Fiona takes a few minutes to integrate the supplies into her pack. Once satisfied that everything is in place, she hefts it and the maul and follows Aldalec. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees that the bug, half-giant and elf all follow too. Well that speaks volumes. I half expected at least one of them to grab the supplies and take off in the other direction. Then again, it's hard to avoid the lure of Aldalec's charisma. She suppresses a smile at the thought of just how many people she's seen fall under the sway of the bard's personality since she's been traveling with him. That man can talk water out of a rock. I guess we'll see if the others stick with it or bolt once we're out of sight of the town. Three days of rations is quite the prize in and of itself.
Slinging her pack, Nerris walks past the group. Ten silvers for a two day jaunt is hard to say no to. Call me Nerris, but you'd better keep that singing under wraps unless you want to be using that thing to block Silt Runner arrows. Try to keep up.
Without another word, she sets off in the direction the Dwarf indicated.
Once we start traveling, would it be possible for Nerris to shadow the group from the side to try and flush out any amushes waiting, or would that require her to move too slowly? If not, she would probably act as (one of) the party scout without being asked. EDITED: For brain fart.
Fiona watches as Nerris rapidly passes the rest of the group. Okay, so we have a taker for prime spot of 'gonna get shot first'. Gotta admire her gumption though. She moves up to walk beside Aldalec. "Thoughts on these three strays you've managed to charm into following us?" She speaks softly, as is her wont. Also, she doesn't want to incur the wrath of their new companions due to her natural inclination to be suspicious until proven that it's not warranted.
Her eyes continually roam the landscape, looking for anything out of place.
Sand walks along with the group in an unassuming gait. After the party is out of the Altaruk, Sand looks around at the group. "In my clan, if we where to ever go out on a raid... er hunt, with another clan, we would exchange calls. You may call upon me by Sand, it was the call given to me since my first sight of death." Sand talks as if he is speaking from memory, a monotone speech with little inflection.
Fiona gives Sand an appraising glance. This was the most that she'd heard him speak since she'd first laid eyes on him. She decides to take the 'charm' approach, since he is another of her kind. She holds out her hand to him to shake, her smile bright on her tanned face. "Fiona. Although you probably heard Aldalec call me that before. What brought you to Altaruk without your clan?"
She ignores the smirk that crosses Aldalec's face, as she knows he assumes that she's playing the half-giant. Maybe I am. Doesn't hurt to have big guys that know how to fight as friends though. Who knows? He could become a valued ally, much like the bard.
Seeing that they have a deal, Rothan appears to be relieved. He gives the group a lot of details on where to find the tracks of the missing wagon.
The group makes its preparations for the trip, which is not much more than making sure weapons are sharp and armors are well adjusted, desert clothes are expertly arranged to achieve maximum protection from the sun and optimal water retention.
It's a good thing there is no need to bring excessive amounts of food, water and camping gear for such a short trek. As Rothan said, it could be as quick as a one day trip. If the Inix is gone and the wagon needs to be pulled, that would probably slow things down, but still manageable. If everything goes according to plan the group could be back well before sunset, in time for a few rounds of kank mead at the Four Bit followed by a nice Erdlu and spicy Oleracea stew.
Shortly after bidding farewell to Rothan and Gruuk, the two Half-Giants city guards pull open the gates, whose hinges produce their characteristic heavy creaking, as if the town itself was moaning with the effort.
While the heavy wooden doors are getting pulled open, everybody is reminded of the most recent raid upon seeing the half burnt mekillot hide reinforcement plates on the outside. It is a visual reminder that, on Athas nothing can survive long without some efficient defense mechanism against its predators... Everything, maybe with the exception of the dragon itself, is prey to something bigger, stronger, faster, smarter or sometimes just more vicious…
As the party walks through the gates, Gruuk screams to the group “An’ dun forget to come back to celebrate and spend some of that silver at the Four Bit Inn!”.
By the time the party takes off, the sun is already very high up and crushing every one under its unforgiving heat. MusicShow
The walk is pretty uneventful, as the party follows the road and the tracks of the wagon going south towards Balic. It would be pretty unusual, but not unheard of, to be attacked by raiders on the road within such a short walking distance of a small fortified village like Altaruk, so you stay vigilant.
As Rothan explained, almost exactly after one hour, Nerris and T'Chai have easily spot the point at which the tracks go off-road. The party quickly decides to follow that path and, after about an additional thirty minutes of a much slower walk through dunes and softer sands, you arrive at the following path between large protruding rocks.
1- Unless you disagree with my placement, I reflected that Nerris wants to be ahead (and away from T'Chai as she doesn't like Thri-Kreens), the two half giants are chatting, the bard likely wants to be safe, and T'Chai is watching their backs 2- Please roll perception 3- Please roll initiative
@Klockwork... not sure it's a good idea, if she misses a potential ambush while she is alone then she would get slaughtered before others can do anything, no? better to stay in the group I hope you don't mind that I kinda "forced it"
@Some of you: there are still problems with your initial posts, I think Aldalec has no charracter summary and Fiona still has spoiler issues
Edit: Also finish your social interactions of course!
Scyner, that's fine about me not scouting. Most of my DS experience has taken place in more 'civilized' areas, and so I'm falling back on my experience of playing other scout-capable characters. If it's something that's generally avoided by those that don't have a death wish, I'll bow to your expertise. And yes, the thought of having the Thri-kreen watching her back sends shivers down her spine.
Two-Blade Fighting Style: You can wield a one-handed weapon in your off-hand Hunter's Quarry: Designate the nearest target you can see as you quarry, and do 1d6 extra damage to that target once per round. Running Attack: When a standard action attack allows movement, you gain a +1 bonus to the attack roll of that attack if you move 2 or more squares away from where you started.
Standard Action, Triple-Headed Flails Requirement: You must be wielding two melee weapons or a ranged weapon. Target: One or Two Creatures Attack: +6 vs. AC (two attacks) Hit: 1d10 damage per attack.
Standard Action, Triple-Headed Flail Target: One Creature Attack: +6 vs. AC Hit: 1d10 + 6 (3 Strength, 3 Wisdom) damage. Special: You can use this power in place of a MBA on a charge
Minor Action, Triple-Headed Flail (off-hand) Requirement: You must be wielding two melee weapons Target: One Creature Attack: +6 vs. AC Hit: 1d10 + 3 damage
Standard Action Ranged 10 Target: One creature Attack: +3 vs. Ref Hit: 1d8 + 3 psychic damage, and and your attacks against the target before the end of your next turn can score a critical hit on a roll of 18-20.
Standard Action, Triple-Headed Flails Requirement: Must be wielding two melee weapons Target: One Creature Attack: +6 vs. AC (two attacks) Hit: 2d10 + 3 damage per attack Miss: Half Damage per attack
Sand nods at Fiona when she tells him her call. His face changes to a sort of confusion as she continues to talk to him. When she finishes, it takes Sand a moment to regain composure, he ponders her question for a moment then replies. "Clan have passed, not strong enough to take their call... Maybe one day." Sand says this with a sense of longing, he shakes his head. "Came to Altaruk to grow strong... Look for caravan to grow strong." Sand speaks with resolve, walking a little taller. He doesn't have much more to say, he seems all talked out.
Aldalec quietly replied to Fiona when asked about the other members of the party with an amused look on his face. "They carry themselves well and should prove useful. The promise and lure of the money should ensure that all will work together. Once the silver crosses the palm.." He shrugged and grinned. "Well we know how that usually goes. Perhaps this group will surprise us and we won't have to worry about knives in the dark."
The bard from Raam let his eyes roam the area and over the others, the elf Nerris was quite lovely but abrasive and as everyone knows 'If it has pointy ears don't trust it'. There was a story to her no doubt but then again everyone on the road had a story, living to tell it was the hard part.
The male half-giant Sand portrayed a slow outward appearance but Aldalec strongly suspected that this was a ruse to put one at ease. He carried a weapon on either hip and by the callouses and the sweat stained grips of the implements he knew how to use them with deadly skill. Sand would most likely not be the sort to knife a fellow in the back, he'd look you in the eye and then end you.
Finally there was the thri-kreen T'Chai. Aldalec knew that once a thri-kreen found a group that were worthy then they were loyal to the death. He had seen more than a few of them fight before and they were wonderful and terrifying to behold. T'Chai reminded the bard of some of the old sand-blasted statues he had seen in a ruin a few years ago. A silent sense of unspoken wisdom, a secret knowledge of things that had been and were yet to be. Of course T'Chai would most likely eat them all if they died but there was a certain wisdom even in that Aldalec supposed. He let his hand fall away from his long blade and returned his attention to the surrounding area and more pleasant thoughts to keep his mind off the heat of the day.
Nerris and T'Chai indicate that they have found the trail and Aldalec drops back ever so slightly as he places Fiona and Sand in front of him.
VIRTUE OF VALOR Once per round, when any ally within 5 squares of you reduces an enemy to 0 hit points or bloodies an enemy, you can grant temporary hit points to that ally as a free action. The number of temporary hit points equals 1 + your Constitution modifier (+4) at 1st level SONG OF REST When you play an instrument or sing during a short rest, you and each ally who can hear you are affected by your Song of Rest. When an affected character spends healing surges at the end of the rest, that character regains additional hit points equal to your Charisma modifier (+4) with each healing surge. A character can be affected by only one Song of Rest at a time.
ROUSING VOICE Heroic Tier Prerequisite: Human, bard Benefit: When an ally within 10 squares of you uses second wind, he or she gains also temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier. (+4)
