Foes - Stánford and the South

[Eclecticon]

Williferd nods in response to Esgalwen, eager now that Oderic is close at hand.  Together, the two creep back they way they came. 

Tate, meanwhile, holds his tongue and his breath, for one of the strange Men has stalked from the circle of firelight into the shadowy woods.  Completely unaware of Tate's presence, he loosens, then drops, his trousers, and soon a splashing sound familiar to all men can be heard.  Gwen, he thinks, where in the name of the bright Lake have you gone?


Awareness roll for Tate:

1d12 : 2, total 2
Rolled 4d6 : 4, 6, 5, 2, total 17

[Eclecticon]

The man who follows the first moves as quietly as a dockside cat, but the slightest sound of fallen leaves brushing against each other alerts Tate that his new companion did not come alone.  Risking a look, he sees the faint outline of another Man, silhouetted against the dying fires.  While plain to him, Tate realises that the first man (who appears, by the sound if it, to be nearly finished) might be completely unaware of the presence of the second. 

Despite the clear danger to himself, and his anxiety over Esgalwen, he finds himself intrigued by their mysterious behaviour.  The thought springs unbidden into his mind: If only I could get closer...

[Posterboy]

  I'm here, I'm here... sorry for the delay. Dang it, Paul! Why you have to play to Tate's weakness!!

The man of Dale searched the ground at his feet, trying to pick a quiet route that would afford him a better view. This is a foolish idea, Tate's inner voice chided him.

Just quiet down, you... no song to learn just standing around... this, at least, looks interesting!


  Stealth Roll to move quietly closer... >>invokes Varda's blessing!<<

Rolled 1d12 : 9, total 9

[Posterboy]

  Can I invoke my Burglary trait in order to auto succeed? Tate's feet softly pad along the ground, quiet as a mouse.

[Eclecticon]

Let's go with that.  I wasn't going to call for a roll at all. 

[Eclecticon]

From ahead and behind, the small party converges on Oderic and his shadowy follower.  The leaves barely rustle at their passage, and there are no night-beasts to give a warning cry.  Even their breathing seems to cease as they creep closer... closer...


Okay, the ball's in your court, guys.  Williferd isn't going to attack without Esgalwen's say-so, and Tate, as far as he knows, is on his own. 

[tomcat]

not sure if you need it or not and I am not sure if it is opposed, but...

TN -- stealth 2d

2d12 : 1, 4, total 5
Rolled 2d6 : 5, 5, total 10

[tomcat]

If TN 14 that succeeds and so...
Esgalwen slid the arrow back into her quiver and looped her bow over shoulder. She quietly moved towards the two men moving away from the camp.

"Follow my lead," she whispered to Williferd.

With her hand now free, she pulled the long-bladed dagger that was strapped against her left boot, and grasped it tightly. The sound of water being made urged her on and she quickly moved to where Oderic relieved himself, stalked by the other.

Coming up out of the foliage that grew close to the ground, she seized the guard from behind. Laying the razor thin edge of her dagger against the man's neck, Esgalwen hissed, "Make a sound and I will open your throat!"

At the same moment, Tate emerged from the woods to see Oderic in shock and Esgalwen grappling another. Behind her, Williferd also appeared with his own weapon at the ready.

"Oderic...you have nothing to fear. We have come to rescue you. Williferd is with us."

[Posterboy]

Tate smiled at Gwen. Quietly, he compliments her, "M'lady, your timing is quite excellent."

To the fellow held a knife point, "I'd keep still if I were you. She's quite good with the blade. And I'm sure we'll just be a moment."

To Oderic, "Oderic, ha! Good to finally meet your acquaintance!" Tate moves to give the Beorning an embrace common amongst their people. "Well met! I'm Tate, there's Lady Esgalwen. You know, Williferd. We've been looking for you for some time now! To be honest, I'd near given up hope." Looking around the setting quickly, he speaks in even more hushed tones. "But I forget myself. What do you say we clear some distance from this camp and so we can talk more freely?"

[tomcat]

Hey Paul, I just thought you might want one of these, too. This is both for the guard and Oderic...one to intimidate, the other to awe.

TN -- awe 3d

1d12 : 1, total 1
Rolled 3d6 : 3, 1, 1, total 5

[tomcat]

Wow! That could have been an almost perfect shit roll! Add in another 1 and an and Esgalwen might well have stuttered her words, dropped her knife, had it land in her own foot, cutting a major artery.

Fuck me...

[Posterboy]

  Can Tate will try to back up Gwen's claim... awe for the guard, courtesy for Oderic? or persuade? And does Trader's Savvy come into play here? (looking it up now)

[Eclecticon]

Oderic's shadow lets a knife, previously unseen, drop from his hand and fall with a dull thud to the forest floor.  "Foolish girl," the man hisses, "you don't know what you are doing!  You're making an enemy of Vidugalum, son of Valter, King of the Anduin Vale and Lord of the Toft!  His memory is long, and his heart is unforgiving!" 

Oderic, so surprised by the appearance of Tate and Williferd that he takes no notice of Esgalwen and her captive, merely blurts out "you, here?  What in Middle-Earth is happening?"

[Posterboy]

"Aye!" Tate affirmed Oderic. "Great question! Not sure now's a good time for answering it though. Why don't we go for a little walk... get some distance and then we can talk through some of your questions."

  So, Trader's Savvy really only comes into play if there is some kind of tolerance for this encounter. If not, no effect.

I'm thinking a Persuade roll here... Tate's trying to convince Oderic to come with them into the woods and after from the camp.

Persuade Roll = TN ??

Rolled 1d12 : 4, total 4

Rolled 3d6 : 1, 4, 5, total 10

[tomcat]

"No fool am I, for I know your master. I have been to the Toft and I have seen nothing but the idles of evil Men - Men that aspire to a greatness of their forebears to the south. A greatness that they cannot achieve...not by pillaging and slaying their neighbors." Esgalwen let the knife slide just enough to draw a thin line of blood.

"Believe me, I have no fear of your keeper. I will stand, along with all of my friends, in direct opposition of the likes of you." Her anger was growing and she clenched the blade tighter. "The Shadow has bled into your hearts and I despise it, and you!"

"Gwen!" came an insistent word from Tate. Esgalwen breathed and looked to her friend. The point of her dagger now pricked the throat of the guard, poised as it was to be driven into his larynx. Still, she did not relent.

"On your knees cur!" she hissed. "I will leave you for wolf-bait in these forsaken woods!"

If her previously spoken words had not been enough to intimidate the man, her actions were speaking much louder and he knew she was ready to kill. In her mind, Esgalwen still wondered at the raiding party that had attacked her ranger encampment those many nights gone. Were they Blood Moon Raiders out of the Toft? Did these Men consort with the Orc's out of the mountains, or Southern Mirkwood?

Either way, the Toft-man had played the wrong card and done naught but raise her blood-lust - a trait that was becoming more prevalent.