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Oh, gosh, sorry, Cuetzpalli, you only get a standard action or move action since it's a surprise round. For now, I'm transitioning your attack into a charge (and imposing the -2 to your AC from that), but let me know if that's not what you would have done.

Cuetzpalli rushes forth and hacks into the lead Pale Sword, nearly cutting it in two with a single brutal swing.

Round 0: Pale Swords

Reeling from Cuetzpalli's strike, the Sword of Kyuss and its kin make a furious counterassault, moving to surround him.

[dice=Wormblade @Cuetzpalli (PA)]1d20+18-4 [dice=Damage (PA)]2d6+15+17
[dice=Wormblade @Cuetzpalli (PA)]1d20+18-4 [dice=Damage (PA)]2d6+15+17
[dice=Wormblade @Cuetzpalli (PA)]1d20+18-4 [dice=Damage (PA)]2d6+15+17
[dice=Wormblade @Cuetzpalli (PA)]1d20+18-4 [dice=Damage (PA)]2d6+15+17

[dice=Crit?]1d20+13-4 [dice=Damage (PA)]2d6+15+17

If a 23 hits, that's a total of 37+38+44+(42+40) = 201 damage.

If a 23 misses but a 28 hits, that's a total of 42+38+37 = 117 damage.

Otherwise, that's a 30 to-hit for 37 damage and a 33 to-hit for 42 damage.

Round 0: Blue Silk Knights

The silk-clad Swords of Kyuss, appearing to notice that the blast did nothing, glance at their leader questioningly. One hisses something questioning to the wormcaller in an archaic-sounding tongue; the wormcaller declares its response in airy, feminine tones.

** spoiler omitted **

The Swords nod and strike readied poses.

** spoiler omitted **...

Oops! My bad.

I corrected my status line to: AC 28, touch 13, flat-footed 25 (+11 armor, +1 Dex, +1 natural, +2 deflection, +3 shield). ChatGPT reminded me of various things not stacking/stacking, replacing, whatever.

I actually have two higher than that, since the +4 deflection from holy aura replaces the +2 ring, and +1 from shield spell over my shield. So that would be 31, +2 luck from Recitation, 33, haste 34.

But I am also bloodraging, so minus 2.

So final AC is 32?

So I take 42 damage, and should be at 155/165 (203/213) after my THP is gone.

Hey, I completely understand. I also have ADHD. I have two more kids than when we started this b#$*+. I was in an apartment back then, now I'm managing a farm property and trying to start businesses at the same time. This is one of only two games I still play on the forums, and they are the only PF1 games I'm in. I have to look up rules basically every time I post because I DM and play 5e, and so I forget or get them mixed up.

The fact that this lasted 10 years is a miracle, and we should be proud.

I am easy. I have no expectations, and am happy we did all that we have. Whatever is easiest for you to finish out, KC, I'm good with. Thanks for running so far :)

I assume you're attacking the Night Twist? Also, Cuetzpalli, I'm gonna ask for you to make the call--I don't get the sense anyone necessarily knows what to do here.

Alright, Eben's argument ooc is convincing.

AOO on dragon (AS, PA, good hope): 1d20 + 30 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 30 + 2 = 422d6 + 37 + 2 ⇒ (2, 4) + 37 + 2 = 452d6 ⇒ (1, 6) = 7 42 to hit for 45 damage and 7 holy

Life happens, no worries. New baby about to drop here, so I've been quite busy myself.

"Hmm."

"I think it's time you guys met Aurealian."

Aurealia closes her eyes, chanting a spell under her breath. In the dim light of the abandoned temple, the air around Aurealia begins to shimmer with a spectral energy. Her form blurs, contorting and reshaping as if being sculpted by unseen forces. The transformation is a dance of magic and flesh, guided by the spell she just unleashed.

First, her skin darkens to a deep, stony grey, mimicking the ancient gargoyles that guard forgotten tombs. Veins of a darker hue, like cracks in weathered stone, web across her transforming body. Her eyes, once a vibrant hue, begin to glow with a fierce, amber intensity, piercing through the gloom like lanterns in the night.

Her frame expands to a towering height, muscles bulging and bones stretching and popping. With a sound like grinding stone, an extra set of powerful arms emerges from her shoulders. Each of her four arms is perfectly formed, rippling with newfound strength, ending in talon-like fingers that could easily rend steel.

Wings unfurl from her back, vast and leathery, stretching out to cast eerie shadows on the walls. The wings beat once, twice, sending gusts of dust swirling through the air. Her face elongates, forming a grotesque yet majestic visage, with sharp, angular features and a jutting jaw lined with razor-sharp teeth. Ram-like horns top her forehead.

As the transformation completes, Aurealia stands as a towering male gargoyle, a fearsome fusion of arcane power and monstrous form.

He flexes his four arms and beats his wings, feeling the raw power coursing through his stony veins. With a guttural growl that echoes through the ruins, he crouches, ready to lunge into the wall.

"Hehehehe. How do I look?" he asks, flexing various muscle groups individually like a competition body builder.

"Just one really old dino-print," Cuetzpalli responds.

Then the trees start.

He shifts instantly into a battle-stance, raising Kelmarchen. "Nobody drinks me!" he yells, pointing it at the closest writhing plant.

"Yeah, he is Tenser. Faked his death, innit? Trusting him has worked out okay so far for us."

Cuetzpalli comes back to reality and composes himself. "Much as I hate to admit it, he's right. Let's get out of here."

Can't remember the third trial and after ten minutes of looking through pages of old posts trying to find the info dump I gave up. Can someone remind me?

Cuetzpalli looks to the sky, laying one hand on Kelmarchen's hilt, he earnestly prays "Lord, lend us, your faithful servants, your mighty strength. Use your man Tanith to bring about your will, here and now. Amen."

"Astraden!" Cuetzpalli cries out as the minotaur gores her.

He yells, "You'll pay for that you bastard!" in his best early 90s anime-dub voice, preparing to rage.

Dein-what now? How does she not...? Whatever...

Cuetzpalli gives Astraden a peck on the cheek in thanks for the spell. "Alright, let's kick some ass."

This kind of decision feels like a real game-pace killer, right when we were building up some steam. I personally would rather have us fail in game than stall out here for three months because no one actually cares what we do enough to make a convincing argument for one choice over another.

Let's go ambush some bads

Dungeon Kobold wrote:

"No luck." Krekie bends to examine one of the flowers and sneezes. "Bloodfeather heather. It's very pungent, and so good for hiding poisons in drinks."

"Ah, too bad. That was a good idea, though, Farrukh."

Astraden picks some of the flowers anyways, sticking them in some of the crevices in Cuetzpalli's armor.

She grabs Eben's sleeve and starts jumping up and down with him. "Yeah! I do actually have it prepared! But I have to really know the place I'm teleporting to, or else you end up spread across fifteen different similar-looking places. Also, it doesn't work between demo planes and the Material Plane! Also also, if we want a living feather, I think it still has to be attached to the bird - so we'd want to bring the whole King back with us to the well." She slowly stops jumping.

She sizes up the champion of the arena with a worried expression. "... Tanith, do you think you can carry a bird that big?"

Cuetzpalli smiles and struts about in his new plumage. "Caw, caw!"

Always sucks to lose a bird. Sorry.

It's a single cavern, only 40' across. You can see the whole thing, it doesn't lead anywhere else. It's just a medium sized cave that the bat is holing up in to nest/bed/lair from what you can see.

If you want to go up into the ziggurat you can, but to save time the only 'thing of interest' here is this bat cave. The structure is covered in complex carvings and reliefs, ala ancient Egypt or Mesoamerica. Given days of study and the appropriate historical expertise it might be possible to learn from them. The obelisk itself is clearly magical, but you still have no idea what it does or how to operate it, if one can operate it. The entire complex seems set up similar to a temple, like it was probably used in mass rituals during ancient times, but it doesn't appear to be dedicated to any deity in particular.

Wherever you go next, I still need another stealth check from Cica for her to get away from the cave without the bat noticing her.

That'll do, pig.

Garland and Luna drop one of the foes, a blast of flame whooshes past them to incinerate another, and then Cica tumbles into the building and cuts the last kech down.

End Combat

Gathered in the building are the keches’ spoils: a potion of protection from arrows, salve of slipperiness, a wand of charm animal (45 charges), a bronze armband (worth 50 gp), a crystal decanter (worth 150 gp), a black jade idol of a bloated frog demon (worth 500 gp), a silver medallion
depicting a discus thrower (worth 200 gp), and 105 GP in mixed ancient coinage.

Perfection is often the enemy of progress.

After casting see invis, Cuetzpalli should be able to see them coming in right? If he gets another action before them he might do something other than ready. If not here are my rolls.

Kelmarchen (AS, PA): 1d20 + 23 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 23 + 2 + 2 = 322d6 + 25 + 2 ⇒ (4, 3) + 25 + 2 = 342d6 ⇒ (3, 2) = 5
32 to hit for 34 sword and 5 holy.

Thinking back to their friendship before all this madness Aurealia suddenly realizes how much she's changed. She? Is that even right anymore? The girly innocent romantic who left the Cove was no more. She...they...felt quite differently about themselves now. Perhaps it's time for a change soon.

Aurealia steps closer to her friend and smiles. "There will probably be time for both - at least eventually. What did you need, dear?"

I'm completely unaware there are things going on at Paizo.

I was actually worried I'd somehow offended you, but that's the ADHD telling me how shitty I am again. -sigh- Been a rough day on my end. Hope it gets better for both of us soon!

Was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid, long time ago. Always written it off as BS and suffered through, but god damn that comic is #relateable.

Never seen something capture my struggle so perfectly.

I'm basically in the same boat right now. Good luck! I hope we both get caught up and then have the wisdom to slow down during those high times.

I'm here. Sorry, I didn't even realize it'd been since Tuesday that the post went up. I'll try to post here as soon as I see new posts from now on so that I don't forget to go back later, my bad.

Sense motive: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Cuetzpalli opens his mouth to inform the others, and then Farruhk lets them know. He was so subtle! I barely caught it. I'm glad I'm not the only one who heard that noise, there's no way I could have tipped the others off like that...

Cuetzpalli grins and winks back to Farruhk.

The whole unit is at the top of the pit now, standing inside the ring of stones. No one has come to investigate yet, but with the sounds of battle, shouting and the smoke from Ilistra's corpse burning battleways, it's probably only a matter of time until more ape-men show up. The pit the group just emerged from seemingly corresponds with what Polyphemous described near the southern side of Taizon's oval when he scouted the area.

Where to now? Remember you are here to find clues as to the location of Saventh Yhi before anyone else does...

I'll cast a shield on myself too. If combat breaks out, I'll track my modified stats in my combat posts, because when I change my stat line I always forget to change it back and then I audit it at some point and find it all messed up.

"Look, take the win, Laboni. Learning to 'drive' is incredibly difficult, only the most skilled pilots would have a chance in this competition. We won't always be here to settle scores for you." Acoria says, making sure everyone knows how awesome she is. "Anyway, we have more missions to complete. We need to get going. Hey, where did Carter go?"

Acoria looks around for the engineer, but it appears he is nowhere to be seen. "Hmm. Must have something else to do. Maybe Starfinding wasn't for him...."

"Yelling time!" Cuetzpalli roars gleefully.

Yelling is awesome.

Well someone better, before Acoria just spills the beans, and tells him we're looking for a hacker last tracked to this location.

I'm happy for everyone go get in on the vignettes as much as they want. The more we get to know each other before the first mission, the more it will feel like we've actually been through training together.

Day 92 Morning

Aurealia uses her extend metamagic rod and disguise self to create her outfit - a vaguely bat themed gothic ensamble. She goes in bat form (scent, and +4 perception). This particular morph, her human ears are replaced with huge bat ones, and her nose is upturned and pointed.

"Wow, Croq, you look great!" Aurealia smiles genuinely at her sister. "I can't believe you scored this gig. You're going to be a real rock star if you keep this up. You already look like one!"

"Has anyone heard from any of the Sihedron Heroes? Last night they were about to face down Alaznist. Not getting a, 'Hey, we kicked her butt' sending yet is starting to really worry me..."

She looks at Drumstick. "Do you guys think I should bring my weapon?"

As he comes to understand that there is some kind of conflict happening outside his bag universe, Achutla tenses, hoping that no one noticed him until he can asses what is going on.

Going full defensive for now.

"Ehem, erm...uh...ok."

Aurealia draws herself up, staring off into the wind dramatically for a few moments.

"Windsong in my hair, worries laid bare;
Evil stirs in the night, Runelords' wicked delight.
Crash-boom roars my heart like the waves 'gainst the shore,
Azlanist at bay, Sihedron's wroth whore
Heroes' guillotine o'er her neck, on fate's silver thread,
Only gods can say who'll live, and who'll be dead."

Her cant is thick with fear and sorrow she has no need of faking. She lets the words fade before giggling nervously. "Terrible, right?"

Sif points at the young noblewoman and starts screaming "AHHH! AHHH! HUMAN! HUMAN!". Sif continues to scream until the young woman stops as well.

After stuff earlier...

Aurealia makes her way out of the former gang hideout and says her temporary goodbyes, then goes home. She cleans up and takes a while to rest with a couple shots of whiskey. Once the adrenaline fades and she feels somewhat normal again she heads out to find her aunt. She reports everything that happened with the Horned Fangs to Eldandra, and informs her of their plan to take over the hideout and make sure it doesn't get used for bad ends again. "We're pretty much a unit at this point, Auntie. I think even Cai'nan is going to stick around. Please let us do this. The team needs each other, and it feels like our destinies are tied up in all this now."

"May I see the blade please?" Kenmei asks, taking his turn to look over the wakazashi.

"Hmm, fascinating..."

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

"What's this then?" he asks, discovering a hidden compartment in the blade's hilt. Inside is a small rolled up piece of paper. He unrolls it and reads it aloud.

Once they have secured Nkechi’s cooperation, the Thirteenth return to Apollonia to complete their preparations for the upcoming expedition. Placidus secures the services of an auxiliary guardsman.

General Havelar invites them to several planning meetings with Nkechi and other experts where it is determined that the Thirteenth will set out before the main expedition, acting as “trailblazers” for the rest of the expedition, which will travel a few days behind them.

General Havelar gives the group a map of Apollonia and the known parts of the southern Grave of the Serpent, which together with Yarzoth’s notes should enable them to find the Atlantean ruin of Tazion. Jask reveals that the inscriptions indicated that the ruins of Saventh-Yhi are near or in Taizon.

The general and his advisors suggest that they travel light and stop in the city of Kalabuto to restock on supplies. The Apollonian Guard has allies in the city who can make arrangements for the Thirteenth’s stay and continuing journey. The soldiers are warned not to stay at an inn, and to limit their interaction with locals who might be working for any rival factions going for the city. When they arrive in Kalabuto, they should make contact with an oread named Cheiton in the Shrunken Head, one of Kalabuto’s most popular taverns. He can be recognized by the distinctive cave-and-pick tattoo on his shoulder. Cheiton owns a house near the tavern, and the group can safely lodge there while preparing for the next stage of the expedition.

According to the map, the fastest route to Kalabuto is to travel overland through the wild scrublands and savanna, along the older trade routes that skirt between the Bandu Hills and the Laughing Jungle. These routes were used primarily by early colonists, most of whom were prospectors seeking their fortunes in salt, gold, and diamonds. While several successful mining operations remain, the trails are far less used than they were in the past, particularly because merchants using them are easy targets for brigands and wild beasts. This same remoteness should lessen the chance of the legionnaires encountering any rival factions seeking to block or sabotage their mission. The caravan routes lead to the edge of the M’neri Plains, at which point they can break from the trail and head west to Kalabuto.

Once the Thirteenth have resupplied in Kalabuto, they should follow the Upper Korir River north into the Screaming Jungle. Here the terrain climbs upward through a series of rocky falls and churning rapids, greatly impeding passage via boat, and in many places the water becomes too shallow to navigate, so overland travel is recommended over riverborne travel. Leaving the Screaming Jungle, the trail continues to follow the Korir until it comes near the northeastern Bandu Hills and then turns east. At this point, the trail leaves the river, heading almost due west through the northern foothills of the Bandu Hills until it reaches the southernmost reaches of the Grave Jungle. Somewhere beneath those trees lies the Atlantean outpost of Tazion, which should show the way to the lost city of Saventh-Yhi. In all, the route from Apollonia to Tazion runs just over 1,010 miles, with an estimated travel time of almost 2 months (for the main expedition). The distance to Kalabuto is about 280 miles, with an estimate travel time of just over two weeks.

The book is saying that even if the group has an average speed of faster than 30', that it will be limited to 30' by having to blaze trail and find and mark the way as you go for the slower expedition behind.

There is no image of the map that's no covered in spoilers, so for now we're going to have to go without a giant world map. I might be able to edit out the markings at some point.

Other than all the shopping, meetings and organizing the group catches a few small moments to relax and have drinks or a meal. The Twelfth are surprisingly respectful and deferential when encountered. Jask spends most of his time working on the notes or praying, and Alexandra drinks. A couple of days into the preparations, there is a minor stir as rumors of a cook turning up murdered at the guard base filter into the warehouse.

Otherwise the rest of the week goes by uneventfully and the day of departure finally arrives.

"Yeah, that would be good."

Shite. That means the rapier is probably running the show. Otherwise why would Costrela have broken bad so recently? She must have found it. We gotta get it and use the gauntlets to keep it under lock and key. Can't say any of this out loud in front of Ms. Horns here though.

The four freemen were wearing masterwork hide armor, had masterwork spears and large shields. Umargo had a masterwork breastplate, and two masterwork kukris. He also has a piece of parchment with Warehouse Number 5 written on it.

Once the others salute, General Havilar returns the gesture and sits behind the desk. He motions the others to be seated opposite him. "Good morning, legionnaires. I am told that your last mission was quite the success. So much so in fact, that you have drawn the personal attention of the Grand Custodian. Locating Saventh-Yhi would be a find of historic significance."

"The Grand Custodian wants to stake a claim on Saventh-Yhi for two reasons. First, if we can establish an outpost there, it will increase our presence and influence in the region, while simultaneously denying the same benefits to our rivals. Second, the lost city’s legendary wealth and the opportunity to open new trade routes with the natives would go a long way toward refilling Apollonia’s depleted treasury, allowing us to be less reliant on the Free Captains for trade. Jask Derindi has made it quite clear that he will only cooperate if your contubernium continues to be involved. Considering one of his own name will be honored," Havelar says, nodding at Placidus, "the Baron has seen fit to agree to Derindi's request."

"Therefore, I will be leading an expedition consisting of your unit, Derindi and the Twelfth Contubernium to find and secure the ruins of Saventh-Yhi. If we are successful in controlling Saventh-Yhi before anyone else, Baron Utilinus will ensure you all are elevated to the Ruler caste. You will be granted tracts of jungle land to tame and rule as you see fit, as well as the title of praefectus and its accordant powers." After a brief pause to let things sink in, the general asks
"Questions?"

Cuetzpalli narrows his eyes at Korush before picking up the tiny fork, and using it to take bites out of the mound of cake held in his palm.

Cuetzpalli doesn't think to hide his reaction. His eyes go wide as the cake wobbles, and then falls. Both hands fly to his face as he drops a clearly audible "Oh, shit!"

He can't help but bray an uncouth laugh when Eben eats the Prince's head. Then he thinks better of it, and turns to see the fragile egod prince's reaction, trepidation clear on his face.

I can only speak for myself.

I like the game, I want to see the end of the adventure. I think you're a great writer KC, and a good DM as well.

Due to the (at times) prolific posting rates of this group, my own varying RL busy level, my varying PBP load over the years, and the RP chops of some of the party; I've purposefully written Cuetzpalli over time to be socially awkward, mostly quiet, and dumb enough to never figure out what to do next on his own. That was more of a defensive measure on my part in response to not being able to keep up with the posting and RP at times. Now I feel like his character traits are pretty well set and I don't want to change them much.

Because of that history, I don't enjoy RP segments as much as combats/dungeon delves in this game. I also feel like this whole installment or whatever was poorly written. Seems like they wrote an entire AP book length thing to give the PCs one clue about what to do next. Or maybe it feels that way because of PBP time dialation. I dunno. But, until the end part of the feast we've barely touched on anything Age of Worms related, and I as a player have no idea why we're even here or what we're trying to accomplish. Since Cuetzpalli was never the face or the pusher-forward of what we're doing, I haven't paid as much attention to all the NPCs and social plots over the years as I probably should have. It's my fault for not remembering, but, five year game, lots of other PBPs and games to remember the plots of, sometimes slow updates, etc.

So for me, personally, I'm just waiting for us to get past this part that makes no sense to me and seems to be a total diversion from the Age of Worms plot we were following before. I'm sticking around through this installment because I love the game, and want to see the end of the game. All I know is we came here to find an archmage (Bucknard?) and iirc talk to Lashonna. We've been here for months and months of RL time, and in that period I've completely forgotten what we were even doing in game before we came to this town. I am fully willing to stick around until we get past this segment, but you are correct KC in that it's not doing much for me. The longer we're stuck here, the more I forget about what's happening in the plot, and the more homework I have going back to find and read old posts to figure out what's going on.

However, I don't think it's really an issue if I/Cuetzpalli don't know what's going on - Eben does. As long as we get through this segment, I'm happy to continue playing Cuetzpalli as I have been - mostly RPing with the party, doing occasional dumb things, and enjoying the roll-play when we get on the grid. It seems like others in the group are enjoying this social stuff, which is good.

TL,DR: I really like the game and am fully committed to playing as long as it is running. However, I think this part is somewhat boring because I can't remember/didn't pay attention to the finer details of the plot and am playing a character who isn't socially oriented. Even when I don't personally contribute a whole lot I still enjoy reading other people's posts. It's not that big of a deal for me to wait/participate as I can. The best thing for the game in my mind would be much more frequent updates. That would help keep the game fresh in my mind and keep the plot rolling forward. If you don't have time to update it more often KC I understand, but updating more would make it easier to get more into posting in this game frequently again. It would also get us through this not the greatest for everyone installment faster.

I will refrain from any more passive aggressive dinner stories. I know it's hard to put your writing out there, especially if you feel like people aren't enjoying it. I keep starting novels and then never finishing them because I'm too hard on myself and think no one would like them. You write well, please do it more. Just don't be insulted if Cuetzpalli doesn't do much more than hit things with his sword, it's not a comment on your writing, it's just the way things have evolved for him. Any comments I've made jabbing at the adventure are at the choice of the writers in creating this installment, not at our wonderful DM.

Aurealia takes the skin gratefully, chugging some water. "Yes, to GL..!" Aurealia starts gagging in the middle of her word, and runs outside to fill the gutter with another round of bile. "GLORY!" she cries belatedly from outside.

Fort save: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (19) + 16 = 35

Cuetzpalli tucks into the dish with relish. Finally, some bush meat!

"It's been ages since I've had anything this good," he comments around a mouthful.

"One time I came to a town, and it was very dark and sad. I didn't like it very much, then I waited a long time to have dinner," Cuetzpalli mutters under his breath.

Perform (oratory): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Lookin cute, feelin cute. Ooh, yeah.

Cuetzpalli walks over to the plump halfling woman by the hedge. "Hi. My name is Cuetzpalli. What's your name?"

We are currently number two in total all time gameplay posts.

This thing has a ridiculous 61k posts.

We have 21,442.

Then the third game has 20,951.

Most of the other most posted games are no longer active it looks like.

Jask frowns for a moment. "What are you, all new? Great..."

After a sigh he continues. "Clearly no one has seen fit to fully explain the situation. I am accused of treason - collaborating with the Free Captains to subvert the finances of Apollonia. I am not guilty. I believe I can prove this if I am able to find documents belonging to the man who framed me, one Captain Avret Kinkarian. His ship, the Brine Demon is wrecked on the shores of a nearby island, according to my research."

He pauses to allow this set of information to soak in. "I knew that the Baron would not be willing to forgive me on my word alone, and he is not the type to waste resources on an investigation when he could just execute me and be done with it. I needed some kind of leverage."

"Luckily for me, while working in the Vitan archives I came across the fragmentary notes of one of the original explorers of the area around Apollonia. Their name is lost to time, but not their claim that there is an ancient temple from Atlantean times hidden on the same island as Kinkarian's wreck. The island is called the Shiv, do to its dangerous nature and frequent use by local pirates. It is also said to be haunted." Jask blinks, realizing he is getting off topic.

"In any case, I have found no more recent record of the temple's discovery or excavation. The Baron is a greedy man, and one of the prime ways to strike it rich in the Grave is to find a trove of ancient treasure from before the War. I memorized the location of the temple, and destroyed the notes. Despite my discovery, I had no intention of ever returning here. Then, one of the Baron's agents just happened to recognize me when in Vita, and the choice was taken out of my hands."

"I do not want to die for a crime I did not commit, so I offered to take the Baron's men to the hidden temple in exchange for the chance to try to prove my innocence by finding the Brine Demon. I know the chance that there will be intact records is small after all these years, but I have no other choice. Apparently you are disposable enough to send to the island with me, on the off chance that I'm not lying."

"Which I'm not," he insists desperately.

The centurion leads the group out of the dining hall and back across the garrison to their own bunk house at a brisk marching pace. Once there, he motions to the space in front of the 13th contubernium's bunkhouse with his baton and screams, "FALL IN! ATTENTION!"

You are expected to stand shoulder to shoulder in a straight line facing the officer, and stand attention. A "Sir, yes sir!" would be respectful.

I'm going to assume everyone complies because no one has shown signs of resisting orders and I'd rather not wait for everyone to confirm to post again. If someone wants to act out we can retcon a little bit.

Once everyone is standing at attention the centurion begins pacing back and forth in front of them, a few inches from their faces. "I am
Centurion Yannis Antonis, your commanding officer. From now on, you will speak only when spoken to, and the first and last words out of your filthy sewers will be: 'Sir!'"

"You're the lowest form of life on Gaia. You are not even human f@&&ing beings! You are nothing but unorganized grab-asstic pieces of reptile shit! Because I am hard, you will not like me. But the more you hate me, the more you will learn. I am hard, but I am fair! There is no racial bigotry here! I do not look down on red, blue, yellow, brown or black. Here you are all equally worthless! Your daddy does not matter! Rulers will be in the shit with serfs. Do you shit slurping maggots understand!?" He stops on front of Ilistra, his face frozen in the rictus of a growl an inch from hers.

12/31/4238 AW; After breakfast; Apollonian Guard Mess Hall - New Haliad, Apollonia

The soldiers finish up their food, eager to be back to the barracks in time for their first morning muster. They are expected to be ready to meet their new commander, the centurion of 7th century. (Centurions are non-commissioned officers in charge of 100 soldiers, their slaves, and their gear. A century is made up of twenty contubernia or five man units. Your group is Contubernium XIII, Century VII, Praesidio Apollonium. They usually have the kind of character we would associate with a hard nosed drill sergeant in modern times.)

The surrounding soldiers all give Ilistra looks of open scorn when she stops behaving as a soldier and begins to tidy up dishes while in uniform. A burly oread and an ifrit stand up from the table next to the 13th contubernium's, the table labeled 12.

The oread steps in front of Ilistra blocking her way. "Oi! What the f@*@ you think you're doing, mudblood? Seventh don't do slave's work!"

The ifrit glares angrily at the rest of the group still sitting at table 13. "Yeah, fishes. Where is your pride? How can you let this dumb animal bring shame to our banner in front of everyone?" He turns to Ilistra. "Put the dishes down. Now." pointing back at the table where she had just retrieved them.