6. The Stone Wood

[Blood axe]

...pinning to the floor a giant of a man, whose bellows of laughter echo off the rafters.

Jörg - Fighter
Addressing the new comers, "Well don't just stand there," he booms, "fetch my tankard, besting these whelps is thirsty business!"

Harn

Aye! over here first!
The Dwarf nods his thanks.

[tumblingdice]

...pinning to the floor a giant of a man, whose bellows of laughter echo off the rafters.

Jörg - Fighter
Addressing the new comers, "Well don't just stand there," he booms, "fetch my tankard, besting these whelps is thirsty business!"

Whoah! Slow down there, Hulk Hogan. Jörg's not gettin' nothin' from no one until he posts his stats in the Characters thread.

[kjc]

Whoah! Slow down there, Hulk Hogan. Jörg's not gettin' nothin' from no one until he posts his stats in the Characters thread.

Good to go!

[tumblingdice]

Pyotr disappears into the kitchen for a moment. You can hear him giving orders in Traladaran. A few moments later, he emerges, along with a woman in a long green dress and a silver belt. Those of you who have been here before recognize her as Darya, Pyotr's wife. She's carrying a tray loaded with mugs of ale. She sets a few down on one of the tables. All businesslike, she gestures to the party to help themselves. Heading over to Jörg, she gives him a swift kick in the side with her leather boot. "Fetch your own tankard," she chides him. "Better still," she says, "get the boys here something to drink. They bested you.

She turns on her heels and strides out of the room, back into the kitchen. Taras looks at the floor, his face gone red, but Pyotr can't help laughing. "I told you not to take too long a break," he says. He urges the rest of you to take a seat, and a much-needed rest. The head of the house proceeds with introductions, in his thick Traladaran accent. "This here Jörg. Most recent survivor and latest mouth to feed. Well, until you showed up." As if on cue, Stellios, the servant previously sweeping the floor, disappears into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with bread, cheese and some cold venison. "Please, my friends," he says. "Eat. Eat." He takes time to great Harn, Tethir and Meringered with a handshake.

As you proceed to stuff your faces, Pyotr, seemingly out of nowhere, produces a bottle of vodka. Opening it, he takes a long pull. "Loshad!?" He says with a snort, in answer to Tret's questions. "Lord of horses? Makes my life miserable. One whisper from him, and horses go wild. Won't let man ride them. No one will buy them. Don't talk about Loshad to me," he says, dismissing the topic with a wave of his hand.

"Talk about Stephan," he says, turning his attention to Athelstan. "Tell me. Where is place they've taken him?"

[badams30]

Athelstan - Fighter

Athelstan bows politely to Darya, "Thank you again for you hospitality, Ma'am." Then he sits again and between sips of ale, he says to Pyotr: "The gobs moved Stephan around, we were always a day or so behind them, and after we killed the hobgoblin king and goblin chieftan, and rescued the old woman we learned that Stephan had been moved to some set of ruins called Xitaqa. Have you heard of them? The old woman mentioned that the goblins were looking for the great map, so we deduced it must be your tapestry. Your brother is only a couple of days ahead of us, so we'll be able to catch up with him quickly, but we need to locate these ruins. I assure you, when we find the ruins, we will kill all those behind this, and return your brother to you safe and sound." He taps his fist on the table and says "For what it's worth, we've turned the forest red with goblin, worg and hobgoblin blood in our efforts. These roaches won't soon harm anyone in these parts."

Athelstan will eat, then will ask the residents if he can get his clothing and especially his cloak and tabard laundered, and some hot water to bathe in, and to clean his new chainmail in. He wants to look his best to kill bad guys....

OOC: We need to find this city, and then split. Hopefully Stephan is still alive...

[tumblingdice]

"Xitaqa?" Pyotr scratches his chin, as some of the womenfolk pour into the room from the kitchen. "Sound like name of city from old beast-man legends." "Baba," he says, "turning to an older woman, his mother, named Kuzma. He then asks her in Traladaran if she's ever heard of a place called Xitaqa." With a word, she waves her hand dismissively.

Stellios the servant smiles. "You could always ask Loshad," he suggests.

The rooms bursts into laughter.

Actions?

[Blood axe]

Harn rests & drinks, keeping his eyes & ears open.
I think we should recuperate for a short bit, then get going. What's the plan?

[kjc]

Jörg - Fighter
Jörg, enthralled by the tale of goblin and worg slaying, motions for the bottle. He puctuates the story with foot stomps, knee slaps, and grunts of approval, all the while spilling nearly as much as he guzzles.

[greyarea]

Tret, rogue

Tret, feeling a bit like the others are having fun at his expense, takes his dinner out to the barn and eats with the horses.

[tumblingdice]

"Laugh if you want," Stellios persists, "but hear me out. My baba once told me a tale about the horse-lord. She said that he could be summoned."

Assuming he has the group's attention, Stellios continues. "You have to go out on the high moors at midnight. Then you have to whistle while standing on one leg. Do this for three nights and Loshad will come. Stand on two legs, though, and he'll trample you to death!"

Silence falls over the group for a moment. "Does anybody have a better idea?" Albina asks in Traladaran.

Actions?