"The Hellion? I don't think I know of anyone by that name..." he says, thinking, then shrugs.
"But tell me more about what's going on. Where is your man? How did she get him? What is she like?" he queries, focused.
"My mate is in the Sunder Horn territory somewhere. The Hellion is a powerful creature who can control Numerian technology and that area. She captured him when her enslaved barbarians ambushed my crew."
"Since she teleported next to us and attacked, she'll probably recognize us approaching. So, we need help getting there, covertly, and finding our mate. Easy, right?" He takes another long pull of his beer as the alcohol and exhaustion start to catch up with him.
Rothgar makes a sour face at mention of the Sunder Horns. It does not improve as you continue talking.
"Right," he says morosely, sighing and emptying his glass. He thinks for a while, grunts, refills his glass, and slams it back before speaking to you again.
"I want to help you my friend. But that is a tall order. Sunder Horns are on the other damn side of the country. I might could spare a few men and supplies, but Kannath would find out and then I would be in a heap of trouble. I hate to say it, but as long as Kannath is around my hands are tied," he says sadly, shaking his head.
"Pardon, Chief Rothgar, but I am unfamiliar with these lands. Who is Kannath?"
"Pardon, Chief Rothgar, but I am unfamiliar with these lands. Who is Kannath?"
"Mmh?" he looks up.
"Oh. Kannath's the Technic League's overseer for Aaramor. Basically just a public spy, makes sure we pay our 'taxes' and that we're not doing anything that would threaten the League."
"So, does this Kannath need to disappear?" Kallant asks.
"We'll he come to our party? So, I can take offense at his presence, and kill him for stupidity?"
After a pause, "I could really use a Restoration. Can that new priestess lay her hands on me? And have that kind of divine power?"
Urashu holds himself still. HIs knowledge here is limited, and that bothers him. Kallant seems to be in control of the situation though, so he avoids interrupting and instead keeps a close ear to the responses, hoping they will spark new understandings.
Morvan looks at Kallant with a slight bit of reproach. "Kallant, discussion of people disappearing so blatantly is rather impolite. Circumspection to allow for plausible deniability is needed."
Morvan turns to Chief Rothgar, and asks, "If Kannath knew of our mission, would he attempt to interfere or stop us?"
"So, does this Kannath need to disappear?" Kallant asks.
"We'll he come to our party? So, I can take offense at his presence, and kill him for stupidity?"
After a pause, "I could really use a Restoration. Can that new priestess lay her hands on me? And have that kind of divine power?"
Rothgar barks a laugh.
"I doubt that he would willingly come to an event like that without being ready for an assassination or three. He's had enough experience," he grumbles sourly.
"I'm sure she would, but it'll probably cost you unless you manage to impress her. And she's not exactly easy to impress."
Morvan looks at Kallant with a slight bit of reproach. "Kallant, discussion of people disappearing so blatantly is rather impolite. Circumspection to allow for plausible deniability is needed."
Morvan turns to Chief Rothgar, and asks, "If Kannath knew of our mission, would he attempt to interfere or stop us?"
"I have to agree with your friend here," Rogathgar nods to Morvan.
"Kannath is a capable wizard, if nothing else. I would be cautious, we don't know the extent of his powers," he cautions.
"I don't think that he'd interfere with you unless he thought there was something significant to gain from it. But trying to predict his convoluted mind is an exercise in futility."
Kallant shrugs. He focused on the problem and wanted to remove.
"So, he wouldn't come to your party? Then, what do you suggest?" Kallant asks.
The Chief sighs and pulls at his beard.
"Me? I would suggest nothing. You're a Hellknight now, you should know the burden of sworn oaths," he says, gazing at you intently. Then he grins savagely.
"My lieutenants however? They might have some advice..."
"Well, do you have access to a Restoration, or must I persuade the priestess?"
"And who are your lieutenants who have not sworn such encumbering oaths?" Kallant asks draining his beer.
"You'll have to persuade her, sorry. And either Dan or Nod would be your best bet," the chief says, his voice dropping to a murmur at the last part.
Morvan nods in response to Chief Rothgar's response. If he won't interfere, it may be best for us to avoid Kannath in general. Having no reinforcements hurts, but we can try and utilize stealth instead of force of arms. Perhaps Ten will have some advice - if we can find him.
Their audience with Chief Rothgar ended, Morvan departs and sets about trying to find Ten, from Lady Nought's description of him.
Kallant will spend the evening catching up with Rothgar finding out about his lieutenants and the Gorum priest.
On the subject of Andura Jakos though, he is more forthcoming. She is a high-spirited woman who came to Aaramor just a few years ago after the last Iron Hand of Gorum died. She has proven instrumental in keeping the demons from the Worldwound at bay, and tirelessly advocates for pushing against them, often freeling giving support and advice to passing crusaders. He shares many stories of both her boundless energy and enthusiasm and her devastating combat prowess.
Kallant would rest of the night.
He would seek out Andura Jakos for the Restoration. Try to bond with her over demonslaying by trading stories. See what she would take in trade for a Restoration.
Then, he would seek out Dan and Kolom separately if possible. He wants to understand if their anything an outsider can do to give Rothgar some relief to help them.
Disappointed, he heads to a place they can rest until this big feast and party this evening.
Whether you stay with Kallant and chat with the Chief, or follow Morvan and mingle around the fort, time does as it always does and passes. With the moon high in the sky and a blazing inferno of a bonfire lighting up the area, the festivities begin. Rothgar introduces Kallant and his companions to those who don't know him, and reintroduces him to old friends. After some time of drinking and swapping stories, Rothgar points out Andura to Kallant and pushes him towards her.
"G'd luk!" he slurs, waving with an inebriated grin. It seems that everybody is taking this rare excuse to let loose and destress.
It doesn't take a particularly long conversation to get the warpriestesses competitive side up, and after some drunken browbeating on both sides, she agrees to restore Kallant so that he can provide a good fight. Fortunately, after a rough start for Kallant, the brawl evolves from a slightly drunken slugfest to a veritable exposition on martial combat, both combatants completely leaving inhibitions behind and putting on a display of incredible prowess, much to the roaring delight of the crowd. Andura looks positively thrilled, teeth barred in savage delight as she picks herself up off the ground and wipes the sweat, blood, and dust from her eyes.
A number of other, smaller fights break out after Kallant and Andura finish, inspired by their performance, but none come close to reaching the level that you two did.
As the mortals engage in their foolish bonding exercises, you scout out the town, particularly on the lookout for signs of the Technic League wizard that you've been warned about. Fortunately, with your ability to detect magic it is not hard to see what you assume to be his work nearly everywhere. It seems like he has scrying sensors in every shadow, and you feel that Rothgar was not being overly paranoid at all for refusing to speak against the wizard. It is no wonder that the many assassination attempts have all failed.
Urashu watches the battle with some regret. He had always split his time became arcane and martial. If he had just focused on martial could he be that good? He tried to shrug off the regret, some of the choices had been forced on him, but he can’t shake it completely. After the battle, he congratulates Kallant. “I’m glad your on our side.” He claps him on the back.
He takes a step back to let Morgan address Andura and then changes his mind. He approaches Andura deliberately, but conscious of the melees around him, tries he make it clear he is not threatening in anyway.
Andura greets you cheerfully, happy to talk to one of Kallant's companions.
"Eh, I attended a war college in Molthune. Learned all kinds of fighting there. I definitely prefer my sword, but battle is battle, no matter the weapons used. All glorify Our Lord in Iron," she says breathlessly, her obvious bloodlust giving a distressing contrast to her almost childlike enthusiasm.
Kallant feels exhilarated with the fight and the priestess, despite the soul-sucking burden weighing on him. What a woman. He attempts to get alone with her to be Restored!
1. Must she stay here, or can she leave?
2. Does she want to accompany them?
3. Does she know how to help Rothgar?
4. Does she want to continue to exercise?
Kizziar hovers invisibly over Morvan and telepathically reports, I've done a little surveillance, and this entire town is crawling with Kannath's scrying sensors. We should tread very carefully if we plan on doing anything the Technic League might oppose.
Urashu nods at Anduras comment, but let’s Kallant stage them away.
Morvan watches the festivities, nodding approval at Kallant’s fearsome skill. He participates, but keeps his mind sharp and not getting too caught up in the revelry.
At Kizziar’s message, Morvan replied, Then we will make sure not to discuss anything like that within range of one of those. Notify the others, and tell them to guard their tongues.
Kizziar sends Morvan a brief mental affirmation and telepathically relays his instructions to the rest of the squad. He then resumes invisibly watching the celebration from above.
1. She can leave if she wants to, provided she can justify the reason well enough. Following battle is what followers of Gorum do.
2. She's undecided for now. You or one of your companions would have to roll and rp that out.
3. While she's a brilliant tactician, politics and subtlety are not her forte.
4. Of course!
Kallant continues to exercise with her and however she wants, until he falls into exhaustion.
It's the next day. You all have celebrated and rested, Kallant has had his vitality restored, Kizziar has discovered the extent of Kannath's scrying abilities, and now you have to decide what to do next.
Kallant trains his kata and exercise regime.
He spends quality time with Rothgar avoiding touchy subjects and just catching up and reliving memories.
He steadfastly waits for the squad leader to decide next steps.
Morvan considers their options. He wasn't sure how long they would have to wait for Ten, and they obviously couldn't count on any support from the Blades unless they eliminated Kannath - a task which, based on the wizard's numerous scrying sensors, would be highly challenging to plan. It could also cause trouble with the Technic League, which could make their task more challenging. That morning, he told the squad, "We will give Ten one more day to arrive and make contact. After that, we will press on to our destination."
Morvan spends the day keeping an eye out for Ten.
Kallant will spend the extra day collecting as much information and ideas from Rothgar's lieutenants to get cross country undetected, or at least unhassled.
Another day passes, with no sign of Ten.
Urashu wakes and is out of bed in an instant as he was taught by the Hell Knights. It's a safe place though, so no danger presents itself. He sits back on his bed and gets himself ready for the day. His mind spins through options as he works through the routine. Witnessing Kallant and Andura's fight had bothered him all yesterday, but he hadn't understood why. Now, he knew immediately. Kallant and Andura had devoted all of their time, attention, focus, and resources to becoming better at their particular skills. That was never how he had done anything.
He had pursued both fighting and magic. He had skipped lessons to work on crafting. He had been unfocused and undecided. [i]No![/] The thought stings him like a slap across the face. He had been focused, it was his parents who had caused this. He had known what he wanted, but they had forced him down other paths, paths he only attempted half-heartedly. Urashu was surprised by the sudden rage that thought brought. He breathed slowly and calmed himself as he had been taught. Then he forced the thoughts from his mind and turned to the tasks of the day.
The rage returned again, though diminished this time. They were to wait again, to see if the agent Ten would arrive. It was a solid plan, but he suddenly hated being guided by another's plan. He cycled through the conversations the last few days and finally picked up on forgotten thought.
He nods to Morvan on his wait out of the complex, but doesn't state his intentions.
After a few random turns he walks up to the nearest tribe member. "Good morning, I was wondering if you could direct me to either Lieutenant Dan or Lieutenant Nod?"
With no sign of Ten that day, Morvan gathers the others in the evening and says, after having Kizziar make sure they weren't near one of Kannath's scrying sensors, "We'll press on to Sunder Horns territory tomorrow. I don't want to delay for too long waiting for Ten, and with Kannath having a stranglehold on the Blades' actions, we won't be able to get their support. We need to free Vespartius as soon as we can."
Kallant seeks out Morvan, "Sorry sir. This was a bust. I've got some info to help us cross country, but it's less than I expected."
"No worries, Kallant. This Kannath has a great deal of control here, thanks to his scrying sensors. The history of the Order of the Gate has some of their own paranoid maniacs - Vicariuses who were concerned about plots against them always, and the like."
Urashu approaches and asks around until he can find Nod or Dan. When meets the man he salutes, introduces himself, and then asks if they can talk privately.
"Did the Chief explain our business here?"