Play by Post D&D: The New Begining

[Glitch Girl]

[oog]Time to play sort out the action, WHEE!!!

Yuan: your question answered via PM

BB:
[spoiler] It'll be tight, and you'll get a good chunk of the common room, including a few of the people who weren't causing trouble before now.  Still, you can cast without the web touching you or Orloid or the fireplace.  There are some lanterns in the range as well, but they are sealed, and as long as they stay intact, you should be okay in that respect[/spoiler]
[/oog]

"You, human," the blueskinned elf demands in imperious tones, "What means the symbol you bear?  I seek one who wears such a device."

Viking, Benton, Lord Elcorion (the only ones who made this spot roll)
[spoiler]For a fraction of a second, there a flicker of surprise that crosses the large man's face, as suddenly aware something's amiss.There's also a little annoyance in there too, but it is all quickly replaced with his stone-faced expression from before  When he speaks, he casually tucks the amulet back under his breastplate, trying not to make a big show of it.[/spoiler]

"That is unimportant," says the armored man.  "For now, this man is my concern," he adds indicating the parchment.

"Yeah," one of the hobgoblin's sneers, "so siddown and shuddup freak!"

"Ralsh, none of that!" the armored man snaps.

"Yessir" the Hobgoblin mutters reluctantly.

Neither of them notice the bard murmur something to the strange blue elf just before advancing forward with a melodic chord.

"As it so happens," he says with musical accompaniment, "I think I've seen someone bearing a passing resemblance to that picture.  'Twas much earlier, in the storm outside, and passing strange besides.  I had thought it would make for a good tale, though I'd not expected an interested audience so quickly..."

He begins to sing.  It's a good song, nice, somewhat ominous tune.  The hobgoblins seem to like it a lot, and even the armored man seems interested.  His eyes narrow suspiciously a bit at the end of verse four but he stays quiet throughout the song. 

When the song ends.  "Tell me, singer.  Are you sure that's what he told you?"

[BentonGrey]

At the large man's dismissal the tall elf veritably bristled with barely contained anger, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.  He was about to fire off an ire-filled retort when the bard's song swept through the inn.  He raised his head and glared at the human throughout the balance of the performance, and once it had finished he answered the human's probing question with steel-toned words.

"This man may be your concern, but that symbol is mine," he began evenly, "I shall not be disregarded as though I were some peasant in the street."  His hand fell heavily to the ornate hilt of his sword as he finished, "Now, I shall ask you again, what means the charm?"

[Panther_Gunn]

oog:  Has Og received his stew yet, or has this man distracted the bartender enough to keep her from that so far?  Food, or lack of it, will determine just how much Og is paying attention to everything else.  ;)

[Glitch Girl]

oog: Ogg has not received his stew yet.  Shalla put down the bowl shortly after this new group entered and seems to be paying more attention to them than Og at the moment.

[Panther_Gunn]

As the minutes pass by, and Og receives no food, his scowl deepens.  About three-quarters of the way through the song, Og stands, and begins to make his way towards the bar.  Whether warned by instinct, or the low growl that rumbles from deep within the half-ogre's chest, the orcs scuttle out of the way.  Og makes as direct a path towards the door as the architecture allows, paying little heed to other patrons, or furniture, his eyes glued on the large, armored figure.

[spoiler]If the hobgoblins try to intercede, he will palm one of their heads with his left hand, face first, and apply enough pressure to show intent, but not enough to break anything or draw blood......well, maybe a *little* blood. :twisted:[/spoiler]

Just after the blue elf issues his imperious command, Og stops in front of the armored man, and pokes him in the breastplate with one finger (to get his attention).

"Og want food.  You talk at bar-lady, Og not get food.  Og think you stop talk, you see sun come up."

[Uncle Yuan]

"Well, if the bard didn't distract him , the half-breed ogre surely will." I smile to Whisper.  "I'll care to this man, Whisper.  If you'd see to it that we are not disturbed I'd be grateful."


With that I set about doing what I can to rouse him - I have a feeling that healing him will be a tad obvious, but perhaps something stimulating?  (Like a smelling salt?)

[spoiler]With everyone distracted I want to make sure to "acquire" the man's necklace.  I give it a quick glance as I pick it up, otherwise it's into the bag and I'll study it more later.[/spoiler]

[Viking]

I sigh softly and roll my eyes.  "The curse of a performer," I mutter.  "Someone always trying to upstage you."

Not being a complete idiot, however, I wait for Og and the armored man to settle their differences.  My lute is still in hand, however, and ready to play at a moment's notice.

[BlueBard]

By my count, there are at least five who stand ready to oppose the strangers.  I like those odds much better.  I move forward just a little, my hand on the hilt of my sword, letting the strangers note that the opposition will be fairly heavy if things turn to violence.

GM:
[spoiler]I'm going to try to hold off on the web spell, save it for a last resort.  If it looks like the orcs are inclined to pitch in on the side of the strangers, or if the half-ogre turns on us, or if things otherwise deteriorate, I'll use it.[/spoiler]

[Glitch Girl]

[oog]
for the record, in case there is any confusion, there are four hobgoblins.

...As he enters, he is quickly flanked by a quartet of Hobgoblins who look around the room, sizing everyone up.

[/oog]

Before the bard can answer the armored man's question, he is cut off by the blue-skinned elf's demanding question.  The man in armor's eyes focus angrily on the blue elf, his own grip tightening on the axe.

And then Og gets in the way.

"Og want food.  You talk at bar-lady, Og not get food.  Og think you stop talk, you see sun come up."

"Now now Og," Shalla intercedes.  "Don't start busting up my inn over a little bit of stew."  she quickly ladles out some of the soup into the very large bowl and sets it on the bar.  "Here you go, two silver," she adds.

Meanwhile, the rest of the tavern is making a huge show of not getting involved. The orcs seem to be waiting to see what happens while trying not look like they are, as are the halflings, while the noble elf is doing his best to ignore it as if it will go away if he does.  His companion, however, is watching everything very intently and seems poised to act if things go pearshaped.  In fact, there seems to be a lot of people poised to act if things go pearshaped.

Orloid:[spoiler] you do have some smelling salts.  You're not sure how he'll react to them, but if you want to try just say so.[/spoiler]

[Viking]

The entertainer stands up, one hand holding the lute, the other held up, palm outward, in a gesture of peace.

"Peace, strangers and friends alike.  Might I suggest that this conversation continue outside?  While the climate is inhospitable, it's less subject to... other interruptions.  After which, if any of you truly feel that a disagreement can only be solved through violence, you may sort things out without damaging this good lady's inn."

[BlueBard]

Without taking my eyes off the hobgoblins and their leader for very long, what does the noble elf's companion look like?

[Uncle Yuan]

On due consideration, perhaps this is not the best time to have my patient start thrashing and moaning . . . I'll continue to clean and bandage him while keeping a keen ear on the goings on.  As I'm doing so I'll use my movements to pick up the necklace, adjust my sword for quick access and be ready to defend him as needed.

OOC: What is the origin of the phrase "going pearshaped" for the fit hitting the shan?

[Panther_Gunn]

"Og want food.  You talk at bar-lady, Og not get food.  Og think you stop talk, you see sun come up."

"Now now Og," Shalla intercedes.  "Don't start busting up my inn over a little bit of stew."  she quickly ladles out some of the soup into the very large bowl and sets it on the bar.  "Here you go, two silver," she adds.

Og continues to glower at the armored man, never taking his eyes off of him.  He shakes his coin pouch meaningfully (and it does jingle modestly), and says towards the bar: "Add tab."

[spoiler]If Og has ever been a customer here before, Shalla knows Og prefers to settle up later, more privately, as it's a little frustrating for him to handle "small change" with hands his size.  If this is his first time, he probably "whispered" it to Shalla upon his first order, since it's something he's a little sensitive about.[/spoiler]

Og takes the bowl with his left hand, eyes never straying far from the intruder, sidles away a bit (keeping the man in his peripheral vision), and finally turns enough to head back to his table, but never quite turning his back to him.

[Glitch Girl]

"All right... As long as you settle up before you leave," Shalla says ruefully and shuffles a bit behind the bar.

The armored man watches Og as he goes back to his seat.  Then he turns his gaze back towards the bard.

"That won't be necessary.  I'm sure we can settle matters here peacefully, isn't that right men?" that last bit directed at the hobgoblins who mutter various forms of affirmation. 

"So tell me singer," he continues, "tell me more of your meeting with this man." 

Dakkon [spoiler] He seems to be making a point of ignoring you now.[/spoiler]

Whisper, Orloid[spoiler] Orloid manages to snag the necklace from the pile.  It's cheaply made and has a small circular medallion with a bird (hawk, maybe an eagle) with wings outstretched.  It doesn't look very valuable.[/spoiler]

Nathan the young priest wanders back over to your group.  "What do you think this is all about?" he whispers to Orloid.

Whisper[spoiler]He's dressed far more utilitarian than the other elf.  He's got a sword and you think you see a dagger hilt hidden under his cloak.  The way he's looking around, he kinda reminds you of a mother wolf protecting her cubs[/spoiler]

[BlueBard]

"These have something to do with a band of highwaymen," I mutter in a low tone intended for Orloid and Nathan's ears alone.  "Their insignia has been described to me.  I know little else."

[BlueBard]

"Moreover," I add, "We need to do something about this man.  Given the weather outside, I have my doubts they will simply leave.  We may have to endure their company awhile."  I pause, thinking.

To Orloid, in Elven:
[spoiler]"Could you perhaps bandage his face, as if he had a head wound?  A bit of disguise might go a long way."[/spoiler]

[Viking]

The singer shrugs, and sits back down, waving his hand in a gesture of, 'So be it'.  "As I explained in my verse, it was a chance encounter, and in the storm, no less.  The man of which you speak was clearly running from something or someone, and was wounded.  Have I recalled precisely what he said to me?  Heavens, no - storms make proper communication difficult in the best of times.  But while I took some artistic liberty in the fourth verse, he definitely said 'Beware the Cleansing Flame.'  And while I'm certainly no hunter or woodsman, it seemed as if he was deliberately leaving the road as he continued running away, towards the forest.  A roughly westward direction, by my estimate."

To Glitch Girl:
[spoiler]Clearly, I'm spinning enough of a yarn to knit sweaters for the whole party.  As part of the telling of this particular tall tale, I'd like to cast Glibness, which by its description only requires Somatic (gesturing) components.  I'm gambling on it being subtle enough that the axe-wielder and his hobgoblins won't pick up on it.  I'm good at Bluffing, but I'm hedging my bets here.[/spoiler]

[Uncle Yuan]

To Whisper and Nathan:

[spoiler] "I asked Nathan to see about a room for him.  What did you find out, Nathan?  Getting him out of the common room is an even better disguise, but the point is well taken."[/spoiler]

I fish up a couple of the damp and bloody cloths that I'd been using to clean him up, fold them into a "bloody dressing" (clean on the bottom) and place it under the man's eye.  Then I'll bind it in place with a generous application of bandages, trying to cover up a decent amount of his face.

[BentonGrey]

As the large man disregarded his question for a second time, the azure elf's eyes flashed with a deadly fire, and his mouth set in a grim line.  Stepping across the room with such grace he seemed to be floating, he came to stand eye to eye with the irritating human, his hand never leaving the hilt of his sword.  He was close enough to block out his opponent's view of the rest of the inn, but with the practiced ease he took up his stand with enough space between them to draw his sword.

"I shall not ask again, lest it be to carve the question in your corpse," he stated evenly. 

[spoiler]If he tries to attack, Dakkon will whip his sword from his sheath and try and intercept him.  Do I have a disarm feat?  If so, I'll try and do that, then hold him at sword-point to discourage his friend.  If, instead of attacking, he again ingores him, Dakkon will slap him across the face with his left hand and attempt to draw his sword at the same time.  Ideally, this would end up the same way.[/spoiler]

[Glitch Girl]

OOG: Before you do that, you're going to have to get around the Bard.  Are you going to cut in front of him?

[Lord Elcorion]

--still sitting silently, my grip on my mace never loosening, though i make sure my other hand is free to aim and snap off an eldritch blast if need be.--

[BentonGrey]

OOC: Abso-lutely! 

OOC: Sorry Viking, just trying to play in character.... :unsure:  Dakkon is a prince, and as such would react...unpleasantly to not getting his way.

[Glitch Girl]

OOG: okay...

Benton, we'll see if we can get your feats sorted out quickly.


IG:

The bard begins his tale, "As I explained in my verse, it was a chance encounter, and in the storm, no less.  The man of which you speak was-"

And that's as far as he gets when he's suddenly pushed aside as the blue elf comes charging up with a loud "I shall not ask again, lest it be to carve the question in your corpse."

Blades flash as the hobgoblins all draw their swords.  Two of them step in front of their commander.  The blue elf's blade practically flows from its sheath and manages to catch one of the hoboblin's swords.  There's a loud clang and the hobgoblin's weapon is knocked out of his hand, tumbles through the air...

...and lands on a rather large bowl of rabbit stew, sloshing the contents all over the table and the large half-ogre sitting there, now wearing part of his meal.


Meanwhile....

Whisper and Oloid
[spoiler] Nathan whispers to Oloid "Shalla said she'd let us use her room behind the bar. But... why does this man want him?  Has he done something wrong?  Oh dear!" he starts as the blue elf charges past the bard to confront the armored man.

By now, the unconscious man's face is well bandaged, but he is still able to breathe.  You don't think you've been noticed so far.[/spoiler]

[BentonGrey]

The elf now faced a rather nasty situation, three armed opponents and only one of him, but wounded pride had driven him into this, and he'd drown in his own element before he'd give them the satisfaction of backing down.

OOC:  Alrighty......I suppose, if he can manage it, he'll try and disarm the other hobgoblin and maintain the threat to the commander without drawing blood.  Dakkon doesn't really want to kill him if he doesn't have to.  If necessary, he'll try and put the hobgoblin, and anyone or anything else that gets between him and his goal, down.

[Viking]

The bard backpedals quickly after the blue-skinned elf shoulders forcibly past him.  He takes several more deliberate steps away from the heart of the action after seeing the falling weapon ruin Og's meal.

The scene did not lend itself well towards choosing sides in the conflict.  On the one hand, the armored man and his hobgoblin lackeys did not seem trustworthy in the least.  On the other hand, the blue-skinned elf seemed dangerously prone to anger and violence.

Thus it came to be that the bard followed in the time-honored tradition of bards everywhere when conflict erupted...

Side with the inkeeper.

No innkeeper ever likes to have their establishment wrecked in a brawl.  Bards everywhere tend to agree with this sentiment.

Running his fingers over a few quick chords, the entertainer calls out a cautionary note:

"Pay heed to your footing, oh ye who would brawl,
Any fool knows that pride doth go 'fore the fall."

OOG:
[spoiler]The bard has just cast the spell, Grease.  This should be entertaining, especially since it sounds like the hobgoblins, the armored figure, and the blue-skinned elf are all nicely concentrated in the desired area of effect.[/spoiler]

[BentonGrey]

OOC:  Haha, I suppose you got me back but good Viking! :D

[BlueBard]

The elf in patchwork clothes sighs, wishing he'd kept his bow handy.  But who would ever expect to need one inside a tavern?

He readies a spell... not quite wanting to cast it, but the situation has escalated.  He waits to see the outcome of the bard's spellcasting before casting one of his own.

[Uncle Yuan]

It's a pity.  The few curse words there are in elvish still all sound so elegant to non-elvish ears . . .

"Quickly, Nathan!  You take his shoulders, I'll take his feet - we need to get him out of here!"  I throw my bag over my shoulder, pile the man's belongings on his belly and grab his feet.  "You lead the way to this room of the inn keeper's."

As we go I mutter to Whisper "My spear and bow are just there." I indicate where they lean against the wall, only a couple of feet away. "Feel free.  I will return immediately."

[Panther_Gunn]

Blades flash as the hobgoblins all draw their swords.  Two of them step in front of their commander.  The blue elf's blade practically flows from its sheath and manages to catch one of the hoboblin's swords.  There's a loud clang and the hobgoblin's weapon is knocked out of his hand, tumbles through the air...

...and lands on a rather large bowl of rabbit stew, sloshing the contents all over the table and the large half-ogre sitting there, now wearing part of his meal.

Being in the midst of eating at the time, Og was caught with the spoon halfway between the bowl and his mouth at the time of impact.  As such, he freezes like that until gravity has taken effect on most of the liquid, closing both his eyes and his mouth.  He then slowly, and deliberately, puts the spoon down on the table, next to the bowl.  Og then stands up & moves out from behind the table, again, in a very deliberate manner.  One would think that he was perfectly calm, if not for the unmistakable scowl on his face that could curdle fresh milk.  :angry:  He picks up the offending weapon and carries it, point down, towards it's owner.  Standing in front of (and over) him, Og will firmly grip his shoulder with his free hand.

"Stupid hobble-gobble drop something?"  No one within five feet of the half-ogre can miss the low growl that follows the question, or the barely contained snorts of breathing.  Intelligent creatures, and those with a high sense of self-preservation, have most likely removed themselves from the vicinity.

[spoiler]If the hobgoblin reacts hostily, he will find out first hand what it's like to be severely pummeled by an unhappy half-ogre.  At the very least, with the pressure that's being put on his shoulder, he should walk away from this with a bruised, cracked, or even broken collar bone.[/spoiler]

[Glitch Girl]

The hobgoblins assume a defensive posture, staring down the blue elf who returns in kind, none of them paying much attention to the little snatch of music from the bard's lute.  One of the Hobgoblins starts to lunge at Dakkon, and his foot keeps on lunging, sliding frictionlessly across the floor until he loses his balance and falls in a kind of painful looking version of the splits.   

The blue elf discovers he's on slippery ground in more ways than one.  His feet try to slide out from under him, but he barely manages to keep his balance.  Another Hobgoblin grabs the doorframe for support as he skids on the slick surface.  The other hobgoblins manage to plant their feet unsteadily but don't look like they want to try moving unless they want to end up on the floor as well.  The armored man jerks a little bit  as if he'd started to slip, but he seems to have a far surer footing than his troops.

And then, a shadow starts to over the blue elf and his opponents, a vaguely half-ogre shaped shadow. Og appears focused on the disarmed hobgoblin.

Og takes another step, and his foot starts to slide.

(OOG: OG rolled a 6 on his save, ouch)

Og is still moving forward, only now it's a little faster and a lot less controlled. He's still aimed at the unarmed Hobgoblin who tries to scramble out of the way.

He doesn't.  Og skids into him and both crash to the floor. There're loud whoops of laughter from the halfling table.

While all this is going on, Nathan and Oloid pick up the wounded man and start to carry him over towards the bar and the door behind it.  Shalla catches your eye and gives a small nod and tilts her head towards the door as if to say "go quickly".  She reaches behind the bar and pulls out a wooden cudgel (commonly referred to as "the barman's friend")

Problem: there's a very slick area of floor between Orloid and the bar.