One of the villagers, Matt, comes knocking at the door, urgently. "Master Tobias!' he calls loudly until Enid opens the door and lets him and summons you.
He looks visibly frightened and immediately begins talking fast. "MasterTobiasyouneedtocomeandbringyourfriendsIthinktheywillwanttoseethisandprotectusthechildrentheyfoundsomethingthatscaredthemtodeathandtheyshouldbescaredbecauseits orcs!"
He takes a deep breath and gasps. "Will you all come!?!"
Tobias puts down his book and warm cider, getting up from near the fire, and scrambles to grab and put on his long coat with the wide pockets. He steps towards Matt, ready to follow, saying "Umm... sure, ok... I guess... can you say that again?"
Matt takes a deep breath.
"Sorry, Master Tobias. Yiney and Josef were out looking for ponds to fish in. Out west a bit. They came back, white as spirits and so afraid! They saw two orcs sneakin' about, maybe even coming this way! I figger you and your friends can go scare 'em off! We don't want those foul things coming this way! Don't want an orc raid... " and he shivers and goes pale at the thought.
Tobias' heart starts to race. Orcs!! He thinks he remembers reading about them, but he's never seen one.
"Okay..." he says slowly, trying to think, "Those folks that went into Athenum with me aren't around, so Matt... go see if you can find Yiney and Josef, and some of the town militia, the ones what have training, and have them meet me on the west side, by the old oak." (Or whatever that can pass for a landmark on the west side of the village.)
"Enid, if Takashi, Callin, Atacius, or Graian come back, please tell them where we went." He goes to grab his backpack and daggers, then heads out towards the west side of town.
Matt nods. "OK, Tobias."
(A few minutes later...)
After meeting by the old oak, a favorite hangout of the kids wanting to get away from the shorter apple trees, you see that Matt has Yiney and Josef with him. A man and woman (Phillipe and Yoni) are also there, each in what passes for leather armor and equipped with spears. Matt has a piece of wood that probably serves as a club and a dagger.
After a short discussion with the frightened children, Philippe knows of the pond they are talking about. "Been fishin' mesef there a time or two a year or so. Nice hookmouths there." He sends the boys off and appears to want to take charge of the situation. "OK, iffin' there be orcs there, they be bloodthirsty and dangerous. We might be able to scare 'em off if we make like we're part of a bigger troop. So we'll go in front, and you two (he points to Matt and Tobias) stay behind a bit and make loud noises like ye be many folks when I give ye the signal that we're close. It's a short walk."
He and Yoni turn about to walk out without waiting to see if you agree. Matt looks at you and shrugs. "I been to one trainin' but I ain't no fighter." and he begins to walk behind the two.
Tobias shrugs in sympathy and walks along side Matt. "I don't think I could sound much like an army, either." He raises his voice to be heard up ahead, "Hey Phillippe, I don't think Matt and I would be very convincing trying to sound like soldiers. Also, Takashi told me that he ran into a group of orcs once, and they weren't all that bloodthirsty..."
Philippe turns and gives you a sour look at first, and then chuckles in a mocking way.
"You ever been in combat, boy? Ever seen someone die at the end of a blade? You know what our trainer told us? After he showed us the big chunk'o skin he was missin' on his side? He said that the last thing new recruits hear when they face orcs is their own screamin' after the orcs run them through. Plenty o' folks here remember the raids from twenties... and how they kilt everything they ran into. So sure, you go ahead and have a chatsie w' the beasts. I'll give your friends your body." he says in a nasty tone.
"Now, if you don't mind, we need to keep still.. those orcs know how ta hide. We don't want to give ourselves away." he turns away to lead the group again.
Tobias frowns at Phillippe's tone, and he feels his temper rising.
"I've seen someone what died at the end of a blade." he says, softly but clearly, when Phillippe starts to turn away. "When it was done, I was covered in blood, and my blade was so bent and useless I had to leave it lying in the grass." His face twists with the memory, then he continues, "Now, you've been around a lot longer than me, and you've had the training, so if it comes down to fighting, I'll leave you to it. But don't you try to tell me what to do."
Philippe looks back at Tobias and just shakes his head, glances at Yoni and then keeps moving forward.
A short walk, much less than the walk to the Athenum, and Philippe suddenly crouches down, as does Yoni. He makes a sushing signal with his finger to his mouth. After a few minutes, you can hear it too, a faint conversation in a grunting, growling language.
Philippe pantomimes making big noises to you and Matt. Matt clutches his club and nods nervously, glancing at you. Philippe and Yoni heft spears and get ready to move towards the noise.
Tobias looks down, frowning, at the daggers in his hands, which he had been thinking of banging together for noise, then he shakes his head and sheathes them. He crouches down and tries to move up silently to join Phillippe and Yoni. He wants to see an orc!
As TOBIAS moves up, Matt tries to grab at him. "Hey! Get back here with me, Master Tobias! We need to stick together!" he whispers.
Yoni's head whips around to glare at you both but just then Philippe freezes. The grunting/growling has stopped.
Tobias frowns at Matt, then turns back to watch up ahead, as closely as he can.
We're going to move into combat rounds. You know they're there, and now they know you're there, it's just a question of how close and who goes first. While normally I give the PCs a lot of leeway with what the NPCs do, when the PCs are in a leadership position, right now, Philippe and Yoni are going to act independently. That might change! But you'll know when it does.
COMBAT ROUND 1
Declarations:
TOBIAS - moves forward as quietly as he can at the same speed as Phillippe and Yoni, keeping the same distance between him and them. (Query: how far of a distance is that roughly, and do we have good daylight to see by?) They will move 60' with caution, a lot of caution. They have leather/weapon, but that would put them normally at 120'. The sun is early evening, so it is low in the sky. Actually, given you're moving west, you're looking into it, once the grasses and cattails are out of the way. (Roger that. So we're all moving at the same speed, 60', but they're still, what, 30' ahead of me?) No, more like within 5', as you moved up close to them. Unless you're wanting to maintain some distance, then you can let that gap widen this round. (Yeah, I'll give them a little more distance, but not much... I'll try to keep 20' away from them, just so I'll have a little different view in case of ambush.) Got it. That will put you behind Matt. You all were pretty close together - the entire group was no more than 10' front to back. I think you had a different view of the "spread". Matt will want to stay close to them. Does that help with what you want to do? (Yep, thanks. So we'll be a little more spread out, with me about 20' behind the 3 of them.) Got it! You're going to be the Lone Ranger there, my friend...
Philippe - makes a motion for you all to be quiet and makes a definitive pointing motion to TOBIAS to stay next to Matt. He motions to Yoni to come with him, as he's going to move further in the tall grasses and cattails that surround the area around the pond. Right now, there's enough brush and overgrowth that you can't see above it unless you stand on someone's shoulder.
Yoni - Yoni nods to Philippe, hefts her spear and cautiously will move with Philippe.
Matt - gulps nervously, hefts his cudgel and moves behind Philippe, his head swinging around wildly. He's beginning to pant in fear.
INITIATIVE
PCs: Michael S (chgowiz) rolled 1d6 for a total of 6
DM: Michael S (chgowiz) rolled 1d6 for a total of 3
RESULTS:
Philippe makes a motion for you all to be quiet and makes a definitive pointing motion to TOBIAS to stay next to Matt. He motions to Yoni to come with him, as he's going to move further in the tall grasses and cattails that surround the area around the pond. Right now, there's enough brush and overgrowth that you can't see above it unless you stand on someone's shoulder. Yoni nods to Philippe, hefts her spear and cautiously moves with him. Matt gulps nervously, hefts his cudgel and moves behind Philippe, his head swinging around wildly. He's beginning to pant in fear.
TOBIAS allows them to move forward till about 20 feet separates them from him and then he moves forward. Philippe cautiously parts the grasses and cattails and looks out over the pond, which you can't see, but you can smell the water. The grass is very thick here and it is hard to move quietly, each footstep seems to make noise like thunder to those trying to be quiet.
The first to die is Matt. He turns to his left and starts to say "I think I ...." and then the Orc hiding in the grasses roars and plunges his sword into Matt's chest. The human gasps, blood bubbling on his lips and he slumps to his knees, the cudgel dropping from his hand.
Philippe and Yoni turn in shock and alarm at the Orc's battle cry. Then, right next to Yoni, another Orc roars a deafening, frightful cry as it bursts from the grasses. The brief scuffle that ensues sees Yoni dodging and ducking swings of the cruel Orcish saber, but then she screams as the Orc plunges its blade into her neck. "YONI!" Philippe shrieks in panic.
(The Orcs gained surprise on the check. Since you 'knew' they were in the area, I allowed the movement of the PCs but that just put them in the ambush zone. You keeping back is what kept you out of the pool of "who can be attacked!") - (Smart. I think it's what I would've done if I were them. Yea, this was not a fun combat to watch play out... knowing that this was going to be deadly.)
(Your CHA is 9, which doesn't award any bonuses to morale checks. Philippe is going to make a morale check during his declaration to determine if he breaks or not.)
COMBAT ROUND 2
You are in tall grasses and cattails, that rise to your face and above, facing west. The pond is about 25' in front of you. Philippe and the two Orcs are 20' in front of you. They are under 5' apart from each other.
Declarations:
TOBIAS - *gulps* and tries not to panic. He casts the sleep spell; he wants to center it so that it covers the entire area in front of him (the orcs and Philippe) Roll 2d8 for the HD affected, please. Derek Daniels rolled 1, 7 on 2d8 for a total of 8
Philippe - (morale check)
Yoni - dead
Matt - dead
INITIATIVE:
PCs: Michael S (chgowiz) rolled 1d6 for a total of 1
DM: Michael S (chgowiz) rolled 1d6 for a total of 5
RESULTS:
TOBIAS - *gulps* and tries not to panic. He casts the sleep spell, just as it looks like Philippe is about to drop to his knees as well, letting loose of his spear, his face contorted in fear and panic. The Orcs both turn to TOBIAS... and everyone drops to the ground as if puppets suddenly cut from their strings.
Just as suddenly as the battle started, it is over and there is silence around you. Matt's body is slumped on his knees, while Yoni's body is face down on the ground. The grass and cattails around them are stained red with their blood. The Orcs and Philippe are breathing in their magic slumber, but you can't hear it.
END OF COMBAT.
What does TOBIAS do now?
Tobias takes a deep breath, and goes forward to check on Matt and Yoni, sadly pushing their eyelids closed when he's sure they're gone. He wanted to see the orcs, but not like this! He picks up Phillipe's spear, and grimly goes over to one of the sleeping orcs and puts him to death with it. Then he takes the remaining orc and human weapons (except the spear and his own daggers) and tosses them away into the tall grass. He quickly looks to see if anyone has rope, which he would use to tie the other orc's hands and feet together, gently but securely. If not, he'll cast the charm person spell on the sleeping orc. Finally, he'll nudge Phillipe awake with the butt end of his spear.
As you push the spear into the Orc to kill it, it awakens from the pain. It looks at you straight in the eyes, and then GRABS THE SPEAR and thrusts it in harder, pulling you closer. It grunts something at you in Orcish, staring at you with contempt until life leaves it. Its hands continue to grip the spear strongly, even in death, forcing you to pry them apart to remove the spear.
Nobody has rope and you don't see the Orcs' gear around you. Once you are done with the spell, you are uncertain if it worked, with the Orc sleeping.
Given Tobias' background, there's a good chance that he's tried this trick already... with his parents. If you think he's tried it before when his ma or da was asleep, and it didn't work, let me know. He wouldn't have wasted the spell on the orc if that's the case.
It's not a case of whether it would work or not mechanically, based on the spell description, I rule that it would. You just don't know because the Orc is asleep and you can't interact with it to see if it's charmed.
And I don't know if he's made his save or not, understood!
Exactly. When you did it to your parents, you would have had to wait for them to wake up before you could "test" to see if the charm had worked.
Philippe grunts and moans as he wakes up, and then he jumps upright on his feet, looking around bewilderedly. He catches sight of Matt and Yoni and a wail escapes his lips. He looks around again, sees you with the bloody spear. His mouth opens and closes and tears trickle out of his eyes.
"What..wha... happened?" he asks in a broken voice. "I remember Matt and Yoni bein' kilt.. they... kilt... and then ... " and he breaks down into sobs.
The smell of copper is overpowering.
Tobias walks over by Phillippe and puts a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Phillippe, it's not your fault. They were hiding in the grass waiting to ambush us."
He watches to see if Phillippe is calming down, if so he continues: "I cast a magic spell to put them asleep. I wasn't sure if you knew before... I'm a wizard." He watches to see the reaction, and then: "I killed one of them already with your spear, but I thought maybe we might want to see if we can get this other one to tell us how many others are around, or if they're planning to attack the village or anything."
"I cast a spell on him that should make him think I'm his friend, but if we're going to try it, you should keep your spear pointed at him just in case. If not, I guess we'll have to kill him, I couldn't find any rope to tie him up with."
(Philippe is not doing very well with his morale/reaction checks...)
Philippe listens silently, stoned faced. You get to the end of your words and a long silence... and you see his face turning more red by the moment.
Finally, comes the explosion.
"You're what?!? A wizard?!? One of those.. those.. those... evil wizards?!?" he shrieks. "And you cast a spell on me?!? How DARE YOU?!?" He jumps up and starts to back away from you, circling so that he is between you and the village.
"I knew there was something wrong with you!" he hisses. "I told Sir Flinigan not to take you in, but that poor man had such a heart of gold... and then he lost it down in that cursed place - probably where you BELONG!"
He then pales. "You think you can probably turn me to into a bird or bug... but I won't let you! I will tell them all about you!"
With that, he turns and runs pell mell back towards Appleton.
"Wait! I need your help to get Matt and Yoni back to town so we can bury them!" *sigh*.
I turn around and wait, leaning on my spear, for the orc to wake up. At a distance, say about 30-40 feet. We'll see if he wants to talk.
The sun has crept a little bit closer to the horizon, not long, but you are all alone in those ten minutes. Alone in a scene that you probably have not been in before.
The bodies are there before you. Matt still on his knees, the last look of shock on his face. Yoni, fortunately, is face down. The Orc that you killed is face up, it's features still contorted in contempt. Small insects are beginning to collect around the blood. (I did turn over the humans right after the fight, so I could check them, and ultimately I wound up pushing their eyelids closed; sorry if I wasn't clear on that)
Finally, the remaining Orc stirs. It sits up and shakes its head back and forth, blinking its eyes to focus. It looks around at the tableau and then focuses on you, standing there with your spear.
It stands cautiously, watching you carefully. There is intelligence behind those eyes and you can see that it is puzzled, but seems to accept you. It barks something at you and ...
(We get to an interesting question! Would you understand Orcish? I see no languages noted on your char sheet. You have the ability to know 4 additional languages - I don't want to assume, but it's logical that you would know Elvish and perhaps Littleling, but would you know Orcish? Hmmm... what do you think?) - (Crap, I knew I forgot something! I think you're right about Elvish and Littleling, Tobias would want to know those languages so he could read their books! I don't think he'd be particularly drawn to Orcish unless he'd heard of their kind of (shamanic?) magic and found it interesting... If you just want to roll randomly from the list of available languages left, I'd be ok with that)
Common, elven, *kobold (spoken only)*, goblin, littleling, *dwarf (ancient - read only)*, orcish, ancient human, tribal human (Ja'kar's language), ancient Elven (read only), other/roll against bestairy
Those are the languages that elves know off the bat. The ones I've added are based on things that have come out in play and are in italics. That's 8 that you could possibly have. So, two more...
Michael S (chgowiz) rolled 1d8 for a total of 1 - kobold *snerk - now there's a story...*
Michael S (chgowiz) rolled 1d8 for a total of 5 - ancient human
Yeah, the ancient human makes perfect sense; the kobold's going to take some creativity... maybe there's more to his backstory between his parents and Sir Flinigan, would explain why he doesn't necessarily hate bestials. As for orcish, well, here's a perfect opportunity to learn some!
... and you have no idea what it's saying! Puzzled, it seems to repeat what it is speaking and then looks at you expectantly.
Tobias shakes his head. "Can you understand me?" he calls out in the common tongue. He drops his spear and starts walking towards the orc.
The Orc cocks his head and barks a longer string of grunts and words that you can't understand. A puzzled look comes over his face as you drop your spear and start walking to him. He doesn't pick up his weapon, but he doesn't look comfortable right now.
Tobias stops about 10 feet away from the orc. "Tobias. Tobias." he says, patting his chest with an open hand. I point to the orc, then smack my hands together, then point to my head, then point at the orc again. (If there's still any other weapons lying around, Tobias is going to be the one uncomfortable because he thought he tossed 'em all off in the high grass, see above)
Apparently the one under the orc that you spared was missed.
The Orc looks at you as if you are crazy. It picks up its sword and considers it and you for a long moment....
... and then sheathes it. It speaks to you for what probably is some 20 to 30 seconds, with a lot to say, but in its language. It thumps its chest and waves its arms once or twice and then it points to the fallen Orc and humans. It laughs a grim laugh, then points at you. It looks at you expectantly.
"Yes, there was a fight," Tobias says sadly, waving his arms over the dead bodies and nodding, but knowing that the orc can't understand him. "I don't know why my friends and you had to fight."
He puts his hand on his chest again, while with the other hand he raises in a fist, lifting a finger and says "One." Then he points to Matt's body and raises a second finger while saying, "Two." He points to Yoni, and a third finger goes up. "Three."
Tobias starts over with the orc, pointing at him with one hand while in the other a finger goes up. "One." Then he points to the fallen orc with 2 fingers raised. "Two." Then, while keeping the 2 fingers raised, he waves with his other hand towards the direction where he thinks the orcs came from and puts a questioning tone in his voice: "More? More than two? Three or more?" He watches the orc for a reply.
The orc has a bemused look during TOBIAS's counting and pointing. When TOBIAS finishes up, the Orc barks a laugh and says something in its language. It steps over to the other Orc, goes down on one knee and puts its hands on the body's chest. The Orc says something in what seems to be a chant or prayer, and TOBIAS hears a word "Moloch" said several times. When the Orc is finished, it turns and says something to TOBIAS, pointing at him.
The Orc then turns and begins to jog away to the west.
Tobias watches the orc go, then he walks over to the other orc's body and looks and feels around to see if it had anything unusual in its pockets, armor, or on its belt that might give some insight. Then he goes over to Matt & Yoni's bodies and picks up everything that he can find on them that he thinks would be of value, sentimental or otherwise, to their families, and that he thinks they would want returned to them. He tries to consolidate it all in a pack or sack so he can carry as much as possible. He goes about this work with tears welling in his eyes, feeling more alone than he ever has been before. Then he starts trudging back towards Appleton. Whenever it starts to get dark, he lights his lantern.
Matt has a bracelet on him that has a small charm. Yoni has a necklace and a "promise" ring - she was to be wed to Ethian, a farmer at Appleton, next Spring.
The Orc has nothing on it, aside from it's leather and metal armor, which has a stylized fist in red paint that looks like blood.
The journey back to Appleton seems to take quite awhile in that loneliness. The cold air whistles around your head as the sun begins to dip below the horizon.
There is still sun peeking above the horizon when you return to the oak tree near the groves, and ominously, you see what appears to be a large crowd in front of Flinigan's... no, YOUR manor house. You would guess at least half of the village is there. This would probably explain why you haven't ran into anyone as you neared Appleton.
Tobias steps back behind the tree. He really doesn't feel like facing down a crowd of angry villagers right now. If Matt's family or Yoni's family live in a house that he could get to without getting within sight of the manor, he'll go there. Otherwise, he'll think about going to Ethian's farm instead.
You earned 200XP for the Orcs. I do 1HD = 100XP and I will often give XP rewards for enemies "dealt with", not only just killed.
Yoni's house is the only one that wouldn't potentially expose you to the crowd. As you near her family house though, you hear the sounds of grieving from quite a few people, two voices in particular which are probably her Mother and Father. Outside, you see a stocky young man on the porch, his head buried in his hands. (If you approach, I'll continue it here.)
Do I know the young man? If so, I'll approach and call his name. Otherwise, I'll just approach.
It's Ethian. At first, he doesn't recognize you through his tears, but as you get closer and call his name, he wipes his eyes with his shirt sleeve and looks at you.
He doesn't say anything in his grief, but his eyes just bore into you, with a look of devastation and despair.
Tobias looks down to escape his gaze, trying not to cry. "I'm sorry, Ethian," he manages to croak out. He reaches into the pack, pulls out the necklace and the ring, and holds them out for Ethian to take.
(Ethian is in his late teens, a bit older than you.)
Ethian takes the items wordlessly, looking at them with the same shattered look that he gave you. After a long moment, he finally speaks.
"Is it true?" his voice cracks as he speaks. "Is it true what Philippe said? That you're some sort of sorcerer? You cast some spell and made the Orcs all dead and almost killed Philippe? That you could have ... have... have saved her?!" He sobs and steps away from you, fixing his eyes again on yours with grief and anger.
Tobias frowns and shakes his head. "No. He's got it all mixed up in his mind. Philippe, Matt and Yoni went up ahead with their spears, but the orcs were hiding, waiting for them in the tall grass by the pond. They jumped out and killed Matt and Yoni... no one could have saved them. Then Phillipe started to run... that's why I had to cast that spell to make the orcs fall asleep, else they would have killed us, too!"
He sighs, remembering. "When Philippe woke up, he got scared because I'd used magic, and he ran away. He left me there alone! I couldn't carry Matt and Yoni back by myself. I can show you where they are tomorrow, if you want. We can bring them back and have Callin do the... the services."
"So you do admit it... you ARE a sorceror!" Ethian says, not really listening to what you suggested. He takes half a step back.
"So why... why... why couldn't you just do your magic and save them!? If you're a sorceror, you could have killed those Orcs before they even knew you were there! Turned yourself into a bird or something and stop them!"
"I'm just a beginner.." Tobias says peevishly.
Ethian takes another step back.
"Ma always said there was something funny 'bout you. So did other people too. But Flynn, he said trust you... and even Yoni, she said... and you just... " and with that he wipes his eyes again hard, keeping himself from crying in front of you. He turns and walks back into the house, slamming the door shut behind him.
You can hear noise from the gathered villagers, it sounds like they're getting very worked up. It's hard to make out what they're saying.
Oh, Tobias isn't sticking around. He's going to go and see if he can find an abandoned shed or barn or something where he can hide and sleep for the night. It's obvious that nobody wants him around, so he doesn't want to be around them either.
Abandoned? No, not around Appleton. You could see which ones are less likely to be used in Winter, but poking about might reveal yourself. And it's getting cold out, with Winter... not terribly cold, but not comfortable either.
Some options: hole up in a barn/shed and hope nobody finds you. Strike out to somewhere nearby, a farmstead that is empty, although traveling in the dark with a lantern might be daunting. Try to sneak back into the manor from the back or unseen. Wait it out until the crowd breaks up. Maybe something else I haven't thought of?
(At this point, he's probably thinking that it might be time to go back and stay with that band of kobolds, but I don't know how far away they are. If he knows what direction to go in to get to a nearby farm he'll head that way, otherwise he doesn't have much choice but to try and hide in a barn until things calm down. What's happened so far fits pretty well with my conception of Tobias; I've imagined him as being pretty smart at magic for his age, and even fairly decent at tactics, but his big weakness is that he just doesn't know how to deal with people very well.)
Roll a d6 and tell me what you get.
Derek Daniels rolled 1d6 for a total of 1
Oof, my man, the dice have been BRUTAL against you.
You move off into the dark towards the farmstead that had been cleared of the Damned in the Fall (and since revisted by TASKAHI and Claudia to confirm it as cleared out.)
Whether it was from anger, grief or a combination of the two, after what feels like an hour of stumbling in the dark with only your lantern giving you vision, you realize that you are well and truly lost. You know you started off in a southerly direction. It seems however, you are not where you thought you should be.
Ah yes, that was the farmstead where we found those signs of orcs? No, that hamlet was up north beyond the Athenum. This was the farmstead where you captured the Damned and took her to Skalfier to be cured, and where Atacius found the chest. (The hamplet, that's right... wish I'd remembered that sooner :) Well, wandering lost in the dark is no good, so he'll have to hunker down as best he can here. Tobias will look for any kind of shelter in the immediate area, even a large rock to curl up next to or a tree to climb, and try to wrap himself up as best as possible to try and stay as warm as he can while he tries to sleep.
I should mention that as the sun was setting and you were leaving Appleton, you heard a strange noise like low thunder. You've heard thunder before roll across the grasslands, but this was an odd sound, especially since it seemed very rhythmic. It lasted for a short while, then stopped. No idea of exact direction, aside from it came from the northwest.
You can find a copse of trees and since you have your oil and pack with you, you can start a fire as well. Your common sense tells you this would be a good idea, as it's getting far too cold to be without warmth.
Yes, if it's getting that cold, I'll have to risk the fire. While I gather up what I need for it I'll try to keep an ear out for that sound; if it was from the NW and I hear it again, maybe it'll give me some idea of where I am now. Ah, good point, it would hard for you to know exactly what direction, but once you get up in the morning, you can probably hazard a good guess. That was a gimme! :D
The night is uncomfortable (no recovery today of your spent spell) but you do not freeze or get ill, as the fire keeps you warm enough. The morning dawns sullen and gray.
If Tobias has any unspoiled rations left in his pack, he'll use it to eat. He'll take his time and get a good look all around and try and figure out where he might be.
It takes you only a short time to realize that you are near the road that runs between Skalfier and the Keep/Duchy interior. So you went SE instead of S.
If you don't have rations in your inventory, then your stomach is growling! :) Otherwise "munch, munch, munch..."
(I have them in my inventory, but I think that's just laziness from not updating my sheet. I just went in there to reorganize to put the stuff where it belongs that we brought back from Athenum. I should probably pause now and give the others a chance to catch up, they're still in the night.)
Ok, Tobias has made up his mind to try and get back to Athenum Appleton, and try to sneak back into the manor, maybe through the back. He's worried about his books, and Enid too!
The Athenum is north of Appleton. You are southwest of Appleton. You headed south to go to the abandoned farmstead. Which you ended up going SE.
Or are you heading to the Athenum for a different reason? - (Nah, just a miskey, I meant Appleton - There's no manor at Athenum that I know of!)
OK, roll me another d6 and tell me what you get.
Derek Daniels rolled 1d6 for a total of 4