Dungeons & Dragons 2.0 (Active RP topic)

Alysa moved away from Azul and the dwarf woman and towards the Necromancer she had spotted. She walked over to where he was laying on the ground and offered her hand to assist him to stand up.

"My name is Alysa Brie. I understand now that you bore no ill-will against that creature*, and you only acted out of worthy inentions. I harbor no malice towards you, and hope that you extend the same forgiveness of my rash actions to myself."


[*The Horse]

Shade accepted Athuk's waterflask gratefully.
"Thank you," he said, and took a large slug. When he looked up once more, the woman who had first accused him was standing before him, her hand outstretched. Shade gladly accepted the hand, and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet. He swayed a bit, but remained steady.
"Thank you," he said, slightly out of breath. "I am Shade Rowlandson." He bowed as deeply as he dared for fear of falling over in effort. When he stood once more, he was slightly red-faced and swaying. "I understand your initial feelings," he said after a moment. "And that is why I am on this very quest; to prove to the world that necromancy isn't all about hurting and harassing dead souls." Shade inclined his head. "And thus I forgive you for actions only natural to a woman of the forest as yourself. I admit the situation in which you saw me first was not the best situation to be in, if on the outside looking in." Shade swayed once more. "You'll have to excuse me," he mumbled as he fell back to the earth with a thud. After a few more sips of water, he addressed the group as a whole.
"Maybe we should make camp for the night, yes?"

Alysa watched, and failed to catch him, as Shade keened back onto the ground.

"I wish I had a remedy for you, but the only apocethary solutions I have deal with topical injuries, I afraid I can't do anything for fatigue from magic-use."

"Maybe we should make camp for the night, yes?"

"Perhaps a few of you could. I for one would very much like to track those Kobolds back to their lair before they have too much time to prepare for our arrival. I would enjoy an additional person or two if we were to storm their lair. Maybe if just one of you accompanied me we could scout out their territory and attack at dawn, as they displayed a sensitivity to sunlight?" She asked the group.

After letting the exhausted necromancer drink, Athuk himself drank a bit from the flask before putting it back in his back again. When Shade asked if they should set up camp, Athuk seconded the motion. He was quite exhausted by the surprise attack and would certainly need some food and rest to get back to fighting-shape.
After he'd scrounged the area for some firewood, ripping some off of the wrecked cart for good measure and having unpacked the fish he'd caught earlier in the day, he now only needed some fire to start making dinner.

"Does anyone happen to have some flint and steel or something else to start a fire? I'm not sure if I got enough stamina right now to summon a flame myself. Anyone up for some roasted fish, by the way?"


((Can I cast weaker variants of my spells for non-combat uses?))

[Yeah, Nird, so long as you're using the spell simply for the sake of convenience. If you use it in combat or use it as an adventuring tool (such as using a levitate spell to cross a chasm in cave) then you can't use it again, but if you're using it for something little and unimportant (like starting a fire or catching fish as you did earlier) then it doesn't count and you can use it as much as you want...of course, within reason.

And for those of you wondering, the only reason I'm not doing anything right now is because it's all in your hands. I'm not going to tell you guys what to do, and right now as a DM I have no job unless I wanted to introduce a new character or have you all get ambushed by kobolds again. Eventually I'll come in and say that you set up camp for the night, and then I'll sort of get you moving on the next day, but for now I'm just watching your interactions.]

Azul pocketed the small amount of gems he had found, unwilling to share his findings with the group. The others would likely find the idea of purchasing a shiny new magic book or a taller hat to be wastes of gold, so there was no reason he had to share. Azul strolled over to a nearby tree and slumped down against it, his large hat covering his eyes.

"Well, I for one vote for taking a rest here. The kobolds will find us, not the other way around. I saw we conserve out energy."

Sandor stealthily watched the battle-scarred party from the branches of a massive tree.
"So these are the adventurers the forest has told me of!"
He was eager to join them as commanded by the spirit he had encountered while meditating, but wished to study them some more in order to make sure they weren't just common oppressors from the hell that he knew as society.

As Sandor watches the party setting up camp, he hears a cry echoing through the forest from somewhere far behind him. It is only a light, barely noticeable call for help, but over time the cries become more urgent and loud. He glances over his shoulder, but sees nothing in the immediate area. The sound is clearly coming from somewhere in the distance, and then he hears the party in the clearing beginning to stir. Sandor returns his gaze to the path and sees that the adventurers have stopped setting up camp and have ceased activity entirely. They have even stopped discussing what to do next. They stand and stare into the forest, clearly hearing the cries for help just as well as Sandor does.

Sandor shrinks into the branches of the tree, wary of being seen by the party. He continues to monitor them closely to see how they will respond to this cry for help. He waits for them to prove their worth to him with their next move.

"Right then... Can't catch a moment's rest, huh?"

Athuk packed away his things, swung the pack over his shoulder, drew his shield, threw the half-cooked fish into his mouth and chomped down on it a few times before swallowing it and then set out in the direction of the screaming.

"I'm going out there, even though I can't light whatever's lurking out these on fire, I can still just gut or bludgeon them to death. Anyone coming with me? Someone will need to stay here to watch out for the more seriously wounded, though..."


((I'm pretty sure that a dragonborn stomach will be able to handle some raw fish and 'fishbones'))

Gerhild looks up at the noise that emerges from the woods, and jumps to her feat, her pick raised high.

"D'ye hear that? Someone's in trouble." She was about to give a suggestion to follow before the Dragonborn tore off ahead, and the she-dwarf shrugged her shoulders and followed into the woods.

((Been busy lately, and still am. Almost forgot about this. Excuse for short post.))

"A scream is made in the forest, and no adventurers respond to it, did it make a sound?" Azul had been taking a relaxing nap when a loud noise spread through their camp from the forest. He sprang to his feet and grabbed his staff.

"We should probably go find out where that scream is coming from, especially if it has to do with those Kobolds we're hunting." Azul used his spell to summon Virgil, a hawk who he had a decent working relationship with throughout his travels. Virgil has a snobby attitude towards the riffraff like Azul, but when ordered he got the job done provided he got a treat out of it. Azul was always sure to give him a bit of his meals when the opportunity arose. Out of thin air the hawk appeared, perched on Azul's right arm.

"Go on boy, and see if you can find the source of the screams." The hawk nodded and flew into the air, his strong eyes able to see far better than any human could in the dark.

"I'm right behind you Athuk. Lead the way. "

Shade groaned.
"I will be of no help to you out there. I will stay here and watch camp," he muttered dejectedly, covering his eyes and laying back down. His shoulder still hurt a bit and he hadn't eaten enough to regain his strength. "Good luck and Godspeed."

Athuk, Gerhild, and Azul set off from camp in search of the source of cries for help while the rest of the party remains behind. Sandor watches unseen from within the trees as the trio marches off into the woods, Azul sending forth his summoned hawk to scout ahead. The hawk takes off into the air and the adventuring party wanders off in that same direction, watching the bird through the gaps between trees' leaves. Before long Virgil lets out a loud shriek, circling repeatedly over one area of the forest. The party hurries off in that direction as the sun begins to set.

By the time the sky has turned orange, the party composed of Athuk, Azul, and Gerhild arrives at the source of the shouting. By now the cries have died out, the person from which they originated having gone hoarse long ago. Now, in the dim light of the forest, the three of them can barely make out the shape of a small humanoid creature tied up against a tree by a length of rope. The being is far shorter than any human and appears to be either a Halfling or a Gnome. The being is still and silent, apparently having exhausted himself by screaming for so long, he appears to be asleep or barely conscious.

Virgil, circling above just a moment earlier, now swoops down to perch upon Azul's shoulder. The air is deathly silent.

[Everybody, this is Merc. Merc, everybody.]

Virgil landed on Azul's shoulder and stared curiously at the body tied to the tree. Azul's head tilts as he watches the small man struggle to remain conscious. It was too early to guess that this was the work of the kobolds, but who could say really? This little man may have some useful information on their targets.

"Virgil, keep watch from the sky. I find it very peculiar that this man was just left here alone." The hawk returns to the sky while Azul strolls in front of the man and snaps his fingers in front of his face.

"Sir, me and Staffy have a few inquiries for you. You can start with what happened to get you tied to a tree alone in the forest, and then we'll consider untying you."

Meanwhile, Sandor, having followed the search party to the source of the screams, viewed the scene with an air of suspicion. The wretched scrap of skin tied to the tree was, in his opinion, an obvious trap. He reached back for his bow and waited for the impending ambush upon the three adventurers from the safety of the treetops.

"..not the feathers .. please mother .. milk .. you can't sell the mountains!" Dwellervorn awoke to surprise from a rather surreal dream involving his estranged family and a plot to sell some peculiar dairy-based mountain ranges. A man-sized wizard had appeared beside him and he realised that he was, in fact, rather close to rescue, whereas before he was rather close to being eaten by kobolds. He was clicking his fingers in front of Dwellervorn's face in an effort to wake him.
"Sir, me and Staffy have a few inquiries for you. You can start with what happened to get you tied to a tree alone in the forest, and then we'll consider untying you."
Dwellervorn's eyes widened as he realise there were other adventurers here too.
"Uhh .. excuse my tardiness in a reply, fair .. wizard creature .. but I was captured by the foul kobolds that inhabit this forest!" he struggled impotently against his bonds, not really getting anywhere, "I believe they were going to involve me in some sort of delicious halfling roast. Thankfully they were rushed to battle, I can only presume by your valiant efforts, and were unable to finish up the preparations for the entreé. So, I believe some thanks are in order! Were it not for your intervention I would certainly be warming the bellies of those beasts. Now, if you are satisfied, I would very much like to be freed."

Athuk didn't like, nor trust, the guy they'd found, who appeared to be a halfling of the shady variety.

"Right, caught by Kobolds..."

The dragonborn moved toward the thin tree to which the tiny individual was bound, before slicing it clean off at the base. Athuk then chopped off most of the top of the tree before picking the remaining trunk up, halfling still attached, and swinging it over his shoulder.

"I don't like this place. I'm taking him back to camp, we can continue talking there."

With that said, Athuk turned around and headed back to camp, ignoring any sorts of protest from anyone while listening carefully to the woods around him.

"Oooohhhhh, I do like a man who knows how to take charge. Right Staffy?" Azul said. Virgil swooped down overhead and replanted himself on Azul's shoulders, his watchful yellow eyes tracking any movements in the woods.

"My name is Azul sir Halfling. Might I ask what your name is and what brings you to this forest?"

Dwellervorn felt himself simultaneously freed and lifted onto the shoulder of what appeared to be a large lizard. He wasn't sure if this was safe, but felt it wise to not protest too loudly just yet.
"Uh .. if you could .. please .. I can walk on my own .. okay," he said between grunts as he was bounced rather carelessly on the giant lizard-folk's shoulder. "My name is Dwellervorn, the magnificient - oof! - rogue, and if you'll let me down .. ouch .. I could tell you a thing or two about the kobold lair!"

Azul lightly bopped the halfling on the head. "Don't be silly. Being on the dragon's shoulder isn't keeping your lips from flapping. Tell us what happened in regards to the kobolds, and maybe me and Staffy will consider having you put down. Depends on what you tell us."

By the time night comes the party arrives back at their impromptu campsite, their new Halfling friend in tow. Athuk sets the little fellow down somewhere while keeping him tied to the length of wood that was once a tree. The party in its entirety gathers around the Halfling for questioning as the stars begin to blink into existence above them.

Sandor watches the interrogation from the heights of a tree near the campsite. Suspecting that the kobolds could come at any time, he kept his bow in hand. Sandor was as suspicious as the party was about this starved, bony half-elf which they had found in the depths of this forest. He was tempted to leap from the heights of the tree and kill the cursed halfling. If there was one thing that angered Sandor more than civilization, it was the disgusting offspring of a human and an elf. Composing himself, he continued listening to the party's interrogation.

Athuk didn't really care for anything right now. He had 'rescued' the dude in distress, and planted him in the camp, his business with the halfling was done. He did however make sure he could see the guy from the corner of his sight even as he unpacked the fish again and relit the small pile of wood by sending a few fire-sparks through his blade. Once the fire had grown to a decent size, he carefully put the slowly-going-bad fish on top of the pile, letting them gradually sizzle to perfect eating condition.

"Would anyone be interested in some roasted fish?"



((Food, food, food... FOOD!))

Shade raised his had, rousing himself from sleep.

"Get me some of that, barkeep," he slurred sleepily. He blinked a few times, sniffed the air, and nodded to Athuk. "er, Ahem, yes, some food would be great."
He was about to go back to sleep, but he noticed the gathering of the party around a log. He approached, his strength back (at least a little bit*) and peered at the halfling. Then, without preamble, he stepped forward.
"Hello. My name is Shade Rowlandson. I am a necromancer, travelling with this group. We were recently attacked by a band of kobolds, so you'll have to excuse us if we are a little wary of newcomers. What is your name?"



*amirite, Muffy? Or do you determine when we regain health?