The Hills

Without even blinking, Alalla snaps her glaive from one hand to two, and delivers a sharp blow to the orc's ribs with its butt. The chef doubles over as a snap rings out through the cave, and Al smacks the side of his knee, causing him to stumble to the ground, unconscious. A cry from Ug makes Al stop her killing blow, however. Frustrated, she throws a glare at Ug.
"So he has a mother. Didn't those men he and his party murdered have mothers to? Likely much better than his mother!" She pokes the orc with her foot. "His mother prayed to Luthic to keep him safe. Luthic is the orc goddess of protection, of nurturing, and of healing. But she only protects, nutures, and heals the strong and the valuable. She only cares for those that are the best, and demands that the rest be left to die. If he crawls home, his mothers arm's won't be open for him. Nor will the tribes be. Luthic and Gruumsh demand it."

Last edited January 10, 2018 12:44 am

Rolls

Attack - (1d20+5)

(9) + 5 = 14

Damage - (1d10+3)

(6) + 3 = 9

Superiority Damage - (1d8)

(7) = 7

Jan 10, 2018 1:00 am

Zenithral gives a quick glance as the orc breaks his binds and Alalla strikes. Almost losing his focus, he quickly turns back to his manual and continues reciting the arcane words there, slowly shaping a large, spectral disk with his hands.

Jan 10, 2018 1:37 am

Ug holds up his hands in sympathy "Not all enemy is bad enemy. He stupid cook but not bad enemy." Ug starts calmly, but his voice begins to rise, "He not even want be warrior, he want to be chef! He even left fight! He does not care for grumphy or luthick, he care for family, FAMILY!!" Ug shouts beating his chest.

He takes a deep breath and steadied himself. "We all have mothers, some have gnome mother," he taps his chest proudly, "some have orc mother." He gestures to the orc and nods at al, "Should we kill because he have orc mother? Ug will not."

"Ug will not!!" He says defiantly as he stands between al and the unconscious orc.

Last edited January 10, 2018 1:45 am

Rolls

Persuasion - (1d20+4)

(19) + 4 = 23

Jan 10, 2018 2:42 am

Feeling he might be getting through to al, ug asks calmly, "why you hate other orc so much anyway?"

Alalla

gardensun

Jan 10, 2018 3:36 am

"It's not hate..." Al says quietly. She looks up at Ug, mouth set hard. "It's about keeping us safe. Keeping him alive is dangerous. It's a danger to us, and to Easthaven, and even to the rest of the Ten Towns, and those are the families that I care about. Those are the families that are my job to protect." She shakes her head and starts to unscrew her glaive blade. "But not yours, I guess. Do with him what you will." She goes to sit near Zenithral while she cleans her weapon and finishes breakfast, looking tired and pensive.

Last edited January 10, 2018 3:39 am

Rolls

Persuasion - (1d20)

(18) = 18

Jan 10, 2018 4:01 am

Realizing the orc is half dead and they already have their hands full with supplies, Ug hand writes a note for the stupid orc and hands it to tulfgyr to translate. In summary it reads

dont be stupid orc
Be good cook
Take care of mama

Attached to it is a recipe for better stew

He leaves the translated version with the unconscious orc and begins to pack up the rest of his items. Ug plans to leave the orc in the cavern as the group heads back to the village.

Last edited January 10, 2018 4:03 am

Jan 10, 2018 4:04 am

Honestly, is it that difficult? Zenithral thinks, half towards Ug and Alalla, half towards himself. He grits his teeth in concentration.

"Ug will not!!" the goliath bellows.

Zenithral jumps, scattering loose pages from his manual. Zenithral clenches his fists and the floating disk disintegrates. He stands abruptly, sending more pages across the floor and turns, only to see Alalla turn away and walk in his direction. He sighs and starts sweeping up the pages with a wave of his hand. He sits down as the spectral hand gives him the stack of papers.

He takes a deep breath and tries to wipe the frustration from his face with a few rapid blinks. "Rough time with Ug and that orc?" he asks Alalla as she sits.

Alalla

gardensun

Jan 11, 2018 5:26 am

"Ug wants to keep him alive because he is a cook and his mother wrote him a letter." Al scrubs at an invisible spot on her blade a little too roughly. "It's like the orc was specifically designed to be as sympathetic to him as possible!" She glances over at Zenithral and his papers, grimacing slightly as she notices the lines of frustration on his face. "But it's done now. I'll give you some peace for your ritual."

Last edited January 11, 2018 5:27 am

Jan 11, 2018 3:45 pm

He opens his mouth to reply and object but no words come. He closes his mouth, flips back a few pages in his manual, and quietly begins his ritual again.

Last edited January 11, 2018 3:45 pm

Jan 11, 2018 4:56 pm

In spite of their success in locating the caravan goods, defeating the orc raiders, and smoothing things over with the Tribe of the Elk, tension fills the air as the party finishes their preparations to return to Easthaven. When they leave the cave, Guntor the orc cook is left unconscious on the stone floor.

Between Zenithral's conjured floating disk and Ug's broad muscles the group is able to transport the boxes of supplies. Stopping every so often to rest and resummon the disk adds some time to the journey, but even still they make good time. The storm of the previous day has passed on entirely, leaving the skies clear and the weather calm.

About halfway back to Easthaven, the party discovers a strange sight: a series of large indentations in the snow, staggered in a line across their path. Pressed into the compact snow of each indentation is a repeated pattern that seems oddly familiar... but what creature could leave bootprints half as long as a man is tall?

Jan 11, 2018 6:31 pm

"Are those...boot prints?" Zenithral asks uncertainly. He nocks an arrow and looks in the direction the trail leads.

Rolls

Nature (To recall creatures in the area that these might belong to) - (1d20+2)

(1) + 2 = 3

Perception (To spot creatures or locations in the distance) - (1d20+2)

(10) + 2 = 12

Jan 11, 2018 7:11 pm

Zenithral is sure it must have been a Snapple Gob.

Jan 11, 2018 8:37 pm

Ug puts his plethora of supplies down and also inspects the strange prints in the snow. His barbarian instincts tug on his mind as he tries to remember where he may have seen these tracks before.

Last edited January 11, 2018 8:51 pm

Rolls

Survival - (1d20+4)

(11) + 4 = 15

Jan 11, 2018 11:06 pm

Ug knows that only a giant could have made tracks like these. Most likely a frost giant passed across the tundra, perhaps using the storm as cover. It appears to have been heading towards the Spine of the World - though what it was doing this far into the Dale, who can say?

Jan 12, 2018 4:48 am