"I don't know what good it will do. The Stag Lord is cursed and gone now. We have been in hiding for almost two months, but I assume Dovan or that twisted druid is in charge. I will share with you what I knew before."
"I thank you for the courage to tell your story, Akiros. Please eat, drink, and rest - and we shall see you in the morning," said Antha.
Looking at the rest of her companions who had also heard his story, "Come, we should discuss with Kesten how we should proceed for the next few days now that we have a better understanding of what awaits us here in the Greenbelt."
"So you say this friend of yours, prior to his fall, had been in contact with Brevoy, and in fact received a charter to reclaim the lands from the Lord Regent... What was this man's name? Before he was corrupted by the artefact and the druid, and before this Dovan tried to kill him and take his place as the Stag Lord..."
"And what had he changed into after having defeated the cursed guardian? A new guardian to replace the last?"
"Even if Erastil has left you, perhaps redemption can still be found with the assistance of the Dawnflower."
The story is completely true as far as Akiros believes it.
"You mean my friend? I know it seems odd, but I never had the need to ask him nor did he ever offer it to me. We just never talked about it, and once we settled here that is when we started calling him the Stag Lord. Yes, as the guardian turned human then dust he changed into the beast that was slain. Dovan is a cruel one and hungry for power, and probably has taken the mantle of Stag Lord, but the twisted druid... he has the real power."
"Then surely you know enough of this Dovan, or the druid, to serve our needs. Perhaps you could tell us of them?"
"Dovan is a cruel. He rules through abuse of all types. I did not associate with him. I can only guess what he would do now that he is in charge."
Akiros sighs, and looks into the sky. "That twisted druid is even more of an enigma to me. He wrapped my companion up in his abuse so thoroughly that he would not allow me close to him. He whispered in his ear the words that he was required to speak when we did see him. He turned the organization into a wretched hive of scum and villainy. If you spoke out against it then you weren't long for the world. I will answer any questions that you want to know about them but I don't know what useful information I could offer."
He pounds his fist into the ground in a gesture of frustration and a moment later there was a look as if he remember something that crossed his face.
"One thing that I can remember is the druid had a fondness for the drink, and I think it was a rather rare one. If you have a map of the region I can show you where the fortress is on the Tuskwater as well. I warn you that it is well-fortified and manned."
"...wretched hive of scum and villainy..."
"Master Akiros, when we claimed this place one of the bandits named 'Happs' referenced a Kressle. Do you know where we could find her as well, if she is not with the Stag Lord herself?"
"I don't recall... wait... Yes, there was a Kressle. One of the druid's sycophant. She was sent to prowl the main road with her crew. Large group too, but I've seen them at work while we were in hiding... they use a busted looking wagon on the road to lure people in close."
Morley has returned, looking more comfortable in his gear. He smiles a bit... glad to see the visitor is appearing to be useful. Gears start turning in his head from this little bit of information regarding Kressle's band. He bobs his head and looks around the group (still circled around like a lynch mob) before addressing Akiros
"Believe I heard we got bit of food and drink for ya... Shall we?" Morley cocks his head toward the dining area.
Akiros nods to Morley and rises from his seated position. A frown crosses his features for a moment then he sighs. ”If you are interested in Kressle then you may be interested to know that the temple in the woods where my companion was cursed is less then half a day walk from the camp in the woods. I feel that you should know that even if I believe that breaking the curse or dying is my path.”
Morley leads the way "Once the camp is taken care of, we can talk about getting you back to the temple." After showing Akiros to a seat, Morley steps back and looks to his fellow charter members to see what's on their minds. "Any thoughts?"
"I'd still like for Erostil and I to scout tonight. Didn't sleep all day for nothing."
"That sounds like a good idea. Nothing has changed about our need to know about what is around us." As the group broke up, Teyran headed back to the walls, to see what he could do to help.
"Falgrim Sneeg." Valeska blurts the name out.
Akiros does not respond to Valeska, unsure whether the woman is speaking to him or not. He respectfully eats only a small amount as not to be a drain on the expedition's stores of food. After the meal he will return to his spot with the sleeping bag and sit for a time staring off at nothing after using the sleeping bag more like a coat against the chill of the night. The man will eventually fall asleep in the same way; seated and covered by the blanket.
Grendolynn and Erostil depart to scout out the area.
You move quickly through the low flat-lands south of the trading post. You are able to cover quite some distance but find nothing of interest except for more evidence that the bandits fled in a very uncoordinated manner. A pair of them are found dead though having run a foul with one of the Stolen Lands denizens.
You encounter nothing else during your scouting trip. You turn back and make it back to the Border Keep just after sunrise most people from the expedition are rising.
The night passes uneventfully. A group of soldiers remain awake to continue to work on the Keep's walls, but otherwise the expedition sleeps. Oleg is working up a morning meal which fills the keep as the sunrises and the morning bells are rung. The night-time soldiers will go to bed with a full belly and the day-time soldiers will go to work in the same state. Grendolynn and Erostil make it back to the Keep just after sunrise.
A life-long night-owl, Antha stays up late into the night working on her spell-book. As morning breaks, the wizardess was fast asleep. Particularly perceptive ears may even have heard snoring.
Valeska wakes early, but not overly so. She stretches, much like a cat and goes through some exercises some looking more combat oriented than others. She finishes her routine by shadow fencing with her Aldori Dueling Blade.
Finding some water and a corner that affords a modicum of privacy, she freshens up. She offers to help Oleg, however she can.
"I suppose. I don't know that I can carry a corpse and maintain any attempt at stealth though. Would it not be better just to burn them?"
Morley spends time with Kesten's men until the wee hours... trying to develop a rapport with the fighting men, and get a feel of their experience and conviction toward this venture. He keeps his presence informal, but when opportunities arise Morley does what he can to enkindle their pride and stewardship. He thinks back to how his Dwarven foster father always took time to make those who were invisible to others feel appreciated. Morley hadn't recognized it as such when he was a child... it embarrassed him, and made trips to the market with Dad take .
Morley asks to be woken when the the scouts have returned, and passes out late in the night. When word comes, and the answer to the question of whether any harm had come to them, he lets himself slip back into another few minutes of sleep.
As a point of interest the bodies were found near the edge of the forest.
Grendolynn & Erostil return with the bodies of two bandits as well.
"Aw, ye brought back ! Yeh shouldn't have!" Tad calls out as he sees the bodies, wiping the last of the morning's porridge from his mouth, "Here, I'll take 'em off yer hands," as he relieves them of the corpses, "Ye've already checked 'em fer loot right? I kin jest toss 'em onna pyre?"
"Apparently they need a proper burial..." Grendolynn replies sarcastically, dumping the corpse unceremoniously and beginning to brush the dead bandit goo from the shoulders of her cloak.
Recalling Lord Kesten's 'request' that no more bodies be buried within the fortification walls, Tad takes the corpses back beyond. Once outside the walls he looks around for an appropriate locale to begin a graveyard. With little in the way of formal religious or civic knowledge, he elects to start the yard 100 paces downhill, drops the bodies & begins digging.
With little better to do, Valeska decides sometimes the dead are better company... Grabbing a shovel, she accompanies Tad, offering to carry a body.
The sound of people talking penetrates Antha's sleep at last, and the wizardess gets up "at last". Emerging from her tent to see Erostil and Gren had returned, and Tad carrying bodies out of the keep's ground, she heads over to the breakfast pot and asks what she'd missed.
Informed of what Gren and Erostil had found, she ate her breakfast in silence.
Tired from the night of scouting, Grendolynn follows Erostil. "Good work out there. We both came back alive." She grins and takes some basic food. "Quick 'breakfast', and then it's nap time eh?"
Teyran was eager to find out what else the pair might have discovered, but figured that it was best to act now, in case Tad buried them before the chance passed.
He tracked down Akiros and told him, "The scouts have returned with a pair of bodies. They had wounds similar to yours." He watched the man intently, wondering how he would react to the news.
"There are many dangerous creatures around the area. I could only make uneducated guesses, but it is possible that my companion is not bound to the cursed location if you suspect it to be him. There are also natural bears about as well as some wolves, some kobolds, trolls and more."
He seems sincere.
He is telling the truth as far as he believes it.
In the morning Arasmes takes the picture of Falgrim, bringing the rolled up parchment to Akiros, "One thing I meant to ask you before... Since you were involved in the organization of the Stag Lord, somewhat. Perhaps you would recognize one of it's members were you to see a painting of him..." He then unfurls the picture to show Akiros. "Do you recognize this man?" he asks.
Akiros nodded, "Falgrim. He seemed like a decent one, but he was recruited by the twisted druid right before the end. I didn't trust anyone at that point."
Later that morning, after breakfast had been finished, Akiros questioned about Falgrim, the dead bandits buried, and Gren and Erostil slept for several hours - Antha looked around the keep. Soldiers were busy working on repairing what structures were salvageable, with Kesten overseeing them and busy in conversation with his own scouts.
"Alright, everyone, what's the plan? We didn't come down here to watch the birds, after all! Now, I think we should go look into the Temple and Akiros' companion the 'real' Stag Lord. If we can rescue him from whatever transformed him into a bear, he can tell us everything we'd ever want to know about the evil druid and the attack on the wedding back in the city. Even if he can't be saved, claiming such a temple should be an important sign to everyone that we're serious about driving out the bandits and bringing it real civilization."
Stepping off her figurative stump, she approached the quartermaster.
"Master Oleg! Have you enough horses for all of us to set out on?"
Valeska hears enough of what Antha is saying, and turns to the much closer Tad.
You're somewhat of a prick, Tad. But I do appreciate that its a constant.. The young warrior smiles, continuing to work.
I must be slipping in my 'old' age...
Tad guffaws uproariously at Valeska's admonition, inadvertently interrupting Antha's point in his mirth.
"'Ere, what tha elf-girl's'ayin' 'bout tha temples' some wit to't. At tha least, be wise ta take a look-see."
Leaning in, his expression grows more serious as his tone lowers, "Be wise ta bring tha Taldan wi' us's'well." glancing sideways in Akiros' direction as he sits at a table talking with one of Master Kesten's men.
Valeska smiles, "Never doubted the wisdom of the words, Tad... agreed there. And, prickish-ness. I'm just too young, wide-eyed and forgiving. I'm sure you're much more a thorn in others' sides. Don't fret.
As to this Arikos, I could do without him. My training tells me he's just another variable in an already chaotic situation. I'd keep him here, where they can spare the attention to watch him proper. But, I won't argue the point.
"Yeh see na thas exactly we should keep 'im wi' us..."
"'Cause they really spare the attention, no' wi'out lockin' 'im up."
"Oot thar," pointing south to the forest on the horizon, "We already know it's gonna be 'strange 'n' scary' so havin' him along don't really mean more 'n' we keep our eyes peeled tha time."
Tad's hand spread to indicate the fortifications about them, "This 'ere's oor bolt-hole, 'n' I doon't much ken tha liken' o' some'n I don' know havin' his leisure as they're," once more indicating Kesten's men, "havin' tha shorin' up tha place..."
Leaning back, "Tha's piece."
"I don't know, I think you are becoming downright hospitable, Tad." Teyran said with a smile as he joined the rest of the group. "I think you have it right, anyway. I don't entirely trust him, or at all, really, but I think we'd be better off bringing him along than leaving him here. If he is the sort to cause mischief, better he do it far from here. Maybe not better for us, but we didn't come out here for our own sakes."
And yet, the well being of an entire realm rests upon "our own" success. I'd keep the expedition as controlled as possible. Your call gentlemen.
Just perspectives.
"I have the horses that I am keeping for you that was discovered after the bandits fled. Two of them, and how many other horses will you be needing? Likely six." Oleg pulls out his log book and flips a few pages, "The remainder of the bandit treasure that I got from the place, minus the items that the group wanted to take, puts your group at 211 gold in credit. Six horses with the stores discount is 360 gold. 60 gp a piece." Oleg responses to Antha.
"I have neither the gold nor the inclination to be mounted. Can't sneak, hard to read tracks and most horses just panic at the first sign of trouble." Grendolynn comments.
"Thank you, Master Oleg. We haven't decided how to proceed yet, but would it be possible to obtain enough horses on credit? I want to be sure of our options," she says, smiling kindly at the man.
Morley, who had quietly arrived during Antha's earlier call to action, sits packing ammo while eating. Hearing to Grendolynn's reluctance to a mount he butts in, "Up to you... never been much for horses myself, once fired this (taps his musket) from a green horse... bucked me 'n nearly broke my neck. Next time... think I'm smart 'n get off the dang thing. I fire my shot... she runs off and keeps goin. Got word few days later she'd run clear back to the fella I bought her from.
"Still.. I know I'd regret goin out on foot. Actually (he scans over his gear) It's lookin like I'll have a fair bit of room in my saddlebags, if ya need to stow gear or spoils or bandit ears... (he shrugs and smiles) happy to offer to lighten your load."
Valeska moves to examine the available mounts. Horses are noble creatures, good natured and loyal. I can teach you to ride in less than an hour. You will not be able to fight from horseback, but that is irrelevant. Speed and mobility are paramount in the wilderness.
Master Garess, I would borrow the money needed for mounts. Would you guarantee the loan, Sir? The Talanova name is not what it was, but should be good for a couple hundred coin.
"I too have no true knowledge of riding. I expect I should be able to get by, however, presuming a sedate pace and nothing too excitable while we ride. Perhaps I will take some instruction, as well."
"Perhaps we should share or double up on some of the horses? Or is that inadvisable?"