Hoard of the Dragon Queen Episode 0: Journey to Greenest

[Zergrinch]

 

Episode 0: Journey to Greenest

 

---

 

Escorting a caravan to the town of Greenest isn't the most glamorous of jobs, but it does pay the bills.  Situated astride the Uldoon Trail, Greenest is a natural stop in the trade route that starts from the eastern cities of the Dragon Coast all the way south to the great cities of Amn, Tethyr, and far Calimshan.  The trade caravans that pass through Greenest bring gold to the town's merchants and craftsfolk, and under the watchful eye of Governor Nighthill, the town has grown quite prosperous as a mercantile hub.

 

Whatever your reasons, you find yourself in the wealthy port metropolis of Baldur's Gate, perhaps the greatest center of trade along the Sword Coast (although Waterdhavians would protest). Your application as caravan guard has been accepted, and you are to escort three wagonloads of trade goods belonging to a prominent merchant Prince to the cities of Southern Faerun.  The caravanmaster means to travel along the Trail, and restock provisions at Greenest, before heading further south.

 

The wagons are packed, the horses are fed and hooved, and provisions for the week-long journey have been prepared.  All that remains are for the guards to acquaint themselves with each other, and perhaps hammer out a marching order.

 

You are controlling multiple characters.  I ask that one post be made for each character to avoid confusion; thus, make multiple posts if you must.  Furthermore, I request that to better distinguish characters from another, you use a different color for each character's dialogue and thoughts.  Finally, most encounters should not require battlemaps.  Should this become relevant, please provide me with a picture of your character.

Roleplay away!

[Rilbur]

Arjan, called Clanless:

 

"Greetings," Arjan inclined his head slightly to the other guards.  The sunlight glinted off his freshly scrubbed scales, the crimson with gold trim patterns gleaming bright to announce his rather confused ancestry.  He'd considered blacking out some of the crimson scales to try and downplay his red dragon heritage, but black wasn't exactly much better in most people eyes.  Besides, it wouldn't have looked as pretty.  For all that red dragons were considered 'evil', he certainly wasn't, and the strange mixture of colors that ran down his hide gave him some leeway to claim anything he wanted.

 

The pay he'd been offered to escort this caravan was considerable, especially by his meager standards, so he was eager to be off before the caravan master changed his mind about hiring an urchin fresh from the slums.  Arjan had already spent his savings on outfitting himself, though the crossbow he carried was actually a 'gift' from a merchant guard who'd never had time for beggars or urchins, unless it was to kick them.  Too bad for him he liked bad wine and worse woman, and Arjan had taken shameless advantage of the situation.  He usually tried to avoid theft, at least of anything more serious than a loaf of bread, but with the cash he was spending to buy the rest of his gear the origin of the crossbow was easily enough masked.  Even if the guard recognized it somehow, Arjan could readily claim to have bought it from a weapons merchant who had left town, and no one could prove differently.  Especially since he had been seen buying his two daggers from the merchant, as well as later a quarrel of bolts.

 

Sure, if the city watch really wanted his hide they could track down the merchant, but Arjan was one of hundreds of street urchins, and more importantly he was one who had worked his way up in the world.  The watch would be just as happy to have him out of their hair, and wouldn't want to look into the matter too closely.  Especially when it involved a guard who'd been known to mutter unpleasant things about 'those who can, do; those who can't, join the watch to screw with everyone else'.  Even his own merchants could barely stand the man.

 

Arjan looked over the cluster of guards the caravan master had assembled for this journey.  They looked quite capable, especially by comparison with the sleeping idiot Arjan had gotten his crossbow from.

[Rilbur]

Perrin:

 

Perrin was lazily detuning his lute for travel when a large dragonborn walked up.  "Greetings," it nodded in his general direction.  This was, possibly, the only entity in the caravan Perrin didn't have to worry about.  The creature's scales may be freshly polished, but he recognized the street bum who'd thought, briefly, about trying to steal his flute.  Very, very briefly.  Perrin's magic wasn't always powerful, but when the dragonborn had entered the circle of listeners, the natural magic of Perrin's song had increased, his magic responding to the presence of another magic user.  The resulting show had charmed everyone in the area, including at least one bounty hunter with his eye on Perrin's head.

 

That bounty hunter, distracted, had wound up with a number of upset city watchmen asking why, exactly, had he tried to attack a bard.  The bounty hunter's protests about there having been provocation -- in the form of a song -- were derided.  The guardsmen all knew the tune of the lusty barmaid, after all, and that was hardly provocation.  Even if he had... adjusted... the verse about the traveling mercenary just a tad.  You really shouldn't travel so far from home if you were going to get offended over something that none of the locals would consider offensive.  And after having tried to plead provocation, no one was prepared to listen to the bounty hunter's claims of an actual bounty.

 

Still, it was clearly time to leave, and Perrin was doubly concerned that it had taken him this long to find a caravan headed out.  Another day and he would have just left on foot, by himself, and risked the dangers of the road.

 

"A pleasure to meet you," Perrin nodded back to the dragonborn.  "I am Perrin, the bard."

[Rilbur]

Erwin:

 

Erwin glanced over the guards that the caravan master had assembled.  They were certainly a showy bunch, he acknowledged.  The dragonborn's scales were a tad bit over-polished, but a few days of travel dust would fix that issue.  The bard moved with the easy grace of someone who expected all eyes on him, but then again he was a bard.  And the song he'd been singing before detuning his loot had carried a trace of magic on it.  Erwin would forgive a lot to have a spellcaster or two in the party.  Eyeing the armored individual wearing the symbol of Bahamut, Erwin wondered if he should up that to three spellcasters.  A rather impressive total, even if the bard was the only one likely to be able to teach him anything at all.  And given his 'master's' failure to make even the slightest scrap of magical knowledge stick, Erwin doubted the bard's odds.  However fascinated Erwin was by magic, he just couldn't seem to keep anything about it straight in his head.  He'd read a book or study a lesson for hours, then wake up the next morning with absolutely no memory of what he'd studied.  It was intensely frustrating.

 

"A pleasure to meet you as well," Erwin stepped into the conversation.  "I am Erwin.  As I'm sure you can see by my gear, I'm a fighter.  I'm going to guess I'm going to be the one placed on point, given the weight of armor I'm wearing.  And given the weight of armor you are not wearing, Perrin, I'd suggest you stay towards the back in any fight.  Same for you, given the lack of a decent melee weapon," he pointed at the dragonborn.  Let them admit to being spellcasters, or not, as they chose.

 

His supposed master would have tried to put his stamp on the party even more firmly, but Erwin was not him.  Nor did he wish to become his master in any way, shape, or form except one.  And since wizardry was denied him, Erwin was going to make the most of this trip.  With his master several weeks over due from his latest journey, Erwin was free to take a nice, long caravan trip away from the city.  And if his master just happened to return home and find his apprentice and most favored servant missing, well, he was the one who was too cheap to pay Erwin to stick around while he was gone.  He'd actively encouraged Erwin to seek employment when he was missing.  And if the only job Erwin had been able to find was caravan guard for a caravan that would keep him out of town for a good long while, well, that wasn't Erwin's fault.  Pretty damned lucky for Erwin, but it wasn't his fault.  And hopefully the operative word was 'lucky' and not 'damned', given what Erwin had begun to realize about his master's magic.  Erwin had no desire to be bound in service to a demon, either still alive or as a soul screaming in hell.  And that meant staying the hell away once he managed to get out of his master's thumb.  This caravan should buy him a good large chunk of that.  The rest he'd have to see what he could figure out.  Six months was the critical figure.  At that point, his service would be over -- and his 'master' would have defaulted on his promises in return to teach Erwin magic, freeing him from any residual obligations in the eyes of the law.

[Jeikor]

Garanth eyed the other guards with a bit of glee besides the two humans who were very different there was a dragonborn and a dwarf to get to know. The dragonborn had started things off with a greeting but didn't give a name. The bard had answered then the other human introduced himself.

"Hi there, Perrin the bard and Erwin the fighter! I'm Garanth but you can call me Gar if you want. I'm a fighter too. In case you couldn't tell I'm an elf a wood elf to be exact." Gar turned to the dragonborn, Greetings to you as well. Could I have the pleasure of your name?"

Then Gar addressed the dwarf, "Hello! Your a dwarf! I can't wait to get to know all of you."

[Jeikor]

Morganor looked up from polishing the new symbol of Bahamut on his shield as the others greeted one another. Guess I've got to get this over with.

"Morganor, dwarf cleric. Formerly of Moradin now of Bahamut."

He frowned at the enthusiasm of the young elf then went back to working on his shield.

[Rilbur]

Arjan:

 

"I am Arjan, called the clanless," Arjan replied politely.  "It is a pleasure to meet you, archer."

[Rilbur]

Perrin:

 

"Clanless?" Perrin asked, surprised.  That sounded like it had an interesting tale behind it.  "Then again, I'm sure you'll share that tale whenever you're ready," he backpedaled quickly.  An angry expression was dangerous enough on most people's faces, but this particular dragonborn made it look downright murderous.  And Perrin was certainly familiar enough with tales of woe that the speaker wasn't prepared to share.  He reached into his shirt and fingered the locket hung around his neck.  No, it wasn't a wise idea to set a precedent of forcing people to talk.  Not a wise idea at all.

[Rilbur]

Arjan:

 

"Wise choice," he complemented the bard.  "As for marching order, I will go where I am placed.  I care not.  While I am a spellcaster, my fire breath makes me a deadly melee combatant, and my scales are tougher than most dragonborns, allowing me to survive where most sorcerers could not."

 

Erwin:

 

Erwin looked over the group and nodded, decisively.  "It certainly looks like you are all ready to move out, so unless you have any objections, we can get on the road.  Assuming the caravan master agrees, and I believe he will, I'll put myself on point.  Morganor will take rear left, Garanth rear right, Perrin the middle left, and Arjan the middle right.  In the event of an attack, Morganor and myself will attempt to hold the line long enough for everyone else to form up.  Any objections?"

[Zergrinch]

"Well now," the caravan-master breaks in upon overhearing Erwin's instructions, "that is a surprise.  We don't usually get guards as well-organized as you seem to be, son."

 

Turning his attention to the assembled group, the old dwarf raises his voice a few notches.  "Everyone!  I'm so happy you can make it out here on such short notice!  For some reason we've yet to fathom, mercenaries and sellswords have become as rare as hens' teeth these days.  Now, our provisions will last us a week until we reach the town of Greenest.  We restock, make our way around the Cloud Peaks, and make another stop in Athkatla.  From there, we swap trade goods and head to the South.  It'll take us a good couple of months before we return."

 

"Now, I've made this trip a few dozen times, and I can tell you we've yet to lose a shipment.  I won't lie - it's not entirely safe - there are a few brigands here and there.  Goblins perhaps.  But nothing you can't handle, eh?" he says, looking specifically at the dragonborn with huge teeth.

 

"So, any questions before we set off?"

[Rilbur]

Erwin:

 

Erwin shrugs.  "My father was a mercenary, and he damned well expected his son to follow in his footsteps," he admitted.  "If I couldn't organize a force this small in under a minute, he'd demand Kelemvor release him from the grave to beat me bloody and then proceed to show me how its done.  And he was single-mindedly stubborn when he was alive, stubborn enough that maybe he could get the Lord of the Dead to do it.  So I plan on never testing that statement."

 

"As for questions, in the event of an attack, what's our priority, personnel, property, or destruction?"  Erwin hesitated a moment, then elaborated.  "That is, do you want us to focus on protecting your drivers and cooks and what not, protecting the wagons and goods, or would you rather we just focused on sending a message by destroying every last attacker?"

[Zergrinch]

"In case of attack, your primary duty is to safeguard the caravan personnel and its cargo. It is not a priority to completely annihilate the enemy, especially if pursuit should leave the caravan unattended.  I leave it to your professional judgment, though in my view, you should always be wary of a feigned retreat that masks an ambush."

[Rilbur]

Erwin:

 

Erwin nods.  "Sounds fairly standard.  The caravan masters who insist on 'sending a message' rarely stay in business long, but their coin is as good as anyone else's."

 

"Unless anyone else has any questions, I think we're ready to go."

[Jeikor]

"Hi, Arjan! It does sound like that would make a good story but you don't have to tell it. I bet Perrin has plenty of stories and songs to keep us entertained. I don't have a question but a comment. I can drive any wagon made just so you know if the need arises. Hey Morg, we get to travel side by side. Is Erwin going to be the head guard? I vote that he is. I'm ready to go any time."

Garanth finally pauses for a breath. "Oh yeah, thanks for hiring me. I've hardly found any work since leaving the army."

 

 

"That sounds like a good plan, Erwin. I also vote him leader. I've been ready to go," grumbled Morganor trying his best to ignore the elf.

[Rilbur]

Erwin:

 

Ah hell, Erwin cursed to himself.  Arjan's 'clanless' status was clearly a hot button item, and here Garanth was stomping all over it.  Garanth's clueless, excited naivete was rapidly growing irksome, but clearly Arjan wasn't prepared to be patient with it.

 

Unfortunately, Erwin coudl only think of one way to divert things without causing even more trouble.  He quickly pulled his lucky copper out of his belt pouch, the only cash he could get at quickly and readily.  "Here Garanth," he stepped between the two, then tossed the coin at Garanth.

 

Arjan's eyes tracked the gleaming coin, and he laughed once he recognized it.  Clearly he, at least, got the joke, just as Erwin had hoped.  Erwin moved on, hoping that Garanth's clueless naivete would work in their favor this once.  It probably wouldn't, but a man could hope.

 

Arjan:

 

Arjan hadn't really intended to cause any trouble over the Garanth's stupidity, but he had to laugh at Erwin's quick attempt to diffuse things.  It was rather shocking, actually, to see someone toss a copper around for a joke, but then again until recently Arjan had only recently managed to get himself to a point where he was off the streets.  Guards could afford to toss copper around on all sorts of stupid things, including one of the city watch's favorite jokes.

 

Much more amusing than a snarky comment about learning to keep your mouth shut.

 

Perrin:

 

Perrin snickered under his breath.  Garanth's naive, bumbling demeanor was definitely amusing, but Erwin's response was priceless.  Perrin hummed a tune idly under his breath, wondering just how Garanth would jump.

[Zergrinch]

The old dwarf rolls his eyes, and sighs. "Well, so much for... Anyway, if you've time to play, then we'd best be off!"

 

The days passed by uneventfully, for the most part.  Other than some wayward animals that strayed to close to the path and had to be shooed off, there were no signs of the brigands or goblins the caravan master had warned about.

 

On the fourth day, just as the caravan was navigating through a particularly narrow forest path, one of the horses abruptly reared up.  This spooked the other horses enough that they broke off into a panicked run, battering the wagons against overgrown brush.  By the time the astonished dwarf managed to get them under control, an axle has been kicked loose from the lead wagon, and was now wobbling rather alarmingly.

 

Letting loose a stream of colorful Dwarven curses, the caravan master cum driver barked orders to the appointed head guard sitting besides him at the front.  "Boy, see what you can do for the horses while I try to fix up this mess!"

[Rilbur]

Erwin:

 

"Whoa boy, whoa," Erwin said calmingly, approaching the startled horses.  This job was going to take all his concentration, so he took a brief moment to look around the area for threats before continuing.

 

{ Action:  Examine the area around Erwin, looking for any signs of threat, including bandits, animal tracks, etc etc.  Also wanting to get a feel for the general area they're in. }

 

{ Action:  Try to calm the animals with animal handling. }

[Jeikor]

Morganor walks through the wagons helping to calm the horses. (Using animal handling). He looks back at Garanth who seems to be lost in thought. "Hey Garanth, keep a look out for us while we deal with the horses and wagon."

 

Gar looks up from his thoughts where he was still upset over the joke when he had meant no offense. It was beginning to be just like it had been in the army. He nodded to Morganor and brought his crossbow into position and began scanning the area for trouble.

[Zergrinch]

Rolls:

1. Erwin's Perception and Animal Handling: [1d20] = 18 and [1d20] = 18
2. Morganor's Animal Handling: [1d20+3] = 20+3 = 23
3. Gar's Perception: [1d20+1] = 18+1 = 19

​

 

Erwin briefly scans the area for any sign of trouble.  It doesn't look like there were any bandits or animal tracks in the immediate area.  With Morganor's expert assistance, the skittish horses were quickly calmed, and both men steered the wagons to the side of the road so the dwarf can look at the damage inflicted.

 

"It isn't as bad as it looks," he said.  "I can easily fix this, but it'll take thirty minutes.  But that's strange.  These horses are well-trained and seasoned.  I wonder why it acted like it did." 

 

He turns to Erwin, "Boy, keep a watch while repairs are ongoing. I don't think this is an ambush, but I do not believe in coincidences.  Now, let me work in peace."  The dwarf takes out a toolbox and begins tinkering with the axle, humming a dwarven tune while he works.

 

Garanth nervously takes out his crossbow and starts scanning the area.  The path is somewhat narrow at this juncture, and on either side grow overgrown brush.  This would be an ideal place for an ambush, he muses to himself.  His eyes detect nothing out of the ordinary, but his sharp ears pick out a faint clop clop of hooves that is growing steadily louder.  He counts at least three horses, moving at a healthy gallop from their rear.

[Rilbur]

Erwin:

 

"I don't believe in coincidences either," Erwin commented grimly, double checking the fit of his shield and that his sword was loose in it's sheath.  Erwin raised his voice only just loud enough to be heard, hopefully without alerting the entire area to his plans, "Morganor, Arjan, please check the forest to the right of us.  Just a quick check, maybe twenty or thirty feet from the caravan.  Perrin, if you'd be so kind as to take a central position and cover the caravan while they do that, Garanth and I can position ourself to cover the left side of the caravan, I'll take front."

[Jeikor]

"Sir, there are at least three horses coming at a gallop from the rear" Garanth sets down the crossbow long enough to loosen his longbow, shield and sword. He picks the crossbow back up and faces the rear at the ready.

 

Morganor checks the right with one hand one his war hammer and one hand ready to cast a spell. Morganor noticed that all the bumbling and frenetic babbling was absent from Garanth with battle possible. Odd!

[Rilbur]

Arjan:

 

Arjan looked nervously at the trees.  They just went on and on.  He'd never imagined such dense, tall, imposing monoliths when he'd heard the word 'forest' before.

 

Still, a job was a job.  He nodded silently and moved to begin his sweep.

 

Perrin:

 

Perrin double checked that his crossbow and rapier were ready, then took position in one of the wagons, scanning the area.

 

{{ OOC Note:  Until Garanth mentions something, my chars don't know what he's heard!  }}

[Zergrinch]

A moment later, four horses round the bend and continued their gallop towards the wagon, each rider firmly in control.

 

The lead rider is dressed in considerable regalia - a black leather tunic with a flared, black mantle and a crimson lining.  The other three flanking him wear considerably less flashy attire - simple traveling clothes underneath a purple cloak.  

 

As best as Garanth can tell, they do not appear to be hostile.

 

Erwin can't quite place it, but the purple cloak's appearance seems familiar to him for some reason.

[Rilbur]

{{ A) Looks like Jeikor managed to pre-empt my post...   Too bad I had to walk away in the middle of it. And  B )  THe forums just destroyed this post on me, dammit! So this is V2.  }}

 

Erwin:

 

"Battle formations!" Erwin called out in command voice.  "Caravan personnel to your wagons, ready your weapons.  Do not engage unless we are attacked or you are ordered, and let us handle the bulk of the attack.  That's what we're here for.  Guards to action front.  Let me take the bulk of the assault, Morganor take any who leak past me.  Perrin, Goranth, Arjan, take position directly in front of the first wagon, make sure nobody leaks past us.  Spellcasters, use your own judgement for when where and how you use your abilities."  Erwin trotted to take his own position at the front of the formation, drawing his sword in a smooth easy motion.  Shield forward, blade low and parallel with his leg.  Ready, but not threatening.  "Remember again, they may not be hostile.  Be prepared, be ready, but do not engage!"

 

Arjan:

 

Arjan, grateful for the last second reprieve, scampered away from the forest and climbed up onto the foot of the first wagon to get a better look, even going so far as to set one of his favorite cantrips in motion as he scanned the area, looking for trouble.

 

{{ Action cast true-strike, keep casting it as it lapses until battle occurs.  (Or doesn't) }}

 

{{ Action: Perception check on area, continuos }}

 

Perrin:

 

Perrin quickly darted through the caravan to his assigned position, keeping his light crossbow at the ready as he stood beside the wagon Arjan had climbed up onto.  Laying the light crossbow over his arm, he kept it pointed low and away from the road, but ready to bring into play.  A smile danced at the corner of his lips as his blood began to sing, and he hummed a few bars to let the music spill away from him.  It was a formless, shapeless melody for now, but het let it radiate outward to do what it could to steady hands and calm nerves pulled to taught.  Readiness but not nervousness.

[Rilbur]

{{ Responding to Zerg's post }}

 

Erwin:

 

"Stand and identify yourselves!" Erwin ordered.  "Cease your approach immediately!"