The large grog lets out a sigh of relief. And finally understands vibria's distress. And after all, money = food.
Ah, that's... That's bad. Who would deprive andorra's mighy wizards and warriors of their surely-earned coin? What manner of dire culprit would be so wicked as to rob us of what we earned through our trials and labors? I hear your distress, fair maiden, and I approve of it. Whoever dared to steal from us shall be punished!
Antoni is too taken by indignation to react in time to Joaquim's flight.
He looks at Maria
Have no fear, poor woman! For behold, the Heroes of Andorra have arrived, under the banner of dashing Arnau, and counting among their ranks none other that your truly, the mighty Antoni! Rest assured, your troubles are at an end, for none can resist our might and magic!
(BTW, just stated him, based on the almogavar template.)
Maria Meritxell smiles at Antoni, and he feels filled with courage and determination. "Then go, champion! Save these people from this dragon once and for all. Please take this token of my favor, that you bay be blessed with good luck and God's good grace."
She hands you a blue silk handkerchief.
Anyone in hearing range (or hearing about this exchange) can have understanding if they make an Andorra Area Lore simple die roll of 3+, or a Divine Lore simple die roll of 6+. To save on time and waiting on postings, I will give you the answer and trust that you not use said information unless you made your roll.
This is a Holy apparition of Saint Meritxell, the patron saint of Andorra. Meritxell is also a female name in the Catalan tongue, and name of a village somewhere in an adjacent parish, where her shrine is located. That's all the information wikipedia offers. So I am fabricating further details
And note that I picked a "Mary" archetype of saint, esteemed by both Christians and by Muslims. But more especially by Christians, and even more especially by Latin Christians.
Juaquim's tiebreaker and defense rolls are 1d10=2, 1d10=6
He looses Initiative and his Defense is 7.
It plays out like this. Tes moment, Joaquim turns to run, an unknown voice shouts "stop him!", Anau goes to trip/gab him and he leas over the stick and slips his grasp. This slows him down enough for Selim to grab his arm forcefully.
Joaquim drops his weight, Selim can hold him up or let him fall to his knees. He bursts into tears.
You don't understand! He has ruled us for generations and he has my daughter!
(Arnau is Lame, so he has a malus to init attk and def. Think of Doctor House with a longsword: a true bastard, but not the fastest one around. His load also detracts from initiative)
Arnau positions himself behind the man and ensures he remains down by grabbing him by the shoulder.
"Be quiet you. Mistress vibria will want to hear your story. She is your true master and not that wyrm, so careful abot what you say."
While his men run up to their position to take charge of Joaquim he studies the hawt maga as she approached. A truly magnificent sight.
Vibria smiles at Maria. [color=red]"I'll do my best."
Vibria has neither Area Lore: Andorra nor Divine Lore. She does , however, have Area Lore: Calbinyà, which is only about 9 miles/15 km as the dragon flies from the covenant, if that helps. If so, Int 1 + Area Lore 2 + die roll of 8 = 11, or 12 if her Specialty of "Local Legends" applies.
Um. Well...I guess she didn't need Initiative after all.
She walks over to where Joaquin kneels and drops to one knee in front of him, looking directly at him.
[color=red]"Joaquin, listen to me. I know that Salaak has enslaved your people and holds your daughter hostage. The magi of Andorra, and especially I, Vibria Flambonis ex Draconis, will not stand for this, and we will see your people freed, your daughter restored to you, and Salaak done for. I swear by my flame and my sword. Now, go. Prepare your daughter's place at your table."
She then looks around at the others. [color=red]"I am going to return to Andorra and arm myself for battle. I will be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail. Who will join me when we slay yet another salt wyrm?"
edit: Just for kicks, let's do a Leadership roll to see if she can rally the villagers: Pre 1 + Leadership 2 + die roll of 7 = 10.
Vibria identifies the woman as a Saint, but not right away. It clicks in her head later on. That is the effect of similar yet different lore in this instance.
And the leadership roll results are meager. A roll of 12+ (if you spend a Confidence point) would achieve the results you are after.
Presuming you are taking the Maurics McGuffin express, you will get back in about ten minutes. Your cuz can spend fatigue to increase his flight speed. And he will have a conversation with you en route, details of which I will get to tomorrow night. Meanwhile, I suppose it is up to Arnau and Selim to rally and organize the villagers.
Let's burn the Confidence. She hasn't spent nearly enough yet, and I'd hate to waste a perfectly good speech on "meager" results.
Flying Air Maurice was my assumption. Fly home, armour up in the Armor Draco with the spiffy helm, and whatever she has for a shield and sword, then scoot back.
You do realize that this give the enemy time to prepare a reaction. Maybe this is not the best idea? Maybe you should seize the initiative and take advantage of relative surprise?
Selim draws his sword and raises it above his head, ready to rush into battle. Sure, fighting a salt wyrm is probably dangerous, but Vibria is hawt, so Selim sees that as reason enough
No bulletproof nudity
But her rousing speech and wise decision to seize the initiative will inspire a point of Confidence in Selim and Arnau. Antoni, the handkerchief that the saint gave you (shes gone now), it grants you a temporary point of Faith.
Ans the wise decision pays off. Roger, the ghost grog and companion to Javier, he materializes next to Vibria. He has second Sight, and has manifested to inform her that a number of villagers newly joining the crowd are wearing some sort of illusion disguise. And a cloak. The cloak is real, the disguise is to appear human, when really they are goblin assassins infiltrating the crowd making their way towards Arnau and Selim.
I had asked you this directly several pages back and you shushed me up so you and Arnau could hash out your differences without my interference. I recall, I specifically asked "do either of you guys have Second Sight?" because I wanted to know if you could see Roger the Ghost Grog tagging along with Javier.
But regardless, gimme a Second Sight roll and I will let you know what you see.
Arnau does not have second sight unless he is using his helm or a pendant, so he can only react to warnings and suspicious behaviors. I thought we were going out of the village, though: can you define our position regarding the village/villagers? Thx
Arnau is currently armed with his cane and Talladora (still sheathed), his longsword and is wearing Aegis of Faith, his excellent quality chain hauberk. However, seein that there is likely to be action in brief he curses under his breath. He would prefer to be fully armored if they are going after a wyrm. And have a few Brothers more with him, for that matter.
Berenguer! Mou el teu cul gandul fins al Número 23 i porta'm l'escut! I armeu-vos! sembla que hem d'ajudar la mestressa Vibria per caçar un llangardaix!.
Berenguer! Move your lazy ass to Number 23 and bring me my shield! And arm yourselves men! It seems we have to help Mistress Vibria to hunt a lizzard!
He laughs. The thrill of the hunt is on! Berenguer and Jordi scramble to the horses to pick up their shields and weapons. they are not so keen as their leader to engage a wyrm, but are experienced and know that they need to be ready for anything form that point onwards.
This is what happens. It is a small village, so the center of town is virtually the edge of town
Joaquim is knocked down, Vibria gives a rousing speech, thinks about fetching her armor and thinks wiser of it. Roger spots the disguised goblins and tells Vibria.
Selim also spots them. S this is how it goes down. They loose the element of surprise. Selim will be able to surprise them, for they will not know their disguise has been penetrated until he has a chance to take action. And before they can make a move, someone will shout to look out for the new guys wearing cloaks.
There is about a dozen of them encircling Selim and Arnau nonchalantly, thinking they are unnoticed.
Selim, sword already drawn after Vibria's rousing speech, will spin around gracefully and slash his sword at the nearest goblin while shouting, "Goblins! The ones with cloaks are goblins!"
(Marko, can you roll for me, since I'm at work? His relevant stats are:
Damascene Steel Long Sword: Initiative +4, Attack +11, Defense +8, Damage +6)
