OOC: Boo, DrZ. Boo.
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Al takes in all of your explanations with the same look on his face, arms still crossed. He stands there, looking at you. Looking at you, he stands. Standing, and looking. Looking, and still standing while doing the looking. Looking and standing seems to be the order of a few long, tense-filled moments, and at the same time, no less. One might call it 'Stooking', or maybe 'Landing', if 'landing' didn't already mean something else, in which case we should probably just stick with standing and looking.
...Er, so finally, he speaks.
"Mm-hmmm."
He lifts his hand up and looks at his wrist. You get the sense that he wants to emphasize the short amount of time it took you to find Rocky, but that doesn't make much sense, because everyone knows time is measured by shadows and sundials and waterclocks and such. Strange character, this Al. Sheesh.
"I suppose Rocky didn't just happen to come home of his own accord."
He waits just a second for an answer, but as soon as anyone starts to speak he interrupts again.
"And I suppose you didn't notice any of those guys, either." This he says while looking into the forest behind you all and inclining his head slighty in that direction.
You all turn around in unison to look behind you (which looks pretty durn funny, lemme tell you) and notice what must be a hobgoblin patrol, about a dozen or so strong. Most of them weild various kinds of axes, and a couple have shortbows at the ready; they all sport well-worn chain or leather armor. The looks on their faces tell you that they are just as surprised at being seen as you are at seeing them. (Evidently they placed a lot of faith in their ability to hide and move silently.)
You all turn back around (in unison - ha ha, I don't think I could get tired of that) to Al, who says simply,
"Get rid of these pests and THEN we'll talk about our deal." He steps back inside and slams the door. You hear the distinct sound of him barring the door, and suddenly realize that it's probably a good thing he doesn't have any windows on the lower levels. You turn back around to face the hobbo patrol.
One of them barks something in its gutteral language and you see the raiders step out slowly from the underbrush and spread out. They stand there - a bit strange, they seem hesitant to rush you, but they're not going anywhere soon, either.
"Ah, a good old Mexican standoff. This should be good," a familiar voice says behind and above you, and you realize that Al has returned to his gargoyle perch over the door. You wonder how sane this Al the Wizard is. And just what in the hell is a 'Mexican', anyway, and why do they standoff?
One of the hairy goblinoids at the forefront takes a step forward; he holds a mean-looking greataxe with red handprints on the blade in his hands, and wears patchwork pieces of scale armor. He converses quickly with the one behind him, who wears mostly animal skins and holds a staff with what looks to be a large bird's skull on the top. After a moment, he lowers his greataxe and raises a hand, palm outward, gesturing at you to hold. He then points, and speaks in toothy, spittle-filled Common.
"Just give us the wench, and we'll be on our way."
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OOC: Rolling for initiative (feel free to use
Invisible Castle if you want, or I can do it for you, either way is fine with me). State actions, please!
Crude map of area (clickity-click for bigness; the curved lines are the pathway up to the door of Al's house):
Initiative order:
Desert (1d20+3=22)
Ranti (1d20+4=21)
Raider 10 (1d20+2=21)
Hobbo shaman (1d20+2=21) (#2 in the pic)
Raider 7 (1d20+2=20)
Raider 8 (1d20+2=19)
Raider 11 (1d20=19)
Gruammsh (1d20+0=16)
Raider 9 (1d20+2=15)
Raider 12 (1d20+2=15)
Richard (1d20+8=12)
Hobbo leader (1d20+6=10) (#1 in the pic)
Raider 3 (1d20+2=10)
Bill (1d20+2=9)
Raider 6 (1d20+2=7)
Raider 4 (1d20+2=5)
K (1d20+2=4)
Raider 5 (1d20+2=4)
