Chapter 2: The Land of Sulan

[Woe]

"Well done" says Kanya. "Perhaps he has knowledge that we can use to our advantage before we take on these ogres."

Excellent! Maju has just taken his first steps down the dark side!

[quozl]

"Jaali, how about you sneak inside while I go around behind the 2 men?"

(I'm meaning behind the door they are near. If I hear any disturbance from inside, I'll go through the door and attack.)

[mTeasdale]

Jaali looks at Yuan-Cheng and nods in agreement.

[Woe]

Kanya looks at Maju expectantly. "Any changes to the plan, or do we continue on?"

Maybe LoudMan has ideas for us to get closer without being caught, or a different plan, or a secret route, or that the half-ogres are union workers and all take their first break at 11:00am...

[MevlyTM]

Kanya looks at Maju expectantly. "Any changes to the plan, or do we continue on?"

Maju says to Akuli, "We would like to observe the situation near the temple before making our presence known. Is there a good hiding spot we can use to observe the temple and its surroundings without us being seen by the ogres or evil skull warriors?"

[Longman]

save point - just in case Jaali doesn't actually know what he was agreeing with.

The monk sneaks up to the front of the building, and his movements are heard by one of the men inside. The man comes outside and looks around. Yuan-Cheng attempts to hide. He succeeds narrowly, ducking underneath the raised wooden floor of the building. He is now down the front right corner of the building.

This actually works out well for Jaali, as the guards down the front are distracted by the monk;s noise,. He sneaks inside the rear of the building. He is not seen. He approaches the chest and opens it.

There are a great many very old scroll inside - 15 or more. They are hundreds of years old in his estimation and in a language he does not initially recognise. The map could be in there somewhere. He would have to keep searching. What dies he do?

Meanwhile, Akuli replies: er...no, I think you are going to be pretty noticeable. My advice, if you want to deal with these ogres, is to just walk down the main road south of the chief's house, quickly and confidently, and then take them by surprise. No one is really keeping an eye out. There's no way you could stay hidden, really. The village is too open and there are too many people about.

Indeed, you can see more people up ahead, going about their business. No skull warriors seen, just ordinary villagers.

[Woe]

"Excellent. All this skulking around befits me poorly." She looks at her garb, Maju's garb, and then the villagers' garb. "Perhaps a quick disguise would be in order though. We should don some of these threadbare cloaks, straw-brimmed hats, and a dull look in our eyes before we go further."

Longman, would that be possible or does Kanya's banded mail add too much bulk to hide?

And come to think of it, why aren't we using invisibility?! We should have had Fhajah buff us before we left. Grr...

[mTeasdale]

Jaali will take all the scrolls and put them in his bag, even if Teruk advised him to take only the map. He doesn't want to lose any precious seconds.

If there is other small items (gems, dagger...) he will also put them in his bag. He's a thief, after all.

[quozl]

The guards are split up now? Excellent!

Yuan-Cheng will attack the man who came from the rear, two quick strikes in succession for subdual damage. If he takes him out, he will then wait for the other man to come out and will do the same to him.

[Longman]

Quozl - you can attempt a stealth attack on the guard who is outside - even though he is not a skull warrior, you seem to want him dealt with anyway. I'll go with it.

Yuan-Cheng successfully manages to sneak up behind him and therefore gets +2 to attack. Unfortunately your attack rolls are a 1 and a 5. He bends down to inspect a flower as you aim for his neck. The second attack is actually a hit - his AC is only 11 - but does minimal damage. He takes 3 points and leaps away, calling for his friend.

Jaali - the scrolls in question are pretty large and on wooden reels. After a round searching, you can locate the map, which is a single sheet. I'll post it soon. From here, you could fit that and maybe 3 others in your bag. There's no way you could fit all of them in there. As you are pondering what to do, you hear shouting from outside the hall, to the front. The remaining guard stands up and goes outside.



Kanya and co - I'll say you were already partially disguised and the warriors have your weapons. Taking the time to disguise yourselves now is probably a bad idea. It would take at least 10 rounds to put together anything more effective than what you are already wearing.

Next round - You may all act. Yuan Cheng wins initiative over the two guards. One is staring at him and raising his fists in defense. The other one is coming out of the hall, holding a spear, about to attack.