Chapter 3: The truth lies in the mountain...

[Rukellian]

how useful is the plate armor without going back to town?

Through its wear and tear over the years, and through the neglect of its previous owner, the suit of armor only provides a 5 AC change. But if you hold on to it and get it repaired, or better yet, repair it with what tools you manage to find around camp, you could bring it up to 6 at the least until you reach a proper smithy. Knowing how things work in the real world (in-game), your character thinks it is very unlikely that another chance at free plate mail will come his way.

[onlyme]

Whitsell examines the plate again, and hears the party's desires to push on with the element of surprise, or at least negating the element of planning on behalf of whatever foes they may face.

However, he also knows that he is a pin cushion and would risk infection and major weakening if he were forced into strenuous activity, be it melee or mountain climbing.

Folks, I must vote for safety. I will head back with the others for the day. Once I get my shoulder properly repaired, along with this piece of tin, I will gladly rejoin you. I suggest we spend some time scavenging through the barracks for clues as it is.

[Rukellian]

Until NJWilliam chimes in, I will keep on npcing his character.

Gustov is already on it as Whitsell mentions exploring the bandit camp. The fighter/thief makes his way to the largest tent in the encampment and finds Captain Hal inside rifling through Joe's stuff. "You looking for something Captain?"

Hal then turns around and nods. "Aye, I'm trying to figure out what Joe has been up to all this time. His fascination towards this mountain was incredibly strong, almost like he was possessed by something else. I was hoping he kept a journal around somewhere..." The captain then finds a crudely made footlocker with a padlock on it. He kneels down and tries to jostle it loose, but to no effect. "Tsch, damn! I'm no thief, that's for sure. Maybe if I tried forcing it open..."

The tent, upon looking inside for a moment or so, appears to be well furnitured in comparison to the others around camp. The bandit leader showed his status inside and out, stolen decorations hanging on dressers, a fancy vase in the corner and an actual bed to sleep on, not a bedroll like the other bandits use. The dressers contents have been opened and looked through, clothing tossed onto the bed, the only thing in here, according to your trained eye, that looks unopened is the footlocker that Captain Hal is trying to break into it.

[NJWilliam]

Gustov[/]

Gustov peers at the footlocker.
"Let me give that footlocker a shot, Captain."

Unless the Captain indicates he should not, Gustov kneels down and starts working on the footlocker.

He'll look for and attempt to disarm any traps (I assume you make those rolls)
After any traps that are found are dealt with, he'll move on to his picks.

Gustov Open Locks 66-: [1d100] = 6

[Rukellian]

Gustov is allowed access and sets his skills to work. From a brief glance, there are no outwardly traps set up. Upon closer inspection, it would seem that all that is keeping the footlocker together is a padlock of simple design. It only takes a but a few seconds for Gustov to crack the lock and open the container.

Within lies a few pieces of ornate jewelery, a silken cloth and a worn but sturdy journal. There is only a few pages in the journal but the rest of the footlocker's contents appear to be in good condition. The captain looks over Gustov's shoulder and then starts to sound excited as he sees the journal. "Aha! That must be it!"

[Grognardsw]

Deceidon joins Hal in reading the journal.

"Perhaps we can learn more about the 'new world' and the 'dark advisor' Joe was ranting about," says Deceidon.

[tooleychris]

"If the dolt to care to lock it up, it may contain such secrets." Flynn interjects.
"But read in haste. I worry for the time."

[Rukellian]

"The raid on the outlying villiage of Sevvik did not take long. With the civil war going on between the orcish tribes to the west, the place was easy pickings. We've picked up quite a few men along the way, so we need to bolster our food supplies."

"My lieutenant said that there was an old ruin nearby. Some of the men checked it out and came back with a whole bunch of odd items. Couldn't tell what they were, but they seemed to give off a weird glow. Some feared that they were magical, but I saw it as a blessing. Magical items, when presented to the right people, could sell for a lot of coin!"

"We've stopped plundering the villiages and we are now focusing on the old ruins and burial crypts. We've become a bunch of grave robbers and dungeon looters. And with every other site we come across, it would seem as if we find a handful of these strange objects, objects left behind by the fearful no less. My men have grown restless though; they wish to go back to the simple lifestyle of stealing from others, even though they are already getting rich off of the shady merchants buying our dungeon and crypt loot. *sigh* I guess some of them are still a bunch of pansies to the core. Whatever, I've stopped caring about what they do."

"We recieved a visitor last night, or more like my men kidnapped one. A man of noble lineage from the looks of it. He said he wanted to strike a deal with us, knowing that we've been after certain artifacts as of late. We were suspicious of him, naturally. He said he was from a royal court in one of the major cities and that he had connections, and his offer... it was too good to pass up. An orb that can shape worlds! You don't go around spouting nonsense like that unless you are utterly mad, or speakin' the truth. He didn't appear mad and he had a bunch of confidence behind his voice, an icy one at that."

"The talks were long, but we struck a deal. He said that we could find such an orb in the city of New Dathan. Of all the places, I know... but we were ready. We had the numbers, the training from those dungeons. And most importantly, most of the city guard would be 'preoccupied' when we would strike. Everything seemed to be lined up, and the man with the icy voice didn't ask for much either. Huh, strange man... I told my lieutenant to keep an eye on him."

"My men decided to raid one of the nearby villiages close to the city, one last time before the big hiest. I let them have their fun, had to, our next job was going to be a win it all or lose it all scenario after all."

"WHAT IN THE BLAZIN' HELLS IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW!?!! One moment we are on a roadside near a village, the next we find ourselves in the middle of a forest! The men panicked like there was no tomorrow and I had a hard time calming them down. Some of them were shrieking that they were all magically teleported, that evil magics were at work. I believed them. There was no other explanation. In the midst of the chaos, we found a young man, just old enough to be called one too. It looked like he stowed away on one of our carriages. OH, DID WE TEACH HIM! Some thought he was behind the crazy occurence, but there wasn't enough proof. Either way, he was a prisoner now...."

"We searched the area for some time now, I don't know how long it has been, but the sun, it won't go down! What is wrong with this place?! Hours have gone by, that I am sure, and yet the blazin sun is still up and shining all bright like. The forest too, it seems to be spanning for what seems like forever. We found this mountain though, a big one too. The only thing we have found in the longest time here, whatever here is. I ordered my men to start setting up camp. I didn't know how long we would be here, but this place, it definitely wasn't anywhere I've been before."

"A few days have passed and still no signs of any cities or towns near by. We did however find an empty village, a ghost town too! No one was living there and but there was a whole bunch of houses and farmland outside it. It was unsettling at first, just stumbling upon something like this, but some of my men started to take a liking to the place. I wanted to make it our base of operations, but... the mountain, I felt as if I should be near the mountain..."

"A group of my bandits split away from the group and never came back. Deserting the group was unacceptable so we gave chase. My lieutenant met stiff resistance though as they found the rogue bandits behind a set of makeshift walls built around the ghost town. Apparently they claimed it for their own! Those bastards, those dirty back-stabbers! Fine, let them live their pathetic lives there, it will just become another village for us to plunder and raid like all those times in the past. They made a mistake betraying 8-Finga Joe!"

"We've solidified our camp around the mountain and started to build walls of our own. Some of the men, they too started to grow interested in the mountain, just like I. It didn't take long for us to start excavating an entrance into the mountain. I could feel it though, with every attempt in digging further inside, the urge to find something became stronger and stronger. Somehow, I became convinced that the artifact we were looking for was in here all along! My men thought so too, and we focused most of our efforts on digging the place up."

"My lieutenant said that the interrogation of the young man did not turn out anything. He didn't know as much as the next person as to where we were and he certainly didn't say what he was doing here in the first place. Fine by me, he can just stay in chains. In fact, I was tired of looking at his stupid face anyways. We just threw him into the mountain prison. The food situation hasn't changed though. We still needed more food. Some efforts have been made to procur some, but we need to be more sneaky about it now; the rogue bandits have a town guard now and a formidable captain too. Perhaps a tunnel system will need to put in place..."

"It's been a couple years now, I think. We've made huge progress in excavating the moutain. The men were overjoyed when they found the temple inside. I couldn't believe it myself until I saw it with my own eyes. It was just as the strange noble man said. Wait... did he say that? I think so, yeah, wonder why I was thinking of a city..."

"We are closer now, so much more closer, I can feel it! Some of my men have been dissapearing, but that doesn't matter now. Just means less to feed and less to order around. The artifact inside the temple, the orb of worlds is within! The shady noble guy visited us last night and confirmed that we are on the right track. He said that we didn't have to worry about the king, that he had no control over this area. Good to know! Looks like we have a friend in a high place. He spoke to me of what this orb was all about, and how we could be new rulers of our own kingdom, shaped from thin air! Ahahaha, what luck to have stumbled across this man. This is more than I could have ever dreamed of obtaining in a lifetime! No, this is but the beginning.... a new world order is at hand! The old notions of magic be damned; magic will be the future, and we will control it. No one can stop us now!"

[onlyme]

Assuming they read aloud, so we all heard it...


Whitsell hears the reading and tries to make heads or tails of it.

When it's over, he asks, " This boy. He must be in here somewhere, right? We need to find him and fast. There is no one left to feed him.

[Grognardsw]

"Aye, the boy, the temple, the orb - all seem to be in the mountain," says Deceidon.

[tooleychris]

"Maybe our new...'friend' tied up yonder knows?"
Flynn adds.

[onlyme]

Whitsell walks back to the imprisoned bandit.
So, man. Seems you have a chance of redemption. Good for you. The narrow path may be hard, but it is rewarding more than stolen food and gold. I meant to follow up. Where did you say the boy was that Joe kept locked up?

[Rukellian]

The bandit prisoner has already been escorted by the others out of the camp and into the tunnel to aid in the redistribution effort of stolen goods. Further questioning can only be done if you join the group heading back to the Dunnet Community. The reading of Joe's journal took place after the majority of the group left camp, save Captian Hal and the core adventuring group.

Currently, Whitsell has voiced interest in recuperating in town and returning when the plate mail has been properly repaired. Flynn and Deceidon are more inclined to press forward and hopefully disrupt any plans that might be slowly coming together inside the mountain. Captain Hal and Gustov have yet to say anything on the matter, but Amberlynn is most likely to stay with the group to continue her service as a healer, following Flynn closely.

Once some solid decisions and actions are made, I will move things forward into a new thread. Any interactions in the Dunnet Community and tunnel towards it will be held in the Side Event thread until stated otherwise.

[Grognardsw]

While healing for all of us would be beneficial, I think the more time that passes the more preparation the rogue mage has against us. He likely knows we've decimated the bandit camp, so continued momentum on our part is desirable. So I vote for continuing but will go with majority.

[onlyme]

... So I vote for continuing but will go with majority.

well, I think that makes it 3-1... how do we break the tie?

[Rukellian]

... So I vote for continuing but will go with majority.

well, I think that makes it 3-1... how do we break the tie?

Hehe, I have no problem running separate character arcs for now. If Whitsell wants to break away from the group to do the things he wanted to do, that is perfectly acceptable. It is more up to you guys and what you all feel comfortable doing as an adventurer in this harsh campaign world of mine.

[Grognardsw]

What HP is Whitsell at?

[onlyme]

24 of 34.
However, he suffered a critical hit and any strenuous action could cause wounds to reopen. Also, he has plate that he needs fixing in order to use.

[tooleychris]

"We linger overly long." says Flynn. "While I'd not be without Whitsell, I think all of us putting a couple more days between us and our goal is folly. I will continue, alone if need calls for it." he looks to the others and Amber.
"I pray it does not?"

[Grognardsw]

Deceidon nods at Flynn. "I'm afraid that's what we'll have to do. Get well soon Whitsell - perhaps the healer can do more work on you."

24 of 34.
However, he suffered a critical hit and any strenuous action could cause wounds to reopen. Also, he has plate that he needs fixing in order to use.

How about Whitsell goes off in private, uses his two CLW, then comes back and says he'll tough it out and come with us.