Short and Sweet [Orsal judging]

[ajanders]

Split-screen D&D action

Attempting a new posting technique here...we'll see how this works.

DOWNSTAIRS...
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Kith waited in acqward silence with the rest until he could bear it no longer.
"So, may I ask where you came to learn elvish, my lady?"

Grandma Godwin smiles delightedly.
"You see, you do know how to win the heart of an old Grandma when you try!"
She smiles reminiscently.
"Well, I was a border ranger when I was much younger. Not as young as Sirtis here "--she ruffles the fur between his ears affectionately --"but young enough to enjoy such things. After I mustered out of the army, well...since Mr. Jaan's not here to be offended, I worked as a --" she coughs demurely-- "treasure hunter and independent explorer for a few years. And you learn a few extra languages when you're exploring."
She folds her hands in her lap.
"I do hope I got the accent correct. I'm badly out of practice."
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UPSTAIRS
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Jaan follows Theo, trying to keep his face neutral. The paladin is, of course, rather curious about who is singing, but he keeps the quesion to himself for the moment.
Jaan looks at the 'secret door' in wonder. Foortunately Jaan is not that big. He should fit, he thinks. But ht ecrossbow might be a problem. He removes it from his back. This is going to take a bit longer than I thought.
Getting down on his knees he pushes the door open and glances through into the space beyond. At this point, he really has no idea what he expects to see, or hear, or smell, or sense.

The panel tips back as Jaan presses on it, then slides up on smooth tracks set deep enough into the wall it doesn't jam on Theo's sign. Inside are bare boards, dust, and gloom.

Jaan closes his eyes for a moment and concentrates on the god Verdante. When his eyes open again, they shine green with a wisdom old when the world was new. The god guides Jaan's eyes, but nothing in any direction is evil.
When Jaan blinks again, Verdante is gone, but his pupils are widely dilated, gathering in the little light from downstairs.

There is a child-sized wooden sword leaning against the wall. An old potlid is propped next to it, dented where a small boy has used it as a buckler. A wooden box sits at the far back of the room, as well as a cloth sack. A wadded up blanket completes the furnishings.
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DOWNSTAIRS
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Grandma Godwin continues.
"As I got a little older I decided to quit while I was ahead. All I needed was one more good --" she coughs again "--exploration to buy a house and retire."
She closes her eyes and gives Sirtis an extra squeeze.
"Six of us walked in. One of us walked out, and he was kind enough to drag me. That was the end of my adventuring days..."
Grandma shakes a lace hankerchief out of her left sleeve and blows her nose.
"I'm sorry, dears. Old memories can be the saddest, and at my time of life, all the memories are old."
She tucks the hankerchief back into her left sleeve and ruffles Sirtis' hair for a few minutes.
Then she smiles and looks back up.
"Well, after that I took my treasure and went to buy a house. This particular house was being used as a --" she coughs again -- "Gentleman's entertainment center and some local--" another cough -- "professional gentleman's organization felt he was behind on his membership fees. So they offered me the place in exchange for some...well, most ... of the treasure. But it was a very nice house."
Grandma Godwin shrugs, in a "what could I do?" fashion.
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UPSTAIRS
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Jaan strains his ears to hear anything unusual, whatever that might be. Crouched on hands and knees, he leans forward to listen at the door.
Nothing.
When he looks back, he sees Theo's white face locked on the blankets.
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[nimisgod]

Wilhelm is touched by the old woman's sorrow of days gone by and allows her some reprieve before asking her: "When did this happen? How long ago?"

 

[gogo_jerrick]

Setis

Setis eagerly listens to Grandmamma's story, fully enjoying the attention and affection. If any suspicion is still directed torward Grandmamma, none can be found anywhere about this young katara's figure, gleefully eating all the attention up.

 

[doghead]

Jaan Saresaar, male human servant of the Greenman

"It looks like my old cell back at the temple."

Jaan turns to Theo, about to allow him to pass when he sees the boys face. Jaan follows the boys gaze. This is going to take ven longer, Jann realises. I hope that the others don't mind waiting.

"Theo. Why don't you want to go in there?"

 

[HugeOgre]

Kith heard Wilhelm's question, and silently thought it a good one to ask, even if it was a bit caddish. Looking up the stairs Kith also wondered where the other man was, and what was taking so long. Shifting his position slightly, he strained his elven ears for any noises that might escape from the stairs and the house above.

OOC: Listen +8

 

[ajanders]

I need help thinking of good titles

Downstairs

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Wilhelm is touched by the old woman's sorrow of days gone by and allows her some reprieve before asking her: "When did this happen? How long ago?"

Grandma chuckles to herself.
"Long enough I'm not going to give away any secrets, dear. I don't dwell in the past, but seeing you nice boys does call up a few memories."
She looks at Kith, Wilhelm, and Setis fondly, then scratches Setis behind the ears.

"Now, you were entirely right. There is a window pane out in the attic and it needs to be fixed. But the attic stairs are steep and with my bad knees, I can't get up there very well anymore. And Theo's a good boy, but I don't want him working on a third floor window. So with one thing and another, it hasn't gotten done."

She sighs.

"And because it hasnt gotten done and I never go up to the attic, I'm sure there's a big fat squirrel or two up there just looking to make a nice nest for the winter. Peanut's a good cat to keep the mice down, but he's just too fat for squirrels. I know this is hardly the adventure you boys wanted, but if you could help an old lady by shooing squirrels for an hour I'd be ever so grateful."
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Upstairs
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Jaan turns to Theo, about to allow him to pass when he sees the boys face. Jaan follows the boys gaze. This is going to take ven longer, Jann realises. I hope that the others don't mind waiting.
"Theo. Why don't you want to go in there?"

The blanket shifts as Jaan watches it. A fold of the blanket falls away.
The desiccated corpse of a cat quivers unnaturally inside the improvised shroud, head thrown back and mouth open in a silent death yowl.
An eyelid twitches and stretches open, revealing a glowing yellow eye. The eye swivels crazily, bulges, and reveals itself to be some sort of luminescent beetle.
The beetle finishes chewing its way out of the eye socket and heads towards Jaan. Behind it, the corpse of the cat twitches as perhaps a dozen beetles chew their way out after their leader.

Below them, the nearly dry oil lamp becomes entirely dry, flickering out and leaving the third floor landing lit mostly by the luminescence of the beetles.
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Jaan's reaction is at his players desire, but Theo needs a Will save at this point: Will Save: 3+-2=1.
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Kith and Jaan
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Jaan and Kith both hear the snap of a small crossbow and the crash of a small clay marble shattering on a wall.
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Upstairs, Theo begins to scream, loudly, hysterically, and without pause.

 

[ajanders]

OOC stuff

Thanks for all your feedback, by the way. I've tried to rev this up a little to make it more worth the attention of 2nd level characters, while not being too dangerous for 1st level characters. This has resulted in more roleplaying encounters and setup than I had planned, but we hope to make it worth it for you.

Feedback is always good: if I can tell players (or characters) are getting bored, I'm likely to start making things happen faster.

 

[gogo_jerrick]

ooc

Oh, the storyline and roleplay are great! The toughness of the encounters are yet to be seen, but I'm sure they will be entirely fine for 1st and 2nd lvl characters. Oh, and thank you for the extra effort too!

 

[gogo_jerrick]

Setis

Upon the scream of Theo, Setis squirms his way down grandmamma as quickly but as respectfully as possible. He grabs up his shield. He starts for his dagger before realizing it wouldn't be smart to draw a weapon right here in front of grandmamma (he wants to remain as cute as possible ) He rushes up the stairs as fast as his little armored legs will take him.

 

[HugeOgre]

All the while Setis began detangling himself from grandmother Ketis waited passively. Turning his head, Kith raised an eyebrow and considered the source of the noise for but a moment before turning back to the grandmother.

"Grandmother, I do believe I have heard your grandson Theo cry out from upstairs. Do we have your permission to climb the stairs and investigate?"