Rumble Strike

The barkeep turns back to his kin as Knifk asks more questions.. "I can't really tell you much more than what I know. Things started to go wrong. Several people got killed, either by cave-ins, or by other means. There was talk of bodies being dragged out half-eaten. Workers refused to go down there. Eventually the Ve'er Town Watch sealed off the area and it's been undisturbed ever since, as far as I know. But there were other whispers. People think the workers may have uncovered something they weren't supposed to. Everyone loves a conspiracy theory, I guess, but it could well be the gemstone that you seek." QM note - I know a lot of this was originally told to you by the thugs outside, but at least it's been verified for you. I have to leave some surprises that you aren't told about, should you decide to go into the mine

I originally had Tarn go back to his own village as I was QMing, in Suburbia, and in Gotham City Mafia. At this moment two of those are gone so I could certainly sign Tarn up.

QM Note - Sorry, the "mage and his blue companion" was a reference to Althior and Finnegan (K-nut's Heroica characters, I quested with him in Quest#5). The barkeep was simply implying that the donkey story was a tall story and that he didn't believe it. I feel bad about that now because I've been telling you since the quest began that you should be reading the text carefully and then I go and add in an unnecessary in-joke which has confused the issue. Apologies. --------------------------------------- The barkeep appraises Nerwen with a smile. "An Elven lady speaking our tongue, will wonders never cease? Well met, my dear. I hope these two are not causing you too much trouble?" he motions to Knifk and Gorg before continuing. "My meaning was, that we have heard rumours - even here in Ve'er - of a mage with a strange blue companion questing for Heroica. A totally unbelieveable tale, much like your man's donkey story. Just watch your step, lady Elf. Ve'er is no longer a safe haven for the kind-hearted."

I knew you'd like it

Headress blinks a few times, processing Guts' answer, then nods. "A donkey rampage, eh? Here in Ve'er? How positvely vulgar! They are frightful creatures!" The two Orcs in the party head to the Barkeep, who, like Jurn, seemed to be Orcish in nature. He responds in a similar tongue: "I don't believe your friend with his silly donkey story. It's possibly the most unlikely story I've ever heard since the mage and his blue companion. Which means you guys are either trouble, or in trouble. Not that I care either way, but perhaps Ve'er Town Watch might have something to say about it. Now, about this gemstone... The Darkstar? All I heard about that were long ago legends, but you know how bar folk like to talk. According to legend, centuries ago the Darkstar was held by a Friaskalan General called Haroka, a powerful warrior, who used its dark magical energies to boost his power and enslave entire cities to his will. When he died, the Darkstar went missing. I really doubt that something that powerful would be here in Ve'er, but then there were a few problems with the mine some months back; cave-ins, people going missing. Bits of bodies piling up. Eventually they couldn't get anyone to go down there and it closed down. It's all boarded up now. And the sickness, of course. That nice Jui Halpo and others. Wait, you don't think those are connected do you?"

Hey Bob, I hope everything's OK. Hope your hospital stay goes alright, take care and we will still be here when you get back

QM Note - Thanks for spotting things guys, I can only apologise. Sarick indeed takes only 2 damage as he was in the back row and Guts did start the fight with 10 gold. Party now updated with gold distributed as per party leader: Guts Holla (played by Scubacarrot) Level 3 Rogue Power: 6 Health: 9/9 Gold: 15 Inventory: Rusty Shortsword (WP:3), Potion, Venom, Bedroll Sarick Lanse (played by Xarrzan) Level 3 Mage Power: 8 Health: 4/7 Ether: 7/7 Gold: 10 Inventory: Healing Staff (WP:5, healing effect), Shark Fang Dagger (WP: 3),Opal Gem (Ice), Potion, Magic Hairbrush Dak Nikolus (played by darthnihilus) Level 3 Rogue Power: 6 Health: 9/9 Gold: 5 Inventory: Twin Longswords (WP:3), Venom, 2 Potions, Bedroll Nerwen Calmcacil (played by Chromeknight) ** Party Leader ** Level 3 Cleric Power: 6 Health: 6/11 Ether: 5/7 Gold: 10 Inventory: Wooden Staff (WP:3), Potion x2, Remedy, Fire Bomb Gorg (played by Lordofdragonss) Level 2 Barbarian Power: 5 Health: 9/9 Gold: 5 Inventory: Bone club (WP:3), a bottle of Mead, Potion Knifk (played by Bioniclover) Level 3 Knight Power: 6 Health: 9/12 Gold: 5 Inventory: Morning Star (WP:3), Wyrm Shield (SP:2), Potion ----------------------------- After the skirmish the party decide to head into the Tavern. It is small and smoky, populated by several strange-looking individuals. The conversation dies down as the party walk in and several of the denizens of the tavern stop to look at them. The disdainful-looking man in the headress inquires loudly to the party: "You made quite a racket as you entered, what was going on outside?" What will the party do?

Good fightback by the Orcs! Intriguing stuff, very enjoyable to read. Jebs you have a great way of detailing the battle.

QM Note - I have chosen Dak's action for him. To even out the attacks he will take on Thug B (Bert) from the front row Results of Round One of the Tavern Battle: Knifk vs Bert - Shield Guts vs Artie - Critical Hit Dak vs Bert - Critical Hit Gorg vs Bert - Extra Critical Hit Sarick vs Artie - Damage Nerwen vs Artie - Critical Hit Knifk, his Wyrm shield held proudly, takes the Sentinel position, protecting the party from physical damage next turn. Guts, fresh from trying to scare the thuugs with his blade, runs in and stabs Artie the thug with a critical hit, Artie taking 8 damage. Dak sees his fellow Rogue score a good hit and does the same to Bert, skewering him painfully with his twin longswords for 8 damage. The party is in no mood for mercy as Gorg, eager to prove himself worthy of being chosen, unleashes a mighty hit on the unfortunate Bert, clobbering him with his bone club for a whopping 10 damage, ending his participation in the brawl Sarick, perhaps distracted somewhat by the option of brushing hi sopponents hair, tries to use his frost magic, but Artie fights back and connects with a big hit on the snakeman, wounding him for 4 damage. Nerwen decides enough is enough, and smashes the impudent Artie across the head with her staff for 8 damage, knocking him unconcious. The battle is victorious! Everyone gains one level: Guts Holla (played by Scubacarrot) Level 3 Rogue Power: 6 Health: 9/9 Gold: 5 Inventory: Rusty Shortsword (WP:3), Potion, Venom, Bedroll Sarick Lanse (played by Xarrzan) Level 3 Mage Power: 8 Health: 2/7 Ether: 7/7 Gold: 5 Inventory: Healing Staff (WP:5, healing effect), Shark Fang Dagger (WP: 3),Opal Gem (Ice), Potion, Magic Hairbrush Dak Nikolus (played by darthnihilus) Level 3 Rogue Power: 6 Health: 9/9 Gold: 0 Inventory: Twin Longswords (WP:3), Venom, 2 Potions, Bedroll Nerwen Calmcacil (played by Chromeknight) ** Party Leader ** Level 3 Cleric Power: 6 Health: 6/11 Ether: 5/7 Gold: 5 Inventory: Wooden Staff (WP:3), Potion x2, Remedy, Fire Bomb Gorg (played by Lordofdragonss) Level 2 Barbarian Power: 5 Health: 9/9 Gold: 0 Inventory: Bone club (WP:3), a bottle of Mead, Potion Knifk (played by Bioniclover) Level 3 Knight Power: 6 Health: 9/12 Gold: 0 Inventory: Morning Star (WP:3), Wyrm Shield (SP:2), Potion Party Leader, how will the spoils of the battle be divided? 30 Gold With the thugs subdued, what will the party do?

Fantastic review again Masked! The truck is really big and powerful-looking and the Triceratops is just stunning. Not too keen on the minifigs but certainly a nice-looking set overall.

TRU are doing half price deals on 8639 - Cars 2 Big Bentley Bust Out (now £35.99) and 7962 - Star Wars Anakin and Sebulba's Podracers (now £40.99). Spend £75 on Lego and get a £20 gift card redeemable from 27th December.

"I told you, sonny, we ain't neither of us goin back into that accursed mine." "Ain't gonna happen!" "So it looks as though we is gonna have to kill you instead!" "Yeah! Wait, wot?" Prepare for battle! Enemies: Thug A Type: Humanoid Level: 4 Health: 15/15 Special: Haymaker – The thug lands a devastating punch on the attacker, causing 5 damage Drops: 15 gold Thug B Type: Humanoid Level: 4 Health: 15/15 Special: Haymaker – The thug lands a devastating punch on the attacker, causing 5 damage Drops: 15 gold Party: Guts Holla (played by Scubacarrot) Level 2 Rogue Power: 5 Health: 8/8 Gold: 10 Inventory: Rusty Shortsword (WP:3), Potion, Venom, Bedroll Sarick Lanse (played by Xarrzan) Level 2 Mage Power: 5 Health: 6/6 Ether: 6/6 Gold: 5 Inventory: Healing Staff (WP:5, healing effect), Shark Fang Dagger (WP: 3),Opal Gem (Ice), Potion, Staff of Healing (HP:5), Magic Hairbrush Dak Nikolus (played by darthnihilus) Level 2 Rogue Power: 5 Health: 8/8 Gold: 0 Inventory: Twin Longswords (WP:3), Venom, 2 Potions, Bedroll Nerwen Calmcacil (played by Chromeknight) ** Party Leader ** Level 2 Cleric Power: 5 Health: 6/10 Ether: 5/6 Gold: 5 Inventory: Wooden Staff (WP:3), Potion x2, Remedy, Fire Bomb Gorg (played by Lordofdragonss) Level 1 Barbarian Power: 4 Health: 8/8 Gold: 0 Inventory: Bone club (WP:3), a bottle of Mead, Potion Knifk (played by Bioniclover) Level 2 Knight Power: 5 Health: 9/11 Gold: 0 Inventory: Morning Star (WP:3), Wyrm Shield (SP:2), Potion Party Leader, choose the order of action. All of you, choose your targets and the row you want to fight in. Also mention if you want to try to flee, heal or cast a magic spell, or if you want to use an item instead of attacking. Any enemy not targeted will get a Free Hit on the party after everyone has acted.

Thanks for the support you lovely Quest#13 peeps. I had forgotten it was Thanksgiving in the US. I am glad people are enjoying playing and I do like to see some characters develop as we go along. For me, the Quest is just a backdrop for people to establish their characters.

QM Note - Sarick can indeed use the Magic Hairbrush on an enemy. It would be his action for that turn. --------------------------------- Sorrow nodded to herself as Guts challenged the party to fight the thugs, but it was clear Nerwen and the others wanted to talk. The thugs answered the questions with no real hostility evident. "Things just started going wrong all at once - there were cave-ins, costing the lives of 3 of my friends, and later in one of the tunnels they lost a mining crew. Rescuers found no sign of them, except for a body that was half eaten!" "Half eaten!" echoed the second man. "If you guys is lookin to go into the abandoned mine, I tell you now, you won't find no-one here to be a guide for you. That mine is cursed, and I want no more part of it." "No more part of it!" echoed the second man, shaking his head as if to confirm his friend's statement.

Winston appears agitated. "So can we get in or not? Is this like Lauren's locked door that was simply locked? Deputy Scott, Officer Jackson, can you force entry?"

That is a hell of an enemy lineup. At least the party were able to prepare for it. I await the battle! Should redefine the word epic I was hopeful of a little more participation in my quest at the moment. The storyline is ticking along but the party posts have become a bit sparse. I hope it's just temporary and that everyone is still enjoying it. Please, if anyone has any comments or constructive criticism so far, I'd love to hear them.

Sorrow managed to look even more annoyed after Nerwen's "sour" comment - no mean feat. "Mind your tongue, Elf. My heart is with Ha- another." The two thugs looked at each other, puzzled expressions etched on both of their faces. This wasn't how it was supposed to go down. It was a simple shakedown oportunity; They spot newcomers to Ve'er, they insult them, rile them up, fight them, take their belongings and be back in the Tavern supping ale before the Town's authorities arrived. Very effective, very simple. But not this time. The measured calm of Nerwen and the contained fury of Sorrow completely un-nerved them. "Well, um, we were miners before it shut down." "Very astute of you, ma'am." said the second man. "But after what happened down there, we ain't never goin back." "Never goin back." agreed the second man. "All sorts of accidents and sightings of weird, spooky stuff." "Weird, spooky stuff." agreed the second man. With the thugs actually discussing things, what will the party do? Continue to pump the thugs for information? Head inside the Orcshead Tavern? Fight the ruffians as Sorrow instructed?

It must be a lookalike, after Quest#11 ended Tarn went back home to meditate with his mentor

Thanks for letting me play, ADHO15 and the Penguin! And Deadshot would never kep a diary, he's not a 13-year old girl with a crush on Justin Bieber!

After hearing his lament, Sorrow whispers to Guts: "You are noticed by those who matter, trust me."

With Laxadaisi's cheery "Come back anytime!" echoing in their ears (those of the party that had ears, of course) they went across the dirt-track road to the Orcshead Tavern. Outside the Tavern two burly men stood, the same ones who had shouted earlier. They looked rough and ready, similar to the thugs that had attacked them in Eubric's Hovels. "Well, well, well. You finally came over here. I thought you was disrespectin us." "Disrespectin us!" echoed the second man. The first man's eyes took in all of Nerwen's Elven beauty, and he laughed. "You was worth the wait though, werent ya darlin?" "Definitely! And the pale one ain't bad neither!" chimed the second man. The first man then looked at the rest of the party. "Look at the lot she's with though, Orcses, snakes, and a halfbreed. You do keep some queer-lookin company dontcha?" "Queer-lookin!" echoed the second man. Sorrow's lips pursed even tighter, her look of disdain even more pronounced. "I don't think we have time for this entertaining repartee. Take out these ruffians and move on." What will the party do?

It could just be optional? I do think it would be relevent information when signing up for Quests. Not everyone's characters are the same and their motivations for the type of quest may be different. Tarn is polite and talks well for a Barbarian, but he didn't solve a single puzzle in Quest#11.

"With the early indications of a police vendetta (which officer Hutch wasn't immune from either, with his cycle incident), I agree that his place is the best option for the moment. But we should still check out Marcus's afterwards."

Masked, can you review the Triceratops one (5885) next as Darkdragon did a great review of the Raptor Chase set already?

QM Note - Don't worry too much about not having enough money now, you should be able to come back to the shop later if you want. I also added pictures of the hairbrush and the saucepan as it was being discussed how people like pictures of the Lego items. ------------------------------------------------- Dak concentrates but only gets a sense of warmth from the magic shop owner. Laxadaisi beams at Nerwen and talks at the slightly bemused Elf in a flurry of words and gestures: "Oh I am glad you are helping Jui, she is so lovely, one of my most favourite people ever. And Vres, Vres is a darling. He's the best husband one could ever hope for. He is so devoted to Jui. I am so glad you are helping them. Such a lovely, lovely couple. Sadly none of my magical items here have helped with the sickness. It's afflicted several people already - not that Ve'er had a lot of people to start with, you know? We were always a small village but since the mine shut down things haven't been looking so good for everyone. The mine was the main source of employment for the village. And then the sickness came. No idea where it came from or why. It's struck male, female, old, young, different races - and we do have some different races here today, don't we, oh my!" Laxadaisi barely paused for breath before continuing, "Now, we don't get many strangers around these parts anymore, in fact, you are the only visitors I can remember these past few weeks." Sarick buys the magic hairbrush even though he has no hair. Sarick Lanse (played by Xarrzan) Level 2 Mage Power: 5 Health: 6/6 Ether: 6/6 Gold: 5 Inventory: Healing Staff (WP:5, healing effect), Shark Fang Dagger (WP: 3),Opal Gem (Ice), Potion, Staff of Healing (HP:5), Magic Hairbrush Laxadaisi is somewhat taken aback by the Naga buying it, but tries to explain the power in the magical item: "Well normally on people who actually have hair to brush, if they use this wonderful magic hairbrush there's a 50% chance that the resulting effect will be enchanted (positive) and 50% that it will be cursed (negative). I'm told that these effects are not massive and only temporary. I don't know what it would do to someone of, uh, your persuasion though. Only one way to find out, right?" QM Note - A dice roll of odds gives you cursed, evens gives you enchanted. Like Laxadaisi says, it'll just be a fun effect and nothing highly game-breaking. Just something a bit lighter as the game has been pretty depressing in tone so far.