[Millarz]

Arya brings the boy closer to her and hugs him. "I know, Kiri, I know. It's hard. But you have us now, at least. You're not alone. And who knows, maybe- just maybe- your brother may turn up somewhere."

[Blade7737]

"thank you for everything Arya its nice to know that there's someone i can talk to your like my mom thank you"Kirito thinks of Arya as family

[Millarz]

At the boy saying Arya was like his mother, her head snaps towards him. She looks at him wide eyed for a brief second. Then her face melts into a shining grin and a warm bubbliness rises in her chest and she embraces him once more. "I'm here for you, Kiri," she finally says. Her? A mother? She never really thought about it before. Arya sees adventure in her future, a young free spirit, not a mother taking care of a child. But maybe... Maybe being a mother isn't such a bad idea. Perhaps not now, but in the future, it's something she would highly consider. In a low voice, Arya says, "Do you think we can rejoin the group now or do you want to wait here a bit longer?"

[Blade7737]

"let's go ahead and see what they are doing"

[Millarz]

"Sounds good," she replies. She walks back to the group with blade. "Alright guys, why don't we find that treasure now?" Arya asks the party. "S'kavara, I'm still waiting on answers!" she adds.

[furryoldlobster]

Freeze Fish!
SUCCESS

Zeeto's second trial at self freezing fish is a little tougher, but he manages to freeze every one of them. 

Spell causes 6 strain on Zeeto

"SWEET CORNED BEEF!", yells Colfar as he suddenly and spastically wakes and jumps to his feet.  He sees everyone is set to continue the journey, and brings Knifey to the now familiar horizontal position to lead the group.  "Onward!"

The group departs, following Colfar, lead by Knifey.


_{Feel free to expand story along the way}

[Zito]

Name: Zeeto Nailo               Bonuses:          Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 10/10                                    Dex: +3    Int: +3
Strain Points: 5/20                                     Wis: +2    Cha: +1
Armour Class: 16                                         Com: +1    Luk: 9
Gold: 0



   "So, Colfar" Zeeto asks the half-ling "About how long is the journey to this cave?"

[furryoldlobster]

"What's the hurry, fella'?", Colfar asks.  "Have you a fair maiden waiting on you, tall Elf?"

[Zito]

Name: Zeeto Nailo               Bonuses:          Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 10/10                                    Dex: +3    Int: +3
Strain Points: 5/20                                     Wis: +2    Cha: +1
Armour Class: 16                                         Com: +1    Luk: 9
Gold: 0



   "No, no maiden. I would like to find out if therre is really treasure in this cave though." Zeeto replies

[furryoldlobster]

"Theres treasure all around ya fella'"

[Zito]

Name: Zeeto Nailo               Bonuses:          Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 10/10                                    Dex: +3    Int: +3
Strain Points: 11/20                                     Wis: +2    Cha: +1
Armour Class: 16                                         Com: +1    Luk: 9
Gold: 0




  "Like what?" Zeeto picks up a nearby rock. "This?"

Rock check (You never know, it might be gold)
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 19, total 19[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

Rock Check
SUCCESS

"That?", Colfar questions.  "That's just a lemon shaped rock".  The half-ling looks at the ground near where Zeeto found the lemon shaped rock.  "There was a lemon behind that lemon shaped rock!"

That's an odd thing to be lying on the ground considering there isn't a lemon tree nearby. 

Zeeto gains 1 lemon

[Zito]

Name: Zeeto Nailo               Bonuses:          Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 10/10                                    Dex: +3    Int: +3
Strain Points: 11/20                                     Wis: +2    Cha: +1
Armour Class: 16                                         Com: +1    Luk: 9
Gold: 0



   "Well... it isn't quite treasure, I guess. It's still something though. So, anyways, what did you mean by the treasure comment?"

[furryoldlobster]

"Catch scurvy!", Colfar declares.  "and then tell me that lemon isn't treasure!"


Meanwhile Daniel has arrived at the lake, but unsure where his intended victim has gone.  He's found tracks heading east and west around the lake.

[danny4rest]

Daniel follows the tracks that look like they where made by the people he saw with the elf.

[zerokiriyu]

After watching them for some time, he began to realize that they were becoming more and more annoying about that question. Finally he decided to just give them an answer. His words came slow, and drawn out, trying to let them know that they were only letters."C.....C....G...."He had given them their answer, and now he was ready to collect the cooked fish, and be on his way."There is your answer, now give me the promised cooked fish."

[furryoldlobster]

The gang stops at S'kavara's answer.  C...C...G..?

Did consonants destroy the guild, or is this feline just bad at the alphabet? 

[Zito]

Name: Zeeto Nailo               Bonuses:          Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 10/10                                    Dex: +3    Int: +3
Strain Points: 11/20                                     Wis: +2    Cha: +1
Armour Class: 16                                         Com: +1    Luk: 9
Gold: 0



   Zeeto, fed up with this ridiculous Manther's games, answers angrily "CCG? Three letters? What are we supposed to get out of that?! You made us come all the way out to this lake, almost get killed by a sea lion, and all you give us is three letters?! There had better be more, or this day will not end well for you, Manther."

[Millarz]

Arya sees the lemon that Zeeto found and quips, "Hey, lemon is awesome on fish! Nice find." She turns to  the panther at his brief answer. Even she is starting to get annoyed at the panther and the ranger reckons she's the most tolerant party member of them all. "Yes," she agrees with Zeeto, "Can you explain that more?"

[Tokilin]

Name: Aila Drakesberth               Bonuses:           Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 11/11                                        Dex: +2     Int: +0
Gold: 2, 5 SP                                                        Wis: +0    Cha: +2
Armour Class: 14                                             Com: +3   Luk: 15

   Aila was just idly walking with the group, her mind picturing the various treasures that could possibly await them at the cave. Thoughts of gold, artifacts, and interesting little things filled her head. She nearly tripped when the Anthros had said the three consonants. Thankfully though, she had caught herself and it merely looked like a root had caught her shoe. Surely those words meant something else, what would they be doing way out here? With a nervous laugh, Aila directed her statement at the Anthros: "Collectable Card Game? I hear it's a popular thing on the western half of the world... but what could that possibly have to do with burning a guild down? Haha..." She picked up her walking, speeding up to the point of being next to Colfar. She wanted to be away from that group, but she was still listening intently to the conversation.

[zerokiriyu]

He had hoped at least one of them would have the intelligence to understand, but since they did not, he pulls the folded parchment from his pocket. He then holds it up so that they could see the CCG symbol. "This is the symbol of the Capital City Guild." In hopes that someone would wise up, he continues to hold it up.

[furryoldlobster]

Colfar is surprised at the Anthro Panter's gall.  Didn't he say he knew of their guild destruction?  All he's got is a little piece of paper with another guild's sybol.  This means nothing!  He could have written it himself!  The half-ling speaks to Aila quietly, "What do you think?  How long are they going to put up with a free-loading, dishonest manther?  Three gold says they'll try to kill him before the cave"

[Tokilin]

Name: Aila Drakesberth               Bonuses:           Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 11/11                                        Dex: +2     Int: +0
Gold: 2, 5 SP                                                        Wis: +0    Cha: +2
Armour Class: 14                                             Com: +3   Luk: 15

   Aila wasn't sure exactly what Colfar was insinuating, but she would do anything to take her mind off of what she just heard, even a gamble. Whispering to Colfar, she said "Hah, this group? I doubt they could kill anyone they've shared a meal with. Arya wouldn't stand for it, and I don't think Kirito would allow it to happen either. Only one who'd try if it came down to it would be Zeeto. Even then, I think the Panther would win." Aila didn't have the three gold, but she was confident she could give some excuse if Colfar happened to win. "If they're smart, they'll probably pester him into telling them why he thought what he though."

   Aila gulped, she didn't like where this conversation about the paper was going.

[furryoldlobster]

Colfar is severely eager to gamble on almost anything.  Maybe killing is a little extreme. "Well I bet if this Anthro Panther doesn't give the info, fists will fly". What about this treasure cave?"I win, you give me part of your stash.  You win, I'll give you some of mine"

[Tokilin]

Name: Aila Drakesberth               Bonuses:           Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 11/11                                        Dex: +2     Int: +0
Gold: 2, 5 SP                                                        Wis: +0    Cha: +2
Armour Class: 14                                             Com: +3   Luk: 15

   Aila thought about the various things in the cave. She'd lived without them before, it's not like she'll need what ever it was in the cave to live on. "Alright, Fine. Only a portion though. Only if a fist flies. We'll see what side of this party is reasonable or not." Aila stuck out her hand to shake the Halflings. Hopefully this was enough of a distraction. She began to listen in to the conversation and watch out of the corner of her eye.

[Millarz]

"You know the guild was blown up by the CCG over a scrap of paper?" Arya says, agitated. "You better have proof to back that up or I'm going to have an incredulous stance on the matter." She folds her arms and looks at the manther as if to say, "I'm waiting."

[zerokiriyu]

He returns the parchment to his pocket, then looks at the woman."I am not interested in whether or not you believe me. You wanted an answer, and that was it. Attack me if that is what you want, but that answer will not change. On this "simple paper" is a message that is encrypted, and I know what it says. Now, why would something like a guild reopening, be hidden by a secret carrier, and an encrypted message? Why would that information not be public? Before you and this ragtag group of idiots, do something else stupid, think about those questions. That is your answer. I have fulfilled my end of our "promise", now you must fulfill yours."The look on his face showed that he did not care how they proceeded, all he cared about now was the fish. No matter what they did, his answer would not change. He would either die like this, kill them like this, or walk away. Either way, he was done.

[furryoldlobster]

The group now halts marching at Colfar's request.  He wants to see how this debate will play out. 

Materialize Popcorn for himself and Aila
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 16, total 16[/blockquote]

[furryoldlobster]

Popcorn!
SUCCESS

Colfar and Aila munch on butter-free popcorn while Zeeto, Arya, and S'kavara continue their heated debate. 

[Millarz]

Wait- encrypted message? Secret carrier? "Well, what does that encrypted message say, then? And how did you happen upon it by this 'secret messenger'?" Arya asks. She stands unwavering with her arms still folded, yet her face is pensive with the new information to chew on.

[Zito]

Name: Zeeto Nailo               Bonuses:          Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 10/10                                    Dex: +3    Int: +3
Strain Points: 11/20                                     Wis: +2    Cha: +1
Armour Class: 16                                         Com: +1    Luk: 9
Gold: 0


"Answer her question, or no fish for you Manther." Zeeto speaks up. He does not believe that the Manther is telling them everything, and is ready to fight at a moment's notice.

[furryoldlobster]

"Aila!", yells a voice from Colfar's direction.

[zerokiriyu]

"While on our way to return the arrow to the midget, a man ran past us, he was carrying the parchment until it fell from his pocket. Before we could stop him, he was already gone."


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[Zito]

Name: Zeeto Nailo               Bonuses:          Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 10/10                                    Dex: +3    Int: +3
Strain Points: 11/20                                     Wis: +2    Cha: +1
Armour Class: 16                                         Com: +1    Luk: 9
Gold: 0



   "What did the man look like? Was he wearing any armor? Was he wounded?" Zeeto begins interrogating S'kavara with fervor.

[zerokiriyu]

"I don't know, I didn't get a good look at'em. He was only running to something, as if he was running from something. That is besides the point. Why was he running so hard? Why an encoded message? All in all, why is something like a guild reopening, need to be so secret?"


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[Zito]

Name: Zeeto Nailo               Bonuses:          Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 10/10                                    Dex: +3    Int: +3
Strain Points: 11/20                                     Wis: +2    Cha: +1
Armour Class: 16                                         Com: +1    Luk: 9
Gold: 0



   "That's what I would like to know. We need to investigate this further. There is obviously more to this than a couple Goblins. Also, what about the assailant that killed our goblin at the beginning of all this? Could this messenger have been the assailant?"

[zerokiriyu]

"That is something that I have no knowledge of, and there for can not help. If you are done interrogating me, may I have my fish now?"Annoyance growing ever more evident on his face. He was done with this group and wished to leave, but not without his fish.

[furryoldlobster]

Colfar is slightly disappointed. It seems that this squabbling probably won't lead to a fight, and the half-ling is out of popcorn. 

"If you're done flirting, we should probably get going", quips Colfar to the group.  "Give the kitty cat a frozen fish stick.  Clearly he wants nothing to do with treasure, or us, and believes he can forge the forest on his own.  I say, give him a shot.  What's the worse than can happen..."

Colfar waits for a response whilst pondering the possibility of Zombie Manthers. 

[Zito]

Name: Zeeto Nailo               Bonuses:          Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 10/10                                    Dex: +3    Int: +3
Strain Points: 11/20                                     Wis: +2    Cha: +1
Armour Class: 16                                         Com: +1    Luk: 9
Gold: 0



   "Manther, since you seem so intent on leaving the group, I'll let you in on something. We accidentally left the fish at our last stop. So, if you want them, they're there. Go get them. Safe travels. Have fun."

[Tokilin]

Name: Aila Drakesberth               Bonuses:           Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 11/11                                        Dex: +2     Int: +0
Gold: 2, 5 SP                                                        Wis: +0    Cha: +2
Armour Class: 14                                             Com: +3   Luk: 15

   Aila bent over and whispered to Colfar. "Why did you call my name earlier? Were you trying to distract me from the little argument? It's obvious they're not gonna fight. That Cat is just gonna turn tail and head for his fish. I'd be surprised if he even followed us. Just give it up, your share is mostly mine." The honey dripped from her voice as she said it. She was confident in her views on the group.

[furryoldlobster]

"Your name...?", Colfar asks, befuddlement covering his face. "You know, not everything is about you"

Colfar surveys the situation, plotting a scheme to keep his treasure and to amuse himself.

"Perhaps you're right...but I wonder how upset the Manther will be at this latest bit of knowledge? Essentially, Arya and Zeeto were lying to him the entire time!", Colfar comments to Aila.  "Hey S'kavara!", the cleric yells at the Anthro Panther.  "These two were pulling your leg earlier.  They never meant to give you any fish!"

"You were saying...?", Colfar states without a tone of doubt. 

[zerokiriyu]

After turning to walk away when the elf spoke about leaving the fish, S'kavara stops at the call of the new midget. He turns back to the group, anger evident in his eyes."What was that?"

[Millarz]

Arya turns angrily to Zito and Colfar. "I don't know what you two buffoons are talking about, but I have my fish with me right here," she shoots. She would not forget the fish she so skillfully collected. "I, for one, keep my word and so have you, S'kavara." She shoots a glare at Zito and takes the second fish she had caught out of her bag.

[furryoldlobster]

"You heard me, Stretchy McManther!", Colfar quips again.   Clearly, the half-ling is up to something.  "You're lucky Arya here saved the day.  Zeeto would have torn you into a rug..." Colfar pauses for dramatic effect.  "With one hand behind his back!"

While the cleric attempts to incite what he believes would be the fight of the century, the woods have suddenly gone mute.  Its not long past midday, and the forest should be teeming with sound.  Colfar is oblivious to this and continues his tirade.  "Or...do you need me to materialize some milk first?"

[Millarz]

Arya is not as oblivious as Colfar, having spent most of her life in forests and having been a ranger for a while as well. "Shh. Something's wrong," she says. She narrows her eyes and looks around for anything peculiar.


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

[Tokilin]

Name: Aila Drakesberth               Bonuses:           Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 11/11                                        Dex: +2     Int: +0
Gold: 2, 5 SP                                                        Wis: +0    Cha: +2
Armour Class: 14                                             Com: +3   Luk: 15

   Colfar hadn't called her name? What had Aila heard then? Aila looked past Colfar, tuning the rest of the area out. They were out in the middle of no where, what could have said her name? Thinking back, she knew she hadn't given it to Uggo. So what was her name doing, floating on the wind?

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

[Zito]

Name: Zeeto Nailo               Bonuses:          Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 10/10                                    Dex: +3    Int: +3
Strain Points: 11/20                                     Wis: +2    Cha: +1
Armour Class: 16                                         Com: +1    Luk: 9
Gold: 0



   Now on high alert, Zeeto didn't really care about the Manther anymore. His Elven ears were very in tune with the surrounding area. As soon as it got quiet, he knew. Ready for anything, Zeeto looked around and listened closely to possibly get an idea of what they were up against.

Listen Check
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 11, total 11[/blockquote]

Spot Check
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 17, total 17[/blockquote]

[zerokiriyu]

"I think your over estimating the elvish moron, midget. Though, I think it would be entertaining to see him try." His attention becomes fixed on the elf as he turns towards him, thus becoming oblivious to the sudden change to the surroundings. He was itching for a fight, not something he would normally be interested in doing, but something had him fired up.


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[furryoldlobster]

Aila and Arya focus on the woods, looking for anything out of place.  Nothing seems abnormal...

Zeeto acute ears pick up the deadening silence.  Nothing should be this quiet....

Just then, the sorcerer notices movement in an oak tree just yards ahead.  His keen eyes focus on the foliage.  He makes out what looks to be eight appendages leading to something that resembles a huge dark purple spider with the four frontmost legs ending in cleaver-like claws.  The creature doesn't realize its been spotted despite its twin pairs of eyes and remains well hidden until Zeeto divulges information.

Meanwhile, Colfar is still oblivious to the possible dire situation and continues to antagonize the Anthro Panther.  "Bring it, Kitten!" 

[Tokilin]

Name: Aila Drakesberth               Bonuses:           Str: +1     Con: +1
Health Points: 11/11                                        Dex: +2     Int: +0
Gold: 2, 5 SP                                                        Wis: +0    Cha: +2
Armour Class: 14                                             Com: +3   Luk: 15

   Aila leapt backwards, her hand covering her mouth in astonishment. Not only had she failed to spot whatever called her name, there was a huge spider hiding in a bush! How did she miss that? She wasn't sure, but she was almost positive that the spider didn't call her name. She got into a battle stance, both hands on her weapons ready to draw them at a moments notice. The spider hadn't attacked yet, but who knows how long it was until it did.