Errants of Waterdeep [RP Thread]

[moritheil]

Having retrieved the contract, Anthor bows smartly to the group and walks off into the streets of Waterdeep, satisfied that there are no questions and that his employees are under way.

[Yasden]

Looking down at the halfling, Khaiden shrugs his shoulders.

"Let's be off then, shall we? I know that the Black Griffon Road is to the east of town, beyond the Turning Point."

[Gormal]

Koray shifts his pack around a bit on his shoulders and falls in alongside Birile with a slight grin.

[Arilin Nydelahar]

Thalidyrr follows the group walking with his hands behind his back as is his usual custom.

[Tasan]

Making a mental note to stick to the back of the party, Tasan falls in line with a slow, long stride. He watches the movement of the rest of the party looking for hints of weakness, but his face is one of blank serenity.

[Birile]

As the group makes its way toward the eastern gate of Waterdeep, Birile ponders, "How far along the Black Griffon do you think this hermit'll be? If we play our cards right we could be paying Anthor a visit to collect our dues in no time at all!"

[moritheil]

Grinning at the motley assemblage that can only be an adventuring party, the gate guards wave you through Waterdeep's eastern gates. The sun continues to climb in the sky as you traverse the Eastern Road.

Gradually, the road leads to successively less well-kept areas, becoming little more than a trail. Largely unpatrolled and untamed by civilization, the Valley of Crushk stands before you. Mountains loom far in the distance.

[Birile]

Birile scans the landscape searching for clues as to the location of Esroh the hermit, muttering to himself, his impatience getting the better of him. "Do you tall folk see any signs of our target?" he asks the group.

[Tasan]

Tasan chuckles to himself as he considers the halfling's question.

"Isn't it the very definition of a hermit to make himself unavailable to the outside world? I should think the last place we will find this Esroh would be anywhere near civilization. We should make for the mountains where few if any men live."

[Yasden]

Nodding in agreement, Khaiden looks as though he had just been distracted from some sort of daydream, and points towards the mountains.

"I agree with Tasan. I would expect a hermit to be as far away from civilization as possible."

The half-elf shrugged his shoulders.

"I know there is a village nearby....Minthka. Maybe we could go there and ask the locals if they know the whereabouts of this 'Esroh'."

Khaiden took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, and resumed his silent ponderings, content in doing whatever the majority felt best.

[Arilin Nydelahar]

Thalidyrr who had remained silent until now nodded in agreement. "Most hermits are just that. A hermit, they will be as far from everything as possible"

He ponders a moment.

"The village may indeed have an idea of where abouts, it's definitely worth the time to try none the less."

[Birile]

"Maybe that's a good idea," replies the Halfling, "the village isn't too far from here and Anthor did say that the hermit sticks to the closer end of the road--chances are good that someone will have at least heard of him."

[moritheil]

Hearing no objection from the dwarf, the party forges on. The path becomes faded and worn, disappearing into thick undergrowth in numerous places.

OOC: Need Survival checks to keep following the right path :)

[Birile]

Survival check (1d20=2)

[Yasden]

Survival Check = 1d20 +1 (Wis Bonus), Result = 20 (19 + 1)

[Tasan]

1d20=15 + 2(ranks) = 17

[Gormal]

Survival Check (1d20=16)

With 16 Wis do I get a 3 point bonus?

[moritheil]

The wilderness sense of the party is impeccable, and in no time at all you find yourselves traversing the Valley of Crushk. Up ahead, smoke rises from some point near the trail.

OOC: Sorry I wasn't more clear. Skill checks are always d20 + skill ranks + ability modifier + special bonuses, if any. So for Survival, it's d20 + Survival ranks + Wis modifier. Note that Wis modifier applies, not Wis "bonus" (a common mistake is forgetting to apply a negative modifier. For some things, like a paladin's Divine Grace, only a bonus is applied, but for skills, the relevant modifier applies regardless of whether it is in your favor or not.)

Outside of the modifier, there aren't really too many possible bonuses for Survival. If, say, one of you had a backstory about growing up in the valley, as a DM I might assign a circumstance bonus, which would then give you a bonus on top of that sum. If one of you had cast something like Guidance, that would also give you a +1, because it helps you orient yourself (and it specifically gives a +1.)

[Arilin Nydelahar]

Thalidyrr glances up at the sun in the sky and the thin trail of smoke rising from up ahead. "It would seem we're getting close to the village, it was a bit further than originally thought but we should be able find out some information."

[Yasden]

Tilting his nose up to the air and taking a deep breath, Khaiden tries to discern the smell, to no avail.

"So, my connoisseur of fine foods," he says to the halfling, "what do you think they're cooking over there?"

[Birile]

The mention of food piques the halfling's interest. "Damned if I know," the halfling replies, "But let's hurry so we can find out!" and breaks out into a slow trot.

[Arilin Nydelahar]

"Thus far this has seemed as easy as was described by our contact Anthor." Thalidyrr muses

"Let us hope our luck preserves."

[Tasan]

Slightly annoyed by the overexuberance displayed by the halfling, Tasan rolls his eyes.

He begins to speak gruffly to the halfling, "Fire doesn't necessarily mean cooking, nor does it denote who or what might be cooking whom. For all you know there is a pile of burning excrement over there!" He gestures wildly for a bit before continuing, "Someone should go have a look and report back to the rest before we go tromping into trouble." With this statement he stares at the halfling with a look of grim satisfaction and gives a little nod towards the smoke.

[Birile]

At the human's words, Birile stops in his tracks and turns toward Tasan. Walking quickly toward the human and wagging his finger at him, Birile exclaims, "Is that some sort of racial slur, human? 'Oh, he's a halfling, I'm sure he's used to sneaking around where he's not wanted' Is that it? Why not send the dorf??" About to continue his barrage of words, Birile's curiosity gets the better of him and he looks toward the smoke and hesitates. He looks back at the human and the others and exclaims, "FINE! I'll go, then if that'll make ye happy."

Birile turns back toward the smoke and adjusts his gear a little and sets off at a much slower rate than he had originally used. He looks back at Tasan and mutters something under his breath and disappears through the growth along the side of the path. In a moment there is no sign of the halfling.

OOC Move Silently (1d20+9=26)

OOC I was going to attempt to Hide prior to Move Silently to try to move between cover but from the rules I found I would need 5 ranks in Hide to do this, which means I'd have to be at least Level 2 *shrug*

[Gormal]

Koray grumbles softly at Tasan. "Great. Lets go after him before we end up having to fight off a band of orcs or sommat he brings back with him. Besides, who says we can't have a little fun exploring while making a little money?"

[Tasan]

Tasan chuckles at the dwarf and turns to the other two. "Well I must say if there are orcs about I doubt we'll ever see the halfling again... and who is to say that wouldn't be the better for us all. Splitting four ways always trumps five."

With grim satisfaction and a gleaming smile he turns back to the dwarf to hear his thoughts as well.

[Yasden]

Khaiden sits on a nearby rock, sighing in exasperation and smirking at Tasan and Koray.

He plucks a single blade of field grass, using it to pick at something in his teeth.

'Looks like this is going to take a while,' he mutters aloud to himself.

[Gormal]

Koray grins at Tasan. "Have you forgotten who's carrying our little package in the first place? Maybe he thinks that splitting the reward with himself is preferrable to sharing it with any of us?"

[moritheil]

Leaving the noisy group behind, Birile stealthily makes his way toward the fire. Climbing a small rise, he can just make out several figures in leather armor standing about a blazing campfire. Judging from the time of day and the wasteful size of the fire, these men are not hunters or outdoorsmen familiar with the wilds.

The men appear to be conversing, though it's impossible to make anything out at this distance.

[Birile]

Watching the men around the makeshift campfire, Birile thinks to himself, "Merchants or bandits, no doubt..." and grimaces at the thought of either.

He decides to try to get a bit closer to the men to try to hear bits of their conversation, keeping as hidden and silent as possible.

OOC
Hide (1d20+11=25)
Move Silently (1d20+9=20)
And assuming he gets close enough to make a Listen check to eavesdrop: Listen (1d20+3=5)

[moritheil]

Though Birile manages to get close without being noticed, a prevailing wind makes it hard to hear more than a few snatches of conversation.

" . . . still say we . . . have . . . " says one man, standing on the far side of the fire.

Another, sitting with his back to the halfling, shakes his head emphatically, and makes a response that is lost to the wind.

[Birile]

Perturbed, Birile thinks to himself, "Damned wind... and not a morsel in sight, either! A waste of my time, to be sure."

Birile begins to make his way back the way he came to let the group know what he had found and to let Tasan know he'd wasted the halfling's time.

OOC
Hide (1d20+11=13)
Move Silently (1d20+9=17)

[moritheil]

Birile's departure goes unobserved by the campers. He rejoins the group without incident.

[Birile]

Birile emerges from the tall weeds at the side of the path to see the group sitting around, clearly bored, and very silent.

He glances at Tasan and scowls, "I found your fire, there was no food to be had from the looks of it. Just two ragtag men in leathers standing around a fire--they didn't look too at ease in the wilderness, either. They did seem to be havin' a heated discussion of sorts, though, in case anybody cares."

With that, the halfling plops himself down between Khaiden and Thalidyrr.

[Arilin Nydelahar]

Thalidyrr eyes the halfling, "Two humans you say? How were they dressed? For travel? For a fight? Did you notice weapons?"

Thalidyrr looks to the assembled group, "What say everyone?"

[Birile]

"All I noticed was they were wearing leather armor. It didn't seem to me that the middle of the wilds was their first choice for a gathering place," replies the halfling.

[Tasan]

Tasan speaks up quickly, "I don't see why we need to bother with the details of the men. Esroh is a hermit and isn't likely to be in counsel with anyone, so we can rule out his presence at the fire. Our contract says to seek out the hermit and that is what we should do."

He nods as if assuring himself and looks towards the dwarf.

[Gormal]

Koray gives Tasan a satisfactory nod before shouldering his pack and starting back on the trail.

As he walks through the party he turns without stoipping to say, "Are ye coming or not? And someone might want to keep a closer eye on Birile."

[Yasden]

Khaiden shrugs his shoulders at the halfling.

'We all know that the combined thicknesses of the skulls of those two rivals that of a dragon's,' he muttered under his breath to Birile.

Dusting himself off, he looked around at the party.

'Even if Esroh isn't in counsel with anyone, who's to say that the locals around here don't know where he lives? Sure, those two might be after whatever we're seeking, but I think you two are more than a capable match for them!'

He nods back at Birile and gives him a wink.

'Gotta make 'em think they're super strong! The power of persuasion works wonders,' Khaiden whispered to him.

Suddenly, he smiled as a fresh breeze blew through the area, and Khaiden whispered a soft prayer to the wind.

'I think...and so does the wind, for that matter...that this would be the better course of action.'

For the first time that day, Khaiden had a serious expression on his face.

[Birile]

Giving Khaiden a knowing glance and chuckling, Birile replies, "I don't think they realize that the smoke is coming from the direction in which the path leads--in other words, we're rather headed toward the campfire anyway."

[moritheil]

The intrepid adventurers press onward, the trail carrying them further east and closer to the campfire.

OOC I need Spot checks for the party now :)

[Arilin Nydelahar]

Spot Check (1d20+9=15)

[Birile]

Spot (1d20=18)

[Tasan]

Spot (1d20=17)

[Gormal]

Spot 1d20=3

[Gormal]

Koray sidles up to Tasan and whispers something to him, chuckling lightly.

[moritheil]

Everyone except Koray notices a few figures crouched low in the underbrush up ahead, positioned to watch the trail.

OOC Spot is Wis-based, so you actually add your Wis to the d20 roll even if you don't have ranks in it. :)

[Birile]

Birile stops in his tracks at the sight of the men. "Now, what do you suppose they're doing there?" he whispers rhetorically. "Do you suppose they're lookin' for new friends?"

[Arilin Nydelahar]

Sighing, Thalidyrr stops before the halfling, and nudges him. "Keep walking, it would be best to not let on that we know their there. Follow the Dwarfs attitude. He fairly carefree." He points to Koray, who is oblivious to everything surrounding him as he makes his way through the terrian.

[Birile]

Nodding, Birile begins walking again, but replies, "Do you think it's a good idea to leave the dorf in the front? He looks like he's been in a brawl or two, but maybe one of you taller folk could better handle yourselves if this gets... interesting? Besides, if he hasn't seen the men he'd likely be caught off guard..."