While Delfig is thinking he’s not going to catch Herr Meyer as they both run through the woods, and is about to give up, when they both burst into a small clearing, about eighteen feet across. Between two trees in the clearing is a pole, about seven feet off the ground, which has hanging on it a line of rabbit skins, long dried out. Meyer leaps for the pole, sweeps off the skins and turns to face Delfig.
At the same time, Anshelm and Kazimir stand at the edge of the forest, wanting to see where Meyer might have gone, and uncertain which way to proceed. Tiberius stands some thirty yards away, towards the house. Josef looks on the meadow from the rise where the cart track descends the hill.
"Tiberius! Where did they go?!"
ReplyDeleteI'm confused. If Meyer saw Anshelm and Josef coming from over the hill, then they should have seen Meyer run into the woods. That means you guys know just as much as Tiberius regarding Meyer's whereabouts, i.e., somewhere in the woods.
ReplyDeleteI draw my sword and drop into a fighting stance.
ReplyDelete"Herr Meyer, I do not wish to kill you, or even harm you. My companion was too overbearing and intent on fulfilling a task that I do not agree with. Please, let's talk before we have to shed blood."
(OOC - you guys might be working from knowledge/insight gained from the spoilers from yesterday. I purposefully did not read them. If there's any comments about my play, please let me know privately without any spoilers on game direction.)
ReplyDeleteJoseph,
ReplyDeleteWhen Meyer saw Anshelm and Kazimir, they were both fifty yards away. No matter how fast they run, they’re not going to get to the edge of the forest before Meyer and Delfig completely disappear behind the trees.
I’m giving the opportunity to Anshelm and Kazimir to decide whether to wander blindly into the woods or not.
Delfig,
(rolling dice)
Meyer is apparently too concerned about his family to have a chat. Roll initiative.
(OOC: Regarding “spoilers.” No information was given which the party did not already possess. This only included the many signs which the party failed to make comment on openly, and which I felt was worthwhile to know. Call it the response to an intelligence check. If you, Delfig, wish to not read them, that is your funeral. But it is perfectly reasonable for players to take proscribed information which a DM chooses to give).
I understand that they weren't going to catch him, but Tiberius was thirty yards away. Tiberius, Anshelm, and Kazimir know exactly the same thing, which is nothing.
ReplyDelete(grabs dice - roll - 3)
ReplyDeleteSOI - if I win initiative, and he's looking rather competent, I'm going to yell out to draw company, turn and haul my butt back towards my friends.
SOI - if I lose initiative, I'll parry and yell out for help.
(Alexis - gotcha. Read. If you don't mind a comment, I'll be glad to 'splain, lucy...')
I saw nothing to indicate that Tiberius was also running to the chase Meyer. So he's still standing where he was when Meyer ran.
ReplyDeleteDelfig,
ReplyDeleteMeyer rolls a 5 for initiative, then rolls a 3 with his quarterstaff on a d20 and misses.
The rest of the party hears Delfig cry out.
That's my understanding of the situation as well. I was responding to Anshelm's first comment in this thread. I should have responded in character, but I was worried I might have missed something in the earlier threads.
ReplyDeleteOOC: I was going off the description, that we didn't see where Meyer jumped into the woods. Seemed fairly believable to me. We're good now, though.
ReplyDeleteAnshelm takes off toward the sound of Delfig's voice.
"scheiß!" and I turn and run. (Yes, AoO may occur... that's fine. I'm still hauling "tonne" outta there.
ReplyDeleteKazimir will hesitate for a second, look to see if Tiberius is coming, and then heads after Anshelm.
ReplyDeleteTiberius will ask for his weapons back before running off towards Delfig's voice.
ReplyDelete(OOC: who has Tiberius' weapons?)
ReplyDeleteIf there are no weapons to be had, Kazimir will give his hand axe to Tiberius (keeping his club for himself)
Delfig runs for about three rounds (18 seconds), and sees Anshelm and Kazimir running in his general direction (but not directly towards him).
ReplyDeleteAnshelm and Kazimir,
To your left, you spy Delfig running towards you. ALONE.
Kazimir will call out to Delfig, unless it is obvious that he sees us, in which case Kazimir will gesture for Delfig to come to them.
ReplyDeleteI'll yell out to Anshelm and Kazimir to come over to me. Once I see that Herr Meyer hasn't pursued, I'll pause and catch my breath and explain:
ReplyDelete"I chased the smith to a clearing a short ways behind me. He grabbed a stave and swung at me. I don't know if he's skilled or not, but he showed no fear at me holding a sword. With the three of us, he might be more easily dealt with or negotiated with with. However, he might also have run the other way. I think we should approach cautiously and slowly, to see if he's still there or run away again."
(OOC: Points of information:
ReplyDelete1. Given Alexis' earlier post in regards to it being sort of an intelligence check, should all PCs now know something is amiss since we have no writ of seizure? Perhaps we need to reevaluate the situation before we try to confront Meyer again.)
"Just lovely," says Anshelm. He will follow Kazimir and Delfig.
ReplyDeleteOOC: Our office had a little disaster over the weekend (a pipe burst and many of our insurance files are waterlogged), so I may be a bit scarce today. Life has wonderful timing. If I don't respond in time, assume I'm backing you up.
Kazimir,
ReplyDeletePerhaps you should.
(OOC - Kazmiri - Play it out, go ahead and talk about it...)
ReplyDeleteOOC - back home from work now.
ReplyDeleteWhile at the top of the rise, I would like to look around and see if there are other obvious exit/entry points to the clearing.
I'll run down to where everyone has been entering the woods, and go down the path there to rejoin the party.
Since Tiberius is still near the entrance to the woods, he'll wave Josef down.
ReplyDeleteJosef,
ReplyDeleteThe most obvious exit/entry points are those next to the stream at the lower end, and next to the pond at the upper end.
Kazimir says, "Wait a minute, lads... I think we're played for fools by Herr Mizner."
ReplyDeleteOn joining Tiberius:
ReplyDelete"This goes poorly. We've perhaps fulfilled the misgivings you felt about Mizer. I believe we should flee and not look back."
(still sucking wind after that long chase and then flight)
ReplyDeleteHe certainly did not seem as I had pictured him when Mizer sent us to rout out a 'silversmith'. He almost shoved his stave up my nose. I can still hear the whistle.
Herr Meyer's a Jew, for one thing. You know what that means. He claims to be renting from the Baron and that he has no clue of Herr Mizer or any arrangement. We have no writ and we now look more like thugs, which gives Mizer a reason to distance himself from us. Mizer spoke of an arrangement, but I don't know anymore than that."
I'll pause for a minute to see if Meyer comes back through the woods.
"Well, he either is off to get help, or he's waiting for us to make the next move. Safety in numbers. We should go back and investigate the house and shop."
[ooc i published a google doc at http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhfxqd69_10cqx6frgn
ReplyDeleteregarding the murder of ells so as to not clutter the game board. This doc is the player, not the character]
[ooc again - sorry - I will be away from the computer for the next hour. I think that we should tell the silversmith that Mizer is operating against him and that he must be wary and then hightail it south and west. I hope that should we get out of this 'tactical' situation we can talk about out options]
ReplyDelete"It does appear we've been played for fools. Mizer certainly knew what he was dealing with when we asked him for work."
ReplyDeleteA bit dejected, Anshelm looks at his companions. "We have to try to right this situation somehow, to keep our skins if nothing else. So: are we with Mizer or Meyer? Myself, my sympathies lie with the smith."
OOC: Josef, never thought you were a bad guy for doing what you did. I thought you were acting on some bit of character info we weren't privy to. It's all good, man. :)
OOC: And more communication would be great, I agree! It's why I started the e-mail thread at the beginning of the game (Tiberius, what's yours, btw?).
ReplyDelete(OOC - I'm waiting for Alexis to indicate if we see Herr Meyer after a minute or two, or hear anything, before I move on. My captcha was 'pollo' - wonder if that's a subtle hint...)
ReplyDeleteYou do not see Herr Meyer anywhere. There is now smoke rising from the chimney of the house.
ReplyDelete"Well, let's not stand here waiting for the 'beets' to get us. I doubt we'd be able to speak with frau Meyer at this point. Do we just wait for the smith to return?"
ReplyDelete"Let's rejoin our friends and see what they have found."
ReplyDeleteI pull Anshelm aside and whisper to him (see your email.)
I head back to the farmhouse.
Anshelm nods and, after a brief private converse with Delfig, follows him back to the house.
ReplyDeleteI'll just throw this in to indicate that you know no more now than you did before.
ReplyDeleteWhen we rejoin Tiberius and Josef, I'll relate the same info from before - the smith backed me up with a stave and I wasn't ready to fight someone who might be better prepared than we thought. I'll point to the Star of David and note that we seem to have stumbled into something way over our heads.
ReplyDelete"So, do we remain here and perhaps face a mob of angry Jews or do we hide in the trees and skulk about a bit to see what occurs? Or do we check out the mill?"
Except that the smoke signals are rising!
ReplyDeleteHorribly ill-prepared, fellows though we are - we have to get out of here before the cavalry arrives. Whoever the rightful owner of this place is is not going to care WHY we came here or WHAT WE THOUGHT.
30+ miles continuing west to Augsburg?
Cut through east and rejoin the road to Dachau?
We're in the middle of something beyond us and despair to think that we'd somehow extract ourselves from trouble by social means...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"If the agreement is to pull back, let's at least get into the trees a bit away before we discuss where to go next." Delfig will move away from the house towards the cart track if the general agreement is to pull back.
ReplyDelete"Maybe Augsburg would be good... we should lay low until we can get this figured out. We mentioned Mizner by name, so if a mob does form they could track us back to Dachau."
ReplyDeleteHere's the immediate actions I'd like to see taken:
ReplyDelete1. Someone yell an explanation to the silversmith and warn him that Mizer is after him.
2. Get into the woods and keep on going!
If there's pursuit, and it's mounted, we're toast on the roads, in the open
Anshelm nods in agreement with Josef and Delfig.
ReplyDelete"Kazimir, I believe you've mentioned the only option available to us at this point: lie low." Scratching an itch, he continues, "I've idea what motives lie behind this misadventure, and could care less to be truthful, but I will not risk my life for one such as Mizer. And we're past being able to reason with Meyer."
With a sardonic smile, he finishes, "We've been looking for a way out of Dachau for some time now. It appears that we've been granted our wish."
Delfig is now obviously moving away from the house and into the woods, motioning to the others to follow.
ReplyDelete"We can explain later, if needs be. I agree, we need to be cautious and make sure we're not pursued... let's get going NOW!"
Delfig will move along the track back towards the main road for a few minutes then move off to the left and find a decent spot to rest a minute and discuss.
"You're both right, best to move now."
ReplyDeleteAnshelm follows.
Delfig,
ReplyDeleteBefore you get as far as even the rise, you will catch the briefest sight of Herr Meyer as he sneaks through the hole in the side of the mill, where the cam shaft from the waterwheel enters the building. The smith has managed to get into his shop.
While Tiberius will agree with lying low for now and moves with the rest of the party.
ReplyDelete[ooc - how is it that we can agree to establish consensus and 'officially declare an action'? I'm primarily asking my fellow PCs, but any input from Alexis is welcome also.]
ReplyDeleteI run to shouting distance of the house, keeping an eye on the windows for signs of attack. If I see any, I'll stop (hopefully out of range)
"A man named Mizer of Dachau wishes I'll of you and would have had us come to kill you.
"We are sorry to have frightened you - we wanted to help.
"His agent lies dead in your wood.
"We will never trouble you again."
[btw - the woods are thicker to the south if I remember correctly.]
ReplyDelete(OOC - in other games that I've played by post, we've generally agreed upon actions and then told the DM "OK, we're done yakking'" although in the case of some, the DM gets bored enough that he/she starts to toss the wandering monster dice. Alexis, what would work best for you? Assuming that we don't get post 5 posts of chat without it being assumed to be our action.)
ReplyDelete(OCC: For me, the concensus between human beings in this forum appears very much like it would in real life. Anytime that five people decide to go to a bar, they tend to do it as individuals. People wander about, going to the bathroom, getting their keys, standing on the stairs outside and waiting, and so on.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest change in this I see is that, while in D&D, normally one person could say, "You do this and you do that and I'll do this," each player is stuck with having to actually wait and see before becoming company commander. more coming.)
I would suggest these two points:
ReplyDeletea) concentrate on ONLY your own actions.
b) when suggesting action, instead of phrasing it as “we should do this,” or “perhaps the best course of action would be”, I would suggest the alternative, “My intention is,” followed by the actual carrying out of your intention if there hasn’t been a change. Then, you will be running only your own characters, and no one else’s.
Josef,
ReplyDeleteThe smith inside the mill will shout out at you, “If you be sincere, throw aside your weapons and step away from them.”
(Recap - Delfig was intending on moving towards the woods and find a hidey-hole. As he got to the rise, I saw the smith run back into the mill. Assuming Josef saw the same thing, he ran back to yack with the smith)
ReplyDeleteAssuming that is where we're at, I would stop at the rise and listen. If I heard what was yelled, then I would glance at the rest of the party and see if they were of a similar mind to join Josef and disarm. I'll take a glance at the woods to see if I can see anyone watching from the woods (Meyer's backup?) If it seems OK, I'll then join Josef and toss my weapons out of immediate reach, but close enough that I could grab them at a run.
I toss my weapons 5-6' away toward his location
ReplyDeleteI'll continue
ReplyDelete"We don't know his motives - he hired us as ruffins"
If he sees the others do so, Anshelm carefully sets his sword on the grass and moves away to stand by Josef.
ReplyDeleteMeyer will emerge from the shop, come around into view and stand about twenty yards away from Josef and Anshelm, a little nearer to Tiberius, whom he watches closely. He will have four war hammers in his hands, two of which he will let fall on the grass at this feet. Holding the remaining two hammers defensively, he will suggest that Kazimir and Tiberius do the same as their friends (Delfig is way up on the rise by this time).
ReplyDeleteTiberius doesn't have any weapons, remember. He gave them to someone else.
ReplyDelete(OOC - o.O at the warhammers.)
ReplyDeleteDelfig will turn around and approach back, dropping his weapons just out of reach once he's within about 10 yards away.
(OOC: Tiberius. To whom did you give your weapons?)
ReplyDeleteMeyer: "I'm waiting."
(OOC: I would guess between Kazimir and Anshelm, it would have to have been Kazimir, since he's the stronger of the two.)
ReplyDelete(OOC: I don't recall having been handed Tiberius' weapons.)
ReplyDelete"Kazimir, weapons down, man!" Anshelm says, keeping his eyes on Meyer.
Kazimir will also disarm.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to assume that Kazimir does.
ReplyDelete"You," says Mizer to Tiberius. "What made you think you had the right to threaten me or my family? Who is this merchant you mentioned? The supposed landlord of this property."
Tiberius shrugs. "All I know is what my employer told me. He told me to deliver the news to the current occupant and to see that he leaves. If my words threatened you, it is because I am a zealous worker. As for the identity of my employer, his name is Johann Mizer."
ReplyDelete"And this Johann Mizer sent you to push me off my land, which I rent from my lord the Baron, without papers. I do not recognize your authority. Why would it not be the Baron himself? With armed guards and his written seal?"
ReplyDelete"Very well. You are correct, we do not have a writ of seizure. I had hoped to trick you earlier, because I had believed you to be a simpleton. It is apparent that this is not the case and that you are a man that is not easily intimidated." Tiberius eyes the warhammers.
ReplyDelete"Still, we have our job, although it seems some of us are less than enthusiastic about it. Divided as we are, it seems we will be unable to complete it."
"Then I suggest you return to your employer and tell him that you've failed. Get off my land."
ReplyDeleteOOC - time for my 2 hr commute and other miscellany. I'll be back to post - Delfig would have some questions to ask.
ReplyDeleteAnshelm clears his throat.
ReplyDelete"Herr Meyer, we've little inclination to return to our employer, as to be honest, we had little heart for removing a man from his rightful lands. And it's clear that Mizer played us for fools, and played us well, at that! I tell you, it leaves a foul taste in my mouth, and I'd like nothing more than a chance to return his insult.
"I would think that, even if we were to leave and never return to Dachau, Mizer would try again to remove you from your home. Perhaps there is benefit in our working together against a common enemy."
Meyer to Anshelm: "What can you show me that I may trust your word?"
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOOC: I have to knock off for the night; the stench from wet drywall is getting overpowering here. Delfig, Tiberius, Josef, Kazimir, feel free to continue. I think you know how Anshelm would react.
ReplyDeleteDelfig nods in response to Anshelm's speech.
ReplyDelete"There is probably very little in the way we can show you something to prove our word, and you have every right to be suspicious of us. Only our actions in that we've agreed to lay down our weapons, and the fact that we're telling you all this to perhaps assist you. We do not understand what is going on here, aside from that your ouster and the deaths of the Innkeeper seem a bit too coincidental. Our fates are sealed, we will be unable to return to Dachau now. What would you have of us to prove our word?"
I need to call it on account of darkness.
ReplyDeleteI will pick this up Wednesday. Tomorrow I'm going to see Watchmen, and I have some other duties.