Sandru sits down next to Mary
Well little one, how was your first day on a caravan?
Mary looks up from her notes from the day surprised that Sandru was the one that approached her. Not really caring if he sees her notes written in Halfling she gives him a warm smile. Well to be honest it was perfectly bland. Mary hurries to explain herself before the wrong impressionis made. I mean that in the best way possible. There was nothing too exciting or problematic. We made good time and the weather held for us. If everyday was like this it would be a perfect caravan expedition. However if that was the case then my notes and observations would not be complete. It is only by overcoming harspdships that we learn and improve. Showing him her partial notes from the day. I have started to record what happens in the event that I become prosperous enough to perhaps purchase my own caravan someday. That is one of the reasons I was so anxious to join with you.
Purchase a caravan? There are probably a million things better to do with your coin. I see no reason to stick someone else in this life! He laughs
Mary laughs easily with him. But that is just your perspective. I grew up listening to my father talk wistfully of his time traveling the world as a merchant. It Wasnt just the business but the travel that he loved. Those stories also filled me with a yearning to follow after him once I was able to. Unfortunately it was too late though. Mary trails of and leaves that last line alone. Not that she wants to stop talking just not sure what to say at the moment or how much Sandpoint knew her father. She was gone for a couple of years and only back for 2 months. Mst of that was spent with her father directly and not out and about Sandpoint.
Well glad to have you aboard, If you want to know what it is I am up to just ask, happy to give you some guidance. He rises and moves on to speak with some others.
Thanks for the offer but for now I am just taking notes to see how things are done in the real world. Up to this point I have just been hearing about it and not experiencing it. When I have questions I will make sure to come to you and see if your first hand knowledge compares to what I have learned.
Koytine rolls her eyes:
Good grief, don't you recognize me?
Suddenly she realizes her current appearance might not make her recognizable.
Oh, sorry Exiel. It is me, Koytine. When I get bored I change my appearance. Sort of a habit. I have taken to looking like a grumpy halfling recently. Probably because I get tired and grumpy when I do not have people to talk to.
So, what's for dinner? Anyone have any cooking skills around here?
Mary sees another Halfling come into the camp. She makes her way over to the bedraggled female and offers a drink from her tankard. Before she can word the offer though the Halfling woman mentions that she is the woman that Mary espied earlier and not a new member. Not to be put off Mary continues unabated. That is some trick there. Must come in handy if you want to avoid men constantly hounding you for your time.
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Exiel notes with some amusement that Koytine has chosen to retain her current form even after identifying herself.
"I suppose she is as comfortable in this shape as most others... I wonder if she has a tentacly-swirly-faced form like the last shapeshifter we encountered at Walthus'. Hmm... actually, there are some forms one could take that could potentially enhance one's combat abilities. That would be interesting to explore..."
As Koytine mentions dinner, Exiel's eye's light up. His time in the Valashmai jungle had instilled in him two things: a contentment with simple fare and a voracious appetite when food was available, especially after a long evening of training.
"I can do the cooking if no one else wants to, but I have a feeling that what I end up producing will be edible only to myself. Perhaps someone with greater culinary skills will be better-suited, for the good of the caravan as a whole," Exiel says with a cheeky grin.
The halfling (I was planning on being male, but forgot to mention that), smiles back to Mary:
Actually, if I want to avoid dirty old men, I do this.
Suddenly the air around Koytine shimmers and instead of a grumpy old halfling woman, there is a short stocky gnarled old human man standing there wearing torn ragged clothes.
Unfortunately, I have not quite mastered how to change my voice very well. I am working on it. Despite looking like an old man, it is still pretty much Koytine's normal voice.
Actually, it is more fun doing this.
Once more the air shimmers and before you stands a beautiful lady wearing an elegant gown.
It gets me a lot more free drinks in the tavern. And, when I want to leave, I just slip out for a second and change my appearance to a halfling, or young boy, or old hag or something and walk out unmolested while the men, boys, who have been buying me drinks look on completely ignorant.
Mary looks astounded at the quick changes that Koytine makes before her. Not knowing the woman all that well Mary does not know what may be taboo to ask her. Still Mary is a talkative soul and outgoing so she has to ask, That is a marvelous ability to be sure. everyone has there own talents here that i am quite at a loss trying to figure everyone out. However, If I may be so bold to ask. What is your normal appearance?
At this something seems to bother Mary. So, if you are able to change like this at will and do so frequently, how am I to know if it is you I see when I am out scouting. I would hate to assume you a bandit or someone else by accident.
Darinius has spent quite a bit of his time reading through the books he has in his large trunk and pestering Exiel largely unsuccessfully to ask him follow up questions about the spear.
He puts down his book when the halfling Exiel greeted turned out to be Koytine That's...very impressive. Where did you learn to do that?
Koytine scratches her head, messing up the perfect hair that this appearance had.
Hmm, I suppose I will have to find some piece of clothing or something. Perhaps a hat or headband that I will always keep on. Do you have any ideas?
Koytine's form once more shifts until a normal brown haired girl of about 20 is standing before Mary.
This is the real me. Just a normal young woman. Kind of boring and uninteresting. It is so more more fun to be someone else.
She then glances at Darinius:
Not really sure. I have just sort of learned how to do it. It is really nothing but an illusion. But one that I have become quite good at. It is great for information gathering since I can fit in well with almost anyone.
Hmm... Darinius was obviously hoping for some concrete information in answer to his question.
Mary pauses in thought for a moment considering diffrent ideas. The problem is that specific items may not work with your disguise. Perhaps instead of an item like a hat or headband it should be a color? Have it still on your head so I can notice it but that way you can assume either gender without it looking out of place. Blue I would think would work well for either gender and not be too common. If you choose green then I would think anyone trying to hide in the wilderness may have green on covering their hair.
Mary smiles when she gets the chance to see the real Koytine. Thank you for showing me. It is an honor. However I disagree about being boring and uninteresting. Clearly your personality is exciting and that is what counts.
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With the two males joining the conversation MAry holds her hand out in introduction. Mary Rosebottom. How are you two lads dong this evening?
Koya looks up at Shiori, with the same sad look that she has had for a while now. One can learn to read the cards...yes...are you sure that you wish to learn to do so? It is a great responsibility. Or do you just wish to have your cards read?
After the reply she continues [b]I rarely saw you around Sandpoint. Though I heard stories of you getting in trouble quite a bit as a child, I guess you have grown out of that now...if any of us has considering we are traipsing across the country in wagons right now.
"For now I think it would be easier to have my cards read, I imagine that learning to read them would take much longer then just one night." Shiori says with a smile, "Come on, I didn't cause that much trouble, at least not nearly as much as Sandru."
Eye of the beholder young one...
She begins to turn the cards fairly rapidly and explaining each as she does.
Shiorir keeps track for a moment but then loses the thread, but in the end Koya says.
As I suspected, I have had the same draw for all of us. Adventure, danger, discovery and the unknown. Very vague, it must mean that much is left to our decisions for now.
DAY 2
Begins earlier than our new adventurers could have thought possible. They rise before the sun and are on the road just as the sun is coming up. Once again the day passes uneventfully, at night the wagons are circled up and the weary and sore travelers take their rest.
- CE/Con - The Waxworks
- NE/Int - The Idiot
- CG/Int - The Joke
- CN/Int - The Vision
- N/Str - The Bear
- LG/Str - The Paladin
- CN/Dex - The Rabbit Prince
- N/Con - The Teamsters
- LE/Con - The Tangled Briar
In this case, the Idiot and the Waxworks are misaligned, CE & NE cards in the LG & NG slots. On the other hand the Bear and The Joke are perfectly aligned showing a strong relationship.
The cards are read from left to right, top to bottom.
------------Lawful-------------Neutral---------Chaotic
Good------Positive Past--------Positive Present---Positive Future
Neutral----Unclear Past--------Unclear Present----Unclear Future
Evil-------Negative Past-------Negative Present---Negative Future
So, here the reading might be:
You have experienced a great power in the recent past. However, when push came to shove, you stood strong in the face of adversity and succeeded against all odds.
Now, you or one of your companions will have to hide who they are to avoid discovery. Also, be careful for you will find great strength, but must handle it with care to control it.
In the future, you will face a great foe that must be overcome with some type of deception.
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These are just the opposition & aligned cards. Each of the others can have a meaning, but it should be more abstract and less influential than those listed.
I downloaded a whole Harrow Rulebook, it is about 60 very short pages. An interesting read if you plan on using harrow cards. I created a Harrower character for a short lived campaign and decided that I needed to figure out how to work them. I don't actually own a harrow deck though.
"Or so the cards would have us believe, thank you Koya." Shiori says with a smile.
Yes as the cards would have us believe
Mary rises with the other eager to set out on a new day. What sights and sounds will be found this day she does not know yet but that does little to curb her enthusiasm. She is just happy to be on the road going somewhere. As usual if there is no one that needs any healing for the day Mary sets out into the surrounding area to scout for food to prolong the supplies of the caravan. she doesn't go too far but yet needs to keep some distance apart so the caravan does not startle any game. Although slower than some, her disability does have one benefit. She is able to keep her pack with her at all times without it hindering her at all. This way she can keep her supplies and kit together should she need something. She did leave the tent behind though as it was just too bulky to deal with.
As the morning progressed Mary was finding little in the way of scavaging for food until she found a small thicket full of berries. Loading up her sack with the sweet fruits she brought them back to the caravanin the hopes that one of the others would be able to use them to make a pie or some other dessert to go along with the meal that night.
Once the day of traveling was over, Mary again jotted notes of the day down including the whereabouts of the berry thicket, how far they had travelled and the supply situation. Once done with her task she joined the group for some relaxation and continuation of the conversations from the night before.
Ok then. Hmmm. Would using the same principle work if Mary took her father's notes and paid to have it made into a leather bound book that she then gave to Koya in thanks for all she has done for the family?
Sure
Koytine watches as the cards are laid out.
It would be interesting to learn how to read those cards. I have seen it done several times on my travels.
During her scouting, Koytine searches for colorful flowers and other bright things that might be made into a bouquet to brighten up the camp. She also looks for game, but not being much of a hunter, ends up instead with similar berries and nuts as Mary providing a sweet, albeit not very diverse dinner.
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Having spent most of the night beating up on wooden dummies, Exiel spends most of the time on the road asleep, and you begin to wonder just how it is that he is able to get any rest at all with all the jostling about on the road.
There is little doubt that he is getting his rest whilst on the road, however, for as soon as the caravan stops for the night, the young aasimar is at it again, pausing only to help set up camp and chat with Shalelu, but otherwise spending his time pounding away at the wooden dummies and practicing various strange stances and martial arts forms.
For your reference:
I know it's per the strict rules, but it seems silly and nonsensical that Exiel would need to retrain to get heavy armor proficiency, then immediately retrain again to lose it (which is precisely what happens when he retrains to default paladin, then to enlightened paladin), so I'd like to request your use of GM's discretion.
Will you allow me to shave 5 days off the retraining time if I just immediately abandon medium and heavy armor proficiency and shield proficiency, and also immediately lose precise shot? I still won't get the benefit of the new archetype till I finish retraining completely.
Otherwise, the training description would need to be that Exiel trains to learn to use heavy armor again, then train to forget it immediately after. Which would just be silly. -_-;;
Sorry ex. Nope. Told you I frowned on the whole idea
Just as a question. Once Exiel retrains, are we going to have any front line fighters? I do know know whether Darinius plans on taking Arcane Armor Training/Mastery, but we look to be a very low AC party at this point.
Well my dears I could teach you both how to do it if you like, now whether or not the lady will smile on you and give them power is another story.
She puts her deck away, [b]Come back tomorrow if you really want to learn.
Shiori spends most of the day with her sister again, though she also takes a small time away from her sister to spy on Sandru, observing him as he commands the caravan.
Later that evening, Shiori approaches Shalelu. "You know, I don't think the two of us have ever really spoken much, why is that? You are always at the rusty dragon, and you've known Amei-ne forever."
Depends on your definite of forever I suppose. I have known her as long as she has been in Sandpoint though. A good woman. Her I know and understand, but you I know little of. Tell me of yourself, your goals?
Wouldn't you prefer to learn to use a bow? You had such promise with your throwing clubs before...
Darinius really does not feel like trudging around away from the wagons themselves and spends the day talking with Sandru and the other drivers as well as entertaining himself with his newfound spellcasting.
Don't worry, I'll be ready if anything happens. he has to reassure Sandru on a few occasions as he lies on top of a wagon reading with his spear lying across his chest, drinking from his wineskin. Want some? he offers Sandru a drink.
Hang on. He hesitates and casts something before offering the drink for real. Now it tastes like it's from back home in Sargava. Darinius proceeds to prestodigitate the wine to taste like it is from different places as he and the drivers and Sandru drink.
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"Hi Shalelu. Heh. Those clubs. Yeah, I'll still carry them around, but this..." he says pensively as he looks down at the hands he'd been working the past couple of days at conditioning, "I suppose it is tradition. It's... Something happened whilst we were out there. That new guy in town, Darinius. The big guy with the spear. Well...I suppose it was the spear that happened, to be accurate. It was the twin of a spear that my shifu used, and it reminded me of...well, of Xa Hoi. Of home."
Exiel's eyes focus in the distance as his mind wanders further still, over oceans and across time.
"My father was a general, you know. The 君子將軍, or Gentleman General, he was called. And his lieutenant was my shifu, the great Master Yi Ruo, Dragon of Xa Hoi. Ah, if only you could have seen them then. The two of them before the scores of soldiers on the training fields. Rows upon rows of men in precise martial arts movements, my father and master Yi Ruo at the fore, leading the men as they practiced and trained. A grand sight, and I always believed, as a child, that some day I would inherit their legacy and follow in their footsteps. That one day I would be the one at the front leading the soldiers in the forms as they watched me proudly."
"But that was before they...before they were..."
Exiel's voice trails off as he revisits in his mind memories he'd thought he'd buried. But is isn't long before the pain reliving them causes him to catch his breath and snaps him back to the present, and he becomes conscious of the tears accumulating in his eyes. He blinks instinctively, thinking to hide them, but the blinking only succeeds in sending two tearful streaks down his cheeks, and he hurriedly wipes them off with his hands, hoping that Shalelu had not noticed.
"You know, I realise I've never told you this before... A past I had buried, and thought I'd left behind in the years I struggled for survival in Valashmai before coming to Golarion. I suppose... I suppose somewhere deep down, I've always wished to some day return to Xa Hoi. But there, and indeed in most of Tian Xia, all warriors are trained to at least some degree of competence in unarmed combat, and mastery of it is perceived as a noble pursuit. The son of a general and pupil of his lieutenant would be expected to be highly proficient, and if I were to return as I am now, completely unskilled in that art, it would be...disgraceful. And I'll be DAMNED if any disgrace is laid upon their heads by my incompetence. Gods know enough has already been unjustly laid upon them."
He scowls furiously at the thought, but a slight movement by Shalelu brings him back to the present once more. He smiles faintly as he recovers himself and looks at Shalelu through tear-blurred eyes, her face a firm grounding and assurance for him in the present even as he pushes aside once more the wounds of the past.
"Being reminded of master Yi Ruo also reminded me of my roots, and caused me to decide to revisit my past training. I will never be a master, I know that. Too much time has passed, and the conditioning I would have had if I'd continued training as I grew up is something that cannot be made up for. 'The river of time flows and ever bears you along, and some opportunities once lost can never be regained,' master Yi Ruo used to caution me. He was right, of course. He always was, even if I rarely saw it back then. But if I start now, I can at least attain a degree of competence, enough to hold my own in a contest of skill in unarmed combat. That will have to do."
"Do you also sometimes dream of Crying Leaf, Shalelu? The home you had to leave behind?"
The third day out from Sandpoint Mary slept in a bit as she was taking watch that night. The extra rest was a big help and riding in the caravan made it easy to catch up on the sleep. Once she was finally up and going Mary headed out like she had the past 2 days. Today she had the good fortune that the caravan was crossing a stream. It was nothing that was too rough, only a foot deep and the wagons were able to roll right through it. The stream made a good point though to mark on her journaling. More importantly she was able to follow it a short distance to where it turned into a small pond. There she found some turtles that looked like they would make for a good soup. Hopefully Ameiko could use them.
It had been a couple of weeks since father’s funeral and Mary had just said her good-bye’s to mother. Emotions were still raw and the littlest things would set her off crying again. It wasn’t so much the loss of her father or even that her mother was returning back home to be with her remaining relatives. It was more about just having a whirlwind of events take place in such a short period of time.
The latest episode occurred when she was going through the house cleaning the fireplace. There on the shelf next to the mantle was collection of items that father kept as mementoes of his travels. It had been a long time since she had looked at them, before she went off for her training in fact. After she got back she was too busy taking care of her father to have time to take a trip on memory lane. Now though all she had was time. The collection consisted of journals and maps from his travels, interesting sights and people he had met. Sadly Mary did not know what to do with the collection for it was a jumbled mess of notes on loose paper and parchment. Looking through the maps and notes Mary was struck by the wealth of information that was presented here. It would be sad to see such wisdom and knowledge go to waste. It was at that moment that she decided that they would need to be preserved. Taking the items with her she found someone to make a copy of them and place the originals in a leather bound portfolio. The cost seemed steep at 10gp pieces but it was worth it to her.
The copy Mary kept with her while the originals she brought over one day when she visited Koya. Knocking tentatively at the door, Mary was reminded of years past when Koya saved her life. Koya was there at the end of her father’s life as well. It seemed that Koya had her hands in Mary’s life or that of her family’s ever since they came to Sandpoint. Mary was glad when the door opened and Koya invited her in. Without preamble Mary started talking and felt the cathartic release of emotion as she was able to share her thoughts with someone. As she ended her thoughts she looked at Koya, It felt only right then that you should have the original set. Without you, I would not be here nor would by father have been as comfortable as he was in his passing. Thank you for everything you have done for me. Please accept this small gift as a token of my appreciation. I wish I had something more than his old maps of his travels for you though.
Diplomacy
Mary go ahead and up you score w Koya by 2
Mary smiles a tired smile at Koya as the cathartic release left her drained but feeling better than she was when she first arrived. I am glad Koya. I truly am. Part of me feels that as long as they exist father is still with me. I am glad you understand and enjoy them.
day 3
Another ubeventful day. The weather is quite hot and humid making the day uncomfortable for all.
Day two cont.
"My goals? Well, I cannot say that I haven't imagined leaving sandpoint to go on an adventure much like Amei-ne did. But I've never really considered what would happen after that. I really didn't want to leave Amei-ne alone."
Day three
Shiori will spend most of the third day bothering Sandru with "Are we there yet". Weather she is bored or simply wants to annoy Sandru could be anyone's guess.
The third evening, Shiori approaches Sandru and asks him, "So how much further is it then? It must be exhausting being on the road for so long."