A Tunnels and Trolls® play-by-post adventure run by khara_khang
Titania, thrilled with the new necklace, flits about as if someone cast an "Ants-in-the-pants" [e.g., Antsy --ed.] spell on her.
"Yes, let's go!" she says joyfully, in response to Krandor.
"Dangerous though this mission may be," she thinks, "it is already well worth the trouble. Already a Fairy friend, a new necklace, and the promise of adventure. How much better can it get?" And with a smile, she accompanies Felixia toward the horses.
Thanks. I'll tell throst54 what Demens' new toys do when he gets back but I think I'm gonna avoid adding marbles to the things on the reasonable chance that the balls will fly everywhere and the not-so-off chance that they will hit us as well as whomever he's attacking.
"Thanks, but before I go, could you tell me what it does or do I have to figure it out on my own time?" Kahi asks pocketing the cigars and matches, and hooking the shield in the shoulder strap he used to use for his non-magical tower shield.
"Cenare, friend," he says as he leaves the shop and tries to jump on his horse but doesn't jump high enough and falls to the ground.
Felixia takes a small necklace, not nearly as pretty as Titania's. Felixia goes out to "her" horse. "This is it... this is the horse," she says, grinning. She lands on its back.
Brienna follows Krandor out, popping a mint into her mouth and crunching it. Jumping up to grab the stirrup, she swings herself up into the saddle easily and grabs the reins in a loose grip.
"Lead on, soldier boy," she says calmly. "You wouldn't be recruiting us to rush and join the army, so I'm assuming your boss has a special job for us."
Brienna doesn't seem to be wearing any kind of armor, though if someone cast a Detect Magic her way, the belt, axe and dagger would all light up.
For Demens, [Mr. Toad] hands out... 12 enchanted arrows.
Pulling a beautiful Fairy-sized diamond necklace from the magic-protected case, Mr. Toad gives it to Titania.
Turning to Kahi, Mr. Toad drags out a large tower shield with a red Phoenix painted on it.... "The shield is magical."
Jay watches all this, eyes wide and mouth agape, suddenly thinking he has undercut himself asking for simple leather armor. Unfortunately, being in a hurry, he just blurts out the first thing that comes to mind: "Uh, oh yeah, I need a diamond jewelry too!"---though he doubts the obvious (and clumsy) request will be fulfilled.
"Yes, I know many Wizards who could help you, Mr. Jax, but I'm afraid you don't have the time needed to access such arcane powers."
"Hey, Orc, I'm not the most learned Mage here, but I can take a look if you wish." If he's amenable, I'll use a Detect Magic on them. If they are enchanted, I'll use an Omnipotent Eye on them; perhaps that'll reveal something of their nature.
"We need to ride. Now."
"Hey, is this a good time to mention I've never actually ridden a horse, outside of childhood pony rides?"
...flits about as if someone cast an "Ants-in-the-pants" spell on her.
Jay hasn't heard of that one, but MMM [i.e., Michael of the Midnight Magics, of Goblins in the Mist and Oblique Streams fame --ed.] has been using it on people for years.
"Hey, Orc, I'm not the most learned Mage here, but I can take a look if you wish.... Hey, is this a good time to mention I've never actually ridden a horse, outside of childhood pony rides?"
Jax turns in his saddle, his leathers creaking and the Dragon scales of his armor whispering as they overlap each other. Tosal was unable to identify the gloves, but what about this Wizard? Jax looks down at him. "He's no Michael of the Midnight Magics," he thinks.
But maybe that's a good thing.
He snaps a meaty hand out towards the man. "Jax Dracon. Thanks for offering to take a look, hu-mann. Here's the gloves for starters; the tattoos will have to wait, as Taran just got all gussied up. If you want, you can ride with me. We'll bring your horse as a spare---along with the Fairies'," he says, shaking his head at the absurdity.
Players who do not post within 3 concurrent GM posts with be dropped on the 4th. A word to those non-posters; you know who you are.
Taran spies a knight who seems to be leading the entourage, and introduces himself.
"Craven-Van-Draik," says the knight, bowing somewhat toward Taran. "I know we are heading to the Turquoise Valley, but not much else. You should direct your questions to Krandor." The knight's face is covered by a full helm, but his voice sounds very refined, almost Elvish. All of the knights are dressed alike, in white and gold uniforms with a bright blazoned red image of a Phoenix on their chests. Normal Khazan guards are dressed the same way, only their uniforms are white and green. All the knights except Krandor are of the same size. Taran thinks this strange, but shakes the thought from his head like spittle from his lips and forgets about it. Jax leads Taran away and introduces him to Krandor before he urges them all to ride.
Jax ties the reins of Titania and Felixia's horse to the back of the saddle ring on his own horse. Brienna, Jax, Taran, Demens, Kahi, Blodwydd, Jack de Crampon and Jay (who climbs on awkwardly) all mount up and prepare to ride.
The journey out of Khazan is fast and steady, as the normally busy streets are less busy in the late evening hours. Krandor leads the way, following a series of alleys and side streets, and your party eventually arrives at the Khazan gates, followed by a small company of 30 mounted knights. Many people and creatures watch as your group rides out of Khazan and into the darkness, following the road north. An hour later, the group turns off the road, heading off into the waist-high grass of the Plains of Ephren, the looming white-tipped Goblin Mountains far off in the distance. The group continues almost due west, skirting the Northern Mistywood forest as they ride late into the night.
What do you do?
Blodwydd stows her horse's new grooming supplies, mounts up, and follows the rest of the party on their ride out of the city. She continues to fuss and cluck over the horse, and after a while, begins referring to him as "Ceffyl" (as in "Issa Ceffyl a gud horsie? Yessim iz....")
As the darkness deepens and some of the horses begin to stumble, Blodwydd reigns up along side Krandor and enquires "Doan yoo thingwe shud settup kamp?"
Felixia nods some, "I think stopping for the night might make the best sense. The horses can't quite see what's ahead and it will be easy for other animals to prey on them in this state."
Krandor slows his horse to a stop and turns to the group. His horse is breathing hard, and his silhouette in the darkness seems firm and his voice stern. "We are not stopping and we are not making camp. I never said this would be easy on any of us, or our horses. Lives depend us; our way of life depends on us. If we lose a horse or two, that's a small price to pay. Now try to stay close." Whipping his reins against his horse, Krandor takes off again with everyone following.
The group continues almost due west, skirting the Northern Mistywood forest and riding late into the night. The first to fall is a knight at the back of the group. When his horse stumbles and falls, breaking a leg. the group and the knights don't slow up as he is left behind.
What do you do?
"So riding until we have to walk will save more time than resting the horses a few minutes?" Brianna says flippantly. "I guess that'd be military logic." But she follows anyway. They're not her horses after all, and she doesn't want to blow her pay.
But when the first horse falls, Brienna does stop and offer to let its rider join her. At least her horse hasn't had much weight to carry up 'til now. If Krandor complains, she'll simply reply, "If the threat is as great as you say, we'll need the extra help."
If they continue to ride on, she'll help the knight up on her horse quickly and try to catch up.
"He's no Michael of the Midnight Magics," he thinks. But maybe that's a good thing.
Only if you actually expect real spells, and someone slightly more dependable, although just as sarcastic.
"Jax Dracon. Thanks for offering to take a look, hu-mann. Here's the gloves for starters; the tattoos will have to wait, as Taran just got all gussied up."
As mentioned, I was going to cast a Detect Magic, then an Omni-Eye spell on them. There should've been enough time to do so during the introductions. Did I get any useful information about them for Jax?
"If you want, you can ride with me...."
I would've said "yes," but it appears Krandor thought it'd slow us down too much, hey?
"Craven-Van-Draik...."
A cowardly duck family member?
Brienna, Jax, Taran, Demens, Kahi, Blodwydd, Jack de Crampon and Jay (who climbs on awkwardly) all mount up and prepare to ride.
So it's a solo ride. "Hee-yah, mule!" <Kicks the thing in the sides>
Many people and creatures watch as your group rides out of Khazan.
If I didn't need both hands to hold on, I'd wave. As it is, I'll give everyone a fake reassuring smile.
...the looming white-tipped Goblin Mountains far off in the distance.
I hate that place.
"I never said this would be easy on any of us or our horses."
"I'm not really satisfied with the quality of life I have right now. Next time, I want a flying carpet."
The first to fall is a knight among the back of the group....
Jay is disturbed by Krandor's attitude and the knights' seeming lack of concern for their comrade. However, Brienna is already going back for the guy, so Jay will stay up with the group as best as possible. (Besides, he can't ride well enough to get the horse to do what he wants anyway---it's more of a case of him just hanging on and hoping he doesn't fall off.)
"I guess that'd be military logic."
I resent that. ;P
Jack, huffing and haughty, shouts over to Jax, "And you! I'll expect breakfast served bright and early, say about noon, and make sure you fluff my pillow two times, baby, when we quit for the night. I have a world to save tomorrow. Got it?"
Felixia watches confused. She isn't fond of intragroup confrontations. It isn't good to squabble with allies; it just tears them apart.
The first to fall is a knight among the back of the group....
Jack immediately jumps down from his mount and runs to the side of the fallen Warrior, tears streaming from his hollow sockets. He cradles the fallen valiant in his arms, stroking his hair as a veritable Florence Nightengale (whoever she is).
"Oh the humanity! How dare you cads leave this dear sweet creature to waste on the path of darkened portents? By all the powers in heaven above I call shame upon you! And the horse too!"
Abruptly awakened by a violent belch, Jack drops his empty jug, tips over and ends up on the ground himself, minus the broken bits, as he is such a rough rid'n' root'n tooter. Tripping over the body of the fallen knight in mid swoon/stagger, he raises a certain finger in salute, boots the horse in the ribs, and mentally composes a letter to the nearest glue factory.
If a knight is in the back of the group and we are all towards the front and given the added factor that we're concentrating on our riding, how would we even be able to tell that one of the knights fell until we finally stopped?
If a tree falls in the forest and nobody's there to hear it, would it make a sound? No.
If a knight falls in the back of the party and everyone's facing forwards, would he be noticed? Not likely.
However, since he has been noticed....
Demens looks around as he sees several of his companions stop and turn back the way they came. Turning, he sees a fallen knight and a horse with a broken leg. Noting that someone is tending to him, he just keeps following Krandor shouting behind him, "Y'all better hurry up, or you might get left behind!"
Kahi pulls his horse along next to Krandor's and shouts over the rush of wind as they gallop, "Logically speaking, if we rest our horses and ourselves for the next 6 to 8 hours, we will lose that amount of time, however if we keep going until our horses die, we will not only lose time because we are going at a walking pace, but also lose people, as more and more get left behind.
"You said that we would require all the help we can get for this coming fight, but by running our horses to their graves, we also lose people who can't keep up with the horses. Also when we get to wherever it is we're going, we will all be tired, and if we're forced to fight once we get there, our chances of winning are significantly lower, so it's a tradeoff: lose a little bit of time as we rest our horses, but get there in better condition with more of us and possibly faster, or run our horses to their death, run ourselves ragged, be in poor condition when we get wherever we're going, lose any fights along the way, lose multiple people because they can't keep up, and run the risk of getting there slower because we're walking instead of riding.
"I think the former choice is the better one and I'm sure you can see why. Also I might point out that by not letting us and our horses rest, you run the risk of us leaving 'cause we're too tired to deal with this anymore. I wouldn't leave, because once I say I'll work, it means I'll work, but I wouldn't be surprised if others in this group might leave. So perhaps you had better give the horses rest, even if for just an hour."
It wasn't just the knight that fell, but the whole horse. And And that big crashing to the ground while screaming (whinnying?) in pain, with the accompanying ruckus of a person in full plate hitting the ground as well, would probably be noticed. Some of us would probably be keeping an eye out for an ambush as well, if not just looking around to enjoy the scenery. Of course, that's just my opinion. :)
Krandor's horse continues to gallop towards their goal. Krandor himself is tired, having not rested in a few days himself, but he knows that everyone's way of life depends on him getting the adventurers to where they are headed.
He turns his head and yells his answer to Kahi over the rushing wind of the gallop, "We don't have eight hours."
Point taken.
"Well than four, or three, or even 20 miniutes. Any amount of rest will help the horses right now, even if it would just be enough to catch their breath," he shouts as his horse contiunes to gallop alongside Krandor's.
Felixia nods some to Titania, "This must be very important if we must push ourselves so hard."
Blodwydd stops with Brienna and the others who go back to rescue the fallen knight, and waits with them until that group gets going again.
Taran, riding atop his horse alongside his brother and his mount, listens silently to the exchange among his fellow recruits and Krandor. From his time as an Agent of the Death Goddess, he knows well the importance of keeping a military order to a military operation in the middle of a crisis, even one which is not immediately apparent. He does not express his opinion on whether or not to stop for the fallen horse and rider, nor does he chime in on the subject of stopping to rest the horses. Horses are expendable. Khazan is not. At least he is going to do all he can to stave off this invasion, like he did when the alien armies of Zweetz first took Khazan (c.f. Agents of Lerotra'hh, the Dracons' first adventure).
"Y'all better hurry up, or you might get left behind!"
"Ya'll"?? What the heck is that? No respectible Latin speaking Paladin would say that! He may say "peoples" but not "ya'll." Demens is far from a hick. He is a, well I don't know what you would call him, other than a Paladin. Another thing, I truly doubt your guy [Kahi] could say all that.
I'm planning on having Demens saying something "intelligent" but the hard part is translating, and when the character's IQ is higher than the player's, well then you run into problems. Hehehe. So I'll post tommarow (which I bet will be the next post).
So I'll post tommarow (which I bet will be the next post).
You lose.
She isn't fond of intragroup confrontations. It isn't good to squabble with allies; it just tears them apart.
Squabbling, no, but there's nothing wrong with healthy disagreements, in voice and in actions to a degree. Silently going along with a course of action you find distasteful only signifies you agree with what's happening, and grants tacit approval.
...how would we even be able to tell that one of the knights fell until we finally stopped?
I think mistwalker_ pretty much gave a great answer for this.
If a tree falls in the forest and nobody's there to hear it, would it make a sound? No.
Yes, it does. The universe isn't going to stop and wait for your benefit. You have to be lucky, skillful, or persistent enough to catch the nuances.
If a knight falls in the back of the party and everyone's facing forwards, would he be noticed? Not likely.
If you need more reason, as mentioned, Jay isn't concentrating on his riding. He's hanging on and hoping the horse goes where it should. As such, he's got no need to look forward.
However, since he has been noticed....
Judging that khara_khang informed us it happened when it happened, instead of after we finished our ride, I'm guessing somebody saw it.
On another note, whatever happened with the Omni Eye spell on Jax's gloves?
"Logically speaking...."
"If the captain and the knights are professionals, then they've already considered this. (I'm not up on my military structures of Khazan, but they seem to be elite troops, and therefore professionals.) None of them seem concerned about the status of the horses, and have rebuffed every attempt to slow down, to rest, or to stop. Therefore, I'm led to believe that either we'll reach our destination before the horses keel over and die, or we'll ride into one of their camps or supply points for replacement fresh horses which we'll run just as hard as we have these (a common enough historical occurrence).
"Further, if the knights felt they could handle the job, they, quite frankly, wouldn't have hired such a motley assortment out of the nearest bar. This leads me to believe that the knights feel our somewhat unique, diverse abilities are needed for a task beyond their capability. If it's a task beyond their capabilities, we really don't need to be concerned with whether or not we lose some of them on the ride; success or failure will be riding on us, not them.
"As for having to fight when we get where we're going, I'd say that's doubtful. They wouldn't have hired us if it were as simple as a frontal fight; they would have hired a competent mage from the Khazani Wizard's Guild to Hellbomb Burst the main foe, and the Khazani knights could take on the majority of the other opposition. Heck, even gathering up the local citizenry for a militia would do if they just wanted a frontal fight. Proud as I might be of my abilities, I'll admit that an armed peasant militia is a more powerful frontal force.
"Since we really haven't been told much more than 'There's a 4 armed monster coming to destroy your parking lot!' I expect we'll receive a more in-depth operations order when we reach our arrival, giving us better mission parameters and detailing more precisely what they expect us to accomplish. Your time to rest would be then. And that is military logic. Drive on.
"Of course, my initial presumption could be wrong. They might all just be completely incompetent nincompoops who gained their positions by appointment, not by skill or merit, have no clue what they're doing now, and are leading us into a slaughter. If so, we'll find out soon enough, but neither case will be proved until we reach our destination, sooooo... drive on. Hee-ya mule!"
Sensible enough, of course. But it's all out-of-character rationale, and we should try to stay in character. And what Brienna's thinking is, "If we don't get there or rest soon, we're going to have a lot of Gryphon chow littering the road."
Just to throw in a couple of counterpoints though, if one of the horses in front or the middle go down next, the rider might get run over before he or she has a chance to get up and out of the way. At the pace we're going, s/he'd probably be trampled before the riders behind have a chance to react. Also if the city is in so much danger, why would 30 knights be escorting us instead of fighting on the battlefield or guarding the castle? Surely, they wouldn't be needed just to round up some adventurers and lead them from point A to point B, unless there is trouble expected along the way....
But that's just my $0.02, of course. :)
Jax responds to the inebriated Jack de Crampon (redundant?), as they begin their ride into the night, "Hola, Jack! Didn't see you back there. How's it hangin'?" He doesn't have the heart to remind his old friend for the umpteenth time that his "Dagger of Time" is indeed a fake. [c.f. Lizardmen of Red Water Bay --ed.]
In due time, his thoughts turn dark, and he contemplates the mortal dangers ahead.
Note that eickeric's response to Kahi's remarks are in quotes, and thus in character for Jay. Also note that Jax, true to his monstrous heritage, has a short temper, especially when it comes to, well, read on, true believers....
Jax listens at the open presumptuousness of at least one of his fellow recruits with a disgust only matched by the magnitude of the new respect he harbors for the hu-mann Wizard Jay and his military wisdom. He spares a look behind him and notes gravely the separation of the party. He glances over at Taran, knowing what he's thinking even if he balks at speaking his mind. Jax has no such qualms, however, when it comes to insolent hu-manns and other "good" kindreds, and especially those hiding behind ridiculously bulky armor.
He turns to Kahi, and bellows, "Who are you, stripling, to question the Captain? Frak it, this is WAR, you idiot! Ride!"
Jax rides on in the vanguard, just behind and to the right of Krandor's steed.
"Of course, my initial presumption could be wrong. They might all just be completely incompetent nincompoops who gained their positions by appointment, not by skill or merit, have no clue what they're doing now, and are leading us into a slaughter."
Historically, officers were often appointed not by skill but by social ranking. A peasant could never be more than a common troop, an upper middle class citizen never more than a sergeant, and all the captains were young reckless nobles who had no idea what they were doing. Higher ranks were typically stocked with old nobles who did know what they were doing, but not always. The same can often go for the elite troops although they would typically be stocked with ordinary soldiers and only one officer.
I think it is less than likely that these officers are nobility, because if they were, they would be taking their blessed sweet time getting to wherever we're going. (This is assuming that there are any officers in this group, other than Krandor, who's just a city guard and not a member of the Khazan army.) [This is incorrect. Krandor is described early on as a Captain in the Royal Mounted Khazanian Army --ed.]
However, khara_khang also stated that the knights have refined voices and speak with a noble accent, so perhaps they are nobility, but have been given orders to get there as fast as possible, and they foolishly think this means not resting the horses. But as you said, we'll find out when we reach our destination. Another possiblity is that they are all high---just something to ponder.
Kahi shrugs his shoulders and rides on, muttering about how he doubts anybody here has ever seen the sorts of war he's seen. Moving over to the side of the party, he starts watching the skies and up ahead for danger.
"This must be very important if we must push ourselves so hard."
"Important, yes, most likely. But I'd say that this kind of urgency means that this mission is the succeed-or-die kind," she says, voice lowered to a hushed tone. "And I can tell you this," she continues, "there's a good reason that they are willing to leave that knight behind, so I suggest we maintain this pace and do what they ask. Sometimes reasons are not obvious, and it is usually those times when we cannot see them that the outcome is the most crucial."
Sensible enough, of course. But it's all out-of-character rationale, and we should try to stay in character.
As Jax correctly noted, that was an in-character response to Kahi, not OOC rumblings. I can see how some of the wording could have caused confusion, such as "a common enough historical occurrence," but Trollworld has been around for a while, so I thought it still fits. Adding things like "proud as I might be of my abilities" and putting it all in quotes was intended to make it clear that this was all said in-character. Ah well.
The bottom line to Jay is, "There's a lot of them, they're apparently a decent military force, they're running scared, and they've recruited us. The situation must be urgent."
Just to throw in a couple of counterpoints though, if one of the horses in front or the middle go down next, the rider might get run over before he or she has a chance to get up and out of the way. At the pace we're going, s/he'd probably be trampled before the riders behind have a chance to react.
Don't tell me; I'm just hanging on. ;) But I was under the impression that most of us are ahead of the pack, so this is a lesser consideration for us. And judging by their earlier consideration for the fallen rider, I doubt they'd shed too many tears for a trampled rider.
Also if the city is in so much danger, why would 30 knights be escorting us instead of fighting on the battlefield or guarding the castle? Surely, they wouldn't be needed just to round up some adventurers and lead them from point A to point B, unless there is trouble expected along the way....
Precisely because they are escorting us is further support for my musing. With this number, they must believe we can do what they cannot do. They may not be able to overcome the larger problem, but if they can get those who can to where they can do it, they've performed a much more valuable task than losing the fight on a battlefield, or guarding a castle that will eventually be lost. Escorting us might be their critical task.
Historically, officers were often appointed not by skill but by social ranking.
Which is what I was referring to in the afterthought when I said they might've gained their positions by appointment.
...and all the captains were young reckless nobles who had no idea what they were doing.
Not accurate. Many had received a good deal of military training and studied the science of warfare. Yes, there were the complete idiots out there, but also there were a lot of skilled people out there.
I think it is less than likely that these officers are nobility, because if they were, they would be taking their blessed sweet time getting to wherever we're going.
I don't see how/why you think their class status would have them traveling at a different rate of speed. Being a noble wouldn't make them take their "blessed sweet time," especially if the situation were dire enough that Khazan might fall. If that happens, what would they be a noble of? (Although I'm not saying they are or aren't nobles; I find that irrelevant. I'm more concerned about them knowing what they're doing, and what our situation is.)
"Sometimes reasons are not obvious, and it is usually those times when we cannot see them that the outcome is the most crucial."
Very well said. (Although I admit I absolutely hate not knowing the "why" when it happens.
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