Rise of The Runelords 1 - Burnt Offerings

'I'm afraid it's mostly frightfully boring, my dear. Politicians and nobles, all trying to show the others how powerful they are. Hardly fitting conversation for a group of adventurers such as you, I should say.' He turns in the saddle to face Jack. 'And what of you, Jack? Judging from your glass eye - not to mention your skill in battle -, you've fought battles before.'

Jack turns towards Aldern and gives the nobleman a grin that doesn't quite reach the eyes. "Yes, peasants can be hardy bastards. My... other tasks has given me ample opportunity to get knowledge on the human anatomy and the various pain thresholds. So I know where it hurts." Jack turns his attention to his notes again.

Aldern's eyes grow wide with interest. 'You must have some harrowing tales of your adventures!'

Shathys chortles at Jacks' remark.

Reaching up at a branch Shathys snaps off a twig and chews on the end thoughfully, in his own little world.

Jack looks up again with a raised eyebrow. "There's no deterring you huh? Well, a few years ago I was given the command root out a hidden cell of heretics. I found one member of the group, he had infiltrated the servants." Jack shakes his head. "It literally took days until he revealed the location of the cell. I tried everything, hot iron rods, a finger every hour, molten lead into his various orifices, everything! In the end there was hardly anything left of him. Of course we executed him afterwards, no need to bring unnecessary pain."

'Fascinating!' he breathes. After a moment, he twists around to face Shathys. 'You have the look of a warrior about you,' he says. 'But you are unlike any man I've ever seen. Where do you hail from, Shathys?'

Posting for Shathys:

"From a distant land known as the Shadowfell. I am merely a traveller looking to make my own tale." Shathys shrugs.

Aldern smiles and makes a fist. 'I thought so! You're shadar-kai, aren't you? You are! I've read a little about your people, but I've never met one in person. Is it true that you do not fear to die?' His voice drops to an almost-whisper. 'That your greatest goal in life is a glorious death?'

Posting for Shathys:

"I seek naught but a story worth being retold my good man, whether it be a glorious death in battle or whether it be the most whores done business with before dying from exhaustion. Either or, it's my goal to make it truly awe inspiring."

Aldern laughs with genuine amusement. 'An excellent goal!' He proclaims. The ride to Tickwood takes about a half hour, and Aldern uses the time to prove himself a charming conversationalist. He's well-read with a seemingly endless cache of stories and anecdotes about the high life in Magnimar, and the people who live there. He's much more interested in you, though, and revels in any stories of adventure and heroism that you inclined to tell him.

As you arrive at the edge of Tickwood, Aldern signals for a halt and jumps down from his saddle. Behind you, his three retainers dismount as well. Tickwood itself is a beautiful forest, its foliage a veritable sea of orange and red. The sun is high on a blue, cloudless sky and a cool breeze sets waves rolling in the leafy sea.

'Have you hunted boar before?' He asks as each of his retainers present his weapons to him: a longbow with gold filigree, a quiver of new arrows and a short-ish spear tied to a leather cord.

"Never, I heard they are tough beasts to take out."

'Oh yes, they certainly can be. I came upon a boar as big as pony once, and only managed to escape by climbing a tree.' He loops the leather chord over his shoulder, so the spear hangs on his back alongside the quiver. 'But the ones in Tickwood are perfectly manageable. They rarely grow to be more than four or five feet long, in my experience. Quick little buggers though! They'll smell you from a mile away.'

Spoiler:

"A good sense of smell, you say?" Shara mumbles.

While staying with Caridin in Janderhoff, Shara often cooked for her VERY food (more like eating) enthusiastic guardian. Being a proud dwarf, Caridin loved all kinds of "underground" food (Read: Food that (like the dwarfs) thrives in an underground environment), most of all truffles. Gorgeous, black truffles, that the dwarfs actually use boars to find. Truffles are luxurious, but Shara always keeps a little on hand, for those grey and boring days.

Shara finds a little piece of dried truffle from one of her small pouches. She grinds it up between her fingers and mixes it with some mould from the forest's floor. She spreads the mixture on the ground a good 100 meters from their position, climbs a tree and starts to wait patiently for a boar feeling peckish.

Spoiler:

Before long a beautiful specimen of a boar comes sniffling. A young, greyish male with large tusks, snout close to the ground. He definitely smells the truffle in the dirt.

Jack slowly creeps around the boar, suddenly he lets forth a yell making it flee towards the group.

Spoiler:

Posting for Shathys:

Shathys, waiting in the shadows high in the branches of the trees, almost meditating as he wittles a piece of wood with his spiked chain, a small idol of a raven. He sways with the wind. The smell of nature all around, the sweet song of a lark, then the piercing cry of a bird of prey, when suddenly he hears Jack roar, his eyes spring open and he sees the boar running towards the group and begins to follow silently, leaping from branch to branch, following the boar from above.

Spoiler:

Jack calculates the direction of the boar in his mind, and yells "It's going left at the next path!" at no one in particular.

Spoiler:

Shara uses her knowledge of magic to search for anything helpful within the forest.

Spoiler:

There appears to be nothing whatsoever. A bland, non-magical forest.

Shathys, in the trees, swings at branches with his spiked chain, and begins to hurl them down at the boar, throwing multiple spiked branches down around the front of the boar, beginning to cage the creature in.

Spoiler:

Jack jumps on the boar and wrestles it to the ground with a half nelson.
"Hah!" he exclaims.

Spoiler:

'Hold it steady now!' Aldern shouts and looses an arrow. It flies straight and true, thudding into the boar's ribs and piercing its heart. The boar squeals and jerks a few more times before expiring. 'Exhilarating!' Aldern says. 'And what a specimen!' He hands his weapons to one of his servants and signals for the other two to pick up the dead boar. As you walk back to your horses, immediately begins asking questions. 'Shara, what was that thing you did to lure the boar to us?'

"I put some black truffle in the dirt" She answers with a smile on her lips. "The dwarfs of Janderhoff use boars to find the truffles, I figured they must like the stuff."

'I see, how clever! And Shathys, I've never seen anyone move through trees like that! You moved like a bird in flight. Most impressive, I must say. And I've never seen anyone actually tackle a boar before!'

You return to your horses, and start heading back to Sandpoint. Aldern continually inquires about your past experiences and adventures, focusing especially on Shara. After a little while, you pass one of the farms that dot the area around Sandpoint, and you spot a most curious thing: A man made of metal and wood - nearly seven feet tall with an over-sized sword strapped to his back - is talking to a local farmer. He cradles a small potted flower in his three-fingered hands. Aldern stops mid-sentence and stares at the man, mouth agape.

'I can hardly believe it,' he mutters. 'Should I be so lucky?'

He stops his horse and raises his voice. 'Ho there! You! The gentleman with the big sword!'

'Hello there you. Please, don't stare at me like that, my good man. I hate it when people look at me that way - it gives me the creeps.' The metal wood man looks at the others with his big dark red glowing eyes of light that shine heavily before he continues, 'Looks like you killed a boar. Impressive - I don't think I've ever been able to kill one of those things. They're too small and too fast. They run around in forrests, hiding behind trees or underneath bushes. I used to be an excellent killer, though - once - but that's the past. This is present - and I'm really sorry about all the crimes I comitted back then. Do you think you will be able to forgive me?' looking rather distant and unintelligent for a while, he suddenly eye balls each of the travelers individually and continues his monologue almost talking to himself, 'Do you think you could use someone my size? I got the fertilizer by the farmer for my flower so I'm off to go. I could use an adventure or two or at least some company before I get back to sandpoint. You wouldn't happen to have an adventure in your back pocket or anything, would you?' The giant metallic man forms his big grey mouth into something someone could interpret into a weird smile, at least 10 inches long. While doing that, he starts caressing the flower softly with his big metallic hand.

'As luck would have it, I have three adventurers right here! And I don't mean to be rude, but... Are you a Warforged?'