Bregor again looks up with that slightly vacant look in his eyes.
"Hmm? No, I'm fine Ms Siarani. Let us vacate this pit shall we? Ladies first."
Once the fire is going, Sia sits down next to Bregor as dinner is put together, a pretty simple affair drawn from the supplies, and she looks at him. "What is it? I mean, aside from the obvious about this."
Bregor chews his food silently for some time before finally turning to face Sia.
"A fine "damn big hero" I am turning out to be yes? Since coming to the stolen lands I have drawn my blade three times. And each time it has been to slaughter an animal."
Bregor shakes his head and looks crestfallen.
"Tuskgutter wanted nothing but to be left alone, and that poor animal in the pit was driven insane with hunger..."
Bregor quickly holds up his hands.
"Please do not get me wrong, I would do the same thing again, never would I let Ms Kyrie be killed, but it still hurts me a bit. These are not wicked bandits we defeat to make the world a better place, just unfortunate accidents."
Bregor sighs deeply.
"It is so sad, if I had only been able to grab a hold of Ms Kyrie and prevented her descent, we might have been able to feed the animal and free it from bondage."
Bregor smiles wryly at Sia.
"Enough moaning from me Ms Siarani, I do not wish you to think me...soft."
Sia actually chuckles at the last line. "A bit of softness isn't really a bad thing. But you're right, this probably isn't exactly what you were promised so far. But they're still necessary steps."
"Take Tuskgutter, for example." She continues. "While it's probably true that he mostly wanted to be left alone, he was still a large and wild beast, and particularly foul-tempered. The land he used to forage would likely feed a small village used for farming, but if we'd left him he'd basically have the run of it himself."
She sighs. "And as for this misadventure...you're right there. This was just...an inhumane hunting practice. Someone dug that pit, didn't put up warning signs, and then just left it. Maybe whoever it was was killed, maybe not. If not, they have something to answer for, I think. After all, what if it had been a person, or even a child as it may prove to be in the coming months. Knowing that these things are going on, the future stewards of the land can decide what to do about them."
"Isn't that also an important step in solving the issues in this place?"
Bregor chuckles a little and looks to Sia
"Everything you say is true, and moreover, I would not let that animal eat Ms Kyrie...I am the only one who is allowed to put my lips on her!"
Bregor winks at Sia and chuckles. "Do not tell her I said so, i like my anatomy to remain in place."
"I'm fairly certain that the decision who gets to lay lips on me is mine," Kyrie points out with slightly less than her customary acid as she sits down by the campfire.
"I'd hardly call the bear we fought at the shrine 'merely' an animal," she points out while she cleans her armor. "And so far, the reason all we've fought were animals was because the sentients we encountered were willing to talk reasonably rather than draw weapons and fight. I'm sure that'll change once we run into the Stag Lord's minions..."
Bregor grins a little at Kyrie before assuming a mien of mock outrage and shock.
"Now now Ms Kyrie, eavesdropping is not a very ladylike quality you must realize. Moreover, if that is the literal truth, that animal must have been a very good kisser indeed. And not even a peck on the cheek for the rescuing hero? For shame!"
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Gorax sits eating his dinner, his shoulders hunched and his demeanor subdued, as he overhears Bregor's conversation. He talks to himself in a low gruff voice, "What's the fuss, those beasts were gonna kill you first if they got the chance. Must be all this fancy sword work he does. Don't understand it meself. Bregor did good, saves Kyrie and is all upset and confused. A good day's hunting, he dun good." Taking a branch, he pokes the fire and watches the embers rise into the sky.
After he finishes his meal, he looks up and starts, "Nice shooting Salinthas, your balance and reflexes were very good, doubt I could have done that. And you Sia, shame about the pit edge, I'd like to see your magic again."
The night looks quiet again, a good evenings sleep to look forward to.
"But declaring your intent to lay your lips on a lady is gentlemanlike?" Kyrie asks mildly, then goes back to cleaning her armor.
Bregor opens his mouth to deliver a clever retort, but after a moment his shoulders slumps and he sighs deeply instead.
"Touché' Ms Kyrie, of course it is not, this is not a fairytale, I am no dashing hero, and you are no damsel in distress...well, not in distress at any rate."
Bregor rises and walks over to lean against a tree.
"Once more my mouth moves faster than my mind, another slip of the tongue, and once more I become the man I seek to destroy..."
He gives a sad and somewhat wry smile.
"I could argue that a gentleman stating his intent to woo a lady is indeed gentlemanly, but I fear I had not thought as far as to make that statement valid, I may be many things, but a liar I am not."
Kyrie ignores Bregor's introspection as she puts the finishing touches on cleaning and repairing her armor as far as can be done with what she has on her in the field.
"We should think about how to proceed from here," she says. "I suspect we're going to have to deal with those trolls sooner rather than later, but I'd prefer to have some supplies of Alchemist's Fire with us when we tangle with them..."
"The way I see it, we've got two options: turn west and explore the remaining area in that direction before returning to Oleg's, or return to stock up on fire right away and then resume the route we'd originally planned."
She looks around the circle to each of the others. "Personally, I'd prefer the former - if we go straight back to Oleg's every time we run into something we're not sure we can handle, we might well still be at this come winter."
Sia herself just sighs at Bregor's brooding. "Perhaps some other time we can go into this, but right now I think Kyrie's right. Besides, this seems like the sort of tale to go better over a drink of some kind."
To Kyrie's suggestions, she nods. "Right. That's honestly my preference as well - we'll need to keep on the lookout for them, but the odds of catching them again after giving a day's head start are kind of low."
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Gorax grumbles to himself as the party settle down to discuss the next steps. His eyes flash disapproval, but no words escape his lips. Sullenly he eats his meal and drinks refreshing bright water. "Hmm, then we are heading back to Narlmarshes again, through the forests and stuff, plenty of places for thieves to hide, you never know your luck Bregor. You might yet get to show your skills with a sword yet."
Bregor merely nods his head in agreement, he was too lost in thoughts to truly add anything at this point, and besides, it was not his place to argue. He certainly possessed the charisma to lead, but not the wisdom, and at the moment, neither did he posses the confidence.
Kyrie nods, then takes the map out to study the western area. "If we go like this," she says, tracing a finger side to side along the unmarked area, "we should be able to finish exploring the western half of the area and still be back at Oleg's within a week, barring major disasters. Then we can inform the militia captain that we've seen signs of Trolls in the southeast, stock up on supplies, lamp oil and Alchemist's Fire and scout out the remaining area like this..." her finger sketches a trail along the southeastern area. "Which shouldn't take more than two weeks at the outmost. Once we've got that covered, we'll have fulfilled the original Charter and unless I miss my guess the Swordlords will ask us to deal with the Stag Lord and other possible threats further down south next..."
She trails off, then shakes her head. "But we can worry about the future when we get there. Those of us who aren't on the first guard shift should try to get some sleep."
"Umm...one quick question if I may? Master Oleg is a free trader in a frontier fort; do we believe he will have a large supply of oil, not to mention alchemist fire? He would need to send for that from Restov, which may take one or two weeks. Perhaps we could send master Salinthas ahead to tell Master Oleg of our needs? On his own, Master Salinthas should be able to catch up to us soon, and he can move a lot faster than us as we will be documenting the area either way."
Kyrie nods thoughtfully, considering Bregor's suggestion. "Normally I'd be opposed to sending anyone out through the forest on their own, but Salinthas has the most experience travelling these woods alone by far -- and it would help a great deal if Oleg knew what we'll need from him before we return. What do you think, Sia?" she asks, turning to look toward her friend.
Sia thinks about it for awhile. "That's acceptable, although I'm not at all sure how we will do without Salinthas for that time." She speaks in a light voice to hide her worry about doing just that.
Bregor just stares blankly for a few moments, he then bursts out laughing, a deep, body shaking and tension relieving laugh. And it rings out for several minutes. Finally he manages to stop, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Indeed, the one flaw in my otherwise masterful planning, sending the scout away and let the poor city folks wander aimlessly in unchartered territory. By the gods, an elementary mistake indeed."
Bregor smiles a little, getting used to saying the wrong things these days.
"No offence was intended friend Gorax, but surley you must admit that whilst you are at a level of woodcraft far above mine, so is master Salinthas on a level above yours?"
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"True, Salinthas does have skills in the wilderness that I don't have, but that's why I thought you wanted him to go off on his own to get stuff from Oleg's. If you want I'll go back and Salinthas can stay with you, Swetlana's food is always a pleasure?" Gorax smiles back at Bregor, as he returns to sit and clean his longsword. "After all, we're getting better at clearing this land for more settlers and people to come down."
"Your offer is much appreciated friend Gorax, but in the end, miss Siarani has made most of the decisions so far, and done so with a fair bit of wisdom, I'll defer to her judgment in this. To be honest, wisdom and insight are probably the qualities I admire most, since I clearly lack them myself."
Bregor taps his chin thoughtfully.
"We are clearing the land are we not? I cannot help but wonder what plans do the sword lords have for the land? Colonization to be sure, but what of us? Do they have further plans for we who do the deed, and thusly know this land better than any other? I think we may end up staying here longer than some of us originally thought we would"
Bregor taps his chin thoughtfully.
"We are clearing the land are we not? I cannot help but wonder what plans do the sword lords have for the land? Colonization to be sure, but what of us? Do they have further plans for we who do the deed, and thusly know this land better than any other? I think we may end up staying here longer than some of us originally thought we would"
"Well," Sia counters. "That's the point of doing the job thoroughly. If we do it right, and document properly, then a well-manned garrison would be up to the task of holding the area for quite some time to come. Eventually, expansion might dictate another expedition, but normally this would take long enough that it would be akin to mounting a new expedition into unknown territories, essentially the same job. We might have some small advantage, but not very much of one."
...please ignore the laughing coming from the sky. It's just the wind.
"I'm guessing sooner rather than later," Kyrie opines. "Cleaning up the wilderness only makes sense if you're planning to do something with it in the short term, or wild animals and bandits will migrate back in -- and a garrison would cost them money."
She thinks for a minute, then continues. "On the other hand, relations between Restove and Issa are tense enough as it is. If the Swordlords start aggressively expanding their territory it could touch off a civil war... Ah well," she finishes with a sigh and a shrug. "Whatever they've got in mind, I'm sure they'll let the rest of the world know when they feel the time is right. For now, let's do the job we were sent here to do and worry about the future when it comes."
With that, she retires to her bedroll to get some rest before her guard shift comes up.
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As the other start to discuss the heavy and important matters of the future, Gorax shakes his head thinking that soon they might make this place safe enough for his family to come and join him, away from the harsh northern winters and the misery of the mines. He rolls into sleep, dreaming of his mother and sister, running to him with arms outstretched and giving him a big hug.
In the morning, as the sun rises above the trees, "Very nice all that stuff last night, but do you want either me or Salinthas to go back to Olegs? Or we going on?"
Bregor smiles a little and turns to Sia.
"That I believe is the bell sounding for our intrepid leader to make a decision, one assured to be based around facts this humble swordsman never even considered."
"...having had the night to think it over, I would prefer to send neither away. As much as it might be needed. The issue is that I'm not confident of Gorax's ability to get there on his own, but nor am I confident in the ability of the rest of us to keep on the track without Salinthas' help. I know we managed for a few days, but that was taking a path we already knew. So, we'll forge on for now, and just hope that Oleg, or possibly Bokken, either has some handy or at least the ingredients to make it quickly enough. If we see more signs of trolls and neither is the case, we can likely ride to Mendev ourselves and spend a day there picking up exotic supplies."
"That's probably something we should do anyway at some point. We're flying blind on this expedition, when there have to be old maps that could help fill in the general lay of the land in the city. No substitute for doing the job properly, but it really is past time we put in the background research."
A faint smile plays along Kyrie's lips, but it's gone well before anyone thinks to look at her face. "Sounds good, she remarks as she saddles up her horse. "So for now, we head west and finish charting out the Marshes. Let's get ready."
Bregor grins and nudges Gorax with an elbow.
"See? Did I not say she would prove that her mind is as delectable as her face? I confess that I would not have thought about that my humble self. If it comes to that, you will have to protect the ladies in my absence friend Gorax, for I took a wow not to return to the north until I had performed a deed that would make me be able to face that man again."
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Leaving the trapped area behind, you continue on into the forested area, watchful as ever. You enter a slight valley, following a small brook, a mere trickle of water left to run its course, until you hear the sound of rushing water ahead of you. Salinthas moves ahead of you, coming back with the reports of a large river ahead. You all carefully move down to the river, across its wide berth and swift flowing currents, you realise getting across wold be very difficult. You follow the path of the river downstream, looking for a place to cross.
Until you all see a possible point of crossing. Ahead are several sandy islets, which create a ford across this remote part of the river. These sandy islets make for a natural choke point in the river, where thick piles of rubble, branches, leaves and other debris partially block the river's flow. It looks as though there maybe the opportunity to cross the river here, using the piles of rubble as a bridge.
You think this is the Skunk River.
You notice that amongst the rubble are the carcasses of dead creatures, as the rubble barrier stretches across the river. There is something unnatural about this pile of rubble and debris, that joins the river banks to the islets. You see what looks like a skeletal human arm, rising out of the water, stuck or is it placed in the wall of debris, just above the swift flowing currents. Just under where the arm exits the water, you see the glint of silver, the skeleton appears to be wearing armor, which surely must be in a much better condition than its wearer.
Your sharp eyes notice the glint from the green skin of a reptile asleep amongst the rubble, from what you see it could be as big as 6ft tall. It's head and body look similar to that of a dragon, yet you see no signs of wings, just two small arms.
You notice a movement in the rubble, two small yellow eyes seems to be looking out from the darkness of a hole in the rubble, could it possibly be another of the reptiles, but this one awake.
Bregor
Gorax
Kyrie
Salinthas
Sia
Random 1
Random 1
Random D20s: 1- , 2- , 3- , 4- , 5- , 6- , 7- , 8- , 9- , 10-, 11- , 12- , 13- , 14- , 15- , 16- , 17- , 18- , 19- , 20- , 21- , 22- , 23- , 24-
1-23, 2-26, 3-7, 4-10, after Kyrie
Perception
"Unless I'm way off, this river is called the 'skunk river'," Kyrie says. "And no, I have no idea why."
She starts to ease her horse forward toward the rubble bridge, then pauses, her eyes narrowing as slight glints in the water catch her eye. She looks around more intently, her frown deepening into a scowl as she unlimbers her bow.
"There's a large reptile sleeping underwater in the rubble," she tells the others. "... And I think a second one in that hole. Probably awake. I doubt they're friendly."
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"Unless I'm way off, this river is called the 'skunk river'," Kyrie says. "And no, I have no idea why."
Salinthas, replies to Kyrie, "In places the mud and silt smells bad."
Despite Kyrie pointing out the creatures, Salinthas has difficulty making them out and is unable to identify them. "I don't see what you see."
Sia frowns. Of course, she wouldn't be able to see anything anyway. "Be on guard. I wonder if these are our Tatzlwyrms."
Kyrie doesn't move her eyes from the hole in the rubble as she dismounts. "Look between the third and fourth rubble heap. The green glinting is off a reptile's skin. It's at least as long as a human is tall. Fifth rubble heap. Those shadows are a hole. There's something moving in it." she tells Salinthas.
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The creatures are Tatzlwyrms.
It is said they do not possess a breath weapon like real dragons, but they do have a slightly poisonous breath. They are about the size of a man, excluding the tail and do not have wings. According to the common folklore around here, the creatures will come and steal from the local population and horde the items away, never to return them. They are notoriously vicious, particularly when creatures invade their territory, and those on the wrong end of a bite rarely survive.
"Excellent spotted ms Kyrie, I myself would have completely overlooked the foe we now face."
"I am unsure as to what exactly they are, but I would wager that a sturdy shield and sharp blade will carry us far either way."
Bregor dismounts slowly and readies said items, the prospect of battle against something more than a simple animal makes him look quite pleased. Suddenly something strikes him and he frowns.
"I hesitate to point this out but...Once this battle is won, we will have ANOTHER trophy that will not last long and would need to be delivered quickly."
