Mission Gives Up Promise, Garyth Leaves a Surprise, A Loose Knot, Elemental Discussion
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
Promise is silent as Mission jogs down the corridors. Once, Mission feels his little hand on his cheek-- a brush of soft fingers against the stubble of his beard. But Mission won't look at the boy's eyes, afraid of the visions that might be conjured up.
The Path ends at Promise. A new Path, new Blood, new Stone, would rise from him. Mission had seen already. His boy, his Promise.
Cadfael says something to him-- about running beyond them all, not waiting for them. Protecting Promise no matter the cost to the party. And then there is the rope, the sheer wall, and the shaft.
Mission pauses. "Rennick," he says. "You will take Promise."
He swallows, and feels his heart hammering in his chest. It is right to do this-- the Path is not straight, nor is it soft. "When we reach the secret door, take my son. You know the jungle the best-- if he has any chance of survival, it's with you. I don't want. . . if we are overtaken, there may not be time to hand him around. If we become seperated. . .
"Well." In the dimness of the tunnel, Mission's face is anguished and drawn. "Will you take him, Rennick?"
From: Scott
Subject: Redblade Character Generator
This is a neat little app that takes you through the character generation steps, and can output your character in HTML.
My personal opinion is that the 3.0 version's .txt output was cleaner than the current HTML; but this version has the 3.5 rules built into it.
Anyway-- here's a link.
http://www.dark-legacy.com/redblade3e/3.5e/
The 3.0 version's also available.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
Garyth interrupts Sa'id just before he begins his spell. "Wait a moment," he says, unslinging his pack. He removes a flask of lamp oil. He gauges the distance to the top of the shaft, but it's too far to be sure he could throw it, so he unstoppers the flask and pours out the oil on the floor where the rope meets the floor. Having completed his task, Garyth hefts his pack and stands out of the way of Sa'id's magic.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
I just need Rennik's response to this unexpected request, and a quick check in from Cadfael.
Thanks.
From: Dan
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
Cadfael smiles warmly at Rennik's show of concern, surprised at how much it means to him.
"I suppose if we're caught we've already lost haven't we? Very well, but I still take the rear." he says in a tone that leaves no room for argument.
He quickly pulls out his dagger and cuts away at the straps holding his breast plate, removing it as quickly as possible. It doesn't matter what condition it's left in, he'll certainly never see it again.
The shield, however, he will not part with.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
Watching Sa'id burn the rope, Rennik begins to feel as though they have a chance. Hopefully one or two of the halflings or humans will run off the blind cliff and break their necks at the bottom, though he supposes that wouldn't matter to the undead.
Watching Cadfael deftly cut the straps to his armor, it finally sinksin that the man's sanity has returned to him, that he dark shadows under his eyes have lost their sinister cast, instead looking as though he's lacking sleep - which can surely be said of all of them. Seeing the man in his tunic, again slinging his shield and pack across his back, Rennik nods and says "I will do what I can to get us through this, friend Cadfael. The way is dangerous, but Mielikki will show the way through the shadowy groves that filter Pelor's light."
Taking just a moment to prop the armor in the doorway to the next room in the hopes that at least one of their pursuers would trip and thereby form another obstacle. As they race through the rooms, closing the doors behind them, Rennik calls out to Farron to aid him.
"Caller Farron! Can you ask one of the mountain creatures for aid again? Perhaps it could form an earthen wall behind the doors as well. They would surely turn back at a rock wall, but a door they would take time to knock down - if they don't know the wall is on the other side."
Continuing through the corridors, Rennik's mind races with possibilities for the jungle retreat. They took the underground corridor for much of the way... but the secret way was blocked with undead drones.... however, the hut with the ladder should now be unguarded. It would be possible to climb down the ladder and race down the tunnel to avoid swamp dragons...
But how would they exit through the roof of the tunnel again? (OOC: Did they leave the rope? Or take it?) And would those zombies still be in the side corridor - and would they attack now? Maybe it would be best to take the overland route and risk the swamp dragons. During midday they would rest in the heat of the sun, but near dusk there could be problems.
His mind shuffles through possibilities as he gets to the secret door to the mountain, and a though occurs to him that there may be an army awaiting them on the other side. As he braces himself to go through, Mission grabs his arm and makes his request.
Rennik's mind churns to a halt, totally shocked by the man's words. This is the child Rennik would have killed had it been necessary, a comment that had surely kindled the monk's fury. It showed an amazing amount of trust to ask him to carry his child, and Rennik's brain started slowly altering plans.
The child might have the best chance in his arms, yes. But the group's chances might be lessened if he had to divide his attention between a babe and a pack. Would it make him overly cautious? Would it stay his hand when risk needed to be taken? It would certainly make it impossible to fight - but if it came to fighting, Mielikki's grace would surely be lost and their lives forfeit. He would need his hands free... and...
Without words, Rennik pulls his cloak from his pack and forms it with his knife and a few knots into a front-carry sling the women of the tribe used to wear when they took their babes to the woods to gather herbs and berries. It would allow him to use his hands during the flight and...
It seemed as though his body had made a decision his mind hadn't yet come to. Consciously, he had reservations about this being the best idea, but the shock of the situation wasn't allowing him to think clearly about it. But the babe's father asked him to save its life and chose him to bear that burden.
Slinging the carrier around himself and replacing his pack, Rennik looks soberly up at Mission.
"I will accept this burden from a father looking to protect his son and swear by Mielikki and my unborn sons that I will do everything in my power to bring him to safety."
Taking the babe, he looks into clear, perfect eyes far older and wiser than all save the most revered elders of the tribe. Eyes that have seen truths unknown to the world and accepted them, finding strength. He felt reassurance in those eyes, and a sense of security in his arms. Looking back up at Mission, he nodded once and turned toward the secret door.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
I need a response from Farron on Rennik's request.
Rennik makes a craft check, DC 12 to make a sling. Roll 10. Failed.
IDM: Rennik quickly puts together a sling that resembles the ones the women of his tribe use. Unfortunately, not having children of his own yet, he has never actually had to make one. He loops and ties it in what he thinks most closely matches the style he's seen, but his unfamiliarity means it is less than sturdily put together.
One of the knots is very loose, though he does not see it.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
OOC: Hey Scott, still sure that was sucha good idea? :\
From: Scott
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
Does Mission see the loose knot? If he does, he'll try his own hand at fixing it.
Mission will stay close as possible to Rennick and Promise.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
No. The loose knot is a function of the failed Craft roll.
The bottom line is this:
Each time the sling is put under stress, like running or jumping, I will roll to see if the knot fails. If it does, Rennik will have a chance to grab the kid before he falls.
None of the characters will be able to anticipate this in any way.
Sorry. But on the plus side, Rennik's base touch attack is pretty good, and Promise has a base AC of 5. Even with negative situational modifiers, it is incredibly unlikely that Rennik would ever drop him.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
"An elemental is a creature that is called from its element. Its substance is its element and it can move through that element, but it does not control it. An elemental could attempt to block the path or even hold the door, but those I have power to summon are small for their kind and the power I would expend would be better used otherwise.
"What I can do is cast a spell of haste on us all. You may remember I did this once before at the tower. The question is, though, when would this be best? Now, so we can get a head start? Or perhaps once we get outside and see what our situation is? I think the latter."
(ooc - unless I misunderstand the nature of elementals, I don't think Rennik's request is possible given my powers. Ty, correct me if I'm wrong.)
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
Karl is right. The elemental can't build a wall, sadly. (just verified this)
From: Matt
Subject: Re: The Chase; back down the tunnel 2
Hmm. What would the elemental's strength and duration be? Could it just lean against a door with its lower half rooted in the dirt? Essentially making itself a wall? I guess it would depend on how long it lasted... though, maybe it could move some of the big stone tombs in front of the door.
I dunno. I don't have the open source rules on this computer, so I can't even look for it.