Completed Play-by-Post: In Search of the Sorcerer

[nikolokolus]

Ker did not like getting stabbed and spend some of his anger on the poor man.
He forces his captive to face his struggling comrade.
"You see that? He should have surrendered. Lie or try to run and you fate will be worse."
Ker then turns towards his old friend Marcan.
"Hey, Marcan, can you watch this guy for a second? I want to check on Socratiz and that murderer and his stuff."

Spoiler

Hum, do I have any basic healing skills?

Spoiler

Druids don't get Cure Light Wounds until they can cast second level spells ... which also happens to be at second level. Beyond that anybody can bind wounds, but it doesn't restore Hit Points, it only keeps somebody from dying when they are at negative HP, or if they are somehow suffering from a wound that continuously bleeds.

Ker is but a lowly aspirant at this point of his career.

 

[nikolokolus]

Rhenmyr scrambles quickly to dig into his belongings and pull out his rope, uncoil it, tie it around his waist and tosses one end into the water some ten feet out. In the intervening time, it looks as though the man has slipped beneath the current - you hope he's still with it enough to grab a hold.

OOC

All of this action and talking is taking a bit of time, If the Hyperborean still lives and you want to save him it's going to need to happen fast.

Drowning man's save against drowning [3d6] = 7 vs. CON 11

To Rhenmyr's relief, he feels the rope go taut and begins hauling it in, end over end.

 

[Helly]

Ker did not like getting stabbed and spend some of his anger on the poor man.
He forces his captive to face his struggling comrade.
"You see that? He should have surrendered. Lie or try to run and you fate will be worse."
Ker then turns towards his old friend Marcan.
"Hey, Marcan, can you watch this guy for a second? I want to check on Socratiz and that murderer and his stuff."

Spoiler

Hum, do I have any basic healing skills?

Spoiler

Druids don't get Cure Light Wounds until they can cast second level spells ... which also happens to be at second level. Beyond that anybody can bind wounds, but it doesn't restore Hit Points, it only keeps somebody from dying when they are at negative HP, or if they are somehow suffering from a wound that continuously bleeds.

Ker is but a lowly aspirant at this point of his career.

Spoiler

Thanks! I do have great hopes for that guy! Well, until he gets oneshotted by a goblin or some stuff

Ker kneel over the bleeding hyperborean.
"By the horns of Cernunnos, this is not pretty. I guess I'll save you, if only to understand why you murdered that poor Zelkor"
Ker does his best to bind the hyperborean's wound, using the bleeding man clothes as bandages.

 

[nikolokolus]

Ker presses the makeshift bandages torn from the man's great cloak firmly into the gaping wound in his neck. After seconds which seem to stretch on into hours, you think you've managed to stabilize him, but he remains unconscious.

In the interim, there is quite a stir taking place over by the stables. You hear a gasp, followed by a shriek and then wailing. A cluster of folks illumined in torchlight can be seen gathered around what is presumably the corpse of Zelkor. You hear, a heavily slurred woman's voice shout, "Murderers! Fiends! Strike at them!"

 

[Grimgravy]

When he gets the hapless thug onto the dock, Rhenmyr makes sure to disarm, search the thug, and uses the rope to bind the man's hands behind his back. He may be waterlogged and half drowned, but he's not taking any chances with someone stupid enough to jump into an icy river in the dead of the night. That being done, "Do you think you'll live?" he asks the thug. "Good, now lets see what you lot will kill to get a hold of, shall we?" With the thug subdued, Rhenmyr checks to see what the package is.

 

[bert]

Spoiler

I can cast lay on hands if needed, but I'd rather heal myself. In any case, we should strip the hyperborean of his arms and armor and bind and gag him just in case. One can never be too cautious around sorcerers and wizards.

Dibs on his armor and shield though.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Spoiler

Tie the Hypo's fingers also, while we're at it.

 

[bert]

The paladin's breathing is heavy and ragged as his battle wounds continue to worsen without help. Using his hope and faith, Sokrates presses a hand against his wound. Nothing seems to happen for a second, and for a moment it seems the poor fellow lost his sanity until a golden light begins to radiate softly where his wound - no, all his wounds were. It lasts only for a second, but the healing light served to close his cuts and mend his injuries. He will still require aid and recovery but for now the paladin is not in any immediate danger of bleeding out.

Turning to the villagers the paladin raises his arms up out and wide, casting himself a towering colossal figure of authority over them. At the boom of his voice he shouts, "NO! NO!" and shakes his head sadly while he gestures to the downed thugs and dying hyperborean. His message was clear: No more blood should be spilt.

 

[Helly]

Spoiler

I can cast lay on hands if needed, but I'd rather heal myself. In any case, we should strip the hyperborean of his arms and armor and bind and gag him just in case. One can never be too cautious around sorcerers and wizards.

Dibs on his armor and shield though.

Spoiler

Keep the healing for yourself, he's stabilized and I don't want him to wake up and cast more spells. We'll need to gag and bind him well. I wouldn't touch the equipment before we identify it too, it might be cursed.

 

[Grimgravy]

Spoiler

If none of the fighters need/want his bastard sword, I'll take it. It's better than my melee weapons.

 

[nikolokolus]

OOC

bert Sokrates can only speak Kimmerian and he does that poorly, at best you have picked up a smattering of the common tongue - Illyrian. roll 3d6 to come up with how many simple words or phrases you know and can speak in common and then write those down on your character sheet - PM me that list if you don't mind.

Just a gentle reminder to everyone, if possible please try to communicate with each other from your character's perspective in first person. That goes for divvying up treasure or loot; talk to each other as if it was you bargaining with somebody you had just met and don't know all that well.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Spoiler

Am I conscious yet? Also, if the equipment is cursed, he wouldn't be able to wear it?

 

[nikolokolus]

A mob of perhaps a dozen servants with torches is marching over to the courtyard, led by a fat woman - presumably Zelkor's wife.

 

[nikolokolus]

Spoiler

Am I conscious yet? Also, if the equipment is cursed, he wouldn't be able to wear it?

You weren't unconscious, just dazed (a mild concussion), but since we are out of combat you eventually shake it off after a few minutes. As for whether or not something might be cursed, you have no way of knowing without consulting a sorcerer or sage who might be able to glean some knowledge about a given item.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Spoiler

As in, is it possible for cursed item to be choosy in cursing the wielder?

As Borric recovers his wits, he sees a mob marching towards the courtyard.

Unsure of their intentions, he lurches forward, past Sokrutiz and in front of the mob.

"Look... I care not for for this Hyperborean swine-"he pauses to spit in the Hyperborean's direction, "but if you kill him, none of us will ever understand what happened here. And if any of you are to be next..." he glances meaningfully at Zelkor's wife, "Ignorance may not save you."

 

[nikolokolus]

Spoiler

As in, is it possible for cursed item to be choosy in cursing the wielder?

Spoiler

Your only experience with curses is that one time the shaman gave the chieftain's son, rot-crotch for disobeying him and entering the tribe's shrine to Tangri without his permission. You have no idea how curses in the wider world might work.

If it matters, the Hyperborean's blade is of exquisite craftsmanship. Its wide bronze blade is single edged with a gentle curve. Runic script in a language you can't decipher runs along its length and the pommel is fitted with a large bloodstone; milky green shot through with veins of brilliant red. It's perhaps the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

 

[Helly]

Ker collects the rest of the cloth he ripped and carefully rolls the sword into, mumbling to himself:
"This sword definitely doesn't feel natural. I'll have to analyse it thoroughly at dawn tomorrow."
Ker then get closer to Borric and the mob.
"Mam, please listen. We were Zelkor's friends. We left the longhouse after hearing some noise and got attacked by those 3 men. We maimed one and captured the others. Let us bind them and interrogate them and we will leave them to your care afterwards."

Spoiler

How does the spell Detect magic works? Will it just tell me 'Yeah, it's magic alright' or will it let me know anything about the kind of magic inside?

 

[nikolokolus]

The goodwife appears to be doing her best to listen intently to Ker, but she can barely hold her head up. She sways drunkenly and one of her massive bosoms spills from her untied sleeping gown as a slave girl does her best to keep her upright. "Who thuuu, helllz ur yooo?!"

The man who was tending bar earlier finally emerges from around the corner and pushes himself to the middle of the huddle around the fallen Hyperborean. "What in the name of Biera's tits happened!?" he stammers incredulously.

 

[nikolokolus]

Spoiler

How does the spell Detect magic works? Will it just tell me 'Yeah, it's magic alright' or will it let me know anything about the kind of magic inside?

OOC

Detect magic just tells you if there is the presence of magic in an object/area and how strong the dweomer is (relatively speaking). Anything more wuld probably require the services of a sage; e.g. there is no "identify" spell in the standard spell lists for Swords & Wizardry.

 

[bert]

Sokrates does not have to know Illyrian to see the mob's intents. So tuned in with human emotion is he that the torches and their anger can only mean one thing. He steps up to the mob beside Ker and lets him do the talking, though he does not shy on openly showing his wounds to onlookers.

 

[Helly]

Ker repeats what he just said to the man.
"That filthy hyperborean over there killed Zelkor and was trying to cast a spell on the building when we barged in. We were stabbed and slashed but managed to protect this place and defeat them." Ker shows his wound and point at Socratiz bloody armor.
"We will interrogate them, there might be others around."

 

[nikolokolus]

The slightly less inebriated barkeep seems to calm down a little bit and turns to motion to Zelkor's wife with a calming gesture, "Alright ... I think I see what's happened here. But gods, why the hell would somebody kill Zelkor?!" He shakes his head disbelieving.

An uneasy silence sort of falls over the space. Eventually Zelkor's wife staggers over to his body by the stables, sobbing uncontrollably, while slaves fidget nervously seemingly unsure of what to do. Eventually the barkeep starts barking at the servants to pick up his body and carry it into the longhouse.
You are all now alone outside with the Hyperborean stablized and the two thugs hogtied; the half-drowned one looks a little blue in the face ...

 

[ERYFKRAD]

"Open that package now, might as well see what this is about.", said Borric as he proceeded to search the thugs and the Hyperborean for any clues- a letter, a map, some trinket, anything.

 

[nikolokolus]

Borric begins searching the two bound men. (How much time do you spend doing this?)

 

[Grimgravy]

Spoiler

So, we're all together now? I tried looking at the package earlier. I'd like to do that now.