Unfathomable Farmwork, part 2
Log Info
- Title: Unfathomable Farmwork, part 2
- Emitter: Seyardu
- Characters: Culix, Skielstregar, Venom, Paenitia
- Place: Alexandrian farmlands
- Time: Thursday, October 14, 2021, 4:41 PM
- Summary: The adventures question the lovebirds and get more information, as well as directions to the farm and what was seen. A skeletal farmer. They are advised that the occupation is okay, provided the squattor keeps doing work. The party leaves, promising to check into it. They kill some time waiting for dark then venture into the woods. Sure enough, a tall and lanky farmer is seeing working. He notices them, runs inside. Paenitia announces herself and visibly approaches while the others sneak around. Skielstregar flanks her. Venom does overwatch while Culix attempts to get inside the barn. Paenitia gets into a conversation with someone on the other side, who says things are fine, she's not using human skeletons. Even if she is. There's some explaining still to do.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Appearing, in Order =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Skielstregar 7'2" 330 Lb Sith-Makar Male A tarnished bronze scale with fangs and empty eyes. Culix 3'2" 36 Lb Goblin Female Beady-eyed goblin female in leathers and hood. Venom 5'6" 130 Lb Human Female A woman(?) about 5'6" in a ragged black veil and poncho. Paenitia 3'0" 34 Lb Halfling Female A Lucht knight, dark skinned in bold feathery finery. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- As the GM =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Seyardu 5'6" 150 Lb Sith-Makar Female A friendly silver sith-makar with a perpetual squint. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
Previously
There is a shifting from the other side of the door, the sounds of movement. After a minute, a man speaks from the other side.
"O-one moment! Did Jane send for a sister of the church?" They ask before the door opens. They were a young man, around their twenties or perhaps a bit younger, and they look down to the grinning knight.
"Wait, you are not a cleric I don't think. What can I do for you, miss Paenitia?"
Venom for her part, remains quiet on the affairs of farming, looking about while the Knight with the friendly face handles the locals. She keeps her hands visible, as she throws enough mystery out there to unsettle folk without people wondering what her hands are busying themselves with and acquits herself as a sentry while those better equipped negotiate for the information they need.
Now
Skiel makes sure his hood was a bit pulled down on his head before clearing his throat. "Peassse," he greets, bowing his head slightly as he was adjacent to the Paladina. "We are here looking into the... sssstrange fieldsss being tended. Sssome othersss sssay thisss farmssstead sssaw ssssomething the other night...?" he asks as politely as he can.
Culix keeps her head on a swivel as she takes up the rear of the pack, hands stuffed in her pockets but eyes peeled as she keeps an eye out for anything alarming in the vicinity while her more talkative companion does the speaking. However, her ears perk up as she catches onto something she could use. "Not from the temple, no. But we're problem solvers of a sort." she offers. "Heard something spooked a couple of local lovebirds." she adds then.
Venom continues to mind what's going on around the group while the talkative sorts handle that part of the job. It's hard to tell what's going on in that obscured head of hers while the group goes through their interrogative entreaties, and aside from turning when needed to look around, she isn't moving all that much.
GAME: Skielstregar rolls sense motive: (2)+1: 3 GAME: Culix rolls sense motive: (8)+0: 8 GAME: Venom rolls sense motive: (9)+10: 19 GAME: Paenitia rolls sense motive: (12)+11: 23
"The fields aren't strange, we've been working them for years. It's the work that is, since, well, no one we know is working them." The man at the door replies, rubbing their neck at the misunderstanding, and out of embarrassment. "Seems that the whole damn village is talking about that, and we were trying to be discreet about it, what with how her old man is."
The man looks a bit rattled, but also hopeful at Culix's declaration. "You're here to fix problems? Well, I doubt you're here about my love life, but, about the other problem."
Very rattled, he's been spooked by something.
The little Red Knight moves around the tall sith'makar to be a bit more visible. If his aura of the grave bothers her, there are no signs. She sounds as cheerful as ever, and her mask is always grinning. She laughs, tilting the strange visage up towards the man.
"Hola! We fix the love problems too. The matters of the heart, overcome the challenges that tear lovers apart, and the happily ever after is the calling of the knight too."
She makes a sweeping bow, as if she'll remove her hat, but she does not. "The one thing at the time. What you might see that frighten you greatly, tell us, we go look into that."
The large, cloaked makari shifts on his feet, glancing off to where they came from before looking back to the farmer. It looked as if Paenitia succinctly said most of what all he was going to say, with more confidence and less fidgeting. "... yesss. What did you sssee?"
Venom waves her hand toward the goblin, then flicks two short gestures, "Spooked. Recovering." before pointing subtly toward the locals. The veiled one gives that a moment to verify Culix understands. <handspeech>
She looks back toward Paenitia as the Knight broaches that subject. Good, she noticed, too.
Culix is happy to cede the floor to Paenitia- the lucht knight is certainly chattier than she, after all. However- "And where, exactly, you seen it." She chimes in after Paenitia's finished her own little spiel. She glances over towards Venom, and offers a brief nod of her head- confirming her understanding, though she doesn't share what she's been told- at least, not yet.
GAME: Paenitia rolls diplomacy: (7)+8: 15 GAME: Culix rolls diplomacy: (5)+2: 7 GAME: Skielstregar rolls intimidate: (19)+7: 26 GAME: Venom rolls intimidate: (20)+4: 24
The farmhand looks between the strange group gathered, and their eyes go a bit wide when they see the imposing sith-makar , before he looks back to the goblin and lucht. "Well, you all uh, seem like you can handle yourselves most likely, and this could be dangerous for a lot of people around here." He says, before rubbing his neck again.
"Me and Jane were uh, we were going to go meet up at an old abandoned farm just west of here, since her pa' threatened to break my knee if he saw me around there again. Something about growing brewing supplies not being proper or something."
The man takes a moment to spit on the ground. "But anyways, uh, not sure how to say this, but that farm wasn't as abandoned as we thought. There was some cloaked man loitering around there, tending to some wheat fields near the old barn. And that property is still my families, so I went and asked what he was doing there."
Then, their face goes almost white. "When it turned around though, it certainly wasn't any person, least, not anymore. Under the hood they were wearing was a dirty looking skull. Needless to say, I took off quick as I could with Jane, and put as much distance as we could between us. neither of us got much sleep that night watching out for the thing here. It uh, wasn't the planned reason for the lack of sleep."
GAME: Skielstregar rolls survival: (11)+6: 17 GAME: Culix rolls knowledge/local: (8)+9: 17 GAME: Venom rolls wisdom: (12)+3: 15
"Ok!" Paenitia says firmly, bobbing her head, "We go speak to the dirty skull. We should say, we act on your family behalf when we speak? What name you wish us to say."
She taps at the chin of her mask thoughtfully, "If it turn out to be the unlikely thing, like the golem with the poor face choice, you ok for it to keep working the field?" Another tap-tap on her mask, "I have many of these, I can give one so it less spooky."
Slightly less spooky.
GAME: Paenitia rolls knowledge/local: (1)+10: 11 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Culix rolls knowledge/religion: (16)+6: 22
Skiel's frame grows a bit tense at the description. "A... ssskull?" he repeats to himself before quietly chuffing at the addendum. "Ssssleep once more ssso the reassson can happen once more."
He's smiling, showing his sharp fangs. Skiel can make jokes too.
He nods in agreement with Paenitia before turning his snout westard. Silver eyes squint. "... that linesss up with the tracksss we found earlier..." he mentions offhandedly.
Venom, now that the mood's been set, remains spookily, ominously silent and still. No matter where someone moves, it's almost like unseen eyes are...
Watching them....
peering into their -souls-...
Culix's nose wrinkles and she listens to the account, "Oh, sounds like some sort of restless dead to me. Never heard of 'em tending farms, before. But I s'pose it's possible, an' if it didn't chase you its got some sort of mind, else it's being controlled. That'll be a pain, then. Sticking 'em in the vitals doesn't work as well, being as said vitals are either missing or half rotten already." she says then. "That an' dry ones don't tend to care much 'bout getting stabbed or sliced. Need to smash 'em. If it comes to that, mind."
She frowns a bit, and then looks towards the Farmhand. "Don't s'pose there anywhere round here I could pick up a mace, is there?" she wonders and sighs a bit. Assuming the answer is no, she casts her gaze around for a fist-sized rock to pick up.
Paenitia listens, then steps to the side where her peacock-andalusian waits, "Ramirez! I mount!" He sweeps her up into her saddle with a wing. The little lucht leans back, pulls on a strap.
A strange peacock like tail-fan spreads up behind her saddle. It's not composed of feathers. It's made from weapons. She points them out, "Glaive, Guisarme , Glaive-guisarme, Lucerne Hammer, Bec de Corbin, Bill, Ranseur, Bardiche, Halberd."
"I carry the armoury of the Mad Dogs. I have the warhammer too, but the weapon I use most. You see one here you like?" She rattles the assembly.
Undead.
Troubling.
Venom starts to adjust the priorities of her tactical options in her head, then reaches under her poncho and pulls out two ampoules labeled with halos.
She glances at them, then holds them out to the group as she cocks her head.
"I don't know if it was some fancy artifice person like I've heard about, didn't linger long enough to get a good look at it. But if it was, then it's wearing a skull for some reason, and that doesn't sound like good news to me."
The man sighs. "I really don't care if they're using the land, s'long as they aren't infringing on out actual growing fields. But if it is the gods damned restless dead like I thought, probably best to stick them back in the dirt."
The man looks around, and disappears behind the door for a moment, before returning with a hooked pole.
"Sorry miss gobber, don't have anything sized for you. But, sometimes Alan's sheep wander off to eat my grapes here, so I've got this crook to drag them back with. Long as you bring it back, you can use it if you need."
Culix peers at the crook and then tilts her head to the side, "Uh, thanks, but I'll pass for now. Reckon I'm as likely to trip myself up with that as hit anything. Short legs." she says then and offers a shrug. She looks towards Paenitia's selection and gives a likewise uncertain handwobble. "All look a bit too... uh... chunky for me. Aint that strong, believe it or not. I'll figure something out." she says then.
Skielstregar rubs at one of his fangs, frowning that he hand nothing on hand to combat such a foe. "Yesss... the dead should ssstay dead..." he mumbles. Pausing for a moment as he realized he was speaking to himself before shaking his head. He strides up to Paenitia, the aura of dread growing in intensity. Seeing the small hammer weapon, he reaches out for it. "Thisss one thanksss you."
It was completely incorrect in terms of its size compared to him, but he could hold most of it in both hands with ease. Skiel now has one small bopping stick.
"What even isss a Mad Dog anyways...?"
The sith-makari shakes his head at Venom's offer. "No thanksss, that stuff iss... thisss one doesssn't want to get it on them."
Paenitia nods as Skielstregar selects the Lucern Hammer. It is small, but it has a long handle, good leverage and a wicked point. "They are Revolutionaries of Isobar!" She says proudly.
Then she barks, just like a dog. Or perhaps, a gnoll.
"I have the other things, but they are mostly the pole weapons for the farmers to use, to keep their distance." She has enough for a tiny phalanx.
Paenitia also holds out a hand for a vial of holy water, "I will try to put that to use."
"Well, if you don't need, I'll hang onto it here, in case that thing shows up again, or the fate of my wine grapes are at stake." The man states, tucking the shepherd's crook back behind the door. "And, appreciate you doing this, I'm not keen on being so close to any monsters like that. Seems like you're all prepared for the most part anyways, especially Sister Paenitia there."
Venom nods as Paenitia takes one of the holy waters, offering the remaining ampoule to the rest of the crew as a last chance she returns it to it's place.
In the wake of that, she pulls out a dragonspitter, similar though distinctly different from the one lost in the cauldron of Azahi. She thumbs the chamber lever open, drawing a small steel cylinder from her belt, slips it into place, then closes the chamber once more.
Culix does eye the holy water, and then she shrugs, "Sure, if you're offering." she says and holds out her hand to accept it as it's offered. She eyeballs the dragonspitter, and her ears twitch a bit- perhaps in anticipation of loud noises to come. The ampoule is tucked away into one of her numerous belt pouches. "Since these things come out at night, I reckon we ought to get some rest 'til near sundown, then we go and scope out this abandoned farm." she tells the others.
She waits until they are on their way before passing on the rest of her message. "Venom says the guy looked rattled, which makes sense if he saw a skeleton. From what I heard, the farmer's family isn't doing too great. Like most folks around here, which is why they've abandoned this farm. Wonder if that factors into this somehow. Can't see how money troubles leads straight to skull-faced strangers, mind."
A scaled brow raises at the shorter folks, him testing the weight of the small weapon (it looked comically small in his massive hands) as they start to head out, giving a wave to the farmer as they go. "... ssso we are going to try and... talk to thessse undead?" he suggests, uneasy about the prospect.
"There can be many things." Paenitia says, rocking in the saddle, "I hear the story of the grain of rice, that always grows a full crop, but if the tribute is not given to the goddess it come from, the children all die."
She sounds a little too cheerful for that tale. Her voice gets a sombre tone, "Many things prey on the backbones of society. They have the great superstitions. It does not help that sometime, there is the monsters. That is why we are here."
She nods to Skielstregar, "To talk, and when the talk not work, to hammer the nail."
GAME: Culix rolls perception: (5)+9: 14 GAME: Paenitia rolls survival: (17)+2: 19
It's a trip back across town and out into the fields, where this time the party has better directions. All that's needed is nightfall, which will be a few hours.
The little Lucht seems well prepared for waiting, setting up a fire and loosening Ramirez's harness and saddle so he can relax. She makes tea, having apparently the camping gear of the Mad Dogs as well, and each person gets a tin cup.
She leans back against Ramirez's side, and regales the others with tales of her homeland. Stories that must be exaggerated, yet still ring with some truth. The Red Knight is from a hot and hard land where everyone is larger than life.
Or perhaps it only seems so, to one of her stature. Time passes.
GAME: Skielstregar rolls survival: (15)+6: 21 GAME: Culix rolls survival: (4)+0: 4 GAME: Venom rolls survival: (14)+3: 17
Skiel, once they found a spot to kill a few hours, seems entranced by Paenitia's story telling. It's clear the man doesn't have much worldly experience, doubly so with softskins, but he's eager to listen and ask a plethora of questions as he sips his tea after letting it cool for a spell.
He does glance occasionally to the veiled figure. They didn't speak. Was it some softskin thing he wasn't aware of? He wasn't sure, but at least Culix could make out the gestures those gloved hands made.
As the group gets underway, Venom spends some time taking notes between glances about to make sure of her heading, and the like as seems to be her way.
Once at the staging area the group has chosen, she bows to Paenitia on the offered cup and listens for a time as tales unfold.
At a point closer to showtime she opts to hand proper hydration and the like, under wraps as usual before she settles in to a spot to rest. Her cheek rests against an upraised knee, pinning the veils, and she spends the next little while just.... breathing slow and steady after a long held sign of, "Hour." <handspeech>
The time between sunrise and nightfall was surprisingly uneventful for the farmland, where daylight hours were a precious commodity for getting work done. It seems like most work was handles by these mysterious people. As they travel to find a place to stay while waiting out the hours, they pass by a scrap pile, likely from the farm nearby, and Culix is able to find a sizeable hunk of scrap iron fence with the pole still attached to the decorative work, which would likely work perfectly for a bludgeoning instrument in their hands, at least for a while.
And the travel out to the farm mentioned is uneventful, but you come across several tracks in the ground. Some older, some more recent, but it seems that a small group is traveling to the farm nearby. And closer to the barn, you find similar sets leading in other directions.
After breaking through a treeline, you come across what you believe is the mentioned building. The farm has seen better days, paint is peeling, and planks appear to have been replaced, but it still looks sturdy enough. And next to it, is a roughly made fenced in area, filled with numerous stalks of golden wheat. The stalks spill outside of the fence as well, in several places.
Once they pack up and get moving and to the edge of the farmstead, Skielstregar holds up a hand as they draw near. "... there are... sssix or ssseven sets of tracksss..." he whisper hisses as people come to a slow.
Culix manages to snag and tear her pants on some brambles, which she spends much of the rest time complaining about, though it dies off to quiet grumbling after a little while. As showtime approaches, she gives the length of iron a couple of experimental swings. She pushes it through a loop on her belt to keep it secured, and then joins the others as they head out.
As the treeline thins and their destination draws near, she hunches down low, keeping to the bushes as she peeks ahead. "Human?" she asks the lizard, about the tracks.
The Red Knight has packed up and saddled up upon her Ivory Steed. Tightened down and buttoned up, she adjusts the set of her large shield. Her crumpled armour still creaks and squeaks, but naught can be done about that now.
She raises the banner behind her saddle. A flag showing a white pillar on a red field, with peacock feathers hanging off the cross-beam.
She twists in the saddle, gazing down at the others. "I must announce, in case they are decent beings and this the great misunderstanding. You do not have to reveal with me."
"We can sneak closer. Hide behind Ramirez, they will not see you because they are looking at the great white peacock horse. Then, they will not see him, because he hide so well." She laughs, "then you take the positions and I call out."
"Sssoftskins sized," Skiel replies to the gobbo with a nod. The man gives another nod towards Paenitia, him getting behind the large bird and trying to hunker down as best he can. He eyes the banner. So many questions.
Past the treeline, there's about ninety feet of open field. The party approaches from the east, the farm is in front, with the front of the barn facing the south.
GAME: Paenitia rolls stealth: (7)+11: 18 GAME: Paenitia rolls 1d20+5: (4)+5: 9 (Ramirez Stealth) GAME: Culix rolls stealth: (14)+15: 29 GAME: Skielstregar rolls stealth: (10)+-1: 9 GAME: Seyardu rolls 1d20: (17): 17 GAME: Venom rolls stealth: (11)+12: 23 <OOC> Paenitia says, "Stealth Synergy Totals: Culix 29, Venom 26, Pae 25, Ramirez 19, Skielstregar 13"
Venom is roused without incident as the time comes, and she seems refreshed enough to continue. She moves in her usual regimented grace, looking about for signs of hostility while others track the spoor left by client and bogey alike.
With Paenitia declaring her intent to announce herself, she gives a little thumbs-up and skulks away to set up a place to discretely observe and....
Clk-click.
Intercede, if necessary.
GAME: Venom rolls perception: (19)+10: 29 GAME: Skielstregar rolls perception: (13)+6: 19 GAME: Paenitia rolls perception: (3)+4: 7 GAME: Paenitia rolls 1d20+5: (2)+5: 7 (Ramirez Perception) GAME: Culix rolls perception: (4)+9: 13
As you break the treeline, and enter the fields outside the barn, you can see movement from the fenced in area of fields. It is a robed figure with a sheperd's crook in one gloved hand, and a bucket in the other. They seem to be shaking the bucket into the wheat field, and they do not notice you right away. Until Skielstregar's armor clanks a bit more than they were expecting, and they look up, but not over. And suddenly, they are running running off to the front door of the barn, disappearing inside.
That figure moves extremely unnaturally. There is the faint pick clattering of bones.
If a makari could blush, Skiel would be crimson, him clasping down an offending buckle. "... s-sssorry..." he mumbles softly before looking over to the barn. "We chassse?"
GAME: Paenitia rolls diplomacy: (8)+8: 16 GAME: Seyardu rolls 1d20: (10): 10
"Ramirez! Prance and announce." Paenitia orders, sitting tall.
'Ruaaaah!' Ramirez squawks loudly. He also spreads his tail, shaking it so the hollow feathers rattle loudly. He takes high steps, lifting each talon out of the grass as he moves forward. He's on parade. He's impossible to miss.
The way the figure ran off was also noteable, it had an unnatural gait. Undeterred, the Dark Lucht sticks to her plan, shaking her head at Skielstregar, "No, let me offer the terms first. The answer will not be long coming."
"Hola the Farm!" The Red Knight calls loudly, "I am Sister Paenitia Snapdragon del Haranna, Knight of the Pillar and Paladina of Tarien! I come to parlay. The property owners wish to know your intent."
She takes a breath, continues her greeting. "I give the promise. Meet in peace you will not be harmed, come in violence you will be met with it."
Culix curses under her breath as the figue takes off running, she glances over towards Venom. "I'll circle round, check for a back door." she signals, and then begins creeping away from the group to go make sure there isn't any sneaky exit for the suspicious farmer. <handspeech>
Uh oh.
With the figure suddenly decides to abscond, the veiled figure shifts her angle slightly to track it's flight. The movement is wrong for a breather, and the distinctive rattle her ears are picking up definitely paint a picture of someone past the wormfood phase of their existence.
She flashes a sign of, "Skeleton!" toward Culix, but holds position while Paenitia continues to make her offer.
She catches the return from Culix and nods, signing in turn, "It's smart. Eyes open." <handspeech>
The barn does not seem to react to Paenitia's declaration, and the display of the peacock-andalusian. Perhaps it was not heard, or the skeletons in question were uncaring of such challenges. Either way, nothing seems to come out.
GAME: Culix rolls perception: (11)+9: 20
Culix responds to Venom's last gesture with a hand sign most everyone knows- a simple thumbs up, before ducking down and pulling her hood up and skulking off towards the back of the house, while Paenitia is busy at the front. She slips behind the wheat field and towards the back of the house. Once there, she spies some loose boards, and pokes her head out from behind the field. She gestures back Venom's way. "Loose boards, here. Could be a way in." with that particular avenue explored, she decides to sneak her way over towards the fence around the little field, to see if she can't get a look at what the figure had been pouring from its bucket. <handspeech>
GAME: Culix rolls perception: (5)+9: 14 GAME: Venom rolls perception: (6)+10: 16
Venom looks back toward Culix as she signs out her findings. There is a thumbs-up of her own in acknowledgement, and the veiled one starts to creep forward to set up a closer observation point, having opted to swap out her 'spitter for the 'belcher.
On the front door, there are several signs in tradespeak, warnings, and saying to keep out painted on wooden sheets nailed to the barn doors.
"Okay... we try the second time, a little louder." Paenitia says, largely for Skielstregar's benefit. She's lost track of Venom and Culix and doesn't want to alert anyone to their presence by looking around. She clucks at her mount, "Ramirez, advance."
As her hippogryph high-steps and rattles up to the front of the barn, the little Lucht calls out again. Her voice both child-like and adult, carrying well. "Forgive please, if I am hard to hear with the ear bones. I come to talk. I have seen the many things, I have fought the many more."
Very firmly she adds, "Come forth. If you will not, I must come in. You are not ready for guests, I am sure, it will be the great embarrassment."
Skielstregar strides up with Paenitia, a nervousness in his frame but he does his best to keep quiet as the larger than life Lucht speaks for the group. He lost track of the other two, hoping that whatever they were doing was going to help them, and they didn't just slink off.
He shuffles on his feet, gulping as he reads the signs on the door.
At the front door to the barn, there is the sound of movement, rather quick, and from the other side is a female voice. "Please, leave this place! It might be dangerous here, It shouldn't, but I don't want anyone getting hurt. Just, give me a moment, and we can talk, if you are here to talk. But make it quick!"
GAME: Paenitia rolls diplomacy: (1)+8: 9 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Paenitia rolls diplomacy: (14)+8: 22
"The son of the property owner come by, was much frightened by what he see. They say they are not concern, but want to know who you are and what you do." Paenitia replies firmly.
"The other townsfolk, is much grateful that their chores work is done, but also concern with the who, and the how."
She pauses, adjusting in her saddle, deciding to get down on the ground. "Ramirez, I dismount!"
She slides down his wing, to land in front. Her armour rattles, her shield is solid, sword and warhammer are on her belt. "The fieldworker I see have the odd stance and way of running. The skulls have been seen by the boy. The common folk do not like their dead brought back to toil as they did in life."
"Do you have the explanations for these?"
GAME: Culix rolls stealth: (6)+15: 21 GAME: Culix rolls knowledge/arcana: (1)+5: 6 (EPIC FAIL)
Culix peeks inside, past the loose boards, to see what secrets lay here. Not seeing any signs of skeletons in this particular room, she carefully slides between the boards and tiptoes across the floorboards towards the shelves. She spends a few moments peering at the various items there, but eventually she just scratches her head- confused, and no better informed then she had been before taking a closer look. She creeps over towards the door in the room, and presses her ear up against it to listen for sounds on the other side.
The silent one signs a query of, "Water?" back toward Culix in regards to the pouring, with the little sensory data she can discern from her position.
That is followed up with a, "Careful!" reminder as the goblin makes herself a way inside.
The negotiations with the house regain her attention, though she is still scanning about for anyone rabbiting, willing as yet to play this the Paladina's way.
GAME: Skielstregar rolls perception: (7)+6: 13 GAME: Paenitia rolls perception: (15)+4: 19 GAME: Paenitia rolls 1d20+5: (14)+5: 19 (Ramirez Perception)
There is the sounds of locks being opened, and things shifting around.
After another minute, another figure in hooded robes much like the previous opens the door, but this one does not have an unnatural gait. Beneath the hood was an acanian woman, who looks up, and meets the lucht-knight with wary eyes.
"I am terribly sorry, but I really don't have too much time to talk right now. I, I am deeply sorry about scaring Frank and Jane the way I did, I didn't mean to cause them any trouble, truly." She says quickly, glancing back to the half open barn door. "But you really don't need to worry about it. They aren't even humanoid skeletons, so i'm not disturbing any for this."
GAME: Paenitia rolls sense motive: (1)+11: 12 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Skielstregar rolls sense motive: (11)+1: 12 GAME: Culix rolls knowledge/religion: (2)+6: 8 GAME: Culix rolls sense motive: (4)+0: 4 GAME: Venom rolls sense motive: (14)+10: 24
She seems sincere.
The little Lucht listens to the explanation. She feels she's forgetting something crucial, such as: making undead is utterly and completely evil no matter the circumstances. However with that unexpected memory gap and the woman's apparent sincerity, it all sounds good.
"Okay! I tell Frank and Jane it all good. That animal skeletons do the work, and it all a friend favour."
She sounds cheerful, as if she's smiling. Her mask, as ever, is the unrelenting grin of the Smiling Man. She tilts it towards the woman. "Who I say for the friend name? So they will relax? You grow up here in the village? The raising bones is different from the raising chickens, but is still farming, yes? Haa-haa!"
Skielstregar tilts his head to the side at the explanation. The aura exuding off of him is no different than to the alleged undead that was around. The supposed do gooder felt like they were on the up and up, but...
He jabs a thumb over his shoulder. "Then why did the tracksss look like sssoftssskin ssshoes," he bluntly asks, glaring lightly.
GAME: Seyardu rolls 1d20+2: (2)+2: 4
Venom listens to the exchange between Paenitia and the local, cocking her head a bit and straining her ears to hear.
Having heard enough, her hand dips under her poncho to withdraw her writing implements as she starts to move, pinning the Thunderbelcher into the pinch of her waist with the elbow holding the notepad while her pen works are three short words.
She moves with some haste, hovering back from the corner of the house to shield her from any eyes save those of her mounted or scaled companions, and she holds up the note:
Honest
Unsure
Hurried.
Culix frowns from her spot in the back room, she'd never heard of necromancers raising anything other than humanoid bones before. But, being sneaky as she is, she keeps it to herself and just continues to listen for the time being- incase it sounds like anyone is coming her way, or blows are about to be exchanged and she'll need to sneak up behind and sap someone.
"Thank you for understanding, but I really must be going." She says, bowing deeply to the lucht-knight and turning to the door, then she is caught turning back when Skielstregar spoke up.
"No, you've got it all wrong, or well, you've got it right but, uh, how do I explain this, thank you for your understanding, truly."
"They are human skeletons, but they were animal skeletons changed to human ones. So it shouldn't be any problem, right?"
Culix picks up sound from the barn now. A lot of sound. It seemed like the skeletons had been still, until just this moment. And there was a flurry of movement. Movement that the group at the front could hear, as well.
"This, the spell shouldn't be ending yet, please excuse me." Is all they say, looking worried, and immediately attempting to slip back inside the barn.
Map
https://www.mipui.net/app/index.html?mid=m9wcmsvvpxn
<OOC> Seyardu says, "Let me know if you want the tokens moved at all for the starting positions. Skiel=Dragon head, Ramirez+Pae=Large Bird, Culix=Goblin Face, and Venom=Hooded Figure."
Coming back to Tenebrae and seeing all the new Sith
https://i.imgur.com/09p7kX4.jpeg
