<strong>Jojel</strong><br/><br/>Jojel could tell through the tightly gripped reins in his small hands that the horses were nervous. He didn't blame them. This dim forest was far from their usual environs. He could handle the bustle of the city, or the dark of the night on a country road when traveling quickly away from some small town where the troupe had overstayed their welcome. He hadn't signed up for this kind of adventure. But money was tight, as usual, and the prize in this case was too great to ignore. Plus there was Lucrece. They owed her, no question, and even if there wasn't a debt there was something there like a friendship. Friends were too valuable to squander. You never knew when you'd need to use one for something.<br/><br/>It had been a long time, thankfully, since the halfling had needed to rely on the sharp steel at his belt instead of the sharp tongue in his head. Something told him that whatever they ran across here in the Dread Woods might not be so amenable to clever talk and an impish grin. It was a good thing they had the knight along. She looked like she could handle herself in almost any situation, except maybe a card game. And he'd seen Oz get down and dirty a few times too. Though the thought of that just reminded him that the creaky wooden wagon under him was packed to the slats with explosives, which did little to calm his nerves.<br/><br/><br/>Suddenly everything was happening at once. The horses were the first to react, beginning to rear. Jojel yanked hard on the reins, struggling to bring them under control. "Whoa! You worthless nags!" He didn't know clearly what the monstrous earthen figure in front of them was, but he knew that if they lost the wagon it was going to be a really long walk back.<br/><br/>"<em>May the road rise up to meet you</em>, my sweet ass," he grumbled.<br/><br/><div align="center"><strong>Dice rolls</strong></div><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body"><div align="center"><br/><em>Knowledge Planes roll </em><br/>1d20+3=12 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3012686/)<br/><br/><em>Initiative Check roll</em><br/>1d20+5=18 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3012687/)<br/><br/><em>Handle Animal roll</em><br/>1d20+5=17 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3012688/)<br/><br/></div></div></div><br/><br/>[/quote]