astrobstrdSo full of mercy...Registered Userregular
edited October 2014
Sorry guys, I just got buried under homework the last few days. Also, I just wanted to double check if you wanted to have the guards talking about Lauren's father or someone else. Lauren's father's name is Gratis.
Lauren is startled, as she listened intently to the guards she had lost focus on what else was happening around her. A Twygzog?! The Hunt really did draw out everyone. Lauren had seen sketches of these strange creatures in her father's journals. All but inedible to humans, but they knew ways to prepare poisonous lichen and other fungi in ways that made them a savory treat. Lauren regained focus and with a startling quickness, guides the strange being outside of the hall. She looks him up and down before speaking.
"Traveler, you are in luck. You have found the greatest hunter and chef in the known realms, Lauren Craft-Cerveses. I, too, seek to test my skills in this legendary hunt. The dire turkey is said to be as succulent, and large, as it is savage, and I need the help of capable allies to bring it down. You could also venture into the woods and find a boar or pheasant easily enough, but if your aim is higher. I would be honored to have you help me."
Lauren laid it on pretty thick, but a Twygzog ally might give her an edge in this hunt, and perhaps she had done herself some damage by weeding out some of the oafs that wouldn't know creme brule from custard.
Lauren and Toph discuss the topic of the Dire Turkey in length before deciding that they need more people on their team. It doesn't take them long to find Jimes and Derrox in turn. With the group settled, the evening continues, with drinking, eating, dancing, and more eating. It late when the music finally dies and an old man stands up on a stage built in the middle of the square.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to the Great Harvest." This gained a lot of cheers. "And the start of the Grand Hunt!" This gained an uproar of cheers and yells. "We here at Grimhallow host this event each year to reminds us of the hard times we once faced, as an empire and as a people. When a Great Drought destroyed all the crops of not only this Dragon Empire, but of our neighboring Phoenix Kingdoms and left the colonies in the Land Beyond without supplies. The Archmage searched for a reason for the drought, the Dragon Emperor searched for help with the Lords of Sand, but here in Grimhallow and in the area now known as the Basket of Life, our crops grew. The rains came, the corn grew not once but twice that year, and we killed our first Dire Turkey. Some believe that the killing of the Dire Turkey was the reason we weren't effected by the drought. That it's magic healed the land and protected it from that curse. Each year, we send our sons and daughters, friends and families, allies and enemies, out into the Woods, to slay the beast, to bless our lands, and our bellies. So those of you who will be leaving into the Woods at first light, I give this toast in your honors. May your blades be sharp, your arrows be true, and your spells be powerful. And may one of you bring home that Turkey!"
Jimes pulled the group to the side after the speech. "So I decided to invest in your group, Dark Gods knows why. The last three years hasn't bagged a dire turkey but the last group who did it, a nasty group of dwarves, are back to try again. So you'll need a leg up." Jimes pulls out a bottle of yellow liquid. "It's female Dire Turkey urine. Smells awful, but it's great for attracting turkeys and the predators that eat them. Use only a little bit. It cost a lot to get but it's worth every drak if you bag that turkey." Jimes starts to leave but then turns around. "Oh, by the way, rumor going around, the Elf Queen has bewitched some creatures to act as patrols around this part of the woods. I'd keep an extra eye out. It might be nastier then normal in there..."
The next day saw large groups waking up and heading out. Most seem to be taking the Queen's road into the Woods while others took less traveled paths, a creek that flowed out of the Woods and into the valley, and animal paths that deer and wolves used to creep into the nearby farms.
Discuss how you want to travel among yourselves.
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astrobstrdSo full of mercy...Registered Userregular
I say we try the animal paths. Lauren can track and keep the group somewhat alert to dangers. It also separates us from the pack and maybe gives us a way to use stealth if necessary.
When the pile of meat known and Jimes mentions "Dark Gods", Toph is alarmed.
One does not invoke the foulest evils in the Under Empire so frivolously. Their power is well documented and feared, simply talking around them in speech is enough to draw their ire.
To be so brazen with the group as whole...
Toph was suddenly less afraid of some dwarfs than it was of this Jimes.
Toph can not tell what Gods Jimes worship, but that doesn't help his suspicions. Those who deal with dark gods look like everyone else, which makes them even more dangerous.
"Jimes, if I weren't so ugly I'd kiss ya!" That turkey urine would be particularly handy in this hunt. Derrox wasn't used to a race, but with rich hunters always in a hurry he knew the value of time-savings.
Looking over his crew, Derrox couldn't help recognizing the woman who'd offered the food. "Hey, are you the lady with the boring spread? Well, I hope you've had experience catching what you cook, because this is some exotic fare we're going after. We don't need fancy sauce, we'll need to be ready for the weird and unexpected."
Looking over at Toph, "Speaking of, don't you look like a proper adventurer. Unlike any other creature here, bet you even do things none of these other guys can. Totally...unique." Keep your stomach down, you haven't gotten that bad yet. This thing is thinking, fighting, and even on your team. You don't eat things that can be considered people. Well, is it a person though? It is a walking mushroom...what if that is the one meal that would finally fill me. I'll keep an eye, and if the dire turkey can't sate me, I'll let that thought simmer longer. Or if the walking appetizer gets killed, I could probably sneak a quick bite of the corpse without anyone the wiser, just like with that gnome.
"Anyway, I'd say we ought-ta go down the trails left by the wildlife. Animals always tend to follow each other and avoid those made by people."
totally agree with Astro, plus we both have tracking skills so less likely it will boondoggle on us.
The trail is well used by smaller creatures but is ill suited for adventurers. Tracks of deer, wolves, and normal turkeys cross with a group of goblins who joined the hunt and left a few hours earlier. The further into the woods though, the trail becomes two, then three, and soon becomes so small that it's hard to really figure where it is. Thankfully the sun is now up and the woods are well lit.
Let me get a tracking skill check from you guys. You can try to locate a certain track like the turkey or goblins or maybe see if there is another trail or you can decide to blaze one through the woods yourselves.
Geth roll d20+4+1+1 for big game hunter plus level plus wis
Gonna assume tracking is Wis
Looking at the crossing tracks and trails, the dragonborn wracks his brain for the most likely path that would lead to their prey. Think, do dire turkeys eat their lessor cousins, or are they oddly protective? And would it treat the goblins as food or predator? Think, think...
Derrox only found himself tracking his own steps while Lauren noticed a small trail leading west, in the same direction as the goblin tracks. While there was only normal sized turkey tracks along the trail, their stride seemed too long, like it was hopping?
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astrobstrdSo full of mercy...Registered Userregular
"Hmm...there are turkeys this way, gentlemen, but it appears that goblins may be after them as well. There is also something...off...about these tracks. See here, here, and here? They should be here, here, and there. Perhaps it is a small dire turkey and a mother or father is nearby as well."
Lauren finds herself heading down the path before remembering her companions and beckoning them on.
As the group follows the tracks, it's obvious that the trail isn't naturally made. Steps are oddly wider apart then a normal turkey trail, the feet sometimes turn in unnatural directions compared to the other foot, some times there are three tracks, and more oddities. Soon, the trail opens up to a small clearing in the woods. In the back the group can see a small house, made of earth and trees, cobbled together like a puzzle pieces from different puzzles; everything fits, nothing matches. There is no smoke coming out of the chimney, but there are signs that something has been here recently. Turkey feathers and animal hides cover a bloody stump, covered with fresh blood. Small clothes hang out on a line drying. And the goblin tracks seem to head towards the building, but the goblins are nowhere to be seen.
Posts
Lauren is startled, as she listened intently to the guards she had lost focus on what else was happening around her. A Twygzog?! The Hunt really did draw out everyone. Lauren had seen sketches of these strange creatures in her father's journals. All but inedible to humans, but they knew ways to prepare poisonous lichen and other fungi in ways that made them a savory treat. Lauren regained focus and with a startling quickness, guides the strange being outside of the hall. She looks him up and down before speaking.
"Traveler, you are in luck. You have found the greatest hunter and chef in the known realms, Lauren Craft-Cerveses. I, too, seek to test my skills in this legendary hunt. The dire turkey is said to be as succulent, and large, as it is savage, and I need the help of capable allies to bring it down. You could also venture into the woods and find a boar or pheasant easily enough, but if your aim is higher. I would be honored to have you help me."
Lauren laid it on pretty thick, but a Twygzog ally might give her an edge in this hunt, and perhaps she had done herself some damage by weeding out some of the oafs that wouldn't know creme brule from custard.
It seems the fates would be kind in this moment.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to the Great Harvest." This gained a lot of cheers. "And the start of the Grand Hunt!" This gained an uproar of cheers and yells. "We here at Grimhallow host this event each year to reminds us of the hard times we once faced, as an empire and as a people. When a Great Drought destroyed all the crops of not only this Dragon Empire, but of our neighboring Phoenix Kingdoms and left the colonies in the Land Beyond without supplies. The Archmage searched for a reason for the drought, the Dragon Emperor searched for help with the Lords of Sand, but here in Grimhallow and in the area now known as the Basket of Life, our crops grew. The rains came, the corn grew not once but twice that year, and we killed our first Dire Turkey. Some believe that the killing of the Dire Turkey was the reason we weren't effected by the drought. That it's magic healed the land and protected it from that curse. Each year, we send our sons and daughters, friends and families, allies and enemies, out into the Woods, to slay the beast, to bless our lands, and our bellies. So those of you who will be leaving into the Woods at first light, I give this toast in your honors. May your blades be sharp, your arrows be true, and your spells be powerful. And may one of you bring home that Turkey!"
Jimes pulled the group to the side after the speech. "So I decided to invest in your group, Dark Gods knows why. The last three years hasn't bagged a dire turkey but the last group who did it, a nasty group of dwarves, are back to try again. So you'll need a leg up." Jimes pulls out a bottle of yellow liquid. "It's female Dire Turkey urine. Smells awful, but it's great for attracting turkeys and the predators that eat them. Use only a little bit. It cost a lot to get but it's worth every drak if you bag that turkey." Jimes starts to leave but then turns around. "Oh, by the way, rumor going around, the Elf Queen has bewitched some creatures to act as patrols around this part of the woods. I'd keep an extra eye out. It might be nastier then normal in there..."
The next day saw large groups waking up and heading out. Most seem to be taking the Queen's road into the Woods while others took less traveled paths, a creek that flowed out of the Woods and into the valley, and animal paths that deer and wolves used to creep into the nearby farms.
Discuss how you want to travel among yourselves.
One does not invoke the foulest evils in the Under Empire so frivolously. Their power is well documented and feared, simply talking around them in speech is enough to draw their ire.
To be so brazen with the group as whole...
Toph was suddenly less afraid of some dwarfs than it was of this Jimes.
Sounds good. Track away!
Looking over his crew, Derrox couldn't help recognizing the woman who'd offered the food. "Hey, are you the lady with the boring spread? Well, I hope you've had experience catching what you cook, because this is some exotic fare we're going after. We don't need fancy sauce, we'll need to be ready for the weird and unexpected."
Looking over at Toph, "Speaking of, don't you look like a proper adventurer. Unlike any other creature here, bet you even do things none of these other guys can. Totally...unique." Keep your stomach down, you haven't gotten that bad yet. This thing is thinking, fighting, and even on your team. You don't eat things that can be considered people. Well, is it a person though? It is a walking mushroom...what if that is the one meal that would finally fill me. I'll keep an eye, and if the dire turkey can't sate me, I'll let that thought simmer longer. Or if the walking appetizer gets killed, I could probably sneak a quick bite of the corpse without anyone the wiser, just like with that gnome.
"Anyway, I'd say we ought-ta go down the trails left by the wildlife. Animals always tend to follow each other and avoid those made by people."
totally agree with Astro, plus we both have tracking skills so less likely it will boondoggle on us.
Let me get a tracking skill check from you guys. You can try to locate a certain track like the turkey or goblins or maybe see if there is another trail or you can decide to blaze one through the woods yourselves.
Gonna assume tracking is Wis
Looking at the crossing tracks and trails, the dragonborn wracks his brain for the most likely path that would lead to their prey. Think, do dire turkeys eat their lessor cousins, or are they oddly protective? And would it treat the goblins as food or predator? Think, think...
plus 1 for wis, total 12.
I need help on this one...she thought, and the large man certainly look like he could pull his weight if the hunt did not go as planned.
Lauren puts her nose to the ground and scatters some grass to find any sign of the direst of all fowls.
Geth roll 1d20+1+3+5 for Follow Your Nose! (Level, Wisdom, Skill)
Lauren finds herself heading down the path before remembering her companions and beckoning them on.
"Gentlemeats, I believe we have walked in to an ambush."
It extends its mind into the near future in hopes of determining the angle of attack.
Geth roll 1d20+5+3 for Seer+Wis+level Perceptions
It looks awkward and ungainly.
"Trap!" whispered under its breath. "A trap right there."
A cleaver has appeared in its left hand, and the bladed end is pointed towards a poorly covered trap.