(Hello! Break the pinglist? :?)

Evening
--
Skywhisper shudders. "Or we'll become something swept under the floorboards. Let's not think about it then."

He then chirrups slyly. "Yes, indeed. No secrets a little blackmail material won't solve."

He fluffs his feathers, looking conflicted. His resolve falters. "Oh, you know fine well I can't say no to a good mystery. Any longer and the trail might go cold, and we might not find something like this again..." he trails off. "Gaining favours with a mysterious vigilante clan, maybe saving Thunderhoof's life, not to mention the adventure... the rewards are high. So are the risks. On the other paw, we've not got any serious ties, and we can always make a tactical retreat at any time if things look like they're going south. It all depends on whether we can make sure the egg is safe..."

He clacks his beak, bobbing his head at you. "It's your call. In either case, I'm with you all the way."

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=74910&page=237#2370 Author: Falconetti Time Posted: 4/26/2022 at 4:18 PM Evening -- Crimson nods, tail wagging as she looks down into the cavern. You can tell she is slightly anxious, but she's putting on a brave face. Aegis is a shadow amongst shadows. You're half sure you see something amongst the sparse brush on the chasm floor at one point, but you aren't certain. The night wanes on and you still can't see either dwarf. You watch as the clan rises to gather around the one unarmoured orc you noticed earlier. Whatever power he holds over the orc warband with his soft-spoken demeanour and unintimidating appearance eludes you, but they look ready to head off. The waiting becomes painful. Then, Murva makes her entrance. Swinging a torch over her head and waving her axe, she shouts a vicious taunt at the warband, seizing their attention immediately. The seven armed orcs make their charge heartbeats later. Dismayingly, all four goblins and the mysterious orc remain as the latter barks orders to stop. Crimson puffs up her chest and coughs up a small lick of flame onto the coated arrow, catching it alight.

Asteria mutters quietly under her breath. Calmly she loads the arrow into her bow and sights in on one of the goblins. She makes sure not to rush her shot while trying to avoid any problems. After sighting in on the goblin as best she can Asteria releases the arrow from the bow. She hopes it hits one of the goblins or the orcs or at least makes enough of a distraction to give Aegis a chance.
"Come on Crimson we need to move and shoot again," Asteria moves slightly away from the position so as not to be seen.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=74910&page=237#2369 Author: Falconetti Time Posted: 4/26/2022 at 3:56 PM Evening -- Newt's moment of self-reproach fades away, replaced with a steadily more irritated expression as you carry on. It's clear he has a sharp retort on his lips, though instead of voicing it he manages to hold his tongue and reassert his composure. "All I know of Renalt was that he was a controversial voice in the council and wasn't well liked by the other members. Where they believed the Southern Clans should be delicately handled and diplomacy still possible, Renalt took an aggressive position, claiming a great threat rested in the south and that we should make the first strike before it was too late." Newt looks off into the distance as he recalls old memories as like quotes from the many books he used to read cover to cover. "He was a very discreet man. I never would have suspected he truly had plots to hide until... well, you know." "You can rest once you're happy you have enough information to impersonate this wretch," Felicia scowls. "The prisoner escort heads to Elvenor tomorrow morning at first light. I'll fetch you from here then."

"Lovely. The ultimate bonding excercise: jail cell confessionals." Nicote deadpans sarcastically, before getting serious. "Thanks for- well, whatever this is. And if you don't mind, if you're able to do you mind sending word to my companions that I am not in fact dead in a ditch? My familiar is tempermental, and I wouldn't put it past my companions to try to repay the favor- if they protest, just tell them to give me the night." He'd like to not add more issues to his pile of problems at the moment, much as he tolerates his companions.

He then turns to Newt, a little glint in his eyes. "So, are you still into reading those great thick philosophy books full of quotes? If we're gonna do this I'm gonna need to know if I need to drop quotes into my convincing or not." He gets himself comfortably(ish) situated as close as he dares to his brother- which admittedbly isn't very close but at least it's not a pile of snow so he'll take it.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=74910&page=235#2346 Author: Falconetti Time Posted: 1/29/2022 at 8:15 AM Morning -- "Just grab that ladder over there," she points, "the box of nails and the hammer. When you're ready, I'll feed the chain of decorations up to you and you can secure them on the eaves. Easy! Just don't fall and you'll be fine." You can skip time until the job is finished if you wish.

(<ghost noises> Sorry for completely forgetting to respond to this. <drowns in existential dread>)

Pike scampers to the ladder, grabs it, sets it up, and then grabs the rest of the tools before he climbs up. He doesn't hesitate to do as told and tries to do his best, of course.

Time skip preferred, thank you.

Evening
--
You've had plenty of time to prepare. Your arrow hits its mark, and one of the four remaining goblins is struck by the flaming arrow. Combat skillcheck successful.

As you move, you can't see for definite what the results of your shot were, but you can hear a commotion start up from the camp as the goblin shrieks. Then you're at your next position, peering over the cavern's lip. At first it seems as though the remaining members at the camp have abandoned the chained thralls by the campfire, but then you see the shadow of the smaller orc from the darkness of the mine entrance.

Aegis takes his chance. You see him appear out of the gloom behind the prisoners, then hear a metallic clash as he severs the chains which bind the first one. The centaur doesn't need encouragement, galloping up the chasm.

In response, the three remaining uninjured goblins surge from the cavern entrance, raising makeshift shields of discarded wood and pan-lids over their heads. They don't offer ideal coverage, but make a shot harder to pull off. The orc however does not emerge, content on sending his footsoldiers against Aegis.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=74910&page=238#2376 Author: Falconetti Time Posted: 6/17/2022 at 11:18 AM Evening -- You've had plenty of time to prepare. Your arrow hits its mark, and one of the four remaining goblins is struck by the flaming arrow. Combat skillcheck successful. As you move, you can't see for definite what the results of your shot were, but you can hear a commotion start up from the camp as the goblin shrieks. Then you're at your next position, peering over the cavern's lip. At first it seems as though the remaining members at the camp have abandoned the chained thralls by the campfire, but then you see the shadow of the smaller orc from the darkness of the mine entrance. Aegis takes his chance. You see him appear out of the gloom behind the prisoners, then hear a metallic clash as he severs the chains which bind the first one. The centaur doesn't need encouragement, galloping up the chasm. In response, the three remaining uninjured goblins surge from the cavern entrance, raising makeshift shields of discarded wood and pan-lids over their heads. They don't offer ideal coverage, but make a shot harder to pull off. The orc however does not emerge, content on sending his footsoldiers against Aegis.

(Wooden shields against fire not very smart.)


Grabbing another unlit pine resin arrow, she holds it out to Crimson.
"Can you please light this," Asteria asks.
She knows that Crimson is putting on a brave face for her and appreciates it. Focusing her energy on the goblins and orc Asteria knows that she has to rely on her years of training as a ranger to be able to get everyone out of this situation in one piece. Right now, she knew that the biggest threat was the goblins that were going after Aegis and those were the first targets she must take out. Remembering what she did with the Onyx Moon clan camp Asteria asks the wind to protect Aegis and the prisoners.

Evening
--
Felicia snorts, amused. "Alright, don't push it. This is necessary, that's all. I'll seek them out, but it might help if you have anything more convincing I can tell them so that there aren't any misunderstandings."

Newt scoffs. "Brother, I can't just teach you the entirety of Elven classical literature overnight." He sighs. "You know, I didn't exactly picture this in any vague notion of the rare event in which you might ask me about what I do. A dingy cell, fugitives to our own people... but I suppose that's all irrelevant now."

He clasps his hands together. "Okay. Yes. I am known to quote poignant lines from Elven works. But, sadly enough, it became apparent to me that very few of those in my audience actually understood them. You could probably make up any old nonsense and they would believe it was from some ancient nondescript novel or somesuch. Just be sure to make up an author and a title for what it's from and no-one will bat an eyelid.

"What the catch will be is your ability to recognise people I should already know. That courtroom will be full of elves waiting to pounce should you show any sign of weakness." His hands tremble slightly and he gives a weak grimace. "Which I... well, though I detest your methods, I appreciate the fact I am unsuited to the role of standing up for myself in front of a crowd of bloodthirsty councilmen."

(oof, don't worry though. My powers of leaving updating to your new username to another day trump your ability to change it frequently xD)

Evening
--
"She is incredibly shifty. Something is bound to come up. Where there's smoke, there's fire, right?"

Skywhisper mulls it over, tapping a claw against his beak. Eventually: "Okay. The plan is sound. So tomorrow we begin our subtle investigation, keep to the sidelines, and go for a strategy of looking and listening while avoiding making waves. The egg comes first after all." He taps the box thoughtfully. "Although at the end of the day, I would hate to leave this without finding out what's inside and whether its owner needs help."

He yawns. "Tell you what, that barrow business has me exhausted. Any more matters of business to discuss?"

(cue the 5 day montage lmao plz dont sue me)

(No worries, I'm hardly a rolemodel for consistent responses eheheh... I'll work on it. Glad to see you're sticking around though)

Midday
--
You skip to the end of the job

You're hard pressed to get the decorations up as quickly as possible, up and down the ladder, having to reach a little further than was really safe. It's all a bit too hectic of a start to your morning for you to handle well, though your enthusiasm gets you through it. You are now exhausted. A good night's rest will remove this effect.

From doing a morning's honest work, you have gained +1 Stamina

When the orc returns from speaking to the owner of the house, heavy gold purse in hand, the effort is rewarded.

"Here you go, halfers as promised. This is one of my best jobs yet. Here's 20 gold coins straight in the hand."

Small Gold Pouch containing 20G added to inventory