Protectors of Golarion (Wrath of the Righteous AP)

Game Master Sensen

Noting the defeat of their enemies at hand, Thesius surveys the field. He is torn between going to aid the crusaders and helping prevent any from escaping.

Finally, the knowledge of how important their mission is leads him to join in the stopping of those that are trying to flee. With his increased maneuverability, he does his best to put an end to those escaping.

Unlike Elliot, he sticks with lethal force. While he may wish to give them a chance, he does not have a spell to allow him to do what Elliot is. To try to strike in such a fashion for him meant risking letting someone escape.

The battle is a horrific affair, all the moreso once the champions rejoin the massed combat. With Wulfric's banner and song, Verene's potent spells, and the might of magic and melee that Azira, Thesius, Elliot, and Merixia bring to bear, the battlefield is soon left silent save for the agonized screams of people and beasts alike.

The archers and other ranged combatants rejoin the primary force as the command staff breaks apart to do their own tasks. Sosiel and Nurah break off to heal those wounded that they can, while Irrabeth and Anevia gather the less wounded to collect and guard prisoners. Aron and Korryn go about the enemies, identifying the most valuable and useful equipment and gear. Aravashnial takes a small group and busies himself with finishing off the dretches that were critically injured but not outright slain.

You can describe your actions in the post-battle stage, but I'll keep us moving a bit regardless.

Irabeth gathers her command once things have stabilized somewhat, though Sosiel and Nurah remain among the wounded. The Knight-Commander's face is drawn and pale, and there's an air of exhaustion about her. "At the moment, we have seventy-three combat-capable knights, with five more who will recover in a few days and a dozen others who need more healing than we have on hand. Most of them will probably survive their wounds with Nurah and Sosiel's help, but they aren't going to be fighting fit any time soon."

She shakes her head. "That leaves us somewhat weakened, but we must press on. I do not know what is ahead, save that it is the Worldwound in truth, rather than simply its outskirts." She looks to Aravashnial.

"It is quite likely that we will find more and more hostile environments." The Riftwarden says. "But I believe that so long as we take the proper precautions, we will make it to Drezen with minimal casualties from them. The demons and their servants... I'm less sure of."

Elliot would basically repeat the actions of his previous post-battle phase, searching for anyone among the prisoners seeming to be genuine in wanting to repent. I'll skip to the meeting taking place now to not write the same thing twice, though you did ask me to remind you to do the RP with the previous perhaps convert GM. I'm curious how he reacts and what he says. See discussion as well.

"We'll make it," Elliot says, nodding confidently - or in what he hoped came across as a confident tone. It still felt a bit unreal to be standing here between seasoned commanders like Irabeth and upcoming talents like Azira and Verene. Part of him still felt like a stage performer who had no business whatsoever discussing matters of wartime strategy. But he would do his best, as he'd promised. "We dispatched five hundred or so enemies and lost but ten - twenty if you count the seriously injured who will rejoin in time. That's either a fifty or twenty-five to one casualty ratio in our favor." He calculates and reasons. "I would say we are doing extremely well - even if every death on our side is a painful one. We should probably emphasize that to the other knights."

He glances at the nearby map displaying their location. "All we have to do keep moving - and trust that the Queen's diversion holds long enough. So long as we move carefully and scout properly, so that we can prepare for whatever comes our way like today, we should be fine. The most dangerous thing to do is get overconfident or reckless."

He pauses as he notes Irabeth's exhaustion and strangely pale complexion. "Um, commander? Are you all right? Would you like us to take over your duties for now so you could rest for a bit?" He tentatively offers, and throws a concerned look at Merixia as the group's healer; were those normal exhaustion symptoms?

Merixia uses the remaining duration of her shield of wings to comb the battlefield for surviving knights, giving them a quick healing spell to stabilize their wounds before flying them to where Sosial and Nurah have set up a medic station. Once the spell expires, she continues her search and rescue mission on foot. Seconds can make a difference when it comes to battlefield healing, and she knows how to carry a wounded person without hurting them or herself.

The cleric is just about done searching for survivors when Irabeth's call to meeting reaches her. I think Sosial and Nurah can keep everyone alive until I get back. She hurries over as best she can, but given the weight of her armor, she's one of the last to arrive.

"The ratio may be in our favor, but the Abyss spawns countless demons every day. Still... what we've seen so far is mostly the demon lords' mortal minions. They've got to be running low on those by now. I imagine that the tieflings who aren't totally devoted to the cause will start deserting once word of these battles reaches them. We've already got one of those, thanks to Elliot." A desire for revenge or power isn't usually strong enough to overcome one's survival instinct. Hmm... maybe their resident not-quite-repentant prisoner could help turn more prisoners to their side. Or at least away from the demons' side. If they would rather flee south and out of demonic reach to make new lives for themselves, that's fine by Merixia.

He pauses as he notes Irabeth's exhaustion and strangely pale complexion. "Um, commander? Are you all right? Would you like us to take over your duties for now so you could rest for a bit?" He tentatively offers, and throws a concerned look at Merixia as the group's healer; were those normal exhaustion symptoms?

Yeah, Irabeth isn't looking so good. Merixia scrutinizes their leader with a healer's eye, searching for signs of illness or injury.

Heal: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27

Immediately post-battle:
It is clear the enemies are thoroughly routed. The screams and moans of the injured are shattering in the sudden quiet, but the cold part of her mind tells her that anyone with the ability to scream is still conscious and will last the few breaths it will take for the healers with energy channeling to reach them with a burst.

No longer a blur of magically accelerated motion but still much faster than walking, Verene flies instead for the few crumpled, silent knights at the edges of the battlefield whose lives might be ebbing away but not quite gone. There are not many, and the first two she tries are not breathing or bleeding, but then she spies a third, half-fallen down the cliff where dretches had been cornering a group of knights earlier. A Tian or perhaps Erutaki human, she has a savaged leg and a dent in her helmet where she was pulled from her horse near the cliff and struck her head on a rock during the twenty-foot slide down to the tiny ledge that arrested her fall. She is unconscious and not visibly breathing, but still bleeding from one of the leg wounds in a weak trickle.

Verene lands beside her on a rock barely six inches wide with a thump, clinging to the cliff face with one hand and scrambling for the healing wand she carries with the other. She does not allow her voice or hands to shake as she carefully pronounces the command word and taps the woman with it. The knight does not waken, but the worst of the wounds knits, stemming the bleeding, and after a few seconds her chest starts to rise and fall; shallow, but visible. Verene tries to swallow against a suddenly painful throat and realizes her mouth is completely dry. It is as much as she can manage to whisper urgently through her spell for Merixia's help in moving the soldier back up to solid ground without aggravating her injuries.
Use Magic Device DC: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26

After that, she continues looking for allies to help, but the true healers seem to have stabilized all those dying who could be saved, and are moving them into range so the maximum number of wounded can benefit from their last remaining healing bursts. They know their business, and she will only be in the way.

She is relieved to see Gunvor looking hale, and Janis with one bloodstained arm hanging limp but cheerful enough to wave with the other as he awaits the healers' attention.
1d10 ⇒ 71d10 ⇒ 3

One thing she can do that she did not think of yesterday morning is help Elliot with his self-imposed duty of trying to sort some repentant mortal demon-allies from all those that were taken prisoner. She seeks him out by looking for the distinctive flaming hair, and goes to him, still in the kobold form. "Elliot, would you like me to try to read these prisoners' thoughts when you question them to see which among them, if any, sincerely want to change?"
Verene will cast detect thoughts, her third-level school spell, to help Elliot out if she can.

Command meeting
"Even though these have been very lopsided victories, the Abyss can always field more demons, while every soldier we lose is a tragedy," Verene agrees quietly with Elliot and Merixia. She glances keenly at Irabeth, then down at the makeshift map of their progress. After a moment's hesitation she adds thoughtfully, "The war is a kind of demon itself, and it eats hearts and minds as well as bodies. Everyone deserves to take pride in this shared triumph, but they need time to rest and share grief too. We will do whatever you need in this moment, Commander."

*immediately after the battle*
Azira joins Sosiel and Nurah, channeling waves of healing energy to aid in the ministrations, and reminding her fellow paladins to do likewise so that their healing will benefit others. Once she has spent most of her energy for the day, she seeks out Irabeth to aid (and learn from).

*at the command meeting*
Never particularly adept at reading people, Azira misses the tired look the raises her companions' concerns for the commander. Instead, she focuses on the mission at hand. Her brow furrows and she shakes her head slightly before replying, "I hate to even suggest this, but perhaps, for the sake of ensuring that we have sufficient forces when we arrive at the fort, we need to begin to consider what battles are truly necessary. If we'd helped everyone up on to the rim we probably could have ridden by this army without engaging it and then climbed back down further along. Of course, that would have meant that reinforcement wouldn't have been far behind when we reached the fort, but we may need to at least consider that sort of course in the future..."

Before the meeting...

Thesius tends to the matter of gathering helpful supplies from the enemy encampment alongside Aron and Korryn. He offers his own thoughts where appropriate, but aims to learn from their knowledge as they do so.

If they come across those in dire need of healing, he uses what spells of healing he has left.

While he knows his other pursuits are where he shines among their party, he cannot help but to feel disheartened at his inability to keep up with the others in terms of pure combat prowess, arcane might, and divine inspiration.

During the meeting...

He takes his time listening to the words of his companions. At some points nodding in agreement and remaining quiet for the time being at others. Once presented with an opportune time to talk, he adds his own thoughts.

"It will always be disheartening to know we lost allies. While it is important to know that demons can summon in more of their own ilk, we cannot let that prevent us from moving forward. While the wealthy can afford to give extravagantly, that does not diminish the efforts of the poor. It merely means we must be more thoughtful in our efforts"

"While word of our efforts could serve to dishearten some, I believe we have taken great efforts to prevent such word from traveling and I find that the prudent choice at this time," he says while mulling over the words of Merixia before adding, "However, I do not believe that means we need to face every challenge we may come across head-on as Azira has mentioned. Let us continue to adapt to the situation at hand. While we have a concrete goal, that does not mean we cannot be fluid in how we achieve it."

@Verene Elliot would be grateful for any help, magical or otherwise, from anyone on rooting out actually repentant figures as he's not particularly good at those tasks.

The magus listens to his allies discuss the topic of the demons' numbers and which tactics to take from here. "The Abyss can spawn more forces, maybe, but we have to assume their numbers *do* have some sort of limitation, or we'd have already been overrun in the previous crusades. Demonkind exists to bring suffering and destruction - so if they had a fully functioning open door into our world, why hasn't more of the Abyss come here yet? If I had to guess, it is probably due to internal power struggles and infighting. Or perhaps there *is* some sort of limitation to how many demons can pass through the Worldwound from the abyss in any given period. Whatever the case though, much of their regional standing forces were destroyed with the wardstone's energy wave. Which to the demons must seem like a terrifying weapon, perhaps even a sign of divine intervention working against them. I can't imagine many of the ones on the other side are eager to try their luck in coming across now."

It might also be because of some pact between various factions of gods and/or extraplanar beings on not setting too much foot on the prime material plane; I seem to recall something among those lines in the lore but can't remember the specifics or find it quickly. Elliot would probably know in-character, if that is the case I'll chalk it up to his partial memory loss here.

"However, I do not believe that means we need to face every challenge we may come across head-on as Azira has mentioned. Let us continue to adapt to the situation at hand. While we have a concrete goal, that does not mean we cannot be fluid in how we achieve it."

"Yeah, good scouting and planning got us this victory, and now we don't have to worry about being tracked and flanked by this force. Still, if we can somehow avoid more fights on the way to Drezen and remain undetected with the army, that would help us once we get there."

"I did not think we could have avoided this battle while still following the riverbed to Drezen, unfortunately, or I would have suggested it as a possibility. Avoiding engaging the enemy when it will only weaken us and make our true task less likely to succeed is important, but it must be balanced against the possibility of our company being seen, and Drezen warned we are coming; or being ambushed from behind on the way."

Before
The majority of the tieflings very clearly loathe the crusaders for reasons manifold - some more obvious than others. A handful of them seem interested in surrendering more totally to the crusaders, but already the Knights mutter darkly about trusting the tieflings and waking up with throats slit - suspicions that Verene's mind-reading reveals to be accurate more often than not. Verene judges that two of them have no immediate intention of betraying the crusaders, but that if they felt it would benefit them, they absolutely would do so. The pitborn tiefling that has already surrendered to them - Akravash - indicates his agreement with Verene's assessment, though he doesn't say much more on the matter.

Left with too many prisoners to take care of, a small number of crusaders and probably Merixia execute most of the tieflings.

Command Meeting
Irabeth waves away Elliot's concern. "I'll be fine. It's... just a bit different to know that you're leading troops into battle. I just need a bit to adjust." Anevia gives her wife a hug.

Returning it with one arm, Irabeth nods briefly at Merixia's comment. "Though the Worldwound's mortal population is unclear, I'm pretty sure that we'll start breaking the morale of the tieflings more and more easily as things go on."

"I'm not sure if I'd prefer them to know we're here and killing lots of tieflings, or if I'd prefer them to not know we're here." Anevia says dryly. "Well, no, I'm definitely sure I'd prefer the latter, but I think that's a lost cause by now."

"We'll take some time once we move out of the battlefield to rest and recuperate." Irabeth decides. "Aravashnial, can you prepare a few discussions on what we might face in the Worldwound proper?"

The elf Riftwarden nods. "Yes. Much of it I have already mentioned, but things will grow more severe as we go further in. I shall make certain that the soldiers are reminded."

"Good." Irabeth looks up as Sosiel and Nurah return.

"The injured are as healed as we can manage." Sosiel says, his expression sorrowful. "We have lost a few, but overall we're ready to march on your orders, Knight-Commander."

Irabeth looks to Azira. "While you're right that we shouldn't engage in combat without cause, our previous two engagements were unfortunately unavoidable." She rubs her chin. "And I'm not sure how avoidable any others will be. The riverbed is easily the best way to get to Drezen from here, but the opposite is also true. It's as much a road as we'll get in the Worldwound."

"We shouldn't borrow trouble." Nurah asserts. "Like everyone else says - we can afford to be flexible."

Irabeth nods. "I'm not going to disagree there. We'll take things as they come."

Earlier

"What is it?"

"I came to check up on you," Elliot answers, undeterred. His eyes narrow at the bandaged wound and he takes out one of the wands of cure light wounds he'd borrowed after the healing had been supplied to the injured.

UMD: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
healing: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
Recharge Cure wand charges: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11

Wow :O a 1 in 1600 chance of getting the best results on those rolls! Maybe Elliot has a hidden affinity for divine magic! Or maybe...

He effortlessly activates it and heals the Tiefling, making a mental note to thank Merixia for her lessons later. "What happened here? Did you help us during the fight?" He asks him, and glances around the group of fellow Sarenrite followes for confirmation and witnesses.

When the two new potential convertees are found, he delivers a similar speech as the one he gave Akravash earlier. They were prisoners and guests both, and if they behaved compliantly and showed an earnest desire to follow a better path would be treated fairly. If not... well, that choice was ultimately theirs. But the cries of the executions of the other prisoners going in the background on said enough about what would happen in that case. They were given a chance, it was up to them to decide what to do with it, and prove whether they were worth it or not. All he could do was guide them along where needed.

Hopefully that would satisfy Sarenrae under these conditions. Truthfully, part of him struggled with the question of to what degree he was forcing these people to attune rather than them doing it of their own free will. He would pray to her for guidance that night and see if she responded, even if he didn't have particularly attuned divine senses.

Now...

Relieved at hearing Irabeth's affirmation and presumably getting some signal from Merixia that things were not as alarming as he assumed , Elliot relaxes slighty. "Okay. So... we have two choices then? Take the riverbed directly to Drezen, or find some longer, slower way, in hopes of avoiding some unknown danger that might use that same road to get to us?"

He shakes his head. "Personally, I agree with Irabeth here; we should take the quick road especially following these two victories. We know the demon forces are already thinly spread, and we just broke through what forces they did have here. Chances are they don't have any more troops watching this area, and slowing down would just give them more time to regroup."

Do we need to make any more decisions here? It's not entirely clear to me if our course is already set or what sort of imput the NPC Crusader leadership wants from us, if any. Can we roll any skills to aid us there?

Earlier

Merixia joins the unlucky knights who drew the short straw when it comes to executing the prisoners who refused to renounce their demonic masters. This is the part of her job she hates the most. But she serves the General of Vengeance, and that means executing unrepentant evildoers when necessary so other people don't have to. Gods, I miss having actual courts with actual judges, prisons, and professional executioners available. She's going to have nightmares about this for sure. Killing people in the heat of combat, when they're actively trying to kill her, is one thing. Beheading bound prisoners is another thing entirely.

Maybe treating the wounded after this will help. Bringing life after so much death.

Command Meeting

Irabeth looks fine, or as fine as anyone is going to get right now. She's just stressed. Merixia gives Elliot a small nod and thumbs up to indicate that nothing's wrong. (Well, not with Irabeth, anyway. Merixia probably looks much the same as their commander by now.)

"I think speed will serve us better than stealth right now. Obviously it would be better to have both, but the longer we take to get to Drezen, the more time the enemy will have to prepare."

Elliot and tiefling prisoners post-Battle of Keeper's Canyon:
The scale's power to give her the smaller, lighter kobold form has worn off by the time Verene invokes the divination to hear thoughts that she learned from Rayyan back at the Defender's Heart for the first time — outside of a practice run to be sure it worked. It seems like more time ago than it actually was. She makes sure to cast it on herself out of sight of the tiefling prisoners, and simply concentrates to maintain the spell as she approaches with Elliot when he addresses the sullen prisoners. She stands quietly behind and to one side of him to get all of the cultists within the radius of this new sense for minds, and stands there with hands folded, saying nothing, listening both to what is said and what is unsaid.

When she is sure, she whispers to Elliot through the message what she has heard. "Of this handful who offer complete surrender, none of them truly want to atone, Elliot. Most intend to betray us at the first opportunity they see. Only two — that man with the undersize froglike legs and the woman with draconic-looking horns — do not mean to stab us in the back immediately, and they will still betray us whenever it seems in their interest. They do not seek a better way, just their own survival." Though her voice is calm, exposure to the hissing hatred and resentment in the mental voices, some of them well-hidden behind meek masks of compliance and emotional pledges of repentance, has shaken her somewhat.

Command Meeting:
Verene relaxes somewhat to see Anevia stepping in immediately to offer Irabeth a hug. She is glad the healers were able to fix the scout's leg, so she could accompany them on this journey. "In geographic terms, we cannot be very far from Drezen. Perhaps twenty-five miles as the crow flies, or thirty miles if we follow the Ahri riverbed. Less than a day's travel, though having wounded soldiers may slow us down. We have covered most of the distance already. But since we are in the Worldwound proper, and the weather may turn inclement at any moment, it would be all the worse to stray from what road we have and risk losing our way now.

[b]"I am glad for the healers especially, for keeping so many of our comrades among the living." Her respectful nod encompasses Sosiel, Nurah, Merixia, Azira and Thesius. "I am ready to help with burying the dead and move out when you give the word."

Verene suits action to words, and for the next however long, she digs graves or moves bodies. She has no magic to spare for floating disks today, but cooperates with others to lift corpses, or wields a shovel or a pick beside the stronger paladins until her uncallused scholar's hands are blistered.

Now

Irabeth nods at each of the heroes' words, before looking to Aron. The siege expert is distracted, and doesn't respond until Sosiel nudges him. "What? Oh, yes. I'm not even sure that we'll be able to find another way to Drezen, whether it is easy or difficult. Any other way would probably not be that practical, anyways."

"If I had to guess..." Irabeth opens a map and considers it carefully. "I agree with Verene's assessment of the time it will take us to get to Drezen."

Anevia looks over it as well. "Yeah... But the riverbed might be a bit rougher than a good open field or anything like that. We might slow down some because of that. Horses aren't exactly the most graceful of beings."

Aravashnial rubs his chin. "Assuming as well that we are not struck by any inclement weather conditions as we penetrate the Worldwound further."

"Alright. It seems we're more or less settled on what we think we ought to do." Irabeth rolls up the map. "Unless anyone has any final suggestions, we'll bury the dead and move onwards."

We can continue this discussion in spoilers if anyone has further suggestions.

It takes an hour or so to bury the dead crusaders, but no one is especially pleased to do the same for the tiefllings, who are thrown into a mass grave. After some urging, the crusaders continue to collect provisions and other seemingly useful items from the dead.

Once that is finished, the troops move out once more. As they go, the environment grows even more hostile. Even a mere hundred yards past Keeper's Canyon is markedly different than the previous day's journey. The sky seems even duller - a slate grey as opposed to a bright blue - as though the very air resists Sarenrae's attempts to light it. The heroes see no signs of any plants for hours on end, and there is a general sense of malaise that lies heavily over the land. Blessedly, there is no sign of any truly deadly weather, though Aravashnial warns them that there might not be any such thing until a storm of some dread magic - like shards of glass - is upon them.

Who are you all going to hang out with for the remainder of the day?

Elliot and tiefling prisoners post-Battle of Keeper's Canyon: "Of this handful who offer complete surrender, none of them truly want to atone, Elliot. Most intend to betray us at the first opportunity they see. Only two — that man with the undersize froglike legs and the woman with draconic-looking horns — do not mean to stab us in the back immediately, and they will still betray us whenever it seems in their interest. They do not seek a better way, just their own survival."

"Well... it's a start. A flicker of doubt perhaps, or regret. Probably the best we could hope for, given the circumstances and where we are," Elliot responds, resigning himself to what would likely by a hard road ahead in trying to covert these two as well. "Still, thanks Verene. It's good to know where we stand."

Later

"I fought, yes. I didn't have the time to do anything else, did I?"

The magus shakes his head. "That's not true - you could have hidden, tried to turn on us or escape. But instead you actively helped us. For aiding us - and thereby the rest of the world - in overcoming a major threat to it, you have my thanks." He gives the man a slight smile. "I have high hopes for you, Akravash. Continue to do well, and perhaps you'll be one of us one day, a hero to the whole of Golarion. As lofty as that might sound, few would deny a Crusader's worth. There's a reason they come from the farthest of reaches to help us."

Even later, before leaving.

Merixia gives Elliot a small nod and thumbs up to indicate that nothing's wrong. (Well, not with Irabeth, anyway. Merixia probably looks much the same as their commander by now.)"

When the meeting concludes, Elliot, seeing his love interest lack much of her usual perky energy, approaches her with a look of concern. "Hey, how are you holding up? I, ah, imagine we've probably both looked better," He gives a wry grin at that; it had been a messy fight, and leadership duties had kept the both of them busy pretty much constantly ever since - probably her even more than him, what with the healing and executions both. "Still, if there's anything I can do to help... just say the word. I know we have to lot of ground left to cover today, but still. If you want to get your mind off of things, I could..." He hesitates a bit and blushes slightly. "Um, show you some illusion tricks? It has been ages since I gave a proper performance! ...Though really, I'd happily take any excuse to spend a bit of time together later." He smiles warmly.

During the journey, until camp is made

Elliot approaches Aaron Kir. "Hey, Aron? Are you feeling all right? You seemed... a bit absent during the meeting just now. Thinking of a good plan on how to siege Drezen?" He asks the man.

He spends most of the time with Aaron (and presumably Sosial if he is near) if the man is talkative to get to know him better and learn of the sieging details. If he isn't talking he will spend some time with Thesius as the two of them haven't talked enough I feel :) Assuming he is up for that, of course.

With Elliot and tieflings:

"Well... it's a start. A flicker of doubt perhaps, or regret. Probably the best we could hope for, given the circumstances and where we are," Elliot responds, resigning himself to what would likely by a hard road ahead in trying to covert these two as well. "Still, thanks Verene. It's good to know where we stand."

"Of course, Elliot. You're trying to do a kind thing, even though it's difficult. I'll provide whatever help I can." Verene clasps his shoulder briefly and turns to go. Her eyes slide to his prisoner from yesterday — Akravash? — and unease grips her. She does not let go of the spell when she leaves, but pauses in her return to helping salvage supplies or dig graves, and turns back around. Both Elliot and Akravash are still facing the other tieflings, and she keeps up her concentration long enough to try to listen in on Akravash's thoughts as well.

Nurah is also mounting up on her long-haired piebald pony nearby. Once they get under way, the two of them are quite close together. "That sky reminds me of passing through Ramparassad in Dtang Ma. Mount Pho-Yim, the volcano which looms over the city, had been smoking more than usual lately, and the countless tiny particles of volcanic ash it emitted had spread out and turned the sky this same kind of flat gray with no clouds," she observes to the halfling, peering up at the heavens. Nurah has seemed to be a highly tactically cautious and somewhat shy sort in command meetings, but everyone likes to talk about themselves. "But given it is the Worldwound, I suppose the weather could be much worse. Have you been on any expeditions into the Worldwound before? I know you are a scholar, and there is certainly much history and unique magical phenomena to discover and describe here."

Before...

Thesius looks to Verene and softly says, "I was not saying that these fights were avoidable. I was simply speaking of future encounters."

He listens quietly to the others, watching as the agree upon the course of action. He agrees speed is of the essence at this point.

When the time comes, he aids the others in burying the dead.

Now...

As they move out, he notices Elliot take up with Aron. The man clearly had something on his mind and hoped his companion would have more luck in getting Aron to open up.

He himself, decides to take up with Aravashnial. "Might I speak with you good sir in regards to the dangers of the Worldwound? I know you've have taught us much, but I figured it worth refreshing myself."

These are spoilered for administrative/formatting purposes rather than any need for secrecy.

This one is spoilered for secrecy.

When the meeting concludes, Elliot, seeing his love interest lack much of her usual perky energy, approaches her with a look of concern. "Hey, how are you holding up? I, ah, imagine we've probably both looked better," He gives a wry grin at that; it had been a messy fight, and leadership duties had kept the both of them busy pretty much constantly ever since - probably her even more than him, what with the healing and executions both. "Still, if there's anything I can do to help... just say the word. I know we have to lot of ground left to cover today, but still. If you want to get your mind off of things, I could..." He hesitates a bit and blushes slightly. "Um, show you some illusion tricks? It has been ages since I gave a proper performance! ...Though really, I'd happily take any excuse to spend a bit of time together later." He smiles warmly.

Illusion tricks, eh? Maybe that will help Merixia get her mind off of things. She did enjoy Elliot's stage performance in Kenabres before the invasion. Gods, that seems so long ago now. "Sure, that sounds good." She musters up a smile for him. Probably rather lackluster compared to her usual energy, but she's working with what she has right now. "I just... it was hard, back there. There were so many of them." So many lives wasted, because the tieflings of Mendev were so thoroughly rejected from Mendevian society that they flocked to the first beings who actually wanted them.

On the journey

Merixia decides to stick with Elliot when he expresses an interest in how Aron is doing. She wants to see him as well, because there is definitely something up with Aron and she's determined to find out what. Nosy? Sure. She's self-aware enough to admit that. But knowing what drives the people around her is how Merixia has survived this long. The cleric offers Aron a wan smile and wave, but stays silent for now.

"I just... it was hard, back there. There were so many of them."

His smile fades and he nods as a look of regret crosses his features. "Yeah. I can't imagine it's easy to fight your own kin." He glances to the former site of battle, where a lot of bodies were now in the process of being buried in nameless mass graves. "Do you blame me for trying to capture them alive?" He wonders, what with most of them ending up as more work for the executioners.

"Look, I... don't know If I can ask this of you, if it counts as Anethema to Ragathiel's teachings or not," He slowly continues. "But while most of them made their choice and were beyond our capacity to save, there are *some* whose fate is uncertain. Would you... help me with them? Maybe there *is* a way back for the few. A difference that could still be made. If they had you as a source of inspiration, it would help them - I'm sure of it. Though, I'd understand if you can't, or don't want to." He lays a hand on her shoulder in supportive fashion as he makes the offer, then waits.

Later with Aron and Merixia. I'm making an assumption Thesius shared his earlier interactions with Aron with the rest.

""Hm? What is it, Elliot?"

"Did he even hear what I just said?" The swordsman wonders, somewhat alarmed and halting his pace at the sign of near-agression. "We, ah, just came to check up on you," He exchanges a quick glance with Merixia. "Is there something the matter? We've noticed you were a bit absent today, closed even perhaps, and it wasn't the first time. Can we help you with something? Our success at Drezen will greatly depend on your ability as a siege master engineer? , so we hope whatever is wrong, or might be wrong, can be resolved."

Probably not as tactful or eloquent as one could be, but he then he wasn't anywhere near as gifted at this as Azira and Thesius...

** spoiler omitted **

Merixia wrote:

"I just... it was hard, back there. There were so many of them."

His smile fades and he nods as a look of regret crosses his features. "Yeah. I can't imagine it's easy to fight your own kin." He glances to the former site of battle, where a lot of bodies were now in the process of being buried in nameless mass graves. "Do you blame me for trying to capture them alive?" He wonders, what with most of them ending up as more work for the executioners.

"Look, I... don't know If I can ask this of you, if it counts as Anethema to Ragathiel's teachings or not," He slowly continues. "But while most of them made their choice and were beyond our capacity to save, there are *some* whose fate is uncertain. Would you... help me with them? Maybe there *is* a way back for the few. A difference that could still be made. If they had you as a source of inspiration, it would help them - I'm sure of it. Though, I'd understand if you can't, or don't want to." He lays a hand on her shoulder in supportive fashion as he makes the offer, then waits.

"Don't worry, that's not against Ragathiel's teachings. They do need some kind of consequences for their actions, but there's no hard and fast rule saying what those consequences should be. If there is still hope that they can turn away from evil, denying a soul to the Abyss- or Hell, or Abaddon- is always a victory." Granted, there are quite a few followers of Ragathiel who consider death the only appropriate consequence for demon worship. But that's the great thing about following an empyreal lord, there's a lot of latitude in how to interpret their teachings. As long as Merixia- or Irabeth, as her superior- punishes the miscreants somehow, she won't be breaking her vows.

It would be a relief to not have to kill a few of their captured enemies.

"I can try to talk to them, but I'm probably the least diplomatic person in our group. And out of all of us, I look and act the most like a traditional crusader." She gestures to herself, the heavy armor and the bastard sword on her back. "That's not going to do me any favors with people who have been mistreated by the Crusade. But I can try."

With Aron and Elliot

Merixia frowns slightly, her expression pinched with worry. Yeah, there's something wrong here. Maybe we should ask Sosial about it if Aron won't talk. The two men act like a long term couple, maybe even husbands. If Sosial doesn't already know what's going on with his partner, he has the best chance of getting Aron to open up. "We're worried about you, Aron. I won't judge you, whatever it is, and neither will Elliot. But if you feel that we will, would you at least confide in Sosial? Or perhaps Verene, if you don't feel comfortable telling him. She has a great deal of experience and wisdom. And she's not religious in the slightest, so you don't have to worry about being judged in regards to your faith, whatever it may be." Maybe a crisis of faith is what's eating him, and why he won't talk about it in front of a bunch of religious crusaders. Everyone knows that Merixia is a cleric, and Elliot has been very open about his faith in Sarenrae.

With Merixia earlier.

"I can try to talk to them, but I'm probably the least diplomatic person in our group. And out of all of us, I look and act the most like a traditional crusader." She gestures to herself, the heavy armor and the bastard sword on her back. "That's not going to do me any favors with people who have been mistreated by the Crusade. But I can try."

"You're one of them though. A fellow tiefling - kindred," he quickly clarifies. "That has to count for something. I think my words mean little to them now, and may seem like empty promises. But to actually see a living example, a highly decorated and respected knight doing what they could do, being who they could be..." he spreads his hands and smiles. "Faced with that, how could they still claim it's impossible? It'd be like reality hitting them in the face with a sledgehammer. Or a bastard sword, perhaps. And wouldn't that be sweet?"

With Aron and Merixia, now.

Sense motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

"Is it just me, or was that disproportionately defensive?" He wonders when the man leaves. "Maybe you're right, Meri; perhaps we should go talk to Sosial about this. Or Irabeth, even. I've half a mind to cast an invisibility spell and see what he's going to do during that scouting trip..." Elliot half-muses, half suggests as he turns to his companion.

With Elliot earlier

Elliot's optimism is refreshing, as always. "All right. If you really think it might help, I'll go show them my tiefling cleric self." She pauses. "If they're at all interested in hearing the tale of Ragathiel's ascension, maybe it will inspire them as it did me."

With Aron and Elliot

"It's not just you. Something is definitely up with him." Merixia frowns at Aron's retreating back. "If Sosial knows something, though, he might be reluctant to talk to us. He doesn't know us very well yet. How about if you follow Aron, and I'll go get Thesius to come with me and talk to Sosial? That man could sell sand to a Rahadoumi. Or I could ask Verene, but I think I saw her talking to Nurah earlier." And Merixia is very interested in anything the silver-tongued wizard can find out about their resident bard.

Earlier

Elliot listens to Akravash's tale mostly stoically, not interrupting. "Sounds like a rough life. I'd say I'm sorry, but the same is true for many of us on the other side. I wouldn't exactly call us soft, having fought a war for more or less a hundred years straight across five crusadedes. But yes - we generally have a sense of camaradery and trust. Enough to not get killed in our sleep, definitely, if that's what you're looking for."

""Learned Taldane from one of the Templars - those infiltrators. You might've heard of them?"

At the mention of them, Elliot stands up a little straighter, his interest peaked. "You mean the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth? Baphomet's sect of spies? Yes - I've had a few run-ins with them. Do you have something on them to share?"

Later

Elliot decloaks from invisibility near the group an hour or so later. "Well, Aron decided to brood a lot during his scouting trip, but that's about all I could gather from casual observation. Something is definitely up. But unless we want to read his mind or get him to confide in someone, I guess we'll have to wait and see."

I'm fine with advancing the story to the crusade moving forwards or until there's new developments.

When Merixia hunts down Thesius, he's still deep in conversation with Aravashnial. It would be rude to interrupt. And when she finds Verene, she's still talking with Nurah.

Guess I'll wait until we make camp tonight to talk with Sosial, then.

We can continue those RPs in spoilers, but for now I'm moving on.

The rest of the day's journey is relatively calm, with neither inclement weather nor interfering demons showing themselves. As the sun falls from the sky, the Knights of Kenabres set up camp as usual, preparing watches, cooking food, and huddling about campfires as chill sweeps over the land. A half-moon hangs gloomily overhead as silence embraces the camp. There are no birds, no trees to rustle in the winds. Not even insects buzz their wings - likely a good thing, in this Deskari-afflicted land.

As the heroes settle in for the evening, Anevia and Sosiel join them. Sosiel looks slightly concerned, while Anevia is clearly annoyed.

"Hey." She gives them a brief greeting before leaping straight to the point. "I have a request for you all. It's nothing major yet, but Sosiel and I have both heard some... discontented mutters."

The priest nods. "We do not wish to bring this to the Knight-Commander yet - she would be obligated to investigate officially, and you all are not. If you can find out why people are getting upset and talk them down, it would stabilize morale significantly."

After the stress of the battle, aftermath, digging, and yet more riding, Verene barely has the energy to care for Mouse and help put up the tent she shares with the other two women. She wants nothing more than to crawl into her cot early, but manages to drag herself through chopping vegetables with only several near misses at cutting her fingers, as part of the kitchen detail for a stew she does not taste.

Sosiel looks slightly concerned, while Anevia is clearly annoyed.

"Hey." She gives them a brief greeting before leaping straight to the point. "I have a request for you all. It's nothing major yet, but Sosiel and I have both heard some... discontented mutters."

The priest nods. "We do not wish to bring this to the Knight-Commander yet - she would be obligated to investigate officially, and you all are not. If you can find out why people are getting upset and talk them down, it would stabilize morale significantly."

"Mutters? Like that the expedition is doomed to fail, or that we have been doing something wrong?" Verene wants to know. Her voice and face are calm, but she wonders if this is somehow related to Nurah's odd mix of optimism and pessimism. Or maybe the soldiers did not like stripping the gear from twice as many dead tieflings today, or do not approve of Elliott's efforts to spare and rehabilitate some of the enemy soldiers. There are many possibilities. "Well, we can spend some time asking questions and listening around the campfires tonight."

Once Anevia and Sosiel have left, she gets to her feet, with a sigh for her creaking knees and muscles protesting at their general ill-use from all the strenuous activity of late, and retrieves her deck of Harrow-based playing cards and a stack of copper and silver coins from her haversack. Now, before most of the soldiers have retired, would be the perfect time to ask some discreet questions and generally listen to the tenor of the campfire conversations over a few friendly, low-stakes games of cards. She will start with Janis and Gunvor's squad, and find out from them if there are any squads that have been disproportionately hard-hit by deaths and serious injuries. That there have been few such casualties in absolute terms would mean nothing to someone for whom it has been half of their comrades-in-arms.

Want to let others chime in here before describing more or rolling like a Gather Information check. Did Elliot and Merixia want to talk to Sosiel anyway? This could be a good opportunity.

Happy to continue the spoilered Nurah conversation at your leisure, GM. Thesius described collecting supplies after the battle with Aron, Korryn, etc., and you noted it and that the other soldiers continued to help with that too. Did we pick up anything from that that I should mark in the treasure sheet? Or from the dead incubus, for that matter.

Huh, I'd forgotten about the loot. You get 2 units of Goods for the reconstruction efforts once you take Drezen. The incubus just has his masterwork scimitar, as well as a few other nasty implements of torture.

I'm good to end there as well Verene. Was a fun little exchange though.

Thesius listens intently to Anevia's words. It was not surprising for people to start to become discontent after spending time in this abyss-tainted landscape, but it felt odd that it would be so soon.

"I would be happy to assist. Even more so if it helps take some burden off our knight-commander."

After Anevia and Sosiel take their leave, he will turn to his companions. "How do you think it would be best for us to go about this?"

If Verene is not opposed to it, he will assist her with her efforts.

sad I missed out on all the great RP, but probably the last thing we need now is starting up a new interaction, so...

After the command meeting draws to an end, Azira moves through the army encouraging people on the victory, consoling friends of the fallen, and otherwise working to keep the soldiers' morale up. Wulfric stays by her side, nodding and adding occasional helpful comments.

diplomacy (aid from Wulfric): 1d20 + 19 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 19 + 2 = 29

Merixia hesitates. "Actually... Elliot and I talked to Aron today, and we're pretty sure something's eating at him. Something other than the obvious, that is. Thesius, Verene, would one of you be willing to come with us to talk to Sosial? If anyone knows what's going on, it's him, but neither of us is very good at coaxing information out of people." She frowns. "It might be nothing of consequence, but it might be something major. We can't afford for one of the command team to be this distracted when we get to Drezen."

"I would be happy to assist. Even more so if it helps take some burden off our knight-commander."

After Anevia and Sosiel take their leave, he will turn to his companions. "How do you think it would be best for us to go about this?"

"Actually... Elliot and I talked to Aron today, and we're pretty sure something's eating at him. Something other than the obvious, that is. Thesius, Verene, would one of you be willing to come with us to talk to Sosial? If anyone knows what's going on, it's him, but neither of us is very good at coaxing information out of people." She frowns. "It might be nothing of consequence, but it might be something major. We can't afford for one of the command team to be this distracted when we get to Drezen."

Verene nods gratefully at Thesius and digs out her deck of cards in response to his question, poised to explain her intentions. But she stops and looks inquiringly over when Merixia speaks up, and is frowning in concern by the end of her explanation. "Of course. I had not noticed anything amiss with him — except that he seems to be in generally low spirits, which is perfectly understandable given his experience of the siege of Clydwell Keep during that awful week between Armasse and the Wardstone. I am glad you did notice, and said something. Master Vaenic cannot have gone far; I will go with you if you want to try to catch up. Was there anything specific you noticed that was off about his behavior and demeanor?"

After getting the summary of Aron's strange behavior, and along with the others if they agree, Verene hurries away from their campfire in the direction Sosiel left. When she catches up to him, she says in her normal calm tone, for the benefit of any eavesdropping passersby or nearby knights, "Master Vaenic, might we have a quick additional word? My companions would like your counsel about something. Privately, if you please." That should be an unremarkable request, for half the army must know by now that Merixia and Elliot are sweet on each other.

She draws him back to their area of the camp (or wherever else it seems like they will not be overheard) before saying, "I do not like to carry tales, and I hope you will tell me you were already aware of this and have resolved it. But Merixia, Elliot and Thesius have all separately noticed at different times over the course of this day that something seems to be greatly troubling Master Kir's mind. He has been distracted, withdrawn, and irritated and secretive when asked about it. I know that he has suffered much of late, and of course, I would not ask you to repeat anything told to you in confidence. But this is outside the behavior he has previously shown, and we are concerned that he not be similarly distracted by the time we reach Drezen. Many lives, and indeed the success or failure of our mission, could hang in the balance."
Prescience if applicable, 7/8 remaining: 1d20 ⇒ 14
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (10) + 21 = 31 So, at least 31 Diplomacy, perhaps 35.

intimidate: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (13) + 14 = 27

"But neither of us is very good at coaxing information out of people."

"Yeah - I'm not sure what's up with that," The now-swordmaster contemplates. "Lately, when I try to approach people they tend to get all stuttering, awkwardly standing at attention and generally avoiding my gaze and all," Elliot contemplates, then his eyes widen and he quickly turns around. "There's nothing on my back, is there? Some glamour prank or such?" His eyes narrow suspiciously. "Wait... teacher - how could you!" He says, just a tad melodramatically.

Assuming there isn't.

"...Or I guess people might be taking offense with my efforts to incapacitate foes and redeeming them, but are too nervous to tell it to my face. Either way, we'd really like your help Verene."

Knowing his presence probably detracted from Verene's efforts rather than add to it, he just stands by stoically, letting her do the talking.

"Something like that." Anevia nods. "Nothing too serious, like I said, but definitely a potential problem that I'd like nipped at the bud."

"I'm not entirely sure who might be so disturbed, however." Sosiel notes. "Most of the Knights' morale are reinforced with their faith... but such things must ever be chosen, and if they should come to lose that faith..." He spreads his hands helplessly.

"Good luck." Anevia says. "Just... keep an ear out, lend some words to the most wavering."

With that, they leave.

Sosiel blinks at Verene when she asks for his attention. "Of course, what is it?"

When she explains, Sosiel's face falls into an uncharacteristic frown. "Damn it! I should've... no. I've been too distracted with the expedition." Shaking his head, he looks back at her. "I'll deal with it. Thank you very much for letting me know, and bless you for your perceptiveness."

He hesitates a moment. "Aron's had some issues in his past with drug abuse, and it sounds like he's backsliding... I'd prefer to handle it myself, but..." The Shelynite rubs his chin. "If you want to join me, I think you are good enough friends to us that it should be fine."

"Well, if you think he won't consider it overly nosy or offensive, then sure - I'll be happy to come along. The thing is that we've been talking to him previously and he was pretty dismissive of both us and our intent, so we thought it might be better handled by only you and Verene perhaps. Or Azira or Thesius. I'm not sure if he thinks of me as a friend as strongly as you seem to, Sosial," Elliot answers, fine with whatever Sosial and Verene decided on. A siege master on drugs seemed like a very dangerous thing for the crusade as a whole, but wasn't a problem either his sword or sorcery could easily solve. And if they went alone and said their help was needed later, they could always find Meri and him later - or so he figured.

He hesitates a moment. "Aron's had some issues in his past with drug abuse, and it sounds like he's backsliding... I'd prefer to handle it myself, but..." The Shelynite rubs his chin. "If you want to join me, I think you are good enough friends to us that it should be fine."

Verene's eyes widen but she does not otherwise react to this statement. She wonders if Irabeth and the Queen had known of this when they were choosing the staff for the expedition.

"If you think it would be best for him to handle it yourself, we will respect that decision," she says slowly after Elliot expresses his own ambivalence. She has barely exchanged more than pleasantries with either Sosiel or Aron, and does not know if it would be welcome or intrusive to insert herself in such a delicate matter. Still, she intuitively feels that she should go. "But perhaps it would be good for him to know that he will have multiple people he can rely on in the coming days to offer support? Especially when you will likely have to remain busy with tending to the wounded."

She looks to Thesius and Merixia for final guidance. If any of their group has direct experience or knowledge of helping someone with an addiction, it is likely one of them.

Sosiel looks at Elliot. "Yes, I can imagine he would have been." He sighs. "There's a lot of burdens he has to bear, and..." The priest shakes his head. "He fell in with a bad group back before he came to Kenabres. I don't know why he backslid, but if he is, I'll have to help him back on his feet." An affectionate, if sad, smile graces his face. "It wouldn't be the first time, but that's what lovers are for."

He nods slightly at Verene. "I am willing to welcome you in to this, especially since I might need some help convincing him to discuss how he ended up getting some of the drugs." Sosiel's expression darkens. "Because I know he wouldn't have brought any from Kenabres."

Elsewhere in the camp, Azira and Wulfric continue their work on the army's morale, blissfully unaware of Aron's struggles.

Feel free to drag me along on future interventions and whatnot, but since that didn't seem to be the case this time (which is totally understandable) I'll using my limited posting capacity towards other games right now.