Chapter 1a: From the Dwarfworks

[Marullus]

Characters:

• AleBelly: Odlo
• AleBelly: Tyv
• Alethan: Thorhall
• Faanku: "Laughing" Pegg
• Faanku: Falnan Rosleigh
• greyarea: Casper
• greyarea: Pox
• Samwell Turleton: Hannu Survage (3 / 4)
• Samwell Turleton: Magna Jonsdottir
• ybn1197: Brocard Bottomhill

Broccard the vagrant collapses as the Kobold stabs him, crying out his regrets to a disappointed father, his cudgel falling from his fingers. Odlo feels a pang of guilt as he stands, holding the jeweled longknife and sees the other Halfling die.

Bucket the chicken flaps his last. The Kobold dips a finger in her blood and tastes it, taunting Hannu. Having grazed the Kobold twice, Hannu cannot stand this injustice. He strikes ferociously, skewering the Kobold through the knee with his pitchfork (crit, -5) and the flinging its small body aside like a sheaf of hay. He twists in time to evade the remaining kobold's dagger, it now engaging him with Broccard, Tyv, Bucket, and two Kobolds dead on the cobbles around them.

The Kobold chitters loudly - you hear the response of several other Kobolds out of sight down the side street...

Everyone may act.

Kobold [1d20] = 10[1d4] = 2

[greyarea]

Casper the dwarf blacksmith

Casper runs to Hannu's aid yelling, Faigh air falbh bhuaithe do chù le fàileadh.. He swings his hammer hammer (as club) [1d20-2] = 5-2 = 3 dmg [1d4-2] = 2-2 = 0, whiffing.

Pox the Butcher
Pox follows Casper, chiding him, Speak common, you stupid dwarf, not that we can understand you any better then!

He too attacks cleaver (as axe) [1d20-2] = 9-2 = 7 dmg [1d6-2] = 4-2 = 2 as ineffectually as his companion.

[Samwell Turleton]

Hannu Survage

Hannu keeps fighting, madly thrusting the pitchfork about, sweat dripping into his eyes and temporarily blinding him as he lashes out at the Kobold.

Attack [1d20] = 2, Damage [1d8-1] = 6-1 = 5

[AleBelly]

Odlo, halfling glovemaker

The red-haired halfling turns to Falnan: "Can you gather the rest of the valuables? I must help the others. You can hide in the hay if others come...at least until we can get you a robe."

Odlo charges towards the lone kobold, new longknife in hand.

Odlo longknife attack [1d20+1] = 20+1 = 21, damage [1d6+1] = 3+1 = 4

Damn, halflings really are lucky!

Crit:

Odlo critical hit [1d4+1] = 3+1 = 4

Odlo crit damage [1d4] = 4

Not sure if strength modifiers are used in crits.

As the others keep the kobold occupied, Odlo is able to sneak up behind, plunging his sword through its kneecap. With surprising strength, he momentarily lifts the skewered kobold off its feet and slams it to the pavement.

But seeing two comrades lying dead, he is not in the mood to celebrate.

"If we take Tyv and Broccard's possessions, any onlooking cultists may think we're looting them and pass us by" Odlo says hopefully. If Falnan stays behind with the dead cultists, Odlo will quickly pull a robe from a dead kobold to give to him.

Not sure if this is too many actions for one post

[Marullus]

I give preference to crits, so we will go with those actions.

Hannu, Casper, and Pox keep the last kobold occupied and give Odlo the opportunity to flank and catch it by surprise with his new fancy longknife. (-8)

The Kobolds dealt with, you stand in cultist robes over the bodies in the cobblestone intersection of the Treaty Junction, where you began just a short while before. You hear the raucous approach of kobolds out of sight from the side street, coming to answer your last foe's call. Stragglers still run past and down the High Road, but the crowds have passed.

Actions?

[Samwell Turleton]

Hannu Survage

Hannu really covets the belt buckle that he saw on the well dressed man Tyv but also hears the approaching Kobolds. The adrenaline that surged in Hannu in this fight is still helping him ignore the pain of the arrow in the buttock and the new lacerations from this scrape. Hannu grabs Bucket from the street by its legs and gives the body a little flip over his left shoulder. The sound of the blood soaked chicken hitting Hannu's sweat and blood coated back is not a pleasant sound. Then Hannu toddles quickly back in the direction of the group that has started to make their way to the coal buckets.

Looking up towards his left shoulder Hannu says, thanks for the help back there.... It is loud enough for the others to hear but not meant for them.

[Samwell Turleton]

Magna Jonsdottir

Heads in the direction of the coal buckets ashamed she did not help.

[AleBelly]

Odlo

The halfling does his best to obscure his face, pulling up the hood of the cloak in an attempt to pass as a kobold to those far off in the distance. He quickly grabs Tyv's bundle of thieves' tools and coin purse. He has no use for Broccard's lantern.

He quickly pats their pockets for a pipe and tobacco...really wishing he hadn't left his at home.

He then makes off for the coal buckets with the others.

[greyarea]

Pox the Butcher and Casper the Dwarven Blacksmith race to the coal buckets.

When Pox goes over, he will wait on the other side to make sure everyone dismounts safely.

Casper will help others into the coal buckets, going last. If someone argues with him, he will let loose a string of either Dwarvish or gibberish (strongly worded, of course) and persuade the arguing idiot to get in the damn bucket because otherwise we'll all die, ya blasted fool.

[Alethan]

Thorhall, Dwarven Blacksmith

Thorhall helps search the new bodies, too late to help with the fighting. Once everything of value or interest has been secured, he helps others load up into the coal buckets.

[Marullus]

The group moves quickly to secure their friends' belongings before the kobolds round the corner. Odlo grabs Tyv's pouch, finding it contains lockpicks and other tools of the thief's trade. He pats down Broccard hoping for a pipe and tobacco, but instead finds a bronze pocket compass, which he pockets instead. Thorhall grabs Tyv's small chest, which contains his meager 23 copper coins but is quite helpful at storing the larger supply of coins just acquired from the Cultists. All the new coins tucked securely within the chest, he holds it under his arm and grabs Broccard's lantern with his hand.

Hannu considers unthreading Tyv's belt buckle, but in the end just grabs his dead chicken and makes a break for it. Broccard's rudimentary club and the four simple daggers scattered on the cobbles are left as well. The kobolds round the corner and come to investigate their fallen, taking up their bows and daggers. The ruse works and they pay little attention to your group of "cultists" heading away northward towards the Dwarfworks proper.

You head up the road into the dwarven mining sector. You pass by three patrols of cultists kicking open doors and ensuring no dwarves remain in hiding. There is the sound of scuffling within some of the dwellings but you keep your heads down and keep moving. Eventually you come to the massive coal buckets and their conveyor. They are mounted to rails which are driven into the cliffside with massive iron fittings. The rails attach to the sides of the buckets and slope at a gentle angle down and to the west, rounding past and over the Thane's estates and looking within the central keep which is now aflame. The larger of the two dragons perches atop the keep's tower; it spreads its wings and roars in triumph. The rails continue down and west until they hit the stoppers in the coal yard at dockside, dumping their stone loads into the large piles there for shovelling into ship holds at the northmost piers of the waterfront.

The coal buckets are meant to shovel/dump down into, so getting into them isn't too difficult. You can fit everyone into three or four buckets, which will begin sliding on the rails as soon as the break is released...

Place youself in bucket 1, 2, 3, or 4. Release them in order. Give me a Fortitude Save DC 10 or a [1d6] damage from jostling and one Luck Save per bucket.

[greyarea]

Pox the Butcher

Pox gets in bucket 1, intending to help people out on the other side.
Fortitude [1d20] = 2
dmg [1d6] = 6

He doesn't make it to the other side to help.

POX is DEAD


Casper the Dwarven Blacksmith

Casper helps others get into the buckets and gets in Bucket 4 last.

Fortitude [1d20] = 9
Casper will burn 1 luck to bring that to 10 He manages to brace himself in the bucket.

He can make the luck roll for Bucket 4: Luck check [1d20] = 3 But he probably shouldn't have...

[AleBelly]

Odlo, halfling glovemaker

It's actually working... Odlo thinks to himself as they pass other cultists unmolested. As they near the coal buckets, the halfling is less and less sure of the plan...why don't they just run to the city gates? But it's what they agreed to. He gets into the second bucket, hoping it won't be occupied by stout dwarves or lanky tallfolk.

He settles into the bucket, and braces his feet against its front.

Odlo fortitude [1d20] = 17

He then says a prayer, wishing he and his comrades luck in their perilous ride to the docks.

Odlo luck roll [1d20+1] = 3+1 = 4

[Samwell Turleton]

Magna Jonsdottir

Magna keeps her head low as the group works its way through the streets past some bands of cultists kicking in doors. She chokes down her feeling of wanting to help the innocent people in the dwellings they pass. She still feels shame at not having helped the strange farmer, relief that he survived the encounter, and a little terror at the vision she had in the streets. Now that he is nearer to her she can't help but feel a little revulsion at him toddling behind them covered in cuts and blood with a dead chicken slung over his shoulder.

Magna reaches the buckets with a large butcher and hops into the first coal bucket. She looks over to Thorhall trying to make eye contact. Magna starts to speak to the dwarf, Thorhall - once we get out of Kaerhavn we need to talk. I still love you! Magna climbs into the first coal bucket - as it careens down the rails the yawing of the coal bucket on the rails throws Magna hard against the back wall - she hits her head with a resounding crack and the butcher's body comes crashing in on top of her.

DEAD

Fortitude Save [1d20] = 1, dam. [1d6] = 2

Bucket 1 Luck:
Luck Roll [1d20-1] = 16-1 = 15

[Samwell Turleton]

Hannu Survage

Hannu looks at the coal buckets and says, Well, this looks fun! as he scrabbles awkwardly into the third bucket. He sits anxiously waiting for the first two buckets to release their brakes.

Once the buckets are underway he finds it very uncomfortable to be sitting in the jostling metal container and thinks to himself, this was a terrible idea.

He carefully holds Bucket across his lap and braces himself with his arms and legs.

Fortitude Save [1d20+2] = 3+2 = 5, dam. [1d6] = 2
Use 5 Luck

Bucket 3 Luck:
Luck Roll [1d20+2] = 2+2 = 4

[Marullus]

Holding for Thorhall (and his reaction to Magna's profession of love!), Pegg, and Falnan.

[Alethan]

Thorhall, Dwarven Blacksmith

Thorhall climbs into the second bucket, hefting the small chest with him. He climbs in with no problem, sits on the chest and waits. As the others climb in the nearby buckets, some of them make a racket, falling down or banging things onto the bucket rims. Amidst the noise and activity, Thorhall completely misses Magna speaking to him...

Fortitude Save (DC10) [1d20+1] = 15+1 = 16

Luck [1d20-1] = 3-1 = 2

[Faanku]

Falnan Rosleigh, the Halfling Glove-maker

"Oh no no no no, ah nah nah nah nah..." The endless stream of alliterated worry emanating from the halfling is punctuated only by the chattering of his teeth as he dashes along underfoot of the rest of the group, stopping randomly to take deep breaths in pathetically bad attempts to calm his nerves. When they finally reach the coal buckets, he looks around desperately for guidance before being hoisted into the first available bucket by Pegg, who assures him that things will be OK. Well, the fey curse on the glove-maker's soul couldn't let a death flag that egregious pass by now, could it? There is a faint ethereal giggling just on the edge of everyone's hearing as the first bucket disembarks, and Falnan Rosleigh finally finds some peace for the first time in his erstwhile life.

Falnan Rosleigh: DEAD

"Laughing" Pegg, the Gongfarmer

"Falnan! Oh gods no, please be alright!" Despite her desire to check on the halfling, Pegg patiently helps the others board the coal buckets before seating herself in the last one alongside Casper the dwarf, to whom she voices her concerns about the others whilst casually brushing off falling stone with her powerful forearm. "How far down do these go, do you know?"

[1d20] = 1[1d6] = 6 Falnan Fort save: Natural 1, Max Damage, Super DEAD
[1d20+2] = 19+2 = 21[1d6] = 6 Pegg Fort Save: Success

[1d3] = 3 Roll to see which Bucket Pegg gets in to: Bucket 4

[Marullus]

Characters:

• AleBelly: Odlo
• AleBelly: Tyv
• Alethan: Thorhall
• Faanku: "Laughing" Pegg
• Faanku: Falnan Rosleigh
• greyarea: Casper
• greyarea: Pox
• Samwell Turleton: Hannu Survage (3 / 4)
• Samwell Turleton: Magna Jonsdottir
• ybn1197: Brocard Bottomhill

Pox, Magna, and Falnan are loaded into the first cart and their break is released. The cart accelerates down the rails, then accelerates, and accelerates... Zoom! Falnan screams in terror as it flies down through the air high up the cliffside rails! They bounce like ping pong balls inside the speeding cart. Their slope levels, slowing them slightly, but they are the first cart in line and trigger the dumping mechanism as they reach the bottom. Rather than pouring out like a heavy cartful of crushed coal, they are launched airborne as the cart abruptly tips them out. For a few seconds they know how a gull feels, soaring over the coal yards, then they each hit the ground with sickening crunching sounds. (All three die.)

Shortly after the first cart zooms out of sight around the bend in the cliff face, Odlo and Thorhall are launched in the second cart. They are not as lucky as the first cart - the screaming and motion of the first cart has caught the attention of the dragon perched on the Keep below you and it launches upwards, straight at the second cart. Investigating to find a dwarf and halfling speeding down the cliffs, it swipes at you with its tail as it flies by, trying to knock the cart off the rails.
Make a Fort Save, DC 8, or take 1d6 damage as it jostles you.

Hannu gleefully leaps into the third cart and launches himself with a "wheeee!", leaving Casper and Pegg in the last cart. The dragon blows a gout of flame against the cliffside as the two carts speed past.
Make a Fort Save, DC 8, or take 1d6 damage as you are singed, the fireproof cart doing most of the job...

With no one manning the controls at the bottom to redirect empty cars, each additional car smacks abruptly into the car before it, crashing loudly on the bumpers and rattling all those within. If you survived the trip, you have a moment to clamber out and leap down onto the massive coal piles below while the dragon wheels around having flown the other direction...

Wow... So everyone in cart #1 dies and all the other carts have HORRIBLE luck rolls (max of 4 in 20). I was planning to be nicer than that!

[AleBelly]

Odlo, halfling glovemaker

The halfling is glad to have company on this desperate escape attempt, though he shudders to think what would happen if the dwarf's bulk is thrown against him.

As soon as the brake is released, Odlo's misgivings of this plan multiply. He watches in terror as the dragon flies overhead. He ducks in the coal cart, expecting a rain of fire to engulf him. Instead, he sees a side of the cart cave in with a thunderous, dull ring. The cart careens sideways, up on two wheels, and Odlo nearly follows several lumps of coal as they fall, fall, fall to the dwarf estates below.

Odlo fortitude [1d20] = 9

But the cart rights itself, and the halfling is just able to hold on. He inches towards the front of the cart, waiting for another blow from the dragon's tail. As the wild journey comes to a jarring halt, the halfling emerges with superficial bruises. He checks to see if Thorhall is ok (taking his valuables if he isn't) and cautiously emerges onto the coalpile, looking to see who else survived and surveying for other threats.