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Posts
Josiah spends quite a bit of time staring at the dead Seekers. True, they had done evil, but did the dead deserve such a fate? Did they not deserve a chance at redemption? Was it so evil to seek a higher power? Where were the lines anymore? He shook his head. He was troubled by this death. He was troubled by a lot of things these days. Josiah shakes his head. "I'd hoped that the rumors of goblins were just that, but... Surely the Seekers would have tasked us with driving them away if they had known?" He seems even more disturbed by the ramifications of this new knowledge. Hearing Durom's grumbling, he nods. "Let's go, then. We have ground to cover before we reach home." He mounts his horse and leads the way. Josiah sighs and ties his horse to a tree before sitting down next to the fire that the kender has set. "It's not good news, I'm afraid. The Seekers began as a group dedicating to finding the gods. They started as a group of believers who wanted to see if they could locate the old gods, or failing that, new ones. Recently they've turned quite a bit darker. They've resorted to thuggery and intimidation. I'm not proud to say that I'm one of them. Or at least, I was. As they've gotten more terrible, I've started thinking about getting out. I hope I'm not that person anymore." Josiah pauses. He breathes out a long breath and begins again. "Recently there's been rumors of secret meetings on high. Of dealings with less than pleasant folk. I used to be a rising star, but I think they might have noticed my lack of faith. I've been relegated to the position of runner. Right now I'm supposed to be getting a report on tax collections from Low Seeker Vicount. 'Low Seeker' indeed. It's a scam, and one I'm happy to be rid of, but I might need your help. They don't let anyone out. I may need some muscle at my side." "And Solace has become their capital. They've begun shaking down the residents for 'taxes' at least once a week and rounding up them as can't pay and putting them to slavery. It's bad here. Things are not what they were. Oh, and to kick it off, they're working with goblins." Josiah stood by his horse, watching the companions return. At first he didn't speak, warring emotions playing out on his face. First happiness, then shame, then a sort of tired reservation. This was his life, it was what he had made it. It was time to face that. "Oy! You lot look worse than what the cat drug in. You'd be mistaken for bandits 'round these parts. Best shake the dust off soon as you can and get cleaned up." He held his arm out to each one, briefly clasping them. After the kender, he sighed and plucked his belt purse back, putting it back where it belonged. "Welcome back to Solace. Though you might not find much here. Things... things have changed. And not for the better." Brand Vasari wrote:
You know, I pondered that and decided to let the campaign flow and see who he ended up worshiping. Could be anyone in the Good camp, I imagine. I didn't want to go straight Cleric, but the inquisitor's more active role seemed to suit the campaign, better. This is pretty much what I was thinking of... Background:
Josiah Carpenter was a jerk. Fortunately for the rest of his friends, he was their jerk. When the companions split to seek fortune, he didn't have to go far. He fell in with a group that called itself the Seekers, and he found his place. Suddenly his heavy hand and his strange feeling that there was something more out there had found a place where he belonged, with others who believed that they had found the Gods again. It was perfect, until the beatings became more than mere encouragement. The first dead man Josiah had ever seen died while he watched. And something in him died as well. Suddenly the rush of power was gone, replaced with the sick guilt of having participated in a man's death. From that moment onward, Josiah did his best to ensure that no one else got hurt. He focused on intimidating when diplomacy wouldn't work and subduing when intimidation failed. He got very good at patching up wounds and his focus began to shift from belonging to getting out. When the Seekers came to Solace so close to the agreed-upon meeting, he saw a way to get out: with his friends by his side. He's re-joined them, hoping that they can help him redeem himself from the cad he was, to the man he hopes to be.
HP:2d8 ⇒ (8, 3) = 11 Untrained Sense Motive: 1d20+1=4 Reluctantly, Josiah dismisses his mindblade. "Well damn. I trust him. And I smell the proof. I got no interest in killing him. Anyone else care to?" Josric wrote: "Josiah..." Josric speaks quietly, his tone tense, "has there not been enough violence? Could you not allow our captive the chance to answer your questions before threatening him with harm?" "Look, holy man, maybe you should take a walk while I do what's necessary, eh? Sometimes there's got to be someone who gets their hands dirty, eh? Or you can stay and watch, if that's your deal. Different strokes, eh?" Josiah turns his attention back to the hob. "I'm not hearing singing, meat. I'm getting all twitchy here. You won't like it when I twitch, will you?" "Who's coming, meat? How many and from where?" Josiah ignites his mindblade and waves it in front of the hob. "Ever seen an animal gutted, meat? It can live for quite some time, alive and in terrible pain if the hunter's bad at his job. It happens, I'm bad at my job." He then lays the mindblade along the hob's inner thigh and applies just enough pressure to dent the skin without cutting it. Jason Lillis wrote:
"Care to tell me why you attacked us, meat?" Josiah asks, watching the hob closely. If I can, I'd like to charge the Hob. Assuming I can: 1d20+6=10, 1d6+3=9 If I can't charge, then double move to the nearest square adjacent to bow-boy. Intimidate or Diplomacy, both are untrained with the same bonus, so take this roll as whichever you'd like: 1d20+2=12 Edit: Josiah wouldn't exactly be trying to be intimidating, just straightforward.
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