Winds howled as they all stood outside the Gate of the Dominorum Empire.
A man, his skin tinted blue, his eyes as pale as the snow that was falling, and sharp, needle like teeth, grinned at Valafar "Valafar Zaros Kiorakas. It appears your families money and skills in Necromancy has finally brought you here, to me.
Do you know who I am? Do you know who they are?"
The man that you knew only as "The Speaker of Her Majesty the Empress" waved a gray robed hand to three half-ogres and a monstrous Orc looking giant who stood, grinning, and standing behind you.
You only knew of that monstrosity- he was an Orc-Giant that went by the name of Shakriig the Hammer. He was a magnificent hunter and enforcer that patrolled the slums of the entire Empire.
What you didn't know, however, was why he was here.
The Speaker gave a wide grin
You'll learn respect, one way or another, Valafar. You work for me and the Empress, not the other way around. But....
The Speaker waved forward the half-ogres and Shaakriig If you insist on learning the hard way, that can be arranged as well.
Ah yes- the rushed measure of a well-to-do family.
You are outside the walls of the Empire of Dominorum, facing East, and are currently standing in the beginning of the lands known to be Terra Nix.
Your... nature has been determined to be necessary for the opening of trade routes throughout this land. We have promoted you instantaneously to the position of First Lieutenant to serve under Shakriig, your Captain for this mission. The three Half-Ogres standing next to him- Corporals Grug, Hak, and Borg, are directly under your command.
Shakriig will be your guide through the ten day trek to the land of 42, where you will meet with their ruler, The Mother, also known as Elyse Oak. She is aware of your coming, and should welcome you warmly and with given authority to begin the construction of these trade routes.
There is, however, another mission that Elyse is not aware of.
42 is host to something Her Majesty the Empress wants- the Angel-Oak, a massive tree of vast magical powers that we are hoping to engineer towards our own purpose.
Infiltrate 42, direct them to build the roads from there to here, and aid us in a military assault on the town using the trade route you built as a military highway.
We are happy to give you 1,000 GP as your starting funds, and a majority of items you require to complete this journey. Terra Nix is a frozen tundra wasteland, filled with blizzards, high winds, and constant cold and snow. Shakriig is equipped with some things to aid you, being an excellent navigator and tracker among them, but not all.
Shakriig took earth shaking steps towards Valafar with a nod to the Speaker of the Council I'll take it from here, Speaker.
The Speaker faded off into the air, as he was wan to do.
Shakriig shook his head and barked at the three half-ogres Stand at attention! Your Lieutenant and Captain are having a conversation! Come 'ere!
The Half-Ogres made slightly less noise as they approached, each one grinning stupidly as they saluted.
Not many opponents out here. Of course... Shakriig grumbled and mulled as he spoke, all while tugging at the thick steel chains that acted as his make shift armor That's the problem. There isn't much food to be had out here- did you bring food, Lieutenant?
Shakriig gave a large, throttled laugh that shook some of the ground around him A gift??? For your Captain???
Turning over the glaive and eating some of the rations, Shakriig smiled What a fantastic Lieutenant. Grug, Hak, Borg! Isn't your Lieutenant FANTASTIC?
Shakriig turned and smacked the one named "Borg" forward face first into the snow. All three Half-Ogres began to laugh as the other two said Yes Captain Hammer! Shakriig the Hammer sir!
Shakriig rubbed his chin Yeah... Alright. Now, Lieutenant, there are a few things out here that are quite dangerous, even to things as dangerous as us. I'll be able to get us around most of it, but should we see a dire wolf, or a herd of Bison, it's better that we steer clear.
Food is scarce out here, so where wild food is, so are predators. We steer clear of both using our rations for most of the trip, and we'll do just fine.
Actually, we won't have to stop at all, if we had one less member.
Shakriig gave a dark look from Valafor, to Borg, who stood immediately at the ready with a grin on his face A test????
Shakriig shrugged and defered to Valafor Depends on what your Lieutenant thinks, Corporal Borg.
[ dice = Intimidate ] 1d20 + 3 = [ /dice ]
*^ you just need to do that with *your* scores, and close in the spaces*
Corporal Borg laughed Not going to work, Lieutenant!