IC XII

[Alethan]

Rhys the traveler

Rhys moves quickly to end the lives of the small orc shaman and the larger orc with the whip. He takes from them anything that appears to be of value, as well as one ear from each, and makes his way back to the rest of the party for a quick departure.

[MonsterMash]

Thurgan, dwarf

Thurgan keeps watch for any other parties of orcs approaching while the others deal with the slumbering and dead orcs.

[Grognardsw]

While orcs are gutted and ears sliced, Aquar kneels and gives thanks to Procan in prayer.

"Give thanks to Procan, because he is good,
and his guidance is eternal.

In our need I called to Procan;
he answered and set us free.
Procan is with me, I will not be afraid;
and I will see my enemies defeated.

Our enemies were around me;
but we destroyed them by the power of Procan!
Procan makes me powerful and strong;
he has saved me.

Listen to the glad shouts of victory in the waters of Procan's people:
“Procan's mighty power has done it!
His power has brought us victory—
his mighty power in battle!”

I will not die; instead, I will live
and proclaim what Procan has done.
Open to me the gates of the Temple;
I will go in and give thanks to Procan!

This is the gate of Procan;
only the righteous can come in.
I praise you, Procan, because you heard me,
because you have given me victory.

This is the day of Procan's victory;
let us be happy.
I will proclaim your greatness."

[shaidar]

Mursley, MU

Mursley breathes a sigh of relief and helps with the loot collection.

He agrees we should not tarry.

[Wyzard]

In our need I called to Procan;
he answered and set us free.
Procan is with me, I will not be afraid;
and I will see my enemies defeated.
...
Our enemies were around me;
but we destroyed them by the power of Procan!
Procan makes me powerful and strong;
he has saved me.
...
Listen to the glad shouts of victory in the waters of Procan's people:
“Procan's mighty power has done it!
His power has brought us victory—
his mighty power in battle!
...
I praise you, Procan, because you heard me,
because you have given me victory.
...
This is the day of Procan's victory

"The rest of you helped some, too," Severi deadpans.

[thirdkingdom]

The adventurers have almost finished dispatching and looting the dead when the sound of a slamming door is heard. Three orcs emerge from the building the last orcs came from. Two are bowed under the weight of enormous bundles, the third waves what at one point was likely a white cloth above it's head.

[Wyzard]

Severi, Elf

Severi advises that the orcs be told to approach to a distance of fifty feet, and then show what is in the bundles. If it is treasure, we will accept their surrender and leave, never to return.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys immediately stops what he is doing and raises his big bow. He hisses,"Stay alert!"

Being the only one in the party who speaks orc, he shouts, "Stop there. What do you want?"

[thirdkingdom]

Orc

"We want you longnoses to take our offerings and leave, never to return! We bring treasures of gold and silver, and this shield from the tomb of some dead human!

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys holds up the ear of the orc shaman and says, "We paid lots coin for every orc ear we take. Paid to make orc stop raiding wagon men. How much coin and treasure you offer us to let you leave here with both ears on head?"

[thirdkingdom]

Orc

The orc looks confused at Rhys's question. "Much gold?" he offers. "We set it here, for you to see."

[Alethan]

Rhys the Negotiator

Rhys waves the two orcs laden with the treasure to come forward. He stops them when they are about 50 feet away then says, "Leave treasure there. Go back to orc with flag of fear while I look."

Rhys then shoulders his bow and readies his sword before stepping forward to examine the treasure. He first prods the bags with his sword to make sure there is no sneaking shrew inside waiting to attack. Once he is satisfied it is just treasure, he will try to get a rough estimate of about how much is there, either by picking up the bags to determine weight or by estimating volume, as best he can. Then he will examine the shield to see if he can determine the quality. He does this while periodically watching the three orcs to make sure they do not try anything sneaky.

[Wyzard]

Severi goes with Rhys to guard against shenanigans.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Negotiator

Rhys nods at Severi, grateful for the elf's assistance.

[Grognardsw]

Aquar, cleric

Though he doesn't understand orc, the cleric surmises the reason for the exchange.

"We're not here to get paid off by killers and bandits," Aquar says to Rhys. "Tell them they must stop their banditry. Take half, get them to stop in return for keeping the other half. We can donate the funds to past victims of the orcs. If they don't stop we'll send dozens of longnoses more powerful than us to wipe them out and burn this whole ruined city down!"

[Wyzard]

Severi, Elf

"I'm here to get paid, and preferably more than the duke's miserly offer. Further, I am bound by the will of my ancestors to never leave money on the table. We take all their funds, and in addition inform them that they must move on. We are not negotiating, here."

[shaidar]

Mursley, MU

"I agree with Severi. We take the money and tell them to leave this place or we will return and destroy them if they continue their banditry."

To Aquar: "If you want to donate your share to anybody that is up to you but don't claim to speak for me."

[Alethan]

Rhys the Negotiator

Rhys displays a position of leadership to the orcs by notably ignoring any of the conversation going on behind him and keeping his eyes trained on them and his ears listening for any activity about them that might indicate a trap is being set.

[Wyzard]

Rhys the Negotiator

Rhys displays a position of leadership to the orcs by notably ignoring any of the conversation going on behind him

I loled.

[thirdkingdom]

Rhys steps forward and prods the two sacks. They are made of some sort of rough animal hide, and bulge at the seams. His poking sets off a metallic jingle, yet it seems there is more in the bags than mere coins. He thinks one of the bulges resembles a candelabra; another a rectangular frame of some sort. If Rhys were to make a guess, each sack might contain four or five hundred coins.

The shield lays on the ground between the two sacks. It is round, and made of some unknown species of wood, carved from a single piece. It seems in remarkably good condition. Rhys recalls his former companions speaking of a magical shield in the possession of a tribe of orcs. It seems to him that the orcs they mentioned may have been from this area.

The other adventurers finish searching the dead orcs. Like all of their kind, everything they touch eventually turns to shit. Their weapons and armor are worthless. The wicca -- the one who sacrificed a finger to summon the shrew -- wears a band of copper around one finger and a gold torc around its neck. The ring is oddly warm to the touch, though plain, and the torc is estimated at a value of 500 gold coins. The orc with the whip carries a pouch that contains 36 gold coins and a round medallion on a silver chain. The medallion is clearly of human working, and bears the sigil of a stag's head. The other orcs have a total of 13 gold coins amongst them.