The Pathfinder group had been tasked with an unusual matter. A priest of of Razmir had contacted the Society about setting up the first Pathfinder Lodge within the nation of Razmiran, a nation that had barred Pathfinders for many of the preceding decades. This is not an offer the Society could ignore and sent you lead the construction of the lodge.
Your travel is well negotiated beforehand, leading you to travel across various trade routes at the heart of Avistan going up north until reaching Lake Encarthan. There you were met the small river sloop, the Queen of Elysium. The crew, as a whole, are personable, but more focused on their tasks on the ship. During their work they can't seem to avoid making wary glances toward across the lake where the Gravelands lurk behind the horizon. The captain encourages the diligence on the work and hasn't shown any interest your own work, but content with providing you a reasonably comfortable transport for the Society's payment.
The trip takes several days and gives ample time to review the pair of letters you had been given for this mission. Venture-Captain Holgarin Smine provided a mission briefing through his own letter along with a leather satchel containing 150 gold pieces to help pay for the renovation of the lodge. Fola Barun, faction leader of the Envoy's Alliance, also send you another task of importance as you headed toward Razmiran.
I was recently contacted by a high-ranking priest of the so-called god Razmir with an intriguing but troublesome offer: he claims to have his government’s permission to help us set up the first Pathfinder Lodge in the nation of Razmiran. As Pathfinders have been banned from Razmiran for over 50 years, the possibility of once again having access to that land is one we can’t ignore—but I don’t trust the theocratic Razmiri government. All they care about is praising the name of their fake god and keeping the common people poor and ignorant while they live high on the hog. Though I can’t imagine that they see the Society as anything but a nuisance, the agreement they offer seems reasonable. Despite my misgivings, I’ve been ordered to investigate the proposed location. I’ve chartered you passage on a ship headed to Razmir to meet with this high-ranking priest in the village of Prophet’s Rest, a hamlet on the Glass River just west of Xer. The priest’s name is Narsen, and he’s expecting you. Help secure the location for the Lodge, make any necessary repairs, and hire some locals to help you hold it for the next month or so while I organize a more permanent staff.
I am sending you with a significant sum of cash to pay local workers, buy any construction materials, and grease a few palms if need be. I’m also including a few dozen bulbs of a magical plant called a Whispering Lily. These were given to me years ago by a Chelaxian associate, and once planted, the flowers have the ability to transmit sound to their sister plants here in Tymon. Plant them in secret around the new Lodge, and we’ll be able to keep better tabs on what’s going on with the locals once you leave.
Good luck!
Holgarin Smine
With the death of so many at the Siege of Gallowspire, the Envoy’s Alliance must redouble its efforts to recruit new members for the Society. Razmiran is a completely untapped source of new recruits, and although I know that Smine wishes you to find some who will serve the new Razmiri Lodge as guards and servants, you should also be on the lookout for anyone who might have the potential to one day become a full Pathfinder. Sadly, Razmiran is a land where few can be counted on not to report our secrets to the government, so I send you on a delicate mission: seek out the locals and gain their trust. Once you think you have it, try to ascertain whether or not they can keep a secret from their government. If they are trustworthy, give them one of the special tokens I have included with this missive, and tell them to return it to the Pathfinders of the Lodge once it is fully established. It will serve as a marker to those who come after you of the Razmiri’s trustworthiness. These markers are imprinted with the holy symbol of Razmir and should not arouse suspicion. With your help, we will return the Society to its former glory.
With greatest respect,
Fola Barun
The boat is tight for space as there are a couple other groups that have chartered passage along with you.
Within one group are three merchants that keep to themselves and keep their bags goods and coin far out and away from others. They make no effort to converse with you and focus on daily prayers, rest, and studying their own logs. Their clothing is poor of quality and make, but seems to be enough to barely keep them warm through the journey.
Another group is a family of five held together by a mother, father, and three children, two boys and one girl. The oldest of the three children is a boy on the cusp of becoming teenager. The others are significantly younger, the girl likely not being ten years of age yet and their youngest is around five years old. Their state of dress is worn and ragged, but are more friendly than the merchants or the crew, although much of that is apologies by the parents as they reign in the more rambunctious actions of the youngest child. Their bags carry heraldry of Lastwall on them and a meager amount of food the parents clearly ration with care.
Kornel doesn't recall any particular information on the Razmiri themselves, but others have varying degrees of information.
"I've heard their focus is on their northern shore as undead from the Gravelands linger near the shoreline. Only a rumor, but I would believe it. Seems like the only reason they would have opened up that chance for me to get out of there."
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
On the voyage, the Pathfinders become acquainted with their new companion, a new diversity hire named Shagrat. Like other goblins, he's a little over three feet tall. Though a little less scrawny than other goblins, his body is still dwarfed by a wide, ungainly head. He grins to reveal a wide mouth of uneven fangs, which leaves the impression of a particularly mischievous streak that may cause all kinds of trouble to humankind.
He offers to help the others understand some things about Razmir, assuming they didn't know.
"Because Shagrat becoming so powerful, he know a lot of stuff about lots of things," he offers. "There be lot of things said about Razmiran. The richiest class of people are clergy of Razmir. They be upper class, hob-govern over everyone and live with all the food and gold. The not-rich Razmiri don't have much gold, but still get food, hob-learning, and help they need. They give all of their work because they love and bow down to their god bug-Razmir. There some that speak against Razmir, but the government keeps close eye on people to make sure everybody stay in line."
He puffs out his chest.
"See, Shagrat know lots of stuff. Shagrat know about all the Runelords, too. He come from that time and be one, too."
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
A brown furred ratfolk boards the boat in full winter clothing. It looks like he probably got it in the northern Saga Lands.
He is cheerful enough, holding out a paw to shake as he introduces himself. “Good to make your acquaintance! I’m Brekovi, a traveler and scholar.” He has a wayfinder hanging from a chain around his neck, but his winter coat is usually closed over it.
When it becomes obvious that the merchants want to keep to themselves, he does not bother them any longer.
He is more than happy to help distract the children if the parents give permission. It is obvious he likes children.
He is shorter than Shagrat, but pleased to meet him. “You seem well informed. Have you heard any confirmation that the Razmiri priests have been holding off the advance of undead on their northern border?”
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
A young half-elven woman wearing leather armor with a shortbow strapped to her back tentatively boards the ship. After looking around for a bit she spots Brekovi's wayfinder and smiles brightly. She turns to the dock and yells at the top of her lungs.
She strides over to Brekovi and Shagrat and holds out her hand.
"Hi. I'm Meadow. I'm an archer and over here is..."
She turns back towards the dock and frowns, then yells once again.
About forty yards away a snowy owl and a seagull are engaged in an aerial dogfight. The gull seems to be carrying something.
With a final cry the owl manages to smash into the smaller bird and the sandwich drops, falling into pieces. The owl dives and catches one of the larger bits just before it hits the water, then silently flies to land at Meadow's side.
|
|
Meadow sighs.
"You're the worst. Always thinking with your stomach. I have food for you why couldn't you just let him have that sandwich. Now it's fallen all to pieces."
She shakes her head as she watches the owl devour his prize.
Turning back to the pathfinders she gestures towards the owl.
"Yeah, that's my friend Silence. Um...He's an owl."
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Among the Pathfinders boarding the ship is a middle-aged, dark-haired Varisian man. His outfit is unkempt — his undershirt is missing a button or two, his jacket has spots of patchwork and dust. One might be forgiven to mistake him for a homeless person or a stowaway, until one spots the adventuring gear he's carrying.
The scruffy man wears a near-permanent smile, which strengthens his relaxed and welcoming demeanor.
"Kornel Pastovic. Good to meet you." The man's introduction is accompanied by a firm handshake and a brightening smile. "How are you doing today?" He kneels down to shake hands with the short allies.
It's hard to dislike a person with such an air of relaxed positivity, but some might say that there's something off about Kornel. And not just his outfit.
Not even Meadow and Silence's antics phase his beaming grin. "Ah, friend, you have very good lungs. But, ah hah, perhaps not so loud near children, yes?"
Meadow wasn't able to gather or recall much related to the insular country of Razmiran besides what is well known in Absalom. Ruled over by Razmir, a man that has claimed to become a god via the Starstone in Absalom. Despite all in Absalom knowing that to be a lie, several hundred miles from the isle city, Razmir's power is more than proof enough for many to rule his country as a theocracy.
=
In response to the Brekovi's offer the pair of parents do show some apprehension, but the children show enough delight that the beleaguered parents both agree and the children ask various questions of Brekovi.
The second child, Milini, tosses her hair as she looks toward Brekovi and makes a bold question asking, "do you ever get your hair cut, because I thought I had a lot, but you have a lot, but it is all short. Did you have to do cut it so it didn't get in your mouth?" She demonstrates with a toss of her hair before her face and mother quickly makes a light chiding of her daughter and apologizes for her daughters lack of tact.
The oldest of the three children, Aytun, is a boy who focuses more on Brekovi's equipment and asks, "are you an hero? I thought all heroes had armor, swords, and spears. Do you keep them in your bags?"
The younger of the two boys, Mihal is instead distracted by Silence as he tries to support Meadow as she calls at her owl. "Get down Silence! She ... she will eat your dinner! Down!"
Meanwhile the trio of merchants watch with suspicion and keep guard as Silence flies about and Meadow calls after him. One makes a point of hiding his rations away as the owl consumes the meal. "I hope you keep better control of your bird during this trip. We did not pay to feed ourselves and your pet."
|
|
Those looking over the gunwale at the dock notice a small colorful figure working her way towards the boat. She slows as she approaches the bow and spotting the name of the boat, says, "This looks like the one," apparently to herself. She then walks up the boarding ramp and onto the main deck, looks around for a second, and spotting the other Pathfinders, heads over.
As she draws closer, you see a small female gnome dressed in an impressive set of cutting-edge clothing of the latest Absalom fashion. The eyes are first drawn to her pixie-cut bright orange hair framing a beautiful, but strangely otherworldly face. They soon move to take in the multi-colored hooded coat covering a peplum bustier that barely conceals her ample charms. Her leather breeches and boots in coordinating colors complete the outfit. At her belt are two sheathed matching daggers and several pouches.
Moving unceasingly from one shoulder to another, occasionally diving into her coat or backpack only to quickly emerge elsewhere, is a white ermine with oddly intelligent eyes.
Seeing that she has their attention, she beams out a radiant smile and introduces herself. "My name is Jayma, and this..." she puts out her right hand into which the ermine leaps, standing up on its hind legs to look out at the others, "... is my friend Twyl," A pair of small wings unfold from the ermine's back and it takes to the air momentarily before landing on Jayma's shoulders once again.
|
|
As they near the harbor, the steadily increasing activity around them initially delights Twyl. He hops up on his haunches from his usual perch on his mistress's shoulders and strains to get a better look.
His delight slowly turns to circumspection, and then apprehension as the number of people running around increases, and the sounds of tools clanging and people shouting gets louder and louder. Despite the apparent calmness of his mistress and her constant soothing words, Twyl is a bit of a nervous wreck by the time they finally reach the boat.
Once on the main deck and away from the worst of the harbor noise and activity, Twyl begins to calm down, but another surprise awaits, though he doesn't see it at first.
His mistress introduces them in her usual manner, but no sooner does he return to his roost on her shoulders, that he spots the owl. He freezes; panic threatens to overwhelm him; that beak, those eyes, that screech! Only Jayma's lack of concern and stroking hand stops him from fleeing in terror.
When the owl makes no aggressive moves, Twyl calms down a little. Ah, it looks like the bird belongs to that tall lady next to him. He was probably the lady's friend, like Twyl was his mistress's. He wonders if it'll be friends with him too?
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Jayma is not entirely pleased to be on this mission. She'd just finished an insect extermination assignment for the Society in the neighboring River Kingdoms and was looking forward to a rather mosquito-free interlude in Absalom before being reassigned.
Unfortunately, Venture-Captain Smine was not willing to part with her company just yet and almost immediately threw her into this new adventure. "I guess that's one of the drawbacks of doing one's job so well," she thinks to herself. "I'll probably have to mess up this mission somehow if I ever want to get any rest," she muses, only half in jest.
After making everyone's acquaintance and spending a few minutes convincing Twyl that he wasn't about to be Silence's next meal ("see, he's had lunch already"), Jayma makes herself comfortable and listens to Shagrat and Brekovi's reports. When they're done, she recounts her own encounter with the locals.
"I managed to corner one of the dockworkers on the way here to see if she knew anything that might be of help on our mission. She'd worked in Razmiran for a while and was clearly terrified at the thought of returning. Shagrat is correct, apparently the Razmiri priests are sucking the common folk dry to finance their rather opulent lifestyles. They've established a system of informants among the population; any hint of dissent is ruthlessly suppressed, and the perpetrators are thrown into work camps."
She lets that sink in a little before continuing, "So this place is no paradise, unless you happen to be one of the ruling priests that is. Oh, and the priests have been a little more distracted of late. Apparently, they're really concerned about the undead to their north; there are reports of undead from the Gravelands lingering along their northern shoreline." She turns to Brekovi, "I don't know if that counts as confirmation for you, but it does sound as if the Whispering Tyrant is giving them more trouble than they'd like."
She pauses for a few seconds before adding, "Hmmm, I wonder why they're letting the Society set up a lodge out of the blue like that. Though it's a good opportunity for the Society, I can't help thinking that their motives for doing so are unlikely to stem from any source of goodwill towards us."
|
|
With the children, Brekovi cheerfully answers the various questions.
“This is as long as my fur grows. Fortunately I don’t have to cut it, but I do need to groom it and wash it. It is impressive how long your hair grows! Would you like a bow to help hold it in place?” He offers her a small strip of bright green cloth to tie her hair.
“Sorry, I’m not skilled with a sword. I can summon flames to my hand though.” He demonstrates, summoning a ball of flame and then tossing it out into the river. He is careful to make sure he has a clear shot before summoning. “Mostly I like to explore areas I have never been before. Find out about different people and their cultures.”
He then tells the boy a tale from his own people of a great ysoki swashbuckler. He ends it saying “Heroes sometimes come from the most unlikely places.”
——
“We are such a fun group, who wouldn’t want to join us?” Brekovi replies to Jayma in jest.
In a more serious tone he then says “I suspect with the current situation there are going to be a lot of strange alliances. Provided we can respect their authority, I think this could work.”
“I wouldn’t consider what you heard as proof, but it does support what I learned. I will have to consider it tomorrow morning as I prepare for the day.”
|
|
"So this place is no paradise, unless you happen to be one of the ruling priests that is. Oh, and the priests have been a little more distracted of late. Apparently, they're really concerned about the undead to their north; there are reports of undead from the Gravelands lingering along their northern shoreline." She turns to Brekovi, "I don't know if that counts as confirmation for you, but it does sound as if the Whispering Tyrant is giving them more trouble than they'd like."
"Ah, I wonder if the lodge we will make is close to the northern border. But do not worry, friend: I will keep us safe."
"Hmmm, I wonder why they're letting the Society set up a lodge out of the blue like that. Though it's a good opportunity for the Society, I can't help thinking that their motives for doing so are unlikely to stem from any source of goodwill towards us."
"I think we will discover their intentions soon enough. Until then, it is good to have them as allies, no?"
|
|
"Ah, I wonder if the lodge we will make is close to the northern border. But do not worry, friend: I will keep us safe."
Jayma smiles radiantly at Kornel, and with no hint of concern in her voice, says, "Why thank you Kornel dear. I was beginning to have serious misgivings about the dangers we'll face during this mission, but your kind offer of protection has all but frittered away my doubts." Though you cannot be certain, you suspect that Jayma may be pulling your leg.
|
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
As the boat starts to push away from the dock, a small figure saunters up. There is a shouted (and creative) curse and the figure breaks into a sprint. It leaps at the last moment and there is a thud. Anyone waiting for a splash is disappointed though, and after a few moments, one, then two hands appear over the side. They are followed by a gnome hauling himself up on deck. He doesn't go over the railing, though but under it.
"Why is everyone is such a hurry, these days?" he asks, brushing himself off.
Though not noticeably taller than Shagrat, Brekovi or Jayma, the gnome has a rather fierce look about him. His features are all sharp and feral, his hair a shaggy main, his teeth and fingernails sharply pointed. His hands and forearms are wrapped in strips of cloth, the ends dark crimson with dried blood. At first they seem to be bandages that suggest he's recovering from some wound, but then, the runes stitched into them become evident, indicating they're some sort of magic. A quiver with a few javelins protrudes over his shoulder.
"Good to see there's still a maximum height requirement for the Society's elite agents," he says with a grin, looking at his fellows who are less than 4' tall.
"Hey, Jayma. Always nice to see you. Still itching?" he says, giving the woman a nod of acknowledgement as he scratches his own armpit.
"Some guy tried to sell me a bill of goods about this place, saying it was a paradise for the faithful. I figure, if something sounds too good to be true, somebody is trying to fu.." he notices the kids nearby. "screw you over."
Despite that moment of reticence, Zabu soon proves to be a terrible influence on the kids, especially the youngest one.
There's the day when he helps him play hide and go seek from his parents for hours by putting him in a storage barrel and putting the lid on it. Only neither of them tells the kid's parents.
Another day when he hangs Mihal over the side of the boat to get a better look at an alligator floating lazily in the water. All the more nerve wracking for onlookers since he's no more than 6 inches taller than the boy.
Or the day when he borrows a knife from one of the sailors then shows Mihal how to carve his name and dirty words into wood...doors, walls, railing, deck... Then, he tells the boy to keep the knife. Then he gets into a fist fight with the sailor when he demands the knife back from the boy. "What kind of jerk takes a knife from a kid?"
Then, there's the day when they have a gas passing contest and Mihal looses when he passes more than gas on his turn, much to Zabu's amusement.
Or the fact that the gnome gladly teaches the boy how to wrestle and encourages him to practice on his older siblings. [b]"The first rule of wrestling someone bigger than you is, catch them by surprise. If you can get them while they're sleeping or sitting on the privy, you've got a huge advantage. And don't be afraid to bite."
|
|
As the others introduce themselves and a few have familiars, Shagrat shakes hands with them and enjoys the trip. He rough-houses with any of the familiars if they ever stray from their masters.
He also plays with his flint and steel a little too much for comfort, though fortunately they are surrounded by water. Occasionally, he starts a small fire but promptly puts it out if he does.
As Kornel and Jayma discuss the dangers they might face, Shagrat joins in.
"It not matter what dangers there be. Shagrat be here, and he bug-Runelord like the other ones in history."
He pulls out a medallion hanging on a leather cord around his neck, which is a silver disc inscribed with the Sihedron.
"See? So not need to worry."
|
|
Jayma is somewhat surprised to see that the person scrambling over the gunwale is none other than Zabu. She really hadn't been expecting to see him again quite so soon, nor, to be honest, had she been particularly looking forward to that eventuality. Nevertheless, it was a comfort to see a familiar face.
"Hey, Jayma. Always nice to see you. Still itching?" he says, giving the woman a nod of acknowledgement as he scratches his own armpit.
She nods back to him. "Ah, Mr Creed, what an unexpected surprise. I see that your punctuality is as good as always." Zabu's comment about still itching brings up unpleasant memories of their recent assignment together. She shivers inwardly at the recollection of all those mosquitoes.
He pulls out a medallion hanging on a leather cord around his neck, which is a silver disc inscribed with the Sihedron.
"See? So not need to worry."
Jayma is rather amused by the goblin's confidence. She wonders where it comes from and hopes that the little fellow isn't too disappointed when reality inevitably decides to give it a shake. Still, it wouldn't do to dishearten him sooner than necessary, so Jayma makes a show of being impressed by the medallion and its star inscription.
Flashing Shagrat a smile, she says, "Very impressive, Shagrat. With you and Kornel on this mission, we're sure to triumph. I'm beginning to wonder if the rest of us even need to come along."
Jayma doesn't mind children, but she doesn't particularly like them either. She's more than happy to let the others amuse the tykes while she relaxes and watches the shore go by. She also doesn't seek out the company of the three merchants, as she suspects they would literally bore her to an early bleaching.
|
|
The younger of the two boys, Mihal is instead distracted by Silence as he tries to support Meadow as she calls at her owl. "Get down Silence! She ... she will eat your dinner! Down!"
Meadow leans down and whispers to the boy.
"Don't worry. I wouldn't eat his food. He's my best friend after all. Hey, since we're going to be on this boat for a couple of days, would you like to help me with Silence?"
She reaches into her belt pouch and hands the boy a couple of small pieces of meat.
"Call to Silence and show him the treat. Then once you have his attention toss it up into the air. He'll fly up and catch it. It's fun!"
While Mihal is feeding Silence his treats Meadow will reassure the merchants.
Meanwhile the trio of merchants watch with suspicion and keep guard as Silence flies about and Meadow calls after him. One makes a point of hiding his rations away as the owl consumes the meal. "I hope you keep better control of your bird during this trip. We did not pay to feed ourselves and your pet."
"You needn't worry about Silence. He won't eat your rations. He's just having some fun. You don't need to be mean."
Later once the boat has left the dock she will get the boy to point out schools of fish for Silence to hunt. Meadow will stand behind Mihal and give Silence some hand signals so that it looks like the boy is commanding the bird to fly out and catch the fish.
"If we catch too many fish you'll have to help us eat them. If Silence eats too many fish he gets gassy."
She makes a face and waves her hand in front of her face.
Despite that moment of reticence, Zabu soon proves to be a terrible influence on the kids, especially the youngest one.
There's the day when he helps him play hide and go seek from his parents for hours by putting him in a storage barrel and putting the lid on it. Only neither of them tells the kid's parents.
Another day when he hangs Mihal over the side of the boat to get a better look at an...
During the journey Meadow does her best to prevent Zabu from turning the child into a delinquent. Hopefully playing with a two-and-a-half foot long fluffy white owl proves enticing enough to prevent much mischief. If that doesn't work she will try to teach the children some of the games that she played with the sprites when she was little.
In the evenings once the children are asleep Meadow will speak with the parents. It seems like the family are refugees from Lastwall so she will ask about that.
Moving unceasingly from one shoulder to another, occasionally diving into her coat or backpack only to quickly emerge elsewhere, is a white ermine with oddly intelligent eyes.
Seeing that she has their attention, she beams out a radiant smile and introduces herself. "My name is Jayma, and this..." she puts out her right hand into which the ermine leaps, standing up on its hind legs to look out at the others, "... is my friend Twyl," A pair of small wings unfold from the ermine's back and it takes to the air momentarily before landing on Jayma's shoulders once again.
Seeing the ermine, Silence raises his head and flaps his wings once before settling down and preening his feathers.
Silence turns to look at Meadow for a moment before returning to his grooming.
The owl continues preening.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Flashing Shagrat a smile, she says, "Very impressive, Shagrat. With you and Kornel on this mission, we're sure to triumph. I'm beginning to wonder if the rest of us even need to come along."
Shagrat seems slightly infatuated with Jayma as she smiles at him, or perhaps is just fascinated with her hair.
"No, you come! The rest, maybe we see if we need them. But you come. Plus, Shagrat show other Runelords have greed, lust, pride, gluttony, envy, wrath, and sloth. Shagrat have one of these too so he can be strong. He show you later," he says, barely restraining himself from touching the gnome's hair.
|
|
Kornel laughs along, amused by Jayma's sarcastic quips. "Ah hah! She is very cheeky, isn't she! Shagrat, you would better take Meadow and I with you, or the Razmiri people wouldn't even find you small ones! Ah hah!"
As the Varisian man socializes with the other agents, they may notice subtle changes happening in him — it's like Kornel is getting younger. Wrinkles smooth out, hair grows back, eyes sharpen. And then, just as quickly, everything turns back, and Kornel is a middle-aged man again. All the while Kornel smiles and engages in conversation.
The merchant Lien offers no attempt at apology toward Meadow and declares, "you have done nothing for me and only offer trouble. There isn't any reason to offer niceties when they won't be paid back."
While merchants are still terse, the parents hearts are lightened as they see Milini's face light up as she is presented the ribbon from Brekovi and she wear with glee. It is the same for the oldest, Aytun, as his eyes sparkle seeing the display of magic and hours later he is retelling the story of the swashbuckler to his parents, although with one or two more fantastical beasts inserted into the tale.
Mihal shows absolute joy in working with Silence and feeling he has successful caught a fish working with Silence. He immediately runs it over to his parents declare that he caught it and Silence had helped. They clearly hunger, but still confirm with Meadow before they claim it.
*****
As relaxed as they might have become, Zabu's actions have them constantly on edge, constantly checking the newest bit of knowledge Mihal has acquired from Zabu. They don't dare challenge Zabu directly, they are far too wary and fearful to do that, but the spend plenty of time either keeping an eye on where the gnome barbarian might be as well as their son. Mihal is unfortunately enamored with the antics and lessons Zabu offers. He giggles and cackles a lot as he spends time and it is only balanced by the boy's interest in Silence.
This inserts much life and excitement into the journey, seemingly too much for the captain. As some event breaks out or concludes he has given hard stare at Zabu while demanding to know from his crew how long until the ship reaches Prophet’s Rest and he can "unload all of these cargo." The time of your arrival does approach, but the look the captain gives makes it clear that he wishes it was a day sooner.
Meadow might be the only reason the parents nor the captain have yet to put their foot down she is very successful in undoing the damage Zabu does the impressionable soul while also drawing the interest of the others in games. Some of these work well on the confined space on the ship and help keep the children entertained while there is little room to explore.
With the aid Meadow has provided, especially with Zabu, the parents are more than willing to answer Meadow's questions. Even still they take another moment to confirm that they sleep before the mother, Erali, explains, "we were only able to escape just ahead of the fighting.
We were blessed to been able to escape together, but we weren't able to take much else with us, we hadn't thought of it in the panic. Little more than the clothes on our back and only a smattering of coin. We have been looking for a place to settle, but there have been many others, and even kind villages don't have the room for another family, especially another cobbler. Doubly so for one without the tools of their trade." She grows silent as she clasps her hands together.
The father, Avan, takes hold of her and continues, "we have continued along the shore last few months. We heard that Xer in Razmiran was looking for workers still. We are hoping to build our new life there."
|
|
Shagrat seems slightly infatuated with Jayma as she smiles at him, or perhaps is just fascinated with her hair.
"No, you come! The rest, maybe we see if we need them. But you come. Plus, Shagrat show other Runelords have greed, lust, pride, gluttony, envy, wrath, and sloth. Shagrat have one of these too so he can be strong. He show you later," he says, barely restraining himself from touching the gnome's hair.
Jayma is a little taken aback by Shagrat's reaction to her quip, but is nonetheless charmed by his reponse. "Well, my dear Shagrat, how can I say no to such a sweet request. I'd be delighted to join you on this little adventure." She looks about at the others and in a conspiratorial tone clearly audible to everyone, adds, "But, we'd better bring them along with us just in case. You never know when they might come in useful." She follows this up with an endearing laugh at her own little joke.
Later, she wonders which of the cardinal vices Shagrat felt he suffered from. Pride seemed the obvious choice (why is that even considered a vice, though?), but you never know; the goblin might yet be full of surprises.
|
|
Meadow feeds Silence a rat that she pulls from a belt pouch so that he won't be quite as interested in the fish that he caught. She'll eat a bite fish herself but will make sure that the family gets most of it. She will also share her rations to make sure that everyone has had enough to eat.
With the aid Meadow has provided, especially with Zabu, the parents are more than willing to answer Meadow's questions. Even still they take another moment to confirm that they sleep before the mother, Erali, explains, "we were only able to escape just ahead of the fighting.
We were blessed to been able to escape together, but we weren't able to take much else with us, we hadn't thought of it in the panic. Little more than the clothes on our back and only a smattering of coin. We have been looking for a place to settle, but there have been many others, and even kind villages don't have the room for another family, especially another cobbler. Doubly so for one without the tools of their trade." She grows silent as she clasps her hands together.The father, Avan, takes hold of her and continues, "we have continued along the shore last few months. We heard that Xer in Razmiran was looking for workers still. We are hoping to build our new life there."
"That's terrible. Maybe we could help though. You see we've been sent to build a pathfinder lodge in village of Prophet’s Rest, just west of Xer. I don't know if we need a cobbler but we do need some workers to help set it up. I'm sure we could find something useful for you to do."
|
|
"Don't be too eager to become a runelord, buddy," Zabu says to Shagrat.
"One of these days, I'll tell you about the time I snuck a bunch of refugees out of one of their cities. And got a fine seafood dinner in the process," he smacks his lips and rubs his hands together at the memory.
"Hey!" he says to Lien, the merchant after he speaks to Meadow. "She was just trying to be nice and strike up a conversation. You better remember your manners before somebody decides to give you a lesson you'll never forget."
He cracks his knuckles and grins, showing a lot of teeth. It seems reasonable to assume he hopes they need a lesson.
"Those guys are about as much fun as slamming your finger in a door, am I right?" he asks the rest of the group when he rejoins them.
|
|
Shortly after her encounter with the merchants on the first day Meadow approaches Jayma.
"Um excuse me Jayma but you seem nice. Maybe you could talk to those merchants? They were pretty mean to Silence and me and it might be hard for me to make friends with them. I don't think that Zabu made things any easier. We will need to secure supplies for the new lodge and maybe they can help if we're nice to them."
|
|
"Hey!" he says to Lien, the merchant after he speaks to Meadow. "She was just trying to be nice and strike up a conversation. You better remember your manners before somebody decides to give you a lesson you'll never forget."He cracks his knuckles and grins, showing a lot of teeth. It seems reasonable to assume he hopes they need a lesson.
"Those guys are about as much fun as slamming your finger in a door, am I right?" he asks the rest of the group when he rejoins them.
Meadow pulls Zabu aside.
"Thanks for sticking up for Silence and me Zabu but maybe we should be nice to the merchants. After all we need to secure supplies and building materials for our mission and maybe they can help or know someone who can."
|
|
"Good to see there's still a maximum height requirement for the Society's elite agents," he says with a grin, looking at his fellows who are less than 4' tall.
Brekovi does chuckle slightly at Zabu’s comment, then says “I doubt anyone would consider me elite.”
"Some guy tried to sell me a bill of goods about this place, saying it was a paradise for the faithful. I figure, if something sounds too good to be true, somebody is trying to fu.." he notices the kids nearby. "screw you over."
“Wouldn’t it depend on what the faithful consider a paradise?” he asks.
He seems less enthused by Zabu’s antics with the children, but does not directly interfere. He does help the parents find their children when asked and does suggest to the children that perhaps the ways of a gnome may not fit best with their own needs.
When there is a chance to talk with Zabu away from the children, he suggests “You know that humans do not need fear the bleaching, right? Perhaps they would like a more boring existence than your lifestyle.”
Meadow feeds Silence a rat that she pulls from a belt pouch so that he won't be quite as interested in the fish that he caught.
Brekovi looks away as the owl tears apart the dead rat. He suddenly finds reason to move to the other side of the boat.
A few hours afterwards, he approaches Meadow and gently asks her “Could you please avoid feeding rodents to your owl around me? My folk often have rodents as favorite pets. It is about as upsetting as many humans would find feeding a cat to something.”
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Um excuse me Jayma but you seem nice. Maybe you could talk to those merchants? They were pretty mean to Silence and me and it might be hard for me to make friends with them. I don't think that Zabu made things any easier. We will need to secure supplies for the new lodge and maybe they can help if we're nice to them."
Jayma looks up at Meadow as she talks. " I 'seem nice', do I? Clearly, this girl knows me better than I thought, she thinks, laughing inside.
She then looks over at the merchants huddled together. Based on all the praying they did, Jayma suspects that they were Razmiri. Their clothing was of the basest quality, suggesting that they were not part of the rich priesthood but were instead exemplars of the common folk that were being bled dry to pay for the lavish habits of those very same priests.
Jayma turns back to Meadow. "Do you really think these three could be of any use to us?" she asks incredulously. "That seems very unlikely."
Under normal circumstances, Jayma wouldn't have bothered wasting time on these three losers; her keen senses would have sought out more promising quarry. But, the boat ride was proving rather uneventful, and she was getting a little tired of staring at the same unchanging shoreline for hours on end. What harm could there be in humoring Meadow and trying to befriend the merchants? It would definitely help break the monotony of the voyage.
Jayma sighs deeply. In a resigned tone, she says, "Very well my dear. I'll give it the old college try." She pulls the dozing Twyl off her shoulders and puts him down on the deck. "Why don't you go and say hello to Silence? Maybe you could make friends with him. You'll probably be seeing a lot of each other over the next few weeks," she coos at him. If the merchants didn't take well to Silence, Jayma suspected that Twyl's presence would likely prove unproductive as well.
Jayma wanders over to the three men and catching their attention, beams them her most radiant smile. "Gentlemen. My name is Jayma and I couldn't help but notice you diligently praying and tending to your business. I was wondering if I might have some words with you."
Without waiting for an answer, she sits down daintily beside them and continues, "I take it from your dignified appearance that you are merchants of Razmiran. My colleagues and I are members of the Pathfinder Society. We recently received a request from the highest levels of the Razmiri priesthood, who seemed very eager for us to set up an official Society lodge in Razmiran."
Now that she has their attention, she continues, "Being foreigners, we know little of Razmiran and what the logistics might be of setting up such a lodge in your great country. Seeing that you fine gentlemen are clearly well-versed with the intricacies of doing business and getting things done in Razmiran, we were hoping that you might share some of your finely honed insight with us. If things work out, we might possibly come to some arrangement that could prove mutually beneficial."
She stops talking, but keeps smiling beatifically at them as they mull things over.
"That's terrible. Maybe we could help though. You see we've been sent to build a pathfinder lodge in village of Prophet’s Rest, just west of Xer. I don't know if we need a cobbler but we do need some workers to help set it up. I'm sure we could find something useful for you to do."
Erali smiles and seems thankful for the offer. "Your are a blessed soul and we would appreciate the work. Avan and I have done work like that before to try to make ends meet. Still, as generous an offer as that is, we want something more stable where we can have a home and not worry what the next month might mean."
"Hey!" he says to Lien, the merchant after he speaks to Meadow. "She was just trying to be nice and strike up a conversation. You better remember your manners before somebody decides to give you a lesson you'll never forget."
The merchant clenches his teeth and readies for a more aggressive bit of bluster, but the other two show more wariness and hold Lien back. "Let them talk and stay out of their business and don't encourage them to get involved in ours." Lien glances back and reluctantly backs off at the behest of the older merchant.
***
As Jayma approaches the merchants, Lien seems ready to launch a verbal tirade, but the elder merchant, Calran, holds a hand and allows Jayma to speak uninterrupted. He takes a long moment to ponder the suggestion of a deal and shares a glance with the others. Liem is relutant, but not enough to voice an objection. Calran pronounces, "it would be senseless to make a deal before you had an idea of your foundation or what you have to work. I won't subject myself our my companions to hours of random musings and the necessities of your affairs. I'll only offer what is certain and nothing more." He ends up detailing a number of the basic aspects of typical elements border crossing, elements that might require negotiation or taxation on the part of the Society to avoid government interference, however only necessary once the Lodge is up and running after the construction.
Calran is unwilling to offer more advice than the few minutes he offers, but shows a vague interest in the construction of the lodge following Jayma's words.
|
|
Zabu gives Meadow a wink and a finger gun. "Don't worry about a thing. I'll be here to make sure no one gives you a hard time. Of if they do, they're going to have to deal with me. And they'll only make that mistake once."
He grins at Brekovi. "Aw, it's good for him. Playing like this is what made me the man I am today."
The remainder of the travel passes without too much excitement until you reach your destination.
The Queen of Elysium pulls alongside the dock of the small Razmiri village of Prophet’s Rest on a chilly late-winter morning, with the sun just beginning to burn the morning mist off the Glass River. The rickety wooden dock is quiet, with only a few fishermen going about their business while a single guard in the yellow and purple colors of Razmiran leans lazily against a longspear. He jumps to attention when the ship’s gangplank comes crashing down, then lumbers toward the ship, stretching his cold limbs.
As the other passengers move to disembark, a priest of Razmir appears out of the fog. He wears an iron mask and white robes and comes flanked by two more guards. The priest places himself at the bottom of the gangplank, ready to meet the travelers.
The first group to descend are the group of three Razmiri merchants, poorly clad and carrying large sacks of goods on their backs. They hand a small bag to the priest, who peers inside, then nods and gestures for them to move on.
Next are the family of five Lastwall refugees in heavily worn clothing. Erali and Avan fish through their packs and hand a few silver coins to the masked priest. He looks at the coins with obvious disdain and hands the money back, motioning for the family to return to the ship. The parents shake their heads and begin to argue with him, but the priest cuts them off and points down at Aytun and states in a cold raspy voice, "If you cannot pay the immigration fee, you may dedicate your child to the Razmiran priesthood instead."
Neither Erali or Avan wish to even entertain this idea and walk back to the boat with their heads down low, but even there they are stopped by the ship’s bosun. He cries out loudly for everyone to hear, "you have only paid to be taken this far and the captain is not open to entertaining the idea of letting you back on without proper coin."
|
|
Brekovi goes forward to talk with the Priest.
"Would they perhaps be able to pay with labor? Our task is to set up a lodge here, and that is going to require a lot of laborers." Gesturing towards the father, he adds "If he can make enough to get new tools, this fellow is a skilled cobbler. It is only because they were in Last Wall that finds them in this situation."
|
|
Kornel doesn't interfere with the family's affairs, instead observing the situation, his ever-present grin turning slightly more sour.
"They make all the rules here," he speaks quietly to Meadow next to him, "Whatever they say, goes. But maybe life as a priest is not so bad, eh? Might be better than physical labor, at least."
His attempt to lighten the mood sounds forced.
|
|
Shagrat ends up agreeing with Jayma that the rest of the Pathfinders can come along. She does find him occasionally staring at her or trying to touch her hair, almost as if he can't control it.
"Don't be too eager to become a runelord, buddy," Zabu says to Shagrat.
"One of these days, I'll tell you about the time I snuck a bunch of refugees out of one of their cities. And got a fine seafood dinner in the process," he smacks his lips and rubs his hands together at the memory.
"What you mean, don't become Runelord?" Shagrat asks. "Shagrat already Runelord."
He pauses for a moment. "You never hear of Shagrat, Runelord of Recklessness? That me!" he says with his chest puffed out.
As they disembark from the boat, Shagrat overhears dedicating a child to the priesthood. "That something you should do," he tells the family. "Have lots of kids--give one to Razmir," he suggests.
"Pathfinders," hisses the priest glaring down at Brekovi. "I've been already made aware of arrival the waving of your fees, but do not dare thrust a stranger into my town to disrupt my well cultivated flock. You bring someone to take another person's role and think that is a favor? If they can't pay even pay this fee, then they are certain to be nothing but a burden."
He raises his fist along with his raspy voice. He swings in arms as he continues"I care not for stories that attempt to play at the weakness of sympathy. I will not take the failures of Last Wall and claim them as my own for charity!"
Neither of the parents seem to take Shagrat's suggestion to heart and instead plead for consideration from either ship or priest, but are not successful.