The elf nods emphatically.
"Okay. That sounds like a great idea! Do you know that no one here knows what magic is? I tried to ask about alchemy, too, but I lost my train of thought and started lecturing in Elven about the properties of salt, so no one could tell me in the market."
The elf looks slightly downcast at that.
Evrail shrugs as the general storms off he than heads to back to the guild house to rest and plan for the next day's travel.
Halvair looks at Surveen as they walk towards the market. "It's one surprise after another with this group. The last time I was in charge of anything substantial, it was a crew of twenty-seven buccaneers who could care less as to whether Besmara sent them wind or slipped into their beds at night; they took religion almost as a joke. I can see you're more devoted than the average expedition guard, so I'll try to avoid any more remarks about playing the religious chameleon."
He looks around and rubs his hands together with excitement as he surveys the market. "Alright! Time to see if anyone packs sanctified silver in their wares!"
Yes, or maybe just some silver objects to be crafted into weapons and blessed by a cleric? says Surveen, feeling happier now the air has cleared with his leader over Sarenrae. He joins Halvair in the search for silver weapons or other useful silver objects, peering into the dark corners of stalls, where one might find more exceptional items.
Perception
Halvair and Surveen are unable to find any silver items in the markets. In fact the folks of the will mention that all silver weapons would be given either to the Chuall or the king. Your search bears no fruit.
Gregor and Serra both head to the castle to find the General. After asking around, the servants direct you to him. You find him pacing back and forth muttering to himself.
Evrail returns to the Guild quarters to get some rest and do some planning.
"Good day General. I was hoping we could have a few moments of your time. You see, my friend and I are part an expedition that is to head out into the cursed lands. From what I hear, you have been there and would be grateful to hear a first hand account of what we can expect to find out there."
Diplomacy:
Not finding anything which would be immediately useful, Surveen turns to Halvair, "Maybe something to take holy water with us, might be useful. Later we can perhaps ask for some from the church, but somehow I doubt they would be willing to aid us, if they know what it's for. What do you think Halvair?" Once they have checked the market for such items, and maybe other items to make scrolls, Surveen follows Halvair's lead to where ever or what ever he wants to do next.
Slightly chagrined at their lack of silver vendors, Halvair rubs his chin. [b]"I could create some blessed water of my own, but even then silver is required to bind the enchantment. Since the king is nominally on our side, perhaps we could encourage our contact to send word that we need at least a little silver for His Majesty's pet project."[b]
Halvair will head in the direction of the palace to see about meeting with Eemund and passign along the request.
Serra nods emphatically.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! We need to know many things. What are the greatest dangers in the cursed lands? Also, on a different note, is alchemy practiced here?"
Tired from the walk over. She actually speaks clearly and slowly... for once.
You return to the castle to find Eemund. You find him in his office, he looks at you both with a puzzled expression as you ask for silver. "I'm not sure what I can do, but I will try and talk to the king." You accompany Eemund to the kings chambers. There Eemund explains the situation to the king. The king sighs. "The Chuall isn't interested in my expedition and wont be donating any of the Chuall's silver to the cause. You may have to do without."
You can attempt a Diplomacy to get more outta him.
The General looks at you with a look of shock. "Why are there so many of you so eager to throw your lives away? Don't go north! That is all the advice you need!" With that the man begins to pace again and mutter to himself. You can have one more diplomacy check to get the answers out of him. Just so you know, he was unfriendly to start.
The bard continues to look at you in confusion. "I am sorry my lady but I have heard nothing of this alchemy thing you speak of. What all does it entail?"
You will notice Halvair and Surveens return to the castle. If you decide to join them, go ahead and read their spoiler.
As per these posts:
Gregor Trevian, Tue, Aug 2, 2011, 10:53 AM
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Still here...
Not getting anything else of use from the bard, Gregor bids him farewell...
"Serra, shall we see if this General Makenear has anything to offer in terms of information about the cursed lands? Magic seems to be a foreign concept to this area, maybe he has seen something in his travels" he says in an attempt to capture the attention of the team's elven scholar.
Serravael Marenda’al, Tue, Aug 2, 2011, 11:44 AM
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The elf nods emphatically.
"Okay. That sounds like a great idea! Do you know that no one here knows what magic is? I tried to ask about alchemy, too, but I lost my train of thought and started lecturing in Elven about the properties of salt, so no one could tell me in the market."
The elf looks slightly downcast at that.
Diplomacy:
"Returning alive may be long shot General, but it not impossible as your own experience tells you. Please all I ask is information, and by all accounts, you are one of the very few sources that may have that information."
Seeing Halviar and Surveen come back to the castle Evrail goes to speak to them. Finding out they are going to find Eemund so they may speak with the king he decides to follow.Once they meet the king and upon hearing the king's words Evrail thinks to himself "So there are many who do not like the plan of this expedition. I must make a note of this in case anything should happen." He than watches to see what the others do at the king's words.
With the aid, of Gregor, the two of you are able to calm the general down. He looks at the two of you and takes a deep breath. "I went to the north lands on the first expedition to find a place to settle. We failed miserably. Out of the fifty men who went only I and six others returned. We found three locations we deemed may be suitable for a new home. The first was north east about three days from the border, I believe there may have been a great river two days to the east of it. Problem was of the strange bear monsters and giant bugs that kept showing up. Then, there were the cursed ones, monsters that could only be killed by the use of silver weapons. They are the ones who drove us off. The second place was almost four days due north. A lake was near there and there is plenty of fertile land and treking is easy. But there was the fruit and vegetation. All poisoned. There are things there that I cannot even begin to describe. I could say monsters but the term doesn't do it justice. Then, to the northwest about three days from the border, a nice rocky territory. There is promise of good mineral deposits in that spot but just like the eastern location, there are cursed ones there too. Also strange beasts seem to dwell in the mountains. We lost so many men exploring these places. I would urge you to reconsider this notion of expansion. It is fool hearty to go through with it. It would only lead to more deaths." At the question of alchemy, The general looks confused. "I do not know of this alchemy you speak of. Is it a time of plant? If so, there is an herbologist in town. Talk to him."
Surveen follows Halvair, letting their leader do the talking, though close enough to be able to glare at Halvair, should he put him in a difficult position again. As they wait and walk, Surveen will tell Evair what has happened and what they have discovered.
Halvair bows to King Hermond III. One run-in with evil spirits could be the end of us if we cannot secure these armaments.
"Both by the Chuall and by your subjects, the Cursed Lands are considered dangerous and inhabited by supernatural dangers. In your wisdom, I am certain that you know the reputation of the northern territories, just as you can be certain of our success in securing a beachhead if properly equipped.
"The Chuall think this mission folly, but it is the only means of securing additional land for your increasingly-crowded people. We are here to help. We are on your side. What will the snide critique of the Church mean to you when your name is forever preserved as the king who conquered the Cursed Lands - a nice ring to it, if I say so myself?
"Silver may be rare, but it is capital well-invested if it is the only means of taming the restless dead."
The large blue man nods sagely as Halvair speaks. He bows his head and speaks, "Indeed gracious Lord, our leader speaks true. Such weapons would give us a distinct advantage, from what we have learned."
Evrail watches silently as Halvair and Surveen speak with the king. He keeps silent as to not turn the king against the group. If anything he was told was true they will need these weapons so they can make a colony in these cursed lands.
The king lets out a heavy sigh. "Very well." The king heads to his chamber. He returns shortly with a longsword, short sword, and a quiver of arrows. Theses are my personal weapons. This expedition is more important than my pride so if these will help, take them. This is the best I can offer." You now have a +1 Silver Longsword a +1 Silver Shortsword and 40 silver arrows. "General Baldon has been to the north lands on our first attempt to expand. He also has a silver longsword. Tell him he can let you have it. He also my have information.
No silver weapons. Only the Chuall is allowed to have silver weapons. The herbalist is on the edge of town."
Halvair bows again as he accepts the weapons.
"With your personal arms guiding the way, there shall be no doubt in the histories as to whose blade actually cut the path to a new land. We are grateful."
Unless others have boons to request of the king, Halvair will go through the motions of departing.
When they have a moment he distributes the weapons. "Surveen, I believe the heavier sword would be most honored in your hands, particularly since it was your investigations that helped to uncover the spirits' weaknesses. Evrail, I see you carry a bow that could readily handle these arrows. Once we can meet with the general, would you be open to handling his personal blade? I suspect I will hold onto the lighter blade."
Evrail takes the arrows from Halvair than shrugs "I have spoken with the general the king speaks of. He did not seem very forth coming when I asked him about the cursed lands. I do not know if I could use a long sword as well as my own blade but if my experience taught me anything it is to be prepared for the worst. While at that I think we need to have a meeting about what we will find in these cursed lands." He than pauses and gives Halvair a serious look "Halvair as the leader you need to listen to everything that is said while we are out in the field. If any of us question you or each other we might not live to regret it. I suggest we also speak of this during the meeting. Your thoughts? " He than turns to Surveen he and says before Halvair speaks "We must figure out how we are going to guard the group any ideas or would you rather the rest were present?"
The big man bows his head to Halvair, "You do me honor. Whilst I prefer to use the flail, as you see I too carry a longsword, so I can wield this weapon in service to you and the others." He takes the silver longsword and runs his thumb gently along its cutting edge, more delicate than his, but more deadly to the foes in the northern lands. Surveen takes the sword's black leather hilt in his right hand, feeling the balance as he sways the sword up and down. "A fine weapon."
The blue man listens to elf, nodding to his wise words, "We maybe nominated as guards, but it will be up to us all to survive and guard one another. We should talk about such things when Halvair has had time to think on it and we are together as a company." He beams a large blue smile at Evrail, "Together we will be strong."
Halvair considers these points as the trio strides from the audience. "Everyone has a specialty here, and I won't claim that my idea of a good defense is necessarily better than yours. That's even more the case until we can hear back from the others. Serravael in particular seems to be rather detail-oriented, and she may have kicked up some nuggets of wisdom about what these spirits can do to us. So far we mostly know how to fight back; I suspect the two of you would appreciate more information about their offensive capabilities."
Continuing a few moments more in silence, he jumps back into conversation. "I mentioned this once to Surveen, but my experience leading troops into battle has a fairly narrow focus. I never rose in the ranks officially, and my assumption of command could be described as serendipitous were it not for the Chelish navy having our lone vessel on the ropes at the time. I went by instinct and made sure I shouted louder than anybody else when the grapples started flying. I've had more than enough time to consider what went right and what went wrong that day and the days that followed." He shakes his head almost wistfully in remembering the details. "Even if I worked as hard as the rest to keep from being captured, it was their skill and experience that kept the ship afloat and clear of enemy marines."
He clings to the memory a moment longer and then looks at Evrail with a grin that gradually metamorphoses from wry to chagrined. "It seems you like to have things planned out in advance, and I'm sure that drive will prove a life-saver down the line. My style involves being prepared for anything and simply calling the shots as I see them, as I trust the people I'm working with can adapt the loose orders to their own styles. The flexibility can be... rather effective. Just speak up in advance if you think your sense of planning might work better for a given situation."
Evrail nods as Halvair speaks than says "I find planning ahead when we have no idea what is ahead of us tends to help people live. I will inform you if any suggest situation should happen." Turning to Surveen nods "Very well than."
"Good elf," Surveen continues, "As I said, I favor the flail, for in my training I hope to be able to disarm, those weapon wielding foe whom cross our path, yet it still is deadly against any enemy we cross. However, my training is lacking when it comes to using weapons from distance, I doubt I will be so useful a guard from afar. I prefer the up close and personal sort of combat. Though it is said that members of your race, do prefer to strike from distance, using your bows and such. Is that your choice too?" he speaks with a easy naivety born out of a the simple telling of the truth.
Evrail shakes his head at Surveen "I may look full elf but I am only part elf. My mother was born from an half-elf and elf union. My father is human but has some elven blood in him as well."He stops for a moment before saying more "I use both bow and blade. I was taught the bow by my father who was a scout for the military. I was trained with the blade by my uncle who was my mother's brother. He is a full blooded elf. They both taught me everything they knew." He than thinks for a moment "My preferred style of combat is to shoot the enemy from afar than attack them with my blade once they move close enough. It is a mixture of what I have learned."
Pleased with her newly acquired knowledge, Serra thanks the General.
"Thank you sir! That information will be most helpful! All information is helpful, but this information is particularly helpful, so we really really appreciate it! Anyway, I'm off to meet this herbalist. Do you by any chance have directions, being new here I don't quite know my way around the market."
She'll wait for directions, but if none are forthcoming she'll try and find the herbalist herself.
The man nods to Serra and directs her to the home of the herbalist. Once there. Once at the herbalists shack on the outskirts of town, you enter to find an unusual individual there. A slender young woman with long black hair set in several dreadlocks with an assortment of jingly jewelry holding it altogether. She has amazing blue eyes very articulate and beautiful. She hardly wore any clothes either, her exposed skin had an array of body tattoos. She had many necklaces, bracelets and anklets. Though the most important feature where her elven ears. As you enter she peers at you quizzically. "Is there something I may help you with?" She asks.
Serravael beams at her new acquaintance.
"Oh yes, I imagine there are many things you could help me with."
"You see, I'm an alchemist, well that's a term we use for it across the sea. I mix reagents together so that they may achieve results that neither substance alone could achieve. Much of herbalism is similar, mixing medicines and poultices and the like. Except that I can use something akin to mag... well suffice to say I've used my studies to learn to achieve things not normally possible with the reagents in their natural states. I had been speaking to the General, and he indicated that such things were unheard of in these lands, and when I heard that I was sad, but then excited, because I could teach people these things, only I wouldn't need to if people here already understood some of the basics. You see? I just want to know what you know of mixing reagents. We can go from there. I'm quite knowledgeable myself in these matters. Also, you seem to be an elf, though being new to these lands I'm uncertain if there are people here who look like what are elves where I'm from, me being an elf where I'm from, but here these people aren't elves. Are you an elf?"
Serravael takes a breath, finally, and waits for a response.
I am assuming you hunt down this general, He is stuggling back and forth in a hall muttering to himself. Once you approach but before you can even get a word in, he throws his hands in the air and wails. "AyG! Not more of ya! No more information on the cursed lands! It is a story I don't like tellin!"
Halvair nods and smiles knowingly as the general begins his tirade.
I can only imagine so many people having mentioned visiting the Cursed Lands. Some of the others must have been here before us.
Unbuckling "his" new shortsword, Halviar holds the sheathed blade non-threateningly towards the general. As the general paces the length of his chamber once more, Halvair clears his throat. "We wouldn't trouble you over a story you do not wish to tell. Rather, we're here on related business..." He moves a few fingers holding the sheath such that the royal crest imprinted on the leather is plainly obvious. "...from the King. In his infinite wisdom, he's seen fit to appropriate additional resources for the mission into the Cursed Lands."
The aasimar pauses to subtly glance around the room, which gives the general or Halvair's companions a chance to speak. He keeps a special eye out for the general's sword, but there might be other things about that our fearless leader might try to requisition.
The big blue man, nods to Halviar, his face showing compassion for the general, but says nothing. His eyes show faith in Halvair and his approach to acquire the much needed weapon. His stance that of a soldier ready to follow his leader's commands, such as the general would have been used to, when in command of his division.
The girl looks at Serra with stern and rather unpleasant expression. In a calm and relaxed voice she speaks "You speak too much too fast. Sit and wait. My father is whom you seek." With that she will go back to sorting herbs. If you wish, you may attempt to speak again. Gregor, you could also assist.
The man relaxes and gazes at the sword in you possession. "The king let you have his sword? What is it you want from me?" You notice a nice sheath and similar hilt on the sword at the general's side.
Serra is taken aback, her pride wounded, but knowledge is a worthy quest, so she smiles and does her best to remain upbeat.
"May I speak to him? I'm a scholar and know a great many things about herbs and combining herbs and making things form herbs but not cooking with herbs I've never learned that."
"Forgive my excitable friend, it is just that you and your father are first people we have encountered in this land that seem to know much about her area of expertise. If we may speak with your father, I know a bit about herbalism as well, perhaps we can exchange information."
Diplomacy:
Halvair relaxes a bit as he buckles the sword onto his belt once more, hoping to telegraph that a degree of friendliness and - perhaps - developing camaraderie.
"King Hermond III understands and respects the sacrifices you have made in his service. With this push into the Cursed Lands, our monarch shows considerable faith in the skills of my team. We've heard a great deal about the spirits that wander those hills, and as you can see, the team is confident in their ability to handle anything that comes their way."
Halvair sidles up to the general and glances sadly back towards Evrail and Surveen. Guiding the military commander by the shoulder so that they might share a whispered word in confidence. "They're strong and brave, but they hardly know what they're up against. I've seen green soldiers like that before... fresh out of training and thinking they can take on the world. These boys are good, too, but they're just not equipped to handle the things up north." Halvair shakes his head as he mutters more to the general. "I sometimes wonder why I took this job if it just meant leading more bright-eyed lads to the Nine Hells only to have a fifth of them return... I lived through that once already, and it's not something I'd condemn them to. Oh, but I'm not here to dredge up painful, old memories. You didn't want to talk about the past, and I don't want to remind you of thoughts best left buried."
The aasimar detaches from the general and slowly paces back towards the door and his companions. Glancing over his shoulder back at the general, he remarks "I'm just hoping what His Majesty could spare will be enough; the Chuall has a lock-down on what little silver there is."
He nods to the two guards as if to say it's time to depart. Halvair muses aloud "I'd give what silver I've ever seen just to have given those lads a fighting chance at leading a normal life. Oh, the screams...they never will stop, will they?"
Surveen watches Halvair at work with the general, a slight smile crosses his lips, at Halvair's progress. His body hardly moving, just the rise and fall of his chest and the eyes which follow Halvair.
Evrail watches as Halvair speaks. He than thinks to himself "I should of told them what I had said to the general since that is different than what Halvair has said." He than looks to see how the general will react.
The girl listens but looks at you as if you don't know what your talking about. "The secrets of our practice are known only to father and me. No one else in this entire land knows what we know. You are to over dressed and wealthy looking. You may be more villagers trying to prove my father a fraud. Our medicines help people. We are not normal people. She is to over dressed to be a forest Shaman and you." Points at Gregor. "What are you that you claim to understand our methods?"
The general stiffens. He then points at Evrail. "This one claims to be an experienced warrior!" He then points at Surveen. "That blue person is obviously a monster. Not quite like the ones up north but definitely a monster." He then throw his hands in the air. "First take me! Why do I have to go through this?" He looks back at you. "What do you want from me? I already told other in your "team" my story, what more could you possibly ask?
"No, no, I assure you we mean well. Gregor, tell her of the expedition, and our need for those knowledgeable of nature and the gifts it can give those who know how to look."
Evrail sighs as the general points at him thinking to himself "Yes I should of told them what happened with me and the general." He than looks at Halvair to see what he says. On hearing the generals words about Surveen,his face turns hard and his eyes go cold.
Surveen's eyes cloud in disappointment, his lids lower. It happens again, everywhere prejudice comes to the fore, Sarenrae provide light to the mans dark blinked life, let him understand your fire of life and salvation. A sigh leaves his lips, as he hopes Halvair can put things right with the misguided general. His hand twitches and he steps back, ready to unhook his flail, if the general decides that monsters, even civil, friendly ones want to taste his sword. Just ask him for his sword, so we can leave, please Halvair. The strain is evident on Surveen's face, as he controls his anger at the slight, a knuckle lightens as it tightens around a medallion showing the dawnflower's flame.