"Oh shut up", the cleric whispered. "It's not that bad. Now if she saw me and came, then that would have been bad."
Another maid comes upon you, "Greetings my lords, please follow the mayor is waiting." Soon enough you enter an office with the mayor sitting behind her desk.
"Thank you, miss" Zaidel bows to the braver maid.
As the group walks through the halls, the satyr comments. "Okay the Mayor's name is Lady Narcise, if memory serves.
She is also a fey noblewoman, so keep that in mind."
"Right, thanks. Should we have brought offerings?" Stratton asks the satyr earnestly.
Zaidel looked concerned. "I don't think so. If she does, I'll play her some music. But she will likely be happy to see the dead displacers."
Lady Narcise is an exotic beauty with sharp features that of an elf or sylvan. Her long raven black hair is braided and sits behind her seat. Her voice is warm and welcoming, "Gentlemen please enter. Jean the bronze dragon, Zaidel the saytr, and I don't think I remember meeting you sir?" She offers her hand to each of you palm down as if she expects you to kiss it.
After the meeting you see your quest has updated:
Of Lions and bears, Oh My! - Big Game Hunter I
☆☆☆
Uncommon Quest
☆☆☆
All Big Game Hunter quests have you taking down dangerous beasts.
10/10 Ankhegs
10/10 Displacer Beasts
0/10 ???
0/10 ???
5/10 Bloodborn Dire Boars
2/10 Crystaline Fiendish Elks
Stratton bows deeply, softly grasping the lady's hand and kissing it. He does the whole schtick of giving her his most winning smile while raising his head. "Stratton, of Arcanium, milady." he introduces himself.
Diplomacy
She seems impressed with Stratton...
Zaidel makes several double takes at the bronze dragon who shapeshifted to a humanoid for the first time in his eyes.
The satyr bows before the Owl Port Mayor.
"Lady Narcise, when we first heard of your town's duo dangers, we were inexperienced adventurers. Not knowing the dangers ahead, we travelled to New Faces in hopes of learning more about fighting displacer beasts and ankhegs. It took some time, and having to stymie various threats, Aeria Gloris returned with the power and know-how to battles these beasts. We have just confirmed information that our other team has killed 10 ankheg, while this group defeated a large family of displacer beasts in the hills outside town. We can present the heads to you as proof."
"We hope you are pleased." Stratton says with a smile.
Her voice is as silky and smooth as you would expect. She happily states, "No need for such things! I take you at your word. I am pleased with these threats neutralized! Would you be interested in dealing with a swamp troll for us as well? It has only been starting to pester some of those who live farther North."
The satyr looked up at the fey noblewoman. "I don't see that request being a problem, m'lady. I think we would just wish to confer with our absent members before venturing forth.".
She nods in agreement, she states, "Of course! Would you like to stay in the parlor or will you venture out to find your absent members?"
Zaidel smiles with an inward wince. "I would love nothing more to enjoy your hospitiality, but I shall go and look for our other party. Jean, Stratton, you can partake of Lady Larcise's company until I return. I shall find our errant friends."
"I would be delighted, milady" Stratton says "to remain your guest as Zaidel checks in on our friend's progress."
"Try the tea", the satyr says in passing, as he trots out the front door and toward Matthew's last direction.
As it looks like the two are staying she asks with curiosity, "I don't have any other appointments tonight. Tell me a story about yourselves."
Meanwhile Zaidel is heading south by hims3lf into the mists.
Zaidel runs through the mists. Can't be too hard to find, despite the mists. Killing 10 ankheg's is gonna make a mess!
His sword cleaves through the three of them but they still stand. Their tusks and teeth tear into his flesh.
"Very well. there aren't too many stories to tell from this life, but I do have one that may be of interest." Stratton smiles warmly, sitting down in the parlor and sipping on the provided beverage.
"We had been teleported to a vast city of the undead. Foes surrounded us on all sides, hungry for our flesh and bones alike. Matthew had been handling many of these menaces, but still others slipped past our worthy guardian." he says, trying to paint a picture of the battle.
"We came to a lull in the battle, and an eerie fog settled in. Cold, clammy, and dismal it began to seep into our skin, our eyes, and our minds. Various members of our party began hearing and seeing things off our main path, our party being peeled and segmented like an orange." he takes another sip for a dramatic pause.
"I heard a cry a ways off. Soft, feminine, alluring, it beckoned me away from my friends. I made mention of it to my friends, but my words came out as a mumble and my feet moved almost of their own accord towards the sound."
"Nearby, in a closed off corner of the city is where I found her, my damsel in distress, my mistress, my Lady Black. Encased in stone, she yearned to be free. Free from the stone, free from the city, free from her imprisonment with this blade." he crescendos, drawing Lady Black from her scabbard and holding her aloft in the palm of both hands for the Mayor to gaze upon her.
The second two fall, and he gets his finishing cleave to hit the first one again.
He swings and misses almost losing his footing as the fiery blood splatters on him and the ground around.
She smiles and states, "Now that is a story! Very nicely done."
With an overhead Chop, he lays low the beast. He then nods, saying, "Thanks for the assist. You have some bardic inspiration for me... let's check the progress!"
Your quest has updated:
Of Lions and bears, Oh My! - Big Game Hunter I
☆☆☆
Uncommon Quest
☆☆☆
All Big Game Hunter quests have you taking down dangerous beasts.
10/10 Ankhegs
10/10 Displacer Beasts
0/10 ???
0/10 Wayward Trolls and their Beast Boss
10/10 Bloodborn Dire Boars
3/10 Crystaline Fiendish Elks
Stratton smiles. "Thank you, milady." he gives a small bow and charming smile. Turning to Jean, he asks "Jean, maybe you have a tale of your exploits before I joined Aeria Gloris?"
|
"Sure...I can tell you a story. Early when I arrived here we found a man who had lost his family to goblins. We tracked down the goblins to their cave where a fierce battle took place. Luckily, I was not quite as large in my draconic form as I am now. Those tunnels were already tight in places. We managed to defeat the goblin menace, but found that they had many children there. Left to their own devices, those goblin children would have died or been forced to become as vicious as their parents had been to survive. So instead we returned with them to the man who lost his family and I convinced him to build a new family with the goblin kids. I believe that the Chosen have the potential for good or evil and it is important that we look towards good choices lest we become the very darkness we were brought here to defeat." Jean says. He makes a mental note that he should go back and check on the family at some point.
"Okay. That's what we'll do", Zaidel gulped. "I'll try not to rush back, you know. Giving you time to do..your thing."
"It likely won't matter, but.." Zaidel trails off, as he casts prestidigitatiion on the warden, removing blood and sweat from his long battle before leaving. The cleric also creates some ale in Matthew's waterskin to help wash down his upcoming meal.
With that done, Zaidel trots back to Owl Port Manor.
Zaidel makes it back to the mayor's house and finds them in the parlor sharing stories.
Zaidel bows to the assembled beings present.
"Hello again! Hope everyone is well. Lady Larcise, Aeria Gloris will take that quest about the Troublesome trolls. Our associate, Matthew, has a bead on them in the South. So as you are all set, we can travel to meet him."
Stratton greets Zaidel with a smile and nod, setting down his tea cup. "Thank you for your gracious hosting, milady." he says to the mayor with a bow.
The mayor returns the bow and pleasantly states, "Thank you for being such amiable guests!"
Her attendant leads you to the main door and states, "Your rewards await your retirn."
---
Following Zaidel South you see the quest tracker pop up several times to show 1/10 trolls killed but a fee Minnie's later it turns back to 0.
Zaidel brings you to a meadow that has several large dire boar carcasses and a pile of bones too.
"Yeah, Jean! Get an aerial vantage point!" Zaidel shouted. "I'll see if I can make any sense of these tracks."
The satyr studies the battlefield.
From the air you see mostly the thick fog, but then a good distance away you see a blade cut through the fog and a terrible yells roars by. The sounds of battle can be heard.
"Going to need that dragon's breath, most likely. From the looks of the kill counter, Matthew doesn't have fire or acid damage, and I know I sure don't either." Stratton says. "We better go help!" he says at the sounds of battle, moving forward double time.
Zaidel nods and follows the oni and the bronze dragon into the ruckus.