[furryoldlobster]

MISS

Arya aims at the beasts eye, but is startled as she releases.

*SNAP!*  .... 

*wheeeeeeeee!* 

The mother boar is gone before Arya can grab another arrow.  What was that sound?

The young wild boar's journey was cut short by an animal trap.  Zeeto, heard the squeal as well and meets up with Arya at its origin.

At first Zeeto and Arya are quite amused by act, but, like old goat's milk, this amusement quickly turns sour. 

*crunch* *crunch*
The sneaking dark figure fools Arya, but not Zeeto's acute Elven ears.  The two Protectorates quickly turn around to witness a talk dark, hooded humanoid bearing the symbol of the rival Mallows Edge Guild, and a much smaller.....cat? 

Calculated Initiative rolls:
Arya: 17
Zeeto: 19
S'kavara: 9
Aiden: 10

This will be the first PVP (so no one will perma die).  Simply attempt to do any action (spell, strike, dance, etc.) and use the imbedded dice roller.  I'll calculate the registered hits (and therefore any checks) and let you know how successful you are.  Good luck players!

[Zito]

Zeeto quickly realizes what this is. It's an ambush. "Arya, it's Mallow's Edge!" he yells. Zeeto hops back a few feet, and attempts to summon three phantasms of himself superimposed on him.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 10, total 10[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

Aiden's wisdom check FAILS
S'kavara wisdom check SUCCEEDS


Aiden is confused by the sudden new combatants, and his attention diverted from Zeeto and Arya.  S'kavara isn't fooled by the phantasms; his gaze remains fixated on the tall Elf. 


Arya, you're up.

[furryoldlobster]

Lanor also heads out of the town hoping to meet up with his two companions after seeing the battle he jumps into combat mode equipping the bow handed to him by Zeeto, then hops into a better position where the enemies cannot see him.  From here, Lanor waits for an opportunity to attack.


Initiative Roll For Lanor: 14
Sorry I deleted your last post.  After thinking about how to bring you into this combat, I've decided (after some inner turmoil, and a few re-edits) for you to just to wait until your initiative comes up.  So you go after Arya. 

[Millarz]

Arya is very happy that she finally could have pig for lunch (though she didn't get it by the way she meant to get it). Of course, two bad-guy wannabes had to ruin her fantasizing about bacon. Well, some hooded guy and his kitty cat. How annoying. Arya takes the opportunity of Zeeto's distraction to aim and shoot at the kitty's eye. Hopefully, she thought, that this time she would actually hit her target instead of scare it into the enemy's trap.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 2, total 2[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

Arya's arrow glides perfectly through the air at the seemingly unbeknownst feline. 

MISS

At the very latest possible moment, Aiden jumps above the projectile, and lands on it as it protrudes from an oak behind him.  There's something entirely singular about this animal....

Meanwhile, Lanor sees an opportunity to attack from his hide.


Lanor, you're up.

[Woodsy1995]

Lanor assesses the situation and spots the hive of bees hanging above the heads of the opposition seizing this opportunity he fires an arrow high up towards the branch in hope to knock the hive loose, upon doing this he jumps out and shouts, "Hey Bozo's, Look up"

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 15, total 15[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

SUCCESS

Lanor's arrow slices through the branch, dropping the entire hive towards the ground.  Aiden and S'kavara dive opposite of one another, narrowly avoiding the hive.  The bees swarm, attempting to attack anything that moves.  They manage to sting both Zeeto and Aiden before dissipating into the wilderness.


Zeeto and Aiden are undamaged but slightly woozy due to the multiple stings.  They will experience a -1 modifier to dex rolls (ranged attack OR defensive checks) for the rest of this battle.

Aiden did witness the bees fly straight through Zeeto's phantasms and is no longer fooled by them.

Aiden is up next.

Sidebar:
Just to let everyone know that I didn't just pull these actions out of nowhere, id like to share my DM actions.  Firstly, Lanor's shot wasn't super difficult as a branch isn't a moving target, and the AC of a still branch (unarmored) isn't very high.  Next, I calculated dexterity check for both aiden and S'kavara (in order of initiative), who both passed, and therefore dodged the falling object.  After this I needed to figure out some way for the bees to attack people that wasn't unfair for all.  I rolled luck checks for all, only Zeeto and Aiden failed those.  Everyone here is tough, so the stings wouldn't damage, rather its like a weak debuffing poison. 

I also rolled another wisdom check for Aiden, so he was no longer fooled by Zeeto's spell.

[Blaidrug]

Aiden glares intensely at Lanor, his eyes seemingly igniting with the fire of his hatred. "You want to go, gnome boy?" The cat growled, a bright flame growing around his body. He pushes himself up onto his back legs, forms a large ball of fire between his paws, and hurls it at the Protectorate.

Fire Bolt [blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 16, total 16[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

HIT

Lanor, realizing he cannot dodge this attack, instinctively attempts to block the burning projectile with his arm.  The ensuing blast knocks back Lanor and does 2 damage.

S'kavara is up. 

[zerokiriyu]

He turns his head and watches as his four legged friend deals a blow to the midgit. He looks back towards the Elf and the Female Human. "Two strangers walk up, and this is how you react. What if I was here to help you, or maybe I was just passing by and over heard the pigs and wanted to see what was going on." A long black furred tail unfurls from under his shirt. "Some people know to much hostility, so when strangers appear, they attack them for no reason." The tail reaches up and slides the bow from its rest. "I stand before you showing a small cat, and your best thought is to kill it?" his arms became unfolded from his chest and now lays at his sides. "It is just a cat!" His tail places the bow into his left hand, as he draws two arrows and places them on the strings for a ready shot. "I guess this is one of the many reasons that I hate you." He draws the bow and points between the elf and human. "I also geuss that hating you will make this so much easier." Without another word he fires the shot of two arrows, one arrow flys towards Arya and the other towards Zeeto. He lowers the bow to his side and his tail slightly wags behind him.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 2, total 2[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

FAILURE


The intended shots veer off course.  One flies a few feet past Zeeto.  The other shot did, in fact, hit a live target.  Everyone turns their heads at the trapped wild boar, now with an arrow in its rump and an even more uneasy look on its face.  This is not his day....


Zeeto, it is your turn. 

[Zito]

Zeeto chuckles a bit at the enemy's attempt to shoot two targets at once. "Is that really what you're trying?". Zeeto thinks a bit and decides to have some more fun. He attempts to summon three more mirror images of himself, all the while rushing at the Half-Panther with his Khopesh blade.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 5, total 5[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

FAILURE

Aiden and S'kavara aren't fooled the same multiple phantasms, and keep their attention on the only dangerous incomer.  As Zeeto swings his blade, summoning all the force he can muster, some thing distracts him.  Aiden has scurried up the Protectorate's leg, clawing his way to Zeeto's arms!  Any attempts to swing at the small beast are met in frustration.  Zeeto backs off after Aiden flawlessly land on the sword, mid-swing, and flips backwards towards S'kavara. 


What will Arya do next?

[Millarz]

(I've decided to name my spirit wolf Mayar. It means moon glow in Turkish).

Jeez, shooting arrows is not Arya's thing today. Screw her bow. While the two kitty cats were distracted by Zeeto's clown act, she slung her bow over her shoulder and reached her hand down in one fluid, practiced motion. "Hey kitty cats! Meet Mayar the dog!" she screams at them as her wolf leaps to her hand.

Instantly, the world is still and every living thing turns to a ghostly glowing image, just like Mayar. Ah, the spirit world. Arya loved coming here, even just to walk around. Everything is a quiet, glowing reflection of the overworld. It is like Arya is looking at the reflection on the surface of a pool, but from within the reflection itself. She looks at her own hands. They glow too, but unlike anything else in this world, there's something solid underneath the glow. As Mayar does not fit in the overworld, Arya does not completely fit into the spirit world.

Theoretically, she could stay in this place for quite a while. No matter how long she stayed here, she would appear back at the overworld nearly an instant after she left it. Time didn't really correlate between the two worlds. However the longer she stayed, the longer it took to recover from transporting her physical body to the spirit world. If she stayed in here too long, her spirit would peel away from her body and effectively, she'd be dead. Permanently. Technically, she was dead whenever she went into the spirit world anyways. If her fingers started to tingle and the glow started moving away from her solid fingers, she knew she'd not have much longer until she had to return to the overworld. But that feeling wouldn't start until minutes later. Still, for battle purposes, she couldn't stay in the spirit world long. Any longer than 10 seconds and she'd be in a considerably weak state for battle and would practically be asking the enemy to send her back to the spirit world without her solid body.

Arya looks around at her spirit surroundings. She sees the two cats in front of her. Their souls are blackened far past the point a lesser intelligent creature could only hope to obtain. You needed to be intelligent to purposefully cause evil, after all. "Just a kitty" my butt. Off to the side, she sees the pig she tried shooting before. It was squealing in pain, trapped in an animal trap. Arya couldn't just leave the pig hurt, so she quickly coaxed the pig's spirit out of its body. The pig's spirit and body both relax almost instantly. "Sorry! I promise to not waste your body when I'm done dealing with these kitty-brains!" she calls to the pig as she runs behind the little cat's spirit. She steps on the bigger cat spirit's tail just for good measure. It wouldn't do anything to the cat in the overworld other than possibly make it twitch, but she got some pleasure from the action nonetheless.

Luckily, she knows a trick she learned while hunting; a quick and rather painless death, yet very effective. There's a place at the base of the neck where, if stabbed, severs the spinal cord and effectively makes the animal brain dead. A small, intelligent, armor-less cat was still an animal, right? After she struck, to avoid the bigger cat, she plans on teleporting back to the overworld to go hide behind a tree so he couldn't shoot her. Coward move? Perhaps. She preferred being a smart live coward than a dead bonehead. Arya reaches out her hand and simultaneously positions her other hand to her hip, right around where here dagger's sheath is. Right before Mayar brings her back to the overworld, Arya thinks to herself, "Lanor, if I fail this, you better save my butt." She then teleports to the overworld, draws her dagger, and goes in for the kill. 
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 3, total 3[/blockquote] To hit Aiden.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 14, total 14[/blockquote] To get the heck away from them.

[furryoldlobster]

Arya appears out of nothingness behind both attackers, and in a single motion, attempts to thrust her blade into Aiden as she grabs him.  Although successful in scruffing the small animal, Arya drops her blade during the scuffle.  This beast requires two hands to restrain. 

Arya finds herself unarmed, hands fully occupied by a potential flaming feline, and standing next to a six foot tall panther.  She does have possibility of post battle bacon...

Lanor's up.

[Woodsy1995]

Lanor sees the dire situation that his companions are in and decides its time to stop this, he takes action and picks up Arya's weapon, he uses the weapon to run and pole vault up to behind his enemy and whilst in the air pulls out his bow ready to fire when he lands, as he lands he pulls two arrows from his quiver firing one straight at the attackers.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 19, total 19[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

Lanor's attempt to vault high above all is somewhat thwarted by the diminutive size of the blade.  Most stilettos are no longer than eight inches from sharpened tip to the bottom of the scabbard.  He does manage some air time, although most of the force required didn't come from the dagger.

Nonetheless, Lanor's agility, and unorthodox method of using a knife, surprises all combatants.  His arrows fly somewhat awkwardly, as Lanor doesn't possess the double shot ability, but his luck prevails and the projectiles steady themselves midair; one destined for S'kavara, and the other for Aiden.  Lanor, most likely, immediately realizes the flaw in his plan as Aiden is still being held by his ally, Arya! 

HIT   3 damage inflicted to S'kavara

S'kavara is as perplexed as anyone to see an arrow in his shoulder, glaring at it as if saying, "I think you've been misplaced"

MISS

Arya, seeing only one way to escape, tosses the captured cat at the incoming missile, and rolls back to her allies.  Aiden, quite defiant of several laws of physics, flips midair to kick the arrow to the ground with his back paws, with enough force to land on the shoulders of his now arrow inflicted ally.


Aiden's turn.

[Blaidrug]

Aiden laughs maniacally, fire welling up around him and his ally. Because of his close proximity to S'kavara, the flames do not touch the humanoid panther. Instead, a huge, spiralling wall of flames burst out in all directions, everyone within 10' of the duo are hit by the inferno.

Fire Burst [blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 10, total 10[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

MISS

The cyclone of flame consumes anything within its radius.  The Protectorates manage to throw themselves backwards to avoid the engulfing fire.  The wall recedes,  hairs are singed, but no one is damaged.  The wild pig, now smoked to perfection, looks delicious.  Its the perfect centerpiece, and trophy, for these battling champions.


S'kavara, your turn. 

 

[zerokiriyu]

Appearing unaffected by the arrow, S'kavara steps forward as he places the bow on the end of his tail. The tail warps around the bow and holds it behind him. "Twice now an elf has shown me a poorly constructed, and horribly executed spell. I wonder how they would react to it." S'kavara mimics the mirror image ability and tries to create two of himself. The now two panter like beings dash forward towards the dwarf splitting apart feet from him. They now close in on him from both sides as they try to deliver a powerful kick on the midget. "I believe the arrow in my shoulder belongs to you, would you like it back?"




[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 18, total 18[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

Just as the protectorates stumble at the sudden appearance of more enemies...

*pThunk*

HIT   2 damage inflicted to Lanor


Punted by S'kavara, the distracted "dwarf" soars through the air.  By the time his allies help Lanor to his feet, the two miscreants, and the cooked pig, are gone.  No victory bacon today....

Further inspection of the "phantasms" show they are nothing more than painted pictures on wooden boards lowered by rope from the trees.   But who controlled this device during the battle? One cat was fighting Lanor.  The other clearly lacks proper thumbs.  There must have been someone else!

The Protectorates investigate the battleground and find several sets of paw prints and a third pair of what appear to be humanoid feet.  Average size.  Most likely human, but don't rule out Elf, or some other possibility.  All sets lead back to the road.


Congratulations players on completing this PVP tutorial.  I will add experience to your sheets for being good sports.

[Woodsy1995]

Lanor clearly pissed that his two companions left him behind almost getting themselves and him killed!!!, brushes himself off and checks over his wounds, he suggests "I think its time we stick together and continue on our quest, and you guys had better hope to god he has some way to heal my wounds as I am now left at only 3 health..." picking up his bow and retrieving the arrows he could find he waits for his two companions to lead the way so that he can follow, but not before picking up the now empty beehive and collecting some sweet sweet honey.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 20, total 20[/blockquote]

[Zito]

"I know I'll never make the mistake of leaving you behind again Lanor," Zeeto said "Without you, those kittens might have actually killed us. Thank you, friend."

[furryoldlobster]

CRITICAL SUCCESS


Lanor gathers up enough honey to fill his entire waterskin, and packs several large hunks of delicious honeycomb into his backpack.  He also collects enough dead bees to concoct a concentrated version of the venom, although no one in the party has the skill to create such a poison.  When the hive is exhausted of all resources, something else catches his attention.  A coinpurse!  Some unlucky traveler must have dropped it while foraging. Lanor is now five gold pieces richer.

Zeeto no longer feels the effects of the bee stings.



DM sidebar:
How to handle healing?  Rules in regular D&D say you need to sleep it off.  I think this is a bit silly.  How do you sleep off giant gashes, burns, or a case of arrow-chest???  I think you should have to find the necessary components for healing that particular injury, or something similarly creative.  Lanor could sleep off the kicking, but the burns would require something more soothing...or a few days of letting it heal on its own. 

[Millarz]

Today was NOT Arya's day. "THOSE ROTTEN KITTY CATS STOLE MY BACON!" Arya screams into the woods. She briefly considers slipping into the spirit world to locate the robbers but decided against it, figuring going to attack the two cats over bacon would be stupid and suicidal. She looks at Lanor picking up some of the honey comb and breaks off a small piece and pops it in her mouth. The girl was too annoyed at the loss of her lunch to care if he protested her taking some of the sweet. Its soothing sweetness calms her temper slightly, and she's back to her normal self.

"Thank you, Lanor, for coming to help us and for saving my butt. I owe you." She glances at his wounds: a nasty burn on his shoulder from the little kitty's bolt and a bruise from the taller one. Jeez, Lanor took a beating. Arya purses her lips with a thoughtful glance to his canteen. "You know," she starts, " honey has healing properties. It's anti-inflammatory as well as an anti-bacterial. Let me help you spread some on your wounds." She wipes her hands on part of her cloth clothes to clear away some of the dirt on her finger and pours a dab of honey onto her finger to smother onto Lanor's shoulder.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 13, total 13[/blockquote]

[Zito]

"So, where to next?" Zeeto asked.

[Millarz]

Arya turns to reply to Zeeto. "I still have to get to the alchemist, and with that attack, I think you guys ought to accompany me. After that, we can stop by the general store and pick up some survival gear the shop keeper promised me for you guys and then we can go hunt down that treasure. What do you say, boys?"

[Woodsy1995]

"Sounds good." Lanor picks up his gear and begins walking in the direction of the alchemists hut

[furryoldlobster]

SUCCESS

Lanor feels the soothing effect of the honey poultice almost immediately.  Every step he takes seems to get easier and easier. 

Lanor healed by 2 hp

Our Protectorates walk for an hour, and are nearly at the hut when Zeeto's Elven hearing picks up something.  The group halts and silences at Zeeto's request.  The bushes, just up ahead rustle with movement.  The foliage is far too small to be hiding anything large, such as a deer, or human.  Another young boar perhaps?  If it is game, any approach other than a soft one will scare it. 

[Woodsy1995]

Lanor stops and he and his companions take a knee, he moves off to the side and trains his arrow straight at where the bushes seemed to rustle and softly speaks, loud enough to be heard but soft enough not to startle anyone, "Friend or Foe" and awaits an answer.


[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 16, total 16[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

There's no answer, but also no animal jumps out.  The bush continues to rustle


DM sidebar:

Since it takes almost no effort to call out a name, Lanor may use another action.

[Woodsy1995]

Lanor keeping his bow trained at the bush begins to approach where he sees the rustling, when close enough he aims down into the bush so as to only hit the foot of whatever is in this bush and fires off one arrow

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 9, total 9[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

HIT

"YEeeeeeOW", bellows out of the shrub.  This tends to be an odd noise for any flora to make, but questions are answered when a small creature emerges from the plants.  Standing before the Protectorates is a half-ling with an arrow in its foot.  A satchel hangs over his shoulders; various branches and plant material sticking out of the top.  This diminutive humanoid must have been foraging in that shrub.  But why didn't he hear the approach?

[Zito]

"Who are you?" Zeeto asks the injured half-ling. "Why are you following us?"

[furryoldlobster]

The half-ling, displeased with the arrow situation, but seeing how he's surrounded by three armed warriors, is complacent.

"What do you mean, following?!", screams the little creature in a very high pitched voice, not unlike a tea kettle.  "I was foraging, not following!  I work nearby out of my cottage with a few associates".  He calms down and speaks, "I can show you".  His gaze moves to Lanor, "provided you don't shoot them too."

[Zito]

"Ok, lead the way" Zeeto says to the little creature.

[Millarz]

Arya turns bug eyed at Lanor. "Why. would. you. shoot. BLINDLY. into a bush? You could have killed him!" Arya scolds as she backhands his uninjured shoulder. It's an insult more than anything, since the hit is light enough for Lanor to barely feel it. "What if it was a little kid instead? Honestly. Use your head more," scolds Arya. "I'm so sorry about that," she says to the little hafling. "We can try to heal you a bit if you'd like. And sure, we'll follow you. You don't happen to work for the alchemist, would you?"

[Woodsy1995]

Lanor shrugs off the criticisms and insists that the halfling should have shown himself when called out, foolish decisions on the halflings part caused him to be shot, however he says "My deepest apologies, its been a bad day for us all and we are tired, we look for a place to rest and your rustling startled me, may I ask what you were foraging?

[Millarz]

Arya feels a little bad about snapping at Lanor. Then again he does deserve it. Kind of. At the mention of shelter to sleep in, Arya adds without thinking, "And perhaps do you have any bacon?"

[furryoldlobster]

"There's time for questions later.  Mind if we deal with this arrow-foot situation?", responds the half-ling, attempting to mask the excruciating pain with jest.  "My cottage is just a few minutes from here."

After introducing himself as Grot, the hobbling half-ling shows the Protectorates to his abode.  Several gardens lay in front of the cottage, with another larger one behind.  Arya identifies countless rare roots and herbs scattered in the plots. 

Grot invites everyone inside, where two half-ling meet the bare standard for acknowledgement; they look up, and quickly dive back into their work. "Pleasantries aside, Colfar, I need you to look at this wound.  We'll be back in a moment."  The two half-lings enter an adjoining room, presumably a kitchen. 

The gang looks around.  They are surrounded by drying plants and herbs.  Sets of beakers, tubes, and jars clutter a table to the left.  Shelves on the right hold numerous tinctures and solutions.  Everyone comes to the same conclusion; this is the alchemist's hut!

The third half-ling remains at her task trimming various plants, most likely to be cured and dried.  Her desk, curiously, is charred black.  It looks as if someone burned it.

[Millarz]

"Nice job, Lanor. You shot the alchemist, or at least one of his friends" Arya says lightly. She looks around at all the dried herbs and takes in their pleasant aromas. The air smells fresh and crisp with a hint of herbal bitterness to it. It wasn't an unpleasant sort of bitterness. It had an earthy, natural tone to it that seemed to cradle the amateur herbalist girl in plant-based possibilities. She glances around at some drying herbs. Hm, perhaps she could have some practice identifying plants. Let's see. There was a yellow flower with 6 short and stout petals off to the side. Aconite, Arya thinks, better known as monkshood: a powerful poison and a uh... well... it has properties that helped one urinate. Next to it was a root, though not like the mandrake in her pocket. It was thinner and drier. Arya thinks it's arka, a good anesthesia. She passes by some more herbs, some sweet-smelling, some sour, one just utterly foul, until she happened upon a rather common herb. "Thyme," she says, part to her party, part to herself. "Works wonders on pork." The reminder of her empty stomach turns her mood sour again. "I sure hope these halflings have lunch. Correction. I hope these halflings are willing to give us lunch," Arya says, throwing a pointed look at Lanor.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 15, total 15[/blockquote] For the monkshood
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 14, total 14[/blockquote] For the arka
Rolled a 20 for the thyme. Lol I'm not mistaking thyme.

[furryoldlobster]

SUCCESS

Arya easily identifies the herbs, pointing them out and describing them to Lanor and Zeeto with the length, gravitas, and elaboration of a premier professor.

The female half-ling continues to ignore her new guests, preferring the solace of working in a corner.  Grot and Colfar are still in the presumed kitchen.

[Millarz]

Arya, just noticing the hafling in the corner, walks over to the petite creature and takes a peek at what the woman is doing. In her tiny, child-like hands, the herbalist hafling is grinding up monkshood in a miniature mortar and pestle. To Arya, it looks like something out of a child's starter herbal play set. In fact, it looks exactly like the one she got as a little girl herself. It is the color of golem-skin grey with nothing seemingly visually appealing to it besides a sad attempt at a design on the handle of the pestle, presumably to make herbalism more appealing to younglings. Arya nearly mentions that she had this kit once too, but then realizes comparing the respectable woman to a child would be insulting.

Instead, Arya comments on what the hafling appears to be making. Laid out are various powders diluted in water to varying degrees. Arya can't tell what any of them are in their solution form. "Is that a poison you're making, ma'am?" she asks curiously, drawing from the fact that monkshood is toxic. Poison reminds her of the bees Lanor collected. "Would you be able to make poison for arrow tips out of bee stingers?" 
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 7, total 7[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

The childlike half-ling, turns around and introduces herself as Elle.  "Yes, Grot's got me on mortar and pestle duty.  I'd prefer to be outside, but as you can see", Elle motions to the corner opposite her.  "We've got our work cut out."  Broken glass, burnt plants, and ashes fill the nook.  After further examination, the gang realizes the entire section of the cottage was victim of some sort of explosion.  "I wish I could help you with a poison, but its really not my expertise. Grot should be able to come up with something."

Elle continues to grind the herbs to a paste, as Grot and Colfar return.  The Protectorates are amazed to see it has completely healed!  No scar or mark of any kind.  Grot speaks, "Welcome to my shop, travelers!  How may I help you?"

[Millarz]

Arya smiles. So Grot really is the man who claims to be an alchemist. She didn't expect him to be a halfling. Arya reckons that no one in her party did. "Thank you kind sir," she says as she looks down upon the little man. "I have a package for you from the man who owns the general store in town. He asked me to deliver it to you." She pulls out the package and hands it to Grot. It is a little warped from being in her pocket during the kitty incident, but other than that, it is perfectly fine. "The general store owner directed me to you after I showed him a rare herb for sale. I was hoping to trade something for this mandrake root here." Arya more clumsily takes out the mandrake root. Its odd shape made it harder to get out of her pocket. "I was hoping I could still keep a small piece of it if we traded it. The three of us will be traveling far to figure out who blew up our guild and the mandrake could come in handy. Also, I was wondering if you could extract some poison from bees Lanor has collected." A whiff of something cooking in the oven passes Arya's nose, or at least she thinks there is. She could very well be hallucinating the scent. Her stomach growls loud enough for Grot to hear. Arya looks at Grot with a sheepish, rosy tinted smile and apologizes for her rumbling tummy.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 10, total 10[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

SUCCESS

Grot graciously accepts the parcel, thanking Arya and the other two travelers.  He tears the package open and pours its contents, a dozen or so seeds and soil, in a nearby jar.  "These are the seeds of Capitol City lilacs, you know.  Very rare.  They won't grow outside the Capitol, and I want to know why.  Concentrated enough into a liquid solution and they'll cure just about anything.  Before its fall, they were the Capitol's number one export.  Saved a lot of lives.  Bring this handbill back to the general store owner, and he'll know you've complete your task." 

Grot eyes the root. "And for that mandrake root, well most of it...I'll come up with a concoction for you out of those bees.  Use it to coat arrow-heads or knives.  It'll be strong enough to take out a horse."  Grot hears Arya's rumbling stomach.  "Seems like you've had quite the day.  Perhaps you three would like to join us for supper? Venison stew with vegetables from my own garden.  If you don't mind, in exchange, I'd like to hear about this explosion."

Grot directs the travelers, as well as his employees, to the already cramped kitchen.  There aren't enough chairs for all, but seeing how they're meant for half-lings anyway, would probably collapse under Zeeto or Arya.  There's plenty of food for all.  Lanor feels the satisfying effects immediately.

Lanor healed by 1 hp

"Now please", Grot begins in between bites. "Tell me what happened?"

[Zito]

"Well, we were recently selected to protect the guild. Not a day later, and it explodes. We fought off a band of goblins, and even captured one. Unfortunately, before we could get much out of it, a dart felled it.  We then were venturing here, and were attacked by a couple of assassins. We managed to fend them off, and then found you in the bushes." Zeeto explained. "Now I have a question for you. What happened to your store there?" He gestured to the scorched area.

[furryoldlobster]

"Deal gone bad", explains Grot as he breaks a piece of bread in two manageable sizes. "A man came to me a week ago, asking if I could make precision demolition explosives.  Hundreds of small, easily placed explosives that could be ignited with a fuse or spark.  He said he had a mining operation south of Netherton.  Said he'd pay me three hundred gold coin, plus future deals if his op went well.  Seemed reasonable enough at the time.  Who'd refuse that much coin.  I told him to return in three days time, and he'd have his incendiaries.  He returned, paid up, and packed the explosives into his wagon.  I went about my business inside, figured he left.  I heard my door open, and turned around.  The man had several explosives in his hands and a smirk on his face.  The next thing I know, I'm on my back and deafened from the blast." 

Grot quickly glaces at Lanor and says,  "I still can't quite hear right."  His gaze shifts back to his meal. "Half my shop was destroyed and my coin gone."

[Zito]

"We could try to hunt him down for you." Zeeto suggests.