S2: War in Vastermarch - Completed

[Manzanita]

All purchases fine.

The party proceeds inland at a fair clip, with everyone mounted. (yes?)

The Northern Vastermarch is a pleasent place this time of year (mid-November). There is a chill in the air, but the weather is clear, and the rolling hills and prosperous farms give a sense of peace and security.

The farmers & ranchers are mostly human with scattered elves and half-elves. The elves tend to be wealthier and more established, as befitting their longer lives.

Rasereit has some idea where Braeholl lies. He thinks he's getting close, but the group decides to stop and stay at an inn. Razh thinks they can reach Braeholl by the next afternoon.

The inn lies in a very small settlement, of not more than 10 structures, at the bottom of a small hill. Upon the hill sits a small wooden fort. These forts dot the landscape in the North. The fertility of the land attracts men, but they must be ever wary of invaders from the mountains, clearly visible to the North. The mountains hold various groups of humanoids, giants, and worse. Razh knows there are more than just brutish humanoids in those mountains.

Any special precautions for the night? The inn is small, and the group will have to share dormitory quarters with any other travelers. This night, there are two other travelers. Two middle-aged merchants. Though they are no longer young, they are lean and strong of body. One has been injured in some confrontation long ago. His left ear and eye are missing, and his left cheed badly scarred. They settle in for the night with hardly a word to you. They are armed with swords and light armor.

 

[Someone]

"These 'merchants' look like the type that would gladly peddle with our skins" whispers Nodis. "We should keep an eye open, and just in case I'm not removing my armor."

 

[Rae ArdGaoth]

"Even when ye sleep?" Rasereit asks Nodis with a raised eyebrow. Rasereit removes his armor and hangs his kilt reverently on the baseboard of his bed. He changes into his soft, comfortable white shirt and pants. They are simple, like the kind the martial monks enshrined in monasteries wear, but Rasereit seems to be using them as pajamas. His waraxe, warhammer and shield he rests against the wall, but his handaxe he places beneath his pillow. The pajama'd dwarf settles down in the dormitory room and considers taking a pull from his flask, but then thinks of a better idea. He calls to the innkeeper and requests a round of hot cider for everybody in the room, including the two merchants. If they have no cider, a light ale will do.

Totally relaxed, Rasereit is happy after a long day of travel. He talks of traveling by ship from Orussus to a port in the Vastermarch, and the tavern at which he drank, but he leaves out most of the details and doesn't mention his and his companions' destination or ultimate goal.

OOC: Diplomacy is -1 if you need it, though Razh is not necessarily trying to win these merchants' long time friendships or get any information from them. He's just making small talk and enjoying the comforts of the establishment after a hard day's work.

Sense motive is -1 as well.

On another note, Rasereit's horse is exactly .95 lbs over 300, her maximum light load. Some DMs have allowed moving 1 point from Con to Str, but I think that a 19 Str is a little much for a normal beast. If Manz doesn't allow the point move, then Rasereit's mare has medium encumbrance and only moves 35'. If somebody's willing to carry Rasereit's whetstone, she'll be at 299.95 lbs with 50' movement. =D

 

[Someone]

"Even when ye sleep?"

"Oh, yes" whispers Nodis back. "I hardly can feel it anyway."

 

[rln]

Ogrin sees to his ships business while in harbour. Before leaving, he also procures a well-bred and well-trained pony, and some minor items (nothing that isn't in the PHB).

He doesn't take well to riding, though, and is quite sore by the time they get to the inn. He's not sure he'll collapse out of exhaustion or if the pain will keep him awake. Either way, bedtime looks good.

He'll get out of his armour, but has his sword, shield and dagger within reach.

 

[Manzanita]

No watch is set by the group. They are in a small inn near a fort, after all. Surely the merchants, despite their rough appearance, aren't assassins. Not ones hired to kill them anyway.

The cots are not great, but beat anything on a boat, for some. The common dormitory is on the second floor. The first floor it taken up by the kitchen, the dining room, and storage.

At some point in the night, though, the party is awakened by screams outside. There are three windows in the room. The are square holes in the wall, with a wooden cover that is currently propped up. Through one window, a low orange glow flickers from below.

 

[Someone]

"Fire!" exclaims Nodis, maybe unnecesarily. He checks that everyone's awake and darts for one of the windows to see what's happening.

 

[Manzanita]

Outside the window, Nodis sees pandemonium. Dark humanoid figures wearing heavy arms move about, torching buildings, and killing any townfolk who come out. A few commoners flee in pajamas, running away and screaming.

 

[Rae ArdGaoth]

"Fire!" exclaims Nodis, maybe unnecessarily.

Rasereit, who was snoring heavily face down into his pillow, suddenly flips over and bolts upright, his handaxe instinctively in his hands. His eyes still closed, the head of the axe is in his right hand and the haft is in his left. The butt is up against his right shoulder and the handle is pointed towards the wall. The confused dwarf squeezes his right forefinger several times, shouting, "I can't, it's stuck! The blasted piece o' junk won't fire!" Then his eyes pop open and he realizes what's going on thanks to the orange flickering and the screams.

Suddenly Rasereit is all business. He rolls out of bed and kicks his sheets off, dropping his handaxe as he does. He grabs his shield and waraxe from the wall and leaps to his feet. He shouts, "To arms, to arms! We're bein' attacked!" He glances wistfully at his well-crafted, magically enhanced breastplate and gauntlets, but the dwarf has no time to put them on. He's about to run out of the room when he remembers the party's sleeping partners. He looks to their beds to see if they're still full. If they are, he'll rudely wake them up and tell them to "Get up, get yer weapons, the building's been set afire!" He won't leave them in the room alone with his gear. If they're not still in bed, he's out as fast as he can move, the warrior-barbarian looking rather strange in his pajamas wielding a mastercraft waraxe and a metal shield with vicious spikes.

OOC: So let's see, Rasereit left his amulet on for the night (there's no reason for him to take it off, unless you object Manz). I'll assume no surprise round since we're not actually being attacked. Let me break this down:

Round 1: Crazy wake up antics (Free), 5' move from bed to ground remaining prone (Misc., free), drop handaxe (Free), grab waraxe (MEA), grab shield (MEA).
Round 2: Stand up from prone (MEA), move 30' either towards our sleepover friends or the door, depending on the circumstances (Move) while readying shield (Free with Move).

[sblock=DM: ]Arguably, rolling off the bed is not a free action since it's more like crawling. If that's the case:

Round 1: Crazy wake up antics (Free), 5' move from bed to ground remaining prone (Move), drop handaxe (Free), grab waraxe (MEA).
Round 2: Grab shield (MEA), stand from prone (MEA), 5' move towards men or door (Free).
Round 3: ... I'll worry about this later. [/sblock]

[i]Pajama'd Combat Stats:
HP: 61/61
AC: 16 (+3 Dex, +2 Shield, +1 Natural)
Waraxe [/i]Roar[i] (TWF) [b]Atk:[/b] +10/(+8), [b]Dmg:[/b] 1d10+3+1, [b]Crit:[/b] x3 (+5 BAB, +3 STR, +1 Magic, +1 WF, (-2 for TWF))
Spiked Shield [/i]Clamor[i] (TWF) [b]Atk:[/b] +9/(+7), [b]Dmg:[/b] 1d8+2+1, [b]Crit:[/b] x2 (+5 BAB, +3 STR, +1 Bashing, (-2 for TWF))[/i]

 

[B4cchus]

ooc: i took the liberty to make Talbin wake up or is a listen check required?
Talbin jumps up at the first screams. He Jumps out of bed and runs for the window to get a first impression of what is going on.
ooc: So the inn is on fire?
After Talbin realizes what is really going on he quickly gather his things and dashes out of the room, sword in hand.
If he makes it out of the room, he runs down the hall, knocking on every door he passes while yelling "Fire! Get out!", making his way downstairs.
Downstairs, he'll try to sneak out of a window without getting seen by one of the men in dark armor outside.