Making second lunch…
Oh grief. So young hobbit Elfstan is walking around with two or more relics of the Major battles of Middle Earth.
I really hope he only has to put one of them into action.
Having finished looking over the Orcs, I am going to give Elfstan a hand making some snacks and find out what else he has besides…
Admiring Elfstan’s other remarkable possession: "Certainly, were you able to offer this for sale to any exceedingly rich dwarf who was in a position to pay a fair price for it, you would be able to buy every rod of arable or grazing land in the Shire, every dwelling, barn, or workshop, every head of livestock and every tool, fixture, fitting and consumable. On the other hand, I doubt that even the Lord of the Glittering Caves himself, with all the newly-won wealth of Aglarond at his disposal, has such a sum to spare.
“You do well to keep it hidden, for though it would be foolish indeed to steal such a famous treasure, there be fools assuredly that might think more of their lust to possess it than of the consequences: the hand of every honest man from Gondor to the Blue Mountains raised against them, and the wrath of the King for the insult to his dear friend, and of every dwarf for the offence to the memory of Thorin - for who in these latter days has dealt out such a precious item, and let the giving of the gift stand even when he was angry with the recipient? I for one shall speak no more of it, but I shall treasure this day in my heart.”
And as to the wounded prisoner: “There will be no ill-treatment of this unfortunate, Lady. He shall have the King’s justice - and if he loosen his tongue when he can speak, he shall have my best plea for the King’s mercy besides.”
We shall tell him that we have lately made compact with some of his kind who, having no desire to be snaga in a war not of their choosing, were suffered to return to their own place; and the better he cooperates, the better his prospects for similar good fortune on his own account.
Renee says, “Then I shall call upon the Lady to help this one.”
Riglo cuts in, “This is no Snaga, this is a leader with well above average equipment. I would even say exceptional. Think wisely before you offer him his life.”
I also don’t like the idea of guaranteeing an orc’s life. Ghan, is their anything you can do to heal him without us having to use Renee’s spells?
Thoroncir says nothing but keeps a watchful eye on the orc, his sword at the ready. From time to time his fingers trail down to the short white scarf tied to his scabbard.
I leave first thing tomorrow for an out-of-town trip with my family. I doubt I’ll have Internet access. Malacandra or glee, please play Thoroncir for me, consistent with what I’ve done thus far. I should be back online late on June 23; sooner, if I can. Thanks!
While the party deals with the orc, Deor will send Folca up above to keep an eye out for any more interlopers. The party’s healers have their work quite under control, and the rest have their hands full with that orc. He’s unable to avoid sneaking glances at Elfstan’s sword and armor, but a little too shy to bring it up. Still, he’s impressed by Elfstan’s bravado in firing his sling at the charging orcs, and suspects that this hobbit in his irresponsible tweens might make a good friend within this group of older (and to his rural sensibilities, much grander) adventurers.
Use a Detect Magic to go over the orcs’ belongings. It’s a long shot, but worth it.
Before the rain sweeps in, make a point of filling the new tinderbox with some good dry wood.
Deor grins with false confidence at Elfstan. “That was a nice shot! You’ll have to show me how that’s done sometime later, if you’re not too busy ‘dropping eaves.’”
Once Brin’s in good enough shape to answer the question (and done teasing Thoroncir), Deor’s got a question:
“Brin, would you like your new friend made Invisible? Maybe not now, but in future? I can imagine few better infiltrators of buildings or caves than an invisible polecat.”
Spells loaded today (and everyday, at least until I can post again regularly)
2: Invisibility, Web
1: Sleep, Magic Missile, Detect Magic (if you’ll forgive me the retroactive choice!), Shield (otherwise)
C: Bee, Tie, Smokepuff, Firefinger, Warm, Distract, Change
Thanks for bearing with me, everyone- I’ll still be in erratically for a few weeks. If you need something made [color=blue]Invisible or any other magical help, consider it done.[/color]
Deor discovers the leader’s Chain mail and bow are magic.
DM, does Miron know of any common plants that could be processed to produce a strong stain or dye? I’m thinking it might be helpful if he dyed his paralyzing arrows a different color than his kill-y arrows, so the party could tell in a pinch who he was trying to keep alive.
With a suitable guard or two, Ghân can use Goodberries on the injured orc and (using Gil-Gandel’s bargaining offer of mercy) ask him:
- does he belong to a nearby tribe?
- if so, where are they and how many are they?
- has he seen a mysterious flying creature?
- what other dangers are there around here?
Ghân will ask Rigolo if such information is not worthy of reward.
Surely the previous slaughter of many orcs lured out of their caves shows the potential value of this approach.
Ghân explains to the party that he only loads Plant Growth on non-combat days, but that he does have seeds and a way of keeping new seeds + plants fresh.
Ghân can also have cast the Detect Magic to allow Deor to keep his Shield.
**Miron ** knows that many berries could easily stain the shafts of the arrows sufficiently.
Ghân you cannot get the unconscious orc to consume the Goodberries . He is fading fast at this point and nearly expired.
We will say Deor asked Ghân to use the [COLOR=Blue]Detect Magic and that Deor has Shield loaded. [/COLOR]
Ghân will cast Cure Light Wounds then on the orc.
The Orc is healed for 3 points and still unconscious.
Ghân will cast Cure Light Wounds again on the orc.
(If any of our party are injured, Ghân has Goodberries.)
If Miron can effectively render first aid without using up any of his herbs, he’s happy to do so.
The orc is now stable and breathing normally with the second curelight.
Riglo looks somewhat disgusted. I suspect a certain dwarf might share the feeling.
The orc is refusing to cooperate and struggles to break his bonds.
Brin’s magic arrow did survive.
If the orc refuses to acknowledge our healing and offer of mercy, then Ghân is very depressed.
Ghân asks Gil-Gandel to take over, since the orc will not co-operate.
“Friend Ghan, how…fragile,is his current condition? I can make him co-operate, but only if he is in good enough health, and with your and the rest of the parties permission.”
The orc has between 1 and 2 HP at this point. He is still in very poor shape.
“I’m uncomfortable, standing here with nothing to do,” Miron whispers to whomever’s closest, “I’m going to check the perimeter: I’ll circle back every ten minutes, but if you have need of me you can just blow one of the signal whistles.”
If nobody objects, Miron will double-check Riglo’s bindings and move to conceal himself nearby, stealthily circling the camp in increasingly large circles and looking for tracks, signs of enemies, and generally anything suspicious or out of place.
Where is Swift Wing right now? I mentioned sending him to do a quick circle right after the battle ended… has he been missing since then?