In the Service of Cyre

[ShaggySpellsword]

[sblock=Alaric]1 Success! Baron Hoffsted's father initially resisted Queen Dannel's rise to power, fearing that she wasn't hard enough to lead the nation in war-time. Eventually Baron Don ir'Hoffsted's father came in line, but in the most troubled times of her reign, when she has seemed somewhat depressed, he has been among the first of Cyre's lords to question her leadership.

Baron Leo Hoffsted is rather young, as his father has recently died of a severe chill. He has no wife, no children, and no other family.[/sblock]

 

[renau1g]

As noon passes and the sun begins to fall from the sky, you come across some farms and out-lying homes in service to Baron Leo. Just outside a small village, two riders approach you column.

The younger is dressed in nice clothes with the arms of the Hoffsted family on his doublet. The elder rider is dressed like a simple tradesman. The younger speaks first.

"Greetings Prince Oargev, in the name of Baron Leo ir'Hoffsted, loyal subject to you and you Queen mother. I am his page, Shel, and this is my father, Rog Barrelman. He's never met a prince before, and asked to ride with me and meet you. Lord Hoffsted is eager to meet with you and asked that I ride ahead to bring you along."

[sblock=OOC] This will be the beginning of a mini-skill challenge titled "Making the Eastern Lords Like Oargev." These are three key families in the area, and by staying with them, you have a chance to impress them with Oargev's abilities, friends, and personality. Round 1 of the challenge takes place on the way to Lord Hoffsted's castle. You are riding with Shel and his father, the local Barrel-maker through village and farmland, headed towards a castle on a cliff which overlooks the water that divides Karrnath and Cyre. What do you do?[/sblock]

Prince Oargev smiles at the newcomers and is surprised at the brashness of the younger one. "Ah very good lad, I am surprised to see one so young in the service of the Lord, but then again, I am not one to question the age of someone in service. What can you tell us about any problems going on in the area? Maybe we can provide some solutions." he asks, hoping to get in the page's graces and learn some inside knowledge of the Lord.

[sblock=ooc]
Diplomacy (1d20 11=16) Hmmm....not so hot, hopefully it's enough
[/sblock]

 

[Walking Dad]

Varis Lyrandar talks to the younger one, chatting about how much the land(s) need to be united in their struggle. And what kind of man the baron is, adding some qualities the prince shares in the talk. But his words are to eager, starting to annoying the page, but his natural charm wins out at the end.

[sblock=ooc]
Diplomacy (1d20+11=12)

[/sblock]

 

[ShaggySpellsword]

Shel seems to actually enjoy the attentions of the Prince and Varis.

"We've heard rumors of Karrnathi raids farther up the border, but we've not had any of that here. Still, Lord Leo has decided to raise the militia and start hard drilling, just in case. We have about 300 men and women here who can defend, and about a quarter of us have even seen combat--they fought with old Lord Don against the Thranes."

The page moves closer to Varis and Oargev and lowers his voice.

"Excusing me sir, and don't take this wrong, but Lord Leo doesn't know what to think of what the Queen is doing right now to punish Thrane for what they did to us in that last invasion. I bet if you talked to him, and told him the plans for the country, he'd probably settle down about it. He just always is so focused on the land, the war, and what everybody else is doing. My da' says he just needs a wife or an invasion to take his mind of things, get him off everybody's back."

[sblock=OOC]3 Successes now! Level 1 Skill Challenges are easy![/sblock]

 

[yzard]

Thom rides up near enough to the Prince and the Page to hear what they are saying, but not close enough to indicate that he is injecting himself into the conversation.

 

[Shayuri]

Dev stays near the Prince's side, listening and watching the page without saying or doing anything to draw attention to himself. He measures the young page's face and words for any subtext that me may not be speaking of, and tries to assess the boy's true attitudes towards Prince Oargev and Lord Leo...

(Insight at +8...I shall roll as soon as I can, or if you see this beforehand, feel free to roll for me. I can't always get on InvisCastle from work. )

 

[Dekana]

Kraken makes it a point to maintain a tough-guy look near the Prince, standing perfectly straight with his arms crossed and glaring at the visitor. He isn't expecting any kind of violence from the Baron, of course, but perhaps a show of force will add to the level of respect the Prince commands.

[sblock=ooc]The only relevant skill I can think of here for Kraken is Intimidate. I'm not really sure if it applies, but I'll take 10 for a 16 if it does.[/sblock]

 

[ShaggySpellsword]

[sblock=Dev] Listening to Shel's conversation, you notice that he is genuinely excited to meet the Prince. That said, you also get the distinct impression he is here to assess the prince for his master. Also, there is a distinct giddiness, as if the boy has broken away from the exact plan in some way.[/sblock]

As you all travel through the village, on the way up to the castle, a number of the villagers look warily at the column of warforged accompanying the prince. Many hear mutters in the crowd and see fingers pointed at Kraken, Blade, and the other warforged. "With them an' th' Prince, those undead won't touch us." or "Now da won;t hafta go off an fight again!"

You arrive at the castle gates. Don Barrelman takes his leave of you and rides back to his shop in the village. Shel leads you inside the gates, where a butler speaks to him privately off to the side. Shel looks embarrassed and turns to the prince.

"My Prince, Baron Leo sends his regrets that he is unable to welcome you himself. He was called away unexpectedly an hour ago, and has not yet returned. Please, make yourselves comfortable, and hopefully Baron Hoffsted will be back for tonight's feast."

Shel then personally leads you to a set of well furnished apartments in the main keep, and tells you that the warforged are welcome to set up camp out on the tournament grounds. You have two comfortable common rooms, a library, a master bedroom, and 4 smaller bedchambers at your service. Servants offer to bring water, warm or cool, for you to clean away the dirt of the road. You have a couple of hours to relax, talk, and ready yourselves for tonight's feast.

[sblock=OOC] I rolled for you Shayuri and you got a 15. Dekana, taking 10 went the way of the Dodo in 4ed, only existing as passive perception and insight. I rolled for you too. you got a 24 Intimidate check.

Skill challenge over. You'll find out the results at dinner.[/sblock]

 

[DistractingFlare]

Alaric has become suspicious of the Barony after hearing the villagers muttering about undead. He retreats quitely to th adjoining library and attempts to dig up any extra knowledge of the surrounding area, especially regarding undead. This goes on until he's summoned to dinner.

[sblock=ooc]should I make skill check on whether I learn anything? if so, feel free to roll for me. additionally, please forgive if my posts aren't formatted beautifully. I'll be typing on my phone til I get home from thanksgiving.[/sblock]

 

[Dekana]

The mention of an undead threat catches Kraken's attention. He only recalls the warning about bandit raids; the queen said nothing about undead in the area. Why, they might even be dangerous!

When the party is settled in the keep, Kraken decides to find out more about the potential threat. He approaches the closest guard. Kraken is not subtle.

"Tell me about the undead in the area."

[sblock=taking 10]Taking 10 does still exist (p. 179 of the PHB), but now that I read the entry on it, it says you can't take 10 during encounters (that includes skill challenges I believe), and it's only for "mundane tasks." So yep, rolling on the intimidate sounds about right. I'm not going to argue with a 24 anyway. [/sblock]