CH. 1: Haven and Hell

[Haahque]

"Well if this big bully's not going to let me see the new god amulet, we should probably be moving on." Haahqae replies, realizing his efforts are futile he crosses his arms and pouts.

[JadedDM]

"Aye, a most strange old hob," Bear agrees. "Let's move on."

It takes another couple of hours for them to reach the mines. They stay on the road for most of the way, then towards the end Bear leads them off down a trail that leads to the base of the nearby Kharolis Mountains. It's there that the mine and a handful of log cabins are found.

The place seems completely deserted, however. "Everyone took off after the attacks," Bear explains. "This one here is mine," he says, pointing to the cabin closest to the mine entrance. "We can pick up some extra supplies there, if needed."

When they reach the cabin, he unlocks the front door and pushes it open. "Come on in." The cabin has a typical rustic decor, as one might expect. There are stuffed animal heads on the walls, a large (but currently cold) brick fireplace, and even a bear skin rug on the floor. Aside from the main living room and a small pantry, there are only two other rooms. He points to the one on the left and adds, "Storage room. Might find some supplies in there; torches, rope and the like, should you need it."

==============

It is now Eighth Watch.

[Haahque]

"Do you have a coat rack? I've been wearing this for much too long." Haahqae asks, taking off his armour, leaving his top half covered by only his near-polished oak-brown skin. "I hope none of you all mind me going topless, none of my clothes are quite suitable for demon slaying."

Without waiting for a response Haahqae strolls over to the storage room. "Yes torches are nice, and rope could come in handy... Let's see what we've got." And begins browsing the contents of the room.

[Just_Ice]

Although Kynaston intended to grumble about "no-good old senile hobgoblins and their cheap wizard tricks", he instead found himself in complete awe at what the stupid gnome had just done. There weren't really words for why a diminutive man would remove the one thing standing between his body and the nasty claws, teeth or blades of whatever horrors they were to face. Given that line of reasoning, he said nothing, simply standing with his mouth slightly agape.

[NoTrammeling]

"Family of yours?" rasps Coco while stepping into the man's cabin without little hesitance or regard for the filth on her feet. She turns her head this way and that, taking in the room and by extension its owner. Stepping up behind Haahque, she reaches over the gnome to grab one of the torches and curiously sniff at it. The hobgoblin priestess snorts disgustedly, replacing the torch where she found it. "Foul things, of little use beside. Good for shouting our presence and blinding us." She turns and strides out of the cabin towards some of the other 'abandoned' buildings, seeking to find some time to herself and investigate for any clues. She'll try the doors to see if they're locked and peek in any windows she can to see if the evidence backs up Bear's claim.

EDIT: grammar

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra watches Haahqae, much like Kynaston. She shares a look with the warrior that suggests that the gnome is a little on the insane side. "Is it really a good idea to go in there topless?" she asks.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae does a quick inventory of the storage room. It includes two coils of rope (hemp, 50 feet long each), a pair of pick-axes, a hammer and iron spikes, three shovels, a small bird cage (empty; no canary within), a few pieces of chalk, half a score of chisels, three oil lamps, a pulley, a pair of tinderboxes, and a dozen torches.

"Family of yours?" rasps Coco while stepping into the man's cabin without little hesitance or regard for the filth on her feet.

"Nah, this is just me. The other cabins were for the miners and their families, before they ran off or died. Been meaning to find a wife, but then I got distracted with this whole 'demon' nonsense. Not that there were many women to choose from way up here, in the middle of nowhere."

Coroccoco steps outside and starts meandering about, investigating the other cabins. Some are locked, some are boarded up, but a few allow easy access. There isn't much inside of those she looks into; abandoned furniture and other larger objects that were too big to carry. Everything else was gone. Pantries were bare, beds were stripped of their bedding, and a thin layer of dust covered what was left.

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(OOC: Doesn't Haahqae wear a red and gold shirt under his armor? Or is he leaving that behind, too?)

[NoTrammeling]

Coco pauses in the dusty-abandoned shell of one of the further cabins. She stands there allowing her thoughts to drift back to what this place must have been like full of people and their trappings, when she comes to she notices that she'd been scrawling a rudimentary tree through the dust with her claw. She stares at the tree, afraid and disgusted at herself for so many reasons. "Weerschaal, is this a test of my faith?" She demands in the empty air of the empty home.

She glances to the door, listening for the silence that confirms her isolation. Ensuring she is well and truly on her own she retrieves Zivilyn's pendant from her inner sleeve and holds it before her troubled face. Slowly, with her free hand she removes Weerschaal's amulet and weighs the two physically and emotionally. "There is nothing to this pretender's amulet," Coroccoco tells herself but doesn't believe a word. She ducks her head to slip the Old God's symbol about her neck and pulls her grey braided hair over it.

At first she stands unmoving, tense, then suddenly she gasps and throws a hand to her forehead. Doubling-over the Coco leans against a wall for support. She passes several long minutes like that before she straightens, and, swallowing hard, she tucks Weerschaal's Symbol into one of her pockets stepping into the open air.

[Haahque]

(OOC: Haahqae usually wears the red+gold shirt over his armour, but he didn't put on the shirt today. It'll still be tucked away safely in his backpack. Note2: If I drop the armour here I become unencumbered. so my speed will increase to 6.)

"Yes of course it's a good idea. The armour's there to scare off bandits, if it actually comes to combat all it does is slow me down and get in the way. Now lets see. We have a couple of spools of rope and a pulley here, I don't have room in my pack but I'm sure these could be useful if someone else can carry them." Haahqae takes a piece of chalk and stuffs it into his backpack.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae removes his armor, revealing he wasn't wearing anything underneath which must have been terribly uncomfortable for him, but he doesn't seem to mind. Although, as it is currently mid-autumn, it is fairly cold (around 54 degrees F/12 degrees C), and an involuntary shudder works down his spine as a result.

"There may be some hardtack still in the pantry," Bear says. "And there's a well outside, if you want to fill your skins. Did you lot want me to accompany you, as well? I'm no slouch in battle, but I'll want a cut of anything we find."

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Haahqae is no longer encumbered; his movement rate increases to 6. He adds a piece of chalk to his inventory.

(OOC: It'll be colder in the mines--around 40 degrees, but that's not low enough to cause him any penalties while shirtless.)

[Haahque]

Making his way over to the pantry Haahqae restocks a like amount of food to that which he shared with others for lunch.

"Why yes, the more swords we have the merrier. What fun is it sitting around here all alone while all the heroic deeds are being done less then a stone's throw away? Stories of valor mean so much more when you were there to witness them yourself."

[mgbevan]

Gregeddin enters the store room once Coco had vacated the space. Picking up a torch and glancing around he comments "What was wrong with these? They seem fine enough..." As he puts the torch down his eyebrows raise at one of the tinder boxes. "Ah this however... no worries on a rainy day" he exclaims as he checks the innards of the box.

Coming back into the main room, he asks Darga "Is it light enough to gather anything? I'm going to have a look at this well"

The thin air, or perhaps just the thirst made his chest feel tight. Dropping his bag up against a wall he stretches out his back and legs, with the assistance of the wall for some added leverage. Actually, after the movement and deep breaths, he twigged his mouth was awfully clammy. Shame there's nothing stronger around...

[Just_Ice]

Finally over the fact that the gnome is without armour (although still a little confused that it was ornamental in the first place), Kynaston rallies himself to do what's needed.

"Torches are a good idea, whether sleepyhead," he mentions, thumbing towards the scaly one, "Thinks so or not. Most of us can't see in pitch blackness. I'm going to fill my waterskins; anyone else got anything they need filled?"

[HorizonsDream]

"Yeah," Kendra says, tossing over her wineskin to Kynaston. She walks over to where all of the miners stuff is stored, and picks up one of the oil lamps.

[djhyland]

Darga puts his pack down in the corner of the storeroom and looks about. Nothing catches his eye, so he sits to unpack for the evening.

At Gregeddin's question, Darga looks up. "Well, it's gonna be harder findin' berries and plants ta eat, but that don't mean we won't find any. We can set some snares, an' if that stream is big enough, mebbe there's some fish to be caught." Pushing himself back to his feet, he picks a few things out of his pack. "No time to start like now, though."

(OOC:Darga will take Gregeddin out into the woods surrounding the cabin and show him the best places to forage for plants, how to set snares for small animals, how to fish, and the like.

Survival--Forest (12): 19
Set Snares (11): 12

It looks like Darga's unsuccessful in finding food for the evening, and that Gregeddin doesn't get much education...)