"Calloway. It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace!"
As Kaeldron tells their tale she nods along, letting out 'ooohhhs', 'aaahhhhs,' and 'Uh-huhs!' at the appropriate moments. "It was like... AMAZING!" she concludes quite sincerely.
After the Queen speaks Claire cocks her head to the side. "People blame us? REALLY?" She juts out her bottom lip in a pout, bows her head a bit in shame, and looks absolutely devastated. "...I see..."
With a sniffle and a few blinks of her eyes to hold back tears that are totally NOT going to fall, Claire nods her head and smiles. "Yes, Your Grace! You can count on us! But, I don't know anything about leading an army. That's like... SO complicated. Isn't it?"
She looks at her companions. "You guys know about that, right?"
Alistair flits over to the queen and lands on her should. "Tweet, tweet, gorgeous. What's up?"
Claire's eyes widen in embarrassment. "Alistair, you can't talk to royalty like that! Use your manners!" Although she attempts to whisper, her scolding is heard by all.
Alistair doesn't attempt to correct his greeting.
Fredric does his best to ignore the - technically - divine servant currently trying to impress a monarch.
"It would be amiss of me to not introduce myself either. I am Fredric Fulk, Servant of Ragathiel. And while I have not led an army, I have full faith that my companions and I will rise to the challenge."
"S-Sariel Daore, y'Majesty." Sariel gives an unpracticed bow, dropping his helmet and retrieving it with a flushed face. "Me parents fought 'n died in th' Fourth Crusade, they did. 's least I can do..."
The Queen somehow seems to rebuke Alistair gently without too many words. Offering a finger for him to perch upon she whispers quietly to him. "Your mistress will have need of you in the times ahead, please attend to her."
"Sir Kaeldron you can speak to the quartermaster of the Knights of Kenabres, I am sure they will be of aid."
"Now for some formalities and recognition." One of the Queen's attendants comes over with a box containing medals. She starts taking out circular blue medals surrounded by silver lightning and at it's center a pair of grey eyes. "This is the Medal of Clarity which you have all earned."
Righteous Medal of Agility: This triangular iron medal shows a demonic face surrounded by three swords. It is awarded to a hero who delivers a death blow to a demon in combat before that demon gets a chance to act in the combat. This medal is associated with Dexterity and grants a +1 sacred bonus on Initiative checks.
Righteous Medal of Command: This circular medal depicts a leering demon head before two crossed swords. It is awarded to a hero who redeems one of the enemy and convinces the redeemed character to join the crusade. This medal is associated with Charisma and grants a +2 sacred bonus on saves against emotion-based effects (including fear effects).
Righteous Medal of Spirit: This rectangular medal depicts the symbol of Iomedae on a field of red. It is awarded to a hero who becomes possessed or mentally controlled by a demon but escapes from that control before he is forced to do evil. This medal is associated with
Wisdom and grants a +2 sacred bonus on saves against charm and possession effects (including dominate effects).
Righteous Medal of Valor: This medal looks like a demonic skull, the top of which has been pierced by four red-hilted swords. It is awarded to a hero who delivers a death blow to a demon whose CR is at least 1 higher than the hero’s character level. This medal is associated with Strength and grants a +2 sacred bonus to CMD.
Righteous Medal of Vigor: This hexagonal medal depicts a white castle on a field of red with gold trim. It is awarded to a her who is reduced to negative hit points by a demon but survives (or alternately, is restored to life) and rejoins the battle before that demon is defeated. This medal is associated with Constitution and grants a +2 sacred bonus on saves against death effects.
A mythic character who wears all six righteous medals gains one additional use of mythic power per day.
In a way this was harder to believe than receiving the power of the wardstone. Not long ago he had barely been knighted and had planned to fight alongside his father as a junior paladin among the order. And now? Now he was kneeling before the queen, receiving a medal of the crusade! He would be wearing the armor of a Knight of Kenabres! He would be part of the spearhead of an attack against the forces of darkness. If it wasn’t for all of the horror it would have felt like a dream.
After witnessing Kaeldron's formally respectful tale to the Queen, Davok begins to understand that he is expected to act differently around royalty beyond what you would for a high ranking officer or city official. He remains silent so that he doesn't say or do the wrong thing, but when the Queen explains their task, his heart pounds in his chest in excitement.
A sortie into Sarkoris! To reclaim his family's ancestral lands! At the head of an army!
He readily and breathlessly agrees to this mission.
"Please kneel." The way she said it was a request but you find you knees bending before it even registers with you. Decades of experience and the demands of her position have clearly led her to refine he skills of command. Indeed her aids kneel respectfully off to the side as she addresses you. "A hundred paladins from across Avistan, all of different faiths and races have agreed to fight together. But they need someone to lead them and our laws are clear in this matter."
She draws her shield, raising it with hand on the hilt of her blade. "Do you pledge to guard heart, spirit, body, and mind from the corruption of this Wound upon the World."
You believe Quuen Galfrey is dubbing you all as Knights of a crusade. The title gives the kngith permission to lead armies and rule lands.
Kaeldron already a Knight knows this is of a greater magnitude, one way of looking at it is him being elevated to a far more prestigious rank of knight.
For Davok this would only strengthen his claim, if the demons could be pushed back from his ancestral lands there is no doubt Davok's rulership would be recognized.
"I do," Davok replies, his voice strong and confident.
Claire pins on her shiny new medal and smiles brightly, momentary sadness apparently forgotten. With a vigorous nod of her head she exclaims, "Uh-huh! I sure do!"
Kaeldron felt his mouth to dry as the import of this hit him. Not just the prestige, but the responsibility. Summoning his courage he said ”I do.”
Fredric duly accepts the medal. He and his companions clearly earned these.
And then the Queen speaks of pledges.
Fredric gives the Queen a briefly confused look, even as he kneels without hesitation. He then seems to think better of it.
"I do so pledge, Your Majesty. We will strive to best use this authority to strike at these unholy foes, and not have it tangle us in bureaucracy away from the fight."
Sariel thinks of his parents as he accepts the responsibility. "I do," he answers seriously.
"The knights have volunteered to aid them in retaking Drezen, and that their loyalty and devotion are true. Three others wait at the camp—the three experts who’ll be joining you on your journey. Aron, Sosiel, and Nurah await you at the camp. I’ve never been one for ceremony, and you’ve a lot of work ahead of you—I wish you luck in our mission, and hope to hear of your triumph soon!” She smiles but there's a little bit of sadness in her eyes, it's not the first time she's sent promising young men and women to war and knows from hard earned experience they do not always return. "There are other things that need my attention, I will leave you celebrate and prepare."
"Experts?" Claire asks. "What are they experts of? Strategy? Or like... cooking or something?"
After the Queen leaves Claire claps her hands together and bounces around in glee. Turning to Sariel she asks, "I can't believe it! This is SO exciting!"
Cocking her head to the side for a second she puts a finger to her lip in thought. She asks everyone aloud, "Wait... Am I a knight now? Am I SIR Claire?" She crinkles up her nose. "I don't like the sounds of that. I don't want to be sir anything. People might think I'm a man! Can a knight be called Lady or something? How does that work, anyway?"
Alistair laughs.
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"Yea!" Sariel confirms, "I think it is Sir Claire, ain't it? Never knew've a girl knight 'afore, but it's alright, ain't it? Call y'self Lady, then." He smiles and shrugs, genuinely unsure.
"Wait, that makes me a knight, too! Am I Sir Sariel, or Sir Daore?"
Kaeldron winced at the conversation. The two were everything his family was accused of behind closed doors. This was why the old Nobility never took the new seriously. As patiently as possible, he said ”Lady Claire, Sir Sariel, perhaps it would be best to discuss proper etiquette another time? I am sure that out queen has more pressing matters than to listen to excited knights errant.”
"I agree with Kaeldron. We have matters to attend to."
Claire looks around confused. "Huh? She's gone already, silly!"
"“We’re sending three specialists with you. Aron Kir was a cleric of Shelyn here in Kenabres before the temple was destroyed—he can help with
healing as needed, but he’s also quite knowledgeable about demons and their tactics. Sosiel Vaenic is an expert on siege tactics, traps, infiltration, scouting, and the like; he’s where you’ll be getting your map of the Citadel, incidentally. And lastly, there’s Nurah Dendiwhar. She’ll be supporting you with her bardic magic, but she’s also an expert on the region and knows more about Drezen than anyone in Kenabres at this point, I’ll wager. I’m also going to be sending an army of crusaders with you. There’s only a hundred of them, but they’re all devout paladins of Iomedae. It’s not a large army, but you’ll be able to move without attracting attention. Trust me, that’s an advantage when it comes to demonic foes. They hit hard, so it’s best not to give them the opportunity.” The Queen enlightens Claire before making her exit.
The Knights of Kenabres are a group of mostly human Paladins from a collection of faiths though Iomedae, Saranrae and Torag are most prominent. Standard wargear includes full plate, finely made cold iron longsword and longbows, each rides to war on the back of a noble steed.
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When the meeting is over, Claire goes to find her mom. "Hi, Mom! So the Queen just gave me an army to lead and a SUPER dangerous mission. I've gotta run! See ya'!" She waves goodbye to her Mom then hesitates. "...Unless... Did you want to come cook for the troops and stuff? I bet they'd let you if you asked and... Oh, never mind! I don't want you to get hurt." Claire smiles up at her Mom and gives her a big hug. "I'll miss you."
After chatting with her Mom Claire wanders the barracks and base giving hugs and high fives and chipper farewells to everyone she sees. "Bye, guys!"
Then she packs up her gear and heads outside. At the sight of the knights she squeals and claps her hands. "You guys look SO brave and heroic!"
She puts a finger to her lip and thinks for a second. Looking at her companions she adds, "I think we should go find these experts and talk to them. They probably have something SUPER important to say. Like... wisdom and stuff." She nods with certainty and gives Alistair a pat on the head. Then she wanders around introducing herself to the knights.
"Hi! I'm Claire! Lady Claire Calloway! But, you can just call me Claire. We're going to be best friends! I can feel it!" She claps her hands in glee and gives out a few handshakes, curtsies, and dimpled smiles. "It's really nice to meet you. I'm looking for Nurah Dendiwhar, Sosiel Vaenic, and Aron Kir. Can you point me in the right direction?"
"Hey!" Alistair tweets angrily. "Quit touching all these strange men! You don't know them!"
Aron Kit is a human male with brown hair, green eyes and pale skin. He's wearing much lighter armour than most in the camp. Donning a chain shirt with a small shield and a shortsword he carries himself lightly as he walks.
Nurrah Dendiwhar is a halfling female blonde hair and startling bright green eyes. She's wearing a chain shirt and has a shortsword but has a variety of scrolls with her and a spell component pouch.
Sosiel is a human male with black hair, brown eyes and dark skin. A glaive is near to hand but has a breastplate with the image of a bird with cream coloured feathers on it's body with a rainbow coloured tail in a swirl.
Aron speaks first. "Lady Calloway, I've been thinking about our route. I think we should head directly to Valas’s Gift and then follow the east bank of the Sellen River north until we come to Vilareth Ford, at which point we can cross the West Sellen and continue north along its west bank to the dry Ahari riverbed, since this route will provide something of a natural trail to follow."
Nurrah adds "There's better routes for smaller groups to use but it's a hundred and sixty miles using this route... it's going to be just shy of five days, even if we don't run into trouble."
Fredric salutes the massed knights, respectful of fellow Crusaders against demonkind.
****************
Fredric listens to the expert's counsel.
"It sounds as if you are in rough agreement. If there are no other swift alternatives, I would take the suggested route."
Aron speaks first. "Lady Calloway, I've been thinking about our route. I think we should head directly to Valas’s Gift and then follow the east bank of the Sellen River north until we come to Vilareth Ford, at which point we can cross the West Sellen and continue north along its west bank to the dry Ahari riverbed, since this route will provide something of a natural trail to follow."
Nurrah adds "There's better routes for smaller groups to use but it's a hundred and sixty miles using this route... it's going to be just shy of five days, even if we don't run into trouble."
"How much shorter are these routes more inclined to smaller parties?" Davok asks, having followed Claire.
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Earlier
Kaeldron returned to his family ‘estate’ with joy in his heart. He all but threw the door open. ”Father!” He beamed, as he looked for the patriarch of the House.
Sir Isgor Darahan sat by the hearth. He didn’t look up as his son came in.
”Father, look!” Kaeldron held out the medal of clarity. Isgor took it, and calmly looked it over, while his son watched expectantly. When the silence became deafening, Kaeldron continued. ”The Queen. She gave it to me. Along with a new title. I have been dubbed a Knight of the Crusade. My companions and I-“
Sir Isgor looked up, his face serious. ”Were they knighted too?” His voice was rainy, evidence of the injuries he suffered. The tainted claws of the demons had thus far stymied the attempts to heal his wounds.
”Yes, but-“ Sir Isgor held his hand up, instantly silencing his son. ”This is an honor, and a disgrace.” When he saw the confusion on Kaeldron’s face he shook his head. ”If but your intelligence was but a fraction of your strength. Listen, and listen closely. Our house is impoverished. The other noble houses recognizes our name, but we lack respect. Your honor would have elevated us, if not for the company you keep.”
”And what...is wrong with the company I keep?” Kaeldron said.
”A half-orc barbarian.” ”A Paladin of Vildeis, sworn to reclaim his peoples’ lands from the taint!”
”A farmer’s boy dressed like a Knight.” ”A paladin of Ragathiel, whose blade has killed more cultists and demons than crusaders twice his age.” He retorted.
”A common bowman who can barely speak common.” ”A holy warrior of Erastril, in name and deed.” Kaeldron said, his anger rising.
”A girl without a brain and a bird without morals!” His father wheezed, painfully rising to his feet. Kaeldron looked over him and shouted ”The Chosen one! She whom was chosen by the blade Radiance! Whose destiny saved us all! How can you possibly denigrate fellow paladins?!” His face was turning red.
The two glared at each other. ”Because I do not question their hearts. I fear that your association with them will be all that is needed for our enemies to declare that our blood is no more than-“
”Stop it.” Kaeldron growled.
”I will not! And you will not speak to me like your orc friend. If you care anything for your family’s name, you will take Charge this instant! You will lead this army and bring honor to us. Do you understand me?”
Kaeldron looked at his father, forcing his anger to cool. He knew his father to be a good man. He was valiant, selfless, and uncompromising in the face of evil. But he had also spent his entire life trying to live up to the ideals of his father before him, of making their house great.
”No.”
”No?”
”No. Because I am a paladin before I am a noble. I know my place. I am to protect Lady Claire with my life as she fulfills her destiny. It is she who will lead us, for she walks with the grace of the gods. Even if-“
”You fool! You blessed fool! My boy, this is not a game. She is...is...an air head! A buffoon! You will bring shame to us all!” He fell back into his chair, wheezing. Sir Isgor looked old at that moment, as if every year of his life weighed him down.
Sir Kaeldron turned away, pained to see what his words did. ”I have my priorities. I would rather be the laughing stock of the city than to go against what my heart tell me. Goodbye, father. Tell mother...” He stopped, seeing the defeat in his father’s face. Kaeldron took back his medal, and put it back into his armor. ”Goodbye.”
——-
Present
Sir Kaeldron stood next to General Claire. He kept quiet, watching and listening. In his heart he knew that he made the right choice, but still. He wanted to see how she handled this, to put his mind at ease.
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"Hi, everyone! It's SUPER nice to meet you! The Queen said such nice things about all three of you, and I've been SO excited to meet you ever since!" She gives everyone a smile and a handshake.
Claire crinkles up her nose. "Lady Calloway? Oh! That's me!" she laughs. "I thought you meant my Mom for a second. But she's not here. D'uh!" Claire rolls her eyes at herself. "You can just call me Claire, Aron." With a smile at the other 'experts' she adds, "All of you can."
Claire puts a finger on her lip and thinks, cocking her head to the side. "Valas's Gift?" Claire asks aloud. "Oh, yeah! I know that place! It's a small town, right? They used to have the best vineyards this side of the Sellen. Of course, that's what Mr. Harmond says. But, he's like.... SUPER old, so that's probably a really long time ago. I've never seen any casks from there." She sticks out her lip in a pout. "Has anyone heard from Valas's Gift since the Wardstones exploded all over us? Are the people there... okay?"
"Heading by road to Valas's Gift first makes sense. We've got a lot of feet in our army and feet always move faster on roads. Hooves too, I guess, for all those who have horses." She nods with certainty. "Following the river makes sense for that, too. Plus, if anyone gets separated from the group cause of an attack or bad weather or like... something else bad, it's going to be easy to find their way back to the rest of the group."
"Drezen is a long way off, so five days makes sense, I guess. I've never been there before. But, I do know that five days is a lot of food and water. We go through TONS at the Lucky Bar, and that's just people in and out. A whole army, and horses, and their helpers and stuff? That's a lot of food! You can't eat stuff from inside the Worldwound, right? Cause it's like... gross? But, is that part of the West Sellen River safe to drink from? Or do we need to bring along a ton of water, too? Do we have horses and wagons and porters for all that? And do we have some cooks, or just rations? I don't want our army to starve partway there!" Claire shakes her head. "Hungry people don't listen well. And they're really grumpy too. Which is like... SUPER bad for morale!"
"What can you tell us about Vilareth Ford? Is that a common crossing for our armies?"
"What about this Arahi riverbed? I've never heard of it before. Is the footing stable? Or will we have to watch our step and for demons?"
"But, the Queen said you were an expert, so I like... TOTALLY trust your judgement. I think your route looks great." Then she looks at her friends. "What about you guys? You know about armies and stuff, right?"
When Nurrah mentions alternative routes Claire nods. "So we can't use these better routes cause our army's too big? Or like... some other reason?"
Anor nods at Claire indication towards informality before responding to Davok's question. "A small group could get there in four days, three perhaps if they traveled very lightly. Those routes aren't well suited to large groups like this. The paths would be churned up by all the hooves, the group would be dispersed taking a lot longer and vulnerable to attack."
"There's a few reports that Valas' has been attacked... more like rumours but there's always plenty of dark rumours going about of late. We'll be the first official group passing through it." Soriel adds.
Davok nods understanding at the answer to his question.
"What about you guys? You know about armies and stuff, right?"
Davok shakes his head in response.
"No. You are asking questions I wouldn't have thought of. I'm glad you're here."
Then Davok goes to buy carnivore feed for Anaba.
"I know 'about bein' in an army," Sariel replies truthfully to Claire, "but ne'er 'anded down any orders t'speak of... But I fink what you just said makes a lot 'o sense!"
Fredric stands near Claire, thinking.
I hope this was not a mistake... By the General! She is winning them over!
He cannot help but allow a smile to reach his face.
When the others speak of their experience, he adds matter-of-factly:
"My fight was usually alone, except for my training. I hunted demon cults, not led armies."
"Oh, no!" Claire exclaims when Aron mentions grim tidings from Valas's Gift. "That's so sad!" She pouts for a second before pumping her fist in the air. "We'll have to keep an eye out for trouble and people around there!" she nods her head with certainty.
When Davok gives Claire a compliment she blushes brightly and grins. 'Awww! Thanks!"
Noticing Kaeldron still staring at her for some reason, Claire blushes brightly. "What? Is there a bug in my hair or something?"
”Merely giving you the attention you deserve.” He said, his voice conveying his pride and approval with her work thus far.
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Completely misunderstanding Kaeldron's response, Claire's eyes widen, she blushes red as a tomato, and replies quite eloquently, "Uh.... Kay?"
Kaeldron raised his hands in a placating manner. Thinking this was just about nervousness of her position he said ”I did not mean to cause embarrassment. You are doing a fine job as General, and will refrain from any more distractions.”
Valas’s Gift lies northeast of Kenabres, a small town surrounded by surprisingly fertile lands. Once one of Kenabres’s primary sources of food and grain, Valas’s Gift has been destroyed by demons, and its citizens have scattered into the surrounding hinterlands. When you and your army arrive, they find the village a smoking ruin...
Claire crinkles up her nose. "General? Is that what we are? I thought I was a 'Lady'?" Claire shrugs, clearly not realizing the implications. "Claire's still fine."
---
At the sight of Valas's Gift Claire gasps. "Oh, no! These poor people." Turning to her companions she says, "We need to look for survivors. Someone could still be hurt or in trouble!"
”Yes, we should. But be wary of ambushes. The creatures that did this may not be far.”
Searching the ruins and surrounding area you find no signs of survivors but are able to salvage some food before heading off.
Vilareth Ford is the northernmost crossing point on the West Sellen—few settlements and no fords or bridges exist farther north from here on the Mendev side of the river. Named for the crusader general who first held the ford against a host of tief ling cultists eager to use it as an invasion point, Vilareth Ford has long been watched over by a small contingent of crusaders—yet as the Knights of Kenabres approach the ford, their scouts come racing south to intercept the army about fifteen minutes before the ford is in sight, bearing grim news. Vilareth Ford has been taken by the enemy!
Fredric asks the scouts:
"Can you tell us anything of the enemy forces? Demons? Numbers?"
”Important questions. I will say though, that our forces are almost exclusively made out of heavily armored paladins. I would advise an organized assault, with forces kept in resolve. Including us, so we can identify where the strongest enemy resistance is and engage it. To spread out too far would be to fight them on their terms.”
"Oh, no!" Claire exclaims. "That's not good!" Claire nods at Kaeldron. "That makes sense. We should have our troops stick together." She tilts her head to the side in thought and taps her lip. "I guess it makes sense for us to wait and see who the toughest person is and then go fight them ourselves. But, I have magic that can help everyone around me. So I think I should go at the front. Plus, I'd wouldn't feel right telling other people to fight if I wasn't fighting with them." Claire puts her hands on her hips and grins. "Why don't some of you stay back and watch for really tough enemies and stuff. If you notice some you can let me know –– with like... a signal horn or something –– and we can meet up there. Until then, I'm going to go fight with the army in the front. Kay?"
”I concur. It will do well for the morale of the crusaders to have you in the front with them. I would recommend myself, Sariel and Davok to wait in reserve. Sariel’s arrows will remain potent from afar, and Davok has Anaba. I am sure that she will do best, not on the front lines, but where she can move. Sir Frederic should accompany you, though. To watch each other’s backs, and because I would not suggest that a paladin of Ragathiel to restrain himself in a situation like this. Of course, it is your call, Lady Claire.”
Fredric asks the scouts:
"Can you tell us anything of the enemy forces? Demons? Numbers?"
"About two hundred, mostly tieflings and lightly armed."
Your army is all equipped with ranged weapons so can take part in this phase, the enemies can't. You have a base OM (Offensive Modifier) of +8 and Nurah's expertise gives you a +1 bonus on top of this. I'll let the first PC who responds and makes the roll... well make the roll. It's just 1d20+OM right now