"Tales grow in the telling, all the moreso when told by the deceitful. Truth will win out in the end. I worry little about the lies that evil's servants tell."
The Stable Boy clicks his tongue. That does not bode well. I know you are used to being among crusaders and clerics and others of iron faith and Adamantine morale, Sir Drystan. You are no longer there. Consider this the next time you start giving the event ammunition in the war of public opinion.
The next time you blink, he's gone.
As the stable boy blinked away, the form of Godwyn could be seen flying in from the distance. While their methods were different, the two paladins had both been busy purging the surrounding countryside. As there were few local threats that required both of their attention, the two had thus far spaced their efforts apart.
He landed, having not seen the stable boy. He folded his wings behind his back as he walked over.
”Brother, another day and this time no enemies seen. Locally, at least. I think that I might start training the refugees to defend themselves before we move on.” He stopped, when he saw the look on his friend’s face. ”Is everything all right?”
Divine power like ours, you say? Lian looks back over the group, I think we will especially want to keep this group safe- and look for it in others too. The gods may be acting to a heavier extent than is tradition.
Drystan shakes his head, and shrugs his shoulders. "The stable boy. He speaks in needless riddles. It seems that some may not see us as saviors. But no matter, they will see the truth in time."
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Godwyn thought back to his experience with the Stable Boy, and his own promise to keep the secret.
”We were all chosen by the gods for one reason or another. I have not seen anything in your conduct that would displease Ragathiel. Nor would I waste my time trying to convince a Crimson Templar to do so.”
Godwyn smiled as he cotinued ”Though I would ask you to put your patrols on hold for the day. Lian tells me that Karen discovered the hand of the divine on several of the refugees. We should see if any are proper candidates to be paladins or clerics, before we leave. Would you accompany me for this?”
”Certainly. It sounds intriguing.”
"Indeed, while it is hardly on par with the abilities that I sense from each of you, it does exist."
As Karen points out being able to sense divine power in the rest of the group, each of you realizes you're able to do the same in regards to the others.
While contemplating what this could mean, Uthar comes up to the group. Instantly, you are all able to tell he too possesses divine power. However, it does not feel the same as what you sense from each other, and it is definitely different than what Karen felt from the refugees.
Ametist shrugs. "I guess there always have been people out there with a divine spark." After a second thought, he adds "we could try to gather them and see if they are of any help, though I'm not sure if we can give any help in return."
Karen spends the first couple of days creating shelters for the refugees, easily reshaping the earth and stone into small buildings. As there is such a large number to house, with the potential for more, she decides the best idea is to make each home multi-familial. The half-orc easily accomplishes this by erecting interior walls to split each house into three 'mini homes'. She leaves an open space for everyone to congregate which is where she puts the fireplace. Door are provided from a few carpenters among the refugees, and wood from nearby trees.
Once she finishes creating housing, Karen turns her attention to fortifying Fort Invictus. Aside from the simple tasks of adding cover over the walkway, and modifying the walls to allow patrols better visibility, she also adds several large, tall towers to the outer defenses. Finally, she digs a deep moat with stone spikes at the bottom, along with creating a bridge over it.
After Uthar used his emergency scrolls the first night to provide food and drink for the refugees, Karen takes over feeding them, using her divine powers to create food and water each day. Interestingly, after she uses up her initial four castings of the day for breakfast that second morning, she feels the energy of that spel is still within her. Attempting to cast it again, she finds the ability to cast it never leaves her. Thus, she’s easily able to feed all the refugees several times each day.
Finally, when she’s not busy building houses or reinforcing the keep, Karen tends to the refugees as best she can. While she easily cured those who were infected the very first day they encountered them, many still had various injuries. Some were obviously battle wounds, while others were of a more pedestrian nature. Regardless, she moved among the wounded like an angel of mercy, restoring them all to full health and vigor.
The mighty paladin explores the nearby lands, putting down small pockets of spontaneous risen undead and roving bands of minor demons. Thanks to his impressive defenses and his divine weapon, he’s easily able to cut through them with little harm to his person.
However, one day, he finds himself in the midst of a ruined town, several miles from Fort Invictus. There, he not only encounters more weak, easily destroy able undead, but also a powerful wraith. An epic battle ensues, as the heavenly fighter seeks to end the unholy shade. Back and forth they rage against one another, each trying to gain the upper hand. Finally, calling upon a deep wellspring of divine power he didn’t know he had, Godwyn is able slay his undead foe.
That night, he has a dream, wherein it seems like Pharamsa visits him. However, it’s a hazy vision, and he isn’t able recall much upon waking. The only thing he can remember is that it seemed like the goddess of the dead chose him as her champion. He isn’t even positive of that, yet he feels a stronger connection to the gods than he did before.
"The impression I received is that they likely do not know this about themselves at all. Perhaps if we appointed them 'community leaders' or the like, then it would let us keep an eye on them while also letting them grow in a more natural way."
"We also need to have a talk about feeding the refugees. I am currently providing them with food and water, but if we have to leave, I don't want them to starve. We should find out if any of them have farming experience, and if so, is there land suitable for farming nearby. We are responsible for these people, and that responsibility includes making them self-sustainable."
”By my understanding both Loc and Zorakir are staying here for the time being. Zorakir, as a Druid, can provide. And given the undead presence here, Loc should be able to protect them.”
The gods had put them here, Godwyn told himself. How was not the time to question them. He still prayed that the two would behave.
"That is a good solution for now, but I agree that we should try to make the settlement self-sufficient." Ametist knows too well how Danube can affect a group of people. "I am working on improving the communications. That is oriented towards defense. I want paying attention to farming abilities among the refugees, but I could ask."
"I agree with Karen and Godwyn. Zorakir and Loc should be able to provide for now, but we should look at long-term solutions."
"I believe it's especially important for them to come to such solutions on their own. If they are too reliant on us, ultimately we will end up not letting them grow strong enough to care for themselves."
"I'll look into finding other ways to help make them self-sustaining in the future." Lian adds. "Like it or not, no single community can take precedence against the magnitude of threats that now exist."
"Well..." Ametist objects, "maybe the flourishing of a community could bring hope to the World. That is usually a much useful tool."
Useful, if it's survival can be ensured. Perhaps to feed an army later...
A finely dressed young man arrives at the gate of the keep, and is permitted entry. He meets you all in the central hall. He bows respectfully to you all. "Greetings ladies and gentlefolk, my name is Phaedrix of Taldor. I am here on behalf of the Bellflowers of the Dawn, as I have heard you were in need of steward to assist you in running this keep."
Each of you senses within him the same divine 'spark' you all sense within each other.
"We... Uhm..." Ametist scratches his mandible. "How did word of it reach you?"
"Perhaps a paladin with wings of flame bringing fiery retribution..? Brother Drystan is not exactly subtle. Welcome to the keep, Sir Phaedrix. How fares the the Bellflower?"
Phaedrix smiles faintly "Sir Uthar sent word that you needed a steward, remember? And so here I am. Why don't you fill me on what's going on, how many refugees you have, and what exactly you're lacking." He says in brisk business like manner.
"Down to business, good, I like that," Lian decides to complement the newcomer- while keeping an eye on his conduct of course.
She fills Phaedrix in on the number
"The short of it is we are not experienced in running a community, but gained a good site for one and we can hardly turn these people in need away, so an experienced manager would be of great value. Short term involves organizing things to make sure everyone is fed- I believe in the long term I will be able to aid food supplies- defense when we aren't present- it'd be nice if we could help organize themselves, and we'll do what we can but we do have urgent missions- room for expansion, and would be the priorities as I see it."
Lian looks to the others, "Have I forgotten anything?
Ametist looks half worried, half amused. "Now that you've said all that we must do, it appears a lot of things indeed."
"Food and defense are the most urgent issues, as I see it." Drystan says, nodding to confirm his agreement with Lian's assessment.
The young man listens intently as Lian ticks off all of the things they need help with. "You lot are in luck. I'm the eldest son of a rather wealthy family of merchants in Taldor, who trace our lineage to a powerful Star Archon in service to Abadar. I can not do much about your lack of defenses, but the rest I can take care of."
"Well, I guess if we start making some money, we will be able to pay for some defenses, right? Unless... there's no one else to pay us and no one else we can pay, of course."
"Money is not our business. Demons and the dead care not one whit for lucre. Making coin is likewise not our business. We really do have to be away to stop them. Truly, Sir Phaedrix, it is fortunate that you have come."
The young man grins a bit playfully. "Money is not what I am talking about or rather not just money. Allow me to demonstrate."
He takes a silver coin out one of the pouches on his belt, and flips into the air, where it promptly disappears mid flip. You each feel a slight rush of power, and suddenly there's a cow standing next to Phaedrix.
He places his hand on the cow's shoulder and concentrates, and there's another rush of power. A full minute later, a second cow appears. Another minute, and there's a third cow. He removes his hand. "I believe they can help with your food issues?"
"Up to some point, yes, they can..." says Ametist trying to put a neutral face. "That was not exactly what we were looking for, though."
Not wanting to sound too disrespective, he explains. "After much thought, we reached the conclusion that providing the people with too easy-to-access food would make them rely on us too much. We should provide comfortable lives, but not everything for granted."
"Did your paladin friend not just say you 'really have to be away'? The people will not be able to rely on you, because you will not be here. Perhaps you did not notice this, but while it is a noble cause to want to help these refugees become self-sufficient, the land is dead. It is too close too the rot spreading down from Kyonin to sustain farming. Even if you were able to heal the immediate area around Fort Invictus, without stopping the demonic taint infusing the former elven kingdom, your efforts will not last long."
"Then perhaps stemming that tainted tide should be our next objective.
"I was hoping to be able to recover the land..." Ametist moans. "In that case, we'll need to rely on less mundane means, even though I'm not really thrilled."
”I am. For the meantime the people here will not starve. We can now leave on our mission without the shadows of guilt and worry over our heads.”