(CSRHoD) Creamsteak's Red Hand of Doom [IC]

[Arkhandus]

Warren the halfling

Warren stays silent most of the time in the elven settlement, not wanting to get a whole town of oh-so-high-and-mighty elves ready to skewer him. He'll attend the funeral, for what halfling doesn't enjoy stories?

But otherwise just broods for a while and wonders what he can do after the group leaves. Will they be able to get Serrin and the other surviving horses back? Will they have to walk the rest of the way through the marshes? That muck was a royal pain to slog through in the heat of battle.

He will go along to the temple though, to see about purchasing one or two potions of Protection from Acid, if he can afford it.

When the group finally rests for the night, Warren will insist on keeping a watch, even though he's sure the rest of the group just blindly trusts the elves. 'Everybody bloody trusts the elves,' he thinks. Even if he's the only one who'll be on watch. He'll sleep in the morning if nobody else will take a watch.


(ooc: I'm kinda fuzzy on what loot we have anyway at this point, and don't know where in the OOC thread the loot post was....)

 

[Creamsteak]

It's in the RG (see my sig).

 

[Dalamar]

Siobhan will head to the temple to ask the local clerics if they would appreciate some help for the day. She doesn't have much divine healing left for the day, but she can still use Touch of Healing (untill somebody needs a lesser restoration) and is an accomplished healer nonetheless.

 

[Redclaw]

Larian will search for any place to replenish his arcane supplies, or possibly even a purveyer of arcane scrolls.

 

[Creamsteak]

Spell components and other fairly mundane items can be purchased, but they lack any sort of arcane spellcaster to bolster your reserve of scrolls.

Cleric Snowmantle is willing to accept Siobhan's help, but you'll find that most of the preparation today is in readying ceremonial tools and such for the funeral of Lanikar. The elves are, for the most part, self-sufficient in their needs of healing at the moment.

 

[Dalamar]

Siobhan will spend the evening helping out with what she can, though she is somewhat constrained with her limited knowledge of elven rituals.

 

[Pinotage]

Avril - Human Druid - AC 15 - hp 42/42 - Spot +12 - Listen +12
Mandla - Riding Dog - AC 25 - hp 44/45 - Spot +5 - Listen +5

Avril joined her companions in the large elven complex. "Well, that was certainly interesting. Can't believe she actually tried to disuade us from going. Nevertheless, they have given us hospitality and favors, so we owe them out respect. Or at least, they have mine." She frowned and exhaled, wondering where to go next.

"We could really use supplies, though I'm not sure what they have. I suppose I could go and look at their priestly temples. There might be something I can use there. Otherwise it's the funeral tomorrow, and I certainly could use some rest after all that travelling." Shrugging, she head after Siobhan to the temple to see if they had any scrolls that might be useful for their journey.

[SBLOCK=OOC]OOC: Avril can use quite a number of divine scrolls, though I'm not sure what they have on offer, or even what we need. Any suggestions for Siobhan and Avril would be welcome.

Spells and Abilities Active:

Spells Cast and Abilities/Items Used:

Barkskin
Call Lightning
Wild Shape (2 Used)
Flaming Sphere
Cure Moderate Wounds
Bear's Endurance
Cure Light Wounds
Wand of Lesser Vigor (2 Used)
Cure Minor Wounds (2)

Spells Prepared:

Spells Prepared (Normal 5/3/3/2, Wis 0/1/1/1):

Level 0 (5): Detect Magic (2), Guidance
Level 1 (4): Enrage Animal, Faerie Fire, Produce Flame
Level 2 (4): Bull's Strength
Level 3 (3): Sleet Storm

XP: 325 (Blockade)
XP: 1350 (Razorfiends)

Avril's Character Sheet [/SBLOCK]

 

[Creamsteak]

Check the OOC thread if you havn't yet.

Avril: Scroll and potions selection can be from anything on the cleric spell list that costs 800 gp or less. Such scrolls would be divine, so you should be able to use anything that's shared between the two classes regarding scrolls.

 

[Creamsteak]

Whenever the group is ready, the elves somewhat reluctantly shuffle two supply tents contents into other buildings in order to make room for the group to stay. Each tent can support up to four people.

It is not until much later that a pair of hunters arrive with the groups mounts. It seems that they were quite scattered, though two of the horses seemed to have made their way half-way to the town on their own. The animals are heavily fatigued, however, from their trip and other exertion. They will need at least 24 hours to fully recover.

The animals are fed and cared for while they are at the elven village, they have ample means to provide for them for the time being.

The next morning begins early, even before the sun is visible on the horizon. As soon as the first orange-hued rays of light cross over the tops of the trees outside the town, most of the elves are awake and lively. They offer an early meal to break their nightly fast (ha) and begin working towards Lanikar's funeral.

The services are distinctly elven. The younger female elf that was crying the night before in the leader's tent grieves for her murdered brother in songs that would be considered pleasant and in high spirits. Her voice lasts through a full hour of song without losing volume nor quality.

Since no body was recovered, a pyre is built from boughs and branches collected by all the elves and anointed with holy water, along with various small mementos. This is all the elves can do to emulate their normal tradition of cremation. The ashes of the flames are placed in a urn, along with Lanikar's ring.

After the ceremony, the elves spend the rest of the day in celebration of Lanikar's time with them, with feasting, dancing, and storytelling. They offer stories of his successes, both small and exagerated. Lanikar was bold, fearless, and tenacious by all accounts. He chased his love interests with unrelenting and often lecherous advances, challenged his rivals with foolish audacity and childish confidence, cheated at dice, and lied about his exploits as a hunter.

Lanikar was, as the stories go, a man who would test himself against many challenges that surpassed his ability. In certain ways, his death is absolutely tragic, but undeniably fitting. Many of the older elves take their sadness in a much more human way, remembering that many young souls have died in the confidence of long elven youth.

Eventually it becomes quite obvious that it would only be fitting for someone among your number to share a story, true or not, with the elves. They seem more than willing to stretch the truth and expand upon events they never quite witnessed, and it seems quite common among this particular clan.

[sblock=OOC]Opportunities for perform checks of any sort including but not limited to story telling.[/sblock]

 

[Pinotage]

Avril - Human Druid - AC 15 - hp 49/49 - Spot +13 - Listen +13
Mandla - Riding Dog - AC 25 - hp 45/45 - Spot +5 - Listen +5

The funeral was a sombre and beautiful affair at the same time, and Avril thought for some time that she was inspired by the singing and tales of the elves. It didn't take long to realise, though, that much of it was merely for the benefit of the grieving, but that did not take away from the beauty of it. The elves were a people close to nature, and Avril, being as one with the Spirits, could understand these people better. Nature was full of examples of creatures making more of themselves in order to gain some advantage, whether in battles or sexual conduct.

"It's beautiful," she remarked to her allies, looking at those she knew the best first - Larian and Warren. She had been pleased to see the horses too, and had spent some time looking after them herself when time permitted. Pender would no doubt be pleased. She glanced over at Larian when the time came for some of their number to speak. "I think you speak more eloquently than I. Perhaps you should tell the elves of our brave exploits at Vraath Keep. I'm sure you would do it justice. The tale of the brave archer and his giants would be worth telling indeed." She smiled at him, encounraging him to speak.

[SBLOCK=OOC]OOC: Avril will make Spot and Listen checks throughout the funeral to notice anything unusual, and to overhear any conversations that might aid them in the Blackfens and the Ruins of Rhest.

Unless anybody objects, Avril will use some of the bartered goods and party funds to purchase scrolls of Freedom of Movement and Protection from Energy, for a total of 1075 gp. Redclaw, can you adjust the party funds, please. I'm assuming 600 gp of the scrolls' cost was from the bartered goods.

Spells and Abilities Active:

Spells Cast and Abilities/Items Used:

Spells Prepared (Normal 6/4/3/2/1, Wis 0/1/1/1/0):

Level 0 (6): Cure Minor Wounds (3), Detect Magic (2), Guidance
Level 1 (5): Cure Light Wounds, Enrage Animal, Entangle, Faerie Fire, Produce Flame
Level 2 (4): Barkskin (2), Bull's Strength, Bear's Endurance
Level 3 (3): Call Lightning, Cure Moderate Wounds, Sleet Storm
Level 4 (1): Flame Strike

Avril's Character Sheet [/SBLOCK]