Chapter 2: You woke up where exactly?

[Grognardsw]

Deceidon / tavern

"I have these papers which seem to detail stolen goods," says Deceidon. "They should aid in distributing that which was stolen. What is it your were expecting?"

"We were unable to get to the center of the rats nest, given our injuries. But those tunnels continue out from under the town to the mountain. We would explore such after our wounds are healed."

[Rukellian]

The captain looks over the list and nods occasionally as he mutters something to himself. "Yes, yes this all seems to account for a lot of theft these past few years, inside and outside of this place even." Scanning the list once more, Hal furrows his brow and seems to lose interest in it. Sighing deeply, he hands the list back and gives a rather weak job well done. "Though I had hoped you would have taken out all of those bandits, I guess I cannot expect the impossible. Either way, the townsfolk will be more than happy to take back what was originally theirs, though I doubt that half of their possessions coming into this place were originally theirs to begin with," he ends with a chuckle, hinting at the towns history of being a bunch of ex-bandits.

After sitting back in his chair and taking another swig of his drink, the captain mulls over a thought that has been floating around in his mind. He then shrugs and says one last thing, almost as if he were just speaking his thoughts out loud to himself. "For years I've been tracking the bandit group in question, the one lead by 8-finga joe. At first their work was sloppy and almost ignorable, being that I was captain of the royal guard some time ago; but then they got smart, too smart, too quickly. The bandit group became more organized, started to raid specific targets, and their determination was higher then ever. They had a plan, a specific goal in mind, something to motivate them other than baseless greed. I had a hunch that someone may have been manipulating them in the background, using them as mere tool. What were they after? What were they searching for? That's what I want to know, what I'm searching for.

"When I found myself in this strange land, I thought my plans all went up in smoke, but praise be the higher powers at work, 8-finga joe and his gang was here too! Coincendence? I think not. Sure they may be stealing more food stuffs than anything else now-a-days, but their leader seems even more fanatic now. It would seem as if he is close to their group's goal, though what they could be after that is so important, I have no idea. I was hoping that you guys could shine some light on this."

[tooleychris]

Flynn sighs and collects his bag. "Fine. I will settle for a bed and sleep then." he says and moves toward his room.
"Apologies but I've need to shut my eyes and have not the energy for such riddles. Perhaps after some real sleep..."

[onlyme]

Whitsell listens but is unsure what to make of the story. Why would the bandits steal other than greed. Their dialog in the tunnel revealed little.

He asks the barkeep for a healthy meal and a medic to repair he wound.

[Grognardsw]

Deceidon eats a meal of duck meat and spiced cider while he ponders the Captain’s words. He steps away to relieve himself, and upon his return says to the Captain: “The organization and focused purpose of the bandits suggests a cunning new leader, though we saw no indications of such in our limited explorations of the tunnels.”

“While we were happy to help in retrieving misbegotten gains, we are not part of your constabulary. To make a strike at the heart or headquarters of the bandits will require more manpower, which we could possibly lead if the price was right. However, our own mission is to seek out a certain gentleman who has stolen an item from the Royal Court of New Dathan. We do not want to stray too afar of our goal. Perhaps your knowledge of this village and lands, combined with your network of contacts, can be leveraged to speed our search.”

[Rukellian]

I've updated the house rule thread with the specifics on hiring a healer and making use of his/her services. I will allow you guys to go back and edit your posts to reflect this new content before you all retire at the inn, if you wish. Once Gustov/NJWilliam chimes in, I will provide an update.

[NJWilliam]

Gustov

Gustov keeps his share of the loot close and does his best to not show any signs of carrying any significant wealth.
"We should see about finding a healer and an herbalist to tend these wounds," he says with a bit of a grimace.
"Maybe we can even find one willing to travel with us for a bit of coin."

[Rukellian]

The group, having found themselves back in the welcome comforts of the town Inn, prepare themselves to retire for the night. Deceidon sits down to a meal of roast duck and spiced cider as he talks with Captain Hal about the events of the tunnel and provides a brief overview of the group's royal assignment. The conversation takes a strange turn as Hal makes mention of his own personal assignment, suggesting that someone may be manipulating the bandit group in the shadows for a greater purpose.

Flynn too tired to think about what is being spoken of, takes his belongings as well as his newly acquired riches and retires to his room for the night. Gustov and Whitsell bring further attention to the health of the group, suggesting that they use their gold to hire a healer/herbalist of sorts to provide some first aid, even going so far as to bringing one along on their mission. This talk naturally leads into the direction of hiring others to help provide fighting support for the group's next attack.

After sitting down for a bit and letting his mind relax, Whitsell recalls something important about their first visit to this town. He greeted a few farmers here and there, showing his apprecation towards the hard work that they do, knowing a bit about agriculture himself. In the midst of this exchange of friendly greettings, he happened upon this one lady at work in the field just outside the forest's edge, carrying a basket full of herbs and grasses. Thinking back, Whitsell believes that she might be just the person they were looking for.

I will need to know if your character will go out and search for her before retiring for the night, or wait until tomorrow. Either way, the sun will still be shining brightly, so it won't be too hard to spot her from a distance if you look.

[tooleychris]

Flynn tucks his bags under his bed, cuddles up with his blanket (with the gems rolled up in it) and tries to get some rest.
When he awakes he will go out and see what if any better gear he might purchase.

[onlyme]

After sitting down for a bit and letting his mind relax, Whitsell recalls something important about their first visit to this town. He greeted a few farmers here and there, showing his apprecation towards the hard work that they do, knowing a bit about agriculture himself. In the midst of this exchange of friendly greettings, he happened upon this one lady at work in the field just outside the forest's edge, carrying a basket full of herbs and grasses. Thinking back, Whitsell believes that she might be just the person they were looking for.

I will need to know if your character will go out and search for her before retiring for the night, or wait until tomorrow. Either way, the sun will still be shining brightly, so it won't be too hard to spot her from a distance if you look.

Whitsell still feels the pain of the shoulder injury, and figures the sooner the better. He makes sure his gems are well hidden in his clothing, and heads out.

[NJWilliam]

Gustov likewise will head out to find the believed healer as soon as possible.

[Grognardsw]

Deceidon retires for the night, trusting his friends to hire the healer, who can treat him tomorrow. Mindful he is carrying much more riches than when he arrived in town, Deceidon will bolt the door, put a chair under the doorknob, shutter and lock his window if there is one, and lay out caltrops at the door and window base.

[Rukellian]

Once I get access to my computer, which will be in about 2-3 hours, I will provide an update. Thank you all for your patience in this.

[Rukellian]

Whitsell's search of the area proves successful as he spots her with her basket of herbs and grasses.
Here is a picture of her, the one standing up. Its fuzzy I know, but at least our imaginative minds can correct for that, I hope. oh and don't let the clouds in the pic fool you, its plenty sunny out and there are no clouds in sight.

healer for campaign.jpg (124.49 KiB) Viewed 707 times

The herb collector tuns and spots Whitsell and Gustov from a distance. With her free hand, she waves a big hello, smiling away.

Whitsell, due to his friendly conversation with her early on, already knows that she is addressed by the name of Amberlyn.

[onlyme]

Whitsell smiles at the lady and says,

Hi again, Ms Amberlyn. I was wondering if any of these might of belonged to you. He hands her a couple of gold coins.

We rescued them from the bandits who've been pestering this place. But, I got kinda poked a bit here in the shoulder. Was, well, I was uh wondering if any of your plants here might provide some pain relief.

[Rukellian]

She clasps her hands to her mouth in shock as she notices Whitsell's wound. "Oh my," she exclaims as she rushes over to get a better look! She nods in understanding as she recognizes the wound. "An arrow did this, am I right? They always seem to leave nasty aches; I might just have something for that. Now let's see..." She scavenges through her basket and produces a few herbs. "Once I grind this into a paste, it will do just the trick," she says in a cheery smile. Amberlyn then thanks Whitsell as he produces the coins in his hand. "It's good to see such honest men in this world."

Turning to face Gustov, who also tagged along, she does a curtsy and greets him with a warm smile. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure. My name is Amberlyn. Would you happen to be one of Whitsell's friends? If so I must thank you for helping us face the bandits!"

[onlyme]

After a moment, Whitsell feels more relief from the shoulder pain. Let me know if it produced any hp, or if I have to rest with it on, first.

[Rukellian]

After a moment, Whitsell feels more relief from the shoulder pain. Let me know if it produced any hp, or if I have to rest with it on, first.

Go ahead and roll a 1d3 in the dice roller; the hit point recovery will take place after you rest, as well as any other benefits if the healer/herbalist is under your group's employ.

[NJWilliam]

Gustov

Gustov smiles at Amberlyn and nods, "Aye, I was with him against the bandits. Several of us took some injuries we were hoping you could help us with."

[Rukellian]

Amberlyn raises her finger, silently asking for a moment as she talks to the person behind her. The conversation is brief and the person nods as Amberlyn starts to collect her belongings. "I would be more than happy to help you all out! Instead of doing everything out here in the field, lets take this inside somewhere, shall we?"

Gustov, Whitsell, and his new friend Amberlyn all head back towards the Inn they are staying at. Though the sun is still up, it feels as if it should be roughly late at night. When the group arrives at the inn, Flynn is already sound asleep and Deceidon has his door locked up, no doubt a security measure for his loot. The same first aid has been applied to Gustov and the benefits of such will be rewarded after a night's rest. The same treatment was applied to Flynn as well, in a sort of bed side manner if you will. Won't he be just thrilled to see a pretty face tending to him once he wakes up? (As a reminder, everyone who sleeps should provide a roll to see how well you slept, as per the house rule set up for this strange land. The result will affect your character's initiative for combat that day.)

Because of Amberlyn's demeanor, I find it hard having her ask for coin directly. With that said, I'm going to assume that either Whitsell or Gustov paid for her initial hiring, 60 gp. After a week has gone by (in-game), I will ask the group who would like to pay the 50 sp fee, if the campaign gets into the range of weeks. Fair enough?