Ametist admires the building's masonry in silence. He's not sure how xenophobic these Hellknights are, so better let others do the talking for now, at least break the ice.
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Loc will remove his hat and give a polite bow. "A pleasure to meet you. I am Loc Ludenburg. Wizard for our little band. Please allow me to introduce our leader Lian Brook. She wished to speak on our behalf."
She was obviously the most charismatic out of all the group. Only made sense to have her be the figurehead of the band. The less people paid attention to him the better in cities such as this.
Drystan nods, but makes no move to remove his helmet. "Sir Drystan, Crimson Templar of..." he falters momentarily Does the Order of the Golden Flame even still exist? Am I the last? "...of Ragathiel." he finishes, though the holy symbol worked into his armor's breastplate speaks for itself.
Godwyn stood wordlessly next to his brother. Given his own holy symbols, both on his armor and tattooed onto his skin, it was not too hard to realize that he too was a paladin.
Lian raises a small eyebrow at 'leader,' she'd have to talk about that later.
"Greetings, honorable Maralictor Kayla," Lian presents the token, "I am, as my companions mentioned, Lian Brook, formerly ambassador of the River Kingdom Touvette. We seek an audience with the Hellknights on the matter of gaining support for an expedition north."
When Zorakir was finished gazing into the reflective waters of the trough, he soon noticing that everyone aside from child, the halfing and half-orc were gone. He appoarched the half-orc and bombarded her with a series of questions.
"Where are we? How am I alive I know I died? Is this all a dream or some sort of nightmare? Who are you? was everyone here previously dead?"
"I am the person you'll wanting to be speaking with then. Should your request be reasonable, and of suitable merit, I shall convey it to my superiors." She says in a tone that brooks no argument.
"Where are we? How am I alive I know I died? Is this all a dream or some sort of nightmare? Who are you? was everyone here previously dead?"
"Easy friend. One question at a time please. To answer your questions in order: Augustana; I don't know for sure but we believe that the gods were involved; This is Golarion, but it is much changed from what I remember;My name is Karen; there is a group of about eight of us or so that were, yes. We also awoke in a barn, with the stable boy poking us with a stick."
"Given the events of which I am aware leading up to my own 'demise'," Yamyra adds, "the regions broadly surrounding the Inner Sea have suffered rather noticeable tumult over the last decade or so."
"The precipitating event seems to be the re-awaking of an immensely potent wizard from the age of Azlant, though that could simply be what has afflicted Varisia & points north. Observationally, we all seem to have been occupied in some way or another with thwarting these cataclysms. None of us were successful." She adds bleakly.
Zorakir remains quiet for a moment, thinking over what Karen told him.
Have the slient gods awoken? This is troubling.
"If we are all here, then we all must of died. If the gods are getting involved, then all might be lost. The balance of this world has been shifted, there is no telling if we can restore, let alone mend it." He said bitterly.
"Maybe this is a divine punishment, brining us back to watch the world burn. Or maybe, this is our redemption? "
Zorakir beings to trail off, spining his spear as he ruminates this entire situation.
"So what's our plan? Do we have any allies? From the looks of it we all come from different corners of Golarion. Maybe we were chosen because of our previous missions and potential allies. Now is the time to gather surviors and make a base of operations."
He quickly turns to look at them."So where are each of you from and what did you learn before you died? I hail from Hyrantam located in the sodden lands and lived in Jaha in the Mwangi for some time. I learned of the rise of the serpentfolk and their plan to revive their fallen deity. Also, my parents were part of Saoc Brethern, an organisation of astrological philosophers. We, the people of Lirgen study the stars, chartering them and seeking guidance. We learned of an ancient esoteric order known as the Dominion of the Black. What Saoc Brethern learned of them I cannot say, most of the order mysteriously took their lives. Last I heard my father serves the Star Savior in Hyrantam and my mother remains in Jaha."
"I doubt the gods would be so cruel as to bring us back only to give us no chance to change fate. Also, I know that I have powerful abilities that I did not have before. Several of the others mentioned having these abilities as well. Can any of you feel power within yourself that did not exist there before?"
"As for who I am, I am the daughter of parents who loved me and raised me in an inn that they run. I spent some time working there as well, until I decided to take the vows of the priesthood. As for how I died before, we were fighting Vampires in Ustalav and the master vampire drained my life completely. Fear not though, I am not a vampire, as the gods had other plans for me."
"I am the person you'll wanting to be speaking with then. Should your request be reasonable, and of suitable merit, I shall convey it to my superiors." She says in a tone that brooks no argument.
"I represent a small collection of talented individuals- not limited to those present- who wish to make a contribution to the struggles against the forces of disorder that strike at our world. Right now, we aim to head up to the Five Kings' Mountains to lighten the load on the Dwarven front. Directly, we seek identification to mark us as friends and to make passage easier. Other mutual support can be discussed, your Hellknight's importance to the safety of the world is something I quite respect, but such matters are secondary and I understand we've yet to prove ourselves in your eyes.
Now, I must admit, some of my comrades are a bit... troublesome," she gives a small flick of the ear to indicate Loc's direction while trying to look like she's not being overt, "So I do think it would be best to get them to uncivilized lands where they can do some good, rather than to stew here where their use to war efforts would be questionable."
Kayla nods, "Excellent, we have a citadel on the way to Highhelm that is currently under siege. If you can break it, and free those inside, not only would we reward you handsomely, we will also make you honorary Hellknights, granting you free passage within our territories, among other benefits."
"Works fine for me." With his characteristic neutral accent, Ametist asks "What can you tell us about the forces inside and outside that citadel?" Having told the Hellknights are paladins of order above all else, he soen't take the time to even imagine they could lie.
Lian flicks her tails once, and smiles, "That does sound like just the sort of challenge we're after. Like my eager friend asks, the forces laying siege, they're significant?"
Godwyn nodded, but kept his peace. The others were asking the right questions.
Drystan nods along, smiling behind his visor. This is going as well as could be expected.
"Unsure. We lost communication about a month and a half ago. What I can tell you is that it was one of our major staging grounds for assaults and reclamation efforts. For it to fall, or even be cut off from contacting us, means something dire indeed has happened."
”Then we will need to make haste. Have there been any relief efforts?”
A month and a half is far too long! I can see why you're eager to get assistance- or at least word- there quickly.
Lian will also attempt to sense hidden motives
She is telling the truth, and isn't hiding anything. "There haven been no relief efforts, as we are spread too thin at the moment to spare additional resources. While it is an important citadel, it is not the only one of it's kind."
Lian nods, "I shall present the mission to the rest of our group, though speaking tentatively, I do believe we'll be the relief force you need."
If there's nothing else, heading back to the rest of the crew seems the next step.
”We should set out immediately. Can you provide horses, and a guide, so that we can reach the fortress as quickly as possible? There is a chance that the garrison is still holding out, and any delay could b fatal.”
Drystan cracks his knuckles and rolls his shoulders, clearly eager to get rolling. "Indeed. We should endeavor to get there as quickly as possible."
Ametist smiles. "I know how to get there, just follow me." He turns his head to the Hellknight. "Any pass word that we should know, so that they don't take us for enemies? Sorry, had bad experiences before..."
"Unfortunately, we can not spare any additional mounts. However, we can provide you with some coin to purchase your own. Speak to the clerk at the front of the embassy."
Looking to Ametist, she nods. "The token Penshi gave you should suffice. He is an ally to all Hellknights. Should there be any survivors, they will recognize his symbol."
Ametist nods. "We should part, then. You will have word from us if we manage to do the task."
Drystan's eyes narrow behind his helmet. "I'm not riding any horse that isn't breathing."
Lian nods, Excellent. I think you may be more familiar with mounts than I, so perhaps you should handle deciding our mounts, Drystan.
Though first thing first- the others.
Back at the inn, Karen continues her explanation of the events that have occurred and waits for an answer regarding new power for these people as well.
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"Do not worry the horses will all be alive and well. In fact, I will pay for them all. Do me a favor and collect our fee from the front. I'm heading out shopping right now. It has been a pleasure speaking to you Ma'am"
Loc will bow and head out of the building to go shopping. He was curious to see if this town had everything he was looking to pick up.
Lian meets with the clerk, and is given 400g(50g for each of you), for the purposes of purchasing horses, and any other incidentals.
As you wander through the city, on the way back to the inn, you're able to find the bulk of what you're looking for.
At your last stop, the alchemist is an older woman, who asks what you're planning on doing with the various wares you've purchased.
Lian trusts the funds to Drystan to handle horses, as it's outside her area of expertise.
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Loc will hum softly to himself as he shops around. He will have everything delivered to his new carriage as well once he has bought everything. "I'm just gathering supplies for a few experiments. Never know what your equipment will need. I've also got some special plans ready for the darkwood. It's always good to have a bribe ready when traveling as well. Diversifying those goods is the best way to be ready for anything."
Loc will also make sure he is alone when be begins to make copies of the horses for everyone. He will also pick up some smaller things to furnish the vehicle. Glass bottles, writing utensil's, things of that nature. Also a lock for it as well.
"Anyone would manage better than me with horses" nods Ametist to Lian's trusting of the money to Drystan. While Loc is looking for some supplies, Ametist excuses himself as well. "See you all in a bit? I need some buying too. Won't take any time."
Lian nods to Ametist, "I will meet you at the Inn."
And, though briefly looking through stalls, begins heading in that direction.
"Penshi, could you direct me to the local stable that can best fulfill our needs?" Drystan asks, when they return to the Inn.
”Well done. Let us be off then. I am no horse-bound Knight, but I believe that I can at least not fall off on our journey.”