Cooler Heads
Subject: Re: Runaway Burro
Addendum:
The spears relaxed a bit against the party, and now the focus is outward. So, Elotai's not in mortal peril at the moment, thanks to Erk's speech. (which was a Diplomacy Check 21 v. DC 20, btw). Also, the two on the left side of the map have moved between the wagons toward the back ridge of the grass.
From: Jake
Subject: Re: Runaway Burro
Buchek winces at Kayla's timing in whatever it was she was hoping to accomplish by spooking the donkey.
"Kayla," he calls, pitching his voice to carry into the grass, "the Kubalkat has agreed not to hurt you. Their shaman will peer into your soul and confirm that you are not Noyakin. Come out from the grass, but slowly, with your palms outward."
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Runaway Burro
Erk curses under his breath. The halfling seems determined to get herself killed here, and them along with her.
Erk calls to the shaman, "Wait! I will get her. I will bring her out for you."
He then runs to the area that the spearmen are advancing on and says, "Kayla! Little Bird, come out to me right now, or these men will kill you. Come out now!"
If she does, Erk will stand behind her with his hands on her shoulders, and move her toward the shaman. "Read her heart, with the aid of your gods. Assure yourself that she lacks the noyakin taint."
From: Clara
Subject: Pfft
(Pffft, Erk didn't have to make any sort of diplomacy rolls? How was I supposed to know he'd convince the shaman from pure niceness?)
Kayla hears Erk and Buchek, and shrugs, "Ain't much else to do." She steps out of the grass toward Erk, slowly and with her hands palms up.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Pfft
Erk DID make a diplomacy roll.
His roll is the reason we are all not currently pincushions.
From: Matt
Subject: Cooler Heads
Erk leads Kayla quietly forward between the two guards, silently praying to Clangeddin to allow them to cross the distance to the shaman unharmed. The warriors look at her suspiciously, seeming to gauge her against some mental picture of a Noyakin they held in their heads. She certainly looked harmless enough - just like a smaller version of one of the Sunset People.
There is utter silence as the dwarf and halfling cross the distance. Even the donkey has stopped, no longer being assailed by knife butts from behind.
Kayla feels as though this is some sort of processional, like a queen's coronation, or a priestess' final dedication to her god... or a march to the gallows. She knows there is nothing to fear, but deep down she wonders at the alienness of this culture, and their immediate and unflinching decision to kill her on sight.
Standing before the shaman, she feels as though he is taller than the others. From afar, she saw that he is not - in fact, he is about average for the barbarian folk, which is small by city standards - but something about the way he stands, or the way the light plays across him, makes him seem immense and powerful. Some small part of her mind wonders at the trick, and starts calculating how it might be used in front of an audience.
Holding one hand to Kayla's forehead and hoisting the staff into the air, the shaman closes his eyes and calls out in a strange tongue that even Buchek and Holn do not understand. Holn at least understands it is the secretive shaman tongue they use to speak with their gods, having heard it during his travels with his master, but he cannot make out the words.
Kayla gets a feeling that she is somehow open, or laid bare. It is disconcerting - almost the feeling she gets when someone catches her in a lie, or when her hiding place is discovered. It makes the hair on her neck prick up for a moment before she regains control. After a short time, the feeling passes and the shaman opens his eyes.
"This one has no evil in her soul. She is no Noyakin."
The warriors visibly relax, and each takes a few steps away from the rest of the party and lowers their weapons. One's hands shake slightly as the adrenaline leaves his body, and two nervously joke with one another.
Kayla steps back away from the shaman and sees him again as an ordinary man, of normal size. Erk leads her back toward the wagon and the others, letting loose a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
Kubalc steps forward to Buchek and bows his head slightly. "I apologize, Returner. If you are hiding any other surprises, perhaps you should tell us of them before we stumble upon them ourselves."
With a wry smile, he claps Buchek on the back, sending a shiver down his spine, and begins to lead him back down the grass path to camp. As they walk, Kubalc calls out to the others that all is okay and tells Buchek that his men would find a way to bring the wagons down to the clearing using the animal paths.