Fight round 2
Subject Fight
Harp, realizing that he can back up no further, stops where he is. He notices the whinnies of the horses, and notices that Fal Tor is close to the front of the group and having trouble controlling his horse. Harp steps to his left to place himself between Fal and Ogre 1. He then stands his ground and attacks ogre 1 (normal attack).
He will try to stay between ogre1 and Fal.
From: Rob
Subject Fight
Bel will once again try to fire two arrows at Ogre one...if blocked from Ogre One then he will fire two arrows (rapid fire) at Ogre Two.
From: Karl
Subject Fight
Can Salix dismount while maintaining the spell? If so he will do so. If not, he will try to maintain the spell while mounted, moving his flaming sphere into Ogre1.
From: Mark
Subject Fight
He can easily dismount. Directing the sphere is a move action. So he could dismount as one move action and then direct the sphere as another move action.
From: Karl
Subject Fight
If he doesn't dismount, he will need to succeed in a new ride check each round in combat, right? If the answer is yes, then he will dismount.
From: Mark
Subject Ride Checks
You got it. Every person who is mounted right now will need to succeed in a ride check each round to do anything other than control your horse. And the DC is 20.
From: Kevin
Subject Ride Checks
OOC: Suggetion from Harp - get off your horses, PLEASE!!!!
From: Randy
Subject Ride checks
Ran dismounts from his horse and prepares to face the ogres.
OOC: I can't draw my sword in the same turn as I dismount can I? If I can I will.
From: Kevin
Subject Ride checks
OOC: In retrospect, we all probably should have dismounted a ways back and walked up to the ambush. Isn't it great how hindsight is 20/20 when you are faced with 2 towering ogres swinging big clubs at your head. Harp would hit himself on the side of the head thinking about this, except that he is pretty sure that one of the ogres is going to do that for him.
From: Mark
Subject Ride checks
As far as I can tell, as long as your BAB is at least +1, you can draw a weapon as part of your move action. Your move action would be to dismount. You could then make a 5 foot step to try and get close enough to the oger to attack it. You could then do a normal attack.
From: Karl
Subject Ride Checks
In my mind we WERE all walking our horses, but in fact I guess none of us specifically stated that. Live and learn.
From: Derrell
Subject Fight
Fal tries to calm his horse. He decides to draw his crossbow and fires at Ogre 1. If he's successful at calming the horse, he'll attempt to cast Sleep on his next turn. If he can't calm the horse, he'll dismount and let the horse retreat out of harm's way. He'll attempt to hit both ogres with the spell.
From: Randy
Subject Ride checks
Okay, then that is what Ran will do.
From: Amy
Subject Fight
Cai wonders how tough these Ogres are going to be as she takes another two shots at Ogre 1.
From: Mark
Subject Fight round 2
Initiative( Alatyr, Ran, Surin, Salix, Harp, Ogre1, Fal, Bel, Cai, Ogre2)
Alatyr, finding it hard to fight from horse back, slides from his saddle and slaps his horse on the rear. It turns and runs back down the path they had just come. He draws the mace hanging at his side and starts advancing towards the ogres. He shoves his way past Ran and Cai and moves to confront the hulking monsters. The creature sees him coming and takes a swing at him with his greatclub(AOO, moving through a threatened square, AC18, 13+9, hit) The ogre's huge club smashes into Alatyr's shield, sending shock waves of pain up the man's arm.(Damage 18)
Ran, realizing that he will not be able to fight from horseback, quickly dismounts, drawing his sword as he does. His horse also runs off, following Alatyr's horse. Ran takes a quick step towards the ogre(5 foot step) and takes a swing with his sword.(AC16, 14+6 20, hit) He connects to the knee of the ogre and draws blood.(Damage 7)
Surin peaks out from behind the small tree he was hiding behind and pulls one of his throwing axes from his waist. He takes careful aim and notices a small opening in the side of the hide armor the ogre is wearing(Sneak attack). He stands and throws the axe with all his strength.(AC16, 12+10=22, hit). The axe bites into the side of the ogre and lodges between parts of the armor.(Damage 9).
Salix dismounts with much more grace then the rest of the party and sends his horse back the way they came. He is fairly confident that he will be able to round them up later. He then concentrates on his flaming sphere and makes it roll into the ogre. The ogre, reaching to his side to pull out the axe that Surin just placed there sees the flaming sphere roll towards him and dodges it with a clumsy sidestep.(DC15 REF save, 16, save) Salix curses at seeing the creature avoid the burning ball.
Harp steps forward to swing at the ogre and just as he does, the ogre dodges out of the way of the flaming sphere, throwing Harp's aim off.(AC16, 5+9=14, miss)
The ogre recovers his balance and swings his club at the visible source of his pain.(AC20 , 11+8=19, miss) Ran slides his steel shield under the club and deflects it away.
Fal quickly dismounts from his horse and watches it follow the other horses back down the path. He then reaches into his bag of components and pulls out a pinch of fine sand. He quickly says the words that can not be remembered once they are spoken and then focuses his attention on a spot between the two ogres. He releases his thought and the spell goes off. Ogre2 seems to not even notice the spell.(DC15 WIL save, 19+1=20, save.) Ogre1 also seems to not notice the spell.(DC15 WIL save, 18+1=19, save)
Bel tries to move his horse over a bit but is unable to keep control of the beast.(Ride check DC20, 10+8=18, fail). Bel thinks he hears a roaring noise coming from the rocks to the west.(Listen check DC15, 9+6=15, success) He turns his head and sees two more ogres pulling themselves out of dugouts in the ground and get to their feet.
Cai again takes two quick shots at the closest ogre. The first shot goes wide(AC16, 5+6=11, miss) but the second flies home(AC16, 14+6=20, hit). Her arrow drives in the the chest of the creature, piercing it's armor.(Damage 3) The ogre staggers a bit but does not fall. Blood is flowing freely from at least three wounds
Ogre2 moves up the left flank, smashing small trees out of its way. When he gets next to Harp he swings his club at the ? orc's head.(AC19,8+8=16, miss) Harp parries the club and it passes over his head.
OODM: Ok that is the end of round 2. I have attached a map with everyone's positions at the end of round 2. Only Bel is still mounted. Please remember, if you are not first on the initiative list, try and provide a secondary target.
Fight round 2 cont.
Subject Fight round 2
Salix sees Bel falter as he tries to control his horse, but clearly the horse is terrified and, for the moment at least, Bel is no match for him.
"Dismount!" Salix calls to Bel. "Get off him before he bolts with you on him!"
He then performs a complicated gesture with his hands, palms together, index fingers pointing toward the ball of fire, other fingers interlaced, and tries to maneuver the sphere closer to Ogre 1, hoping the others can distract him enough for Salix to burn him.
(OOC - Can Salix say something without breaking concentration on the sphere? If not, then omit the dialog part above. Also, if O1 is dead or otherwise no longer a threat, Salix will aim for 02.)
From: Kevin
Subject Fight round 2
Harp, realizing that things have just gotten very questionable, calls upon the power of Heironious - "War God, grant me, and those who fight with me, your blessing to make our weapons strike true. I ask this for in the name of your greater glory."
Harp can tell that Ran and Alatyr seem to be making good contact on the first Ogre. His new concern is the behemoth that is now slightly to his right. Remembering that Fal is behind him, Harp tries to keep himself between the Ogre (2) and Fal. When he sees an opportunity, he will attack Ogre2.
From: Kevin
Subject Ogres
Mark, in my turn, I am casting a Bless spell, and I am willing to take a 5 foot step to stay between Fal and Ogre 2. Sorry I forgot to include that.
Really now, 4 ogres? Isn't that a bit much?
From: Mark
Subject Salix
As far as I can tell he can talk.
From: Kevin
Subject Fight round 2 revised
OOC: Upon further thought, I would like to revise my previously entered actions.
IC: Harp, realizing that things have just gotten very questionable, says a silent prayer to Heironious - "War Father, be with me now, and support me should I have need to call upon you during this challenging time. I will strive to strike down these denizens of evil, all for your greater glory".
IC: The remainder of the turn will stand.
From: Kevin
Subject Fight round 2
What damage did Cai's 2nd arrow do to this beast? You have damage numbers for the rest of the successful attacks, but not that one.
From: Mark
Subject Fight round 2
Sorry it did 3 damage.
I will edit the archive.
From: Ami
Subject Fight round 2
Cai aims at Ogre 1, but her gaze follows Ogre 2. As she does so, she sees something deeper in the woods and looks. With horror, she realizes there are two more Ogres coming.
"To the right, there are more! We must dispatch these quickly!"
She fires off two arrows (One or both arrows will go to Ogre 1 if he is not dead, Ogre 2 if Ogre 1 is dead).
******************
OOC: In case I'm not here for a couple of days :), I'll be also submitting what I would do for my next couple of turns.
Cai will cast Summon Nature's Ally near either Ogre 3 or 4.
Cai will then continue to shoot at the most convenient Ogre to take down.
From: Mark
Subject Ogres 3/4
Actually, Cai has not heard or seen the two new ogres yet. Only Bel has noticed them. I expect that to change quickly and so will keep your actions in mind.
From: Karl
Subject Ogres 3/4
Right. I'd have Salix do something to them, but he didn't see them and is earlier in the initiative than Bel so even if he alerts us this round it's too late for Salix (this round).
Right Mark?
From: Mark
Subject Ogres 3/4
Right
From: Mark
Subject Ogres 3/4
Except, since they made noise, I am going to do a listen and spot check for several party members who are not in hand to hand.
From: Randy
Subject Fight round 2
Ran starts to worry that without the horses it will be a lot harder to gain ground on their quarry. As his shield deflects the Ogres blow the though is replaced by the worry that the companions may not be alive to search for the horses.
"Keep at them!" Ran yells as he swings his sword at the first ogre again, refocusing on the battle and putting the horses out of his mind for the time being.
From: Rob
Subject Fight, round 2
Bel yells to his friends "Look out, two more over here!"
He then dismounts and fires two arrows at Ogre one (or #2, if #1 drops).
From: Mark
Subject Fight round 2
Actually you can only do the rapid shot if you use a full attack, which you can not do if you dismount. However you can get off 1 shot at which ever ogre is still standing.
From: Jake
Subject Surin and Jake
OOC: Hey folks, I'm back. Sorry for the extended absence. I've been skimming through the turns, so it's quite possible that I've missed some stuff. Mark, if you got impatient and found someone else to play Surin that's cool, but if not I'd still love to play. What do you think?
Assuming that I'm not stepping on anyone's toes, I'll take Surin from here. Mark, can he make another sneak attack immediately following a successful one, or will he have to skulk off to some other hiding place, and then attack from there?
From: Mark
Subject Surin and Jake
Great to have you back. I have been controlling Surin for the past couple of rounds. You can have the little bugger back. He has been annoying me, kicking me in the shins.
You can not make another sneak attack against this ogre, he knows you are there. You would have to make another hide attempt, but this time with alot of minuses for Ogre1 and Ogre2, since they both saw you pop out and hurl that axe.
From: Jake
Subject Fight round 2
Ah, good to know. In that case I'll have to think for a second before I decide what to have him do.
Good to be back by the way!
From: Jake
Subject Fight round 2
Surin smiles to himself as his axe bites into the gap in the ogre's armor, and with a wave at the ogres attempts to fade back into the undergrowth [hide attempt].
From: Nate
Subject Fight round 2
Alatyr will take another swing at Ogre number 1, again balancing himself for a follow through swing if the Ogre happens to fall.
From: Derrell
Subject Fight round 2
Fal will cast his (Grease spell) aiming the spell so that it affects ogre one and ogre 2 and not the other members of the party.
Fight Round 3
Subject Turn
Ok guys, every one has sent in thier turn. I will try and get the next turn out during the day today. I will send a new map out tonight, since that software is at home.
Mark
From: Randy
Subject Fight
Secondary target is Ogre 2 since I don't know about the other 2 yet.
From: Mark
Subject Fight, round 3
Initiative order (Alatyr, Ran, Surin, Ogre4, Salix, Harp, Ogre1, Ogre3, Fal, Bel, Cai, Ogre2)
Alatyr, his shield arm still throbbing from the crushing blow it just received, swings his mace at the knee of the ogre in front of him. The mace head crushes the knee of the brute, (AC16, 8+9=17, hit) shattering bone. (Damage, 6). The huge beast screams in pain and drops to the ground, not moving.
Ran, shrugs off his worry about the horses and concentrates on the monsters around him. He sees Alatyr crush the leg of the ogre in front of him and the creature fall, so he turns his attention to the one that had moved up on his right and was now threatening Harp. Ran takes a quick step towards the creature, his guard up, and when he sees his opening, he makes a lightening slash at the a gap in the things armor. His sword slides between two pieces of armor and into the belly of the creature. (AC16, 20+6=26, critical threat, Critical roll, 16+6=22, critical hit.) Ran feels his sword slide deep into the creature, puncturing vital organs, and it howls in pain. (Damage, 16) Ran dances back, his sword dripping black blood.
Surin, ecstatic from seeing his axe hit the ogre tries to slip back into the cover. (Hide check, 1+16=17)
Ogre4 charges around the trees and rocks in his way and moves so that he is approaching the group from the north. As he gets around the cover, he throws his javelin at Salix. (AC17, 20+1=21, critical threat, critical threat roll, 4+1=5, no critical). Salix hears the creature as it charges at the party and is able to get his shield up just in time. The point of the javelin hits so hard that it penetrates the shield and the point embeds itself in Salix's arm. (Damage 8).
Salix, grimacing in pain, pulls the javelin from his arm and shield. Even through the pain Salix remembers to keep control of the flaming sphere and sends it rolling towards the back of the ogre fighting Harp and Ran. (Concentration check, DC18, 19+5=24, success.) It looks like flaming ball will hit, but at the last moment the creature dodges to one side and the ball misses. (DC15, Ogre2 REF save 16, save)
Harp, takes advantage of the ogres? pain and evasion of the burning ball, Harp is able to get in a good blow to one of the creatures legs. (AC16, 14+9=23) His sword severs the ogre's leg at the knee and continues on and severs the other leg. (Damage 13) The ogre falls to the ground, bleeding to death.
Ogre3 moves around to the south and charges at the party. He sees Harp cut down the ogre in front of him and swings his huge club at Harp's head. (AC19, 13+8=21, hit) Harp dodges out of the way at the last moment and the club misses his head but lands on his shoulder, crushing bones. (Damage 16)
Fal hears Salix curse behind him. He sees the javelin sticking out of Salix's shield and sees the ogre charging towards the back of the party. Knowing that most of the fighters are behind him, Fal decides that he needs to slow that ogre down. He reaches in to his component bag and brings out a small piece of pork rind. As he crumbles the slippery material between the fingers of his left hand, he points with his right hand and says the words that can not remembered. The crumbled pieces of the pork rind fly to where Fal was pointing and a fine sheen of grease appears surrounding Ogre4. The ogre slides a bit, but keeps his balance. (DC15, REF save 19, save).
Bel, realizing that he has been unable to do anything while on his horse, slides off the side and slaps the horse on its rear. The horse runs off to the east a bit to get around the ogre and then heads back north. Bel watches in horror as the ogre heading from the north throws a javelin at Salix. He breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Salix block it with his shield. Thinking to himself that there is no way Salix could stand for very long against the brute, he sets an arrow to his bow and make a quick shot. (AC16, 14+7=21, hit) His arrow pierces the arm that was carrying the javelin. (Damage 3).
Cai stays where she is. Seeing the first and second ogre go down, she breathes a sigh of relief, until she hears Bel yell about two more ogres attacking the group. She sees an ogre charging Harp and its club smash down on the ? orc's shoulder with a crunch that makes her wince. Again she goes into that meditive state and fires two quick shots, the second arrow seeming to be on the string before the first is gone. The first drives home (AC16, 19+6=25) but the second glances off the hide armor. (AC16, 9+6=15). The first arrow buries itself in the belly of the creature. (Damage 7).
OODM: That was a fun round. Waiting for what you will do next?
Mark
From: Randy
Subject Fight, round 3
Ran wastes no time celebrating the death of the first two ogres. His blue eyes shine with rage though the rest of his body seems completely in control. He turns to the ogre that hit Harp and raises his sword to attack once more.
From: Kevin
Subject Ogres and damage
OOC: Mark it is unclear from the turn as to which Ogres took which damage (between 3 and 4). Am I correct in reading that Ogre 4 (attacking Salix) took 3 damage (arm hit) and Ogre 3 (attacking Harp) took 7 damage?
From: Mark
Subject Ogres and damage
Yes
Sorry about that. I had it clear in my head when I was looking at the old map. The new map that comes out tonigth should make it clearer.
But to verify, Bel did 3 points to Ogre4, the one that attacked Salix, and Cai did 7 points to Ogre3, the one that put the smack down on Harp.
From: Nate
Subject Fight round 3
Alatyr, noticing more ogre's in the area, again charges into battle, a little more defensively this time (Combat Expertise -4). When close enough to Ogre 3, he will strike with his light mace.
From: Karl
Subject Ogre and Salix
How far is O4 from Salix and does he think he can get a spell off before it is in melee range?
From: Mark
Subject Ogre and Salix
Ogre4 will be able to close and attack you before you can get a spell off. If you look at the map on 3/1/05, the ogre moved up and around the rocks and trees that are in the way, and towards the path your party was following. He can move 30, but I slowed him down a bit for the terrain. However, he will easily close next round.
From: Kevin
Subject Fight round 3
Harp gives a satisfied grunt as his sword slices through the legs of the ogre. As he watches the beast tumble over like an mid sized tree, he notices another ogre coming at him from his right. He tries to duck and spin, but only accomplishes the duck part before the huge club comes crashing down on his sholder. Damn, he says to himself, thats going to leave a bruise in the morning. I'm glad I spent the time I did with my whetstone and the edge of my blade.
He turns as best he is able toward the ogre that just attacked him and takes looks for a good opportunity to attack back and return some of the pain.
OOC: If Ogre4 is down by my turn, then Harp will move toward Ogre3 with his move action and do a normal attack.
From: Karl
Subject Hit points and Sakeriver
Boy! We're really getting creamed here. According to the character sheets at Sakeriver, Bel and Fal are already dead!
From: Karl
Subject Ogre and Salix
Could Salix move away from the Ogre and at the same time move the fireball to intercept him? If the Ogre has first initiative, will he close on Salix and get an attack before Salix can do anything? (Assuming no one who has even higher initiative does anything to stop him?)
From: Mark
Subject Hit points and Sakeriver
So is Cai and Surin and Ran. :)
I only use the current HP field when it is different than the max field.
From: Mark
Subject Ogre and Salix
Since the ogre acts first there is not much Salix can do. There might be something others can do, but they would have to have a higher initiative then the ogre.
From: Karl
Subject Ogre and Salix
What about my first question?
Also, if the ogre closes on Salix and he retreats, the Ogre gets an AOO, right? Can he withdraw to avoid this and still move the fireball toward the Ogre?
From: Karl
Subject Hit points and Sakeriver
But if it's zero, then it *is* different from the max field.
From: Mark
Subject Ogre and Salix
He can move, but only a single move action. He could then, as part of his standard action, move the ball. Or move the ball and then move. However if Salix moves out of a threatened square with anything other than a withdraw move he does provoke an AAO.
Withdraw is a full round action. You can move up to twice you speed. That means you can not do anything else in the round.
You can make a restricted withdrawl which means you can do a standard action and move just your speed.
From: Kevin
Subject Ogre and AOO
Mark, if the Ogre has already performed an AOO on another, more worth opponent (i.e. someone moving into a threatened square) would it still be able to AOO Salix if he does not do a Withdrawl?
How do you determine when a creature uses their AOO?
From: Mark
Subject Ogre and AOO
That is a tough one. There may be several chance for AOO in a round. For example, Cai firing a missile weapon, Fal casting a spell, Alatyr moving out of a threatned square to get closer to the ogre(an ogre has a 10 foot reach so when he moved from 10 feet away to 5 feet away, he provoked an AOO. Luckily the ogre, and your characters, only get to take one AOO per round. In round one, I judged that the Ogre would see Alatyr as the greatest threat, also he was the first AOO that came up.
To answer your first point, if the ogre has already made an AOO against some one else then Salix would be able to move out of the threatened square with no AOO.
From: Kevin
Subject Ogre and AOO
So, for example, some brave and couragous 1/2 orc (with a crushed collar bone) would have to get in the ogres way and make himself more attractive to the ogre than a little, harmless druid?
From: Mark
Subject Ogre and AOO
Something like that. How would you justify your leaving the ogre in front of you though? And if you leave that ogre he gets an AOO against you.
From: Kevin
Subject Ogre and AOO
I am only moving if the ogre in front of me is dead (Alatyr or Ran) or I kill it and then move over there as my move action.
There are many ways this can be done.
Should I rewrite my turn, or can you use this as instructions for possible
From: Kevin
Subject Fight round 3
OOC: If I happen to be the one to kill Ogre4 with my normal attack, then I will use my move action (after the attack) to move toward Ogre3.
The only reason Harp would not move is if Ogre4 is still alive after he attacks it.
From: Mark
Subject Fight round 3
I can take this into consideration. You still have not told me how you would know that Salix is in trouble.
From: Kevin
Subject Fight round 3
I heard the shouts from the other folks behind me? When I got blindsided by that Ogre I may have gotten the idea that there were more of them around? I am just coming up with what if's. You are the DM and will in the end decide my fate.
From: Karl
Subject Ogre and Harp
Thus earning said druid's life-long admiration, respect, and gratitude.
From: Karl
Subject Fight round 3
Damn! After our *first* battle, I thought this was going to be a cake walk!
From: Karl
Subject Salix
Addendum to previous round . . .
When the javelin strikes Salix he goes "EEEEEAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGHGHHHHH!" loud enough to shake the trees.
j/k
From: Jake
Subject Fight round 3
Two questions. First, was a 17 high enough for Surin's attempt to hide to be successful? Second, of the two remaining ogres, are both of them within range of either Surin's axe or a bullet from his sling? Third (I know, I said two questions, but this one just occurred to me), is Ogre4 going to have to roll again to avoid slipping in the grease, or is he out of the slippery area by now (or is his balance now beyond question)?
Okay, one more question. Is the grease flammable? If a flaming sphere were to roll through it, would it ignite? Are any player characters in the greasy area? I'm having kind of a hard time visualizing where everybody is.
From: Mark
Subject Fight round 3
RE: Hide check. It depends on the spot check of the person looking for him. The hide/spot check are opposed checks, not a DC type check. So wether it is successful or not really depends.
I am sending out an updated map for the end of round 3.
I would guess that there is a chance for the grease to start to burn. However, the spell only last for 4 rounds and the sphere is not on it at the moment. As far as I remember grease will burn but it does not explode, so it would take a little bit of time for it to catch fire.
Both are easily in some range, it just depends how many range increments they are. The sling has a 50 ft. range increment so anything from 0-49 feet has no minuses. From looking at the map, both ogres are with in short range. However, there are minuses when shooting into a melee. They are much less when the creatures are large, like these are.
Hopefully the map will help show things.
From: Mark
Subject Map and threatened areas
Ok here is the new map.
The yellow area around Ogre4 is the grease area. Ogre4 made his save so he is still on his feet, but is moving at 1/2 speed. I expect he will be out of the grease area next turn before he needs to make another save, since his next save would be on Fal's action.
For you new players, please note this. Large creatures are 10 foot creatures. That means that they take up a 10x10 foot block. On the map this means that they take up 4 squares. I have tried to center the monsters on thier 4 squares. Normal creatures only take up a 5 foot square.
Large creatures like this also have a natrual 10 foot reach. That means that they threaten all the squares that are two squares away. For example Ogre3 on the map could attack Fal, since he is within 10 feet of Ogre3. I have attached a bonus map to demonstrate this. The green squares are the squares where the ogre actually is. The red squares are all threatened by the ogre and any one in any of those squares will provoke an AAO if the do the wrong thing in those squares. Such as cast a spell, or use a missle weapon, or move out of any of those squares.
I hope this makes sense. If not let me know.
Fight round 4
Subject Salix
Karl
What did you decide that Salix was going to do?
From: Karl
Subject Salix
Salix will move the flaming sphere onto the Ogre that is attacking him. He will try to put distance between himself and the Ogre at the same time if he can do that *and* move the sphere without provoking an AOO. If not, he will stand his ground and just try to burn the damn thing.
Oh, and "help!"
From: Derrell
Subject Fight round 3
Fal casts (Sleep) aiming the spell at ogres 3 and 4. If that fails he will use his crossbow on his next turn.
From: Mark
Subject Fight round 3
Fal has already used his sleep spell in this combat.
However he still has his magic missile spell.
From: Rob
Subject Fight round 3
Bel will fire two arrows at Ogre 4, and then use his move action to back up as far as possible afterwards
He will also yell, as loud as possible, to the others letting them know that Salix is under attack
From: Jake
Subject Fight round 3
From his hiding place, Surin glances around, taking in the positions of the two remaining orges even as he readies his sling. Whirling the thong above his head, he lets a bullet fly toward the ogre bearing down on Salix.
From: Mark
Subject Bel fight round 3
The rapid fire feat takes a full round action. If you do that then you can do nothing else.
I will have Bel do the rapid fire.
From: Mark
Subject Fight round 4
Initiative order (Alatyr, Ran, Surin, Ogre4, Salix, Harp, Ogre3, Fal, Bel, Cai)
Panting from the exertion of killing the ogre, Alatyr looks around and sees another Ogre to his right. Harp and Ran are there so he decides to go help out. Moving carefully, he starts over towards the towering creature. (Combat Expertise, -4 to attack roll, +4 dodge bonus to AC) However, as he moves around Ran's left and closes with the creature, it lashes out with its club.(AOO, moving out of a threatened square,AC22, 18+8=26, hit) Alatyr does not see it coming and the club crashes down on his breastplate, making a huge dent and knocking the wind out of him.(Damage 10). Alatyr, his chest on fire from what he is sure is at least several broken ribs, attacks but the pain causes him to swing wide. (AC16, 8+5=13, miss)
Ran, noticing the same gap in the armor on this ogre as the other, again dashes in (5 foot step) with a lightening thrust as the ogre hits Alatyr. (AC16, 19+6=25, critical threat, critical roll 10+6=16, critical hit) Again, he slides his sword between the two pieces of armor and finds vital organs deep in the belly of the ogre. (Damage 14.) As he pulls his sword out of the creature it staggers a bit but stays on its feet.
Surin peaks out from behind the bush is his trying to hide behind and sees Harp, Ran and Alatyr fighting one ogre. He glances north and sees his friend facing an ogre all by himself. Surin quickly grabs his sling from his belt and loads a bullet in it. With practiced easy he whirls the leather pouch around his head and fires at the ogre. It is a little beyond his normal range but his natural halfling ability with the sling and long years of practice make that of little consequence.(AC16, 12+10=21, hit) The bullet hits home, but does little damage.(Damage 2)
Ogre4 tries to keep its balance as it moves through the slippery area. (Balance check, DC10, 2 fail) Its legs wobble and its arms flail trying to keep from falling. (REF save, DC15, roll 5, fail, fail by more than 10, fall.) Unfortunately, the huge club in its hand throws it off balance and the creature crashes to the ground.
Salix watches as the monster bears down on him. He almost breaks out laughing when the creature starts wind milling its arms and stutter stepping its feet when it tries to move through the greased area. With the creature still 15-20 feet away, Salix mentally commands his sphere to head over his way. The ball of flame, jumps over Ogre3 and leaps a few rocks and moves as far as it can towards the druid. It ends up right next to the druid and then winks out of existence. (Round 4 of spell, spell expires). Salix looks down, his face aghast. Then he looks up again at the ogre starting to get back up again and yells ?HELP?. He then starts to back peddle, drawing his scimitar as he goes.
Harp, watches as Ran shoves his sword up to the hilt in the belly of the ogre and is amazed at Ran's swordsmanship. Harp has always depended on his strength to win his fights and not really his skill. Now he realizes that skill can do more damage than strength. However, now is not the time to work on skill; so he uses his strength. As Ran slides his sword out of the ogre's belly, the creature bends over in pain. At that moment Harp strikes. His sword flashes (AC16, 10+9=19, hit) and severs the head of the ogre (Damage 13). The head rolls to the side and the torso, spurting black blood like a fountain, drops to the ground. Harp quickly turns and sees another ogre to the north, close to Salix. Harp heads that way.
Fal nods in satisfaction at seeing his grease spell slow down the ogre. He decides that since the fighters are busy with one ogre, he might as well take out the other. He makes the gestures that he learned back in wizard school and says the words that can not be remembered and two glowing beams of light launch themselves from his finger tips. They streak towards Ogre4 and strike him dead center in the chest.(Damage,5)
Bel keeps an eye on the ogre as it tries to regain its feet. Deciding not to risk it, he takes two quick shots at the ogre. The first misses when the ogre slips in the grease, but the second strikes home, piercing the thigh of the huge creature.(AC16, 5+5=10,miss, 19+5= 24, hit. Damage 5)
Cai also takes careful aim at the remaining ogre. The first arrow is right on the money, hitting the ogre right between the eyes.(AC16, 20+7=27, critical threat, critical threat roll, 13+7=20, critical hit, damage13) The creature seems almost stunned, looking at the arrow sticking out of its forehead with crossed eyes. It drops its club, gesturing feabily at the arrow sticking out of its brow. Cai's second arrow takes the creature in the throat(AC16,14+7=21, hit, damage 4) and the ogre collapses in a pile.
For a second there is silence as the party looks around for any more enemies that might be waiting in ambush. After about 30 seconds Surin pipes up, ?I'm not going after the horses.? The bad joke breaks the tension.
OODM: Fight is over. I have included a map but it is not really useful that much any more.
Aftermath
Subject Aftermath
"Well someone has to get them," Salix says, then gives an embarrassed "oh" as he realizes Surin was making a joke. He whistles for Noctis and sends him off in the direction the horses have gone trying his best to let the Great Owl know he wants him to spot them and try to keep them in sight.
He will then make an assessment of the group's damage as best he can.
(Mark, what's the HP status on the group?)
From: Kevin
Subject Aftermath
Harp, heaving a sigh of relief at seeing the final ogre go down with three arrows in his body, stops and turns to Alatyr. Seeing the mans obvious pain from the wounds he has sustained, Harp goes to him and asks:
"My god, Heironious, will grant me the power to heal those who have been injured. Pray, let me ask that he grant his blessing to you for the glorious way you battled these beasts. "
OOC: If Alatyr agrees, Harp will sacrifice at least 3 spells (Protection from Evil, Entropic Shield, Doom) to help heal up Alatyr) in order to Cure Light Wounds upon Alatyr. Harp will save the last one to perform a Cure Light Wounds on himself.
IC: To Alatyr and Ran "Well, we certainly succeeded in springing that ambush. Those two that were hiding on the other side of the path made things very interesting. Ran, I have never seen such sword work. It was if those things had no armor on at all. I was afraid that one of them would turn while your blade was deep inside them and that it might be ripped from your grasp.
Well, these two are obviously dead. We should check on the other two to see if they are both dead. I am not sure if these creatures were looking for us in particular or were set to waylay anybody coming down this path.
Oh, and we probably need to look into recovering the horses. I do not look forward to the prospect of walking after those goblins.
OOC: Mark, is there any possibility that Ogre1 is still alive? Also, which way did Stupid run? Since he was toward the front, it is equally likely that he ran away from us as back toward the other members of the group.
Harp will await any other instructions from Ran.
OOC: Well done folks, everyone added value in this fight (even the little halfling hiding in the woods - welcome back).
From: Mark
Subject Aftermath
You can only cast 3 CLW's since you can not sacrifice your domain spell for a healing spell. You can, however, sacrifice your 0-level spells for the cure minor wound. That heals only 1 HP but you do have 4. So let me know how you want the three CLW and the cure minor wounds to be applied and I will roll the healing.
Ogre 1 might still be alive, hell Ogre 2 might still be alive, just legless. All of them are bleeding at least and do not have long to stay in this world. Some one would need to stablize them, either by casting a healing spell or doing a heal skill check. Then they would have to be brought back up to at least 1 HP.
Stupid ran south and the other horses ran north
From: Kevin
Subject Aftermath
OOC: Well, since it seems Alatyr needs it worse than I do, do the three CLW on him and sacrifice the four CMW on me. If Harp, Alatyr and Salix get a good nights sleep (i.e. do not take their watches tonight) do they not get 5 hp of recovery (1 + 1hp/level)?
IC: Harp, after praying to his god and trying to alleviate some of Alatyrs' (and his own) pain, will suggest to Ran that the place the ogres chose to spring their trap may be the best place for the group to bed down for the night. It is easily defensible, and provides for cover from passing travelers. He will also ask Ran about trying to stabilize any of the possibly living orges or if Ran wants the dying to be given the coup d'grace.
From: Mark
Subject Health status
I have been keeping a total of everyone on Sake but here it is summed up.
Bel, Fal, Cai,Surin and Ran all at full hit points.
Harp 21/37
Alatyr 15/43
Salix 19/27
Harp is using three CLW on Alatyr and then 4 CMW on himself.
Mark
From: Karl
Subject Healing
Salix has a CLW and a CMW, too. He will offer to use them on whoever in the group needs them most after Harp is done. If everyone else is healed sufficiently, he will use them on himself
From: Karl
Subject Healing
So Harp's CMWs will bring his HP up to only 25, right?
Alatyr must be one tough dude if he's got that many more HP than a half-orc!
(/IC) Salix will wait to see the status of Harp and Alatyr before deciding how to use his healing prayers.
From: Mark
Subject Tough dudes
Harp actually has a better CON bonus, but two of his levels are D8 and Alatyr had some hellacious rolls for his HP totals.
From: Kevin
Subject Tough dudes
That's right for now, but if Harp gets a good night sleep, he will gain another 5 hp (8 hours rest, no watch) and then he can throw additional healing tomorrow morning (or evening before we settle in). I am guessing that we are still at least 1 day away from these guys so we should have ample time to heal up (assuming our devious and demented DM does not have another ambush planned for us).
Karl, go ahead and have Salix heal himself. Us fighters can tough it out.
Remember, Harp is just a 2nd level fighter, while Alatyr is a 4th. But I think I will nickname him The Cleaver (LOL).
From: Karl
Subject Healing
That's fine, if it works out that way, but in-character, Salix will appraise the healing on Harp and Alatyr and only heal himself if they are both within 10 HP of their maximums. If not, he will heal the one who needs it most unless his offer is specifically refused.
From: Mark
Subject Aftermath
?Well someone has to get them.? Salix says, before realizing that the halfling was joking. He stares at the ogre, just 15 feet or so in front of him. One arrow sticking out of it's forehead like a third eye, another jutting from its throat. He looks around, listening for any other noises of enemies hiding in the woods. Hearing nothing he whistles and Noctis glides down to land on his out stretched arm. He whispers in the bird's ear ?Go find the horses? and gently nudges the owl off to the north. The bird takes flight, circles once and then heads back north.
As the adrenaline starts to wear off the party takes stock. Most of the party made it through with out a scratch. Cai checks her quiver and notices that she has less than half the arrows then when she started this trip. She wonders if there will any place along the way where she could maybe buy new ones. She knows that at the speed they are traveling there is no way she would be able to make any new ones. She starts thinking about which shots she missed and where the arrows might have gone. This pass was not very wide. It should make finding them a bit easier.
Harp and Ran take a look around and only Harp and Alatyr seem to have taken any real damage. Salix is nursing his arm but says that he is fine. The hole punched in the middle of his shield belies that statement, but as the other two seem to be in worse shape, Ran does not argue. Harp and Ran help Alatyr out of his armor and Harp inspects his wounds. Alatyr's labored breathing and the bruising on his chest indicates several cracked ribs and maybe more significant damage.
Harp goes to Alatyr and says ?My god, Heironious will grant me the power to heal those who have been injured. Pray, let me ask that he grant his blessing to you for the glorious way you battled those beasts.? Alatyr responds ?I too am a follower of the Battle God and would welcome whatever healing you can spare.? With that Harp bows his head, and holding his holy symbol starts performing the ritual of healing. He does this three times and after each time Alatyr is in obviously better condition. (Cure Light Wounds, 6+10+10=26, Alatyr at 41/43)
Bel offers to follow Noctis and to try and find the horses. He heads off north, sending Ebon into sky after telling him to find Noctis. Cai offers to go south a bit after Stupid, since that was the direction he took off in. She figures that she can scout the area a bit to see if there is any tracks.
Hearing Cai's plans, Fal offers to have Lenore go with Cai. He tells to bird to help Cai find Stupid. The bird nods its head, lets out a loud squawk and heads south, keeping pace with Cai.
Salix and Harp start fighting over who is the most wounded and who needs healing the most. Eventually Salix wins when he makes Harp take off his armor and shows him where the ? orc's collar bone is supposed to be and where it now. Salix says his version of the healing prayer, and Harp feels the healing warmth of a warm summer day spread through him. (Cure Light Wounds 5,) Salix and Harp both then do small prayers to heal themselves up as best as they can.(Salix, Cure Minor Wound, 1 point, Harp 4 Cure Minor Wounds, 4 points) Both men are still a bit sore but able to function fairly well.
Ran looks around and agrees that this might be a good place to set camp for the night. By the time Harp has started inspecting the bodies of the ogres and 3 of the 4 are dead. The first ogre, the one that Alatyr knocked down, is still barely alive and is fading fast. Harp, unfamiliar with Ogre anatomy, still does his best to stabilize the creature and it seems to work. (Heal check DC15, 18+5=23, success, ogre stabilized.)
OODM: Ok folks let me know what you want your characters to do.
From: Kevin
Subject Cleaning up
Harp will give his thanks to Salix for helping to relieve the "discomfort" that Harp was experiencing.
Feeling a little bit better, Harp surveys the fallen enemy. Three are obviously beyond help, but one, the one that Alatyr was fighting, seems to still be alive, though its black blood continues to flow out of multiple wounds. Harp, thinking that they may be able to get some information from this creature, pulls some strips of cloth from his undergarments and fashions them into crude bandages. The pressure seems to staunch the bleeding a bit, though it is unlikely this beast is going to be much of a threat for a while.
Harp, noticing that he seems to have eased the pain of the remaining ogre somewhat, calls Ran over to let him know that the creature still lives, though by a string. Harp will also search the dead creatures to see if anything of value can be found.
While the others are out searching for the horses, Harp asks Surin for some help. First, he will ask Surin to help tie up the remaining ogre. He does not think the creature can do much but bleed right now, but Harp was not trained to take risks like that. Then, they will clamber over the large tree trunk to check out the area behind it and to try and make it as acceptable as possible for a rough camp site.
OOC: Mark, prior to our sleeping, I will change my spell list to include 3 mend spells (0 level spells).
From: Randy
Subject Cleaning up
Ran will ask if any of the group know any languages that this Ogre might understand better than common. If so, he will ask them to question the Ogre for the following information. If not, he will do his best to get the questions across in common.
"Were you sent here by someone else to ambush us?"
"Who sent you?"
and if these are not answered in the affirmative,
"Did you see a group of goblins and other creatures pass by?"
Ran will also assist as necessary in getting the camp set up. He will clean his sword and offer a prayer of thanks along with continued requests for leadership help.
From: Karl
Subject Setting camp
"We should clear this path" Salix says to Ran. "We do not know if these creatures were set to ambush us, or if they were guarding the way - or indeed if they are part of the group we are pursuing at all. But it's best if we don't take any chances. If someone comes down the path from either direction it would be better if they don't immediately know a battle took place here."
If Ran agrees, Salix will start trying to "straighten up" the area a bit, asking whoever isn't tracking down the horses to help him drag (or roll) the Ogre corpses off the path and down into the trees.
(OOC - Mark, Can Salix use "Wood Shape" to mend his shield since it's made of wood? If so, he will take Warp Wood off his spell list for tomorrow and add Wood Shape. He will also replace "Flaming Sphere" for "Summon Swarm". I didn't make the changes on page yet because the night isn't over.
From: Rob
Subject Setting up camp
Bel will help drag and clear the path of the evidence of their battle. Also, he will help search the ogres for valuables, and look for spent arrows.
He also offers to Ran to hold a double watch so that other people have a good chance to heal.
When he has done al that, he will look for tracks/evidence on where the ogres came from (Track) and if they had been with any other creatures.
From: Derrell
Subject Setting up camp
Fal will help move the ogres and clean up the area. He'll help tie up the one living ogre if needed.
Cleaning up
Subject Cleaning up
Harp, while checking out the possible camp site, will watch with some amusement as Bel and Fal try to lug the 500 lbs carcasses from the roadway. After watching them struggle a bit, Harp will call over to Alatyr and ask him to help Harp move the bodies into the forest.
The clean up continues and experience points
Subject Turn
Sorry I have not gotten anything out. I was hoping to hear from Jake and Ami but for this part it is not really needed. I will try and have a turn out today.
From: Mark
Subject Spells
Karl and Kevin had asked about a couple of spells.
Kevin, the mending spell would probably work to fix the shield. Karl the Shape wood spell would work but it seems to me to be overkill. It affects 1 cf of wood plus 1/level of caster which would be 5 cf of wood. That is more than enough.
From: Kevin
Subject Spells
Mark, I am looking to use those spells on Salix shield, Alatyr's shield, and his armor. I don't think anything else needs to be repaired that badly.
From: Mark
Subject Cleaning up
The battle over, the party slowly makes camp. After Harp and Salix spend some time healing members of the group, everyone starts to set up to spend the night. Salix heads back north, keeping an eye out for Noctis and Ebon. Bel goes with him, keeping an eye out for any surprises.
Cai heads south, Grey and Lenore keeping an eye out as well. She is able to find the tracks of the goblins they have been following but nothing for the ogres. After about ? hour of travel she comes upon Stupid by the side of the pass, calmly eating some scrub at the side of the road. The horse is a little skittish, but Cai is able to get the reigns and head back to camp.
Bel and Salix don't have to travel quiet as far. They are able to move a fairly good pace since they are fairly sure that there is nothing behind them. After about 20 minutes they come up on all the other horses grazing in a small patch of grass. Salix is able to gather them up and lead them back to the camp.
While the rangers and druid are gone the other members of the party start setting up camp. Harp asks Surin to give him a hand with the wounded ogre. Harp bandages up the ogre and helps Surin tie the creature up. Surin is sure that he has made some good knots but is not sure that the rope will hold the creature if it tries to break the rope. The ogre's broken knee gives the halfling a little sense of security. Fal and Ran start setting up camp behind the log.
When the rangers and druid get back, Salix suggest that maybe they should move the bodies down the path and off to the side a bit. Fal and Bel quickly volunteer. Harp wanders over to Alatyr, taps him on the shoulder and glances at the ranger and the wizard. The two stand there, arms crossed, watching as Bel and Fal attempt to move one of the ogres down the path. The ranger and the wizard huff and puff and strain and are able to drag one of the ogres about 100 yards down the path and then drag it off into the brush to one side.
When the two get back, looking really tired, Harp looks at Alatyr and nods. Each goes to one of the two remaining ogres. First they take off all the armor and supplies. Then, with a huge grunt of effort, Harp and Alatyr each pick up one of the huge monsters and start carrying them down the road. Fal and Bel are a little impressed with how easy those two make it seem.
Surin, in the mean time, starts going through the stuff that was taken from the ogres. Each ogre has a sack that is full of stuff. Most of it is crap, but he does find some interesting things. First is a lot of coins. What looks to be almost 1,000gp. One of the creatures also has a medium sized amethyst in it sack. Second, at the bottom of one sack is a banged up, dirty item that looks like a scroll case. Surin thinks of opening it and looking inside, but thinks better of it. There is something about the money though that bothers him.
Afternoon is passing and eventually the ogre starts to wake up. It makes loud guttural noises as it comes back to consciousness. When it realizes its situation it starts yelling in a language that no one in the party can understand. It tries to break the ropes holding it but only succeeds in opening a wound closed by Harp and passing out again.
OODM: Ok guys any comments/actions
From: Kevin
Subject Cleaning up
Harp knows that he can probably help the bleeding ogre, but is unsure if that is a good idea if they cannont communicate with this creature. He goes to Ran and says "My god will allow me to understand what this creature is saying, though I will be unable to speak in its language, if I am given sufficient time to pray. I should be able to do so tomorrow morning. I think I can stabilize this creature so he can survive through the night, though I am not sure that is the best course. His broken knee will keep him from moving much, but he may very well be able to break the bonds Surin has placed on him. I am torn between wanting to know more about who may have left these creatures here and having such an enemy in our camp. I do not think he is much of a threat in his current condition, but I do not know how he might recover from his wounds, what he may try to do while we camp, what we should do with him when we are done? I have no experience in matters such as this."
OOC:If Ran wishes, Harp will change his spell list from Entropic Shield to Comprehend Languages. He will also use his Healers kit to slightly improve the ogre's condition if that action is warranted by group decision. If Salix wants to help, Harp will welcome his assistance.
Mark, I will be updating my spell list to reflect the above. I am also revising my 0 level spells to include a Read Magic spell.
Kevin
From: Kevin
Subject Spells
OOC: Actually, I forgot that I already have that spell on my list. I just have to wait until tomorrow morning to use it.
From: Mark
Subject Experience points
Experience points for the first two encounters are on your character sheets on Sakeriver.
From: Randy
Subject Cleaning up
Ran replies "I too am unsure of what course to follow here. I feel that if we are unable to question the beast then he is of little use to us and keeping him alive may be cruel or reckless depending on how well he can be healed. I think we should wait it out the night without healing him and then see if we can gain information from him in the morning assuming he lives out the night. We should be able to keep an eye on him throughout the night and prevent him from getting free."
"I will take an extended watch to allow for those who need extra rest. If the creature attempts escape during anyones watch, they can alert the rest of us. We still have a great advantage of numbers here."
Spells
Subject Spells
Fal wonders what could be in the scroll case. Fal offers to use his Detect Magic spell on the scroll case to see if it contains any magic items. He also offers to use his Detect Poison spell to see if there might be a poison vial that's rigged to go off if it's opened improperly..
From: Karl
Subject Spells
OK, the mend spell will be fine, assuming this is discussed with Salix. He's used to being rather self-sufficient and wouldn't just assume someone else can help him, especially if he has a prayer of his own he can use, overkill or not.
I have amended my spell list thusly.
From: Kevin
Subject Spells
When he gets a chance, Harp will approach Salix and ask him if he may look at his shield. If granted, Harp will inspect the shield and comment "The beasts were exceptionally strong, even by my experience. Never have I seen a shield like yours pierced all the way through. Would you do me the honor of allowing me the opportunity to try and help repair your shield in the morning? It is but a simple thing the Battle Lord grants his followers, since we are commonly in situations like this." He nods toward Alatyr, and says under his breath " I will probably talk to him about his armor, since it seems to have been greatly deformed by that huge cudgel that hit him in the chest."
OOC: Karl, I hope that Salix will be amenable.
From: Karl
Subject Spells
Salix looks at the Half Orc with mild surprise. He is used to taking care of himself in the wild and had planned to petition his god in the morning for a blessing that would let him reshape the wood in the shield to close the breach. But that was a powerful blessing and given the circumstances it might be better to save that allotment of Obad-Hai's grace for a blessing that might be more useful in battle.
"If you can fix it, I would be grateful." He says to Harp. He turns to go back to where he laid his bedroll, but pauses. He turns back to the Half Orc and says quietly, "I am impressed with your strength. I don't mean only your physical strength, but also your strength of character. You have handled yourself better than many men I have known, especially in dealing with the Orcs back on the road. I am learning much in traveling with you."
Waiting
Subject Waiting
I am still waiting to hear from Ami, Jake, Nate and Rob.
Treasure and the return of Jake
Subject Camping
mark, I sent an email...did you get it?
Bel will offer to Ran to keep a double watch for Harp and Alytar so that they can heal better. He will also offer to help bandage them to improve healing (heal check).
From: Harp
Subject Camp
Come my traveling companions, the 1/2 man, 1/2 beast Harp wishes to sleep; to lay his throbbing head down upon the hard earth and feel the warmth of his body be drained out of him by the leeching cold swirling around him. He who controls this universe is loath to advance our activity without the knowledge from all of what it is they wish to do. I beseech thee, send in your actions so that I may come to my slumbering repose that I have so greatly earned this day.
Harp
From: Jake
Subject Treasure
OOC: Hey folks, sorry for the delay. I should be able to keep up from now on (although I'll still be posting only at night--if I access my mail from work again the consequences are liable to be...dire.
IC: Rummaging through the orge's sacks, Surin is repelled by most of what he finds. The forward quarter of a dog, half mummified, blackened straw stuck to what must once have been open wounds, stares up at him from one sack, the smell of it causing his gorge to rise almost uncontrollably. A medium sized amethyst is stuck in the tar-like blood where the dog's ear once would have been. Gingerly he plucks the gemstone from its revolting setting, spitting on it and rubbing it between thumb and forefinger to wash away the crusted filth.
Another sack contains ruined tack, the dry leather of the harnesses cracked to the point of uselessness where it hasn't been gnawed through by rats. There seems to be almost no sense to the contents of most of the bags.
At the bottom of the bag of ruined tack, however, is a battered tube. Intrigued, Surin pulls it free and examines it, dabbing some of the filth from it with a dampened scrap of cloth ripped from one of the bags. He thinks briefly of opening it, but he has heard one too many stories of ensorcled scroll cases to take the chance. "Fal-Tor," he calls over his shoulder, "have a look at this." With that, he passes the tube off to the wizard and returns to rummaging through the sacks.
One bag is surprisingly heavy for its size, and clinks with the sound of coin when he attempts to shift it. He opens the sack and gives a low whistle. There is a fortune in here--almost a thousand gold pieces, if his estimate is correct, gleaming in the sunlight. He sqints at the coins for a moment. Something seems wrong, although he can't put his finger on just what it is. He starts to reach for a coin, then thinks better of it. Instead he picks up a long stick and probes at the coins.
[OOC-Mark, any information you can give me on what it is about the money that bothers him?]