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Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39  d20+8=9 ;
Friday December 18th, 2015 9:34:21 PM
Alleah moves towards Thistle and tries to quickly mount the pony - only to have a little difficulty finding the stirrups.

-------------------
Alleah Move action: Move to Thistle
Alleah Free action: Attempt a fast mount vs DC20: 9 = Fail
Alleah Move action: Mount Thistle
Alleah Free action: Guide Thistle with knees back to H9

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) +4 to Will saves, clear sense of direction in Culverwood. Great horned owl  d20+16=22 ;
Saturday December 19th, 2015 10:53:48 PM
Murphy flies to another tree, and higher still (I figure he was at about 40' high in his current tree) to about 70 feet high, to a branch stout enough to hold his weight as a halfling, and on the side opposite the girallons (figure about A24 on the map). He changes from owl to halfling, and sits well the branch, legs straddling, facing the trunk.

He thinks to himself that they should not have skinned the girallon.

Dm Shawn - Girallon In the mist 
Monday December 21st, 2015 7:46:16 PM
Pressi and Trill make their way around the entanglement enroute back to the rest of the group.

Cameron begins taking down the be droll and tent as fast as possible.

Kezzem moves five feet away, and readies a dagger.

Shel likes the idea of these Girallons and the fey gnomes finding each other and handling it that way.

Trill let's the others know a little more about the girallons.

Bliss casts divine favor while moving closer to Alleah.

Alleah leads Thistle away a bit and tries fast mounting but fails.

Murphy moves up to a tree limb and turns back to his normal self.

The tension builds for a minute before the trees part. Another one of those monsters comes forward in a slow walk. Kezzems dagger Imbeds into it's buckler. Yes the girallon has a buckler on its lower left arm. The lower right arm is cut off below the elbow. The upper two arms hold a pair of maces. The creature flashes a wicred smile before it's eyes fall on the skinned Girallon. His.eyes dart back aND forth between the group and then back Into the woods.

The girallon puts the maces behind its back, and motions to the group... " Allies... little humans."

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Monday December 21st, 2015 10:19:11 PM
Shel was surprised the bigun didn't attack outright. "Well we aren't exactly humans, not even little ones. But we don't want trouble either. We could be allies, if you don't try to smash us into the ground. Where did you learn to speak this lamgaige? You must be smart."

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet  d20+6=8 ;
Monday December 21st, 2015 11:03:38 PM
This was what Camewron had always been better at, negotiating. A pity the last bunch he had been with had always wanted to kill everything that they thought they could. Anyway...
Cameron stops breaking camp and steps forward. He has never hidden who he was, not from anyone. his holy symbol will lay right as it always does on his chest, where it can be seen by all. His WLA pin is on his left lapel. He was sure there was still blood on his coat, somewhere, you always got some on you when you skinned an animal that was so much bigger than you. It couldn't be helped now.
"He/she (We skinned it, I assume we know what sex it was) attacked us and left us no recourse. I follow Jancassis and revere the hunt. We thought it best not to waste either the kill we made or the one left behind by him/her. That said, you know we are tough enough to accomplish this, even at our size. We could probably be allies. We seek to leave the forest at the northeasternmost point, near where our people live. What do you seek from us? Maybe we can help each other. Sit, drink. we can speak longer."
Diplomacy 8, well that went over well. +1 if they are affected by the WLA bonus for noble races, which I doubt
Cameron will sit and create water for them to drink, enough for everyone, if their new friend wishes to bring his people with him. If his arm looks recently damaged and still looks painful, Cameron will cast a cure light wounds spell as well to heal it. If the followers too are hurt he will instead channel his goddess's energy to heal all of them.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
light
Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Delay Poison (domain), Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Hornet's Nest (domain), Sound Burst, Hold Person, Resist Energy
Spells cast
none
0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
0/5 channel energy used for today

OOC
What language are they speaking? Without a note in front of it I assume it was common.

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19  d20=12 ;
Tuesday December 22nd, 2015 1:26:39 AM
"Hey, who threw that dagger?" asks Kezzem as he looks around.

Bluff: 12 + 12 = 24.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) +4 to Will saves, clear sense of direction in Culverwood. Great horned owl  d20+16=34 ;
Tuesday December 22nd, 2015 3:13:00 AM

Huh. Is that a girallon speaking? He cannot see them from his perch. What? Allies? He listens to Shel, and Cameron, and was that Kezzem? Interesting.

Murphy thinks through some options as he sits astride the branch. Possible change of plans from what he intended.

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39  d100=25 ; d20+5=13 ; d20+11=26 ;
Tuesday December 22nd, 2015 3:43:45 AM
Alleah is grateful to Wardd for several things at the moment.

Firstly, the girallon declares the party to be allies.
Secondly, that she has neither the blood of the fallen girallon on her, nor the scent of it from the skinning.
Thirdly, that she wasn't the one that threw the dagger.

She casts a spell to better help the situation - Comprehend Languages (Leyline check: 25 = Pass)

"Whatever language you are most comfortable with, I can understand, and will translate for the others here. We do not want any confusion. We do not seek battle. Only to return to our home. If we have trespassed on your territory, then for that I sincerely apologise. That girallon attacked us first, and we only sought to defend ourselves.

The invitation from my friend here - " she gestures to Cameron " - is an honest one. If you wish to sit and eat or drink with us you are most welcome. My name is Alleah."

Alleah dismounts from Thistle, and extends her hand in friendship towards the girallon.

OOC to DM: What does Alleah's deathwatch spell reveal about this particular girallon? Is he in full health with regards to HP, or is he injured?

Diplomacy: 13
Perception: 26


Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent) 
Tuesday December 22nd, 2015 7:31:01 AM
Trill stands bow notched but not drawn and listens to what is to be said.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Tuesday December 22nd, 2015 8:10:13 AM

"They can talk?! And use gear and stuff? What is that about?" asks Bliss, not quietly enough to be diplomatic. "I thought they were just dumb beasts."

Bliss makes sure his bah is ready and loaded.

"Be careful, Miss Alleah," he calls.

He readies a shot, triggered if the gorilla attacks Alleah.

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39  d20+7=21 ;
Tuesday December 22nd, 2015 3:48:27 PM
OOC: forgot my Diplomacy check from my post last night...Diplomacy check was 21.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 32/43, CMD 22 (used 2 ki) 
Tuesday December 22nd, 2015 10:24:47 PM
"Many apologies for me staring at your armor," Pressi finally said. "I am not used to seeing creatures like yourself not wearing a tuxedo. "

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Tuesday December 22nd, 2015 10:55:18 PM
The gorillion seems at a loss for words. Cameron looks around wondering if it was something he said.

Dm Shawn - Girallon In the mist 
Tuesday December 22nd, 2015 11:23:57 PM
The group is taken back when the gorrila creature speaks. Some are shocked it wears armor, and others are shocked it is Intelligent.

The girallon points a large fInger at its chest.. "Grom" it says. Then it points to the pelt. "Orlock". Finally he points to his wounded arm.. " Orlock."

Alleah spell shows the Girallon in perfect health.



Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19 
Wednesday December 23rd, 2015 12:18:51 AM
"Orlock hurt Grom, Humble's Sword hurt Orlock, Grom and Humble Sword friends?"

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) +4 to Will saves, clear sense of direction in Culverwood. Great horned owl  d20+16=18 ;
Wednesday December 23rd, 2015 4:05:20 AM

Murphy is absolutely delighted that his friends are engaging in diplomacy, and he doesn't even have to initiate it! He looks about the area, to see if he can spot more gorilla sorts from his high vantage point. But a leaf grazes his eye, which waters, and he cannot concentrate on looking around so well for the moment - unless someone is not terribly subtle in their movements or speaking.

[Perception 18]

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39 
Wednesday December 23rd, 2015 5:19:28 AM
Alleah is a little surprised at Bliss. It's not often he would freely give away his position. "He must really care" she deduces with a smile.

Alleah then turns her attention to Grom and smiles. Carefully. She doesn't want to show her teeth. She has heard that some creatures might take that as a sign of aggression. She thinks Kezzem has the right of it. It sounds like the dead girallon was the cause of this girallon's lost limb.

Alleah follows the Grom's lead.

"Ok, let's start with the basics". She first points to herself "Alleah"

After that, she places a hand on Pressi's shoulder "Pressi". Finally, she points to the scars that Pressi 'won' in the last battle. "Orlock" she says firmly.

Finally, she proposes something to the party "If no one has any better uses for it, I think we should offer the pelt to Grom here. He is the one who has been wronged by, er, Orlock. It might also help show we are friends by giving it to him"


Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Wednesday December 23rd, 2015 10:04:37 AM
Shel nods at Alleah's suggestion. "I wasn't going to touch it anyway. If Grom could get some use out of it, all the better."

She turns her attention back to the hulking figure and points at herself. "Shel. Nice meet you, Grom."

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Wednesday December 23rd, 2015 10:55:34 AM
"It is Grom's right to seek vengeance, and now I know why he has not sought vengeance against us. Unless it is offensive to him yes, I think the skin should go to him. My name is Cameron, Cam for short if you like. Again, please sit and rest so that we may speak." Cameron again indicates the ground and sits down, hoping to set Grom at ease.

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent)  d20+11=24 ;
Wednesday December 23rd, 2015 1:06:52 PM
using what knowledge she has about these magical beasts Knowledge DC 24, Trill ponders the idea about giving him the pelt and how it might be interpreted.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Wednesday December 23rd, 2015 1:49:15 PM

Bliss is a little taken aback.

"So that gorilla we skinned had a name? And was, like, a person?"

The tiny fellow sits down. He looks queasy like.

Mookie tries to make him feet better. "Meh, the big ape asked for it by attacking first. Your mom once killed a dragon and turned the hide into armor. And she knew dragons can talk when she skinned it. So it's not so bad."

Bliss does not seem reassured. "Ulp."

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 32/43, CMD 22 (used 2 ki) 
Wednesday December 23rd, 2015 11:09:24 PM
Pressi takes some time to ask about the trap back there.

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39 
Thursday December 24th, 2015 12:41:52 AM
With the others seemingly in agreement, Alleah carefully picks up the pelt and holds it out to Grom.

"Grom's" she says firmly

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) +4 to Will saves, clear sense of direction in Culverwood. In a tree  d20+16=34 ;
Thursday December 24th, 2015 3:57:37 AM

Murphy spots another girallon, now that he holds the leaf-poked eye shut. "Hallo down there! I am Murphy. Who are you?"

He sees if he or she answers. He comes around to the other side of the tree, on a branch a step lower, ensuring he has hold of another branch, and has looked below to see where he must grab or land upon if this one gives way. He waves to the four-armed creature semi-obscured amidst the brush. "Hallo!"

He also takes a moment to look over his shoulder to the left and the right, sweeping most of the 360° about him, except the part blocked by the adjacent tree trunk. Then back down to the great ape, again waving.

[Perception 34]

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle)  d20+25=43 ; d20+16=35 ;
Wednesday December 30th, 2015 9:36:47 PM

Bliss thinks that there are too many gorilla around here and there. Talking gorillas with four arms. Not good.

He looks for and moves to a bit of shadow, fading into it, hiding in plain sight.

Stealth 43
Perception 35

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39 
Monday January 4th, 2016 4:09:38 AM
Alleah waits to see how Grom will react to her offering.

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19 
Monday January 4th, 2016 1:07:29 PM
Kezzem is waiting as well.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 32/43, CMD 22 (used 2 ki) 
Monday January 4th, 2016 1:31:07 PM
Pressi, sensing that the rules may have been suspended, imagines climbing into the cockpit of an AT AT walker to turn it against the Girallons.

Are AT AT walkers effective against rock and log wielding furry creatures in a forest environment? Pressi figured you'd need some really bad writing to argue otherwise.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 32/43, CMD 22 (used 2 ki) 
Monday January 4th, 2016 2:28:59 PM
In a more serious note, Pressi does make one last move to patch things up with Shel, leaving a small box on her bedroll. The card reads "A reminder that we all should start looking at things differently."

Inside, the box is empty. Highlight to display spoiler: {A magical invisible spoon. Lends truth to the rumour that "there is no spoon." The owner gains a +1 competence bonus to hit when using any skill roll or attack with telekenesis or force effects, or when using the spoon as a small dagger that inflicts only nonlethal damage.}

Dm Shawn - Girallon In the mist 
Monday January 4th, 2016 6:12:48 PM
Grom is the only girallon to actually sit down with the group. He is still stand offish and his body is tense the entire time. He isn'the good, anyone with any know alignment spells can figure that out. But the girallon is a creature used to the rules of combat and your group defeated his greatest enemy. He listens to your stories but shares none of his own. Finally as the fire dims down he stands up rather abruptly. " You" he says as he motions to the group. "Safe. Groms word."

He begins to walk away before stopping. He reaches into his bag and pulls out an obsidian axe and throws it to the foot of the fire. " Father's axe. Orlock kill."

With no more words be disapears Into the woods.

The rest of the night goes byou with no worries. ...

Ooc: Sorry for the short post. I took the slowdown serious.. and became a dad on Saturday. Mark will be taking over tommrow.

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Monday January 4th, 2016 6:35:06 PM
" Didn't he want us to....Oh, I guess we already did."
"Interesting. Do you guys have a mantle or something this could go on?"
"At least we know where we stand as far as the big four armed gorillas in the forest go. Jancassis says he has no ill will toward usnow that we have ended the threat to his clan. Now all we need to go is find out way out of here and save the halfling's from the giants."
" Easy Peasy."
Cameron reaches into his pocket and finds a hard, round object. Pulling it out he sees that it is a toy. His hand closes over it fo a moment, as his mind tries to place where it came from. Finally he remembers the Ghost and the Yule celebration. He steps away from camp and quietly calls out.
" Hey, Mookie. You around here?"
He waits and if and when the bird shows itself he hands over the yo-yo.
"Give this to the kid for me. I feel bad that I never gave him anything when he left the Fist and well, I didn't see him at the Yule celebration in the Giggling Ghost. He missed out on all the gifts and I know he likes gifts. In the Fist we knew that his sneaky sniping was the best chance any of us had of escaping if things went bad. Maybe this will tip the odds of him being able to escape and save us a little and end up helping us all."
The yo-yo is A red yo-yo that magically allows the owner to perform all manner of yo-yo tricks, from the classic "walk the dog" and "around the world" to the advanced "superman." The owner gains a +2 competence bonus vs entangling effects.
Cameron finishes breaking camp and is ready to move on in short order.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle)  d20+5=20 ;
Monday January 4th, 2016 10:13:31 PM

Bliss is glad the gorilla walked off without a fight, and even left a present. Bliss detects magic and looks hard at the ax.

[Spellcraft check 20!]

But there is another present for Bliss, it seems!

Bliss shouts, "Cam! I'm right here! Just like always! I wasn't even TRYING to hide just then! I'm just naturally sneaky, I guess!"

The tiny fellow is excited about the yo-yo and casts another Reduce to make it the right size for him to use.

"This is great! I love it! Thanks Cam! Wowsy!"

He practices tricks and shows off to everybody.

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39  d20+4=21 ;
Tuesday January 5th, 2016 4:29:37 AM
With the evening's activites behind them, Alleah prepares a hearty breakfast for the party. Her cooking seems to be improving, and this morning's muesli and oats is actually quite tasty.

"Good morning all! I trust everyone is well rested. We still have quite a way to go before reaching Humble's"

Untrained Profession Cook: 21

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Tuesday January 5th, 2016 7:17:35 AM
"Well, I guess I expected a bit more after he decided to sit with us. At least he didn't attack, I suppose. Let me take a look at that axe. You never know. It might be magical," Shel nods as she takes a closer look at the weapon.

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39  d20+9=18 ;
Tuesday January 5th, 2016 7:19:14 AM
OOC: 18 on Spellcraft check if the axe was magical when using Detect Magic.

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Tuesday January 5th, 2016 12:49:53 PM
"You realize it will take two of us to even try to swing that thing right? I mean it's owner was large and we are all small, except Bliss who is smaller than small. Someone have a way to carry it that doesn't require a travois?"
Cameron was in good spirits. Revenge had been delivered with his aaid and the Wold was more in balance than it had been. Their reward would be unmolested passage through the woods. Unmolested at least by the Girillions.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
None
Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Delay Poison (domain), Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Hornet's Nest (domain), Hold Person, Sound Burst, Resist Energy
Spells cast
None
0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
0/5 channel energy used for today


Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Tuesday January 5th, 2016 12:52:01 PM
(OOC to DM, Gerald - Pressi gave Shel, as a gift, one of her items, so that should be tracked, etc.)

As people began to pack up and exchange gifts, Pressi looked around at the group, finally admitting to herself that leaving on her own terms might be easier said and done. And maybe, given that it doesn't seem to be ending on their or the universe's terms, that might not be the worst thing.

"You know, maybe I should give Murphy one of my items," Pressi said to Kezzem as they were preparing to leave the camp site. "You know, because he's the leader and my friend and all. Not sure if I have anything good to give him... What do you think Murphy would want from me?"

As Kezzem opened his mouth, Pressi realized that asking him was a massive mistake.

"Anyway, thanks for being a little closed lipped about the convoy and the stuff we were doing in the forest, before meeting everyone else. Not that I need it all to be kept secret, but... well, I appreciate it all the same."

Pressi moved on to the breakfast... well, brunch to make up for all that awake time. "I guess I slept as good as anyone else under the circumstances. All things considered. So any ideas about where we are going next?"

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Tuesday January 5th, 2016 1:07:44 PM
Discussing the axe (which I guess is large size? Medium?)(OOC: sorry, posted same time as Cam), Pressi offers to stow it in her bag for now (the dimensions don't matter as they might for other storage).

"I guess... maybe I could even use it in one of my larger forms. Not really trained in it, though...." (OOC: unless it's a hand axe. And even then...) "Honestly, Cam, I was going to recommend you use it, figuring you might be the only one who uses any weapons close to it."

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Tuesday January 5th, 2016 3:58:59 PM
OOC: Sorry Pressi, I missed that post. I read the AT AT post, and laughed, and I didn't see the next one. Thanks for the gift.

Shel woke up, and saw the small box. Not having a clue who had laid it near her, she looked around, trying to put two and two together. She opened up the box and examined it carefully. She didn't see anything, so she stuck her hand in to check further. It feels like a .... spoon? Is it?

Did someone leave me an invisible spoon," she asks incredulously. Seeing Pressi nod in the affirmative, Shel smiles. "I'm not quite sure what it is, but that is a very nice thought. Thank you very much. Maybe we can share some invisible porridge," she says with a smirk.

Always inquisitive, Shel casts Detect Magic on the spoon and begins working out what properties it might have.


Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Tuesday January 5th, 2016 4:06:57 PM
Cameron can feel the fact that he is Dwarf-kin and doesn't know how to even start using an axe begin to show on his face. Quickly he coughs and covers up the show of embarrassment.
" No, no I wouldn't need it. My aim in combat is mostly to keep the people doing the real damage in business. Healing, tripping enemies, and disarming opponents. Stuff like that. That is one of the reasons I follow my blessed Lady.I am too weak to cause much damage without a great deal of preparation. She teaches just that, to make the field of battle your own, Stalk your prey and take them unawares, make revenge possible through stealth, position and weapon choice. That way, the strikes you make, count for as much as possible."

Hovel 
Tuesday January 5th, 2016 7:35:32 PM
The Girallions have disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving a large, obsidian axe. Quite the trophy, but unwieldy for this group. Detect magic does not show the thing to be magic, but the axe does seem to be finely crafted (masterwork).

Pressi considers stowing it in her bag, but realizes it’s sharp edges need to be addressed before she does so.

After a quiet night’s sleep, the party awakes. They have breakfast, and some items are exchanged.

Once the axe is stowed (please just clarify how), the party sets off. A few more days pass, uneventfully. Hunting and gathering will yield some food.

Soon, the woods begin to thin, and Murphy can feel the Nymph’s Gift begin to fade (bonus to saves ends, unerring sense of direction home ends.) Looks like that is Hovel up ahead. On the road through Hovel, children will wave at the party of halflings emerging from the Culverwood. The halflings in town seem to be going about their daily business.

The party has been sleeping rough for a while, and their appearance looks a bit rough with their goods on their backs. There are some curious stares, and some disapproving stares. It’s afternoon in Hovel.


Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Tuesday January 5th, 2016 11:08:24 PM

Bliss has some super important questions: "Did we make it in time? What date is it? How much time do we have?"

Mookie caws, "Calm down, Kiddo. Either we're in time or we're not -- getting worked up won't make a difference."

Bliss pauses and looks around. "Miss Alleah, what do you think?" he asks. "We should probably keep going on to Humble's Ford, right?"



Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) +4 to Will saves, clear sense of direction in Culverwood. In a tree 
Wednesday January 6th, 2016 1:18:36 AM
Murphy has a few bags he can give to Pressi to help cover the sharp edges of the axe, and some twine to make certain it is smartly tied so that the bags do not slip off when in her magical bag.

Knowing well the edges of the Culverwood near Hovel well, having countless times traveled there with his father, sometimes his mother and other family members, as they are still heading toward the small town, Murphy talks to some of the others about some of the people who live there. He mentions his Aunt Marigold - a former candidate to serve as Burgomeister of Crescent Valley (though Calfast Rowgold Tunelly won that election, with the help of some of Murphy's siblings, cousins, and their friends). One bit of information he gives only to Bliss and to Alleah, and that is that Marigold happens to be a rather powerful witch (and two of her lady friends are in her coven). He tells of Ellis and Penelope - they own Hovel's livery, with all sorts of carriages, carts and tack, and good ponies - even sometimes a few horses more like the biguns use. They are the parents of Clara - her full name is Clara Alilliama Domiselithe Airina Marigold Pipewood Greentree, a bright and clever girl coming into her second decade, about whom there is a prophecy, not yet fulfilled. Well some say a prophecy, some say a blessing, Murphy explains. "Here is the tail end of it," and he sings a short snippet of song:
When time is ripe
And need is great
May Wardd grant her to be helpmate
To all halflings of our own dear vale

And Penelope also gave birth to the reborn power Eberyon, not far from where we are now, also not far from the Great Whistler Oak.

Betty Burrboot first let the good bard, the half ogre/ogre-mage, Lomar - known forever as 'Lomar, the Friendly Ogre' - stay in her barn. Later she and some good folks from Hovel built a large house for Lomar, and his funny goblin friend Bobbles. Most of the folks from Hovel are fine with Lomar, though they really don't want any other giant folk in town. "'No, that Lomar, he is different, a good sort. Helps us all the time, and teaches the children to listen to their parents, and is so strong. But one giant is enough for Crescent Valley,' is what some say."

He also tells his friends and companions of some of the other townfolk - including Kendry and Airin who now live here, and gives the general layout of Hovel. "We need to figure out how to get as fast as possible from Hovel to Humble's Ford, if it's not too late."

"Say," Murphy addresses a few nearby people. "Is Lomar the giant still at Betty Burrboot's farm?" "Is Marigold Pipewood in town?" He also finds Bliss's questions apt, and asks someone, "Say, we were traveling through the woods for a while, and rather lost track of time. What is today's date?"

He gets what answers he may, then says, "Let's go see Ellis. Maybe he can lend us or trade us for his fastest mounts. Though I suppose I could change into a fast bird, and fly ahead to the Ford, but somehow feel it might be wiser to stick together."

At the livery, he sees if Ellis is there, or Penelope, or even his little cousin Clara. If so, after warm greetings and introductions all around, he tells them they have urgent business for the good of all the valley, and need the fastest way to get to Humble's Ford, and can they help us out?

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39  d20+5=20 ;
Wednesday January 6th, 2016 6:04:30 AM
Alleah notices the disapproving stares being given to the party. First step will be getting them on board.

"Now now, gentlemen" she says with a broad smile to Bliss and Murphy "I know we've been gone some time, but how must we appear to these folk - bursting forth from the bushes with all manner of questions and nary a 'how do you do?'"

She then turns her attention to the nearby halflings "You'll have to forgive us. We've been on quite a journey, and being so close to home has us all very excited. My name is Alleah. My friends and I are from Humble's Ford. If it's no bother, are you able to answer some questions for us?"

Diplomacy: 20

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Wednesday January 6th, 2016 9:00:38 AM
Exiting the awful forest made Shel the happiest she had been in some time. "Look, I can actually see the sun! It's marvelous! And Bliss, we haven't made it just yet. That's why we need to hurry...we are so close now! I'm with Murphy, we need to try to find as quick a way to get back to the town as possible."

She waits impatiently for a townsfolk to start answering the group's questions, especially what day it has gotten to be.

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet  d20+6=22 ;
Wednesday January 6th, 2016 4:19:16 PM
Cameron has kept up with most of his grooming, he might smell a little of the woods but his bald head doesn't stay that way without the grooming kit he has as part of his traveling gear. And no dwarf would ever adventure without a way to groom their beard, how barbaric. More used to the rough and tumble of a dwarven clanhold, Cameron tries his best to not look fierce as he displays his WLA pin and his holy symbol side by side and attempts to aid Alleah.
" Yes, we have quite lost track of time and there is somewhere we need to be to stop something bad from happening. Any information you might be able to provide us with about the day would be most welcome."
diplomacy 22 vs DC 10 to Aid Alleah.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Wednesday January 6th, 2016 5:01:35 PM
A while back, Pressi had made a decision to leave the group as soon as they were out of the woods. As soon as they reached a town, and no farther. As it seemed that they would never leave those woods, she was quite unprepared to leave at this point.

Her concentration was broken as Murphy once again listed his relatives. "Mark of Domi, you know everybody. Quick, how many relatives do you have on the moon? My apologies, that was... uncalled for... but seriously..."

As people gathered around to gawk, the talk of moving on as fast as possible began to fly.

"Murphy, a word," Pressi began as she noticed all the gawking looks. "A little private, perhaps."

As they broke off from the group, Pressi began to broach the subject. "I know that suggesting planning or delay has not always gone over well, but I am nothing if not persistent. We are clearly not making it to Humble's Ford on foot by nightfall, and we're all I'm sure a bit tired of sleeping on the road. We need rest. Supplies. An idea of, well, anything really.

"Also, I need to find a way to contact the Angel Springs temple and... find a way to tell them what happened. I presume I helped with your priorities sufficiently that you might return the favor."

Pressi was silent for a bit, lost in thought.

"How do you see me?" Pressi finally asked. "Us?"

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Wednesday January 6th, 2016 6:07:55 PM
(OOC - a quick addendum, I was cut off by my daughter)

Pressi, deciding she needs to explain, tells Murphy about how she had planned to leave at about this point. "I guess maybe I'm looking for a reason to stay. A reason why I should continue on to your quest. An idea of what you see when you look at me."

Hovel 
Wednesday January 6th, 2016 7:28:32 PM
Bliss wonders allowed about the date, but Mookie tells him to calm down.

Murphy mentions some of the many people he knows in these parts. He also relates a prophesy about one of the inhabitants to whom he is related. He reminds everyone that he is also related to Eberyon. Murphy asks if Lomar still here, and what the date is. Then he suggests they go see a man about a horse.

Alleah has her own questions to ask. Like, “may we ask you some questions?” Alleah’s demeanor puts the residents here at ease, and Cameron supports her in this.

Cameron also asks for the news of the day.

Pressi is again impressed with how many people Murphy know, and tells him how impressed she is. And she wonders about her place in this group, and how what Murphy sees when he looks at her.
________________________________________________________

The children laugh and play, excited to see such travellers here.

“Where you goin’?” “Watcha doin’ here.” “Were you out in the woods? Fer how long? What do you eat when you’re in the woods? Where do you sleep? Did you see any bears? Did you see any elves? We did!”

As Humble’s Sword comes into town, a few of the adults recognize the widely traveled Murphy. The stern looks of disapproval for these “travelers” softens a bit with Alleah and Cameron’s efforts.

“The date? Why, it’s the 5th of Harvests. Why do you ask? Have you been gone that long?”

“The news? Well, the apple harvest looks good this year. Ol’ Firth’s pony took lame, and jus’ when he needed it to get his crops in, but don’t worry - he’ll manage. We had a pack o’ wolves through here, but we think we’ve run them out. There were some elves that came through - didn’t say much. Just slept, bought some food, and moved on. Decent enough though. ”

“Lomar? He set off a few days ago, but I’m sure he’ll be back. Some folks a still a little uncomfortable around him, but I kinda like havin’ him around. Good protection, I say.”

“Marigold? Aye, she’s here, and she’s be right proud her nephew I imagine. She mentions you from time to time. Though ya might want to clean yerselves up a bit first.”

Going to the Livery, the group is greeted with some stares. A few recognizes some of you and give greetings, asking where you’ve been. You arrive and speak with Ellis. “Greetins Murph, ya rascall. I see you’ve got some friends, and from the looks of ya, you’ve all been travellin.” He invites you over to some stools, just outside the stables. “Clara, go and tell your mother we have some guests. We need some water and ale for about 8 of us. You go help her there Lars,” He says to a stable boy. To another, “Hey there Pip, get these saddle bags off their pony and get her watered and brushed down while we talk.”

“So, tell me what you’ve all been an’ what you’ve been up to. Are you hungry? Will you stay here tonight?”


Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) +4 to Will saves, clear sense of direction in Culverwood. In a tree 
Wednesday January 6th, 2016 9:29:40 PM

Private talk with Pressi a bit before entering Hovel
Murphy responds to Pressi. "Oh, Pressi, I hope you don't leave just now. Even, I mean, beyond just now." He blushes a bit, covers his face with his hands, then scratches his head as he looks down. He composes himself a bit.

"Let's get to the meat and turnips of our current situation," he begins, still looking at the ground. "One, if the date is later than we hoped, and we cannot forewarn the Second Breakfast Club, then, you win - we don't mess with whatever you meant by 'rupturing the space time continuum.'" He then pauses, and adds, "I think that may already have happened when we got sent back a few weeks, yet the Wold is still here.

"Who knows what became of Veseley Vortence, Tiana Taithen, and Bazeck Breezelee? They were separated from us in the teleport - or whatever that was - from the inn in the realms of Kashmar, or Koshe-Marr - the nightmare lands. Was that sentence confusing enough for you? But it is possible that, losing their grip, they ended up in even a worse place, or all of them dead. Well, Bazeck was already dead. Did you know he is related to Shel?

"Anyway, If the date may still allow us time to intervene - then, in some regards, YOU are the perfect one to do so. Well, you and Cameron, I suppose, and Kezzem. Because none of you were there when the big tower explosion happened. That way, Bliss and Shel and Alleah and I would be less likely to run into our - other selves? And end up with questions like, 'Mom, why didn't you ever tell me I had a long-lost identical twin?'"

Along the way, he finds a patch of daisies, and take up a handful. A bit further on, the druid remembers something he saw nearby on earlier journeys through this area. "Just a moment." He walks about fifteen feet off the path to a bush that is barely visible from the trail. There he picks a flower in bud, places it in a pocket of his coveralls then returns to the path. He picks up the conversation. "I have no opposition to planning." He ponders for a moment. "I could change into an owl or eagle, or something, and try scratching messages out on the ground for people, so they don't confuse this me with the other me?"

"Look, you have a good mind, and know lots of things I don't. Sure, I have lots of relatives around here - that's because I come from a family of big families. We like each other, most of us most of the time, at least. But, you know - well, I had never even heard of a space time continuum before I met you. Or Shake Spear. Or screen-plays. We'll have to put one on some time.

"But who knows whether we would ever be able to - if you won't you come with me now?" He pauses. He hands her a daisy. "What do I see when I look at you, though? I see a young woman - though I think you may have a few years' advantage over me. I see a good friend of my sister, and who puts up with my brother. Well, maybe it is I who put up with Nalfein," he says with a grin.

He looks into her face. "I see one who has many talents, but who obscures some of them for her own reasons. I see a person with principles. One who is brave, just as One whom she serves encapsulates courage. I see one who does not discount the opportunities she comes across. I see someone who is sometimes rash - whether due to passion, or purpose, may vary.

"I see a good friend - the kind of friend who cares enough about her friend to be willing to knock him upside the head if she thinks he is about to do something unwise. The kind of friend who can keep secrets, when it is time to keep them. The kind of friend who loves the truth, and speaks the truth in love.

"So, those are some of the things I see when I look at you. I can't yet say fully what I think of when you ask what I see of us. But I would like the chance to look at you more, so that I can find out."

He takes the flower bud from his pocket. "My grandmother once sat me and some of my siblings and cousins down. She would tell us stories. So, this time, as she sat her rocking chair, she had two stems with flower buds at the end. She picked one up, and started spreading each petal of the bud. 'What is patience?' she asked us. Many of us had answers. Braebury said, 'It means waiting until the pie is baked.' Grandma laughed, and said that was good. As we gave answers, the petals she was spreading were falling off.

"'What a pretty flower this must be. I just can't wait until I've blossomed it out.' But the petals kept falling to the floor. Tifri squealed, 'Grandma, it doesn't work that way!' Grandma just glanced at her. 'Oh, really? I think I'm gettin' there.'

"But the petals fell. And soon a hard center was left, with only one petal barely clinging to it. 'See, what a beautiful flower, children?' We kind of stared at her, and each other. Braebury said, 'Grandma, it might have been beautiful, if you'd let it open by itself.'

"Grandma took the other stem with the untouched bud on top, and she placed it in a narrow vase with water. 'You think so, Braebury?' He nodded his head yes, as did many of us.

"She put the other stem, with the flower she had ruined, in another vase, with no water. 'Well, let's wait and see. Come here tomorrow children, and let's compare them.'

"So we did. The one she had plucked was starting to wither away. The other had blossomed in the intervening time.

"Then she told us, 'Children, remember this. Love is patient.'

"I don't think too many of us who were there forgot what she taught us." He hands Prissi the bud. "Shall we get back to the others?" But he will stay if she has something to say.

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent) 
Wednesday January 6th, 2016 10:18:39 PM
Trill stays in the backgorund a bit not wanting to impose herself on the Hovelites, and not having grown up around a lot of halflings she is kind of in awe at how they all seem to know one another and even seem to be related to each other somehow.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle)  d20=20 ;
Wednesday January 6th, 2016 10:58:58 PM

Bliss laughs when Pressi asks Murphy how many relatives he has on the moon. "On BOTH moons!" he shouts.

And then the kids pile on, and Bliss is busy answering questions. "We're goin' to Humbles Ford. We're the heroes of Humbles Ford, of course! We're passing through on the way home. I think we've been away since before we left! We ate whatever we found, especially berries! I got a way to make 'em more filling. With magic! We just sleep on the ground, except for Mookie, who sleeps in a tree. We saw gorillas with four arms and fairies and a magic nekkid lady living in a pond. She was nice. We saw those half-size elfs, um, gnomes! What did the elves say? Our gnomes were looking for friends, but they tried to be friendly by blinding us and fighting!"

Diplomacy nat 20 plus whatever Bliss's mod is, a +2 at least. I forget if he's trained in it.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) +4 to Will saves, clear sense of direction in Culverwood. In a tree 
Thursday January 7th, 2016 5:53:37 AM

Murphy takes Cameron aside and says in a quiet whisper, "Uh, maybe we don't need to tell folks about stopping something bad from happening, unless we know 'em well and can trust 'em. Just sayin'."

Murphy laughs at the moon/moons relatives questions. "None so far as I know. Just give us time, though."

Quick thought during private conversation with Pressi
I will see what we can do about getting word to the Temple of Domi in Angel Springs, Pressi, but I feel obligated to pursue dealing first with Humble's Ford - first, because if we can take care of that the way I hope to, you may have something else to report to the temple. Second, because Humble's Ford is on the way to Angel Springs.

"However, if someone in town has homing pigeons for sending messages to Angel Springs, then that might be a way for you to send a message quickly. Likely my Aunt Marigold might know - she's been involved both with the local militia and aspects of governance here, and knows MUCH more than I do about the town. We can ask Ellis and Penelope, too. Penelope knows most of the mothers in town, and if you know the mothers, you know the gossip."

As the children ask questions
"Say, show them the bearskin!" he suggests to whoever is carrying it.

OOC to DM:
Now, we would know the date we left, but *we* don't know what the date was called, as dates herein are loosey goosey. With today, our arrival in Hovel, being the 5th of Harvests, did the tower incident occur somewhere between the 6th and 10th of Harvests? Or some other date? Here is the record that Murphy kept written down, with the first number in each column the ordinal date from when we learned we were 30 days back in time, and the second number how many days remained before the tower incident.
3 weeks & 1 day - Goblin's Rest
1/21 Start travel
2/20 Wasps, barge, cold iron, Sardok leaves
3/19 Barge, meat barrel, crocs, shooting contest, 2nd barge
4/18 2nd barge beached, crew gone, snakes, Hazel & Faoil leave, we meet Trillium, back on barge
5/17 River travel, storm
6/16 River travel, storm & fog
7/15 Culverwood, waterfall (river flow reversed), fae spiders. Sleep in cave
8/14 Landscape shift. Lost Wood Morels. Sleep in hollow tree
9/13 Landscape shift. Meet Pressi and Kezzem. Fae gnomes
10/12 Temperate forest. Bath for Trill. Nymph Cnossia at waterfall, mossman.
11/11 Orcs, meet Cameron. Funeral for Icky Gump. Alleah's dream talking
12/10 Girallon. Skins. Move a ways. Sleep
13/9 Girallon allies. Grom glad we killed Orlock. Gives us obsidian axe.
14/8 'a few more days pass' How few? Assuming at least 3, taking us to about
17/5 - or thereabouts


At the livery
Murphy hugs his cousins, then takes time to introduce everyone around. "So, friends, this is Ellis - he runs the place, in accordance with all of Penelope's instructions," he says with a wink to the couple.

"Seriously, though, he is not just the finest wainwright in town, but in the whole valley, far as I can tell. He makes coaches, carriages, wagons and carts, and knows his ponies and horses as well as anyone around."

"Clara, I have something for you." He pulls out a silver acorn. "A water nymph gave this to me. It helped us to travel well through the Culverwood. I want you to have it, to do with as you choose. I think the virtue she imbued it with has gone out of it, but, you never know!"

He takes a few moments to introduce his friends to his cousins. "Shel here grew up in Humble's Ford, and is a wonderful friend, and is one of the most loyal people I know, and smart, to boot. She knows some real magic, too. Shel is one of the original members of our group, Humble's Sword. Kezzem is also from the Ford. He is good at throwing things, and has some very interesting stories to tell. Trillium - Trill for short - comes from the magnificent Plateau City, and is the daughter of the famous Dahlia Lightfingers. She knows a lot about the forest, and lots about the creatures within." He looks to her. "You're still trying to figure us out, aren't you Trill? Bundles of contradictions we are." He smiles warmly at her. He adds, "She asks some really good questions sometimes."

"Next we have Alleah Highhill. Alleah has a lot of talents, and is really good at understanding people, I think. Now, Bliss is well named, and has quite a story to tell. He changes size pretty well, too. And, if he does not want you to see him - well, then, you probably can't see him!" He turns and says, "We found Cameron being prepared for dinner. Really glad he could not make that meal. He is a good tactician, and pretty well rounded. He also has a really nice whip."

"Oh, wait, with Bliss - This is Mookie. He has been around a long time, and tells us many things we wouldn't know, otherwise. And, he managed to grapple an orc shaman to the ground! He is amazing."

"And last but not least, Pressi. She lives in Angel Springs - hey, my sister Leska Rose and brother Nalfein know her." He mentions his relation to them, not because his cousins don't know, but because some of his friends may not. "Sometimes they spend time in the shop together. She - Ellis and Penelope - do you remember Podo? He showed up just before Clara was born, and came to the Great Whistler Oak. A monk, you may recall. Well, Pressi knows him, too. Anyway, we came across her and Kezzem in the Culverwood, and I'm very glad she is with us."

Murphy pauses for a breath, and gives everyone a moment to further the acquaintance. Except to add, "Yes, we're hungry. And I believe we would be very happy to accept your hospitality. But, early in the morning, like as not we'll need to be off. We can tell you more about what we've been up to over dinner, perhaps. Say, would there be room for Aunt Marigold to join us?"

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39  d20=19 ;
Thursday January 7th, 2016 7:03:51 AM
"really good at understanding people, I think" Alleah grins and stifles a giggle at Murphy's description of her.

She is genuinely happy with the attention she is receiving from the children. Truth be told: Alleah adores kids. She spends time with each of them - performing sleight of hand, casting prestidigitation for magical effects, and even handing out small pieces of non-magical tinsel*

She then gathers them close to tell them of the recent adventures. "You should have seen them kids. The girallons. Each one stood as tall as a house. Their hair was long and dark, and covered their entire bodies. Their teeth were sharp, perfect for ... eating. And their arms .. oooh their arms" Alleah lowers her voice to practically a whisper "Their arms were so long, they were masters of ... TICKLING!" Wih that she starts laughing and chasing the children to tickle them

Untrained Perform Comedy: 19

--------------------------
*Alleah won some pieces of non-magical tinsel in the GG Yuletide celebration. She will happily give them as little gifts to the children

Time and Treasure 
Thursday January 7th, 2016 11:08:34 AM
OOC:

Time - The party is not quite sure on the precise timing relative to the tower collapse, but you're likely within a day or two of when it should happen/have happened - maybe before, may after. Maybe it will never happen now. Time travel and extra planar travel are tricky.

Treasure - Has anyone been keeping track of treasure? I do not know what has been awarded to date, or how that has been reflected on character sheets so far.

ADM - I need my ADM to find out what's going on with Kezzem/Brian.

(I will submit an actual DM post later.)

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19 
Thursday January 7th, 2016 12:26:10 PM
(Sorry, I'm here--just got to get in the habit of checking daily again).

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19  d20+12=18 ;
Thursday January 7th, 2016 12:38:58 PM
"Run, kiddos, the girallon Alleah will gobble you up if you let her tickle you!"

Bluff: 18

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Thursday January 7th, 2016 4:00:56 PM
"I didn't realize Shel had lost a relative to all this, no," Pressi responded to Murphy.

Pressi listens as Murphy answers her question, her face blushing herself as the daisies come out. "I guess I do have... a few issues with patience, rashness, trust. I mean even now I'm telling you not to rush to Humble Ford but I'm rushing back to Angel Springs. To report a failure where the battle was lost. It's just... I guess I haven't lived right until... I met all of you.

Pressi looked at the flower, lost in thought. "Whatever happens in Humble Ford, I wouldn't mind seeing the city once its all over. I'll try to be patient until then."


Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Thursday January 7th, 2016 6:24:50 PM
Cameron thinks, These are nice folks living nice, peaceful lives. I wonder what that is like...
Hobbes pipes in with a voice not his own, Probably exactly what your parents and Morgan were thinking before they were brutally killed too. Snap out of it and make sure you know the exits and how best to hold this room. Mayhem doesn't give advance warning, boy.
Cameron can't place the voice Hobbes is using, but the tone is all Sergeant Helmbane. The voice though, the voice sounds alot like his foster father Morgan though.
Cameron's instincts kick in and his eyes start t scan the stable and it's surroundings. There are good sight lines, something would need to be stealthy to get close. Horses too were not known to allow skulkers they didn't know close to them either, So he could hope for some warning from them too.
He listened to the conversation as he did his recon. The timing was close. They might have already missed the day the tower fell, but he thinks the well informed halfling gossips would have mentioned something that momentous, so they probably still have time...
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
None
Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Delay Poison (domain), Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Hornet's Nest (domain), Hold Person, Sound Burst, Resist Energy
Spells cast
None
0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
0/5 channel energy used for today

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Thursday January 7th, 2016 7:38:13 PM
Shel smiled as Murphy introduced her to more of his family. "Nice to meet all of you! I've known your cousin for a very long time. He's a close friend. So what goes on here at Hovel? Anything exciting? I used to only want excitement, but after all our travels, I think it would be great to be bored for just a little bit," she laughs.

She listens to their stories. She didn't have Alleah's natural gifts with the children, but she had fun running and chasing with all of them. She was in ahurry, but couldn't help herself...she was almost home and she was with more of her kind. It had been a pretty good day.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Thursday January 7th, 2016 9:48:16 PM

Mookie takes a bow, saying, "Thanks Murph! You got a silver tongue on ya!" Uncharacteristically, he has no other witty retort or jibe.

Bliss is by now too involved with the kids to be bothered. He's showing off his new magic yo-yo.

[OOC: No idea on treasure, no time to go look it up, sorry!]

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39 
Thursday January 7th, 2016 11:19:04 PM
OOC: Email sent re loot from this module

Headed Home  d20=5 ; d20=16 ; d20=11 ;
Thursday January 7th, 2016 11:21:16 PM
Trill is in awe of this close knit community.

Bliss, Alleah, and Shel play with the children, and some of them even follow the group to the stables. The kids really seem to be having fun. They’re impressed with the stories, and the girallion’s HUGE skin.

Murphy talks to some in the party, and is happy to see his many relations. Then he introduces the members of Humble’s Sword to Ellis. He says that they are indeed hungry and will need a place to rest. He asks about his Aunt Marigold, and if she could join them all for dinner.

Pressi softens a bit, and agrees to stay with the group - for now at least.

Cameron thinks this seems like a nice place. The the voices tell him to snap out of it, and to scan the area for potential threats and exits.
____________________________

The group spends the waining afternoon in pleasant company. Ellis will send the kids home. A few townsfolk come by to say hello to the visitors as well.

Refreshments are brought. Penelope comes out as well, but soon returns to the house to prepare dinner for the group. Once Pip is done brushing Thistle down and getting her some food, Ellis has him help build a fire in the yard. Water is heated for folks to clean up.

Marigold is sent for and arrives, pleased to meet you all and very glad to see Murphy. Then, and over dinner, they answer your questions about news. It’s limited to local happenings, usually related to crops and animals and local gossip. There are a few mentions of Humble’s Ford and of Angel Springs. They again ask about your news - where you’ve been, and what you’ve been doing? Why were you in the Culverwood? Where did you get that great skin? What sort of creature has six limbs? Where is Cameron from?

They also think there’s something you’re not telling them, but they don’t press too much. Everyone is entitled to their secrets.

Ellis and Penelope are gracious hosts. The house is large. Mattresses are brought into the large room after dinner. The group spends a very pleasant evening here - you have not slept this well or this comfortably in quite some time.

In the morning, you wake to an early breakfast and find Thistle ready to go.

What now?

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) +4 to Will saves, clear sense of direction in Culverwood. In a tree 
Friday January 8th, 2016 12:54:14 AM
[Can we hold off on the morning until we've had the evening? These are people whom, to the best of Murphy's knowledge, we can trust.]

Murphy asks his friends - especially the four in the room who were there in the warding tower, if he might share with the three - Marigold, Ellis and Penelope. If they allow, he goes ahead. "We moved back in time. We want to prevent a magic experiment which went horribly wrong, and presages disaster for the whole valley, but has not yet happened. I thought we still had three to five days to get back to Humble’s Ford. But now I fear we may be close to running out of time. Aunt Marigold, know you any means to get us there quickly, or to get messages to key people with haste?"

He is willing to answer questions, and to have his friends do so as well. "Cameron," he asks quietly, "remember I said to avoid bringing up details to those we don't know or trust? These I know and trust. -They don't panic. They know how to think. They know when to take action."

He adds, "Alleah, can you speak to yourself as you did before, and see what you can learn?"

Headed Home 
Friday January 8th, 2016 11:01:56 AM
OOC: We can hold off as long as you need. But I do want to balance the pace between Murphy's interaction with his many friends and relations with the needs, desires, and interests of the rest of the group.

OOC: Clarification - Alleah's attempts to contact herself previously failed. Sorry for the change. We made a mistake.

(I still plan to do a regular DM post today, once everyone else has a chance to chime in, and perhaps indicate their preference on pace.)

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) +4 to Will saves, clear sense of direction in Culverwood. In a tree 
Friday January 8th, 2016 11:51:30 AM
In light of the above DM post, let's go ahead and stick with Thistle (ar-ar).

Murphy arranged with Ellis that evening to purchase a couple of his best ponies to help speed things along on the morrow (war ponies if possible, regular ponies if no war ponies available), along with saddles and tack. Murphy will pay.

Murphy is up early, says his prayers, and makes sure his fellows are ready to go close to first light. "We have miles to go before we sleep!"

He thanks the Pipewoods for their kind hospitality, and sets off with his friends with haste to Humble's Ford.

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Friday January 8th, 2016 1:20:05 PM
Cameron makes his devotions at midnight. He prays for speed over combat ability.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
None
Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Longstrider (domain), Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Longstrider (domain), Hold Person, Sound Burst, Resist Energy
Spells cast
None
0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
0/5 channel energy used for today

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19 
Friday January 8th, 2016 4:25:24 PM
"You don't have to worry about me spilling' no details, Murphy," says Kezzem. "I still can't wrap my head around this timey-wimey stuff."

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Friday January 8th, 2016 4:42:45 PM
Throughout the night, Pressi mingles primarily with the adults. It will come to a total shock to you that she is stiff around the children.

Still, it is the first time in a while that Pressi has encountered civilization, and she takes advantage of the food and drink that is finally available.

She also asks Trill what her plans are now that they are out of the woods.

----------------

An early rise, a quick meditation and exercise session, and Pressi is ready to head forward.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) +4 to Will saves, clear sense of direction in Culverwood. In a tree 
Friday January 8th, 2016 6:49:20 PM

"Trill, I hope you come with us to help us out with our situation. Also, never be afraid to tell us what you are thinking, to give us your perspectives, to challenge us. You're a pretty quiet young woman often, but I'll bet you have much to offer that you haven't entirely let on about. Will you help us?" Murphy asks her. "Besides, we'll want to show you around Humble's Ford, and you can meet my cat, Calico."

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39 
Friday January 8th, 2016 6:56:03 PM
Alleah will spend the evening trying to help out around the farm wherever she can. Castings of "Guidance" to help people with cooking, "Speak with Animals" and "Speak with Plants" to help on the farm, and "Make Whole" to help repair things.

She allows herself to have a good nights sleep. It's rare to find such a comfortable bed while travelling.

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Friday January 8th, 2016 8:50:24 PM
Shel also slept well. She'd forgotten how cushy a nice soft matress could be and she slept like a log. The next morning, however she was up with the roosters. "We need to get ready. Home isn't far now. We don't know what to expect. There could even be biguns there. We must get ready and get moving!"

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent) 
Friday January 8th, 2016 10:51:42 PM
If you want me to come along with you I will be happy to if you don't think I am in the way. I still haven't figured out how I might truly be of help to you all. You all seem so much more... I don't know... knowledgeable about things...

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim)  d20+16=30 ;
Saturday January 9th, 2016 3:00:22 AM

Talking with Trillium
"Well, none of us has tripped over you yet. Look, someday we may go to some areas you know well - say, like Plateau City! I'm sure you know your way around there better than any of the rest of us. All I know is I went there twice, and the first time I was so young all I remember is walking over many flagstones, getting very tired, and some really sweet dessert at the inn we stayed, and this funny fellow who juggled almost anything.

"You've shown your skill at arms, and you know a good deal about nature - you were the one who told us about the garilion... uh, girallon? No question you have courage, and seem to be kind. But, feel free to have us bump into you - get in our way, if it will help us find a better way. Meanwhile - hey, have fun getting to know a lot more about where you are - pretty soon you might start feeling kind of at home, or, like you have a second home - or at least an interesting place to vacation, or adventure."

He adds, "Back in Humble's Ford, I've got a few books. One tells the story of some adventurers from the valley from a few years back. It's great for getting to know a good deal about the valley, some of the key people, politics, and strange doings. The other is only partway written. It's about Humble's Sword - this group. How we started. Who has traveled with us. Things we've done, seen, been falsely accused of, people we've rescued, some of the goings on in Crescent Valley, the Red Hills, and round about. Also - each night I add a bit more to it. I'll add the tales from this journey through the Culverwood - and you'll have a place in it. For now, though, let's pray we figure a way to save this beautiful valley for the people who live here. And give it a chance. You can become famous if you stick with us. Or..." he finishes with a wry grin, "infamous."

Along the way
Murphy provided two ponies he bought from his cousins. He asks their names, if he has given them one. Each has a saddle - and two people should be able to ride on them at a time, with their gear. Murphy will check the saddle and tack before we leave - he's not worried, as Ellis trains his people pretty well, but just to acquaint himself with the gear.

"Who wants to ride a pony? They move faster than most halflings," he says. "And we need to move quickly. With Thistle plus these two, six of us can ride. Bliss and Mookie move along just fine.

After the first few hours along the way, as we stop to rest the poniees, catch a quick bite to eat ourselves, Murphy will recheck the gear, tighten straps if needed, make sure the ponies' mouths are fine, and other parts where the gear is in contact with their bodies. Just before he does so, he asks if any in the group would like to learn a bit more about saddles, bits, bridles, and reins, and he'll be happy to point out what he is doing, and explain why he is doing it. "You ride a pony a few hours, sometimes you'll need to tighten the girth, or adjust another strap of two, or make certain the blanket has not bunched up, leading to sores."

Once that is done, after the first break for the ponies, he may shape change into a bird - maybe an eagle for now.

Perception: 30

Headed Home 
Saturday January 9th, 2016 3:39:43 AM
Alleah does what she can to help out. Minor spells here and there. At one point, a stable hand injures his hand, but Alleah’s ministrations take care of that.

Everyone seems prepared to leave in the morning.

That evening, Murphy becomes very serious, and he tells Marigold, Ellis and Penelope, “We moved back in time. We want to prevent a magic experiment which went horribly wrong, and presages disaster for the whole valley, but has not yet happened. I thought we still had three to five days to get back to Humble’s Ford. But now I fear we may be close to running out of time. Aunt Marigold, know you any means to get us there quickly, or to get messages to key people with haste?" Then Murphy turns to Cameron and tells him it’s Ok, these people can be trusted.

They listen carefully. Ellis and Penelope look rather puzzled. Then Marigold smiles broadly, then bursts out laughing, “Oh Murphy, you’ve always been such a clever boy. This is a great story. You’ve really missed your calling boy - you should’ve been a bard.” She looks around at the rest of Humble’s Sword. “And the rest of you as well! Oh, what a splendid time! You really must tell this story to Letti Hazen and Gabriel and Gus Gammidth! But do it in the same way. I’ll invite them for lunch tomorrow. I will be a hoot.” Ellis and Penelope still seem a bit puzzled, but they laugh along with the joke as well.

The conversation continues into the evening. (Let me know if you clarify the time travel issue further. I imagine that you let Marigold know that you cannot stay for lunch tomorrow.)

After a good night’s rest, the group prepares to leave in the morning. Penelope has prepared a simple breakfast of fruit and porridge. She’s also packed each of you a second breakfast and a lunch for the road. Ellis has brought a couple excellent ponies named Apple and Frosty, both saddled and ready to go. He’ll not take more than 20 gold each for them. Clara seem sad to see you all go.

A couple dozen of Murphy’s friends and relations show up to see you all off, including Marigold. Marigold is chatting with those around her, pointing to Murphy, resulting in happy smiles from her friends.

Humble’s Ford is about a day’s walk away, less with the ponies.

Anything you do before you leave, or during the trip?

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19 
Saturday January 9th, 2016 12:59:51 PM
"Ooh, ponies!" shouts Kezzem. "I once knew a dwarf barbarian who had a pony named Sparkles. You may think that's odd, but nobody ever questioned him."

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22  d3=2 ;
Sunday January 10th, 2016 9:53:03 AM
(OOC: Brian, even I the player don't get the reference.)

"What do you mean everyone else can ride?" Pressi asked. There are six of us remaining and only three ponies, so how... oh. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't all that thrilled in riding solo."

Pressi takes a quick count and proposes that the three trained riders (Trill, Alleah and Herself) take the front. Which means they can't put the two remaining boys together. Grumbling, she throws lots to see who she is paired with (Shel, Kezzem or Cameron).

"....Ok, Kezzem's in back of me. Where he will remain quiet, I assume."

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) 
Sunday January 10th, 2016 1:02:26 PM
Evening conversation
Murphy takes in Aunt Marigold's response, and thinks to protest for an instant, but then realizes he perhaps should go along with her interpretation.

He smiles. "Ah, Aunt Marigold, you always had amazing insight." He laughs along with her. "Oh, I think there are enough bards in the family. No doubt you see Kendry around town now that he and his bride, Airin live here."

He takes in her suggestion. "Well, much as I would love to remain and regale your friends with fun stories, we really must get over to Humble's Ford. I have to feed my cat!"

Leave-taking
In the morning, he comes over to take his leave of his relatives and some of their friends. "May it be well with you all, and with us all. Farewell for now!"

To Kezzem he says, "Well, we all know dwarves love gold and gems. Gems sparkle. I can see why they would have no problem with that name."

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent) 
Sunday January 10th, 2016 9:46:58 PM
Trill listens to Murphy and spends the rest of the evening listening and such.

In the morning Trill joins the others getting ready to depart.

She smiles at Pressi, you sure you don't just want to put two of them together and one of us could lead them on a line. I got the impression that we would be riding on well made roads from here to Humbles ford?

In any case I will take whomever up behind me, I don't know any of them well enough to have formed any bad opinions as yet. They all seem like well intentioned young gentlemen to me.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) 
Sunday January 10th, 2016 10:35:14 PM
Oh, and Murphy thanks Penelope for the breakfast, 2nd breakfast and lunch provisions. "So much better than typical trail rations, cuz!" He kisses her on both cheeks, and gives Clara a kiss on the forehead, and shakes Ellis's hand. "You folks really understand hospitality. The horses look great. Good bye!"

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Monday January 11th, 2016 11:13:13 AM
"Oh don't get me wrong," Pressi responded to Trill. "I can vouch that Kezzem is well intentioned, which is why I ignore the stuff he says. I'm just not the most comfortable riding with a guy regardless of intentions, is all...."

"As for just putting the two guys together, that would be hilarious... I mean, that is another great option. I guess I'm just worried that there might be a curve. It's kind of strange, but I feel like the gods just woke up to the fact that we are time travelers and are now trying to buy time because even they don't know what's in Humble Ford right now. So, yeah, I can't guarantee there won't be convenient bandits in the road."

If the boys get put together, Pressi will probably ride in back of Trill.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle)  d20+26=42 ; d20+15=21 ;
Monday January 11th, 2016 1:25:03 PM

"Is it time for us to go?" asks Bliss. "We should be going, right? Cause time is running out!" He's eager to be off as soon as possible.

Bliss asks Mookie to keep a low profile, and he sneaks ahead ... with his longstrider spell as the group gets closer to home.

Stealth 42
Perception 21

Headed Home 
Monday January 11th, 2016 2:51:16 PM
As Humble’s Sword prepares to take their leave of Hovel, Kezzem is glad to see the ponies. Everyone rides double, which is fine for what is expected to be a one-day trip, but might be a bit much if the trip if it were extended.

They are sent off by a few well wishers as noted before. As they go through town, a number of townsfolk are just rising for the day and wondering what all the fuss is about - there are a some waves, and a few mistrustful glares. A few children will follow along to the edge of town. Some of them are called back by their parents, and scolded for following “travellers and strange folk,” not seeming to care if you overhear.

As you go, the ride to Humble’s Ford seems fairly uneventful. The food packed by Penelope is quite nice. It’s a lovely fall morning - the air is crisp and clear, and some leaves are beginning to turn. Pressi muses that the gods may conspire to keep them from reaching Humble’s Ford in time to prevent the fall of the Giant Tower protecting Crescent Valley. She expects bandits.

Bliss sneaks ahead on foot and disappears from sight, keeping a sharp eye out for trouble. He’s a little sad to miss out on the usual banter as they travel. (As such, he’s the first to encounter this wagon on the road. This person does not see Bliss, so the following will apply once the rest of you catch up to him.)

You come upon what seems to be a local farmer travelling your way with a small wagon loaded with goods - some rope, barrels, and vegetables. He’ll introduce himself as Hevin Longroot, and ask who you might be. He’ll kick up the pace of his pony to keep pace with your group, seemingly glad for the company. You’ll learn he’s a nearby farmer, and sometimes merchant, bringing some goods to Humble’s Sword. He made the rope, but not the barrels. He just got barrels at a good price and intends to pass that good price along, with a reasonable amount for his trouble of course. He’ll ask if you have need for ropes or barrels. He’ll ask you about any business contacts you may have that would help him.

Sense Motive DC 15, Highlight to display spoiler: {He seems pleasant and is not hostile, but is clearly probing you for his benefit.}

Appraise DC 10, Highlight to display spoiler: {His proposed “good price” of 3 gp per barrel is not a very good price.}

Knowledge Local DC 15, Highlight to display spoiler: {You’ve heard of the Longroot family - they indeed have a farm near here. They have a local reputation as opportunists, always looking for a good deal or a way to make quick money. They’ve been known to trade with and talk to adventurers, so clearly they don’t exercise good judgement.}

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22  d20+7=9 ; d20+5=24 ; d20+5=21 ;
Monday January 11th, 2016 4:43:31 PM
(Sense Motive 9, Knowledge 24, Appraise 21).

Pressi looked up from her pony at the salesman. "Oh hey, yeah. Pressi, from Winword Toys? The Angel Springs Temple maybe? I've dealt with your family on many an occassion, and may I say how thanks upon Domi that I finally see a familiar face."

"Don't trust them," Pressi whispered to her riding-mate Trill. "They are such phonies."

"So, still talking to strangers on the road, I take it. Well, it's great to see you, but I don't know if we really need barrels, whatever the deal. Not... not even sure what I'd do with them."

Pressi does wonder if he's buying anything at the moment.

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet  d20+8=14 ; d20+2=13 ; d20+2=15 ; d20+12=16 ;
Monday January 11th, 2016 5:44:46 PM
Sense motive 14 (figures)
Appraise 13 (nailed that one though)
Knowledge Local 15 ( But it is untrained so I don't think I learn anything)
Perception 16
Now that the rolls are done....
Before meeting the traveler, Cameron asks some questions and attempts to clarify what exactly he does in the group and in fights in particular.
" So stopping these guys from breaking the giant tower is important, but exactly how important? I mean, are we up to the importance level where we will be visiting violence on them if they won't stop their experiment? Personally, when dealing with people that can talk and be understood, I prefer to ask questions and try to get what I am after without , you know, killing them or giving them a reason to call on Jancassis to visit some horrible revenge on me. I've seen some really bad stuff happen to people she decides to punish. When I fight I am not a stand up and hurt somebody kinda guy. My whip can't get past armor heavier that cloth and most animals with any kind of tough hide pretty much shrug it off. No, I generally hang back a little and trip up my opponents, or disarm them. Often times that makes them far more receptive to the talking things out route. Problem is, I can't trip anone more than human size. Leverage and all being what it is. So if we need to fight someone bigger than that, say an ogre or giant, an enlarge person would really help me to keep them off balance so that the real damage dealers can, you know, deal damage to them."
"So how are we going to handle this thing at the tower then?"
Once he meets up with the peddler he is on guard. It wouldn't be beyond the level of planning for brigands to slip someone into a group to distract them from being surrounded, so he keeps his eyes peeled. This guy is pretty much an odd duck, so he keeps quiet, trying not to offend the 'merchant' whose 'good price' is right up there with 'normal price plus a little bit more'.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
None
Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Longstrider (domain), Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Longstrider (domain), Hold Person, Sound Burst, Resist Energy
Spells cast
None
0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
0/5 channel energy used for today


Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39  d20+11=28 ; d20+5=10 ; d20+11=23 ;
Monday January 11th, 2016 7:35:28 PM
"Barrels, eh? Hmm..." Alleah will hop from Thistle to the back of the man's wagon to inspect the barrels more closely "I don't know. 3 gold for a barrel is a pretty steep asking price. Are they water tight? What kind of wood are they made from? And how old are they? If they've been used then the price should come down a bit, what from wear and tear"

Alleah folds her arms in thought as she looks at the barrels. If allowed, she will take the lids off them to examine the contents inside and the quality of the barrels.

"Hmmm... tell you what. I'll give you 4 gold for a barrel filled to the top with some of your vegetables. By my thinking you will still come out ahead. Then, when we get to Humble's Ford, you will deliver the barrel to the Temple of Ffloy to Broker Iangold Laughshield. Tell him it is courtesy of the Humble's Sword and intended for the poor. Do we have a deal?" Alleah holds out her hand to shake.

-------------------------
Sense Motive: 28
Appraise: 17 (Take10)
Knowl Local: 17 (Take10)
Diplomacy: 10
Perception: 23

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39  d20+1=2 ; d20+5=8 ; d20+1=18 ;
Monday January 11th, 2016 9:38:04 PM
Sense Motive natural one for a 2. Appraise 8. Knowledge Local 18.

Shel hangs back, completely uninterested in haggling for barrels and ropes. They were almost home. There was no time to be distracted from their task. "Maybe we could buy barrels later on, everyone. Remember, we are in a bit of a hurry!"

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent)  d20+2=6 ; d20+7=23 ; d20+7=24 ;
Monday January 11th, 2016 10:30:11 PM
Trill has no idea whether the price on the barrels is good or not appraise 6 but can tell a sheister from a couple of miles sense motive 23 away and she for some reason even recognizes the family name, know local 24 perhaps her mother bought some barrels from them for the winery.

Chuckling at her riding partner's comment she replies just as quietly.

Yeah I guessed that much. He seems just a bit too slick. I think my mother may have had some dealings with the family before. She runs a little winery and distillery.

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19  d20+10=30 ; d20=6 ; d20+15=31 ;
Tuesday January 12th, 2016 12:49:22 AM
Sense Motive: 30.
Appraise: 6.
Knowledge (local): 20 (16 + 4, not 15)

"Don't trust them," Pressi whispered to her riding-mate Trill. "They are such phonies."

"What's that?" asks Kezzem. "Don't trust the ponies?"

"Barrels, eh? Hmm..." Alleah will hop from Thistle to the back of the man's wagon to inspect the barrels more closely "I don't know. 3 gold for a barrel is a pretty steep asking price. Are they water tight? What kind of wood are they made from? And how old are they? If they've been used then the price should come down a bit, what from wear and tear"

"Are they 'barrels' of fun?" asks Kezzem with a laugh.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim)  d20+7=13 ; d20+2=8 ; d20+6=26 ;
Tuesday January 12th, 2016 2:41:16 AM

Are the barrels large enough for a halfling to fit within? Do they appear to have sturdy handles? Murphy thinks to himself that halflings in barrels might be able to get past the animated chains on the ground floor of the tower. Put several of his friends within the barrels. Fly up with an adequate amount of rope on his person just before he shape changes. Dropping the rope down to be tied to the barrels. Winching the barrels up the stairs until out of reach of the flailing metal links.

"Do as my friend suggests. But first, leave five barrels at our burrow near the river. You are to do an excellent job of tieing some of the rope around the outside of each barrel, so that each has a good solid couple loops of rope to tie onto so the barrels can be dragged along the ground with about 35 to 55 pounds of things inside them. Also, I will take 300 feet of rope. You'll get 20 gold pieces if you drop those off at our burrow just before you go to the Temple of Flower. Uh, I mean, the Temple of Ffloy, with my friend's vegetable-filled barrel.

"Also, if the ropes are poorly affixed to the barrels, I know where your place of business is. If they are well affixed to the barrels, I know where your place of business is. Well done, when I can you'l get something extra. Poorly done, you will hear from me. Lives may be at stake in doing the job well. Imagine you are doing this to save the person you love the most." He takes out his dagger, and says, "I'll show you what I mean with the first barrel. Then you do the rest." Before he cuts, he takes out a few platinum pieces. "Don't worry, I'll pay." He measures a length of rope, and cuts it. He loops it around the barrel, about 1/3 of the way from one end, loops the rope in a tight spiral, then winds the end multiple times around the rope that runs parallel with the slats.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim)  d20+16=22 ;
Tuesday January 12th, 2016 2:43:05 AM
Akh! Not the finished post - Here's what I meant to post:

Are the barrels large enough for a halfling to fit within? Do they appear to have sturdy handles? Murphy thinks to himself that halflings in barrels might be able to get past the animated chains on the ground floor of the tower. Put several of his friends within the barrels. Fly up with an adequate amount of rope on his person just before he shape changes. Dropping the rope down to be tied to the barrels. Winching the barrels up the stairs until out of reach of the flailing metal links.

"Do as my friend suggests. But first, leave five barrels at our burrow near the river. You are to do an excellent job of tieing some of the rope around the outside of each barrel, so that each has a good solid couple loops of rope to tie onto so the barrels can be dragged along the ground with about 35 to 55 pounds of things inside them. Also, I will take 300 feet of rope. You'll get 20 gold worth if you drop those off at our burrow just before you go to the Temple of Flower. Uh, I mean, the Temple of Ffloy, with my friend's vegetable-filled barrel." He makes certain the merchant knows the burrow he is talking about.

"Also, if the ropes are poorly affixed to the barrels, I know where your place of business is. If they are well affixed to the barrels, I know where your place of business is. Well done, when I can you'l get something extra. Poorly done, you will hear from me. Lives may be at stake in doing the job well. Imagine you are doing this to save the person you love the most." He takes out his dagger, and says, "I'll show you what I mean with the first barrel. Then you do the rest." Before he cuts, he takes out a few platinum pieces. "Don't worry, I'll pay." He measures a length of rope, and cuts it. He spends about three minutes forming a fairly simple, fairly taut set of knots and loops which in the end give a couple of places to pull or drag the barrel, and room to tie another rope end to, without blocking either end. "Like that." He looks up at the man. "We have a deal?" If he sees affirmation in the man's countenance, holds out his hand and plunks a combination of gold and platinum into the man's palm. "Thank you, Mister Longroot."

Sense Motive: 13
Appraise: 8
Knowledge Local: 26
Perception: 22

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Tuesday January 12th, 2016 9:50:10 AM
Bliss casts his Message cantrip a few times and has a chat with his friends quiet like.

He says, "Maybe Pressi has a point, but instead of stopping us, Fate is helping us! We should buy this fellow's whole cart, ponies, wagon, and all. Let Kezzem and Pressi and Cam drive the wagon, and the rest of us hide in the barrels. That way there's no chance of us seeing our younger selfs."

Mookie adds in a caw, "Yeah, good idea, Kid! And we should send this fellow back to Hovel so that he won't spill the beans on us before it is too late. Give him a message for Murph's kin so he know's we're checking on when he went. Tell him to wait for a reply, and in the message, tell Marry-Gold to keep him waiting for a few days."



Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) 
Tuesday January 12th, 2016 3:50:26 PM

Murphy responds to Bliss's message. "I concur. Let's do it."

He again approaches the vendor.

"Changed my mind. I don't want to buy your barrels and rope. We want to buy the whole lock, stock and barrel. How much do you ask? Cart, pony, barrels, rope, vegetables. Everything but yourself. And, as part of the deal, we have a message for you to deliver to Marigold Pipewood, back in Hovel, as fast as your legs will carry you."

Headed Home 
Tuesday January 12th, 2016 5:52:29 PM
No one is really taken in by Hevin’s offer, though reactions vary - his price for the barrels was high, but not extravagant.

Pressi quietly says he’s a phoney, and Trill responds that she knows. Cameron is on guard, suspecting a possible attack. Alleah ties to make a deal with him to get food to the poor, offering him 4 gold for delivery of a barrel of food. Kezzem asks about the barrel’s construction and makes a joke. Murphy is courteous, and proposes that Hevin rig the barrells with rope to haul them safely up. He pays the man and then climbs aboard his wagon to show him what to do. Bliss quietly proposes they buy all he has, even the wagon, and send him to Hovel. Then Murphy seizes on the idea, saying they’ll buy all he has, even the cart and pony!

The fat merchant rubs his chin as he thinks.

“Buy my pony and cart and have me walk to Hovel! That will seriously affect my business! This cart is how I make my money, so I’d surely have to replace it in Hovel. And then there’s the walk. But I can see that you’re good folk who have a plan that I don’t need to be a part of.”

“I’ll tell you what. I sell you all I have here, and run your errand, but it’s going to cost you. 200 gold and we’ll call it done, and that will compensate me for my inconvenience as well. If you agree, just give me a moment to collect my things and my money, and we’ll part ways.”

He begins to gather some things from the cart, including a small backpack and some other gear.

Do you pay him what he asks?


Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) 
Tuesday January 12th, 2016 9:38:53 PM

Murphy adds another ten gold pieces to the twenty he already put forth. "One hundred ninety, and, if wagon and pony are in good condition by the time you return to Humble's Ford, you'll buy them back from us for sixty - and we'll include anything we did not have to use up."

He turns to his friends. "We need another... 156 in gold or equivalent. Who can help?"

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39  d20+5=10 ; d20+5=6 ; d20=19 ; d20=17 ; d20+4=16 ; d20+4=23 ;
Tuesday January 12th, 2016 10:41:15 PM
"Wait wait wait. You're talking about paying 140 gold for a ride to Humble's Ford?" Alleah shakes her head at Murphy, and then turns her attention to the merchant.

"By my reckoning, the pony, cart, barrels and vegetables work out to be worth around 60 gold pieces. We'll offer 100 gold pieces and not a single piece more. If you think you'll get a better deal than that today elsewhere, then I wish you the best of luck in your travels"

Alleah folds her arms, letting the man know how steadfast she is

"Then there is the issue of repeat business. We are quite well known in Humble's Ford, you see. Why, the Broker of the Temple of Ffloy is even a good personal friend of mine. If we were to tell others how accommodating you were, well, business could boom. People would travel just to feast on your hospitality. Alternatively, if we were to tell others how you tried to charge unrealistic prices, well, your business might suffer.

What would it say that you charged a 300% markup for some travellers who only wished to donate goods to charity?

No, 100 gold pieces is a more than fair deal. What's more, you would have an armed escort all the way to Humble's Ford. I'm sure you know as well as anyone how dangerous this area can be." Alleah will point out the gorillon skin by way of example "The decision is yours"

-----------------
Alleah will use her "Touch of Luck" ability to grant her rerolls of all checks she makes
Diplomacy: 10
Intimidate: 19
Untrained Profession Merchant: 23

Edit: Upped offer to 100gold. If new, all these items would work out to cost 79gold. Knocking off 19gold for them being used, puts it down to 60gp I *think*

Headed Home 
Tuesday January 12th, 2016 11:12:15 PM
OOC: Just to be clear.

Pony
Bit and bridle
Cart
8 barrels
800 feet of rope
Vegetables

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22  d20+5=24 ; d20+5=23 ;
Tuesday January 12th, 2016 11:41:06 PM
Pressi only has 6 GP in cash, but she quickly adds to the pile the large axe they got in the forest. "A present from some camping buddies," she explains to the merchant.

She quickly looks over the items to have a better idea of whether Alleah is correct (Appraise 24, Diplomacy 23).

"You must forgive my excitable friend, what with our reputations on the line as well. I mean, Murphy here has relatives in all three towns numbering in the hundreds... I mean, I should know, like I said I do procurement for them and for the Angel Springs Temple, Alleah has some sway with the Humble ford Temple, you know how it is with us knowing pretty much everyone who buys stuff....

"Say, as long as we are talking, I should have asked this before, but... has anything unusual happened in Humble Ford recently? I understand how vague that question is, but if you have heard of it, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about..."

"Of course, if we are attempting subterfuge, there is the issue that we'd still stand out. I mean, it would be me just riding in with my robes and...." Pressi stopped, staring into her bag, the blue and black cloth staring back...

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet  d20+6=10 ;
Tuesday January 12th, 2016 11:43:14 PM
Diplomacy 10 to aid Alleah
" Besides, having an Avenger of Jancassis on your side certainly beats having one not on your side. Alleah's deal is fair, with a profit to boot and the possibility of more business in the future. I'd take the deal. Just saying."
Cameron slips a pouch from around his neck and pulls out several small black and red gems and hands them to Alleah to make up his part of the purchase price. (5, 10 gp gems)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
None
Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Longstrider (domain), Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Longstrider (domain), Hold Person, Sound Burst, Resist Energy
Spells cast
None
0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
0/5 channel energy used for today


Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 12:07:54 AM
Shel has plenty of gold to contribute. Once the others pay what they can, she covers the rest.

OOC: let me know how much gold to subtract.

Shel still was trying to wrap her head around the idea if most of the group riding into town in barrels to keep from seeing themselves as much as she tried to find fault with the plan, she couldn't do so. It didn't sound comfortable but it sounded like a good idea. "Lets do it then. Sounds interesting!"

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 1:56:26 AM
OOC: Kezzem can pitch in as well, or pay the whole price outright. Just let me know what my share is.

"Ooo, hiding in barrels is fun. This reminds of my cousin's adventures when he helped a dozen dwarves escape from an elven prison. He put all the dwarves in barrels and then dumped then into the river, where they then had to fight off not only the elves but a band of orcs as well! Elves AND Orcs, I tell you! In fact, I believe he's writing his adventures with those dwarves in a book, Away and Home Once More: A Halfing's Story."

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 7:35:21 AM

Bliss laughs at Kezzem's tale. "I'd like to read that one!" he declares.

"Anyway, we have alots of money. Right Mookie?"

Mookie answers annoyingly, "It's not a lot! When I travelled with your mom, well, she had a lot of money. And she didn't rely on her familiar to keep track of it, either." The talking crow shakes his head.

"You have exactly 500 gold in coin and gems. How you ended up with a perfectly round number when you have no idea of the value of money, I don't know."

Bliss capers about ecstatically. "Thanks old pal!" he says, giving Mookie a hug.

"Watch the feathers!"

"Hey! HEY GUYS!" shouts Bliss. "It's okay, Miss Alleah and Murphy! I have TONS of gold! Just like Shel! You don't have to worry about it. We can pay this fellow's price. We aren't short or poor or anything."

Mookie smirks when Bliss says he isn't short.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 9:07:06 AM
Pressi does also throw into the potential pile her silver shuriken (14 gold value) and her silver (9 sp).

Headed Home 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 10:49:49 AM
Murphy seems ready to move ahead with a price of 190 GP. Then Alleah tells Hevin his things are worth no more than 50 gold, and that you’ll pay no more than 75 GP for the lot. When her attempts at diplomacy fail, she resorts to threats.

Pressi throws in a few coins, a silver throwing star, and a huge stone axe that came from who-knows-where. She asks about news out of Humble’s Ford. She references some significant event, but is vague about what.

Cameron reminds Hevin that he doesn’t really want to have an Avenger of Jancasis as an enemy.

Shell says she’s on board and will cover the rest, but Hevin is not quite sure what that means at this point. Kezzem says hiding in barrels would be fun, and tells a story about that.

Then a strange thing happens. A tiny little Bliss appears, previously unseen, and starts talking with a Crow, who tells him they have 500 gold. The tiny man hugs the crow, and says they have TONS of money and that you all can pay Hevin’s price.

Hevin Longroot looks pleased, puzzled, and then taken aback. “All right - I’ve had about enough of this. I have clearly offended you folk in ways I did not intend. I was merely offering to sell you some goods. Then you want me to sell you all my goods and my livelihood - cart, pony and all, and walk all the way to Hovel on my own to deliver a message to the good Mistress Marigold.” He does not appear to be a man that does a lot of walking. “And when you didn’t like my price for putting me temporarily out of business and sending me off on an errand on foot, ya say you’ll all try to ruin me in these parts if I don't comply! I don’t doubt that you could spread some nasty rumors about me, but I don’t like the way you do business.”

“Yer travellin’ with fey creatures and talking crows. You have huge weapons you cannot use. You have plenty of money, and plenty of threats that I don’t doubt you’ll make good on. And I don’t even want to know why you need to hide in those barrels of mine.”

“If you have a serious offer, I’m listening. But if all you have are insults and threats, then I think it may be best we not do business, an’ part ways right here. An’ please don’t be spreading none of your tales about me. It’s tough enough to make a living and keep my family fed. I meant you no harm - I sure hope hope you mean none to me.”

He appears to be sufficiently intimated. And a bit angry.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 10:58:59 AM

Bliss is happy to step up. "Sorry we confused you. I'm confused too, lots of times. Best thing to do is just to go with the flow!"

"Anyway, here you go, 200 gold pieces. And thank you for your trouble."

He especially looks to Pressi, who seems the poorest of the lot of us if she is offering her gear for the deal. "Miss Pressi, you keep that. You might need those pointy things if we meet up with bad guys. Which we always seem to do!"

Turning to the merchant, Bliss adds, "See, we're kind of in the hero business, so, um, there you go."

He seems to feel that that explains everything.

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 11:35:51 AM
Cameron just puts his face in his hands and sighs as Bliss makes his initial outburst. Clearly the concept of stealth and secrecy was lost on nearly everyone here, even though half the time Cameron couldn't even SEE Bliss.
" Can we PLEASE just finish one of the simplest transactions ever and get on with this. The day isn't getting any newer while we sit here and quibble."
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
None
Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Longstrider (domain), Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Longstrider (domain), Hold Person, Sound Burst, Resist Energy
Spells cast
None
0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
0/5 channel energy used for today

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 11:36:57 AM
"Nobody needs the axe," Pressi responds in return. "And I don't really need silver throwing stars unless we run into werewolves."

Bliss seems skeptical, so Pressi does lay out the issue: she's cash poor. All of her wealth is in gear, and it's all really expensive gear or gear that's 20 gp or under (or it's gear with some sentimental value like Leska's fan). So it is a bit tough to contribute, but she feels bad squelching in an 8K robe.

Anyway, this was what Pressi was trying to get at earlier - what valuation if any will Hevin give goods.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim) 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 2:08:35 PM
Murphy was taken aback at some of the imperious and aggressive responses of some of his friends. "Uh, friends, this fellow is no enemy to be overcome. We're in Crescent Valley. Folks try to be polite to each other here, at least a good part of the time."

He turns to the merchant, "Hevin Longroot, you may know me. I am Murphy Leafwin Pipewood. I wish to apologize on behalf of me and my friends. I won't go into details, but we've all just gone through some rough times, with some rough characters. Please forgive us the seemingly rude behavior you have just been subject to. I realize this is how you make a living, and that you have a family to support, and that you have a long walk ahead of you to make it back to Hovel. We will meet your price. The offer still stands for you to buy back pony, cart, and whatever else remains when you get back to Humble's Ford. Mister Longroot, will you forgive us?" He asks, and waits for the halfling's response.

If he needs further coaxing, he adds, "I promise you, my friends and I will have a good talk about this with each other. We will treat you with courtesy and respect, and you need not fear us. We have pledged to help protect Crescent Valley, and it makes no sense for protectors to be treating folk such as yourself with anything less than kindness."

"Matter of fact, rather than two hundred, let's make it 230 - the extra to emphasize the sincerity of our apology. My cousin Ellis, at the Livery in Hovel, makes good carts, as you like as not know. Get yourself a good cart from him out of what we are paying you. Ask him if he can add one of his secret compartments to the conveyance. He is rather clever that way."

The druid realizes some of his friends may be upset with him for his willingness not to haggle to get the best price, and for apologizing for their behavior. He recognizes they they think they are being cheated. But Bliss's notion makes this whole thing seem a godsend, and he thinks why should we be parsimonious, when we and the whole town, the whole valley, may benefit from the timing of this nice assembly of conveyance and concealment? If need be, he communicates such via the message spell - but not while directly talking with the merchant.

To Pressi, via the message spell
[i]Lycanthropes have been known to show up in the Valley every once in a while, Press, and there's a spot on the wall in the common room of our place in the Ford that might be nicely augmented by that obsidian axe, or we can sell it elsewhere. I know you're short on cash, so don't worry about this one."

The message to (Aunt) Marigold Pipewood (sealed with wax)
If the merchant agrees to the sale, Murphy takes a minute to write the following:
Aunt M,
Quite good to have seen you. This merchant, Hevin Longroot, has helped us out. If you could see that Ellis can help him out with a good cart and pony (for which Mister Longroot has funds we provided for the purpose), I shall thank you proper when next we meet. Maybe it will take a day or two for Ellis to do a proper job on the cart. This would be time well spent.
And may our own matter of time go well, I pray.
Your nephew - MLP
If the situation concludes with the merchant returning to Hovel, and Humble's Sword returning to the Ford, then, once they and the cart are out of sight of the merchant, Murphy will recommend that the people who have been longer with the group make themselves as comfortable as they might within the barrels. He prepares one for himself. Along one side, however, he carefully fashions a hole, using his small tools, so as to make a removable wood plug, yet so that the plug is pushed in from the outside, to fall within the barrel. He uses some of his thread to affix to a place just below the opening, and the other end to the inside of the plug. He lines the edge with wax, and waxes the barrel side of the hole, too. He makes sure he can place the plug back in, so that it will generally hold, unless some pressure is put on it. He makes it large enough that he can fit through it when in the form of an owl.

He will spend a bit of time in the barrel, and put his bedroll and blanket down for comfort. His sling staff he lays next to the barrel. When they are an hour or so from Humble's Ford, he will change into the form of an owl, and provide aerial reconnaissance. He communicates well in advance his plans with his friends.

Among other things, he asks, "So, what shall be the order of events once we reach town? Also - does anyone have a spell or device helpful for opening doors? We may need such for the tower. Shall we split up - some visit the Second Breakfast Club to see if any of the three are about, and to try to explain - basically to tell them NOT to mess with magic in the Giant Tower until we have a good chance to sit down as a group and talk about it? Or should we hie ourselves directly to the Giant Tower? I'm open to suggestions. Hopefully, we will arrive before any explosion or release of purple smoke."

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 3:05:21 PM
"Well, I do appreciate the charity, nonetheless," Pressi responded to Murphy from behind a number of bushes. "I mean, I figured we wouldn't run into werewolves before I got a chance to restock, figured it's a risk. And yeah, sorry for my part in the bargaining. I forgot we needed to buy his silence, too. Just get caught up in doing things sometimes without really thinking about it.

"Anyway, splitting up does seem best, especially since we don't even know when we are or what we're dealing with. As for opening doors, do you mean unlocking them, because I think, I think, we have someone on this team with rogue levels. If you mean bashing down heavy doors, I do have a crowbar and some climbing supplies, and a quick strength boost. But honestly, I'm willing to give that obsidian axe a try.

"First things first is how deep undercover we're going. Because it seems to me that four people riding on a barrel cart while geared to the hilt with weapons and armor and 8000 gp robes is still going to attract some attention. So the rest of us riders might want to dress down a little for this. Speaking of which, heads up."

Pressi sends her gear - robes, boots, cloak, weapons - flying towards the closest halfling team member.

"So, whatever you think I should be - serving girl, saleswoman, wife, acrobat - I think a more comfortable outfit is in order."

Pressi steps out of the bushes in her entertainer's outfit, the blue and black dress that she used for dancing and acrobatics. This is the most any member has seen of Pressi's body shape and of her legs, as she walks towards the group in simple gold-trim pumps, her scarves and fans by her side. Her red hair remains hidden beneath the black curls of her wig.

"If anyone else needs, I can lend my hat of disguise and my makeup kit. What do you think? Unassuming, no?"

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent) 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 5:54:03 PM
Well now, Wow you all are a bit different. I do know how to drive a cart as I have had to for my mom on occasion. I also am unknown in these parts and no one should know me for anything other than a small time trader should I shed myself of my armor.

So if we are going to do this who goes where?


Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 7:43:02 PM
Alleah just shakes her head at the response of the rest of the party, ensuring Hevin notes it as well.

"Highway robbery. That's what this is"

She fully intends to let everyone in the Temple of Ffloy know this story.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). So, what's our plan? 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 8:02:44 PM

"Nice outfit, Pressi. That'll do."

"Yep, Trill. Yep, we are!" the local boy responds to her comment. "Ah, good, glad you can drive. Thanks, Trillium."

Murphy writes three lines on a long strip of paper, then repeats the three lines twice more on similar strips of paper. Each strip he folds lengthwise, and on the outside, "For SBC" is written. Inside, each of the two messages read, in the halfling tongue:
VV,TT,BB,
Do NOT cast dimension door spells into portable holes, powered by energy from the giant tower - or any variation on that theme. This will open a deadly rift, and at least one of you will die, as the eventual result, and one may find the mind is damaged. The tower will be destroyed if you ignore this counsel, and others may perish. Trust me on this. Talk with Humble's Sword before further experimentation. We aim to keep your secrets safe. -A friend (young, yet foresightful in this particular matter)
"We should destroy these notes after they are read, lest they fall into the hands of someone who actually wants to destroy the towers," Murphy recommends.

"Bliss. How about if you and Mookie fly to the tower? Then, with wax from a candle, or some better scheme you might devise, affix this to the window of the top of the tower. Bang on the window to get their attention, if the Second Breakfast Club is there. Let them read the note."

"I can fly - say, the SBC was gone from their own tower - not the giant one - the night before this happened. Hmmm. I was going to deliver the note to their place, but, well, we don't seem to know firmly where we are in relationship to them, timewise. Whew. I think some of you who were talking about the weird nature of time dislocation are right. It is downright confusing. Oh, but I could fly the place where they live, anyway, and at least try to reach them."

"The rest of you, in the cart... what do you all think? Help from Ffloy's priest? Ask the Mayor for help in reaching the Second Breakfast Club?

He thinks to add, "The windows of the tower against the giants have magical barriers against entry. The front door, too, but it might be unlocked, or bashed in, or magicked open. Inside, in the middle of the floor of the tower, lie chains. If you step on the stairs going up, they will attack you, and the attack is strong. But it can be damaged by positive energy. If they think you are dead, or not going on the stairs, they probably will leave you alone.

"If you get past that, a ways up, according to Bliss, you will see a statue of a black dragon. It may ask you a riddle. The answer may be something like, 'You are a statue of a black dragon.' Is that how you told it to me, Bliss? Who knows, though, maybe it will have a different riddle. If so, you, or we, are on our own to figure it out."

"If you see a magical portal to another place, do NOT try to attack it. Do NOT go through, no matter how convinced you are that you should enter," Murphy states as a concluding recommendation.

"Again, though - what other ideas do you all have? Don't talk to people about the Giant Tower or the end of the Valley as we know it. We don't want to spread panic. We do want to avoid contributing to Very Bad Things Happening." He hands Trill the last of the three pieces of paper. "Don't let someone take this from your hand. It's for the hearing of the Second Breakfast Club only."

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 9:30:55 PM
"Bliss. How about if you and Mookie fly to the tower? Then, with wax from a candle, or some better scheme you might devise, affix this to the window of the top of the tower. Bang on the window to get their attention, if the Second Breakfast Club is there. Let them read the note."

"Wowsy, sure, I can do it! But we'll be in disguise so they will not know it is us!"

Bliss is thinking about using Disguise Self, shared with Mookie. It is a first level witch spell, and he also has two scrolls. He's thinking that Mookie will be a snowy owl, and Bliss will be a six inch high dwarf. With a long beard. He shares his plan with anyone who might be interested.

"But first we have to get there. Mookie and me'll share a barrel."

"Miss Pressi, I like your disguise!"

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Wednesday January 13th, 2016 10:35:20 PM
Shel wasn't able to fly, so she had to figure it would be best sticking with the cart. "Perhaps someone could alert Allouryn to the chaos that is about to break loose on the town? And what if Hazel has made it back already? Who knows what he might remember or not."

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Thursday January 14th, 2016 1:20:23 AM
Cameron shrugs, He has never been to Humble's Ford, at least not as anything but a child. Besides, HE isn't time traveling and as such he has no need to disguise himself. He listens to Murphy's description of the tower and it's dangers, and hopes he will be able to find a way up the stairs without touching them. After that reverse gravity place where they fought the awesome clockwork defender, this didn't sound that bad. All of this information would have been SOOOO much more useful last night so he could have used it to prepare useful spells.
He still wonders how badly they want to stop these Second Breakfast guys. No one answered him when he asked before, he will just have to try not to kill anyone. If anyone asks him if he is ready he will state that he is. He plans on heading directly to this 'giant tower' and stopping anyone from getting inside it, touching it or otherwise casting spells at on or near it. That's his plan and as far as he can tell it should work fine. Any more planning than that and something will go wrong and need to be adjusted, so he will just make the rest up as he goes.
" Step on the stairs or touch the stairs? What If I try to walk up them on my hands? That isn't exactly stepping, or easy for that matter.. How much positive energy does it take to make those chains back off?. What exactly do they try to do to you? Damage you? Burn you? Shock you? Hold you in place? Oh, just so I know, what do these Second Breakfast guys look like? I wouldn't want to accidentally stop the wrong people from doing stuff in or near the tower."
When they reach what appears to be the town he will cast Longstrider on himself so that he can move faster.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
None
Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Longstrider (domain), Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Longstrider (domain), Hold Person, Sound Burst, Resist Energy
Spells cast
None
0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
0/5 channel energy used for today

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19 
Thursday January 14th, 2016 2:00:03 AM
"Yowzah, Pressi, you should dress like that more often!" says Kezzem.

"I have a question about the Second Breakfast Club," says Kezzem. "Are they a club that enjoys having second breakfasts, or are they an additional breakfast club for those who think one breakfast club is too few?"

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). So, what's our plan?  d20+8=11 ; d20+8=20 ; d20+8=23 ; d20+8=18 ;
Thursday January 14th, 2016 2:42:40 AM

Murphy likes Bliss's ideas for disguise.

"Good notions, Shel. I am not fully certain whether we should warn Alouryn directly, or what we might tell her... I also don't have any idea whether Hazel has made it back here yet. If he did, maybe the situation is already handled."

At Cameron's request to describe what the members of the Second Breakfast Club look like, Murphy takes out paper and ink and sketches the face of each one. The first, that, supposedly, of Veseley Vortence, looks not much like him at all (Profession, Artist: 11); the second, of Tiana Taithen, is a good likeness (P,A: 20); and the third, of Bazeck Breezelee, is rather well done (P,A: 23). He re-attempts another sketch of Veseley, and it's fairly done (P,A: 18). He describes the clothing they wore the last time he saw them, as well as other clothing they wore a while back during the Crescent Valley Games where
they served as judges. "Keep in mind these three are genuine protectors of the Valley. They did not intend harm. It just happened to occur."

"The way we got up before, Cameron, was to tie a rope at an angle from up higher in the stairs, over to the side of the wall next to the floor of the tower. The chains didn't attack us as we climbed the rope. And how much positive energy would it take to subdue it? I don't know. Probably a fair amount. What do the chains do? They slap against you, hard. Sometimes they grab you up, lift you high, and smash you to the ground. If you pretend to be dead, or asleep, they might leave you alone."

"One more thing I forgot to mention. Hazel and Alouryn - they were original members of Humble's Sword - got married shortly before the tower incident. When you come into town, you might mention you have some gifts for the bride and groom. Ask if you've missed the wedding - you came from far away. If you missed it, you can ask where to take the gifts and to wish the couple well."

He pulls out a sketch of a map of the town, and shows where the Humble's Sword burrow is near the river - where the newlyweds should be, and points out other highlights. [Refer to Woldipedia page for this game - link at the top of this page.]

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Thursday January 14th, 2016 1:17:09 PM
" Are the chains sentient and actually attacking or are they a mindless trap that attacks anyone on the stairs? If they are sentient and willfully attacking, a sanctuary, which I could have prepared had I known any of this last night, might ward someone to get up the stairs. If they are a trap, perhaps they can be disarmed. How many chains are there? Can we just blitz them and overcome them by numbers in an attempt to climb the stairs? Along those lines what would happen if a swarm of rats or other small critters all ran up the stairs? Surely there are not enough chains to stop them all. We could use a diversion like that to get up the stairs."
" The riddle will have to be solved when we get to it. What was the penalty for being wrong? Where did they perform this experiment? At the top? Planning becomes so much easier when you know these things before they matter. Good thing you have all done this once already."

Headed Home 
Thursday January 14th, 2016 4:39:34 PM
Bliss move right up and pays Hevin the 200 GP. He accepts, and returns the other payments and items. Cameron sighs - subtlety does not seem to be Bliss’ strength. Cameron is anxious to get going.

Murphy chides his friends for their behavior.
Murphy increases the payment to 230 GP, and says Hevin has nothing to fear from them.
Murphy prepares a sealed message for his Aunt Marigold.
Murphy prepares to put a large hole in one of the barrels.
Murphy explains all the dangers in the Tower.
Murphy prepares some messages for the Second Breakfast Club. Cameron asks what the Second Breakfast Club looks like, so Murphy draws some pictures of the Second Breakfast Club. (It’s actually the Second Dinner Club. I think you’re confusing bumbling mages with angst filled teenagers.)

[Murphy needs to slow down on his posts so his DM can keep up.] :)

Alleah is personally offended by the deal Hevin received, and intends to inform the Temple of Ffloy. (This is a deal a merchant asked for and received without any real attempts to barter a better one. It will be interesting to see how Alleah characterizes this to the merchant priests of Ffloy.)

Pressi does a quick change behind some bushes, and comes out in a lovely outfit! Stunning! She receives a number of compliments.

Trill offers to drive the cart.

Shel suggests warning Allouryn and asks about Hazel.

Hevin is cautious but seems pleased. “Right then, and thank you - you folks are very generous. Well, most of you. No hard feelings - sometimes we all get off on the wrong foot. It was interesting doing business with you. Please let me know if there’s anything you may need in the future. My farm is just a couple miles yonder,” he points back south and east of here. “Ask anyone for the Longroot farm - they’ll tell you where to go. I do try to keep my ear to the ground around here, and can probably find whatever you need given enough time.”

“Now I do ask that you not be spreading any negative things about me.” He looks at Alleah, who is clearly still upset. “I’m just an honest...WHOA! What was that?”

Suddenly, a purple flash can be seen far in the distance off to the north-east. Perhaps even close to the hills in that direction! Seconds later you hear a low rumble and you sense a slight tremor in the ground...

These vibrations not only sound threatening but they can even be felt in every sinew of your body giving everyone a very uneasy feeling... a sense of imminent danger... a sense of a darkness beyond anything each and everyone of you have ever experienced...

Also, there is a sense of deja vu for some of you.

Hevin Longroot look surprised and worried - “Now what in the Wold could that be? It felt like something went right through me! Did you feel that? This can’t be good.”

“Strange happenings to be sure. Brownies, Talking birds. Giant weapons. Purple flashes.”

A couple minutes later flocks of birds can be seen flying away south... fast…

Hevin says, “The birds seem to get the right of it, and that’s a bad omen indeed. Well, you’ve paid me to do a job, and Hevin Longroot delivers on his promises - I’m off to see Miss Marigold. I can’t say I’m sad to headed away from your barrel hiding and that purple flash. Farewell.”

You can head directly there from here, but the going will be rough. It will be slightly faster to head to Humble’s Ford and then north to the tower, as the roads are good. Going directly there will be a shorter distance, but will be overland, slightly longer time, and you’d have to leave the wagon.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). So, what's our plan? 
Thursday January 14th, 2016 4:57:52 PM

Murphy starts when the purple flash shows up, then sighs, even before the sound reaches their ears.

"Time to go. Farewell, Hevin Longroot. I'd suggest you get over to Hovel as quickly as you can, and we'll see what we can do ahead of us." He climbs up the cart, and either encourages Trill to start the pony, or, if she's not up there yet, encourages his friends to get on the cart, or ride the ponies, and uses the reins to get the pony up and moving the cart.

After at least a hundred yards has been placed between the merchant and themselves, Mur at our original selves to the place, if there are twins of us. There may be no saving of the tower now, but we have three mages to get down from the tower, and make certain that none enter the portal. And that the gathering crowds are moved far away from the destruction of the stone tower."

The pony he urges to haste.

Headed Home 
Thursday January 14th, 2016 5:54:53 PM
For clarification, you are still a few hours out of Humble's Ford.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Thursday January 14th, 2016 9:14:31 PM
"See, this is why I don't dress up more," Pressi said. "You spend all that time and effort and then you just get outshone by someone flashier.

"Well, so much for the subtle approach." Pressi scrambles onto one of the Hovel ponies and starts to ride. "Really should have brought my evening flats for this," she mutters as the horse follows the cart.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Thursday January 14th, 2016 10:41:03 PM

Bliss's face falls at the light and sound.

"Wowsy, does that mean we missed our chance?!"

His eyes scrunch a bit and his voice breaks.

"But we were SO close! It's not fair!"

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39 
Friday January 15th, 2016 1:41:37 AM
"Even if the tower has fallen, there will be many tasks requiring a hero such as yourself, Bliss" Alleah tries to comfort her friend "Why, what if the giants start to approach?" Sure it may be a little grim, but she's only trying to point out that there may still be things for the party to do.

"Wardd wouldn't have sent us back in time without reason. Let's just get back to Humble's quick smart"

With that, she offers anyone who wants one a ride on Thistle and then spurs the pony on.

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Friday January 15th, 2016 7:28:22 AM
Shel takes up Aleah's offer to ride on Thistle. "We have to get there fast, Alleah! I can't believe we were just hours away from stopping the explosion. You are right, though, I bet the biguns are already on the way. We have to get there now and save the town!"

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Friday January 15th, 2016 10:47:02 AM
Cameron hears them speak of a giant incursion and has a flash of memory of his Grandfather's cloak. Made entirely of fire giant beards won in battle, he cannot even dream of begining to match it. But he was a Steelshaper clansman, it was in hs makeup. His knowledg of longing and revenge come into play too. Having been denied their raids for so long, the giants must be anxious to resume them. Knowing giants and their kin to be cruel for the most part, Cameron can only imagine what their vengeance will be like.
[b]" If the giants see that flash and feel the tower fall, will they know there is a gap in the protections? Where would that gap open up?[b]
Cameron remains on the pony he was on and either guides it himself or holds on and tries to stay with the beast if he is not in control, He has little knowledge of how to ster a mount, only having done it once or twice in the Fist. Mostly, the Fist walked to where they were needed.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
None
Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Longstrider (domain), Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Longstrider (domain), Hold Person, Sound Burst, Resist Energy
Spells cast
None
0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
0/5 channel energy used for today

Headed Home 
Friday January 15th, 2016 8:16:44 PM
The flash is a disappointment, and suggests that the Second Dinner Club has continued with their experiments. Like the did before.

Murphy bids Hevin farewell, and climbs up on the card. There is perhaps room for no more than three of you with the goods you carry. Pressi gets on a pony.

Bliss is very sad they did not arrive in time. Alleah reminds him there is work to be done, and the group may be needed more than ever now. Shel fears the Biguns are on their way.

Cameron is sure the giants will seek revenge for being kept out for so long. He asks where they might come through.

The group moves forward to Humble’s Ford. I seems to be mostly abandoned except for a few elderly people who claim everyone has run north to see what happened. Most don’t recignize you, but the few who to ask how you got back here, and where everyone else is if you’re here?

But the group is in a desparate hurry, and move through town quickly.

You then go north, and pass by the Tower where the Second Dinner’s Club resides. It looks much the same as when you last saw it. You push on.

As you move further north the Giant Tower comes into view and you can see many Halflings in the distance! You’re maybe about 20 minutes away riding fast at this point. The wagon and those on it are a bit behind.

You have a sense of dread about what you expect next.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Haste, haste to the rescue. Any rescue 
Friday January 15th, 2016 9:24:09 PM

"Look, friends - we know that after the initial explosion, there is a larger one to follow." Murphy asks, "Would you mind if I fly ahead, and warn all of the onlookers to move far away from the tower, to cut down on those injured by the debris of the second explosion? Who knows, perhaps there is something to be done, though not as much as we had hoped."

He quickly lays out his plans with his friends as described below under Contingent actions. He will take a moment to listen to their responses, reactions, suggestions.

If none seriously object, he hands the reins off to Trillium, casts longstrider, changes into an eagle, and flies fast toward the tower. He thinks that maybe he himself may die as he tries to warn others, but, surely, if he can prevent several deaths, the price may be worth it.

Contingent actions, way ahead
Murphy-Eagle's plan upon getting close to the tower: Fly wide way around, come in at mid-height on the side of the tower, then travel in a low (10' or so off the ground) semi-circle up close to the crowd, and scream a warning. Climb, dive bomb, pulling up just shy of hitting others. Then up toward the top of a nearby tree, shape change to himself, and yell, "Move away from the tower. It's going to explode! Stones will fly! Move away from the tower, flee for your lives!"

Then, if he sees the tower door open, he will change into a bat, fly through the door, up along the inside of the tower, hugging the wall to be out of range of the chains, go up the upper part of the spiral staircase (pausing to answer the riddle if necessary for a bird) - and see if there is any possibility none have as yet gone through the portal. If not, he commands all to ignore the portal ('The portal image is a lie, enter it and some will die!'), flee down the stairs, and get away from the tower. He does not draw near to the portal, rather remaining near the entrance to the room.

If the place is about to blow, he goes into gaseous form.

[Mister DM, you may of course disallow any of the foregoing - just laying out Murphy's latest scheme, drawn broadly.]

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Saturday January 16th, 2016 12:47:37 AM
" Absolutely not! Flying ahead and trying to save people from being blown up by their own curiosity. What are you some kind of hero?"
Though Cameron's tone sounds serious, anyone looking at him can tell he is joking and of course any of them that can get to the tower faster should go, not ask opinions about it.
Cameron was not a skilled rider, and even if he were he isn't sure that spurring the pony to greater speed would help since it would likely kill the pony before they got halfway there. (the ride rules for spurring a mount assume the mount couldn't run 1/4 faster for more than about a minute and a half, which I doubt)

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19  d20+12=25 ; d20+12=19 ;
Saturday January 16th, 2016 3:59:58 AM
"There's free drinks at that tavern on the other side of town!" says Kezzem. "Go get yours before they run out!"

Bluff: 25

Kezzem also keeps an eye out for the Second Dinner Club or other shady characters.

Perception: 19

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39 
Saturday January 16th, 2016 9:52:32 AM
"Save your longstrider spell, Murph" Alleah advises* "If you're flying it won't benefit you as much"

She spurs Thistle as much as she can. "Hold tight Shel!"

----------------------
*Longstrider "has no effect on other modes of movement, such as burrow, climb, fly, or swim"

Thistle has both the Run and Endurance feats, and with a Con of 14, he can run for 13rnds at 200ft, walk for 40ft, and then repeat. Based on this he should be able to Run (gallop?) at around 21mph

Alleah can also use Calming Touches if required to remove any 'Fatigue' Thistle might incur

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Saturday January 16th, 2016 10:38:07 AM
Pressi looks ahead in the distance, riding forward as fast as she can without killing her pony. "Back, back, everyone back," she shouts.

If the crowd doesn't disperse enough, she might have to travel to the tower on foot.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Haste, haste to the rescue. Any rescue 
Saturday January 16th, 2016 2:05:18 PM

"I realize that, Alleah. But it will help when I go back to two legs on the ground," Murphy responds.

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Saturday January 16th, 2016 8:24:22 PM
Shel ducks her head into Alleah's back and clasps her tightly. "Please go as fast as you can, Alleah! This is going to be bad all the way around. We may be too late to save everyone," Shel cries. "We went through all this for nothing!"

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Sunday January 17th, 2016 12:32:31 PM

Mookie flies for the tower at 40, but he is training Bliss, who -- with his Travel Domain boost, his Longstrider spell, and Run feat -- is going even faster than that. Still no match for Murphy flying at 80.

Purple People Eater 
Monday January 18th, 2016 2:05:45 PM
OOC: I thought a lot about distances and lines of sight and such over the weekend. I think it’s more appropriate that you are about a mile away from the tower when you come into sight of the people. Most of the people are within a quarter-mile of the tower.

Movement can be complicated, so I’ll try to simplify. Assuming you run, it will take the following rounds to reach the tower. I am not implying you should reach the tower, just giving you a frame of reference.

Move - Rounds
20 feet - 64 rounds
40 feet - 32 rounds
80 feet - 16 rounds

Ponys move at 40, Eagles move at 80.

Rules for running can be found here. Basically, you run at 4 times your speed for up to your CON in rounds. After that, you make a DC 10 CON check each round, adding 1 to the DC for each check you make. Once you fail, you can only move at your normal speed (twice your movement for a full round), until you rest for a minute.
_____________________________________________________

Murphy lays out a plan, and then changes to an eagle and flies ahead.

Cameron agrees in his own way, and unsteadily spurs his mount forward.

Kezzem shouts about free beer back in town. It’s not clear if anyone can hear amidst the chaos, but a couple do come running, “Is that at the Buster or the Pig?”

Shel spurs Thistle forward, riding hard. Pressi does likewise, shouting for folks to pull back. Only a close few can hear.

Bliss and Mookie move forward as fast as they can.
_____________________________________________________

Most of Humble’s Ford seems to be here - many familiar faces.

As you show up, the purple smoke pours from the tower windows. You can see the on-lookers are close to the tower, but stay out of the smoke. Then some insane eagle shows up and cries several times as it begins to dive menacingly at the frightened halflings near the tower. A few individuals move away from the tower as a result.

“Nature’s gone mad! Flower preserve us!”

Then Murphy-eagle flies to a small tree (no large ones - most brush is kept clear to the tower.) About 20’ off the ground, Murphy changes back to his normal form - the small tree sways with the change in weight. He clings to the thin trunk and shouts at the people to flee. A few of them faint and lay on the ground.

Roscoe Hornblower is some distance away, and points at Murphy in the distant tree. “It’s a wizard! It’s a wizard that’s caused this, and he means to keep us from helping those heros that went inside! You people there, run! You of the town’s guard, stand you ground - we’ve got people we care about in there!” You see a few draw slings and stones. A couple move hesitantly toward the tower and the purple smoke.

The tower shudders ominously. These people are too close!

As the others ride forward, they will encounter a few stragglers that give them surprised looks at they rush past. You hear one say to another, “How’d she get back here?” A tiny fey creatures sprints up the road (Bliss). “What the heck was that!”

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). FLOWER PRESERVE US! 
Monday January 18th, 2016 3:27:22 PM

"Roscoe Hornblower, it's me, Murphy Leafwin Pipewood. You know me. And I'm no wizard, but a druid. And I did NOT cause this - it looks like it's going to blow up inside, and I came back out here to save lives. Move these people away. I'm going back inside to try to rescue those within! Save your sling bullets for real enemies! I'm changing into a bat, to fly inside. And, yes, FLOWER PRESERVE US - AND EVERYONE MOVE BACK!!"

Murphy does not wait for Roscoe's response, but does as he said. He transforms into a bat, uses echolocation if necessary to dodge flying sling bullets or stones, and flies in through the tower door.

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19  d20+4=20 ; d20+16=18 ; d20+12=26 ;
Monday January 18th, 2016 6:13:18 PM
Knowledge (local): 20 to determine if the Buster or the Pig is furthest from the tower. If he knows which, he'll say that one, but otherwise directs them towards the Pig.

Kezzem ten dashes through the tower door after Murph, tumbling to avoid any dangers (or just for effect).

Acrobatics: 18.

He also continues to keep an eye out for those Second Dinner people or other shady characters.

Perception: 26

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet  d20+4=7 ; d6=4 ; d6=5 ; d20=2 ; d20+12=26 ; d20+12=30 ;
Monday January 18th, 2016 8:04:17 PM
Cameron tries to recall all that Murphy had said about the original fall of the tower. He is unclear why they are rushing into the tower to save, he assumes, themselves, but realizes they are attempting to save the Second Dinner Club wizards, and since that sounds like a good plan, tries to keep up. Before they reach the crowd he manages to cast Longstrider on himself. As they ride through the crowd, he snaps his whip over the heads of anyone that seems to want to stick around and choke on what he recalls Murphy mentioning were toxic purple vapors. The fumes wouldn't need to kill them though. If things went the way Murphy said, the fumes needed only to sicken them and the tower falling on them would do the killing. Cameron will have none of that. He snaps his whip attempting to scare off the onlookers and shoo them away from the tower.
At the tower he attempts to vault from the saddle as he had seen Nickolai do in the Fist. Clearly the years of equestrian training the monk had were key to doing this as Cameron manages only to throw himself from the saddle and land in an undignified heap right in front of the door.
Ride 7
" Seems I need to work on the dismount. That's gonna leave a mark."
Rolling to his feet, Cameron steps through the door, and recalling what Murphy had said, prepares to let loose a burst of positive energy if he sees that the chains are indeed already animated. ( Channel positive energy for 9 healing to everything and everyone within 30 feet) Beyond that he plans on using his whip to secure a hold some 15 feet up the stairs and try to swing, jump, wall climb up without touching the stairs.( No clue what rules to use for that since the feats for it are past what we are allowed. Give me a target and I'll throw a roll at it. Heck, I roll a base 2 on a d20. I don't think that can be saved no matter what skill you want to apply to it. Oh well.)
Fortitude save vs the toxic smoke 26 if it is poison, 22 if it is not, immune if it is somehow a spider, snake or scorpion venom
Perception 30 looking for animated chains, talking dragon statues and pretty much anything else odd.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
Longstrider (domain) +10' to base move for 3 hours

Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Longstrider (domain), Hold Person, Sound Burst, Resist Energy

Spells cast
Longstrider (domain)

0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
1/5 channel energy used for today


Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Monday January 18th, 2016 10:22:04 PM
Shel yells to Alleah as they Gallo toward the tower. "What exactly are we going to do when we get there? Maybe we can save the wizards and my uncle, but that tower is coming down, looks like. How do we convince the townsfolk to flee?Any ideas, Alleah?"

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle)  d100=94 ;
Monday January 18th, 2016 11:29:15 PM

Bliss, with his run feat, turns his speed 40 into 500 ft per round. So he should arrive in round ... 13. With his Con 14, he's OK.

Bliss wonders what to do. He imagines that the Bliss and friends from three weeks ago are now in the tower, either fighting the chain or at the top of the tower. Is there any chance to stop the craziness from starting?

But if the tower falls down, what will happen to the people laying there? Those folks could die.

Bliss decides he cannot ignore the innocents in front of him. He cancels his Reduce spell and then casts an Enlarge Person on himself (ley check 94). He moves over to the fainted person closest to the tower and pickes them up.

(If we are round bt round, that's a few rounds.)



Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle)  d20+2=14 ; d20+2=14 ; d20+2=4 ;
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 7:10:03 AM
Extra -- OOPS bad at math late at night. Bliss runs 200 ft per round. He does so for 14 rounds. Then he has to make Con checks. He rolls, in order ... 14, 14, 4, and stops running. Total distance 16x200 = 3200 ft.

Then he walks at 40 per round for 10 rounds, a "resting" pace. Total distance 40x10 = 400, 3600 total.

At which point he is 5280-3600 = 1680 ft from the tower. He runs for 8 more rounds, that's 1600 ft.

So after 16+10+8 = 34 rounds (3.4 minutes), Bliss has travelled 5,200 ft. He's running better than a four minute mile! Not too shabby for a little guy. He is 80 ft from the tower and his reduce has worn off.

In round 35, he moves 40 ft closer and casts Enlarge Person, so that he can pick up a fainted halfling and carry them to safety.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22  d20+5=21 ; d20+7=18 ; d20+5=10 ; d20+5=8 ; d20+4=7 ;
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 7:38:42 AM
Paralyzed from having literally no idea of what she should be doing or even what her goal should be, she prays to Domi for any form of guidance at all, and makes all the checks she can in hopes of gleaning something (Know History, Local and Religion all 21).

It's not entirely clear whether she can reach the tower or the crowds in time, though she seems to have attracted a few onlookers.

Pressi looked down at the way she was dressed, her eyes closed. She knew what she had to do.

"Hey everyone back here," she shouts at the crowd that can hear her, telling everyone to get their friends attention. She guided the horse to a safe distance from the tower and tries to stand on her mount (or at least slide off)(Ride 18). "The beer is here, the party is here," she shouted (Bluff 10, ignore 2nd bluff check).

Pressi closed her eyes. Out snapped the fans. Out slid the scarves.

(Dance 7)

Well, a bad dance works just as well as anything else, she supposed.

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39  d100=33 ; d20+9=19 ;
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 8:42:39 AM
Alleah shares Shel's concerns. "Well, if they won't leave because we tell them to, then we might need to resort to other means. If things are dire, I can cast a 'Fear' spell to make them flee. And if things get REALLY bad and we want to make them flee, well, I could summon something I'd really rather not"

Shel will see Alleah visibly shake. Being a Bloodwitch she can cast Evil aligned spells, including summoning minor devils. She's sure such a sight would cause halflings to flee, but it would have to be an absolute last resort before she would even dare such a thing.

To aid Thistle in his burst of speed, Alleah casts Bear's Endurance, granting the pony a temporary benefit to his constitution (Leyline check: 33 = Pass. Concentration check for casting on galloping horse DC16. 19 = Pass)

OOC: With both the 'Run' and 'Endurance' feats AND Bear's Endurance, Thistle should be able to keep up with Bliss I *think*

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22  d20+13=19 ;
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 8:58:23 AM
Addendum: I should also make an acrobatics check, I think (Acrobatics 19).

Also, thank you Rob for not making Pressi's actions the "dire" event.

Purple People Eater 
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 11:41:09 AM
Murphy tries to get the constable to understand it’s him, and to get everyone away from the tower. The constable is far away, and looks confused. With what’s coming, these people are too close to the tower! Murphy recalls that you barely escaped death, and only because you were next to the portal. Murphy is not in the tower yet.

Kezzem directs people to The Dancing Pig for free beer as it’s a bit further away than the Belly Buster. He is not close enough to go in yet, but after several rounds more he arrives near the tower. A rather rotund man in an apron, has his eye on Kezzem and is headed his way. Cameron continues forward as well, and falls spectacularly trying to dismount.

Shel is concerned for the people there, and ask Alleah how they can get them far enough away to be safe in the imminent explosion and collapse.

As he arrives, Bliss enlarges himself, and tries to move people out of the purple mist and away from the tower.

Once Pressi get’s close enough, she prays, dances and offers free beer. She gets some stares, and a few of the men folk move her way.

_____________________________________________________

OOC: Timing is tricky here, and I don’t want to over complicate this. Seems like Murphy gets there first, then Bliss and Thistle/Alleah, then Mookie and the rest of you on exhausted ponies (you must make any necessary CON checks for you or your ponies.) Please see last posting for info on this.
_____________________________________________________

As you all approach, you see the Giant Tower is a vast round structure. All trees and grasses are magically kept away. Magic is clearly felt in the air... it surges wild around the tower even sending visible and audible rays east and west towards other towers in the valley! It's both a frightening and an awesome spectacle!! There are purple black circular patterns in the sky above the tower.

The powerful magic in the air makes the hair on your arms stand up.

Purple mist continues to roll down the flanks of the tower. The mist is heavier than air. Already the mist is laying around the base blocking all sight at it's base. There are a few town’s people standing stupefied in the mist. Occasionally you hear cracking and a sort of whining as the bricks of the tower shift. The appearance of the tower is much worse then when you first ran inside (a few weeks ago.)

(Moving into the mist will require a DC 15 Fort save.)

You can see through the doors at the base of the tower to an dark area filled with purple mist. Suddenly, the doors at the base of the tower snap shut! Dangerous energy crackles around the tower, and across the windows.

In addition to those trapped in the mist, some stand silent as the tower shifts and grinds. Some stand staring and scream. Some cry, especially the children here. Many begin to move away.

You see Primula and the Mayor, transfixed in horror at the scene before them. You also see Pirnook hurrying away. Madame LaRue is pulling someone out of the mist. There are even a few bad apples trying to get some of the children to safety!

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent)  d20+8=18 ;
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 2:24:04 PM
(Sorry all had to go out of town on an emergency and forgot my laptop.. I should be good to go now that I am home.)

Trill moves forward with the cart and pony as quickly as she can but doesn't want to injure the pony or tear up the cart so she is one of the last to arrive and see the mess and crown. She sees/ hears Murphy trying to get everyone to leave. Pulling the cart to a halt, she thinks for a moment and then jumps up on the highest part of the cart and yells loudly.

She thinks/hopes to herself that her mother doesn't get too irritated at her for using her name like this.

bluff DC 18

" I HAVE A MESSAGE FROM DAHLIA LIGHTFINGERS OF THE PLATINUM DRAGONS. SHE SAYS FOR YOU TO FLEE THIS PLACE NOW AND GO TO THE FAR SIDE OF TOWN AND EVEN ACROSS THE BRIDGE!!!" "GO NOW!!!"

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22  d20+2=8 ;
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 8:19:46 PM
OOC: Pressi's riding a common pony. They have an average con of 14, so 14 rounds. Then a check of 8, so she stops after 14 rounds.

Which fits. She stops far before getting to the tower, then decides to try to bring the crowd to her rather than the other way around.

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39  d20+7=14 ;
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 8:49:00 PM
Shel rides as fast as Alleah and Thistle can carry her. "I think we should focus on getting the crowds to move. I don't know what we can actually do inside that tower.". Once the two arrive, Shel climbs off the pony. She wasn't exactly sure what to do, but she knew something had to be done.

She started screaming at the top of her lungs. "Everyone get back from the tower! It's going to collapse! You have to move back. Please listen to me, it's really important!"

Diplomacy 14.


Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39  d100=47 ;
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 9:39:55 PM
Alleah pulls Thistle up next to the Mayor and dismounts

"Thank Wardd you're here Mr Mayor. Humble's could use more men like you, wanting to protect others and such. A true gentleman. Here. Take my pony. You'll be able to get Primula to safety much faster than walking."

Alleah knows how the Mayor responds to flattery, and it seems a better bet than slapping some sense into him.

"Don't go near the tower!" she calls to the crowd "And especially don't go inside! It's trapped!" Alleah vividly recalls the animated chains that guarded the bottom of the tower last time.

"Bliss! Trill! Can we get the children onto the wagon? We might be able to evacuate them faster!"

Finally, Alleah looks for the biggest group of onlookers that appear to be standing still. She points at them and casts a spell - Calm Emotions. "Oi! That tower is about to come tumbling down. You need to move to safety!" she calls.

---------------------------
Alleah: Free action - Guide Thistle with knees to the Mayor
Alleah: Move Action - Dismount Thistle
Alleah: Standard Action - Cast Calm Emotions. Leyline check: 47 = Ok. All to make a Will Save vs DC17. Calm Emotions has a 20ft spread and "suppresses any fear effects and removes the confused condition from all targets" and hopefully snapping some sense into them.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22  d20+4=11 ; d20+13=27 ;
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 9:55:12 PM
(Dance 11, Acrobatics 27. Now we're getting somewhere.)

With a number of dance and acrobatic moves, and the offering of Cthonia tobacco, Pressi pressed her attraction of more and more of the crowd, pulling them back.

"Everyone please come this way away from the tower. I must insist that everyone get back, and nobody panic."

Pressi watched as people mulled around. "You know what, maybe it would be a good idea if some of you PANICKED."

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 11:13:22 PM
Obeying Alleah, Bliss works steadily to get unconscious people and kids into the wagon.

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet  d20+12=28 ;
Tuesday January 19th, 2016 11:43:09 PM
Cameron sees what Alleah is doing and grasps at her idea with both hands. " Alleah has the right idea, get any of the unresponsive folks into the wagon. Jancassis has blessed me with resistance to poisons. I'll get as many out as I can, get that wagon turned around and ready to roll."
Cameron dashes into the purple haze and starts shooing out thosethat can still move and carrying those that can't to the wagon.
Fortitude save 28 if the fog is poison, 24 if not.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
Longstrider (domain) +10' to base move for 3 hours

Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Longstrider (domain), Hold Person, Sound Burst, Resist Energy

Spells cast
Longstrider (domain)

0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
0/5 channel energy used for today

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19  d20+4=22 ; d20+2=12 ; d20+2=18 ; d20+2=6 ; d20+5=13 ;
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 12:09:37 AM
Does Kezzem recognize the apron guy?
Knowledge (local): 22

Pony Con Checks:
Check #1 (DC 10): 12. Made.
Check #2 (DC 11): 18. Made.
Check #3 (DC 12): Fail.
So 14 + 2 = 16 rounds.

"You heard the lady (Shel), everyone back!" shouts Kezzem. "Ladies, children, and people-that-owe-me-money first!"
Diplomacy (Aid Another Shel): 13 (add 2 to Shel's roll, so 16).

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39 
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 7:35:46 AM
OOC: Ooops, Forgot to make Con checks for Thistle.

With Alleah's casting of Bear's Endurance, Thistle's Con goes up to 18. This means he can run for 18 rnds. Since I posted Alleah was having him keep pace with Bliss, this meant that when Bliss failed his check on Rnd 17, Alleah would also have slowed Thistle to match Bliss' pace rather than gallop on ahead.

Out of interest though, with +4 from the Endurance feat and the added Con bonus from Bear's Endurance, Thistle's Fort save would have gone up to a total of +12.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Flight, Looking within, Wrath, Rescue (longstrider, bears endurance)  d20+16=32 ; d20+10=19 ;
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 1:47:00 PM

Murphy-bat sees the twin doors close against his flight.

With the tower doors - which earlier they themselves had broken down, splintered on its hinges, now somehow healed enough to slam shut, now again intact, he felt quite confident he was not capable of reopening them by himself. Besides, the tower really was about to blow. He flies up to the windows of the tower to see what he can see inside, to see whom he might see within, then, having taken a look, knowing he is powerless to enter, he dives back to the ground, finding a place where the mists are not to alight. He changes back into his halfling self.

Murphy suddenly feels a huge rush of anger. Here they had traveled over halfway up the continent, almost all the way across the Culverwood, with a strict timeline. The careful druid was certain that yet two to three days remained for them to arrive before the terrible experiment at the Giant Tower was to take place. And still it happened. He feels anger at the powers that be for laying out so tantalizing a hope, then pulling it away from this group of halflings. "YOU CHEATED US!" he yells, shaking a fist at the heavens above. "YOU ROBBED CRESCENT VALLEY!"

But with the doors now closed, no means at hand he can think of to enter the tower, and no real value at further yielding to his feeling of wrath, he chooses to channel the adrenaline surge to taking care of matters at hand. He sends a quick prayer to the heavens above for the safety of the Second Dinner Club - perhaps Veseley can cast teleport quickly enough to escape with his two wizardly friends an instant before the tower enters its final moment of destruction - if it was back to the tower that they returned. Maybe they... no, focus, Murphy, on those who need you now.

He casts bear's endurance upon himself. Using a hero point (or all of his remaining hero points, if necessary), he changes shape one more time, into a large gorilla. He goes through the clearing around the tower, finding and picking up any who stand frozen, or fallen upon the ground, and carrying them away with due haste from the area near the tower, setting them down perhaps behind the few trees a distance from the tower, then returning to fetch more, running, carrying, and marveling at the huge surges of magic all round about. He knows his appearance may frighten some, but hopes they will see he is helping, not harming. If any choose to attack him, he ignores their attacks as best he may, and continues to rescue, and continues to pray.

Perception: 32
Fortitude save: 19

Purple People Eater 
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 1:52:37 PM
The party focuses on getting everyone away from the tower. They arrive at different times, but all eventually focus on the task at hand. The wagon is brought up to help. Alleah speaks to the Mayor, offering her pony to help. Trill, Shel and Alleah tell everyone to flee. Pressi dances and shouts for them to leave. Kezzem offers free beer, and angers the owner of the Dancing Pig in the process. Kezzem also tells everyone to pull back, including anyone that owes him money. Cameron charges heedless into the mist to pull people out. Murphy changes into a gorilla, picking up people and chasing others away.
_____________________________________________________

At this point, several of the residents of Humble’s recognize the members of Shel, Alleah, Murphy, and Bliss with his ever present raven. Several nearby address you:

“Hey, when did you come out of the tower? We just saw you go in!”

“Thanks to Alemi that you came back out to help!”

“What’s going on in there?”

“Where’s the Second Dinner Club!”

“Is the Second Dinner Club trying to stop this?”

“What’s Happening?”

The tower shudders again. A few stones become dislodged, thudding into the ground with lethal force. One of the halflings is crushed by a stone, clearly dead in a most gruesome fashion. There’s more screaming. Someone faints. But the shock of the death also spurs more to action. Along with the party members, some of the more alert there begin dragging others away. Roscoe Hornblower is carrying three people, Some of Humble’s Ford militia move with great speed, ushing adults and childrean away. Faoil the great hound is pulling someone out of the mist. Even some of the bad apples are helping.

As the purple mist pour from the upstairs windows, dark purple bolts of energy begin to dance over the mist and the tower. The visible and audible rays of energy reaching east and west suddenly stop. It looks like the stone tower is beginning to expand!

What could make a stone tower expand? More importantly, how long can a stone tower expand?

_____________________________________________________

Then it happens. There is a moment of silence at the tower, and then an explosion and a shock wave that knocks everyone off their feet. As people climb to their feet, they see the tower has collapsed into a pile of rubble. The magical energies stop. The purple mist is mostly dispersed by the collapse.

There’s a fair amount of screaming.

Maybe 10 people lie motionless, and others are badly injured.

(If you check, none of your magic items work. Murphy is no longer a gorilla. Any running spells end.)


Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Quick query 
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 2:27:26 PM

And... what did Murphy-bat see in the upper floor's windows? They were used by sentinels for looking outward.

Will post more later.

DM Mark: Through the mist, Murphy could barely make out the portal. In retrospect, you believe you should have seen the party and the Second Dinner Club in there too at that moment - but it seemed empty.

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39  d6=3 ; d6=4 ; d6=6 ;
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 7:33:59 PM
Alleah finds a moment of peace. She is lying on her back on the grass, looking at the sky and all is quiet. "Wait, it's not quiet." Her ears are ringing. She sits up and realises what has happened.

"Is .. is everyone alright?"

Clearly they aren't. She can see some are badly injured, but she is more concerned about the ones who lie motionless.

Alleah will head to the motionless people first and start channelling healing energy. She has enough charges that she can cover 3 x 30ft radius areas and hopefully stop the dying from, well, dying. (Her channels are 3, 4 and 6 respectively)

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). 
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 8:05:05 PM
[Okay, thanks, DM Mark - that's enough to satisfy his glimpse - I appreciate your response]

Murphy will move as many of the still people to be within range of Alleah as he can, and then those who are severely injured, too. He thanks the BadApples, who have been lending a hand today. One of them is a cleric of Flower, and close friend to Alouryn.

He has a single cure light wounds he will apply to whom needs it. He also looks about for Hazel - for his dog, Faoil, is here.

Once the most urgent aid has been attended to, Murphy walks over to the rubble. He calls out. "Is anyone here? Does anyone need help?" He takes several minutes to walk around the area, to see what he might, to hear what he is able. He invites his friends to help, as well as making sure that all of them are well.

Once they all have done what they can to aid the fallen and injured, and he has looked around the remains of the fallen tower, Murphy tries to find Constable Roscoe Hornblower. "May we meet in an hour, at a place of your choosing, with those you deem trustworthy, including, I hope, our Mayor? There is much to do, and discuss. It's good to see you back from Hovel, though I could wish the circumstances of our meeting here were other than they are.." Last he had heard, Garret Ostgood had taken Roscoe's place for the time being as Constable, as the long-time official had family matters to attend to in the next town over. He will ask about them at some later time.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22  d20+12=27 ;
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 9:10:58 PM
Pressi walked barefoot through the remains of the tower in what was left of her dress. Everything had unfolded just as she foretold. You can't change the past. You can't stop the world from hurting you. She had been right.

"Booyah," she muttered to herself.

Under Murphy's and Alleah's direction, she helped move boulders and people as best as she could. (OOC to DM: I'm assuming the magic items in her bag don't work either.) She also took a second to search the field for anything buried or coming (Perception 27).

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent) 
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 10:34:18 PM
Suddenly feeling the weight of her gear and other stuff a bit more, Trill moves to help Alleah and the others with the fallen and injured carefully moving those that can safely moved further away from the remains of the tower.

Every now and again she stops and takes a look upward to see if there is anything else going on with the tower.


Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19  d20+1=2 ;
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 11:00:57 PM
Kezzem checks on the bodies and gives first aid if needed.

Heal: 2 (natural 1)

Well, that won't turn out well for him/her.

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet  d6=3 ; d6=1 ; d6=4 ; d6=3 ; d6=5 ; d6=5 ; d6=2 ; d6=6 ; d6=6 ; d6=4 ;
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 11:07:56 PM
Cameron works around the tower in the opposite direction as Alleah channeling every 60'. He can do so 5 times for 4, 7, 10, 8, and 10 points if he needs to use all 5 channels.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes
Spells and effects on Cameron
none

Spells remaining
Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Bless, Magic Stone, Longstrider (domain), Hold Person, Sound Burst, Resist Energy

Spells cast
Longstrider (domain)

0/5 uses of Touch of Poison used for the day.
0/5 Stealthy hunter used for the day
5/5 channel energy used for today

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Wednesday January 20th, 2016 11:54:00 PM

Bliss goes even deeper into his "first responder" mode, shelving the horrific sights into the back of his head for now and just trying to take care of people.

He tries to cast a CLW on a wounded person. If his spells work, he also casts stabilize on the dying, deathwatch to make sure he does not miss anyone, and gentle repose on the dead.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle)  d100=42 ;
Thursday January 21st, 2016 12:14:24 AM
Oh, ley check on that CLW: 42 should be okay?

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Thursday January 21st, 2016 9:32:16 AM
Shel casts Haste several times on her friends and the responders. "This magic will make you move faster. Get everyone together so Alleah's healing can be most effective! That's our best chance to help as many people as we can!"

Shel was still operating with a thousand yard stare, as she couldn't believe after all their travails that they hadn't succeeded in stopping the explosion. It just didn't seem fair...

Purple People Eater 
Thursday January 21st, 2016 12:11:07 PM
(OOC: Good question about Hazel and his dog. In the previous timeline, the dog wandered into the base of the tower just before you left. Hazel was with you then. What do we do when folks leave the game and change history? I guess we change it back.

As for Constable Roscue Hornblower, the public Woldipedia page still indicates he is the constable - nothing about him going somewhere else. Kim - please get editing access from Cayzle or Rob and make the necessary changes. Until then, I will use what is written there.)
_____________________________________________________

The party snaps into action.

Murphy does what he can to help, and proposes a meeting in an hour with the Constable and what other officials he chooses to bring. The Constable agrees. (You are several hours from town, and tending to folks here will take about an hour until they’re ready to move back towards town. The earliest you would be back in town will be after dark.) Murphy looks around for Hazel and sees him and his dog helping his wife and others.

Pressi could see this coming.

Trill’s think about the weight of his gear, and his pack actually feels rather light. A quick check will reveal that it’s empty!

Everyone works quickly to see to the wounded. The injured are tended to, and moved together to get the best benefit out of the healing energy being channeled.
_____________________________________________________

It’s late afternoon.

The dust, smoke and mist reduce vision a bit so everything is hazy. It’s initially a scene of chaos, but not as much carnage as you’d expect. As you move among the people there, there are a number of people injured - most from being knocked forcefully to the ground, and a few from falling stones. But surprisingly, only three actually died. One was a stable hand from Humble’s Farm, crushed by a stone before the explosion, and two others were students at the Center for The Enlightened Spirituality & Arcane Arts buried beneath the rubble of the fallen tower.

It seems odd that the party had to frighten folks away from a tower that was going haywire, but people will tell you that they were accustomed to the flickers and bolts of energy that shot from the tower. They repelled the giants, but never caused harm to a halfling - even when the energy went right through them all it did was make your hair stand on end. And get you grounded if you were a kid playing there.

No one ever thought the towers, which were a symbol of security and protection for so long, could have posed a threat.

As you work to assess the scene and tend to injuries, the constable and other town figures work with you. People are grouped for maximum healing. Alleah, Cameron and others are able to channel energy, which, along with any healing spells seem especially effective here. Pretty much everyone is magically healed back up - with the exception of the three that did not survive. These three were know, and are mourned.

It is clear that the party’s quick work probably save half the people here. As you work, there are many questions, but there is a consensus that it was the efforts of Humble’s Sword that likely save half of those here. The early warnings, the shouts to pull back, the attempts to frighten, push and drag folks away - even at great personal risk.

Many begin to use the term Humble’s Heros. The proprietors of both the Belly Buster and the Dancing Pig insist you must come to their establishment for free drinks and food. Which do you choose?

Humble’s Heros are peppered with questions at the tower site and on the way back - everyone seems to focus on the only ones here that don’t seem shocked and bewildered, the ones that were trying to save everyone from a catastrophe that only they seemed to see coming.

“What Happened?”
“How did you know this would happen?”
“Hey, when did you come out of the tower? We saw you go in, but we didn’t see you come out - you came up the road!”
“Thanks to Alemi that you came back out to help! What was going on in there?”
“Where’s the Second Dinner Club?”
“Why didn’t the Second Dinner Club stop this?”
“What was in the tower?”
“Why did the energy between the towers stop?”
“What will happen now?”
“Why did you come back out of the tower?”
“How did this happen?”
“Who are you?” (to the new folks in your group.)
“Who’s the hot dancing girl?”
“Where’s the free beer? Somebody said there was free beer!”

(Magic items seem like ordinary items. Any bags of holding seem to be ordinary, empty bags. Same with Handy Haversacks. Spells are a different matter. You will find that all ley line checks seem to work near the former tower, and that an effects are at 150% normal.)

(Your wagon is full of barrels, rope and vegetables. There are two other wagons here, and a few ponies.)

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). What happened? 
Thursday January 21st, 2016 4:00:21 PM

Murphy considers the puzzlement that is inevitable under these unusual circumstances.

He climbs up on a wagon, and holds out his hands for silence.

Then he begins. "This is a sad day. A tragic day. I cannot explain everything, but will try to tell you what I can." He looks about at the faces of the crowd, waiting for complete silence.

"What happened is rather odd. We do not understand all of the magic of the giant towers, or how it all works. We need to consult with the local authorities. We do not yet know exactly what has become of the Second Dinner Club. They were trying to stop this, but were injured in the initial explosion, which started the purple haze."

His eyes tear up as he continues. "I - I was able to look through the upper window just before the tower died. I saw no one in the room. I trust, I pray, that our greatest wizards were able somehow to escape the..." and here, Murphy chokes up.

He asks for a drink of water. He composes himself, then struggles to continue. "Look, friends, neighbors. It's hard for us to understand just how all this happened, too. Yes, we thank Alemi, and the others above who watch over us.

"I will say this: The Second Dinner Club has helped to keep the power of the Giant Tower strong for years, working with others from Crescent Valley who oversee the other towers in this magical fence. There are many mysteries to this largely invisible wall. I wish I could understand and explain what happened fully.

"Suffice it to say, we will seek to learn what we can. We seem to have been teleported away from here, and we raced to return, as you have seen. These people," and he indicates Trillium, Pressi, Kezzem, and Cameron, "agreed to come and help us - to help you."

"For the rest of your questions, if you will show patience, your officials will give a fuller report later. We will all need to make preparations to deal with the loss of the tower."

He looks about. "Can we have a few clerics offer up prayers for the souls whom we lost here, and for the welfare of the Second Dinner Club, and, finally, for wisdom for our leaders and for each of us as we deal with the tragedy we all face this day?"

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Thursday January 21st, 2016 6:11:25 PM

Bliss casts his Reduce spell as usual, glad that it works. Once people are healed up, he offers to say Gargul's prayers for the dead.

Of course, with zero ranks in Know Religion, he just makes his prayers up as usual, cobbled together out of fragments he may have heard here or there. Like, "Bless them oh Gargul, with all your gifts, to these you're about to receive, with your bounty, and may the perpetual light shine on them, amen."

Later, he is happy to breathe and talk to people. "We were in the tower, and then we had a nightmare, and then we woke up three weeks ago far away, and then we raced back, and got here just when you saw us. It's really not complicated. We didn't know what would happen when we went in the tower, but on the way back, of course we did, because we had been there. Of course we wanted to help. We were hoping to arrive before we left, but maybe that's not possible."

"Dunno what happened to the Second Dinner Club. Who were they, again? Some of them were hurt, maybe dead, but it is hard to say. I was dead once, but it did me no lasting harm. Praise Gargul."

"As for the towers, we have no clue, but Miss Shel there is a mage, and Miss Alleah has some really powerful magic, and Mister Murphy knows everything, so maybe we can fix it? Maybe?"

Bliss enjoys visiting the pubs (both, please) but does not indulge. He did that once, and his head really hurt the next day.

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39 
Thursday January 21st, 2016 8:35:13 PM
Despite the tragedy, Alleah can't help but smile proudly as Bliss says some prayers for the departed. He really is growing into a hero. She stands next to him and bows her head as he prays. She goes to retrieve some cloth from her kits to lay over the victims, but is very surprised to discover her haversack no longer functioning. "I hope this is only temporary"

Once Bliss has said a prayer, Alleah will cast Gentle Repose followed by Prestidigitation/Clean Blood on each the corpses. She wants them to look decent for any family or friends who wish to see them.

Alleah stands tall with her hands clasped before her as Murphy addresses the crowd. When he is finished she adds "This area may still not be safe. Let us all head back to the town now. Any who are still injured should head to the Temple of Ffloy. We can setup a triage and have clerics and healers tend to wounded in comfort there"

For the most part, the party have traditionally been "Pits" (ie: Dancing Pig regulars). Alleah does not want to cause any fuss however.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22  d20+5=11 ;
Thursday January 21st, 2016 8:59:45 PM
Pressi takes advantage of one of the barrels as temporary storage for things that no longer fit in her no longer bag of holding, like that giant obsidian axe. Feeling self conscious about the male attention, she places her robe of not blending on.

Gone was the Cthonia tobacco, one of her methods of moving people away from the tower. A while back, she had promised Murphy as a sign that she believed in this quest that she would make cigars of it once the tower was saved. She watched as many a survivor lit the tobacco, the smoky air filling with the smell of truffle oil.

Pressi for the most part ignores the questions, though a few citizens do recognize her from Angel Springs. A couple that once visited the Emerald City even remember the name "Diamond Dust." She had been around for a bit.

She puts a hand on Murphy's shoulder. "For what it's worth, I really thought we might pull it off."

-------------------

Pressi gathers everyone around. "Ok, I'm not going to sugercoat it. Today was tough. Even if you believed that you can't change the past or that Waard isn't even lucky, today was tough.

"To me, Waard was never the God of luck. Every chapter in his life is yet another thing happening to him, or another day he has to leave or lose everything. We think of him as the God of Luck (knowledge check 11) because he kept going, kept surviving. And now, we need to find it in ourselves to move forward in time. And it starts by focusing on the part of the past that did change. We have changed. We have risen to challenges that far outstrip the powers of any mere giants. We could not have saved these lives if the past had not changed.

"For every person we could not save, it is a tragedy to be mourned. But do not mourn for the tower. That tower had been lost to another time. This, now, is our time. Let our pride be in the things we did save. Let us be easy going when the going is hard. Let us be optimistic not that we can change the past but that we can still change the future. Let us show any giants that invade that they were better off against the tower.

"But first, let us get some drinks, because it's been a looong several seconds."

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent) 
Thursday January 21st, 2016 9:44:47 PM
Trill helps out where needed and frets a bit over the loss of her things, but then they were just things. As questions are asked about what happens she lets those who know more about what was going on answer and when asked about who she is she responds simply and honestly.

My Name is Trillium Lightfingers, I joined this group along the road deep in the Culverwood. I am from outside of plateau city in the wine growing region.

She too will make an appearance at each of the taverns as she knows nothing about either of them nor the politics and while she will have a bite to eat she will only have one glass of wine at each establishment.

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Thursday January 21st, 2016 9:46:09 PM
Shel smiles and nods as the others speak. She slinks away from the group, missing her friend Alouryn. She wanted to find out what had happened with her and if Hazel had made it back safely. Other than Murphy, those two were her closest friends, and she needed to see if those two were okay and they were still married.

Only after checking would Shel be interested in rejoining the others, and having some of her namesake dish.

I think that was at the Dancing Pig, but honestly I can't remember, lol.

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19 
Thursday January 21st, 2016 11:32:30 PM
As the party tries to explain things involving magical time travel, Kezzem just shakes his head.

"If you're head is hurting, that's Cornwall. Best not think about it too much and have a drink. The important thing is nobody got hurt. Well, almost nobody."

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Meeting with a few leaders 
Friday January 22nd, 2016 2:31:26 AM

Murphy jots down a few notes as he works with others. He invites whoever in the party wishes to join him to meet with the officials. Having at least one of the people who was in the tower and got pulled into Koshe Marr would be good. If everyone wants to come, that would be terrific. He takes moments here and there to let each one know about the upcoming meeting. He invites Hazel and Alouryn to come, too. He says he wants to keep it short, but to give a brief, clear rundown on what happened, with a focus on the tower events, the portal to Koshe Marr, and the exit therefrom - and the separation of the Second Breakfast Club from them as they teleported to Izen. He thinks the first place he would like to look for them is the Wizards' Tower in town. He does not want to get bogged down at this meeting with details of the journey back, other than to mention the journey was long and strewn with numerous obstacles along the way, as well as the meeting of new companions along the way. He tells them they thought, it appeared, there still remained an additional day or two to return in time to prevent the whole tower incident. He also mentions attempts to reach key people in town through magical means, but these were thwarted.

During the meeting, he relates the above. The druid then adds, "When flying, trying to enter the tower, and seeing the doors slam shut almost in my face, and noting the increasing pulsations emanating from the tower, I knew the time was almost up. I looked through the window, where we and the three wizards had been. The portal was still visible through the purple mist, but no one could be seen within. No one at all. Now, from our past experience, before we returned here - we all were there just as the explosion began, and were sucked into the portal. This time, there were still a few minutes before the explosion when I looked within. There may have been an additional time, uh change? Difference? Anomaly? - with our return. I don't claim to understand this, but Pressi has some ideas, and Cameron, and others."

He looks around. "Speaking of ideas, in a moment Alleah will have something to show you all."

"Just before she does that, though, a few words. Mayor Bumbleluck, you are the leader of Humble's Ford. We leave it in your hands to draw the community together, to give people hope, to help us mourn the loss of life, to begin to lay out plans for the present and future. Let us know if you would like our help with these things, and we will do what we are able.

"Good Constable, I admired your leadership at the tower. If there is anything we can do to support you and the militia, let us know."

"And regarding plans - Alleah has a list of ideas she and I and a few others put together for your consideration. Alleah?"

[Of course, anyone may interject at any point during the above discourse - say what you have to say at the meeting - or perhaps DM Mark will further set that scene.]

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Friday January 22nd, 2016 12:37:07 PM
Cameron didn't know these halflings. None of them sparked any kind of memory from his childhood. . He had helped to save them because that was what a decent person did, and protecting those unable to protect themselves was what the aspect of Jancassis that he followed expected. Now that those that can be saved have been he reaches into his pocket for a snack and finds his magical pants don't work. He blends into the background and lets the others do the talking.
OOC
Sorry guys, suffering from a head cold that is making conscious thought hard. I'll try to catch up on all the stuff being asked over the weekend.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle)  d20+25=38 ;
Friday January 22nd, 2016 1:39:53 PM

Bliss comes along for the meeting, but his natural shyness in these situations asserts itself, and he finds himself hiding in plain sight. Unless someone calls on him.

Stealth 38

Questions and Answers (DM Mark) 
Friday January 22nd, 2016 2:18:03 PM
Murphy stands on a wagon, raises his hands, and addresses the crowd. He doesn’t really answer their questions. He does say that the Second Dinner Club was trying to stop this, but they were injured in the explosion that started the purple haze. He says he looked in the window and they were not there. He says Humble’s Sword was teleported away, and raced to return. He ask for them to be patient, and that their officials will give them a report.

Murphy allows the Mayor to decide who attends a meeting at his house.

Then Bliss delivers a stream of consciousness report of a 5-year old, and says they arrived 3 weeks ago in a place far, far away.

Pressi laments the loss of her tobacco, and shares her perspectives on Wardd. Then she delivers an eloquent speech to encourage those there.

Shel seeks out Alouryn. Hazel did return home safely, and she’s quite glad to have him back. Faoil seems glad of that too, sticking close to Hazel.

Alleah tries to get everyone moving back to town. Trill introduces herself. Kezzem and Cameron join in.
_____________________________________________________

In response to Murphy’s and Bliss’ remarks, there are a lot of confused looks and more questions. Madame LaRue says wistfully that all will be revealed in it’s time. Pirnook DeepPockets and Candy Badapple both look shrewdly a Murphy. Many there chime in.

“There’s more here that you’re not telling us.”
“Why do we need to wait for the authorities to tell us what you know? We want to hear it from you!”
“How did you get teleported away, and to where? Did it teleport you just down the road, because you only went into the tower a little bit ago. You’re not making sense boy. What’s going on here?”
“What was that Purple Haze (Murphy’s term), and why was it all in my brain?”
“Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time?”
“What will happen to us now with this Giant Tower not working?”
“Will Giants come eat us? I heard they eat halflings.”
“What will you do now?”

(There are also some repeat askings of the questions from the last post.)

Still, these are all halflings - even with all that has happened there is a sense of optimism in this crowd, touched with some sadness and fear. It’s an odd mix of feelings.

Amidst the questions, the town’s folks along with Humble’s Sword makes the long trek back to Humble’s Ford. Much praise and thanks are heaped on what they are calling Humble’s Heros. Well, most of them are calling you that.

As you pass the tower belonging to the Second Dinner Club, there are a number of frowns and stares at the dark tower. Pirnook DeepPockets spits toward the tower as you pass.

You reach town. The Mayor wants you all to come to come to Humble’s Burrow to discuss things with him. The Constable wants to know what’s going on. Mulberry DrinkWater throws her hair back as she steps forward, certain she is important enough to be in any such discussion. The two tavern owners seem to each want you at their place first - especially before the other. Candy Badapple says you’re hiding something. Pirnook DeepPockets thinks so too. The Mayor at first proposes you meet with just him. This is met with many insisting they are important enough to know the facts, and the Mayor folds like a house of cards. He proposed you address everyone there - he has nothing to hide, nothing at all.

Where do you go, and what do you tell to whom? You are pressed for information. Everyone want’s to know the answers and to be included.
_____________________________________________________
OOC: Thus ends the Tower related adventure! Or this part of it, anyway. Let’s take stock of where things are.

Humble’s Sword saw the Giant Tower begin to go haywire. They battled their way in, found the Second Dinner Club, who realized their folly. Almost everyone was saved from certain death by being sucked through a portal to Koshe Marr. How many halflings can say they’ve been to Koshe Marr and returned to tell the tale?!

When the heros made it back to their world, they were separated from the Second Dinner Club, and far from home - both geographically and temporally. They travelled through the Culverwood, fought some creatures there, and made some new friends. They desperately hoped to return in time to stop the death and destruction associated with the previous collapse of the Giant Tower.

The heros were partly successful. One of the Second Dinner Club is presumed dead, and two others are missing and may be dead as well. Three townsfolk died in the collapse, but quick work saved and healed many of the rest. Certainly, Humble’s Sword’s presence at the tower saved many lives - or so they assume. Right? They were not actually there when the tower collapsed the first time, so who knows for sure? But they are hailed as heros nonetheless!

Everyone advance your character to 38,000 XP. You are all 7th level.

Treasure list:
28/07
- 200gp (From gambling on an archery comp)

01/09
- bracers of armor + 1
- cloak of resistance +1
- mithral chain shirt +1
- wand of cure light wounds with 50 charges
- potion of bull's strength
- feather token of the fan variety
- MW Rapier
- MW Short Sword
- MW Comp Shortbow with a +1 Str bonus
- 20 arrows
- a tanglefoot bag
- a pearl - Spellcraft 24:Highlight to display spoiler: {Pearl of Power, 5th level}

12/09
- about 100 feet of hemp rope.

24/09
- a wind fan
- horn of fog
- ring of force shield
- unidentified magical chain shirt - Spellcraft 22:Highlight to display spoiler: {Chain Shirt, +2, Energy Resistance, Improved}
- unidentified magical cloak - Spellcraft 22:Highlight to display spoiler: {Cloak of Displacement, Major}

19/11
- pipes of haunting

04/01
- obsidian axe - Appraise 20:Highlight to display spoiler: {Worth 500 GP}

Now we begin a new adventure. For planning purposes, you may assume about a week of down time. Please let me know if more is needed. I’ll not draw that time out, but there are a few things that will happen during that time. I will try to cover that in 2 or 3 days of posting.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Meeting with a few leaders 
Friday January 22nd, 2016 2:36:15 PM
Step back
As Pressi places her hand on his shoulder, and indicates we might have succeeded, Murphy says, "Well, I'm thinking that maybe you were at least partly right in our earlier conversations. When I looked into the tower, I should have seen those of us who were there, or at least one or more of the wizards. Maybe we cannot overlap ourselves in time, entirely. But, y'know, we did help. You all who joined us later helped us, too in our aims, even though my arrow was deflected from my preferred target. And those of us who went through the portal, and the nightmare lands, and the Culverwood - it's like we got an extra three, almost four weeks of life, and picked up where we left off. My momentary anger is gone. I hope the powers above will forgive me my frustrated outburst. I'm just glad that we were able to save many lives here today. This tough day.

"So, you did the cigar thing, like you said, eh?" he concludes with a smile.

Which tavern?
Murphy says, "Yeah, I get in trouble in this town, because I go to both taverns. There's this rivalry, you see. You pick a tavern, and you stick with it. Otherwise, you're considered too wishy washy, or disloyal, or suspect. My family mainly goes to the Buster. But the Dancing Pig is quite lively. Better food at the former. Better action at the latter. I'm going to stop in at the Buster for half an hour, then head to the Pig for the balance of the evening. I can take being called names, if they want to, for visiting both of our fine inns."

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Meeting with a few leaders 
Friday January 22nd, 2016 2:40:27 PM

[Above post I did before I saw terrific DM post. Forgot to refresh. Will respond later... work calls.]

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Friday January 22nd, 2016 2:46:19 PM
Pressi, not really an expert on this stuff, sometimes wishes that she weren't the only one cloistered at a library. People with knowledge in planes or spellcraft would have a better shot at understanding this than those relying on mythology and cloistered star charters. A cleric who didn't spend all their time outside would have a better shot. But she opened her mouth, so... (Knowledge Religion (Take 10) 15).

"The important thing to keep in mind is that space is a funny thing," she began as she drew a three by three grid of dots on a piece of paper. "The basic rule of space is that one can only connect two dots with a straight line. Which leads to the classic problem of how to connect these nine dots with the smallest number of lines possible..."

Pressi folded up the paper and shoved her writing instrument to all nine dots. "The unfolded paper is our universe. This is what happened to your tower. This is why I don't trust magic, by the way."

Things kind of went downhill from there as Pressi, passing on her barely remembered surface memories of these complex astronomy explanations given in passing between training, tries to explain it to politicians who don't seem to even understand time as a dimension. But slowly she explains what happened based on her secondhand understanding of Murphy's notes. About how plane jumping brought them back in time. About how a timeline can't really handle people jumping in the past, especially when the goal is to stop them from jumping into the past. About how what is the past for some is present for others.

Pressi keeps on flipping through the notes as best as she could. "Wait, was there too much power or not enough?"

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 43/43, CMD 22 
Friday January 22nd, 2016 2:47:00 PM
Yeah, posted before seeing DM posts too.

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19 
Friday January 22nd, 2016 3:21:11 PM
"So, didn't someone say they had free beer at the Pig?" asks Kezzem. "Sounds like the place to go to me!"

OOC: Did we ever resolve the character wealth discrepancy issues? If not, I'm fine letting the original crew divide the loot among themselves first as Kezzem and the other late comers started off relatively better off gearwise.

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39  d20+9=14 ; d20+9=18 ; d20+9=27 ;
Friday January 22nd, 2016 6:11:18 PM
OOC: Spellcraft rolls for the pearl 14, the chain shirt 18, and the cloak 27. I am snowed in and unable to get to my main computer so I can read the spoiler. Please read the cloak spoiler and assume Shel shares the knowledge with everyone.

Shel was overjoyed to see her friends were well. She hugged Alouryn and Hazel tightly, and tried to explain exactly what happened to them. As Shel wasn't 100% sure, she was probably confusing them more than providing an explanation.

She quickly made her way back to the group as she hears Murphy and Pressi try to explain the whole hing to the town. She just didn't have the energy for that. When she hears them talk about dinner; she finally smiled. It's been too long since she had eaten at the Pig. She was ready to tuck into some food right now!

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Meeting with a few leaders 
Friday January 22nd, 2016 7:13:35 PM
How does this sound? Often in the intermezzo periods (we hang around town for a few days), fairly unlimited posting is allowed, say over a weekend, wrap-up posts on Monday, and the launch of the new module on Tuesday. If that is fine with our DM and players, shall we go that direction?

Oh, and Shel identifies the cloak we found among the fey black widow spiders as a Cloak of Displacement, Major.

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent) 
Friday January 22nd, 2016 11:11:41 PM
Trill enjoys her time among her new friends but is a little overwhelmed by the attention and meeting all of the people that her new friends know, not to mention she feels a bit uncomfortable as it is apparent that some of them have quite a bit of history together.

"As the conversation turns around the tower and such, Trill broaches the subject with Murphy and the others. While I am not all sure what happened here or before and I am not at all sure what you all were trying to do, do we need to check out the tower at this point to make sure it is safe or at least not going to open some dimensional rift to somewhere that some unsuspecting halfling wanders into? "

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet 
Saturday January 23rd, 2016 5:37:00 AM
Cameron, knowing some things about giants fields the questions about them.
" If giants attack the valley we will repel them. They can be beaten so long as we work together. My kin have been fighting giants for centuries, I'll send work to them and see if they will send some warriors to teach us how to do it. There is nothing we cannot overcome in defense of our homes."

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 14/13/12 -- CMD 12 -- HP 39/39 
Saturday January 23rd, 2016 6:36:32 AM
Let's walk and talk then. As we head back to town I'll be happy to tell you all about what we think happened"

Alleah will begin the story with what the party remember of the tower, of Koshe Marr, the goblin family, the Culverwood, the nymph, the traders on the river, the orcs, the snakes, the gorillon, the man who "generously" sold the party his cart and horse. She doesn't think the party have anything to hide.

Alleah has only been to the Dancing Pig, and that is where she will be going next. She finds a nearby youth and offers him a few coppers to head to the Temple of Ffloy and pass on a message "The Humble's Sword are back in town. Miss Alleah wonders if the Broker would be free for tea tomorrow morning"

-------------------------------
OOC: I have put an order in at the Catacombs to sell our loot

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Saturday January 23rd, 2016 8:58:09 PM
Shel tells everyone all about the cloak. After she talks about its abilities, she whispers to the Sword, "That's the most expensive thing Ive ever seen. If we could find someone to buy that, we could sell it for a fortune!".

She'd never been poor by any stretch, but she had heard rumors about certain magic items that could make her weak magic more powerful. Perhaps she could afford at least one of those neat items.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 53/53, CMD 22 
Sunday January 24th, 2016 4:40:45 PM
OOC: New Sheet and Updated Header

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Sunday January 24th, 2016 6:42:16 PM
Bliss is happy to chat with people, though he is shy. At different points in the evening and in the days after, he talks and answers any questions people have:

"We don't know how we got teleported away. It was a nightmare trick, from the land of nightmares, where trees are made of glass and they break if you are loud. Just ask Mookie, he was there before!"

(Mookie wisely makes himself scarce for this whole episode.)

"And we escaped through a magic tavern that had a gate that brought us to Izen because we found these lost goblin kids and we had to make sure they got home safe. We didn't know we'd end up getting back to the Wold before we left it!"

"We don't know what happens next! We're not seers! Right now all I want is a rest!"

In the coming days, Bliss makes some potions, does his training, and tells his friends he wants to find a mage to cast a spell for him. "I'm tired of casting my spell to make me small all the time. I'd rather have a wizard make it permanent."

He asks around for where he could find such a caster for hire. Angel Springs, maybe?

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 53/53, CMD 22 
Sunday January 24th, 2016 8:19:54 PM
The meetings are done and the bar hopping has finished. Though Murphy had promised her a night around, it had been clear from how they entered the town that it wasn't happening tonight.

Pressi began to unpack in one of the hotels - the Dancing Pig, she believed. It had been much of a blur, though the Pig patrons seemed especially recognizing of the crazy dance girl. She would eventually have to figure out where to stay, what to do. Did the members of her group even have jobs. Pressi tried to imagine Bliss in between sniping gigs - an accountant maybe? Would her old temple approve of her staying here, where they don't even have a statue of Domi? Would Leska worry without Pressi's protection and help? And what would she do without Leska's?

Shrugging, Pressi turned to the lamp under a hanging acorn on a black cord. With a quick breath, she extinguished the light.

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 19/13/17 -- CMD 13 -- HP 45/45 
Sunday January 24th, 2016 8:30:42 PM
Alleah has quite a bit planned to do over the coming days

--------------------

She arranges to meet the Broker Iangold Laughshield (who gave her permission to refer to him informally as 'Ian') over tea. She relays the entire journey of the party once more, and in detail for him. She tells him about Rais and Isra, and how she couldn't save the goblin boy. She also tells him about that no good haggler on the road, who sold them the cart at a huge markup.

--------------------

Alleah also sneaks away from the party for a few hours at a time. When she returns the keen eyed observers will notice that she now wears a WLA badge!

"I figure I can do more good and be more a hero with a whole organisation to support me. And even if I am a member of the WLA, I can still uphold the ideals of the Walkers" To that end, Alleah still intends to only deal non-lethal damage if she can.

--------------------

Alleah spends some time each day crafting a magnificent headband to wear and bolster her intuition. (Crafting a Headband of Inspired Wisdom)

--------------------

Alleak will also enquire as to how Quotiln is settling into the community. Has anyone been giving him a hard time? Does he have everything he needs? She will praise him on how the animals fare and how the farmstead looks Highlight to display spoiler: {Quotiln was an enemy NPC who reformed. By pure DM coincidence, he has the same last name as Alleah: "Lighttouch". Alleah believes he is a relative on her father's side, but has not confessed this to anyone - even Quotiln. Alleah has paid him an entire year of wages in advance to live with the party and tend to the farm and animals})

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Meeting with a few leaders 
Monday January 25th, 2016 3:50:54 AM

At the Mayor's House
Murphy acknowledges Mayor Bumbleluck, Constable Roscoe Hornblower, and the mass of additional folks who came. He considers Madame LaRue, a wise woman, who helped them following the assassination of Sarabella Lovesong. Candy BadApple, a formidable competitor. He knows her sister Crystal, a cleric of Flower, is one of Alouryn's best friends. Pirnook Deeppockets - a shrewd businessman, with an outpost of the Catacombs here in town tucked into a corner of his general store. Primula PipeLeaf, wife of Hugo, and she the best blacksmith in town, with the two of them running the Slings and Arrows shop. He holds good respect for her, and knows she was helping to rescue several today.

Murphy is much more forthcoming in his description of what happened than he was earlier. One, Bliss pretty much gave the gist of things. Two, it was not difficult to discern that the druid himself had not laid out the full story immediately following the tower's downfall. Three, Alleah went into much detail. He explains his initial reluctance to talk about traveling back in time. "Despite that's what really happened, I recently tried to explain to others outside our group the notion of going back in time - and they did not believe it. They laughed. So, I don't know whether you all believe it or not. And, I apologize for not opening up fully when first asked, but really did not know how the folks would receive it.

"That said, on our journey back, I got to thinking about what we might do should the tower go through the destruction we just witnessed. I jotted down some ideas for preparations we might make. An old proverb says that 'in the abundance of counselors there is wisdom,' so surely many among us gathered here will have additional ideas, additional things we might do to help protect our town and our valley. Here, I'll just read quickly through it," he says to those assembled, then, looking to Mayor Bumbleluck, "then will turn the paper over to you to do with as you will, sir."

Murphy opens the paper, and reads the following:
===============
Humble's Ford and Crescent Valley
Ideas for dealing with loss of tower

- Send people to check out adjacent towers. Discuss with other tower keepers the new situation. Will the remaining towers continue to afford a measure of protection? Would giants from the north have to funnel through the opening left by Humble Ford's tower?

- From Second Dinner Club (if any can be found), learn what we can about tower defense. Can the tower be rebuilt? To echo what was written above - how does the loss of one affect the strength of the others?

- Find Shafbaffum. And/Or see if any of his writings exist. (Possible resources: Library at Lawni's Lens; also Mungo HardBottle, a real history buff, in Angel Springs has an extensive library)

Prepare layered defenses against the giants from the north:
- Set up long-distance communications mechanisms from north to south (and south to north). Fire stands? Semaphore? Sound relays?
- Dig trenches with light cover to cause biguns to fall - maybe some will break a leg or something else.
- Dig trenches to fill with fuel which may be lit on fire
- How might we use the river as a defense against the giants?
- Set up missile batteries - slings, sling staffs, crossbows, bows, etc. Tanglefoot bag launchers? Alchemical items cast through the air against invaders...
- Set up defensive barricades
- Discuss strengths of giants and how to mitigate
- Discuss weaknesses of giants and how to amplify
- See if Lomar might help militia with practicing tactics vs. giants - without harming Lomar
- Arm housewives with skillets, in accord with ancient tradition on one means used to handle invading giants by valley dwellers
- Strengthen burrows against marauding giants' feet
- Find safe haven for children
- Other ideas?

We should engage whole of Crescent Valley in dealing with the situation. Contact leaders and militia from Angel Springs and from Hovel.

-MLP
===============

The towhead listens to all that others have to say during the meeting, trying honestly to answer whatever questions they may have, and seeking to absorb what wisdom, counsel and knowledge is shared.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Evening rounds 
Monday January 25th, 2016 4:35:46 AM

A Place to Stay - Humble's Sword Burrow
As they leave the meeting at the Mayor's house, Murphy tells the new friends who have been traveling with them, "Say, we have a place down by the river - our own burrow. There's plenty of room. So, Trillium, Pressi, Kezzem, Cameron - Would you care to join us there? You can meet Cora Callico, who helps keep the mice population down, and Quotiln, also Hazel, Alouryn - and any strays they may have picked up."

For Murphy: 1. His family home (5 minutes); 2. Belly Buster (1/2 hour); 3. Dancing Pig (a few hours); 4. Humble's Sword Burrow
Murphy invites any of his adventuring friends who want to join him on his rounds. "I'll make quick introductions to any who come with me. My folks and siblings may be back there. Of course, from their perspective, I just left there a few hours ago. Just a couple minutes there, then I need to stop at the Belly Buster. After that, I'll join you all at the Dancing pig, maybe in half an hour or so."

He knows that Shel, Alleah, Bliss, and Mookie know their way around the town, as does Kezzem, and Pressi a little bit, but Cameron and Trillium do not. "This is a great time to see some of the night life of Humble's Ford - tomorrow we can show you around the rest of the place, I'm sure.

To Pressi
"When I was carrying a woman and an older boy away from the tower today in my ape guise, I saw the crowd you'd gathered around you. Leska is right, you are a beautiful dancer. And clever, too. Thanks for playing your role in today's work, Press. How 'bout tomorrow I show you 'round town like I promised a few days back? By the way, I think I understood about half of what you were saying tonight. I liked the folded paper illustration, though.

To Shel
"Remember when we were in the Red Hills, Shel? And how hot it was? After the troll named Stupid left? And the rain fell, but evaporated about a hundred feet above the ground?" His hand is behind his back. "And you were so hot? And all of us felt miserable?" He gives her a moment to recall that. "You loved it when I did this," And from behind his back, he pulls his twenty ounce Teucri drinking mug, and pours the contents over her head.

Well, it was not cool water this time, but instead a whole bunch of little teenie tiny torn up pieces of paper.

He steps back, one hand before him to fend her off. "Oh, oh, right, I used water in the desert. Sorry. Minor detail." Then he runs away, well, for a few feet. If she goes to hit him, He just covers up and let's her rain blows on him - he knows she won't put too much force into it.

"I just want to say how I appreciate you, Shel. You and I are the only two who've been with the group the whole time since the Games, and we got started. It would be nice to have Hazel and Alouryn back with us on the travels - who knows, Hazel might join in again. I get the feeling, though, that Alouryn has had enough travel outside town for now. But at least, we can see her for the time being."

He then adds, "Look, Shel, we'll likely be needed here in town for a while, and that's fine with me. I don't know what your plans are. And you don't need to say right now. But, I'm wondering - if Humble's Sword - or," he adds with a chuckle, "'Humble's Heros' are asked to do something outside of town again, are you up for heading out to who knows where again?"

Murphy scratches the back of his neck. "Look, I'm going to ask the others the same question. But, since we're the only two from way back - well, if a year or so is way back - I thought I should ask you first. Again, you don't have to answer now. But think it over, all right? Because, if it's some sort of trouble we're being asked to go into, I trust you to be the sort who knows what to do, and who isn't going to go running off when your friends need help."

He pauses. "And, if you say, 'yes,' then, maybe you can help me ask the others. Does that sound reasonable to you?" he asks seriously, but with a brightness in his eyes.

Others in the group
Don't feel left out - Murphy will engage with you later on Monday. He wants to get Shel's response, first. [And Kim has to go to bed]

Questions and Answers (DM Mark) 
Monday January 25th, 2016 12:01:02 PM
The party has returned to Humble’s Ford with the crowd.

Murphy explains the difference between the taverns. He relates all of what happened. Relatively few can even conceive of time travel, let alone understand the ramifications. Murphy outlines his plans, some ways the town could address the loss of the tower, and where folks could stay. [OOC: I cannot address all the issues and people Murphy brings up issues - I will leave it to others to respond to Murphy if they wish.]

Pressi laments her lack of academic knowledge of the planes and time loops. She also wonders what the future holds for her - where will she stay, what will she do?

Kezzem only cares about the beer.

Shel is happy to see her friends, and listens to the discussions. Then her stomach growls.

Trill says you all need to go make sure the fallen tower poses no further magical threat.

Cameron says his kin have been fighting giants for a long time, and offers for them to come and teach the folks in the Crescent Valley how to prepare for giants.

Alleah will begin to tell the tale as they all walk back, but if frequently interrupted as everyone strains to hear what she says in a moving crowd. She gets asked the same question so many time, she decides to wait until they reach the Mayor’s house. She also send a message to the Broker from the Temple of Ffloy asking for a meeting.

Bliss relates more of their tale, and asks where he can find a caster for a spell he needs cast. He is told that he can seek help at the Center for The Enlightened Spirituality & Arcane Arts.
___________________________________________________________
An impromptu gathering is held in front of the Mayor’s house. Mayor Bumbleluck declares you all the Heros of Humble’s Ford, and those present cheer in response. Many questions are asked and answered.

A messenger from the Belly Buster is sent to tell you that drinks are on the house tonight for the Heros of Humble’s Ford! Then a messenger from the Dancing Pig tells you that drinks and food are on the housetonight for the Heros of Humble’s Ford. Shortly after that, a messenger from the Belly Buster arrives that they are offering free food and drink for tonight and tomorrow night to the Heros, and that their food is much better than the Pig. A messenger from the Pig tells you that in addition to two nights of free food and drink, the Hero’s may stay there for free.

By the time you’re done, you can get 4 days of free food, drink, lodging, dancing lessons at either establishment. Please note on your character sheet which tavern you pick - are you a Buster or a Pig. Or a Pleaser if you go to both. (You need not all make the same choice.) The Buster does have better food, but the Pig has better music and dancing. If you choose to be a Buster OR a Pig, you are offered the 4 night deal. Those that visit both can count on only 2 days of freebies as non-committal Pleasers.

There is much revelry, and then rest. The next day, life in Humble’s Ford returns to relative normalcy. There is some concern by Constable Hornblower that the loss of this tower leaves the town vulnerable to giants. The Mayor decides that he’s worried about the giants too, and this concern spreads. The Constable is is thankful for Cameron’s offer, and asks who his kin are and how they would get here?

Also the next day, the Broker from the Temple of Ffloy will meet with Alleah, but is also interested in talking to all of you. In addition, visitors from Hovel and Angel Springs arrive, many of whom by at least some of you know in one way or another. They will tell you that the other Giant Towers seem to be functioning, but the loss of the one near Humble’s Ford makes them almost irrelevant. There is concern about what this could mean.

These visitors include members of the WLA, and if anyone want’s to join or train, they will facilitate that in Humble’s Ford over the next week. You are all becoming rather famous.
___________________________________________________________

Bliss visits the Center for The Enlightened Spirituality & Arcane Arts. He is told that they expect a visiting mage there in the next few days. A mage does arrive who can cast this spell for the usual fee. The Headmaster at the Center is also interested in speaking to all of your about your adventures, especially your visit to Koshe Marr and back. Regarding time travel, the current theory is that time is resilient, and it can be very difficult to change events in time. The more important the event, the harder it is to change. Likewise, the harder you push on such events, the more the universe pushes back to maintain the timeline. They also believe it is not possible to see or interact with yourself if you go back in time - you’re simply not there. This not-thereness can push into those you are in contact with at the time. Or at least that’s what they think.

Alleah meets privately with the Broker Iangold Laughshield, and relates information. He is keenly interested in all she has to say. Regarding the trader/farmer Hevin Longroot, he is not very sympathetic - he interprets the event as a shrewd business deal. Later that week, he will meet with the whole party, and will corroborate some of the above time-travel theories, though he does things that events in time can be changed.
___________________________________________________________
There are growing murmers of concern and unease rippling through the community. I need 7 Daily Diplomacy Checks DC 10 to keep things calm. Just one check for the party will do - I will simply use the first 7 checks posted.

You will also find that your magic items are functioning the next day.

OOC: I know this may be a bit confusing with a week of downtime and everyone wanting to do so much. I responded to a few things above. Please let me know generally (and concisely) what you do over this week. In tomorrow’s post, I’ll go over events that happen over the week you’re there, you can respond, and in Wednesday's post I’ll wrap that up and move things forward. Be sure to let me know if I’m rushing things.

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 48/48, CMD 19 
Monday January 25th, 2016 7:32:11 PM
Kezzem spends the time drinking beer, wooing the lady halflings with (exaggerated) tales of his adventure, and playing cards. If consulted about the giants, Kezzems solution is to stab them until the stop moving.

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 19/13/17 -- CMD 13 -- HP 45/45  d20+6=25 ; d20+10=19 ;
Monday January 25th, 2016 7:36:15 PM
In an attempt to help calm nerves and show the community that the "Humble's Heroes" care, Alleah spends some time at the temple handing out the vegetables that the party bought. The vegetables are handed out freely, but to ensure there is enough to go around, she tries to limit it to 4 or 5 pieces per family.

She also visits those who are still injured from the tower incident. She does what she can to tend to any wounds, whether just be spending time and talking, changing bandages, or by casting healing spells.

-------------------------------------
Diplomacy: 25
Heal: 19

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 19/13/17 -- CMD 13 -- HP 45/45  d3=1 ;
Monday January 25th, 2016 7:40:02 PM
Alleah rolls a die and trusts in Wardd to tell her which tavern she should go to (1 = Pig, 2 = Buster, 3 = Bpth)

Satisfied that Wardd has directed her what to do, in her down time she visits the Dancing Pig exclusively (Sheet updated to reflect this is her preference)

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39  d20+8=24 ;
Monday January 25th, 2016 10:36:11 PM
OOC: Diplomacy 24.

Shel reminds the townsfolk how the group has assisted them in the past, and they'd be happy to do so again, if the need arose. They grumbled, but seemed to generally agree with her.

Shel was surprised when Murphy talked to her about leaving already. "I'm honestly not sure, Murphy. For the last month, all I could think about was getting home. But before that, I've always wanted to see some of the big world we live on. I'm not sure how I will feel in another month or two here. Maybe I'll never want to leave again. But maybe, I'll be ready to chase after That next big challenge that seems to come our way. We'll see."

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 17 HP 50 /50 Character Sheet  d20+6=7 ; d20+8=25 ; d20+8=15 ; d20+8=19 ; d20+8=16 ; d20+8=20 ;
Monday January 25th, 2016 11:24:57 PM
Cameron explains that he was raised in the Scab, by the Steelshaper clan after his parent's deaths. As they lived outside of Hovel some older halflings may remember Carter and Lily Honeytamer, but Cameron was little more than a toddler when Morgan rescued him and took him to live in the Scab, so he will remember none of them. He makes plans to contact his Grandfater there and see what can be done to make the halflings ready for giants.

Cameron appropriates one of the more solid barrels and takes it to the Burrow that Murphy indicates will be his new home. He is grateful to the Sword for taking him in and he will do what he can to reassure the people that the giants are not a threat.
Diplomacy 7
Apparently he is none too convincing so he leaves this talk to the more well known of Humble's Heroes.

Cameron will choose an establishment by the act he will most likely be doing there, Gambling and drinking. ( which one fits those criteria?)

He trains with his brothers in the WLA when they visit and learns more about riding from them.

What was the Barrel for? Cameron spends the next day at the blacksmith asking if they can make a lightweight tube that would be similar to a reed and fit it with a mouthpiece. He would like it long enough for a halfling in a barrel to be able to breathe through it. Once he has this tube, his nightly devotions to Jancassis are held in the barrel, with it filled with water. Many of the goddess's teaching are based on beeing able to shut out external influences and hear the answers that come from the inside. The poison that is used by he clerics in their rituals serves to numb them to these distractions. Since he is now immune to the small scorpions and spiders he used to ingest in these rituals, and has not yet found a reliable source for centipedes to replace them, he will use the barrel.
Cameron spends the remainder of his week following the designs of Jancassis. He uses her hunting teachings to seek out and capture new spiders, scorpions and vipers so that he can begin to use them as poison sources. Back at the Tree, before he was good enough at hunting, he had purchased one of each critter. Now he wanted to prove his worth to her and hunt them. He listens to rumors around town as to nuisance pests and the like and helps by catching them. Otherwise, if there are none in town he will head into the surrounding woodlots in search of the vermin.
( Survival rolls for this hunting? Are those what I should make? 25, 15, 19, 16, 20)

OOC
Still working on leveling.
Skills are done. I'll go roll HP after I post this. Feats and stuff might have to wait another couple days while I roll them around in my noggin a little more.
One of my catacombs purchases will be a sending scroll to see if I can get dwarven tutors to come from home.

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 56/56, CMD 20  d8=5 ;
Monday January 25th, 2016 11:48:20 PM
Header Update (for Level 7)

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 56/56, CMD 20 
Monday January 25th, 2016 11:50:19 PM
Update with corrected link

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Evening rounds 
Tuesday January 26th, 2016 4:26:51 AM

[Gang, I'm finishing my last few days on my current job, and have found myself heavily pressed for time. Most of the things I've wanted to get to here have been set aside for the moment. Too tired at the moment to think clearly. Will try to post something substantial tomorrow.]

Murphy is busy, helping his friends get to know this place, talking with townsfolk. Also, he lays a plot for a garden next to the burrow, setting up small raised beds for varieties of plants and herbs.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Tuesday January 26th, 2016 7:28:46 AM

Bliss visits both taverns. Suddenly he has lots of gold, so he does not worry about the cost. Mookie chides him on being more careful, and the tiny guy tries harder to be practical.

He definitely visits the traveling wizard and arranges for his Permenent Reduce.

He also visits the Catacombs.

He is interested to see Alleah's new badge, like his own. "We can be adventurers together!" he declares, oblivious to the fact that they already are.

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 19/13/17 -- CMD 13 -- HP 45/45 
Tuesday January 26th, 2016 7:45:39 AM
"Hey, you're a higher rank than me." Alleah observes, before adding with a smile "Does that mean I have to follow your orders or call you 'sir' ?"

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 53/53, CMD 22  d20+4=21 ; d20+6=23 ; d20+5=16 ;
Tuesday January 26th, 2016 9:51:45 AM
Pressi isn't crazy about the idea of choosing a place without even trying both, and she makes that abundantly clear with elements of "what have you got to hide?" (Intimidate 21). But eventually, as she follows Murphy and the group from place to place, she realizes that maybe she does have to pick one - and find a place to live besides the burrow.

"It's a little tough to explain," she tells Murphy, "but... I guess I still need to know I can't be kicked out. Besides, I'd be moving in with you. It freaks me out that we won't be on our first date until tomorrow and I would be moving in with you. Does that not freak you out?"

So she eventually pledged herself to the Dancing Pig, eventually. More particularly, she began to talk to the owners about getting a job there for a bit, in part exchange for room and board (Profession Courtesan 23). After some discussion of her past work and dancing skills, Pressi reminds the Dancing Pig owner that hiring a "Humble's Hero" would give the other inn an "aneurysm."

Through their travels, Pressi does attempt to calm down the other residents through her usual diplomatic insults. (Diplomacy 16). Through the power of Pressi's anti-charisma, the crowd is at least somewhat persuaded.

Questions and Answers (DM Mark) 
Tuesday January 26th, 2016 11:11:22 AM
Kezzem spends his time drinking, carousing and describing what he would do to those giants.

Aleah does what she can for the community and those that were injured. She finds that while all the wounds are healed, some are still traumatized by what happened. Wardd guides her to patronize the Dancing Pig.

Shel offers to help, but is still uncertain about her future plans.

Cameron plans to contact his dwarven grandfather to help the town prepare for giants. He trains with the WLA, and they are very interested in what he has to tell them. He builds a sensory deprivation tank out of a barrel to meditate on Jancasis’ teachings. He hunts vermin, managing to capture several spiders, some of which the townsfolk are glad to be rid of. They’re also a little freaked out by the creatures he seeks. But most significantly, he manages to find a scorpion with most unusual markings - it has red and black criss-cross markings on it’s back. Initially, it’s rather aggressive, but amenable to Cameron’s handling so long as it’s fed. This is unlike anything Cameron has seen before.

Cameron visits both taverns, finding that both offer drinking but neither has much gambling going on except for some dice and card games here and there.

Murphy remains alert, and is concerned about the loss of the Giant Tower. He attempts to keep everyone in town calm. To show them they have nothing to worry about, he begins work on a raised garden bed.

Bliss visits both taverns. He is able to get a permanent reduce spell cast on himself. He’s quite the novelty in town. Most folks refer to him as a leprechaun or a brownie, and he’s jokingly asked where his pot of gold is located. (Technically leprechaun’s are small size too, but no one here has actually seen a leprechaun, so their reputations for being “small” has even these halflings thinking they must be smaller than a halfling.)

Pressi thinks more about her relationship to Murphy, and comments that it would be odd for them to live together before they’re even dating. She seeks out the Dancing Pig, and asks if she can perform in exchange for a room there. The owner of the Pig says they can try out the arrangement for a couple weeks to see how it goes. She dances well, and is often asked to teach others. Some there seem to need continual instruction, though she doubts they are really that slow to learn. She also attempts to calm the mood in town.

Trill remains quiet and sullen, refusing to participate.
___________________________________________________________
As the week progresses, several things occur.

The Mayor of Humble’s Ford. along with Constable Hornblower and the Broker from the Church of Ffloy meet with Humble’s Sword and say they reflect the town’s concern regarding the seeming vulnerability with the loss of the Giant Tower. They are grateful for Cameron’s offer of some Dwarven Training, but are unsure if that is enough. They want to know what the hero’s plan to do about the loss of the tower. Their attitude remains helpful because of what you’ve done for them.

On another day, there is a visit from some of the folks you know form Hovel. They are very worried about what has happened. Perhaps even more concerning is that Humble’s Sword was recently in Hovel and seemed to know this would happen. They want to know why they failed to prevent this, and what they may have done to cause it. (Diplomacy 21 to move them from their unfriendly attitude to indifferent.)

Subsequently, a delegation arrives from Angel Springs. The Baron arrives with a number of “generals”, and a human that introduces himself as Graff. (Knowledge Local DC 10:Highlight to display spoiler: { This man is a powerful druid that lives near Angel Springs and often visits Humble’s Ford.} The Baron asks what happened to the towers, and is deeply concerned. He says the folks in Angel Springs are very worried. After listening to their story, they ask what the heros plan to do about this. (Diplomacy DC 18 to move them from indifferent to helpful.)

Does anyone offer words of encouragement or alarm at these three meetings?

As the week progresses in Humble’s Ford, the general mood is tense. People are worries. Visitors from the other towns and from nearby farms add to this. I need 7 total Diplomacy rolls representing interaction with an agitated townsfolk each day for 7 days. So far, I have Diplomacy rolls of 25, 24, 7, 16 - 3 more please. (These rolls are different than the above two for the visits from Hovel and Angel Springs.)

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent)  d20+6=13 ; d20+18=31 ; d20+6=17; d20+6=18 ; d20+15=28 ; d20+12=13 ;
Tuesday January 26th, 2016 4:41:21 PM
Trillium takes up the offer of the use of the burrow for the time being, and at the moment seems to be splitting her time between the two establishments, generally lunch at one then dinner at the other reversing the meals the next day, meeting as many people as she can, and trying to get out of the funk she seems to have fallen into since acquiring these new friends.

Most mornings find her out in the game field practicing her slinging and archery shooting targets from different distances and positions and even while on the move. The afternoons she finds herself wandering out toward the tower and watching it looking to see if there is anything going on or if there appear to be any changes and then wandering through the wooded areas getting to know the area and trying to see if there seems to be anything out of whack with nature due to the explosion. Perception 31, knowledge nature DC 28, survival DC 13

She recognizes Graff by name and reputation Know local DC 13 and sits in on the meetings and even tries her hand out at being diplomatic Diplomacy DC 17 & DC 18 and manages to keep herself from blowing her top as everyone seems to think that the issue with the towers is their fault and their responsibility to do something about.

"So, has anyone heard anything from the wizards, this "Dinner Club" group? What have they to say about this? It seems to me from what I have learned, that the towers were what they were here for. I am no mage but I might suggest that someone might send to the the Star Mages to see what light they may be able to shed on the situation."



Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 53/53, CMD 22  d20+5=7 ; d20+5=13 ; d20+5=15 ;
Tuesday January 26th, 2016 7:51:10 PM
Pressi's days begin to fill rather quickly. While not living at the burrow currently, she recognizes that she needs to stop by during the day to get her orders and provide her input. Her dancing and teaching duties begin to fill up most evenings.

Pressi began to suspect that some of her dancing students were dragging their feet, particularly as she began to introduce some eastern dance moves and acrobatics to the group. Frustrated, she began to raise the pressure on her students, but suspected that she might need a new approach. (She also had a wild thought that she might be able to teach some of the better students a few unarmed strikes.)

Murphy did find some time to show Pressi around the town. And to take her out again a few nights later.

Pressi also waited for a response to the letter she sent Leska, but the temple had been prompt if oblique. They said they would contact her later, but for now she should remain where the gods really wanted her to remain. A punishment for her failure, she worried. Part of her wondered - hoped - that they saw something more in the situation at hand.

-------------------

Pressi volunteered to go to the Hovel delegation if need be. She had a quite diplomatic strategy of reminding them that the tower would have stood had Hovel not laughed in their faces, followed by a reminder that she could choke them with key body parts. For now, though, she concentrated on the Angel Springs delegation in the hopes that she would recognize people from her last home.

It hadn't been going well so far (Know Local 7). Too much time away, she supposed. With a cough, she began her diplomatic discussions as she laid out the discussions her team had so far (Diplomacy 13). She has better luck with the townsfolk (Diplomacy 15).

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39  d20+8=16 ;
Tuesday January 26th, 2016 8:02:33 PM
OOC: I'll mark down my Catacombs purchases and update my character sheet and header tomorrow.

Shel tried to talk some sense to the Hovel-ers. "We explained exactly what was happening. We told you it sounded strange, and then we warned you of what was voting to happen if we didn't get back in time. Despite our best efforts, we were a bit late. We did our best. You all saw us, you know how hard we were trying to save that tower and the people of this town. We did our best."

Despite Shel's best efforts, she didn't win over the group.

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 19/13/17 -- CMD 13 -- HP 45/45  d20+7=17 ; d20+6=23 ; d20+6=16 ; d20+6=21 ; d20+6=12 ; d20+6=18 ;
Tuesday January 26th, 2016 8:08:59 PM
The Meeting with the Mayor, Constable and Broker
------------------------------------------------
Alleah listens intently, but is relaxed. She has met all three men before and never had an issue with any of them. "Our plan regarding the loss of the tower? I'm sure we'd be happy to help, but we are just citizens of this good town. We have no more say in what to do about the tower than anyone else. If, as Mayor, you have some thoughts that you would like our help with then I'm sure we can oblige. Similarly, if the good Constable has some thoughts on preserving the peace, we can help with that too."

Alleah does not want to take responsibility for the Tower or the defence of Humble's. Isn't that what the Mayor and Constable are for?


The Folks from Hovel
------------------------------------------------
Diplomacy vs DC21 : 23
"Truth be told we have no true idea what caused the collapse of the tower or why." Alleah says with all honesty. It's true, the Second Dinner Club were meddling 'in another timeline' but there's no way of knowing whether that is what happened now. "It is concerning that something that stood for so long has now crumbled. We live in uncertain times."

"As for knowing it was to occur, don't you have any seers? Divinations can be a powerful tool when used properly"

"I suggest we turn the topic to "what now?". What will be the effect of losing the tower? Can it be rebuilt? Yes. Let us think of the future rather than dwell on the past"


The Folks from Angel Springs
------------------------------------------------
Knowl Local vs DC10: 17
Diplomacy vs DC18 : 16

"What we plan to do? I can't speak for everyone else, but I plan to do what I've always done. Combat evil wherever I might find it, whilst protecting good and honest folk like yourselves. What to do about the tower is a matter for duly elected officials to work out between themselves. It presents an opportunity for working together."

Other diplomacy checks if needed: 21, 12, 18

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 18 HP 61 /61 Character Sheet  d20+7=15 ; d20+7=23 ; d20+2=3 ; d20+7=8 ; d20+7=26 ; d20+7=17 ;
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 12:51:41 AM
Cameron is overjoyed at the vermin he has been able to find, especially the scorpion, and sets about finding separate terrariums for each of them. He also investigates a stable food source for them. A source of crickets would be terrific.
He takes time each night to use the new water barrel to meditate on what he can do to help the town against the giants, but for now, the answers he hears from inside himself are simply to help them prepare and then help them defend. No giants have yet tested the town and thus have caused no grievances. As yet, Jancassis feels no need to become involved in this affair.
When the Hovel delegation comes calling he tries to set them at ease. He makes sure they are aware that he, like several of his companions are members of the WLA and will do their best to make sure no harm comes to the town.
Diplomacy 15 vs DC 21
Likewise when the delegation from Agnel Springs comes calling he helps to reassure them that he will do his best to keep the giants from causing a ruckus. His knowledge of famous local people is lacking, though and he fails to spot the reknowned druid for who he really is.
Diplomacy 23 vs DC 18
Knowledge Local 3 vs DC10

Other diplomacy rolls for reassuring the people during the week if needed are 8, 26, and 17

OOC
Leveling is done, I will try to decide on my catacombs purchases and get them done as well.


Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Evening rounds  d20+7=26 ;
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 8:37:15 AM

Inns
A Pleaser. Murphy is definitely a Pleaser, by the standards of the local pub afficionados. He considers the Belly Buster his home turf, but most of his friends choose the Dancing Pig, and he's not going to stay away from them just because of the territorial rivalry between the two establishments.

Trill
Murphy asks her about her trips to the tower, to find out if she was able to learn anything new.

He beams at her suggestion that the Star Mages be contacted. He knows they have a library in Plateau City that rivals any library in the Wold.

Pressi's concerns
"Press - I won't share a bed with any unless it is someone to whom I am wed, and that may be a while. You have nothing to fear from me in that regard, for I've no mind to defraud or to compromise the virtue or reputation of any of my friends. I've no problem with you staying with the folk at the inn. But, should you change your mind someday, there's a spot for you at the Sword's burrow."

He raises an eyebrow at Pressi's suggestion that she knows several ways to choke people with different body parts as they plan to meet with the people from Hovel.

Shel
As Shel casts blame back in the face of the Hovel group, Murphy covers his face with his hand. He loves his friend Shel. He wonders what she had for breakfast.

Cameron's Bugs and Barrel
Murphy takes an interest in the barrel that Cameron fashioned. He asks if he can try it for a few minutes. He declares it a capital idea. He also shares some pleasure in his new friend's entomological pursuits, and considers possible places for him to look. Crickets? During the late spring and into the summer there are plenty around, but they may be a little hard to find right now. There are lots of worms about, though, in this rich soil.

Kezzem
"Hey, make yourself useful. Help me with the wood sections for the soil frame here, Kezz. You ever do any gardening?" He explains some of the herbs, spices, and other plants - some medicinal, some for seasoning, some for alchemical usage. "So, while we're working, tell me a story, one that actually happened to you. You have some friends from when you were growing up? What's one of the favorite things you did with them?"

He also gets Quotiln to help out, passing on the same information about the goals of the side garden.

Bliss and Alleah
Murphy spends some time with them in WLA training. He joined pretty soon after becoming an adventurer. He invites the rest of the members of the group also to consider membership, if they want to.

He appreciates Alleah's interaction with the various community leaders, and her notion of asking the leaders to lead. Yet he also understands the leaders' desire to share counsel with Humble's Sword. They've been doing some things that have benefitted the Valley in various ways.

With the Mayor and Local Leaders (Diplomacy DC 10)
"Well, there is that list of things to consider doing I gave you, sir." Murphy meanwhile has written up a few copies of the list. "There are too many items for any one group to perform. One thing I did not mention in that list, though, was to send a qualified group up Northeast into the Scab. Such a group could go, and learn what they can about the reaction of the people in that area to news of the tower. Not that the group would tell them of its fall, but rather, to find if there is awareness of it up there, perhaps to gauge the strength and numbers of the biguns. It could ostensibly be a trading expedition," he suggests, knowing that may appeal to Broker Iangold Laughshield, "perhaps to look for certain resources found there that might be of value to us here in the valley. The group could take a fair quantity of local pipeweed, spices, nuts, high quality things that grow here for trade. Just an idea."

He reiterates the benefits of gathering what can been known from others - those who maintain the other three towers; knowledgeable wizards, sages, druids, clerics; the WLA.

Create incentives - rewards for folks who come up with and help implement defenses, as well as counter offenses.

He asks, "Has anyone yet visited the Wizards' tower? Perhaps a clue as to their whereabouts may be found there."

With the contingent from Hovel (Diplomacy DC 24)

"Did we cause the tower to fall? No. We came the first time without knowing who or what had caused the explosion. On our return, we tried to get there ahead of time - thought there still may have been a few days - but time wobbled. Again, We. Did. Not. Cause. The. Tower. To. Fall. The wizards who maintain the tower had no intention of causing harm to the tower. Yet it happened.

"Question is: What now? We know of the threat from the north, from the Scab. Here is a list of things we've been thinking of to develop a defense - and perhaps some offense, if needed." He gives them his list with a few additions, and asks if one of them can read it aloud. He also mentions the notion of an information-gathering expedition into the Scab.

"Can you talk to the keepers of the West Tower above Hovel? Find out their thoughts, get their recommendations. I think eventually we may want to try to rebuild the tower, renew the magic. But that could take years. What do we do in the meantime? How can Hovel help in defense of Crescent Valley?"

With the Baron, his generals, and Graff from Angel Springs (Diplomacy DC 11)

Murphy is lightly acquainted with the druid from some years ago, plus bits and pieces he has learned growing up and in recent years. His mother received some training from him in druidic practice, and his father's sister, Aunt Nilli, also has interacted with him from time to time. He even was a dinner guest once at the Leafwin-Pipewood burrow when Murphy was younger. "Thank you for coming, Elder Graff," he says to the venerable druid. He is a bit awed in his presence. Though his own family's druidic connections played a role in his choice to go that direction, Graff's stories, wisdom, and aura of power gave the towhead a solid push t.o commit to that life at a time when he was vacillating between adventuring professions.

He considers whether to take out the sealed note which confirmed their innocence in regard to the death of Sarabella Lovesong. If the Lord Mayor or his prosecutor, Morro Goodbarrel Oakleaf were here, he would do so, but sees no point to it now.

Instead he does bring out the list of items he previously gave to Mayor Bumbleluck, with a few more jotted down at the bottom - including the idea of an expedition into the Scab.

"Here are some things we've been considering, Lord Baron." He hands another copy to Graff. "Surely some of your contacts back in Angel Springs are knowledgeable about some of these things, and may be able to research in more detail especially concerning the towers."

The druid adds, "But no doubt you've had some similar ideas. I was thinking that one or more of the adventuring groups, or militia around Angel Springs may find it valuable to investigate things north of the two towers closer to you. I would be surprised if there were not some probes sent from the Scab. The explosion and effects would have been noted by those at the south end of the Scab, I reckon."

"Three towers still stand. After initial probes, if they decide to go with a penetrating assault, Humble's Ford would find itself on the receiving end of the head of the Scab's spear. If Angel Springs could provide us some militia, some soldiers and resources, that may allow us to build a shield strong enough to blunt their spear, and counter attack.

"Long term, perhaps we of the Valley can gather enough knowledge and understanding to replicate the fallen tower. But I doubt that day is near enough to forestall the wicked giants of the north from coming against us some time in the next few weeks or months."

One more thought occurs to Murphy. "I was speaking with a giant a while ago. He complained about how we with our towers had cut off the route that the giants from the Red Hills and their brothers in the Scab used to travel to meet with each other.

"In times past, there was regular, peaceful trade between the Valley and the Red Hills. What if a negotiated, safe passage were allowed between the Scab and the Red Hills? Now, I am not recommending that. There would be risks, and there would be giants that would try to step outside any agreements. Of course, they already can go around through the edge of the Culverwood, or aways around the east end of the Valley."

"What are your thoughts, what is your counsel, gentlemen? We look to your leadership."

Gearing up
Murphy goes to Pirnook Deeppocket's General Store, where there is a Catacombs outlet. He makes a few purchases.

[Diplomacy: For HF morale: 10. For Hovel contingent: 24. For Angel Springs: 11 - rolled in private post for DM]
[Knowledge, local 27 - knows druid Graff fairly well]

A contest: Who can come up with the best idea for preparing to defend against an attack by biguns. Awards / recognition for top ideas? Open to all.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle)  d20+2=22 ; d10=6 ; d3=3 ; d20+2=21 ;
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 10:09:07 AM
Bliss smiles at Alleah. "Miss, I can't give YOU orders! You're ever so much wiser than me!"

After returning from the Catacombs, he spins around, showing off his new hunter green pants, shirt, and shoes. "Didn't anyone notice my new duds! Pretty flashy, huh? And good for blending in to the background!"

And then Bliss goes to the visiting wizard to get his Reduce made Permanent. He invites Murphy along to ask magic questions. Like, can they maybe get the tower rebuilt? Who could create such a magic?

Reduced and in his new outfit, Bliss attracts some attention. He laughs and says he left his pot of gold at home, but maybe next time!

He tries to calm people down who seem worried. "Really, it will be okay. First of all, the giants hardly ever wander by anyway. And if they do, we'll send them packing.

Diplomacy check 22! Nat 20! [ignore the d10 and the d3 rolls ... misclicks.]

Bliss is oddly reassuring, maybe because he is so cheerful.

At the town meetings, Bliss elaborates on his message. "Look, we've defeated gorilla with four arms and lots of other monsters! We can make these giants go home. No worries! Or if we let them through, we'll make sure they act nice like."

Diplomacy 21 Bliss is on a roll!


Questions and Answers (DM Mark) 
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 10:49:41 AM
Work delays - DM post will be a bit late today.

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 56/56, CMD 20  d20=19 ; d20+5=24 ; d20+5=24 ; d20+13=33 ;
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 10:50:22 AM
Hovel:

"Hey, I wasn't even there the first time! But we tried to stop it, but it's kind of hard to stab an explosion unfortunately, you know?"

Diplomacy: 24

Angel Springs:

Knowledge (local): 19

"Hey there, it is Graff, right?" asks Kezzem. "Do you know Murph here? He does all kinds of druidy things too, like turning into lions, and tigers, and bears."

Diplomacy: 24

Murphy: "Hey, make yourself useful. Help me with the wood sections for the soil frame here, Kezz. You ever do any gardening?" He explains some of the herbs, spices, and other plants - some medicinal, some for seasoning, some for alchemical usage. "So, while we're working, tell me a story, one that actually happened to you. You have some friends from when you were growing up? What's one of the favorite things you did with them?"

"Gardening, that's like stabbin' plants, right?"

Kezzem then starts to tell a tale of how he single-handedly killed a girillian with such passion and zeal, Murphy is convinced that it's true despite actually being there and knowing that the rest of Humble's Sword helped out.
Bluff: 33 (natural 20)

"As to me family, ain't go much to say about growing up with them. They're...a weird bunch. Favorite thing I ever did with them was leave."

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 18 HP 61 /61 Character Sheet 
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 1:01:27 PM
Privately, to the group Cameron will disclose some of his past dealings with the Scab, and giants in the Red Hills.
"Grandfather and Morgan both thought it a good idea for me to know the environment of the Scab. Toward that end they took me on a few trading expeditions, so I know a little about the Scab and the routes that the dwarves use. How much help that might be in recon I cannot say. I can say that at some point, maybe sooner rather than later, I would like to return home and ask Morgan a few questions. Since he is dead, I have just now gained the ability to ask those questions, and if I am not mistaken, I think I need a priest of Gargul , or Gargul's permission to do so. Is that right? Anyway, if there is an expedition to the Scab, I definitely want to go."
" In the Red Hills I have encounters some strange furry ogres named The Brothers. They seemed to hold some influence there and were devout worshipers of Jancassis. They were evil, of that I have no doubt, but they were also reasonable. A slicer beetle had taken one of the arms from one of them and then our group defeated the Beetle. The Brothers happened upon us just after. We were totally drained and would have been easy pickings, but since I spoke their language and worshiped their goddess they relented and instead were helpful. I healed some of their wounds and they granted us safe passage in the hills telling us to mention them should any other giants accost us. If a dialog were to be opened with the giants of the Red Hills, I would look for them."
Cameron is overjoyed by Murphy's interest in both his barrel and his insects. If the druid has any insight about how to milk the spiders and scorpion for venom, Cameron would be most happy to learn about it. He is not afraid of them poisoning him while he extracts their venom, only afriad of hurting them. He thanks him for the insights on food for the bugs and also asks if there are any groups of small centipedes nearby, as he would like them and their venom for his prayers. Of course Murphy is welcome to try out the barrel. Cameron has found it deeply relaxing.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 53/53, CMD 22 
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 2:56:20 PM
OOC: A quick admission and apology. Pressi's attack rolls were somewhat elevated in the last module due to a faulty formula in my spreadsheet. The error has been corrected for this sheet.

Visions (DM Mark) 
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 5:48:07 PM
Trill goes to both taverns, and become somewhat snubbed as a “Pleaser.” She uses her diplomatic skills, and she asks about the Second Dinner Club - does anyone know where they are? Are there other mages that could help?

Pressi finds her time filled with dancing. In a couple days, Leska and her husband come to visit, excited to see her friend Pressi and Murphy as well. They’ve heard rumors that one of the Giant Towers has failed - people are worried. “How could this have happened?” Leska asks. Pressi tries to answer the concerns others have, and is able to ease the townsfolk a bit.

Shel tries to explain what happened to the folks from Hovel, and turns the blame on them. They remain unhappy with the situation.

Alleah address all three groups, trying to get them focused on the positive and the opportunity to work together.

Cameron like his new vermin, and it’s not hard to find food. But the locals still think he’s weird. If Jancasis is mentioned, they will steer clear of him. The pattern on the scorpion reminds him of Jancasis’ symbol. He keeps working with the new barrel, but the water is cold and the conditions are a bit cramped, making it hard to meditate. But once he can meditate there with these elements distracting him, it’s a particularly rewarding session. He also engages the visiting groups.

Murphy visits both pubs, and is also snubbed as a “Pleaser” - except by other pleasers. He talks to everyone in turn. He suggests that folks from Hovel venture into the Scab to see what they know and make contact. This is met with stares and glares - they don’t seem to be interested into sending such a mission. He shares his suggestions with each group of officials. He also says that there may be a way to work things out with the giants. The is met with much derision - “Giants don’t talk - they just take!”

Bliss shows off his new clothes and his tiny size. Bliss says that Humble’s Sword can handle the giants!
___________________________________________________________

The loss of the tower near Humble’s Ford is a big change, and if there’s anything halflings don’t like - it’s change.

As the week began, Humble’s Sword became Humble’s Heros. As the week goes by, talk turns from how many were saved in the tower’s collapse, to what this means for the future.

People are to be worried. There is talk of needing to fortify houses, to dig more and deeper burrows. There may be a need to raise taxes to train and pay a militia. By the end of the week, there are murmurs about the party being Humble’s Harbingers of Doom for the Crescent Valley. Humble’s Sword is not blamed for causing the tower to fall. But some wonder if they did enough to prevent it. Disagreements break out, but folks fall quiet when members of Humble’s Sword are around.
___________________________________________________________

Everyone’s words are helpful to all the groups (the diplomacy efforts seem to have helped.) Except for Shel, but she decideds Hovel just has a bad attitude.

The officials from Humble’s Ford remain fearful, but supportive of those they call Humble’s Heros.

Those from Hovel are indifferent to the heros. They appreciate all they did, but the fact remains that the tower is down and Humble’s Sword was associated with that. The party will also notice that there are a few from Hovel that seem to hold Humble’s Sword in a kind of fearful reverence - after all they foreknew the tower would fall! Perhaps they are connected with the Gods of the Wold! Who else could have had such divine insight!

The delegation from Angel Springs doesn’t blame the party, and they are grimly determined to address this issue head on. The Baron and his “generals” are not really military men, but are determined to defend the Crescent Valley and will work with the others to do so. They intend to consult with the elves near Angel Springs. Graff says he know some adventurers in the area he will contact as well.

It’s not clear if this preparation causes more comfort or fear in Humble’s Ford. Probably both. But folks generally look to Humble’s Sword for reassurance.

Through the week, visitors come through, and all want to talk about or visit the fallen tower. Constable Hornblower has posted a guard at the Second Dinner Club’s tower, and the door now has a big padlock on it. The Mayors of Hovel, Humble’s Ford and Angel Springs are all there now. Along with the Barron, they often meet and consult with certain visitors. Humble’s Sword is invited to most of these meetings.

Near the end of the week, a few halfling clerics representing Domi, Alemi, Pantheon and Gargul visit. They make it a point to contact this Mayor’s group, and require that Humble’s Sword be there as well. As they have sought guidance about what to do to protect the Valley, the have either cast divinations or been granted visions about the Second Dinner Club. They see visions of Veseley Vortence and Tiana Taithen of the Second Dinner Club in chains, being led or carried by orcs! They now believe they are being held in captivity in the Red Hills near Dour Lake far south of here, but they will say that it’s odd that they are not able to discern more. The location of the third mage, Bazeck Breezelee, is unknown. No visions have involved him.

The Mayors also meet with certain local traders travellers about this. All agree that the Red Hills are a very dangerous place for halflings. Bandits and orc patrols are encountered along the main roads. There is a halfling named Peremin Kalliwick in Hovel that is said to have travelled to Dour Lake before, and he may know more.

As they conclude that someone needs to go and rescue the Second Dinner Club, all eyes turn toward Humble’s Sword, Er, no, they meant Humble’s Heros!

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent) 
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 6:49:57 PM
(OOC; Any info gleaned from the daily observations of the exploded tower and the surrounding area?)

Trill isn't really too concerned about eh snubbing at this point as she isn't a true resident of the Ford and may never be. There is still time to find where she is most comfortable and where the real folk are hanging out.

Trill never having been big on meetings manages to sit through most without killing anyone and even positively contributes here and there. The last meeting with all the priests and mayors talking about the missing wizards annoys her as it seems that they all just seem to think that we are going to do whatever they ask and become their fetch and carry crew. And she begins to smoulder inside a bit.

"So do I hear you asking to hire us to go and rescue these wizards of your from these orcs in the Scab?"

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 53/53, CMD 22 
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 7:30:57 PM
"Is it bad that I prefer Humbles Heroes far less than Harbingers of Doom?" Pressi asks the group. "I'm seriously putting that on the door of my room."

For all the talk of how awful a militarized Humble's Ford is, Pressi kind of felt that some militarization was in fact a good thing. Some of the ideas, particularly a militia that presumably would stand even after the tower was rebuilt, didn't strike her as all that unreasonable. Still, she could see how it would be tough to rely on melee alone. Much as she hated to admit it, a visit to their magic castle (the arcane study home) might be in order.

Far less reasonable was the insistence that they could have saved the tower, despite a thorough explanation of why it took so long to get back to Humbles Ford and an even more thorough explanation of how time works. Pressi began to take a different tack of telling naysayers to go back in time since they are clearly so much better at it.

The stuff about how the group was less time traveler than far seers or in on the conspiracy? Pressi didn't think that was right, but there was always that doubt in the back of her mind. After all, she only had half the group's word that the time travel stuff was correct.

----------------------

Pressi is glad to see Leska and her husband again, and takes some time to catch them up on her travels and what has happened. She is, however, embarrassed to reveal that she may not be going back to Angel Springs for a long time.

Home. It was crazy how much she began to see Angel Springs like that. Things were still adjusting slowly here, and she still felt somewhat like a stationed traveler. Someone who had been ordered to move here, though she couldn't entirely say why or by whom.

Leska, seeing how Pressi looked at Murphy, could make a few guesses.

---------------------

Pressi is a woman of action, but she is first and foremost a woman of the hierarchy. A soldier, she has been trained to subsume her independent streak in the name of duty. So with the exception of the occasional grumble, she had made it to every meeting.

So it was with glee that she received her orders to prove her worth once again, until she heard it was once again into the Red Hills. Though she didn't spend a lot of time in the hills themselves, she had traveled past them several times - and in the last time, she had gotten sucked into the Culverwood.

"Ok, so where is this Peremin?" she asked.


Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 18 HP 61 /61 Character Sheet 
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 7:34:26 PM
Cameron appears concerned when the topic turns to prisoners in the Red Hills. He quietly gets a pencil and paper and starts drawing. When the clerics pause, he starts asking questions.
" I have been to the Red Hills, and you are right, it is inhospitable to people our size. In the Hills only the hardened can survive easily. While I was there, my friends and I ran afoul of several tribes of Goblins, wearing a symbol like this." Cameron shows the symbol he had been drawing. It represents and oval with three dots inside it. " Has this symbol been seen in any of your visions? What made it odd, was that on our way back home we ran into a group of Ogres also wearing the symbol. Someone or something was pulling the strings behind that. Ogres eat goblins, not fight on the same side as goblins. If this symbol has been seen in your visions, we may indeed be dealing with a formidable power.
Cameron makes no effort to hide either his holy symbol or his WLA pin when he speaks

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Wednesday January 27th, 2016 10:59:25 PM
Shel was happy to hear of the visions showing at least a couple of the mage's alive. Hopefully her kin folk would be alright as well. To be sure, obviously they had to rescue the other two so they could figure out if old Bazeck was alive. She was never very close to him, but he was family and she intended on saving the whole lot of them it possible.

She surprised herself that so soon after returning home, she was ready to go back out again. "Youve got your answer, Murphy. We have to go save them. And we need to do it now, I think."

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 19/13/17 -- CMD 13 -- HP 45/45 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 1:10:10 AM
"I wonder if there will be a real reward. Not one of those 'a good deed is its own reward' deals" Alleah looks down and sees the WLA badge pinned to her jersey and feels its weight. "I guess being a hero is going to be hard work"

She listens intently to Cameron's experiences in the Red Hills. It sounds like he has had quite a life.

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Evening rounds 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 3:11:09 AM

Brother and Sister
Murphy is very glad to see that his brother Nalfein and sister Leska Rose have come to the Ford. He quickly brings them up to speed after hugs and greetings. He is glad for Pressi's sake that they have come, for they - especially Leska - have a touchpoint with her.

Big Meeting

"Bazeck Breezelee was slain by the Huntsman in Koshe Marr," Murphy says. "Though Veseley Vortence and Tiana Taithen had hold of his body at the time of the teleport, it surprises me not in the least that you've not been able to make contact with him. Perhaps you can add your prayers to mine, that some day his poor and worthy soul may be released from the grasp of Marteus the Hideous."

With a measure of cheer, however, he receives the news that the other two members of the Second Dinner Club are alive, and it is known approximately where they are. "Yes, Shel. I concur." He turns clerics and others, then to his own companions. "Let's go by way of Windhorn Hamlet, then south to Dourscale. From there we can travel into the Red Hills by the lake. The Teucri build part of the roads along that way, and our travel can be much hastened compared to a slog through the oppressive heat and other challenges of the Hills." He pauses, and looks back to the Mayors, and adds, "Unless Peremin Kalliwick thinks that a slog through the Red Hills is a faster way to get there."

He addresses the official in charge of Angel Springs. "Mayor Hairfoot, some months back, you indicated you suspected some plots were afoot to bring down the giant towers. Now, I honestly believe the three wizards had no intention of doing so. Yet, I wonder if there may have been someone who put it in their mind to conduct the experiment which, as far as we can discern, led to that result.

"Oh, by the way," he adds, and reaches through the opening in the side of his coveralls to find a little patch near the small of his back. He pulls out a small envelope, still sealed with wax, though parts of the wax have crumbled. "I don't think we'll be needing this any longer, and we thank you for your consideration in providing it during a time of need." He holds the weathered envelope out with both hands in presenting it to His Honor. The mayor likely recalls it to be a statement of innocence on the part of the Humble's Sword regarding the assassination of Sarabella Lovesong. He appreciates the shrewd mind of this halfling.

Concerning Cameron's discussion, Murphy comments, "We found a measure of collusion between ogres and goblins in the Hills some months ago. Also some orcs, humans, and renegade halflings."

Getting back to the rescue at hand, the druid says, "Those two are among our best hope if the tower, or some semblance of it, is to be built again." He scratches the back of his neck. "Good clerics, provide us what additional detail you can. We can be ready to leave early in the morning." Then, he realizes he is not the only one to decide. He asks the other members of the Sword. "Can't we?"

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 56/56, CMD 20  d20+4=16 ;
Thursday January 28th, 2016 11:33:20 AM
Knowledge (local): 16
Does Kezzem know anything else about the Red Hills?

----

"Collusion between ogres, goblins, orcs, humans, and even halflings? That does not sound good. Not exactly the most orderly bunch. Someone must be holding it all together."

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Evening rounds 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 1:56:01 PM

"Well, Idafeatu, an ogre mage, and, to perhaps a lesser extent, his brother and rival, Noyudint, are known to have been behind at least some of the organization. They perished at our hands. But obviously, there are others involved as well," Murphy responds to Kezzem.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 2:02:14 PM

Bliss says that heading to rescue the mages seems like a good idea to me. "I can sneak in and rescue them," he says.

Mookie is not so sure about taking the long way around. "What if they end up dead before we get there?"

Bliss chimes in, "I don't want to be late again! Last time we were late the tower fell down. Isn't there a faster route? Heroes take risks to save people, right Miss Alleah?"

"We should travel," says Mookie with a wink, "as the crow flies."

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Evening rounds 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 3:29:40 PM

"Well, I can fly, Mookie can fly. I can't carry ponies, though, nor a wagon or carriage, though I could manage to carry a few halflings, or several if they were reduced.

"The Teucri roads, though, are magicked. When on their highways, they say you travel two, three times as fast as on a normal road. I don't know - maybe even faster. Do some of you more well traveled," he asks, addressing the dignitaries and clerics, et al, "know what typical travel speeds on Teucri highways are compared to normal roads?"

Another thought occurs to him. "Say, being captured, our wizardly friends may be out of spell components. Should we pick up some that will help them to be to cast once we find them?

"Also, your Honor," he now addresses Mayor Bumbleluck," one of us may have means of contacting them via dreams, if we have something that belonged to them personally. Our good Alleah, here, might be able to do that. With an escort, would you permit two of us - Alleah and Shel, say - to enter the Wizard's Tower? They have a housekeeper, I believe. If one or two items that one or both have used, handled, touched, over a period of time, could be taken with us. It could be as simple as a comb - perhaps with a stray hair or the like, or a hand mirror, or a favorite book, or drinking vessel. If she has a touchpoint familiar to the person, that may allow Alleah to reach out, and learn something, and communicate that help is on the way, and gain intelligence to improve our chances of rescuing them."

So, are you offering any reward? (DM Mark) 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 5:28:34 PM
Trill listens to all this, and asks if there is any reward for rescuing the Second Dinner Club.

Pressi is not pleased with any implications they could have done more. She’s pleased to meet with Murphy’s siblings, Leska and Nalfein, and even more pleased that this involved Murphy. She asks where this Peremin is. She is told he lives to the southwest of Hovel, on the outskirts of town.

Cameron asks about a particular symbol worn by Ogres and Goblins. None here are aware of the symbol he describes. While he will notice some mild looks of disapproval at his holy symbol, no one mentions it.

Shel is glad that a couple of the Second Dinner Club survived, and is resolved to find them.

Alleah also hopes there will be a reward, and wonders what it means to be a member of the WLA.

Kezzem knows a bit about the Red Hills. See below.

Bliss is ready to get going.

Murphy tells them what he knows of what happened to the Second Dinner Club,and wonders if someone pushed them into their experiments that collapsed the tower. He suggests a route to Dour Lake via magical roads (does Murphy have a map? How does he know all this?) He also asks for access to the Second Dinner Club’s Tower since he know bloodwitch abilities and what is required.
___________________________________________________________

Kezzem and (anyone with a Knowledge Local DC 15) Highlight to display spoiler: {They are named for the color of the soil which is rich and dark red. This region is known as being chaotic and a bit primitive, inhabited by an odd mix of humans, halfings, and demihumans. In addition, many Hill and Fire Giants along with ogres and trolls have their homes in the Red Hills. As dangerous as the area can be, a careful route can avoid much trouble there. Oddly enough, the roads tend to be more dangerous simply due to the traders on the roads attracting bandits and such.}

As the week progressed, there was no change to the tower that fell. Any detect magics cast in the area reveal no spells or effects - none. There should be residual magic detected here for a very long time. Alleah and Bliss can tell that the ley lines at the tower still run strong, but somehow all magic was drained from the tower.

There is much discussion between the Baron and the Mayors.

The Mayor of Humble’s Ford addresses Murphy’s request for access to the Second Dinner Club tower. ”By all means. I will have Constable Hornblower escort you in if you wish.”

As to the suggestion to travel to the Windhorn Hamlet via magical Teucri Roads, the Baron will say to Murphy, ”Well sir, you are very well travelled indeed. While I’ve heard of the Windhorn Hamlet, I’ve never travelled there, nor been on these magical roads. When were you there? May I see your maps? We do get traders in from down there from time to time in Angel Springs, and there has been trouble on those roads. You seem to know the area well and how to get there. Perhaps visiting this...” turns to the Mayor of Hovel, “What was his name? Ah yes, Peremin Kalliwick. Perhaps there’s no need for you to visit him. While I’m told he’s been to Dour Lake and has traded in the Red Hills, he may not know the ways like you do. ”

As to a reward, there is some discussion and disagreement among the Baron and the Mayors. The Baron will say, “We are a bit disappointed in the question, as I thought this group was loyal to the area. Some of you even wear the symbols of the Woldian League of Adventurers, and they have been very helpful to us in the past. Nonetheless, I understand the ways of mercenaries as we have dealt with them from time to time in Angel Springs. While we had hoped to pour our resources into the defense of the Crescent Valley, all signs point to the return of the Second Dinner Club as part of that defense.”

“What reward do you ask to rescue the mages that our priests and seers have seen?”

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Rescue talk 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 6:44:47 PM

"So, Alleah, Shel - you two want to go with Constable Hornblower here, and maybe talk with the caretaker, and pick out a few items for your - that thing that you do, Alleah? And, thank you, your Honor!"

=========
"Well, my brother, Kendry, has done a lot of travel," Murphy answers. "He showed me a bunch of his maps, but I don't have any, except for the Red Hills. He talked about the Teucri roads. He said that there are sections that have been damaged and you only travel at normal speeds there, but the good parts, you zip along pretty fast. I just don't know how fast. I haven't been on them myself. Kendry has been a lot of places, and knows lots of people. I've heard that the Teucri did other things pretty marvelous, too."

"Reward? For me? Just information to help us on our way. Any little details that you godly folk may have discerned you think would be good for us to know, to make the rescue - or at least the location of the rescue - a more attainable matter.

"I agree that this is in the best interest of the valley - and, besides, our captive friends helped our community for a long time, and are a key to helping our valley do well during this time."

"If we go by road, then we'll take a wagon, or maybe a cart. If through the Red Hills, then durable riding and pack ponies. Between us, we need maybe two or three more. But we can cover those."

With a wry smile, he adds, "Now, if you have any flying horses to spare, well, I'll bet we could make good use of 'em!"

Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Rescue talk 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 8:03:37 PM

"Oh, and let's talk with Peremin Kalliwick. If he knows the Red Hills, and Dour Lake - I think we'll need his help. Which way is the best way to go I really do not know for certain. We may discuss it with him."

Cameron (David F) AC 23 (T 15, FF 19) CMD 18 HP 61 /61 Character Sheet 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 8:39:02 PM
"I can be ready to leave by morning, We probably shouldn't delay. I will ask the Lady for divinations as well, to see if we can find a spot where they are being taken to."
Cameron doesn't think the roads are such a hot idea. Direct travel, quietly, would work better. Bandits watch roads for goodness sake, because goods travel on....roads. Cameron had been a mercenary long enough to know that. If the group is dead set on following the roads though he will. He will be sleeping in a hidden spot though.

Bliss (AC20, HP43) & Mookie (AC19, HP21) (Cayzle) 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 8:39:48 PM

Mookie perks up at the talk of a reward.

Bliss says to the officials, "Well, we're heroes, right, so we probably shouldn't have to worry about regular old gear like crossbow clips and food and a place to sleep and stuff. How about, for a reward, you guys take care of all that for us, so we can focus on the heroing business? You know, new clothes when the old ones get all slashed and burnt, nice comfy bed, pie on Fridays, maybe a medal every once in a while if we do something special."

Bliss grins. "I used to be a mercenary once, and Cam too, back in the day when I was little. I like being a hero better. I figure whatever bad guys we come up against, usually they got stuff they use in being bad, so we take it away from them and tell them to be good from here on out. And that gets us better gear to be heroes with, right?"

"Besides, odds are you people in the village ain't got enough actual powerful magic to make it worth our while without bankrupting the folks hereabout. I just spent 12 THOUSAND gold pieces, for Lem's sake!" Bliss looks a little more than somewhat amazed at the thought of that much gold! "So wowsy! You all ain't got 12,000 gold to give to each of us!"

"Don't say 'ain't' Kid!" says Mookie. He cocks his head and looks at Bliss with a thoughtful eye. "Meh, you're growing up, little man. Rewards are nice, but not if it breaks the local bank." He looks around. "Yeah, keep the worms flowing, and we'll be fine, right, Kid?"

Bliss makes a face at the thought of eating worms, but then says, "Right!"

Trill (AC: 22/17/22, HP: 53/54, CMD: 20, hasted, bull's strength) (Kent)  d20+6=10 ; d20+11=24 ;
Thursday January 28th, 2016 8:55:45 PM
Diplomacy DC 10, Know local DC 24

Let me rephrase the question. You are talking about all of us going into the Red Hills to search for people some of us don't know, in an area that is full of giants Ogres, trolls and other demi humans of generally bad temperament and attitude. Apparently it is more than you want to do yourselves and I doubt that you will find many others in the area qualified or willing to go for you, let alone put our lives on the line and possibly be killed or maimed for life and you wonder why some of us more mercenary types might want to get something out of it. I mean it sounds like you want us to use our weapons and magic and other sundries, that we paid good money for to do you an enormous favor. Are you planning to use all your personal wealth to rebuild the tower and additional defenses, or are you planning to use taxes and other people's money and hard work to do it? Don't answer, we all know the answer to that.

Anyway, In all honesty I was hoping for you to at least be willing to provide us with mounts and pack mules, food and water supplies for the trip so we don't have to waste time hunting and perhaps some form of healing for those who might get injured while pursuing this endeavor that you are begging us to go on for YOU. Otherwise if we have to walk it may take a wee bit longer than you might be hoping for.

Shel Gerald--AC 15/14/12--CMD 14--HP 39/39 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 10:00:49 PM
Shel nods at the suggestion to enter the tower. "I'd like to go see what's left in there. There might even be something there from Uncle Breezelee himself. And I'd think Alleah would know exactly what she needed to cast her spell. Mr. Hornblower, if you'd escort us in, that would be great. We could do a quick search and still be on our way in the morning."

OOC: I've forgotten how change the header for my posts on my mobile devices. When I post from a phone or iPad, my header is incorrect. Anyone remind me how to do that? Pretty sure someone did that for me last level. Thanks.

Alleah -- RobC -- AC 19/13/17 -- CMD 13 -- HP 45/45 
Thursday January 28th, 2016 10:20:44 PM
Highlight to display spoiler: {Alleah only *thought* about a reward. She never asked aloud for one}

Alleah sighs. She desparately wants to ask for some sort of payment, but that's not what a hero would probably do.

"Bliss' suggestions are all fine by me" she responds to the talk of a reward.

She is interested in examining the remains of the Second Dinner Club tower. Perhaps there are clues that might help lead to the Club members themselves?

She nods to Shel "Agreed. Tomorrow morning would be a good time to leave. For today, let us see what we can unearth at the Tower"

Information Source? (DM Mark) 
Friday January 29th, 2016 12:40:09 AM
OOC: Kim - you may have missed my email on this.

Please identify what your actual sources of information are for knowledge of Windhorn Hamlet and the function and condition of Teucri Roads. I need to know specifically where in the game record you have encountered this information. If there is no record of this, please refrain from using information from the Woldipedia that your character has not encountered.


Murphy CMD 21 AC 19 HP 43/43 - (Kim). Rescue talk 
Friday January 29th, 2016 2:02:29 AM
DM Mark - It's established earlier in the early days of this game that Murphy has read his brother's books about the doings of the earlier Crescent Valley adventuring group. Some other members of the party have read that, too, though I think most of them are not active in this game now. One of the Crescent Valley adventures dealt with travel along - and the need to repair some unexpected damage to - a portion of the Teucri road. Murphy did not pull it out of his hat.

There are twelve mentions of it in the Crescent Valley Archives.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 53/53, CMD 22 
Friday January 29th, 2016 10:45:02 AM
DM Mark - I haven't posted this, but he can also get some information from Pressi. Her backstory is that she has shuttled between Angel Springs and towns around the Red Hills like Dirt City and Plateau City. In fact, she and Kezzem started the game entering the Culverwood from the Red Hills.

Pressi (Melvin) - AC 19, HP 53/53, CMD 22  d20+5=11 ; d20+6=7 ; d20+5=12 ;
Friday January 29th, 2016 11:14:08 AM
Pressi took some time to think about her travels through the Red Hills, but again came up short. She flipped through her bag to see if she had any notes from her travels but didn't find any so far.

She also thought back to Murphy's statements about taking advantage. At the time, she had stressed to Murphy that it was more an independence and keeping things somewhat on track than about any worries about taking advantage - that she was more worried about him seeing her room than seeing her. At the time, she had kept her dating history rather private. Did he expect her to be a virgin too?

Focusing back on the present, Pressi realized that some people expected a reward. For all her Waardian past of scrounging, she realized it hadn't even crossed her mind until the townsfolk took the question seriously. She was a Monk of Domi, a soldier in an army that didn't expect much beyond the glory of combat. (Though of course she did expect her commanders to provide them with some tools.)

"Well, as a reward, I did have a few things in mind," Pressi began as she unspooled an entire scroll of paper. Bluff Nat 1. Highlight to display spoiler: { The piece of paper is completely blank. Pressi pretended to read from the scroll as she recited increasingly more outrageous demands off the top of her head. }

"Seriously, though. I think we are all in agreement that we need not just resources to make sure the job is done but some signs that you take this group with some measure of respect after all the whispers and fights. Because you make a big deal of how you expected us to be more than mere mercenaries but you haven't always treated us as more than mere mercenaries.

"So here's what I want as my reward. I want a say in personnel decisions as you build this army. You can start by firing all those people who keep whining about how we caused this or how we could have stopped this, and promoting anyone who can explain what they would have done differently or where we went wrong. Those people who were caught cheating during the games way back when? I want them hired too. Oh, and there's this guy we met named Hevin Longroot? We need someone who can procure supplies for us. Basically, people who are smart, creative and forward thinking, or am I being unreasonable? (Diplomacy 12)"

Information Source? (DM Mark) 
Friday January 29th, 2016 11:15:00 AM
Use of a prior PCs knowledge is outside my comfort zone as a DM. Even character background has limitations. Fortunately, the game provides a vehicle to address this. This is why the game has a Knowledge skill, and provides a system for Knowledge checks. Knowledge Local, History, Geography, Arcana, etc. In some cases, a few might apply.

I'll give this some thought. I'll send an e-mail on this proposing an approach using the Pathfinder rules in a few days.

Kezzem (BrianW) - AC 22, HP 56/56, CMD 20 
Friday January 29th, 2016 12:01:44 PM
"Any idea where we can find these mages, or are we just going to wander around shouting 'here, mages mages.' Not the best plan when roaming through hills filled with orcs, goblins, and giants."

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