Lucendar's Survival PbP - Welcome to the Slaughter!

Game Master Lucendar

While bedding down, "I'll take the last watch, not seen a sunrise in five years. It might even be, hmm, spiritual."

Menas will indeed take his watch seriously, fully combat geared and random patrol. Prettyuch what you would expect from a long srrving legionaire.

As watches are discussed openly it reminds Justified of something. Zarael, could you share with us what we should expect from your magic should ambushers attack? Do you need clear paths to the enemy for blasts of lightning? Will you dominate their minds and have them attach each other? Do you summon creatures from another realm to fight for you? Will you open great pit in the earth to swallow our foes? Justified is genuinely interested and desires to make sure the mage's tactics meld well with his own.

While bedding down, "I'll take the last watch, not seen a sunrise in five years. It might even be, hmm, spiritual."

Menas will indeed take his watch seriously, fully combat geared and random patrol. Prettyuch what you would expect from a long srrving legionaire.

"As you have seen, I see perfectly well in the dark. I can take the darkest watch, especially if we decide not to build a fire.", offers Quain.

Justify proposes three watches. Kwin and I, already a combat proven team, will take the first watch. Quain stands Second, where his ability to see in the dark is most useful. Haterivet and Menas take the last watch. Thoughts?

He looks to his companions for comments before interjecting another idea. We should build up a fire ready to light but not light it unless we are attacked. I have this everburning torch here in my pack. He pulls out the glowing brand to show the team. whoever is on watch can have this ready to deploy.

Addressing Zarael, "Should we cover you while you cower inside your bedroll, or laugh as you wet your skirt?"

Gathering his things and making a bed from his rope, "Nah i'm, sure you can handle yourself. Would you like me to hold our hand while you sleep," turning to the others, "seriously though, what a chore."

Menas takes his place around the fire and lays down to rest, "Wine Elf? I'm sure your useful really, we just need to find out how. Or why?"

Menas is soon after the first one snoring.

Menas sleeps lightly after his years in prison amd will be sad if he dies to a well deserved dagger in the throat...

Haterivet watches and listens to Menas with great amusement and bewilderement. However, he tries to keep his face devoid of any emotions, and when Justified proposes the shift "schedule" he just nods his head.

He lays on the ground, for the first time after what feels like a small eternity in various prisons. His senses are almost flooded by the sight of the clear sky dotted with so many stars. Remembering what Menas said about seeing sunrise for five years, he becomes even more restless, and he finally falls asleep after many twists and turns.

Hhhmmmm, less than two days ago we were at each other's throats, and now...

As watches are discussed openly it reminds Justified of something. Zarael, could you share with us what we should expect from your magic should ambushers attack? Do you need clear paths to the enemy for blasts of lightning? Will you dominate their minds and have them attach each other? Do you summon creatures from another realm to fight for you? Will you open great pit in the earth to swallow our foes? Justified is genuinely interested and desires to make sure the mage's tactics meld well with his own.

"I am a diviner, so I will most likely react to danger before any of you. My main concern will be to protect myself from dangers, while eliminating the enemy from afar with destructive spells. I have enough experience to not kill my allies with friendly fire."

No dangers stalk you that night, though you find it refreshing to not smell your own feces, as you did in prison. Over the next few days, you eat and sleep and ride toward Korvosa, the Mindspin mountains to your east. Zarael speaks very little to any of you, and it is clear he is not happy to be in your company. Three days from Korvosa, Quain and whoever rides with him see something on the road as you round the bend: an overturned wagon and lots of blood smears at a distance of 50 feet. It is about about 3pm on a cloudy afternoon.

"Wake up all, trouble ahead", says Quain, stopping the horse and reaching for his bow.

Justified readies his weapon and looks towards the wagon, but also off to the sides of the road where ambushers might lie.

What is the terrain here? What is directly to either side of the road?

Justified* wrote:

As watches are discussed openly it reminds Justified of something. Zarael, could you share with us what we should expect from your magic should ambushers attack? Do you need clear paths to the enemy for blasts of lightning? Will you dominate their minds and have them attach each other? Do you summon creatures from another realm to fight for you? Will you open great pit in the earth to swallow our foes? Justified is genuinely interested and desires to make sure the mage's tactics meld well with his own.

"I am a diviner, so I will most likely react to danger before any of you. My main concern will be to protect myself from dangers, while eliminating the enemy from afar with destructive spells. I have enough experience to not kill my allies with friendly fire."

Just remember to count us as allies. Justified mumbles under his breath as he turns away from the less than friendly mage. He has given up on being friendly to the elf, for now.

The terrain here is plains with hills. I will assume Justified jumped out of the wagon to notice the following details. He notices the wagon is facing you, so it is likely it was coming in the opposite direction, especially since no wagon passed on you on the way here. He senses no danger from the surrounding areas, although there is a gravelly road branching east, further into the mountains, and there are some boulders which seem oddly placed up that road some 50'.

Already out of the wagon, Justified will move cautiously towards the wreckage, his attention split between the boulders and the overturned wagon. He wants to get the wagon between himself and those boulders if possible. Does he see horses, dead or alive?

Awaking from his dreams in the back of the wagon Menas becomes alert and looks around warily. Slinging his shield over his shoulder and getting hold of his longspear he drops from the wagon and readies a javlin. "This smells of ambush..."

Thats a lot of seperate actions but we don't seem to be in combat rounds yet, if it becomes an issue the order is, retrieve gear, make perception roll, drop from wagon, ready javlin.

perception check vs ambush 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Kwin stands on the driver's board and uses the height advantage to scan behind them for potential ambushers.

My, what a suspicious, paranoid lot we are!

We are not in Round time so you can just announce your actions. You spot 2 dead horses behind the overturned wagon, pieces of flesh missing from both of them. Justified also notices numerous arrows sticking from the wagon, in the horses, and lying on the ground as well.

Justified continues to close the distance to the wagon, but focuses more on those rocks now that he has confirmed archers were involved. He calls back quickly to his companions. Arrows killed the horses.

He will move in a pretty much strait line to the wagon, trying to get some cover from it in case the archers are still in the area, but he is also mindful of destroying any tracks, thinking the ranger might be able to tell what happened here. He will quickly scan for any occupants of the wagon, living or dead and then turn his full attention to those rocks.

How far off the road are the rocks?

The boulders are 50' east from the road, up a hill. As Justified approaches the wagon, he sees a bloody hand dangling over the side of the wagon, unmoving.

Reluctant to leave the wagon and mage unattended, Kwin reminds himself We'll have to leave them when we cross over the obsidian wall anyway...

He catches Zarael's attention so the mage knows that Kwin is leaving and he'll be alone until they return. Then he quickly moves down to the ground and closes the distance to the others, slowing to a stop when he's about twenty paces away from them.

Menas keeps an eye on the boulders as he moves up the hill to higher ground keeping his javlin at the ready. "An unfortunate lesson for the unwary, similar to the lesson we would teach any bandits who were unwary of 6 heavily armed adventurers..."

Move 20ft up the hill and stand around 50ft from the boulders, keep javlin readied vs ambush. Keeping a careful eye out for any bandits, i'll provide cover while you investigate.

As Menas moves up the hill, he spots a faint trail of blood droplets also leading in the same direction.

"Er, Just? Theres blood over here."

At least one dead here. Justified says as he closes to the wagon to look at the corpse. I think the bandits are long gone. They are likely not the type to linger at the scene of their crime.

After reaching the overturned wagon and confirming that there are no enemies present (?) he calls back. Quain, I could use your well trained eyes over here to survey the scene.

Quain does have track, right?

"Er, Just? Theres blood over here."

Is it dried? If so, the bandits are probably far enough away that they aren't a threat. We could roll this wagon a bit if we need to in order to get it out of our way.

If the wagon is in way of our passing, Kwin will start to undo the slain team from the wagon yoke.

No enemies present behind the wagon other than the body of what you surmise was the driver by his formal uniform, a human male in his late 40s. Lots of blood from the man and the corpses of the 2 horses stains the ground. The wagon was similar to yours, a driver up front with a covered awning for supplies/passengers.

"Let me check those rocks out then we can just move on," Menas calls while moving up the hill, "unless you want to detour and act like heros?"

Justified bends over the driver, checking for any signs of life, but not expecting to find the man alive.

Looking up from the body he calls out to the barbarian. I do not like the idea of leaving bandits to prey on the weak and helpless. And I like even less the idea of leaving an enemy behind me. You think these bandits have not already spotted us on the road?

Letting the implication of his words settle on the others, Justified waits for Quain before searching for anything useful the bandits might have missed. He does not expect to find much but feels obligated to at least look. Quain, do the tracks tell you anything? How many were here? Any taken alive from this place? He pauses and looks around more. Maybe some of these arrows are still useful?

To no one in particular me speaks. I for one would sleep better knowing that these bandits would not come for us in the night. And I might even fight better in the city of the dead knowing that my camp was safe from bandit attack while I was gone... He looks to his companions to read their faces. His expression is hopeful, almost imploring.

Quain jumps down from the wagon, joining Justified and bending over the scene. "Let me have a look."

Survival to anlyze/follow the tracks 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24, +2 if they are human.

Deliberately moving slowly, and following behind Quain, Haterivet surveys surroundings in detail. He checks the body, trying to determine what was the reason behind man's death - slashing, piercing or bludgeoning weapon, or maybe even claws, teeth or something similar.

Next, without any shame or hesitation, he searches the body (unless Kwin beat him to it), as well as the overturned car, looking both for valuables and/or potential clues about the attackers. Finally, his attention switches to the boulders Menas was watching. Are those large enough for the humanoids to hide behind, or under them? Were they used in the attack in some way, what is so unusual in their placement?

Perception Take 20

"I have no vested interest in bandits either way as i carry everything i own. Should they attack our base camp while we are in the city I'm sure our powerful wizard will deal with them himself." Menas shouts back down hill, his voice dripping with scorn.

Taking a look over the unusual rocky outcrop as he approaches, "Though if they are close taking them out could prove profitable, killing a few might even break the monotony of this wagon ride."

And they have bows. Justified points out, gesturing to the scattered arrows. I could use a good bow.

"You talk of plunder, yet you wish to do a good deed. A complicated man you are Justified, which is more important i wonder?"

Not so complicated Menas. Its a matter of need. We need better equipment to have a better chance to succeed. We need the bandit's bows. If they have healing potions or other magic, well, we need that too. We need a secure camp to sleep in at night. We might even need loot to trade for goods or information once in this city of the dead... And glancing back at the dead wagon driver, under his breath Justified finishes through clenched teeth and those bandits, they need to be dead!

Kwin shakes his head at Justified's comments. Emotion is the enemy of opportunity! He strides up closer to the others investigating the wreckage. In a conspiratorial whisper, he speaks.

They are almost certainly not far off. Many bandits are lazy and want to stay close to their bread and butter, which would be this road. Chances are they are close enough to see it and perhaps are watching us now. No, don't look! Here's what we do.

Let's check as Haterivet has started for anything of value. Understanding that he's dealing with a person or two that is a soft touch, he adds Justified, perhaps if there is something to identify the individuals, you can take it and present it to their families later. You know, take out any uncertainy as to what happened to their loved ones. Then we drive on for half an hour, far out of sight and earshot of any bandits watching. If they haven't attacked yet, they probably are content with that they gained from these unfortunates.

Once we are well past, we leave the mage and the wagon and come back on foot. Quietly. Follow the trail and ambush them. Maybe we get more supplies, maybe some items of value, maybe... whatever it is Justified is hoping to get out of this.

Does that seem a reasonable course of action?

Menas probably cannot hear what Kwin is saying as he is 50ft up the hill checking out the rocks, when i've had a snoop and seen if theres anything out of the order i'll come back.

These bandits will be poor sport and poorer plunder but the bloodletting should bond us, its about time we tested everyones mettle.

Justified looks and the small rogue with new respect. Very reasonable. he says.

Quain looks over the scene. The arrows left behind are all broken or discarded. Taking a look inside the wagon, he sees evidence of possibly three people, one of them a child by the small toys found on the ground. Piecing the scene, it seemed the wagon was ambushed by archers from behind the rocks, killing the driver and the horses first. There are no other pools of blood and the tracks are more heavily imprinted on the way up the hill, so perhaps, the prisoners were carried off, some or all of them bleeding. Quain reaches the boulders and sees the boot imprints of medium size humanoid creatures, perhaps 6' tall, about 6-7 in number that were in waiting. The blood trail continues to the east and is no more than 2 hours old. He relays this information to the party. He also tells them by some odd strands of hair he found that the attackers were not human.

Justified listens to Quain's description of the events, his face growing darker. Assuming Quain tells him everything. Prisoners. he states flatly, like this settles the issue of what to do all on its own. These inhuman bastards might even be cannibals.

I feel the DM reeling me in. lol

[ooc]Knowledge Local to identify Humanoid[/occ] 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Menas shows a rare bit of emotion hearing Quains description of events, "If they have taken a child I am in, lets kill these bastards. Show me that hair I'll see if i recognise it."

Quain relays the information to all: "Wait, wait, wait. If there are at least 6 or 7 of them, they may have an even bigger camp. So we can follow them if you want. But, we don't commit to attack if we are clearly outnumbered. Plus have you given a thought to what we do if we rescued them? We're not going back and we can't bring them with us."

Haterivet listens to his companions silently. So, they have a child... His thoughts wander for several long moments, before he addresses his companions.

"It would seem that majority of you, if not all, are of a mind that we should follow these wretches, and deal with them. This is fine with me. Where we might have a problem is - what if those humanoids are aware of man's relation to the children? Meaning, what if we attack them, and they take child as a hostage, threatening to slit his throat unless we surrender? What would you do than? My hand would not be swayed in such a way, but what about you? Are you certain you could act? If your answer is Yes, then let us go. But if you do not know, then think twice before putting us all in danger."

Turning to the silver haired elf, he says: "What about you wizard? Are you able to let a human child go to waste, with no issues to your memories accumulated over the ages gone by? Will you stand behind your being neutral mission, or will you go with us? You are aware that your magics could easily tip the turn here - I have no doubt that we can find and kill those creatures, but actually you are the one who can help the most to save a life, or lives with your abilities. What say you, mage?"

"If they kill the child they will live to regret it, you'll all get to see first hand why I was a convict in the first place." Menas speaks quietly in a dark tone. "If I must I will take vengence on these bandits alone and catch you up at the city, 6 or 60 matters not to me."

Turning to Quain, "The survivors can take their chances with the road behind us, its clear and even weak they can forage. If they prove useful they might even help at camp, a good cook would be welcome. As would a good wench!"

"It would seem that majority of you, if not all, are of a mind that we should follow these wretches, and deal with them. This is fine with me. Where we might have a problem is - what if those humanoids are aware of man's relation to the children? Meaning, what if we attack them, and they take child as a hostage, threatening to slit his throat unless we surrender? What would you do than? My hand would not be swayed in such a way, but what about you? Are you certain you could act? If your answer is Yes, then let us go. But if you do not know, then think twice before putting us all in danger."

Justified addresses Haterivet's concerns. I would save these poor souls if it is within my power, but if all we can do is earn them a clean death, then so be it. My blade will not be stayed with threats to them, and a clean death is much better than what I fear is is store if we do nothing.

Moving to the barbarian's side to literally stand with him Justified responds to Quain's question, although it may not be what he was hoping t hear. I stand with Menas on this. 6 or 60, they will die. But rest easy Quain. I am not so tired of the open air and the road after 5 years in a cell that I throw my life away. If there are 60, it might take a few days longer...

Some of my group may have souls after all. He thinks to himself. Turning to gauge the mage's reaction he wonders hmm. We shall see if elves have souls.

When you go look for the elf, you do not find him in the wagon or anywhere else. As you continue conversing, a voice from the ether speaks, "My, oh my. You do surprise me. I thought a bunch of murderous convicts like you all had no moral codes, living by "kill or be be killed" mantra, but it seems I may have been mistaken. Though this is not my desired course of action, I will assist as best I can if you choose to save those souls, though the magics I have prepared are more defensive in nature." Zarael appears.

Obviously pleased, Justified nods gratitude at the mage. Considering the bandits he ponders. I am thinking Orcs.

Any reason to send the wagon ahead still Kwin? This armor slows me some. I would just as soon ride while the road is good and save my strength.

What is the relative speed of the wagon compared to a move 30 walking man? A move 20 walking man? I think we will make better time taking the wagon on the gravelly road branching east, If that is the way our foes have departed.

Before heading back to the wagon Justified checks out the tack on the dead horses. If it is still there and not in a badly damaged state he will remove it and add it to our wagon as a spare.

I still don't think it's the best thing to do but maybe we will eazrn the gratitude of this mage.

Quain shrugs at the group comments. "If it's what you want, I can track them. But they have a head start of two hours and they may take a route where we cannot go with the wagon. Anyway, we won't gain on them unless they decide to stop or they are slowed by the prisonners. While I'm tracking, I want every one else to check for ambushes. They may have left a few people behind to look for followers."

As long as there are blood tracks, Quain will follow at normal speed and reduce at half speed as soon as the tracking becomes more difficult.

To speed up the process once we're on the road, here is Quain first survival checks:
1d20 + 8 - 5 ⇒ (15) + 8 - 5 = 18
Second one if needed (subtract 5 if it's still at full speed)
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Menas will retrieve his gear from the wagon before Quain begins tracking, walking some distance off with a javlin readied and his longspear in his other hand. "I'll watch the left, Hate take the right. Just can drive the wagon and Kwin can ride with him to keep a second watch. Slow and steady, lets not charge headlong into an ambush." With that Menas moves off to the left of Quain and begins to stalk along quietly.

perception vs ambush 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
stealthy movement 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Any reason to send the wagon ahead still Kwin? This armor slows me some. I would just as soon ride while the road is good and save my strength.

It was merely a suggestion to increase our odds of going undetected. Perhaps I was being overly cautious; in an area where there is little in the way of protectors, they may be lax in their safety measures and arrogant in their power. I defer to the judgment of those more versed in such things.

I really must stop thinking of this as a contest to winnow our numbers down. I don't need them to survive in Korvosa, but they certainly could be useful. Besides, dealing with a pack of bandits without social contraints could be... rejuvinating.

While the others talk, Kwin appears to become lost in thought and a sly smile grows on Kwin's face. After a moment, it fades and his attention refocuses on the conversation.

Getting late, will update tomorrow.