[OOC:] I am assuming that Bornoge is not being quiet about his questions, right?
I am not going to require any tests to hear the new arrival, so feel free to respond as you wish.
[Dialogue from the last post in Round 4...]
"Yes, uncle," Nori gruffly acknowledged. He then set about to dote upon his heirloom that had aided him so faithfully as it had his ancestors. Finished with that task, he dispatched the spider carcass away from the camp and took care of his things that had been splattered with the ichor of the oversized arachnid.
As Bornoge ran towards the sounds of the encounter, he was surprised to hear the noise of battle cease. He said aloud to himself, " I wonder what could have silenced that beast?"
When he finally did get close enough to the campsite to see what had happened his question wasn't answered. "What happened here?" he said out loud again to himself, standing in the trees near the edge of the camp.
Kori was bedding dow once more, when he heard a voice. It was not one that he was familiar with and he opened an eye to look about.
"What now," he wondered, as a great yawn took him.
"Halt!" cries Nori, caught unawares while cleaning up and attempting to make up for his lack of awareness during his watch. "Who are you? What are you doing here?!" He immediately grabs for his trusted axes and takes up a defensive posture in front of the newcomer.
[OOC:] yeah, tomcat that's fine
Bornoge looked a little taken back at the dwarf's response. "Well, Well, Well..." he paused, "Dwarves in Mirkwood?" he pondered aloud. Taking a few more steps into the camp he paused and looked about. " I had heard that dwarves make a cleaner camp than the Men of Mirkwood, yet yours looks like a troll ran through!" Bornoge chuckled. "And from the noises that awoke me, I feel like that might not be too far off." He leans on a long club and looks down at the dwarf.
[OOC:] Hey Rob, if you see the dead troll lying there, or if anyone mentions the name Old Gar, you may give me a Lore: History (Mirkwood) or Lore: Region (Mirkwood) test TN 12 to see if you knew the name and the location of his cave.
To see the troll's body, you'll need to have to develop a bit of rapport with the Company (which will require roleplaying) to be able to move about the camp and look around.
Gumbo after hearing no comments from the others concerning his words gave them the adequate time to sink in before continuing with the subject. Hearing the man speak to the came his hand was back upon his short sword,
"What is your bussiness here and if there are any others have them show themselves. The troll is dead."
Turumarth froze when he heard the voice from the woods. Caught next to the full light of the fire, he willed himself to concentrate on the source. His previous spell expired, he longed for the illumination it gave him and the comfort of the power overhead.
Before he was aware himself, his hands began to motion with precision, the words of magic flowed to his lips...
"Man eneth lín..." {who are you}
"O man dôr túliel le..." {where are you from}
{Turumarth casts Sense Power}
Weariness TN: 5
Roll modifiers: +5 Willpower, -2 Tired
Roll: 2,4 +3 = 9 (success)
(Range 80 feet)
The spell brought focus and quiet and let him concentrate on the sound, filtering out the night calls of animals, the wind moving branches. He searched through the sensation of power flowing from the very woods itself for anything stronger, be it friend or foe...
Observe (Sense Power) Test
Target TN: 15 - (Elf-friend?), 20 - (Silvan elf?)
Roll modifiers: Skill +5, Specialty +2, extra spell pick +3, -2 Tired --> +8
Roll: 2,3 +8 = 13 (anything?)
Caranmîr moves slowly to stand at the side of the mage, being careful not to disrupt the spell the man was about the cast. Doing this, the Elf hefted his Staff, ready to strike if the stranger was to lunge at the human mage. All the while Caranmîr is not taking an openly aggressive stance towards the newcomer. His gaze fixe the eyes of the wild looking man. Finally his curiousity gets the better of him and he approaches the newcomer. "My name is Caranmîr" he says, "and as you can see, there are not only Dwarves in Mirkwood this night. Before we tell you if there has been a Troll involved in the recent mayhem may I inquire who you are?"
Bornoge says, "I doubt that I am as quick of wit as you master Caranmîr. Yet I am not about to go revealing my proper name for all to hear." Speaking louder to everyone, "When you give me your names, I shall give you mine. Though I swear that I have no intention of doing any of you harm" He then added, speaking more to himself the the company, "Even if your little ruckus here did wake me up"
[OOC: What was Gumbo trying to say? Sorry Telcontar, but i couldn't understand it]
"Are there more with you lurking about?"
"This is not a tea party to be passing pleasantries at, but night time on a dangerous road. Hospitality is not what it would be under the light of day, so state your bussiness."
"Well, I will admit that I am alone here, master dwarf" Bornoge said. "And I have no business here, other than to discover what awoke me from my rest down the road. Mirkwood is a dangerous place these days, and I would think you dwarves, pardon me master Caranmîr, would have a sense not to try to pass through the forest without adequate knowledge of the dangers."
Eying the newcomer with much suspicion, Nori stands his ground. "The payment required to receive the rest of our names," gives a sideways glance to Castamir, "is your own for we are many and you are one who is intruding upon our own camp in the dead of night."
Caranmîr noticed the glimpse that Nori casts his way. He catched the eye of the Dwarf and firmly looked him in the eyes. Not wanting to stirr up further trouble within the company, Caranmîr gives Nori a slight, almost invisible nod as aknowledgement of the hinted critisim.
Quote from: GandalfOfBorg on Jun 30, 2008, 01:42 PM
Eying the newcomer with much suspicion, Nori stands his ground. "The payment required to receive the rest of our names," gives a sideways glance to Castamir, "is your own for we are many and you are one who is intruding upon our own camp in the dead of night."
Vári sidled up to Nori, arms crossed before his chest and nodding.
He figured the man was either an innocent or a fool, for walking into an armed camp alone often spelled a quick ending for either.
"Our knowledge of said dangers makes us suspicious of strangers. You could have passed by our camp or ignored it, but instead here you are by our fire. If these are noble intentions then state them, if its curiosity then the dead troll is over there," Gumob waves his hand, " and you can have your fill and move on. If you're a lone woodman, and you seem to be by your look, then surley some danger or event has driven you into the woods and with the leave of our Captain you may share our fire this night and any other that takes you along the same road as us if your intentions be true."
"Well little dwarf" Bornoge chuckled, "I think it would only be fair to me if you were to allow me to finish my rest by allowing me to sleep in you camp until morning." He added, "Of course I do not ask you to trust me blindly, and I will lay down my arms; however insignificant they are compared to your shiny swords and axes." Bornoge stepped forward and set down a bag with five javelins visibly sticking out of it, his cane-like club, and then 2 small knives. He then held up a flask and shook it saying to no-one in particular, "Even though I doubt you will kill me while I rest, if you do, do not try to drink or eat what is in here. I would not wish the whole contents of this flask onto even an orc. But should I live to see daylight, I would like to have a look at that troll you claim to have killed." Bornoge then takes a step backward from his belongings, palms outward in a sign of surrender.
[OOC:] Turumarth does not sense any direct power from Bornoge, but he does get a faint feeling of cold from a direction far to the south...
Kori spoke, "You are welcome to rest amongst us, and you'll find no danger here, lest you bring it yourself. Now... speak your name so we know what to call you and you'll get ours in reply."
The lack of sleep, the fight, and now the impudence of the stranger to their camp has put Nori right out of his surly mood and into a mood one could only term as 'worse than surly'. " 'Little', I'll show you 'little'," the young dwarf grumbled. He acquiesced not one iota even with his uncle's allowance to the stranger. My eyes will not stray from you until the cock crows, he swore silently.
Gumbo smiled at Nori's distress, "I believe he is talking to me." Gumbo went back to his shelter, however this time he used a pieice of dead fall to brace up the tarp so that his spear would be ready should the need arise.
The need for rest greater than the need for caution, Turumarth gives only a cursory, "Greetings", before retiring for what is left of the night.
{OOC} do we need 'sleeping in rough' tests? If so, below:
Rest: TN 5 (+2 sleeping on ground) - TN 7
TN 7 Stamina +1, -2 Tired
Roll: Roll(2d6)-1: 4,5,-1 Total: 8 Complete success - Weariness removed for next day(?)
{OOC} Also...is that enough for one Courage point to be regained?
[OOC:] Hey Don, due to the weariness of the Company, you guys will sleep soundly no problem, so thanks for the test roll, but it's not necessary this time.
And your other question... yes, everyone will regain one Courage point for the night's sleep. In fact, because I am going to do another narrative of days traveling with the end of the dialogue between you guys and the Bornoge, you can mark all Courage restored. Also, if anyone was wounded, which I do not think they were, may restore up to 4 hit points.
Lastly, that faint cold you felt from your spell-casting is just a whisper of the power sensed from Dol Guldur - just in case you were wondering. Turumarth may not realize it (in other words, this is out of character info), unless you want him to try and put it together via Lore tests and the like. Your choice there... I will have a new post up later today.
OOC: Tomcat, I do want to try and find that trolls hoard so please keep that in mind when you do the post.
[OOC:] No problem man, I will keep that in mind.
The morning broke with a bright sun shining over the eastern horizon. Its golden light lit the heights of the Misty Mountains that could just be perceived in the far distance. There was a warmth to the wind and it felt like spring was finally making its presence.
The Company was not disturbed for the rest of the evening, and though they had watched their new acquaintance, he did no more than bother them with his raucous snores. Those who woke late were greeted with the pleasant scent of bacon frying in a pan and Kori tending it.
The nightmare of the evening past was also present - the large dead spider lay not far from the camp, its long legs drawn in to it thorax. There was also the remains of ole Gar laying in the opposite direction from the camp. Both were a shadow of the darkness that was yet to come.
"Rise and shine, lads," said Kori. "We have another long day to travel and the intrusions on our rest last night did not help. So make a quick sup and let's be on our way."
Nori grabbed some grub and scarfed it down with ravenous zeal. He kept to himself, typical of him, pondering on what they might find in the lair of the old troll.
Bornoge woke up feeling better and refreshed. After grabbing a bite to eat from Kori, he sat down and watched the company going about, packing up and tending the ponies. He laughed saying, "You carry too many things, I've wandered these woods for 10 years with only my hands and what I can carry on my back" Bornoged walked over to his things he set down the night before. "I want to check out this troll you are all referring to, I've seen many in these woods over the years and they can have useful things hidden away in their caverns. Could someone show me what exactly occurred last night? I believe I might be able to help."
Quote from: Roborob on Jul 02, 2008, 06:46 PM
Bornoge woke up feeling better and refreshed. After grabbing a bite to eat from Kori, he sat down and watched the company going about, packing up and tending the ponies. He laughed saying, "You carry too many things, I've wandered these woods for 10 years with only my hands and what I can carry on my back" Bornoged walked over to his things he set down the night before. "I want to check out this troll you are all referring to, I've seen many in these woods over the years and they can have useful things hidden away in their caverns. Could someone show me what exactly occurred last night? I believe I might be able to help."
Vári harrumphed loudly at Bornoge's mention of "useful things hidden away in their caverns".
"A scrounger, a mercenary," he thought.
"Just what we don't
need."Then he realized the half of the Company was probably there for the same reason, and a dour look passed across his face.
Caranmîr had spend most of the night thinking, sitting close by the fire and watching the companions sleep. When the sun set and Kori started the breakfast preparations, Caranmîr had made up his mind. He would follow the path he had chosen with the company. That newcomer seemed to be an interesting fellow indeed, so he was eagerly awaiting for the new day to unfold. He tried some of the beacon Kori had in heated in his frying pan and then packed his few things, keeping the Quarterstaff in hand as a walking stick. He then started towards the spot, were the Troll's body was resting.
"Well Woodman we have a long way to go, we are not simply wandering in the forest. Many eventualities may pass before our journey is done. The troll lies over there, he came out of the night looking for the ponies to eat calling himself Old Gar. His villany will trouble this wood no longer." Gumbo went about packing up his equipment and careing for his gear and then sat himself down and ate his breakfast.
"Captain, do we have time to back track this troll and see what can be found. If there is any coin it will help us if we require anything from the Woodmen scattered along the eaves of the forest and the Free men settled in the vales of the Anduin. I'll go with a few of the company to check it out."
Gumbo put his armour on and slung his shield placing all of his gear back on the wagon. With his helmet under his arm he awaited the decision of the party leader.
Bornoge and Caranmîr made their way to the outskirts of the encampment to where old Gar's body lay. Except for the change in skin hue, due to the loss of blood, the troll's body looked as it had the night prior.
Gar was a typical-looking beast with rounded, soft-looking features, as if it had been formed from clay but unfinished. It also gave him an oafish look in life, but now the slackness of his form made him look more like the earth upon which the body lay. Both the Elf and Man were suddenly surprised, as the creeping sunlight edged past them and touched the troll's body, turning it to stone.
In the camp, Kori looked at Gumbo and the same excited look crossed his face, "We'll find that troll hole, Gumbo. I promise you!"
Gumbo began to smile as he looked at the dwarf. He loved there company, many thought them dour and stand offish, but when you knew them there were no finer adventuring companions. "Yes, let's see what fortune has in store for us. But we should leave a guard here on the wagon and animals. Now that it is day light our danger is lessened and any pther trolls who dwell with him will not come out into the light of day." Gumbo shifted his helm to rest beneath the other arm, "Woodman, you know these places better than i can you track him back to his liar? Beren, Vari, come let us see what we can find. "
The halflings suggestion didn't sit well with Caranmîr. Being very curious himself, he wasn't happy to be left behind alone with Turumarth to guard a campsite, that they were about to vacate. Somebody should stand guard over the company's ponys and the wagon, but Caranmîr didn't want to be one of the guards. "Why should we split the company? Let us all see, what our slain foe's lair holds."
Lore: Region Mirkwood test TN-12
Roll(2d6)+4:
6,5,+4(Lore: Region Mirkwood)
Total:15 SUCCESS
"Ah! Old Gar, among trolls he was a unique one. I remember seeing for the first time, a couple years back. He was cunning and intelligent as I remember, though he lacked the strength of some of the other, more brutish, members of his race." Bornoge exclaimed. "But he was as soft hearted as a troll can be. One time I was hunting, I ran into another troll and Old Gar actually distracted him so that I could get away!" Bornoge actually looked a little sad at the memory. "I have seen his lair before though, and It won't be hard to find again." Bornoge Then sat on the side of the troll's cold stone body, head hanging low.
"I dont believe that the wagon will make it through the woods and then back to the road, and be a burden on the ponies, unless anyone else knows differently . The least delay wouod be to leave the Wagon here."
"I agree that we don't need to fight with the ponies to drag this cart deep in the forest. This road is hard-traveled enough. I'll remain with the cart and continue to break camp if those of you searching out the troll's lair wish to go ahead."
As the members of the company that had gone on exploring had been gone for a while, Caranmîr grew restless. He started pacing the now cleaned up camp site. He felt like a trapped beast in a cage. He turned to the mage Turumarh. Do we need to sit here idle? I would be interested to learn about a Troll Cave. What do you say, shall we all remain guarding the wagon and the ponies or do you think I could follow them?
"This wood is not one to be trifled with alone; many a tale have been told about those who've wandered off the path never to be seen again. Besides, you'd leave my uncle and I here to defend our camp... wise? I think not."
Well, Turumarth would be with you as well. But you speak wisely. It is just that I feel a need to do something after the battle that took place in the night. I am restless and it seems that that impaled my sense of logic for a bit, I am afraid. Let's hope the companions fare well on their exploration...
[OOC: I just wanted to do something with my character while the party is split up...]
[OOC:] Hey Nico... I will have the party back together in a new thread tonight. The troll hole is over for the most part, I am just putting together the initial treasures the Company has found.
Look for a new post tonight to move on our story.
[OOC: No haste, Doug. That post might have come on too strongly. I just wanted to show you and the others that I'm still around :) Take your time. I'll still be here!]
OOC: No worries :) restless like you here