Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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Gunnar's warband


Gunnar and his warband have spent all morning searching for, and following, tracks in the farm country north of Haes. The hunt began well when one of the men found a little heap of discarded hood-masks near the edge of the shanty town But every trail they followed since daybreak criss-crossed other trails in hopeless confusion or vanished at the edge of one of the several small brooks that feed into the big river.

Now, boots spattered with mud, cloaks plastered with frost, the weary searchers have returned to Riverside with no captives to show for their efforts.
Gunnar's men attend to cleaning their gear, fetching a late breakfast, and other necessary tasks.

Meanwhile, their leader...
Last edited by ewancummins on Wed Oct 21, 2015 4:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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Safana


Safana has finished her study of magic for the morning.
VIEW CONTENT:
OOC , choose spells, Kintire
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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Termelan


The storyteller has finished reading his book of lore.
VIEW CONTENT:
. pick spells
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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Filbert and Domenica

The morning after the chaos in Riverside, the two spies of the Archprelate meet...
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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THE HUNTERS HUNTED


The party flees deeper into the excavated passages, with Cormac's torch as the only light.
Noises echo down the dark tunnels behind them: rocks falling, creatures scurrying, and elves screaming.

The druid leads on, trying to keep some sense of direction as the tunnel turns, drops, forks, turns again, twists up into a stairwell, splits...
But as his first torch gutters and the whole party stops for rest, Cormac looks about and sees that he is lost.
The others can't tell for certain which way to go, either.

Then, as the Druid lights a second torch before the first one expires, many little pairs of luminous eyes appear in the dark to either side of the party.

Surrounded

The eyes grow bigger, come closer...

Mine-Devils appear, clutching picks and little tote sacks.


One of the little scaly dog men points at Roald and says in Elvish,

" We follow. You take us away from elves. We help you. Deal?"
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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Cormac looks over to Roald, trying to give him a subtle nod.
"Of course," Benn mutters, "It would be a damned shame if we ever knew what the hell was actually going on."
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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ewancummins wrote:Filbert and Domenica

The morning after the chaos in Riverside, the two spies of the Archprelate meet...

Domenica's residence

At the breakfast table, Domenica discusses with Crowley her plan for him for the day.

"Go to the Gorgon's Crown. Ask for Torthur. He is accompanied by a bear of all things. The ursine's name is Clyde. Buy him pie and both some ale.
We ned to know what Torthur remembers about the jail he stumbled onto and anything else he remembers that can help us find out about
the nobles who hire child slavers across the river."

Pausing to sip her tea, she does, then continues.


"I think it is about time we find out more about this Crone and that Inn she uses, the Three Penny or something like that. See what you can find out today and report back to me this evening.
I am very pleased with how you handled yourself the other night. Filbert was very impressed with you. Keep up the good work, Mungus."

She slides over two coin purses. "One is your bonus, the other use it wisely to gain information today. Remember, keep a clear head and an ear open at all times. That will be all."

Finishing his meal, he rises from his seat and nods in confirmation of her wishes. Turning he exits the kitchen, and soon after, the house.

Turning to Vollmar :

"Vollmar, you did well yestereve, I am pleased with you this day. Unfortunately for those hoodlums, none survived." She chuckles.

"Perhaps next time maybe you could keep one alive so I can question him or her? That is not a complaint, just some advice. We could learn something from a living person, nothing can be learned from a dead one. I also consider that it happened fast so you are not to blame for your actions. Keep up your excellent work. Today I just want you to do your normal routine. I have a meeting this morning, I give you my leave. I shall be by tonight. Until then."

She slides another coin purse over to Vollmar. "Your bonus, Vollmar" she says with a smile.

Gimp gets the chair for her and she and he exit the kitchen. Once attired for the cold weather they head for her place of business and meeting with Filbert.
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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Searchers

Roald returns Cormac's subtle nod and turns to the mine devil who spoke to him.

"Deal. You take us to surface. We kill elves who get in our way."

He points at the devil.

"Name?"
"Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it."

George R.R. Martin.
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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Varrus the Ethical wrote:Searchers

Roald returns Cormac's subtle nod and turns to the mine devil who spoke to him.

"Deal. You take us to surface. We kill elves who get in our way."

He points at the devil.

"Name?"
"Pisswine."
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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Cormac tries not to snort at the devil's name.

"We're lookin' fer a friend of ours, was taken by the elfs not long ago. He's our size but covered wi' fur. They kidnapped him special. Any idea where they'd keep him?"
"Of course," Benn mutters, "It would be a damned shame if we ever knew what the hell was actually going on."
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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Adam wrote:Cormac tries not to snort at the devil's name.

"We're lookin' fer a friend of ours, was taken by the elfs not long ago. He's our size but covered wi' fur. They kidnapped him special. Any idea where they'd keep him?"
Pisswine tilts its head to the left and barks. Then it says, ''Don't know about furry man. He is not here." The mine-devil waggles its hands at the rock walls to either side of it. "This is the mine. Other places, don't know..."
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

Post by alhoon »

Termelan

Wearing warm enough clothes under his vibrant robe, Termelan headed to the common room hoping the presence of several other people and a heating fire would keep the outside chill at bay. He briefly chatted with the innkeeper and the staff, ordered some warm honeyed milk for his voice, since he planned to be performing for long, and moved to an empty space near the fireplace.
While it was still early, he hoped the chill will send more people in the Riverside inn than usual. He liked bigger crowds.

Standing, he draw the attention of the crowd with a bow and started singing; softly at first but picking up as he exercises his lungs. He didn't delve in the songs he's written for the occasion of the Duke's wedding, hoping to test them on a larger crowd.
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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alhoon wrote:Termelan

Wearing warm enough clothes under his vibrant robe, Termelan headed to the common room hoping the presence of several other people and a heating fire would keep the outside chill at bay. He briefly chatted with the innkeeper and the staff, ordered some warm honeyed milk for his voice, since he planned to be performing for long, and moved to an empty space near the fireplace.
While it was still early, he hoped the chill will send more people in the Riverside inn than usual. He liked bigger crowds.

Standing, he draw the attention of the crowd with a bow and started singing; softly at first but picking up as he exercises his lungs. He didn't delve in the songs he's written for the occasion of the Duke's wedding, hoping to test them on a larger crowd.
The boarding house and pub in Riverside shows damage from last night's riot: a busted window and a splintered front door. The landlord greets Termelan as the bard enters. Then the man turns back to his work, nailing a moth eaten blanket over the open window. One of the boys who works here hurries past Termelan to the damaged front door, crashing a bucket. The bucket stinks of pitch. At the door the boy sparkles black, tarry goo into the cracked door.

No sooner than the bard has taken a seat near the fireplace, the house begins filling with people. The ragged, exhausted looking men, women, and children collapse into seats. The crowd smells of cold sweat and woodsmoke. Many push in close to the fireplace, surrounding Termelan. Termelan hears one man tell the owner, who has since finished hanging a blanket over the broken window, " No thank you. Only our daughter will eat. You have some gruel? "
The bard notices that many of the people do not order drinks or food.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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ewancummins wrote:
Adam wrote:Cormac tries not to snort at the devil's name.

"We're lookin' fer a friend of ours, was taken by the elfs not long ago. He's our size but covered wi' fur. They kidnapped him special. Any idea where they'd keep him?"
Pisswine tilts its head to the left and barks. Then it says, ''Don't know about furry man. He is not here." The mine-devil waggles its hands at the rock walls to either side of it. "This is the mine. Other places, don't know..."
"I figured as much, but thought it was worth asking," he says in common to the other party members. Switching to elven, he answers Pisswine, "Fine, show us the way out, an' we'll kill the elves we come across along the way."
"Of course," Benn mutters, "It would be a damned shame if we ever knew what the hell was actually going on."
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Re: Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

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The Searchers
The Dark Road



One set of mine-devils move ahead as scouts. The others trail behind the party.

After hiking for several minutes through tunnels lit only by Cormac's torch, the party passes through a T intersection, where a side passage joins their path from the right.

But before the whole party crosses, Sevett hisses a warning. He pulls out his knife, as does Nevil, standing near him.
In a moment, elves in bronze armor hurtle down the side passage, crashing right into the midst of the party.
There is no time for fancy tactics in the brutal fight that follows. Sparks fly as swords strike stone and blood spatters where they cut bodies. And then the elves fall back, leaving more than half their number dead or wounded on the main tunnel floor.

Reese cuts an injured elf's throat and loots his sword.

Boarhort, blood sprayed all over his boar device shield, steps closer to Roald. He points his hammer at the two elves withdrawing down the side passage.
" After them?"
Last edited by ewancummins on Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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