scotland ♔ yet how the wind revives us here

[untethered]

♬ Presentiment - Manami Kiyota

WHO || Belle, Gold, Emma, Hook, Lila [closed]
WHAT || Several Knights take a secret journey to try to help Amara...
WHERE || Oakhurst, Scotland
WHEN || January 15th, 2014 [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam

It's probably a very good thing that Gold sweet-talked them a car in the nearby tiny Scottish village of Oakhurst, because it is freezing cold out and snow blankets almost everything around. Walking the seven miles up the Old Road to the ruins would be a bitch and a half.

Instead, they comfortably drove past rocky downs, near stands of old-growth oak covered in snow, and past two farms that looked abandoned. No other travelers were visible on the lonely road, which finally curves, passing east of a narrow ravine. Belle signals for them to pull over here, where, at the road's closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jut from the earth where the ravine widens and opens into something akin to more of a deep, but narrow, cavern. Two of the pillars stand straight, but most of them lean against the sloped earth. Others are broken and several have apparently fallen into the darkness-shrouded depths. A few similar pillars are visible on the opposite side of the ravine.

Comments

[unhand]

[Hook's got this, Emma bb. He glances at Lila, though his sense motive crit fail means he has NO CLUE AT ALL what's going on in his head.] You hold onto the goblin. I'm a bit lacking in spare hands. [He goes over to the cage and slips his hook around a bar. He tugs lamely for a moment (crit fail) before finding a ~burst of strength~ (action point) and giving the door a mighty yank (str 19).]

[untethered]

[ hook's burst of strength... isn't even enough, as he rattles the door slightly but it stands firm. the gnome stirs a bit as the kobolds hiss suspiciously at emma, and belle presses past them to hook's side. ] Here, let me try... [ with an actually good roll for once, she manages to pick the lock with a hairpin (disable device 27!!!) and the door clanks open entirely. meanwhile the kobolds have started to protest emma's untying them... until they see meepo in the doorway, who chatters something triumphantly at them, that seems to assuage their suspicions at least. ]

[undealt]

[While they're SAVING THINGS, Gold goes over to help Lila with the goblin. He has more rope if they need it, okay.] Well, now we have a small army and a hostage. I suppose we can call that a victory.

[uncurse]

Hey. Hey, it's okay. [ with a sense motive of 25, emma manages to read the nervous protesting. ] We're here to help. We'll get you out of here.

[untethered]

[ as emma finishes untying them, they move back from her hastily, looking to meepo, who raises one hand triumphantly. ] "Meepo has come to save you! You can return to clan! Path is clear now!"

[ in the meantime, the gnome in the cage rolls over to look up at belle. he has wild hair and wears only basic looking garments, aside from a steel band on his right forearm. ]

Are you alright?

[ the gnome groans and pushes himself up to sitting, by grabbing one of the bars, seeming to size them up and looking satisfied. ] "Lucky thing about being a cleric, lass, is a year of starvation and abuse don't keep a good gnome down when he can heal himself back up every day. Erky Timbers... it seems I'm vastly in your debt."

[unhand]

A cleric? [Hook looks over at Emma. He noticed her saving that healing potion. Maybe with a refreshable source of healing, she'll be a bit more willing to get better.] You may come in handy. [No pun intended.

But even Hook's aware that it's a lot to ask someone to start dolling out healing when they've been in a cage after a year of starvation and abuse. So instead he puts away his sword and pulls out his flask, holding it out to the gnome.]

Here. I imagine you'll be wanting some of this.

[uncurse]

We've got food, too, if that's more your speed. [ she produces a granola bar from inside of her pack, offering the wrapped bar out to him. ] What the hell did you do to wind up stuck in here for a year?

[sternshield]

[ he looks between the flask and the bar... and then reaches out to take both, drinking the rum first. once he's wrestled with the wrapping, and taken a bite, he lets out a content sigh and replies: ] A year past, I was on my way to seek my fortune and thought I'd take a shortcut. My bad luck that the goblin bandits caught me - I've been here ever since if you can believe it.

[bittersweeter]

[ visibly pale and uncharacteristically quiet, lila tries to not look through the door at the cage because it makes her want to be sick. she does, however, mutter at gold: ] I've got this. [ in case he wants to question the gnome with the others. ]

[undealt]

[Gold honestly doesn't care either way, so he's just gonna look around while there's some downtime. (spot 18, search 15)]

[uncurse]

Have they held you in this room all year? [ she glances briefly around at hook and belle before continuing on, trying to keep from coming across as callous but instead inquiring with concern (diplomacy 24). ] We can get you out of here, but there's something we need to get from the goblins first. Is there any chance you saw more of the ruins before the bandits got you?

[sternshield]

They took me up on the road outside this place, so I haven't seen anymore of it than what's between the door and here, no.

But I have heard 'em talk quite a bit. What is it you're lookin' for?

[ gold discovers a silver flask of dwarven make filled with some kind of vile smelling liquor on the goblin who had the key. that's about it though. ]

[undealt]

[DISAPPOINTMENT.

Gold wanders back and shoves the flask at Hook, because it's alcohol, clearly he'll want it.] An apple. The very ones the goblins auction off on the surface every year.

[sternshield]

[ erky nods a few times in recognition ] I've heard the goblins talk about the Twilight Grove down below. There's an evil druid down there name of Belak who tends an enchanted garden and harvests the apples from something the goblins call the Gulthias Tree, but only in the most terrified of whispers.

[unhand]

[Hook takes it but he glares at Gold suspiciously because he feels like it must be poisoned or something like why would Gold just give him things...

But onto the matter at hand.]

I don't suppose they've been talking about dragons as well?

[uncurse]

[ twilight grove down below. so, presumably, all the way down below. emma gives a little roll of her head, shutting her eyes and furrowing her brow in a way that betrays her irritation with how involved this has become. she was hoping it could be an in-and-out, but it's obvious they're going to need to spend a good long while in this dungeon. ]

Great. Something that spooks the dragon-stealing goblins. [ her disparaging tone is unmistakeable, and entirely reflective of how much she cannot believe this is her life. remember when she was catching bail-jumpers ... ]

[sternshield]

Don't think I know anything about a dragon... You think they've gotten their claws on one?

[bittersweeter]

According to our little Meepo they stole one. [ s'up jumanji. ]

[sternshield]

From the kobolds? Makes sense. Might be a recent development and all. [ speaking of the kobolds, the other ones are out in the main room there starting to drag the bodies of the fallen goblins with them back the way the party came from. erky yells after them: ] Hey! [ and presses past them to stop one, which hisses at him but drops the body. he sets to yanking the goblin's filthy armor off its corpse. ] But if it's a dragon you're going to be fighting, I'm a bit underdressed.

[uncurse]

Seriously? [ hook's hand puns and all, she'd honestly assumed it was a big ask and didn't anticipate that this dwarf would actually join them. ] You just spent a year trapped in here, are you sure you don't want to get out while you can? [ and it makes her suspicious bc it's ... emma. he must have some ulterior motive if he's going deeper into the citadel with them instead of leaving. people don't do nice things altruistically. so she'll watch his response carefully (sense motive 25). ]

[sternshield]

[ he lofts a morningstar in his hand that he took off the body, looking at it, and then to her. ] I just spent a year at the mercy of these bastards. [ he looks down at the now naked goblin and spits ] The Sternshields of Gaerdal Ironhand are meant to hone their hammers day in and day out. I may not have a hammer - but I've had 360-odd days free of honing.

Think I plan to remedy that a bit and make them remember the name of the Ironhand, the next time they get any bright ideas over who to abduct.

[ he seems to be completely telling the truth, at least. ]

[unhand]

That healing trick of yours. How often can you use it? [From the way he's looking over at Emma it's clear that he hasn't forgotten how much damage she's taken. And he's fretting.]

[sternshield]

[ erky starts shrugging on the goblin armor ] Just a handful a day. I was a warrior long before I was ever a priest. Still a lot to learn - but it was enough to keep me going from day to day.

[uncurse]

[ wow emma can take a hint ok. she hangs back some while erky gets his armor on, pulling the potion out and shooting hook a Look as she drinks it down (+10 hp). ]

[untethered]

The kobolds are safely on their way back to the clan... But we don't know if other goblin patrols will come this way. [ as in get dressed quickly, gnome-man ]