Clovius and beyond

As we play, occasionally we'll close a thread and open a new one to keep the size of threads (and relative complexity) down to a dull roar. Here's where we store the closed posts from the history of Errant Road.
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Graybeard
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Re: Clovius and beyond

Post by Graybeard »

"I -- I'm not sure that's the right thing to do," Therese muttered in Tamina's direction, as she herself looked for a tree big enough to climb. This close to timberline, there really wasn't one.

Sister Rose had been looking for a place to hide as well; although the noise was still a fair distance off, whatever was making it was obviously big enough not to be trifled with. She paused and turned to Therese. "Why not?"

"If that's what it sounds like, and the stories about it are true, it has poor vision, but good hearing, and an excellent sense of smell," came the answer. "You can't hide your scent. Getting out of reach is the only possibility."

That's ... not encouraging. "Stories about what? What do you think it is?"

"Dragon."

The thrashing noise in the forest was slowly getting nearer.
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Alberich
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Re: Clovius and beyond

Post by Alberich »

"Hide! Quick! Big thing... really big thing coming!"

Hearing no orders from Rose, Tim did as the kobold said. He hid as near as possible to Desiree so he could smell her perfume shield her from the danger (and if she was hesitating to hide, he'd pull her along with him).

Had he been acting alone, the slowness of the approach would've induced him to run away instead of hiding. But (as he afterwards explained to himself) the kobold was a huntress as he was not, and likeliest to know what kind of threats could and could not be run away from.
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Graybeard
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Re: Clovius and beyond

Post by Graybeard »

"If that's what it sounds like, and the stories about it are true, it has poor vision, but good hearing, and an excellent sense of smell. You can't hide your scent."

Oh yes you can,
thought Sister Rose, a brainstorm forming.

"Hygiene spells, everybody who can cast them. If you can't, get one from someone else. And hurry, that thing is getting closer."

And then she turned to Desiree.

"Got any balm or perfume or such left from your days as a getera? If so, we may need to sacrifice it in the name of making a stink bomb..."
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Alberich
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Re: Clovius and beyond

Post by Alberich »

Tim and Tamina, for two, did not know the hygiene spell; but Argus, like every true-born Tsuirakuan, did. Legislation required it to be taught in every Tsuirakuan primary school; one of the least controversial laws ever passed. He was able to cover the uncovered, and his familiar, too. For once Harker choked back a wisecrack about how he smelled like a normal part of the forest (and thus forestalled a return wisecrack about how normal woodland creatures didn't know what self-abuse was.)

[OOC: Since Drannin's not around.]
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Drusia
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Re: Clovius and beyond

Post by Drusia »

A Dragon?! Really?

I move to follow Therese, but Tim grabs me and hauls me along. Great.

And then she turned to Desiree.
"Got any balm or perfume or such left from your days as a getera? If so, we may need to sacrifice it in the name of making a stink bomb..."


I blink.

"You think I'd wear anything strong enough to make a stink bomb out of?" I ask, shocked beyond caution by the implication. "I prefer white florals. Delicate, alluring aromas. If you want a stink bomb, you'd need something patchouli in it, and I won't touch that stuff. Ick."

Not that I could find any proper Jasmine or Tuberose in Goriel. The only florals avaliable there were either powdery, which is what I went with, or Rose, which is so very dull.

-- Desiree

OOC: If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can find out by sniffing certain perfume samples. If you happen to live near a Sephora (the store, or any similar perfume store, or a Sacks 5th Avenue), then sniff either "Pure Poison" by Dior or Michael Kors (by Michael Kors) - those are excellent examples of white florals, Desiree's signature scent. And mine, as it happens.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Clovius and beyond

Post by Jack Rothwell »

By this time the kobold had scrambled to the top of a small tree and lain down along a branch before the thickest clumps of leaves the vegetation had to offer. Tamina made a quiet whining noise and tried to think like a bush.

OOC I don't think she's going to recall the thing about a dragon's sense of smell until an appropriate moment. How fast can they run btw? :twisted: /OOC
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Graybeard
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Re: Clovius and beyond

Post by Graybeard »

Sister Rose caught the blink. "No offense intended," she reassured Desiree. "It doesn't need to smell bad, it just needs to smell non-human, like nothing a beast of the forest can recognize. I'll contribute what remains of this to the cause too, if need be." She extracted the bottle of "Calfornica's Finest Luminositan Smiting Compound and Bath and Body Oil" that Desiree had used memorably on Argus and her in Goriel; she didn't want to part with that, having some ... uses ... in mind for it once they got back to somewhere civilized.

In fact, however, before the ingredients of the stink-bomb-that-didn't-stink could be produced and assembled, the sounds in the distance changed. The loud calls of the dragon, or whatever it was, were joined by four other roars that could only be voices ... troll voices.

"Hunt," Therese guessed. "The trolls hunt dragons. Think about that. This might actually be exciting to watch..." She looked up at Tamina, with envy on her face that would have seemed entirely out of place only seconds earlier.
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Alberich
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Re: Clovius and beyond

Post by Alberich »

Tim peeped out from his hiding place by Desiree. "Our mission is escape, not excitement," said he. "So if the monster's fighting it out with hunters over there, let's us go over there, mind our own business, and leave the trolls and the dragon to theirs."
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Re: Clovius and beyond

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: A minor filler to see if Drannin can get here in time for him to express Argus', uh, issues with trolls. If he can't, things will heat up soon enough...]

"So if the monster's fighting it out with hunters over there, let's us go over there, mind our own business, and leave the trolls and the dragon to theirs."

"Are you kidding?" said Therese, suddenly more excited than scared. "I wouldn't miss this for the world. Argus, can you give me a hand here?" She'd found a rock pile among the trees that looked to be tall enough to give her a view from the top, and she started to clamber up it, but the going was harder than she hoped.

"Therese, have you lost your mind?" Sister Rose asked incredulously, and judging by the reactions of the others, she wasn't the only one with that question in their heads. "We should be getting out of here!"

"No, we should be hoping the trolls win, and helping them if it comes to that," came the reply. "Trolls will leave us alone if we leave them alone. That thing they're fighting might not. Argus, can you cut some steps in this boulder so I can get on top, please?"

Helping the trolls win... I don't think that's going to go over so well with Argus, Rose thought. Meanwhile, the grunting and roaring in the distance intensified; battle was being joined, from the sound of it.
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Re: Clovius and beyond

Post by Alberich »

"They'll all leave us alone if we're gone!" said Tim, but Therese wasn't listening, and it remained to be seen what Argus would do.

Small wonder Therese and Mordan had gotten along so well -- Tim would've had that thought if he'd actually known about Mordan.
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