TheFred

Bianca Pohlo

Seeing the skeletons come to life, Bianca screams in fright!

It's not a very loud scream, as screams go - being perhaps somewhere between a shout of surprise and a terrified yelp - but so frightened is she that she can hardly scrabble to get her wits about her before the skeletons are already ambulatory.

Bianca Pohlo

"Oh! Oh my... what's that noise?" Bianca exclaims fearfully.

She peers into the darkness and catches sight of the bodies ahead before drawing back in terror.

"They... they're dead..." she exclaims, her horror and fright evident. "Gods protect us... ugh... I think I'm going to be sick..."

Still not quite sure she actually understands what just happened, Nancy nods her agreement. Part of her, an angry part, wants to go after the man and find out what he knows - but the rest is happy just to run away and hide.

"People are looking... we're attracting attention," she observes, her discomfort at being in such a crowded, populated place reaching new heights as she feels the crowd's eyes on her. "We should depart... quickly."

Bianca Pohlo

Bianca frowns at Noriko.

"Well, they’re, um, made of bones…" she points out. "I’m no warrior but I imagine that makes them hard to… um, well, stab? And this one was crushed, so we know that works."

At the other suggestion, she shakes her head.

"I can’t stay out all night, though!" A scary thought enters her head, and she continues: "These things supposedly came upon the workers whilst they were sleeping - surely it’s better to deal with them in the daytime, rather than risk getting attacked ourselves?"

What would her parents say if she just vanished? It’s bad enough that she’s gone off with a group of - mostly - strangers without telling them; she can’t camp here all day and all night.

Bianca Pohlo

Bianca looks back at Noriko uncomfortably, and nervously pushes her glasses back up her nose.

"Um, well, um... necromantic spells can animate bodies or, um, bones… they aren’t very strong, the weakest of the undead; it looks like this one was crushed by the horse." As she talks, she seems to lose some of her nerves and focuses more on the facts and figures she can remember. "Undead can haunt old places like this, but… this is an old Varisian site, that was used a lot back before Sandpoint got so big, so… it seems unlikely. Besides, they wouldn’t have sent worker with no guards if there was any chance of that."

She shrugs, not quite sure what to make of it all.

"I, um, I can test to see if there’s any trace of necromancy?" She suggests.

Carefully, she repeats the incantation of revealing that will allow her to discern any magical auras in the area… this time, keeping her distance, just in case this skeleton, like the orc, decides to try and grab at her!

Nancy listens to the exchange, stupefied, her mind whirring as it tries to catch up.

"Wait... Cessah’s alive?" she asks. She’d thought - perhaps hoped? - that their former captor had been buried in the cave-in.

"Where is she?" She demands, finding herself suddenly angry, uncharacteristically so. The man’s no more likely to answer her than he was Ingrid, but Nancy doesn’t worry about that, simply needing to let out her anger. "Tell us!"

Bianca Pohlo

"Ugh..." Seeing the others move the horse’s body makes Bianca’s stomach twist and she looks away. As they begin to inspect the bones underneath, she turns back to try and see, simultaneously trying to keep her distance from the unpleasant view and lean closer to peer at the skeleton.

"I, uh, well, I’ve read a bit about, um, undead…" She says. "That kind of magic is… well, it’s not the sort of thing that I study, but…"

The evidence seems to suggest that these bones really were brought to life by some dark magic! She tries to remind herself that such creations are amongst the weakest of the undead, mere semblances of life that are only truly dangerous in large numbers… yet she cannot help a shiver running down her spine at the thought of those skeletal abominations creeping around near here.

Bianca Pohlo

"Oh... oh my..." Catching sight of the grisly scene, Bianca draws back in horror. "They, um, they were right about the horses... ugh. Could wolves have done that?"

And leave their food uneaten? It seems unlikely... but perhaps the workers disturbed them, and they fled? It seems a tenuous explanation - but what's the alternative?

Bianca Pohlo

"Uh... very well, then." Bianca nods her acceptance, though she looks reluctant. "Thank you."

It's hard to tell if the horse is friendly or not. It doesn't look tremendously amused... Bianca assumes that it probably doesn't have time for her. Well, it's hardly her fault that she's not good with animals, is it? Still, with Neskas' help she is able to climb - in a most unladylike fashion - onto its back, where she clings on for dear life.

"Woah, this is... um... it's higher than I expected..."

On 3/23/2023 at 12:08 AM, madMonk said:

Sister Azura

"How long does your sleeping magic last?" Azura asks the trainee wizard.

Bianca Pohlo

"Well, um... I'm not quite... probably not long?" Bianca says, in answer to Azura's question. She looks at the other woman only to realise that she seems now to be paying more attention to the river - and the rest of the group, who are already busying themselves with crossing it - than Bianca. But then, people do seem to lose interest in Bianca faster than she might have chosen...

"Uh... I, uh, suppose we're crossing here, then?" She asks. She glances down at the wolf... it had better be soon, too. "I, um... there isn't a bridge or anything, I suppose?"

More than a little surprised to see Ingrid suddenly barrelling past, Nancy can only gape as half the group suddenly rush after some passer-by. She glances at Quim, wondering if he feels as shocked as she does.

"We, um... come on," she says, before hurrying after the others.

She hangs back a bit, still not quite sure what's going on, and looks at the man that Draco has accosted. Does he look familiar somehow? It's hard to say, but he doesn't seem friendly.

Nancy can't help but stare - just a bit - at the tiny man behind the stall. Despite the rather multicultural group of freed slaves at the tower, she still finds the sight of the fellow frying perogies a little unusual. Then again, this whole trip is pretty unusual for her; it's not like her mother let her out a lot.

"What's that?" she asks The food is delicious, one of the best things she's eaten in a long time, and she's far too preoccupied to be really following the discussion. She glances at Draco, then looks around. "I didn't see anyone," she says, with a shrug.

Bianca Pohlo

Bianca looks at the wolf sceptically.

"An... enchanted wolf?" she asks, confused. "I suppose I could attempt to test for magic... but it's already under a spell. I put it to sleep."

Nervously, she eyes the wolf. Last time she'd tried to divine for magic, the thing she was inspecting had grabbed at her.

"And... er... it might wake up," she adds. "Maybe we should just let it be and, erm, leave?"

Instinctively, Nancy flinches back from Quim's tug, but Draco seems happy to indulge the boy so she follows along. This whole escapade has her more than a little on edge, but the city is so busy that nobody seems to be paying her much mind, not beyond the odd stare.

"It doesn't matter," she says to Coalscuttle, as the kobold asks more questions about the rebels. "There are probably a lot of things wrong with this place, but so long as we can get what we need without any trouble we'll be fine." 

It would be just their luck to get caught up in some sort of... rebellion? Nobody here seems to be all that worried about whatever it is, mind you, so perhaps - just perhaps - might they have a simple and uneventful trip, for once?

Nancy shrugs at the others. Ingrid and Draco's disagreement lingers in the air and the new boy, Quim, doesn't seem comfortable about it... but Nancy had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't really been paying all that much attention.

"We're here to get supplies, aren't we?" she asks. At least, that's what they'd all been talking about - feeding the ever-growing number of mouths back at the tower. Ingrid always seems to be the one with the plan, though, and whether she has anything additional in mind is impossible to say. "We shouldn't worry about any rebels... we already get caught up in too much of other peoples' business as it is! The last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves." 

She pulls her cloak around more tightly, wishing there was some better way to conceal herself.

Bianca Pohlo

By the time Bianca has finished her spell, the wolves and warriors have already clashed, and the animals have mostly turned tail and run.

Hoping at least to achieve something useful, Bianca aims the arcane energies that her spell has summoned at one of the nearby wolves, just in case the danger isn't yet over.

Bianca Pohlo

"Wolves?" Bianca exclaims in disbelief. First orcs, now wolves?

The swift-moving, hungry-looking creatures are already almost upon them before she even has time to react, loping out of the woods ahead. In a panic, Bianca retreats, closer to the others, not sure what to do. Could she do something? A spell, perhaps? She wasn't prepared for this - why would she have been?

Fearfully, she starts to rummage in her bags. There must be something here that can help! Perhaps... yes!

Pulling out a handful of sand, she begins a simple incantation. At least, it's supposed to be... it's not as though she's ever cast a real spell under such frightful conditions before, and it seems to take a painfully long amount of time to recite the relevant words...

Well, Freed Slave isn't entirely inappropriate flavour-wise, it just kinda sticks out mechanically, is all.

Dogged... hmm, that's definitely more flexible, but it's also only 1/day (mind you, only triggering off a nat 1 probably means it's pretty rare anyway). I know traits are meant to be very minor but I wonder if that's in the "probably doesn't actually ever make a difference" camp, in which case, well, you don't need any mechanical bonuses at all to have good flavour or an interesting story.

Nancy eyes her paper dubiously.

Horns.

Well, it is impossible to disguise the fact... even with her hood up, it's rather obvious, and the offical had likely caught a glimpse when she hadn't been looking away. It doesn't really matter, she supposes... he didn't say anything about it, after all. It's just a little strange to see something about her appearance written down so explicitly.

"I, um... we should get what we need, and leave," she suggests, trying to focus on the here and now. "The sooner we can get supplies back, the better... and I'd rather not spend any longer here than we have to, either." 

Bianca Pohlo

Bianca has spent most of the time since the attack worrying about orcs, and mention of the wand doesn't help matters.

"A healing wand?" she asks. "Why? Does he think we might need it?"

On 1/17/2023 at 11:42 PM, Doby said:

Sort of a test to see who has made it over here to check out the new site, but each party member is being granted an extra trait.  I've compiled options for each player to choose from based on how you've played for character (and one general option for anyone to take).

Ingrid: Caution (+1 dodge bonus when fighting defensively), devoted healer (take 20 to treat deadly wounds, heal additional 1d4)

Coal: Armor Expert (ACP -1), blessed touch (+1 healed by lay on hands, channeling energy, or cure spells)

Nancy: Unintentional Linguist (+1 linguistics, +1 outside language), dogged (roll gains +1 after rolling natural 1)

Quim: beast bond (+1 handle animal & ride), suspicious (+1 sense motive, makes it a class skill)

Draco: for the money (haggle bonus, +1 appr), Triaxus-Trained (+1 perc, +1 to influence dragons)

Anyone: Freed Slave (homebrew: you survived captivity by your strong will, stout back, or quick reactions to danger.  You gain a +1 trait bonus to will, fortitude, or reflex saves [your choice upon taking trait]).

If you don't like the ones I selected for you, I'm open to suggestions, but I am going to base my decision on in-character actions.

I kind of forgot about this!

Mechanically speaking, Freed Slave seems like it's just... way better? Thematically I like Dogged I guess, at least based on recent events, though is that just one roll after any nat 1, or the same type of roll, or what? Linguist... does make sense, though Nancy will already know more languages than she had any right to due to Curse of Tongues.

Bianca Pohlo

Still embarrassed, Bianca looks back at Azura awkwardly. The other woman has been awfully nice to her, but she's still really just a stranger... if anything, her friendliness only serves to make the socially-awkward Bianca more uncomfortable.

"I, uh... thanks?" she replies, then tries to muster a weak smile.

Deciding to try and move on, she pushes her glasses back up her nose and clears her throat.

"*ahem*... um, do you think there could be more of them?" she asks. "We should probably alert the townsfolk! Um... is this a coincidence? It couldn't have been orcs who attacked the workers, could it? But why would they cut up the horses...? That makes no sense!" 

Bianca Pohlo

Bianca stumbles into Azura, and grabs hold of the strange woman as if for dear life.

"I-- uh... he grabbed me..." she mumbles weakly, before realising that the orc really is dead and there's nothing to worry about.

Feeling suddenly very awkward, she lets go of Azura and tries to straighten herself up.

"Um... *ahem*... I, uh, thank you," she says, nodding at both Azura and the gnomish gentleman. "I, uh, don't think there's any magic here..." 

Nancy has been more than a little nervous about the trip to the Citadel, but it seems safer than Crossroads and, well, last time they went anywhere they were attacked by a dragon, so it would be hard to beat that.

Besides, they need supplies; even before the extra kobolds there were just too many hungry mouths to feed.

The logic of it is one thing, though, and the reality another. Nancy eyes the guards, officials, and general populous nervously from beneath a large hooded cloak. Ever since they approached the gate she'd been uncomfortable, heightening to a kind of terror - not the terror of almost being eaten by a dragon, perhaps, but a different kind of fear. Her mother had always kept her away from strangers, and though by now the escaped slaves and former guardsfolk had gotten used to her horrid appearance, these people would likely not be so welcoming. Besides, the last thing any of them wanted as unwelcome attention or prying questions.

"Perhaps we should have offered that man a bribe..." she muses, though she doesn't say it too loudly. Honestly, she isn't quite sure how to offer a bribe, or whether the guard had been interested in one - but, as galling as the notion is, it seems preferable to this... inspection.

It's clear that Quim, too, isn't comfortable here, but at least he blends into the background. Nancy hangs back near where he's busying himself with the wagon, keeping her head turned away so that the Citadel man can't see her scaly red skin.

Bianca Pohlo

Bianca screams as, suddenly, something grabs hold of her. Well, it's more like a yelp, but louder and more terrified. Her divination is immediately forgotten as she tries to leap back and loses her balance.

"Aaaargh! It's got me!" she shrieks, flailing her arms madly.