[AU] Siege on Ebonring Keep

[Rybaer]

The dog cowers before Osric for a moment, but the offering of food is too tempting and it slinks forward and takes the bite from his hand. Its tail wags enthusiastically as it quickly chews the food. When done, it looks back up at Osric, eager for more.

Encouraged, Pirythanis steps forward to try petting the dog.

While the others watch on, Pyior [in absentia] looks on first in interest and then skeptically. "You know," he says. "I'm can't be a hundred percent certain on this, but that sure looks a lot like a devil dog. Markings and coloration fit, not to mention the range. Devil dogs are known to travel in large packs and can be quite cunning and dangerous hunters. A hundred years ago, some packs wandering these plains were large enough to wipe out entire small villages."

[Knowledge: Dangerous Beasts (9+9=18)]

At Pyior's comments, everyone begins to peer into the darkness, wondering if others might be out there. The sliver of moon is still hours away from rising, making it a very dark night. There are plenty of shadows and wind rustling the long grass, but no one definitively spots anything else.

 

[Galbraith]

Osric Hammelhorn - Human Male Akashic

While Pyior pets the dog I’ll fetch more food for it

"Really, Pyior? A Devil Dog? Is it normal for the dog to be so thin? Are they inherently dangerous or is it possible to tame one? If these are pack animals, where is the rest of the pack and why didn’t they kill a weak member?”

[OOC: Osric is really intrigued… you get the feeling that he is interested in just about anything you could tell him about this pathetic creature. Maybe I’ll get a pet out of this!]

 

[Rybaer]

[Pyior in absentia]

"Well," Pyior says ponderously, "if I recall correctly, the devil dogs are actually descendants of creatures that the dramojh introduced to this land centuries ago. That would imply that they are inherently dangerous and probably not very tameable."

Pyior gives the dog a more thorough look.

"Of course," he says, "a lone specimen is nearly indistiguishable from an ordinary dog. I think they're more often identified by their pack behavior. No idea how they would treat a weaker pack member. Force it from the pack, perhaps? Maybe that's what we've got here."



[ooc - For those not familiar with the Diamond Throne setting, the dramojh or "dragon scions" were a race of powerful draconic humanoid demon hybrids. They conquered all the lands of the Diamond Throne, often by introduction of foul creatures, and ruled until the giants arrived from across the ocean and eradicated them. Many of the dangerous creatures introduced by the dramojh still wander the deep wilderness.]

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"But what do we do with it? And how do we know that it's not part of a larger pack?" Khajom pokes around the area surrounding the camp, looking for signs of a pack of dogs. He only ventures out about thirty feet in any direction before heading back.

 

[Galbraith]

Osric Hammelhorn - Human Male Akashic

Provides some more meat to eat and some water for it to lap up

Well, like you said... we are not sure if it is a Devil Dog or just a dog that has had a tough time. Let's give it some food and let it decide what it wants to do after that. If it chooses to follow then we have another companion. If it chooses to leave then its journey forward will be on a full stomach

 

[Mirth]

OOC: Sorry if I'm holding the game up. A two-day out-of-towner became a four-day all-star event (that's also the most hyphens I think I've ever put in one sentence). I'll try and post tomorrow.

 

[Mirth]

"I do not think that we should tarry too long," Ys-Baddaden suggests to the rest, "or the goal we are pursuing shall be taken by others. Here is some of my own food for the animal. Now let us leave the poor beast and be on our way."

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"Shouldn't we all get some rest before we continue?" Khajom cocks his head to the side and raises an eyebrow. "Some of the elders in my tribe could go without sleep and, sometimes, even food. I'm not quite there yet."

 

[Rybaer]

Khajom - You wander out a short distance from the camp and only a few moments pass before you begin to become aware of at least two forms slinking through the grass toward the camp. As you turn to warn the others...

The dog eating from Osric's hand gives out a short, sharp yip and then tries to bite the akashic. Osric jerks his hand back just in time. It is clear to everyone that the dog's demeanor has changed dramatically for the worse.

[dog's attack (roll = 4, miss)]

Just after the dog lets out the yip, the forms Khajom saw in the grass begin to charge the camp. There are several more snarling dogs coming in from multiple directions and most appear to be in better health than the one you'd been feeding.

Initiative:
Pirythanis (20)
Pyior (17)
Ys-Baddaden (13)
Osric (9)
Khajom (8)
Dogs (7)
Danwyn (6)

[ooc - To begin the encounter, assume that there are 3 dogs at 30' from the center of camp, plus the first dog at 10'. Also, assume that weapons are either sheathed or lying on the ground with your gear (unless otherwise stated earlier...and I don't think anyone mentioned it).]

 

[Rybaer]

"I do not think that we should tarry too long," Ys-Baddaden suggests to the rest, "or the goal we are pursuing shall be taken by others. Here is some of my own food for the animal. Now let us leave the poor beast and be on our way."

[ooc - As Khajamba Lion alluded to, it is about an hour or two after sunset and is quite dark out. You were just getting finished with dinner around the evening's camp. The moon, what small crescent it will be tonight, has not yet risen, so it is quite dark out.]