[Completed] - Kennit/Bounties - May 20, 1 VC

[Keehnelf]

May 24, 1 VC - 5:10am

Just a placeholder to note the time.

[KingOfCowards]

Kennit gives Rhodri one last sorrowful look, he wants to hold his friend as death takes him, to tell him to close his eyes and dream of big beautiful elf women among stacks of gold, but there is no time.

He darts down through the hatch as fast as he can and starts killing hobgoblins before their magical sleep comes to end.
If and when time finally allows him a respite, he begins attending to the wounded.

[Keehnelf]

May 24, 1 VC - 5:20am

Kennit rushes downstairs and finds the four hobgoblins still sleeping soundly. He slashes their throats as they lie there, making sure that they are no longer a threat before he takes a moment of respite and checks on his allies.

He returns first to Rhodri above, and by the time he makes it there, Rhodri is no longer breathing. He closes the elf's eyes and considers him for a long moment, and then goes back downstairs, where he finds the elf Perthrin bloody, his face half-destroyed by Catstrangler's opening salvo, but miraculously breathing, if only shallowly. With time, and rest, the young, bedraggled elf might yet recover from the devastation wrought by the bugbear.

[KingOfCowards]

Kennit will make Pethrin as comfortable as possible and look for some way to bar the door.
He does a quick scan of the house, counting the living arrangements and comparing that to how many are here so that he knows not to expect other company.

He then begins the long process of stripping the dead hobgoblins and piling their bodies unceremoniously into a corner. He takes the head of Catstrangler with as much glee as one can imagine after seeing his best friend die.

He checks Rhodri's purse for gold, and realizes too late that he was the only one of their crew that was a member of the Adventurer's guild and able to collect a bounty. He knows he should bury him, but surely that can wait for morning.

After all this he finds a place to sit down and have a bite to eat, with the bugbear's head sitting at the opposite side of the table as his dinner companion. It makes for a terrible conversationalist.

1 day ration deducted

[Spartakos]

He checks Rhodri's purse for gold, and realizes too late that he was the only one of their crew that was a member of the Adventurer's guild and able to collect a bounty. He knows he should bury him, but surely that can wait for morning.

LOL. The irony slays me.

[Keehnelf]

May 25, 1 VC - 8:00am

Kennit dines with Catstrangler's head before dawn, after checking over his lost companion and recovering a few items of interest.

The dagger crafted from the recovered tooth of the black beast, in a sheath at his hip.
A knot of raw gold from one inside pocket.
268 gold pieces, 3 silver pieces, and 4 copper pieces, held in a pair of heavy pouches on his belt.
One of the engraved dwarven signet rings hanging from a thong around his neck.
A necklace of interlocking metal plates with an inset teardrop-shaped ruby pendant, around his neck.

Note that none of this is considered loot.

After breakfast, Kennit gets to work sorting out the hobgoblin bodies and looting them as well as Catstrangler, and finds a total of 84 gold pieces and a heavy iron armlet looped through the bugbear's belt that has a milky opal set into it (it is likely one half of a set of high-quality bracers). The door opens outward, but in typical dwarven fashion it has also been built with means to fortify from within, with a pair of steel braces built into the door that can be slid into place to prevent it from opening and withstand significant force. He activates them and, nearly collapsing from fatigue and emotion, puts together his own bedroll and passes into a deep and dreamless sleep.

He wakes up just after dark that night and paces the area, scanning the horizon as well, before deciding to go back to sleep. He wakes once more, after dawn on the following day, and under a pale and watery sun decides the time has come to bury his friend.

A quick look at Perthrin shows that he has made some progress, but will likely take many more days to recover enough to regain consciousness.

Please deduct one day's rations.

[Marullus]

Luckily, the one character stuck in town is a Guild member.

[Keehnelf]

Oh, and that day of rest gets Kennit back 2 of the 5 HP he lost fighting the bugbear as well.

[KingOfCowards]

Do the hobgoblins carry shovels? I remember one of the soldiers that was captured being very well prepared with a map and equipment.

On the morning of the 25th, Kennit leaves the security of the tower cautiously and finds a nearby place to bury Rhodri. He takes most of Rhodri's equipment to stock at the tower; all his arrows, shortsword, rope, grappling hook, food, ink and oil, along with all his valuables; the gold, spellbook, healing brew, dwarven ring, necklace and tooth-dagger. He'll pile whatever rocks be can find nearby on top to mark the grave.

The hobgoblins and bugbear are left outside just to improve the smell of the tower. If there is nothing else to explore in the tower, Kennit will wait out the days it takes Perthrin to recover with the tower door secured. He only considers leaving the elf for the briefest of moments.

[Keehnelf]

Yes, the hobgoblins do carry serviceable but heavy trench shovels that Kennit can appropriate to do his digging with.

May 28, 1 VC - 8:00am

Kennit gets to work that morning preparing a grave for his friend and a pyre for his enemies, and by the end of the morning he's managed to get a hole deep enough for a safe and clean burial for the fallen elf. Just before noon, a flash of movement catches his attention, and he looks up to spy three massive shapes soaring through the sky from east to west. He bolts for the cover of the tower, because by the shift in their path it is clear that they have spotted him in turn. He bolts the upper door and hides within, sword at the ready, but there is no sign of an assault and an hour later he emerges to a clear sky and no sign of the creatures that had the silhouettes of something like griffins, perhaps. By late afternoon, the work of burying and burning is done, and the halfling settles inside the tower to rest with his slowly recovering companion and his grief.

The next two days pass uneventfully, with no sign of travelers or attackers, only a lone crow that occasionally comes calling at the parapet of the watchtower looking for tidbits of food or something shiny to make off with, though it startles and flies off at Kennit's approach.

Finally, on the morning of the 28th, Perthrin's eyes flutter open and he utters a hoarse groan.

Kennit, please deduct three days of rations. Perthrin is at 0 HP, Kennit is fully healed, and Perthrin--please make the decision we discussed via PM before you post in this thread!

[KingOfCowards]

"Hah...You're awake boyo! I hope you had a good sleep, it might be the last one for a while. The enemies are all dead, but they took Rhodri with them. Catstrangler gutted him right after he got you."
Kennit throws Perthrin a wrapped meal of dry rations.
"You'll want something to eat, no doubt. We should get moving as soon as we can."
4 days rations deducted, because I forgot to deduct 1 last time.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Decision made.

Perthrin
The halfling's jubilant words are in stark contrast to Perthrin's aching body. Hearing about Rhodri's death, he attempts to comfort Kennit, but the words are slurred. I'm thorry for your loth. What wath that thing? Tho fatht.[/dialog He moves his hand to his face and feels the massive scar. This adventure was not what he imagined it would be.

He tells Kennit he does not believe he can travel yet, Perhapth tomorrow, and after eating a small meal, he falls back to sleep. When he wakes again, he suggests they name the tower after Rhodri.

[Keehnelf]

May 29, 1 VC - 8:00am

The pair remains another day in the tower, allowing Perthrin a chance to continue his recuperation. The day, apart from being a little cloudy, is uneventful. Kennit looks forward to the arrival of the crow, even, but the bird does not return before morning when they wake once more.

(Perthrin regains 1 HP. Please deduct one day's rations each)

[KingOfCowards]

Kennit takes a harder tone with Perthrin the next morning, "I think we've had enough rest, it's time we be heading home. It's not a fortune, but at least we're not leaving empty handed."
1 day rations deducted

[Rusty Tincanne]

Perthrin
Perthrin nods and slowly rises. Every bit of his body aches. He slowly washes the dried blood from his hands and face but does a poor job of it due to the pain. After eating a bit, he gathers his trappings. So this Catstrangler. He had a bounty on his head? Without Rhodri... Did we find enough gold for one of us to join the guild?

one days rations deducted

[KingOfCowards]

"Fortunately, Rhodri had some coin on him. Enough to get us both in the guild. There is no sense letting that bounty go to waste."

[Rusty Tincanne]

If the head of the bugbear hasn't been claimed yet, Perthrin will assist in doing so. Additionally, he spends a bit of time inspecting the cellar walls for off colored or suspicious stones. Using a candle, he searches for drafts. He has a hard time believing dwarves would be so isolated. What was the purpose of the tower, who would they have alerted? after the search and trading out some belongings with Rhodri's equipment, he is prepared to go.

did you claim the magical necklace and dagger? What about the silk rope, grappling hook, writing stuff and spell book? If any of that isn't claimed, Perthrin will tactfully request it with particular interst in the spell book.

[KingOfCowards]

I would say that Rhodri's belongings were grabbed but not yet "claimed". If Perthrin wants to carry any of it now, I am fine with that. We can split evenly when we get back safely.

[Keehnelf]

The pair packs up their things and prepares to return to Vaul--Perthrin investigates the downstairs as thoroughly as he knows how, but finds no sign of secret exits from the tower basement.

Will update on the journey in a bit.

[Keehnelf]

June 1, 1 VC - 10:20am

The pair gather up their things and depart the now-deserted watch tower with a bag of gold and Catstrangler's head as their trophies, heading west on their way back to Vaul. For two days, and the better part of a morning, they trudge across the abandoned moorland, conscious of their vulnerability and Perthrin's wounds remaining stubbornly painful due to the tremendous exertion of the journey.

Finally, off in the distance, they spy the reconstructed walls of Vaul, and pass under the welcoming gate to the safety of that place.

The party having returned to safety, this expedition is now at an end. The current date is June 1, but Perthrin will not have recovered fully until June 3 if he plans to venture out again. Please deduct two days' rations apiece.

Expedition wrap-up:

Loot:
122gp
6sp
Iron armband
Catstrangler's Head (150gp value)
Loot xp: 672

Other goods recovered:
The dagger crafted from the recovered tooth of the black beast
A knot of raw gold (5gp value)
268 gold pieces, 3 silver pieces, and 4 copper pieces, from Rhodri's purse
One engraved dwarven signet ring
A necklace of interlocking metal plates with an inset teardrop-shaped ruby pendant
Rhodri's spellbook (contains Read Magic, Sleep, Invisibility)
Grappling hook and rope
Sundry writing goods

Accomplishments:
Catstrangler defeated
4 hobgoblins defeated
Bounty recovered
Accomplishment xp: 710

Total xp: 1,382 divided by two = 691xp each (plus bonus for high stats)

You also gain 355xp to assign to your item(s) based on accomplishment XP earned.

If you decide to become Adventurer's Guild members (one or both), you can turn the head in for 150gp, but there is no additional xp gain (it's already been factored in).