([Completed] Luca/Troy Adventure 1): Return to Tuskdale Hall

[archolewa]

Initiative:
Troy: 1d20+2 = 21
Luca/Skeletons: 17
--Lost --
Gwen: 2-handed Halberd


Troy advances to the base of the stairs and attacks with sword and torch 20+7 = 27 > 20, damage = 5, skeleton has 5 HP. His sword severs the skeleton's neck, sending its head flying into the darkness, while its body crashes to the ground.

The skeleton fighting Gwen swings his sword at Gwen1d20+1+2 = 18 < 20, even as Luca fires off his crossbow 21+7 = 28 > 20, damage = 2. Luca's bolt strikes the skeleton in its femur, causing it to stumble and its blade to deflect off Gwen's mailed arm.

Gwen tries to hook the spike of her halberd on the skeleton's leg and yank it out from under it 1d20+2+7+1 = 20, damage = 1+1 = 2, saving throw vs paralysis: 1d20+6 = 23 > 20. The skeleton's bones are so fragile, that her halberd's hook rips several bits of bone free, cutting a gouge in the skeleton's leg, but failing to catch and trip it.

The fourth skeleton, barely holding together, will move to attack Troy, while Gwen and the other skeleton will continue trading blows.

Actions!

[Juramenta]

~Now we're starting to find our rhythm in this battle~ Luca thinks with growing confidence. A feat which costs him little to no effort.
~With each shot, my aim becomes steadier, more precise. My next bolt will pierce through its skull and put an end to this menace.~ he adds to his thoughts as his fingers tighten around the crossbow trigger, ready for the perfect moment to strike.

[Kenjosephus]

Troy

Troy continue to swing at his last assailant, the skeleton, knowing that the battle is won, now only he needs to not to get wounded.

Attack with 1h bastard sword [1d20+2]=18+2=20 for [1d6+1]=3+1=4 damage

[archolewa]

Initiative:

Luca: 17
Skeletons: 10
Troy:1d20+2 = 7
--- Lost---
Gwen: 2H halberd

Luca's crossbow bolt arcs through the air at the skeleton fighting Gwen 21+7 = 28, damage = 2, skeleton only has 2 HP. The crossbow bolt buries itself in the
skeleton's forehead. The force of the bolt knocked its skull clean off its fragile neck, and the skeleton collapses.

The skeleton fighting Troy swings at the Lupine 1d20+1+7 = 27 > 20, damage = 4, Troy takes 4 damage. The blade slips past Troy's defenses and cuts a deep gash across his side. Troy stumbles, and nearly falls off the stairs, before finding his feet. He bats the skeleton's blade aside with his torch and rams his sword through the skeleton's skull 20 + 7 = 27 > 20, damage = 4, Skeleton only has 1 HP. The skeleton collapses, its bloody blade clattering to the floor.

"Troy!" Gwen drops her halberd and hurries to Troy's side, helping him ease to the stairs. She pulls some bandages out of her pack, and starts tending to his wound. 1d20+11+2 = 28 > 20, 1d4 = 3 HP healed. She puts pressure on the wound until the bleeding stops. She cuts his bloodied fur away with a dagger, cleans it with some water from her waterkin, and wraps the wound in some bandages. The wound feels quite a bit better, but it still causes some mild pain everytime Troy takes too deep a breath, or moves. Troy took 4 damage, but Gwen managed to heal 3 of it with her first aid skill, so Troy has lost only 1 HP.

The whole process takes about ten minutes.

Torch: 48 minutes left, 2 minutes for careful exploration plus fighting the skeletons.

Xperience: Everyone gets 40/3 = 13.333 = 14 (rounded up) XP. Gwen only gets half because she's a henchwoman.

[Juramenta]

Luca stands in awe for a moment as he observed the massive wound Troy sustained. "How are you still standing?" he exclaims, his voice betrays his amazement and concern.

His surprise quickly shifts into action as he sees Gwen pulling out her bandages.
"Ah, yes, help," he says to no one in particular and swiftly moves to assist her in tending to Troy's wound.

Once the bleeding is under control and Troy seemed more stable, Luca's usual carefree demeanor returns.
"Listen, my brave friend," he said, his tone lightening as he tries to lift the group's spirits. "I deeply admire your courage, charging headfirst into danger like that. But remember, heroes who throw themselves into the thick of things often end up as legends far too soon. We need you in one piece, after all." he says with a wink.

"Let's try to balance valor with a bit of caution, shall we? The same goes for you little Gwenny, apologies my lady, I mean Gwen for you aren’t little anymore. Seeing you two fight is both impressive as it is fear inducing. I don’t want to see either of you two get hurt." he says with some concern, despite knowing his words won’t change who they are. He is looking at two warriors and knows it is doubtful their spirit will ever change.

Afterward, he will look around to see if he can recover the two bolts he shot and observe if they can be used again at a later time. While he wouldn’t be pulling bolts out of disease-ridden rats, skeletons tend to be a bit safer on that front, he reckons.

[Kenjosephus]

Troy

Troy reels at Gwen as she tends his wound, the pain contact with the bandage gives him a wake up call sensation.

I did not know that we are going to face rising skeletons, mister Silvercharm. Had i know, i would've been more reluctant to enter this opening.


Troy stands back up, feeling that the pain at least temporarily subsides.

Should we change our approach during the exploration then? Seems that time is still kind to us and we don't have any urgency to explore this manor.

He will search the area for baubles or any items of interest.

[archolewa]

He will search the area for baubles or any items of interest.

Assuming that you mean to stay in the rough vicinity of the stairs, and not venture further in the room.

Troy doesn't find anything of note, save to observe that the sketelons' shields bear the mark of the Tuskdale family. These skeletons had apparently once been Tuskdale guardsmen in life, or at least were armed with Tuskdale gear.

Luca inspects the bolts embedded in the skeletons, but shakes his head. The impact with the bone had warped the bolts beyond all use, and the one that had skipped off the stone had vanished into the shadows.

Gwen meanwhile, falls to her knees beside the body of a middle-aged guard. She clutches the bloodied body. "Lars! Oh Seer's mercy! Lars!"

Remember that Lars is the name of the veteran guardsman who led most of the guard detail who'd recently returned into the manor to explore.

[Kenjosephus]

Troy

Troy goes to the body of Lars, his first instinct is to console Gwen by kneeling besides her and check if Lars has any life left, or can be saved.

We will return out from this manor to put care to Lars. Any objections?

Troy mumbles to himself as he clutches Lars's vein and heart, hoping to hear a beat
A manor filled with skeletons. Is this the bidding of Kinslayer's works?

[archolewa]

Troy

Troy goes to the body of Lars, his first instinct is to console Gwen by kneeling besides her and check if Lars has any life left, or can be saved.

We will return out from this manor to put care to Lars. Any objections?

Troy mumbles to himself as he clutches Lars's vein and heart, hoping to hear a beat
A manor filled with skeletons. Is this the bidding of Kinslayer's works?

Lars' body is cold, his body stiff. Not only is he dead, but he's been dead for a while now. As are the rest of the guards who entered the manor with him. It looks like there were once eight skeletons in this room. Lars and his companions fought them, destroyed four of them, but were themselves cut down.

[Kenjosephus]

Troy

Troy closes the eyelid of Lars's and looks towards Gwen and Luca and shakes his head, the man is dead. He suggest that they bring the Tuskdale guard's bodies out from the manor to be buried.

[archolewa]

Torch: 25 minutes remaining

The trio brought Lars and one other of the guardsmen out of the manor, through the village, and back to the rundown inn where Gwen and the other two guardsmen had setup their camp. Gwen ropes the other two into coming to help, but it still takes two more trips to get the remaining six guardsmen, and about half an hour.

As they lay out the dead guards and prepare them for burial, one of the guards gives Gwen a worried look.

"We explored the rest of the houses in the village, plus the granaries. All the food is rotten. All of it. Like it's been sitting there for years. I've never seen grain rot that fast, but..." The woman shrugs. "Oh, and while you were gone, some rather odd merchant came into the village. We told him to leave, and he went without a fuss. In fact, he seemed rather...pleased? I don't know. He gave us the creeps."

[Kenjosephus]

Troy

Intrigued, Troy looks at the guards and ask

What do you mean odd? What kind of stuff he is selling?

[archolewa]

The guardswoman shudders. She takes off her helmet and wipes a forearm across her forehead. "I don't know. Unsettling. There was something about him that just seemed off. He was this shriveled, old elf of a man. I never seen an elf that old. Seer's Eyes, I didn't think they *got* that old. Not like him. Always thought elves just sort of aged gracefully, like they didn't look a day over fifty right up until they died at 800 or whatever. He stood incredibly still and silent, didn't even fidget the slightest bit. He was selling, I dunno. Magic-User stuff. Weird candles, animal skulls. You know. The kinds of things Magic-Users use over in Thorncity."

Gwen frowns, and cocks her head. "I heard a rumor not long before we left about Lady Esmeralda speaking with a strange traveling merchant. If you didn't know m'lord Troy, Lady Esmeralda was able to become a Magic-User. Successfully graduated from the Thorncity University and everything. I heard she'd been having a long standing argument with her Lord Fredrick her father, and the lord of Tuskdale. She wanted to go out and explore the Outside now that the Kinslayer's dead, take over new lands to improve the family fortunes. He wanted to marry her off to a wealthier family deeper into the Refuge."

[Kenjosephus]

Troy

The merchant now looms over Troy's mind. Both time he came, both time Tuskdale's faces ill event, one's a inside conflict, the latter's this.

"I assume you think this merchant is the same merchant who spoke to Lady Esmeralda, correct?"

If he is behind this, then the answer to recover this house is pretty simple.

Find him..

Face him.. and if necessary..

Troy's claws began to itch to think furtherwise, but he snaps out of it.

Not now....

"Let's.. focus on recovering the bodies of the guardsmen first and exploring the rest of the manor. All of you, please keep in mind of this merchant. Devil is the detail in this matters.

"And Gwen... just call me Troy. I am no lord.

[Juramenta]

As they bury the fallen guardsmen, Luca takes the time to say a few words, his voice steady and respectful.
It is through the unparalleled bravery of these men that we find ourselves still standing today. he begins, his eyes reflecting the gravity of the moment. "The ferocious onslaught they faced and the numerous foes they managed to vanquish, allowed us to confront a weakened force. Had it been any other way, we would have undoubtedly met our doom.

He pauses for a moment.

Their sacrifice was not in vain, and their extraordinary courage will be remembered and honored. We owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid. It is because of their heroic efforts that we continue our journey. We will find this merchant, and if guilty, justice will be doled out swiftly and without hesitation.
Luca's tone is determined, each word sincerely spoken to honor the valor of the fallen. He looks around at his companions, his eyes meeting Gwen's to see if these words give her some solace.
May their spirits find peace, and may we carry their memory forward in all that we do.

[archolewa]

Torch is out.

Gwen gives Luca a teary smile, before wiping her face. "Time enough to mourn the dead later."

By the time the group finishes interring the dead, full dark has settled over the small graveyard. Gwen leads the way back to the inn. She unties the donkey the guards had brought with them to and from the Seer's Seat and leads him inside. She takes a moment to stoke the embers in the hearth back into a full blaze that lights up the room and banishes the damp chill off the spring evening.

"What next?" she asks. "Do we want to go back to the manor now, or wait until morning? We have a day or two worth of food left over from the journey, though it sounds like there's nothing edible in the whole town."

[Kenjosephus]

Troy

We proceed. Torchlight will be our sight and i have four more of this. We'll use these for the manor and perhaps if we're out of torchlight and food, we can start looking for woods and games to get our food.

Troy looks at Luca if he agrees or has a second opinion.

Unless there is a nearby village nearby Tuskdale?

[archolewa]

Troy

We proceed. Torchlight will be our sight and i have four more of this. We'll use these for the manor and perhaps if we're out of torchlight and food, we can start looking for woods and games to get our food.

Troy looks at Luca if he agrees or has a second opinion.

Unless there is a nearby village nearby Tuskdale?

Gwen scratches her head with a hint of nervousness. "Well, there is also Baroness Gale. She's about a day's travel west further into the Refuge. The Lord Tuskdale was negotiating a marriage between her eldest son and Esmeralda. She would likely be willing to help. But she's outside of Princess Flora's lands, and I've heard rumors she's cultivated quite a few connections with the Inquisition. You know, they're not too happy that Princess Flora's refused to work with them, or even let them act openly on her lands. The baroness is about as close as they can get to the Thornwall. And then of course, there are the farming villages you all passed on the way here. They're about a day's travel apart or so. With it being planting time, they may not have much time or provisions to spare, but you know."

[Juramenta]

Either way works for me, my friends. However, I do believe we earned us some ale regardless of our choice. Luca grins.
Planning has never been his strong suit, despite the seriousness of the task at hand. He is still a strong believer in lady luck helping him cruise through life.
Even if he finally dedicated himself to see this through till the end.

[archolewa]

Either way works for me, my friends. However, I do believe we earned us some ale regardless of our choice. Luca grins.

"That, we do have Uncle," says Gwen with a grin. She ducks into the cellar, and comes out a moment later with a small ale cask. She pulls out a few mugs, wipes the dust off them, fills them up, and starts passing them out. "Don't know how good it is, but if there's one thing that keeps, it's ale."

The ale tastes like it's been sitting for a few years. So, it doesn't taste *great* by any measure. But still drinkable.