Fort Knocks - knight otu judging

[Boddynock]

Brother Eusebius, human monk 1

Brother Eusebius, somewhat shamefaced at his breaking of discipline last night, rises early and goes out to the courtyard, where he practises his forms - moving slowly through the fluid motions at first, then gradually increasing in speed until his hands, arms and legs are a blur of motion. Eventually, when the others stir, he will go inside to bathe and then to join them for a (modest) breakfast.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

[from the red dragon]
When the group arrises, they enter the large common room to find the table replentished with baked goods, breakfast foods and fruit juices. Fangs is eating heartily at one table, along with several other youths of various races. Cirus runs to Atrax whining in piteous hunger, unaware that someone has attached a large tag to his harness reading "I have already been fed."

There are two large hearths in the room, one of which has been lit, and the other which is emiting a continual rain of soot and debries. After a few minutes, the shower slows and then stops, and a very dirty but happy looking Kirin drops down from the chimney. "I think they make these long brushes now, you know..." she says to the youths with a grin. Seeing the others awake, she waves and says "I'll be down after my bath, Jenrald will be out to breif you soon."

As you are finishing breakfast, an older looking half elf enters and claps his hands briskly to the youths. "Learners assemble in the rear gardens, Master Stephanie will meet you there. Don't take Cirus, he eats the bulbs!" Calling the riding dog over to him, he continues on to the table where you were eating and pours himself a glass of juice. "Pleased to meet you all, I'm Master Jenrald, I'm here to help. Let me tell you what we know about the problem. On the far side of the south reach of the Stonespike Mountains there is a fort. It protects a productive salt mine and the men who work it from goblins, local wildlife and competeing miners to be, and it has always been well defended from outside threats. As far as we can gather from eye witness reports and two long nights of divinations, it has fallen from the inside. A swarm of undead has arisen from within the mine, and ravaged the fort. They are slowly wandering out from its walls, and we are concerned that they will prey on travelers in the area or even spread to local towns. Also, we have been unable to determine the exact source of the undead, and there are disturbing signs that there may be more coming out of the mine, though not in as great numbers as the initial rush.

"These creatures need to be laid to rest, and whatever or whoever is producing them needs to be stopped. I will admit the situation looks dire, and we may need to recruit still more aid in dealingwith it, but I hope you will agree to help."

 

[azmodean]

"Greetings Master Jenrald, I hope you don't mind a few questions.
Do you know if any of the miners have survived? Have any ecaped? Are they the eye witnesses? Can we talk to the eye witnesses?
Do you or anyone you know have information about the history of the mine such as strange events in the past or people who may be angry at the mine?
Any idea how many undead there are? Do you know anything about their weaknesses or abilities?
Did anything strange happen recently, like the ground shaking?"
Artax pauses to catch his beath, seems to notice the breakfast for the first time, and digs in.
"Sorry for the barrage of questions, but the situation just sounds strange with seemingly no reason for it to happen. Oh, how far away is this fort and are there any dangerous areas we will need to pass through on the way there? Um, and are there any back doors to the fort you know of? I guess we could ask the miners, if any survived."
Artax looks around at his probably suprised companions, "Heh, guess I'm a bit nervous about the situation."

 

[Boddynock]

Brother Eusebius, human monk 1

Eusebius, having broken his fast well but not to excess, has listened with interest and with a growing excitement to Master Jenrald's words. As the half-elf finishes his speech, Eusebius rises to his feet and executes a formal bow.

"Master Jenrald, I am Eusebius, Brother to the Servants of the Flame of Fate. I salute you. I here pledge my support in this venture, and will fight to the death to defeat the foul creatures of darkness."

Then, in somewhat less formal tones he continues, "What can you tell us of the layout of this fort? Is there any indication of what sorts of undead we may face?" Looking around at his companions he says, "How many are we in this venture, and what prospect of reinforcements might we have?" Finally he adds, "And if Sister Kirin comes, and Cirus with her, then who's going to carry all the exta food we will need?"

(OOC: Hmm, Azmodean responded while I was still typing my reply. Never mind, I'll let it stand.)

 

[Sparky]

[sblock]
From Redoak:

Rainca rolls back onto her heels considering the young man carefully. Rainca did not expect that answer. She nods approvingly and her posture and tone shift… there is something of a hunting wolf that colors her speech.

She shakes her head, the beads and teeth strung in her hair rattling with the motion, “A measure of strength does not limit it. It is knowledge. Rainca would know how you understand where your strength ends and Mystic’s begins. It is important to know such things.”

She looks at the proud horse as it nuzzles Skeeter’s hand, hawk’s eyes deep and unfathomable.

“Mystic. Is Sister Horse also a Seer?”

She doesn’t appear to be speaking in jest.[/sblock]

 

[dpdx]

Rurik, Dwarven Fighter 3

Rurik rises a moment later than the rest of his group, washing his face in a nearby water bowl. Donning his armor, he shakes out the remaining soreness from last night's festivities, then hoists his pack and walks out to the common room. The mass of humanity, where relatively few were last night, startles him briefly, but he trancends that feeling to grab a small meal of bread, some meat, and a glass of juice, which he augments with a small amount of the ale he carries in one of two jugs destined for that purpose.

Rurik nods his greeting to Master Jenrald, then states his name. As Master Jenrald explains the situation, Rurik listens with concern: his own Clan Hall is not terribly far from there - indeed, Axebender and the neighboring clans have been known to buy raw material a time or two from that very mine, and given the underground nature of the attack, it is completely conceivable that whichever downworlders are responsible for this slaughter may next have designs on the dwarven holds to the east of the mine.

"Mas'r Jenrald, if I may: d'ye know fer what purpose was this attack? I mean, d'ye know've any other settlements what may have been attack't, either before or after? Is't again possible, that these creatures may've been lookin' fer summat what was at tha fort?"

 

[Someone]

"Foa, daf a lof of fuestionf." says Nodis with his mouth full. After gulping down the food, he continues: "What do you mean by ´producing them´? Can you make undead? uh, I don´t mean you, I wanted to say if they can be made, by a mad wizard or something like that. I believed they were people cursed for eating the dead or for not being buried the right way or cursed by the gods for wanting to live forever, or... you know."

"I say that because if you have to be very powerful for that then we have to be extra careful."

"And where do the bodies come from? Are they stolen from a graveyard, or you just don´t know where they come from? I find strange they just come from a salt mine."

 

[Kahuna Burger]

From Redoak:
[sblock]Andrew responds candidly to Raica's question. "I think I have the ability to lead these people, and I hope that the Mortalists will give us some input on where to go, but I don't know if our abilities and tactics are up to the life we hope to take on. I hope for you to work with us, both individually and in groups, and help us build the skills we need to accomplish our goals."

Over the next two days, as the hoar suns travel south, Rainca observes them, sometimes taking a few of the archers on a sde hunting trip, sometimes challenging two or more of the fighters to a sparring match. She begins to buildup an idea of how they might work together as a group, and talks often with Andrew, Susan and Skeeter about possible challanges and tactics.

It is late morning on the third day when the Hoar Suns reach a crossroads with a large sign which bears a lit candle. The candle light is actually fire, though it does not seem to burn the wooden sign. Around the candle is written "All Welcome" in many languages, even a kree dialect, Rainca is suprised to note. "This would be it" Andrew says. "Perhaps the four of us should go in first rather than crowding them right off?"[/sblock]

 

[Dexerion]

From Redoak:
[sblock]

Rainca rolls back onto her heels considering the young man carefully. Rainca did not expect that answer. She nods approvingly and her posture and tone shift… there is something of a hunting wolf that colors her speech.

She shakes her head, the beads and teeth strung in her hair rattling with the motion, “A measure of strength does not limit it. It is knowledge. Rainca would know how you understand where your strength ends and Mystic’s begins. It is important to know such things.”

Skeeter's attention does not turn away from Mystic, yet he answers with a sigh, "I prefer to ignore limits. To me, they do not exsist. When I see something that must be done, I do not ask myself if I can or can not do it, rather I just do it or I do not. As for the horse, she is much the same. When I ask her to do something, she does it or she does not. She will not debate the action with me."

"This would be it" Andrew says. "Perhaps the four of us should go in first rather than crowding them right off?"

Skeeter dismounts his horse and slings his shield over his back. He leads the horse to the nearest post and ties it. He then leans his lance against a wall near the horse and shakes down his armor, pulling at the uncomfortable spots aggrivated by the ride. Once in order, he approaches the door to the hospice.

"I hope they have enough food for 22 warriors," Skeeter says with a smile, "Two plates for me, twenty for the rest of you."
[/sblock]

 

[Kahuna Burger]

From the red dragon:

Jenrald lets everyone ask their questions, then tries to formulate a consice set of replies. "Well, young man, there are many ways the undead come into being, though mindless ones such as these are often created by a dark master or by some sort of ritual. The creation may have been long ago and they just came to light - as I said, they seem to have emerged from the mine itself. Its possible that they came or were sent deliberately to the mine, or that they had been trapped in some underground area that the mining uncovered. We received the eye witness accounts second hand, from surviving miners who took refuge at an inn where a mortalist Journeyer was staying. From the description and our divinations it seems they are mindless corporeal undead - zombies and skeletons, largely. As far as we can determine, there have been neither portents nor other attacks.

"The area you will be traveling through should be entirely safe for a group such as yourself, though when you reach the mountains there will be risks both natural and mindful, I imagine. I know little of the mine itself and the fort which protects it, but you may be able to find survivers as you get to the region. What I do know of the background - the mine has been contested heavily in the past, and changed owners many times. I would not be suprised if someone held a grudge against the current owners, but again, this attack may not have been planned at all.

"we will give you what supplies we can spare and some magic that may be helpful against these particular threats. We hope you will be able to leave within the day."

(ooc: waiting for a sparky check in and then the second group of PC's can make their appearance,)