Blood and Water Arc:1

[Sikako J]

The Commonlands are a massive trading lane that provides lumber, ore, and worthy clay for construction. It is a vast area of land consisting of minor woods, plains, and a clay fields. There is a mountain range that separates the vast Desert of Ro that supports little life. Many live in small hamlets around the working mines, the lumber mills, and the clay baths. Near the City of Freeport, it isn’t shocking that many races are found here. The open travel laws allow nearly any but the most evil of races to move about the city and deal in trade.

However as most locations of trade and goods have found, raiders are a common plight in this case the irritant has become growing from an unlikely source...Orc. These creatures while fearsome and strong have not been well assembled. However that has changed, over the last moon cycle there has been five raids that have not only netted resources and gold, but now live prisoners. A tactic common among the Dark Elves, some say that the darkskinned pointy ears have gone into business with the Orc to plunder loot. However their foreign affair councilor has rallied against the claims as racial prejudice.

Having answered the call of the Steel Warrior’s guild, the adventurers find themselves deep in the eastern Commonlands at the sight of a pillaged hamlet known as Dojin’s Mill. This peaceful logging town is at the edge of a lumber providing woods and was one of the first attacked. There have been a few spottings around the area by travelers that Orc are afoot once again. Your task is to find a camp, track down the Orc and return back. The taskmaster has offered five hundred gold for information, along with an additional five gold per pair of Orc ears that you bring back.

[I Am]

For the longest time, Sabal Celligwen had traveled the vastness of the wayward Commonlands. They were relatively peaceful compared to her homeland and, surely, the lands that lay to the west where beasts that the underworld itself spat out in repulsion roamed. Sabal did not fear these creatures, no, for one who dwelt in unending night for decades, in a stone box... One forgets things. Forgets names, faces, self. One might even lose ones mind after some time... Pale-gray fingers, an index and middle, dipped lightly into white, gooey paint, lifting a bit to a face, the same dull gray color. The white paint went on smooth, covering what little skin had been left exposed. As white as virgin snow with whimsical shapes strewn about in black, Sabal's face was that of a true trickster. Silly, whimsical, marked by a signature, seemingly permanent ear-to-ear smile.

"Let the games begin, so that we may play and sin," She put the small case of paint away into an open backpack and closed the leather bag, swinging it back around and putting arms through both straps, "For after the adventures start, I get to tear things apart," Sabal giggled with delight. She had been talking to herself, under her voice, in whispers, the entire time and giggling or outright laughing almost on the hour. Snickers, chuckles, and cackles slipped past the joker's lips in short bursts, her large mask and hat jingled when her small frame shook from the more violent fits of unnerving laughter. However, for all her eccentrics, Sabal brought a very impressive, very useful set of skills to the table. In another life, where she was a little less insane and without the desire to smear paint over her face, the young dark-touched Drow might have been a diplomat or politician. The ability to manipulate words, molding fine linguistic pottery out of the clay from her lips was an art she had begun long ago. Speaking was an art, and if practice made perfect, she should have been perfect by now...

"Oh me, oh my, what a wonderful surprise! All this ruin and rubble under sunlit skies. If there are any alive maybe they have stories to tell, about Orcs that kill and Orcs that smell..." Her eyes forward, Sabal had taken to walking in front of the group, moving her arms in a constant motion that mimicked soft waves on the ocean and taking exaggerated, long steps like a child avoiding cracks on the ground, "What do you all think, what should we do? Dojin's Mill is up ahead and I think we should go through," The laughter given after this last remark made it no less a serious suggestion. Sabal figured it was probably best to scout out the town first for survivors who could possibly give account, information. Was it five orcs or thirty? Were they just pesky brigands or was there a tribal warlord at the head? In the underground kingdoms, information was as great a weapon as a finely crafted blade, and, as far as Sabal could tell, the same could be said up here in the light.

The stories of the Drow working with or even providing for the Orc had obviously reached the young dark-touched, but she seemed almost... Ignorant to the rumors. Suspicions by those in the Commonlands to the gray-skin did not affect her in the slightest, she greeted everyone with grins and giggles. In her mind, all creatures sort of just meshed and mended and twisted together into one great, colorful audience. Racism, bigotry, ignorance... All just subjects to crack a smile over. Then again, didn't everything fall into that category? If you couldn't laugh at it or laugh with it, what was the point?

Spot 19
Listen 10

[Agent B52]

ADAMUS stepped forward slowly, almost softly. His gaze travelled left to right, taking in the scene of desolation with apparent detachment. His true feelings on the matter were betrayed by the soft creaking that emanated from the knuckles of his battlefist. The adamantine digits ground against one another as the fist clenched and unclenched. Inside him, rage burned. The razed town had no history of belligerence or warfare, for all accounts it simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time when someone had passed by and decided today was a good day for slaughter. It was random and brutal, the act beneath that of a beast. True beasts only cared for food, shelter and mates, and would not actively pursue arson and murder like what happened here. He was almost glad his master sent him on this mission to support the Steel Guild, enabling him to mete out some manner of justice.

"Let the games begin, so that we may play and sin,
For after the adventures start, I get to tear things apart,"

Sabal ran ahead of them, singing a small song. ADAMUS nearly reached out and stopped her, only to stop himself. The jester had proven quite capable of taking care of herself, and she was hardly the type to run off on her own. Her jokes required an audience after all. Or victims as needs be. The contents of the song were for now pointedly ignored.

"Oh me, oh my, what a wonderful surprise! All this ruin and rubble under sunlit skies. If there are any alive maybe they have stories to tell, about Orcs that kill and Orcs that smell... What do you all think, what should we do? Dojin's Mill is up ahead and I think we should go through,"

"ADAMUS PRIORITIES ARE WITH THE SURVIVORS. IF YOU SUGGEST WE STOP AND SEARCH, I AM IN AGREEMENT." he replied.

Spot (+4): 20
Listen (+3): 15

[necar]

Pash took in the sights before him. A small logging town on the edge of a great forest recently ravaged by an orc raid. This was something that was concerning but that fact that captives had been taken spiked the weird o' meter. This was a practice done by much darker creatures which the orcs might be in league with. And this is where they came in. To find out information and find the orc camp. There was also promise of compensation for ears of orcs. This peaked his interest most of all that and he needed the lumber to flow. Being from a large town and making his livelihood off of guild contracts he need the basic resources to continue. The more buildings that are erected and more cities established meant more work which meant more money. A perpetual cycle that ended up with his money pouch bulging.

This was not a solo mission as their were other who had answered the called. It was an interesting crew to say the least. They did not talk so much as they made with way to the small town. Sabal had talked the whole way and just about all of it was to herself. She walked out in front, jingle bells and all. This would make a stealth approach all but impossible for him which would cut into his usefulness. His strength lied in his ability to get to places that were hard to get to and to do it unobserved. He would normally tell the person about this but he had a feeling that this one was going to be difficult to get a serious conversation out of.

That did not stop her from pointing out that they should investigate the village. With an second vote from the giant hulking man machine next to him.

"Well, it is in our contract that we need to gather information on the raid and since this is the sight of the raid...."

He would let that one trail off. He did not want to seem like too much of an ass on the first day of the job. He then took a steadying breath as he prepared himself for what he would see in the town. Their would be many dead bodies that were festering in the sun unless their had been survivors. The only way to find out would be to go and investigate. He started to make his way down to the city. It seemed as if most of the group had already agreed to go and this is where the contract lead them to.

spot 13

listen 19

[I Am]

"Bodies charred black, defenders against the Orc attack..." Sabal looked out across the carnage in front of the group; however, it did not penetrate the madness that, in an ironic way, shielded her mind... Or maybe it was just a warped sense of humor that caused a short giggle to escape her mouth, "Burnt black. Burnt black..." She muttered, her hands moving towards the sky, following the coal colored smoke that rose slowly over the fresh death. She repeatedly made slow grasping movements at the sky, as if trying to grab hold of the birds that circled the area, "Burnt black... Dead forever,"

She snapped back to attention, "I spy with my little eye, a building that still stands high," A gloved hand came down from reaching into the air, the other remaining, a finger outstretched towards a temple that they all surely noticed, "I will go... There," She said it as if she would be the only one interested in investigating. With that, the dark-touched was off, spinning and tip-toeing as a ballerina might towards the husk of a town. It lay before the group, a grim reminder of what was out there. Evil existed. Cruel creatures with warped intentions. Whether or not they possessed what humanity considered a 'soul' was up for debate, but, surely, if they did have a heart in their chest, is was as black and filthy as the blood that caked their flesh.

Seemingly unaware if she had been followed by her allies or not, Sabal the painted clown blissfully moved into the town. In her mind, there was no danger here. Either through reason, the orcs being long-gone, or quite possibly naivety, "Helooooo?" Leaning forward and cupping her hands around her lips like a bullhorn, she called into the ruins, "Anyone there? The door wasn't locked so..." She bit her lip and gave a giggle at herself, "Oh behave. No, you behave! Ok, if you insist," Red eyes moved slowly towards the entrance of the temple, "Hello? Mister or Misses alive people?" Sabal immediately looked over her shoulder and shrugged, "I think no one's home," A look of confusion slowly cracked into a grin and whispy snickering through clenched teeth.

Speak Language: Common
Listen: 23
Spot: 14

[necar]

The town was now pretty much an ash heap that was still smoldering. The jester pointed out that the temple was the only thing standing. Looks like the Rain god protected the temple. That might be a source of information if the clerics were able to hold out there. They might have been able to protect some of the towns folk as well. Always look for a silver lining.

Pash did not feel like walking right down the road in case there was something still inhabiting the town that it just burned. He decided to go off the beaten path a little and he waited for Sabal to start walking to make his own move. A jester walking into a town was sure to drawn the eye while he made his way through the remaining woods.

He kept to the trees shadows as he maneuvered his way to the temple as the rest made their way down. He wanted to see who might be there but then Sabal started to yell out for any survivors. Well that would draw more attention and allow him to get closer. He might be able to see what was going on in this temple and perhaps get the drop on any enemies that might be there. He climbed up to the window and peaked inside.

hide 30
move silent 22
listen 28
spot 14
climb 19

[Yellow 13]

Tiana was following the group. She had heard of the orcs raids and while she might not be the most effective in a fight, she could boast that she had powerful magic within her veins. Some quick questions about where the group had gone, why they were going and when helped her greatly in tracking them down. She had some skills in tracking and the rest was taken care of by deductive reasoning. She was hoping that the group would allow her to help. She was called in to help with this as more of a specialist. She knew the are quite well and as a result, she was needed to help give the others she'd be with a lay of the land... That is, if she was told about this more then a week in advance. A substitute teacher had walked in on her setting up for a lecture just the other day and she had to scramble. As it was, she barley scrounged up some basic equipment. A club, a crossbow, some bolts, rations, and some other basic necessities that she could get on such short notice.

When she overheard the call of one of the people, Tiana hunkered down in the foliage and waited. If there were orcs coming in, she could use some of her spells. They weren't much, but it would be better then nothing. She'd wait about a minute before she emerged.

Hide: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3843451/ 11

[necar]

The temple seemed empty but there was something breathing haggardly. It must e coming from inside the temple. Looking inside of the temple he could see the statue to Karana with its arms wrapped around a staff that looks to have been touch by flames. There was an untouched chest in the room and a stone with some red cloth under it. That could me a couple of things. It is either a well designed trap or a hiding place. Erring on the side of caution he would look for traps first and then check to see if there was anyone hiding. It would not hurt to talk to who ever it was also.

"Hey, if there is anyone still here we were sent to help you and those that were taken captive. We want to help you."

trap search 19
diplomacy 10
listen 23
search of things and stuff 14

[mew77]

Miria hid in the bushes alongside Tiana. It had been a long time since she had talked with Professor Tiana in the Arcane School. Being one of the few professors in the Necromancy School while also being one of the only non-cleric healers she didn't get out much. When she did she often received a warm reception at the towns and villages she passed through. She often wished those were cold receptions, she wasn't sure how many more warm receptions she wanted to deal with. She wore a fine white and blue dress, not the best travelling gear, but a good amount of the clothes she brought were burned in one or two of the warm receptions and while heavy the dress doubled as battle armor in case she was attacked.

Fergus and Danny were not far behind with her excess gear. Most of which were only situationally useful. But Fergus and Danny were willing to work for minimum wage so that was always a plus. Professor Tiana looked frail from her perspective. Miria couldn't explain why she continued to experiment with her undead anatomy even after discovering it was a byproduct of her deal those many years ago. She was grateful for the power he gave but unwilling to follow through with it. Someday she would kill that imp.

Until then she was happy to note she only required 1 hour of deep sleep a night, and her body no longer required food to sustain it. However she still liked the taste of food so she kept that sack of fruit. The biggest worry was that positive energy now burned her while negative energy rejuvenated her. Which was fixed once she figured out how to channel negative energy onto her body to heal and as she found to harm. "Well Tiana...what's our next move", she said to her friend, signalling for Fergus and Danny to stay back.

Hide: 1d20+1=20

[Agent B52]

ADAMUS had strode over to the ruins of the gatehouse, pausing at the sight of the carnage before him. Well made wooden dwellings reduced to nought but ash, bar the temple that still stood proudly. Any survivors of this massacre would be gathered there, would they not? Following closely in Sabal's dancing footsteps, he took his halberd out, mono-eye flitting from side to side rapidly. Alternatively, the entire town could have been massacred and the only thing awaiting them in the temple was an ambush.

Pash, the group's designated sneaky person, had scurried off somewhere probably attempting to scout ahead of them. Oddly he could hear the gnome attempt to coax someone out of hiding near the temple.

"AS MY COMRADES HAVE STATED, OUR INTENTIONS ARE HONOURABLE. WE SEEK THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS CRIME AGAINST SENTIENCE, AND I PERSONALLY AM WILLING TO HELP YOU IN RECOVERY, HOWEVER LIMITED MY MEANS MAY BE." He added to both Sabal's and Pash' statements.

Looking for survivors, signs of orcs, signs of other beings, any fresh footprints in the dirt/soot if any are present
Spot (+4): 19
Listen (+3): 7
Attempt to assist with diplomacy: Convincing survivor's (?) we're friendly. Unsure if I should roll or not.
If so: Diplomacy (0): 17