As Pyros rises from the ground, Faerin breathes a sigh of relief, scanning the battlefield, and taking joy in their success. Finally striding out of the fog, toward the fallen owlbear, raising her staff to finish it off.
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Except for Dovan, who has disappeared, that's it.
Akiros looks around the battlefield, shaking his head. He heads over to your group.
"My sins are many, and I have little hope of redeeming them."
He takes the amulet from around his neck and hands it to you. It is a beautiful piece of jewelry with an intricately engraved symbol of Sarenrae on it.
"Take this, I am undeserving of it. May the Goddess watch over you in your endeavor to bring law to this lawless land. I have debts to pay, and it is long time that I do so. I wish you luck."
With that he strides off.
Reg quickly follows Akiros:
"Hey, just remember, no one is creating a land without sin here, we all have sins. I am here because I think it will always be a place of redemption, a place you showed you are part of today. If you think of it, come back, when you are ready. We will remember."
BEST
CAMPAIGN
EVER
Smashing the owlbear's skull in with her staff to ensure that the fearsome beast never rises again, Faerin joins the others as the gather, in realization of their victory.
"It's true... When you feel like you've taken care of whatever atonement you need to make, you can always find a welcome in these lands."
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Akiros looks back and shakes his head.
"Too many people with grudges here for me to stay, but thank you for the offer." He responds to Regongar and Faerin.
Kressle jumps down from the ledge.
"Well, that's the end of that drunk bastard. So much hope pissed away on drink and delusions of some mysterious fey queen."
She looks at your group.
"I'll be heading out too. Not much reason to stay. Maybe I'll see you around."
She waves for her group to follow, but turns back.
The Stag Lord kept some old druid around here, be careful he's a mean cuss and plenty dangerous, especially now since he only feared the Stag Lord."
Faerin nods, as Kressel prepares to take her leave, giving them a warning of the Stag Lord's father. "Any message you'd like me to give your sister?"
As Kressel considers her response, the druidess turns to Olivia, flashing the other half-elf a grin. "That was a brilliant move with the fog, great shooting too. Looks like we might still have the old druid to deal with though."
"The geezer is part of the reason the Stag Lord was so nuts. Evil druids are a bad thing, can we just take the guy out? Dump the body at the disgusting little house they used to live in?"Reg smiles his funny smile "I'll even let Erastil know that we will find worthy replacements, hehehehehe."
Pyros approaches Kressle. "You should stay. We couldn't have done it without you, and we'd be happy to have you fighting with us in the future."
As Kressel considers her response, the druidess turns to Olivia, flashing the other half-elf a grin. "That was a brilliant move with the fog, great shooting too. Looks like we might still have the old druid to deal with though."
Octavia emerges from the fog and flips her hair haughtily. "Yes, that cleric drank a potion and disappeared. I haven't seen him appear again, so I must deduce that it was a potion of invisibility. Curses, foiled by such a basic spell!" To Regongar, she purrs, "Excellent job, as always. You had them quaking in their boots!"
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You enter the main house after taking care of things outside. In side you find a bedroom that is littered with empty ale and wine bottles, a dirty and disheveled bed, and the heavy odor of stale sweat and alcohol. Just down the corridor from it is another bedroom that is immaculately set up, but appears to have never been used.
Towards the back of the house you find a couple of cells, one of which is occupied.
After putting down the old man that hysterically attacks you, you recognize him from the visions as being the Stag Lord's father, the evil druid.
Among the loot you acquire, there is a journal from the Stag Lord as well.
"While the Stag Lord was too far gone to be saved, that rotten old bastard deserved to die for his part in creating the monster." Faerin says as they go through the assorted gear collected from the Stag Lord's small army.
"That and the accursed fog."
"While the Stag Lord was too far gone to be saved, that rotten old bastard deserved to die for his part in creating the monster." Faerin says as they go through the assorted gear collected from the Stag Lord's small army.
"That and the accursed fog."
"The desecration of nature, and especially of children, cannot be tolerated. Ever. Anywhere. I would rather be in chains again ..."
"It doesn't make the Stag Lord forgivable, but I need to be honest; it does make him understandable."
"That said, my Octavia & I have had pretty brutal lives, but we would never let that infect the world around us."
"Understandable or not, once word begins to spread that the Stag Lord has fallen, a lot of people will see this as a safe area to settle....and a lot of others might see it as new hunting grounds. Now we get to determine what this land becomes."
"For too long, the Aldori have suffered under Choral's yoke. Though lady Jamandi Aldori did not say so explicitly, I believe that their hope was to establish a free land for Aldori to live, outside control of the Brevic throne. A New Rostland, if you will. A Free Rostland." Pyros says, looking around as though he's already deciding where buildings should go if the Stag Lord's fort becomes the new capital.
Harrim gives a glance towards Pyros.
Oh, so only Aldori will be allowed to live in this new barony? I say, Rostland has outlived itself, why try to carry on the name of that which nears its end. Let us make something new, and not attempt to cling to the past. Though, then again. I suppose it doesn't truly matter.
"So you think of us simply as Aldori colonists? My understanding was to establish something new here, allied to the Aldori of course, since we benefit from their aid, but free to be whatever those who can make something here choose to create." Faerin replies, turning to look at Pyros.
Pyros smiles at Harrim as he shakes his head. "Any state composed solely of Aldori would quickly starve to death, Harrim. We are a martial sect, few in number and limited in talents. In Old Rostland the Aldori formed a martial aristocracy, but we were never more than a small fraction of the population. Why, no one is even born an Aldori, but must choose as an adult to sacrifice his name when he joins the Swordpact. What state could survive without children?" he turns to Faerin. "Not a colony, no. At least not in the sense that a colony is established and directed by a mother country. I would see our new state not as a daughter of Restov, but a younger sister. Much alike, but neither as lord of the other. Rostland, after all, is still under the yoke of Brevoy. Any colony of Rostland would be ultimately answerable to the Brevic throne, and I have no interest in that. Rather, I would seek to establish a free state. One where any Aldori who wish to escape the tyrannical reign of Choral's heirs would be welcomed with open arms, but not necessarily given power. I am certainly not advocating offering the barony to Lady Jamandi, for instance. But I would like our realm to be a safe haven for Aldori who wish to leave Brevoy." he pauses, then begins again.
"In case religious concerns motivate either of your qualms, allow me to allay those fears." he rolls back his right sleeve and holds up his arm, tattooed with Milani's rose. "I am a follower of Milani, the Everbloom. She is the patroness of all who would throw off the tyrant's yoke, and she would not thank me for establishing some religious tyranny, even one that held her paramount. I would strive to allow those of any faith to worship in our land, so long as they keep the peace."
"That seems, reasonable enough. Besides, those who hold to the River Freedoms would likely reject and attempt to simply render them under someone else's boot. Conquering Highborn lords aren't often much better than bandit ones." the druidess replies with a nod.
Looking around the fort she considers their next steps. "We should strip the bodies of anything useful and drag them into the woods outside the fort. They enjoyed taking from their environment, I think it only fitting they be given back to it.
I suggest that once we get a night's rest, Valerie keep watch over the sealed fort while we head back to Oleg's to resupply and spread the news. Maybe send a few others here, while we contact Lady Jamandi to inform her of our success."
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After setting things straight at the fort, you spend an uneventful night there. Valerie will keep watch over the area while you are gone. The next morning you head to Oleg's, leaving early so that you arrive late evening at Oleg's.
When you arrive, Oleg and Svetlana are both working as usual. The boy that was one of the bandits from the attack on Oleg's weeks ago is also doing chores under Oleg's supervision. Bokkem is also there. In addition, Kesten and his men are still at the trading post.
Smiling as they return to the fort, Faerin makes sure to check in on the boy who was now working for Oleg, before approaching Svetlana.
"We've taken care of the Staglowrd and his bandits. You'll be happy to know, Kressel made the right decision when it came down to it, and helped us take them down. She decided to head off on her own but she send her best, and I just wanted you to know, that she's alright." the druidess says with a smile.
"If you ever see her around, let her know we've a place for her whenever she's ready for it." Pyros adds.
In his spare time, Pyros will seek out the young man serving at Oleg's.
"How have you been the last few weeks? Is working here going well for you?"
Before they head off to Restov with Kesten, Faerin with catch up with Bokken, dropping off any interesting or rare herbs she may have come across between the Fort and Oleg's. "Any more trouble getting a hold of fangberries since we took care of the spiders?"
@Faerin
"Hah! Nice job clearing them out, I can get my berries with ease now. Anytime you need any potions, I will give you the special discount."
Harrim merely watches of his soon to be flock. It was inevitable. But, he would not push them more than they needed. For now, he was content. Though he does quip often about the pointlessness of worrying to much about things.
@ Pyros
The boy seems very intimidated by you (after all, you were the executioner of the others).
"I - uhm - am doing as master Oleg says.. it is better than before."
He seems to have something else to say, but is hesitant.
Pyros smiles. ”I’m glad for you. An honest living may not be a quick path to wealth and glory, but it’s better than the road you were on before. Keep working hard, Oleg’s a good man. We defeated the Stag Lord, and soon we’ll be building a new town in the land. Maybe you’ll be able to find work there. Or even start a shop for yourself.” Pyros starts to turn away, but stops. ”If you’ve done no wrong, you’ve nothing to fear from me. If you have more to say, I’ll listen.”
Reg goes to find Linzi; he wants to introduce her to Fury ... and also talk about the Epic of the Stolenlands
"Linzi! I want you to meet ... 'someone' This is Fury! He is an Air Elemental! I guess I never really asked if you studied any planar languages at the Bard College you went to; he speaks Auran. I can teach you some if you want. He will definately be a huge help to all of us, and the Baron."
Fury flies down at Reg's request, and hovers a few feet away. He looks a lot less like a cloud at the moment, and a lot more like a wispy person. Reg seems to smile at him a lot
"I am really excited that I will be able to fly with him soon, I can't wait really. Won't that be a cool part of the Epic? That there are heroes of the Stolenlands flying in to save the day? Fearin can already fly, as a bird. It was SO cool ... did you interview her yet? She and Octavia beat the crap out of people at the fort. It sucks you weren't there though.
Then Reg takes a breath
@Faerin
"Hah! Nice job clearing them out, I can get my berries with ease now. Anytime you need any potions, I will give you the special discount."
"I'll be sure to take you up on that." the druidess says with a warm smile at the old man. "If you need anything let me know."
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@Pyros:
After some hesitation, the boy nervously replies:
"You shouldn't have just let Trask go."
At the blank look you give him from the name, he adds, "He was the younger boy. He was the worst of all of them. The things he did still give me nightmares! And he was always good at hiding his sickness."
@ Reg:
Linzi listens to you with rapt attention, busily scrawling in her notebook. She squeals with delight at Fury.
"It's so unfair that I wasn't there!! How am I supposed to write my epic if I'm left behind? Next time I'm going!"
You know, you aren't nearly as scary as you seemed at first."
Pyros pauses, then nods slowly. "That's good lesson, young man; that looks can be deceiving. It's a good one for you to have learned early, and one I'll keep in mind. Thank you." he pats the boy on the shoulder as he returns to the main part of the fort.
@ Reg:
Linzi listens to you with rapt attention, busily scrawling in her notebook. She squeals with delight at Fury.
"It's so unfair that I wasn't there!! How am I supposed to write my epic if I'm left behind? Next time I'm going!"You know, you aren't nearly as scary as you seemed at first."
"See? You're really a natural at this Linzi! " ... and although Regongar became less scary in their eyes, they all knew he was no less dangerous." "
Reg winked at the little bard, and went off with Fury to get ready for the road.
Enjoying the modest feast and triumphant companionship, Faerin arises early, greeting the dawn and brewing a few concoctions, before taking a bath and getting something quick to eat, in preparation for the long ride.
Heading out to the stables she makes sure to take an apple for Azalea, saddling her horse as they all prepare to head out.
As they ride, Pyros gestures to the dirt road they're following. Barely more than a trail really. "When we get the chance, we should see what can be done to improve this road. Widening, leveling, adding gravel, Any improvement would make it easier for new settlers to move to our realm."
As they ride, Pyros gestures to the dirt road they're following. Barely more than a trail really. "When we get the chance, we should see what can be done to improve this road. Widening, leveling, adding gravel, Any improvement would make it easier for new settlers to move to our realm."
"That project would also be an amazing time to start the initial formation of patrols; to protect the project AND to protect new settlers. The right rotation would allow every guard unit to return to base so no one is stuck with a wilderness assignment. Protecting settlers would make this an attractive place to settle."
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"It's about a day's ride, so we'll likely camp at nightfall, to arrive by midday." Fearin tells Octavia and Regongar, as the two who most likely had never been to Restov.
Listening to the conversation on developing the area she nods, thoughtfully. "It would definitely give those who preferred to make a living swinging a sword an alternative to banditry."
"It's about a day's ride, so we'll likely camp at nightfall, to arrive by midday." Fearin tells Octavia and Regongar, as the two who most likely had never been to Restov.
Listening to the conversation on developing the area she nods, thoughtfully. "It would definitely give those who preferred to make a living swinging a sword an alternative to banditry."
"My thought exactly. We need to show people that they can be more than they imagine; like being a slave doesn't mean you have to be a slave forever."
Reg looks very fondly at Octavia ... and then at Fury
"While also showing them that if they hurt what you love, you will maim them into the Boneyard itself."
"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Pyros says to Regongar.