Approaching Tomas, Durielle asks, "Tomas von Achiel, you are knowledgeable regarding magic, correct? I have a question for you as you have studied these matters, if I may impose upon your time." She coughs slightly, but it passes quickly.
"From where does the power to do such things come? I still do not understand why I came into these abilities." She says with a sigh.
Tomas looks over to the Oracle and is silent while he ponders her question.
"Magic is all around us. It is a type of energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the world together. Some of us are special and we can shape magic to do our bidding, but never for one moment think we command it. It is power, and it is a burden, as my father discovered. It can create beauty, or drive a man to madness. It is neither good, nor evil, but rather like a force of nature, uncaring. Magic is...magical."
He stares off into the distance, then looks back at the old fort and the people there. He smiles and pats her on the arm.
"I know so very little about magic, but I am learning. Ask me again some day once this land is tame and we are more experienced. Maybe then I will have a better answer."
Sugua tosses back some ale while listening to Khargol' thought snd gives his two copper, " That's the responsibility of this whole job isnt it. Sometime you should run into possibly dangerous people who could very well kill you. Or maybe they wont kill you and become a close fried! Never know. But Well deal with them eventually. Might not have to fight on the opposite side of the battlefield with all of them either. Regardless, instead of worrying about attacks coming to you or vice versa, we should be getting stronger to be able to make the choice. That way we can fight longer, harder, stronger and Fight GREATER foes."
"For once we find ourselves on the same side of an argument, Sugua. We will deal with Kressle and this so-called Stag Lord eventually."
Turning to Trent, "Thank you for the information, hopefully we will be able to put it to good use." he says, getting up and returning with a couple more ales, obviously trying to mix business and pleasure.
"Obviously you have skills of note that allow you to remain free in the wilds, is there anything else in the region that good for us to take note of?"
"It's hard see because I don't know how experienced you are in the wilds. Though it's obvious that the Greenbelt isn't your home."
"For example, you might already know to keep a fire stoked when you're spending a night in the forest to keep wild animals at bay. But be careful, as much a campfire can keep you safe, it's also a beacon to some of the most dangerous denizens of the Greenbelt"
"Humm, oh yeah, about mmm... 20 miles southwest or so, some bastard laid what must have been a whole damn cart full of bear traps, be careful around there if you travel through, I just avoid the damn place now."
"Old man Bokken lives a few miles east of here, he's a bit mad, but if you need potions he's worth the trip."
"The forest has a few forts besides just the Bandits. Lizard folk live far to the southwest, and mites and kobolds live dead South of here. Be careful if you're around there, none of them like me and I assume the same will go for you all too."
"To survive in the Greenbelt you need to respect the forest, keep your wits about you, don't take risks, and after that a fair bit of luck."
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Listening to the description of the area Morgrym speaks outloud his thoughts, partial on purpose, partiall from the drinking that has occured thus far "Well it sounds like our work is cut out for us. It's good to know a alchemist is nearby we may need his services at some point. Those lizard folk and kobolds will need to be brought into line one way or another if we are to make headway into this reagon, dont need them nipping at our heels. I agree the field of bear traps is best avoided for now but should be cleared at some point"
This first major foray out into the world was ever increasingly interesting to Morgrym, trying to bring peace to these lands would be difficult if people in this area do things as silly as lace a field with traps.
Vladimir retrieves one of his journals and begins writing down the information supplied by Trent.
"Thank you again, my friend. Any information at all is significantly more than we had, much apprecieated." Vladimir says, raising his flagon to Trent.
Angor keeps his ears attuned to the conversation but doesn't add anything just yet. He is not a planner. Never was. But he could appreciate the value of one. Right now he was busy skinning, gutting, and preparing the bear they killed for food and whatever else he could from it. Oleg might have tanning supplies but if not the pelt would still make a fine cloak. Maybe he could even keep the head intact as a hood. One part of the conversation did stick out though.
"Bear traps could be useful. We could move dem over here and surround de fort wit dem. Make the bandits much easier targets," he says, head covered in gore.
"Bear traps could be useful, yes, but they are not an immediate threat to us at present. An enclave of kobolds and mites, on the other hand, could prove a nuisance. I, for one, believe we should at least seek to ascertain whether they are friend or foe. If they are enemy to our friend here it is likely they would consider us such, as well."
"I believe Angor is suggesting the bear traps would be valuable for use on more than just bears, stalwart inquisitor."
Angor points at the Oracle and continues working.
Oleg raises his hand, "Whoa there, remember this is still a trading post not a castle, I still do business with honest men like Trent here, you go lacing the front of this place with traps I won't see a trapper or hunter again."
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Sugua snorts " I guess your starting to wise up then. All this talk of finding and making sure of this and that isnt an option when a bear can kill you so easily. When you can take a hit then we will get to talkin. And on bear traps, well Ever hear the sound of a man getting slammed in the face with a beartrap, wondrous thing AHAHA! "
"As Oleg himself has just pointed out, though, he is not looking to turn his trading post into the forward operating station for a war on the bandits of the Greenbelt, be they the Stag Lord's or whomever. Without his permission, we would be wrong to impose on his land. Right now, those bear traps are hurting no one. A nuisance and an annoyance and potentially dangerous, certainly, but the bandits seem not to care about them being there or they'd have already tried to collect them. But they are not sentient beings with a penchant for stirring up trouble with other civilizations."
Tomas addresses the hunter Trent.
"The old man, Bokken is it? You said he is some sort of alchemist? I should very much like to meet him. How far is it to his home?"
Sugua laughs " Now if only you can apply that thinkin' to other things... "
"Master Oleg, I can certainly understand your desire to keep your facilities operating for its intended purpose, and I don't believe anyone here intends to change that. I suspect..." Durielle sways slightly and her voice trails off slightly.
Shaking herself, she finishes speaking. "Excuse me. I mean to say we all would feel better about the safety of you and Mistress Svetlana if your home was made more defensible all around. Not necessarily creating a fortress, but improving your ability to handle things when we are off completing the purpose of our charter."
"I know little of what is effective for such matters, so I defer to the others and pray they will find something we can agree on so we don't spend too much time bickering over whose ideas are the most prudent."
"Yes Trent id like to meet this man too, perhaps an ally in our cause, and if not at least a man of skill that im sure would accept coin for his services, i would like to meet this man as well" Morgrym held great respect for the alchemical and arcane arts, its takes lots of time and diciplin typically to master them and they can be powerful tools in the proper hands.
"and on another thought Trent, I completely understand Oleg here not wanting the home of himself and his wife turning into a staging point for a war, is there any abandoned fortresses or forts or the like nearby where we could feesibly set up a staging point for the dangerous expeditions into these lands?" Upon hearing Olegs protestations on the party setting up the post with traps and the like Morgrym realized that the group had been assuming that this mans home would become a war camp and that was most unfair to the man withought asking him fisrt
Angor rises from the bear and gives Oleg an incredulous look. It is amplified by the fact that fresh blood runs down his face and arms. "Soon as you asked us for help de war started fool trader. You tink dis Kressle will forgive what we have done here? You tink et will matter you had little to do wit et? Like dis man says," he says pointing to Trent, "dis land es dangerous. And de charter says we can have all dat we can control. We can't control et wit bandits running around. De are just as much your problem as ours now. We leave, your home will burn and you will die and et will be dat much tougher to for us. When de Stag Lord es dead, maybe you can go back to de ways tings were. He will not let something like dis go. Mark my words."
Sugua shrugged, he had no opinion one way or the other when it came to the Crazy Old man. But he did note the usefulness of potions. " HAH! Your assumin' to much, why would he waste that much effort on this man. More likely he just extort the man for drink or somethin' And to their knowledge nothing had anything to do with Oleg. IE we made sure to slaughter them! No witnesses. "
"When de realize no one es coming back, de will send more. Ef de do not come back, de will send more. We either show dat dis place is no longer worth de effort or remove dem. Either way, dis place cannot go unguarded. Unless you would leave Oleg and his people to fend for demselves?"
"as per our previous assesment of travel times we figue it will be at least five-ish days before we might see someone look into this place, we could certainly stay here about a week and ensure that no one is coming back to harm this place. i dont want to overstay our welcome but i do want to ensure Oleg and Svetlana are safe"
"While it is true they may send others when the original crew does not return, it will not be at any time soon. Since I was clearly incorrect in assuming they had mounts of some kind, they spent over two days walking here. It will be at least that long before they are missed; probably longer. If they do decide to send more, it will take another two days for them to get here to check on their original group. Bare minimum, five days and probably longer before any possible retaliation is seen. It is more than enough time to begin exploring the area and also solidify our position here."
Oleg rises from his seat at Angor's words, "You saved my wife and I from those Bandits it's true, and it's for that reason I don't club you right now."
"You call a man a fool in his own home again and I'll beat you around this post until you can only dream of walking."
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"That would seem to be reasonable, Khargol. I propose that we leave out at first light to begin a short expedition to truly get a better feel for our surroundings."
Angor rises too. He speaks sternly and makes sure to bare his tusks when possible. "A fool es a fool no matter where he stands. Ef you didn't want to end dis fight you should not have started et. You cannot stop de swing of your weapon half way through. Ef you try to den you will pull back a stump, in de best case. Would you rather your home die slowly or are you going to fight back?"
Morgrym taking note in the raise in tensions imidiatly drops back to a sober and stern gaze and gets to his feet "Angor your likely correct in saying that there will be more bandits returning in time but we are guests in Olegs home and understandably doesnt wish to be insulted, Oleg he may be brash and i know you dont like it but hear the substance of what he says not how he says it, there will be trouble in the days to come more than likely and he is worried you are putting your head in the sand is all"
Durielle sips her tea and watches the males as they continue to allow their tempers flare when everyone is just feeling the same anxious desire to see the almost certain conflicts behind them instead of before them. But not everyone is able to see what drives them, only respond as their nature dictates. It saddened her that mortals chose to view things only as they see on the surface without mindfulness of what was inside each person.
One day, I shall have more control over this foresight, she thought. Then I will really be a better friend and guide to all.
Until then, Durielle just watched the men, and only mystery was found in her silver eyes.
Trent jumps in too, "To answer your question Morgrym there isn't many places I know of here in the Greenbelt that could act as a fort, that isn't already. There is an old ruined temple of Erastil to the Southwest of here, it might be worth looking into I suppose if you feel you have a knack for building fortifications."
Trent pats Oleg on the back, "Forgive the orc, old boy, he's just drunk and full of bluster."
"Fluff my words however you want. De truth remains." Angor returns to his gruesome work, obviously done with the conversation and uncaring as to how his words are taken. He only offered council, harsh as it was, but council he thought to be the truth in the current situation. There were many clans in the north that would retaliate viciously, no matter how small the transgression. And killing a leaders men was no small transgression.
Sugua sees the tensions rise and seems ready to join as well, but as soon as it was created it died. Sugua's bright smile only dimmed slightly. He then begins to laugh heartily slamming down his drink which causes it to spill along the length of hi right arm. " WELL THEN! It seems like Angor got something more than a Claw and hug from his bear maulin' He gained the urge to make a fight! Though not enough to finish, The earlier wrestle and current encounter wore him out. Oleg, if your feeling the need to release your tension anyway I'd be more than ready to give you a worthy fight! Otherwise I would ay save it for later and drink merrily tonight. That way you can spend the time with your lovely pinkskin wife and release all of that rage and fear without threat of Bandits coming to cause problems. Trade one fight for One of the more sensual form HAHAHA! "
Sugua clangs his glass up against Morgryms as well as a few others and gives Oleg a white-eye wink! " I can't wait to go exploring tomorrow! I'll get a show for sure this time! "
Khargol remains silent, refraining from joining in the drink as some of the others are. He despised being drunk. The loss of control of oneself was the antithesis of a great deal of what he believed in. Glad that a physical altercation has been avoided, but not being fool enough to think the tension is dissipated, he excuses himself from the table, wishing to spend some time alone with his thoughts while he has a chance to do so.
Tomas rises and studies his tome before joining the others for breakfast.
"I plan to visit the alchemist today if any wish to join me.", he announces simply, then heads off to prepare. He will walk, as his skill with horses is near nil. He waits 1/2 hour then heads off in the direction of Bokken's hut.
The party awakes the next morning to a light fog that has settled over the Greenbelt over night. The forest is quiet and a peaceful, atleast in appearance.
Those who awake first will find that Trent has apparently already taken his leave, but not before leaving Morgrym some scribbles on his map he left out on the table the night prior.
Those who make their way outside or look out the windows of Oleg's might spot a lone traveler making his way down the path into the trading post.
Khargol stands outside the fort at first light, accustomed to rising early in the morning. He is sitting on a stump near the fort, the measured scratching of pen on paper the only sound as he writes in his journal, using his darkvision to help him write even in the relatively low light.
Looking up to think about the next thing to right, he sees a shape moving through the fog in the direction of the fort and, paranoid of a new enemy already appearing, he stands, his hand moving instinctively to the blade at his hip.
Loudly enough to certainly raise at least some attention from inside, he shouts,"WE HAVE COMPANY!"
Thessk is also gone... seems he has left overnight as well...
Sugua looks up from sharpening his blade and raises a brow, admiring the edge as it flares up from the friction. " Oh!? What needs killin'? Is it one or many?! "
Up just before the sun rises, Vladimir eats a simple breakfast and proceeds to prepare Shadow for the group's journey.
Hearing Khargol yell out about company, Vladimir rushes to see just what sort of company the inquisitor is talking about.
"What do you make of it, Khargol?"
"Looks to be just one if I'm seeing things correctly. Coming straight down the path...certainly not trying to hide themselves." he answers, not taking his eyes off the road and the figure approaching through the fog.
" Then they are either non-threatening or really confident or a bit of both " Sugua goes to give the newcomer an eye.
seeing the man walking down the road Morgrym decides to greet the person for ill or for not "im going to greet him, but if y'all please id appreciate some backup should things turn south"
Stepping out onto the road Morgrym shouts to the figure walking up the road "Good mornin to ya, whats yer name stranger?"
Tomas follows the dwarf out to meet the new comer.
"I would be happy to accompany you, Morgrym." Vladimir says, mounting his horse and heading out onto the road.
Sugua stands by the gates and twirls a Chakram like a coin as his sword stopped flaring without interaction with fire. " Yeah Yeah, I'll get him good with this if need be. " He grins, though not sure if it is for a good reason.
The fellow on the road seems to be geared for dangerous territory; he wears scale armor and a helm, and bears a shield on one arm, with a lengthy straight sword at his hip. A simple gray tabard covers the armor and, like his boots, bears some signs of the dirty road behind him. He also wears a well-constructed backpack with broad leather straps and a secure flap over a perhaps-half-full pouch. A symbol on a thong dangles from his neck, though from a long distance it's too small to make out.
For those accustomed to traveling in the wild, the man makes two immediate impressions.
1. He is quite eager in his traveling, and ready for the possibility of battle.
2. He has absolutely no idea what he is doing traveling in the deep woods.
As people emerge from the fortification to observe his approach he doffs his helmet, carries it under his right hand as he waves with his left (complete with his shield upon his arm). "Hello the fort!" he shouts. "Is this the trading post?"
Vladimir continues to ride out toward the stranger, hearing his voice, Vladimir thinks to himself, Surely it cannot be him, he left following that priest...
Getting closer to the stranger, Vladimir's thoughts continue, I'll be damned, it is him.
"Donovan? Is that you? What in the Nine Hells brings you out this direction? Where's the old man?"
Finally arriving at Donovan's side, Vladimir offers his hand in greeting. "Good to see you again, old friend." he says with a smile.
"Vladimir! I hadn't expected to see you here! I am on the heels of a charter to explore the southern lands and bring order and peace," Donovan says.
Donovan takes Vladimir's hand and gives a friendly grin. "After I left Restov, I spent a few years studying at the shrine of Ragathiel. I was invested as a priest only a few years ago. Now I hope to put this training to good use. But you! You've become a knight, it looks like. And a dashing figure at that! Are you involved in this business of settling the southlands?"
Seeing that Donovan knows the man, Khargol breathes a sigh of relief, his tense posture visibly relaxing as he approaches the pair, for the moment putting his journal and pen away in his backpack.
"Seems you are known to at least one member of our expedition. If you have studied at the shrine of Ragathiel, I am certain you and I will see eye-to-eye on a great many issues." the half-orc says with a grin, extending his hand. "Khargol Uzgurn, enforcer of Abadar the Gold-Fisted. It is fortunate that you happened along, sir, as another companion of ours has recently had to leave us."