Infravision vs. Darkvision, A Way Out for Buchek?, Brawlin' and Crawlin'
Subject: Re: Caro 5; Bump in the Night
Fanchek Fa nervously mews. A strange collection of garbled language emits from Holn as the mana take hold of him, raising his arms to the sky. A shimmer appears around his cloaked form, as if viewed through heated air. (Cast Mage Armor, share spell with Familiar).
He reaches to his belt and unlimbers his Morning Star, keeping a free hand.
From: Jake
Subject: Re: Caro 5; Bump in the Night
They hadn't believed him. From the sound of dicing going on in the next room and the guard's lack of concern, it's clear that either his report had been dismissed, or that the bumbling fools had overlooked the Clansmen hiding in the grass. They'd pay for their carelessness, that was certain.
Buchek glances out the window, wondering when the attack will come, and if he'll know the attackers. "What if it were Tossuc", Buchek wonders, his left hand twitching at the thought of meeting his uncle in combat. Or could this not be a normal raid at all, but an attempt by Tossuc to kill Buchek and claim Nauhata for himself?
Casually interposing his body between the guard and the grate, Buchek slides his hands beneath the rotting grain sacks, feeling for the size of the grate, as well as any locks or latches. If there are none, and if the guard continues to be oblivious to Buchek's actions, he will attempt to shift the grate slightly, testing it to see how easily it can be removed. At the first sign of anything that might cause noise, or at the first sign of attention from the guard, he will leave off messing with the grate, and occupy himself with peering out the window.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Caro 5; Bump in the Night
OOC: Don't dwarves have low-light vision?
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Caro 5; Bump in the Night
OOC: ::answers own question:: Actually, no. They have 60 feet of darkvision.
From: Jake
Subject: Re: Caro 5; Bump in the Night
What's the difference between darkvision and lowlight vision? Does one of those replace infravision? I had thought that dwarves had infravision.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Caro 5; Bump in the Night
I think infravision was the old 1st ed. ability. Might have been in 2nd ed as well. Anyway darkvision means you can see in total darkness, but only in black and white. Thus, dwarves can see up to 60 feet in total darkness, but cannot detect color. Low light vision means you can see in low light. Elves and half-elves can see twice as far as humans in low light conditions and can still see colors, but cannot see at all in total darkness.
From: Jake
Subject: Re: Caro 5; Bump in the Night
That makes sense. Thanks Mike!
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Caro 5; Bump in the Night
Infravision was also in 2E. I guess they got rid of it because it was troublesome. :)
From: Erik
Subject: Re: Caro 5; Bump in the Night
OOC: Dwarves have darkvision, but I don't know how far....
Anyway, Erk's got that cool glowing shield now. I'm ready to cast touch spells, but we are in limbo apparently.
And here's a Duh for you (my duh) Elotai is twink?
From: Jake
Subject: Re: Caro 5; Bump in the Night
OOC--Glad to know that I wasn't just making infravision up.
Man, I can't wait until Buchek is actually around other player characters; I'm dying here with this one turn a day thing. Anybody else think that Matt should really get his priorities straight, and quit his job so that he can devote all of his time to entertaining us?
From: Matt
Subject: Caro 6; Brawlin' and Crawlin'
Buchek finds it relatively easy to conceal his investigation of the grate [Hide check 20 v. Spot check 6, success], moving the sacks of rotting grain between the grate and the guard. That done, he leans back against the wall, seeming to rest, while examining the opening.
The grate is old, and appears to be a shoddy covering to an old sewage drop. Buchek figures a good tug could pull it loose pretty easily - but beneath it there is just a dark hole, three feet in diameter, extending downward, and a fetid odor. Concentrating, he hears a rushing sound coming from the tunnel, very faintly [Listen check 20, DC 20, success], that he assumes is running water... possibly the river, though that would mean the tunnel extended the 80-100 yards under Caro itself.
The guard pokes his head down the hallway to check on his prisoner, and sees Buchek resting comfortably beside the sacks of moldy grain. Buchek can just make out "filthy savage" under the man's breath as he again diverts his attention to the other room.
...
Kayla presses herself against the wall and skirts her way to the side doorway, moving so quickly and smoothly that even Valni is startled when he realizes she had moved [Hide check 32, DC 15, um, success much?]. Slipping through the door into the adjoining living quarters, she gets her bearings.
The room is small and sparse, lit by a candelabrum on the wall, with only two travelers cots set up with linens and several more stacked neatly along the back wall. Another door opens on the front, though it is closed and has no window. There are two chests, one at the foot of each cot, and a small desk with ink and parchment scrolls. Just above the desk, above Kayla's line of sight, is a small square window.
Behind her, in the other room, there is a hanging silence [Listen check 6, DC 15, fail] until she hears the clatter of one chime against the rest in a jarring dissonance.
...
Telwyn ducks stealthily into the shadows along the side of the street, but the torches cast his flickering shadow against the wall of the tower every so often [Hide check 11, Move Silently 19]. As he draws his bow, his eyes make out one of the two figures disappearing, he imagines into a building lit dimly by candles, and another moving swiftly toward the bridge before also disappearing.
Holn unlimbers his morning star and holds its haft ready, now knowing for sure that something is amiss. The light that erupts from Erk's shield shocks him for a moment, but his eyes quickly adjust. The dwarf was careful to shield his eyes at first, though the glare does make sight difficult for a brief moment. The light illuminates a radius of 20 ft, lighting up the street and front of the tower, and gives dim outlines for another 20 ft or so down the road. The wall is entirely invisible at this point, well beyond the range of the light, but the 40 ft radius around them is devoid of any but them.
The light at his back, Telwyn's eyes are not affected and even gain greater range with the increased light - as low a level it still may be. It seems the building the one figure disappeared into was a temple, from the outside.
...
Elotai sips his ale and wonders what these new faces mean, how they fit into the world of his visions. At least the spider-eyed man didn't appear indoors, he thought... and the idea of entering into the grasslands gives him a chill. But he knows that is where he must go.. to see, to understand.
A young man enters from the back, seemingly coming from the rooms, and chats with the bartender. He catches Elotai's eye as much for the youth and open innocence in his face as the gleaming breastplate that looked as though it was cleaned and polished only minutes before.
The young man drifts over to the tables with the guards and talks loudly to the group, "Good friends! I have broken free of my father's reins and set out for adventure! Come, let us have a drink!" With the last, he claps a surly looking man with a scarred face hard on the back, causing him to bash his teeth into his tankard of ale. Yelling in pain, he stands quickly up, dumping the contents down the front of his shirt and onto his pants.
"You worm!!!" He grabs the young man with his left hand by the collar of his breastplate, easily standing a hand taller than the boy. "Off Daddy's leash, eh? Then I suppose he won't mind me gettin' yer 'adventure' started right off, eh?"
With that, he comes around with an arcing right hook that catches the boy squarely across the jaw and sends him sprawling across another table, pushing recently filled mugs onto the guards sitting there. The largest of these stands up to the scarred man.
"Ay! You wanna toss someon' try me!"
In an instant, the bar erupts into chaos.
From: Matt
Subject: Caro 6; Brawlin' and Crawlin' (forgot one thing!)
Oh, um, yeah...
Telwyn, Holn and Erk will all hear the crash of chimes in dissonance... that would be at the very end of the description from their section.
Oops.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Caro 6; Brawlin' and Crawlin' (forgot one thing!)
Erk turns to Holn. ?Perhaps it would be best if we stay together. Do you agree??
He will then draw his axe, and move forward to get closer to Telwyn. He regrets that the light from his shield may make it harder for Telwyn to hide, but he wants to keep the ranger in his sight.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Caro 6; Brawlin' and Crawlin' (forgot one thing!)
OOC: Which direction did the crash come from? The temple, the bridge, or elsewhere? And is the temple in the same direction we originally heard the fiddle from?
From: Jake
Subject: Re: Caro 6; Brawlin' and Crawlin' (forgot one thing!)
OOC--Ha! Having to work late pays off at last!
Again moving causally, so as not to attract the guard's attention, Buchek will toss something into the pit, listening to see if he can estimate how deep it is from the time it takes to hear a splash. If there are any pebbles in the floor of the room or loose bits of grout in the walls, he'll use a few of those. If not, he'll use a handful of rotting grain.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Caro 6; Brawlin' and Crawlin' (forgot one thing!)
Yes. The crash came from the temple. It is the same crash of chimes that Kayla hears.
From: Clara
Subject: kayla at the temple
Kayla had walked several steps into the room when the chimes clattered. The door was still halfway open, spilling some light into the room but missing Kayla's body.
---
Kayla curses to herself, "Damn, summat musta come in." She glances at the window and notes the mechanism. A quick flick of the latch and the window would swing open. She mentally sighs and turns around. "Canna have anything happen to th' boy."
She crouches and slides back toward a wall. With luck, she has a decent view of the main room past the ajar door. "I can always make a run fer the window," she hopes.
Kayla decides against the sling and readies her handaxe. She also recalls the few bardic songs she knows, hoping that they will come in handy. "If there's more'n one fellow out there, I'm gonna have to use a Ghost Sound t' take their attention away from the boy. Then I'll climb outta the window. If'n there's only one, I might be able t' take th'fellow out with a lulling song." She wonders if her other two, Mage Hand and Message, might come in handy at some point, too.
From: Erik
Subject: Re: Caro 6: Brawlin' and Crawlin' (forgot one thing!)
OOC: Well, I just sent my response to only Ty.
Holn will follow the Dwarf.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Caro 6: Brawlin' and Crawlin' (forgot one thing!)
OOC: The temple and bridge are in roughly the same direction for now, right? Are there normally guards posted at the bridge? Is there a gate of any sort, or is there just a gap in the wall where the bridge is? Is there any sort of alarm bell or anything?
Telwyn flinches ever so slightly when the light appears behind him. He didn't expect the loud-mouthed dwarf to be a master of remaining inconspicuous, but this was ridiculous. Oh well, no choice but to go forward. He motions Erk and Holn on, and continues down the empty street. He stays near the buildings, and tries to remain quiet, but does not sacrifice speed for silence.
Telwyn's mind is racing as he hurries down the path. Kayla had said she was going to a bardic temple, and the crash came from the only temple-looking building he could see. His companion is in danger. But the other figure had made for the bridge. Why would he have come over the wall only to leave again? It made no sense... unless he were going to get others. Damn. He can't handle too many on his own, not even with Erk and Holn as backup, but inside, in close quarters, his bow will be less effective. Damn, damn, damn.
He pauses as he reaches the temple. It's time for a decision. Turning to Erk and Holn, he whispers, "One man is inside, the other has gone out over the bridge. Neither can be up to any good. But if the one who went for the bridge is going to bring others, we need to know. Now." Leaving Kayla to fend for herself leaves a bad taste in his mouth, but this could be bigger than one person. Besides, the halfling looked like she'd gotten out of sticky situations before. He only hopes she's slick enough this time. "I'm going ahead to have a look. You stay here; I can't have you giving away my position. Stay alert."
With that, he makes for the gap in the wall.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Caro 6: Brawlin' and Crawlin' (forgot one thing!)
Humans. As the brawl explodes around him, Elotai can?t help but wonder how such a rash, unthinking species could possibly avoid exterminating itself. Perhaps the weak and stupid humans weeded one another out in contests such as these, leaving only the marginally intelligent behind. That train of thought is more of a flash of irritation than anything else, though ? Elotai has certainly known intelligent humans, the memory of which sparks a pang of regret ? and it passes as Elotai realizes he?s going to have to do something.
But what?
He doesn?t trust the humans not to gang up on him when they realize he?s the only elf in the bar. The only non-human, in fact. And there are a lot of drunk, irritated humans between him and the exits. He isn?t even wearing his buckler, let alone any kind of armour. There was at least ONE guard in the bar who was not drunk ? the captain ? but he didn?t seem interested in stopping the fight. The boy who started it all might be associated with the group headed eastward, but Elotai didn?t recognize him from vision-dreams as he did the three he had spoken to tonight and the bound barbarian. Still, what other adventure could he be setting off on?
While these thoughts are running through Elotai?s mind, he is slipping from his chair to crouch on the floor behind his table as unobtrusively as possible. He quickly and quietly mutters the words of a cantrip [Prestidigitation], then surveys the chaos before him. If anyone looks like they are going to attack the young man in the breastplate or Elotai himself, he will bump them from behind using the spell. Once the brawl is underway, if no one is paying him significant attention, he will flip his table up on its side and roll it to the nearest door, staying behind it the whole way.
From: Matt
Subject: Invasion 1; Thieves in the Night
Buchek nudges a small pebble into the hole through the grate and waits to hear it drop. After a few seconds, he hears a plop, as though it hit water in some wider, open space. By his best guess, it's at least fifteen feet down.
...
Peering through the door opening, Kayla first sees a man in dark leathers, smeared with what looks like mud and darkened animal fat... which, she notices, would be an incredibly effective camoflage when moving about at night. However, in the candle light of the temple, he looks like some mud-smeared savage. As effective as the technique might be, she could never see herself using it.
Something about the clothes of the man made her think of Buchek, though he carried the garb with proud and noble bearing. This one seemed more like a jackal or hyena than a man, looking to scavenge, using a small knife to cut the leather cords suspending the silver chimes.
From her vantage, she can't see the boy, and she creeps forward to get a better view. [Move Silently roll 19 v. Listen 6, success]. Lying prone on the floor is the body of Valni. His eyes gaze unseeingly up at the ceiling, and his neck is bent at an unnatural angle. Kayla swallows hard as she sees a greesy handprint over his mouth.
...
Telwyn stays ahead of Erk's light and just outside its area of effect, keeping to the shadows as best he can. When they approach the temple, they see the body of a city guard lying prone along the side of the building, as though he had fallen from the roof.
"One man is inside, the other has gone out over the bridge," Telwyn whispers. "Neither can be up to any good. But if the one who went for the bridge is going to bring others, we need to know. Now."
With that, the ranger darts into the shadows and out of the range of Erk's light, heading toward the bridge.
...
Elotai quietly drops to the floor unnoticed, keeping his eyes on the fight. The boy has crawled toward the bar, his nose and mouth bleeding onto the floor, and he looks stunned. The rest quickly forgot the initial cause of the fight, however, and swing at one another with abandon.
It seemed as though two factions had formed, possibly two different watch shifts, or two different types of duty.. he couldn't be sure. But the scarred man was in the thick of it, trading blows with the large man who had called him out.
The captain of the guard still sat, taking a large sip of his ale and shaking his head. Finally, he puts down the mug, rises, and moves toward the scarred man with purpose. Just then, one of the guards throws another forward, sending the man through a glass window and into the street.
No one has even glanced in Elotai's direction.
...
(Okay. Holn, Telwyn and Erk hear the crash as the man breaks through the window into the street. Kayla does not. Buchek hears the guards launch into a confused bit of shouting and grabbing weapons, and thinks he hears several leave quickly through the main door.)
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Caro 6; Brawlin' and Crawlin'
As for Mike's questions.
The Temple is roughly in the same direction as the bridge, but off to the right. There are some buildings along the road, then some along the wall. The temple is along the wall, about three buildings up from the bridge opening on the left.
The bridge itself has no gate, just a break in the wall. There are tall watch towers just outside it on the bank of the river, then two more watchposts at the other side. Small torches are lit at the tops of these, but no guards can be seen in them from your angle.
Off the side of each guard tower hangs a brass bell, each of which is silent.
From: Clara
Subject: Kayla's retreat
Kayla internally sighs at the sight. No one deserves to die so that their prized items can be stolen and melted down.
She decides to leave, and quickly. There's nothing she can do against that man, though she momentarily plays with the idea of playing a "grass child" for the barbarian. "Not a practical choice," she tells herself. Within moments, she's stepped onto the desk and opened the window. Careful to glance out the window first, she lowers herself onto the ground below.
To her left is a stone wall, and in front of her is the wall to another building. After making a quick check for roofwalkers, she turns to her right and sees the courtyard. A bright ball of light seems to be standing in the middle of it. After a second, she sees Erk move within the light.
She sends a message to Erk, "T's Kayla. Man in temple stealing, killed boy. Maybe more." She begins to sneak toward the courtyard.
From: Clara
Subject: Kayla-addendum
OOC: Ooops. I forgot to mention where I was.
Kayla sends a message to Erk, "T's Kayla. Man in temple stealing. Boy dead. More, maybe. I'm in alley, coming to you."
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Invasion 1; Thieves in the Night
When Elotai is satisfied that no one in the bar cares about him, he will walk quickly around the outside of the room to the bar and ask the boy if he is all right.
OOC: I?m sending this to both cowgame@sakeriver and Matt?s email, because he has been missing a few messages lately.