Alamina waves her hand towards Auchs and whispers in a dark and menacing tone, "Flee! While you still can!" as she casts cause fear on the man.
Will save DC 14 or be Frightened for rounds.
Smexy smiles at seeing the snowball hitting the man and attacks with renewed fury hoping to finally take down the lord. Claws and fangs lashing out yet again.
The Stag Lord, reeling from injuries all over his body, finally falls to the Eidolon's bite! There is a cry of dismay from the bandit that can see into the Stag Lord's quarter. "No! The Stag Lord has been defeated!"
Meanwhile, Auchs blinks at the cleric's spell, then roars out as if he had seen a ghost. "No! Not the faces! They scream at me! Get away!"
"You don't have to die with your lord! If you throw down your weapons you won't have to." Elvara yells out over the battlefield.
The bandits closest to Elvara throw down their weapons, staring at the cooling body of their formor lord. Back in the couryard, not truly believing that the battle could have gone quite so poorly, one of the bandits makes a swing at Quint
The other bandit (with white trimming on his clothing), yells out, "You traitors! I don't know where you're from, but you'll never take me alive!"
Despite their conviction, both neither are able to land a hit
Raven sighs at the idiocy of the bandits, and decapitates the Stag Lord's head. She then picks it up by the hair and stomps outside, holding it up high.
"Surrender. Now," Raven says menacingly.
"If you surrender now I promise we'll treat you fairly!"
Raven brings the combat to a head, as the Stag Lord loses his!
Quint continues to fulfill his impression of being a front-line combatant, something that in later tellings people will likely believe he made up. Yet still he remains resolute, even as he attempts to end the hostility.
Screaming with terror, Auchs goes running towards the gate to the , barreling it aside with a massive <crack> as he attempts to escape the nightmares that surround him.
Sensing that clearly the combat had turned, Dovan turns from the bard and nimbly flings himself through the opening that Auchs had made in the door, wriggling through it like a rat.
Their leaders dead, defecting, or deserting, the remaining few bandits lower their weapons in surrender. The battle for the Stag Lord's Keep has ended.
Akiros regards Raven with a grimace. "Have I resigned myself from following one butcher to surrendering to another? I have come to terms that the Stag Lord is not a man fit to follow, but... that... is unnecessary."
A few moments latter, Auchs is freed from his mental control, and sees Dovan abandoning him through the gate. For long seconds the massive man seems to work through how his friend forced him to fight, then left him when the fight turned bad. He slumps back dejectedly, a single small tear making a trail down his dirty cheek. "You're not... gonna take my knights, are you?" he asks Quint plaintively.
The rest of the bandits seem resigned to their plight and look to Akiros to get them out of this alive.
Quint limps over to Auchs and gently pats the large man on the shoulder.
"As long as you don't hurt anybody with them I'm sure you can keep them."
Raven turns towards Akiros. "I wanted to end the bloodshed as quickly as possible. It was gruesome, it was cruel, it was unjust, but the others would have thought we were too soft to actually kill them if we just hauled his unconscious body outside. I would rather kill one man who has caused so much suffering than kill others who are misguided or pressured into banditry." She drops the head disdainfully.
"Akiros. You seem like a decent sort, and you're the only leader these men have now. Make sure that this sticks." Raven seems to think for a moment, then says, "You may not think yourself capable of doing this. You may think you're evil for whatever the hell you did in the past. But that was the past. This is now. You aren't as bad as you think you are."
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While the others discuss the surrender of the keep, Vorsirion stares at the decapitated body of the Stag Lord for a moment, then begins to search the corpse for anything that might prove useful.
As if compelled to do so, he casts grave words on the Stag Lord's skull...just to hear what it might say.
Useful information may include warnings about dangers deeper in a dungeon, the command word to a magic item, or even vague and spectral warnings of your or your companions' future. The GM decides what information, useful or not, the corpse spews out in its babbling.
Once a corpse has been subject to grave words by any caster, any new attempt to cast grave words on that corpse fails. You can cast this spell on a corpse that has been deceased for any amount of time, but the head of the corpse must have a mouth in order to speak at all. This spell doesn't affect a corpse that has been turned into an undead creature.
"OK, if you are hurt gather 'round! I know a great trick for healing wounds!"
Once any injured people are gathered, Quint fishes out a wooden holy symbol of Erastil and performs some minor sleight of hand to entertain the crowd.
Alamina approaches Akiros after carefully slinging her shield over her shoulder. She holds her hands out to the side and offers a shrug as she nears the big man.
"I apologize for the deception, Akiros, but it was necessary. We have come to this land with the intention to bring law, order, and peace to the folks around. So far, we have managed to befriend, subdue, or chase off most foes we've encountered. This man, though," she points to the corpse of the Stag Lord, "His reputation preceeded him, and we could take no chances with him. Violence, rage, and rampant villainy can not be allowed, if there is to be a lasting peace. Please, be our friend, and help us achieve peace."
She offers a smile, but refrains from touching Akiros unless he seems to invite it.
Auchs gives a big goofy grin at Quint, relieved that his precious toys would be safe. The tear stain on his dirty cheek provides a reminder that within the violent and somewhat addled exterior, some emotions must reside. He then glances down at his his club, then back to Quint, grinning widely as he solemnly states, "Prowmise not to hurt nobody."
Whether he has the capacity to keep that promise is a matter to be seen, though he seems to laugh and clap his hands at the bard's tricks, his abandonment temporarily forgotten.
Akiros continues to glare at Raven, though is stance softens at Alamina's words. He focuses first on the slayer, then the cleric."I would be a hypocrite to say that a violent action may not always be the worst one. Though I know from personal experience how callousness and self-righteous with another's life can lead to damnation. Especially with as cold-blooded as your actions were. Yet, if you would allow me and these me to live, I will lead them." He glances from the surrendered men to the cooling body, then back to Alamina. "I've seen enough bloodshed from those I've cared about for today. Peace... is a strange thing to expect from these louts but I will do my best to live up to that charge, however bitter a seed it grew from."
He looks down at his dirty tabard, as if lingering on some memory, then back at the women. "Take care what kind of tree you would grow from such a bloody seed."
After Vorsirion's casting, the severed head of the Stag Lord begins to mutter randomly(?) through it's mask.
"Betrayal! She came at me with honeyed words and lead me to death! She did this to me! Don't trust her! These were my lands! She promised! Father! I'm afra-" Then the words cut off, leaving a stunned silence.
The Keep has a tremendous amount of stores and pillaged good to rummage through
Quint looks up at Auchs. "Lets get you cleaned up. My mother always loved this trick!"
Quint casts prestidigitation to clean up Auchs.
"And Akiros, that dirty tabbard won't do!"
Quint casts prestidigitation to clean up Akiros.
"In fact, a lot of you men look like you could use some freshening up! Come on Auchs, lets get this place cleaned up!"
Quint starts moving around the compound, cleaning people and objects with prestidigitation.
"I can mend broken pots and all manner of things if you like!"
If requested Quint will cast mending as needed.
"Yes, Akiros, I know the kind of damage callous regard for life can cause. I can honestly say I will never take for granted the sanctity of life. Violence will never be my first choice, I can tell you that."
Alamina gathers up the men in the camp as well as her allies.
"Anyone injured? I can render aid and heal you as needed."
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Vorsirion pulls his hand back from the severed head.
I'm not sure why I did that...or why it spoke to me when I did...
He ponders what he has heard. What did the Stag Lord mean, or was this just nonsense? When he mentioned betrayal, did he mean Raven, or someone else? Raven hadn't promised the lands would be his.
The elf keeps these thoughts to himself (it could have just been gibberish, after all), and wanders out to join the others.
"That went better than I expected," the elf says thoughtfully. "Things could have gone poorly with us separated like that. Still, this petty Lord's tormenting of the trading post are ended. In fact, I was thinking that this outpost may prove useful as we continue to chart these lands."
The Stag Lord and his men have clearly been busy in milking this region dry: there are a wide variety of trade goods, provisions, and equipment in chests and piles scattered in the Store Room. On the Stag Lord's body itself, there are two items particularly of note: his helm and armor.
The helm, when removed from the Stag Lord's severed head, appears to be a construction of a Stag's Skull and leather. When donned, the wearer is able to perceive sharper images and sounds, like a true hunter! Yet the most unique aspect is the surprising swiftness it can grant to a ranged attacker, particularly for worshipers of the Deadeye: Erastil.
This striking helmet is crafted to resemble the skull of a mighty stag. Although made from bone, the antlers and helm are as strong as metal.
When worn, the helm greatly enhances eyesight and hearing, granting a +2 competence bonus on Perception checks. In addition, once per day the helm may be called upon to enhance any ranged attack made by the wearer to make an insightful shot. Activating this ability is a free action, and once activated, your next ranged attack against a target within 30 feet is made as if that target were flat-footed against you—this allows a rogue to gain the benefit of sneak attack with this shot. If you don’t make a ranged attack within 1 round of activating this power, the insight fades and is wasted for that day.
A worshiper of the associated deity who wears this helm may utilize the insightful shot ability up to 3 times per day.
The armor is a particularly odd example of glamored armor: this +1 leather armor is glamored to appear as if it wasn't present at all! Clothing worn underneath it is visible, however,
As you give close inspection to the keep, the bandits there keep a close eye on the party, wondering as to their fate...
Raven gets to a position where to bandits can hear her, and hollers, "Listen up, you sorry lot! I don't bear a particular grudge against you, but the other denizens of the Stolen Lands? They are mighty pissed at you. So, you have one opportunity to go straight, build your own home, and quit robbing folks. One. If I catch wind of any one of you even cutting a single purse, I will burn your new home to the ground. Akiros will be your leader. You answer to him."
Akiros seems to take things in hand, and with the threat of corporal punishment and the Stag Lord's head still lingering in their thoughts, the remaining bandits seem to be set in an entirely new direction.
In taking stock of the bandits, you find that one of them is Falgrim Sneeg, the traitorous mercenary that Kesten Garess was searching for.
As life in the keep seems to settle down, the impact of your actions settle in as well. In what was a matter of weeks the party has managed to pacify a significant portion of the Stolen Lands. Although there still remains to corners of your map to fill in, you have succesfully forged a foothold into these lawless lands the likes that haven't been seen in decades. You have dealt with the looming threat of the Stag Lord, recruited from some of his followers. You have made diplomatic overtures with tribes of kobolds, slew dangerous menaces, and have succeeded far beyond what might have seemed likely in a dingy inn nearly a month ago.
Where will you go from here? With the major threats to the peace of the Greenbelt dealt with, you're sure that travelers and traders, farmers and frontiersman, soldiers and settlers all will be soon coming to see for themselves what opportunities may be found in the Stolen Lands.
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Vorsirion ensures that the traitorous mercenary is secured.
"I am confident that the weapons Kesten Garess can provide us will prove useful," he says.
As for their next step, he remained unsure.
"We have dealt with this Stag Lord, but we have much left to do. Perhaps we should check back in at the trading post. We may be able to turn in this traitor there, and maybe the solicitor has additional instructions for us. Plus, we have some items that Sven may find useful."
Before leaving Quint has a chat with Auchs.
"Auchs, my friends and I are going to go back out and explore the Greenbelt, to make it safe for people to travel, live, and work. Do you want to come with me, or stay here with Akiros? I'm not in charge, Raven is, so if you want to come with us we'll need to get her permission. And you'll need a horse!"
Quint also tries to get a moment alone with Akiros.
"Akiros? What do I call you now? Commander? Anyway, I'm sure that my new friends and I are going to be leaving soon. There's still a lot of the Greenbelt that we need to explore before we can understand it, and really make it a better place to live. Would you mind looking after Auchs while I'm gone? He might want to stay here, and I get the feeling that he does better if somebody is watching out for him."
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Auchs weighs the bard's words with almost comic seriousness, his slow deliberation seeming to tax his ability to consider. Then he looks around at the keep and his toys, and shrugs. "Funny man! You would be fun to listen to, but make safe for people sounds like work. 'Sides, my toys are here, and I have a place where it doesn't rain much. Will stay here. Not hurt people too much."
Akiros blinks at the bard. "I hadn't really thought about what to be reffered to as, things have moved rather rapidly. Just 'Akiros' is fine for now; I don't need a grand title unless it is required." He looks over to Auchs, who, distractions gone, has returned to playing with his toys over on the keep ramparts. "I will look to Auchs and ensure he doesn't get into too much trouble. He's a brute, but not entirely a bad sort."
Taking stock of provisions, the party leaves the running of the keep in the (hopefully) able-bodied handling of Akiros. With miles left to add to your map, the party strikes out on a winding path of exploration!
Immediately to the East of the Keep, the semi-regular patrols the bandits held seemed to have driven away most of the game. After an otherwise uneventful day of mapping the hills, the party is set upon by a Worg leading a pack of wolves! The canines are no match for the party, and are quickly set down.
Venturing further from the keep, the party is able to make out the beginnings of the mountain range known as the Tors of Levenies. There is some brief discussion of whether to explore closer to the imposing mountains, until a shrill blast of an animal horn can be heard echoing along the hillside. Several of the party are able to identify it as a mammoth, and know that young males of those enormous beasts occasionally come down from the peaks around this time, and can be particularly aggressive. Noting that further East is outside of the charter anyway, the party swings northward.
Venturing north, you encounter the Shrike River, and after a brief exploration discover a a soggy, abandoned remnant of civilization. A thick, sagging rope still hangs across the river, all that remains of the bridge that once spanned it. A signpost at either end of the ruined bridge reads “Nettles’ Crossing—5 coppers—ring bell for service.” A rusty bell hangs by each sign. On the south bank of the river, the crumbled remains of a burnt-down wooden building are slowly being overgrown by encroaching vegetation.
Alamina approaches Akiros with a smile wide across her face. She lightly lays a hand on the big man's shoulder before whispering a soft prayer for luck and happy dreams.
"I wish we could have met under better circumstances, Akiros, but such is the way of things. Our past does not define us, but merely gives us the experience and knowledge to proceed on our journey going forward. I hope you will remember that, and conquer those demons which harry you."
She draws one of her colorful scarves, a yellow one with faint orange embroidery and small knotted yarn on the perimeter, and drapes it over his gauntleted hand.
"I also hope you will remember me, Akiros. As the Lady wills it, I would see you again." With that, Alamina heads out with the rest of the team.
"I wonder if these pelts could be of value. Perhaps we could trade them back at Oleg's, or fashion some stylish fur-lined cloaks?"
Confident in the team's abilities, the cleric seems rather exuberant and happy to be back in the wilds.
"Too bad they could not have held on, a proper bridge and crossing would make this so very much easier! Are any of you accomplished swimmers, or maybe have some magic to make it easier? I can get one person to move faster, but not all that much."
"I'm not really great at swimming, Alamina."
Quint studies the water, casting detect magic to see if there are any magical auras, then he sends some dancing lights beneath the surface of the river to see if there might be any lurking river predators or useful things in the river.
The Shrike river is approximately 300 feet across at this point, and the water is deep and moving relatively quickly; it would require a decent swim to cross at this place.
Although Quint's Detect Magic doesn't immediately find anything of note, as the bard sends out his spheres of light into the water and Vorsirion rings the bell, a rippling appears on the surface that doesn't match the current. Out of the water rises an emaciated and visibly decaying body that inexorably strides across the top of the river with jerking steps aided by what appears to be a rafting pike With glowing red eyes filling the gaping sockets of it's partially stripped skull, the creature emits a bubbling, low moan before crying out in an eerie, soggy voice. "Youuuuu are not my tormentors! Throw the Stag Lord’s body into the river that I may look upon his death, or join me instead!"
"Oh, an undead creature from the river! Didn't the kobolds talk about this thing? If it wants that man's body, I say we give it to him. Perhaps they will both be at rest afterwards."
Raven grunts. "Will his head do? I was planning on saving it as proof that we killed the bastard, but if it keeps you from getting pissed off..." Raven shrugs.
The obviously undead creature peers intently at the group, seemingly pleased that you didn't immediately attack it or run away. At Raven's word he rocks back a little, causing some intestine to flop around. "He... is dead? You have killed him? Yes, his head! Let it rot in the river!"
The strange thing wipes back strands of wispy wet hair that cling to the remains of his scalp as it regards you with eager anticipation.
Raven rummages through her backpack and fishes out a round package, with some antlers sticking out, wrapped in simple cloth. It stinks of rot.
She unwraps it to present to the undead creature, then unceremoniously tosses it into the river.
"There," she says, before turning towards the direction of the trading post once again, and starts walking.
Raven is trying to keep up an air of gruff stoicism, but something is clearly troubling her.
Sense motive.
"Well, that's that,then. Two threats to peace in the region eliminated at once! I'd say that's good work all round, everyone!"
The hideous abomination lurches up and grabs at the head as it is flung at him. A cruel grin splits fleshless lips as he regards the Stag Lord's scarred face. "Death has is a final arbiter, is it not?" As he stands there over the water, he begins to loose substance, flesh and blood melting into fluid as he dissolves into the river.
There is a momment of silence on the banks of the Shrike River, even the water and birds falling mute before a soft "Thank... You..." that surges up from the waters. Suddenly, the Pike the undead held is flung up out of the water, landing point down on the bank of the river near you.
"Well, that was...disconcerting. I wonder what the story was between them. And what's with this spear thing? Is that for us now?"
"Couldn't care less. What matters is that it's dead now. For good. Hopefully," Raven tosses over her shoulder as she continues to head towards the trading post.
Quint picks up the spear and hands it over to Vorsirion.
"Maybe its enchanted? I would have liked to have gotten the story from him, but I guess its better that he's gone to his final rest."
Quint frowns, then brightens a bit. "But its a great idea for a story, and I don't need to worry about sticking to the facts, because I don't know what they are."
Quint looks at Raven quizzically. "I meant to ask you earlier at the river crossing, but I figured you wouldn't want to talk about it in front of the others. If you want to talk about what's bothering you, I'm a good listener."
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Vorsirion takes the spear from Quint and plants it shaft down in the clay of the riverbank. The elf closes his eyes and concentrates on the weapon in front of him.
"A strange object for the river guardian to throw at us," the elf observes quietly.
Examining an item in this way requires him to spend 1 minute handling the item. If the item is a magic item, the occultist learns its properties and command word as if he had successfully examined the item using detect magic and succeeded at a Spellcraft check. This ability does not reveal whether the item is cursed unless the occultist's class level is equal to or greater than the caster level of the item. If the item has any historical significance, the occultist learns one piece of information about its past (as determined by the GM). Finally, if the item was last used no longer than 1 day ago per the occultist's class level, the occultist learns one piece of information about the last creature to use the item. This information might be a glimpse of the creature's appearance, a brief vision of what it saw while using the item, or perhaps its emotional state when it last used the item. The GM determines what information is gained in this way. This functions like the psychometry occult skill unlock, but doesn't require a skill check and can be used at will.
Raven turns towards Quint, giving him a flinty-eyed glare. "Quint. Back off. Now." In the pause between Quint's response, Raven's voice lowers to a growl. "Now, Quint."
There is something... cracked in Raven's eyes. If Quint had to guess, being the group's resident hardass is taking a toll on her.
Quint holds up his hands in a placating gesture to Raven.
"OK Raven, I can't make you talk if you don't want to. Just remember that being a group, being friends, means nobody needs to shoulder any of their burdens alone."
Identifying the pike, it is a +1 Returning spear.
Object reading reveals more than just the mundane magic that the weapon formerly known as the Longshoresman possesses. Vorsirion sees a scene of the banks of the ferry free of decay and destruction the modest buildings now possess. A man, middleaged and comfortable, tends to a small ferry-barge against the near-side of the river. Strikingly, the man appears to be what the undead you encountered looked like in life, before he became the rotting abomination in the river.
The scene flashes, and you see a small group of men on the other side of the river. You immediately make out the Stag Lord from his destinctive helm, but see Dovan and Auchs at his side, with Kressle and a few other bandits slightly behind him. You hear no words, but it appears the Stag Lord calls out and gestures at the ferry. The ferry-man grasps his spear, that had fended off river-beast or river-snag alike, and shouts back, including the universal sign for coin.
After a short back and forth, the Stag Lord in the vision draws his longbow, and with astonishing speed, shoots the ferry-man twice, who falls into the river, still clutching his heirloom as the swift waters of the river runs red. And the scene fades.
You leave behind the macabre scene of the Ferry ruins, slowly making your way across the swift river. Traveling and mapping a day and a half, you find an old oak tree that appears to be struck by lightning. that also had an X carved into one side.
disturbed. Burried 10 feet in the dirt, you discover a small cache of items wrapped in a soiled, heavy leather cloak:
A masterwork dagger
A wand of burning hands (CL 2nd, 4 charges)
A silver ring worth 75 gp, and
A spellbook. Unfortunately, rain seeping down into the cache has damaged much of the spellbook but five of the spells (identify, mage armor, reduce person, silent image, and unseen servant) remain intact.
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Vorsirion shudders as his vision of the ferry operator's death at the bow of the Stag Lord, but shares what he saw. He also shares the nature of the spear.
"Would anyone care to use it?" he asks.
As they reach the lightning-struck oak tree, Vorsirion doesn't see anything unusual, aside from the X everyone can see.
"X marks the spot," or so the humans say. "But which spot?"
"I could use it, but I doubt giving me a magical two-handed weapon would do the party much good. It might be useful to hold onto, in case we encounter something that resists mundane weaponry."
Alamina looks over the tree and its odd markings as well.
"Very odd, indeed. Perhaps someone buried something here? Or uses this tree as a meeting place. It seems distinct enough to be quite a good landmark, at the very least."