[Game Thread] I. Lehman’s Hollow

[mountainbound]

"What Geoff says, goes for me too," Sy continues. "You two be careful with that canoe -- especially you Dan, it's no secret that you're not good in the water. You need to be careful of the rapids, Al Pelia tells me the Yakawanna is still swollen in places, so if you see fast water, you paddle your backsides to the shore and carry the canoe past the rough spots. Got it? I don't have much of last year's vintage. You're carrying half of it with you." He makes a dark face, as though wrestling with reconsidering the whole thing. His son Dan was next to useless in the water -- and on land to boot -- and would probably end up botching something up. At least Silas would be there. Sy respected Silas's ability in the woods, at least hunting and woodlore were things that Sy could relate to. Dan's silly fixation on womanly magic was a sore annoyance to Sy, but in the end, the older man let it slide. It was his idea after all, he thinks. If something goes wrong, he might finally wise up. And if they actually get to Archebald, I might just have a new business on my hands. Sort of a win-win.

"And another thing -- I know you boys like to indulge sometimes. That's right, no hiding it. But don't even think of tapping into my Lehman's Hollow Red. I mean it. This is business, and old Randy, the proprietor at Runco's Bar, he knows the weight of a full keg."

"Yeah Dad, we know," Dan says with barely concealed exasperation. "We'll be careful and we'll drive as good a bargain with Randy as we can -- without drinking your wine. Sheesh."

"Damn straight," Sy nods. "Last, here are a few stags for the both of you. If you need to get food or stay a night in Archebald, you can use them. Emergencies and such. Otherwise, you bring them back to me, as well as whatever Randy gives you for the wine." Money was tight in Lehman's Hollow, and Dan's dad was a simple farmer (and aspiring winemaker). Silas knew the few silver stags was quite a bit for him to spare on a fugitive and a do-nothing son.

Hands are shaken, and Sy can't refrain from wagging his finger in the faces of each of the boys one more time. "And I don't need to tell you that there's crawlers of every variety out in the mountains. The river is mostly clear of them, so stay on the water when you can." Beneath the hearty lecturing, there's concern in Sy's voice as he says his farewells to the two friends. "Just be careful."

With that, Silas and Dan load the two casks of Lehman's Hollow Red in Geoff's canoe, along with the clandestine sack of centipede plates, and the boys' backpacks. With a grunt, they lift it, Dan in front and Silas at the rear, and begin walking down toward the River Gate, a few streets below.

As they walk, a slight drizzle begins falling to dampen the night. Soon they pause to pull up their hoods. "Remember," Dan says to Silas, "You're supposed to be Geoff when we get to the gate."

DM's Note Dan and Silas each get 15 silver stags (Sy gives them 30 total). Please roll a Disguise check.

[Krimchee]

"hmph," Silas muttered as he pulled up his hood. He was glad for the rain. For one, maybe the gaurds wouldn't be paying as much attention; maybe thier minds would be pointed inside to where it was warm and dry. Two, because at least they'd expect to see folks out walking around with thier hoods up. After walking for a short while, Silas began to struggle a bit with the weight of their wares. "Can't wait to get on the river. Leg's killing me." He paused to readjust his grip, which was starting to slip in the rain.

Just before they arrived at the River Gate, Silas called a halt. He took off the rapier from where he had it slung through his belt and set in into the canoe, concealing but not burying it with Dan's backpack. He might need it.Had the damn thing only a few hours and already I can't stop thinking about drawing it on people I know. First Hogan, now on whoever's going to be at the gate. They're only doing their jobs, and they're my neighbors for Wind's sake!. He also tucked his own bag a bit further under one of the seats, and moved the bag of centipede plates so his pack was less visible. He wasn't the only guy in the town with a hempen bag, but he didn't want to take any chances. Silas wished he'd have thought to ask Geoff for one of his jerseys or something, to add to the disguise. Not that he'd be exactly thrilled to give me one or anything. He'd just have to make do and wrap his cloak around himself a little bit more like he was cringing from the rain. Geoff had never been too much of an outdoorsman, so it wasn't entirely implausible. I'll just have to hope for the best. Silas reached up to pull down the cowl of his hood, and tipped his head forward, looking pointedly at the ground and soon causing drops of water to drip off directly in front of his nose.

Silas imagined he could hear dice rolling in his head.

Disguise disguise check Dice Roll: 1d20+1 (10)+1 Total = 11

[mountainbound]

Dan nods at Silas's complaint. If the ranger was speaking up about a pain in his leg, it was best to take it seriously. They weren't even out of Lehman's Hollow, and Silas was wounded, so easy-does-it was the rule of the trip. Besides, Silas was their muscle, and it wouldn't due for him to be injured for long. "Okay, let's rest a second," Dan agrees, setting down the canoe at the base of a huge, gold-painted monstrosity: The Anchor. The anchor was a relic from when some of the earlier ships sailed from OR, nineteen years ago. Lehman, God rest his soul, was the captain of this particular ship -- the ship that Dan's own mother sailed on and guided with her magics, with Dan in her womb.

As Silas shifts the packs, the wizard notices a dark shadow following them. "Fritzie, no! I told you to stay at home! You can't come with us!" But the black cat darts forward, quickly rubbing her whiskers against Dan's leg, and then jumping into the canoe to sniff Silas's rapier. (As usual, the young ranger feels a faint tickle in his nose at the presence of the cat.)

Soon the two boys heft the fully stocked canoe once again and are heading in the direction of Olliephant and the River Gate, with Fritz now nestled among the packs. "OK, here goes nothing," Dan whispers back to Silas as they approach the gate. The wooden wall is as tall as ever here in this lower part of the Hollow, though they could hear the rush of the river on the other side. There's a guard-house next to the gate, and a bit of light spills from a small window in the door.

Without having to knock, the door opens and a man walks out, waving to Dan and Silas. It's a guard both boys recognize: a volunteer by the name of Rambob, a zealot when it came to protocol, but none-too-sharp. "Hey Dan," he says.

"Hey Robert," Dan replies. "Me and Geoff wake you?"

"Nah I'm up. You guys going fishin' or somethin'? Where's your poles?" Happy for some "excitement" and something "official" to do, Rambob lays his bow on the guard bench outside the gate, several feet from Silas, and goes to inspect the canoe. "What d'ya got all that gear for?" He peers into the vessel and then at Silas. The ranger barely keeps his head down, and Dan quickly clears his throat.

"Ah, Ha... Well, we're going on a longish trip, up to Archebald actually. Uh..." Dan stalls, trying to keep Rambob's attention. "You hear about any nasty rapids up that way?"

As Rambob speaks, Silas's eyes can't help but drift to the guard's bow -- lying abandoned in the rain, with a quiver of at least 10 arrows next to it...

[Krimchee]

Silas mumbled something about "having to drain the main vein" and moved off in the direction of the abandoned bow. Looking quickly over his shoulder to make sure Rambob wasn't looking, Silas scooped up the bow and quiver and kept moving to the shadows of the tree line as if he was intent on doing his business. He moved a little farther into the shadows than strictly necessary. Once out of direct sight, Silas pulled off his cloak and hung the bow and quiver on his back, letting the quiver ride much lower than usual. He then put the cloak back on, covering the bow and quiver. Obviously the cloak didn't really conceal the weapons, but they were out of the rain. Any archer worth his weight knew the value of keeping his gear dry, so Silas didn't think it would look too suspicious. He just had to hope that Rambob wouldn't notice the addition.

Silas then took the time to truely do his business, making sure to hit some leaves so it was as loud as possible (though he was pretty sure Bob wouldn't notice anyway). Silas pulled his hood back down and made his way back.

Stealth Stealth Dice Roll: 1d20+7 (14)+7 Total = 21

Disguise Disguise Dice Roll: 1d20+1 (11)+1 Total = 12

[mountainbound]

By the cover of darkness and the fortunate concealment of the rain, Silas makes off with Rambob's bow and quiver. Quickly arranging his cloak to cover them, he makes his way back to the gate and finds Dan not having an easy time with the hyper-zealous guard. Bob is saying, "But why are you going shad fishing when they're not running for two more weeks? And where are your poles anyway?"

"Uh, well, we heard that they were running early... uh," Dan hesitates, "and we're looking to sell my dad's wine."

"They're not running early!" Rambob responds, his voice growing tight in the darkness. "Wine? No, this all sounds weird. I'm going to need you to wait at least until daylight when the captain comes on duty."

"Sh!T." Dan looks to Silas, eyes bugging, chagrined and not sure what to do.

[Krimchee]

Silas stopped and picked up a nice hand sized rock, and hid it behind his back. The rock was cool, and the sandy dirt on it was damp, but gave him a good solid grip. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it. He plucked a silver stag out of his pocket, and palmed it in his left hand. Silas made sure he was behind Rambob.

"You're dam!ned right it's weird, Bob. I don't know why Dad has to be so stingy with the wine. He made us promise not to drink any of it. All for sale. Dan's just worried you'd feel offended if we didn't offer you none, seeing as we got so much in there.

You shouldn't have to lied to Bob, Dan. He'd understand if we didn't offer to share, even if there is a lot. Ain't no need to insult a guy just doin' his sworn duty. " Silas took a step closer. " Pffft....Shads. That's the lamest excuse I ever heard, enna Bob? You prolly heard that one a million times out here.

Let us make it up to ya, Bob. When Bob turned his head toward Silas, Silas flipped the silver stag toward him. "Dad says he'll give us a bonus if we get there and back quickly. We really need to get going tonight if we're gonna make it."

Please, please let him take the coin, Silas thought. The weight of the rock was solid in his hand. Silas was ready to use it if necessary.

Diplomacy and Disguise Dice Roll: Diplomacy 1d20+1 (5)+1 Total = 6 Disguise Dice Roll: 1d20+1 (2)+1 Total = 3

[mountainbound]

"Yeah," Dan agrees with Silas, "Just let us go tonight and we'll have more where that came from when we get back." The young wizard had been studying a new spell from his mother's "hymnal" -- one that could charm a person into becoming your ally. Bob, however, was not so easily duped. Dan could feel the magic energy coat his words, but Rambob's mind was a brick wall against the enchantment.

What's more, with the tension of the situation, Silas couldn't pull off a convincing Geoff to save is life (literally), and Bob recognizes the young fugitive's voice at once. "Wait a minute! Now just wait a minute! I know you -- it's Silas! Silas, you're a wanted man! You're in a heap of trouble, the both of you, and I ain't letting you out these gates."

Excited, he turns to pick up his discarded bow, but the guard bench next to the gate is empty. "Where the hell did I put it!?"

Dan lifts his eyebrows in the dim torchlight near the gate, giving Silas a look like, "What the hell are we going to do? We're toast either way!" As Rambob frantically casts about for his bow, the young wizard's arm reaches into the canoe, fingers closing on his staff...

[Krimchee]

Without even a second thought, Silas cocked his arm and fired the rock at Rambob. The roundish river rock tumbled through the air, bouncing off Rambob's shoulder. Rambob stopped in his tracks, but Silas thought the reaction was more from surprise than pain. Silas ran over to the boat and drew the rapier. "Bob, listen very carefully". Silas stood up as tall as he could and marveled at the steel in his own voice. He took a step toward Rambob, the rapier brandished in his right hand. "I'm going to give two choices. Number 1, I'm going to give you five silver stags to let us through this pass, and to keep your mouth shut. You take the money and I leave town, and you get paid for ridding the town of a murderer. Or, number two, the murderer strikes again and you end up like old man Janson, and neither of us wants that. I never had no beef with you Bob, so just take the money and we'll be on our way. " Silas took another step toward Bob, twirling the rapier casually in his left hand. "Choose wisely Bob. Five stags is a good bit of money for doing nothing."

Ranged attack ranged attack v. Rambob Thrown rock Dice Roll: 1d20+4 (10)+4 Total = 14

Intimidate Intimidate Dice Roll: 1d20+1 (6)+1 Total = 7 ]

Diplomacy Diplomacy Dice Roll: 1d20+1 (5)+1 Total = 6

[mountainbound]

On a less-devout nightwatchman, Silas's ruse might just have succeeded, but when it came to the volunteer force sworn to protect Lehman's Hollow, there was no one more dedicated than Rambob. Bob's eyes widen when the ranger admits to his identity, but the surprise quickly turns to a grim sneer as he rubs his shoulder from where the stone has struck him. "You're a wanted criminal, and it's my duty..." he snarls.

Meanwhile, Dan stands frozen next to the canoe. What to do? Then an idea enters his mind. Earlier today -- which was, by the way, one of the busiest of his young life -- he tried to study a few pages of his deceased mother's book. One of the incantations, not a particularly difficult one, practically jumped off the pages at him. It was one that was supposed to temporarily increase a person's physical strength. Understanding the intent of it, Dan eagerly committed the words of the spell to memory, figuring that it was altogether possible that he would have to be lugging the heavy canoe down to the water all by himself, in the event that Silas didn't show. But something that Dan's mom had scribbled in the margin's of the hymnal returns to him as he watches the exchange between Silas and Bob: "Do not use in close quarters." The wizard didn't give the footnote much thought then, but now... it was worth a shot. Whispering under his breath, Dan's words were barely audible behind the falling of the rain.

Rambob continues, "Save your tough talk, you can't threaten a guard of Lehman's Hollow!" After all Silas was several years Bob's junior, and the guard had the law on his side, even if he still couldn't locate his bow.

But at that moment, just as Silas is relaying option number two, the ranger suddenly begins to grow. By the time he issues the warning, "Choose wisely Bob," Silas is standing NINE feet high, and threatening well over Bob's head.

The zealot guard's resolve suddenly crumbles as he stares up at Silas, who's rapier is now five feet long, dripping with real menace in the dark rain. "OK OK, p-put your sword down" Bob splutters. With a quiet jingle, he unlocks the tall gate and opens it for the two friends.

Action Enlarge Person on Silas for the next 1 min.

[Krimchee]

When Bob turned his back to unlock the gate, Silas looked himself up and down in puzzlement. He looked over his shoulder only to see Dan grinning like a madman, beaming with pride. Silas scowled. What's he up to? Whatever he'd done, it'd worked, no arguing that.

"Get that boat in the water", Silas said to Dan, gesturing with his rapier. Silas blinked at the size of it when he did so. Da@mn moss, he thought. Silas turned his attention back to Bob, pointing his seemingly gi-normous sword at Bob's chest. "If I even hear a whisper about you telling anyone about this, I'm gonna come back for you and hunt you down. Do you understand me Bob? Silas had never really threatened anyone before, and he was kind of surprised at how well it worked. He was worried for Sy and Geoff though, so he needed to make sure Rambob didn't squeal. Talk about getting a big head, he thought as glanced down at his enormous blade. Why's it look so big?

Silas didn't even wait to hear Rambob's blubbering reply. He quickly ran over to get in the boat with Dan. Standing next to the boat, it was then that he finally realized that he really had grown. Looking over at Dan's implacable grin, he now had his suspicions. "What did you do to me? Silas got into the boat with none of his usual grace, nearly tipping it over. Without too much fuss, once he was settled, Silas began to paddle with long, smooth strokes, propelling the overburdened canoe through the gate.

"How long am I gonna be like this Dan?