorge) Asteron Worldtraveller AC 19/11/17 -- CMD 21 -- HP 39/43 -- Rage 13/17 Saturday April 13th, 2013 2:30:43 PM
Asteron gets up, and walks away from the two prisoners. Whether he liked it or not, Teril is not budging, not even a hair's width. "I believe our best course of action is either to take him to the outpost, and then continue with our task, or to ask Auntie to keep him here, and continue on. We are not going to get anything else out of him." There is a tinge of respect in the minotaur's voice. The man had not broken, and that pointed to strength of character, as misguided as the man was.
"So, what will it be?"
(StevenVdB) Ragnarök HP 33/34 - AC21/20/14 / 25 vs AoO - CMD 24 / 26 vs Grapple Sunday April 14th, 2013 3:04:37 PM "I'd say let them go... undo'm of their belongings and put'm on a raft. They'll end up somewhere. Teril bears the Mark of Justice now... he'd better not revert to his former behaviour. With any luck they will inform their leaders not to mess with us or at least to stop doing what they are doing..."
And with that, Ragnarök prepares to go look for the next outpost.They have lost enough time already with these two...
(Sean) Toregan Dondarin AC 18/14/14 -- CMD 19 -- HP 29/29 Sunday April 14th, 2013 8:37:43 PM
Toregan looks at their two prisoners before looking at Yngvar. "I'm with Rag on this one Yngvar. We need to send them a message. Zyk agreed to your terms, so we'll release Teril, and if he survives he'll report back to them. With that mark on him, he shouldn't be much of problem down the line."
DM Kathy Sunday April 14th, 2013 10:38:02 PM
Although the decision is a difficult one, you decide to send Zyk to the Trading Post, and release Teril to whatever fate awaits him.
Your first step is to return the prisoners to the kobold village, and tell Auntie--and Sskurhe--all about your recent adventures. Both kobolds look impressed. At least, you think they look impressed; it is still difficult to read kobold expressions.
"We can make a raft for the tall man--this Teril," Auntie says. "No need wasting a perfectly good boat on him, eh?"
With Zyk, you have something of a dilemma. You want to take him back to the Trading Post, so he can begin serving his sentence, but your current mission takes you the other way, to check the rest of the waystations.
Once Auntie understands all that, she proposes a solution. "Ka is a good boy," she says. "Steady, too, which you don't often see in a boy that age. Perhaps he and his warriors could escort this Zyk to the Trading Post for you? They could carry a letter from you, explaining the situation. What say you?"
(StevenVdB) Ragnarök HP 33/34 - AC21/20/14 / 25 vs AoO - CMD 24 / 26 vs Grapple Monday April 15th, 2013 10:42:39 AM "Sounds like a plan!"
Then the usually calm Monk becomes restless... the wilderness beyond calls!
(Jorge) Asteron Worldtraveller AC 19/11/17 -- CMD 21 -- HP 39/43 -- Rage 13/17 Monday April 15th, 2013 12:31:47 PM "Ka is indeed brave and intelligent. I would trust him to perform such a mission well." Asteron would have preferred to take the man himself, but it was out of the question. "The offer is much appreciated, Auntie. Perhaps the letter should also state that your tribe has been invited to trade at the post."
Then, knowing time is of the essence, Asteron tightens his belts and checks his equipment before saying, "To the next waystation then. There is much to do."
What is there to do, he has no idea. Combat, most probably. Parlaying, maybe. But of one thing Asteron is sure: things were not as they appeared. Thus, many of his thoughts would be shared with the group, but with no one else.
(Ezra, the Second) Yngvar Hefnd AC 14{18}/14{18}/12{16} -- CMD 13 -- HP 25/25 Monday April 15th, 2013 2:27:46 PM
Yngvar asks Toregan, sentence must be passed, if you will witness, I will do what must be done with the murderer. A raft will not be necessary. He desires to protect the land, his corpse will fertilize it.
Yngvar has no qualms about performing the coup de grace with his dagger.
LOG ON