Chapter 00: Northbound on Riverfork Trail

[amosias]

Night is falling, and the entrance to the cave of Logbrag is finally in sight. The well-worn Riverfork trail betrays a rough track leading east into the hills up to the mouth of the cave. Twisted trees and dying shrubbery invade the stone-and-gravel track, and for the last mile only the sound of the wind howling from west has caught your ears -- no animal life has made itself heard, not even the crickets that bedeviled your sleep when you first set out from Luln.

[OOC: This is the prologue, where you can introduce your characters by having them talk or do something as you make your way to the entrance of the cave. Strategies and questions can be made in character or out-of-character here as we try to fine-tune the handling of the game turns. As much as possible I will try to respond in the narrative, but occasionally I will respond using this "OOC" style of posting, or -- if necessary -- via Private Message.]

[Rolf]

[My character spends a fair amount of time speaking to each other party member, trying to get to know them better and (hopefully) leaving a good impression of himself...not that he has the charisma for it...but hopefully lightening the otherwise grim atmosphere...]

[ysigne]

Gregor watches Boris move on, making sure to keep the smile on his face till the... foreigner was deep in conversation with someone else. The fighter seems a nice enough fellow, but Gregor Haldene, cleric of the Empyrean Flame, is interested only on the mission. Finally, after years of training, he is about to have the chance to fulfill his calling: the destruction of evil. To kill.

[amosias]

Boris moves further ahead, away from Gregor, to speak with their party's guide: "Red" Dougal, a tall and lithe scout from Luln. Her fiery-colored tresses flutter in the cold breeze.

"He's lit his fire", she says, pointing to the light flaring and flickering inside the mouth the cave far up the hill.

[amosias]

Gregor's keen eyes catch one of the other members of the party, Hagar the Unclean, speed up his pace to pass you and walk nearer to the front-most cluster of your band.

The Unclean, you think to yourself. And yet the axe-wielding warrior's hygiene is no worse than the others.

And then Gregor's eyes narrow a half-forgotten snatch of conversation between your mentor and his friend, a Traladaran priest named Veldan, comes to you: "in the past, penitents touched by the taint were called unclean -- but none now have the sight to see it..."

[maskmanjoe]

"There is a strange smell in this air..." Eren said half-directed to Red, who was walking slightly ahead of him. He didn't wait for the guide to look back at him. He peered at the trees as he passed them by, trying to see through the dim forest. "Fetid." he added in a soft but monotone voice. But the monotone betrayed an air of disgust. A disgust not of the sight of rotting flesh or of bogs and swamps or anything normally thought of as foul. Eren has been through all of that. No, this is the type of disgust that nobles show when not among his fellow nobilities. He glances at the dried brambles and  dead shrubs by the path, and tries to remember why he is on this road. The quest. His duty.

He tries to focus on that as their destination comes to view. He notices the lit fire. Of all places, why does it have to be a cave. Eren sighed. "I hate caves."

[amosias]

[The group that traveled to this place is composed of both NPCs and PCs. On a meta-game level, this is the point where I split up the party into two groups: one of mostly PCs and one of mostly NPCs.]


Red nods at the words of Eren. "So do I," she says. "Especially those that carry the stench of evil."

Hagar the Unclean leans in to her and whispers, then points to various points in the twisted forest. His voice is raised slightly, and in a sudden lull of the wind you hear the words "mists" and "taint", but Red Dougal silences him with a stern shake of her head.

She turns to address the rest of the party. "Everyone, we have to secure the road -- our way back out. I need volunteers to scout out the mouth entrance and perhaps handle a brief skirmish with the ogre and lure him out onto the road where we can all strike at him. Any takers?"

[Rolf]

Engaged in conversation with the thief, Boris' ears pricked up at the words "volunteer", brief", and "skirmish", although somehow the word "ogre" escaped him.  He turned swiftly to the guide, a mighty breath filling his expansive chest.  "Ho, there!  I shall go!" he declared boldly. 

Some might have found him wanting in a few of the noble virtues - all right, six out of seven - but courage was not one of them.  Grinning broadly, and not without a certain oafish charm, he hefted his scrupulously polished sword and shield and struck an appropriately dramatic pose, almost incongruous in the gloom.

[vladsee]

Hagar tries hard not to mind the talk of taint and "unclean" but it still bothers him.  He had gotten into trouble before with regards to this moniker, which displeases him to no end.  Living a hard life, his personality is rough and crude.  The sight of people whispering and looking at him would earn Hagar's undivided attention and possible wrath.  He has tried to keep a low profile and control his temper.  His words are kept short and to the bare necessecity.  He has learned to channel his raw emotions to fighting and has earned a small living off it doing mercenary work.             
Hagar prefers working alone but the rewards promised to him in this mission were substantial enough.   
                   
"Suit yourself." remarked Hagar coldly as Red Dougal shook her head. 

"You'll be needing a fighting man.  Thats what I came here to do. " states Hagar as he volunteers for the skirmish. 

[amosias]

Red Dougal nods gratefully at Boris and Hagar and says, "Thank you, both of you. Anyone else?"

"Red," says Arriana Ferris -- the chainmail-clad shieldmaiden -- with her trademark smirk. "Let's split up -- men on one team, women on the other!"

Her twin, Amethyst, a cleric of the Church of Thyatia laughs in agreement.

[maskmanjoe]

"I do not understand." Eren interjected, again, monotonous. "Since when did gender become a means of dividing a group?"

[amosias]

"It shouldn't be," barks Merrik, as he pulls his thick hooded robe about him. "I would prefer to stay out here."

His eyes flick briefly at Hagar, then he adds, "In any case, I have trouble with enclosed spaces and prefer to attack at range."

"Then why did you join us, Master Merrik?" says Red Dougal a little testily.  "Our mission was to assault a cave and its -- enough. I'll decide. In addition to our volunteers -- Boris and Hagar, the cave scout team will include...

"Eren, who is familiar enough with this area to lead them home should we get separated...

"Ursula Moonthorn, a mage who has little issue with enclosed spaces...

"Yuri, I mean Presto Link, another mage who -- surprise -- also has no issue with enclosed spaces...

"Blackjack, already a scout familiar with these hills...

"... and of course Adept Gregor of the Church of Thyatia, who brought this matter to our attention. Everyone else, with me."

Red nods to Boris, Hagar, and Eren before moving away to the base of the hill.

[zhenxiao]

Blackjack gives a small sigh of exasperation, muttering to himself, "I was sure 'volunteer' meant you made the decision....'"  Giving another sigh, double checking his gear, he starts to follow Red and the big fighters.

"well," he thought, "at least I can stay close to those guys." 

[Popit]

"This does not bode well" Presto Link thinks to himself.  What an odd group one must surround oneself.  "Ogres and caves...I suppose it couldn't possibly get any worse" he thinks out loud as he follows as far behind the rest of the group heading towards the cave mouth.

[Rolf]

"So then."   At the head of the group, Boris suddenly stopped.  "Do we have plan for this skirmish?  Or - how do they say it - first come, first served?"